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“Part of being in charge and part of surviving among the Klah’Eel.” Patrick lifted his face from Fal’ran’s neck, and the ghost of a smile curved his lips. He inhaled sharply when Fal’ran took his mouth—still surprised when Fal’ran wanted him—but he gave in easily when Fal’ran pulled him closer with the hand around the back of his neck.
The kiss was sweet, soft. As much as Fal’ran enjoyed fighting, there was something to be said for being gentle. He swiped his tongue over Patrick’s lower lip and pressed him back into the wall when he opened for him, deepening the kiss to something still soft but less sweet. Patrick moaned as Fal’ran thrust his tongue into his mouth, tasting, opening, invading.
God, he’d never tire of this man. Fal’ran had never kissed the same person more than a handful of times, but he’d forgotten by now how many times he’d kissed Patrick, and he wasn’t near done.
Patrick pulled away to pant into Fal’ran’s mouth “This is—” he gasped when Fal’ran rolled their hips together “—not really the time.”
“Or place,” Fal’ran agreed, leaving Patrick’s mouth to line kisses along the underside of his jaw.
“Then stop.” Patrick dropped his head back against the crumbling stone wall, baring his throat to Fal’ran’s teeth.
Fal’ran mouthed over Patrick’s pulse point and inhaled. He hummed in approval at the smell of rain and leather. “Easier said than done.”
But Fal’ran prided himself on his discipline, so with one last lick of the hollow behind Patrick’s ear, he rolled away. Patrick sighed as they both leaned back against the wall and tangled their fingers together. Fal’ran’s heart stuttered when Patrick slipped his hand into his, but he tightened his grip before Patrick changed his mind, anchoring them together.
“If it were a better time, it might not be the worst place,” Patrick said after their heart rates had slowed and Fal’ran’s cock had petulantly resigned itself to waiting.
“I thought this place was deadly.” Fal’ran raised an eyebrow and glanced around at the ruined buildings.
“The stars are nice, though. I bet no one’s seen a sky like that since we invented electricity.”
Fal’ran followed Patrick’s gaze up to the heavens, looking at it for the first time. “Damn.”
“Yeah.”
Despite the light from the half-moon, stars blanketed the sky above them. Some shone brightly, others were dim, and an entire multicolored cloud of them arched from horizon to horizon. Fal’ran had never seen so many, even from the windows of Base Ship Givast, which Qesha itself had dominated. From here, he thought he could pick out a conspicuous cluster of lights that might be Base Ship Givast, but it could have been nothing at all.
“Well, after we get out of this—” Fal’ran refused to say ‘if’ “—we’re going to have to bring Sazahk back.” He squeezed Patrick’s hand and smirked. “And when we do, we’ll find a comfortable place to lay you out so you can look at the stars while I suck you off.”
Patrick blushed hard enough for it to be visible in the starlight. “Touching, Fal’ran. I never knew you were so romantic.”
“Neither did I.”
They stood in silence for a few minutes more, breathing and holding each other’s hands, steady and calm.
“I’ve been in worse situations than this,” Patrick said, eyes still on the stars. “And come out on the other end. But Fal’ran—”
“Don’t.” Fal’ran scowled and shook Patrick’s hand.
“No, let me.” Patrick stepped off the wall and turned to face him. “I’m not being dramatic. There’s just something I want you to know.”
Fal’ran bit back his retort. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew better than most that life guaranteed nothing. Especially not more time and especially not in the situation they were in. “What?”
Patrick took a deep breath and that curious calmness he sometimes shrugged on settled over his shoulders.
“I love you, Fal’ran.”
Fal’ran’s breathing stopped.
Patrick’s confession didn’t shock him. The man wore his heart on his sleeve. His care and devotion shone from his blue eyes whenever he looked at anyone that mattered to him: his compatriots, his team, Mal’ik. He didn’t seem to have a limit to the number of people he could care for or how much he could care for them.
But the way he looked at Fal’ran was different. Anyone could see it, and Fal’ran hadn’t missed it.
So, Patrick’s confession didn’t shock him. What shocked him was the force it hit him with. The words slammed into his heart like bullets, stunning him, knocking the breath out of him. As oxygen trickled back into his system, a sense of profound relief made Fal’ran’s throat close up.
“And I need you to know that.” Patrick grabbed his shoulders with both hands. “I have a horrible suspicion no one has ever said that to you, and I need you to know that I love you.”
Patrick’s words put a hideous doubt into Fal’ran’s mind. He wrapped his hand around Patrick’s wrist to pin him in place. “You love me as what?”
