Ok, below is the complete re-write of Cherry lips, please enjoy!

Chapter 1

It had lips like cherries, red and plump and succulent. The mouth of a devil on the body of an angel. Precisely what he'd been looking for, from the cap of short blonde curls, each strand like spun gold, to the delicately boned feet with long, elegant toes. He pressed his hand against the glass and grinned.

"I'll take this one." He didn't even want to look at the others.

The technician raised his eyebrows but nodded and began to type on his plas pad, the touch screen flashing as the man navigated the paperwork involved with purchasing a Modified.

"And will sir be having the standard companion programming?" The tech gave him an expectant look, his fingers hovering.

"No. I require everything listed here." He handed over the piece of plas film with the list of specifications. "Do you guarantee spec work?"

As the plas film scanned the tech gave an overly false smile and began to regurgitate part of the earlier sales pitch.

"Here at Relife we guarantee that even the most complex programming requests can be fulfilled quickly and to your absolute satisfaction-" There was a beep as the film finished scanning and the tech paused, an intent look on his face as he stared at the screen of his plas pad. "Hmmm, this kind of works gonna take at least a month and if you want to mix submissive tendencies with that level of aggression then we'll have to use non-standard coding." He sucked at his teeth for a moment, deep in thought. "You might want us to put in a bonding program in case the coding conflicts, you know, make sure it can't go nutty."

He'd expected that, but still took his time to reply. Heh, it was fun to make the tech sweat a bit.

"Fine, but I want a discount." There was a moment when it looked like the tech was going to protest, the guy was on commission after all, but instead he agree to give five percent and asked about the shipping address.

"I want to collect, just let me know when it's done." One month, in one month he'd have his perfect partner. Life was definitely looking up.

***

"Mr. Ryan, sir, welcome back to Relife. Can I take your coat? Or fetch you some refreshments?" The secretary was as overly effusive as before and obviously a Modified, her eyes just a little too bright and vacant.

"No thank you, I'd just like to make my collection." Gregor wasn't interested in small talk, it had been agony to be patient for a month. The last few days he'd been itching to get back here- much to the amusement of his superiors.

"Of course, sir. A member of our technical staff will be with you momentarily if you'd like to take a seat?" Another megawatt smile.

It only took a few minutes for a technician to arrive, equally as nameless as the past man, and wearing the standard blue scrubs and cap. As he was shown through the security door he commented on the Modified secretary.

"Modified? Vicky?" The tech began to laugh. "No, but I can see why you'd think it. Believe me though, a good Modified would never be as brainless as that woman!" Realising that he'd spoken out of turn the man's expression froze and he glanced at Gregor.

It was amusing that the technician had a little more spunk than usual, and he was all for a little individuality. He smiled broadly and the guy relaxed.

"You're going to be really pleased with your order Mr. Ryan, you picked a great shell and with that programming? Perfection!"

Ah, so the ass kissing had begun. He grimaced a little bit. As the tech chattered Gregor surveyed his surroundings, not that there was much to see, sterile white corridors and smooth silver doors. Each door was labelled, some with intriguing and unusual titles like "Bioethnotronics". He resisted the urge to knock nameless technician number two out and have a good look around.

"Here we are, sir." He was ushered through a door labelled "Containment" and into a large room. Every wall was set with holding pods, the large metal and glass cylinders sprouting tubes and wires that flowed with neon liquids and electrical sparks. Most of the pods were obviously empty, the doors thrown back and waiting for an occupant. But three were shut, the glass on the doors misted with condensation, obscuring the Modified within.

"Let's see… number 24610…" The technician peered at the numbered bars over each door. "Right, this is yours."

Gregor followed keenly, although carefully poker faced. A code was entered into the key pad and there was hiss from some of the tubing.

"If you could place your thumb here Mr Ryan, the pad will sample your genetics and finalise the bonding code."

Nodding he pressed his thumb down and waited for the slight sting. The plas pad on the pod made a whirring noise and clicked as the door unlocked. The condensation cleared briefly and he got another glance at his angel.

"All done, do you want to resuscitate it now or would you like us load it?"

"Load it while I pay, I want to resuscitate privately." Definitely in private, possibly out in the middle of space so he couldn't be disturbed.

"Yes sir, in that case we'll download the manual into your transport computer. It'll take a few hours for it to fully resuscitate and a few days to adjust. The last time most of our shells are awake is when they're sold to us, so they can be fairly disoriented, but it's temporary until the programming kicks in."

Gregor was led back to the main reception where the vapid Vicky was waiting with his purchase documents. He was all but tingling with excitement and had to suppress his urge to skip or rub his hands together like a maniacal evil genius.

"That will be five million platinum Mr Ryan, how will you be paying?" It looked like the five percent discount had been lost to additional charges, no that he cared, it wasn't his money anyway. Gregor fished into his pocket and pulled out his IPP card. There was a flurry of movement around the room and Vicky's smile turned sickly. He chuckled softly.

"Don't worry folks, this isn't an inspection and as far as I'm aware Modifying isn't illegal on Genome." He handed the card over to Vicky, the woman handled it as if it might burn her. Although, typically, she seemed plenty happy when the payment cleared.

"Th- thank you for your custom, Relife values all its members." Well, at least she knew how to stick to her sales phrases.

Gregor nodded and took the shuttle lift to his transport, acutely aware that all pleasantries had vanished. It really was true, people only liked the IPP when they were in trouble. Not that he regretted it, joining the Interplanetary Police had been his dream. Hell, his acceptance into training notification was still framed on his parent's wall. He'd saved his graduation record for his own home and refused to let anyone touch it in case they left dirty finger prints. And yes, he knew it was anal.

Ah, looked like some kind soul had phoned ahead a warning. The docking area was busy, but the infractions he'd noticed on his way down were now conspicuously absent. It wasn't surprising, the IPP on your door step usually meant there had been an infringement of interplanetary law and that meant someone was going to a prison colony for a long, long time. Not that they'd found anything going on at Relife that deserved IPP attention, maybe a few basic violations of Genome employment law and some sloppy book keeping, but that was the job of whatever policing organisation the planet employed.

He tagged his pass into his transport's computer so that the manual could get to work on the resuscitation procedure and oversaw the loading with a stern glare. By the time his plas pad chirped, alerting him that the pod was now completely connected and resuscitation would commence, he had already ordered the docking staff off the transport and was firing the engines.

Chapter 2

"Hey sleeping beauty, ready to open your eyes yet?"

The whisper was soft and gruff. He had the feeling he was supposed to obey, a nagging sensation in his belly that whatever command he was given should be carried out without delay. But…it was difficult to force his eyelids up, they didn't want to open. Not quite yet anyway. He heard a sharp whimper and realised the sound was coming from his own throat as he struggled.

"Ooo, looks like you're back in the land of living angel. According to the instructions you should be aware and able to move around now-ish…hmmmm."

He felt the brush of warm air, indicating a body close to his own and heard a computerised chirp.

"Maybe I should have let you wake up on your own…." There was a puzzled tone to the muttering and he panicked slightly, forcing the lead weights over his eyes up until there was a narrow slit he could see through.

The light was dim and his vision blurred, he managed to focus enough to realise that there was a large figure standing over him.

"That's it angel, you've got some really pretty eyes there if you'd care to show me a little more?"

The gentle croon was comforting and slowly he felt his eyelids drifting up of their own accord. The air stung but he couldn't bring himself to blink, he was trapped by a pair of eyes so dark brown they were nearly black.

"Lovely, I haven't seen baby blues that clear in a long time."

He tried to speak but could only moan a little, his throat and mouth refusing to form the sounds. He panicked and tried again, still nothing but meaningless noises.

"Shhh, you won't be able to talk yet. You've been in suspended sleep for a good year or so and it's left you a little scrambled. The manual says you'll be mixed up for a good few hours still to come."

Warm hands slipped under his sides and he felt himself being pulled into an upright position.

"Up you come. I'm going to get you out of the pod and cleaned up. It's a bit funky in there."

He looked down at himself. He was naked and sat in some kind of clear goo. He frowned, was that really his body? And who was he anyway? He tried to think of the word that was him, but all he could remember was a number, 24610. Was that him? Was he 24610? Maybe. The brown eyes had said 'angel' but they'd said a lot of other things as well, he could be one of those words, he supposed. The arms on his back changed position, one sliding until it griped under his armpit and the other hooking under his thighs. He looked up at the eyes and noticed that they had a smile underneath them, filled with shiny white teeth and a flash of gold.

The smile faltered into a grimace for a second, issuing forth a grunt, and suddenly he was rising, being cradled tightly to a warm chest. So now there were arms, eyes, a smile and a chest. Oh, and hair too, weird hair… kind of green. Did people have green hair? They must do, because there was a jaw with stubble and the stubble was green too. A man then, maybe.

"Okay kiddo, I'm going to put you down here and get the water running and my clothes off."

Yes, okay, that was fine. Anything was fine so long as the voice kept talking.

He was placed carefully on a counter, his back propped against the wall. There was a splattering noise, water hitting an empty hollow. The form in front of him started to come together in his head, the shapes and parts joining to shape one large man, who was stripping rapidly. He frowned, the man's skin was strange as well, kind of golden. He knew that part of him recognised why this might be the case, but the answer was just out of reach.

"Right, shower time!"

The man pulled him of the counter to stand. He managed just fine for a moment, long enough to realise that he was eye level with a pair of flat gold nipples, before his legs gave way.

"Shit!" The big arms were wrapped around him again, catching him as he fell.

"This is going to be harder than I thought… damn, I wish I had a bath on board… alright, we're going to sit on the floor of the shower while I get you clean." He was half carried half dragged to the cubical. The water was hot and felt good, his limp muscles twitched and he moaned slightly. There was a rich chuckle behind him they sat. "Yeah, I bet that's nice. It'll feel better once I get you soaped down as well."

