Page 25 of Under His Skin

He pulled the sock off too, and couldn’t stop himself from kissing the bridge of the foot. The soft intake of Tracht’s breath told him he’d done something right, and he felt warmth pool in his stomach.

“What luck that I’ve brought food. But finish what you’ve started first.”

Alex helped Tracht out of his other boot, and kissed that foot too—the arch this time, and he sighed happily when Tracht pushed the foot further into Alex’s face.

Maybe next time he watched porn, he should watch some feet vids, but he got the feeling nobody else’s feet would do it for him the way Tracht’s did. He was almost disappointed when Tracht pulled the foot away, although at least Tracht’s grip in his hair tightened.

“I don’t think it ever gets old watching you do that,” Tracht murmured. “But there are other things that are fun to do to you. Lift the lid on that tray, if you would.”

Alex stood up, feeling a bit unsteady, and opened up the box Tracht had brought. It wasn’t really a box, but a domed lid on a flat tray. His mouth started to water when he saw what was inside.

A nice bowl of fruit, a main dish that looked like some kind of fish, and pasta on the side. Alex’s stomach helpfully let out a loud growl. He picked up the fork when Tracht said, “Stop.”

Alex froze immediately. “Um. You said you brought food?”

He started to feel strangely apprehensive. Tracht had said he’d had a trying day, which meant he probably wasn’t actually in a good mood. Not even foot-kissing could get him to change tactics that fast. But the food was real, and right there, and Alex realized he’d do whatever Tracht wanted if it meant he got to eat.

“So I did.” Tracht sat down on the couch, with the tray next to him on the desk. He gestured towards the floor. “Kneel—no, strip first. Then kneel there.”

Oh, maybe this was going to be that human furniture game. Alex didn’t like it all that much—his knees got horrendously sore—but it wasn’t the worst. If he had to rank the worst things Tracht had done to him, he’d count the breasts as number one, the public humiliation with miniskirts a close second, and then he kind of lost track of which one was worse.

Alex removed all of his clothes and got on his knees in front of Tracht. He watched as Tracht picked up a cherry orange from the fruit bowl and brought it up to Alex’s lips. Alex opened his mouth eagerly, and—

—and Tracht snatched it away, popping the fruit into his own mouth. “You’re going to get so spoiled here,” Tracht said after he’d chewed. “Anna’s going to expect you at most meals, I think, and I can hardly let them think that I’m starving you.”

He used the fork to skewer a piece of the main dish, waved it around in front of Alex’s nose for a bit, and once again ate it himself.

Tracht was such an asshole.

“Do I get any of it?” Alex asked bitterly. “Or are you just gonna torture me with the smell of it?” The scent made his mouth water, and his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t really eaten since dinner the previous night. He’d felt worse hunger, of course he had, but lately he’d gotten used to eating regularly.

“You might, if I feel like it.” Tracht ate more of the pasta, all while looking straight at Alex. “The lawyers say that I’m probably in the clear. They’re going to work to get that cleared up. Maybe I should take the Sigrun and book passage to the Nuliayuk System—isn’t that where you’re originally from?”

The fantasy was so similar to what Alex had been thinking before that he felt a strange warmth flood his chest. He nodded eagerly. “Yeah. Let’s do that.” Then he remembered something. “There’s no bondservants on Gatineau Station or Khoina though.”

Tracht tapped his boot against Alex’s caged cock. “You wouldn’t be a bondservant anymore by then anyway. So it wouldn’t matter. You’d still be my loyal brute though, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes. Yeah. Please.” Alex wanted it so much that it hurt. Just him and Tracht, together, and fuck the rest of the world. He didn’t care what Tracht did to him as long as they’d stay together.

Tracht took a piece of the fish with his fingers and rubbed it all around Alex’s mouth, coating his lips and chin with the juices. As soon as Alex opened his mouth, he snatched the fish away, though, and ate it himself. “Unfortunately, starting fresh in a new system isn’t quite as easy as you and Nick probably made it out to be. Getting loans. Starting a new credit history. Having no connections at all. And the cost of bringing the Sigrun to another solar system would be astronomical—she’s not made for the warp gates.”

None of that sounded like a problem to Alex. He licked his lips to chase the taste, then said, “Sell the Sigrun, get a new ship once we’re there.”

Tracht snorted and finished off the rest of the fish. “I am very appalled that you’d even suggest such a thing. Have you no sense for the sentimental value of a ship?”

“Uh… no? It’s a ship. Do you actually care?” Alex rose up and placed his arms over Tracht’s lap. It was a bit risky, but Tracht only raised his eyebrows at him and patted his head.

“I would certainly tell everybody that I cared. But you’re right, the slight sentimental value I place on the Sigrun does not supersede the practicalities. I suppose if I truly wished to cut all my ties here, I would simply sell. I’m sure I could get a better ship anyway—some of the newer models have more efficient oxygen recycling and waste management, and there’s been some advancement in engine design…” He cut himself off with a sigh. “But I doubt the authorities would even let us leave while everything is going on, and once it’s over, there’d be no point in leaving.”

Was there anything that Anna didn’t ruin? Even Alex’s fantasy didn’t work because of her. Alex scowled to himself, then winced in pain when Tracht pulled back sharply on his hair.

“Don’t pout. It really doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m not pouting.” But even to Alex’s ears it sounded like a whine. “Can I have the fruit?”

Tracht let go and picked up the bowl. Alex opened his mouth expectantly, hoping for a cherry orange—his favorite—or maybe one of the yellow grapes. He would have settled for even one of the disgusting earth oranges, if it came down to it.

He was surprised when Tracht pushed the bowl into his hands. “Hold this. And come up here.” He patted the couch.

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