Seven Brothers for McBride 2

Gannon Morgan

What if your soul mate wasn’t what you bargained for?

When a virus destroys all women and turns most men into blood

drinkers, keeping the blood supply untainted is of paramount

importance. Sheriff Dillion McBride has inherited his father’s

holdings, including the seven Morgan brothers. They will run his

farm and provide him with a steady supply of pure blood, but to

get them at optimal capacity for both, McBride needs to find them

suitable mates, all the while ignoring his inappropriate longings for

Caleb, the eldest Morgan brother.

For Gannon Morgan, McBride buys Alden Jones. Gannon is stunned

when he finds out Alden is deaf. Gannon feels slighted until he

realizes he has more in common with the terrified thrall than he

thought.

Alden isn’t too trusting, but he has no choice but to accept

Gannon. Once he gets past his slovenly ways and his terrible scar,

he hopes to discover a true soul mate, but he isn’t holding his

breath.

Will the two men overcome their differences and manage to forge

a relationship in this new world?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Futuristic, Paranormal
Length: 34,691 words

GANNON MORGAN

Seven Brothers for McBride 2

Anitra Lynn McLeod

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

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GANNON MORGAN
Copyright © 2013 by Anitra Lynn McLeod
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-939-5

First E-book Publication: January 2013

Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

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DEDICATION

For my intrepid editors, who always make my work shine. Thank

you!

GANNON MORGAN

Seven Brothers for McBride 2

ANITRA LYNN MCLEOD

Copyright © 2013

Chapter 1

After his success finding the first Morgan brother a mate,

McBride was hoping for a repeat performance. He was early to the
platform, mainly so he could escape the lure of having another erotic
interlude with Caleb. Their encounter yesterday filled his mind and
made him hard despite the epic climax they’d shared. Caleb had
pushed him for a kiss and he’d refused, but then he’d grabbed him
and planted one on him anyway. At first, the kiss had just been a
hungry swirling of their tongues, but then Caleb had swiped his
tongue against the sharp point of McBride’s extended canine, spilling
blood into McBride’s mouth. By mixing blood and lust, Caleb was
attempting to entwine McBride deeper into the obsession he already
had for him. McBride didn’t need any help with his unnatural and
totally inappropriate interest in one of his seven slammers.

By law, McBride could only use his slammers for blood. As a

landed gentryman, he needed to feed daily, but sometimes he needed
several draws during a particularly draining day. Today was looking
to be such a taxing time. In addition to blood, he also ate food, but he
hadn’t been able to do that yet since he’d been in a hurry to get away
from his tallos farm. The visual of Caleb with his long black hair
streaming down his back as he picked the fibrous bulbs might prove

Gannon Morgan

9

to be too much for him.

Watching Caleb work was something McBride had caught himself

doing since the day the farm became his. Each time he looked toward
the fields, his gaze was drawn automatically to Caleb. Of the seven
brothers, he was the oldest and the largest. Caleb was also the only
one who had long hair. McBride thought that it would be ratty and
unkempt, but Caleb took pride in his locks. The black strands
gleamed in the sun, and even when his hair was wet with sweat, it was
still stunning. Serpentine hanks of hair would cling to his chest,
drawing McBride’s eye down to the powerful bulge in Caleb’s
trousers.

McBride tried to keep his mind off of the angry and lusty Morgan

brother, but there wasn’t much else for him to do as he waited for the
thrall merchant to arrive. Woven Spire was a small town at the foot of
what once was called the Rocky Mountains. Those days were long
gone along with the women and horses. A virus had swept through
the populations of Earth, decimating the billions down to only a few
million. Rebuilding society had been an arduous process when so
much had been lost.

From far off down the road, McBride saw a rising plume of dust.

He knew it was the man he was waiting for. Settling in, McBride
closed his eyes and let the dry air steal away what little moisture was
left in his skin. When he returned home, he wished he could shower
and sleep, but that wasn’t what was in store for him. Today would be
another long day of getting the next Morgan brother situated with his
mate. His only hope was that it wouldn’t take too much of what little
time he had. A million details and duties clamored for his attention.
Then again, McBride wondered what he would do with himself if all
he had was free time. He’d probably go mad from boredom or get
himself deeper into trouble with his alluring slammer.

Eventually the gray-robed merchant was ready to display his

wares. McBride was a little stunned to find he was the only one
waiting. As the sheriff for the small town of Woven Spire, McBride

10

Anitra Lynn McLeod

should know what was going on, but he didn’t. There had been a
horrific scene at the Larsden place, but he didn’t think news of that
could have spread this quickly. He’d only been called to the crime
late in the afternoon two days ago.

“Back again?” the merchant asked.
“I have seven brothers to buy thralls for.” McBride took a quick

mental tally of what that was going to mean to his bank balance. It
would hurt, but if he paired each slammer with a thrall, he would be
assured of better blood from them and they would work even more
diligently. Also, by letting the thralls work the farm, too, he was
gaining some extra hands that would balance out the expense. Well,
in the long run it would pay him back threefold, but right now all he
was seeing was the expense.

“I only have one new one.”
McBride recalled the pasty, sickly looking thralls from the other

day. Since time wasn’t likely to have improved any of them, he
wasn’t interested in seeing them again. “Just show me the new one.”

“Of course, Sheriff McBride. But I don’t think you’ll want him,

either.”

“Why? Is his factory seal broken?” The most valuable asset a

thrall possessed beyond his untouched neck was his virginal ass.
Slammers would take a used thrall, but they wouldn’t be happy about
it. McBride didn’t blame them. Not knowing a thrall’s history could
potentially open a slammer up to disease, which would in turn taint
his master. Only a foolish gentryman bought bargain thralls.

“No, he’s intact, but he’s deaf.”
“How did that happen?” It had to be an after-market defect since

thralls were genetically engineered just like all other men.

There was a set number of upper-, middle-, and lower-class men

decanted each year. The Genetics Board oversaw the system,
instituting new numbers when the population changed. For the most
part, the numbers had stayed fairly constant. Men died from
accidents, natural disasters, and health issues, but the Genetics Board

Gannon Morgan

11

made sure there were enough men of the right class to fill the empty
shoes.

“I don’t know all the details, but some kind of sickness struck. He

was perfectly fine, and then he lost his hearing. Still, he’s worth
something.”

After a very long internal debate about how this thrall would be

less money but cost him more time, McBride reluctantly realized he
had few options. “Bring him out.” McBride waited at the edge of the
platform.

The merchant brought out a tall, lanky young man with jet-black

hair and smooth, pale skin. In many ways, he was similar to the thrall
that McBride had bought two days ago for Bailey, but this one had a
look of ingrained hurt on his face. As far as McBride could tell, he
wasn’t happy with the world. As to what in particular, McBride didn’t
know, but he was guessing having his ability to hear taken away was
probably what had stamped pain over his features.

The collar he wore was yellow, something McBride had never

seen, but he guessed it was due to his nonperfect state. McBride
didn’t like to think of the young man as damaged, but that was
essentially what he was. Most people would reject him as too much
work to deal with, but McBride wasn’t most men. Since he wanted
the thrall to feed and service his slammer, he wasn’t too concerned
about him being perfect. But which brother would suit him best?

“He can read lips, and he can talk, but he can’t hear a thing.”
While the merchant talked, the young man kept his wary attention

on McBride. His eyes were sky blue and very pale. What made them
so striking was the long, black lashes that seemed to sweep up high,
almost as if they’d been curled. Frankly, he was almost pretty. His
lips were much darker than normal, but McBride noticed that as he
stood there considering him, he was chewing at them. Drugs? As
McBride checked him over thoroughly and found no marks or other
indications of medication, he realized the young man was trembling.
McBride didn’t fault him for being nervous. For a moment, he put

12

Anitra Lynn McLeod

himself in the thrall’s shoes. The notion of being checked over and
bought by a man who could do anything to him must be stone-cold
terrifying.

In an effort to project an attitude of gentle kindness, McBride

smiled up at the thrall. “I’m Sheriff McBride.” Sadly, that only made
him quiver more and increased the pace of his lip chewing.

“His name is Alden, but once you own him, you’re free to change

it to whatever will suit.”

“Alden is fine. It fits him.” McBride looked at the yellow collar

but saw no corresponding price on the sandwich board.

“Oh, it’s half the cost of pink. I so rarely get damaged stock that I

don’t list the price. He comes with all the same extras that came with
the pink you got yesterday.”

McBride couldn’t help but reconsider purchasing the thrall. His

price was right, and the issue of his hearing wasn’t that big of a deal.
The brothers would all have to learn to work with him, but maybe that
would be good for them. For a brief second, McBride thought of
Alden in Caleb’s arms. The image rankled. Not because he thought
Caleb would hurt the young man, but because McBride didn’t want
anyone in Caleb’s arms.

Dismissing that idea, because eventually McBride was going to

have to buy Caleb a mate, he turned to the merchant. “I’ll take him.”

