Chapter 4

When he finished entering his numbers, the

door to the room slid open. Leaving the card in the slot, Reth

stepped inside and found himself walking out onto the empty flight

deck.

The shields were up, displaying a dazzling

array of stars scattered across the darkness of space like diamonds

winking on black velvet. The console beeped to itself. Crossing the

deck, Reth dropped into the navigator’s chair and checked the

course out of habit. They were steady, and everything seemed fine.

Sinking back into the chair, Reth stared at the endless span of

space out the ship’s main window and wondered what number he had

miskeyed to get thisscenario. It was peaceful, true, but

he’d wanted something to relieve the throb at his crotch, to take

his mind off Xan. If he had to do it himself, why bother with the

sim?

As if on cue, the door behind him opened. It

sounded so real, Reth had to remind himself it was simulated.

Nothing was realin here. Nothing but himself. The flight

deck flickered around him as if to confirm its ephemeral nature.

With a lazy push of his foot, he spun the chair around to see what

the game had in store for him tonight—

Shit.

Xan stood just inside the door, leaning on

the short railing that divided the deck, head cocked in Reth’s

direction. His hair fell in a satiny rush over his shoulders, as if

he’d been holding it back as he entered the simdeck and just

released it. His eyes rivaled the stars outside. “Hey again.”

Reth’s mind spun out in half a dozen

different directions at once. Xan, here, but how? He’d just boarded

the ship a few hours ago—he wouldn’t know where the simdeck was,

and wouldn’t be authorized to access it yet, even if he’d figured

it out.

Which meant he was part of the simulation.

What wicked combination of numbers had conjured himup?

Hadn’t Reth heard something somewhere about the simdeck being

upgraded to include memory imagery? Was the upgrade already

installed? Why hadn’t he seen the memo?

More importantly, of all the men in his past,

why did the damn computer latch onto thisone?

He was already on my mind,Reth

reasoned as they stared at each other across the flight deck.

The system’s just picking up on things I’m already thinking,

even if I refuse to believe it. He’s not real, not here. He’s

not.

Still, he couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you

upstairs?”

Xan spread his hands to indicate the deck

around them. “Isn’t this the top deck?” he countered.

Reth thought maybe his voice sounded just a

tad off, and that made him feel better. It wassimulated,

after all. It hadto be.

With a roguish grin, Xan raised one eyebrow

and added, “I came looking for you.”

“Why?”

Crossing the deck to where Reth sat, Xan

trailed a hand down Reth’s arm as he circled him. There was a

promise in his eyes, the same one Reth thought he’d seen back on

that balcony so long ago. Picking at the sleeve of Reth’s flight

suit, Xan purred, “Like you don’t know.”

Before Reth could answer, that hand jumped

from his wrist to his lap. Eager fingers kneaded his erection as

Xan knelt before him. “You like that?” he whispered, rubbing the

front of Reth’s suit.

Reth nodded and closed his eyes. This was a

sim, he reminded himself—thiswas the reason he was here. To

lose himself, to forget. To conjure up scenarios with Xan

because you brushed him off upstairs,his mind whispered, but

Reth pushed that thought away. He concentrated on the hand at his

groin, the sure touch stroking his cock through the flight suit,

his own muffled moan as delight shivered through him.

Amid the quiet noises of the deck, Reth heard

a faint metallic zipas Xan eased down the zipper of his

flight suit. He felt the material grow slack against his chest and

waist, then a cool hand strummed low over his belly where his

undershirt didn’t quite meet his briefs. His stomach fluttered

beneath the touch and Reth slid down into his seat, legs spreading

wide on either side of the man who knelt before him. The zipper

parted further.

Through hooded eyes, Reth watched Xan open

his flight suit until the erection straining the front of his

briefs stood between them. Reth gripped the arms of his chair,

waiting. Slowly—oh, God, so slowly—Xan peeled the taut

briefs away, exposing first pale skin, then a shock of thick dark

curls, then the ruddy base of Reth’s dick. The tight fabric cut

across his shaft, pressing it into his balls. “Yes,” Reth gasped,

one leg rising beside Xan on its own accord. “God, yes.”

Then Xan pulled the briefs down all the way,

and Reth’s hard shaft swung up to bump against Xan’s chin. The tip

of Reth’s uncut cock peeked from its foreskin, already dribbling

filmy white cum. Gentle fingers lifted his nuts, rubbed them,

squeezed them playfully. Xan tucked Reth’s briefs below his

dangling balls to keep them out of the way. Tracing the curve of

Reth’s cock with one finger, Xan murmured, “Don’t tell me I missed

out on this.” Then he caught the spongy tip between his lips

and hummed.