Authors: Anitra Lynn McLeod
Tags: #Romance
“Nothing. Just—” Easton turned in the doorway. “What if I’m not any good?”
“You are.”
“But…”
“We’ve already had our first time, remember?”
“But that doesn’t really count.”
“It does to me.” Jared kissed Easton’s nose and then worked his way down to his lips while he kept right on guiding him over to the bed. “So now that that’s out of the way, let’s enjoy our second time where there’s no pressure.”
Now Easton understood what he was doing. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But it’s not just for you.”
“No?”
“No. I don’t want to have to live up to perfection, either.” Jared had Easton sit on the edge of the bed then got him right back into the same position he’d held while on the table. In moments, he had his legs up and spread while holding them by cupping his hands behind his knees. Easton realized the mattress was far more forgiving on his back than the wooden table had been. “I want to have fun with my mate.”
“I’d like that.” Easton settled in, and Jared again plunged his finger in and out.
“Have you ever used one of these?” Jared held up the bottle of golden gel caps.
“In class we all had to insert one.”
“So I just pop it in your ass?”
“Just slide it in.”
Jared extracted one pill from the bottle, closed it tight, and then slid the greaser into Easton’s ass. “What does it feel like?”
“It’s strange at first, because it’s hard, but then it melts and tickles as the oil spreads and clings inside.”
“How long does it take?”
“Not long.”
Jared’s brows slowly climbed, causing Easton to chuckle.
“What?”
“I am wondering if your brows will keep on going until they are on the back of your head.”
“Funny.” Jared knelt down and split his attention between Easton’s face and the space between his legs. “Now?”
“Almost.” Easton loved watching anticipation build in Jared’s features.
“Now?”
“I think it’s defective.” Easton frowned dramatically.
“What?” Jared was about to get up and probably go throttle his brother for tricking him.
“I’m teasing.” Easton relaxed onto the bed. “I’m ready.”
“Lucky me with my very funny little mate.” Jared resumed the slow plunging of his finger. He made a curious growling sigh.
“What was that for?”
“The thought of how good you’re going to feel along my cock. All hot, tight, and slick.”
Easton was going to answer, but he was unable to speak when Jared added another finger beside the first. The sensation was mind-blowing. The sex teacher had stressed the importance of foreplay to ready the body for intercourse, but Easton had no idea it could be as pleasurable as sex itself.
“Is this better than a milking?”
“By far.” Easton looked up and met Jared’s curious gaze. “Because this is happening with you.”
That caused a smile to transform his mate’s features. He went from cute to dangerously handsome. From the way his breath wavered over Easton’s parted legs, it was clear Jared was having difficulty maintaining his set pattern of movements. Easton thought that each plunge made him long to switch places between his fingers and his prick. Each thrust made him want to know what it was like to be inside a real man. In a way, he was glad that Jared had fucked a mechanical man before him, because now he would know there was no substitute for the real thing.
Plunge after plunge made Easton squirm as he held himself spread. Each time Jared withdrew his hand, he thought he would now mount him, but he only thrust his two fingers in again. And then he added a third. Easton’s eyes rolled back, and he almost lost his mind along with his load. Now when he pushed his fingers all the way in, Jared curled them just a bit, which tickled them along Easton’s prostate.
“Now. Please. I don’t think I can wait anymore.” Barely were the words out when Jared removed his hand and pressed the tip of his cock against Easton’s hole. “Slowly.”
“Slowly,” Jared agreed.
“Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.”
“I’m trying.” Jared kept his cock centered and then eased forward.
The feel of his body opening to grant his mate entrance was the most beautiful feeling he’d ever known. He was welcoming him inside, and rather than fight the burning pressure, he relaxed into it, letting it sweep up his legs and then wash away with his breath. When he opened his eyes and looked up, he met Jared’s gaze.
“You aren’t anything like the mechanical man.”
It was so unexpected and sweet that Easton laughed, which somehow drew more of Jared’s cock inside. “I’m not cold and gooey?”
“No.” Jared cupped his hands under Easton’s legs so he could let go and relax on the bed. “You’re hot and slippery.”
“You’re big.”
“No pain?”
“A bit, but it’s nothing like what Devers said.”
“Who is Devers?”
“A thrall I went to sex class with. He said it would hurt horribly and there would be blood and tears and just all kinds of pain. He was totally wrong.” Easton lifted his hands over his head and rolled his hips in a circle, drawing more of Jared’s prick inside. “It’s snug and stings a bit, but there’s this pressure that feels wickedly good.”
“That’s what I feel.” Jared moved back just a little then eased forward so he went a tiny bit deeper. “You’re so tight around me.”
“Hold still for a second.” When he did, Easton grinned. “I can feel your heartbeat in your shaft.”
“That’s because your taut little hole is practically crushing me.”
“Does it hurt you?” Concerned, Easton lifted up and watched as Jared’s eyes went wide and then winced closed.
“Lay back! Oh, Zooks! It’s just too tight.”
“I’m sorry.” Easton flopped onto his back so fast and relaxed his bottom so totally it pulled Jared the rest of the way in.
“It’s okay, it’s—oh, Easton. I’m not going to last.” Jared struggled to breathe the way McBride had taught them to do, but he wasn’t very successful.
“Pull out,” Easton suggested. Luckily, when he needed information, he seemed to remember the things he’d been taught in sex class.
“But I want to come inside you.”
“You might last a bit longer if you pull—” But it was too late.
Jared’s face twisted into a look of painful pleasure, and he flicked his hips forward, ramming his cock deep into Easton’s ass. The sudden, shocking plunge pushed something inside, and Easton felt his own climax rising. He reached down to fist his cock, but Jared beat him to it. Using the oil smeared on his two fingers, he created a slick hole with his fist, and quickly rocked it up and down the length of Easton’s shaft. He came so hard that he curled up, clamping down so tightly around Jared he couldn’t move.
