Page 7 of Undone
“Yeah,” he said, looking in front of him as his friend sat down. Right next to him.
Their shoulders brushed.
Michael made a conscious effort to relax. It was just Ant. His best friend.
“The stars look very different from here,” Anthony said, his voice quiet, contemplative.
Michael chuckled, looking at the night sky. “That’s generally what happens when you look at them from a different star system, mate.”
“Smart-ass,” Anthony muttered, knocking their shoulders together. “You know what I mean. It’s different when you come to a planet on a ship. From here, space feels vast. The world alien.”
Michael hummed in agreement. It was true. It had been years since he’d traveled on a spaceship. These days most travel was done through TNIT—Transgalactic Nearly Instantaneous Teleportation—and it was easy to forget how vast the galaxy was, how far from their home these alien worlds were.
“Pretty sure that star is our sun,” he said.
“Which one?”
Michael pointed, and Anthony leaned closer, presumably to see which star he was pointing at.
Michael swallowed, his stomach attempting to jump to his throat as the other alpha’s scent filled his nostrils. This close, the scent neutralizer no longer worked. He could smell Anthony, his strong scent grating against his frayed nerves: ozone and petrichor, heavy and overwhelming.
“That one,” he heard himself say, the words floating up from some great distance, his pulse thundering in his ears. He wanted… he wanted to shove Anthony away. He couldn’t stand his closeness, his asshole clenching around nothing, the dull ache reminding him of the way the other alpha had filled him last night.Not thinking about it.
“What makes you think that? It looks no different to me from the others. I don’t recognize any of the constellations.”
Michael focused his gaze on the sky with some difficulty, his body rigid with tension. If he moved away, would Anthony think it strange?
“Just a hunch. The skybox isn’t completely unrecognizable—see that bright star to the right? It’s Vergx for sure. No other star is that bright.” He breathed shallowly, trying not to breathe in Anthony’s scent. “Vergx is the top of the Raiola constellation when we look at it from our star system. Look at the stars around it. The constellation’s distorted, but still recognizable. That star, though—it doesn’t belong. See?” He was actually far from sure that star was their sun, but he had to keep talking—to keep Ant distracted.
Anthony hummed. “Maybe.” A pause. “Something is bothering you.”
It took an incredible effort not to stiffen.
Michael said lightly, “Of course something is bothering me. We’re stranded on an uninhabited planet, with no way to reach civilization.”
Anthony said nothing for a while.
“I served in Intelligence during the war,” he finally said, his voice mild. “I know when I’m being lied to, Mike.”
Michael chuckled. “Don’t call me that. You know my mother hates it. So plebeian.”
“You are avoiding my question.”
“There was a question?”
Anthony’s scent spiked with aggression, and Michael’s asshole clenched instinctively. Fuck, he needed to get away from him.
He got to his feet, feeling almost lightheaded from the sudden move. But it was easier to breathe—easier to think—now that Anthony’s overwhelming scent had stopped clogging his nose.
“I’m tired,” he said. “Good night.”
He strode back into the ship, trying not to feel like he was fleeing.
His heart was still pounding as he climbed back into his bed. He lay down on his back, his skin buzzing with agitation.
He’d never been so aware of his asshole.
Growling in frustration, Michael shoved a spare pillow between his legs, against his hole, trying to quell the strange, unnatural feeling, to make it go away.
