Off World 2: Sanctuary

by Stephanie Vaughn

  Shit.

  Sandy stepped into the tiny hygiene station, closing the flimsy accordion-style folding door with force born of intense frustration. Goddammit, this was looking more hopeless by the minute. What made him think he had what it took to fix problems the size of Alex’s? Just because he was the fix-it king of the unit, the one everyone from Sarhaan on down looked to to come up with the solution for whatever was broken? Was his ego really that oversized that he’d taken one look at Alex and thought, ‘Sure, you can do it?’

  More like he’d passed the time after his friends left him behind by drinking too much and watching too many pretty boys getting off while he kept a not-so-casual eye on their old friend. It might have started out as a favor to Sarhaan and Kai, but it hadn’t stayed that way for long. Alex and he had talked, traded insults and observations, and somehow become the unlikeliest of friends.

  So when had, ‘He’s an okay guy’ become ‘He’s so beautiful, I want him more than my next breath’?

  As Sandy peeled off the pants he’d worn to the club the night before and the sticky briefs beneath, he mused on what had recently become his obsession: how to reach Alex without scaring the shit out of him and traumatizing him further. Figuring Alex’s economy flat didn’t come with many extras, Sandy decided to forgo a shower and instead found a washcloth.

  Cleaning the partially dried semen from his body, the dampened material stroked the sensitized skin of his dick. As he rinsed out the cloth and wiped down his balls, Sandy tried telling himself he wasn’t a pervert for enjoying the way it felt.

  He was naked in Alex’s room, with only a crappy folding curtain between the two of them. He’d slept in Alex’s bed and woken to Alex’s touch on his body. Holding the washcloth under the hot water outlet, squeezing out the excess before palming it with one hand and applying it to his aching cock, Sandy finished the clean up job. Still, he couldn’t get away from the feeling that there was something disgusting and predatory about jerking off in the bathroom while Alex was just a few meters away, any more than he could keep from closing his eyes and imagining it was Alex’s hand that stroked him as he came for the second time that morning.

  Tossing the briefs in the waste bin for Alex to find was as unacceptable as the idea of putting them on again, so Sandy rolled them up and stuffed them in a pocket after donning his pants. He snorted at the realization that this was about as close as he got these days to being a commando, shoved the curtain aside, and stepped back into Alex’s room.

  Alex had moved to the bed, where he sat, staring at the floor while he kicked his legs restlessly. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Shouldn’t it be?”

  Looking up, then down at his feet again, Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. You just, kind of took a while. I never heard you pee.”

  A flush of heat rolled up Sandy’s neck and he hoped somehow his natural color hid the blush. “I borrowed some water and a washcloth and gave myself a once-over. I’ll take care of it with Sotheran if I put you over your limit.”

  “No, it’s okay. Of course it’s okay. It’s the least—”

  “Would you shut up with the gratitude, already? I told you, it’s no big deal, Alex.”

  “But it is a big deal. Don’t you see?”

  Sandy looked away and scratched an elbow. Those eyes would be the death of him yet. “Listen, what do you usually do for breakfast? If I’m your fella and I’m trying to show you any kind of a decent time, I’m probably taking you out. What do you like to eat?”

  “Not much. Just coffee, usually.”

  Sighing, Sandy looked Alex up and down. “That’s right. You’re not much of a morning person. I forgot. Well, you could stand to put on a few kilos and, besides, we’re giving folks a show. Get dressed and I’ll take you to Grandma’s.”

  ***

  “Can I get you folks anything else? Coffee? More French toast?”

  “Nothing. We’re fine, thanks.” Alex hoped that would shut the guy up and get him out of there, but no. He just stared expectantly at Sandy, tonguing the stylus he used to take orders with like he wanted to give it fellatio.

  “Alex, you sure? You didn’t eat much.” Sandy’s arm rested along the top of the booth, millimeters from Alex’s shoulders, sitting so close that when Alex turned to meet his gaze, the scents of coffee and the maple syrup he’d poured over his breakfast toast filled Alex’s lungs.

