Page 18 of 20% Blood 80%
“Old enough.” His eyes flared as he closed the cabinet harder than necessary.
I wanted his shy smile back, so he’d flirt and tease again, but I was useless at sweet talking. A certain type had always sought me out; a type I’d never had to work for.
But even having no game, I took the hint—age was off limits. “How was the hunt?”
His face lit up, and my toes curled. Guessed I hadn’t fucked up too bad. I smiled back, happy to know he didn’t hold a grudge, then shoved the heel of my palm into my erection under the blanket.
“I found a plateau. The sandstorm made it impossible to see to the end, but I believe it goes a long way.” He raked his fingers through his hair, littering the ground with pink grains. “Blant, I need a shower,” he mumbled, then looked up. “There were signs of life, fresh grazing. Mantu, if I’m not mistaken.” D’alton slid his zipper down, and its soft, metallic rasp filled the air. “But I couldn’t get close enough to take a shot.”
“Mantu would be nice.”
My mouth watered when his coat opened to reveal a sleeveless black shirt. Though loose-fitting, it gaped open at the sides, exposing the sleek muscles of his deep-brown arms. I groaned at the tantalizing view of his rib cage and the glimpse of a darker nipple as he shook the sand off his coat and neatly hung it in the cabinet.
He seemed pleased with my response, though clueless about my desire. I needed to be nicer, up my likability factor a bit.
“Good job, D’alton. I’m impressed.”
He straightened at my praise. “I’m returning tomorrow after I gather more supplies.” He looked at the ceiling and counted on his fingers. “If I get a kill shot, I’ll need something to haul the meat back. It should stay cold enough outside.” He shivered and rubbed his hands together, shedding more sand on the carpet.
He smiled so brightly, and I shifted closer to him, soaking in the glow despite the pang of nerves pressing at my temples at the thought of having him leave again. The points of his fangs were entirely visible, and the copper rings around his eyes pulsed when they met mine.
On red alert, every muscle in my body tightened. My chest squeezed the same way it had when I’d narrowly escaped being drafted to Earth’s special forces and gotten away with a sperm donation. And not because of his dangerous grin or the copper flare of his eyes. Because it felt good, like I was getting away with something. And nothing that good ever came without a price.
“Sola’s fire. The temperature’s perfect in here. You fixed the air cycler.” His eyes seemed fixated on my hair. “You have a lot of hair. It looks nice unbound like that.”
“It wasn’t much.” Who had time to sit around and be praised for dick-all when someone else was risking their life? I would die a happy man if I were paid for each time someone complimented my hair. Mood ruined, I threw off the blanket and gathered my tool belt from the floor. Slipping on my boots, I convinced myself to ignore D’alton stripping. He was just another guy in the locker room. C must have something for me to do.
“Well then, you must be used to sleeping in a sauna.” His eyes caressed me the way his words had in my dreams before he spun to rummage through a crate and pulled out a jumpsuit like mine, only cleaner.
Guess he didn’t need me to do his laundry. I hated compliments as much as praise. Ninety percent of the time, they had to do with someone’s ulterior motives.You’re so strong. How did you get so handsome?We’d make perfect babies together.Barf. “No big deal.”
“Sterling Peoples, the Tig dome requires your attention. The sala leaves are ready for harvest.”
I’d never been so happy to have C assign me a useless task. I had three boxes of those already and no damn clue what to do with them, but they seemed to store well and didn’t add to the growing pile of rotting food going to waste.
“Sala leaves?” D’alton licked his lips. “You have sala leaves? Give me a moment and I’ll come help.” He skipped to the washroom with his clean suit in hand.
“Sterling Peoples, will you be attending to the matter?”
“Yeah, C. And it looks like I’ll have help.”
“Wonderful news.”
Yeah, wonderful. Or torture, more like it. I’d have to play nice—let all his praise bounce off me—when all I wanted to do was get him naked against the damn sala tree.
8
WhywasSilverinmy room? I splashed water on my face and rubbed a towel over my head, scrubbing out the rest of the sand. Beneath my excitement to harvest sala leaves, I couldn’t help question why Silver was here in the first place and what my age had to do with anything?Take a good look. I scratched the hair on my chest. I wasn’t some naive youngling.
I yawned as I shuffled into a fresh uniform, half-asleep, not caring if I offended Silver by stripping down in front of him. My still-healing body, though a million annums better, needed rest.
Silver’s nostrils flared and his eyes widened as I walked from the wash-up area, zipping the coveralls over my torso slower than necessary.
That’s right, all grown up over here.
Though I wanted his hot eyes to linger, first I needed to prove I knew a thing or two, despite being younger. With an eager heart and heavy legs from my exploratory journey, I moved toward him. “Lead the way.” I gestured toward the door, yawning.
“D’alton, have you even slept?” His eyes narrowed, assessing what I was sure looked like bleary, sand-scraped eyes.
