Higher Ground

by Becky Black

  “Good, thank you.” He sipped the juice. “How was work?”

  “Same old same old. But I’m making some good progress with my experiments.” He put his glass on a table and flopped onto the couch with a sigh.

  Zach turned back to his terminal. He smiled to himself. Adam would start trying to seduce him away from here at any moment, if his record of the last few weeks was anything to go by. Meanwhile, he typed away steadily. He’d learned a lot about teasing since he met Adam.

  “Ann sent me her revisions for the paper,” he said. He’d insisted Korrie coauthor the paper about the Zahara disaster, since if she hadn’t taken her copy of his data with her when she left, he’d have nothing at all. His original data had been lost somewhere on the mountain. He and Adam had left with little more than the clothes on their backs. Zach hadn’t even had boots. “I think we’ll finish it by the end of the week.”

  “Great,” Adam said. The couch creaked. Was he undressing back there? Unexpected nudity was one of his favorite tricks. He’d wait until Zach was busy with his back to Adam or had gone into another room for a few minutes, and when Zach looked around or returned, entirely unsuspecting, he’d find Adam wearing nothing but a cheeky grin.

  “Well, I think I’ll do some reading,” Adam said in a fake-sounding tone. Zach heard a couple of soft beeps from his Link. “Now, where was I up to? Ah, here we are. ‘Zachary displays exceptional facility with building blocks.’”

  Zach groaned and spun his chair around. “Don’t! I still can’t work out how you persuaded my mother to let you have that.”

  “You know me, I ’ave ze great charm with ze ladeez.”

  Indeed he had. He’d sweet-talked Zach’s mother within minutes of meeting her when they arrived back on Earth a month ago. She thought he was wonderful.

  “I simply told her I wanted to get to know you better and how I’d heard so much about the amazing baby journal she kept about you. Naturally, she sent me over a copy immediately.” He grinned.

  “Well, don’t read it aloud.”

  “But it’s so sweet. I’ll bet she talks for another five pages about how you’re probably going to be an architect because you put one block on top of another.”

  Zach groaned and turned back to his terminal.

  “She’s obviously very proud of you.” Adam’s voice became more serious. “Your dad too.”

  “Your parents are proud of you too. Though they are wondering when you’re going to stop sponging off them.”

  “Sponging!” Adam bit, reacting to the teasing. “Hey, out of the two of us, which one is working right now?”

  The Terraforming Authority had given Adam a temporary job in one of their research labs here in San Francisco and time to work on his doctoral research, while Zach had extended leave both to recover from his injuries and to write up his paper. After that, who knew where they’d go? But they’d go together.

  Zach looked back over his shoulder. “Touchy tonight, aren’t we?” Yes, he’d learned a lot about teasing. Adam frowned at him.

  “You’ll pay for that, mister.”

  “That’s ‘doctor.’”

  “Oh, rub it in, why don’t you? Is it my fault a year’s worth of research material vanished into the sea?”

  “Maybe you should have stayed. They might have awarded your doctorate posthumously.”

  “A lot of good that would do me.” He lay back again with his Link. “Right, I think I’ll jump ahead to the section on potty training.”

  That was quite enough. Zach spun out of his chair and tried to jump on Adam. Too slow. Adam leaped off the couch and ran behind it, keeping it between them. He grinned and waved the Link provocatively.

  “You want this? Come get it.”

  He started backing up, glancing over his shoulder. Zach smirked. Adam was heading toward the bedroom door. He followed slowly, waiting for his chance to make a grab for the Link. Adam backed up to the door and fumbled behind himself for the handle. Seizing his moment, Zach pounced on Adam, grabbing for the Link.

  The bedroom door opened, and they almost fell inside, wrestling, laughing like idiots, until their staggering progress dropped them on the bed. Adam first held the Link up out of Zach’s reach, then thought better of this tactic and shoved it underneath himself. This, of course, forced Zach to wrestle him some more to try to get it.

  “You really are getting your strength back, aren’t you?” Adam said with a grin suggesting he liked it.

  Zach pressed Adam’s arms down by the wrists over his head. Adam stilled, went silent, his struggles and laughter stopped. With serious eyes, he looked up into Zach’s face. Slowly, Zach ran his fingers down Adam’s arms, along the smooth insides of the forearms, the bend of the inside of the elbow, the muscular biceps. Adam. His right-hand man. His strong right arm. He’d be dead without him.

