Out in the Black Ch. 04

This is a book-length work, so not every chapter will involve sex (though this chapter very much does). If you're just looking for a quick wank, this probably isn't your story.

Thanks for reading!

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My concern had just about reached the breaking point when he finally started moving again. I knew that what separated us from the merciless sucking maw of space wasn't all that much to begin with, but having a member of my crew working in a vac suit made me fidgety. The thought that there was just a thin layer of fabric between them and death kept my heart in my throat the entire time. Knowing I'd subjected my engineer to the risk for a non-critical repair put the taste of bile in the back of my mouth. It hadn't been intentional; that the crawl spaces were too narrow for Rusty had slipped my mind until I got the alert about the atmosphere being pulled from the cargo hold. My fingers twitched, wanting to open a comm link and call him back, but there was every chance he would ignore the order. Stubborn didn't begin to describe my engineer.

I forced myself to concentrate on other work, only letting my eyes turn back to his feed every few minutes. First he was working at a bolt, then he was setting the wall panel aside, then he was crouching half in the crawl space, working at removing the loose plating. That piece must have been especially rough going because he was still doing the same thing the next couple of times I checked. Then there was the cable patching, after which came the long period of stillness. Luckily nothing urgent required my attention during that stretch, because I don't know if I could have torn my eyes away. He finally began moving again when I was seconds from sounding an alarm; I hesitated only because I could see the suit readings indicating that his vitals were strong, despite the mysterious spike in his heart rate minutes before.

Ashamed of my unprofessional reaction, I refused to allow myself to check on him for nearly half an hour. When the ship told me atmo had been restored, I clicked over and found him by the lockers where we kept the vac suits, stowing his carefully. He had already peeled the top half of his jumpsuit down and I let myself admire the way the muscles in his arms and shoulders worked as he secured the equipment. Rusty walked out of view and I was suddenly standing, unsure of what had brought me to my feet. Something, some need to see him in the flesh, to reassure myself that he was whole, drove me down the ladder into my quarters.

On the rare occasions I'd worked in vacuum, I had found myself craving coffee and hot food as soon as I was out of the suit. Every spacer I'd met headed straight for the nearest shower. It was one of those little differences between those of us who had grown up on Earth versus the people raised in space. There was a whole collection of these quirks I'd noticed but never investigated in all the cycles I'd spent working off planet. Now I was just glad I knew where to look for my engineer. I wasted precious seconds debating whether to strip down or not; deciding my presence in the showers would be less suspicious if I was dressed the part - or undressed, as it were - I dropped my clothes in a heap and slung a towel around my hips.

"Cap," Rusty said with a nod, stepping aside to allow me to pass through the door into the head. I nodded back and only just kept myself from giving in to the impulse to glance back at him as he made his way to his quarters. My heart pounded with the realization that I had nearly missed him, which was followed immediately by belated recognition of how close we'd been as I passed: the damp heat from his naked torso had caressed the skin of my arm. Rubbing a hand over the spot, I proceeded to take the quickest shower known to mankind, reciting emergency protocols in my head to keep my anatomy under some semblance of control. I made a perfunctory pass with the towel and wrapped it around my lower body once again before padding barefoot into a hall that was, thankfully, empty.

Following an impulse I refused to consider too closely, I stopped outside the engineer's door. A fierce battle raged between my brain and body, my heartbeat a thundering drum. I watched my hand lift and come to rest on the cool metal even as I tried to tell my feet to get moving. This was such a bad idea, but I couldn't bring myself to let it go. Taking a deep breath, I tapped a finger lightly against the door. I wasn't sure he would even be able to hear that from inside. Honestly, I wasn't sure I wanted him to. "Rusty?" I said softly. Muscles bunching, I was moments from fleeing when the door hissed open.

Despite everything I'd said and done over the past couple of days, nothing had prepared me for the intense want that flooded every cell in my body when I saw those dark eyes staring down at me. It was suddenly too much and, if I hadn't been frozen to the spot, I would have given in to the urge to turn tail and run for my quarters. As it was, neither of us moved or spoke. We simply stared at one another. His face was impassive as usual and his eyes never gave anything away. Was I the only one in need of this connection? The thought scared the hell out of me. Then again, so did the possibility that I was not alone in this, that his unflappable exterior hid a storm like the one raging through me. I was completely terrified.

