Chapter 9
Scott didn't know why Reyes was there in his room aboard the Tempest. He didn't know how he'd gotten past the crew and especially the lockdown SAM had placed on the security of his door. But there was something strangely gratifying about waking and finding Reyes beside him. Something about the way the dim light shone in Reyes' golden eyes, the gentle, vulnerable expression on his handsome bronze face. Scott suspected that this Reyes before him was the most real and honest version of Reyes Vidal anyone had ever witnessed. Perhaps that's why Scott didn't pull away. Or, perhaps Scott's bone-deep exhaustion simply couldn't keep up the fight any longer. Whatever the reason, in that moment, when those soft lips pressed against his, he didn't regret it.
"Ryder," Reyes whispered against his lips, then touched his forehead to Scott's.
A million thoughts swirled in Scott's mind along with a pleasant light-headedness from the thrill of finally kissing the smuggling king of Kadara Port. Many of them positive, but the miserable doubts and pain were there, too. Scott forced them away. Shoved them behind a door and locked it, then barricaded it for good measure. He had to face them, he knew that, but for now he just wanted something, for the first time since arriving in Andromeda, to be simple. He wanted something for himself—to be selfish and everything else could fuck off.
Reyes was here and now and Scott wanted him.
It should be that simple.
He lifted his hand to Reyes' face, stroked his thumb lightly over the other's cheek. Then, he didn't know who moved first, but Reyes' mouth was on his again, this time more urgently. He opened his mouth to invite Reyes in and the smuggler groaned his approval. Blankets were gone soon after and the smuggler's warm, calloused hands were strong as they mapped Scott's torso. He moaned against the devouring mouth on his when he discovered Reyes was not shy about what he wanted. A firm but gentle hand rubbed over the bulge between his legs arousing pleasure through the thin black material. A breathy gasp escaped Scott's lips as he struggled between the desire to be utterly devoured and the harsh, dizzying need to fill his aching lungs even as they were constricted beneath Reyes' weight.
Reyes slipped his hand underneath the soft fabric separating him from his prize, strong, calloused fingers curling to grip around the already impossibly hard shaft straining against its confines. He tore away from that sinful mouth to trail his lips along a strong jaw, burying his face in Scott's neck, immersing himself in the scent of the man trembling beneath him. That eluding scent of faintest cinnamon and vanilla taunted him and awakened a hunger in him so intense his mouth watered at the thought of tasting the warm flesh that lay vulnerable at his mercy. He bit the long elegant muscle that rests just behind the ear and felt Scott's entire body shudder to stillness against him—felt Scott tilt his head even more in an automatic response to give him more room—heard his name slip past abused lips in a gentle sigh whispered into his ear. He bit harder as his hand squeezed firmly around Scott cherishing the whimpered cry and the thrill of dominating this man, the Pathfinder, the single most important and powerful man in all of Andromeda. Scott could destroy and rebuild entire planets with the help of SAM, but here in this bed, Scott Ryder submitted to him willingly, eagerly. It was a thrilling and heady rush to feel the warm, strong body of Andromeda's savior quake with need beneath him.
Reyes sucked around his cruel bite. He wanted there to be a mark. He wanted it proudly displayed to show others the pathfinder was his even as it was equally thrilling to imagine Scott struggling to find a way to keep the mark covered, their little secret—a near impossible feat when he was the center of attention at all times.
Reyes released his bite and licked the bruising, tender flesh in an apology to ease the pain, his hand slowly stroking Scott's now leaking cock.
"Fuck, Reyes." The words are breathed into his ear as strong fingers loosened their tense grip on his shoulder and back. Reyes was a little surprised at himself, he'd never bitten a lover before with quite the overwhelming possessive desire he just experienced. But if Scott's reaction was any indication, it was well received.
Scott turned his head, nuzzling his cheek against Reyes', searching for a kiss. Reyes was only too eager to oblige. He delved back into the heated depths of that sweet mouth. His hand slipped down the hardened muscle of Scott's abs, roved down one side to his hip to slide his hand into the fabric of the pathfinder's briefs and tugged them down. Scott groaned his approval and lifted his hips and Reyes broke their kiss only long enough to pull the briefs all the way off, flinging them to the floor over his shoulder.
"Mmm, Reyes," Scott gasped around a smothering, breath-stealing kiss. "You're wearing too many clothes."
He tugged on Reyes' shirt where it tucked into his pants for emphasis. Scott wanted to touch him. He yearned to feel the heat of the smuggler's bronzed skin. Fleeting thoughts quickly pushed away, and unbidden dreams since he met Reyes could never substitute for the real thing. Scott discovered that now that he had allowed that first step he wanted it all, everything Reyes could give him.
