shut things down, the way Laramie could. When they were all together, he heard his brother just fine. It seemed to only be when Denver focused all his attention on Spence, like the night they’d watched Pinocchio.
“So you can always hear Laramie, no matter how far apart you are? Assuming he wants you to hear him?”
“Not always. Distance mutes it some. And space. I can’t hear him when I spacewalk. But most of the time, yeah. As far back as I can remember, I’ve heard Laramie in my head. And he hears me.” He winced, debating just how truthful to be, but decided there was no point in holding back now. “It’s more than hearing, though. It’s more like feeling, if that makes sense, like his shadow is always behind me. I feel his moods like they’re my own. It’s like he’s half of me. Sometimes I don’t know where his half ends and my half begins.”
“That sounds uncomfortable. Claustrophobic, even.”
“I can’t imagine living any other way.”
“Is that why you took Rave at the club? To get some distance?”
“No. We had an argument that day, and he shut me out. The Rave is more about filling the empty spot he leaves behind.”
“Well, that explains some things.”
Denver shook his head at Spence’s dry tone. “I know we can be hard to parse sometimes. We’re too close for a lot of people to deal with.”
“Not too hard. Not now that I know for sure you’re both psychic.”
“Only with each other. Sometimes people assume it works on everybody, but it doesn’t.” He chanced a look Spence’s direction. “I can’t read your mind.”
“I know.” Denver tilted his head curiously, and Spence smiled again, suddenly turning flirtatious. “If you could, things between us would probably be a little different.”
“Oh yeah? Different how?”
“I don’t know.” Spence leaned closer. “Why don’t you see if you can read my mind.”
The kiss started out sweet and hesitant, but it wasn’t long before Denver was pulling Spence into his lap, wanting nothing more than to sweep everything off the table like a hero in an old vid and take Spence then and there. He was held back by the very real likelihood of being interrupted before they could accomplish much of anything.
Denver finally broke away, panting. “I thought we were waiting until the Legacy.”
“I know,” Spence said, practically whispering, his arms still around Denver’s neck. “But what if there is no Legacy? What if the militia catches up to us? What if we end up in a Martian prison instead? What then?” He sighed, leaning his forehead against Denver’s. “Or maybe I’m just tired of waiting.”
Denver’s panicky dreams from the night before filled his head. Most of the time, he trusted that they’d find the Legacy. But right at the moment, it did feel far-fetched. And either way, it wasn’t much of a reason to pass up on a golden opportunity.
“Where’s Treesa?”
“With Gru, doing schoolwork and tending plants. Where’s Laramie?”
“In the cockpit with Marit.” It took a concentrated effort to pull his focus away from Spence. He’d clearly done it again—inadvertently blocked out his brother because Spence magically eclipsed everything else. He reached tentatively for his twin and found only quiet bemusement. Laramie knew exactly what was going on.
Denver laughed but didn’t hesitate to pull Spence into his room, making sure the door was closed and locked behind them. And then there was nothing but the frantic need to shed clothes and push closer. One minute, Denver wanted to take his time while he explored Spence’s body the way he’d never done with a man. But the very next minute, the close quarters of the Jiminy and the knowledge that Treesa might come searching for her brother at any moment drove him to hurry. To take as much as he could in this limited window they’d been granted.
Later, he had to wonder if the whole damn ship heard them. He lost track of how much noise they made. Forgot to care about the bed slamming into the wall. There was only the urgency Spence had always fueled in him, the amazement that after a lifetime of only being with women, he could be so turned on by another man, and an overwhelming intensity he hadn’t dared imagine.
“Tell me it’s all going to work out,” Spence said quietly afterward, lying in Denver’s arms. “Tell me the ship is real. And the planet too. Tell me we’ll get