Callim's Challenge Read online

  Tilting my head up on his chest, I kiss his lips lightly. “I’m sorry, honey. But isn’t that all the more reason we should point out he’s on the ship with us? He somehow convinced Chevepak that he was in danger on Quasar. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up here with Matthias’s first group to evacuate. They are supposed to be refugees.”

  “What do you mean? What is that?” It’s dawning on me we haven’t done that much communicating. There’s so much I still want to tell him.

  “Matthias and Chevepak are working with a Sanctuary recovery group to remove abused males from the planet. That’s about all I've heard, so we must quiz them to find out more. We have to tell them. The last thing we need right now is a spy on the Discovery!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  - Callim

  I watch Brock leave the main medical center and go through the door in the back while Shelly’s words sink in. Yes, she’s right. Yes, we should tell them. But definitely not right now.

  Grasping her face gently in both my hands, I tilt down to capture her scalding gaze. She’s already watching for my reply, so her beautiful lips are right there waiting for me. I crush my mouth to hers in a possessive rush.

  She’s mine. I shouldn’t even have to wait for privacy to do this. Matthias didn’t when we were on the shuttle. I don’t know why I did but the intimacy of her hot tongue meeting mine—it just seems right. She moans as I invade her mouth but doesn’t pull away until I do.

  “We can tell them, just not right now,” I assure her. Her concerns are mine too. But it’s early and while I’m feeling good, I want to enjoy her body, even if we aren’t in our own bed.

  Carefully, I tug her up as her legs spread to straddle me and I feel her hot cunt press against my now aching cock. Arching my hips, I slide against her, cursing the material between us. “I realize this is important, but a few hours won’t matter.”

  “They’re sleeping anyway.” Shelly agrees before her lips meet mine again for another kiss. Moaning, her tongue duels with mine as she grinds on top of me.

  My hands slide across her back, lifting the shirt she’s wearing before sliding down the back of her pants. The stretchy material gives enough that I can cup both hands against her ass cheeks. I squeeze her tighter to me. She sucks my tongue harder until I pull away, hoping to get more access to her beautiful body.

  “Can you take these off?” I pull on the sides near her hips to show her I mean her pants. She doesn’t even look over to where Brock was before. Instead she drops onto her side next to me, and I see her fumbling under the blanket to remove them.

  Perfect. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I lift the wrap Brock gave me to put on after my shower. Reaching over, I stroke her naked skin. “I feel so much better already.” My hand slides across her soft skin, and she arches into my touch.

  “I’ll make you feel great.” Shelly’s hand trails down my chest until it reaches my very eager cock. Glancing pointedly behind her, she shifts her hand up and down, and I almost spill in her palm. I grab her hand before she continues, but she leans forward to whisper. “I'll lie on my side facing the door. Why don’t you do the same and slide inside me? Hopefully one of us will see if anyone comes back. But if we don’t… oh well.”

  She laughs lightly as she shifts next to me. How did I get so lucky? It’s like she read my mind! I slide back to give her more room. She settles with her butt against my throbbing member, and I wrap around her small frame.

  Sliding my arm under her head, she uses my bicep as a pillow. Her smooth body is so inviting as she wiggles her butt against me. I notice pre-cum slide against her back as I leak from excitement. Eying the door thoughtfully, I wonder when Brock will return?

  Before I realize what she’s doing, her hand travels back and grabs my length as she arches her back. I feel her slick folds drag along my cock head once… twice… before she presses me inside her. Grabbing her breasts in my hand, I crush her closer while her tight channel engulfs me. Her soft moan lets me know she feels the same as I do. It’s incredible.

  Letting her work herself onto me is a test of my patience. It’s the best torture I’ve ever endured but once she has me fully inside her, I can’t help taking over. Thrusting slowly, I pull back before pressing forward firmly.

  Pressure mounts in my balls as each stroke inside her tight cunt seems to grasp me harder, begging me for my release. I tilt my hips to deepen the angle, and her body stiffens as her moans get louder. I know we’re on a limited amount of time, but I don’t want to rush either.

