I want more. I want everything he’d ask of me.

  Gabriel stood, careful to shield his tented crotch from view with his handheld. “I’m going to call it a night.”

  Iliana snipped a thread and eyed the feathered applique she’d sewn on the blouse with a critical frown. “Yeah, I’m about ready to pack it in myself. See you in the morning.”

  “Good night.” He went to the privacy of his room, where Baknu’s continued invasions in his head wouldn’t humiliate him.

  Gabriel relaxed as the door shut behind him. He gazed at his bedroom and tried to order his thoughts.

  It was his haven and hiding place. The last time he’d decorated it, he’d decided on rich jewel tones of ruby and amethyst, with accents of black. He still enjoyed his bold choices. The room was furnished with black-painted furniture and lush fabrics that he’d bought at a discount. Gabriel loved hunting for a deal almost as much as decorating.

  Comforted by the luxurious space, he went to his closet. Though his wardrobe wasn’t as vast as Iliana’s, the closet consisted of the best articles he could afford. He saved his money and shopped for quality. Years of careful selection had resulted in clothes he enjoyed wearing.

  He chose his outfit for the next day, a shirt that matched his eyes and tan pants that were cut to fit perfectly. He hung the items on a hook.

  That done, he confronted his bed. His lonely bed, appointed with soft purple sheets and a deep red comforter, tidied so no wrinkle dared to mar its surface. Gabriel turned down the covers and sat on the edge.

  He needed to shower. It was difficult to convince himself to do so. Baknu’s scent lingered on him, musky, sweetish spice. Gabriel tucked his nose into the front of his shirt and inhaled. His cock stirred, and once more, the young man felt how Baknu had touched him there.

  Such temptation. He wished he dared to indulge in it.

  He could indulge in other things. He reached for his computer on his nightstand, set the thin panel on his lap, and switched it on. A hover screen appeared, and he raised it to eye level.

  He tapped a few keys, accessing a site he’d visited innumerable times over the years. He read the messages that never stopped scrolling their abbreviated language.

  GM on E, Atl GA. Mt me? Translation: Gay male on Earth, Atlanta, Georgia. Meet me?

  Pvt prop Merco 7. YGM S, F, ayw. Translation: Private property on Mercy Colony, Sector 7. Young gay male, suck, fuck, anything you want.

  It was accompanied by a still closeup of an erect cock, pre-cum glistening at the tip.

  SDC, NBC, nTu 7pm. Pvt rwb. BHS bmt, All welcome. Gabriel was less certain about a few of that message’s elements. He believed the first part referred to a secret dance club on New Bethlehem Colony, next Tuesday starting at 7 p.m. Private—room with bed? Perhaps. ‘BHS’ was a mystery, but the bmt notation made him think of basement. So the dance club could be located in the basement of a business with the initials BHS.

  Fuck the gov. Then fuck me. That was pretty clear, and it had a vid attachment of a hand working a shaft until cum jetted from it. Wish I was swallowing that someone had commented.

  2 arr Lon sod. Two had been arrested in London on sodomy charges.

  Sad. Scared. Lonely. takm. Over the years, Gabriel had seen those last four letters often. The comments that followed, begging the poster to hang on, that he or she wasn’t alone, had helped him figure out that takm meant thinking about killing myself.

  MW seeks DW for aft mtgs. $ Married woman seeks discreet woman for afternoon meetings. Will pay for sex.

  Several comments that followed that message warned it sounded like a setup by law enforcement.

  Gabriel kept scrolling, feeling his tenuous connection with those similar to himself. Men and women desperate to connect, sharing news of arrests and executions, sharing vids of sexual organs, sharing themselves, their hopes, their fears.

  He’d never typed his own message. Gabriel only lurked, fearing that some on the site were law enforcement trying to track down gays and lesbians to make them face judgment and execution. Even out on Zryktysk, Gabriel half-believed if he joined in on the chat, the wrong people would figure out who and where he was. Then, when the next Earther vessel docked at the Adraf station…

  “Hang the prisoner.”