Afterward, Jared collapsed on top of Easton. After a moment of Easton feeling Jared’s entire weight, and finding the crushing of it strangely enjoyable, Jared took most of his weight onto his elbows. Easton thought they would now part, clean up, and sleep, but they stayed cradled together for a long time. In class, the instructor had talked about the afterglow, and this must be what he meant. Easton’s body was relaxed and he felt far closer to Jared than he had just moments ago. Binding their bodies truly did bring them together.
Jared lifted up and lazily swiped his tongue across Easton’s nipple, making his rectum quiver around his prick. “Just think of how much more intense this will be when we do this while binding our blood.”
Easton nodded and smiled despite the wash of fear that tightened all the peace right back out of his body. All too soon he was going to have his collar removed, and if Jared was as attentive to detail as he seemed to be, Easton might very well lose him.
McBride woke up feeling worse than he ever had in his life. Drinking excessively without eating anything made his body rebel. He was cross and surly, but he had a million things to do, so he showered, dressed, and ate what Ollie had made for breakfast over two hours ago. The eggs were rubbery and the meat was curling at the edges, but McBride ate it without tasting, so it really didn’t matter.
“I can make you something fresh.” Ollie stood in the dining room watching McBride while wringing a dishtowel in his hands. He looked on the verge of ripping the thing in half with his tension.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t want to waste it.” At Ollie’s concerned expression, McBride added, “And it’s good. Really. It hits the spot perfectly.”
Ollie nodded, somewhat mollified.
“I suggest you drink this.” Jonas placed an opened bottle next to McBride’s plate.
McBride took the bottle and peered dubiously at the milky yellow liquid. His stomach instantly roiled. “You don’t even want to know what this looks like to me.”
“Trust me, I know it looks dreadful, but it will help with your hangover.”
“I don’t have a hangover.” Why he was defending himself against the obvious, he had no idea.
“Fine. Then this will help you feel super energetic so you can accomplish all your goals.” Jonas kept a smile on his face, but it was clear he was annoyed with McBride. Frankly, McBride really couldn’t blame him. His surliness seemed to be far worse than just the aftereffects of too much alcohol.
Curious about the drink, McBride took off the cap, gave the liquid a sniff, and then took a tentative sip. It was strangely sweet and oddly pungent, but not in an off-putting way. Rather than ask what it was, McBride thanked him, drank about half the bottle, and then went up to the cupola. Given the state of the county, he thought it would be wise to have the place manned at all times. He doubted anyone would come out here to cause trouble, but it couldn’t hurt to be prepared. As he sipped his hangover cure, he cleaned the cobwebs away and tidied the tiny room.
“You do know that the butler would be happy to do this for you.” Jonas’s curly blond head popped up in the center of the floor. Even though the world was falling apart, he was pressed, perfumed, and entirely presentable. Nothing would ever ruffle Jonas.
“I know, but I thought I’d get him to do the outside while I get the inside up to speed.” Something else about the room made McBride want to spend time there, but he wasn’t sure what it was. He felt safe somehow. If he closed the hatch in the floor and sat on it, he could be alone and no one could get near him without him knowing. Why he felt so exposed and strangely paranoid, he didn’t know.
Jonas made a face but said nothing.
“What can I do for you, Jonas?” As if he hadn’t done enough already. Even though Jonas had done all that he could to return the generosity McBride had bestowed on him, McBride didn’t think they were anywhere near even.
“I’m wondering what I can do for you.”
That caused McBride to stop what he was doing, sit his fanny on one of the windowsills, and face Jonas.
“You were drinking very heavily last night.” Jonas didn’t come all the way up into the cupola. There wouldn’t really be enough room, anyway, so he crossed his arms and rested them against the floor as he balanced on the ladder.
“Believe me, I know.” The bottle of brandy he’d been drinking from was abandoned on the other side of the tiny room. If Jonas turned his head, he’d be able to see it. What made McBride frown was that the bottle was only a quarter of the way empty. That wasn’t enough to get him as plastered as he obviously had to have been. When he remembered the wine he’d gulped down in lieu of dinner, he thought that made a bit more sense. Despite how awful he felt at the moment, he had a curious thirst to drink more. “I’m going to be paying for my overindulgence for the rest of the day.”
“Your father would do that.” Jonas’s voice was very soft. He didn’t sound accusatory, but worried. “That’s why I knew enough to get you that hangover drink.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying to me.” McBride looked at the brandy again and shook his head. What the hell was going on with him? It wasn’t just the state of the world pushing him to drown his sorrows in drink. Something else deep inside was just now asserting itself.
“Your father grew ever more isolated. He drank heavily, refused to feed, and he kept scratching at his implant.”
McBride realized he was rubbing absently at his right earlobe. He’d had the communication unit implanted for most of his life, but it had only started bothering him recently.
“I think you need to feed.”
“I’m not hungry for blood.”
“Feed anyway.”
“Have you?”
“I did this morning, and no, not from Ollie. I went to Bailey. I suggest you go to Gannon.”
“Hell.”
“What?”
“I was supposed to instruct Jared and Easton last night.”
“Ah.” A rather pleased, indulgent smile crossed Jonas’s face. “Well, from what Bailey said, you need not worry.”
“Oh?”
“Jared went to borrow some greasers from Bailey, who was dining with Gannon and their thralls. They gave him lots of advice, so I imagine he put it all to good use.”
That was a load off McBride’s mind, but he still had to walk them through the bloodbinding ritual. After performing that particular service just one time too many, he was hoping he could get Jonas to do it. When he asked, Jonas agreed.