Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 9

onto his back, his legs splaying out and his back arching off the floor.
    Alexis burst into the room followed by Tuuqi. Alexis' relief at seeing Rhys was short lived. "Where's Sin?"
    And then it happened.
    There was a wet, snapping sound as Von's chest exploded open, his inflated lungs popped through his ribs, his sternum burst and hung from his chest. Blood and flesh splattered outward, followed by delicate plumes of wispy, black smoke.
    The haze of dark miasma flowed toward Rhys and gently wrapped itself around the thick front legs of the lion. Alexis and Tuuqi watched as the smoke swathed itself around, through the electric cuffs, and then the white and silver shackles simply fell to the floor.
    Rhys rolled his body upward, shifting back to human form, kneeling on the ground. Fine black smoke trailed up his body and gently caressed his jaw, his cheek. Rhys closed his eyes at the feel of Sin touching him, how gentle, how sweet it was. And then it wasn't smoke, it was fingers, and when Rhys opened his eyes, Sin was kneeling in front of him.
    When Sin began to pull his hand away, Rhys slid his hand over Sin's, keeping it to his cheek. He wanted to pull him into his arms, he wanted to hold him, but even as he knew it was over, he still had a job to do. Eventually Rhys looked from Sin to the two other agents in the room. "Is Cavon okay?"
    Alexis and Tuuqi were inspecting what remained of Von. "Yes, he's fine," Alexis answered. "He's gone to call it in, to let Headquarters know. We took care of the two thugs who came for us, then we came to help you and Sin."
    Tuuqi looked up from the mess that was Von. "Looks like Sin had you covered."
    Rhys slid his hand along Sin's jaw, holding his face. "He saved me."
    Sin sat back on his heels and looked at the floor. "What happens to me now?"
    Alexis cleared her throat, deliberately not looking at the two naked men. "We uh, will find you both some clothes, because there's an awful lot of skin in here."
    Rhys smiled and lifted Sin's chin so he looked at him. "What happens to you now… is I take you home."
    CHAPTER 6
    TradeCap had arrived in fleets. There were dozens of agents cataloguing evidence from each Sector, each laboratory, escorting hostages, treating them, transporting them. TradeCap would be there for weeks gathering evidence, now not to bring Von down, but they'd also gathered enough intel on the auctions: buyers, sellers, traders. They had enough to bring the whole operation down.
    Rhys tried to feel guilty for leaving his team to finish the job, but he just couldn't bring himself to care.
    He was taking Sin home.
    At first Sin was elated, but his exhilaration and longing soon gave way to exhaustion. The last few months had been horrendous and taken a heavy mental and physical toll. His body and his mind had endured unspeakable acts, and now it was over, Sin needed to rest, to decompress.
    From the pilot's seat, Rhys watched as Sin started to wane. He turned to him and said, "You're safe now. You're going home. Why don't you get some sleep?"
    So Sin simply climbed into Rhys' lap, laid his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes. Not exactly what Rhys had in mind, but it was lovely nonetheless.
    Rhys marveled at the creature he held. So placid, so gentle, yet so very lethal.
    Leaning over the controls, Rhys logged in the coordinates for Auhin, Sin's home planet, and set the craft on auto-pilot, picked Sin up and took him to bed.
    The craft was fast and comfortable, but it was small, only big enough for two. The sleeping quarters only had two single cots, not that Rhys minded. He considered putting Sin in one bed while he napped in the other, but instead lay down with Sin on the one bed, pulled him against him, wrapped his arms tight around him, and slept.
    ****
    Rhys woke up knowing he was being watched, and when he opened his eyes, Sin's face was barely an inch from his. Rhys blinked, and Sin smiled.
    Rhys bought his hand up to touch Sin's face. "Are you okay? Did you sleep okay? You know you're safe now?"
    Sin nodded. "You saved me."
    Rhys looked deep into Sin's eyes, and told him, "And you saved me." Sin smiled, and Rhys frowned. "I'm sorry I didn't get you out sooner. It killed me to watch what he did to you."
    Sin smiled at Rhys. "Please don't apologize. If it weren't for you, I'd still be there."
    "I can't believe you're here with me," Rhys said. "Like this. After watching you, wanting to touch you, hold you, save you for so long. Von was a cruel, cruel