Chapter Ten
For the first several days after he was injured, Davos didn’t remember much except for the smell of antiseptic and the sounds he always associated with hospitals. He’d been in quite a few of them over the years—a warrior king who liked to be on the front lines with his men tended to be wounded often.
The doctors were keeping him sedated to help with the almost constant pain in his head, for which he was grateful, but from time to time, he’d surface enough that he began to feel restless and worried about something he couldn’t quite remember or identify. A memory just there on the edge of his consciousness just refused to fully reveal itself. He tried talking to the physicians but that got him nowhere. They’d bow to him, fawn over him and then give him more of the pain killers.
But one morning, he woke up and his mind was finally clear or almost so. He felt groggy and sore and badly in need of some strong Lycan tea, but first he called for his physicians to find out exactly what happened to him. And then he called for his aide to discover what had happened to his human.
Davos had little memory of anything past that last few hours in the captain’s ready room on the transport ship. He’d been working on some boring paperwork, he remembered that well enough. But after that—nothing until finding himself waking up in this hospital.
His physicians arrived first, all of them bowing and scraping until he grew tired of them and sent them away. But not before they told him what had happened. Some of the prisoners had staged an escape attempt by staring a fire inside the large holding cell in the belly of the ship. It had gotten out of hand and when the soldiers entered to put it out, they were attacked, some of them killed outright.
The lead physician, a man named Yarrov, told the whole story as they knew it to King Davos. “For reasons known only to His Majesty,” here he gave Davos a sly glance, “he went down below, quite bravely, I’m sure, with the intention, we think, to help the soldiers there. Unfortunately, His Majesty was violently attacked, according to the two witnesses we recovered, and they helped His Majesty escape from the ship.”
“What witnesses? Give me their names.”
“I don’t have that information, Majesty. I can find out for you.”
“Yes, you do that. Now.”
He bowed obsequiously and pulled out his communicator. “With your permission, Sire?”
Davos waved impatiently at him and the doctor spoke into his communicator for a moment before turning back to the king. “I’m getting that information for you, Sire.”
Davos rolled his eyes. “In the meantime, go ahead. Finish your story.”
“Yes Sire. It’s my understanding that the majority of the prisoners viciously fought their way up to the bridge and caused the terrible crash into the lake. But not before the captain had sent out a call for help. He said you were onboard and that there had been an attempt at a violent revolt. Shortly after that, the ship went down into a huge lake on the planet’s interior, with only a few survivors, mostly prisoners. A shocking loss of life…” The physician blanched at the look on Davos’s face and moved forward to quickly lay his fingers on the king’s wrist to take his pulse. Davos shook him off.
“Tell me who!” Davos thundered at him. “Who were these survivors?”
“The ones who saved you, Your Majesty,” the physician said, taking a step backward. “The human male and the Tygerian he calls his son. Also a number of the pirates, I understand. Sire, are you well? You’ve gone quite pale.”
Davos passed his hand over his face and nodded, but leaned forward urgently. “The human, you said? The one named Blake?”
The doctor looked down at his communicator and nodded. “Yes, that was the name he gave us. Blake Cameron.”
“And the Tygerian boy? Are they all right? Were they injured in the crash?”
“No, Sire. They’re fine. We put them back in a cell as soon as they were examined.”
“What? Get them out! Have them taken to the palace.”
“To the palace? But Sire…”
“Did you not understand what I said? Did I slur my words? Take them to the palace. Immediately!”
The doctor almost passed out as Davos roared at him. He took a hurried few steps backward, bowing at the waist. “Yes, Sire. Right away.”
“See to it!” Davos shouted. “And get my damned aide Octavion in here!”
“Of course, Majesty. Right away. Excuse us, Sire, please.”
They scurried out of the room and Davos leaned back against the pillows, his head aching a bit. Perhaps he shouldn’t have shouted so much, but that old fool had frightened him when he said only a few survivors. If Blake hadn’t been one of them, he’d never have forgiven himself for not bringing him up above with him earlier. Though it sounded as if none of the crew from the bridge made it off the craft alive, and he mourned their loss.
The doctors were right. It was a shocking and tragic disaster, and he needed to get to the bottom of what had happened. The doctor had said something about pirates surviving the crash too. Davos shook his head, sure they must have had something to do with the revolt. Treacherous bastards. And since their incarceration wasn’t mentioned, they must have gotten away. Not for long, if he had anything to say about it. He closed his eyes and waited impatiently for his aide to arrive.
