Gannon Morgan [Seven Brothers for McBride 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (9 page)

“Yes, I do, but I’d like to move up to the supervisor’s position when Danhew retires.”

“He’s retiring?” How far out of the loop was he? McBride sighed. He needed to pay more attention to his sheriff duties. That would have the added benefit of keeping him away from Caleb.

“In two months Danhew is out of here, and I’d like his job.”

“Well, fill out the forms and send them in. I’d have to take a look, but you’re certainly qualified from what I remember from your file.” When McBride had inherited the job of sheriff, he’d reviewed all his employees. Like usual, there were the standouts and the slackers, with most employees falling into the middle. Quintus was one of the superstars in the department. He was always prompt, went above the call of his duty, and didn’t whine when McBride asked for extra hours. All the men who worked for him were gentrymen. They weren’t landed, but that didn’t mean they didn’t aspire to change their family line.

“I will do that, and thank you for considering me.”

They cut the call, and McBride had ridden out to the platform. When he found nothing new, he’d taken his time coming back to the farm. The sun was starting to slant toward the horizon, but night was still a long way off. The
dressiter
moved with its usual grace, making it easy for McBride to drift off and have a moment to himself. Unfortunately, all he wanted to think about was what was turning into his biggest problem. Caleb. What the hell had happened last night? He was feeding the way he always did with the other brothers, but with Caleb it had intensified somehow. Was it the fact that he’d been untouched when McBride first drank from him?

There were landed gentrymen who had what was known as a virgin-blood fetish. They attributed all kinds of mythical importance to having a slammer who had never been touched by another man. They claimed the blood was purer and gave them greater vigor and strength. McBride had never believed in such nonsense. As long as a slammer was healthy and happy, his blood would provide all the nutrients a man needed. But now he was rethinking that. How else could he have gotten so entangled?

As soon as he turned down the long drive, he saw Caleb. It was hard to miss his massive shoulders. Since he was finished picking, he’d pulled the top half of his jumper down so the sweat on his body could catch the light breeze and he could cool off. Or at least that was what McBride thought. For all he knew Caleb could have just sensed he was near and was deliberately trying to taunt him. If that was the case, it was working. McBride used the brim of his hat to shade his eyes, hoping that the Morgan brothers wouldn’t know where he was looking. He realized his ruse wasn’t working when Caleb turned and looked right at him.

A smile danced on the edges of Caleb’s lips. Unlike his usual smirk, this one was secretive, sweet, and oddly welcoming. None of the other brothers paid McBride any undue attention, so it was as if he and Caleb were alone. But they weren’t. And they never could be. As much as he wanted him, McBride couldn’t have him. He could drink from him, and that was all. Since he couldn’t seem to stop himself from crossing that line, he vowed he wouldn’t drink from Caleb again.

As if to prove to him his vow was going to tax him to his very limits, his teeth extended and started to itch unbearably. He wanted to sink his fangs into Caleb’s neck while he slipped his cock up Caleb’s ass. Doing those actions simultaneously would make him reach a pinnacle of pleasure that he’d never known.

“And never will.”

As McBride stripped the saddle off his ride and brushed the beast down, he thought that he might have to get himself a companion before he got another one of the brothers a thrall. If he had a man of his own, he would eventually lose his interest in Caleb. Bloodbonding to a mate would lessen the pull he felt toward the eldest Morgan brother. Once formed, a bond like that could never be broken but through death. There was an entire field of science devoted to the ways and means of the bond, but McBride had never thought too much about it. He just knew someday he would own slammers and then he would have a mate. If he’d had any idea the clear lines between him and his blood supply could become so fuzzy so fast, he would have taken far more care. Not once in all his schooling had the subject ever come up. If it were common, he would know more about it, but he didn’t, and he wondered just how often gentrymen became too close to their slammers.

“Perhaps I’m more like my father than I thought.” McBride still couldn’t believe that his father and his companion, Jonas, had bought themselves a thrall that they not only drank from but used for sexual games. Since they were out in the middle of nowhere, no one had been the wiser. When his father passed, his companion had boxed up whatever he wanted and disappeared with the thrall in tow. McBride had not heard a peep about Jonas other than what the Morgan brothers had told him.

As curious as McBride was to know what ever happened to Jonas and the thrall named Zeth, he had bigger issues facing him. The curiosity and law breaking of his deceased father was so far down on the list McBride didn’t think he’d get to it until he retired. By then, he would care even less to know the details. But that wasn’t what really bothered him anyway. He wanted to know why. What had made his father feel he needed more than just his companion? Was the idea of getting a thrall Jonas’s idea? The Morgan brothers turned out to be brought into the relationship by Jonas, but he hadn’t wanted to take them with him when he went. Perhaps he thought it would be easier to pass his thrall off as a landed gentryman without having seven men who knew the truth.

“Let me help you with that.” Caleb entered the barn and took the brush from McBride’s hand.

“I’m more than capable of brushing down my own
dressiter
.”

“I’m simply trying to be of use.”

“Then go back out into the field.”

“Everything is picked.” Caleb made slow strokes over the
dressiter
’s coat. He followed each pass of the brush with a smoothing down by his free hand. He was grooming and reassuring the beast at the same time. By the low, grumbling snorts, the creature was clearly enjoying the attention.

“Then get to work planting the next rows over.” McBride refused to struggle to regain the brush, but he also struggled to stop seeing Caleb make those same attentive strokes to his body.

“I already did.” Caleb met McBride’s glare with an open expression that was utterly annoying.

“Then—”

“Everything that needs to be done today is done. I let the other brothers go home.”

McBride bristled. “What in the hell makes you think you have the right to do that?”

