Human After All (8 page)

“Of course it doesn’t, but I’m a little surprised you’re giving in so fast.”

“What you’re doing feels good, and if I’m going to die here, hungry, naked, and cold, I’d like to feel good at least one more time.”

“I’ll do my best.”

As Drue continued to stroke Jaymes’s shaft, he snaked his free hand under the other Companion and pulled him closer. Flattening his palm over Jaymes’s taut belly, he spread his fingers, pressing gently. Jaymes moaned, rolling his head on Drue’s shoulder as pulsing fingertips massaged the skin over his pubic bone.

“Do you like this?” Drue’s lips moved against the whorls of Jaymes’s ear. “Is it enough?”

“No,” Jaymes panted. “I want more.”

“You want me to put my finger in you while I bring you off?”

“I want you inside me.”

“I’m glad that pleases you,” Drue said, as they worked out the mechanics of their joining. “I want to be inside you right now more than I want my freedom.”

They had to settle for saliva as a lubricant, and Jaymes nearly came a couple of times before Drue decided he’d done all he could to make the penetration easier. Jaymes rested on his left side, leaning on his elbow, with Drue behind him in the same position. Drue wrapped a hand around Jaymes’s right thigh and coaxed Jaymes to bend his knee and rest the sole of his foot on Drue’s leg. Conversation devolved into whispered monosyllabic instructions punctuated by gasps and moans of pleasure as another bout of foreplay quickly reached its peak. Drue rubbed the leaking tip of his cock against the T-bred’s entrance, and Jaymes pushed back, signaling his readiness.

Patiently, Drue worked the head of his cock into Jaymes, a little overwhelmed by the intensity of his pleasure. He felt the precursors of the whirlwind that had once possessed him when he made love. It had not stirred for some time, but it was growing stronger now with each fevered little cry from Jaymes’s lips. As Drue eased his shaft deeper into the snug channel, he trapped Jaymes’s dick between his palm and Jaymes’s groin, rubbing the fat vein on the underside, the velvety balls, and the shiny, stretched skin where he entered Jaymes. The T-bred moaned his approval, bearing down on the hard flesh that filled him, untroubled by any concern for his performance, lost in the woods, lost in this moment. As Jaymes’s long frame relaxed, Drue wrapped his fingers around the other Companion’s hard-on and pumped it, marveling at the ease with which they found their rhythm. Physically, he and Jaymes matched up like two sides of a zipper, interlocked by lust in perfect compatibility.

“I could do this forever,” Jaymes whispered. He flexed his opening on the rod that stretched it as though trying to draw more of it in.

Drue stood fast with about a third of his length ensconced, nudging the front wall of Jaymes’s sheath with each shallow thrust. He felt Jaymes tighten around his aching cock, heard the little hitch in Jaymes’s labored breathing, and knew the other Companion was about to come before the T-bred announced it.

“You’ve undone me,” Jaymes sighed as Drue’s fist shuttled faster, milking him of every drop before letting go.

Cupping his hand under Jaymes’s right knee, Drue pulled his leg back and looked under the T-bred’s arm at the place where they joined. The glimpse of his cock sliding in and out ratcheted Drue’s excitement up until the sweet tension snapped with a spurt of hot seed. “Sorry,” he panted, acknowledging the breach of etiquette. “I meant to pull out.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to—” Jaymes’s words ended in a groan as Drue disengaged quickly.

“No, I should’ve asked first.” Drue gently lowered Jaymes’s leg to the ground. “G’sho,” he murmured, as was proper.

“G’sho.” Jaymes replied, glad the Exotic couldn’t see his face. The feeling that had blindsided the T-bred in Lady Alvera’s antechamber suffused him like sunlight, warming him and confirming his fears. This intensely annoying Zot was an ideal partner, and Jaymes knew now with certainty that he would never have his life back the way it was before they met.

“T
HIS
forest is all wrong,” Jaymes said as he brushed pollen from the dragging skirts of his borrowed overcoat.

“What’s wrong with it?” Drue reined in a smile at the sight of the fastidious T-bred—naked beneath a garment much too large for him—tripping, quite literally, through the woods.

“Well, for one thing, the trees are growing wherever they please. They’re supposed to be in rows. And the roots stick up too far.”

“These woods are natural. It used to be like this in a lot of places. Now it’s just more or less around the middle of the planet.”