Alden’s eyes widened. Clearly, he’d understood what McBride

had just said, but he seemed stunned that he’d been bought. Or
maybe, like yesterday, he thought McBride was buying him for
himself. It was illegal, but that wouldn’t stop some unscrupulous
country gentryman from doing it. McBride was finding out that given
the remote nature of the huge farms in the county, the men living on
them seemed to do whatever they pleased regardless of law, custom,
or anything else.

“I’m buying you for one of my slammers.”
Alden nodded, and his lip chewing eased up just a bit.
“Are you afraid of large men?”

Gannon Morgan

13

Alden looked away and then back, but he didn’t nod or shake his

head. Perhaps he wasn’t sure what McBride was asking him. Once
McBride placed his thumb stamp on the credit voucher, it no longer
mattered. Alden was now his. McBride put the rectal dilator and
grease pellets into his pouch, climbed on top of his dressiter, and then
offered out his hand to Alden.

For a long moment, the young man peered up at him. He then

looked back at the merchant, who was quickly taking all his gear
down and packing it into his carriage. And then, Alden looked around
as if he would run. McBride looked around, too. For miles, there was
nothing but open prairie. The platform was at the crossroads of four
towns, but that set it out in the middle of nowhere. Should Alden
choose to run, he would only exhaust himself and annoy his new
master. McBride had no wish to hunt the man down.

McBride waited for Alden to look up at him. “I promise I won’t

hurt you.” McBride again offered out his hand.

Pressing his lips together, Alden obviously realized he had

nowhere else to go. Tentatively, he lifted up his hand and clasped
McBride’s.

Pulling him up onto the six-legged beast took hardly any effort at

all, but that was no wonder considering how big McBride was in
comparison to Alden. He outweighed him by twice his body weight.
When Alden settled into the saddle and his bare buttocks pressed into
McBride’s bulge, he strained forward.

“I said I’m not—” McBride cut himself off. He tapped Alden on

the shoulder, but he refused to turn around. Sighing, McBride gave up
on trying to reassure his newest thrall. He clicked and slapped the
reins, causing the beast to move forward. As strange as the dressiter
looked, it offered an amazingly smooth ride. Hardly a bump upset
them as they rode in silence.

All the way back to the farm, Alden kept his shoulders hunched

over as he tried to pull away from McBride’s cock. What was so sad
was that McBride wasn’t even hard. After the spectacular climax he’d

14

Anitra Lynn McLeod

had with Caleb the other morning, he figured he could probably go
another week before he had to do something about his raging
hormones. Then again, just thinking about Caleb aroused him. He
knew he had to get his mind off Caleb and onto something else, or he
was going to get hard and Alden would become completely unhinged.

As he rode with the morning sun warming his back, he thought of

how dark those initial days had been when the virus first swept the
planet. Not all men became blood drinkers, but many did. The
separation of who did and didn’t actually helped the Genetics Board
define the classes. At the top of the food chain was the landed
gentrymen, who needed blood daily. Landed gentrymen were by
nature extremely alpha. They were direct clones, chosen because they
were big, strong, and intelligent. Next were the owned men known as
slammers. They occasionally craved blood, but usually only as a part
of their need to mate. Slammers were considered intellectually
inferior to the upper class because they were crafted to be servants to
them, but McBride didn’t think they were any less smart. At the very
bottom were the thralls, who didn’t drink blood at all and were
deliberately bred to be small and submissive. Sometimes the thralls
had sharper intellect than the slammers, but they were wise enough to
keep their brains hidden around their brawnier counterparts.

McBride was of the highest class. He was one of the few landed

gentrymen. His fathers stretching back for generations had all owned
vast tracts of land that were used to grow tallos. The fibrous plant was
used for fabrics, but what made it special was that the plants grew in
harsh conditions. Dry, claylike soil that would kill most plants
allowed the tallos to thrive.

As the neat rows of tallos went by, McBride considered which

brother would be best suited to Alden. Each of them flitted through
his mind, and he rejected each in turn. Alden would need a brother
who could be patient and learn to work with him, but the only brother
that McBride thought could handle that was Bailey. Unfortunately,
Bailey had gotten the first thrall, so McBride was going to have to

Gannon Morgan

15

pick another brother and train him in not only the ways of a man with
his mate, but also how to even communicate with his mate.

A long sigh escaped him and ruffled the back of Alden’s hair. It

was black as pitch but very fine and light textured. It was longer on
top and yet shaved upward in the back, exposing his neck, which was
probably the appeal of the haircut. Alden certainly had a long, fine
neck. Just looking caused McBride’s teeth to tingle. He would never
bite him, but as a blood drinker, McBride could appreciate the
aesthetics of a fine neck. The yellow collar didn’t match his skin tone,
but rather clashed with it. That was okay. Whichever brother McBride
gave him to would put a new collar on him to show ownership.

Sadly, that only reminded McBride that he would have to explain

to another one of the Morgan brothers that he wouldn’t be allowed to
go into town to outfit his new mate. Until he figured out what had
happened at the Larsden place, he wasn’t going to be letting anyone
go into the heart of Woven Spire and possibly bring back a blood-
borne disease. Although, to be fair, he had no idea if that was what
they were dealing with or not, but until he had a handle on what was
going on, no one was going anywhere. The only reason he’d bought a
thrall was because there was simply no way an untouched blood
bearer could carry any disease. McBride had checked Alden
thoroughly for marks, including indications that he’d been fed from.
Just as the merchant had promised, young Alden was clean.

As they came down the main road into the farm, the street split,

with one side heading toward the big house where McBride lived, and
the other side leading into a cul-de-sac where the seven brothers’
houses were arranged. Around in a semicircle the houses went in
order of age with Bailey, the youngest, at one end and Caleb, the
oldest, at the other.

And that gave McBride his answer to who would get Alden. Since

he had no control over whether the thrall and his slammer would get
along, he decided that he would simply let fate make the choice. Since
the first thrall yesterday had gone to Bailey, McBride would give

16

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Alden to the second brother and continue on up until he got one for
Caleb.

Again, the idea of Caleb with another man caused a tight feeling

across McBride’s belly. Before, he’d been concerned about Caleb
injuring the thrall he picked out for him, but that wasn’t his issue
now. No, McBride had a whole new problem when it came to Caleb
and the notion of pairing him with a mate.

As if he’d summoned him, Caleb stepped out from the path

between two of the houses, clearly intent on going to his own house at
the far end of the circle. He stopped when he saw McBride.

For once, Caleb didn’t smirk or make a rude hand gesture or do

anything that McBride could consider an affront. Instead, he simply
nodded his head and moved over to his home. Stunned by his sharp
change in behavior, McBride wasn’t too sure what to make of his far
more submissive ways. It wasn’t like Caleb at all. Resistant, angry,
aggressive—those were all the hallmarks of Caleb’s behavior. This
new and far more subservient man was somewhat annoying. McBride
felt like slapping himself. He didn’t like Caleb when he bucked his
authority, but he didn’t like him kowtowing to it, either. Frankly,
McBride just didn’t think he was ever going to be happy with Caleb.

“Unless I can have him all to myself.”
As soon as the words slipped out of his mouth, McBride felt a

surge of adrenalin rush over his body. A landed gentryman did not
fall for a slammer. Worse, he certainly didn’t admit it to anyone. And
then he remembered that Alden was deaf. Relief made him sag in the
saddle. But his slip showed him that he simply couldn’t trust himself
anywhere near Caleb. Even thinking about him was dangerous.

Again, Caleb appeared as if summoned.
Caleb had unzipped his tallos-picking jumpsuit and bunched the

upper portion around his waist. His bronzed chest was lightly sweaty,
making him gleam under the late-morning sun. He’d pulled his hair
back off his face, which harshened his features, but then he flashed
the smallest smile at McBride.

Gannon Morgan

17

Used to his smirks and derision, McBride found this secretive

smile was both alluring and infuriating. What they’d done together
yesterday morning was wrong. There simply wasn’t another word for
it. Mixing blood and sex was a dangerous combination. The fact that
both of them had gotten off in spectacular eruptions didn’t lessen the
shame that clung to McBride. Yes, the release had felt incredible, but
as soon as he’d stopped spurting and his heart rate began to fall back
to normal, the guilt had settled in. Caleb’s shyly sweet grin only
reminded McBride that the man now had a powerful secret over him.
It was unlikely anyone would believe Caleb, but McBride knew the
truth and that was bad enough.

“Who’s he for?” Caleb asked, nodding to Alden.
“Gannon.” McBride stopped the dressiter and then watched as

Caleb extended his hand to help Alden down.

Rather than strain forward as he had the entire way, Alden now

retreated from Caleb by pressing himself forcefully into McBride. His
tiny body only highlighted how good Caleb’s massive form had felt
when they’d been close.

“I’m only trying to help you down.” Caleb thrust his hand a little

closer, but this only made Alden retreat more fully.

“He’s deaf.”
“Oh.” Caleb withdrew his hand. “How about I help you down?”

Now Caleb offered his hand out to McBride. It was the same hand
that had been wrapped around McBride’s cock only twenty-four
hours ago.

