22. Chapter 22
Jason woke slowly and smiled. He hadn”t had any nightmares since Dare had ”treated” him. Sleeping through the night and having normal dreams was such a gift after so many broken nights, filled with terror. Energized, he threw back the covers and stood. Thinking longingly of his shower in his own suite, the older man cleaned up the best he could and dressed. It was still thirty minutes until Lewis came on shift. He”d ask him to get him some breakfast since he didn”t trust Derek to do so without spitting on his food or worse. Meanwhile, there were always reports to read and books to enjoy.
Lewis delivered breakfast and reported that the night had been a quiet one. The ship was online and building speed as they spoke. Derek was in his quarters as far as anyone knew. Jason nodded, giving the other man a smile.
”Thanks for the update. I”ve already started packing my things up for the move back to the suite. Thank the Gods I didn”t bring much down here. Please check on the other staff before the move. If they need anything, let me know. I hope their ”holiday” from duty has been good for them.” Jason took a drink of his coffee. ”I would like to meet with the captain tonight in my suite for dinner. Please deliver that invitation to his office this morning and wait for a reply. If he says yes, let the staff know I want two full dinners at seventeen hundred hours in the office of the suite. They can move whatever they need to in there. It”s the most secure room up there, and I”m not taking any chances with being overheard.”
Lewis nodded his understanding. ”Good choice, Mr. Stravetta. I”ll take care of all of that. Is Mr. Munro coming over today?”
Jason leaned back in his chair and grinned. ”He left me a message that he”d be here after lunch. I want to show him the suite and make sure he has the access codes so he can come and go as he wishes. I mean, if he wants to.” He sighed softly. ”I know it”s not a surprise to you I care about him, and not as my therapist or whatever. We want to see where these feelings go. It”s important to me, Lewis.”
The bodyguard met his boss”s eyes. ”I know, sir. Mr. Munro–Dare, is a good man, and that”s what you deserve, if you don”t mind me saying so.”
”Lewis, you know you can say whatever you want to me. The only reason you don”t much of the time is your good manners. Thank you for saying that. I hope I”m good enough for him. The things I”ve done, seen…”
The big man barely stopped himself from making a rude noise. ”Mr. Stravetta, I wouldn”t be standing here, taking your orders, if you weren”t a decent person. You can”t remake the past, so let it go. Mr. Munro doesn”t care about any of that, he only cares for you as you are, uh, sir.”
The older man stared at him, then raised an eyebrow. ”You have hidden depths, Lewis, and I”m thankful for them and you. Now get going and let me know what the captain says. Meet me back here for lunch–yes, we”re eating together. We can call it a working lunch if it makes you feel better, so don”t argue with me and get going.”
Lewis hid his smile, vocalized a quiet, ”Yes, sir,” and left.
Jason finished his tepid coffee, looking thoughtful. Lewis was an employee, but he was also a friend, an ally, and had his back. He closed his eyes, taking a breath, knowing he was far luckier than he deserved, no matter what his bodyguard said.
Dare headed to Jason”s berth at thirteen hundred hours. In the intervening hours, he”d finished his morning notes, checked on Chance, and given him more to read and practice. The younger Mindset was learning fast and was a pleasure to teach. Now, the only thoughts in the empath”s mind revolved around seeing and being with Jason. Feeling his anticipation grow, Dare reveled in that feeling which made him feel glorious as well as nervous. The Mindset smiled faintly to himself. He”d looked forward to seeing others before, but this was different. More intense, yet softer somehow. He shook his head. Gaia, he was fast becoming a walking contradiction when it came to Jason. A sure sign they needed to talk more about what they were feeling and/or experiencing.
Lewis met the empath at the door, giving him a warm smile. ”It”s good to see you, Mr. Munro. I know Mr. Stravetta is expecting you. Let me announce you, then you can go in.”
Dare touched his suit sleeve to stop him. ”It”s good to see you too, Lewis, but please just call me Dare. I know you”re being respectful–I appreciate that–but I don”t need that from you. You”ve always treated me as an equal anyway. Did Mr. Stra…Jason ask you to address me that way?”
Lewis shook his head. ”No, that”s all on me. I wanted you to know that I respect you and approve of your relationship with Mr. Stravetta, plus I didn”t want to be too familiar with you in a formal setting with the boss. I”m happy to call you by your first name, but I”d appreciate it if you”d make sure Mr. Stravetta is alright with it first. Or I can ask him if you like.”
Dare smiled up at the bigger man. ”I”ll ask him. We need to talk about everything anyway, so I”ll add that to my list. Is there a poker game this week?
”No, too much going on with everything getting back to normal. Next week, usual day and time.”
The empath nodded. ”Thank you. I”m going to try to be there. Better announce me before Jason wonders what we”re doing out here.”
Lewis grinned, opening the door. He stepped far enough inside to keep the door from closing automatically. ”Mr. Munro to see you, sir.”
Jason looked up from his pad, smiling. ”I was wondering if you were having a party out there. Send him in, Lewis, thank you.”
Dare slid past the big man as he came in, adding his own thanks. He stopped a few feet into the room, giving Jason a warm smile.