Reyes chuckled as Scott's hands pulled at his clothing. Found it amusing when those nimble fingers struggled with the multiple straps and buckles of the light armor Reyes never left home without. Reyes leaned back taking advantage of the space between them to sweep his eyes over the pathfinder's body. As he'd observed before Scott was not as large as his different armors often made him appear. His muscles were lean, but strong and capable—his body conditioned by years of training and experience. Though the pathfinder was young, only twenty-three, that did not define his years of experience. Eighteen was the age for official Alliance military enrollment, but there were academies, glorified bootcamps, that many military-hardened parents often sent their children to begin training as young as thirteen years old, even younger if the parent had enough clout. Reyes suspected Alec Ryder was one of those parents.
There were scars marring the beautiful flesh. Not as many as Reyes thought there would be—many of them superficial, a few of them potentially lethal. All of them storied maps to the past belonging to this man Reyes had come to care for. All of them beautiful. Reyes wanted to know them all intimately. Wanted to know which ones were sensitive to touch or tongue, which ones were still painful. He wanted to get to know every inch of the pathfinder's flesh while the man trembled, writhed beneath him from pleasure of his attentions.
"You know, you could stop being an ass and help me get this off," Scott said with a huff and a half smile.
"Forgive me, I was enjoying the view," Reyes chuckled. He noticed a shaking in Scott's hands that he knew was not related to their current situation. Reyes reached down and held them in both of his hands feeling them tremble outside Scott's control—remnant effects from the dampener. He placed a gentle kiss to one fingertip and looked Scott in the eye. "Forgive me," he whispered.
"There's nothing to forgive," Scott said, his voice soft in the intimacy of their closeness and the quiet of the large, empty room. "No one can prepare for everything."
Those words struck Reyes harder than an anvil because he did know that people were making modifications to Milky Way technology. He knew someone was going to use dangerous, untested tech against the pathfinder eventually, and still he hadn't been prepared for it. He didn't even know the other smugglers were convening and plotting his own downfall. If he can't protect himself, how can he protect this beacon of hope beneath him? Yes, there was another pathfinder now, but Reyes knew instinctively that it was Scott Ryder who could pull it all off. Everyone else felt like mere support. Scott had a way about him, something that Reyes couldn't put into words, something that made people want to follow him, to be near him, to know him. Something that allowed people to lower their hackles and let go of past prejudice and hate. Something that allowed one to trust him, even blindly at times, and what's more is that trust was always well placed. Scott wasn't hiding anything, he wasn't tricking or coercing, or looking out for personal interests or gain. He was kind. In the purest and simplest definition of the word, Scott Ryder was heart-wrenchingly kind. Others saw it as a weakness, or thought it meant the pathfinder was naive or stupid, possibly easily controlled or persuaded. Reyes heard the chatter, not just on Kadara but everywhere his hacking friends could get their hands on video or audio feed, live or otherwise including from those in charge on the Nexus itself. They were all wrong, and they were all gradually discovering just how wrong.
"Hey," Scott placed a hand on Reyes' cheek while he still held the other. "Are you all right?" Reyes smiled and nodded. "You aren't backing out on me, are you?"
Reyes smirked at the gentle challenge.
"Not on your life."
Reyes made quick work of his armor, tossing them over the bed as he pulled each piece off. Then made even quicker work of his clothes. He heard Scott sigh the moment his body pressed flush over the top of him. He buried his face in Scott's neck again but not before catching a glimpse of true serenity on the pathfinder's young face. He worked his tongue and hungry mouth down Scott's neck, over his collarbone and down the middle of his chest. He paused to suckle on the right nipple, rolling the hardened pebble of flesh with his tongue while his right hand rested over Scott's heart, his thumb gently gliding back and forth over an old bullet wound that had thankfully missed its target.
Scott moved his hips against him, though his movement was restricted being trapped between the mattress and the weight of Reyes above him. The heat from his arousal shot straight through Reyes and pooled with a comforting warmth low in his belly. Reyes was impatient to sink into that heat all while perfectly willing to make this night last a lifetime. Eventually he pulled away from the sweet torture he was inflicting on Ryder's chest, instantly missing the quiet gasps of sound from that beautiful mouth, and slowly trailed a scorching path down to his bellybutton. He dipped his tongue inside making a mental note of the sensitive reaction that received. As his mouth moved further, he felt Ryder's hand card through his hair before resting there against his scalp, a wordless encouragement to continue. Reyes looked back up the length of Ryder's torso and met his clouded gaze. It sent a spark through him to have the pathfinder watching what he did next.
