by Megan Derr
Planet 6182854 (Parthon), Tipte Port City
"I hate silk spiders," Einn groused.
Lark grunted in agreement, and Cyan rolled his eyes at both of them. "Parthon isn't that bad."
"It's not that bad the way a long fall isn't that bad," Einn retorted. "I feel like I'm violating protocol every time I draw a breath. This planet is more irritating than Zero."
Cyan laughed. "Zero is nowhere near as bad as everyone likes to say."
Lark sneered at that. "Spoken like a true lord who never had to live as a denizen of Zero beyond the Palace of Eternity and the sprawling city surrounding it."
"I made it as Rehab," Cyan replied. "Zero isn't as soft and whimsical as you seem to think. I didn't learn how to kick your ass by sipping tea all day."
"You haven't kicked my ass," Lark said. Cyan only smirked.
"Whatever," Einn said, cutting them off before they decided to spar. He pointedly ignored the way it annoyed him that Cyan was practically making Lark an offer. Lark and Cyan had no interest in each other, so there was nothing to be annoyed about. What was wrong with him? "I still hate Parthon."
"I always thought Vrill was far more pretentious," Cyan said. "Where exactly are we supposed to meet this guy who has your temp antidote?"
Einn's in-lens flashed, and he pointed, "Not far now; just at the end of this street, turn right, couple buildings down. I think I know the bar, though I've never been in it. I really hope this goes without a hitch." He sighed.
Cyan's brows rose. "Why wouldn't it go without a hitch? We're just picking up medicine."
"Half these fucking deliverymen seem to realize we're picking up something important," Lark said sourly. "They think they can extort more money by withholding it, at which point Einn and I have to get violent."
"I see," Cyan said. His hands flexed, clearly in anticipation of a fight.
Einn shook his head in amusement. "Are you ever not spoiling for a fight?"
Cyan laughed. "Fighting or fucking: only way I ever handled anything. My parents despaired of making a proper politician of me—a proper anything of me."
"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Einn replied, struggling to ignore the memories that were increasingly difficult to push away. Cyan approaching him so boldly in the bar, riding him with no inhibitions or hesitations. Einn swallowed and stopped trying to hold a conversation, focusing on the task ahead of them.
The bar reeked of the flowery cigarettes popular on Parthon, but there was an underlying sticky-sweet scent that made Einn tense. In all the stars, only one thing had that particular scent: Soul, one of the few substances completely outlawed by the IG. There were absolutely no exceptions and being caught in possession of Soul was a ticket straight to Rehab. The potent drug had a long list of side-effects, all of them nasty, but the notorious high it gave made the damned drug impossible to eradicate. The points it raked in didn't hurt, either.
"Let's get in and out," Lark said grimly.
"Agreed," Einn said, and beside him, Cyan nodded. Einn squinted through the haze of acrid smoke, searching—ah, there he was. Parthon pretty, all rigid and still and smug. Einn couldn't stand silk spiders. Parthon was one of the wealthiest planets in the IG simply because of the trade they did in textiles. No planet in the IG could match the quality of Parthon silk and all the other fabrics they churned out. The silk and the inherently poisonous nature of Parthon had earned them the nickname 'silk spiders'.
It irritated Einn beyond all words that Fornarians were often called 'rock spiders'. He wanted nothing in common with Parthon. He scowled at the delivery man who only smirked back, pale blue skin sickly looking in the weak light. All Parthons had that faint blue tinge to their skin, the side-effect of a natural immunity to a chemical in the air that was toxic to off planet visitors.
Einn loathed the inoculation necessary for visiting Parthon because it made everything taste like metal for days after. Just one more reason he hated Parthon. Or maybe he was just in a bad mood, since being half a day from dying a slow and painful death tended to make him cranky.
Einn led the way through the crowded bar and sat directly across from the deliveryman. Why Jade couldn't make it easy, he did not know, except perhaps that it was Jade. Cyan and Lark took the two remaining seats, the four of them forming a loose circle around the rickety table in the back of the bar. "Got it?" Einn asked.
The man ignored him in favor of finishing his drink, one of the syrupy concoctions that Parthons loved. Einn forced himself to display a patience he did not feel. When he finally finished his drink, the man asked, "Got my money?"
