20. Chapter 20
Amessage went out early the next morning that the Gambit would resume its regular course and speed at the beginning of the next day”s shift. Those currently housed on the crew deck could return to their usual deck at fifteen hundred hours the same day. The captain thanked everyone for their patience and cooperation, and that was that.
Dare read the message after sleeping well for over eight hours. He felt much better, but was hungrier than usual. He”d expected that, knowing how depleted he became after working with another so deeply. After his morning ablutions, he donned a fresh flight suit, and hotfooted it to the mess. Two cups of coffee with eggs and fruit took the edge off his appetite. It was mid-morning, and he wanted to enjoy his lunch with Jason in a few hours, so he could live with feeling a little hungry.
Knowing he”d be back to his regular schedule the next day, the empath went to his office to make sure it was clean and ready for business. He checked his last notes, so he”d be ready to engage each client as needed, then took a breath. It would be good to be back at work, but he”d also enjoyed having his schedule free to roam and do as he pleased. He made a note on his schedule to make sure he had time off every few weeks. Noting the time, Dare sent a message to Riis to let him know of any changes or cancellations for the next day.
As he methodically cleaned and checked notes, his thoughts kept returning to the time he”d spent with Jason the day before. His scent, his smile, and the way his eyes lit up when he saw the empath. The touch of his hand in his, Jason”s arm around him, holding him, providing comfort and safety. Dare inhaled, then let the breath out slowly. Whatever he was feeling, attraction was definitely part of it, but only a part. He felt as though he wanted to know all that made Jason who he was, and then cherish it, and him. The young man shook his head. He”d never felt this way before about anyone. That had to mean something.
It was time to head to Jason”s room, and the empath felt his anticipation rise even higher. Gaia help him. He didn”t even know what this was with Jason. The only thing he was sure of was he wanted it.
Jason met him at the door, and Lewis was nowhere in sight. ”Good afternoon, Dare. Come on in. Lewis went to the mess, so he”ll be back in a few minutes. Did you sleep well?”
The Mindset nodded, smiling in return. ”I had a solid eight hours and woke up because I was famished. Thank Gaia, the mess is always open. Don”t worry, I made sure I”d have room for lunch.”
The older man ushered him over to the fold-down table, motioning to him to sit on one of the hard chairs. ”I rarely have a big appetite when I”m in the Black, but I was hungry yesterday and today more than I usually am.”
Dare gave him a knowing look. ”It”s the work we did together. Brains need a lot of fuel, and we used up quite a bit. Feel free to have dessert since our minds love sugar and need it to function. That”s what I tell myself, anyway, when I have more sweets than I should.”
Jason grinned, sitting down next to him. ”That”s the best excuse I”ve heard in defense of eating as much dessert as you want. I”m going with it since I heard it from a professional.”
The empath gave him a wry look. ”As if you need permission to do that. You”ll probably feel hungrier for another day, then it will settle back into what you”re used to. That”s what it”s like for me, anyway.”
Jason propped an elbow on the table, settling his chin in his prosthetic hand. ”You know, I don”t care because I feel so much better, so much lighter, now. I”ve been crushed under that weight for so long that I thought it would be that way forever. I know it”s not all gone, and I know we”ll have to do more work together, but now I have hope that I can live instead of simply existing. I”ll never be able to thank you enough for that.”
Dare ducked his head, nodding. ”I don”t need thanks, Jason. Just knowing you feel better, and I helped you, means everything to me.”
Before Jason could reply, Lewis came through the door carrying a huge tray, carefully juggling it so nothing spilled. The big man stopped just inside the doorway, feeling the door slide shut against his clothing. He huffed out a breath, giving Jason and Dare a pointed look.
”As much as I”d like to serve both of you, I think you”d better come over here and grab the drinks before they drown your food. It was a near thing to keep it all upright from the mess, and to be honest, my arms are dying.”
Jason and Dare jumped up, going to him, Jason giving Lewis a slight frown. ”I thought Derek was going along to help you.”
”Couldn”t find him, Mr. Stravetta, and I knew you”d both be hungry. I managed okay, sir.”
Jason shook his head, helping Dare to take the drinks to the table. Lewis put the tray down as gently as he could. He shook out his arms before giving both men a smile.
”I picked up a little of everything since I know mind work makes the giver and receiver pretty hungry for a day or two. At least, that”s what my Mindset sister-in-law always said. Do you need anything else, sir? Mr. Munro?”
Jason smiled, shaking his head. ”I”m good, Lewis. Take the rest of the day off, and if you see Derek, tell him to come see me after dinner. No, don”t worry about the dishes. We”ll get them back to the mess. Thank you, Lewis, for your help.”
”It”s my job, Mr. Stravetta. You don”t have to thank me for that.”
”That may be the case, but you know our relationship is more than boss and employee. You basically watched over me and brought Dare to help me. I”ll thank you whenever I want to, Lewis, because you deserve it. I know that even if you don”t.”
Lewis bowed his head, a smile playing on his lips. ”Yes, sir. It was my pleasure and my duty to care for you as you have cared for me in the past. Have a good meal, sir, Mr. Munro.”
Dare walked him to the door, adding his own thanks, receiving a grin in response. The door swooshed shut, and the young man turned to his host.
Jason was already sitting at the table, parting out the food onto two plates. He glanced over to see Dare watching him and smiled. ”Get over here and eat. Lewis, bless him, even brought two large brownies for us. Whatever the company is paying him, it”s not enough.”
The empath sat down, pulling his chair closer to the table. ”He”s a good man, and I can tell he genuinely cares for you, and no, I didn”t ”read” him. I don”t do that without permission. I”d have to lower my shields and that can be problematic, not to mention it would be unethical.”