“Is that right?”

Drue’s smile escaped at the sound of Jaymes’s sarcasm. “Okay, so it’s common knowledge that the Grange exists, but there’s a lot more to it than a lot of people know. The area it covers is almost a third again what they teach you in-crèche.”

“So?”

“So that’s a lot of real estate. Wouldn’t you like to know what’s being done with it?”

“Let me think… no.”

“Can I ask you another question?”

“Sure. Maybe it will take my mind from this tiresome trudging.”

“I’ve said it before, but I just love the way T-breds talk. So tell me, O superior one, why do people live in the Outers? I mean, it’s not very nice there, is it?”

“They live there because it’s all they can afford,” Jaymes answered instantly.

“Your parents are Outties, right? Why did they sell you to Gentren? So they could move somewhere better?”

“Of course not!” Jaymes stopped in the middle of the clearing, thigh deep in yellow wildflowers. “They gained nothing for themselves, only a better life for their child, for me.”

“So they’re still in the Outer City?”

“I don’t know that. You know I don’t. It’s a major clause of the contract that the parents have no further contact. And it’s very bad manners to bring it up.”

“Frij out,” Drue said. “And keep walking. Dealing with rudeness is the least of your problems right now, and I’m almost done with my questions anyway. So just why was it that your parents were forced to make this sacrifice?”

“They couldn’t afford to feed me, as you well know.”

“Right.”

“You’re such a jeedee Pyg. Why can’t your type just say something, instead of turning everything into some clever debate where you not only make your point, you make the other person make your point for you, and you make them look like a fool at the same time?”

“Making you look like a fool is not my purpose, but it certainly seems to be a frequent side effect.”

Jaymes cast his gaze skyward and refused to reply.

“You’re not a fool,” Drue said, a few minutes later. “You’re just ignorant.”

“Oh, well that’s much better. Anything else?”

“Why isn’t the government using that idle land to feed the people in the Outers?”

“Actually, I was wondering what else you found lacking in my character,” Jaymes said. “But to answer your question, I don’t presume to tell our leaders how to use resources.”

“How is it possible for anyone to be so self-absorbed?”

Jaymes grimaced as he stopped to pull up the sodden hem of the heavy coat and remove a thorn from his shin. “I’m a bit preoccupied with survival at the moment, and you want to have a political discussion. Forgive me if I decline out of sheer disinterest.”

“You were almost human while we were in imminent danger, but that stick is definitely back up your ass this morning.”

“And who put it there, I wonder?” Jaymes asked the breeze.

Drue’s sideways smile pulled up one corner of his mouth. As he remembered making love with Jaymes, an unexpected wave of affection swept through him. “Last night was…. I’m not sure there’s a word for it.”

“Oh, do please try to frame your emotions in words. I could really use a laugh.”

Stung, Drue replied with sarcasm. “Then you should see yourself. Your hair is tangled and has leaves in it. You’ll start a new fashion when we get home.”

“Have I told you I hate you?”

“At least once,” Drue said, glad now that he hadn’t done anything foolish like telling the T-bred he liked him.

“Well, I wouldn’t want you to forget.”

“Not possible.” Drue pulled Alvera’s gray market linx from his pocket and held it up to the sun. “Why aren’t you charging?” he muttered.

Jaymes glanced over. “Have you tried pissing on it?”

“Will that work?” Drue frowned. “Does the ammonia cause a chemical reaction or something?”

Jaymes shrugged and watched as the Exotic set the tiny chromolyres disc on a rock. Drue unfastened his trousers, pulled out his cock, and coaxed forth a stream that sparkled in the sunlight. The comm was knocked off the stone into the tall grass, where it promptly disappeared from sight.

“Hot steaming murd!” Drue cursed, diving after the device. He rose with wet, empty hands to the sound of Jaymes’s soft laughter. Clenching his fists, the Exotic glared at the other Companion. “And you had the hide to call me a vac-head? I’m sure I look funny with piss all over me, but your little prank cost us our only hope of getting out of this alive.”

“The be-damned thing didn’t work anyway.”

“Maybe I could’ve made it work. Now we’ll never know.”

“Why are Zots such drama royales?” Jaymes went directly to the spot where the disc had entered the undergrowth, much farther from the rock than Drue had searched. “Here.”