The man was right, the rich feeling of soap lather combined with someone else stroking his body was luxurious. He leant into each touch, humming and moaning to indicate his pleasure. There was an odd sensation in his sex and when he looked down it was ridged. Arousal, that was arousal, he realised and thought there was something he should have been feeling….embarrassment, why wasn't he embarrassed? Hmmm, maybe it was part of the sleep thing he'd been told about earlier. And he'd started to notice that the brown eyed man was very attractive, firm bodied with strong hands. Was he supposed to like a man in that way? But the man's cock was hard as well, so fat and tempting that if he'd been able to move his arms properly he might have reached for it. The liking must be allowed then, if the golden man liked him too.

"There we are, all clean angel." The water was switched off and he was pulled upwards again. This time he managed to support his own weight and felt rather pleased. "Now let's get us both dry and dressed."

***

The Modified was simply stunning. Asleep it had been lovely, but lacking that vital spark of personality. Now it- he- was alert and intriguing. Trusting too, although that was only natural considering he'd been genetically bonded to Gregor. It meant Gregor was the only person the Modified would ever truly obey and was unable to harm. A thought occurred to him as he pulled a shirt over the blonde curls.

"We need to give you a name, angel." Those big indigo eyes blinked up at him and seemed to agree.

"So what suits you…." He trailed off.

The Modified was very small, although much more muscular than when he'd first viewed him as a shell. That was probably down to part of the programming specifications. Gregor wondered who he'd been before being sold to Relife for Modification. Now that he really looked at him, the Modified was too old to have been an orphan, but definitely too young to be a debtor who'd sold himself to pay his creditors. The documentation would give the exact age, but Gregor was guessing it was between 16 and 20. A young man. He felt vaguely guilty for thinking of him as "it".

There was a soft touch on his arm and Gregor flinched. The Modified was looking at him quizzically, he'd gained enough muscle control to move a little and had placed a hand on Gregor's arm to draw his attention.

"Sorry lovely, I'm just thinking… you're going to have to have something cute, you're just too pretty to call you Nick or shit like that…. How about Chael? It means angel on Tyrisus Prime." Okay, that was definitely a sceptical look. "I promise it's a boy's name."

The Modified hesitated a moment then nodded slightly and gave a kind of half gesture in Gregor's direction. Oh yeah-

"I'm Gregor, kiddo, Gregor Ryan."

In reply, and this was the real kicker, Chael smiled. Those red, luscious lips spread invitingly and Gregor felt like someone had lit a candle inside his body, like light was filling every pore. Being in the IPP had never been so good. He laughed and hooked his arm around the young man's willowy middle.

"Great, let's get you settled in your quarters. Once you've come around a bit more and the programming starts to kick in we'll have a good chat about what's going on. It'll be a few days before we get back to my place and the IPP base. I haven't told you about my home yet have I? It's in this…….."

Gregor let himself ramble on, he was only good with silence when he absolutely had to be. With a willing listener he might just talk forever. Poor Chael.

Chapter 3

It took nearly twelve hours before Chael could walk without falling at all, and a day for him to speak in simple sentences. Little by little the sanitised fragments of his pre-Modified life were returning and mingling with his new programming. It was terrifying, so much of what made him him was different, and the selective nature of the memory wiping left parts of his past blank and others startlingly clear.

He knew now that Gregor had golden skin and green hair because he was from Tyrisus Prime. The humans there had created a method of human photosynthesis that altered their DNA, he remembered the day in school when they'd learned about it. But he had nothing when he tried to think of his family or the name of that school. It was frightening, and when the memory of his last day before selling himself to Relife surfaced Chael crumpled in shock. He felt hot tears slick his cheeks as he curled into a tight ball on the tiny bridge of the transport, his body shaking with gasping sobs.

"Okay kiddo, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Chael couldn't help but arch into the large, warm hands that settled on his back in search of an answer.

"Shit… I need to check the manual… Just… just give me a second, I'll be right back!"

He tried to tell Gregor nothing was wrong, he just didn't want to remember, but he couldn't catch his breath. And there was something wrong with his body, he knew that now. It craved touch and savoured each sensation. A simple hair ruffle or pat made him feel contented and centred. He was like an addict, too long between touches and he got edgy and unhappy. He'd even started to formulate methods to get his next fix.

Sleeping alone was an impossibility. A few hours after Gregor had left him the first "night"- if there could be such a thing out in space- Chael had been sobbing with need, still too confused to understand what his body wanted and too weak to seek it out. He'd thanked the stars when the golden man appeared, with that long green hair tangled from sleep, and climbed into the bed. His soft snores were safe and that oh so odd skin firm and smooth.

Sometimes, in the privacy of his own head, he called Gregor 'Master'.

"Angel, you need to tell me where it hurts, the manual's not helping, I've got a terabyte of programming info and a single fucking paragraph on health here. Shit!"

Gregor's arms slipped under Chael's body, the larger man grunting as he lifted the Modified. With a choking gasp Chael buried his face into the soft fabric and tried to control the chilling flood of memory. "I'm going to use the medi-scan, so just hold tight until we get to the medical room. I've never been so glad this transport is as small as it is, you wouldn't believe how much I bitched about it when I turned up at the port and found out."

Gregor's voice was soft and embracing. It had a lulling quality and settled like a blanket over Chael's frayed emotions. He took a deep breath to try and calm down as they reached the white door leading to the tiny medical room, inhaling Gregor's smell. It was rich and almost metallic, like warm earth on a wet day. Stars above. But hadn't he known all along that they would make him like this? Like some kind of pet, chaining him to sensation and want and need.

"Here we are kiddo, I'm going to set you down on the exam table."

The table was cold and stung at his flesh through the thin shirt and trousers Gregor had dressed him in a few hours ago. It made him hiss and cling to the golden man's neck, tears giving way to indignation and shivering.

"Calm down Chael, come on angel, you need to let go so I can set up the medi-scan and we'll find out what's hurting."

"No, no nothing hurts, memories, just…" He took another soothing breath of Gregor's smell, at once feeling both satisfied and annoyed with himself. "Just memories."

"Ah." For once the loquacious man fell silent then slowly drew Chael tighter into his chest.

The kindness meant a lot. He knew what he'd been forced to sell himself into now and why. Modified to pay his mother's creditors off, selling his body to be reprogrammed as an indentured servant. It was on the fine edge of legality, not technically slavery, because Modifieds were entitled to work off the contract made with the Modifying company, but close. Everyone had heard the stories about Modifieds whose papers were fixed so that they never worked them off. So he'd chosen his Modifying lab with care, Relife was a moderately sized corporation specialising in high class Modifieds designed to be body servants, companions and bed warmers.

Chael shivered at the thought. But… maybe Gregor wouldn't be so bad?

"What… will be my duties?" He asked hesitantly and untucked his face from Gregor's chest so he could look the man in the eye.

"Oh, yeah… it's probably about time to get you up to speed? Hmm?" The golden man grinned. "I've been putting it off, but there's no time like the present, I guess. Let me see… this is going to be fairly complicated, so stop me if you don't understand or if you have any questions, okay?"

Chael nodded warily and the grin widened slightly.

"Since you seem to be mostly recovered from the pod I'm sure you remember what the IPP are and what they do, yes?" Another nod, Chael hoped the fact that he was already confused wasn't apparent. "Good, well I'm with the IPP. And now so are you."

Chael's eyes widened and he listened incredulously as Gregor explained that he was a Senior Agent in Serious Organised Crime. It was a dangerous department, dealing with interplanetary level crime syndicates involved in the export and import of illegal products, including slaves, controlled weapons, chemicals and a whole host of other things.

"We're monitored constantly, I used to say you couldn't fart without someone sending the Director a memo. Thing is, there's been some…problems recently. Nothing big, not at first, but now? It's adding up, bugs in the security systems, personnel files vanishing. There's got to be someone inside, some of the areas tampered with can't be accessed remotely. So far whoever is involved has been covering their tracks well, but everything points to the traitor being one of the lower ranking agents in SOC. Of course, that only narrows it down to four hundred agents…" He trailed off with a wry grin at Chael. "This is where you and I come in, we're going to flush the mole out. I can't do it alone and Richie would have been useless."

Chael blinked slowly, this was so far from the "duties" he'd expected that he felt lost.

"Richie?" He asked weakly.

"My last partner, we retired him six months ago when the higher ups realised that we couldn't trace the mole the usual way. Richie had his death faked and now he's living on an outrageous pension on some holiday planet, the lucky bastard." He huffed slightly and pulled a face. "You are currently looking at a man wracked with guilt over the death of his partner and on the fast track to some major disciplinary hearings."

Gregor flashed a wink and Chael managed a small smile.

"You're going to be a key part of the plan. You see, I've gone off to the deep end and refused a new agent for a partner. Instead I'm reappearing after a short leave of absence with a Modified. Your role is to play the brainless sex toy bimbo who 'accidentally' passes on vital information- like when there's going to be system reboots and that kind of shit- and track who seems to be paying more attention to it than they should be. We can use what you feed them to narrow down the suspects and nab the mole."

Chael didn't know what to say, it was... outrageous, unbelievable. He stared at Gregor, searching his face for signs that the man was lying and then wondered how he seemed to know instinctively that it was the truth.

"W-why me?" He questioned shakily.

"We have to make it believable, I might like to talk but it's well known that I never reveal IPP details unless I'm authorised. Richie has a pretty wife he's been married too for three years and tells everyone about, so the off the rails story couldn't amount to anything. And the only other agents with clearance are on other cases or in deep cover. So, welcome to the Interplanetary Police, we home you enjoy your stay!" Gregor finished with a teasing grin that made him feel warm inside.