What would stay in McBride’s mind and drive him to total

distraction was the luscious taste of Caleb’s blood. Long before he
realized he had issues with him, McBride had always favored the
eldest Morgan. There was something so rich about his flavor.
Moreover, when McBride drank from him, Caleb often masturbated.
Since McBride preferred drinking from his neck as he stood behind
the seated Caleb, he’d been able to watch his massive hand fisting his
thick prick. Seeing his release while drinking his blood cemented his

18

Anitra Lynn McLeod

unnatural lust. It hadn’t happened with any of the other brothers, but
it was the only thing that McBride could latch on to and blame.

But I will find a way to be free of him. McBride was determined to

keep his own life within the limits of the law. He had recently found
out his father and his father’s companion had indulged in forbidden
acts. McBride vowed not to follow in those particular footsteps. The
best way to do so was to find himself a companion. But that was
easier said than done. As a member of the upper class, he could only
align himself with men of his same status. Given how small the
population of Woven Spire was, he didn’t have a lot to choose from.

“I’m fine.” McBride slid from the beast. He wasn’t sure, but he

thought Caleb said that he was indeed fine, but McBride chose to
ignore him if he had spoken. Once on the ground, he extended his
hand to Alden, who shook his head and clung to the saddle. “You’re
not for him.”

Alden looked at Caleb then back at McBride.
“Not him. Another brother.”
“Yeah, you’re too scrawny for me.” Caleb focused his dangerous

green eyes on McBride. “I like them big, hairy, and hung.”

“Go away, Caleb. Or better yet, be of use and go get Gannon.”
“Yes, master.” Caleb spun on his heel and walked back into the

field. As he moved to where the other brothers were picking, he
pulled the top half of his jumpsuit back up. Even a man as strong as
Caleb couldn’t pick tallos without the suit. The bulbs of the plant had
a tough outer shell covered in barbs. Ironically, the fibers inside the
bulb were extremely delicate. It took a gentle touch to grasp and twist
the bulb off the plant without damaging the interior. Once they were
picked, the bulbs were stripped in a machine, but they had to be
delivered in the full, puffy state. Despite his brutish appearance,
Caleb was one of the best and fastest pickers.

While they waited for Gannon to reach them, McBride pointed to

each house and named the brother who owned it. When he got to
Gannon’s, he said, “He’s who you’ll belong to.”

Gannon Morgan

19

Alden tensed up and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but that’s how it is.” McBride didn’t want to be cruel,

but Alden had to go to someone. Even if McBride allowed him to
choose, it was unlikely he’d like any brother more than any other.
They were all big, burly, and yet oddly beautiful men. The brothers
looked like brothers because of their similar facial features and the
fact they all had dark hair. Although, Gannon’s dark brown locks
were sun bleached on the top, highlighting his golden-brown eyes.

Alden turned and saw Gannon approaching. He moved closer to

McBride, tucking himself behind his bulk and peeking around his
arm. How quickly the thrall went from fearing him to trusting him.
Or, McBride realized, he could just see McBride as the lesser of two
evils.

When Gannon realized why he’d been called from the field, his

step picked up appreciably. When he got within a few dozen yards, he
frowned and slowed down. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s just a little nervous.” McBride reached back and pulled

Alden up beside him. When he tried to slip back behind McBride, he
placed his arm around his shoulder and stopped him from ducking
away.

“Caleb said I got the defective one.” Gannon frowned as he

looked Alden over from head to toe. The scar that ran down the left
side of Gannon’s face looked far more menacing when he was
glaring.

After tossing a silent curse at Caleb, McBride assured Gannon

that Alden was perfectly healthy and would be a good mate. “The
only thing that will be a bit of work getting used to is the fact that he
can’t hear.”

“He’s deaf?” Gannon looked at Alden’s ears as if he’d be able to

see the defect.

“He is, but Alden can read lips. Believe me, he knows what

you’re saying, so don’t be cruel.”

Gannon continued to frown, but at least he didn’t say what he was

20

Anitra Lynn McLeod

thinking. Still, it didn’t take a mind reader to know that he wasn’t
pleased. As the second to youngest, Gannon often felt slighted
because everyone lavished attention on Bailey. Or that was what
Gannon thought at any rate. Whenever Bailey got something, Gannon
looked around and thought he was getting less. It was clear to
McBride that Gannon was comparing his thrall to Bailey’s and he saw
himself coming up short yet again. Ferris was an absolutely stunning
young man. In many ways, he was perfect, but there had been issues
between Ferris and Bailey. McBride thought they’d worked
everything out now, but the sailing hadn’t been all that smooth.

“If you want, I can give him to someone else and you can go

without.” McBride had been extremely generous with his slammers,
so having his generosity questioned on top of his other problems put
him in a foul mood. “What’s it going to be, Gannon? Do you want
him, or do you wish to be alone?”

Gannon Morgan

21

Chapter 2

Gannon considered. He was sick and tired of being by himself,

but he wasn’t so sure he wanted to get stuck with a thrall who would
be more hassle than he was worth. Still, from the way McBride made
it sound, if Gannon didn’t take Alden, he wasn’t ever going to get a
thrall. That made him consider that a broken mate was better than no
mate at all.

“I’ll take him.”
“Try to look happy about it so you don’t completely hurt his

feelings.” McBride patted Alden’s shoulder. “He might be deaf, but
I’m pretty sure he can read exactly how you feel. Disliking your mate
right off the cuff isn’t going to endear you to him in the least.”
McBride leaned close and looked right in Gannon’s eyes. “Put
yourself in his shoes. Maybe he doesn’t think you’re any prize,
either.”

Stung, Gannon straightened up, but he didn’t glare at McBride. A

long time ago he’d been very self-conscious about the scar that ran
down the left side of his face. After living out on the tallos farm with
only his brothers around, Gannon often forgot it was even there. It
was easy to forget when he had no mirrors in his house. Besides, if
Gannon wanted to know what he looked like, all he had to do was
look at his twin brother, Ollie.

“Offer out your hand and introduce yourself.” McBride looked

exhausted, prompting Gannon to wonder if he’d had yet another run-
in with Caleb. Since Caleb had told him to come in from the field, he
probably had. Caleb had a way of getting under everyone’s skin. He
could be nice sometimes, but mostly he was just mean.

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

“I’m Gannon Morgan.” Gannon lifted his hand to Alden, who

shrank away. “I know I might look scary.” He pointed to his scar.
“But I’m not. I’m just surprised that he found me a mate so fast.”

Alden tilted his head, but Gannon couldn’t tell if he was curious,

or if maybe he was wondering if what Gannon said was true.
Eventually, with some prompting from McBride, Alden lifted his
hand. Being as gentle as he could, Gannon shook Alden’s hand. His
skin was so smooth and soft it was shockingly arousing. Gannon
wondered what Alden had made of his callused grip.

“Your hand is very hard.”
Gannon nodded and tried not to gape, but he couldn’t help

himself. Alden had a voice that was so beautiful he could barely
restrain himself from trying to get him to say a dozen other things.
Gannon couldn’t recall ever hearing such a melodious voice. It was
more like Alden sang the words than spoke them. When Gannon
realized that McBride was looking at Alden with surprise, he realized
he hadn’t heard him speak until now.

“He might not be able to hear, but his voice more than makes up

for that.” McBride grinned at Gannon then pointed toward Gannon’s
house. “Let’s take him in, get him comfortable, and then you can get
back to work.”

“Bailey didn’t have to go back to the fields on the day he got a

mate.” Yet again, Gannon was getting a raw deal.

“The day was over, Gannon. Don’t quibble when I’ve given you a

generous gift.”

Reminded, Gannon ducked his head. “Thank you, master

McBride.”

“You’re welcome.” McBride took up Alden’s hand, which caused

him to look up at him. “We’re going to show you your new home.”

Alden nodded. “With Gannon?”
“Yes.” After a brief hesitation, McBride asked, “Is that okay?”
Alden looked over at Gannon. His gaze went from his feet up to

his face. “What happened to you?”

Gannon Morgan

23

“I was injured.” Gannon wasn’t too keen on explaining the scar.

Maybe after they were better acquainted he would tell that tale. “Do
you want to see my home?”

“Yes.” Alden looked up to McBride, who nodded.
Their little group moved toward the house, but when Gannon

realized Alden didn’t have shoes, he stopped him. “Let me carry
you.” Before he could protest, Gannon had him up in his arms. He
was heavier than he thought, but not so weighty he was difficult to
carry. Holding him close allowed Gannon to smell him, but he didn’t
smell like much of anything. Not sweat, dust, grime—just nothing,
really. Disappointed, because Bailey had said his mate had the
sweetest scent, Gannon kept carrying him inside the house once
McBride opened the door.

Once they were inside, Gannon set him down in the center of the

living room. There was only one big chair that Gannon sat in when he
was playing with his gaming unit. He’d saved up for over a year to
buy it, but now he realized he would need to buy another chair for
Alden. Sadly, his account was pretty low since he’d been spending all
his income on games for the unit.

“This is where I play—” Gannon cut himself off when he realized

Alden wasn’t looking at him.

“Tap him on the shoulder to get his attention.”
Gannon tapped Alden, causing him to jump and spin around so

fast he almost knocked himself over.

