Heart Of The Sun Read Free Page A

Vash turns away. He slips his hand down, silently and slowly snaking under his blankets until he grasps his cock in his hand. A couple of strokes and he’s coming, biting his lip and spasming silently in the candlelight.
    Perhaps it is an involuntary whimper, or maybe the slightest rustle of sheets and blankets as Alan comes, but Vash’s ears prick up and he turns around before Alan can close his eyes. He bolts them shut too late, just in time to see Vash’s angry expression directed at him as he stalks across the room and rips off Alan’s blankets, exposing his unzipped pants and the evidence of his guilt.
    “I’m sorry, I... It’s been a long time... I...” Knowing he can’t hide, Alan’s eyes are open now and a thousand excuses start pouring from his mouth. “I didn’t mean to watch, I just...” His voice sticks in his throat as even now his eyes are enraptured by Vash’s naked body, pouring over his features nervously as he tries to turn away.
    “Did you like what you saw?” Vash’s eyes have a threatening gleam to them. 
    The wrong move could mean my death. He could snap my neck like a twig and think nothing of it. “I told you, it’s been a long time since I saw anything sexual. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy.”
    “Are you kast’ka ?” The alien word does not translate and it hangs in the air between them, each breath they take heavy, their hearts pounding like drums.
    “I don’t know what that means,” Alan admits.
    “A male who likes other males. I know your species has them.” Alan isn’t sure if Vash’s words are a judgement or simply a statement of fact. I can’t lie to him. He’s already seen the evidence. He already knows. Lying now would just give him an excuse to kill me.
    “I am.” For the first time in my life, he makes me ashamed to say that I am.
    “You should have told me. We should not be sharing a room.” Vash gathers his blankets, hiding his nakedness behind them and stalks out into the hallway. 
    There’s a spark in his eyes that looks less like anger and more like fear, but I can’t be sure of anything right now that isn’t my own shame. He’s an alien, a Karalian, the worst enemy of Humankind and I just watched him rub one out. I wanted him. No matter what excuses I made, if he had come to me and asked, I would have done anything he asked me to. I may have sealed my own fate with my foolish desires. The Karalians are not Human. They do not share our standards when it comes to acceptable behavior. I’m a poor ambassador to my people in a situation that could have led to co-operation between enemies. He bows his head, acutely aware of the sticky seed running down his stomach. He wipes it away angrily and lies back down, staring at the ceiling until he falls asleep.

Chapter Three
Hunters
     
    Day Three
    Rinax One
     
     
    Alan is hungry when he awakens, his stomach growling and complaining. He reluctantly gets up and leaves his room, going outside the bunker to make water. Of Vash there is no sign and so he tucks himself back in, about to go and apologize to the alien when he sees movement at the corner of his vision. A deer-like creature, one of the beings that Vash had killed before, runs through the underbrush and then stops in a clearing. 
    This is a chance for a meal, Alan thinks. Perhaps I can show Vash that I am a hunter too, in my own way. That I’m not so different to him. He draws his gun from its holster and sneaks closer, being careful not to step on any loose branches underfoot. He lines up his shot perfectly and is about to fire when he hears the sound of engines in the distance. A million black birds scatter up in the trees and the ears of the deer prick up. It races away into the trees, running from its unseen predator.
    That sounded like some kind of engine. Have they come to find me? Or perhaps it is the Karalians, coming for Vash. Alan forgets about the hunt and sneaks through the trees, drawing closer to the sound until he spies