Retribution (9 page)

He looked over his shoulder when the door to
Rave’s
room
swooshed
open.

“You have anything?”

Rave never wasted time. That hadn’t changed.

“I found Seth Davidson. He graduated with us.
Computer, display photo of Seth Davidson.”

Seconds later, the photo appeared. Rave got close and studied it, but
Kain
didn’t see a spark of recognition. Maybe Rave didn’t remember the guy, either.

“I remember him now.”

“You do?” Maybe he couldn’t read his lover the way he used to.
Kain
planned on fixing that.

“Yeah, there was a big to-do about him. Don’t you remember?”

“No, refresh my memory.”

“Seth asked me out a few times during training, and I turned him down. I was only interested in one man, and that was you. I don’t know if I told you about Seth or not. I probably didn’t. I was too full of myself and you. Hell, I couldn’t even remember his name, but I recognise his face. The blow-up happened months after. The three of us were assigned to the same ship. Seth lost control of a pod, causing millions in damages. The Alliance sent him back to training because it also took out communications on a small planet.”

“Now I remember. It was
this
guy?”

“The one and only.
Do you think that’s why he jumped the warrant?”

“After all these years?
I wouldn’t think so, but who really knows?”

“Fritz had no clue?”

“Not that I know of.
I should contact him again. He said he would get with Davidson to find out what happened. Is your sister off-ship?”

“For now.
We’re plotted in for
Seid
II. It should be a few hours. Then this can be over, and life can get back on track.”

Kain
went to Rave and wrapped his arms around him. “What about you and me?”

Rave leaned into him. “I’m not sure.”

Not what
Kain
wanted to
hear.

“What can I do to convince you there is an ‘us’?”

“There isn’t anything you
can
do. I have to trust you again. That will take time. I’m willing to give us the time we need. Are you?”

“Time is all I have. I’ve already resigned my commission on completion of this mission. You should do the same.”

“They really did it, didn’t they?”

“Yep, they fucked us both and not in the happy go lucky way.”

“I was a dedicated officer. I would have done anything for them. How could they do this to me?
To you?”

“We’re collateral damage. The Alliance only
care
about the good of the Alliance and will do what they feel they have to. Damn the cost.”

“What about the Royalists? What do they have to gain?”

“If they blow up that planet, they will show the universe the Alliance is losing strength. It will give them an in with people and allow them to slowly overthrow the current administration.”

“I’m having a hard time picking a bad guy in this situation.”

“Me, too.
That’s why I want to get lost in the universe and away from their influence.”

“We can’t just hand over a planet killer to anyone. We have to destroy it.”

“If we do that, the Alliance will kill us.”

“Not if we have proof of what they did to us. If we go public with that, the Royalists will have more ammo against them.”

“We don’t have proof. Not really.
Only our word.”

“There has to be a way to get what we need. Someone we can talk to.”

“It won’t be Fritz. I think he might have been behind the whole thing.”

“Is there someone over Fritz we could talk to?”

“He has the ear of the panel. We could feel them out and see if they knew of your fake court-martial. There must be paper on that somewhere. I wish there was something my dad could do, but I haven’t been in contact with him since everything went down. I was kept out of contact from everyone. ”

Kain
didn’t want to talk any more. He wanted to play. Rave’s neck looked good, and the man smelled heavenly. A small taste wouldn’t hurt. He licked the spot where Rave’s neck connected with his shoulder, nibbled a little then scraped his teeth over the spot.

“I take it we’re done talking?” Rave managed to get out.

“We have time to talk, but two years to make up for. I missed this. I missed you.”

“I went through hell,
Kain
. All I wanted was you. I didn’t understand.”

“Let me make it up to you.”

Rave turned in
Kain’s
arms and took his mouth like a starving man.
Kain
liked Rave’s new take-charge attitude.

“I want your ass. I need inside you,” Rave groaned.

Kain
moaned. In all their years together, Rave had never wanted to possess him in that way. He shivered in excitement, but wondered at the change.

“It’s yours. I-I’ve never—”

“
Shh
…I’ll take it slow.”

Kain
let Rave lead him. His cock throbbed as he hit the bed. He scrambled back, losing his clothes as he went.
Kain
licked his lips, hungry for Rave.

Chapter Ten

Rave paused by the bed to watch
Kain
take his own dick in hand. He almost lost it when the man’s tongue peeked out. The pull to make
Kain
his again nearly overwhelmed him. He had to get himself under control.

“Why are you still standing there?
Second thoughts?”
Kain
sounded unsure of himself.

Rave shook his head, shucked his clothes and joined
Kain
on the bed.

“I think the time for second thoughts is over. I’m willing to be in this if you are, but you have to trust me. Hell, we have to trust each other, and not let the Alliance interfere again.” Rave crawled between
Kain’s
legs and pushed away the hands on the man’s cock, replacing them with his lips.

“Shit!”

Rave grinned around the dick filling his mouth. He’d taken
Kain
so deep the crisp hairs surrounding his treasure tickled Rave’s nose. He slowly released
Kain
, taking a moment to swirl his tongue around the head of
Kain’s
cock. He was done with foreplay no matter how good the man tasted. Rave craved the fullness of
Kain
in his ass, but he didn’t want to panic. He’d tried to have sex that way since DI, but he couldn’t. He hoped with
Kain
, things would be different, but Rave didn’t know if he’d ever be able to handle someone fucking him again. For now, he would take
Kain’s
ass and make it his.

“Lube,” he demanded and gestured towards the table.

Kain
wiggled on his stomach until he could reach the nightstand. Rave’s cock stood at attention. Those perfect globes presented a temptation he couldn’t resist, and he sank his teeth in. He laved away the sting, leaning back to slap
Kain
on the other cheek.

