Chapter 1

When Reth Reilly had enrolled in the Betelgeuse Flight Academy, sixteen and fresh off his first interstellar jaunt, he’d thought he had his life mapped out ahead of him like all the stars on his navigational charts. Four years at the Academy to graduate in the Class of 2396, then he’d sign on for a stint with the Star Corps tracing out freight routes and narrowly avoiding space pirates. The last thing he needed was to lose his heart to some wild-haired flyboy with deep eyes and a sexy grin, but that’s exactly what happened when he met Xan Anders.

They were both freshmen at the Academy when Reth fell for Xan. The two of them had the usual prerequisite courses together and, until the second semester their sophomore year, Xan lived on the same dorm deck as Reth. With his untamable hair and laughing eyes, Xan was everything Reth had never realized he wanted in a man, but he was too painfully shy to approach the guy. Xan ignited the air around him with his quick laugh; whenever Reth heard it, he wanted to disappear. Like a black hole, Xan sucked the life out of everything around him—everything that wasn’thim—leaving Reth breathless and aching in his wake. Whenever they passed in the hall, Reth had to look away or he’d drown in those eyes—they were as deep as outer space, and just as enigmatic.

Their paths split junior year when Reth went into navigation and Xan chose artillery. He still heard of Xan, of course—the guy was a deadeye in the turret and a crack-up in the classroom. Xan made sure he stayed in the public eye as a big man on campus, and it came as no surprise to anyone when he was awarded top honors in their class at graduation. At the awards ceremony, Xan vaulted onto the presenters’ table and raised his medal high as he crowed, “Eat this, Diedermeyer!”

The graduates cheered, Reth among them, shocked and more than a little pleased that someone had finally stood up to the academy’s hard-nosed principal in so flamboyant a manner. In that instant, Xan seemed invincible. As horrified professors scrambled to get him down from the table and failed, a silly grin split Reth’s face. He swore he’d find the courage to speak to Xan—somehow, some time, tonight—before they went their separate ways in the morning. He didn’t want the past four years to slip away into eternity.

It turned out easier to get close than Reth had thought it would be and, a few hours later, he found himself cozying up to Xan outside the banquet hall. Both of them were more than a little drunk on jojobu juice, the night, and each other. Xan kept a strong arm around Reth’s waist. It’d settled there sometime after Reth’s breathless hello and hadn’t moved since. Reth leaned against Xan, marveling at the way the alcohol lit up his warm chocolate eyes.

Xan had a narrow face, with a strong sloping nose, wide eyes, and a wider mouth. Whenever he took a sip of his drink, his lips turned a darker shade of red. His light hair was streaked with bleached strands which gave his pale skin a dusky look. That hair fell like a curtain, straight from the part down his scalp to sweep across his eyes. He kept running a hand through the length, pushing it back, usually when grinning at something Reth had said.

Xan was intoxicating, a burning star once out of reach that Reth now found clenched in his hand. Away from the banquet, in a dark corner of the observation deck with the universe stretched out above them, Reth discovered Xan’s wide, thin lips tasted sweet against his own and the enclosures at the crotch of their official Academy uniforms were damn near impossible to unfasten. “You’re the navigator,” Xan teased as Reth rubbed at the front of his pants.

Beneath the fabric, a stiff erection pressed into Reth’s hand, eager for release if only he could figure out how the outfit worked. Xan didn’t help one bit by leaning against his neck, a breathy laugh tickling under Reth’s collar. “Need me to draw you a map?” he purred against Reth’s heated skin. Damp lips kissed behind his ear, and Reth found his hands trapped between them as Xan thrust his hips against Reth’s. “X marks the spot.”

Fisting Xan’s sheathed dick, Reth sighed, “Here?”

Xan moaned into his ear and leaned against him. He pinned Reth into the corner where the balcony railing met the thick plastic shield that held back empty space. Wrapped in Xan’s strong embrace, Reth thought things between them were moving along nicely—at a fast clip, sure, but one he easily matched. With Xan rubbing against him, those lips on his ear, he gave up on the pants and focused on the rest of the man instead. Burrowing his face into Xan’s neck, Reth breathed deep his musky scent and murmured, “How about we take this up to my room, crackshot? I’ll get these pants off yet.”

The hands on his back froze, and the mouth latched to his earlobe disengaged. Suddenly the night came crashing down as sounds from the party invaded the intimate space between them—the chink of glasses and plates, laughter stabbing the night, raised voices calling to each other, the band playing over it all. Reth knew the moment was lost as Xan drew away, composing himself. His arms relaxed, then slipped from Reth’s waist. His eyes, so bright with lust just minutes before, were now dulled with drink and exhaustion. As he stood back, he ran a shaky hand through the sheet of his hair. The other hand reached down and caught Reth’s wrist. His eyes slipped shut when Reth’s fingers closed around his unseen length and, with one final gasp, he murmured Reth’s name.