****
Blake’s grandmother used to say, “Patience is a virtue, dear. Assume a virtue if you have it not.” Blake was trying—but it wasn’t easy. His patience, never strong to begin with, was wearing dangerously thin. It was so thin, in fact, that he was only about one more smart comment away from slapping the shit out the two sarcastic Tygerian bastards guarding his cell, lounging against the bars and smirking in at him from the corridor outside his cell.
He took a deep breath and tried again. “Where is Derrick? The Tygerian prisoner? Don’t act as if you don’t understand me. I know you speak some Earthan, damn you. Where is he? He was already gone when I woke up this morning.”
The larger of the two leered at him, putting his hand over his groin. “You like Tygerians, yes?” he said with a thick Tygerian accent. “I’ll take his place, human.”
Blake rolled his eyes. He was so over these Tygerians and their arrogant bullshit. As the king’s consort in the past, he’d realized he was shielded from the worst of it, but he’d had forgotten how really insufferable they could be. And these people on Tveir seemed even worse than the ones at home. Before he could tell the guard just what he thought of his “help,” another soldier approached and had a hurried conference with the first two. They all glanced in at Blake with raised eyebrows, looking incredulous, but one of them straightened up and started punching in a code on the wall beside his cell. The doors slid open and Blake backed up a few steps, taking a fighting stance. If this was about to be some kind of assault or rape attempt, he’d be ready. He’d lose, of course, but he’d try to get in a few good hits before they took him down. The first big guard raised his hands in a “stop” gesture and then spoke to him in very careful Earthan.
“We take you to palace now. King Davos sends for you.”
“What? But where’s Derrick? My son? I won’t leave without him.”
They glanced at each other, the big one shrugged, and then they advanced on him.
Blake had been right about one thing—he lost the fight pretty fast. It didn’t take them long to overpower him and carry him, kicking and shouting, from the cell. They hauled him downstairs in the prison to a small waiting shuttle craft docked outside in the courtyard, chained his wrists and ankles and then strapped him into a seat. One of the guards was still cursing him and rubbing the side of his face where Blake had bitten him and another was dabbing at a bloody place on his chin. Blake regretted nothing but wished he knew where Derrick was and if he had been transferred too.
Out of breath from his struggles, he sat in the seat of the shuttle craft and looked out at the city as they passed through. Rhaegar had been right—this city—Haggoz City—was an almost exact replica of Tygeria’s old capital city. Except where the older one had been weathered and ancient looking, this one was almost garish in its newness. The buildings in the old city were tall and jagged, with their roofs angled up at the sky, like arrows or spears pointed up at anyone brash and bold enough to think of attacking. These were the same, but where the colors of the buildings on Tygeria were ancient and sun-bleached and had faded into a look that old artwork sometimes took on—a blurring of the lines and a softening around the edges. The fresh ocher paint on all these newer buildings was somehow more ominous and much more fierce. It reminded Blake of the color of dried blood. And it made him long for the softer colors of home.
The idea of Tygeria as his home surprised him a little. He hadn’t ever thought of it that way, even after spending all those years on the planet. It still seemed alien to him and odd. Back home on Earth, he had lived in the American south, and he used to long with almost physical pain for the lush greenness of that countryside. But now he realized it had been a long time since he’d thought much about Earth. And even longer since he’d yearned for it. His home was wherever Davos and his children were, and the idea of possibly never seeing Mikos and Ryan and Mikol again, not to mention Anarr and Vannos was physically painful. And he couldn’t even consider a life never seeing Larz and Nicarr again. How in the world could he expect to endure their loss if he never made it back to Tygeria again?
He had survived so far by refusing to think about it for long. If the thought came into his head, he banished it immediately and replaced it with something else. But he couldn’t keep doing that forever. He knew that. The reckoning was coming, lurking around the edges of his mind, peering around corners and ready to pounce on him if he didn’t keep up his guard. If he ever gave up all hope of seeing his boys again, he was afraid it would kill him when it finally made it in.
Feeling a little queasy, he leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. He’d been in the cells for a little over a week, with no word from or about Davos. In all, he’d been on Tveir for almost a month. What might have happened back home in that time? And oh gods, where was Larz? A bolt of pain went through him at the thought and he hunched over in the seat, clutching his stomach. He was so afraid—and not just about Larz, though if he focused for long on that, he would literally lose his mind. But about everything—all that had happened since he’d started on this crazy journey.
He had been afraid the entire time in the prison they’d taken him and Derrick to that Davos’s condition was much worse than he’d believed and that he might lose him too. If that had happened, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to go on, so it had been a huge relief when the guard came in and said Davos had sent for him. But now to be separated again from Derrick, the only son he had left—it was insupportable.
