Gannon Morgan [Seven Brothers for McBride 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (5 page)

Reaching out, McBride touched Gannon’s shoulder. “It’s not you.”

Gannon’s golden-brown eyes focused on him.

“It’s not you at all. You have to understand what he’s been through.”

“I thought I was.” Gannon looked as tortured as Alden. “I didn’t mean to scare him.”

“I know. He probably knows that, too. But Alden’s been hurt very badly. It’s going to take more than I thought to make him comfortable.”

“You’re not going to take him away from me, are you?”

“No. I think that would only make matters worse.” McBride looked over and realized that Alden was watching their mouths very attentively. “I think there is a bare bit of trust and arousal between you two, but your mate will need more.”

“I’m sorry.” Alden reached out for Gannon, who took his hand without anger or any kind of lingering repercussion. “I was frightened.”

“By what?” Gannon asked.

“You were so eager and grabbed me so tightly. I panicked at being held that way.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“I know. But something in my head pushed me away.”

McBride watched as the two men reassured one another. Teaching them to mate without fear was going to be difficult. Alden was damaged but not broken. If Gannon was gentle, they would be able to overcome the trauma. But it would take time, something McBride really didn’t have. As much as he was hoping to rush through their mating, he realized he couldn’t. Alden would be utterly broken if he were taken without care.

For the hundredth time, McBride put his own needs at the very end of his list. Alden would eventually be a very good mate, but he would require a light and tender touch. Gannon would prove to be suitable for him, if only he could be reassured that all his hard work would pay off. In a sudden flash of inspiration, McBride realized what he had to do.

“Do you have any rope?” McBride knew Alden understood him when his eyes widened and he stumbled back half a step. “Not for you. For him.”

“For me?” Gannon frowned. “Believe me, I don’t want to get away.”

“I think if you were bound up, Alden would feel more comfortable.”

A new light came into Alden’s eyes as he considered. “You mean to have me tie him to the bed?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know. How will I mount him if I’m strapped to the bed?” Gannon hadn’t outright rejected the idea, and that was good.

“You won’t,” McBride said. “He’ll mount you.” Gannon looked so horrified that McBride laughed. “Not like that. You’ll just be on your back while he does all the work. Not for always, but for his first time I think it will comfort him to know that he’s in charge.”

Alden looked far more interested than Gannon did.

“I won’t be cruel,” Alden assured Gannon. “And I don’t really need to tie you up.”

“No?”

“If you just let me lead, I think I will feel safer.”

“But first things first.” McBride pointed to Gannon and then the bathroom. “Go and clean up, including your teeth. The first thing you must learn is that you should always come to your mate clean.”

Gannon was gone so fast he practically made a breeze.

“Thank you.” Alden’s voice was very low and sweet.

“You’re welcome.”

“I am sorry to be a burden.” He hung his head.

Touching his shoulder softly, McBride waited until he looked up. “You’re not a burden.”

“But you wouldn’t have bought me had you known.”

“I might have. I don’t think you’re broken, Alden, just bruised. If we have to take things slower and do them a little differently, that’s fine. The important thing is to make sure you and Gannon can get along.”

“Because a bloodbond is forever.”

“It is.” McBride thought of Caleb and how their kiss had turned so passionate. “That’s why we’ll put that off until I’m sure you’re both ready.”

Alden nodded.

“I like your idea better than mine.”

“My idea?”

“To have Gannon lie as if bound but without the rope.” McBride pictured the scene and thought that would work well. “Do you think you can trust him if he’s passive?”

“I think so.” Alden looked at the spotless living room. “And now I realize that I should have spent my time cleaning the bedroom.”

McBride laughed and so did Alden. His laughter was like his voice, very light and melodious. “Maybe tonight you should just talk.”

“Talk?”

“I think I’ll leave you two to get to know one another.”

Alden looked toward the bathroom then back at McBride. “Gannon will be very upset.”

“I don’t think so.” McBride thought about how afraid Gannon was to hurt Alden. “If he knows it will help to reassure you, I think he won’t mind at all.”

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Because I think you need it.” McBride offered a smile that Alden slowly echoed. From the way it moved his features, it was pretty obvious he hadn’t smiled in a long time. Like his laugh, his smile was a little rusty, but they could change that.

Gannon emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hips. “I wasn’t sure what to wear.”

From the way Alden was staring at him, he should probably just keep wearing the towel.

“Will you give us a moment?” McBride pulled Gannon into the bedroom. It was just as messy now as it was earlier. “How would you feel about simply talking and getting to know your mate tonight?”

Obvious disappoint flashed over Gannon’s features, but then he looked out of the bedroom doorway at Alden, who was standing in the living room. “It would help him feel more comfortable with me, wouldn’t it?”

“It really would.” McBride certainly didn’t want to rush when there was no need. “I still think he’ll be a good mate to you—”

“I know he will.” Gannon turned his attention onto McBride. “He’s so pretty, and his voice…I’ve never heard anything so beautiful.”

“So you’re willing to go slowly?”

“If it will help him, I am.” Gannon looked around the mess of his bedroom. “Maybe tonight we should talk while I clean up my room. I don’t want our first time to be in this mess.”

“Good idea.” McBride felt his teeth start to itch. He hadn’t fed since his interlude with Caleb. Perhaps tonight he would feed from Gannon’s twin, Ollie.

“Is Alden okay with this idea?”

“He is.”

“Okay. But tomorrow?” Need made Gannon’s golden-brown eyes practically shine. “I don’t mind if you have to tie me up.”

“Alden had a better suggestion.”

“Oh?”

