The Englor Affair (10 page)

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The Englor Affair

Ignoring Nate in favor of getting into the chair, Payton turned around and scooted until the backs of his thighs touched the cushy leather chair. He took a deep breath.
One,
two, two and a half, oh dust, three.
He fell backward, bouncing a little when he hit the seat. His legs flew straight out in front of him and the chair cushion made a whoosh sound. “Ow.” So much for not bending his legs. It had hurt anyway.

“You should go soak in the hot tub at the gym if you aren’t going to use the liniment.” Nate shook his head and went back to his computer.

Payton wrinkled his nose. No way was he using that vile stuff Nate had given him earlier after laughing at Payton’s stiff-legged entrance. “Have you smelled that stuff?”

Galaxy that had stunk. He couldn’t possibly use it. When he went back to the gym tonight, everyone would know. He was going to make a big enough cake of himself going all stiff and aching. Maybe the hot tub wasn’t such a bad idea.

No, no he couldn’t… Even if he had a bathing suit, it wasn’t something one wore in public. Of course, he’d been naked last night in the shower with Si. Oh dust, that man was handsome. All those bulging muscles and… That wasn’t the only thing bulging on him. Payton’s face heated at the memory of the lovely, thick erection Si had done nothing to hide. His own cock stirred.

“I like the smell,” Nate said.

Payton started and looked up at his brother-in-law. Rubbing his thigh, he winced.

That really didn’t help, but it did deflate his prick. How could he have forgotten where he was? If Nate saw him blushing like a ninny, he’d start asking about what happened at the gym. No way did Payton want to get landed with a chaperone. “It smells like that stuff Aiden uses to mix paints.”

One of Nate’s dark brows rose and the goofy, sappy grin he always got when Aiden was mentioned slid into place.

Payton could have kicked himself. Here he was daydreaming about Si when he should be helping speed things up so he and Nate could go home. “That’s why you like the smell.”

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Nate shrugged. His brother-in-law was such a sap where Aiden was concerned and Aiden was just as bad. “Did you learn anything at the gym?”

“No. I actually met a Simon.”

“Simon is a popular name. Many Englorians name their sons after the prince just as, I’m sure, there are Regelens named after you and your brothers. I want you to stay away from Hollister though.” Nate leveled a stare at him. “We still don’t know for sure what he was doing with a spy on Regelence.”

“No. I’d love to talk to whoever wrote Englor’s code. It’s genius. I’ve spent most of the day trying to crack it and going through new emails I’ve confiscated.”

“Anything interesting in the emails?”

“No, just departmental stuff.” Which quite frankly rained meteors. He wanted this to be over with. Why couldn’t Hollister put stuff in his emails like everyone else did? There was no mention of Benson, Regelence or anything related. The only thing of interest—

“Oh, Hollister moved back on base for your visit. He’s staying in his office. You think he’s on to us?”

“I don’t see how. Me coming here is perfectly legitimate. I’m supposed to be checking out the bases under my command. More than likely he wants to make certain everything is running smoothly while I’m here.”

Payton considered it for a second. Nate was right. It wouldn’t do to make a bad impression on an IN Admiral.

“There’s a dinner at Hollister Palace in my honor this Saturday. Make sure you’re available.”

At the palace? This could work out well. “I will be there
with
my com-pad in tow.”

Nate nodded. “Good. You will of course make sure your com-pad is not detected.”

“Of course.”

“Good. Now go get the liniment. It will—”

“Admiral, you have a call from Regelence,” the computer interrupted. “It’s your very lonely, very tired, but extremely talented consort.”

Nate chuckled and glanced up at Payton.

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Payton smiled back, shaking his head. The computer obviously quoted Aiden word for word.

“Put him through please.” Nate leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his stomach, still smiling. Payton could tell the exact moment Aiden’s face appeared on the screen because the expression on Nate’s face softened. The tenderness and longing playing over his features made Payton feel like a voyeur, and also kind of sad. Nate missed Aiden. The determination to speed things up by helping Nate with this investigation overcame Payton. He should get back to work on the code instead of going to the gym.

“Come home,” Aiden nearly whined.