"I'm not…" He felt his face redden and his heart thundered in his chest. "I'm not a… companion?"

"No kiddo, but you're coded like one." Gregor looked vaguely guilty and he sucked at his teeth for a moment before continuing. "We had to put in the basic submissive and… companion… tendencies so the rest of your programming would have something to work with. You're the real thing. You can and will behave in the way a normal Modified would, but at the same time you're crammed with deductive reasoning skill, a couple of martial arts and anything else we thought might prove useful." The golden man stroked Chael's hair soothingly. "There's a list, if you want to see it?"

Chael shook his head, the part of him that was made up of the patches of his past and whatever they'd had installed wanted to push Gregor away, to take some time to work logically through the new information. The rest of him wanted to be petted more and wondered if he'd be rewarded if he purred. He struggled with the two demanding sensations for a moment and managed not to purr, although his death grip on Gregor's shirt didn't loosen. He heard the man sigh softly into his hair.

"Hey, don't worry. I know this is big news angel, but you're going to do great and once this is all over you'll have earned enough to pay of the indenture papers."

Although he knew Gregor was being kind, the words triggered a flush of anger in the Modified.

"I'm not worrying, I'm thinking the IPP are assh-"

Chael slammed a hand over his mouth, eyes wide in shock, but Gregor simply threw back has head and gave a great shout of laughter.

"Ha! I see the aggression levels have started to kick in!" Chael fell to the floor, instinctively cowering before his Master.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I-I d-didn't mea-"

This time it was Gregor who quieted him.

"And there go the submissive tendencies!" The man laughed again and pulled Chael back onto his lap. Not a hard task considering how small and slender the Modified was.

"I know it's going to make you a little nutty trying to control both at once, so when we're in company stick to the submissive and when we're alone behave however you want. You're coded directly to me, so I'm the only one who can give you commands that you'll feel you have to obey. You don't have to worry about the submissive part of your programming forcing you into doing things you don't want to do."

Chael peered into Gregor's dark eyes and tried to decide whether that was good news or bad. On the one hand he couldn't be ordered around unwillingly by just anyone, on the other hand he could be ordered around by Gregor. Again he had a nauseating conflict of emotions, joy that he had a coded Master and then annoyance at the fact he'd felt happy about it. But then, at least he could feel annoyed and angry and all the other things that were usually wiped. Chael smiled slightly, he wasn't going to be some blank bed warmer after all.

"Umm, tell me again what you need me to do?"

Chapter 4

Chael was incredible, with a capital 'I'. The Modified was a fast learner, he'd picked up his role and the plan for the sting operation in a matter of hours. And the quirky conflict of his programming had led to moments of what could only be described as comedy genius. It almost made Gregor regret that he'd chosen the little angel. It was just so easy to get attached, and that wouldn't do at all. As soon as the mole was caught Chael's indenture would be paid off with a bit extra on the side and the kid would be free to do whatever he wanted. The likelihood of his plans keeping him with the IPP were slim at best.

Gregor was going to strictly keep his hands and heart to himself, even if he had purchased temptation incarnate. The purchase was part of the problem too, the companion programming had most likely removed free choice from Chael in any remotely sexual situation with Gregor. And while a part of him relished the idea, the rest felt like it was a step too close to rape.

"Hey, Chael, are you ready? The nav has us marked for docking in ten minutes!" Gregor craned his head back. The pilot's chair on the transport's bridge was distinctly uncomfortable and he was thankful that the auto-nav system had shuttled them from Genome to M-17, the IPP headquarters, with minimal input from him. "Hey-"

His eyes widened and he nearly slipped from his seat. Chael was leaning in the doorway to the bridge dressed for his first appearance at the IPP, and what an appearance it would be.

Gregor knew he shouldn't be surprised. Hell, he'd picked the clothes himself. But seeing them on the Modified was an entirely different story. The high cut hot pants revealed the tantalising crease of Chael's pert buttocks, cupping them in snug blue and gold synth-leather. Artfully tied strips of gold ribbon wound around his slender chest, covering his nipples and navel but little else and ending in a tempting bow at the curve of his hip. He was barefoot, long legs hairless and smooth, and he wore no jewellery and no make-up. Gregor hadn't wanted to detract from the beauty of the Modified any more than necessary, and it had been a great decision.

"Do I please you Master?" Chael purred. Gregor swallowed to try and wet his dry throat.

"You'll definitely cause a stir." He choked.

"Yes Master, but do I please you." Chael moved through the bridge with a predatory prowl, eyes lowered flirtatiously. "My only desire, if Master permits it, is to please you."

"Ah..I-" Gregor felt a wave of pure panic and desire stiffen his body as Chael sank to his knees next to him and placed his chin on Gregor's knee.

"Let me please you…" The Modified whispered and gazed up at him adoringly.

Shit, maybe there was too much of the basic companion type programming left and Chael had lost control. Gregor jumped to his feet and dragged Chael up with him, there was no way he was going to sit there and let his angel do something so intimate at the whim of deep psychological conditioning.

"Chael!" He started to shake the small body when it began to tremble on its own. "Chael?"

The Modified threw back his head and to Gregor's surprise let out a great whoop of laughter.

"You totally bought it!" Chael gasped between giggles. "I thought I wouldn't be able to pull it off, but you fell for it hook, line and sinker!"

Understanding dawned on Gregor and he smiled, though his heart was still pounding at a light year per minute.

"Shit kiddo, that was pretty convincing. If you can keep that up on the base then no one will have a clue what we're up to." He laughed. "Now I've just got to stop myself coming in my pants next time you use that trick!"

Chael blushed slightly, the tint of pink making him that much more arousing and Gregor covered a sigh of relief with a yawn when the auto-nav bleeped that they were docking.

"Come on angel, time to make our entrance!"

***

It wasn't difficult for Chael to play his companion role. His eyes lowered coyly without thought, his voice stayed soft and pleasant. And his hips? Well, they had a life of their own- one that a lot of people were taking an interest in. His every step was a graceful slink, an artful move full of sexuality and submission and when he spoke it was only to please his Master with flirtatious conversation and gentle flattery.

No the hard part was definitely not behaving like a companion. The hard part was not behaving too much like a companion now that he'd let go of it a little. Every time Gregor smiled at him he had to resist the urge to drop to his knees and worship at the glorious green haired god's feet. And when his Master touched him his body wanted to tremble with ecstasy and beg for more. Fuck, he'd just thought 'Master' again. Well, at least with the vapid sex slave part of his mind free and happy it left more brain space with which he could surreptitiously examine his surroundings, in between staring at Gregor's succulent lips of course – oh stars, was that a flash of tongue?

Ahem. Headquarters.

It would be important that he could find his way around the IPP base quickly and easily while he played his part in the investigation, but he wasn't sure quite how he'd manage it. The docking hanger alone was big enough to fit at least five Efrone Class 1 long range transports, star ships design to carry hundreds of passengers for years at a time, and tens of smaller transports ranging from Classes 4– 9. If it was anything to go by then he was going to spend at least the next week, if not the next year, well and truly lost. Although with any luck he'd find increased memorization capabilities on the plas film list of his programming he'd yet to make himself read.

"Agent Ryan!"

Chael flinched at the hoarse bellow, winding his body around Mas…Gregor for protection. There was a balding, heavy built man who looked to be somewhere in the middle age bracket standing at the main hanger door. His arms were crossed ominously and his pale face was purpling as it stretched up towards his receding hairline. He wore an expensive looking grey suit that strain slightly across his chest. He wasn't fat, per say, but instead had a short and dense build that spoke of a proneness to fatness carefully kept at bay with intense training.

He made Chael nervous.

"Aw shit Gambon, you scared him! Keep your damned voice down!" The green haired man shouted back and petted the Modified, carefully unwinding the suffocating grip. "Hey, don't be scared kiddo. The mean, grumpy old man is my boss and he sounds like a bear all the time-"

"What the fuck Agent? You spend millions in platinum as a chargeable expense and come home with one scrawny fuck toy." Chael found himself raked by a scorn filled glare. "That is not a replacement for Richie!"

"Yeah? Well Richie's dead and I want to have a little fun, so back the fuck off unless you've got a complaint about my work. Who was it who found that paper trail leading to Intoro Corp from stardust smuggling last month again?" The Modified had never heard Gregor speak in such a rude and confrontational way, his normal, happy tone had shifted to something very bitter. Gambon, however, took it in his stride.

"We both know your work is impeccable, but don't push me Agent!" The man hissed and gave Chael another dismissive glance. "And keep the thing on a tight leash. If I get just one complaint then it's out of here and you're looking at a disciplinary." Gambon took a deep breath. "I've cut you slack because of Richie, but this is the limit."

With the threat hanging in the air Gambon swept out of the hanger and out of sight. It had been such a tense moment that Chael couldn't help but feel relieved it was over. Objectively he'd known that Gregor's superiors, even those well aware of the Modified's real mission, would show displeasure with him. But facing the reality was different. He was glad that he hadn't needed to hide how intimidating it was, any fuck toy would have backed away and hidden behind their Master.

And he wasn't scrawny. He was lean, maybe slender, but not scrawny.

"Hmph, interfering bastard. Come on angel, follow Gregor like a good little companion. I want you to pay attention while I show you around so you don't get lost later, okay?"

Part of Chael wondered which was worse, Gregor bitter and confrontational or brainlessly cooing. Of course the rest of him was lapping it up.

"If it would please you, Master, but it will be hard to look away from you."

He blushed and ran his fingers over the rough material of Gregor's shirt, it was such a pretty shade of blue. His chin was slowly raised until he was staring into Gregor's beautiful chocolate eyes.

