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Stuff My Stocking: M-M Romance Stories that are Nice and Naughty (37 page)

BOOK: Stuff My Stocking: M-M Romance Stories that are Nice and Naughty

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Austin would have to come up with something they could do, somewhere they could go together -- maybe that trip to another city he'd thought about before, a visit rather than a move. Fujiwara Under was famous for its musical presentations; it was a favorite place for on-planet travellers, and drew visitors from offworld to Shatterlee as well. Beveral Dome was near the sulfur forests, and they had day tours out to see the beautiful, poisonous landscape. That'd be fun and different, and from inside an egress suit, no one would recognize Shay even if anyone there knew him, or had another Companion in the same model.

That was for later, though -- maybe next month. Right then, Austin was bubbling with energy and was determined to share it with Shay.

He stripped down and stuffed his clothes into the bin, then helped Shay get naked. Austin kissed and licked each patch of skin as it was uncovered, teasing flank and navel and tightening balls with his lips and tongue. When Austin's tongue swirled behind Shay's balls and headed for his clenched opening, Shay gave a surprised yelp and grabbed for Austin's hair with both hands.

Austin laughed and sat back. "What's the matter? Too much?" He gave the top of Shay's thickening cock a playful swipe.

"No, no! It's fine, it's wonderful, keep going!" Shay managed a smile, but he looked a little dazed.

Dazed was good. Dazed was just fine. Austin had been feeling great -- happy and relaxed and just generally positive about life and the world -- over the previous week or so. It'd started shortly after Shay had arrived. It'd been confusing and disturbing at first, but once he'd gotten used to having him around, Austin realized that he'd missed the companionship. He hadn't had a regular lover in years, and had never shared a unit with one.

Austin could feel the changes in himself, and they were all good. He'd never been quite as energetic in bed before -- he'd usually let Shay take the lead. If that surprised Shay, well, that was probably normal. Austin ducked back down and sucked one of Shay's balls into his mouth, determined to surprise him even more.

***

Much later, when they were both exhausted and sweaty and just catching their breaths, Austin was stretched out with Shay's head on his chest, enjoying the lassitude and the memory-images lingering in his mind.

Shay had been almost passive that night, willing to let Austin take the lead. Maybe that was part of their programming, to adapt to their partner and be the complement of whatever role he took?

There was probably something about it in the files he hadn't seen yet. After so long, he probably wouldn't; everything was going fine, and if he had any questions, he could ask Shay. Austin was sleepy and relaxed, and would rather just lie there cuddling. He ran one slow hand through Shay's soft, slightly-sweaty hair, petting him just for the joy of touching, feeling the silky strands of hair over the smooth curve of his skull....

The realization nearly jolted Austin out of bed. He shoved Shay away and scrambled off the mattress and ended up with a thud against the wall; his eyes wide open in shock. A small chunk of his brain noted with a hysterical laugh that he was in exactly the same position he'd been in when he'd first found the "cadaver" in the box, but the rest of his brain didn't think it was funny at all.

"What happened? What are you? Who--?" But even as he shouted out the questions, the answer was obvious. Shay. The real Shay. It had to be him.

"Shay. How did you get in here?"

The real Shay was still in Austin's bed, half curled up as though ashamed -- and he should be! thought Austin -- with the cover pulled up to his chest. "I-- the Companion let me in. While you were gone."

"He let you--?" But that question spawned another one, a more important one. "Where is he? What did you do with him?" Austin took a step forward, clenched fists not quite threatening, not yet, but it occurred to him that he might not own Shay-the-Companion, legally. Real-Shay had sent the Companion to Austin without request; that made it a gift, didn't it? But if Real-Shay had already taken the Companion-Shay, Austin's Shay, away somewhere, then it could be difficult or impossible to get him back, to argue the legal microfonts while Austin's Shay was hidden away somewhere, maybe sent to be recycled already--

Austin squashed the panic swirling through his mind. Focus on one thing at a time, he thought. Right now.

The Shay huddled on Austin's bed was answering the question. Austin had missed the first few words, but he caught "storage," and that was enough. He left the room at a half-run, only noticing when he felt a draft in the main room that he was still naked.

It didn't matter. He went up to the storage room next to the bath, the only one large enough for something man-sized, and yanked open the door.

Shay --
his
Shay -- was seated on the floor, surrounded by shelves and bins and loose items, in the dark and the dust. Austin grabbed him under the arms and yanked him to his feet, then smothered him in a hug.

"I thought you were gone," he whispered.

"I thought you wouldn't want me," his Shay whispered back. One hand rested on Austin's back, light and tentative, then the other came up next to it and clasped his shoulder. "Once you had the real one, I didn't think you'd want me anymore."

"I don't
have
the real one."