Rusty tilted his head slightly and I found my paralysis broken. Lifting a foot, I wasn't sure which way it was going to go until I stepped forward into the room, my stomach doing a little flip when I heard him latch the door behind me. I turned to find the engineer appraising me and suddenly realized that I was not looking my best. My hair was still wet from the shower and slicked down against my scalp. I probably looked like some half-drowned rodent. Why had I thought this was a good idea? Oh right: I hadn't.

Water was dripping from the ends of my hair onto my shoulders and down my back. I shivered as one drop traveled the length of my spine, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind. A shiver of an entirely different sort took hold when I realized the man in front of me had been observing the progress of another bead of moisture as it traveled south across my chest and stomach. He dropped his head and I looked down to find him curling his toes under. Something about that gesture nearly broke me; it displayed a vulnerability I had not been prepared to encounter in my burly engineer. Carter Rust was strength personified. Obviously I knew the man had layers, but cutting through to self-conscious uncertainty was an entirely different level of intimacy.

Aiming for more steady ground, I threw myself at him. I swear this made sense at the time. Naturally, he caught me, though for a few horrifying seconds of awkward liplock I wasn't sure at first if he wasn't responding because I had taken him off guard or because he just didn't want to kiss me back. Thankfully, he cleared that up with minimal hesitation and, before I knew it, he was on his knees and I was perilously close to exploding in his mouth. That would absolutely not do. I jerked away and forced myself back from the edge with an act of will that I'm not sure I would ever be able to parallel. Even without the oral stimulation, I almost lost it when I saw him kneeling on the floor, mouth open, looking up at me through his eyelashes - how had I never noticed how long they were? Rusty's erection bobbed between his legs. The head was shiny and there was actually a small puddle forming on the floor.

I closed my eyes and forced my mind onto my least favorite subject: lunar geography. Believe me, there is nothing interesting to be found on the landscape of Earth's moon. I had my hand wrapped around the base of my cock and squeezed to the point of pain and beyond. Somehow this was happening, but since it was almost certainly the only time it would, there was no fucking way I was finishing before we really got started.

Feeling like my orgasm had backed off far enough I could safely return to the present, I opened my eyes to find the bastard smirking at me. I put my hands on my hips and raised an eyebrow, pointedly looking at his crotch. He followed my gaze, then looked back up and shrugged before getting smoothly to his feet. No words had yet been exchanged and Rusty continued the pattern, simply holding out a hand in invitation; one I accepted immediately. I let him take the lead and our tongues danced as he guided us toward the bed, sitting down on the edge and pulling me into his lap. He moaned softly into my mouth as we rubbed together. His hands caressed my back, my legs, my ass. I was constantly in motion, arching into his touch, pressing my body closer to his, always needing to feel more. His palms were not as rough as I had imagined they would be, but I could feel the calluses there when they scratched lightly against my skin, leaving fiery trails of desire in their wake.

For my part, I couldn't stop kissing him. Breaking only when necessary for breath, I kept my hands cupped against the sides of his jaw and held him to me, never letting more than a whisper of air between us. I wanted to stay like this forever, yet I needed more. The way his cock felt sliding against mine was pure delight but I craved the feeling of fullness I knew would come when he buried himself inside me. His name escaped my lips, half moan and half plea. Rusty pulled away from me and lay back across his bunk, his firm hands on my hips encouraging me up, up, until my knees touched the wall and I hovered over his face. He shifted and tugged my hips down and then his tongue was exploring skin that had been untouched by any other person for well over a cycle.

After searching in vain for something to grab onto, my hands clenched uselessly on my thighs. Thankfully, Rusty was able to support enough of my weight on his hands to keep me where he wanted me because I was of no help. As he fucked my ass with his tongue, I whimpered and ground against him, taking all the pleasure he could give and greedily demanding more. Never had I been more happy that the crew bunks on the Charisma ships were luxuriously large. There was an explosive gasp and I was moving again, left straddling his stomach as he wiped a forearm across his mouth and levered himself up onto his elbows.