"We don't owe you money," Lark said flatly.
Smirking, the man replied, "You do if you want your precious little box." Einn started to reply to that, but almost faster than he could follow, Cyan lunged from his seat and swung a punch that made Einn wince when he heard the man's nose break. He knew exactly how much Cyan's fist hurt and had never been more grateful that his bones were harder to damage.
The man went down, out cold, blood gushing everywhere from his shattered nose. Around them, the bar went silent for a moment, then business resumed like normal. In a Soul-dealing bar, no one asked questions or called the Auths. Reaching under the man's chair, Cyan grabbed the small metal case that held their antidote, stood up, and strode out of the bar without looking back.
Einn shared a look with Lark, who rolled his eyes, then hastened after Cyan. They walked quickly through the crowded streets and back to the rooms they'd rented closer to the docks. Once inside, Cyan set the case on one of the beds and opened it. He picked up the injector and loaded it, then cocked an eyebrow at them. "Well? Which of you girls is going first?"
"Who suddenly voted you mom?" Lark asked sourly but shoved up his sleeve. Cyan injected him, and Einn stepped up. "There," Cyan said when he was done. "That will set you to rights for a few days, correct?"
"Yeah," Einn replied gruffly, meeting Cyan's gaze and suddenly noticing for the first time that his gray eyes had the barest flecks of blue in them. Pretty, Einn thought, before he could stop himself from thinking something so idiotic. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."
"You can make it up to me later," Cyan replied, putting the injector gun away. Einn wondered if he was allowed to construe innuendo in those words, or if Cyan was just being matter of fact.
Lark made a disgusted noise. "The ship won't be ready until tomorrow morning. I am going to go find something to do, because if I have to watch the two of you make 'fuck me' eyes at each other for five more seconds, I'm going to shriek like a Vrill left on Krawl." He didn't wait for their replies, simply stomping out and not quite slamming the door behind him.
"Fuck me eyes?" Cyan repeated, sounding amused.
Einn laughed. "Should I bother trying to deny it?"
"Not much point," Cyan said. "Even when I thought you were a kidnapping bastard, I still wanted you. But wanting to do something and doing it are two different things."
True enough, and there was no point in arguing the point—yet Einn wanted to argue. He didn't get it, but he wasn't going to lie about it either. Whatever the reason, Cyan was in his blood. Einn wanted to get him out. "I think that, no matter all the reasons we shouldn't, thinking about it and constantly telling ourselves not to is far more distracting."
Cyan looked at him, clearly startled. Then he went back to being amused. "Convenient logic?"
"Doesn't make it less true," Einn said, and reached out with one long arm to wrap his fingers around Cyan's wrist, feeling the way Cyan shivered. He pulled Cyan close and bent his head down. "So what's it going to be—" His words were cut off by a kiss, and Einn had not realized the degree to which he had missed those kisses, and just how poorly he remembered them. Memory was just no substitute for the real thing. He grunted and kissed back, letting go of Cyan's wrist to wrap around his body and haul him closer, up.
Reacting to the movement, Cyan wrapped his own arms around Einn's neck, his legs around Einn's waist. Einn murmured in soft approval, and th
en lowered Cyan to the bed, climbing on top of him. Cyan wasted no time in loosening his arms to begin pulling and shoving at Einn's clothes, all while never quite able to stop kissing him. Einn chuckled and drew back, pulling off his shirt and getting Cyan's off next. "You really are something, Rehab." He bent to put his mouth to Cyan's skin, lapping at the myriad scars marring it. No part of Cyan seemed unmarred; every bit of it held the history of some prisoner or fight. He nuzzled against the tell-tale marks that had been left by Jade's claws. "These must have hurt."
"Jade mixes poison into his nail paints," Cyan said. "It burned for days; I thought I was going to die. Couldn't do anything but pull against my bonds."
Einn stilled at that, looked up with surprise—that Cyan said anything at all and at the words themselves. "Bonds?"
Cyan's mouth twisted. "When I started to really defy him, Jade took to tying me down. First, just in my bed, but he got more creative later."