  The naked, bruised, and battered man jerked as they pulled the rope. The noose tightened around his throat, raising him until he was forced on his tiptoes. They left him that way, jittering as he gasped for air, as he slowly strangled.

  The executioner approached with a hover table, its surface covered with knives and hooks. He chose a long, sharp blade and touched its tip against the dying man’s limp cock.

  “Carry out the sentence.”

  “Sweet prophets, Gabriel, why are you watching that?” His mother ran into the room and switched the live vid off, but not before the twelve-year-old boy saw the knife stab into the sodomizer, not before he heard the desperate wheeze that was all the scream the condemned man’s compressed windpipe could manage.

  Gabriel shook his head against the memory, sending it away. He’d known long before the live execution of a government official and his gay lover that he was different from what was expected. That his difference might be unsafe. Yet he’d been blissfully unaware of how dangerous his sexuality was until the sensational trial and executions.

  He exited the illicit site, cleared the computer’s history, and shut it off. Reminded himself he was safe. There were no other Earthers besides him and Iliana on the station. Earth and its colonies had been left far behind. None of his own kind knew he’d only ever been attracted to men.

  He’d even had an encounter that day. The memory of Baknu’s hands on him and the clinging scent of the Kalquorian chased the old terror off. Another man had touched him, had made him feel astonishing sensations he’d never believed possible.

  Thinking about it left Gabriel antsy. It wasn’t that late, and he wasn’t sleepy. His room suddenly felt cramped, the light purple walls closing in.

  He rose and headed for the door. A walk would clear his head of frightening and beguiling imaginings. A few rounds of touring the entertainment deck would set him straight and tire him out.

  He left his room. The apartment was dark, except for the light edging Iliana’s closed door. He could hear her moving about in her room, humming a tune.

  There was no need to tell her he was leaving. It wasn’t the first time he’d gone out for a walk when his thoughts grew too heavy. Iliana probably wouldn’t notice, and if she did, his late evening wanderings wouldn’t interest her.

  * * * *

  Gabriel strolled along the entertainment deck, letting the station’s nightlife wash over him with its loud music, bright lights, and the press of alien bodies. Though Zryktysk Station was out of the way for Earther ships, it was convenient for other species. Ten clubs of varying tastes joined the more sedate food court in providing fun for visitors and residents alike.

  Gabriel had indulged in a few of the amusements available, particularly when he and Iliana had first arrived on the station. Young and curious, the siblings had toured the clubs together, lingering in a couple, hurrying out of several. It was no wonder they’d found a number of recreational activities overwhelming; Mercy Colony had been a gem of Earther religious laws. Agrarian with the focus on living a simple life, fire-and-brimstone services had been the most excitement Gabriel had known as a child and young man. Though he enjoyed some of Zryktysk’s diversions, he found the entertainment deck more exhausting than fun.

  He set his sights on the food area. There, he could sit with a drink and watch the club patrons, evaluate their clothing styles, and drink in the atmosphere without being overwhelmed. As he navigated, he scanned those around him, recognizing he was hoping for a glimpse of Kalquorians. Three in particular.

  What am I thinking? I can’t be seen with them. Others could figure out what I did with Baknu.

  On the heels of that, he reminded himself he wasn’t on Mercy or Earth. After six years, he still lived under his government’s shadow. Would he ever relax?

  He reached the open food area. His attention went straight to a booth that sold Plasian wines and decided an inexpensive glass of shel would calm him enough to go home and sleep.

  He was nearly there when a deep voice spoke behind him. “Speaking of tasty things. Hello, Gabriel.”

  He turned. Takat and Kisk were barely a foot away, the pair grinning at him. A warm flush crept over Gabriel’s body. He quickly checked to see if anyone noticed him with the Kalquorians.

  Kisk arched a brow. “No greeting? And after Baknu told us of how nicely your visit with him went.”

  The Nobek’s speech sounded as loud as a shout to Gabriel. “Please. Someone might hear you.”

  “Then let’s go somewhere private to talk,” Takat invited.

