Chapter 105

* * * *

There’s a breathless heartbeat between Lee hitting the panel and the hatch circling open when he has time to think this might be a mistake. Then he’s face to face with his visitor and his knees weaken.

Commander Thomas fills the hatchway.

Lee snaps to attention. He almost brains himself with the side of his hand, but his knees lock and his back straightens, and the moment he thought he would fall down in surprise passes. “Sir!” he shouts. “Yes, sir!”

“At ease, Lieutenant.” A faint smile plays around the edges of Thomas’s mouth. He’s dressed casually, in a desert brown T-shirt and blue camo pants, but Lee knows his visit must be anything but casual. There goes his evening.

Hopefully Thomas doesn’t notice the damn erection straining the front of Lee’s sweats. For some reason, he’s harder now than he was before. The thrill of discovery, perhaps? I hope Joe’s smart enough to keep on walking, Lee thinks as he switches to parade rest. The last thing he wants is to have to explain to Thomas why someone’s coming by his quarters after lights out.

Trying not to lean out past Thomas to check the corridor, Lee asks, “Can I help you with something, sir?”

Thomas must see him looking. “Expecting someone?” he asks with a smirk.

“Sir! No, sir!” Lee shakes his head for emphasis. “It’s after hours, sir. The light’s red. Sir.” As if Thomas can’t see the crimson glow filling the corridor and Lee’s room, which makes Lee think of the whole ship as one big red-light district.

I wish.As long as his CO’s here, Lee doesn’t think he’ll be getting lucky tonight.

They face off for a long moment. Then Thomas nods, indicating the room behind Lee. “May I come in?”

“Um, sir…” Lee looks around wildly, as if hoping someone will come by and save him from whatever it is Thomas wants to bitch at him about this time. But they’re alone—no one in the corridor, no sign of Lee’s date. What if he comes while Thomas is still here? Lord, I’ll never hear the end of it. Almost pleading, Lee says, “It’s lights out, sir.”

“This won’t take long.” Thomas elbows his way into Lee’s quarters, which seem to shrink around his bulk.

Lee has to fight the sudden urge to start cleaning up again. Thankfully the place doesn’t look toobad, but if he’d known Thomas was coming by, he would’ve done more than a cursory attempt at making things neat.

He also wouldn’t have invited anyone over.

With a final glance at the empty corridor, Lee closes the hatch. “Is there something I can help you with? Sir?”

Thomas takes a look around, as if trying to find something to fault. It shouldn’t be hard to do—Lee’s surprised he hasn’t said anything yet about the rumpled sheets or the uniform sleeve poking out from under the bed. It’s bad enough the guy hounds his ass when he’s on duty; why does Thomas need to come by on his downtime and harass him then, too?

Thomas’s gaze settles on Lee’s tablet, dropped carelessly onto the bed. Too late, Lee realizes he still has Ownedopen—the game’s chat room fills the entire screen. Don’t look, he prays. Don’t look, don’t look.

Maybe he won’t know what he’s seeing. Lee can’t read him; his jaw is clenched, his mouth a thin scrawl across his stony face. Lee takes a step towards the bed, thinking maybe he can tuck the tablet under the cover or something without being too obvious about it…

Suddenly Thomas whirls to face him, and Lee jumps back. “That wouldn’t be a gameyou’re playing, would it?”

“What? No. This?” With a forced laugh, Lee lunges to the bed and scoops up the tablet. Holding the screen against his chest, he explains, “It’s just…um…” He hems and haws, looking for an answer.

Thomas arches an eyebrow. “Just what, Lieutenant?”

Lee decides to answer truthfully. Or, rather, to give someversion of the truth, at any rate. “Grindr, sir. It’s Grindr.”

Now both of Thomas’s eyebrows go up. “The gay dating app?”

“Don’t ask, don’t tell, right?” Lee jokes.

Thomas studies him a moment longer. Lee can’t meet his gaze, looking everywhere but at his CO. The hard-on raging in his sweats pulses almost painfully. When he finally gets off, he knows he’ll come in an explosive rush, but he’s beginning to think he’ll have to take care of it on his own. If Joe hasn’t shown up by now, he probably isn’t coming. Maybe he got lost. Or, more likely, he saw Thomas at Lee’s door and bailed.

Wish I could do the same.

He wipes a hand across his face to hide a nervous smile. What would Thomas say if Lee just walked out of his own quarters?

“Something funny, Lieutenant?”

The warning in Thomas’s voice comes through loud and clear. “No, sir,” Lee says softly.