slightly.
Pax’s eyes widened when the ramp finally lowered. He couldn’t believe the beauty of the planet. It was like, heck, he couldn’t think of a rightful description. The plant life here was rich and lush. The city seemed to be haloed in a soft glow that illuminated the horizon.
“You like it?”
Pax glanced up to see Colt watching him as if trying to gauge his reaction to his first impression of Lost Star Three. “It’s absolutely gorgeous.”
“Spa treatment, here I come!” Gigi declared loudly as he and Remy walked down the ramp. Okay, Remy walked. Gigi had a little skip in his step, a bounce in his heels, and an infectious giggle like a gay man discovering another man’s cock for the very first time.
Pax shook his head as he smiled at his friend. Gigi was…well, Gigi, and Pax wouldn’t have him any other way. He held onto Colt as they made their way to the shuttle stands. Pax actually felt like royalty with the way Colt was treating him. Never in his life had he been to somewhere this awe-inspiring, and to be there with Colt? Pax could die right now and be happy.
“We’re taking separate shuttles?” Pax asked as he climbed into the one Colt directed him to. Even the shuttles were splendorous. He ran his hand over the rich fabric of the seats as he stared around the inside with awe. Had he ever seen anything so magnificent?
“Sorry, little bird, but I don’t think I can take the commander’s mate chatting the whole way there,” Colt said as he climbed into the back of the shuttle with Pax.
Pax covered his mouth with his hand, trying his best to suppress a giggle. “Neither could I,” Pax confessed. “Don’t get me wrong. I like Gigi a whole lot”—Pax ignored Colt’s low growl as he finished his thought—“but he can be a little exhausting.”
“Just don’t go liking him too much.”
Pax’s eyebrows shot up as he stared at Colt. “Seriously?”
“You belong to me, remember? No touching anyone else?”
Pax tilted his head as he tried to figure out yet another quandary with one of the crew, his mate this time. “Why would I want to? I have you.” It made perfect sense to him. “I don’t need anybody else.”
Colt’s features immediately softened, and the man reached for him. Pax eagerly went into Colt’s embrace. He may be a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. If Colt wanted to hold him, Pax was all for it.
“You say the most astonishing things, little bird.”
Pax blinked, bewildered by the roughness of Colt’s voice. “What did I say?”
Colt tightened his grip around Pax and rested their heads together. “You just—I wish I could describe it to you, little bird, but there really are no words to describe how you make me feel.”
Pax tilted his head back, a little frown worrying his forehead. “Is that good or bad?”
Colt chuckled. “Oh, it’s definitely good.”
“Oh.” Pax tucked his head into the side of Colt’s neck and breathed in the strong masculine scent that was uniquely his mate’s. No one ever born smelled as good as Colt did. “Okay then.”
Colt chuckled again. “Okay then.”
Pax wished he understood half of what happened around him, but he didn’t. He always felt like he was orbiting around everyone else, lost in his own little space. Maybe he was dumb or something. People just didn’t make sense to him. They talked in riddles and never said what they meant. He felt like the only sane person in a world of crazy people.
“We’ll be to the mineral springs in a few minutes, Pax,” Colt said. “I called ahead and got us a private spring, just for the two of us. You know what that means, don’t you?”
“No,” Pax said as he leaned back again.
Colt’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he wiggled his eyebrows. “I get to have your gorgeous naked body all to myself.”
Pax groaned as he tried to understand Colt’s words. “You already get my naked body all to yourself. How is this any different?”
Colt roared
Dick Lochte, Christopher Darden
David Wiedemer, Robert A. Wiedemer, Cindy S. Spitzer