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  The doors swished open behind him, but James paid it no mind. It was probably just the nurse coming to check on them. They made their rounds about every twenty minutes or so.

  “Martin?” the unfamiliar voice had James turning around and looking at a man he’d only seen once—when he’d contacted Martin’s job about his injuries. The new arrival was Martin’s boss, Frederick Manning.

  He was tall, with almost no bulk to him. For a man that ran a construction firm, it didn’t look like he did any heavy lifting outside maybe his regular visits to his gym. His brown hair was cut into a trendy style, and his small glasses were perched on his nose as if they were about to fall off.

  “Hello,” James stood and moved to stand in front of the tank. “I’m Lieutenant James Wright I was the one who called you about Mar-Mr. Black.”

  “Right, thank you. You can leave now,” Frederick demanded as he brushed by James and claimed the chair he’d just vacated.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t leave. My job is to protect Martin.”

  “Then why is he in this tank?” Frederick demanded. “Because it sure wasn’t because you were doing your job! Now leave me alone with my lover.”

  Those words were like a blow to the gut. He hadn’t had the chance to confirm the rumors flying around, but he didn’t think Martin was the kind of guy to chase after another man while involved with someone else. He may be a flirt, but he wasn’t a cheater.

  “I repeat,” James stood a bit straighter and pinned the slimmer man with his best glare. It was one he often used on lower ranking rookies that tried to push their limits. “My job is to keep Martin within my sight at all times. What happened to him was a tragic incident that also cost several good men and women their lives. Even if I had been right next to him, there would’ve been nothing I could’ve done to prevent the explosion.”

  Frederick gaped at him, his brown eyes blazing behind his small glasses. James was willing to bet the man wasn’t used to others talking back to him. Normally James would never question a superior, but this man was a civilian, and he had his orders.

  There was also the personal side to all of this. James didn’t want to leave Martin alone with this man. Something was off, he knew it. If Frederick really was Martin’s lover, why send him into an active warzone? It made absolutely no sense. Wasn’t one’s instinct to protect the people closest to them? No, Frederick was hiding something, or he wasn’t telling the truth. Either way, James wasn’t leaving.

  He did, however, let the man keep the chair he’d confiscated. Pulling a spare over, James sat down in a position so he could watch both Frederick and Martin. It took the new arrival all of two minutes to pull out a tablet and start typing away on it. James gritted his teeth, but didn’t say anything to him. A part of him wanted to though. He claimed Martin to be his lover, and yet he found the sense of mind to work while he was in this condition?

  The act only proved to him further that Frederick Manning was lying.

  He didn’t doubt the concern he saw in the man’s eyes when he first arrived. Or the anger he felt at his words earlier. Going off that, James was willing to guess and say Martin and Frederick had, at one time, been involved. They weren’t anymore though. At least, he hoped not.

  The nurse arrived five minutes later, and seemed startled to see Frederick in the room. She grilled him about his relationship to Martin, and frowned when he said boss and lover. She asked a few more questions while she checked on Martin’s vitals and the condition of the fluid in the tank.

  “He’ll be ready to come out tomorrow,” she said. “The doctor will check him over tonight and start the plans for extraction. Lieutenant, have you noticed any movement yet?”

  “Just the same twitching of his hands and feet,” James answered.

  She made a note of the observation before excusing herself. “Oh right,” she returned and looked at Frederick, “this hospital doesn’t allow overnight visitors, and visiting hours end in twenty minutes. Please, pack up and be gone before I come back.”

  “What about him?” Frederick glared at James.

  “Military orders,” she waved the issue aside. “Lieutenant Wright is assigned to this room as long as Mr. Black is here.”

  The man did not look happy to hear that, and James didn’t care. The nurse looked at them both, her eyes stern as he she waited for an answer.

  “Understood,” Frederick responded. “I’ll leave when they call an end to visitations.”

  “Thank you,” the nurse smiled and left.

  “I’ll be having a talk with your superiors,” Frederick snarled at James before he put his nose back in his tablet and continued working.

  Again, James managed not to say anything, though he did smile. The man was more than welcome to talk to his superiors. He doubted he’d get the results he was hoping for though.

  Chapter 6

  Fuzzy and floating. Those were the two primary sensations Martin registered as he slowly regained consciousness. The next was white, blinding light. It was like emerging from a dark cave after spending days in the depths of the earth, only to be greeted by the noon day sun.

  He did a lot of a spelunking in his free time, so he’d experienced a similar rush of visual sensory overload before.

  This felt different though. At least while spelunking he had a headtorch to light his path, giving him a bit of visual information as he went. This was an overload beyond anything he’d sensed before.

  Reaching up, he shielded his eyes as he batted his lashes hoping to help them adjust faster. With the movement came the next new sensation, stiffness and weakness. Just lifting his arm had been a chore. Holding it up was taxing beyond compare. After only a few seconds he had no choice but to drop the appendage as it was shaking from over exertion.