He’d wished a thousand times that Derrick hadn’t stayed with him. That he’d gone with Rhaegar, though that had been fraught with danger too. He would have been desolate without him, but his son’s welfare had to come first, and he really believed that Rhaegar would take care of him and eventually get him back home. He hoped Rhaegar and his men had managed to elude the soldiers and avoid recapture. He was fairly certain that they hadn’t been brought on board after he and Derrick were taken. Davos had been carried onto the ship right away, but the captain of the guard had kept Blake and Derrick on their knees by the fire, shouting question after interminable question at them for almost an hour, then finally took them on board the ship in chains and threw them into a cell below decks. They had left the lake’s shore soon after that. He had to try to be calm and wait to hear news about Davos, knowing he was being cared for by the ship’s medical team, but the waiting was the hardest part.
The shuttle he was on came in for a landing at a dock that Blake recognized as the one on the palace rooftop. It was so like the one they docked at back home that for a moment he almost expected to see the rooftop door being flung open and Nicarr and Larz running out to greet him with hugs and kisses, like they used to do when they were little. The memory made him shut his eyes and clench his fists. He wondered where they were and what they were doing right that very minute.
The shuttle door slid open and a man appeared in the doorway, wearing a blue uniform, much like Davos wore, except this man’s chest was covered in medallions and ribbons. He was also probably the first delicate looking Tygerian Blake had ever seen. He didn’t even know such a thing was possible. The man’s skin was like porcelain, his eyes were a deep, navy blue, instead of the greenish gold eye color of most Tygerians, and his hair was very dark, more like mahogany than red. He was as tall as any Tygerian, but much thinner than most, almost willowy, in fact.
“Welcome, Blake Cameron,” he said, giving Blake a tight smile, another unusual aspect of this man. Most of the people he’d met so far on Tveir had either scowled or leered at him. “King Davos asked me to greet you when you arrived. My name is Octavion, and I’m one of His Majesty’s aides.”
“Oh. Well, thank you. It’s nice to meet you…I guess. Your words would seem to indicate that I’m to be a guest, but these chains tell a different story,” he said, holding up his hands. “Which is it? Am I a guest or a prisoner?”
Octavion frowned and said something short and harsh to the guard riding up front with the pilot. The guard quickly came back to remove the heavy chains. Blake jumped out of the shuttle beside Octavion. “Is King Davos here at the palace?’
“Regrettably not at the present time. He’s still being treated at the hospital, but he will more than likely be released quite soon. He’s given me directions to welcome you on his behalf and take you to your room here in the palace.”
“And what about my son? Derrick? Do you know where he is? He was already gone from his cell when I woke up this morning.”
“Ah, yes, your…son. He’s here at the palace too. He was given a room in the servant’s quarters.”
“The hell you say.”
“Um…excuse me?”
“Either you put him in a room near mine, or I’ll go to his. Servants quarters, my ass.” Blake folded his arms and glared at the man. “Well? What’s it to be? Call Davos if you can’t make this decision on your own.”
“I…uh, no. I can make the decision. Very well, I can have his things moved to the room beside yours. At least—temporarily. The king did say I was to do everything in my power to make you comfortable, though I warn you, His Majesty may decide to move him back when he arrives.”
Blake pursed his lips. “We’ll see about that.”
Octavion quirked up an eyebrow at his tone, but pulled out his communicator and spoke rapidly into it, turning his back and walking away a few steps. When he returned, he bowed stiffly and gestured for Blake to follow him.
Instead, Blake stepped up beside him and walked alongside him. Octavion turned slightly to observe him. “You have an unusual look, if you don’t mind my saying so. Very striking. Are you Tygerian or perhaps some other nationality? I know the Moravians have a shared heritage with Tygeria.”
“No, I was born on Tygeria, but came here to Tveir as an infant. And to answer your next question, I have mixed heritage. One of my fathers was Jayronian.”
“Oh, I-I see.”
He smiled as he opened the door leading inside the palace. “You look confused. Did you have more questions?”
“No, not any that wouldn’t be rude. I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“You didn’t. I’m proud of my heritage. My bearer was quite beautiful.”
“I can see that. But I thought Tygerians didn’t allow any alien DNA to mix with their own.”
He looked puzzled. “I don’t know where you heard that. More recently, there has been a custom not to marry or breed children with anyone not a Tygerian. But it’s custom only and not any kind of law or mandate. At the time of my birth, mating with Jayronians, Nilaniums, Leerians and even humans was much more common than now. Still, even today, there are no laws against it.”