“I can’t. Not yet. I really want to, but—” Nate frowned and exhaled loudly. “Tell me, what did you paint that you’re so pleased with?”

Aiden chuckled. “Hold on and I’ll show you. Hey wait. Are you by yourself?”

“No, Payton’s here.” Nate met Payton’s gaze and one side of his mouth curled up.

“Why?”

“Well, because I was going to show you the absolutely dashing painting I finished today.”

“What does that have to do with me being here?” Payton wondered aloud. “I’ve seen your work before.”

“Not this one you haven’t. It’s, uh…um…never mind.” Aiden’s voice trailed off.

“How are you, Payton?” he asked with renewed enthusiasm.

Oh ho, someone was painting naughty pictures. Payton bit his lip to keep from laughing.

Nate wasn’t so restrained. He did laugh. “Now I’ve really got to see this painting.”

“Uhhh, are you sure you want to see it now?” Aiden sounded incredulous.

Payton decided to take pity on his younger sibling. “I’ve started working out. I’m terribly sore.”

“Eeeew.” Aiden’s tone made it easy for Payton to imagine the horrified look on his brother’s face. “Why ever would you do that?”

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Payton was beginning to wonder that himself, even though he had the insane urge to go back tonight. Would Si be there? “I’m going to get all buff and when I come home you won’t even recognize me.” Si’s buff body came to mind and he nearly groaned again.

Concentrate, Payton, you are trying to help speed up going home, not find a paramour.

Maybe Si could give him info on Hollister and Englor in general. “And speaking of which, I should get back to work.” Payton took a deep breath, grabbed the armrests of the chair and scooted his feet in. This was going to hurt. He shoved himself up out of the chair and groaned. “Oh ow.”

“Rubbish. You’ve been working all day. Go to the gym, soak in the hot tub. Take a break. That’s an order.” Nate glowered. “And don’t stay up all night studying code.”

Payton waved his hand dismissively. “Talk to your consort. I’ll see you tomorrow morning and give you an update on what I’ve found.” Which wasn’t much.

“Bye, Payton,” Aiden said.

“Goodbye, Aiden.”

As soon as Payton closed the door, Nate hissed out a breath and said, “Bloody hell, boy.”

Payton chuckled. He was going to have to hack into Nate’s computer to get a peek at that painting.

He walked through the deserted building, back to his own office. The lack of activity didn’t surprise him since it was after seven o’clock. All the normal people were at home or out having fun, yet, here he was. Who wanted to be normal anyway?

Damn it, he did. His brain was tired. He didn’t want to work anymore. Maybe going back to the gym wasn’t a bad idea. He could go to the gym, work out his upper body and come back and study the code some more.
Give it a rest, Pay. Admit it, you want to see Si
again.

And why not? As soon as he got home, he’d have to go back to being watched constantly. He wasn’t going to go running into his consort’s loving arms like Nate.

He grabbed his coat off the back of his door and put it on. A trip to the gym then back here to get his com-pad and he’d work in his quarters. He shut his office door and 68

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pressed his thumb to the scanner to lock it. “Stupid conscience.” He strolled right past Nate’s office and walked to the front of the building. Huddling into his coat, he pushed open the door and headed to the gym.

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Six.
Payton grunted and hefted the bar up again. He hadn’t worked out his upper body yesterday and now he knew why.
Seven.
His upper body strength was next to none.

After hoisting the bar back onto the stand, he left his hands on it. “Eight.” At least no one was here to witness him struggling with such miniscule weight. Pulling his feet up onto the bench, he lay there staring at the staggered white tile and fluorescent light ceiling. It was ugly. The gym looked like a gym, not the pristine workout room at home.

Good grief, he was becoming a whiner. He huffed out a breath, making the hair on his forehead flutter, and closed his eyes. First, he was melancholy over not having a consort. Which was stupid, he didn’t
want
a consort. It was just from watching Nate talk to Aiden, and witnessing how happy they both were. Second, he didn’t want to work, which he really needed to do. The guilt was gnawing at him. That was also stupid because as soon as he figured out why Benson was on Regelence, he was going to go home and back to being under constant surveillance. He actually had a bit of freedom here…and he was using it to lift weights. Yeah, he was whining, most unbecoming, but he couldn’t seem to help it.

