Crave - 7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jenson knew he was in trouble the second Merrick’s arm’s wrapped around him in the common room of the Council Compound. It was like his body and his mind had disconnected. He knew he couldn’t have this man, for so many reasons, but that didn’t stop his treacherous body from desiring him.

On the walk to the Weir’s new home, Jenson was sure he could feel Merrick’s gaze on him, but he did his best to ignore it, and concentrate on his conversation with Connor. When he heard the young Anphilian’s comment about his looks, and Merrick’s growled response, he was pleased, despite his own reaction, that Merrick also seemed to be affected.

When Allison and Connor invited him to stay for dinner, he tried to come up with a good reason to leave, but instead chastised himself for his cowardice. Why was he trying to run? Merrick was his friend, and he missed him. He knew he was as tense as a bowstring when the couple left them to go upstairs. This was the first time they’d been alone in over six years, and the last time they were together, he’d nearly lost control… again.

“I have to walk the perimeter to ensure the changes we requested have been made. Would you like to join me?”

Jenson could hear the hope in the other man’s voice, and felt guilty for making their reunion so awkward. “How very thorough of you,” he said with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.

“Oh, I am always thorough… very thorough.”

The comical leer and waggling eyebrows made the vampire laugh, partly from amusement, and partly from relief. This was what he missed. He rolled his eyes before walking towards the door. “Come on, brat. Let’s see what upgrades you’ve made.”

“Brat?”

“Brat,” Jenson smiled, looking back over his shoulder. “Are you coming or not?”

The smile on Merrick’s face, and the amusement in his eyes, made Jenson happy he had chosen to stay. Seeing Merrick’s joy caused him question why he deliberately avoided his friend for so long.

The walk along the high security fence was both informative and torturous for the vampire. Merrick pointed out several improvements and modifications that his team had requested be made to the perimeter walls. The extra security for the home was probably overkill, given how secure the compound actually was, but Jenson could appreciate the caution.

Every time they stopped, Merrick would put a hand on his arm, or the small of his back, pointing out security cameras or wall skimming drones. The light touches were, in and of themselves, harmless, but each touch kept him on edge, and hyper aware of their proximity. Every time Merrick leaned close, the scent of his blood would infiltrate Jenson’s senses, arousing a hunger he hadn’t felt in hundreds of years. The younger man’s arousal heated his blood, making it much more potent and intoxicating. It was like a slow and sensual torture. Even with the tension and lust battling within him, he could tell Merrick was making an effort to keep things light and friendly between them.

When they finally returned to the house, Allison and Connor were back. Jenson breathed a sigh of relief, and felt some of the tension leave him. He couldn’t help but wonder if his reaction to Merrick would be different if he hadn’t avoided the man’s company for so long.

Dinner was fun and relaxed. Allison and Connor had brought some rare blood types with them, and Jenson sipped contentedly while the family, and off duty staff, ate. Merrick had mentioned years ago that his mother insisted the staff eat with the family. The years of living aboard spaceships meant she was used to having communal meals with the crew, and she didn’t see any reason for that to change now.

Towards the end of the meal, Landin’s communicator buzzed. With a deep blush, he tried to turn it off.

“Go ahead, Landin dear,” Allison smiled indulgently. “It could be important.”

With a slight bow, Landin stepped away from the table to answer his incoming call. The young officer returned a few minutes later, blushing deeply, and informed Merrick that Commander Barnaby would be stopping by in the morning to pick him up so he could start training the ship’s officers.

“It’s been years since I’ve witnessed Anphilian fighting techniques,” Jenson said while turning to Landin. “Do you mind if I come to watch.”

“Oh… of… of course, sir,” Landin stammered.

“Please, call me Jenson.” The vampire gave the young man a friendly smile.

“Landin is one of the best I’ve seen,” Merrick praised his young officer, clapping him on the shoulder. “The Starjumper’s officers aren’t going to know what hit them.”

Everyone around the table laughed and nodded in agreement. Landin glowed under the praise.

After dinner, Jenson made his excuses, and with a promise to be back at the house by 0700, he walked to the main building. Merrick had offered to walk back with him, but Jenson declined under the pretense that the younger man had a lot of unpacking he still needed to do. He had enjoyed his time with Merrick, but felt like he needed some space to deal with the resurgence of feelings he thought he had buried long ago.

After saying a quick hello to several acquaintances, he climbed into his rover and slowly drove home. He found his mind drifting as he wound his way through the streets. His mind conjured up the sound of Merrick’s laugh, the look in his eyes when he was happy… Jenson gave himself a quick mental shake. He was acting like a love-struck youth. Taking a deep breath, he forced his mind to turn to his upcoming mission, and the possible issues he might be facing. He had met several Alecterans over his years as Envoy, and he knew they could be taciturn, and highly valued class structure and rules. In many ways, their society resembled ancient England on Earth. As a representative of the Vampire Lord, Jenson was treated well, but his sister was treated little better than a rover driver. She had been livid when one male ordered her to get a drink for him. The man had been lucky to leave her presence with his teeth intact.