  “Good morning, Mr. Black,” someone’s soft voice drifted to him. It was the only comfortable thing that had happened to him since waking up. He guessed that the person speaking was trained to keep their voice low, because she continued to talk in that soft, gentle way, “You’ve been in the tank for two days. Your lower body was crushed and we had to perform emergency surgery to save your legs. After that, you recovered in a bath of specially designed fluid to accelerate healing. The weakness you’re feeling right now is because of your body’s exhaustion. Your strength will return to you over the next few days.”

  It all came rushing back as the nurse spoke. The attack and the explosion that had knocked him out. After that, nothing.

  “James?” Martin gasped. “Where’s Lieutenant James? Is he okay?”

  The nurse hesitated for a moment in whatever she was doing with a computer by his bed and smiled at him. “Lieutenant Wright is just outside the door. So is your lover.”

  “Lover? I don’t have a lover,” Martin frowned. He’d like James to be his lover, but he wasn’t going to admit to that right now.

  The woman’s expression darkened. “Mr. Manning specifically told the night nurse yesterday that you two are lovers.” Fred was here? Martin felt his pulse spike, and obviously it registered because the nurse reacted quickly. “Should I have him leave?”

  “I want to see James,” was all Martin could say. God, he hoped Fred hadn’t said anything to James. He’d just gotten the man to open up to him and accept his advances. The last thing he wanted was for James to pull away because of some falsehood Fred told him.

  The nurse nodded and moved to the door. She said something to the people outside, and Martin saw her shake her head. He wondered if Fred was putting up an argument. Probably.

  For the life of him though, Martin couldn’t understand why Fred was here. It was him that called their relationship off and shipped Martin all the way out here. Surely Martin nearly dying hadn’t changed his mind? Not that it would matter now. Martin was done with him.

  He could run off and get married. The man obviously never loved Martin if he could agree to the wedding in the first place.

  “Hey,” James entered the room, the door closing behind him
. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like a newborn,” Martin complained. “How about you?”

  “I’m fine, now that you’re awake,” James smiled at him as he walked across the room and sat down beside him. He reached out and grasped Martin’s hand. This was by far the best feeling he’d had since waking up. James’s touch was like a cooling balm to Martin’s fragile spirit right now. “I thought you’d ask for your lover, not me.”

  “Fred isn’t my lover,” Martin rushed to reassure James. “It’s complicated, but in the end, we aren’t together anymore. I’m single, for now,” he added with a bit of hope in his voice.

  James’s smile widened before he leaned in and kissed him. The nurse chose that moment to clear her throat. She gave them both a mischievous grin before physically checking Martin’s vitals.

  “I’ll give you two a moment,” she said, moving for the door. “Please, he won’t be up to anything strenuous for at least the next twenty-four hours. Take it easy on him,” she told James.

  “Understood,” James saluted.

  Martin couldn’t be certain, but he could swear he was blushing. His cheeks felt hot. James wasn’t though, he looked entirely serious as he turned back to Martin and kissed him again.

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t do that.”

  “Don’t stop,” Martin found himself saying despite knowing he should probably focus on the fact he was healing from what sounded like an extremely serious injury. None of that mattered right now, though. All he could think about was the next kiss, and maybe a bit more. Despite the nurse’s warning, he could feel himself responding as James bent down and claimed his lips.

  Their tongues dueled as Martin reached for James. James grabbed his hands and gently placed them back on the bed. Seemed his Ranger was really going to listen to the nurse and take it easy on him. What a pity.

  “I see.” Fred’s voice snapped them apart and Martin looked to his boss and ex with a mixed bag of emotions. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel upon seeing the man again, especially considering how they’d parted ways. One thing was certain, Martin wasn’t exactly happy to see him. “You’re cheating on me, huh?”

  “Excuse you?” Martin glared at the other man. “We are no longer a couple. That means it’s impossible for me to cheat on you. If anyone here is the cheater, it would be the man that got engaged to someone else while already in a relationship.”

  As usual, Fred didn’t look the slightest bit ashamed of his actions. “Lisa’s family is well connected in both the private and political worlds. Marrying her is a business affair. It has nothing to do with us.”

  “I refuse to see a married man,” Martin replied.

  “If I recall, it was you who made a fuss at my engagement party,” Fred snapped. “Who told you to get drunk and make a fool out of me like that?”

  “All I did was give Lisa some advice,” Martin shrugged. He regretted the action, it reminded him of how weak he was right now.

  “That’s enough,” James spoke as he stood and moved toward Fred. “The nurse told you not to enter this room. Leave. Now.”

  “Fuck you, He-Man,” Fred snapped indigently. “Is it you? Are you the one that seduced Martin away from me?”

  “Oh for the love of,” Martin sighed. “Leave, Fred. Now!”

  It was at that point the nurse returned and took control of the situation. Fred was removed from the hospital and Martin was given a lecture about overdoing things too soon. James also got a scolding from the woman.

  Martin didn’t think he would ever get out of that hospital bed. After two days of poking, prodding, and some physical therapy he was finally released from the hospital. He needed to continue with his physical therapy for another month, but other than that he was given a clean bill of health and cleared to return to work.