  “Are you kidding? I’m stuffed. Couldn’t eat another bite.” Letting his gaze fall from Sandy’s eyes to Sandy’s mouth, Alex smiled. He knew as long as Sandy was pretending to be with him, little waiter boy wouldn’t get the time of day, but it didn’t hurt to play it up a bit. So he dipped a finger into the puddle of syrup remaining on Sandy’s plate and touched it to Sandy’s lower lip. “Well, maybe one more mouthful.”

  Alex didn’t need the indrawn breath in stereo to let him know he’d scored a direct hit. The way Sandy’s eyes half-closed, even as his mouth opened to draw Alex’s finger inside, would have been enough. The waiter’s sharpened gaze as he watched with avid interest was obvious and Alex wondered for a moment who else might be watching. Letting Sandy hold his finger in place with suction alone, Alex paused briefly before drawing it out, running it back and forth over Sandy’s lower lip. He gazed into Sandy’s warm, chocolate eyes before turning to dismiss the waiter. “We’ll call if we need you.”

  The waiter left and Sandy’s groan drew him back as Sandy’s arm curled closer around Alex’s shoulder. Dropping his head as though to nuzzle Alex’s neck, Sandy used the closeness to murmur in Alex’s ear. “Whoa, babe. Save the big guns for the important battles, okay? I don’t think my heart can take much more of what you were dishing out.” Sandy took small nips at Alex’s neck as he kissed and nibbled his way up. Alex arched his neck to give Sandy more room and closed his eyes, as though overcome with passion.

  Except, he wasn’t completely faking.

  It really did feel good, the way Sandy used his lips and teeth and tongue. Shivers chased over Alex’s skin, even as a small curl of warmth heated up in Alex’s groin. So alien it was almost unknown, the tingling in his dick increased and he started to get hard.

  Now it was Alex’s turn to suck in his breath. He even groaned a little, so startled he reached out to steady himself, blindly grabbing Sandy’s arm.

  Clients always wanted to think they had great technique; that they were the one who could draw a genuine response from a pro; they must be something special if they made a whore groan. Just because no one wanted to think they’d been conned or that every response from the moment they stepped through the door was scripted, didn’t mean they couldn’t or that it wasn’t. Just like no one lasted very long in the sex business if they couldn’t fake the basics at least moderately well and Alex had survived for almost ten years.

  “Alex.” Sandy drew back, one big hand coming up to cradle Alex’s face. Stroking a thumb over Alex’s cheek, Sandy’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Alex.” And then Sandy kissed him, full on the mouth, kissed him with a tenderness that threatened to shatter him into a thousand tiny pieces.

  Sandy’s tongue, smooth and sleek, like nothing Alex had ever felt before, stroked gently into his mouth. Lips, firm but gentle, played with Alex’s, drawing Alex’s lip through them only to let it slide slowly back into place.

  Glorious.

  It was a wonder, how something so simple could feel so good, make Alex feel so cherished.

  “Hey, D’abu. I thought that was you. Glad to see you finally getting some. Finally figured out which way you swing, I guess.”

  A little disoriented and a lot turned on, it took Alex a few seconds to realize the gravel-voiced commentary was aimed at them. Sandy pulled Alex closer, lifting his head to gaze with a cold-eyed stare that would make most men wet themselves. “Dave. Still hanging around, huh? You know, that’s the problem with life on an asteroid -- taking out the trash is almost always more trouble than it’s worth.”

  Alex recognized the man standing provocative
ly close to their table. Blond, not bad-looking, Alex’d seen him in Nelly’s a few times; more often when Alex had first started than lately. With a gift for causing trouble and -- more importantly-- a lousy tipper, Alex hadn’t missed his business. Hadn’t even noticed his absence until now.

  “Yeah, still hanging around, D’abu. Kinda like you, I guess. Where’s the rest of your buddies? Off having fun and leaving you to take care of business? I guess some things never change.”

