With their maiden voyage behind them, the crew of the Laughing Owl is sent on a mission to ferry scientists to an odd planet where, according to reports, Santa Claus has been sighted, flying high in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Nobody’s sure what Santa’s up to—he hasn’t delivered a single present.
Captain Nick Steele agrees with the scientists who propose that Santa is a mass hallucination and probably the result of some unknown compound in the water, air or food. But Astrogator Cai isn’t so sure, because if Santa is a hallucination, everyone on the planet is having the same hallucination, identical to the smallest detail.
As Christmas approaches, will the crew of the Laughing Owl solve the mystery of the hallucinogenic Santa or will the man prove to be real by delivering presents in the dead of night?
Cai sank into his seat and took a deep breath, enjoying the wonderful aromas of Nick’s cooking for about a nanosecond before he dug in like a starving man. Nick wasn’t a slow eater by any means, but he couldn’t hope to keep up with Cai’s pace. Cai also ate quite a bit more than Nick did and his captain saw to it that his plate was always refilled from the plentiful supply that’d been prepared. Nick always made enough that there would be leftovers that Cai could reheat for snacks.
When Cai finally pushed back from the table, he was feeling much better. He cocked his head at Nick and raised an eyebrow. “Time for dessert?”
“Absolutely.” Nick shot to his feet and reached for him.
Cai allowed Nick to draw him up, but then, he took point, pulling Nick toward his bedroom. They hadn’t been lovers for all that long—not quite two weeks, though they had shared some very erotic dreams before Nick had overcome Cai’s reluctance for physical intimate contact. Cai had feared to burn out Nick’s mind due to his inability to hold telepathic shields while engaged in such erotic, emotional, intimate contact with another person. But Nick was tough, a natural impervious under normal circumstances, the most Cai could ever read from him, during sex, was surface thoughts and feelings. It made him an ideal partner.
However, Cai was starting to miss the dreams. He’d enjoyed the freedom they allowed, freedom to play with things like bondage without fear of harming his partner. Nick’s sexual submissiveness still surprised him, almost as much as it gratified him, and though he frequently gave Nick turnabout, he knew he didn’t have to. Nick was always content to just be taken.
When they reached the bedroom, Cai pushed Nick down onto the bed and straddled him, pinning his wrists to the bed. He leaned close to Nick’s ear and whispered, “I’m going to ride you hard.”