  Their relationship might have begun fast, and Zach might have liked that, thinking he was a mayfly, fearing the depth of the past behind him and the height of the future ahead. But seeing Zahara sink had been a shock to a man who thought of a million years as a short time. Things which should happen slowly could happen fast. Things he used to think should happen fast could happen slowly—if he chose to make them happen that way.

  He chose.

  He bent his head down, and Adam raised his, their mouths meeting each other halfway. Their tongues did the little dance Zach loved so much. The contact sent a wave of heat surging through him, and he began to harden quickly. Adam groaned and shifted until he could wrap his legs around Zach. He broke the kiss and nuzzled Zach’s ear.

  “Never let you go,” he murmured. He reached for the buttons of Zach’s shirt. Zach did nothing in return yet, just waited as Adam undid all the buttons and ran his hands over Zach’s chest, teasing the nipples to full hardness. This forced a groan from Zach and made him grind his hips against Adam, feeling Adam’s erection slide against his. Too many clothes between them.

  They shuffled about until they were on their sides. Adam tossed the now uncontested Link to the floor, then ran his hand through Zach’s hair, as if hating to take his hands off Zach even for a second. Now both of them could easily unbutton and unzip clothes and expose skin to kisses and stroking.

  Getting completely naked together still felt like a luxury after so many cramped and half-dressed encounters in the tent. Zach never wanted to go camping again, or not until a long enough time had passed to make him nostalgic about the good moments of the whole Zahara ordeal. Most of the good moments involved Adam.

  Zach wrapped his hand around Adam’s cock, making him moan loudly. Another luxury—decent walls, not tent canvas, allowing them to express enjoyment without telling the entire neighborhood what they were up to. Though the people in the apartment next door had banged on the wall one time they got a little too vocal, making Adam collapse in a fit of giggles.

  He wasn’t giggling this time. Zach pushed him onto his back and began to work down his body, kissing ears, neck, throat, lingering for some time in the little hollow between his collarbones. Each well-tanned and freckled shoulder got some attention until Adam was grinding his cock into Zach’s hand and begging him for mercy.

  Zach moved on, down Adam’s chest, stimulating his nipples some more until they seemed hard as diamonds. He squeezed the base of Adam’s cock gently to slow him down. For once, Adam was the one in a hurry, and Zach loved to keep him waiting. They had no plans for the evening. Only dinner together, perhaps a walk, to give Zach some fresh air. He didn’t get enough, according to Adam. Though Zach argued he’d had enough fresh air climbing the mountain to last him a lifetime, he’d take a stroll in the twilight on a fine Californian evening anytime Adam liked.

  But he wasn’t going out for a while yet. He had something more urgent in hand. He’d reached Adam’s firm, flat stomach. Flicking his tongue into the navel made Adam squirm with delight and pant out a plea for Zach to please, for the love of God, suck him.

  Zach didn’t oblige right away but instead kissed thi
ghs and balls and knees, anywhere but Adam’s cock, standing up out of its nest of blond hair and looking mad as hell, a darker red than Zach had ever seen it. At last he pressed a few kisses to the shaft, which felt hot as a poker, and slid his mouth over it. Adam groaned and pushed up toward him.

  “Shh,” Zach mouthed softly. He pressed Adam back down onto the bed and held him there. He fell into a slow, easy rhythm, and Adam calmed, lay back, his intense pleasure showing only in the tight grip he took on the bedclothes, pulling them, twisting them.

  “Oh yeah,” he moaned. “I’d say you’re displaying some exceptional facility at that, Zachary.”

  Zach growled in his throat and made Adam yelp with a tiny touch of his teeth to Adam’s shaft. He’d get hold of the Link and erase that damn journal if he had to drive Adam into a state of sexual collapse to do it.

  Assuming Zach wasn’t in a state of collapse by the end of it too. He couldn’t keep his hand off his cock, even while Adam’s had the full attention of his mouth. He stroked it, trying to keep himself from pulling on it, trying to slow down.

  “Zach,” Adam moaned. “Inside me. Please. I need you.”

  Zach didn’t need to be asked twice. He scrambled up, looking for the lube on the nightstand. Adam already had it, handed it to him, flipping the top.

  “You really are in a hurry today.”