“I see. But don’t the doctors on Tygeria give the male bearer injections to suppress his DNA?”
Octavion shook his head. “Not that I’ve ever heard of.”
“Oh.” Another difference from the Tygeria he’d known at home, and this one was a definite improvement, to Blake’s way of thinking. “Well, thank you for answering my question. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“Not at all,” he replied, but had no further conversation as they walked along the corridors that Blake knew like the back of his hand. The palace was indeed an exact replica of the ancient palace on Tygeria, even down to the artwork—or the copies of that old artwork—on the walls.
They entered the double doors leading to the royal family’s private chambers, or in this case, Davos’s private chambers. At least he’d never mentioned any family he might still have left alive. Blake knew the war took a terrible toll on his Davos’s family as well. The chambers all had closed doors, so it was difficult to tell what might lie behind them. Finally, he simply asked.
“Is there anyone else here on this hallway?”
“No, sir. You’ll be quite alone until the king returns. Or until your…uh, son arrives.”
“You say that as if you have doubts about the nature of our relationship. He is my son, you know.”
Octavion nodded, lowering his eyes. “As you say, sir. I’m sure it’s none of my concern. King Davos said I was to make you comfortable and give you whatever you asked for within reason. That’s what I’m attempting to do.”
He moved to a chamber farther down the hall before stopping in front of it. “These will be your quarters while you’re a guest of the king. I trust you’ll be comfortable.”
The room he’d brought Blake too was furnished exactly the way the guest rooms were furnished at home. Gold colored hangings on the windows and around the bed, which was a typical slab-like—in Blake’s opinion—piece of wooden furniture. The room was fairly stark, otherwise, with only one chair and an intricately carved chest at the foot of the bed for clothing. Since Blake was standing in the middle of everything he owned at the moment, and hadn’t been given anything else to wear, he had nothing to put in the fancy chest.
“Thank you. I was wondering if you could send up a servant with some clothing for me to wear. I don’t have anything except this filthy robe.”
“Of course.”
“And I’d love a bath. If I’m not in my room, I’ll be in Davos’s bathing chamber.”
Octavion’s eyebrows rose again, perhaps at Blake’s knowledge of the bathing chamber in Davos’s bedroom, which was his room too, of course, back home. Or maybe it was the way he simply announced he would be “in Davos’s room” instead of asking permission. But this felt too familiar, too much like home, and what he needed most was a bath and a change of clothing, approximately in that order. He’d had used cold water to wash up at the prison, but he was longing for a hot bath and his bedchamber had the largest tub, if it was indeed an exact replica, as it seemed to be so far. Octavion flushed, as if he were about to say something from the slightly outraged look on his face, but apparently, he thought better of it. In the end, he simply nodded, his lips pressed together tightly, and bowed again as he left the room.
Still anxious to see Derrick before anything else happened, though, Blake went over to the window to look outside. The view was beautiful from here, the whole city surrounding the palace, which was situated on a tall hill with its long driveway snaking down to the buildings below. He only wished he felt a little better, a little stronger. Sighing, he laid his forehead against the window pane and waited for Derrick to arrive. He wished…so much. But as his grandmother would say, if wishes were fishes, we’d all cast our nets.
He had loved his grandmother very much, but in his opinion—and he’d never have actually told her so and hurt her feelings—she talked way too damn much.
****
Davos was feeling tired and achy, and all he wanted to do was get back home. He knew he was in a foul mood, but was trying not to take it out on everyone around him. As soon as he was released, however, he went directly to his personal shuttle and let his driver take him straight to the palace. By the time they arrived, the rain that had been threatening all morning had begun and was coming down hard. Someone must have sent his aide, Octavion, a message that he was on his way, because he met the shuttle with a huge rain shield, holding it over Davos as he stepped out onto the roof. He hurried inside, shaking off some of the rainfall that still had splashed on him as he ran for the door. The storms on this planet could be so violent at times. He was glad the shuttle had made it before the controllers grounded all traffic, as they sometimes had to do when the storms got intense. He was more than ready to be back home and he was a little surprised at how much anxious he was to see Blake.
“Were you on hand to receive the human I told you about?” he asked, turning toward his aide as they traveled down the corridor.
“Yes, of course, Sire. I-I must say he’s different than I pictured him.”
“Oh? He’s a little older than most of the bed slaves, yes, but he’s quite beautiful.”
“Oh yes, Your Majesty. He is. I was referring to his..um…his personality. He’s quite bold.”