Lifting his hand, Gannon said, “Sorry. I was just—never mind.

The kitchen is over there.” He pointed, and after a moment, Alden
looked that way. As soon as Alden’s back was turned, Gannon looked
at McBride. “Why is he so jumpy?”

McBride shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he’s just afraid. This is

all new to him.”

When Alden went into the kitchen, Gannon followed. He made

sure Alden was looking at him before he pointed to the cookbot and
explained what it was. Alden nodded and then moved down the hall

24

Anitra Lynn McLeod

toward the bathroom.

“Can I use this?”
“Sure.” Gannon was wondering if Alden didn’t realize that he was

going to be living here with him. At that precise moment, Gannon
realized this was a forever kind of thing whether he liked it or not. If
he said no to Alden, he would be alone, but if he said yes, he was
stuck with him until the day he died. Torn, Gannon realized he would
just have to hope they could figure out a way to get along. Having
someone to fuck and feed from was good, but not if he hated him.

When Alden closed the door, Gannon realized he meant to use the

facilities now. Somewhat embarrassed and unsure why, Gannon
turned away and went into the bedroom. A blast of shame made him
hastily clean up. The room wasn’t filthy, but his clothing was strewn
around in various piles and he hadn’t made the bed. Ever. Gannon
didn’t see why he should neaten up the bedclothes when he was just
going to turn around and mess them right back up. But now that he
had a mate, he would probably have to stop being such a slob.

“What if we hate each other?” Gannon turned to face McBride.

“He doesn’t seem happy, and I don’t know if I’ll be happy and—”

“You’ll make it work.”
Gannon nodded, but he was doubtful. Eventually, Alden emerged

from the bathroom and joined them in the bedroom. He looked at the
mound of clothing in Gannon’s hands. “I was trying to clean up for
you.”

“For me?”
Gannon nodded.
“That’s very sweet.”
Alden smiled, and Gannon changed his mind yet again. When

Alden smiled, his entire face transformed. The worry lines
disappeared, and his big eyes weren’t so wide or filled with fear. He
was very pretty. And then Gannon looked at his neck. Soon, McBride
would remove that collar and Gannon would draw his first taste of
blood. All his life he’d wondered what it would be like and if he’d

Gannon Morgan

25

ever have the chance to find out. His previous owner, Jonas, hadn’t
bought any of the Morgan brothers a thrall. He’d given them a
mechanical man, but Caleb fucked the thing to death. That thought
made Gannon drop his gaze to Alden’s prick.

Alden was hairless, his muscles were sleek, and his cock looked

much smaller than Gannon’s. That was okay, though. He didn’t want
his smaller mate to be bigger than him down there.

“It grows.”
Yanking his gaze up to Alden’s face, Gannon blurted, “What?”
“My cock. It grows.” Alden took his prick in hand. “Do you want

me to show you?”

As much as he did, Gannon darted a glance at McBride and

realized he was looking rather impatient.

“I would love to see that, but I have to go back to work.” Frankly,

Gannon decided he’d give two days’ pay to stay here with Alden. He
wanted to listen to him talk and watch him touch himself until he
made his cock grow. Gannon was pretty damn sure that Alden could
get his cock to grow, too.

Alden nodded. “I will stay here?”
“Yes. I promise to clean up tonight.”
“I will do that for you.” Alden immediately bent and started

picking up the mounds of clothing.

A sudden flash of guilt made Gannon shake his head, but he

tapped Alden’s shoulder lightly before he talked. Alden startled a bit,
but he was less jumpy. “That’s not necessary. I don’t want you to
think you’re my maid.”

“I am to be your blood and sexual slave. So what if I clean up,

too?” Alden placed the clothing on the bed.

“You’re not to be my slave.” Gannon looked at McBride. “Is that

what you told him?”

“I didn’t. I think Alden is just assuming.”
“I was told in the thrall house what would be expected of me.”

Alden’s shoulders slumped a bit. “I will try not to flinch when you

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

beat me.”

Gannon was so shocked he didn’t know what to say.
McBride touched Alden’s shoulder, and again, he startled, but not

as badly as he had before. “Did they beat you?”

It was clear that Alden didn’t want to say, which pretty much said

it all.

“But there aren’t any bruises on you.” McBride sounded shocked

and then furious. “I looked you over before I bought you.”

“They waited for them to heal before they put me up for sale.”
Gannon’s belly roiled so hard he was afraid he was going to eject

his breakfast all over his bedroom. His master was clearly furious to
have been swindled, but what seemed to make McBride angrier was
that Alden had been struck for someone’s pleasure. Gannon and his
brothers had always been lucky in that they had been owned by a
gentryman who didn’t beat them. The only one who McBride had
ever even threatened to punish was Caleb. So far as Gannon knew,
McBride hadn’t actually had to beat him, but that could change given
how rebellious Caleb was.

Gannon reached out and cupped Alden’s shoulder. When his pale

blue gaze looked his way, Gannon opened his mouth to speak, but
Alden did before he could.

“They said my new master would want to put his marks on clear

skin.” Alden looked at Gannon’s hands. “You’ll be able to make very
dark marks with such big hands.”

Lowering his arm, Gannon took Alden’s hands in his. He did this

as gently as he could. “I will never, ever hit you.” Gannon was not
interested in abusing anyone for any reason. The only time he’d hit
anyone was when they were threatening him or one of his brothers.
Fists were for defense, not inflicting pain for some kind of twisted
pleasure.

Alden tilted his head again like he had earlier, and Gannon still

didn’t know if he was curious or simply didn’t believe him.

As slowly and clearly as Gannon could, he said, “I swear I will

Gannon Morgan

27

never put a mark on your beautiful skin.”

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 3

Alden read Gannon’s lips effortlessly. When neither man was

looking at him, he found himself looking at Gannon’s mouth and
wondering what he would look like in a rage. It was clear earlier that
Gannon didn’t want him because of his defect, but then he’d changed
his mind. Alden hadn’t seen McBride say anything, but he had a gut
feeling that he had. Perhaps he told Gannon if he didn’t take Alden,
then he wouldn’t get another thrall ever. Clearly disappointed,
Gannon had been willing to settle, and Alden figured he was in for
another series of broken bones and horrific bruises. Once Gannon
found out he’d been beaten, though, his attitude was so markedly
different that Alden had no doubts that Gannon would never raise his
hand in violence.

“If you don’t hit me, I’ll be the best thrall you’ve ever had.”
“You’ll be the only thrall I’ve ever had.” Gannon leaned in.
Hypnotized by his mouth and the way the words rolled around his

lips, teeth, and tongue, Alden had no idea what Gannon was doing
until he kissed him. Shocked by the sweetness of the contact, Alden
leaned into him, inadvertently deepening the kiss. Gannon’s hands
tightened on his but not brutally, more like he was surprised. When
Gannon let out a pleased groan, Alden didn’t hear it, but he felt the
vibrations against his lips.

Slowly, Gannon pulled away. And then he smiled. “Wow.”
One word gave Alden hope that the pain and trouble that had

plagued him was finally over. If it was, he swore he would do
everything in his power to please his mate. The scar that had seemed
so scary was less so now that Gannon was smiling.

Gannon Morgan

29

Something passed between McBride and Gannon, but Alden

wasn’t looking so he missed it.

“Thank you, but I’m okay to finish up the workday. I want full

pay so I can outfit my mate in style.”

Alden was pleased but also afraid. He wanted to make sure he did

everything he could to make his new owner happy. A terrible feeling
that if he displeased him in any way he would be subjected to abuse
or perhaps sold as a secondhand thrall made him doubly attentive to
both men. It had been difficult enough to be sold the first time. After
he’d been bled and fucked, it was even more likely he’d go into the
hands of abusers.

“Make yourself comfortable. Please don’t feel like you need to

clean up.”

“But I would like to.” Honestly, Alden didn’t think he would be

comfortable if he didn’t organize the clutter. In the thrall house, he
found the only way to cope with never knowing when he was going to
be hit was by keeping the rest of his world in perfect order. Chaos
from abuse made him crave structure.

“If you want to, then do, but don’t feel you have to.” Again,

Gannon leaned close, but it was Alden who made contact by moving
closer.

He discovered he liked the taste of his owner’s mouth. Alden had

never kissed anyone, but he didn’t need to have vast experiences to
know what he liked. He could easily fall in love with a man who
kissed him like this and chose not to hit him. But it was also easy to
be kind when the master’s eyes were upon him. Alden would have to
wait and see what Gannon was like when McBride was not around.

“I’ll be back from work an hour before sunset.”
Alden nodded and then watched as Gannon and McBride left. He

felt the most curious sense of unease. He had hated being around the
other thralls because they hit him, but he’d hated being alone just as
much because he was always anticipating them coming upon him
unaware and hitting him. It seemed he was never comfortable unless

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

he could brace himself alone in a room. There was a closet in the
thrall house that he could sit in with his back to the door and his feet
braced against the wall. They could bang all day and not reach him.
But eventually, Alden had to eat or go to the bathroom, and he was
fair game once again. He’d considered doing something similar in
Gannon’s bathroom, but like the thrall house, there was no lock on the
door and the two men would be able to kick the door down even if
Alden could find something to block it.