Needing more, he spread
Kain’s
ass to reveal the hole he wanted in. He leaned over and licked.
Kain
pushed back. Rave moaned as his tongue slipped in. It wasn’t enough. He held out his hand for the lube. When he got no response, he slapped
Kain’s
ass again to get the man’s attention.

Kain
dropped the lube into his hand.

Rave opened the bottle and poured the liquid into his palm before dribbling some down his lover’s ass. Tossing the bottle to the bed, he rubbed his finger into
Kain’s
puckered opening.

“So tight,” he whispered before adding a second finger. He twisted his fingers, trying to find that spot that would drive
Kain
crazy. He was rewarded with a moan when he found the gland. He added a third finger, plunging them in and out.
Kain
rocked back.

“Good. Fuck, so
good
. More,”
Kain
groaned.

“Get on your hands and knees. It’ll be easier,” Rave said as his fingers slipped free.

He settled back to watch
Kain
get in position and slicked his cock with the residual lube on his palms. Rave paused when
Kain
looked over his shoulder and winked at him. That ass was his.

Rave braced his hand on the small of
Kain’s
back and inched his way in. He breached the first ring of muscles and stopped.

“You okay?”

“Don’t stop,”
Kain
panted.

Rave pushed the rest of the way in and paused, waiting for
Kain
to let him know it was okay to move.

 
“Full.
God.”
Kain
rested his head on his arms and wiggled.

Rave pulled out until only the head of his dick remained inside then he slammed home, hitting
Kain’s
sweet spot. When
Kain
shivered, power surged through him. Again and again he hit his lover’s gland.

“Close, babe.” Rave couldn’t have put together a coherent sentence if he’d wanted to. The sweet sensation of
Kain
milking his cock drove him to rock-hard.

“Yes. Fast…hard…
gonna
.”

Kain’s
climax triggered his.
The tight squeeze almost painful.

“
Kain
!
”

He collapsed on
Kain’s
back, trying to catch his breath.
Kain
seemed to be having the same trouble. Rave wrapped his arms tight around
Kain’s
middle and gave a slight squeeze before he rolled over. He threw an arm over his eyes, still panting heavily. He moved his arm when something tickled it. He looked over to see
Kain
grinning at him. He couldn’t help it, he smiled back.

“Fuck, Rave. Why didn’t you ever tell me how good that could be?”

“You never asked, and I was more than happy to live in the bliss of you taking me.”

Kain’s
gaze turned serious. “What changed?”

Rave hesitated before speaking. He didn’t want
Kain
to know what had happened to him. He wondered if he could put his feelings out there without giving too much away.

“I needed to have you that way.” He shrugged. “Things are different. Hell, I’m different.” Rave turned on his side, pulling
Kain
towards him. With one hand, he stroked his lover’s face, relearning by touch and stroking new lines. His thumb traced
Kain’s
lips, and he closed his eyes when the man’s tongue slipped out to take a taste. It was all so familiar, yet different. His heart ached at all they’d lost.

“We’ve both changed, but I think we’re stronger because of it. I’m here for you. I know the trust isn’t there, but I’ll prove myself to you. The Alliance won’t keep us apart again. We’ll find a way out of this mess.”

“Let’s take it a day at a time. First, we have to get out of this
clusterfuck
then we can look at the future. I’m not whole anymore,
Kain
. I have things I should tell you, but I’m not ready. Not yet.”

“When you’re ready, I’ll help to make you whole again…if you’ll let me.”

Rave whispered a kiss against
Kain’s
lips.

“Thank you. Now, we have a couple hours until we dock. What do you think we should do?” he said as he let his hand wander down his lover’s body.

Kain
grinned, and Rave let him roll over on top of him.

“I can think of a few things.”
Kain
said. His cock nudged his ass and Rave panicked. He
had
to protect himself. He pushed the man off him and leapt from the bed, lunging for a wall and crouching down. His heart raced in his chest. His mind flashed back to that night so many years ago. Frantically, his hands swept the floor, trying to find a weapon.

“Rave.”
A gentle voice surrounded him.
“Babe?
It’s
Kain
. I’m here.”

Kain
?
How did he get here?

Rave looked around, confused for a moment. Things looked different. The view wasn’t barren with sand whipping around and getting caught in his throat. No men looked down on him, ready to beat him then fuck him. He was in his room.
On his ship.

My room.
I’m safe.

Rave sat down, his knees pulled to his chest. His head hung forward, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. Finally, his breathing evened out.

“I’m sorry,
Kain
,” he mumbled.

“Don’t apologise to me.
Never
say you’re sorry. Not for this. Can I touch you?”

He looked up to see
Kain
kneeling beside him with his hand hovering close by. Rave didn’t respond. He threw himself at the man, knocking him back. He managed to wrap his body so tight around
Kain’s
he couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

“Fuck, man—”

“Don’t talk,”
Kain
interrupted. “Just let me hold you.”

They sat that way for so long, Rave almost fell asleep. He wanted to stay right there forever, but there were too many things he needed to get done. Could he open himself for the man who’d betrayed him?

That isn’t fair. It wasn’t his fault.

His heart knew it. Getting his head to catch up was the problem. Rave sighed and untangled himself, taking
Kain
to his bed. For a few more minutes, he could pretend things would be all right.

Chapter Eleven

Kain
swivelled in the captain’s chair on the bridge. The quiet of his surroundings lulled him into thoughts he didn’t want to have. He’d left Rave alone, sleeping in his quarters. The man had finally settled down a few minutes ago. It was hard to watch him in such a vulnerable state.
Kain’s
eyes welled with tears as he thought of all the Alliance had put his lover through. He didn’t think Se knew just how badly Rave had been affected. He wished he could go back and trade places with him.
To take the pain away and make it his.
He closed his eyes and held his head in his hands.