“You mean rude?” Davos smile. “Yes, he is. I’ll break him of that, though. He’ll soon learn his place.” Davos glanced over at Octavion who didn’t look at all convinced.
Smiling more broadly, Davos stopped in the hallway and turned to Octavion. “What exactly has he done? He hasn’t been here long enough to cause too much trouble, has he?”
“Well, he demanded that the Tygerian boy he calls his son be given a room next door to his.”
“Oh, he did, did he? What else?”
“He asked for clothing and then said he’d be taking a bath in your bathing chamber, Sire. I hope you’re not too angry that I allowed it, but you told me he could be volatile and to keep him pacified.”
“Is he in there now?”
“Yes, Sire.”
The idea of a naked, wet Blake inside his rooms far outweighed any irritation he might have felt over the highhandedness of his actions. “It’s all right. I’ll go in now—send us some food, if you will.”
“I’ve already taken the liberty of having food and drink sent to your rooms, Your Majesty. It was just delivered.”
“Excellent. You can go about your other duties now, Octavion. I don’t wish to be disturbed until morning. Oh, and have a tray delivered to the boy, too. I’ll make a decision about him in the morning.”
Davos went farther down the hallway and opened the door to his room. Blake was standing by the windows and looked up and smiled when he saw Davos come in. The smile lit up his face and made a strange fluttering start up inside Davos’s chest.
He held out his arms and Blake came running into them. “I was so scared for you,” Blake said against his chest. “No one would tell me if you were all right.” He leaned back and looked up at Davos. “Your guards are all mean assholes, by the way. And did I mention stupid?”
Davos laughed softly. “They’re supposed to be firm with the prisoners.”
“I said mean, and I meant it. And don’t forget stupid.”
Davos smiled. “They don’t need to be especially bright to be guards.”
“Well, don’t worry, they’re not.”
Davos settled Blake more closely in his arms, a little surprised at just how good he felt there. Like he was right where he belonged. Still, he felt he needed to assert his authority, or this little human would try to run all over him with his bossy ways.
“I hear you’ve made some changes to my orders since you arrived.”
“Oh, you mean having Derrick taken out of the servant’s quarters? Really, Davos, what were you thinking? He’s your son.”
“Yes, yes, so you keep telling me. These delusions of yours aren’t getting any better, are they? I’ll tell the physicians to come see you again.”
“Not for those godawful injections, I hope. They don’t do anything. Except bruise up my ass.”
“Hmm. We’ll see. Now sit down and eat something. And you can tell me what happened on the ship.”
“Don’t you remember it?”
“Not much of it, no.”
Blake nodded, going over to the table. He picked up the tops of the trays, wrinkling his nose. “I hate Tygerian food. Don’t I get some choices about what to eat?” he asked, picking up one of the tops.
Davos cast his eyes upward and pretended to think it over. “You do. Let’s see. Your choices are eat it or don’t eat it.”
“But I’m hungry!”
“Well then?” Davos said motioning toward the trays again. Blake pouted a little but picked up a piece of warm bread and began to munch on it. He made a face and put it back down. “I can’t eat this.”
“Then you have your second option.”
Blake crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at him, but Davos moved around the room, unperturbed, shrugging off his wet jacket coat and getting comfortable. “I actually thought I put you in a room down the hall. Didn’t you like it?”
“I liked it fine. But you have the bigger bath. I was getting ready to take one, as a matter of fact, when you came in.”
Davos gestured toward the door. “By all means.”
Still acting out of sorts, Blake gave him a sullen look, but turned to go into the bathing chamber, a large pool, probably ten feet wide. It had a small bench made of the rock they mined here on Tveir and used for the buildings. It reached all the way around the pool on the inside, with a large edge that Blake could sit on if he wished to. He pushed his old robe off his shoulders and sat down on the edge for a moment before easing himself into the water, which was steaming. It wasn’t too deep around the edges but Blake was considerably shorter than most Tygerians so the water was chest high on him.
He seemed to be aware of Davos staring at him and looked up as if challenging him. But it had been several days since Davos had seen his beautiful body, and he couldn’t have looked away if he’d tried. Blake was tall for a human, and his body had nicely defined muscles. Not bulky, but nice all the same. He had very little body hair, with only a small blond bush at his groin. Davos’s attention shifted down to his long, thick penis, a dark red color when fully erect, but a dusky pink when partial, as he was now. A blue vein throbbed enticingly along its length. Davos longed to trace it with his tongue. Blake’s balls were large and heavy between his thighs, and Davos was itching to get his hands on them. As Blake turned and eased himself down into the tub, Davos was reminded what a fine ass he had, with cheeks that were round and white and seemed made to be squeezed.
