In Enemy Territory - Shannon West Page 0,93
making all the arrangements for the wedding.”
“That sounds almost too good to be true.”
Kylon dropped a kiss on his mouth, lingering for a while and giving him more kisses. Then right in the middle of a particularly good one, he pulled away. “Oh, I forgot to tell you Mikos told me that he was pretty sure Ryan would ask him about adopting Chaz, the little boy kidnapped from Tygeria. His father is dead now too, so unless there are some relatives somewhere who object, Chaz will join their family.”
“I’m so glad. Ryan would probably be a great dad. Not like the sorry piece of shit that I had.”
“Rasc, I think you need to let some of those old feelings about your family go. They’re like poison, and they can harm you. Your father may not have been the best one, but he did come after you when your mother and your younger sibling were killed in the bombing. He didn’t have to do that and let his wife know he’d been unfaithful to her.”
“No, you don’t understand. He left me there with that woman and those kids of his. My half-brothers. And they abused me!”
“Rasc, there was a terrible war going on. He had no choice but to go back to it. And those boys were no doubt jealous of your father’s regard for you. As for your stepmother, at least she fed you, washed your clothes, and saw to it that you went to school. She may not have been a warm person, but perhaps she tried her best in her own limited way. I think you must have looked a great deal like your mother, and you would have been a constant reminder. You’re very beautiful, nobyo. It’s not right, but it’s just the way it was. You have to put all that behind you now and move on. I’ll be your family now and all you need.”
Rasc’s eyes widened. “No, my stepmother….” He couldn’t continue. All the confusion and all of the pain he’d suppressed over the years came tumbling forward, threatening to bury him under its weight. He turned blindly away from Kylon and felt a hand seize his arm and pull him back into a tight embrace. They didn’t speak for several minutes, neither of them used to dealing with strong emotions. But soon, Kylon was kissing him and he was returning the kisses, which led to more interesting activities.
Much later, Kylon lay beside him, stroking his chest, propped up on his arm. “All I’m saying is don’t let your childhood cloud the rest of your life. We have our own lives to live now. Together. Maybe you and I might decide to have a child of our own someday.” He kissed Rasc’s cheek. “I think you might make an excellent omak.”
Rasc laughed out loud, like Kylon wanted him to, and then stopped abruptly and raised his eyebrows. “Wait, you’re kidding, right?”
Kylon smiled and neatly changed the subject. “I heard from Pax today, by the way. He left for the planet where Rhaegar and Prince Derrick live—I don’t remember the name off hand, but anyway, he sounded happy. And he’s taking Setin with him. He said Setin would make a good first mate when Pax gets himself a new ship.”
“That’s really good news. I was worried about what they’d do.”
“You worry too much, like I always tell you. From now on, give me all the worries and I’ll handle them for you. Just relax now, nobyo, and look forward to your new life with me.”
Kylon’s heart overflowed with happiness, and he wondered if Rasc felt the same way. He’d told him the night before that he never really believed he’d ever find someone like Kylon to love.
As he was doing more and more these days, Kylon understood what Rasc was feeling. He caressed the side of his lover’s face and said, “Trust me, nobyo. As you humans say, I’ve got this.”
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shannon West lives in the southern United States, and is a lover and avid reader of M/M romances. Shannon began writing gay romance a few years ago, and now has over ninety short stories, novellas, and novels to her credit. Her stories have been translated into French, Italian, and even one Japanese Yaoi. Her favorite genre is paranormal and most of her characters don’t get really interesting to her until they grow a tail. Shannon loves men and everything about them, and writes Romance (with a capital R) unashamedly and unabashedly. She believes, in the words of Helen Steiner Rice that “love is the answer that everyone seeks, love is the language that every heart speaks.” But she also believes wholeheartedly in the words of Woody Allen, that love may be the answer, but “while you’re waiting for that answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions.” Shannon mostly spends her days at the keyboard, ably assisted by her cats, Scarlett and Taz, and eluding housework, which stalks her relentlessly.
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