Jason nodded, then took a large bite of a sandwich. He considered Dare while he chewed, swallowed, then took a drink. ”I care about Lewis, too. He”s been working with me for several years. He refused to do something for the family and was going to be fired. I took him on instead, and he”s more than paid me back.” He stared at the empath for a moment. ”Lewis has a great deal of personal honor and it sounds like you do too, although you call them ethics.” He shrugged expressively. ”I try to do good, and not abuse whatever power I have. It”s family power, not mine. That said, I”ve been an asshole on more than one occasion, thus upholding my family”s checkered reputation, and that”s just on this ship.” He took another savage bite of his sandwich. ”Now you know who”s sitting across from you, Mindset. I”m not a nice person.”
Dare finished his bite, put down his sandwich, and rolled his eyes while enjoying the delicious flavors. ”I”m sorry you feel that way about yourself, because I can tell you that”s a load of shit. Have you forgotten that you”ve shown me who you are very intimately? Yes, we worked on your combat trauma, but the rest of you was along for the ride. My take is that you are a ”nice” person who”s been thrust into a family that shows little consideration to others, including family members. No matter what you want to believe, you”re a decent man, Gaia help you.”
”Gaia and I aren”t on speaking terms, so I doubt she”ll extend her understanding to me.” He glanced over at the other man. ”Let”s talk about anything but family. I know we need to, but I”m just not up for it right now.”
The Mindset ducked his head, picking up his sandwich again. ”That”s fine. Just remember you started this conversation, not me.”
The older man looked up, surprised. ”That”s not very ”Mindset -y” of you. Aren”t you supposed to be soothing and all that crap?”
Dare gusted out a sigh after he swallowed a bite. ”Let me be really clear about this. I am a Mindset. I always will be whether or not I stay with my practice. I can”t escape it or ignore it. Point two–I am not your therapist. I will help you as I would help a friend. You”ll get some soothing if you need it and not before. If we want to find out what draws us together, that”s the way it has to be. Point three, and the most important one–I like you, and I want to see where our feelings for each other go. I felt drawn to you, and you said you felt the same. I think we owe it to ourselves to follow that wherever it leads. I hope you understand, because I don”t know what the hell to do if you don”t.”
Jason gazed at him, then improbably chuckled. ”I get it, Mindset, and I agree. It was just…well, you”ve been so gentle that I wasn”t expecting to be poked by a metaphorical thistle. I”m glad you”ve got teeth, so to speak, because I do, and it”ll be easier if we can trade bites when we need to.” He blushed lightly. ”That sounded sexual, and I didn”t mean it that way.”
Dare laughed softly. ”I”m not a virgin, and I know you”re not. If we…no, when we get to that part, we can see what we both like. I”ve only been with other empaths, so it will be great to see what sex is like with someone who can”t read me.”
Jason”s eyes widened, his face pale. ”That shouldn”t be too hard. No pressure, right?”
The empath quirked an eyebrow. ”I”m pretty sure we”ll be fine, Jason. Don”t worry. I”m an empath. I”ll be just as gentle as you are.”
The older man took a long drink, closing his eyes. ”I”m screwed,” he muttered quickly, breaking into a grin.
Dare smiled. ”We can only hope.”
Lewis went on the hunt for Derek, per his boss”s order. This wasn”t the first time his co-worker had been AWOL, but Lewis had kept that information to himself, not wanting to get the other man in trouble. He knew what that felt like and had no desire to lay it on another person. If Mr. Stravetta hadn”t taken him on, the big man knew he would have been fired and blackballed, if not physically harmed. The Stravetta family were feared with good reason.
It took asking several people, and checking every cranny, but Lewis finally ran Derek down at one of the communication nodes scattered throughout the ship.
For a big man, Lewis was stealthy on his feet. He watched Derek fervently type in a message, read it over, then hit send. Moving back, the bodyguard pretended he”d only just arrived as Derek strode away from the node.
Derek frowned when he saw Lewis, who gave him a frown in return. ”There you are. Mr. Stravetta wants to see you after dinner. You were supposed to help me earlier and were nowhere to be found. If I were you, I”d start working on a good explanation.”
Derek narrowed his eyes before giving the other man a sneering smile. ”You are such a good lapdog, aren”t you, Lewis? Always acting like Stravetta hasn”t been effectively exiled and us with him. You may think you deserve to be sidelined, but I don”t. Move your huge ass and get out of my way. I”ve got things to do while you wait on your ”master”s” pleasure.”
Lewis grabbed Derek”s arm as he passed him, gripping it painfully. ”I don”t care what you do as long as you don”t jeopardize Mr. Stravetta. I may be a lapdog, but you are a mangy yard dog, rolling in your own shit. Think twice before you push me, Derek, or you won”t like the consequences.”
The other man jerked his arm out of Lewis” grasp. ”Big words, Lewis. I hope I can shove them down your throat soon.” He walked away, soon vanishing from the big man”s sight.
Lewis had a bad feeling, compounded by wondering who Derek had messaged and how. He knew the captain reviewed all outgoing messages, except ones sent under the Stravetta seal. He went over to the node and inputted a code he shouldn”t have. Derek”s message had been sent under the boss”s seal and had been sent immediately to the recipient. With no remorse, he read the message, flushing with anger as he did so.
Derek was spying on Mr. Stravetta and reporting back to his family. This message described the ”relationship” between Jason and Dare, decrying it with homophobia and prejudice against the gifted. Lewis took a stabilizing breath. That asshole thought he was better than Jason, or apparently, anyone. He”d discover his error soon enough.
Shutting down the node and clearing his own access to it, Lewis walked slowly back to his berth. He would speak with Mr. Stravetta before he saw Derek, so a plan could be put in place. Betrayal was not treated lightly in the family, something Derek would soon find out. There would be no place he could hide from their retribution.