"Everything you do pleases me, I'll show you just how much later…"

The man was all but leering at him and Chael thanked the stars that it was an act. If he'd thought it was real he may well have come in his excruciatingly small hot pants. As it was he'd hardened enough that the synth-leather creaked a little. He saw Gregor's eyes waiver for a second and realised he was fighting not to look down.

"Y-yes Master, I can't wait."

He didn't have to fake the breathy tone to his voice. His damned body was looking for a touch fix again, something more intense than holding hands. It wasn't his fault that they'd made him like this, it was his mother's. His beautiful, gullible and foolish mother who'd gotten so deeply into debt that the choice had come down to which would fetch more money, her or her child. And a delicate blonde eighteen year old, who could pass for fifteen, was worth a lot of platinum. Willing or not.

The short and scattered memories of his mother helped to deflate his problem enough that when Gregor guided him out into a wide corridor, lined with what looked like glass walls and rooms, it wasn't quite so painful to walk.

"Right kiddo, first section here is all the tech stuff, engineering labs and testing spaces for anything that might be needed in or on investigations and needs the hands on approach. Think weapons, chemicals, drugs and the like. All the walls are re-enforced plasma-glass so the lab guys usually set them half cleared to get a bit of light. Be careful though, more than a few of the guys think it's funny to make walls totally transparent and get a good laugh every time someone walks into one. There are also containment shields in force around all areas where there's potentially hazardous or highly confidential work going on, so you shouldn't wonder into any where by mistake."

Gregor waved at some of the people they passed through the plasma-glass and stopped in a doorway.

"Hey Cal, Roddo, I want you meet my new partner. This is Chael. Chael, meet Cal and Roddo, they're probably the only people this side of the galaxy capable of using a dual Neural Control transport. The pair of idiots signed up after hearing me sing the IPP's praises, of course they didn't know I was trying to get the best damned programmers in the galaxy on my side!"

The two grinning men that approached were almost identical, if not for the differing styles of their hair. They shared Gregor's soft golden skin tone and verdant hair, although Chael thought privately that their skin wasn't quite so bright and their hair not green enough to match Gregor's exotic looks. One wore his locks only slightly longer than Chael's Master, tied back in messy braid, and the other had cut it so short that it barely brushed his ears.

"Oh Greggy-" The long haired twin began.

"You have been ever-" His brother continued.

"So bad. But how wonderful!"

The pair circled Chael with laughing, inquisitive eyes.

"What do you expect, I wanted to have the perfect partner and the pair of you weren't available." Gregor grinned.

"We didn't realise-"

"What kind of partner you-"

"Were looking for."

"But even if we had-"

"We only need each other." The pair shared a soft, affectionate look and exchanged a brief kiss while Chael watched with wide eyes.

He'd never…twins…like that. Stars above! While they could never be as wonderful as Gregor, it certainly intrigued him enough that he felt a brief flare of arousal before it was dampened by guilt. He felt the man's eyes on him and glanced up to find an intoxicating smile. Damn him. If Gregor was going to test him this way every time they were in public then there was no way Chael would be able to resist the underlying programming of his companion nature for touch and attention.

Well, if that was what his Master wanted…giving in to his baser urges the Modified wound himself around the much larger man with a heated, pleading stare.

"Master, do you wish for Chael to play with them for you? Would it please you?" With a soft purr he rubbed his semi-erect cock against Gregor's thigh and felt a warm jolt in his groin as he realised the man was hardening rapidly against his stomach. With a hidden look of triumph he nuzzled his head against the firm chest and let his lips catch briefly over a pert, clothe covered nipple. Chael glanced up. The laughter in those eyes had faded and been replaced with unadulterated lust. It made him shiver. This was the fix he'd needed, the one that made him want to fall down to his hands and knees and beg. He thanked every deity known to mankind, and a few which probably weren't, that he had enough control to lock his knees in place.

"Oh Greggy!"

"He's just-"

"Perfect!" The last was said in chorus.

Gregor chuckled lightly but didn't look away from Chael.

"Yeah, he's perfect alright."

There was a moment of tense silence while the two stared at each other, Chael becoming increasingly aware of the hardness pressed against his belly while he battled conflicting instincts. Big hands wrapped around his waist and slowly Gregor pulled him away and took a firm grip on his lust dampened hand.

"Come on kiddo, time for the rest of the tour."

The twins received a brief nod, to which they giggled as if they'd discovered some wonderful secret, and Chael allowed himself to be led towards the shuttle lifts.

The synth-leather was pure agony now.

Chapter 5

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! It was his own cursed fault that the meeting with the twins had taken that twist. Gregor could have slapped himself for his foolishness. He knew what the sex and submission programming was doing to the little angel. Stars, he'd been the one who slept next to Chael every night since they'd discovered the effects of prolonged touch starvation, an issue his prior research hadn't covered deeply enough to reveal that Relife's definition of 'prolonged' meant hours and not days.

He blamed the twins. This had been their idea when they'd discovered the little hints and trails that meant a traitor was interfering with their systems.

What better way, they'd said, to make sure that your partner couldn't possibly be involved with the mole than buying one designed to be loyal only to you? They'd whispered about perfection, opportunity and programming until he'd been heady with delight over the prospect. Not that Chael wasn't already all of those things, and that- as they say- was the problem. Chael might look like a toy, but he was Gregor's partner and pushing his buttons until he behaved like a fucktoy wasn't only unfair, it was cruel.

The Tyrusian banged his head back against the lift wall and winced slightly as his braid cushioned the blow. He blamed his bad behaviour on the lack of real sunlight, the lamps just weren't the same. He never felt like he had really absorbed anything afterwards and it barely took the edge off his hunger. Everyone new that made people irrational. A muffled whimper dragged him from his self berating and he glanced down. Chael's head was dipped so that all he could see was a cap of golden blonde curls, but the Modified's free hand was clutched so tight at the hem of his hot pants that the knuckles were white.

"Chael, kiddo, what's wrong?" The curls flicked as the little Modified shook his head. Gregor frowned. "Don't hold out on me angel."

He reached his other hand out to tip Chael's head but his angel flinched backwards, stopping Gregor in his tracks.

"D-don't, just give me a m-minute." The Modified breathed, his voice distorted with soft panting.

The hand Gregor was holding was slick with sweat and trembling.

"Can I…is there anything I can do?" He asked and glanced at the floor monitor, still a good minute until they reached the base sector that opened out onto planet side and the IPP accommodation.

"No!" The urgent whisper made his frown deepen.

"Chae-" He started.

"No! Don't touch me more M-master." The small hand squeezed tightly, hot and damp in his grip. Chael tilted his head to the side slightly, just managing to make eye contact and gave a forced smile. "I'm sensitive right now, and I don't want to ruin my outfit."

Automatically Gregor's eye wandered downwards to the swelling outlined by the tight hot pants. Oh fuck him raw. That looked so damned edible.

"You looking at me like that doesn't help either." Chael chuckled breathlessly.

Guiltily he dragged his gaze up.

"Unless… you like me dirty Master?"

Gregor half swallowed his tongue and told his prick to behave. It was programming, all just some deep psychological manipulation and the poor kid didn't have a clue what he was saying. Stars, who knew if he'd even liked guys before all this shit?

Right, he had a job to do and it definitely didn't involve taking advantage of his partner. He opened his mouth to politely refuse as the doors opened to the planet side centre. The immediate flood of noise from the busy bustle of transports and the chatter of people going about their business drowned his response so instead he led Chael out of the lift. The Modified's eyes were downcast once more, his posture alluring and subservient, augmented by the ridged lines of his arousal.

Gregor had another flush of guilt but forced a cocky smile. Any tour could wait for later, right now he'd get Chael home and settled.

With a change of clothes too, of course.

Chapter 6

The feel of hot breath and wiff of cologne was the only hint Chael needed to exercise a swift side step, just avoiding the grope headed his way.

"Aw, spoil sport!" He suppressed an inward shudder at the oily tone and turned with a smile.

"Master does not allow touching by others and I must obey him, Agent Stevin."

The agent was a menace, and quite possibly the mole.

Stevin was one of those men who should have been attractive, in an image-plas he'd look like a model with thick dark hair and greenish eyes, but in person he was just… creepy. His eyes a little too intense, smile a little too brittle and the faint beading of sweat on his upper lip never vanished. He was either hiding something or on the verge of a mental breakdown. Not to mention that he couldn't keep his hands to himself. Even the bed warmer in Chael didn't want him near, although that probably had something to do with the bond coding with Gregor.

"Yeah, yeah… so what's Ryan got you doing now? Or should I say Master?"

Chael side stepped again as Stevin tried to brush against him and hid a grin. The man was getting more open with his questions about Gregor's work, in the past two weeks he'd gone from the occasional 'So what are you guys up to while you settle in?' to outright asking about it. The more Chael revealed the more the questions came. Yep, Stevin was officially one of the five highest suspects.

"Master has sent me give a message to the twins." His voice carried pride from being assigned a job and he wondered if he'd already been a good actor before Relife had dug into his brain. Probably not, or he wouldn't have needed to sell himself.

"Oh? Well how about we take the shuttle lift together? I was just on my way to Level 2."

Stars, the man was practically oozing. Being in a small and enclosed space with him was going to be awful. But he dropped his chin and smiled sweetly, eyes wide and trusting as he nodded. Urgh.

Once they were in the lift the game of dodge the wandering hands started again and Chael resisted the urge to break something. Just a finger maybe.

"Ryan's pretty chummy with the twins in Research, what's going on there? Anything you should be jealous of?" Stevin smirked.