  Adam didn’t answer, just nudged his glistening cock against Zach, encouraging him to move back down between Adam’s legs. He squeezed lube onto his fingers, then slipped a finger into Adam, followed quickly by another. The muscles caught eagerly at his fingers, begging for more. He gave Adam one more finger, leaving him demanding Zach do it right the hell now.

  Zach barely dared touch himself, sure he’d come instantly. But the chill of the lube cooled his ardor for long enough to let him prepare himself. He knelt between Adam’s legs, positioned himself and pushed in past the tight ring of muscle, which both welcomed and resisted the invasion.

  Adam yelled, and Zach hoped the neighbors were out and wouldn’t start banging on the wall again. Because he wanted to hear Adam yell. Wanted to hear him shout and scream with pleasure. He leaned down far enough that Adam’s cock pressed into his belly. His bad leg gave a twinge, and he knew he couldn’t stay in this position for long, but he suspected neither of them had long to go.

  Best not waste time, then. He pulled back, almost out, and then plunged in again. Adam yelled even louder this time. Never mind next door; everyone in the apartment building would be banging on the wall. Zach didn’t care. Let them bang. He couldn’t sustain the long, slow pull out and thrust in hard for long; he quickly fell into a rhythm, faster and faster, rising to a frenzy.

  Adam gripped Zach’s shoulders and wrapped his legs around him. Never let me go, Zach thought. Never. Sweat broke from his pores and ran freely down his arms, dripped from his chest, mingling with the sheen of sweat making Adam’s skin glisten.

  No more yelling as they got close to coming. Couldn’t spare the breath, both panting, with a word here and there. Love. You. Love you. Always. Forever. Adam reached the peak first, his body tensing, making Zach pause in midthrust, just enough control left, fearing hurting him. Then he shuddered over and over, and his cum burst from him, spattering on Zach’s belly and chest. His head rolled from side to side on the pillow, eyes closed, breath coming in gasps.

  The sight of him in ecstasy drove Zach wild, and he thrust into Adam’s trembling body hard, once, twice, three more times, before his climax ripped through him, hot as the sun. Where Adam had stiffened, Zach went limp, falling down onto his lover, a dead weight, while his cock pumped inside Adam, throbbing, spurting. Adam grabbed Zach’s ass, pulling him still closer, as Zach’s caveman mind went blank, and he spun into the blinding white light.

  “ZACH, YOU AWAKE?”

  Zach stirred to find himself lying beside Adam, half draped across him, head on his chest.

  “Did I fall asleep?” he asked, looking up at Adam.

  “I prefer to think I made you faint,” Adam said, smirking. “But I suspect sleep is the likelier explanation.”

  “Don’t bet on that.” He should get up, he supposed. The room was growing dim, the sun going down. He was quite hungry. But no rush. Lying here would do just fine. He put his arms around Adam.

  “I was thinking earlier,” he said, “about whether the Authority will offer us another colony job. If they do, should we take it?”

  “I’m game.” Adam stroked Zach’s hair in a leisurely way.

  “Even if it’s a dome?”

  “As long as it has a greenhouse, I’d take a dome. As long as it’s not on an island.”

  “No. No more islands,” Zach agreed.

  “I guess I might have the colonizing bug. But there’s no hurry. I like it here.”

  “No, no hurry. It will take months for me to finish the full analysis of my data.” The paper with Korrie was only the start. He had vast amounts of data to go through to understand every detail of the catastrophe.

  “So then we go build a new world, huh?”

  A new world. A new home. Zach moved closer to him, as close as if they had only their little tent to share.

  “Wherever I live, if you’re there, it’s home.”

  He could hear Adam smiling when he answered with the two words that had become both a tease and declaration for them.

  “Thank you.”

  Loose Id Titles by Becky Black

  Higher Ground

  Liar’s Waltz

  Stowaway

  Becky Black

  A longtime science fiction fan, Becky thinks there are few story ideas that can’t be improved by the addition of the words “in space.” If the story also includes two gorgeous men unable to keep their hands off each other then so much the better. She’d happily go into space herself, but being English, would insist on there being a reliable supply of tea available.

  She likes nothing more than trapping her characters in tricky, no-win situations and watching them figure a way out. When not chasing her characters up trees and throwing rocks at them Becky can be found working in an office—where she’s usually thinking about the next rock to throw.

  Find out more about Becky Black at http://beckyblack.wordpress.com/