  “Dave, if I wasn’t so comfortable right now I’d take you outside for a little private conversation. But I am.” Sandy interrupted his monologue to brush a kiss over Alex’s hair, his voice cold. Alex decided Dave must be dimmer than he looked to even think about yanking Sandy’s chain. “I’m going to kiss my man here, and if you’re not gone by the time I’m done, I promise you this’ll be the last conversation you and I will ever have. Is that plain enough, even for a moron like you?”

  The tension in Sandy’s body telegraphed itself to Alex, his stomach beginning to knot up as the conversation escalated.

  “Hey, hey, hey, now. Don’t get your blood pressure up there, big guy. I’ve got bigger fish than you to fry, don’t worry. In fact -- how’s this? -- I’ll even make you an offer. You ever get tired of wasting your time playing grease monkey for Sarhaan, you let me know. I’ll put you to work making enough credits to afford a rental with… uh, how shall I say it… a few less miles under the hood?”

  Alex gasped. He didn’t know what Dave’s history was with Sandy, but Sandy and Sarhaan were like brothers.

  “Dave, you’d better go now. We’ll talk about this again later.”

  Smile fading rapidly, Dave shot Sandy a measuring look, “Looking forward to it, D’abu. See you around, barkeep.” Tossing the sugar packet he’d been toying with in Alex’s direction, he sauntered off.

  Alex looked up at Sandy, the impassive expression on his face now overtaken by annoyance. “What an asshole. Sandy, how did you keep from slugging him? I wanted to hit him and I’ve never hit anyone in my life.”

  Sandy’s gaze remained on the door, hard and flinty, following Dave’s exit. Long moments passed and Alex wondered if Sandy had heard him. Thought about repeating the question and decided against it.

  When the look in Sandy’s eyes finally softened, he turned back to Alex. “How do I keep from hitting him? Practice. A lot of practice.”

  “How do you know him? What a dick.”

  “We were in the service together. Matter of fact, he was part of my unit for a long time up until a few months ago, when Sarhaan finally got fed up and tossed him out. Good move on Sarhaan’s part.”

  “Good for Sarhaan. I wanted to kick his ass. The jerk called you a grease monkey.”

  Sandy was smiling at him, a hand in Alex’s hair and stroking Alex’s cheek again. “You wanted to kick his ass, huh? That’s great. I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Don’t patronize me.” Alex’s breath hitched as Sandy closed his eyes and kissed Alex on the forehead. Still worked up over that jerk who’d insulted his friends, Alex needed to burn off the nervous energy buzzing around inside him. But how was he supposed to do that when Sandy made his insides go all squishy? “And don’t try to get around me with sex, either, because it won’t work.”

  “Is that what I’m doing?” Sandy kissed Alex’s neck again, opened his mouth and took gentle little bites along Alex’s jaw line, until he’d worked his way around to Alex’s mouth. “What do you figure I’m doing now?”

  Sandy held him close, one arm around Alex’s shoulder while the other slipped up his thigh, until it came to rest on his hip. Restrained, Alex should have been shutting down -- closing off his feelings until the unpleasant thing passed, the way he’d done so many times it had become not just second nature, but default response.

  Alex was amazed to realize he didn’t want to. Sandy smelled good and tasted better. For maybe the first time in Alex’s life, a strong man’s surrounding presence felt warm and sheltering instead of cold and frightening.

  He trusted Sandy. Somewhat, anyway.

  Besides, they were in a public place. A restaurant. How out of hand could things get?

  Sandy’s kiss wasn’t overpowering, it was just right. Slow and wet: just a little suction. His tongue was gentle and coaxing, not jammed down Alex’s throat like a weapon. Alex let his head relax against the arm behind it, trusting Sandy to hold him and not let him fall, and soaked it all in.

  It was nice. Alex couldn’t remember a better kiss in his entire life.

  Slipping his hand underneath Sandy’s shirt, Alex sought skin, curling his fingers into Sandy’s side when he found it. Sandy squirmed, twisting sideways.