"Master meets his needs where he will." He hesitated as if uncertain. "But he only needs me. Anyway he just wants the twins to check on a file glitch."

It wasn't difficult to sound a little possessive and affronted. The idea of Gregor taking his pleasure with others made his hands clench. It wouldn't be fair when the man wasn't even taking pleasure with him. They slept in the same bed, tangled in each others arms and scents, and more than once Chael had woken with a hot prick pressed against his ass invitingly. He wanted and he knew that Gregor wanted too, but the man would never take it any further. The last couple of weeks had become a hell of sexual tension that made Chael want to writhe and beg for his Master.

That, the more reasonable part of his programming asserted, might well be the problem. Gregor didn't want a Modified, a living sex doll that would always say yes.

"Oh? It's rare to have a couple of high level techs like those two on a basic systems glitch." Stevin was certainly getting bolder.

"Nuh uh. Not just a glitch, something to do with hacker blocking and a reboot tom-"

Chael put his hand over his mouth in supposed horror and gave Stevin a stricken stare. The man's eyes lit up.

"Aww, you don't have to worry luv, we'll keep it just between the two of us." He flashed a wink and Chael gave an inward crow of triumph. If Agent Stevin was the mole this could be the ticket to catching the man out, of course it might also prove he was innocent. Or at least as innocent as someone like Stevin could be. The shuttle lift pinged for Level 2 and Chael happily watched him leave. Time would tell.

***

"Why so-"

"Sad?"

Chael glanced back at the twins and huffed before returning to his vigil over the door. Gregor had promised to pick him up from the lab before 7, which left him with only ten more minutes to appear.

"Little Chael is pining." Roddo, the short haired twin, wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed a little in reassurance.

"Ah… well Greggy will be back soon and take care of his…needs." Cal smirked and joined his brother. Chael felt his face crumple a little, knowing that their teasing was supposed to cheer him up or a least irritate him enough to distract him. After five hours without his Master… no, can't use that term… without Gregor his body felt starved and needy. The twins petting couldn't fill the itching gap left by the gentle Tyrisian.

"Don't-"

"Cry angel." Cal and Roddo shared a concerned glance, they'd noticed that something wasn't quite right between the Modified and his owner but so far they'd had no luck having Gregor admit what was going on, perhaps Chael would be more forthcoming.

"Maybe we-"

"Can help?" They offered.

Chael bit his lip. He knew they meant well, and they were probably Gregor's closest friends. If he wanted to become more to the man than a Modified, Cal and Roddo may well be the best people to ask. But what if it made Gregor angry or disappointed? The sting set-up was coming along well, he'd managed to pass tid bits of false information to all three of the key suspects. It was becoming more and more likely that they'd have the mole caught much quicker than planned. And what would happen when it was over?

Gregor would send him away, that's what. He didn't want to go.

"How do I make Gregor want to keep me?" The sentence burst out in a jumbled rush and Chael felt his cheeks pinking.

There was a soft chuckle from Roddo.

"Of course Greggy wants to keep you." They replied in unison.

Chael frowned and shook his head.

"No, he…he doesn't. He won't…"

He tried to gesture a little to get his point across without having to say the words and Cal and Roddo's faces lit with identical understanding.

"Poor Greggy doesn't like to-"

"Take advantage."

"If you want-"

"You must seduce or ask."

"I can't!" Chael wailed. "The stupid programming- I tried a week ago and he told me not to say such things so now I can't! Master gave an order!"

Stars, did that grate at him! Every time Gregor asked or suggested something his programming interpreted it as an order and Gregor didn't even notice! In a few short weeks he'd been rendered unable to touch the man in bed, unless touched first, forbidden from giving him lustful stares (which had largely resulted in an inability to even look Gregor in the eye) and stopped from posing provocatively anywhere around the IPP base. He only prayed that he was never told to go away, because the likelihood was he'd never be able to return.

"Chael?" Oh Gods! Gregor. Chael felt his body stiffen in horror. The golden man stood in the doorway, the look of concern in his chocolate eyes confirming that yes, he had at least in part overheard the conversation. The Modified hid his face and closed his eyes against the hot burn that flooded them, he hated feeling so pathetic.

"I'm sorry M-master… sorry." It was all he could say, whispering it like a mantra. The world felt like it was curling up at the edges, his head pounding as he fought the companion personality that threatened to overwhelm. He felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him and he was lifted like a broken doll and held against Gregor's chest as the man turned and sat so that Chael was straddling his lap.

"Shhh, come on angel. You're just having a hard time with all that shit we've had put in you. It can't be easy, someone…someone like you wouldn't normally be able to feel like this, but I couldn't let them take away your personality. I saw you in that fucking tank and had to known you, not something they made."

A big hand stroked circles on his back and Chael nodded as he felt the tight itch of craving begin to abate.

He snuffled at the familiar golden flesh of Gregor's neck and felt the chuckle his tickling earned against his ear. But just because Gregor was petting him and- oh, that felt so good- saying kind things didn't make everything alright again. It definitely- right there, right… mmmm- didn't mean that he wasn't going to be abandoned when this was all finished.

If he could just get Gregor to want him a little more.

"That's right, just relax a bit. I'm sorry I'm late but we've had a bit of a break through- ah, Roddo?"

Chael kept his face pressed to Gregor, but he knew the Tyrisian was making sure the room was secured before the twins reported.

"We've had an alert from one of the systems about movements based on one of the fake tip offs Chael gave. Looks like we can narrow the candidate's down to one; Agent Palinto."

Chael froze. No, no no! It was too soon, he hadn't had time to persuade Gregor yet. To make the man love him back!

Wait, back?

Where had that come from? The Modified wanted Gregor, liked him, lusted after him even. But love? It was too soon for something so big, surely. But it was as if his conflicted brain had come together, focused on this one idea. He loved Gregor. Loved the way the man held him so gently, the way he could talk forever. Stars, he even loved the way he snored.

"Hey? You listening to me? You've done really well kiddo, now we just need to get some evidence proving Palinto's involvement and it's cased closed and time to celebrate."

Gregor tried to pry him away from the comfortable spot against his Master's neck to look Chael in the face, but the Modified clung like a limpet, a small nod the only concession that he'd heard and understood. He was almost surprised that Palinto was the traitor, but that was because Stevin always creeped him out so much that he'd begun to hope it was him. It wasn't important compared to the revelation taking place inside his head.

"That's excellent-"

"News. You-"

"Should give Chael a-"

"Reward for his hard-"

"Work."

Chael didn't have to look to know the pair would be wearing sly grins. The pulse in Gregor's throat jumped slightly at the innuendo, the pretty gold skin throbbing. Chael lick his lips and wished he was watching something else throb. Gently he flicked his tongue for a taste of the salty sweet flesh and smiled bitter sweetly when Gregor shifted uncomfortably. He had yet to be forbidden from licking in public.

"Ha, yeah. Good idea. I'm going to get my little partner here home for some dinner. Maybe I can get him some special dessert or-" The twins giggled and Gregor seemed to realise what he'd said. "I meant cake or something- you two have such dirty minds."

"Mmm, but you're the one with a pretty boy in your arms." They laughed.

Gregor snorted, but still carried Chael all the way home. Clearly Chael's last hope was another stab at seduction, only this time he wouldn't give Gregor the chance to stop him.

Chapter 7

With a frown Gregor went over the report he'd received from Roddo about the incident with Agent Palinto, there was something about what had happened which just wasn't right. He hadn't picked up on it at first, but then Chael had mentioned Agent Stevin again. The little blonde had incredible instincts, he'd been redesigned that way, and only a fool would dismiss them. It was making him consider that maybe Palinto was just a little too pat. Just because the mole was foolish enough to betray the IPP did not mean that he wouldn't cover his tracks better. In fact all the signs they'd had so far was that their traitor was damned good at covering his tracks, although not good enough to hide them completely.

It meant the real question may not be whom Chael had revealed the information to, but if they had passed it on to anyone else. The true informant could easily be testing the sweet snippets the Modified was dropping for truth and for traps. That way if the information was correct he'd have a reliable source, and if it was a trap then someone else would take the fall and he could go on his merry way. This was turning into one of the most frustrating cases of Gregor's illustrious career.

Sighing he dropped the report and flipped the switch on his UV lamp for a quick energy break, it never felt quite as good as laying out in real sunlight, but it gave him the boost his body needed.

A soft sound caught his attention and he glanced across the living room of his apartment. Chael was just emerging from the bedroom, adorably mussed with tangled curls and in one of Gregor's old t-shirts. His eyes were dark indigo and puffy from sleeping and he wandered half blind into the bathroom with a soft morning greeting.

This was the other source of his frustration.

His unruly prick was already half hard from the sight and promising him that if he didn't gain some relief soon it may well decide to pack up his balls and abandon him. The problem was that relief was only going to come when he was buried to the root in that pert little arse with his angel moaning his name. Gregor gave a quiet groan at the thought. Night times were hell, the temptation to simply roll over and take what Chael would have no choice but to give was almost unbearable.

And that was the problem really, beautiful little Chael couldn't say no if Gregor asked and there was no way in the known universe that he'd take advantage of the bond. It didn't mean that he couldn't torture himself by touching the Modified every chance he got. Stars, he'd carry the little bit everywhere like a security blanket if he could.

The track his thoughts were taking was really not helping deflate the erection tenting his pants. The bathroom door swung open and he jumped slightly, hiding a guilty look and attempting to cover his arousal with a plas pad.

"Gregor?" He glanced up a nearly swallowed his tongue. Naked, Chael was naked and, oh god was he wet too?

"Gregor?" The boy purred, his eyes lowered. "This isn't really the IPP base, this is your apartment, and I'm not looking at you like that… or asking you one of those questions."

