Like combat. He’d felt like this in combat. His body took the lead. But not quite like combat, no fear of death, only anticipation, need, mounting need for completion—for both of them. Kit ground his hips and moaned softly, restrained only by the need for quiet, something Raine didn’t even care about in this strange moment. Let them be heard, let everyone know he called this beautiful man his lover. Be proud of making him cry out with ecstasy.
If Trish Ellis was still out there in her office, she must have heard the shout Kit gave as he climaxed. Raine had started shivering, despite his mounting excitement, and Kit’s cum felt like drinking from the hot faucet. Burned like brandy for a freezing man. He took it all before he stood, catching the panting and wobbly-legged Kit in his arms.
“My God, Raine… Dan. That was
intense
.”
“I need…”
But Kit needed no prompting, already unzipping Raine’s pants, reaching inside. The cold hand on his cock made Raine bite down an oath. But nothing short of packing it in ice could have made his erection wilt.
“Quickly…cold…” Raine’s teeth began to chatter. If they’d gone into a freezer, he’d have hypothermia already. Kit just kept rubbing Raine’s cock, hand inside his pants. Good. Keep it in the warm. Kit’s hand warmed up quick enough, as it pumped in a faster and faster rhythm.
“Yes,” Raine moaned out. He kissed Kit again, hard, tongue probing, invading. “Oh God, Kit.”
“What’s with you tonight?” Kit said. “You’re so noisy. You’re crazed.”
“Can’t help it.” Raine moaned against Kit’s neck. “You do this to me. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, did I say you needed to apologize?” Raine felt the laugh in the movement of Kit’s throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Don’t apologize. I love it.”
“I love you.”
Oh no, that wasn’t what he’d meant to say. Kit’s body tensed against his, and Raine wanted to say something, but his climax broke over him, engulfing his mind, scouring his thoughts from the surface.
By the time he came back to reality, Kit had zipped him up. The tension remained in his body, even though he smiled at Raine.
“We should get out of here before you freeze to death, you big lizard you.”
“Good idea.” Raine felt dull and sluggish already, though this could be the reaction to the orgasm. He wanted to sleep. A standing-up knee-trembler might be nice, but it didn’t give you the option of a refreshing nap afterward.
“If Trish has locked the coolers, we’re kind of screwed,” Kit said, putting his apron back on.
“I have my Link. We’d just call someone.”
“Fine.” Kit grinned, face positively demonic in the red light. “So will you explain what we were doing in here, or should I?”
“Oh.” Thinking of the knowing grin he’d see on the face of whoever let them out made Raine break out in a cold sweat, despite the temperature in here. And only a few minutes ago, he’d been thinking he didn’t care if someone saw them doing it. Desire must be a kind of madness. He’d never think that way when in his right mind.
When Kit pulled the handle and the door opened, Raine sighed with relief. They went out into the galley, dim with only the emergency light on. A piece of sticky paper clung to the door of the cooler.
Lock up before you leave.
Trish Ellis knew, Raine thought. She knew they were in there, and she had to know Kit wasn’t giving him a tour of the galley’s coolers.
“You’re blushing,” Kit said as he locked the cooler.
“Can you blame me?”
“Aw, just when I was bringing out the wild man in you.” There was silence for a moment. “It’s late. I think, ah, I’d better go back to the bunk room. You know, spend a night in my own bed, for appearance’s sake.”
“Kit, I—”
“I’d invite you to join me, but I don’t think your team needs to see your naked ass. It could undermine your authority.”
Talks too much. Talking to avoid talking. To avoid talking about what Raine had said.
I love you.
Could he claim he’d said it in the madness of desire? Claim it meant nothing?
“Okay,” Raine said. “I’m tired anyway.”
“Your bunk isn’t big enough for two. Not to mention either I’m frying or you’re freezing. Come on, hustle it, so I can lock the kitchen door.”
Raine hustled it, and they went out through the galley into the corridor.
“See you tomorrow.” Raine didn’t claim a kiss. He turned away and headed for officer country, the opposite way to the direction Kit would take.
“Good night, Raine.”
Raine, not Dan, and Raine heard some tension in his voice. He glanced back, but Kit was already walking away.
Chapter Thirteen
“Come to the galley late tonight,” Kit said at the end of his daily check-in on the day after Raine practically dragged him into the cooler.
“Why? Do you intend to lure me into a freezer and make my dick freeze off entirely?”