Drue caught the piece of chromolyres and examined it for damage, but the iridescent surface was still featureless. No matter how long, or how many times Drue pressed his thumbprint to the smooth metal, nothing happened. Even the silvery-green sheen of the touch interface field was gone. “Useless,” he said, under his breath.

“We’re still headed in the direction of the lights we saw last night, right?”

Drue nodded. “It’s a long way, though, and neither of us is used to hiking, so it’ll be a while before we get there.”

“I’m in very good physical condition,” Jaymes said.

“Yes, you are,” Drue agreed. “But this isn’t a controlled environment.”

Jaymes looked around, wide-eyed. “I hadn’t noticed until you pointed it out. Come on. What choice do we have but to keep walking?”

“I guess if a T-bred can manage it, it should be a fat slice of zero-prob for me.”

“So why are you still standing there like you’re waiting for a transport?”

“I’m just admiring you, Prince.” Drue paused. “Really. You look very beautiful against the background of the leaves.”

Jaymes ran a hand through his tumbled hair. “Shut up. I’m a terrible mess.”

“But enticing nonetheless, maybe even more so.”

“Enough foolishness.” Jaymes turned away to hide the blush that warmed his cheeks, chagrined at how good the Exotic’s compliment made him feel. “Let’s get moving.”

“S
TOP
right there, Fringe rats!”

Drue froze in his tracks, gesturing behind him for Jaymes to do the same. The voice that ordered him to stop came from the right, but though he had the prickly skin feeling that they weren’t alone, the Exotic saw no one. Cautiously, he held up his hands, and an armed man walked from the foliage directly in front of him.

“You two carryin’ anything I should know about?” Dressed in much-mended clothing in faded colors that blended with the forest, the man who stopped next to Drue was half a head taller than the six-foot Exotic. “If you got any weapons, or anything else interestin’, you’d best tell us now.”

“Us?” Jaymes blurted out, drawing a sharp look from Drue and the man who accosted them.

“Reckon my tongue tripped me up.” The big stranger moved closer to Jaymes, fixing his oddly bright eyes on the T-bred’s tattoo. “Well, hello, spork.” He grinned. “Now that you know I’m not alone, does it make you feel better?”

“Not really. The fact is, I’m so nervous at the moment that I’m approaching overload.”

The giant grinned, his teeth very white in the blue-black frame of his scruffy beard. “Scared of me, are ya?”

“Well honestly, if you were me and saw you coming, wouldn’t you be a little anxious?”

“Aye, and with good cause.” The stranger stopped speaking and looked the T-bred up and down. “What on earth are you wearin’?”

Jaymes pulled the voluminous overcoat more closely around him. “I left a party in a bit of a hurry,” he said, deploying his considerable charm. “In my haste, I seem to have left quite a few things behind.”

“You’re a long way from your playpen,” the armed man said. “Did some Citizeness’s jealous husband chase you all the way out here to the Grange?”

“I can probably explain better than my friend,” Drue began.

“Don’t bother yourself. Me and my friends don’t really care why you’re here. We’re just glad to see you.”

“Quit playin’ around, Halz,” someone called from the trees to the right.

“If you don’t like the way I do things, come and do it yourself,” the big man answered.

Another man in makeshift camouflage emerged from the underbrush. He had the same hawk-handsome features and yellow-green eyes as Halz, but he was even more heavily built, with muscles that strained the fabric of his clothing. “Mornin’s almost over. We should be gettin’ back.”

“Aye, but not empty-handed.”

“Don’t be foolish. What’ll we do with them?”

“I can think of a number of things,” Halz leered. “Or didn’t you notice their brands?”

The second man took a close look at the Companions. “I don’t believe it! What the hell are a couple a pieces of high dollar Bioware doin’ out here?”

Drue opened his mouth to reply, but Halz spoke first.

“What do you care, Ferrin? When will you get another chance to prong a Companion?”

“Hold on a moment,” Jaymes said quickly.

“Easy-freezy, boychick,” Halz said. “We ain’t gonna rack you up. We’d like to escort the two of you to our compound for some much needed diversion, for which you’d be well compensated.”

Jaymes glanced at Drue. “That’s certainly open to negotiation,” he said.

“When you say compound,” Drue addressed Halz. “What exactly does that entail?”

“Come with us, and you’ll see,” Ferrin said. “At least the T-bred can get some more clothes.”