GENRE: Gay BDSM Interracial Sci-Fi Spicy Romance
LENGTH: 84,211 words
RATING:

Marriage should be a happy ending, but for Alyn and Jarvez it’s only the start of a new set of problems as grief and guilt stir deeply buried desires in Jarvez. Will wedded bliss prove to be a myth?

When the Red Dragon returns to Earth carrying the newly-married Captain Alyn Evans and Company Rep Jarvez Kashari, Jarvez expects confrontation with his grandfather, but instead he learns a terrible old secret that will change his perceptions of his family forever. Coming to terms with what he learned at home, haunted by guilt for his unwitting part in it, Jarvez finds dark urges surfacing. He longs for punishment, domination, and pain -- longings Alyn finds hard to satisfy.

The Red Dragon leaves Earth with a new mission and Jarvez has new ambitions. But his plans are threatened when a consignment of diamonds is stolen aboard the Dragon, leaving the ship stopped in space a few days short of Deneb, not allowed to go on until the case is solved. With only a short time left to make the future he dreams of happen, Jarvez must find those diamonds.

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

The Perfection resort on the opposite side of Deneb Prime from Swan City didn’t have a honeymoon suite. What it had was clusters of domes studding the surface over almost a square kilometer of the planet. Alyn looked around nervously as the bellboy left them alone in their personal dome.

“You okay?” Jarvez asked.

“I feel a bit ... trapped.”

“How is it different from being on the ship?”

“At least that has escape capsules and shuttles.”

“There is an emergency refuge,” Jarvez said, pointing out the sign to it. “In case anything happened to ...” He waved a hand at the dome over their heads.

“It’s like being inside a transparent igloo,” Alyn said. The seams between sections were almost invisible, and the half-meter-thick material was treated so as not to reflect the lights from the room below it. This left an initially alarming effect of being unprotected under the stars.

Jarvez had been to Perfection before, when working at the Deneb company station, but it was Alyn’s first visit. He looked away from the unsettling view and sized up the rest of the room. The furnishings were minimal. People didn’t come here to spend a lot of time putting their socks in drawers.

“I’ve never slept in a circular bed before,” Alyn said of the huge, round sleeping platform in the middle of the room. Circles were a theme here in Perfection.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be sleeping,” Jarvez promised him.

One quarter of the room held the bathroom. A deep round tub; a huge shower inside a circular enclosure. A pit in the floor -- round -- could play a holographic projection of a fire, or a fountain, or any number of more abstract displays. All the tables and chairs were circular. Even the wardrobe was essentially a tube, with a rail that turned like a display rail in a clothing store.

“By the time we leave here, I’ll be craving angles,” Alyn said.

“This is why the place is called Perfection,” Jarvez said. He kicked off his shoes. “The circle is the most perfect shape in nature.” He undid the buttons on his suit coat. He’d have to get his wedding outfit professionally cleaned before the Dragon left for Earth. He’d sweated into it plenty, so nervous today. Which had been unwarranted, since nothing had happened to stop the wedding. He hung up the coat and slipped off his shirt. Alyn’s hand came to rest on his shoulder.

“I think you’re doing my job,” he said. Jarvez smiled at him. He’d been distracted by his thoughts momentarily, forgetting Alyn might want to undress him.

“I’m sorry. Why don’t you pour us a drink?”

“More champagne?” The resort had left a chilled bottle, compliments of the house. “Let’s hope we can stay awake long enough to consummate this marriage.” He strode off to pour the champagne. He couldn’t open it with his saber because he’d left that on the ship. The resort staff might have looked at him strangely for bringing a sword along.

As the cork popped and Alyn poured, Jarvez walked right up to where the dome reached the ground, looking out across the barren planet. The other domes in this cluster were visible, but all appeared opaque from the outside. From inside it might feel like undressing in a greenhouse, but nobody could see in from outside. He wrapped his arms around his bare torso, feeling a chill he knew was imaginary, since the thick dome didn’t allow in any of the deep cold outside. The room was warm enough. So warm, in fact, Alyn would likely start complaining about it soon.

He’d complain about the cost too. Perfection was insanely expensive even for a single night. But this could be Jarvez’s final indulgence. In a few months, he’d be home and his grandfather would realize, if he hadn’t already, that Jarvez had no intention of honoring his promise to take a head office job. That he’d be staying at Alyn’s side, as his shipmate and his spouse. After that, there’d be no more family money for Jarvez.

He’d never have to stay in a fleabag dive hotel. He had his own money and a good salary. But he wouldn’t be able to splash out on places like this. He gasped as Alyn came up behind him, silent, his shoes and socks discarded, bare feet silent on the plush carpet. His jacket hung open.

He encircled Jarvez with one arm to hand him his champagne. Jarvez took the glass, and Alyn left the arm there, running his fingers gently over Jarvez’s chest, tracing a nipple, stroking the tips of his fingers through the sparse hair. He brought his champagne glass around in his other hand.

“Cheers,” he toasted, and they tapped the glasses together with a soft ting.

“Salâmati,” Jarvez responded. He took a sip and leaned back against Alyn. Alyn’s clothes were rough against his naked back, but he felt warmed by the contact. Like leaning back against a rock warmed by the sun. The chill, imaginary or not, disappeared. Even his bare feet felt warm on a carpet like soft moss. He wiggled his toes and wanted to purr like a cat. His anxiety began to fade along with the cold. This was so sweet, so perfect. He might never have the chance to come to a luxury hotel like this again, but he could have Alyn’s arms around him every day. Love might be the greatest luxury commodity of all. The arms of someone you love the best luxury accommodation. Alyn leaned close to his ear, warm breath moving softly over the curves.

“Come to bed, husband.”