Page 36 of Solomon's Ransom

Remma finally did exactly what he wanted and moved his hand to Sol’s cock. It was rigid to the touch, so tight it was probably aching. One single stroke was all it took. Sol’s back arched and he cried out as he shuddered all over and spilled into Remma’s hand.

“You’re perfect,” Remma said quietly, speaking mostly for his own benefit. Sol was probably too far gone to hear him.

If Sol did hear, he didn’t respond. He slumped forward until he lay against Remma’s chest, panting, fine tremors still running through his body. “I’ve missed this so much.”

“I’ll steal as much lube as we need,” Remma said, primarily to make Sol laugh, which he did, with unsteady breaths puffing against Remma’s shoulder.

“Now you,” Sol said. “Come on, Remma.”

“I’m not nearly there,” Remma said, again to make Sol laugh, because it was so blatantly untrue.

Sol turned his smile into Remma’s shoulder. Remma could feel it, that sweet curve. “Okay. I’ll have to be patient, then.”

But it didn’t take long at all. Remma thrust up a few times, clutching Sol to his chest, feeling pleasure pool in his lower belly. His slit and his cock throbbed in tandem. He felt overheated, molten, and Sol was so lax and warm in his arms. It was the easiest thing in the universe to take Sol’s hips in his hands and push him down, then again, and let his orgasm roll over him in wracking waves.

He and Sol lay together in the aftermath, sweaty and breathing hard, and Remma couldn’t remember a time he’d been happier.

THIRTEEN

Remma did his best to keep his head down during the trip back to Mirolasor. He visited Sol and otherwise stayed in his own room aside from meals. He did, though, take the chance to eat dinner with Berro when they ran into each other in the dining hall, and to tell Berro some of what he had planned.

“You’re leaving?” Berro blinked at Remma over his plate of food. “Really?”

“Really. Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to deal with Denna being dramatic about it. But yeah, I’ve had enough of this life. I want something different for a while.”

“You heading back to Tozra?”

“Maybe. I haven’t really decided yet.” Remma grimaced at his dinner. Mostly it depended on what happened with Sol. If he couldn’t get Sol back to safety then there didn’t seem to be much point in doing anything at all. But he wasn’t willing to spend too much time contemplating that possibility. It was too bleak.

“Well, you’ll figure something out, I’m sure,” Berro said. “It’s a big universe. Lots of options.”

He was right—Remma could do almost anything. But all that he wanted was to be with Sol, and that was tricky, because Sol was still Denna’s prisoner. And Remma had no idea if he would be able to get Sol free.

The day before they were due to arrive in Mirolasor system, Denna sent Remma a message requesting a meeting. Remma didn’t want to go—he dreaded hearing whatever it was Denna wanted to say to him—but ignoring the message would be even worse.

A bunch of pirates were milling around in the corridor outside Denna’s rooms, talking and laughing. They ignored Remma as he approached, and he waded through them with gritted teeth. The landing party, presumably, having already received their orders, and Remma was the last to hear about the plan.

Denna was in his sitting room, smug as an emperor, eating something Remma couldn’t identify, probably some treat he’d picked up at the last station. He grinned at Remma with food in his teeth as Remma came into the room. “There he is. Took you long enough.”

“I came as soon as I got your message,” Remma said, careful to keep the irritation from his voice.

Denna ignored his reply. “We’ll be at your little moon tomorrow. I sent a message to the human’s colony letting them know we have him and we’re looking to see what they’ll offer for his safe return. They’re going to meet with us, so you weren’t wrong that they value him.” Denna rolled his eyes. “Now we’ll have to see what these backwater humans can cough up to make it worth our time.”

“Do you have some amount in mind that you’ll settle for?”

“No firm number. I want it to hurt. If I think they’re holding back, I’ll space him with no regrets.” Denna grinned again. “Bets on whether the mother cries?”

Remma looked at him with disgust. He couldn’t believed he’d worked for this man for so long without ever really thinking about it. Denna took good care of his crew, but he was a small, mean, petty man who contributed nothing of worth to the universe. Remma thought less of himself for having gone along with Denna’s schemes for so long.

Well, no longer. This was the last job, and this one was for Sol.

“You’ll go down moonside with us tomorrow,” Denna said when Remma didn’t reply. “I want to keep an eye on you while I’m off the ship.”

Thanks for the trust, Remma thought but didn’t say. Denna was right not to trust him. He would do anything to save Sol—anything at all, without reservation.

“Aren’t you worried I’ll cause trouble down there?” Remma asked.

“You’d be a fool to try anything in front of me. I’ll just call off the negotiations and find some other way to get the core. Or give up on it altogether. There are plenty of other good scores to be had.” Denna wasn’t smirking now; he looked entirely serious. “But I know you’ll behave, because you want your human delivered back to his people.”