All that creamy flesh was gracefully advancing on him, muscles sleek. A pearl of Chael's juices ran down his blushing, straining cock and Gregor moaned a little and followed its path into the fine fuzz of blonde curls that covered his soft balls. He couldn't help but swallow heavily, imagining the salty flavour on his tongue. He bet that skin would taste incredible, the pert pink nipples were practically begging to be sucked, nibbled, bitten. A low moan that could only have come from him rumbled across the room and Chael shuddered as the sound brushed him.

Trouble, Gregor was definitely in trouble. A small hand touched his knee and the man felt his prick jerk, the plas pad losing its precarious balance and clattering to the floor. There was a good reason they shouldn't be doing this… if he could just think for a minute. But his angel was sliding onto his lap, legs spread wide to straddle his thighs, and that pretty cock would make a perfect handful and those cherry stained lips looked sinfully soft. He had to have a taste, just this once… Even as he thought it Gregor was cupping Chael's curl capped head, drawing him in softly at first, lips barely brushing, then firm and demanding. He wanted entrance into that perfect mouth, wanted to feed at it until he was stained with cherries too.

Chael opened to him without resistance, but was not pliant, never pliant. A tongue as hot and eager as his own flicked across his teeth, tasting him, learning his flavour. This time he couldn't be sure whose moans filled the room and couldn't bring himself to care. Chael felt so right, melded against him, that lovely hardness dampening his shirt. Warm hands slipped into Gregor's hair, the sweet sensation making him glad he'd worn it down that morning. With a groan he pulled the boy closer to him, rocking their hips together in a slow grind that had Chael bent nearly backwards with cries of pleasure.

His beautiful Modified was so damned sensitive, he thought, then froze.

Stars, what was he doing? Hadn't he just sworn to himself that he wouldn't take advantage of Chael's programming? Gregor dropped his hands from Chael's body and tried to shake his head clear. Deep baby blues glanced at him, the passion hazed depths rapidly clearing in realisation. Gregor opened his mouth, ready to apologise, but a hand slammed in place.

"Don't… please don't tell me we can't. I-I, Gregor I need so badly!"

Chael gazed at him imploringly and Gregor felt his determination waiver for a moment. A fat tear ran down the angelic face.

"W-why don't you w-want me enough?"

Chael began to crumple and Gregor tenderly lifted the hand away from his mouth, cradling it over his heart. Were fine morals really worth the hurt he was causing? Damn him, he should have known choosing his personal temptation was an invitation to trouble. But if Chael would only understand!

"You know I want you, angel. But it wouldn't be fair on you. Dammit Chael! You don't have a choice! You've been made to respond, to want sex, I can't take advantage of that!" He tried to reason, to plead.

"Take advantage? H-how is it t-taking advantage when I want you?" Chael asked, his breath beginning to hitch and stumble.

"You just think you want me kiddo, you-" He began to explain.

"I know I want you, but if all I w-want was sex I'd find a-a fucking dildo or something! I care about you."

With the last cry Chael began to push himself away from Gregor, but the man pulled him close again, ignoring the struggles.

"Shh, calm down." Gregor crooned softly, his thoughts whirling at the Modified's confession.

God, could he really be cruel enough, callous enough, to ignore the sheer depth of feeling Chael was expressing? Caring… wasn't love, that was more than Gregor could hope for, Modifieds weren't- in general anyway- programmed so that they could experience love. The manual explained that this was largely to keep them balanced and, more importantly, saleable should their current owner wish to sell the indenture on. But caring was at least some feeling greater than training driven lust.

But was it enough that Gregor was willing to take the risk that he'd fall in love with a partner who might never return the feeling?

Shit, who was he fooling? He'd been in love the minute he'd set eyes on his angel.

With trembling fingers he raised Chael's tear splotched face and tenderly kissed the wet off each cheek.

"Chael? Lets go back to bed so we can do this properly."

***

The slide of cooling sheets against his back had never given Chael so much pleasure before. His whole body was coming alive under Gregor's expert touch, strong fingers stroking and caressing every inch of his skin until he writhed. The fine sheen of sweat on Gregor's firm, golden body gave his soon to be lover an enticing glow that forced his tongue to lick and nibble at every plane and valley of muscle that came within his reach until their hungry mouths met again. This was what he'd craved, the erotic slide of flesh, the steady burn in those dark eyes.

A nail snagged against his nipple and he arched, gasping for breath and grinding into the heavy body settled between his thighs. The silky slip of Gregor's wide cock against his own was pure bliss and he couldn't help but wrap his legs around the man's trim waist, silently begging for more while Gregor treated him to stinging nips along his neck. Panting, he anchored one hand in the thick waves of green hair, gently guiding that wonderful mouth to lower delights, while his other scratched evidence of his pleasure into the thick muscles of Gregor's back.

Every feeling was so intense, beyond anything Chael had ever experienced before. His balls felt tighter with every minute that Gregor lavished him with attention. When those wicked chocolate eyes gazed at him and a smooth finger swiped carefully under his sensitive balls, to flick over the soft skin of his pucker, it was all he needed to come, panting and begging. His spending splashed hotly over his belly, the creamy liquid running into his navel and down his hips as he cried out before his swollen lips were claimed once more.

"So beautiful, my angel, my Chael." The desire roughened growl sent a shiver down his spine and he gasped, rocking into the burning press of Gregor's finger as it demanded entrance to his body.

"More!" He begged, not realising he'd spoken out loud.

"Yes, angel, you'll have more."

A second finger pressed close to the first, but was coated in cool slickness, the lubricant Gregor had thrown onto the bed before he'd hastily stripped. It was such an alien feeling, an invasive stretching sensation, but the intimacy was overwhelming. Finally, in some small way, Gregor was inside his body. But he needed more. He twisted in lustful frenzy, desperately seeking to take those long fingers deeper and ignoring the sharp stinging. Finally brushed a place inside him that had Chael screaming and seeing stars. Oh, oh… that felt incredible.

Gregor gave a rumbling chuckle but didn't stop the sweet invasion, scissoring his fingers wider and wider while he licked a path along Chael's sensitive collar bone. The Modified ached to be filled further.

"Please…" He whispered, trailing kisses over Gregor's hair, forehead, cheeks… anywhere he could reach.

"Shhh, I want you to brace and bear down, it's going to hurt a little." Chael bit his lip and nodded, staring into the warmth of Gregor's chocolate eyes.

The delicious fingers were carefully worked free from his hole and replaced with a slick, hard pressure that could only be Gregor's prick. Squeezing his eyes tightly, Chael did as Gregor had instructed and felt the first slip of the wide head into his arse. Small, sharp pains radiated from the area, not unbearable but unique. He felt unbelievably stretched and panted in concentration as Gregor thrust for the first time, shallow and gentle as if he might break. Moaning in frustration he opened his eyes and looked down the line of his belly to where his own cock throbbed and tried to watch as Gregor impaled him again and again. With each thrust the discomfort lessened and he began to truly enjoy the sensation of fullness, grinding his hips in rhythm with his lover as he watched that thick prick slide into his body.

"Chael…so damned…beautiful." Gregor moaned above him and lifted his knees higher, sinking deeper and deeper and… there! Chael shouted his pleasure as Gregor nailed that sensitive place inside and received a wolfish grin in reply, the man's dark eyes nearly black and feral. Their hips pistoned together in a race towards completion, both bodies slick with mingled sweat and fluids.

Chael thought he'd never felt anything so right or so wonderful as his heart pounded in his ears. Then a broad palm covered his cock, jerking fast and furious and taking him higher than he'd believed himself capable of feeling. He felt the hardness in his body swell and pulse, hot come pumping deep and then he was seeing stars as his balls clenched and spewed their load. He knew he must be screaming but all he could hear was the thumping of blood, his vision curling black at the edges and filled with Gregor, only Gregor.

Chael was sure he could have died happy right then and there as they locked together in shared bliss and completion.

For a moment Gregor's weight rested limply over his body and Chael revelled in the feeling of cradling his lover before the man rolled away, carefully pulling free before flinging himself in a sprawled heap across the rest of the bed.

"Come here angel."

Gregor gave a sweet smile and pulled at his shoulder until he rolled over to rest his head over the damp golden chest.

"I'm sorry I denied us for so long." He laughed a little and threaded his finger's through Chael's sweaty curls, giving him the loving attention he desired.

Chael smiled back, his chest aching with happiness, and curled closer. He spared a brief thought for cleaning his body, but the beckon of sleep was too tempting. With a final kiss over Gregor's heart he let his eyes drift shut.

***

Gregor stared down at his angel, his Chael. He wondered how long it would take for the Modified to buy off his indenture, for this fiasco in the IPP to be over. Long enough, he hoped, for him to persuade him to never leave.

Chapter 8

It was the sounds of chaos that woke Chael from his warm cocoon in Gregors arms. Every messaging device in the apartment was going nuts with the sound of incoming calls and messages and there was a pounding coming from the other room which could only be someone at the door. He clapped his hands over his ears as Gregor shot to his feet, hurriedly pulling on his trousers and shouting for who ever the hell was making so much noise to shut up. Chael rolled off the bed, wincing at the noise and pulled on Gregor's hastily abandoned shirt.

"Here, answer that."

A shrilly jangling plas pad was thrust into his hands as Gregor jogged to get the door. There was something strange going on, he decided as he touched his thumb to the screen. Hopefully whatever it was, it was good.

"Chael! Where are you and Gregor?" Roddo demanded from the plas pad, his face was a mess, dried blood stained his cheek and his usually immaculate hair was knotted and dusty.

"At Gregor's apartment, what in the stars happ-"

"Get the hell out while you still can, it's Stevin, the fucker's cracked!" Roddo blurted.