“Lifting free weights by yourself is a very bad idea.”

Payton sucked in a breath, dropped his feet back to the floor and opened his eyes.

Si stood at the end of the bench, his hands on the bar. How had Payton not heard him come in? He loomed over Payton with his brow furrowed over crystal blue eyes. “No more lifting weights on your own. It’s dangerous.” A couple strands of auburn hair fell onto his forehead.

Payton let go of the bar and suppressed a shiver. His mood was suddenly looking up.

This was the reason he’d come here in the first place. To hear that voice again and see if the man was as handsome as he remembered. Last night, he’d dreamed of that smooth 70

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sexy voice whispering unspeakable things in his ear while they did unspeakable things to each other. Good grief, he was getting aroused. He was obsessed. How pathetic. All it took was a perfect body, a handsome face and someone to be nice to him for no particular reason.

Si crossed his arms on the bar, leaned over toward Payton and grinned. “How many are you doing?”

Galaxy, the man was every bit as gorgeous as Payton remembered. The clothes emphasized his masculinity. Red hair peeked out from under his arms, not concealed at all by the white sleeveless shirt he wore. His gray shorts were practically threadbare and very short, the hair on his legs visible right up to his upper thighs. There was almost nothing covering him. Unlike Payton, Si didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed by wearing so little. He seemed quite secure and sure of himself.

That confidence made Payton’s cock even harder. He swallowed the lump in his throat and hurried to sit up. He barely noticed his aching thigh muscles as he turned toward Si, hoping he hadn’t spotted Payton’s growing erection. “I— You—you don’t have to help me. I’ll slow you down. You— I—” He groaned and bit his bottom lip.

There was just no way to get around it. “I’m not up to your”—he waved his hand, searching his brain for the right word—“standards.”

Chuckling, Si darted a gaze down Payton’s body then back up. “You are definitely up to my standards.” The gleam in his eyes made it clear he wasn’t talking about working out and weight limits. “Besides, I need a workout partner, my friends abandoned me tonight.” Si pushed himself upright and grabbed the bar, ready to spot him. “Now lay back down and finish your set. How many?”

After hesitating for only a second, Payton decided the hell with it and lay back down.

Si hadn’t even tried to hide his erection yesterday in the shower. Either he’d ignore Payton’s or— Payton didn’t know what, but he was willing to take the chance. He knew he wasn’t reading Si wrong. The man was definitely interested in him and Payton had nothing to lose. After all, wasn’t this what he’d come here hoping for? It wasn’t like www.samhainpublishing.com 71

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anyone would find out. What was a little flirtation? “Three sets of eight, I’ve done one set.” He got his hands on the bar on the outsides of Si’s and pushed up.

Si didn’t let go of the bar until Payton held it steady above him.

Payton brought the bar down then back up easily.

“One.” Si’s hands hovered above the bar. His legs were so muscular and—
dust, his
shorts are short.

Doing another rep fairly easily, Payton let his attention stray upward.

“Two.”

Si’s prick was right there, in his face. Payton couldn’t
not
look.

“Three.” Si stepped closer, his legs against the edge of the bench. He wore something white under the loose gray shorts. Underclothes, but none like Payton had ever seen. It only covered the genitals, with bands around the waist and each leg, leaving the arse bare. “Four.” The garment cupped Si’s testicles and outlined his prick.

Payton’s cock twitched.

“Five.” Si dipped toward Payton, his hands ready to catch the bar. His groin was scandalously close to Payton’s face. “Come on, Payton. Three more.” Was his voice more raspy than before?

Shoving the bar up, Payton ignored the burn in his arms. That was really not the way to get him to do three more. He had the insane urge to nuzzle his face into Si and see if he smelled as good as he looked. Whoa, where had that come from? Thankfully, his face was already heated from the strain of moving the weights, because after that thought he was surely blushing. He shouldn’t think things like that, but dust if his cock wasn’t throbbing and straining against his shorts.