Jun’s hand was hard against his lips as he pinned him to the bed with a forearm across his collarbone and a muscled thigh over his hips.
Theo froze, ice running through his veins.
When this had happened before, it had been thrilling, adventurous. This felt different. Simply by virtue of being horizontal upon a bed.
The darker implications could no longer be ignored.
Jun’s hips shifted minutely, an unmistakable hard line pressing against Theo’s thigh, and Theo slammed his eyes shut, breathing noisily against Jun’s fingers as he started to tremble.
Rearing back, Jun fell off of the bed in his haste to release him.
Theo covered his own mouth against the awful sobbing noises erupting from his chest, fingertips numb with shock.
As Jun jumped to his feet, he shook his head over and over again, eyes wide on Theo’s tear-stained face. “No. I wouldn’t. I would never.”
Theo curled into a ball, crying harder at the sound of his voice, deep and harsh and overloud in the tiny chamber.
Jun’s footsteps were heavy as he backed out of the room. He left the door open behind him, and Theo could hear him pacing in the narrow hallway.
He buried his face in the blanket, then kicked it away as the scent of Jun flooded his senses.
The familiar sense that he’d made an error in judgement settled all around him.
Theo wanted Ari here to talk things through. To help make sense of things. To lend a shoulder to cry on like he always did.
He needed his twin.
A horrible thought pushed to the forefront of his mind—that Theo wasn’t going to see his brother. Not today. Not tomorrow. Possibly not ever again.
Perhaps another, more forward-thinking person would have considered this right away, but Theo was not that person.
Theo had been equipped at birth with an external impulse-control unit named Aristotle. “Considering the consequences” had always been Ari’s job. Theo had been more than happy to outsource those thoughts. He preferred to focus on other things. Ari kept him from making mistakes like this, usually.
He had never been so far away from him before.
Whatever was he going to do?
Chapter Four
“Sorry. For scaring you.”
Jun hovered in the doorway, reluctant to breach the threshold as he waited for Theo to get up. He had done enough breaching, already. Felt like the worst kind of brute. Considering that he used to get paid for roughing up his boss’s enemies, he should know how a brute felt.
Exhaustion molded the steel in his spine into brittle lines as he crossed his arms in an attempt to hold himself more tightly together.
Hold it together, Park.
He felt as if he was falling apart, like some Raider junk ship, razor-edged pieces flying off in all directions. Crumbling from within beneath pressure he wasn’t built to withstand.
Theo sat up on the bed, eyes wide with alarm and blazing red hair flying in every direction. He swiftly buttoned his jacket and felt around for something among the sheets without ever looking away from Jun.
Jun kept his gaze respectfully above Theo’s open collar, ignoring the slender throat on display. He had not earned the privilege of seeing things usually kept hidden. An Outlier he might be, but he was no stranger to Core conventions.
With sharp, quick movements, Theo righted his clothing and tied his cravat around his neck, freeing Jun’s gaze to wander as he spat out his response, emerald eyes on fire. “To which occasion do you refer? You do seem to expend an awful lot of energy on intimidation tactics. I would be hard-pressed to pinpoint exactly which you feel the need to apologize for.”
Oh, he knew exactly what Jun was referring to. The little shit.
Stars. He was magnificent.
Jun had not been this blindsided since he was fourteen, joining up with his first Crew only to discover they were a bunch of bloodthirsty bullies with no moral compass.
The feeling of self-betrayal was the same, even if the circumstances couldn’t be more different.
Jun didn’t have time for admiration, for the possibility of it developing into anything more. He didn’t have room in his life for more. Not now.
Certainly not with someone he had wronged so severely.
He kept his gaze steady and contrite, dragging each word out by sheer force of will, harsh and staccato and still only half as awkward as he felt. “Last night, on the bed. I didn’t mean to imply that I would—” He couldn’t even say the word, internally cursing himself for a coward. “—do that. I won’t. So. You don’t need to worry. About that.”
Great.
Very clear, well done, Captain. So commanding. That definitely made up for throwing an innocent man on the bed and pinning him down with your inappropriately invested dick.
He fought the urge to bury his face in his hands, maintaining his authoritative stance by a hair. The back of his neck burned with shame and humiliation he hoped his less-than-willing guest couldn’t see.
Theo scoffed as he yanked the lace at his collar and cuffs into place, his harsh movements against the delicate material only serving to underscore Jun’s guilt at his rough treatment the night before.
Although, Dr. Campbell was already proving to be significantly more substantial than he appeared at first glance. Partially because, at first glance, all Jun had found was astonishing beauty.
It wasn’t fair for him to be so gorgeous. Why couldn’t he have been a doddering old man with whiskers down to his elbows? It was nothing short of the universe punishing Jun for his misdeeds that Theo was made in the exact, bratty shape of his most embarrassing dreams.
Theo gave a disdainful sniff, every inch of him screaming his upper-crust Core background. Jun would know, having endured the same affectation from his Core-born parents for most of his life.
“I suppose,” Theo continued, “I ought to thank you for your chivalry, is that it? You want to assure me that while you are perfectly willing to hurt me, and you wish for me to remain