The Alecteran government had assured the vampires that the planet would have autonomy, with no interference from them. Jenson hoped that meant they would not encounter any angry insurgents. He was sure any altercations would result in his sister sitting in a prison for hundreds of years.

Pulling up to the house, Jenson felt a momentary squeeze of panic as he remembered his last return home. He hoped this time would be calmer. It appeared he would get his wish when he was greeted by silence as the lift doors slid open. His footsteps echoed off the walls of the large foyer as he walked to the left wing. The doors slid open to the quiet murmur of voices towards the end of the hall.

“Mr. Shey, you’re back,” an older female looked up from her desk as he approached.

“Good evening, Amelie. How was he after I left?” Jenson could hear the trepidation in his voice and knew she could as well, judging by her sympathetic smile.

“It was a quiet afternoon.” She flicked through the comm pad on the desk. “No incidents since the morning.”

“How is Alain?”

The nurse’s lips thinned into a frown. “He’s doing better. He needed 20 stitches in his neck, but Doctor MacAllister said he would be fine in no time.”

Jenson took a shuddering breath and looked up to a corner of the ceiling for a moment. “Have the doctor send me his report, and have the staff to send their reports to Joshua.”

The nurse agreed, quickly typing on the pad in her hands, before looking back up at him. Quiet sympathy was mirrored in her eyes. “He’s in his chair by the window, if you want to go see him.”

Jenson nodded, not trusting his voice, and walked into the room across from the desk. He greeted the orderlies sitting on either side of the door, and walked to the hover chair situated beside a large bay window.

Jenson sat on the cushioned bench in front of the window, and looked at the male in the chair. His mouth was open slightly, and his eyes, once alive and shining, were blank, lifeless and unfocused. The man’s brindle hair hung limp around a pale face, giving him a ghostly appearance. ‘Like the vampires of legend,’ Jenson thought without humour. Except for the regular rise and fall of his chest, he could be mistaken for dead. Reaching out, Jenson took one the man’s hands in his. It sat in his hand like a warm, but dead weight.

“Kel?” He gave the hand a squeeze. “Kel, it’s me, Jenson”

There was no response.

“It was a sunny day today. The night is clear as well. You can see the stars. Remember how much you loved to climb the tallest hill by the compound, just so you could see the stars?”

Still no response. Jenson didn’t expect any, but he never gave up hope.

“I had dinner with the Weirs today. You would like Allison. She loves to cook almost as much as you do. You two could probably spend hours exchanging recipes.”

The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest was the only movement from the male. Jenson reached out and touched the familiar face, his thumb tracing the raised ridges starting over his nose and extending above each eye. With a sigh, Jenson reached for the comm pad sitting on the bench beside him.

“Do you want to finish the chapter we started yesterday?” Jenson looked up, but didn’t see any acknowledgement that he had spoken or that the other male even knew he was there. Jenson began to read.

The next morning, Jenson woke early. He read the doctor’s report over his morning mug, and sent a message to his house manager, Joshua, to arrange compensation for the injured orderly.

After a quick meal, he hurried through a shower and out the door. He arrived at the Weir residence at the same time as Commander Barnaby. They found Landin and Merrick already outside, talking to another officer who Jenson believed to be Merrick’s second in command, Sergeant Varallo.

“You two ready to go?” Commander Barnaby called out, leaning against his rover. “The rest of the team are getting outfitted and will meet us there.”

“All set, “Merrick said after Sergeant Varallo returned to the house.

By mutual agreement, all four climbed into Commander Barnaby’s vehicle, so he and his officers could leave directly from the lake. Four officers, two of them male and two of them female, waited for them at the site. Each wore body hugging, knee length wet suits equipped with almost invisible face masks and breathers, allowing them to speak to each other through the built-in communicators. There were several other suits and masks available for the newcomers. After stripping down to tight swim shorts, each male pulled on their suits and waited for instructions.

Landin walked to the front of the group, pulling his shorter frame up to full height. “Today, I am going to teach you some effective hand to hand combat and evasive techniques. As soon as we’re under, follow me to the center of the lake.”

The young officer looked at each person in turn, and after a positive acknowledgement from everyone, turned and sank into the lake. Although he could breathe underwater without equipment, he wore a mask to allow him to communicate with the rest of the group.