Davos began to take off his clothes to join him. The hot water soon began to do its magic, and as Davos watched him, Blake sank down, closing his eyes in bliss until just his head stuck out of the bath. Davos quickly and quietly divested himself of his uniform and slipped down into the pool beside him. He sat on one of the benches and reached for Blake, pulling him over to stand between his legs. Blake came willingly and looked up at him almost shyly, as Davos’s beast leaped deep within him.
He took the cap off some sweet-smelling soap left on the bench and poured some of it in his hands, then slathered some over Blake’s wet hair. He dug his fingers into Blake’s scalp, enjoying his soft moans of pleasure. After a moment he signaled Blake to dip his head back and rinse his hair, then lathered it up again, taking his time. His blond hair was becoming long—longer than he’d ever seen it and that thought gave him pause. Where had it come from? He had only known Blake a short time. He shrugged the question off, too engaged in bathing his gorgeous, naked human. Using his fingers, he combed out most of the tangles and then rinsed the soap from Blake’s hair a couple of times before he was satisfied.
He got more soap in his hands and began to rub it over Blake’s body. Blake opened his sultry eyes and looked up at him with an expression of naked desire. He quickly closed them again with a sigh, but not before Davos had seen the leap of hot need in his eyes.
Blake squirmed sensuously. His cock jumped up to meet Davos’s, happy to nudge Davos’s thighs rudely as he pulled him in closer. Davos gripped Blake by his ass and lifted him off his feet to bring them together, sitting Blake on his lap. Blake looked up into Davos’s eyes.
“Tell me what happened on the ship, Blake. The last thing I remember was being on the bridge.”
“The Lycan prisoners started a fire.”
“How?”
“I have no idea. Rhaegar said they used some kind of accelerant. But I don’t know where they got it from.”
“Rhaegar?”
“He’s the pirate?”
“Ah. I imagine he was with the Lycans, then helping them.”
“Then you imagine wrong. He was with us the whole time. He saved your life.”
Davos frowned. “How?”
“When you came in the cell, I saw them attack you from behind and I ran to get them off you. Rhaegar and his men did too.”
“Why? The pirates know how I feel about them. They have no love for me.”
“He knows how much you mean to me and Derrick. So, he helped you. He attacked the man who hit you and we got you outside to the corridor. Everybody was panicking and Rhaegar suggested we try to go down to the loading deck so we could get out first if we got a chance when the ship crashed. It seemed pretty sure that it would crash by that time. Going down there probably saved our lives when the ship crashed into the lake.”
“Mm. Who took me out of the ship?”
“I did. Derrick and I. But you fought me when I tried to swim up to the surface, and Rhaegar and Derrick both helped get you to shore.”
“This Rhaegar is some kind of paragon, then, huh? A real hero.”
Blake frowned up at him. “He was! You haven’t caught him, have you?”
“Not yet. It’s only a matter of time, though. We have search parties in the area.”
“I hope you don’t catch him! Or his men either! He saved you, Davos.”
“After bringing the ship down in the first place.”
“No, I told you! It wasn’t him; it was the Lycans! You have to believe me.”
“Why?” he said, becoming angry. He hated pirates—they were all criminals and no one would change his mind. “Did you let him fuck you too? Is that why you’re taking his side?”
Blake pulled back his hand to strike Davos, but Davos grabbed Blake’s wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. “Careful! I’ve been trying to decide what to do with you since I first saw you in the forest,” Davos said. “I think I finally know.”
“Oh yeah? Tell me!”
“I’m going to keep you as my bed slave. And if necessary, I’ll beat this defiance out of you.”
****
Blake pulled back his free hand to strike him but Davos caught that hand too, pulling Blake up to his chest and staring down into those beautiful eyes. “I should treat you like I’d treat any love slave who misbehaves—I should put you over my knee and spank your little ass. Is that what you want?” He leaned forward a little and Blake felt himself sway forward too. It was as if he had some type of magnetism that drew him inexorably forward. He shook himself and tried to pull away indignantly.
“You wouldn’t do that.”
Davos smiled, displaying perfect white teeth. “Ah, but you make it tempting.” He brushed away Blake’s efforts to free himself, and simply picked him up with his hands around his waist and lifted him out of the pool so that Blake’s ass was on the edge, his legs hanging over the side. Davos stood in front of him and looked down at Blake’s beautiful cock. It was thick for a human and altogether luscious. He’d never wanted anything so badly in his life as he wanted this man ever since he’d first seen him and now he had him before him, his legs spread wantonly. He stroked Blake’s cock, looking deeply into his eyes as his breath came in excited little gasps.
