26. Chapter 26
They spent the rest of that afternoon and evening in bed. At one point, Jason threw on a robe and went out to request some food. Henry, for his part, smiled and suggested a selection of small bites, along with a carafe of water and two glasses of cider. Stravetta agreed, knowing he looked disheveled, but not giving a damn. Henry tactfully said he would knock and leave the tray outside the door. Thanking him, Jason returned to his bedroom, and his new lover.
After consuming some food and drinking all the water, the two used hands, mouths, and their bodies to bring each other off, until Jason, trembling from the force of his orgasm, made the ”time-out” sign. ”I need to rest a little–I”m not used to doing this anymore than you are. I”ve got the added extra of being almost ten years older. Coming three times in a row verges on a miracle at my age, plus I”m covered in so much spunk that I”m sticking to everything. Wanna take a shower?”
Dare wiped his mouth, having sucked Jason off a few minutes before, still feeling the echo of his afterglow. ”I”ve been wanting to try out that huge shower since I first saw it.” He took a deep breath. ”I almost hate to wash up. The smell of us together is intoxicating.”
”At the risk of making a terrible pun, there”s more where that came from–maybe not right away, but soon.”
The empath groaned. ”That”s bad, but I”m ready for a repeat when you are. Let”s shower, drink that cider, and see what ”comes up”.”
It was Jason”s turn to roll his eyes. ”Don”t diss my puns when you”re making worse ones. C”mon, I”ll wash your back and anything else I can reach.”
The shower was much larger than any Dare ever used, with multiple heads and jets shooting from the walls. The water was hotter than the communal baths, but it was still over much too soon. Jason had washed him, gently running a cloth over him, kissing each part when he was done. Dare leaned back against him after the older man rinsed himself, enjoying the last few seconds of water.
Dare sighed. ”Someday, I hope I can shower for as many minutes as I want. I know we have to conserve, but I can dream.”
Jason wrapped him in a towel, drying off on another, then put it around his waist. ”I”ve read history that said that people used to shower for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, with hot water, every day. Sounds like a fantasy, doesn”t it?”
”As much as I”d like that, I think I”d feel guilty using resources that way. I”ve been taught to save and reuse everything. Even if we could, I don”t think I could do that. A brief shower every day would be great, though.”
Jason unwrapped the younger man from his bath sheet, drying areas that were still damp. ”You”re in luck then, Mindset. I can shower every day if I wish to–no restriction. I would be happy to do that with you.”
Dare moved into his arms, his half hard cock rubbing against Jason”s towel. ”We”ll have to get sticky again. I can”t just shower unless I need to.”
Jason made a face of faux horror before grinning. ”You”re so ethical. It makes up for my lack, so I”m not complaining. I promise to get you very sticky so you can take a shower without guilt.”
The empath kissed him in the middle of his chest. ”You want to start now? I”m ready if you are.”
”Even if I”m not, I”ll always be ready to touch you however you want. Get your cute butt into bed and let”s see what happens.”
Jason amazed himself by coming a fourth time, though his spunk made a very weak showing. Gathering Dare into his arms again, he sighed blissfully as they fell asleep. The empath ran his fingers through the older man”s hair gently. He needed to get up and take his dampers. He wished, not for the first time, that he didn”t need them, but there was no changing his reality. Carefully disengaging from Jason, he quietly retrieved his duffle, found the pills, and took one, sighing as he did so. He used the bathroom, wiping off his cum, before going back to bed. Jason reeled him into his arms again, mumbling something unintelligible. Dare soothed him with his hands and voice just before the medication eased him to sleep.
Dare woke early, as that was his habit, and inwardly cursed. Jason was still completely asleep, spooning him. The younger man would not wake him with the effort it would take to get out of bed. Closing his eyes again, he resolutely tried to meditate, or at least do some productive thinking. Feeling his lover”s soft cock against his buttocks was not conducive to meditation, so treatment planning it was.
The empath had completed half of his treatment plans (at least in his mind) when Jason suddenly went from asleep to wakefulness. He briefly gripped the Mindset tightly before letting go.
