The Human Bearer
31.
That was bad. Xana ignored his tries of communicating with him until they were inside their quarters. Riordan didn't protest as his master manhandled him and placed him on the bed, climbing on top of him, his green eyes turned into pools of anger.
"Before you get your panties in a twist--" Riordan began.
His words were cut short by a hungry kiss. Even the way Xana kissed him had changed over time. In the beginning, it had only been a tool for seduction and dominance. Not that he had disliked it, far from it, actually, just that his mind had stubbornly refused to take it for anything else but a way for this snakeman to show him who's boss. Xana's kisses now were a lot more tender, playful, demanding, and, above all, possessive. That last part was obvious in how his snakeman was mistreating his lips by devouring them hard and fast. It wouldn't take him long to give in, whatever the reason was for which he needed to give in.
Just as abruptly, Xana cut their kiss short and licked his lips. Then, his eyes bore into Riordan's. "Do you really not understand your position? After all this time?"
"My position, the way I see it, is on my back most of the time, with you on top."
His answer appeared to please Xana, but Riordan was done with playing games. If what Florent was saying was true, they lived on borrowed time. He pushed his fists against his owner's chest, as hard as he could.
The low hiss in Xana's throat took Riordan by surprise. "What's with you? Do you realize what's going on? That fucker--"
"I know, Riordan. You are underestimating us."
"No shit. Back on Xeno, when I told you something was going on, you didn't care--"
"Riordan. I knew. The chain reaction of the events that followed couldn't have been stopped by your words alone. It was already too late."
Now that was a bit meant to deflate him. He wasn't that easy to take down, though. "Is it the same now? Is it too late? When are we getting attacked? And how much do you know?"
Xana pressed against him and kissed his neck slowly. He whispered in Riordan's ear. "The high commander got the confirmation he needed about the actions of Gamni Gafilos and his allies from his using of the prisoner."
"What is that supposed to mean, exactly? By the way, Florent is scared. That Kanto is really frightening him. And if his mind is so valuable, shouldn't you guys treat him better?"
Finally, Xana rolled away from him, leaving him room to breathe and his mind the ability to think of important things instead of getting hijacked by the pleasant smell of his master's skin and thoughts of getting nailed to the bed instead of having this crazy conversation about them getting attacked by a bunch of angry Xenos bent on taking over the world and becoming immortal.
"Your alliance with the prisoner doesn't please me, Riordan."
"No way, really?" Riordan pushed himself up on one elbow and stared at his owner. "It pleases me even less that you don't care to listen to me. What, I'm a stupid Earthian for you, and that's it?" He was working himself up, and he knew that any sign of anger would end up making him feel less inclined to listen to reason. And reason was one thing they both needed. Obviously, after making it clear to this stubborn Xeno asshole that he couldn't be ignored just like that.
"And what makes you think that?" Xana placed his hands under his head and observed him slowly, with lazy eyes. Riordan wanted to slap the bejesus out of him.
"Well, for starters, you do whatever the hell you want all the time." Gosh, he had turned into a nagging wife. Between being preggo to the limit and hurtling through space towards an unknown destination with a band of assholes ready to pounce on their ship and destroy them all, maybe he was allowed a bit of being an idiot. "I mean, besides that you fucked me six ways to Sunday from the moment I stepped foot into your house, you paraded me covered in your slime for everyone to see me, you ignored me then you thought that you wanted me... and even this thing, with the name, why the hell does everyone call me Riordan Lei? That's not even my name."
He was babbling in excess, and the way Xana stared at him didn't help at all. Something was telling him that he would get fucked and soon, regardless of whatever dangers were coming at them from the vast space around them.
"I read you file through and through. The name there wasn't your real name either. It was given to you... by the system, correct?" Xana searched his face for any signs of understanding.
So, he had gone that far. Riordan pursed his lips.
"Yeah, so what about it? I have no pedigree, does that bother you or something? I'm a mutt from the street. Hell, I'm not going to apologize for it. And you," he said and poked at Xana's chest hard with his index finger, "chose this mutt to be your bearer."
"Yes, I did." Xana seemed particularly accommodating. His lips were quirked in an all-knowing smile. "Since you had no name of your own, I gave you mine."
"Just like that." Riordan rolled his eyes and groan. He fell on his back to make it all seem more dramatic than it was.
"Yes. In Earthian terms, I believe that it means that we are married now."
What? Damn Kyle, he'd said the truth back then, with his bot mind compiling all the data and giving it back to him with a little red bow on top.
"Married?" he asked for confirmation.
Xana blinked slowly. Riordan was pretty certain his owner was working some magic Xeno shit on him to make him feel like he could trust him. But there were freaking enemies at the gates, and he couldn't see how his master could be so chill. Unless, of course, they didn't know the whole truth and thought they could handle it, damn arrogant Xenos.
"Fuck me," he said and sighed. "Okay, good, whatever." He moved his head away so that he no longer looked directly into those large hypnotic eyes. "So, since I'm your wife or something," he said and took a deep breath to calm the pleasant yet difficult to endure tickling sensation in his stomach, "how about you listen to me for once."
"I am listening." Xana reached for him and touched his face slowly, in an attempt to coax him to meet his eyes. "Gamni Gafilos is a genuine threat to the order we've established on Tu'lek. And he believes that prisoner to be his asset, his way inside our ship."
"But that's not true. Florent hates the guy's guts."
"That is not important. Gamni has a hold on his bearer's mind."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Riordan felt a small chill moving through him as he listened to those words.
"It means that he can determined what his bearer offers us in terms of information."
"I don't think that's true. Florent is really scared of him."
"That doesn't matter. He has no grip on what he truly believes or what he is forced to believe by his master."
"Former master. And he's no longer Gamni's bearer. So there's that. What was that thing about Kanto fucking Florent with his tail? Just to scare him or something?" Riordan didn't want that to be true.
"That was one surprising bit of information you brought with you when you forced your way in on our meeting."
"Marn invited me in," Riordan pointed out with a smug grin. "Your boss likes me." Quickly, he realized his mistake. "Not that kind of like. I think Marn is way past that age, which is great to know, because, seriously, you're way too horny bastards all the freaking time."
"I see. You look forward to the day when I'll no longer desire your body." Xana's words were at such strange odds with the way snakeboy licked him with his eyes head to toes.
"Well, you live longer anyway," Riordan said. "I might not live to see that day."
He looked away as he said that. Xana's sudden attack made him yelp, but he mellowed out soon as the muscular arms held him tightly but without crushing him. Riordan sighed and patted his snakeman on the back in sympathy. "Hey, it's going to be a long time until I kick the bucket. We Earthians tend to live up to 80 and even more. However, that lifespan of mine might end up being way shorter if Gamni attacks this ship and takes over, right?"
Xana pulled away but only to look him in the eyes so lovingly that Riordan forgot for a moment about all the danger they were in so that he could bask in that and feel special. These snakemen needed so hard to start understanding what love was all about, but that lesson would really have to wait.
"Xana," he said slowly, "Florent told me that Kanto fucked him to test something. And then he said something about it not working. Do you know what this is all about?"