  It was only then that Gabriel realized he’d been backing away from them the whole time, and they’d followed him to a door between food booths marked Authorized Admittance Only. As a shop owner, Gabriel had such access. The system controlling the entrances to the back halls recognized him and opened as he stumbled towards it. Takat and Kisk followed him into the quiet corridor. The door shut behind them.

  Gabriel glanced around. The Plasian wine seller’s backroom on his right was shut and presumably locked. The backroom to the booth on his left was currently without a vendor. The door to an empty kitchen area yawned open. Furnished with bare shelves, sink, and metal working surfaces, it offered no escape.

  Kisk looked him up and down, drawing nearer than was comfortable. “Damn, boy. I had to deal with your scent on Baknu. Now I smell my Dramok all over you. You’re provoking a strong reaction, so excuse me if I disrespect personal space.”

  “Exciting stuff.” Takat agreed. “Our Dramok had to practically fight us off earlier today.”

  Voices rose beyond the wine stand’s closed door, and Gabriel gasped. Takat grabbed his arm and steered him into the empty kitchen. Kisk kept up with them and ordered the door locked.

  “Here we go. Private enough?”

  Takat was near enough that Gabriel could feel the man’s body heat through his clothes. He shrank from the wide-shouldered Imdiko and found himself up against Kisk.

  “How about some breathing room, okay?” he said, twisting free of the pair. He ended up with his back against the wall. Though Takat and Kisk weren’t touching him, they loomed over him like giants.

  “It’s great we ran into you, delicious smells aside.” Takat’s broad features were pleasant, though he openly ogled Gabriel. “Kisk has good news for you. Tell him about how he has one less thing to worry about, my Nobek.”

  Kisk grinned, his expression radiating pride. “Your friend Mit-noc? He won’t be bothering you again.”

  Gabriel blinked at the turn of conversation. “He won’t?”

  “Takat and I had an in-depth discussion with him. I think he took our objections to his mission with the gravity it deserves.”

  “Yeah. Pretty sure about that.” Takat snickered.

  Gabriel had a feeling the discussion might have been physical. Kisk and Takat were all muscle, built for destruction. Their smirks weren’t those of men who had quiet conversations with those they objected to. “Is he alive?”

  Kisk gave him a look that Gabriel supposed was the Nobek’s version of innocence. “Of course. We talked it over like reasonable men. No bats required.”

  “Mit-noc’s out of the picture,” Takat reassured. “Fair’s fair. We told you about our meeting with the Aksukt. Now you tell us about how things went with Baknu. In detail.”

  That brought vivid memory stampeding, visual and tactile. Baknu staring down at him. Pinning him. Kissing him. Pulling his clothing open. Gripping him.

  He fought a surge of excitement and lost, his cock filling with heat. His words emerged strangled. “Why don’t you ask him?”

  “He’s not one to talk too much, particularly when it comes to his conquests. Perhaps he never learned to share properly. Baknu claims he prefers to let his actions speak for him, but I think he’s just a tease.” Kisk edged nearer.

  Takat did as well. “We can figure out a few things for ourselves since we know him so well, but you understand how the imagination can get a little wild when it’s filling in the gaps. It’s better to have the facts.”

  “Exact details are important, Gabriel. Otherwise, I might get the outlandish idea that maybe a good Earther boy would let a lewd Kalquorian kiss him. Would you?” As he spoke, Kisk leaned close, his tone softening, growing intimate.

  “Uh…”

  “That’s not a no. The answer must be, yes.” Kisk pressed his mouth to Gabriel’s, teasing his lips with his tongue. Stopping the young man’s thoughts with a kiss.

  “That’s ridiculous. Earther males don’t go around kissing other males. Especially Kalquorians. No touching either.” Takat explored Gabriel’s torso as he spoke, his palms burning through the fabric.

  Kisk released the kiss. “Especially not touching bare skin.” He pulled Gabriel’s shirt’s resealable seam open. Calloused fingertips traced the Earther’s toned chest and abdomen.

  Gabriel gasped. Shoved at their busy, questing hands though his skin tingled where they touched.

  As Baknu had done, Kisk grabbed his wrists and pinned them over his head against the hard wall. “Playing hard to get? It’s difficult to believe you don’t want to indulge our curiosity with that erection threatening to bust through your pants. But that can’t be right, can it? Such a proper, lovely boy would never respond to being seduced by our kind. Never.”