He didn't go for the prize like he knew Ryder wanted. First he teased the sensitive flesh leading down to the v of his groin, nipping with his teeth and then apologizing with his tongue. Scott's flesh was smooth and flawless. The only hair was a small patch of dark at the base of his very hard, now very erect penis. Everything else was what they call peach fuzz, appropriately named, and there wasn't even much of that over the entirety of Scott's body from what Reyes could tell. Whatever was there was very blonde and could only be seen when the light caught it just right. Reyes smiled to himself as his mouth moved along the side, his head cradled by Scott's thigh on the other side, he could torture the man and inhale his natural musk all day. It would be the most pleasant of chores. But he continued his path around the base. The pathfinder's balls were drawn up tight and Reyes took each one into his mouth with great care, relishing the moan that escaped past Scott's lips. He watched the young man's face as he pressed a finger to his perineum and gently, slowly rubbed up and down. Not every man enjoyed having his prostate stimulated internally or externally, but Scott threw his head back on his pillow and keened through his teeth toward the ceiling. That certainly answered that question. Reyes treasured this time with a new lover. He enjoyed learning their likes and dislikes, what made them gasp, what made them scream. He'd always considered himself a generous lover, but never before did he care about the person he was unraveling. Never before did he wish for them to be incandescently happy with him, not just satisfied.
He heard a whimper of pleasure bordering overstimulation, so he moved his hand to the base of Ryder's cock gently squeezing, then moving his fist slowly up to the head and back down again. A pearl of precum beaded up and rested perfectly in the small slit, calling to Reyes to taste it. He certainly couldn't resist the urge and so finally gave the pathfinder his mouth. Scott gripped the pillow beside his head with one hand, the other tightening instinctively in Reyes' hair, a breathy moan trickled down to caress Reyes's ears. He'd never heard such perfect and beautiful sounds. They were like a drug and he wanted to hear more, do more, whatever it took to keep his pathfinder in this state of bliss. He sucked the mushroom head into his mouth, swirled his skilled tongue around the edge just underneath the lip all while his hand continued their slow strokes. Scott's fingers tightened against his skull to the point of discomfort, but it only urged him to continue.
Reyes glanced up from his ministrations and caught the most beautiful sight he'd ever known. Scott's face was turned just slightly to the side, his brow knit together and his eyes squeezed closed. Long lashes fanned his over his cheeks, and below that, beautiful kiss-reddened lips parted just enough for his panting breath. It was humbling and deeply arousing to know that he did this—that he was seeing the straight-backed pathfinder at his most open and vulnerable—that Scott had trusted him enough to see him come undone. No one else in Andromeda had been given the privilege as far as Reyes knew.
Reyes released the head and ran his tongue from root to tip in one long, broad stroke on the underside of the pathfinder's cock. Then leaned up to kiss Scott once more, thrilling at the certainty that Scott could taste himself on the smuggler's tongue.
"Are you ready for me?" he whispered.
Scott nodded against him eagerly.
"Yes."
Reyes smoothed his right hand over the muscles of Scott's body, down into the heat between his legs and Scott spread them open a little wider. His fingers slid down until they skimmed over the tiny wrinkled opening they were searching for. His fingertips traced over the tight little hole, rubbing gently, occasionally pressing just a little to hear the pathfinder's breath hitch in his ear. He could only imagine the strength of that intimate grasp of Scott's body clenching around him so perfectly. Reyes devoured Scott's lips wanting desperately to be inside him. The pathfinder wanted it, too, his hips rubbed up against him seeking that satisfying friction.
Then a thought suddenly hit him.
"Fuck," he cursed pulling away from the kiss.
Scott stopped moving and looked up at him. Reyes cursed himself again silently at the sight of the dark arousal in those beautiful eyes.
"What is it?"
Reyes reached up and caressed his thumb over the pathfinder's cheek just below the netted scar over his eye. "I didn't come prepared for this. I don't have anything to..." he half smiled as he chose his words, "ease the way."
Scott lifted his hips to rub against the older man again, panting in between needy kisses. The last time he was with Kale was well over 600 years ago. His body was practically a virgin's, and by the looks of it, Reyes wasn't small by any means. It was going to hurt, or at least be uncomfortable. But he didn't want to stop for anything in the world.
Scott shook his head.
"I don't care. Just, please," Scott gasped against Reyes' lips.
