Glenn, Stormy and Hagen, Lynn - Pax's Blues [Lady Blue Crew 2] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (3 page)

Pax didn’t protest when Colt’s hand wrapped around the back of his head and pulled him closer. He kept his eyes open as long as he could when they began to kiss, but it was so overwhelming that he couldn’t last long. Pax closed his eyes and leaned farther into the kiss.

He felt Colt’s mouth open, his tongue come out and stroke across his bottom lip. Pax groaned. The feelings being ignited inside of his body were ones he never felt before. He was hot, achy. He wanted more.

Pax opened his mouth and allowed Colt inside. The mere brush of Colt’s tongue against his sent Pax into an all-body shudder. He felt the soft caress right down to his toes. Had anyone ever kissed better?

Colt’s lips were gentle, his kiss soft and undemanding. Pax could tell what control it took for Colt to be easy with him. He could feel it in the rigid muscles beneath his hands and the hard length pressing against his abdomen.

Pax’s heart began to flutter wildly in his chest when Colt pulled away and looked up at him. He could see the hunger burning in Colt’s eyes and knew the man wanted to take things further.

“Thank you, little bird.” Colt brushed the back of his knuckles across Pax’s face.

Pax cleared his throat. It was he who should be thanking Colt. It was on the tip of Pax’s tongue to tell Colt that he’d never been kissed before, but Pax kept it to himself. His heart was already beating like a beast unleashed, and he didn’t trust anything that would come out of his mouth right now.

Pax placed his hands on Colt’s chest, pushing his body up into a sitting position. Wrong move. Colt’s ramrod cock was now pressing into Pax’s ass. He heard the slight and swift intake as Colt sucked air through his teeth.

“We should—”

“Yeah,” Colt agreed, helping Pax up as he got to his feet.

They grabbed some towels and cleaned up their mess before starting dinner. The tension was thick until Colt began to talk of how he’d really like fresh vegetables and asking a thousand questions about the dish Pax was preparing, making the mood lighter.

Pax grabbed the pan from the oven, Colt taking over and carrying it out to the mess hall where everyone was seated and waiting.

“Smells good, buddy,” Livewire commented as Colt placed the pan in the middle of the long table.

The tables used to be round, but with the crew growing, the commander had purchased one large table to accommodate the growing crew. Pax really liked the new table. It fit everyone without overcrowding them.

“It’s something I learned how to make over the years. I hope everyone likes it.” Pax sat when Colt pulled his chair out for him. The shifter took a seat next to Pax and laid a hand on his.

“If you cooked it, I’ll love it.”

Pax couldn’t figure out why the praise made his heart burst with pride, but it did. Pax watched everyone dig in, biting his bottom lip as they ate. He was too nervous to touch his own plate until he knew for sure everyone liked it.

“This is good.” Remy pointed his fork at his almost empty plate.

“Damn, man. How’d you learn to cook like this?” Blade asked.

The praises kept coming, making Pax sit in his seat, beaming with pride.

Colt grabbed his glass from the table and then leaned close to Pax’s ear. “I told you they’d love it.”

His neck and ears burned with the embarrassment. Pax wasn’t used to hearing compliments about anything he did. He decided he liked it. Pax picked his fork up and began to dig in, his mouth bursting as he moaned. It had been so long since the rich spices had touched his tongue that Pax began to devour his helping.

“Slow down.” Colt chuckled. “It’s not going anywhere.”

Pax smiled at the shifter as he did just that. His mind kept going back to his first kiss. Pax would swear he still felt Colt’s warm lips on his. They tingled with remembrance. He wanted to rub his fingers across them and maybe try for another kiss.

“I got another job for us,” Remy said as he leaned forward and refilled his plate.

Pax squirmed around happily, seeing how everyone was really enjoying his cooking. Maybe he could talk to Gigi about taking on more responsibilities in the kitchen, give Gigi a night off every once in a while.

“What is it this time?” Crank asked as he picked his glass up and took a long drink.

Pax paid attention to the conversation as he ate. Hopefully wherever they were going, he wouldn’t have to leave the ship. Remy stabbed at his food and shoved a forkful in his mouth, holding his finger up as he chewed. Pax watched everyone else. They were all making the pan of food disappear. This was yet another reason he loved being onboard Lady Blue. The crew all made him feel so needed and welcomed.

“We have to pick up some cargo on Lost Star Three and deliver it to End of the Line.”

Tank whistled low. “That’s one hell of a haul. It’ll take us weeks to get that job done. I hope the pay is good.”

Remy sat back, twining his fingers behind his head. “Ten thousand credits.”

Pax heard forks hitting plates as they fell from fingers, his included. Ten thousand credits? Had he ever seen that much in his entire life? Hell no!

“
Dayam
.” Crank gasped. “Are they on the up-and-up?”

Remy shrugged. “It’s someone called Imlay Jones. Krull said he was kosher. We won’t know until the job is done. Of course I demanded half upfront.”

“We could get the parts our girl needs.” Livewire sounded giddy. “She needs a serious facelift.”

“We can do more than that.” Remy grinned widely. “Hell, I could keep Gigi and Pax in groceries for a long while.”

“Thank god,” Gigi said dramatically from beside Remy. “I’m tired of running out of what we need. Do you know what it’s like to cook a ham without a ham?”