At the lone door into and out of the tiny house, McBride turned

back. He ensured Alden was looking at him before he spoke. Alden
liked watching McBride talk. He made it easy because of the way he
moved his mouth. Confident men were easy to lip read. It was the shy
ones, the mumblers, who made it difficult for Alden to understand.
Lucky was he in that his master and his master’s master were self-
confident.

“If you have any trouble or need something and can’t find it,

come up to the big house.” McBride pointed. “I’ll activate the butler
and instruct him to assist you in any way he can.”

Before he could go, Alden touched his arm. “I’m sorry that you

were swindled.”

“I don’t think I was.”
“The merchant, the one in gray, he didn’t know.” Alden didn’t

want an innocent man punished should McBride decide to pursue a
legal remedy.

“No?”
“No. He was very kind to me.”
“The men who beat you, did they…”
“They only hit me.” Alden knew what he was asking, but

McBride didn’t want to be vulgar, which was kind but unnecessary.
Alden knew what he’d been bought for. Holding on to his virginity
was only made easier by the way the thrall house kept all the thralls
milked. Each day they had to be electro-stimulated to release sperm.
It kept them from engaging one another sexually. “They only started

Gannon Morgan

31

hitting me when I lost my hearing.”

Concern washed down McBride’s face. “Gannon is a good man.”

McBride’s gaze wandered over the living room. “A messy man to be
sure, but still, if he gave you his word, you can count on it. He won’t
hit you not only because he isn’t like that, but also, I would not allow
it on my land.”

Alden nodded, but only time would tell. The other thralls he’d

lived with hadn’t been abusive either until they’d grown frustrated
with his inability to hear them unless he was looking right at them.
He’d learned to read lips very quickly, but he’d also learned to read
body language. By the cast of their shoulders and the way they moved
their hands, Alden could tell when they were likely to hit him.
Ducking and dodging made him agile, but when there were multiple
attackers, his only edge had been in his ability to run and hide.

“I know you won’t believe it until some time has passed, but you

are safe here.”

Alden looked down at McBride’s feet. They were massive. As he

looked up the length of his powerful body, he saw no tension in him
until he reached his shoulders. McBride’s shoulders were held tightly,
as if he were carrying a very heavy burden that he wasn’t used to.
Still, he had the body of a solid, caring man. In a fight, McBride could
utterly destroy another, but he didn’t have the fists of a man who
struck out at others. Like Gannon, his hands were hard, but rough
from work and not brutality.

“If I can ever do anything to help you with the weight you carry,

you have but to ask.”

Startled, McBride moved incrementally back. “How—what makes

you think I’m carrying anything?”

“Your shoulders are lifted up like they are trying to touch your

earlobes.” Alden reached out as if to cup McBride’s shoulders but
realized doing so was shamefully intimate and far beyond his place.
Instead, he bowed and tossed up a prayer that his ultimate master
wouldn’t take offense. Gannon owned him, but McBride owned

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Gannon, so that meant that McBride owned both of them. The last
thing Alden wanted to do was upset McBride. “I thank you for saving
me.”

“Saving you?”
“Had you not bought me, I would have been returned to the thrall

house.” Alden didn’t have to tell him what would have happened
there. It was clear from the look on McBride’s face he knew that the
other thralls would have happily taken out all their fear, rage, and
displeasure on him. Alden knew they didn’t hit him just because they
were angry with him. They often hit him because of their own
personal issues. As the closest and easiest target, Alden often had to
suffer their dissatisfaction. In order to “pretty him up,” the owner of
the thrall house had to segregate Alden for a month. Twice he’d been
offered at a crossroad’s platform. His owner said the third time was a
charm or Alden would never make it to a fourth showing.

It seemed that McBride wanted to say something else, but he

didn’t. “I have to go.”

“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” McBride looked again at the living room.

“And it seems you have plenty to do today.”

“Yes.” Once the door was closed, Alden turned to the living room

and sighed. He wasn’t angry at all. He was relieved. Having a mate
who was a slob was far better than having twenty who wanted to
pound out their frustrations on him. Alden took a moment to consider
what he was dealing with, and then he decided the best thing was to
put all of Gannon’s items in the chair, clean the floor, and then sort
through everything and put it away.

Humming to himself, Alden tossed the mishmash of items into the

big, black chair. Gannon seemed to just drop things wherever he was
rather than taking them where they needed to be. There weren’t any
bugs or anything truly disgusting, just the general laziness of a man
who lived alone and didn’t care as long as there were rough paths that
led from room to room.

Gannon Morgan

33

In the kitchen, Alden met the cookbot, who had incredible

cooking skills but wasn’t much help in the way of cleaning the other
rooms. The bot’s focus was the kitchen, which was surprisingly tidy,
but Alden needed help with the rest of the house. Unfazed, Alden
poked around and realized there weren’t any cleaning supplies like in
the thrall house. The house was mechanized and self-cleaning to a
point, but not when the occupant’s items were strewn about, impeding
the cleaning machines.

“I will have to improvise.” Alden went to the bathroom and

checked the bathing products. They would work in a pinch, and Alden
was certainly in a bind at the moment. Still, he was careful not to use
too much. The last thing he wanted to do was anger his new owner.

By the time Gannon returned home, Alden had the main room

cleaned up and was just getting started on the bedroom. Since the
cookbot not only cooked but cleaned and organized the kitchen,
Alden didn’t have to worry about that area too much. There were
some piles of things but nothing as drastic as the other rooms.
Tomorrow he would clean the bathroom, but he wanted a big showing
when Gannon returned so the main room was the place to focus on.

Gannon stepped onto the porch of his home and stopped on the

threshold with the door still open. “Is this my house?”

Alden laughed because Gannon made a great production out of

looking around like he’d never seen the place before. He examined
everything and then turned to Alden. He waited long enough to make
sure that Alden was looking right at him.

“You’re a miracle worker.”
Alden blushed and looked away. The next thing he knew, Gannon

touched his fingertip gently under his chin and lifted his head.

“You really are amazing.”
As he closed the distance between them, Alden knew what was

coming, and he couldn’t wait. Somehow, in a very short period of
time, Gannon had made him feel comfortable, welcome, and
cherished. Things might turn ugly, but for now, they were warm and

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

friendly and Alden was going to hang on to that feeling for as long as
he could.

When Gannon deepened the kiss by pulling Alden close, he

panicked. Something about his tight arms and raw hunger suddenly
made Alden feel he was being crushed. Struggling, he pushed hard
against Gannon’s shoulders.

Gannon let him go and watched with confused concern as Alden

plastered himself against the nearest wall. Lifting his hands, Gannon
tried to calm Alden, but the fear was buried too deep, and he realized
that no matter what his two masters did, he would never be free of the
pain that had been inflicted on him.

Gannon Morgan

35

Chapter 4

McBride knocked once, sharply, and then entered Gannon’s

house. He’d enjoyed a nap, had somewhat reassuring news about the
Larsden case, and was ready to face another evening of teaching one
of his slammers how to handle his mate. What he saw almost knocked
him back out the door.

Alden was plastered against the wall with Gannon standing near

in his tallos-picking suit. It was obvious that Gannon had just stepped
in from the field. It was also apparent that Alden had spent his time
cleaning the living room area. Everything from the lone chair to the
gaming unit was spotless. Considering what the area had looked like
when McBride left, Alden was nothing short of amazing.

“What’s going on?” McBride didn’t want to make any

assumptions. Alden was a delicate thrall to be sure, and McBride was
furious that both he and the merchant had been swindled to a degree,
but when he’d left today, he’d honestly thought that the two men
would eventually bond. Love might not come from the union, but care
and mutual respect would. This outcome was disturbing to say the
least.

“I don’t know.” Gannon turned to McBride, his face tortured. “I

just wanted to kiss him again.”

Alden shook his head so hard he tossed tears off the ends of his

long lashes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. He wasn’t hurting me. I just…”

Both of them waited, but it was Gannon who supplied, “Got

scared?”

Since Alden was looking at the floor, he didn’t answer, but

McBride had a feeling that was exactly what had happened. As much

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

as he hoped the two men would hit it off, it was clear that Alden
would need much more help than what the two of them could give
him. McBride thought of who could offer Alden counseling, and he
realized they were pretty much it. If they couldn’t help him, no one
really could. Sending him away for treatment would cost far more
than what a new, premium thrall would run. Even though McBride
didn’t like to think of things in such harsh economic terms, he was
bound by the fact he simply didn’t have the money to do something so
generous even if he wanted to.

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

Gannon Morgan

37

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.”

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“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.”

Gannon Morgan

39

“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.”

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

“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

Gannon Morgan

41

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

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

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.”

Gannon Morgan

43

“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.

“But you haven’t looked closely at it, and I think you should.”
McBride continued to tease his lips and tongue over the scar he’d

made on Caleb’s neck as he thought about what it would be like to
feed from a blood source near his cock. As he toyed with Caleb, he
tried to think of where Jonas would have bit him, and he realized
Jonas would have done what any normal gentryman would have done.
Jones would have bit his neck. The only time men of their class fed
from unusual places was when they took a companion. Once McBride
was mated, he would gently bite all over his chosen, and his mate
would do the same to him.