"The treacherous snake broke into the lab and found our notes on the mole, including Gregor's report about him and tried to blow the place up. Star's know how, but he's taken most of the major defence systems offline and it's being broadcast across half the damned galaxy. It's like a message saying 'get it here while they're still vulnerable!'" The Tyrisian snarled and Chael felt his heart rate rocket.

"Where is he now?" He asked, horror filling his belly.

"Fucked if I know! He tried to blow me and Cal up with the lab, if I hadn't left out a shielding prototype we've been working on you wouldn't be getting this call now. As it is Cal's trying to see if he can fix the defence array programs and I've alerted the top brass. Stevin was never a simple mole, he was just throwing us off until whoever's pulling his strings decided to play the end game out. We're lucky he spooked and set everything off too early. Now get Gregor and get down here!" The screen blanked with last barking command.

For a minute Chael couldn't move from shock, then he heard a voice come from the other room and his spine began to crawl. Stevin.

Stars. He looked around frantically, hopeful for a weapon of some kind, any kind! But Chael knew Gregor didn't even keep a shock gun in his home, this was the IPP base, supposedly the safest planet in the galaxy. They had the best defensive weaponry in existence and the full backing of almost every governed planet. There should already be fleets on the way to help them, right? So…so if help was on the way all he had to do was take Stevin down. He ground his teeth against the roar of blood in his ears.

If Stevin hurt Gregor he'd rip the traitor apart.

Gathering his wits Chael thought fast, listening to the two muffled voices in case there was any sign of trouble. Stevin was most likely here to kill at least Gregor, probably both of them, but Gregor was fast and strong. So Stevin would aim to catch him unawares, put him at ease. If what Roddo had said was true, Stevin probably believed the twins were dead and he was in no rush. No doubt the man was aiming to kill off anyone who might be able to link him to the defence failure and he'd escape squeaky clean when the real shit came down. But to do that he'd have to make sure it didn't look like he was responsible for their deaths. That gave Chael an advantage, time wise, and if he acted quickly Stevin would never have the chance to betray them.

Looking down at himself dressed only in his lover's shirt an idea began to form. Stevin probably still thought he was harmless, Gregor hadn't mentioned the Modified's role feeding false information in any of the documents as far as he knew. Chael grinned, he'd show the man.

With sheer force of will he calmed the shaking in his hands and arranged the shirt a little more artfully, showing off how thoroughly Gregor had claimed him. Then he slipped out of the bedroom, his face a study of innocence and worry.

Gregor was sat in his favourite chair, a look of shock on his face, with Agent Stevin seated across from him.

"Master, I have terrible news." Chael ran to Gregor and was promptly swept into his lap.

"I know. There was an accident in the twins' lab." He sounded heart broken, but there was something odd about his voice.

Chael cuddled in closer and felt Gregor squeeze his wrist slightly where it would be hidden from view. With a surge of elation Chael realised Gregor could tell there was something wrong and that Stevin was the source. For a moment he felt a little stupid too, of course Gregor suspected. The man was a top IPP agent, he had good instincts. His slid his free hand over the back of Gregors neck and gave a short reply squeeze.

Their eyes met for a moment and he tried to read a message in those chocolate eyes, but all he saw behind the façade of grief was trust. But then, surely that was a message in its own right.

"Yes, I could hardly believe it myself." Humph, so the snake thought he'd fooled them did he?

"Oh! Agent Stevin! I-I'm sorry I neglected you." Chael stuttered and dropped from Gregor's lap, managing to force something resembling a shy blush. "Let me g-get your coat and hang it up, would you like anything to drink?"

Stevin stood and watched him like a lusty predator, stars but the man was repulsive like this. But Chael could take advantage of that lust to get as close as he needed. With a soft, flirtatious smile he ran his hands up Stevin's back, putting the man at ease and subtly checking for weapons. He carefully pulled the coat down, waiting until both elbows were caught, then pounced.

***

Gregor didn't think he'd ever seen anyone move as fast as his angel could. Stevin was standing one minute and on the floor the next, his jacket twisted around his arms as Chael struggled to pin the man down. Gregor jumped forward to lend his weight, holding Stevin's flailing legs at a painful angle.

"Get off, get the hell off! Ryan, what the fuck is your little toy playing at!" Stevin bucked and Gregor pressed harder.

"Lucas Stevin, I am authorised as an agent of the Interplanetary Police acting under Practice Code C to arrest you for criminal practices contrary Interplanetary Law." Chael didn't sound flirtatious or submissive anymore and Stevin had gone wild trying to dislodge them both.

"It's not true! Ryan get the pet off me and let me up!" The man panted, his face grinding into the floor.

"I don't think so Stevin, Chael, care to explain?" This would be interesting.

"Stevin here is the one responsible for blowing up Cal and Roddo's lab, he didn't do quite the job he'd hoped he had and I just spoke with them." Gregor felt a flood of relief, he'd suspected Stevin as soon as the man had burst in and told him there'd been a 'terrible accident' but that hadn't stopped him being rocked by the announcement that the twins might be dead.

"Say hello to the mole. Who knew someone so greasy could be smart enough to hack the twin's systems?"

"You shitty little-" Gregor bent Stevin's leg slightly and the man howled.

"Keep your mouth shut. Chael, I keep a spare set of energy cuffs in the bottom desk draw, can you grab them and let the twins know we have Agent Stevin in custody."

The little blonde nodded and let Gregor take over his grip on the man's arms before quickly hurrying into the office.

"You're making a terrible mistake, Ryan!" Stevin wheezed beneath him. Gregor ignored him and listened as his angel called the twins. "If you let me go we can work something out!"

Chael almost ran back into the room, having pulled on a pair of skin hugging pants, with the energy cuffs in his hands. Gregor took them with a smile.

"You hold down the back of his neck while I get these on the traitor here, ok?" Chael nodded enthusiastically and knelt on the back of Stevin's neck with a wicked look on his face that had Gregor wishing they had time to go back to bed. With a firm grip he quickly yanked off the twisted coat and had the man's hands cuffed in seconds. "Stay there while a check him for weapons."

It had been a while since he'd been involved in the kind of case where you had to search a suspect, but his body still remembered the drill and he quickly found a diamond knife and a compact shock gun. With his lips drawn back in disgust he threw both offending items under a chair, lest Stevin got the idea he could get hold of one.

"Right, you treacherous bastard, we're taking you into custody." He nodded to Chael, who reluctantly slid of Stevin's back, and climbed to his feet, dragging the man with him.

"Roddo said to bring him to the wrecked lab, they have a special holding cell on that level which can be sealed so his codes won't work." Chael grinned and Gregor felt himself give a wolfish smile in reply.

"Lead on then angel…just let me grab a shirt first!"

Chapter 9

The damage to the lab was devastating and Chael could understand how Agent Stevin had believed the twins would be dead, without that shield they'd have been scraping bits of them off the floor. It was a horrible thought, Cal and Roddo had become such good friends to him in the past month that he wasn't sure what he would have done without them. He stared at the mess. It was lucky the plasma glass had been strong enough to protect the rest of the level, although it had been left warped and bowed from the pressure of the blast.

Of course, it hadn't saved the defence array and now Cal was somewhere, trying to fix it. Chael glanced down the hall way, it was odd to find the place without its usual buzz of technicians and scientists. Roddo said it had been cleared as a safety precaution, there was always the possibility that Agent Stevin had not been acting alone. And, of course, the Commander of the IPP and a few other top brass were apparently on their way. That was why Chael had been left in front of the lab while Roddo and Gregor escorted Stevin to his new home, someone had to be there to greet them. Chael looked down at himself, he wondered if the Commander would have any ides who he was or would just assume he was someone's pet.

He only hoped he would at least make a good impression for his Ma- ah, for Gregor. Stars, he really had to stop thinking 'Master', Gregor was his lover now. He grinned to himself and shifted on the spot slightly so he could feel the sharp ache of the man still riding his arse. It felt so good he nearly purred.

"Someone's looking pleased with himself." Chael jumped slightly and turned to find Cal drifting from a doorway.

He blushed slightly.

"Ah, I think I can guess why… is that a love bite I spy?" Cal laughed and Chael blushed harder until his face felt so hot that he thought it must be glowing.

"Have you fixed the array?" He asked and regretted it when Cal's smile dropped.

"No, it looks like the cretin set off a particularly vicious virus. There's so much damage to the internal system that every time I fix one thing, I find another that's brok-"

"Hey, get back to work! You lazy scut." The pair jumped at Roddo's shout.

"I'm waiting for the Commander to arrive so I can give my report and let him know about something else a bit more pressing..." Cal tailed off with an unhappy look and flicked his twin on the nose as the shuttle lift near the hanger doors bleeped its arrival. "See, I knew that would happen."

Chael shuffled up to Gregor and slid behind him, letting the Tyrisian's broad body half hide him. To his surprise Gregor slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him forward and flush against his hip. The display of ownership and affection made his chest squeeze with happiness, although it didn't help his fears about meeting such important people. Would they think less of Gregor for having a Modified by his side? Everyone else seemed to, apart from the twins.

When the shuttles opened only two men stepped out, one fairly short but built with wide shoulders and a neck like a bull, the other was taller but very lean and wiry. Both looked to be in their early fifties or late forties with short dark hair edging into grey and faces a little lined with age and the strains of their work.

"Commander Ventiman-"

"Deputy Chief Halls-"

"If you could follow-"

"Us, we will inform you-"

"Further about the situation." Roddo finished and stepped through the doorway Cal had appeared from earlier and gestured from them to proceed with Chael and Gregor at the back.