"Cubby," he said breathlessly, and I leaned to fumble a bottle of lube out of the bedside cabinet that was recessed into the wall. Taking it from me, Rusty poured a dollop into his hand and reached around my hip to prepare himself. He groaned and his eyes fluttered shut as he stroked, coating his cock with the slippery liquid. Eyes still closed, his hand withdrew, then slipped between us. A small smile played across his lips as he slid first one, then two fingers inside of me, feeling how eagerly I welcomed them.

"Rusty," I moaned softly. He looked at me and for once I could read him, the strength of his desire taking my breath away.

"Ready?" he asked, voice rough. I moaned again and rocked my hips back in answer. He guided us into position and then I was sinking down onto him, the entire universe condensed to the point of our joining. "Oh fuck," my engineer groaned. I dropped my head back, eyes closed, as I raised and lowered my body, taking more and more of him inside me. It had been some time since I'd done this, but he'd prepared me well. And I wanted him. Badly.

Rusty's hands were on my hips again, but they rested there lightly, allowing me to set the pace. When I could finally rest my weight on him, I paused to let my body adjust. The fingers tightened, holding me in place when I tried to move again. It was my turn to smirk as I waited for the man under me to regain control.

"Shut up," he growled before sitting up, the angle shift causing my breath to leave me in a rush. "Fuck, you feel amazing," he said softly, kissing the edge of my jaw. I turned to capture his mouth with my own and our kiss deepened as I rode him slowly. My cock rubbed against his belly as his slid in and out of my ass. His hands kneaded my flesh and he moaned against my lips. My noises were swallowed by him in turn and I held onto his shoulders for dear life.

Time stretched out: we could have fucked like that for minutes or days. Nothing existed but our bodies, taking pleasure in one another, so when it came, the sudden distance between us was jarring. "I'm sorry - I can't - " Rusty said brokenly as he pushed me away. Panic had just started to take root when I found myself on my back. Rusty appeared above me and plunged back inside in one stroke. "I just - I need - " Not rejection then. I brought my heels to his thighs and pushed my hips up in encouragement. Hooking an elbow under one of my knees, he sucked on my tongue as he proceeded to pound my ass.

"Oh fuck. Oh, Matt. Oh fuck," he gasped, his movements speeding up. Nobody had called me "Matt" since I was a teenager. I found I liked it much better coming from this man than I ever did then. The fact I was riding the edge of a mind-blowing orgasm probably didn't hurt, either. He thrust twice more and froze, moaning long and low against my lips. I felt him swelling and pulsing inside me; I grabbed my cock and jerked it quickly, following him over the edge. He still hovered above me, supporting his weight on visibly trembling arms. Seeking to prolong our connection, I wrapped my legs around his hips and held him in place as my arms went around his neck and I pulled him down onto my body, not caring about the mess I was making of both of us. His breathing slowed next to my ear as he recovered, his heart thudding steadily against my chest. I held him tight to me, knowing I would have to let him go sooner than I liked.

Rusty mumbled something that could have been an apology and tried to pull away. I wasn't having any of that. Thankfully he didn't argue when I tightened my grip on him, demanding that he stay with me. I wasn't fragile: I could handle his weight. Eventually he went boneless with sleep and his cock softened enough to slip out. Still, I remained in place, clenching my asshole to keep his gift inside of me. His head lay heavy against mine, breath puffing softly past my ear. As the post-orgasm high wore off, I started to feel a little guilty. Okay, a lot guilty. I knew this wasn't what he wanted and still I had pursued him.

My logical mind argued that the engineer had been a willing and active participant in our activities, but emotionally I felt I'd wronged him. As much as I would have loved to curl up together, I was pretty sure he wouldn't be pleased to find me in his bed when he woke. With a sigh of regret, I gently rolled him to the side. He mumbled and snorted in his sleep, but didn't wake. Noting the sticky whorls and spikes in his chest hair, I wet a cloth and sponged down his chest and stomach before wiping his cock and balls, where I perhaps spent more time than strictly necessary.

