No Quarter (Bounty, Book One) by Christine d'Abo

him to frown.
    “Look, I’m sorry I’ve thrown such a glitch into your perfectly working system. If you want to contact Jason and have someone else deal with this that’s fine by me. But if you’re going to see this through, I’d like to have a shower. Maybe steal a clean shirt from you. I’ll let you watch me the whole time, if it makes you feel any better. No tricks, no games.”
    Gar muttered something sounding unsurprisingly like a curse before he marched across the room and pressed a code into the panel. “If you touch anything—”
    “I’ll cut my own balls off and hand them to you. You won’t have to worry about a thing.”
    He rolled away from the wall and went to move past Gar when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking up fast, he was surprised by the openness he saw in Gar’s eyes.
    “I’m twenty-four.”
    Gods almighty. “You’re just a kid.”
    “Hardly.” Gar motioned with his chin. “Shower is through there, Captain.”
    Faolan found it hard to reconcile Gar’s reputation with the man standing before him. At twenty-four Faolan himself had barely gotten a position on a ship, let alone earned the reputation Gar had achieved.
    “Captain?” Gar frowned, his hand slipping from Faolan’s shoulder.
    He mentally shook himself and forced a grin. “Better have enough hot water on this bucket. I hate it when it runs cold halfway through. I plan on taking my time. Been ages since I’ve had a good long shower.”
    Gar rolled his eyes, but otherwise didn’t respond. Instead of puzzling over the man himself, Faolan concentrated on uncovering the secrets of his ship. He followed Gar down a short, wide corridor lined with four doors. One had a red light above it, indicating the passageway to systems and engineering. Gar led him to the last one on the left. Instead of a code, he pressed his thumb to a panel.
    “DNA scanner?” Faolan crowded him to look over his shoulder.
    “Thinking of cutting off my thumb?”
    “I would rather die than damage those talented digits.”
    That earned him another chuckle. Faolan rested his chin on Gar’s shoulder, mirroring their earlier position. “You should do that more often.”
    “What?”
    “Laugh. It sounds…nice.”
    Gar turned and cocked an eyebrow. “ Nice? ”
    “I’d say sexy, but I’m fearful of my life.”
    Gar’s lips twitched, but he managed to hold back the smile. “I’ll accept sexy over nice . I’m not a nice man.”
    Neither of them moved for a moment. Faolan wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Gar and hold on. Fuck, what the hell was wrong with him?
    Straightening, he pulled back, not wanting Gar to notice his reawakening erection. “Where’s the shower again?”
    Gar cleared his throat. “Yeah. Right through here.”
    Back straight, Gar moved stiffly through the room. It took Faolan’s brain a little over fifteen seconds to realize they were in Gar’s bedroom. By the time he was ready to take advantage of the location, they’d already walked through to the bathroom.
    “Shower is there. It’s recycled water heated by the ship’s engines, so you won’t have to worry about it getting cold. It’s also purified so you won’t have to worry about catching anything. I’ll get you a clean shirt and bring it in.”
    “Not going to watch?” Faolan winked at Gar, sliding the jacket from his shoulders. “I can be quite entertaining when I need to be.”
    Again, Faolan preened as Gar stared at his naked chest. He popped open the fly of his pants, giving his hips a shake until they slid down over his hips.
    Gar looked away, bracing his hand against the doorframe. The reach was high enough, his suit jacket pulled tight across his biceps. “I’ll get that shirt.”
    Before Faolan had a chance to tease him further, Gar moved and left the room.
    Shit.

Chapter Five
     
    Gar’s head ached. His balls ached too, which was surprising considering how hard he’d come only a short time ago. With his back to the shower