Reyes started to pull back and shook his head. Scott's fingers gripped Reyes' shoulders until they ached as he tried to calm his body's heat enough to think clearly. But it was no easy task with the smuggler's toned body resting heavily against his. He didn't have anything either. Sex was the last thing on his mind when he was going from one mission straight to another.
"Reyes," he began, but the other drew back even further.
"No." There was a firm look in the smuggler's eyes, one that Scott was certain was unyielding. "So many have hurt you already. So many want to. I—" Reyes' expression softened as he looked Scott in the eye. "I don't want to be one of them."
Scott swallowed and licked his lips. It warmed his heart that the man cared about his comfort, enough that the thought of causing him any pain at all stopped him in his tracks. The torn look in those golden eyes melted away any last remaining doubts Scott might have been harboring. He was confident in this choice.
He did not regret it.
Scott looked up at Reyes, his fingers slowly released their death grip on his shoulders and slipped gently up into his hair. "Please, Reyes," he whispered. "I'm here tonight. Tomorrow I might not be."
"Scott—"
"I want you." Scott leaned up and touched his forehead to Reyes', his eyes slipped closed as he picked his words carefully. "You are a choice, one I've made for myself. The first selfish thing I've wanted since waking from cryo."
"Give me this, Reyes, please."
Reyes swallowed thickly. Oh, how he wanted to.
Scott trailed little kisses over Reyes' cheek to his ear.
"Fuck me, Reyes." Scott's voice was gravelly from his arousal, the sound of which caused Reyes' cock to twitch and leak, dribbling precum over the pathfinder's belly.
Reyes growled, "What are you doing to me, pathfinder?"
Scott smiled up at him, knowing he'd won. Reyes attacked his mouth anew. His fingers wiped up the cum from Scott's belly and traced it in gentle circles over his opening. Then he pressed the tip of one finger until it passed the tight ring and slipped into the wet heat inside. Scott hummed his approval, his strong arms circling around Reyes pulling him closer. Reyes shifted on his knees to align himself, and with one firm hand to guide him, he slowly pushed. Scott's eyes closed and he breathed deeply. A surprised sound escaped him when the large round head finally popped through. Above him Reyes' breathing quickened. Scott lifted his legs more, encompassing Reyes' slender hips and opening himself further. As much as he tried to control his breathing, he felt like he didn't breath at all until Reyes bottomed out, his warm body pressed flush against Scott's cheeks.
"Fuck, Scott," Reyes groaned, his breathing harsh as they both adjusted to the tight squeeze. If he wasn't careful, Reyes would cum before he even had the chance to move. Scott's hands soothed over his back and shoulders, patient and kind as he waited. Eventually, Reyes eased his hips back, pulling out to just below the head then sank back in. Only a trace of discomfort flashed across Scott's face, but he quickly kissed Reyes and rocked his hips encouraging him to move. Reyes could only oblige.
He moved slowly at first until all the sounds from Scott's lips were nothing but euphoric. He moved faster, setting a quick rhythm of slapping flesh. Soon Scott's hips were rising to meet him, his hands buried in Reyes' hair. They moved, and breathed, and gasped together, reaching for that imminent crest before the fall. Scott's moans became shorter and slightly higher pitched as he grew close. Reyes' rhythm became more erratic. He buried his face in Scott's neck finding his earlier mark again. He groaned deeply, mouth pressed against the bruised flesh. He knew Scott was close, it wouldn't take much. He pulled away to look down into the pathfinder's face. He wanted to see it, the moment Scott came undone.
Reyes reached down between them and grasped Scott's leaking cock. Just a few firm strokes and Scott was coming. He cried out, his head thrown back, his body arched up into Reyes with tight climactic tension. The sensation of Ryder's body spasming around him coaxed his own climax out of him, and he lowered his head, groaning as Scott's tight silky heat milked him of all he had to give.
Reyes lowered his weight to rest fully atop Scott, burying his face in his neck, relaxing into his lover's welcoming embrace. As their breathing evened out, Reyes gently eased himself from Scott and then settled onto the mattress beside him. When he reached to pull Scott to him the pathfinder went willingly, settling in his warmth with his head tucked under Reyes' chin.
Reyes rubbed a hand over the pathfinder's side. When Scott shivered Reyes reached over and pulled the discarded blanket over the both of them.
"Will you stay?" Scott asked, sleep already coming to claim him again.
"I wouldn't dream of leaving you," Reyes murmured, tightening his hold and pressing a kiss to his forehead.
With a gentle sigh Scott drifted swiftly into sleep and Reyes followed soon after.