“You should talk about that while you clean up.” Once the mates were set with their evening in, McBride left and headed toward Ollie’s house. When he noticed all the lights were off, he stopped, wondering if he’d turned in early for the night. It was his right to go ahead and wake him up, but he certainly didn’t want to when there were other necks available to him.

“He wasn’t feeling well.”

McBride looked over and found Caleb sitting on his porch. He’d taken one of his dining room chairs and placed it on the small covered porch. McBride couldn’t think of one time when he’d done so before. Probably the only reason he did now was because he was waiting for McBride to leave Gannon’s house. He was surprised that Caleb hadn’t remarked on how short his time within had been, but maybe he really was trying to be good so McBride would eventually buy him a thrall.

“If you’re hungry, my neck is free.” The offer hung on the air for so long it would look strange whether or not McBride answered.

“I’ve drunk from you recently.” As if either of them could forget what happened the other morning. Just thinking of Caleb’s massive hand around his cock made him long for another chance to feel his work-roughened flesh. What had amazed him was how sinfully skillful Caleb had been. Either he’d handled men before, or he’d thought of touching McBride often enough to make himself move with calm purpose. McBride wasn’t too thrilled with either of those two notions being true. The idea of Caleb being with another rankled because he wanted his hands metaphorically clean, but the thought of Caleb imagining McBride’s body in his hand until he was able to touch him with finesse was somehow worse. That would mean that Caleb had the same impossible hunger that McBride had. No good could come of a landed gentryman and a slammer pairing up.

“I don’t mind.” Caleb stood. “I’m big enough to handle two feedings in a day, so a daily feeding isn’t any big deal.”

Knowing it was a bad idea, McBride found himself moving toward Caleb anyway. Every time he got near him his hormones went crazy and everything in his body hummed with electricity. It wasn’t about blood or lust but something far more dangerous.

“I just want to feed, Caleb. I don’t want to have to fight for it.”

“I won’t cause any trouble. Remember? I’m being a good boy so I can get a mate of my very own.” Caleb flattened out his hand and pressed it against his chest with false dramatics. Tonight, he was wearing a shirt, which helped McBride keep his lust in check. However, he was wearing
tallos
jeans that clung to him.
Damn
. There were still three other brothers McBride could feed from, but his feet kept right on taking him over to Caleb.

True to his word, he left the porch, entered the house, and settled at another chair at the table. With only the lights on in the kitchen, the house was far more cozy and intimate than McBride wanted. An urge to turn on all the lights was squashed when he realized if any of the other brothers looked over they would be able to clearly see everything he and Caleb were doing. As much as he wanted that to contain his behavior, he had a feeling he would lose control anyway and they would only get an eyeful of his illegal acts. In the end, McBride chose to leave the lights off.

Before McBride even asked, Caleb pulled his hair away from his neck and draped it over the other shoulder. The scar McBride had made against his bronzed flesh was as pale as the inside of a
tallos
bulb. It gleamed oddly under the light from the tightness Caleb made in his skin from leaning his neck over. Just seeing his mark on Caleb excited him, causing his prick to press against the stiff fabric of his pants.

Moving around the table, McBride stroked his finger over the scar, loving the way Caleb’s massive body shuddered. Perhaps that was why he so enjoyed feeding from Caleb. He reacted to every breath and touch as if it were the first one all over again. There was something magical about bringing such a huge man to his knees.

“Did Jonas ever really feed from you?” McBride had been wondering about the truth because all the other brothers had scars from his father’s companion. No matter how lightly Jonas fed, there was simply no way he wouldn’t have left his mark upon Caleb.

“Why does it matter?” Caleb’s voice was husky and more sensual than Alden’s. Not that he didn’t care for the melodious sweetness of Alden’s voice, because he thought it quite beautiful, but there was something far more compelling about the low gruffness of Caleb’s.

“It doesn’t matter.” McBride stroked the scar again and found himself uttering a low growl of need. “But I want to know the truth. It’s the lawman in me.”

“Maybe he did but not from my neck.”

That stiffened McBride’s spine. Was this what Caleb did for sport? Tangling up landed gentrymen so he could have something to hold over them?

“Do you want me to show you?” Caleb turned, and his wicked gaze locked on McBride’s.

“No.”

“Yes you do.” Caleb laughed as he turned away. “You want to know.”

“I could truss you up in the restrictor and give you a very through going over.”

That sent another shiver through Caleb and knocked his superiority down a notch.

“Tell me why you fear it so?” It was a simple design. Basically, the restrictor was like a sleeveless jacket that went over the upper body of the slammer. Leather straps and bronze buckles allowed the unit to be tightened so that the owner of the slammer could feed without having to hold the slammer down.

“I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Liar.” McBride lowered his mouth and licked across the scar, sending another series of tremors through Caleb.

“Stop teasing me.”

“I want the truth, Caleb.”

“You said you just wanted to feed. So do it.” Caleb tilted his head over even farther.

“I’ll feed when I’m ready.” As McBride rubbed his lips gently against the scar, he darted his gaze to the big picture window. The other houses were dark or they were softly lit with the drapes closed. No one was paying him or Caleb any attention at all. McBride knew he should just feed and go, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to know if Caleb had been untouched before he took possession of him. “My understanding is that Jonas was smaller than you.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“So where did he feed on you?”

“My cock.”

“Liar.” McBride wasn’t going to fall for this trick. “You’re just looking for an excuse to whip your prick out.”

“You know you want to see it.”

“I’ve seen it, Caleb.” It was thick, long, and nestled in a tuft of hair so dark it was surprisingly sinister, which McBride found incredible sexy.