”I didn”t mean to grab you. I was dreaming and thought you”d left.” Dare gave him a concerned look that Jason felt needing answering. ”No, I wasn”t having a nightmare, so relax. It was more a ”where are you, I can”t find you” type of dream. Fortunately, I woke up and clutched at you, so I knew you were here.” He pulled the empath closer, giving him a kiss. ”We”ve got all of today together. What would you like to do?”
The younger man wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, making Jason laugh. ”Of course, we can do more of that, but I think we”d better eat a meal and walk around a little before we do. Have you been to the conservatory?”
The Mindset shook his head. ”The garden? No, I”m not even sure where it is. I thought you had to have permission to visit there.”
”Lucky you know the almost owner of this ship. I have permission to go wherever I wish. We should definitely go–I think you”ll love it.”
Dare nodded agreement. ”I”d like that. I”ve missed not seeing anything naturally green. Still wish I”d spent more time outside before I left Earth, even though it was always so warm.”
Jason looked pensive for a moment. ”The family has a large garden with misters to keep it cooler. I always enjoyed sitting out there. It was all decorative, though, no food bearing plants.” He made a derisive sound. ”Gods know we wouldn”t do anything practical like that.”
The empath gave him an uneasy glance. ”Your family sounds like they”re…”
”Entitled? Selfish? Pick a descriptor and don”t feel bad about it. It”s all about them, so why care about anyone else? I played that game while I was there, but never felt it was really me. Going to war was terrible, but at least it got me away from my family and their overweening crappiness.”
Dare was quiet for a moment, before taking a breath and sighing it out against his lover”s shoulder. ”I know it”s selfish, but I”m glad you”re here with me. It sounds like both of us were misfits in our families. We have the chance to make a better life for ourselves now. I hope we can do that together.”
The older man gave him a thoughtful kiss on the forehead. ”I want that, Dare, for both of us. Whatever you want is what we”ll do. We have time to figure it out, and then we”ll go from there.”
Dare gave him a smile. ”Good advice, Mr. Stravetta. I need to clean up a little, then let”s have some breakfast. We both used up about a zillion calories last night.”
The older man groaned. ”How long are you going to call me ”Mr. Stravetta”? I don”t think we can get any closer since we”ve had each other”s cocks in our mouths. I like it when you call me J or Jason. ”Mr. Stravetta” is a hardass.”
The empath stared at him with mild outrage. ”He is not! He”s the part of you that commands formal respect and makes wrongs right. He”s the you that takes care of his staff and is thoughtful and caring. Does it bother you when Lewis says that?”
Jason stared back, his eyes wide. ”No, but he”s part of my staff and he”d never call me by my first name because that”s not him.”
”If you want to be precise, I”m part of your staff, too. This is your ship, you own it. Everybody on it works for you, so I must be, too.”
Jason sat up, carefully letting go of Dare, before turning to glare down at his lover. ”That may be logical, but it”s not how I feel, and you know it. Want me to fire you? I shouldn”t be sleeping with an employee.”
”Go ahead. I”m working out my passage, not for a wage.”
Jason ducked his head. ”Crap. I”m not winning this, am I?”
Dare sat up, sitting cross-legged next to him. ”No, you”re not and you won”t. When I call you ”Mr. Stravetta”, I”m yanking your chain a little because I can be a brat. But I meant what I said, too.”
The older man sighed. ”I”m letting this go as my friend, the empath, advised me to do when I can”t possibly benefit from something. Truce?”
The Mindset gave him a regal nod. ”Of course, but I don”t think I said that. It”s good advice, though.”
Jason looked heavenward before glancing over at him. ”Are you ticklish? Right now, a good tickle would make me feel better about you.”
”If I am, you”ll never know, and if you do, I won”t be responsible for what happens. This is your only warning.”
The older man raised his hands in surrender. ”Message received. It was only a thought.”
Dare gave him a sweet, faintly predatory, smile. ”Think of something else, Mr. Stravetta.”
Jason nodded rapidly. ”I already am.”