  “You feel so good, Shelly.” Throwing her head back to my shoulder, she looks at me as she pushes against me firmly. Her muscles clamp around me like a vise and we both moan as I draw out of her warmth slowly.

  Pulling her harder against me by holding onto her hip, I pick up the pace, thrusting my cock firmly inside her. At the sudden change, her groans get louder as I work myself quicker. Letting go of her side, I trail my fingers down to her clit. She’s soaked as I search for the nub that brings her so much pleasure.

  I'm sure I’ve found it when she tightens even more. It’s incredible as I slam into her. Now, I can barely pull out as her body arches and a long moan tears from deep in her throat. Giving myself over to the pleasure, I only get a few more strokes into her before I explode. Burying myself deep inside her, I relax as my release shoots deep inside her welcoming depths.

  We enjoy the afterglow in each other's arms. Kissing feather-light down her neck, her languid body stiffens. Sure enough, Brock has returned but doesn’t even glance in our direction.

  When it’s clear that he has no interest in us, Shelly relaxes again. I’m not sure if I will relax while I’m still buried inside her, but I’ve had plenty of sleep in the last day. I watch her as her breathing evens out and it becomes clear she’s fallen asleep.

  My poor mate. I’m sure it’s been trying for her to watch this happen to me. She’s gone from fighting her own disease to watching me fight mine.

  I can feel her worry and I want to assure her I’m fine. But I’ve experienced nothing like this before. Losing control over your body is something that only happens to the young. I will have to use all the control I’ve developed with daily reflections to focus on getting better for her.

  Then there’s Vekel. I don’t want Shelly anywhere near him. I admit, I don’t want Shelly near any other male but especially not one as vile and ruthless as Vekel. His cold and callous disregard for others was a trait that all the heads possessed. But I never thought I’d see them again.

  I must talk to Matthias and tell him what my experiences with him were like. The public lashings were rare. They were intended for harsh punishments like leaving the walls without permission. It left permanent scarring, and he’s the only head that administered them.

  Pulling Shelly closer, I feel confident with Brock here to doze. Vekel won’t come back while there are witnesses. He insisted that he didn’t want his presence detected. That gives me time to decide the best way to handle the situation.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  - Shelly

  “Shelly.” I almost don’t hear Brock quietly call my name as I exit the bathroom. I’ve been awake for a while now, but it was a slow process sneaking out of bed. It’s better for Callim to rest since he’s progressively gotten worse as the day wears on.

  I called Matthias earlier to set up a time to meet him, and I need to head out. I realize that Callim is wary of Vekel, but I can’t wait any longer to tell him. If there’s really someone here on the Discovery who’s a spy for the Council, we need to inform Matthias and Bren as soon as possible.

  Callim wasn’t in any shape to talk when he woke up earlier. The good news is now they’re confident they're dealing with withdrawal. They’re trying a few different drug cocktails to see what will help. But the side effects are drowsiness, and he’s been sleeping a lot. It’s almost scary.

  Tiptoeing over to where Brock’s sitting, I raise my eyebrows questioningly. He doesn’t look up when he
speaks. “Did you know that we have cameras in here?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I see spit fly from my mouth as I hiss at him. He still won’t meet my eye, but a little smile curls his lips.

  His eyes stay locked on the screen in front of him. “Don’t worry. It’s not a public feed—anymore.” My face flushes with anger at the implications of what he’s saying sinks in. “We made it private when you, Beth, and Jenny showed up.” He shifts uncomfortably in his chair and finally looks up to meet my angry gaze. “I wanted to make sure you knew for future reference.”

  Future reference, my ass. Fucking people around here. Shouldn’t there be a sign posted about that?

  With clenched teeth, I whisper, “I’m going to get something to eat.”

  He chuckles and waves as I storm out as quietly as I can. Motherfucker probably watched our little show. I’m relieved I didn’t get on top and we stayed under the covers. I console myself with the thought it could have been way worse!