”Here I am, as promised.” He glanced around the room. ”Looks like you”re all packed up. I”ll miss you being only a few doors away.”
Jason stood, coming over to him. Standing close, he drew in Dare”s inviting, spicy scent, then looked into his eyes. ”I want to…I mean, can I give you a hug? It”s alright if you don”t want to.”
Blue eyes met dark ones as Dare nodded slowly, moving into Jason”s arms. He was tall enough to put his head on Stravetta”s shoulder, and the warmth radiating from the other man warmed him on the always slightly cool ship. Jason”s arms went carefully around him, holding him gently but firmly. They stood close together for several moments before Jason sighed.
”This is nice. I hope it is for you, too.”
The Mindset nodded into his shoulder. ”You make me feel…cared for and safe. I was going to say cherished but thought that might be too much.”
Jason nuzzled the top of the empath”s head, then lightly kissed him there. ”I do cherish you, Dare, even though I know it”s early days for us. You feel you belong in my arms, which is good since I can feel you making your way into my heart.”
Dare turned his face into the older man”s chest. ”I know it”s pretty fast, but you”re knocking on the door of mine. Whatever connection we have is strong, and I”m glad of that. Amazed but happy.”
Jason responded by holding him tighter for a minute. ”You want to sit down and talk? If I keep holding you like this, little Jason is going to make an appearance, and I don”t think either of us is ready to go there right now.”
The empath briefly shook with laughter. ”Little Jason? Really?” He held on when Jason tried to pull out of the hug. ”I”m teasing you, Mr. Stravetta, calm down.” The older man subsided, returning to hugging again. Dare moved back enough to see Jason staring down at him.
”We may not be ready to have sex, but that doesn”t mean I haven”t thought about it. Very pleasurable thoughts. If little Jason and little Dare make an appearance, then we”ll go from there. I”m glad you”re alright with taking this slow, even if it gives us couilles bleus.”
”Classy, French for ”blue balls’, I presume?”
Dare grinned. ”What can I say? Languages are easy for me.” He gave Jason a final squeeze, then took his hand as they went over to the couch.
”We need to discuss a few things, J. I know you”re moving back to your suite today, so it”ll be harder for me to see you. We still need to work on family issues–I”m going to tell you about mine, too. There are probably a few more sessions that need to be devoted to your combat trauma as well. That”s the practical stuff.” He gave Jason a caring smile before continuing.
”I want to talk about our relationship and figure out what we both want from it. We have a little over a year before we make planetfall. I”m supposed to go down with the colonists while you go back to Earth. I can never go back there if I want to remain free.” He paused, seeing Jason”s eyes darken with his last statement. ”See? We have issues of importance to work through.”
Jason mutely pulled his hand from Dare”s, before putting his arm around him, snugging him close to his side.
”I know we have a lot to talk about, but I need to fill you in on what Lewis discovered.” Jason described what Derek had done, and the plan to prevent further damage. ”I think we need to accept that Derek has already outed you for being here, and I can bet that my family wants you for their own purposes, probably as a weapon.” Dare stared at him, appalled, as Jason nodded.
”Yes, my family would do that if they could. Of course, you could kill them all, but they”d never think of that. I have no need to return to Earth myself. My family abandoned me when I needed them, and having Derek planted to spy on me is the last straw. That said, his influence will have to be mitigated. I”m meeting with the captain tonight for dinner to discuss that. Don”t worry, we will not murder him, although he deserves it. Neither Lewis nor I trust him. I know he tried to pry information out of you, so I”m betting you don”t care about him, either. We”ll have to come up with a plan to shield you from his treachery, but that”s a future problem.” Jason took in the empath”s wide-eyed glance.
”Please don”t worry about that. I won”t let anything happen to you. As for access to me on the other deck, I”m giving you the codes so you can come up anytime you wish to. I”m happy to meet you in your berth, your office, wherever you want. I do have a very secure office, though. Derek is on permanent night shift, but don”t let that stop you. I do not give a shit what he thinks or wants at this point. I also wanted to let you know that I”ve not had any nightmares since you helped me. I know PTSD is the gift that never ends, but it”s glorious not to wake up screaming or acting crazy.” He paused, taking in Dare”s overwhelmed expression. ”That was too much, wasn”t it? I”m sorry.”
The Mindset sighed. ”Yes, it”s a lot to deal with, but we have to, so there you go. Don”t apologize for telling me the truth. I always felt Derek was shady, so whatever happens to him is on him. I”m fine with meeting you in your ”very secure office”. We can work out a schedule tomorrow. Okay if I come up for lunch? My afternoon is free at this point. Last but not least, I asked Lewis to call me Dare instead of Mr. Munro, but he wanted to make sure you didn”t mind.”
The older man smiled. ”That Lewis. I”m fine with him calling you by your given name. Lunch tomorrow is good for me. Thirteen hundred hours in my suite?”
Dare nodded. ”Perfect. We have thirty minutes before the big move. I”d like to know how you kiss. I”m told I”m pretty good at osculation.”
Jason pulled the younger man into his lap. ”Let”s see if that is an accurate assessment, shall we?”
The empath licked his lips slowly before nodding. ”Pretty sure you won”t be disappointed.”