Kit grinned. He couldn’t imagine what incentive he’d have to do that. “Hey, I was the one who wanted to go back to your sauna of a cabin. You were the one who insisted we stay there.”
“More fool me. I still haven’t warmed up.” Raine held up his gloved hands.
“I suppose you’re wearing long winter underwear too?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“Ooh, the sexy image of that is going to keep me hard all day. Just come to the galley. Late, after 2300. And keep your pants zipped; we won’t be alone.” He turned and left, smirking at the puzzled expression on Raine’s face, not giving him time to ask what Kit’s scheme might be. He’d find out.
Raine being Raine, he turned up at 2300 on the dot. From the galley, Kit heard the door into the mess deck open and Raine call out, “Hello?” He hurried out there.
“Keep it down, big mouth. Come on through here.” Crew members standing watch popped into the mess deck throughout the night to grab coffee and snacks. Kit didn’t want them seeing any activity, so he’d rolled the shutter down over the serving counter. He locked the door behind them when Raine followed him into the galley.
“Hi, Chief,” Gracie said from one of the prep tables, working on filling bowls of vegetables and other ingredients. “Thanks for agreeing to this.”
“He doesn’t know what he’s agreed to yet,” Kit said. “I was, hah, mysterious.” He led Raine to a table set up for one person. “Sit. You’re going to be the guinea pig.”
“For what?” Raine asked suspiciously.
“Gracie’s recipe. She’s thinking of taking the cook’s exams and wants to try some stuff out.”
“You’re going for food-handler rating?” Raine sounded surprised, and Kit scowled at him.
Idiot
. “Ah, that’s great,” he added quickly.
“She’s wasted here,” Kit said, joining her at the prep table and bumping his hip with hers, making her giggle.
“It was Kit’s idea.”
“Oh, nonsense, you said the captain suggested it. I just encouraged you a bit. You can do it, Gracie. Just gotta have the confidence.”
“Anything I can do to help?” Raine asked from the table.
“Make yummy noises,” Kit told him, and Gracie giggled again.
Raine rolled his eyes. “I meant to help you make it.”
“No, no, you sit there looking sexy, and we’ll wait on you. People pay for service like that.” He winked at Gracie. “Come on, hon. Let’s show lizard boy what you can do. And you’re in charge. Treat me as your personal slave.”
“People pay for service like that too,” Raine said.
“Chief!” Gracie put on an expression of shock, and Kit threw a dried mushroom at Raine.
“Behave. We’re working here.”
They worked, Kit encouraging her to boss him around as much as she liked, which she eventually started to get the hang of. He called her ma’am. Raine watched them, not saying much, a smile on his face as if he was enjoying the show. Kit prided himself on always putting on a good show.
But the banter and kidding around couldn’t make him forget what his every glance at the cooler door forcibly reminded him of. “
I love you
.” Had Raine been carried away by the passion of the moment? Kit had heard plenty of men say “I love you” when they were having an orgasm. It didn’t usually stick afterward. But Raine was different, as Kit kept being reminded. He might mean it. And if he did? Kit hadn’t said it back. His mind had frozen with shock when he heard it, in fact. But did not saying it mean he didn’t feel it?
He looked at Raine—Dan—sitting there with an amused look, patiently suffering their teasing. He’d agreed to be the taste-tester for Gracie. Most of the other men Kit had been involved with wouldn’t bother to make the time to help someone like Gracie. She’d be beneath their notice. But Raine was making the time, for Gracie and for Kit. Was Raine a man Kit could love? His hotness and the great sex were factors too.
“What are you grinning about?” Gracie said, catching him looking at Raine with a sappy expression.
“Nothing, sorry, ma’am.”
He had nothing to grin about. Falling in love with Raine would be a huge mistake. And letting Raine fall in love with him would be nothing short of cruel. It would lead only to misery, and Raine seemed like the sort of man for whom pain embedded deep and never healed. Raine couldn’t shake off the hurt the way Kit had over Jeff. Jeff. What a dick. What had Kit ever seen in him?
He’d ignore the “
I love you
,” Kit decided. Raine wouldn’t say it again without Kit saying it first—far too macho. He probably wanted to forget it too. Heat of the moment. Nothing more to it.
“Get the vegetables!” Gracie ordered, sounding a bit panicky as she dealt with the pan with the beef in it.