“Do you want to see where he bit me?”

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

“No.” McBride wasn’t going to be pulled any deeper into this

mess than he already had been. “I want you to stop lying, Caleb. He
never fed from you. Admit it.”

Caleb turned so they were facing each other. “He never touched

me. Happy?”

In a way he was because that meant McBride was the first to

breach his skin. But that complicated things, too. Being his first meant
something to McBride, and it shouldn’t. Caleb was a source of
nourishment, nothing more. Rather than answer him, McBride
grasped his hair, pulled until he fully exposed his neck, lowered his
mouth, and bit him.

In mutual bliss, they groaned together. Caleb reached down and

unfastened his jeans, freeing his cock. He wrapped his fist around the
shaft, and within a few strokes he was hard.

McBride slowed his pulls to sips so he could watch Caleb find

satisfaction. Each stroke hardened him until pre-cum pearled at the tip
of his prick. The closer he got to release, the better his blood tasted.
Knowing he was the only man to know him so intimately added to
McBride’s pleasure. They said having a pure slammer gave the best-
tasting blood, but McBride had never believed it until now. It would
explain why he was so attracted to Caleb rather than his other
brothers. The other Morgans had been fed from, and Caleb hadn’t.
Still, there was more here than just a need to feed and the pleasure in
being the first.

“Pull harder, ah, McBride, that’s good. It’s so damn good.”

Caleb’s fist tightened, and he came in a copious jet of glistening
white.

McBride drank hard and was rewarded with a burst of sweetness

unlike anything he’d ever tasted. To his shock, he climaxed so hard he
almost dropped to his knees. By grasping Caleb’s shoulders, he was
able to stay upright, but only just barely. Breathless and baffled as to
what had just happened, he licked the wound closed and then took a
step back.

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45

Caleb turned and looked at him. His gaze wandered down to

McBride’s trousers. When Caleb grinned and lifted his gaze to
McBride’s eyes, it was clear he realized what had occurred.

“And I didn’t even touch you.”
“What the hell was that?” In all his years of feeding, McBride had

never experienced a jolt of power like that.

“That was us forming a bloodbond.”

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Chapter 5

Despite the way Alden was looking at him in the towel, Gannon

went ahead and dressed in a pair of loose-fitting shorts. Alden was
naked, but it was how he would stay until they completed the ritual of
the bloodbond. As distracting as it was, Gannon kept his attention on
cleaning up. He wanted things to go well between them. If he had to
delay claiming him, that was okay. Waiting was better than scaring
the crap out of his tender mate.

“I think the best way to start is to toss everything up on the bed.”
“Okay.” Since Gannon had never cleaned much of anything in his

life, he’d had no clue how to begin the daunting task of organizing his
room.

They took everything off the floor and placed it on the bed. By the

time they were done, there was a good-sized mound.

Gannon waited until Alden was looking at him and said, “You’re

really very clever.”

“I am?” Alden put another pair of clay-encrusted shoes at the foot

of the bed.

“We can’t go to sleep until we finish cleaning up.” For a moment,

it looked as if Alden was hurt by the comment, but then he laughed.

“I didn’t even realize.”
“It’s smart.”
“And it stops us from having sex without our master being

present.” Alden turned away to grab more clothing off the far side of
the bed, so Gannon waited for him to turn around.

“That’s not the only reason. I really do want to wait until you’re

comfortable.”

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47

Alden ducked his head but cast a wary gaze up at Gannon.
“What?”
“I thought it would anger you to wait.”
“No. I understand.” Gannon took a shirt from the pile, sniffed it,

and then hung it up.

Alden made a face and then giggled. “Is that how you decide what

to wear?”

“Yeah. I figure if it passes the sniff test, it should be okay to wear

for another day.”

“I will show you another way to organize your clothing rather

than using the floor and sniffing.” Alden pointed. “There is this thing
called a closet.”

“Ha-ha.” Gannon gave another shirt the sniff test and then hung it

up. “Pretty funny for a guy who doesn’t wear clothes.”

“Not forever.”
“Right.” Gannon realized he was supposed to buy his thrall a

collar, clothing, and a consummation gift. Since he had already spent
his last percentage, he was going to have to wait for another payout.
“I don’t have any money.”

“I don’t care.” Alden smiled shyly. “Everything I need is here.”
“But I’m supposed to shower you in gifts.”
“You’ve already given me the best gift.”
“I have?”
“You were willing to put my needs above your own.”
Gannon hadn’t thought of it that way. “But I will get you what

you need.”

“I trust that you will.”
They worked silently for a long while, picking items off the bed

and then finding a place for them to go. Gannon felt as if he were
rediscovering himself through all the things he thought lost. He was
honestly amazed at all the cool things he had.

“Is there something that you would like?” Gannon added another

item of clothing to the growing pile of things that needed to be

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

washed. About once a month, when he ran out of things to wear,
Gannon did his laundry. He had machines in the back part of the
kitchen, and he knew if he were more organized he would be able to
do it in some kind of timely way, but every time he went to get it
together, he got distracted and decided he’d rather play games.

“I don’t need much of anything.”
Alden turned away and seemed to be deliberately tuning Gannon

out. Moving toward him, Gannon touched his shoulder very lightly,
hurting inside when he flinched. “Sorry. I just wondered what you
like to do. I like to play with the gamer.”

“I like to read.”
“My brother, Devon, likes to read. I’ll ask him if he wouldn’t

mind loaning us some books.”

“Do you like to read?”
“Not so much. But I would like to have you read to me.” The idea

of settling in after a long day, his head in Alden’s lap, listening to his
melodious voice, sounded far better than losing himself in the violent
games every night. He could see that becoming his very favorite thing
to do.

“I would like to read to you.”
“You have an amazing voice.”
“I do?”
“Yes. I—oh. I guess you can’t hear it.”
“When I could hear, I never thought it was particularly

interesting.”

“It really is.”
Alden shook his head.
“Why don’t you just say thank you?”
“I—I’m sorry. I’m used to being picked on.”
“Then we’ll have to get you used to being complimented.”
Alden grinned. “I like that goal.”
They put the last few items away.
“I found clean sheets in the living room.” Alden walked off to get

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49

them while Gannon wondered how in the world his sheets ended up in
there. He’d probably cleaned them, folded them, and forgot all about
them when the gamer called to him.

Gannon stripped off his old bedding and winced. It was lightly

fragrant from him not always showering before he got into bed at
night. Sometimes he spent hours playing and then tumbled into bed
for a few winks before work started again. For the first time in his
life, Gannon was deeply ashamed of the way he lived. Not only was
he a slob, but he was often filthy. But no more. He needed to turn
things around now that he had a mate.

Alden entered with the clean sheets, and together they stretched

them over the bed. They were almost crisp they were so new.

“It’s a beautiful color.”
“I bought it because it matched my room.” The sheets were a dark

blue like the carpet in his bedroom and the paint on the walls.
“Wow.”

“What?”
“They complement your eyes.”
Alden looked at the sheets then up to Gannon. “Should I get in?”
Suddenly nervous, Gannon swallowed hard and nodded. Looking

at him in his bed was both arousing and arresting. Alden was fragile,
and as much as Gannon lusted after him, he was loathe to hurt him in
any way. He waited until Alden was settled then reached to turn out
the light.

“Please don’t.”
“You sleep with the light on?”
“At the thrall house, they would put me in a closet and close the

door.” Alden closed his eyes and shivered. “I would hide from them
in another closet, but it was smaller and I was keeping them out, not
being locked in.”

As strange as it was, Gannon understood the difference

immediately.

“I was so scared because it was almost pitch black. The only light

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came from under the door, but once they realized that, they would
stuff a towel along the edge, blocking even that out.”

Gannon wished he could go and give those bullies a taste of their

own medicine, but he knew that would never happen. Instead of
focusing on retribution, he’d be better off helping Alden get back to a
more normal place.

“I don’t mind leaving a light on.” He turned on the little lamp by

Alden’s side of the bed. “Will this be okay?”

He nodded. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Unsure if he should strip down for bed, he

looked at Alden and realized he was chewing his bottom lip as he
tried very hard not to stare at Gannon’s shorts. Deciding to err on the
side of caution, he left them on. Carefully, so as not to startle his
mate, Gannon slid into the crisp bedding. Rolling to his side, he
looked over and right into Alden’s eyes. “Can I hold your hand?”

“I’d like that.”
They clasped hands and Gannon tried to relax, but he couldn’t.

Earlier, when he’d been carrying Alden, he hadn’t been able to smell
him, but he could now. There was a faint scent of laundry products
lingering on the sheets, but there was also the scent of Alden’s body.
It wasn’t sweat or grime, just the smell of his skin. Gannon hardened
so fast he practically levitated the bedclothes.

“You smell good.”
“Me?” Gannon was surprised.
“I can smell you pressed into the pillows.”
Gannon turned his head and sniffed. Zooks! It smelled like his

sweat! He was ready to leap out of bed and toss the pillows in the
wash but for the fact Alden said he liked the scent.

