“Not an option now. It never was. You’re dead anyway. Why does it matter?”
“I don’t think so.”
Kain turned at the sound of Rave’s voice. Rock supported Rave, but he had a laser in his hands.
“You won’t use that. It’s not in you to kill someone.” As Davidson spoke, his finger twitched on the firing pin of his own weapon. That was all it took. Rave pulled the trigger but missed.
Kain watched in horror as Davidson lifted his gun towards Rave and fired. The shot went wide, and Kain tackled Davidson. The two struggled for the gun.
“Kain, move, I can’t get a good shot,” Rave shouted.
He wanted to move, but the fight called for all his attention. The gun went off between him and Davidson. He stilled and waited for the shock of the hit to reach him. It took him a minute to realise it was Davidson who’d been hit. The man gasped for air and shuddered beneath Kain then nothing.
And like that, it was over, the moment surreal. The two men behind the hell Kain and Rave had gone through were dead. He rushed to Rave and took him in his arms.
The door to the room opened. Kain protected Rave with his body until he heard his father speak.
“What happened?” That voice made him feel like a child again.
Rock was the one to answer. “Davidson shot Fritz, and in a struggle, Kain shot Davidson.”
Kain turned, with Rave still in his arms. The man clung to him, and Kain had no intention of letting him go.
“Do we have to do this now, dad? I want to get Rave to Rock’s ship. He’s been through enough.”
“I’ll get some of the soldiers in here to clean this up, but don’t go far. We need to make this official.”
Kain nodded and the three men left the Alliance craft, the future now in their own hands.
Epilogue
“Are you sure about this, Rave?” Kain sounded uncertain. “You really want to go back to transporting?
Rave motioned for Kain to come closer to the lounger where he rested. They’d spent the last two weeks on Cooper Prime with Rock and Se. Mel had gone back to New Moon. There hadn’t been trial, not when Kain’s dad had found an account of the events in Davidson’s personal journals. The man wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. The Alliance had been able to find the laser on Earth. The Royalists would always be a problem, but not for him and Kain. They were retired.
“Don’t you miss space?” Rave asked.
“Yes, I do, but I’ve only been a soldier. I’m not sure I know how to be anything else. I might not be cut out for this transport gig.” Kain shrugged.
Rave grinned. “Se and I will show you the ropes.”
When Kain reached him, Rave pulled him down to the lounger. He nuzzled his lover’s neck.
“When does the Alliance deliver your new ship?” Kain asked.
“It should be here next week. Why, you ready to leave?” Rave couldn’t keep the excitement about his ship from his voice.
“I’m ready to be wherever you are. Did you get a hold of your crew?”
“Yes, we’ll pick up most of them in a couple weeks. Then we’ll set up a few jobs.”
“Did you decide on a name? You going with
Retribution II
?” Kain squirmed when Rave licked and nibbled his throat.
“I don’t think so. Retribution isn’t something I need anymore. We’ll have to come up with another name.”
Rave let Kain roll them until Rave rested under his lover. Panic started to rise, but he didn’t let it. He looked into Kain’s eyes and saw the love shining there. It was time. Fear wouldn’t rule his life.
“I want you, Kain.”
“You have me.” Kain leaned closer to take his mouth in a kiss.
Rave savoured the taste but stopped Kain. “Inside me.”
“Are you sure?”
“We’ll have to take it slow, but I won’t let fear take over. Not if we’re going to make it.”
Kain rose from the lounger and held out his hand. Rave let him help him up and guide him to their room. Once there, he let go and went to the bed.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Kain said.
“You won’t.”
Rave looked at Kain and slowly peeled his shirt over his head. He threw it towards the man and continued with his shorts until he was naked. He licked his lips and winked at Kain before crawling onto the bed.
Over the past couple of weeks, he’d taken Kain in every room in the house, but he needed this connection.
“Just be sure and tell me if you need me to stop.”
“I trust you.” Rave hadn’t thought he’d ever be able to say those words again, but he meant them. Kain stopped undressing, stunned. Rave walked over and tugged on the shirt covering his man’s body.
“I-I don’t know—”
Rave smiled. “Less talking, more undressing.”
When Kain had finished stripping, Rave took him to the bed. He pushed him down and looked for the lube.
“How do you want me?” Kain’s voice still sounded hesitant.
“I think I should ride you. Gives me some control.” The thought of riding Kain made his cock rock hard. He’d felt empty for so long, in so many ways.
Rave found the lube, tossed it to the bed and lowered himself beside Kain. He wanted to taste Kain. He would never tire of the flavour that was unique to his man. He crawled over his lover and settled over him.
“I love you.” The words flowed from Rave as he took Kain’s lips then he lost himself in the kiss and rocked his body against Kain’s.
“Too fast, Rave. I’m too close. Just the idea of being inside you has me ready to spill.”
Rave leaned his forehead on Kain’s, trying to slow his breathing and control himself. He looked for where he’d thrown the lube, grasped it and flipped open the lid. After drizzling some on his fingers, he reached behind him to start opening himself up for Kain.
“No, wait. Let me.”
Kain joined his fingers with Rave’s, and Rave moaned at the fullness.
“I’m ready, Kain. Now.”
“I wanna make sure. Just one more.” Kain added another finger, and Rave closed his eyes.
“No more. God, Kain, I want you inside me when I come.”
Kain’s fingers slipped from Rave’s ass. This time Rave moaned at how empty he felt. Kain slicked up his cock. Rave bit his lip, too excited to wait. He replaced the man’s hands with his own, hovered over him and inched down. He groaned as Kain’s cock filled him.