He shook his head, though, feeling confused. Had they been arguing earlier? It seemed to him that they had been furious with each other over something. He couldn’t remember what. Things were fuzzy in his mind since his head injury, but he was almost sure they’d been angry at each other. They’d said terrible things, words they didn’t mean. He’d regretted the things he’d said afterward—longed to be with Blake again, in love again, with all that had passed between them, all the lies and anger and recriminations only a terrible misunderstanding, a crazy dream. But his pride had kept him away.
He’d wanted to throttle him—at the same time he wanted to kiss him and make love to him until he was raw and vulnerable and open to him again. His again. He wanted to caress him and take care of him and hold him forever, but he was so damned independent. He refused to settle down and just love Davos the way he should. The way he loved Blake. How could you be so angry at someone and want to make them suffer while at the same time loving and needing them like the air you breathed? It drove him mad. No one had ever meant anything to him before or after Blake. No one had ever made him feel so out of control. Davos increased the pressure and the speed of his hand and now on each upward sweep, he ran his thumb over the sensitive head of Blake’s cock, dipping gently into his slit before continuing down. Blake continued to gasp for breath, and tried to thrust upward. Davos took his hand off Blake’s balls and moved to his hips, holding him down with easy strength. Blake opened his eyes in surprise and looked directly into Davos’s.
Blake was in front of him at last, his for the taking. And Davos would take him because he couldn’t help himself. He would take him not in love, though, because Blake’s love had made him weak. Had made people smile snidely at each other behind their hands when he and Blake argued and Blake openly defied him. He would take him only in lust, with no sweet words of love between them, because he couldn’t be without him and surely that was better than never having him again at all.
“I have no wish to hurt you, so I won’t beat you, but this stubbornness will only bring you trouble. I won’t permit you to show me disrespect. Do you understand?”
Blake clamped his lips together, refusing to answer him, refusing to look at him. He put a hand on Blake’s chin and pulled his face up to make him look at him. “You can’t win this fight. Give in gracefully and we can move past this.”
Blake glared into his eyes. “You never broke my will before when I was the man you called Lieutenant, and you won’t do it now, Davos.”
“We’ll see about that.”
He put one hand on Blake’s throat, not pressing hard, but making little circles with his thumb. “I didn’t much like you at first because you were human, you know. I was attracted to you, but I thought you were my enemy.” He kissed Blake’s lips, holding him still. “I still do, a little.”
“I’m not—I told you!”
“I find I don’t much care anymore. Even if you were, you’ll never be allowed to take any information back to your cohorts in the Alliance. I’d kill you first.”
Blake glared at him, outraged and tried again to get up, but Davos held him too tightly.
“Maybe I’ll kill you first,” Blake defiantly, lifting his chin with a smug confidence he probably didn’t feel. He did love to posture. As Davos stared back into his eyes, he turned away, unable to meet Davos’s gaze.
Davos pressed his fingers into Blake’s skin a bit harder. “I could kill you so easily, just a little tightening of my hand, like this…”
“Why don’t you then?” he gasped, holding onto Davos’s wrist. He opened his eyes wider and Davos must have seen the panic in them because he relented and eased off the pressure. “Because it would be like killing myself. I can’t hurt you.”
“You already have.”
“How?”
“By not remembering me,” he whispered softly. More nonsense. Davos shook his head, but Blake seemed so sad, he angled his head down to give him a kiss. A kiss he lost himself in as soon as he touched those soft, warm lips. After a long, drugging time, he pulled away, his eyes glazed as he stared down into Blake’s eyes.
“Things have to be different between us this time, Blake.”
Blake snapped his head up sharply. “What did you say?”
Davos looked puzzled. “I-I don’t remember. Why?”
“You said that things will be different between us this time. What did you mean by that?”
“Nothing. I don’t know.” His eyes took on a dazed, faraway expression. “It’s hard to concentrate when I look at this face.” His hand caressed it gently. “When I touch it. When I kiss it like this. This beautiful, smart little mouth.” He brushed his lips over Blake’s. “And this sweet little nose with the tiny bump right here, right across the bridge. You’d hardly notice it, but it’s there.” His finger traced over the bridge of Blake’s nose. “The smallest of flaws, like a little gift from one of the gods. I’ve heard it said that occasionally the gods fall in love too, because they can’t help themselves, and they mark their chosen ones by giving them a tiny little flaw so the other gods won’t be so jealous of them, and punish them for having beauty to rival their own.” He laughed softly.