Jenson tried to pay attention to the smaller, lithe male in front of him, instead of the man swimming at his side. It was extremely difficult to ignore him, with the sleek and slippery black material hugging his body, showing off every muscle and ridge. There was no way Jenson wanted to get hard in his suit, and fought to control his reaction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Merrick watching him with amusement, like he knew what was going on in his treacherous body.

When they reached bottom, Landin directed Merrick and Jenson to the edge of a small forest of seaweed so they could observe. The Anphilian quickly created a circle of stones and, one at a time, had each trainee come inside in order to evaluate their skills. After each person had their turn, he paired everyone with a partner, with him and Commander Barnaby making up the last pairing. Barnaby started to object, but was quickly overruled by the small male.

Jenson heard Merrick chuckle beside him, and turned to look at the other man.

“Barnaby has no idea what he’s in for,” he snickered, gesturing for the vampire to turn and watch.

Landin floated in the water, perfectly still, a few inches above the bottom, with his feet close together and his arms at his sides. Commander Barnaby watched him for a moment before pushing off from the lakebed and aiming straight for the smaller male. Within a fraction of a second, and so quickly Jenson wasn’t sure what he saw, Landin shot up in the water and over the bigger man, putting him into a chokehold.

“Again,” Jenson heard the Anphilian’s voice through his earpiece.

Barnaby grunted and swam back into position. The two males stood facing each other, with Landin assuming the same position. The commander again attempted to push off from the ground and hurl himself at his smaller opponent, but found only water, with Landin clinging to his back, ready to rip off his mask.

“Again,” Barnaby said, clearly becoming agitated.

This time Landin turned his back to the human, and Barnaby attempted to grab him with his powerful legs. The Anphilian dropped and skimmed quickly along the bottom, coming up from under his larger opponent.

Jenson could hear harsh breathing over his earpiece as everyone tried to catch their breath. The only one who seemed to be breathing easily, was Landin.

“You are very good,” Commander Barnaby said, as they swam to the other team members.

“Thank you,” the young officer’s voice was soft with what Jenson guessed was a smile.

“Now I’m going to show you how to fight using natural formations and barriers to help evade your opponent.”

For this demonstration, Landin called on one of the other males. He ordered the male to attack him, and immediately dodged to the right, using a boulder to pull himself out of range. He evaded his attacker at every turn, using the rocks to either trip up his opponent, or as a barrier to allow him to escape. After ten minutes, he called a halt to the demonstration, and had the two females take their turn.

The young Aphilian was a patient and informative teacher, correcting small mistakes and giving encouragement to each combatant. After Barnaby and his junior officer, Sotar, completed their turn, Landin called an end to the lesson. Jenson smiled at the look of almost fatherly pride on Merrick’s face as he watched his young officer accepting thanks and praise from the Starjumper’s crew.

“So, old man,” Merrick said, with a mischievous smirk on his face. “Care to show them how it’s done?”

The vampire raised an eyebrow, and chuckled. “Ok, brat, let’s do this.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jenson saw the group turn to watch as they swam to the top of the rock formation. By mutual agreement, it was decided Merrick would be the attacker, while Jenson defended. With Landin’s amused countdown in his ear, Jenson took his position. It had been several years since he had attempted underwater combat, but he was familiar with the techniques. He watched closely for any hint of his opponent’s plan of attack. At Landin’s signal, he saw a slight twitch in Merrick’s left leg and immediately drove his weight backwards and to the right, barely avoiding the other man as he brushed past him. He pushed off again and dove deeper, skimming the rocks and moving under a rock shelf. He felt the tremor of water as Merrick’s large body moved past him again. After several minutes successfully evading the other man, Jenson felt a hand grip his ankle and pull him down. His instinctual response was to spin in the grasp and slam the body into the rock face, pinning the other man with his strength. Their bodies molded together as they grappled for the upper hand. Jenson felt his body responding to the feel of the man against him, and felt Merrick’s answering arousal against his hip. He watched as Merrick’s pupil dilated and heard their harsh breathing through his comm. The wetsuit was suddenly too hot… too constricting. He desperately wanted to free his cock from its uncomfortable confinement. He wanted skin.

“Do you give?” Jenson growled, his forearm against Merrick’s chest, holding him still.

Merrick rolled his hips, grinding into the vampire. “Yes… I… give….”

Jenson stifled a groan and pushed away from the rocks. He shook his head at Merrick, flicking his eyes to where he knew the others waited for them. The younger man nodded slowly, and with a mischievous glint in his eye, reached down in an attempt to adjust himself in the tight suit.

Taking a deep breath the vampire resisted the urge to touch his own cock, afraid that even the slightest touch would send him over the edge. When had he become so weak? Without another look back at Merrick, he turned and swam back towards the group, hoping his erection would go down quickly... or it would be a very long and uncomfortable swim back to the surface. A single word over the comm had his body vibrating.

“Later.”