  Once things settle down, I want to make a list of all the privacy issues around here. I mean really, what's a public video feed then? Who has access to it? And who has a connection to the private ones? The men around here are so used to their rights being violated, they think nothing of doing it to others. That has to change!

  Matthias and Susan are already sitting in the cafeteria when I arrive. It takes me a minute to realize that Bren and Hannah are with them. That’s good. I only want to tell this story once.

  I take my time before going over to sit with them, and I’m almost calm by the time I do.

  “How’s Callim? Any improvement?” Susan’s eyes are wide as I settle across from them. No doubt she can tell that I’m angry.

  “Yes, actually. He woke up early this morning because he had a bad dream…” My voice trails off as I realize what this means. If there are video cameras in the medical center, maybe we can find visual proof of this Vekel guy creeping into the Medical Bay? “Listen! Everyone assumes that Callim had a dream, and that’s what woke him. But he’s sure he saw someone named Vekel from the Sanctuary he comes from.”

  My voice rises in excitement before I realize we’re in a public place. Glancing around, I notice a couple other guys across the room. Dropping to a whisper, I continue. “Callim has a red mark on his arm. It’s raised and sore, and that’s where Vekel did something to him. It sounds and looks a lot like an injection?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before!” Hannah’s almost livid as she hops to her feet. “Let me talk to Atticus.”

  She wanders away but Bren stays seated with the others. “He didn’t want me to tell anyone. From what I can feel through the bond, he’s scared. He says it’s because he’s dangerous. That he was a pod head? Do you know anything about this?”

  Both Bren and Matthias shake their head no, so I keep going. “I told him we’ll have to tell you guys. That he might be a spy or something, right?”

  Matthias is typing furiously on his display he always carries with him. “We don’t have record of anyone with the name Vekel in our logs for the new arrivals. Did Callim mention any other names he may go by?”

  “No! But Brock just informed me that the Medical Bay has cameras! Nice of you guys to let us know that!”

  Susan punches Matthias in the upper arm. “What the fuck?” She turns her indignant gaze to Bren. “It’s polite to post a sign when there’re video feeds in the area. Common courtesy.”

  Bren ignores her and taps away on his display.

  “Yeah. Think about all the time and nights Beth and I stayed there…”

  Hannah cuts me off with excitement in her eyes. “Atticus took more samples, and it looks like you’re right. He has higher levels of the drugs in his system again today.”

  “Which is why he feels better…”

  “Exactly!” Hannah looks gleeful. “This is great. This means someone on the ship right now knows what’s going on with him and can help. If we can find this guy Vekel, and get samples, we may be able to replicate it. He can probably explain where it came from and what it’s all about too.”

  “Here he is.” Bren turns his device around to show a video. As we watch, he creeps up to Callim’s side and pulls down the sheet before pressing a flat circular device to his skin.

  “I recognize him.” Matthias’s tone is grim. “He goes by Marlow. Let me pull up what Chevepak gave me on him.”

  We all watch the video silently as Vekel shushes Callim who appears horrified and dazed. When he leaves quickly, we all glance up at each other.

  “He can’t be that bad if he went to help Callim like that, right?” Susan makes a valid point but still.

  “Is it really helping though? I mean… he gave him more of the drugs?” Bren looks at Hannah, clearly not understanding why that would help. I get it, but to people with no exposure to addiction, it would sound ass-backwards.

  “If you’ve been on drugs for a long time, stopping them cold turkey can cause serious side effects. Like seizures and heart failure. And that’s in humans. Obviously, you guys aren’t the same but similar, because Callim was having seizures. It’s dangerous. Once we realized though... we didn’t know how he’s getting them. We’ve been just waiting to see.”

  My heart panics a bit at Hannah’s words. Until this moment, it hadn’t dawned on me that Callim might've knowingly been on drugs. “Based on the fact that this Vekel—or Marlow, was at the Sanctuary with Callim, it’s not looking like the Council and Mila were the ones giving him drugs. Right?”

