Page 83 of Xerxes Ascendant
Kyle didn’t see how the mayor could reach them from all the way up there, but his men did have guns. Whether they could see far enough down into the gloom to fire with any degree of accuracy was another question, but when a loud rumble shookthe space, vibrating through both air and water, he realised Mackenroth had something else in mind.
“Move!” Akira yelled over the roar of the turbines. He flung himself out of Kyle’s hold, grabbing his arm and trying to wrench him towards the side of the tank.
Being minced by whatever enormous blades or macerators lay beneath the water was not on tonight’s to-do list. So Kyle obliginglymoved.
He didn’t really reach the description of swimming; just a lot of kicking and reaching and throwing himself through the water, but it seemed to serve him well enough when combined with Akira’s more elegant strokes. And by the time the tank began to suck eagerly at their heavy clothes and limbs as the underwater turbine reached its growling full speed, both had latched exhausted hands onto the edge of the tank.
They were safe.
“Only you,” Akira panted, resting his forehead against the metal wall, “could declare your love while swimming in sewage.”
Kyle beamed at him. “Romantic, isn’t it?”
“You’re certainly unique, Kyle Randall.”
“You mean awesome.”
Akira looked his way and raised one perfect eyebrow. “If I’d meant that,” he said in the kind of ruthlessly scathing tone that just made Kyle want to pinch his cheeks and call him adorable, “I’d havesaidthat.”
“Uh-uh. Here. Get up on my back so you can pull yourself up.”
His boyfriend set his jaw and didn’t move.
It resulted in a brief argument which was only resolved by Kyle pulling out theyou really don’t want to be disobeying me right now, petcard and Akira offering enough protests to be promised punishment later. But Kyle was uncompromising in his insistence, and with a dirty look that would certainly see himcaged at the next opportunity, Akira eventually accepted Kyle’s aid to climb out first. Filthy water cascaded from his ruined suit and shoes as he swung a leg over the edge of the tank with that natural grace of his, and he stretched his hand down to help Kyle scramble up after him.
Kyle felt...heavy. Weighed down by water that squelched in his shoes and dragged at his limbs – the same limbs that were starting to ache from their exertions in the tank – and with the adrenaline fading from his system, it was an effort to cross the immense, echoey room they found themselves in. The other waste processing tanks were easy to avoid, with metal catwalks crossing between them, but the damage from the Fall could be seen here too, with massive chunks of collapsed concrete that needed to be climbed over or bypassed, and spurting pipes that still spewed sludge over the slippery floor.
Stars, Mackenroth had really done a number on the city. Every inch of Xerxes had been impacted, even up here on the surface, and the damage could take years to repair.
If they stillhadyears to spare. Kyle had been horrified to learn that Xerxes was gradually descending to the Earth with only six years left before gravity prevailed and they collided with the planet’s surface...but that had been before the Fall. How close were they to destruction now?
One year? Two?
Employing his hadn’t-failed-him-yet avoidance tactics, Kyle hadn’t asked. He didn’t think the answer would be pleasant, whatever it turned out to be, and was terrified to place a countdown on his and Akira’s time together.
They’d wasted five years in tiptoeing around each other, wanting and pining and staying apart.
And now that Kyle had him...
He pulled Akira into an abrupt hug that crushed the breath from his startled boyfriend’s lungs.
“What are you doing?”
“Cuddling you,” Kyle said into his neck. Mmm. Sewage flavoured. “It’s something you’re going to have to get used to.”
“I’m inclined to disagree.”
“Pfft,” he mumbled, and then paused, struck by a horrifying realisation. Being a responsible Dominant – hell, a responsibleperson, sucked sometimes. “Are you saying cuddles are a hard limit?”
Akira gave a soft snicker. “No,” he assured, returning life to Kyle’s petrified form. “I meant that I don’t need to becomeused toit...for I already am.”
“Oh, you big softie.”
He felt his boyfriend bristle in his arms. “I resent that. I didn’t spend years ensuring everyone knows what kind of man I am for you to undo my fearsome reputation with yourcooing.”
Kyle laughed, pulling him closer. “You’re very terrifying and intimidating,” he promised him. “A big scary kitten with big scary claws.”
Those same claws bit deep into his hips in retaliation.
