much empty space he has in his head, or—”
“Space Force. The final frontier. We’re heading into a new future.” It took an act of the heavens to maintain a serious, awed expression. Inside, Logan was cry-laughing at the idiocy of it all. “I love space. I know every episode of Star Trek like the back of my hand.” This at least was true.
“That’s why . . .?”
“He boldly went where no man has gone before.”
“Not in any positive sense.” Alexander shifted, their chests touching. He looped his thumbs in Logan’s belt loops and tugged him that last inch. Their bodies met with a soft, urgent thump and heat blasted through Logan.
Logan’s voice came out raw with desire and something deeper. “I want the adventure of the unknown. Want to return home and be someone worth talking about.”
Alexander’s gaze was turning him inside out. “Do you have to go to such extreme lengths for that?”
Sadness glittered in Alexander’s eye, and Logan shivered. “I—”
The bushes rustled next to them, and they jerked away from it, breaking apart.
“Ah!” Logan jumped back.
“Do you cower like that when you hunt too?”
Logan waved a hand toward a possum retreating into the bushes. “That one had a foamy white mouth. As a hunter, you have to know when to back off. Survival instinct.”
“Is that right?” Alexander hummed.
“Uh huh.”
“Tell me more about hunting.”
Logan jerked a finger toward the approaching trash pandas. “Let’s hustle inside the tent and shut us in. Quick.”
Logan lurched toward the tent door and unzipped.
He ducked in and peered out at Alexander, who crouched before the tent, paling.
“Can we sleep with the door open?” Alexander asked.
Logan eyed the dark, rustling bushes. “Maybe a crack at the top?”
A long cooing noise pierced the night, and Logan tugged Alexander inside.
Alexander tripped over the door and thumped against Logan, tumbling them both down into a sprawling tangle of limbs atop slippery sleeping bags.
Their breaths mingled and Logan soaked in the warmth of Alexander’s weight.
“The zipper,” he said at the same time Alexander said, “The flashlight.”
Logan fondled the floor and located the flashlight, then rolled Alexander onto his back, pinning him there for another breathless moment, enjoying the tight feel of the man under him.
Light glowed suddenly between them, and Alexander looked flushed. “I could sleep like this.”
Blushing, Logan raised a brow.
Alexander rolled his eyes. “With the door open.”
Logan slid off him. “How about we compromise? The outer door stays open, but the mosquito net stays shut.”
“Deal.”
Logan shut the net. They shared furtive glances at one another as they stripped out of their shoes, T-shirts and shorts and lay back against their pillows. Logan’s T-shirt had fallen over the flashlight, and a faint glow surrounded them. Their outer arms pressed against the walls of the tent, their inner arms pressed against each other.
This tent sure was a joke.
Alexander’s breathing changed from steady to shallow, and Logan twisted onto his side. “Are you okay?”
Alexander inspected the door and dropped his head back to his pillow, making a small noise. If that was a yes, Logan didn’t buy it.
He bowed over Alexander’s face, feeling those quick breaths against his jaw. “I’ll open the net—”
Alexander’s hand curled around Logan’s nape. “I need to distract myself.”
Their eyes hooked, and every fiber of Logan responded. He slung a leg over Alexander’s, skin sliding against smooth skin. Alexander’s chest rose as if he held his breath.
Logan rolled on top of him, chests, stomachs, hips tight together. Their cocks hardened simultaneously. Alexander’s burned against his lower stomach—even with the fabric between them. Logan’s cock bored between Alexander’s thighs. He gasped at the intensity of it.
Alexander trailed his hand to Logan’s shoulder and squeezed. Logan burst into a million electric shivers.
Alexander whispered, “This is stupid. You’re just curious.”
“A little more than curious, Alexander.”
“Desperate?”
Logan laughed. “Closer.”
Alexander worried his lip. “A one-time thing. Distraction. Expelling it from our system. Being spontaneous.”
Logan swallowed. “As you wish.”
Mesmerized by those eyes, he dipped down to that sensual dark mouth.
Alexander whipped a finger against Logan’s lips. “Perhaps no kissing?”
Logan shook his head. “I can’t do that, but I can promise no kissin’ after the matter.”
Alexander hesitated, then dropped his finger. His voice came out a choked whisper. “Okay.”
Logan grew keenly aware of his own breathing. The way he kept swallowing, the blazing feel of Alexander under him. His body tightened, and he couldn’t quite remember how to kiss, but he knew he wanted to taste the air that Alexander exhaled.
He cupped a hand around that slender neck and rubbed over Alexander’s pounding pulse,