Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Reth knew the moment was lost as Xan drew away, composing himself.
His arms relaxed, then slipped from Reth’s waist. His eyes, so
bright with lust just minutes before, were now dulled with drink
and exhaustion. As he stood back, he ran a shaky hand through the
sheet of his hair. The other hand reached down and caught Reth’s
wrist. His eyes slipped shut when Reth’s fingers closed around his
unseen length and, with one final gasp, he murmured Reth’s
name.
Then Reth was brushed aside. Xan stepped
back, widening the gap between them. He ran his hand through his
hair again, an obviously nervous habit. “I’ve got to…” He looked
around, as if searching for something else to distract him. His
gaze flickered over the balcony and into the night sky, but never
settled on Reth. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Xan?” Reth reached for him. What the hell
had just happened? One second they were this close, and now
fear shone in Xan’s face, fear Rethhad put there. “Was it
something I said? Listen, we can stay here if you want…”
Catching Reth’s hand again, Xan brought it to
his lips. He kissed the fingertips, his gaze focusing on Reth one
last time. “I’ll be back, I promise. Wait for me?”
Reth nodded, hesitant. With a wink and his
usual sexy grin, Xan swore, “Be right back.”
Then he stepped into the light that fell from
the banquet hall and slipped away into the crowd of graduates and
family and friends. Reth leaned against the railing, staring out
into the stars, replaying the evening in his drink-clouded mind.
Was it the invite to his room that had frightened Xan away? Or was
it all just too much too fast? Maybe the few stolen moments they’d
shared meant nothing. But he said he was coming back…
Why didn’t Reth believe him?
* * * *
Seven months later, Reth was still
waiting.
Not on that balcony, no—he’d given Xan a
generous ten minutes to return but the flyboy never did. Reth, more
than a little hurt but not the least bit surprised, had finished
his jojobu juice and headed back to his room alone. In the morning,
he packed his things and boarded a transport with the other grads
joining Star Corps. Xan was not among them. When Reth moved into
his quarters at Corps Central, he tried to put that interrupted
tryst behind him.
He thought he’d succeeded. He’d had his share
of lovers—nothing to write home about, but guys he liked, guys he
slept with, guys who all seemed to have Xan’s carefree hair or
cavalier grin. But when the USS Appomattoxsigned on for the
Kressl ore run and Reth stood on the receiving deck beside the
ship’s captain to welcome the new crew of gunners, only his Academy
training kept his back stiff and his arm angled in a salute when he
saw Xan among them.
Time seemed to fold in on itself, everything
between then and now canceling out. Reth’s heart stopped in his
chest at Xan’s bright laugh. When Xan looked at him, looked
throughhim, Reth almost passed out like a lovesick
schoolboy. He thought he’d moved on? Who was he trying to kid?
The flicker of recognition in Xan’s eyes
ignited Reth’s blood, but there were too many people around and he
had his reputation to think of, so Reth stayed at the captain’s
side. He smiled on cue, and laughed when prompted. But as they
mingled in the ship’s large ballroom, part of him kept tabs on Xan
the whole evening. At all times, he knew where Xan stood in
relation to himself. Each time Xan touched anyone, Reth felt that
hand on his own body. Each laugh pierced him like a lepidopterist’s
pin. And whenever he looked around, he found Xan staring back.
Reth suspected the USS Appomattoxwas
not going to be large enough for the both of them. Just being in
the same room with Xan made Reth’s skin warm and his mind whirl.
His baggy flight suit threatened to tent over a slight erection
that made standing uncomfortable and sitting unbearable. Any closer
to Xan and Reth thought he might go nova.
When the captain announced the new gunners,
raucous shouts and wolf whistles filled the air. They were a rowdy
bunch—gunners usually were—but Reth could hear Xan’s voice rise
above the others. With a glance at the new crewmembers as he sipped
his cocktail, Reth tried to infuse enough alcohol into his system
to justify speaking with Xan or slinking off to bed, one of the
two. As the crowd applauded, he wandered over to the food table to
pick at a display of chilled fruit. He couldn’t close the distance
between himself and Xan—after seven months, a galaxy kept them
apart. But he had to say something, didn’t he? Make it look
like he’d moved on, even if he hadn’t? Show he was above—
A breathy voice sighed into his ear,
startling him. “Hey, sexy.”
Reth jumped and took a step back, only to
find himself in Xan’s quick embrace. For one delicious moment, he
savored the strong arms around his waist again, the warm chin
resting on his shoulder. Then he turned and bumped into the food
table in his haste to get away. “Xan. Hey.”
“You remember my name.” Xan ran a
self-conscious hand through his thick hair as he grinned. “And here
I thought you might’ve forgotten me.”
How could I?Reth wanted to know.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone