Chapter 12 Practice Kiss #2
In his sleep, Khoth would move his tongue lazily against Jace’s.
They would slide past each other. Khoth’s canines were sharper than a human’s.
They would rasp over the top of his tender tongue.
The thrill of that pleasure-pain would skate over his nerves and go right to his cock.
Just the thought of it now did that. He was hard.
It was then that Khoth slowly opened his eyes. Those blue-on-blue eyes that were slightly luminescent in the darkness. Khoth blinked sleepily as he stared at Jace as if he wasn’t sure if he was awake or asleep.
“You’re here,” Khoth stated. His voice was still blurry from sleep.
“Yeah, and so are you,” Jace laughed softly, delightedly.
Khoth’s gaze sharpened and the sleep left his eyes. He sat up abruptly, but he was still half on and half off Jace. He seemed almost bewildered like an animal who wasn’t sure which way led to safety.
“Hey, hey, you’re all right. It’s all right,” Jace soothed him.
He was able to untuck an arm from under the covers and touch Khoth’s left shoulder. The Thaf’ell Commander just had on his synthskin suit and Jace could feel the muscles underlying that thin yet powerful piece of material.
“You were asleep when I arrived. I did not wish to disturb your rest,” Khoth sounded a little robotic as if he’d practiced this speech before he’d fallen asleep himself. “The Osiris said you wished me to stay. It would not let me leave.”
Jace’s happiness soured then. “The Osiris wouldn’t let you go to your own quarters.”
You wished him here. He wished to be here. I gave him the excuse, the Osiris clarified.
Not cool, Osiris. You could have messed everything up. If Khoth thinks he has to be nice to me in order to obtain my help against the Khul that will be awful! Jace scolded it.
We will see who is right. He wishes to be with you. His mother recognized this as well. You should ask him, the Osiris suggested.
I cannot believe you, Jace growled.
Khoth started to crawl off of him and towards the edge of the bed.
Jace’s mouth opened, but nothing came out to convince Khoth to stay where he was.
But, as if it had a mind of its own, his right arm shot out and grabbed Khoth.
The Thaf’ell Commander froze and slowly lowered his gaze until it was on Jace’s hand. Jace immediately released him.
“S-sorry! Sorry! The Osiris made you stay and here I am--”
He chose to sleep on the bed, the Osiris helpfully pointed out.
“Here I am… ah, still trying to keep you,” Jace finished with a grimace.
“I thought you would not wish me so close. I chose to rest on the bed, but I left sufficient space so I would not touch you.” Khoth was frowning as if he couldn’t understand how he had wound around Jace.
“I think you may be a cuddler!” Jace teased.
Khoth blued. “I would not do that without your permission!”
The horrified look on the Thaf’ell Commander’s face had Jace waving his hands. “No! I mean… you did! You would have! I didn’t mind! It was nice to wake up with you here. You’re like my anchor. My touchstone. With you here things don’t seem as overwhelming.”
Khoth studied him with an unreadable expression, but he wasn’t leaving the bed.
He did though move his hands through his hair, straightening the snarls with his fingers.
Jace found himself reaching over to smooth down a place Khoth missed.
The Thaf’ell Commander’s eyes widened as Jace finished fixing his hair.
“Oh, you had missed a spot!” Jace looked down at his hands, cursing them.
What am I doing? I just am making this worse! First, the Osiris makes him stay! We wake up like two twining vines! And now I’m fussing with his hair!
“Has the Osiris… have you spoken to the Osiris yet?” Khoth asked.
It was such a strange thing to ask! When did the Osiris not talk to him?
Oh, yeah, when I really want to know something! If I don’t want to know it then it's mums the word, Jace sighed.
“Yeah, it was a little chatterbox this morning,” Jace told him.
I spoke only what was necessary. The Osiris sounded miffed.
“But you were wondering if it had told me something particular?” Jace guessed.
Khoth nodded sharply. His hands fussed with the material of his synthskin suit. It was a nervous tick and nervousness was not something that Khoth showed easily.
So he must be really upset and uncertain, Jace realized.
Jace scrubbed his hands over his face. “Okay, what’s going on? What happened with your mom that’s got you so het up?”
Khoth looked at him through his lashes. “It seems I am not the master of my Xa and Xi as I thought. Both you and Thammah knew immediately that I am experiencing an emotional disturbance.”
Jace’s eyebrows rose. “Thammah, too? I’m surprised that she didn’t get it all out of you before you came here.”
“She would have, but I insulted her in order to end our friendship,” Khoth stated.
“You did what now?” Jace blinked at him.
“I insulted her--”
“Yeah, I got what you did! But why? Why would you do something like that to Thammah?!” Jace grabbed Khoth’s shoulders and actually shook him.
Khoth did not resist him, but allowed himself to be thoroughly rocked back and forth. Finally, he got out, “T-to p-protect h-her.”
Jace stopped shaking him. “What?!”
“I intend to betray the Alliance. I did not wish to involve her in this. A friendship between us would put her under suspicion,” he said simply. “Furthermore, Thammah is very loyal. It will make it easier for her to rejoin the Alliance after I am exiled if she hates me.”
“You’re going to betray the Alliance?” Jace’s head cocked to the side. “Why… wait… wait… this is about me, isn’t it? You helped me and now--”
“My mother has two plans. Both of which are absurd and will lead to ruin,” he stated.
It was said calmly as if these were not terrible things, which upset Khoth greatly.
But the slight twitching of his fingers against the cloth of the suit told Jace all he needed to know.
He was certain that Khoth’s vitals--which popped up immediately for him to compare and contrast--were also off the charts.
“What are her plans?” Jace asked. “Or should you not tell me?”
“I absolutely should not tell you, but I am going to do so, which is how I will be betraying the Alliance,” Khoth told him.
“Then maybe don’t tell me?” Jace suggested.
Khoth’s hands stilled. Then he slowly reached over for Jace. He took both of Jace’s hands in his. The touch was so unexpected and tender. Jace’s lips parted and he found himself speechless again. Heat colored his cheeks and his cock ached between his thighs again.
“I need to tell you though the one that is within my control entirely will never take place and the Osiris will ensure that the other is impossible as well,” Khoth stated.
“Well, ah, if neither will occur then you don’t have to tell me.” Khoth holding his hands was making it very hard to think, let alone get out complete sentences. “If you had to tell me about all the things that are not going to happen we’d never leave this bed. Right? Ha? Yeah?”
Oh, my God, I sound like an idiot! Jace thought.
But he was having trouble swallowing around his throat. Khoth’s thumbs were lightly rubbing along the backs of his hands.
Khoth stared down at his lap. Thankfully, there were mounds of comforter over Jace’s lap or it would be quite apparent that he had an erection.
He hadn’t even had a chance the night before to really check out his junk.
He’d thought he was still the same size, but maybe he was bigger.
He felt bigger there like he was everywhere else.
“You are correct that telling you negatives would seem counterproductive. But this goes to… motivations and character. Two things that will not change in your interactions with my mother and the Alliance,” Khoth explained.
“I don’t want you to betray the Alliance for me,” Jace answered.
A small smile crossed Khoth’s lips. “And that is why I will for you. You’re not just the Pilot, you are a good and honorable man. I believe that the Alliance would be best served by us being transparent with you.”
“That would be good, but you only think that because you know and trust me,” Jace answered with a shrug. “Your mother doesn’t yet, let alone the rest of the Alliance. I still have to win them over.”
Another faint smile. “I believe if my mother gave you that chance, you could accomplish this. But she will not because she is desperate.”
Jace leaned in towards Khoth. “What’s making her desperate?”
“Several things. I believe the Alliance…” Khoth breathed in, “I believe the Alliance is out of ships.”
“But how can that be? The Osiris just needs to grab some fuel--which it can siphon from Jupiter or any gas giant--and start the production process and--”
“Other ships are not like the Osiris. Such a gift is unique.” Khoth grimaced. “We can barely fix the Altaeth technology we have. We cannot build more vessels. We are dependent upon finding them.”
Jace’s forehead scrunched. “But surely you have your own technology--”
“It does not work against the Khul,” Khoth gently reminded him. “Perhaps if we’d had time to truly develop it, we might have created something ourselves, but we did not have that time. And though there have been many investigations and attempts… Well, we depend upon Altaeth technology.”
“Well, that will be fixed when the Osiris can produce some more ships! And look at all these planets.” Jace gestured to the walls and ceilings where hundreds of worlds had danced and spun. “They all have tech and--”
“Yes, all of this is invaluable. That is why my mother must have it,” Khoth said.
“I see.”
“And there are other considerations. There are internal political struggles where people far more xenophobic than my mother wish to take charge,” Khoth stated. “She has little to no bargaining power to get this information.”
“Meaning she can’t give humanity membership in the Alliance?” Jace slowly asked.