  Alex broke away. “What’s the matter? Is it not okay to touch you?”

  “No, it’s okay. Touching is definitely good. You just caught me in a sensitive place.” Sandy’s nostrils flared with his heavy breathing, two furrowed lines bisecting his brow. Alex couldn’t tell if Sandy was giving him the straight story or not.

  “You are not ticklish. If you don’t want me touching you there -- or anywhere -- just tell me. I don’t have to.” Alex looked around. There were no other occupied tables anywhere near them. “We can relax. There’s no one watching.”

  “Alex, can I be totally honest with you? No bullshit -- just the real deal?”

  Sandy looked absolutely dead-on serious. Already his breathing was slowing, but the intensity in his eyes said that Alex was the only person on his mind right now. Whatever it was Sandy had to say, it was going to be bad.

  Alex squared his shoulders and nodded. “Absolutely. You can tell me anything, Sandy.”

  Sitting silently for a moment, when Sandy finally stirred it was to lift his hand. He ran the backs of two fingers down Alex’s cheek, smiling a little despite the stubble Alex hadn’t shaved off that morning abrading them. Stupid. He should have shaved.

  “I should have—”

  “Sssh. No, stop,” when Alex tried to speak. “I like it. Even if they hadn’t lasered me, I could let mine grow for a month and not get that much. It’s nice. Sexy.”

  Alex looked at him suspiciously. Sandy hadn’t been drinking. Had he been successfully hiding mental instability from Alex all this time?

  “But what I was going to say was, no one has to be watching for me to want to kiss you. I like kissing you. No other reason that that. Just for me. Because I like it.”

  Looking into Sandy’s deep brown eyes, Alex stared hard, trying to read what was in Sandy’s heart. It would be just like him to try to ease Alex’s guilt by taking more responsibility on his broad shoulders. Sandy was a good guy that way.

  “Sandy. I don’t know …”

  “I mean it. Just for me. No other reason.” Sandy lowered his head again, moving to within millimeters of Alex’s mouth, only to stop. “Will you kiss me? Just you. Just me. No one else.”

  The next thing Alex knew, they were kissing. He didn’t know who’d moved, but it was another sweet, serious kiss of amazing, unbelievable tenderness. Tongues and lips and heat, and Alex groaned. Sandy’s hands cupped his face, and he hung on to Sandy’s waist as the world spun around him.

  “Oh, for God’s sake, D’abu. I told you to keep an eye on him, not molest the man in a public restaurant.”

  Chapter 7

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, bro.”

  Sandy’d known it was coming. Had been expecting it, in fact.

  While they walked the short distance between Grandma’s Café and the team’s storefront headquarters, Sandy and Sarhaan were comparing notes on both the trip to 10-Hygiea and Sandy’s progress on drumming up new business. He didn’t like having to put Alex aside, but the team was back and work would begin in earnest again.

  “Don’t I always? I’ll probably need Naslund and maybe Sutton or Vilnius to help out with the life support system, but the rest of this should be no big deal.” Sandy indicated his mini-comp, now loaded not only with his own list of regular maintenance and wish list of u
pgrades he’d like to implement, but the crew’s bitch list of things they’d managed to break on the short trip just completed. “I’ve never been happy with the water system, but you know that. Money and time permitting, there’s a new strain of Nitrobacter I’d like to try and see if I can get rid of some of the metallic taste. It’ll mean stripping the whole system back to nothing, but I think the results’ll be worth the effort.”

  The trip had been the longest in the brand-new company’s short history and Sandy, as acting chief engineer, really should have been on it. Inner ear infections bowed to no man, however, and the one that had plagued Sandy had been maddeningly tough to kick. Due possibly to the long periods in artificial gravity, no one was sure, what should have been a minor ailment had hung on with dogged tenaciousness. Since the art-grav on a ship the size of the Vigilant was even more suspect, and as Sandy rather liked being able to hear, he’d reluctantly agreed to stay behind.