  “Maybe. But they had to be informed and must have been continuing them.” Hannah’s tapping her chin thoughtfully and looking at the ceiling. “Otherwise, he’d experience withdrawal during the five days he was with them.”

  “But could Callim really have been clueless?” Everyone looks at me with varying looks of pity. Only Matthias answers.

  “Chevepak’s background on Marlow is a duplicate of everyone else’s and says nothing about him living at a Sanctuary. So, let’s go find out what he knows.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  - Shelly

  We’re all quiet as we walk through the halls to track down this guy Vekel—or Marlow—whatever! I’ve never been to this area of the ship, and I’m grateful for the support of my friends and their guys. If they weren’t in on this with me, I would have been tempted to locate him myself.

  That could take a long time for a lot of reasons. One, I’d no idea what he looked like until we watched that recording. Callim doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him. And who knows how long he will really be out of commission! Two, I don’t know how to look up the ship’s video stream like Bren did. It’s not public and I probably would need to bribe someone like Hannah to get access.

  And really, I don’t want to do this on my own. Besides the fact it’s dangerous, I’m enjoying having friends. Real, true, supportive friends. They have my back.

  The halls here are narrower and the doors aren’t spaced as far apart as in our area of the ship. Crew cabins. We have to walk single file when we pass another male going the other way. He nods respectfully to Matthias and Bren as we stop in front of a door, and Matthias rings the bell.

  Bren waves everyone back the way we came, and they all shuffle back. I guess they don’t want to overwhelm him. Someone I don’t recognize is standing at the door as it opens.

  The interior of the cabin behind him is dim, but I can see it’s half the size of the room I’ve been assigned. It doesn’t appear to have the front living area and kitchen, just two larger beds on each side of the room.

  “Matthias!” Swinging around, he looks at a lump on one bed. “I didn’t call him, Marlow. I swear!” He’s moved back a step, and Matthias trails after him into the small room.

  “No, Marlow. Prantus didn’t ask me to come down, but I wish he did.” He turns a stern face to the smaller man named Prantus.

  Leaning against the door frame, I try to see into the room. It’s clear that someone’s huddled in the bed. That must be
Vekel.

  “Prantus, can you please give me a few minutes alone with Vekel?” Prantus doesn’t even glance at me as he scurries past. But I hear his sharp intake of breath when he realizes how many people are waiting outside the door.

  “Atticus!” Matthias crosses to the bed in two long strides. “Lights!” The shape on the bed cringes as the room floods with light and Matthias steps back for Atticus to take his place.

  I get my first look at the man that Callim’s so afraid of. He doesn’t look like much. Smaller than him, he’s just a huddled form on the bed with the covers pulled up to his chin.

  Even shivering from cold under the blanket, I can detect the sweat beading his brow. He’s in full-blown withdrawal. So badly, that I almost feel sorry for him. I would if I didn’t understand what he’s capable of from Callim.

  “We must get him to the medical bay immediately.” Atticus is looking at his scanner, but I hear the urgency in his voice.

  “Fuck that!” Throwing my hands on my hips, I step closer. “Callim is there. I don’t have to tell you he hates this man. You can’t put them in the same room!”

  “It’s fine.” Vekel’s voice is weak and thready. I agree he looks bad, but Callim is the priority in my eyes.

  “No. It’s not fine, Shelly. This man needs medical attention.” Hannah pushes in next to Atticus. She begins a hands-on exam while Atticus continues to stare at his display.

  “We have more rooms in the back.” Atticus the peacemaker chimes in again.

  Moving to the foot of the bed, I cross my arms over my chest and peer down at the weak-looking man on the bed. How many times did I stare at my mother writhing in bed the same way? Too many.

  “I want to know what’s going on first. Where are these drugs coming from? How did you end up with them in your system? What did you give Callim last night? And that’s just to start.” I glare down at him in contempt as he looks up at me.