  He rubbed Gabriel’s avid groin, his touch as educated as Baknu’s. What little fight the Earther had summoned crumbled at the friction. Gabriel moaned, succumbing to the heat and electricity, unable to do anything but move against Kisk’s hand and twine his tongue around Takat’s when the Imdiko kissed him.

  They woke him easily with their unrelenting assault. He whimpered protesting noises as they undressed him, which they ignored. His clothes puddled to the floor, allowing them access to caress all the naked flesh they desired. Hands and mouths blazed against his skin as they fondled and tasted him to groaning arousal.

  He had no concept of opposition as desperate longing overwhelmed him. Heat poured from the sensual assault, burning away his thoughts, objections, and even the dogged fear that had become a part of him at the deepest level. Sheer lust, clean and uncomplicated, left him with only the simplest of demands for closeness and contact.

  Gabriel offered no resistance when Takat and Kisk lay him on a metal prep surface, putting him level with their tented crotches. He writhed beneath them as they took turns stroking and sucking his shaft.

  Sweet, gorgeous warmth. Heady, intense friction. Their calloused fingers provided excruciating but pleasurable roughness. Their raspy tongues were slightly less abrasive, but they stroked his flesh with electrifying thoroughness, wetting him from base to flared tip. His balls were teased, cupped, rubbed until they drew tight to him. They played him like a fiddle, bringing him to orgasm’s brink, then slowing so clamoring need eased.

  “When can I come?” he pleaded after the third near-climax.

  “Soon. I want to find out if Earther boys taste as good as they smell,” Kisk growled as he licked the crown of Gabriel’s sex.

  “Maybe Gabriel would enjoy returning the favor,” Takat panted. He opened the crotch of his pants.

  Gabriel gaped as the Imdiko’s cocks—plural, he had two of them, two—appeared. Takat chuckled at his surprise.

  “You didn’t know? I guess Kalquorian sexual equipment doesn’t come up in many Earther conversations.” Takat stroked the pair, the shaft on top slightly larger than the other, slitless organ. The man’s heavy sweetish cinnamon aroma exuded from his lengths, which glistened with wetness. “We lubricate as women do, and ejaculate through the larger. Your lovely mouth on either—rather, both—will provide me great pleasure. Let’s start with the secondary.”

  He slid Gabriel to the edge of the work surface, pulling him close to the thick shafts jutting from his groin. The smaller nudged Gabriel’s lips.

  At the same instant, Kisk suctioned Gabriel’s cock into his maw, drawing on it hard. Gabriel moaned, his jaw wide as delicious shock reverberated throughout.

  Slick heat invaded, velvety skin over iron sliding against his tongue. The flavor of honeyed spice exploded in his mouth.

  Takat sighed, lifting his primary out of the way so he could press in deeper. “Yours is the prettiest face ever attached to my cock. Sweet Gabriel. Sweet, sweet Gabriel.”

  Gabriel swallowed the Imdiko’s wetness instinctively, earning a groan. Takat cupped the back of his head, holding him in place as he rocked against him. “That’s it. Suck my cock, beautiful.”

  Gabriel assigned no meaning to the words, as he couldn’t think past the heady flavor of Takat’s insistent need and Kisk’s eager attentions to his own shaft. Sucking and being sucked, swallowing and being swallowed. Violent craving filled him, and he drew hard on the throbbing length rutting his mouth as Kisk devoured him and Takat purred with satisfaction.

  “Good boy, Gabriel. Swallow it. That’s my darling boy.”

  Chapter Six

  Baknu stood outside the Rossi apartment, having instructed his clanmates to keep Gabriel distracted after they’d sighted the young man on the club deck. The Dramok allowed himself a slight smile, imagining the ‘distraction’ going on at that moment. He wished he was there with them, enjoying more of what he’d had earlier that day.

  He had a duty, however, to do his utmost to convince Iliana to go to Kalquor. He might refuse to force her to the empire, but he’d do his best to persuade her to go by choice.