Chael noticed the questioning look the Deputy Chief shot at Gregor as the man passed and squirmed uncomfortably, acutely aware of how much more like a bed companion he looked in the over large shirt, covered in Gregor's marks. He barely listened as Cal and Roddo ran through the problems until he heard Cal tell them that it would take days, maybe even weeks, to truly fix the defence array.

"Days? Even our nearest allies will take at least two days to reach us, we'll be totally vulnerable." The Commander looked pale.

"Yes sir but-"

"It can be fixed-"

"To basic standard in 16 hours."

They'd arrived in a compact room where the plasma glass was completely blacked out, there were sections of wiring and panelling scattered everywhere and four huge plas screens hung from the wall, each covered in schematics and code.

"There is more-"

"Whoever hired-"

"Stevin was waiting."

"Our sensors have found signs-"

"Of four Efrone 2-"

"Destroyer class ships entering-"

"Orbit." Cal pointed to the lower section of the screen immediately in front of them where a pulsing red shape was shown on a small space map. The Deputy Chief went grey and Gregor's hand clenched on Chael's hip.

"How much time do we have to evacuate?" The Commander asked quietly and the twins shared an unhappy look.

"A few hours, at most." They said.

Even Chael knew that wouldn't be enough to save more than perhaps a few thousand of the IPP staff, agents, employees and all their families that had made their home on the tiny planet, supposedly protected by the most advanced defences ever created.

Ventiman nodded and stared hard at the screen, his jaw clenched.

"Can you send out a communications broadcast from here?" He asked.

Cal nodded.

"Then I want to talk to those ships. Johan, get a general evacuation started." It took a moment for Chael to realise he was talking to the Deputy Chief.

"Open the communication broadcast. No time like the present after all." Chief Ventiman commanded and Cal hurriedly tapped on the plas screen then gave a nod. "Destroyer class ships, this is Isaac Ventiman, Commander in Chief of the Interplanetary Police. You are trespassing in protected space. I ask that you immediately turn from your course or face the full fury of the law."

There was a long pause, so long that Chael's heart nearly jumped from his chest when a smooth, angry voice echoed through the room.

"We cannot comply with your request Commander. I am Captain Ricca Kalor of the Defiant Star and Tyrusian fleet. In response to the IPP's consistent failure to deal with my requests to cease the illegal holding of my brothers, I must reclaim them by force. You have two hours until my ships are in orbital range, I expect to be met with a transport containing the pair and if I am not then we will open fire."

There was a bleep marking the end of the communication. The room was eerily silent as each person considered the information they'd just been given.

"What do we know about Kalor and these brothers?" The Commander frowned. Chael glanced at Roddo and Cal, expecting them rattle off the answer, but instead they were staring at each other in horror.

"Oh. Shit."

Gregor's quite expletive surprised Chael and the Commander turned from the star map, his frown deepening at the sight of the twins huddling together.

"Explain what the problem is." He demanded.

"Commander-" Gregor began and was silenced by a hard look.

Roddo opened his mouth then shut it again, biting at his lip. Cal reached up and stroked his twin's face tenderly and sighed.

"We are Ricca's brothers."

***

Gregor felt Chael's gasp as much as he heard it and pulled his angel closer, wrapping both arms around the slender body. It was hard to believe that Ricca had resorted to such incredible, extreme action, but then the man had always been highly strung. It was half the reason the twins had followed him to the IPP. Ricca had always had a protector complex, keeping his brothers under strict control. His reaction when their unusual relationship had been discovered was catastrophic, although Gregor had always suspected it had more to do with the man's self hatred for his own desires.

Yep. The Kalor brothers where an unusual bunch.

That Roddo and Cal had faked part of their records to look like they were detainees instead of employees had probably been a decision they considered a stroke of genius. Who would dare challenge the IPP? Well, someone with the Tyrusian fleet at their command and an overdeveloped sense of familial affection, apparently. He wasn't surprised that Ricca had tracked them down and had no doubt that the pair had been carefully monitoring the data banks so that his "requests" slipped through the system. They were very good at their job. But this, well, he wasn't quite sure what to think.

"Why, in the name of the entire galaxy and every star in it, is your brother threatening the base? What's this nonsense about illegal detention?" Commander Ventiman demanded and Gregor watched the pair squirm.

"He wants-"

"Us to go-"

"Home. But we-"

"Wanted to work."

"We might have-"

"Made it seem like we weren't-"

"Here by choice."

No, Gregor thought, he just wants you and you two are terrified to live with his disapproval. He kept his mouth carefully shut though.

"Are you telling me that we have been crippled and betrayed because of a-a sibling squabble?!" Ventiman's face was taking on a threatening shade of puce. "Tell him to stand down this instant!"

Cal bit his lip and looked like he was going to object but tapped the plas screen. Roddo huddled closer to him, the usually gregarious twin cowed.

"D-defiant S-star, this is Racal Kalor and-"

"Roddo Kalor, senior technical agents-"

"Of the Interplanetary Police."

Cal looked at Roddo for a moment and continued.

"R-ricca, please stand down. W-we were never prisoners here. It was a mistake."

The reply was considerably faster than the first had been and Gregor could hear the strain in Ricca's voice.

"I will not stand down until you are both aboard this vessel."

"Ricca-"

"Please, why don't you-"

"Take a transport planet side-"

"And we can talk-"

"This is wrong Ricca-"

"Please."

Gregor looked the twins with sympathy, they loved their brother and he knew it had hurt them to be apart from him for so long. But the man was such an ass, what had he even planned to do after holding the entire base to ransom? The threat to Tyrisus Prime was extraordinary, the government would have immediately disclaimed any knowledge of his actions and dishonourably discharged him from his post in the fleet. Was he planning to stay in the outer reaches until the IPP tracked him down and he spent the rest of his life on a penal planet? It was the height of stupidity, clearly what little brains he'd had decayed years ago, most likely when he'd discovered his brothers missing.

"That is an acceptable compromise. Send me the co-ordinates and I will be planet side in two and a half hours."

The arrogance in the voice was beyond irritating but Gregor stepped forward when no one else moved and transmitted the location of an Efrone 2 capable landing station near by. Commander Ventiman did not look happy.

"The pair of you have two hours to explain, in detail, exactly what is happening here." He hissed, then glanced at Gregor, who felt Chael shrink back against him. "Agent Ryan, you and your partner can return to your quarters. You did excellent work in weeding out our mole, it's just a shame it appears to have been for such a ridiculous cause."

Gregor nodded and took Chael's arm. He felt for the twins as they shot him guilty glances but it was time to get out before the man exploded.

Chapter 10

Chael stumbled behind Gregor in a state of shock. That was the oddest, most ridiculous occurrence he'd ever come across. Admitedly he only had a month of complete and unblocked memories to base that opinion on…but he thought it likely to be true. He was so wrapped up in examining the sheer idiocy he hardly noticed Gregor ushering him into a shuttle lift.

He wasn't sure if he'd had any brothers or sisters of his own, he must not have if his memory of the day he sold himself to Relife was complete. But he doubted that if he did, they would search him out and hold a whole damned planet hostage! And the damage done to the systems! Had Stevin known this was what he would spend the rest of his life on a prison colony for?

"Hey kiddo, snap out of it." Gregor's arms wound around him, pulling him close enough to feel the beat of a heart against his back. Any thought of the twins and their quite apparently crazy brother flew out of his head as Chael's body instinctively arched back against his Master. No, against Gregor.

It was then that it hit him. He'd completed the job his indenture had been purchased for.

Chael felt like the bottom had been ripped out of his stomach. Gregor didn't need him anymore, didn't need the sex toy cover or the off the rails behaviour. But he'd bedded him, only hours before. Chael still had his lovers fluids in his body, his marks on his neck and chest and hips. Still had the silken ache of hot, hard thrusts riding his body. Did it mean anything? It had to Chael, he'd stopped worrying a week ago that it wasn't love, because he didn't know what else to call the feeling.

But Gregor, well, he'd been seduced into sex. Begged. He wouldn't love a Modified and now he didn't have a use for one either. It was a hard blow along with the suspense and fear he'd suffered all day. Chael felt his face crumple and bit hard at his lip. It wasn't fair, everything had been going so well. The large body wrapped around him shifted slightly and soft kisses were peppered along the side of his face.

"What's wrong angel?" The croon of Gregor's voice made him shiver with longing.

"Now that we're done." He bit his lip harder but forced himself to continue, loosing his fight against the tears as he did. "What will happen to me?"

The golden man he adored went very still and when he answered his voice was rough.

"Why would we be done?"

Chael swiped a hand at the suspicious wetness trickling down his face.

"The mole was caught, that was what you bought me for…" A mouth crashed down over his, hard and demanding. For a moment he didn't respond, too surprised to think, but he couldn't resist Gregor's tongue as it lapped at the seam of his lips. With a soft moan he opened his mouth to the wicked onslaught and the taste of his lover, his love.

The shuttle lift bleeped that they'd reached their destination and Gregor tore away, gasping and groping for the hold button.

"You're my angel Chael, mine. Should you ever wish to leave me, I'll let you go. But I didn't buy you as a project or a pet. You and I, lover, will never be done. Besides, you're my partner. I can't be without a partner, can I now?" Gregor gripped his chin hard, his eyes nearly black with emotion and Chael felt his heart pounding. It wasn't quite a love confession, not yet, but he was wanted and he was needed and that would be enough.

"Yes Gregor." He smiled shyly and cradled the warm hand under his chin, rubbing against it like a cat.

"Good, now I'm sure we've got some work to do and stars know we could both do with a shower." Gregor grinned and let go of the hold button, sweeping a laughing Chael up into his arms. "Lets go home kiddo."

Home. Chael snuggled into the broad chest he was wedged against and thought that he was already there.

36