  Daryl and the crew had come by in stages to visit him. It made Martin feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know his crew cared enough to check on him. Especially after their atrocious first meeting.

  Looking around his apartment, he sighed. Never did he think he’d be so happy to see a cookie cutter, mass produced space before. Sitting down on the couch, he just allowed the tranquility of the space to fill him. There was no bleeping of machines. Doctors weren’t being paged over the intercom every three seconds. He couldn’t hear the constant murmured voices of people just outside his door.

  “You going to be okay?” James asked as he joined him on the couch, a cold drink in each hand. “You seem exhausted.”

  “I am,” Martin smiled, accepting his drink then moaning at the delicious taste rolling down his throat. “I never knew going through an accelerated healing bath can be so damned tiring. I feel like a newborn. Everything is sensitive.”

  “Everything?” James reached out and ran his hand along Martin’s arm. The simple touch had him shivering. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was because of his hyper-sensitivity right now, or because it was James touching him. Either way, he was reacting quickly. His cock filling as James’s fingers traveled up and down his arm in repetitive, soothing motions.

  “Yes,” Martin managed to say on a trembling breath, “Everything.”

  Their eyes met and it was like the temperature in the room suddenly skyrocketed. His chest felt tight and his heart thundered against his ribs. They moved slowly, reaching for each other both emotionally and physically. Their lips ghosted together, breathes mingling, hands holding on to each other.

  Just as they moved in for something deeper, the buzzer went off, signaling someone at the door. Martin wasn’t sure if he should cry or curse as James stood and moved to check who it was.

  “It’s Mr. Manning,” James announced. “He seems … insistent.”

  “He always is,” Martin sighed. “I don’t want to see him.”

  “I can send him away,” James said, though he moved away from the door and leaned over Martin. “Or, we can drive him away.”

  A thrill rushed through Martin at the look in James’s brown eyes. “Drive him away,” Martin agreed.

  James’ lips were on him instantly, devouring him as he pressed down against his body. Their similar heights allowed for everything to line up easily and Martin could feel exactly how much James wanted him.

  “I’m going to make you scream,” James husked as he broke the kiss and nipped at Martin’s bottom lip.

  Moaning, Martin pulled him back in, attempting to devour the other man. They moved slowly and awkwardly until Martin was lying on the couch, James hovering above him. Martin’s legs opened, cradling the dark man to him as he rocked their cocks against each other.

  “James,” Martin sighed.

  The buzzer sounded again followed by a pounding of the door. “Martin! Open up now!”

  “Ignore him,” Martin begged, kissing James again. “Please.”

  “I’m not stopping,” James growled, grinding down against Martin.

  There was that thrill again, the one that had Martin wanting more.

  He reached for James’s pants, feeling his hard cock through the thick material. James moaned, thrusting into Martin’s hand.

  “Lieutenant James Wright! Open this door!”

  Nothing like the voice of a commanding officer to pour cold water onto a moment. James bounced up like a rubber ball and straightened his appearance before going for the door. He waited a moment, allowing Martin to arrange himself, before he opened the door.

  “What on earth is going on here?” Captain Jonas demanded as he came into the apartment with Fred beside him. The Captain’s eyes went to James’s cock and snapped back up to his eyes. “Oh.”

  “Oh? Is that all you have to say?” Fred snapped. “He’s sleeping with my partner!”

  “Not my issue,” Jonas said. “Though, the fact this relationship is causing a disturbance on my base is. Work your personal problems out, please Mr. Black, before dragging my man into them.”

  Oh, Martin could kill Fred right now. There were no problems to work out. They were over. Still, he could se
e it in the man’s eyes, his ex wasn’t leaving here until he spelled it out in bold block letters. Maybe a space engine to the head would do him some good?

  Captain Jonas looked between them before sighing. “Please stop shouting in the halls.” With that he left.

  “You can leave to,” Fred glared at James.

  “No, he stays,” Martin stood. “I don’t trust you, and James is here to protect me.”

  With that, James moved to Martin’s side and stood at attention just a bit behind him. It was a protective stance.

  “Now, what did you want to talk about?” Martin asked.

  “I sent you here so you could cool your head,” Fred frowned. “Not to shack up with the first loose slut that looked your way.”

  “Bullshit,” Martin spat. “You sent me here so you could get married without a scene.”

  Chapter 7

  James didn’t exactly know what to feel as he watched Martin clench and unclench his hands. This was obviously a topic that distressed him. From the sound of things life had gotten very complicated between the two men before Martin came to the base. James couldn't exactly understand it all, but from the sound of things, Frederick got engaged and Martin didn't take it well. Not that he should have. What kind of person got engaged to an entirely different person then the one they're already dating?

  “You made a spectacle of yourself, and me, at my engagement party,” Frederick snapped.

  “I merely gave the woman some advice,” Martin shrugged.

  “By telling her to invest in a strap on?”

  James stifled his laughter at that. It wasn't his place to say anything. Even if that had been rather funny.

  “I also told her to get use to anal, seeing as I doubt you'd even know what to do with a vagina,” Martin added.

  “You intentionally embarrassed me!” Frederick seethe.