“You…you okay? Fuck, so tight.”
Rave’s heart swelled at Kain’s concern. He was okay. This was Kain, and the man wouldn’t hurt him. He nodded and sat fully on Kain’s dick.
He adjusted to the feeling before he moved.
“Shit, Rave, I’m not going to last.”
Not wanting it to be over too soon, Rave stopped for a kiss until the urge to move overwhelmed him.
“I need more, Kain.” He leant back and pulled Kain to follow him. “I need you to fuck me.”
Kain looked down at him. “Are you sure?”
“Fuck me.”
His lover nodded. “Look at me. I want you to know it’s me.”
Rave let Kain take over. At the man’s first thrust, his panic welled up. He started to close his eyes, but Kain stopped moving.
“I’m okay. I’m okay.” Rave wasn’t sure who he tried to convince.
“You aren’t okay. Should we stop?”
“No, give me a second.” He took a deep breath and looked into Kain’s eyes. The panic slipped away, eclipsed by the love he felt for this man. “Now, Kain.”
Kain must have seen something in his eyes because he thrust back in, harder than the last time. He set a frenzied pace that Rave followed. He pushed back every time Kain slammed into him. Rave grabbed his cock and timed his strokes to Kain’s thrusts.
“Kain, soon.”
One more stroke, and Rave spilled his seed, his ass milking Kain’s cock. He felt the Kain swell before he joined him in release.
Kain collapsed on top of him, and Rave waited for the fear to come back, but it didn’t. He knew whose arms enfolded him. Kain rolled them so Rave was back on top.
“Everything good?” he asked as he stroked Rave’s back.
“Perfect.”
And it was. For the first time in a long time, Rave was content. He wouldn’t wait for the other shoe to drop nor would he live in fear. Things were looking up. They would have ups and downs, and there might be times when the fear came back, but they would work through them.
“Ready for a new adventure?” Kain asked.
“I’m ready for you. That’s all the adventure I need.”
Rave smiled at the truth of his statement. Life moved on, and he was going with it, full speed ahead.
About the Author
Jambrea wanted to be the youngest romance author published, but life impeded the dreams. She put her writing aside and went to college briefly, then enlisted in the Air Force. After serving in the military, she returned home to Indiana to start her family. A few years later, she discovered yahoo groups and book reviews. There was no turning back. She was bit by the writing bug.
She enjoys spending time with her son when not writing and loves to receive reader feedback. She’s addicted to the internet so feel free to email her anytime.
Email:
[email protected]
Jambrea loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.totallybound.com
Also by Jambrea Jo Jones
Saddle Up N Ride: A Fistful of Emmett
Stealing My Heart: Stealing Michael
Unconventional at Best: Operation: Get Spencer
Unconventional in Atlanta: Where Tomorrow Shines
The Borders War
ONE BREATH, ONE BULLET
S.A. McAuley
Dedication
To Katie and Elizabeth. So much Detroit love for you both.
And to Amanda. Gifs, gummy bears, and gay love. You make me smile.
Chapter One
Year 2546
The Dark Continental Republic
I hated the heat of the desert.
The mask on my face was confining, filling with the condensation of each breath I dragged into my lungs and forced back out in shallow gasps. The goggles over my eyes should have protected me from the yellow and grey cloud of Chemsense the Dark Continental Republic Army had unleashed on our battalion, but I could feel my eyes watering, the liquid gathering in pools that threatened to make my skin too damp to maintain the protective seal.
I was on my knees and I couldn’t remember when I’d stopped walking. I wasn’t far enough away yet. The shouts of the DCR soldiers—and the sonicpops of their weapons as they picked off States soldiers—were muffled but still too close. My body tilted, and I planted my hands into the sand without thought. I collapsed into the dune when my right shoulder ground together, bone against bone, tendons ripping. I thought those DCR goons had only managed to dislocate it, but this pain was worse than that—a grinding impact of racking, vision-blackening pain that didn’t ebb even when I flopped onto my back and let my arm lie unmoving in the scorching sand.
My mantra, pounded into me through years of training, repeated in my head as I consciously stilled my body.
One breath.
Inhale.
Hesitation is my enemy.
Solitude my ally.
Death the only real victory.
Exhale.
A ferocious hot wind whipped around and over me, driving sand into my open wounds, like a million simultaneous pricks of a pin. If the wind kept up like this it was going to drive away the lingering cloud of Chemsense. And I needed the thick, toxic cover if I was going to make it over the dune and out of sight of the DCR forces.
If I was going to survive, I had to keep moving.
My body was drenched in sweat—mine and the ripe remnants of the soldiers I’d fought hand to hand. My ribs on the right side were crushed and with each breath I wondered if this would be the inhalation that sent a spear of bone into the soft, vulnerable flesh of my lung, collapsing it and killing me before backup could arrive.
I ripped the transport chip out of the hidden pocket where it was sewed into my tattered uniform. My thumb hovered over the button as my mind warred with the instinct just to press it. But I couldn’t simply transport out of this clusterfuck. The transition would be too much of a shock to my mangled body.
If I was going to succeed, I had to keep moving.
The thought was all that propelled me. There was no desire to survive left in me. No want of more from life. It was my orders, my mission, that forced me to sit up, shift to my knees and stumble to my feet.
My right arm hung loosely at my side. My firing arm. Without it I could never be a sniper again. And that should have been the least of my concerns, but I couldn’t silence the part of me that contended that death would be preferential over never shooting my rifle again.