“I like the way you smell.”
Gannon moved a little closer.
Alden squeezed his hand, and he moved a little closer.
They met in the middle.
“Are you really happy to have me?”

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51

“I am.” Gannon let go of Alden’s hand so he could reach up and

touch his face. His skin was so soft against his rough fingertips that he
felt badly for touching him and pulled back.

“Don’t. Your hands are so strong.”
“You said they would make good marks on you.”
“That’s before I knew how gentle you are.” Alden leaned closer.
Gannon tried to resist, but he couldn’t. He moved the little bit it

took to press their lips together. A surge of passion made him want to
pull Alden closer still, but he didn’t want to frighten him, so he stayed
right where he was and simply cupped his face.

After a long time of swirling their tongues together, Alden pushed

lightly against Gannon’s shoulders. Unsure what he was trying to do,
Gannon rolled over onto his back.

“McBride told me that you had an idea about how we could mate

without you being afraid. Something other than tying me up.” Gannon
grinned and winked. “But to be honest, I don’t mind if you tie me
up.”

Alden giggled and covered his mouth with his hand. It was such a

curious gesture, and Gannon discovered he instantly adored it.

“So? Tell me what your idea was.”
“My idea was to do just what I did.”
Gannon looked up at him.
“Put you on your back. Now, you lift your hands above your head

as if you are bound.”

Gannon played along and put his hands up. To his shock, Alden

climbed on top of him. His long, strong legs straddled Gannon’s hips,
and he settled his bottom on top of Gannon’s rapidly hardening cock.
The only thing that stood between them was the fabric of Gannon’s
shorts. Normally, he thought the weave was light, but tonight it
seemed a mile thick. He’d give just about anything to have that gone
so he could feel Alden’s tight bottom pressed against his prick. When
Alden started rocking his hips, which slid his ass along the shaft of
Gannon’s cock, he knew he was in trouble. As much as he wanted to

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grab him and press him down harder, he kept his hands up. To remind
himself what his role was, he intertwined his fingers and cupped them
behind his head.

As Alden continued his sinuous dance against him, Gannon

tightened his grip on the back of his head. Faster he rocked, making
delicious friction against Gannon’s body.

“Please kiss me. I swear, I won’t move a muscle if you’ll just kiss

me while you keep doing that.”

Grinning, and clearly secure in his position, Alden kept right on

squirming over Gannon’s prick, but he leaned forward to kiss him.
When their lips touched, it took all Gannon had not to grab him and
hold him tight. Gently, he rocked his hips, using his hands behind his
head to balance out the movement he made with his lower body.

“Can I take off your shorts?” Alden’s question was breathless and

hungry.

Gannon’s immediate yes was tempered by the fact he might not be

able to control himself if Alden did. Also, McBride was supposed to
be here to instruct them. The last thing Gannon wanted to do was
anger his very generous master. But he also wanted to do whatever
Alden felt comfortable with. Torn, Gannon finally decided he would
leave everything up to his mate.

“If you want to take them off, I won’t struggle. I mean, unless you

want me to.”

“I want you to stay still as if you were bound to the bed.” Alden

rose and scooted down the length of Gannon’s body. As he moved
downward, he pushed the bedclothes off both of them, which didn’t
matter to Gannon since he felt he was practically on fire. Once he was
down far enough, Alden lifted his soft hands and skillfully parted
Gannon’s shorts. Watching him was hypnotic since his long, delicate
fingers traced over the fastener with something almost like a musical
finesse. Eventually, Alden got them parted and then pulled them
down.

“Wow.” Alden hesitated as his gaze riveted on Gannon’s exposed

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53

prick.

“Is it okay?” Gannon wasn’t sure what Alden wanted from him,

so he worried that his body wasn’t quite right. He didn’t do any body
sculpting work like his twin, Ollie, but he thought their bodies were
fairly similar anyway.

“You are stunning.” Alden leaned close and kissed the tip of

Gannon’s prick. “You are so very beautiful to me.”

Gannon let out a sigh of relief then one of pleasure as Alden’s lips

parted and he sucked the tip of Gannon’s cock into his hot, wet
mouth. Another surge of need made him want to grasp the top of
Alden’s head and help him bob his luscious mouth up and down on
the knob of his cock. As much as he wanted to do that, Gannon
didn’t. He had to grip his hands firmly to his head to restrain himself,
but he managed.

Closer Gannon came to release. He wanted to warn Alden back,

or do something, say something, but he found he was unable to do
anything but hold tight to himself and do all he could to stop himself
from thrusting hard into his fragile mate’s mouth. Wavering between
letting him do as he pleased while keeping his hands bound and
warning him what was coming, Gannon decided to err on the side of
caution.

Taking his hand from the back of his own head, Gannon touched

Alden’s head as gently as he could. Rather than flinch, Alden looked
up with curiosity and no trace of fear.

“I’m so close. So very close.” When Alden cast him a perplexed

look, Gannon realized he had to be precise. “If you keep doing that,
I’m going to climax.”

“Good.” Alden grinned and then lowered his mouth to the swollen

tip of Gannon’s prick. He darted his pointed tongue around the most
sensitive edge of his knob then sucked the entire tip into his mouth
where he further tormented him by flicking his tongue along the slit.
Gannon tried to hold off. Desperately, he tried to hold back, but
Alden was extremely talented. Blown away by his skill and

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Anitra Lynn McLeod

enthusiasm, Gannon lifted his hands to the ceiling as he came. A
satisfied bellow escaped his lips as Alden didn’t flinch away but
sucked firmly at the tip of his cock. Able to feel every swallow he
made, Gannon had to tense his entire body not to thrust.

When his ground-shaking orgasm finally came to an end, Gannon

went limp on the bed. After a long moment to recover, he opened his
eyes.

Alden had released his cock and rose so that he was sitting on the

meaty part of Gannon’s thighs. Big, pale blue eyes considered
Gannon.

“Wow.” It was just about the only thing he could manage at the

moment.

A grin curled the edges of Alden’s lips.
“You are very skilled for a virgin.”
“I was extremely attentive in class.”
Gannon grinned back at him and then lifted his hands from his

head. Moving slowly, he lowered his hands to Alden’s hips. “Okay?”

“Yes.”
Picking him up very slowly, Gannon again asked, “Okay?”
“Yes.”
Carefully, Gannon moved Alden while rising slowly up from the

bed. They met in the middle. Drawing Alden’s cock into his mouth,
Gannon sucked gently and looked up with lifted brows.

“Yes.” Alden breathed the word and then cupped his hand to

Gannon’s head. “Oh, yes.”

Gannon continued to suck his mate’s prick into his mouth.

Following his lead, he teased his tongue all along the most sensitive
skin under the head then flicked the tip of his tongue along the slit in
the top of Alden’s cock.

“Oh, my mate. I—you—I—I’m not going to last.” Alden closed

his eyes.

Gannon knew he wouldn’t hear anything he said, which was fine

since he had a mouthful of his mate’s cock, but he knew Alden could

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55

feel the sounds that he made. While he sucked him hard, Gannon let
out a low, slow groan of pleasure.

The truncated cry that escaped Alden’s mouth and practically

echoed in the bedroom shivered Gannon all the way to his toes. When
he first tasted Alden’s spurting release, his mouth watered, causing
him to suck harder, which only made Alden surge forward. Taking his
cock down until his lips touched the root gave Gannon a unique thrill.
Lifting his massive hands, he cupped them gently to Alden’s hips and
buttocks. Using the easiest pressure, Gannon pulled him close as he
rose up a bit farther.

Alden made another noise that was so wickedly pleasurable,

Gannon was almost worried he’d hurt him until Alden gripped his
shoulders and thrust his hips forward, drilling his prick deep into
Gannon’s mouth. He made a series of sighs and moans that were like
a song given how melodious his voice was. Gannon could happily
continue sucking on him, but Alden whimpered and struggled back.
Letting go was difficult, but Gannon did because the last thing he
wanted to do was frighten Alden.

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Chapter 6

Alden had never known such peace. His body was drained and he

felt he could sleep without the light on. Tonight, there were no bullies
waiting for him in the dark. No one would sneak into his room to
tease him or torment him. He was alone with his very sweet mate.

“Will McBride be angry with us?”
“No.” Gannon put his hands back behind his head. “I think he will

be happy we figured something out on our own.”

“You don’t want him to teach us?” Alden had been rather

comforted by the notion of an older man teaching them the ways of
love.

“It’s not that, not at all. My brother Bailey said he was a very

good teacher. I just don’t think he’ll mind that we were able to do
something without him.” Gannon looked up at the ceiling. “Maybe
that’s why he had us just be together and work on cleaning up my—
our—bedroom. He knew what would happen.”

“He is clairvoyant?”
“You mean like he knows stuff before it happens?”
Alden nodded. He’d heard of men with supernatural abilities.

He’d never met one, but he didn’t meet a lot of outsiders in the thrall
house.