He started to get hard again and rolled onto his back, stretching full-length on the bed. I glanced at his face, but it was clear he was still asleep, so I retreated and allowed his partial erection to wilt. Grabbing one of the discarded towels from before, I tugged the sheet up over Rusty's waist before brushing my lips over his forehead and slipping out the door. It was late enough that even the galley was empty, a fact I was thankful for as I snuck past on my way to my quarters. If standing at the engineer's door in a towel would have been hard to explain, creeping back to my room in the middle of the night with my hair a complete disaster would have needed no explanation at all.

~*~

As I came back to myself, it dawned on me what I'd done. What I was still doing, actually, by the feel of it. And shit, what was wrong with me? I was just resting my entire weight on the captain. Oh, hell, I'd just fucked my captain. My dick twitched inside the guy's ass, letting me know it had no regrets. My arms shook as I tried to lift myself off Cap to allow him to breathe, but then his arms and legs tightened around me. Guess he wanted me right where I was. Fuck me.

Though the idea itself was very, very bad, the sex had been damn good and I was still floating on that post-orgasm cloud, which carried me right off to sleep. Sometime later, I returned partway to consciousness to find that I was being wiped down with a warm, damp cloth. When it cleaned my dick and balls, my body started to respond, but I was already getting sucked back down into dreamland. Next thing I knew, I was waking up on my back, half-covered by my sheet, alone and naked. This wasn't my usual combination on board a ship.

The faint vibration of the Marzi's engine could be felt in the wall panel next to my bed and it took me a bit to remember why I was naked while we were under thrust. It wasn't the best idea for anyone, let alone the damn engineer. Even the most well-designed, best maintained ships could have something go wrong and the few seconds it took to pull on clothes could mean the difference between continuing to breathe or not. Then again, I'd apparently been plenty happy to bury myself balls-deep in the captain's ass while we were speeding along through the vacuum, so maybe lack of clothes was the least of my problems.

Memories of the night before crashed into my brain and I fell back onto the mattress. Self-recriminations tried to crowd in, but I locked them away. It had happened and there wasn't nothing I could do about it. Stretching, I felt the pleasant soreness in my muscles and couldn't help but smile. If the rule was going to be broken, might as well explode the damn thing. And if I recalled correctly, there had definitely been some explosions. I ran a hand over my belly, surprised to find no evidence of our activities, before the hazy impression of being wiped clean swam to the surface. That was unexpected. Thinking back, I was pretty sure I'd never fucked anyone who made it a point to clean me up after.

Remembering the things Cap and I had done woke part of me up, at least. Since I was already bare-assed and didn't have nowhere particular to be at that exact moment, I didn't see the harm in a little self-gratification. I started stroking slowly as I closed my eyes and replayed the highlights.

I'd been so fucked in the head after that shower, just standing there in my towel. And then I heard something that sounded like a tapping noise coming from my door. I wasn't even sure there'd been anything to hear until it was followed by my name. By him saying my name. My heart started galloping and I tried to hold my breath, to see if it would happen again. One second of silence passed, then two and three. I realized he had put the ball in my quadrant. By coming here - if he was actually at my damn door - Cap had made the first move. But if he'd watched the other parts of that vid, he'd been privy to my chat with Kells about my policy. He was giving me the out; I could just pretend I didn't hear it and no hard feelings. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before starting to get dressed.

That was the plan, anyway. The first I knew of my decision to open the door was the feeling of the panel against my palm. Blue eyes looked up at me from the other side. Fuck me if Cap didn't look as terrified as I felt. I tilted my head slightly, not sure if I meant it as a question or an invitation. He took it as the second one and stepped past me into the room. Acting on autopilot, I shut the door and thumbed the lock. We just stood there staring at each other after that. His black hair was wet and slicked back; it made him look smaller, more vulnerable, than his usual style. A drop of water dripped onto his shoulder and I let my eyes follow it as it worked its way down his chest and stomach before finally soaking into the fabric of his towel.