Kit quickly plated up the vegetables, and Gracie added the meat, groaning when she spilled a drop of the sauce on the table. “It’s ready.”
They served Raine with a lot of fussing around him, then stood and watched him eat until he got self-conscious and asked if they minded not doing that, please.
“Come on, let’s clean up and let him enjoy it,” Kit said. He hoped the look he gave Raine conveyed quite clearly that he’d better enjoy it or there’d be hell to pay later. Raine got it. He had cleared his plate by the time they came back to bus his table.
“Was it okay?” Gracie asked nervously.
“Very nice,” Raine said. “Good combination of spices.”
“Great! That’s my idea, the spices. The rest isn’t anything fancy, but the spices—”
“Are her secret recipe.” Kit put his arm around her. “Right, so now you’re going to ask Trish to give you the training for the cook’s exam.”
A look of panic appeared on Gracie’s face at once. “Oh no, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t dare. She’d just laugh at me.”
“Don’t be silly,” Kit protested. “Trish is a peach. Isn’t she, Raine?”
“Um, yes, a peach. I mean I’ve always found her to be a friendly person. I’m sure if you showed her your recipes, showed her what you can do so far…” He trailed off and looked helplessly at Kit. Gracie wore a deer-in-the-headlights expression.
“Okay,” Kit said. “We need to come at this from another angle. Sneaky-like. Let’s have some coffee and come up with a scheme.”
“I’ll get it. Oh and there’s cake.” Gracie grabbed some mugs and hurried out to the urn. Kit grabbed a couple of chairs and pulled them up to the table beside Raine.
“It’s nice of you to be so supportive of her,” Raine said.
“She’s a nice kid, but she needs more confidence. The food was okay, wasn’t it?”
“The beef was a little tough,” Raine said, leaning in and glancing over his shoulder in case she could hear him.
“That’s technique.” Kit waved a hand. “That will come with training. But she’s got imagination, even flair. The taste was good, right?”
“Oh yes.”
Gracie came in, put down the mugs, and headed back to the cooler to fetch the cake.
“She’s absorbed a lot of knowledge just being around the cooks,” Kit said. “But she doesn’t realize it herself. I have to convince her.”
“Doesn’t sound very corporate. What’s in it for you?” Raine grimaced. “I’m sorry, that sounds terrible. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s okay, I get what you mean, you great fool. Anyway, being nice to the little people is always a good strategy. Ask your boyfriend Commodore Wright.”
Raine smiled and shook his head. “There’s more to it, though. You like her, and you’re generous. Even if you have been brought up to think of everything as a transaction.”
“I don’t know if I’ve just been flattered or insulted.” Kit felt a blush rising up his neck. Damn, Raine shouldn’t be able to do that to him. “A little of both, I think.”
“I meant it as flattery. I’m not very good at this stuff.”
Gracie came back before Kit could ask him exactly what “stuff” he meant. Romantic stuff? Talking-to-your-lover stuff?
He shook those musings off. “Right. Listen up. I’ve got a plan.”
* * *
“A family recipe?” Trish Ellis took the paper from Raine’s hands.
“My mother used to make it, but she said her family brought it from Earth with them way back when the colony was founded.”
“Wow. That’s an heirloom.”
The paper even looked rather worn—Kit’s handiwork. He’d aged it with dirt and stains and multiple foldings. Raine thought the whole scheme rather silly, but it was for Gracie, and Kit had made it clear that he expected Raine’s help. Raine suspected that if he didn’t give it, there’d be things Raine wouldn’t be getting this side of hell. But Raine didn’t need any threats. Silly this scheme might be, but he’d always help out a shipmate.
“Do you think you could make it?” he asked Trish.
“Oh definitely.” Trish scanned the recipe. “Got everything needed. It would be even better with fresh ingredients, but I’ll do my best. Tomorrow night.” She smiled. “It’s Friday tomorrow. Everyone likes a bit of spice on a Friday.”
Trish was from Earth originally. Days of the week still meant something to her. To Raine they were no more than words in old books. But he nodded and smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Always good to have a taste of home.”
He was going to feel like such a damn fool when they explained the truth to her.
* * *
The dinner sitting had been over for about twenty minutes when Raine came back into the mess deck. He’d eaten earlier and enjoyed Gracie’s recipe as made by the galley’s trained cooks. The tenderness of the beef and the piquant mixture of spices had made it even better than the one he’d been the guinea pig for.