"Mercy of the fallen," Einn said, and kissed him hard. No wonder Cyan was such a fighter. Something like that, men either fell or learned to fight. Cyan kissed him back hard, splitting his own lip. Einn lapped the blood away, then nipped his jaw, down his throat, working his way slowly back down Cyan's torso until he encountered his pants.
Smirking, Einn opened Cyan's pants and pulled out his cock, laughing at the way Cyan swore and thrust into his touch. Einn stroked him once, twice, ran his thumb over the head, chuckling at the look Cyan gave him. Hovering, doing nothing for a few more seconds, he gave in only when Cyan's body rippled in that sinuous way that was a warning sign of impending violence. Einn licked his cock and sucked it down, working with lips and tongue, and chuckling at the hands that fisted in his hair. He took Cyan deep, nearly to the point he couldn't breathe, but loving every moment of having Cyan so thoroughly under his control.
Cyan made a sharp, keening sort of noise the moment before he came, thrusting one last time into Einn's mouth. Einn swallowed it all, slowly pulling off Cyan's cock once he stilled, nuzzling against his surprisingly soft skin, before slowly crawling back up his body to take a kiss. "Nice, rock spider," Cyan said, licking at his lips. "Going to fuck me now?"
"Rehab: so impatient," Einn replied with a laugh. "Get naked."
"Get off me."
"I thought you were supposed to be getting me off."
Cyan rolled his eyes and shoved, and Einn obediently moved, lying down beside him on the narrow bed and watching with pleasure while Cyan stripped off the rest of his clothes. He was small, short, all tight compact muscle and lithe movement as he climbed back onto the bed. The perfect build for space travel, unlike Einn's too tall, too long form. So different from everything Einn had known on Fornar, and one of the best parts of leaving home. Einn grabbed him and rolled them over, once more pinning Cyan to the bed, loving that Cyan let him.
It made him want to find out what else Cyan would let him do. He ran his hands over Cyan's body, mapping it, memorizing it, confounded as to why he was so obsessed, but not interested in exploring why. In space, the point was to savor, not to wonder. He took another kiss, and then nipped hard at Cyan's throat, loving the flavor of him, smoky and musky with a faint hint of sweet beneath it all.
Reaching back to one of the many pockets on his pants, Einn pulled out the tube of lube he'd stashed there earlier in the hopes of finding a way to take his mind off Cyan if they had enough downtime. So far, his day was looking to be far better than he had dared hope. Slicking his fingers, he pressed one inside Cyan's body, pushing his legs further apart to get better access. Cyan obliged, move into the touch, hands grasping at the bed for leverage.
"I should kidnap Rehabbers more often," Einn murmured, as he added a second finger.
"Go to hell," Cyan replied. "Stop playing around and fuck me."
Einn chuckled. "Your patience is your finest quality." He withdrew his fingers and opened his pants, pulling Cyan's legs up and lining up his cock. He pressed in slowly, and then at the look Cyan gave him, thrust all the way in hard. "Better?"
Cyan gave him a murderous look. "If you don't know what you're doing, pirate, I'll be happy—damn it!" He swore as Einn pulled out and slammed back in. "Better."
Laughing again, Einn began to move the way they both wanted, thrusting hard and fast and deep until he could do nothing but gasp for every breath, watch the emotions that played across Cyan's face, feel sweat slid along his skin, dampen his hair. Cyan in passion was a thing to behold, and Einn stored it away in his mind with the countless other memories he wanted to hold fast.
Best of all was the way Cyan looked when he came, Einn's name on his lips, those gray eyes looking blue for a single moment. Einn followed almost immediately after, burying himself to the hilt in Cyan's tight body and collapsing on top of him as exhaustion took him in the wake of the release of long-pent up sexual tension. He grunted when Cyan shoved him off, purposely leaving one arm and leg draped over him. "So bossy, even when you're being fucked," Einn teased. "Must be that fancy Zero blood of yours."
"Go to hell," Cyan said again, the words almost cheerful, too lazy to even open his eyes when he spoke. "I don't think the man who couldn't even be bothered to take his pants and boots off has any right to bitch about my impatience."
Einn smirked. "I was far too eager to fuck you to bother with undressing."
"I rest my case," Cyan said around a yawn. "Rock spiders."