Pax stared at Gigi, wondering if the human would ever make sense to him. He felt like he needed a compass half the time to figure out where Gigi was going with his way of thinking. Pax knew he was the only one who never understood the man. They all got it. It was like a club or something—the
we get Gigi
club. Pax wasn’t a member.

“What are we hauling?” Tank asked.

“I don’t know,” Remy replied. “I was assured it was nothing illegal, and I made sure there was a clause in the contract that we could pull out without paying a cancelation fee if we decided we didn’t want to haul the cargo.”

“Good plan,” Tank said. “So, when do we leave?”

“I need at least one more day to get the lady ready for a flight that long,” Livewire said. “I’m still calibrating the pulse engines.”

Remy chuckled. “I guess we leave tomorrow then.”

“The day after that,” Gigi said, rather loudly. “We won the bet. We get a movie night. No work until tomorrow.”

Pax bit his lips to keep his giggle from exploding from his lips when Remy rolled his eyes and hauled Gigi into his arms. Peals of laughter fell from Gigi as Remy carried him out of the mess hall and down the hallway toward the media room.

“Why don’t you go watch the vid, little bird,” Colt said. “I’ll clean up these dishes.”

“I’ll help,” Pax said quickly. “It will get done faster that way, and you won’t have to miss so much of the movie.”

“Thank you, little bird.”

Pax’s eyes widened, and he quickly looked down at his hands when he heard the rumble in Colt’s voice. It was the same voice Colt had used when he thanked him for the kiss. How was it possible for the man to have the same sexy timbre in his voice for two separate things?

Pax grabbed the dishes closest to him and raced into the kitchen. He made sure no one was following him then stepped over to the pantry and into the cold storage locker. He was overheating—had to be the spices. Really.

When he heard someone coming, Pax quickly stepped out of the cold storage locker and made his way back into the kitchen. He filled the sink with water and started scrubbing dishes. Maybe if he had his hands elbow deep in the water, no one would know the blush on his face came from embarrassment.

Oh look, a pig flying outside the window
.

Colt chuckled and walked back into the mess hall to grab more dishes. Could his face get any redder? He was blue, for christ’s sake!

Colt came back into the kitchen with the pan the food had been in full to the brim with dishes. The man knew how to use his brain and work smarter, not harder. Pax stepped aside as Colt submerged the filled pan into the sudsy water. “If you wash, I’ll rinse.”

“Deal.” Pax began to scrub plate after plate, handing them off to Colt. The shifter rinsed them clean and then placed them in the drying rack. Pax’s heart skipped a beat every time Colt’s hand touched his.

Pax wasn’t sure how much more of the buildup he could take. Colt may not have an aura, but he was proving to be kind and sweet. It was something Pax had never experienced before with someone he was going to have sex with.

Wait! Did he just think about having sex with Colt? No, no, no. Pax couldn’t have thought that. He wasn’t good enough for Colt. Why would someone as strong and noble as the hawk shifter want a rejected soul like him?

With a stern mental lecture, Pax moved a little away, careful not to touch Colt’s hand again. Pax could see the confusion on Colt’s face, but it was for the best. He wasn’t going to fool himself into thinking he was anywhere near the shifter’s standards.

“Is everything okay?” Colt asked as he accepted the next dish.

“Yes. Why do you ask? I’m fine, never been better.”
Will you shut up, you blithering fool!
Pax was getting frustrated standing next to Colt. What he wanted and what he deserved were two different things.

Colt watched him carefully as they finished the last of the dishes. Pax grabbed a dishtowel and wiped down the surfaces while Colt rinsed the sink out.

“Done,” Pax declared as he folded the towel up and laid it on the counter.

“Good. Let’s go watch a movie, little bird.”

“Why do you call me that?” Pax asked as he walked beside Colt. He liked the endearment. Pax just didn’t get it. It seemed he didn’t get a lot of things around here. It was becoming his theme song.

“Because I’m a hawk shifter, and you’re my little bird.”

Colt said it matter-of-factly, like it was no big deal, so Pax didn’t make it a big deal. He knew he was Colt’s mate, but Pax was scared shitless to let the shifter claim him. That would involve sex—something Pax wasn’t sure he was ready for.

His step faltered when he walked into the media room with Colt to see that there was only room for one on the sectional sofa. All the other seats were taken by the crewmembers. Pax bit his lip as he wondered where he was going to sit. Colt strolled right in and sat down, leaving Pax to stand by the door.

Pax moved into the room but remained by the wall. He wasn’t that comfortable with the crew yet to demand anyone scoot over or give him a seat. He’d only been onboard Lady Blue for a few weeks. That did not give him enough
get out of my way
power like Gigi seemed to have.

Pax wished he was more like Gigi. The man asked for what he wanted and spoke his mind, something Pax had never been able to do. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest as he began to watch the movie. After a while, his legs started to cramp.

He glanced around the room to find Colt watching him. Pax quickly averted his eyes. The man probably thought Pax a wuss and a loser for not demanding that someone give him a seat. It just wasn’t in him.

He jumped slightly when he felt a hand covering his. Pax looked up to see Colt staring down at him. The shifter took his hand, not saying a word as he coaxed Pax over to the sofa. Pax followed, having no choice since Colt had his hand. Not that he objected. Damn it, he was supposed to be keeping his distance, not trailing after the man like some sort of stray begging for attention.