"You could," said another voice from the doorway. The human Shay, also still naked, stood there watching the two of them, looking upset and embarrassed. "That was the whole point of it. I'm sorry if it was a bad idea, but I've been wanting to get to know you for a long time and I could never manage it. You seemed to get rather... awkward, whenever I tried to talk to you." Shay looked away and raked a hand through his hair -- that same fine, honey-blond hair Austin had come to love the feel of.

"You seemed so uncomfortable, it made
me
uncomfortable, and I'm not usually shy. I was when I was near you, though, because I wanted to know you and it was important and I was afraid I'd do something wrong and ruin the whole thing. I thought if you could get used to being near me, get used to talking to me and having me around and lose all the awkwardness...."

He trailed off and grimaced. "I suppose it was a stupid idea. It was all I could think of, though. When I got my token for a free Companion -- if they choose you to model, you get one as part of your compensation -- the idea just came to me and it seemed perfect. The idea hit me and I did it. I suppose I should've stopped to think about it."

"That might've been a good idea." Austin was trying to figure out what he thought about Shay's confused confession. The thought that the man he'd been pining over for all that time had liked him back, enough to come up with
any
kind of plan to get close to him, was flattering. The way he'd done it, though -- Austin's reflexive reaction had been anger, was still anger. Deception on a grand scale didn't lay down a very solid foundation for a friendship, much less a closer relationship.

The fact that real-Shay had made such a huge mistake, though, made him seem more like a normal human who did stupid things occasionally, and less like an unapproachable ideal. After all that, Austin had no problem talking to him, yelling at him, being upset with him. If they had a chance of working things out, maybe it was
because
of Shay's ridiculous plan?

Austin looked at his Shay, trying to find an opinion, a preference, in his bright green eyes. His Companion's expression was neutral at first, but the longer Austin looked, the more he thought he could see signs of sadness and resignation. Austin kissed him, with no hurry, clasped an arm around his shoulders, then looked at the human Shay and said, "I'm still angry. I think if we try to talk it out right now, I'll end up throwing you out and that'll be the end of it. I'd like to have some time to cool down and think about it, about everything."

Shay nodded, but before he could reply, Austin went on with, "Come and have dinner here next Freeday. We can meet like normal people and get to know one another. All three of us." He squeezed his Shay's shoulder again. "If it does work out, it'll be the three of us. I'm keeping my Shay, no matter what else happens."

Human Shay blinked at him, then looked at the Companion in Austin's embrace, then back at Austin. "Umm. All right. I mean, that won't bother me, if that's what you want."

Austin nodded. "Good. So long as you understand."

Shay nodded back. They looked at one another in silence for a few moments, then Shay looked away and said, "I suppose I should get home, then."

Austin nodded again. All the nodding made him feel like a puka-bird in a flock, but he didn't know what else to say. There wasn't anything, really, not just then.

He and his Shay -- and he'd probably have to rename him after all; Austin would need to think about that soon -- went out to the couch. Shay sat, but Austin stayed standing, hovering, waiting for the human Shay to come out. When he emerged from the bedroom, dressed in clothes creased from being pulled off in a hurry and then stepped on, all Austin could think about was that he'd been tricked into making love with a man he'd never really spoken to.

That wasn't something he could forgive immediately. Maybe later. He thought probably later, if Shay turned out to be a nice guy despite one horribly stupid idea, but it'd take some time.

They touched hands at the door, but didn't say anything, and then the human Shay was gone.

Austin settled down on the couch as close to Shay --
his
Shay -- as he could get, and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"I don't understand why you want me when you could have him." Shay's voice was quiet and sounded forcibly neutral, as though he were making a deliberate effort to strip all the emotion out of it.

"Right now I'd much rather have you. He set me up and deceived me, and I'm still upset."

"But I did that too. I was part of it."

"You didn't have a choice, though. I'm assuming you didn't -- he ordered you to go along?"

Shay nodded, an up-down rub of his cheek against Austin's still-naked shoulder.

Something occurred to Austin and he asked, "Who owns you? Are you his, or are you mine?" He was suddenly afraid he didn't really own his Shay, that the human Shay could still come take him away, could sue to get him back if he was the legal owner.

"You own me. You have since he sent me. But he was my owner first. He told me what to do, and what I could and couldn't tell you. You could have countermanded his orders, or done a baseline restart, but--"

"--but I didn't know I should have." Austin pressed a light kiss into Shay's hair. "Not your fault. I don't have anything to be angry with you about. Right now I like you better, and I probably will for a long time."

"But he's
real
," Shay insisted, as though that made all the difference.

Austin tipped his face up and gave him a long and thorough kiss. "You're real too. You're real, and I love you, and I'm keeping you. That's enough for now."

And it was.

THE END

Also from Angela Benedetti:

A Hidden Magic

A Spirit of Vengeance

Email:
[email protected]

Website:
http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/

Thank you for reading
Stuff My Stocking: M/M Romance Stories that are Nice and… Naughty.

For more stories and discussion, please visit the Goodreads M/M Romance group at
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If you have any questions regarding this publication, please contact:
Diane W. (
[email protected]
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