Lost Star by Hawke, Morgan (digital book reader .TXT) 📕

Seht… “I’d have no problems being your friend, but I have no idea how to be somebody’s lover.”

Seht smiled. “It will be my great pleasure to teach you pleasure.” He closed his arm around Aubrey’s back. “Sleep. I will ask you again in the morning.”

Seht’s friend and lover. Aubrey curled his hands between them, feeling Seht’s chest rise and fall under his palms and cheek. He smiled and took small, shallow breaths. It was a nice dream, but every breath he took was a knife blade sawing in his chest. He doubted he was going to be alive by morning. It was probably better this way anyway.

Interstellar Service & Discipline: Lost Star

39

Chapter Seven

His lungs stopped working.

Aubrey’s eyes flew open. He gasped for breath, and nothing entered. He couldn’t breathe. His body shuddered, then jerked violently. He couldn’t breathe! Wind roared in his ears. Within his chest, pain began to slam, one hammer blow after another.

Seht jerked awake, grabbed Aubrey’s shoulders, and sat up, shouting in Aubrey’s face.

Aubrey couldn’t hear him past the howling in his ears. Pain and panic squeezed his heart. He twisted sharply, falling from Seht’s body to sprawl on the floor, writhing and gagging for breath.

Seht rolled from the bed after him.

Gasping, Aubrey rolled onto his side. He wheezed a tiny breath of air into his lungs and choked. Hot, thick liquid exploded past his lips, and scarlet splattered the sand.

Seht jerked back, scrambled to his feet, and dashed off to his pack.

Aubrey rolled over onto his stomach and pushed up on his hands. He coughed hard. More blood spattered the sandy floor. Too much blood.

Seht dropped to his knees at Aubrey’s side. He fumbled a smooth black case open on the floor and pulled out a long needle. In seconds he had a huge syringe filled with iridescent liquid ready in his hand. His mouth white and his eyes wide, he shoved Aubrey onto his back and straddled his hips. Holding Aubrey down with one hand on his shoulder, Seht shouted, “Do you want to live?”

Aubrey blinked up at Seht. His vision began to fade down a long, dark tunnel. He barely heard him.

Seht shook him hard. “Aubrey, stay with me! Do you want to live?”

40

Morgan Hawke

Aubrey groaned and struggled to hear what Seht was asking.

“Aubrey, damn you!” Moisture slid from one huge blue eye and trickled down a bone-pale cheek. “Do you want to live? Yes or no?”

What did Seht want? Moisture dropped from Seht’s chin onto Aubrey’s cheek.

Tears? Aubrey felt a different pain grab his heart. Seht was weeping. Aubrey gathered what breath he could. “Seht…”

Seht wiped his wrist across his eyes and raised the syringe. “Aubrey, please!

You’re dying, right now!” His fingers dug sharply into Aubrey’s shoulder. “Do you want to live? Yes or no?”

Aubrey struggled to think. Did he want to live? He hadn’t had the chance yet.

He’d reached majority in a tank. He hadn’t even had his first real sex yet. Seht had promised he wouldn’t go back, that he wouldn’t let them take him. Tears streaked from his eyes. “Yes.” It came out as barely a whisper.

Seht’s jaw clenched. “Done.” He slammed the syringe straight into Aubrey’s chest.

Light exploded within Aubrey’s heart. He didn’t have the breath to scream.

* * * * *

Aubrey choked and rolled onto his belly. He spat and something small and hard flew from his mouth with a mouthful of copper-flavored liquid. He couldn’t see past the tears in his eyes. “Shit…”

A hand rubbed his back. “Relax. You are shedding your human teeth.”

Aubrey couldn’t think. “What?” Exhaustion washed Seht’s reply from his mind.

* * * * *

Aubrey was held tight, cradled in a warm embrace. Something big and warm was jammed crosswise in his mouth and hot, thick, coppery liquid was pouring down his throat. He choked and then swallowed. A full breath raced into his lungs. He could breathe. Surprised, he opened his eyes and blinked up at Seht’s face.

“Ah, awake?” Seht’s mouth was tight and his eyes red-rimmed above him. “You are certainly a mess, pet.”

Aubrey frowned. What the…? He was cradled against Seht’s right shoulder and sprawled across Seht’s folded knees. Seht’s wrist was in his mouth, and Seht’s blood was pouring down Aubrey’s throat from an open wound slashed in his wrist. Aubrey could feel it against his tongue. He could also feel that some of his teeth were a lot longer than they should be.

Trying not to swallow, Aubrey pushed at Seht’s chest and opened his mouth wide to pull his teeth from Seht’s arm. He had no interest in drinking anybody’s blood.

Seht pressed his wrist tighter to Aubrey’s mouth. “Aubrey, don’t fight. Drink.

Your body is starving for nutrients.”

Interstellar Service & Discipline: Lost Star

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Aubrey swallowed to keep from choking, and warmth spread all through his body. An odd hunger bloomed. His lips closed on the open wound pressed to his mouth. He sucked.

Heat filled Aubrey’s belly and spilled through him, bringing in a wave of mild euphoria. A soft moan escaped. The hunger became demanding. He bit down on Seht’s arm and sucked harder. His thoughts pulled apart and sleep beckoned. His eyes drifted closed.

Seht sighed. “That’s it, drink. You’ll feel better very soon.”

* * * * *

Aubrey’s bladder forced him up off Seht’s sleek, warm chest. His open suit slid down to fall past his hips. He grabbed for it and stumbled barefoot across the sand to the open mouth of the cave. The outer darkness was full of rain and rumbling.

Aubrey winced. If he stepped out there, he’d be soaked in seconds. But damn it, he didn’t want to piss in the cave… He scratched at his chest and looked down. He was covered in some kind of brown flakes. Blood. He was smeared with dried blood.

Needed nutrients or not, he still couldn’t believe Seht had insisted that Aubrey drink his blood. He shook his head, shying away from those thoughts. What he needed was a shower.

Aubrey looked at