“These beautiful blue eyes of yours are flashing at me. I used to sit and think about those eyes for hours. I was so young and foolish back then. I thought I could hide you away and keep you just for myself.” Davos’s lips brushed down to Blake’s throat. “But you showed me, didn’t you? There’s no way anyone could hide you away. Not ever. You shine too brightly. I fell in love with the first rude remark to come out of your mouth, and may the gods help me, I’ve never stopped.”
“Davos.” Blake’s eyes were still round and wide as he asked urgently, “Do you know what you’re saying?”
Davos blinked rapidly and then closed his eyes. Did he? He felt a little dazed, as if he’d been dreaming. Was he somehow being affected by Blake’s delusions again? Or was it the head injury?
“I’m a little tired,” he whispered. “My head aches a bit.”
“No, listen to me. You’ve been speaking in Earthan without your accent. And the things you were saying.”
Davos shook his head wordlessly and looked away. Perhaps not wanting to break the spell they seemed to be under, Blake reached for his hand and gently moved it between his legs. Davos touched him reverently. Blake’s cock wasn’t as large as Davos’s, but it was thick and well-shaped. It was pointed arrogantly upward and as hard as diamonds. Davos ran his hand gently over the length of Blake’s shaft. He reached down to hold Blake’s balls in his hand, kneading and massaging them. Blake put his head back and moaned softly, then leaned in to kiss him.
Davos moved his hand up and down Blake’s cock, slowly at first, while his other hand continued to caress his balls. Davos soon fell into a rhythm, smiling gently down at him, enjoying watching Blake’s back slowly arching up almost against his will, powerless to resist him. This was what he craved—complete control over this human. It’s what he always wanted. Blake’s head fell back and his breathing became labored.
He put his hands on Davos’s shoulders, holding on tightly, clenching and unclenching his hands and staring into his eyes. Again, Davos dipped his thumb into Blake’s slit, farther this time, and growled as his hips came up off the edge of the pool. Blake made a loud sound that was almost a painful moan. Davos smiled and jerked his ass out from the edge where he sat, slipping a wet finger up inside him, crooking it, looking for the little bundle of nerves he knew would finish this. Unerringly, he went to the right spot. Of course, he knew exactly where to find it. As he did and swept his long finger over it, once and then again, Blake jerked his hips and gave a loud shout. He came uncontrollably, spurting out onto Davos’s chest.
Davos leaned over him and bent him backward to the ground, kissing him and robbing him of breath. He swept his tongue inside Blake’s mouth, tasting the sweetness there. When breathing finally became necessary for both of them, Davos reluctantly pulled away, biting none too gently at the Blake’s lower lip as he went. He leaned away, trying to catch his breath, stroking himself as if his own cock ached for release.
He began to fear he wouldn’t have the strength to control himself. Blake was so small in relation to his own size. He wanted badly to turn him around and fuck him until he screamed, but if he did that, he might hurt him. He might never be able to stop.
Blake lifted those big blue eyes toward him and Davos’s breath caught in his throat. Why did he have to be so beautiful? On this planet of Tveir, there was wild life in abundance, including some species they had no name for. There was one that lived in the water, and its skin was covered with vibrant scales in iridescent colors of green and blue and purple. It had gossamer wings that looked as if they’d been dipped in gold. Its bite, however, was almost instantly deadly.
He’d been present in the training camp when the instructor held up a dead one to illustrate for the class. “If you see one of these,” he’d told them. “Kill it before it kills you. Never, never let it get too close. Strike it dead and make sure by cutting off its head.” It had been good advice. Still, he couldn’t help noticing that the dead creature no longer had any beauty left at all. It had lost its vibrancy and its colors were a muddy brown. Its poor wings drooped to the ground like wet tissue paper. It was life and its own individual essence that had given it vitality. Davos had found no satisfaction in its destruction, only sadness.
He pulled Blake down into the water and turned him to face the edge of the pool. He widened Blake’s stance with his foot and bent him over. Slipping a finger inside him, he opened him up, urging him with soft kisses to relax. Gently, he pushed in two more fingers over the next few minutes, caressing Blake’s back to encourage and console him when he moaned. When Davos had him ready, he thrust into him as gently as he could, and held back from the rough pounding that a part of him longed to inflict on him.
When he was finished, he helped Blake from the water, dried him off tenderly and took him to bed. Davos lay down beside him and closed his eyes, hooking a leg over Blake’s in case he got any ideas about moving away from him. He wasn’t going anywhere until he was done with him, and he had no idea how long that would take—or even if it would ever happen at all.