Not replying, Einn just rolled away to actually undress, then lay back down. It was weird, staying in bed with another person. He'd done it before, but not for a long time, and usually only because it was more convenient to stay a few minutes than clean up and go elsewhere.
He yawned himself and realized he felt better than he had in a long time. Perhaps it was finally getting Cyan out of his blood—except that as he fell asleep, all he could think about was doing it all over again.
Einn gasped as he woke, hit by too many sensations to sort them all out. He groaned when he saw Cyan between his legs, sucking him off as if he were under a life or death order to do so. "Sky above," Einn said on another groan. "That's almost as fine as your ass."
Cyan laughed around his cock, eliciting a rough noise from Einn. Flopping back down on the bed, Einn simply enjoyed the ride, admiring Cyan and the way he looked sucking cock, head bowed, dark hair grown out slightly from the severe Rehab cut—
Those eyes, looking up at him through long, dark lashes. It was the last little bit Einn needed to come hard in Cyan's mouth. Cyan took most of it, but a thin line of come trailed from the corner of his mouth. Sitting up, Einn pulled Cyan up and licked it away, then kissed him deeply. He fisted Cyan's cock, began to stroke him off—
And they both jumped as his in-lens flashed, alerting them that the ship was ready and there was a message waiting. Einn ignored it and finished stroking Cyan off, kissing him hard as Cyan came with a soft cry.
Panting, Einn dismissed the annoying alerts. "So much for round three."
Cyan rolled his eyes, but Einn could see he was just as disappointed. "Let's get cleaned up," he said, climbing out of bed and going to the wall to punch in commands for the bath.
Einn sighed and focused on getting clean, on the problem awaiting them when they returned to the ship. Even that was preferable to wondering why in the stars Cyan seemed even more deeply embedded than he had before. The fucking was supposed to fix the problem, not make it worse.
It wasn't a problem he knew how to fix, and he had enough problems.
Einn shook his head, banishing the thoughts, and climbed out of bed to get clean.
Chapter Eleven
Custom Class StarShip X-11944654, the Dragonfly
"Hello, darling brother."
"Go to hell, Jade."
Jade laughed. He was, Cyan thought irritably, even more beautiful than usual. Jade always looked his best in black. The severity of it brought out his pale skin and the gold of his hair. The long nails that were Jade's pride and joy gleamed with gold paint, matching the pale gold on his lips and the r
ibbon that secured his braid.
Jade was breathtaking, and Cyan always felt ugly next to him, a last little insult that Jade thrived on the same way he thrived on all of Cyan's pain and insecurity. Cyan was sore from Einn's very thorough fucking, but even that solid proof that someone wanted him could not compete against his feeling like a failed clone of his stunning twin brother.
It was a stupid thing to focus on, but it was also the easiest. If he thought about anything else where Jade was concerned, he would start to lose it.
The hardest part of it all was that Jade was the one who had first understood him, the one who knew that Cyan hated the political life. It was Jade who had coaxed him into taking martial arts lessons, pointed him to those things that had stilled Cyan's restlessness. Once upon a time, they had behaved like normal brothers. It had never been an easy, comfortable relationship, but they'd had their own strange bond. Sometimes he thought it all a dream. It might as well have been.
"I have your new assignment," Jade finally said, smile razor sharp and dipped in poison. "He is both scientist and experiment, and the most difficult to obtain. We nearly had him once, but he slipped away due to circumstances no one could have anticipated. You will find him and his match, and capture them."
Images flashed on the screen, and Cyan felt like he was going to throw up. Sean's face filled the screen next to an image of a Draconis. It was the damned Draconis who had ruined everything by bonding with Sean. Cyan's hands balled into fists, and he made himself relax only because he would not lose his temper in front of his brother.
"Mendel Ekard, geneticist and convicted murderer," Jade said. "Patricide, as it happens. His father was a Councilor of the third quad and spoke vehemently for the extermination of the Draconis." He laughed, and Cyan fought a shudder. "His match is Sean Noor, former Rehab guard, mutant magics capable human. Be on guard, because it is suspected that Mendel also travels with this man." Another Draconis flashed on the screen. He was remarkably beautiful, Cyan noted, all cream and gold, features narrow and delicate.