“I wasn’t trying to be the boss of them.” Caleb sighed but never missed a beat as he moved around the six-legged beast, brushing him down. “We’ve been working so hard because of the mates you’ve given out already. And of course, those without one want to make sure they are given one. Also, the extra pair of hands now that Ferris is out there means we’re ahead. Honestly, I wasn’t trying to take your place.” Caleb looked at the beast he brushed and then at McBride. “I thought I was doing the right thing since you’ve had other things on your mind.”

It was clear that Caleb just wanted to help. He’d done the right thing by letting the brothers have the afternoon off. He’d made a similar call once before. It was only now when McBride felt his control slipping that he was irritated by Caleb doing anything that might make him seem less in his slammers’ eyes. But all that was in McBride’s head. It wasn’t fair of him to come down on Caleb because he was annoyed with himself.

“Thank you.” It cost him a bit to keep his tone civil, but he managed.

“You’re welcome.” Caleb looked toward Gannon’s house. “How’s his mate doing?”

Immediately suspicious, McBride snarled, “Why?”

“I’m just—never mind.” Caleb finished with the
dressiter
and put the brush away. He turned back and met McBride’s gaze. “I know you won’t believe this, but I’m honestly trying to do what you asked me to do. I’m being diligent in my work. I’m not picking on my brothers. I’m not bothering their mates. I’m doing everything I can to prove to you I will be good to the thrall that you get me.”

“That’s all?” As much as McBride wanted to believe him, he knew he’d be foolish if he did. Caleb was nothing if not self-serving. And then McBride realized that Caleb had essentially admitted he was being good for selfish reasons. He wanted a mate, and he was willing to do whatever he could to get one. That was really what was annoying McBride, because he didn’t want to give Caleb one. He wanted him to be alone so that when he needed him, Caleb would be there. It was unfair and a million shades of wrong, but that didn’t change the truth.

“That’s all.”

McBride had to let his anger go. He realized he was shifting his annoyance with his own weak will onto Caleb when it wasn’t his fault that McBride couldn’t control himself. Still, he wondered if the dangling possibility of a thrall could really alter his behavior so drastically, or was he only trying to draw McBride deeper into his clutches?

“I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

Marshaling his features to remain impassive took tremendous self-control, but McBride didn’t want Caleb to see his shock. He thought they had bloodbonded to a lesser degree, but apparently, Caleb had only said that to mess with McBride’s head. What was worse was that it had worked.

“I just thought if I said that, you might stay away from me.”

Stunned, McBride tilted his head. “I thought you liked it when I fed from you.”

“That’s the problem.” Caleb stepped close, lowered his voice, and whispered, “I’m starting to like it way too much.”

Gannon stepped inside his house, and his jaw dropped. He didn’t think it had ever looked this good since the day he moved in. The place had been new then, and it looked new now.

“Alden?” he called out and then remembered that his mate couldn’t hear him. Concerned about startling him, Gannon moved slowly through the house, hoping Alden wouldn’t jump a mile high went he saw him.

His concern was unnecessary since Alden was in bed. It was clear he’d just lain down for a second to rest, but after all his work, he was exhausted and had fallen asleep. Gannon figured this was the case since Alden was on top of the bed and not snuggled below the covers.

In sleep, he looked so impossibly sweet. His hand was tucked below his cheek, and his mouth was partly open. If Gannon slept like that, he’d be drooling and look like a slumbering bear, but it looked wonderful when Alden dozed that way.

He was curved slightly, as if he were protecting himself, but Gannon was still able to see his entire body. His form was just as beautiful as his voice. Glancing down at his cock, he saw that he did indeed look small again, but after sucking him off last night, Gannon could attest to the fact he grew, and quite a lot. Gannon spent a long time simply admiring him and noticing the differences in their bodies, but then he saw the similarities, too. How would it be to see age slowly change the form of his mate? In a flash, the idea of aging at all angered Gannon, but it was just as quickly gone. Watching their bodies change with time was far better than them never changing at all. The only way a man stopped aging was when he died, and Gannon wanted to live a long time with his mate.

Reluctant to wake him, Gannon tiptoed back out of the bedroom and went into the bathroom. He stripped out of his
tallos
-picking gear, put his suit in the dirty clothes bin that Alden had set up for him, and then stepped into the shower. As the black dust washed away, he felt tension seep out of his shoulders. He was still worried about what he and Alden would do about his deep-seated fear of being hit, but Gannon was committed to changing his behavior. All day he’d thought about why he woke up grumpy, and he realized it was because he usually stayed up late playing games, so he was tired in the morning. Well, that, and he really would rather do anything other than work.

However, today, he was more willing to work because he wanted the money to outfit his mate in style. He decided that everything really came down to attitude. If he changed his feelings about something, he could change his overall mood. Gannon didn’t think he’d ever wake up super happy, like Alden apparently did, but he’d be more congenial if he got to bed on time.

“And having someone to share my bed with will certainly give me a good incentive to get to bed much earlier.” Even though there were still a lot of issues, he was hopeful things could be resolved. And, too, the thought of a good percentage so he could give Alden gifts gave him another reason to be happy.

He exited the shower, dried off, then took his shoes into his bedroom. Usually he just tossed them on the floor, but he didn’t want to get back into that habit again. Since he didn’t see any shoes, he figured Alden must have put them in the closet. He slid the door aside, and sure enough, there was a row of shoes. He added his boots to the line then turned around.

Alden was awake.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Alden grinned and patted the bed. “Come say hello closer.”

Gannon climbed up the bed until he was balanced on his hands and knees over his tiny mate. When he saw a slight flicker of fear in his face, he realized he was looming over him. Carefully, he moved to Alden’s side. “Better?”

“Yes. I’m so sorry I’m such—”