“Naw. I mean, no more than any other man. But I don’t think it

takes special skills to know what a lusty slammer and his beautiful
thrall will end up doing once they are alone.” Gannon grinned and
then winked.

Alden laughed and lowered himself to the bed. He curled up to

Gannon’s side, closed his eyes, and fell into the deepest, most

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57

dreamless sleep he’d ever had. When morning came, he woke up
happy and ready to get started on cleaning up the bathroom.

Unsure what time Gannon had to be to work out in the fields,

Alden got up quietly and went about his usual morning routine. The
only thing that was an issue was finding a clean towel in the cluttered
bathroom. Once he employed Gannon’s sniff test, he was able to find
one. That was a particular habit that he was going to break his mate
of. If nothing else, Alden would keep the house tidy.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Gannon. His eyes were

half-open and he was leaning against the wall nearest the bathroom.

“Good morning!”
Gannon grunted and went past him, closing the door without

saying a word. Or perhaps he had spoken, but he moved his lips so
little that Alden hadn’t been able to make out what he’d said. Reading
mumbles was impossible. All he knew was his mate was clearly not a
morning person.

Unfazed, Alden went into the kitchen. He’d made a lot of progress

cleaning yesterday, but there was plenty for him to do today while
Gannon was out working in the field.

Unsure how the cookbot worked, he started to methodically put

all the clutter on the table so he could clear it off.

“Where the hell am I supposed to eat?”
Alden froze. He’d read his mate’s lips clearly, but what held him

still was the anger that flashed in his eyes. That was the look he was
used to. All too soon Gannon would start hitting him. Terrified, Alden
looked for possible escape routes. Gannon was blocking the archway
to the hall, but there was another archway that went into the living
room.

Spinning on his heel, Alden ran that direction, fumbled with the

door, wrenched it open, and ran as fast as he could to the big house.
McBride said if he needed anything he could find help there. What
stunned Alden was how fast things had turned ugly. Last night they
had come together easily, but this morning was nothing but trouble.

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Alden didn’t bother to look back and see if Gannon was behind

him. If he was, he would know soon enough. Any glance backward
would slow him down, so he pushed himself forward, using the
adrenalin of pure fear to give him strength. As soon as he reached the
door of the big house, it came open and he ran right into McBride.

“Whoa!” McBride reached out to stop Alden from falling, but he

spun away, confused and frightened.

Gannon was making ground-eating strides across the yard.
Alden found himself trapped between the two big men. He didn’t

know where else to go. There was a long drive that went back toward
the platform where McBride had bought him yesterday, but there was
no way he’d be able to outrun both strong men. In his panic, Alden
wasn’t able to catch his breath. When the world turned fuzzy gray, he
let go and crumpled to the porch.

Alden had no idea what time it was when he woke up. Above him

was an elaborate ceiling decorated with curlicues and painted-on
flowers. He had to be in the big house since the brothers’ houses were
shorter than the nearest ceiling.

A face popped into view, startling him. Alden didn’t recognize

him, but he had a softly rounded face.

“How are you feeling?” Whoever he was, he spoke slowly and

overpronounced his words, so obviously someone had told him Alden
was deaf.

Unable to answer since he hadn’t had enough time to take stock of

his body, Alden shook his head.

“Do you understand me?”
Alden nodded.
“I think you had a panic attack.”
“What’s that?” All Alden knew was sometimes he became so

terrified he passed out. Oftentimes he awoke in far worse
circumstances, but he had been unable to stop himself from losing
consciousness.

“It’s when you become so frightened you hyperventilate, which

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59

causes you to pass out.”

“Oh.” Alden didn’t know what else to say so he sat up. “Is there a

way to stop it?”

“There is, but it will take some work.” The man took something

off his neck and tucked it into a leather satchel on the bed.

When Alden looked around, he saw McBride and Gannon at the

doorway, peering in with wide, curious eyes. When his gaze
connected with Gannon’s, he lowered his head and looked away.
Guilt and shame stamped clear lines on Gannon’s features. And to
think that last night Alden had been so comfortable with him he’d
been able to sleep with the light off.

McBride entered and spoke with the man who had been tending to

Alden. By his professional demeanor, Alden guessed he was a doctor
of some sort. By watching their lips, he was able to catch the gist of
their conversation. Basically, the man was suggesting that Alden take
medication and talk to someone. McBride let out a sigh and nodded.
Judging by his body language, he was clearly regretting buying
Alden. At the time, he’d probably thought he was getting a bargain,
but now he was realizing just how damaged Alden was. If he could
stop what was happening to him, he would, but he couldn’t.

After thanking the man, McBride walked him out, leaving Alden

alone with Gannon.

“Are you still mad at me?” Alden didn’t want to anger him anew,

but he also knew they weren’t going to get past this unless they
talked.

“I wasn’t mad in the first place.” Gannon came closer to the bed

but then hesitated to get too close. It was clear he was afraid of setting
Alden off again.

“It’s okay. You can sit here if you want.” Alden scooted over so

there was room for Gannon to sit on the edge of the bed, which he did
after a moment’s consideration.

“I always wake up grumpy. I should have told you.” Gannon hung

his head again but then lifted it so Alden could read his lips. “I didn’t

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mean to scare you.”

“I shouldn’t have put stuff on the table. I wasn’t thinking.”
“You were trying to clean up another one of my messes.” Gannon

met Alden’s gaze but seemed unable to hold it for any length of time.

Reaching out, Alden took his hand. His skin was just as rough as

it had been yesterday, but he wasn’t as intimidated. When Gannon
looked at him, Alden spoke softly. “Last night was so sweet.”

“I thought so, too.”
“I think we need to just try again.”
“You’re not afraid of me?”
“In that moment, I was. Your face was harsh, and I flashed back

on all the bullies at the thrall house.” Alden did his best to explain
that his reaction was more about his past than it was about Gannon or
his behavior.

“I wouldn’t have hit you.”
“I know that here.” Alden touched his heart. “But my head is a

little different. They always hit me, so when I see anger, I think pain.
It’s automatic.”

“I can try to be more cheerful in the morning.” Gannon frowned.

“Although I’m not really sure how to do that.”

“Maybe we can figure something out. Like, I won’t get up until

you go to work.”

“I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
“I know, but we’re going to have to try different things and see

what works.”

Gannon’s hand tightened on his. “You’re not regretting that you

got me, are you?”

Stunned, Alden shook his head. “I was thinking that you were

sorry you got stuck with me.”

“What? Why? You’re perfect.” Gannon intertwined their fingers,

lifted their joined hands, and kissed the back of Alden’s hand.

“I’m deaf, and apparently I have panic attacks when I’m scared.”
“You have a voice that’s like hearing a song. You kiss so sweetly

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61

I almost cried.” Gannon leaned close. “And you suck cock like an
expert.”

Alden blushed and would have ducked his head, but he didn’t

want to miss anything that Gannon said. When he didn’t speak, Alden
didn’t worry. They sat in companionable silence for a long time.
Eventually, McBride entered and called Gannon away. It was obvious
they were talking about him getting back to work, and it was just as
clear Gannon didn’t want to go.

Back and forth the conversation went, making it difficult for

Alden to follow. McBride didn’t seem angry but tired and worried.
Something made his shoulders tight, but Alden had no idea what. For
a moment, he wondered if McBride had returned to the platform to
buy another thrall since he still had several brothers to buy a mate for,
but he knew it wasn’t his place to ask. Besides, after getting stuck
with him, it was doubtful that he’d be interested in another purchase
from that particular merchant.

Eventually, the two came to an agreement, and Gannon returned

to Alden’s bedside.

“He said I can take you back home if you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.”
Gannon helped Alden up and then grabbed a bag by the bedside.
“What’s that?”
“Clothing for you. It’s not from me but from McBride. He says I

can’t go into town, so we’ll have to make do for now.”

“I don’t mind secondhand clothing.” Alden considered how big

the bag was. “I haven’t ever worn anything but a robe.”

“Only a robe?”
“When we left the thrall house for educational events, we were

naked, as it’s part of our status, but in colder weather, we were
allowed to wear robes to keep us warm.”

“Why do you have to be naked all the time?”
“I wondered about that, too. None of my teachers could answer,

but in an old book I found what might be a best guess.”

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Gannon took his hand, and they left the big house. Gannon

stopped, and Alden realized he was looking down at his bare feet.

“Let me carry you.”
“I can walk.”
“I’d feel better if you let me carry you, though. Please?”
Alden agreed and found himself scooped up into Gannon’s

powerful arms. As he walked home, Alden explained that he thought
thralls were kept nude so that they felt vulnerable. “It’s a way of
psychologically controlling someone. Also, if we’re bare, we can’t
really run.”

Gannon nodded and then winced. “I guess you kind of proved that

today.”

“I did. I wasn’t going to get far without shoes.”
“Why else do they keep you bare?”
“I think it’s so that when we are out, slammers can see us and so

can their owners. It’s a way of making them want a thrall.”

“Ah, like advertising.”
“Right. More than one thrall was bought right on the street as we

went from place to place.”

“Wait, even then you weren’t allowed to wear shoes?”
“We were giving pressed-paper slippers. They would last for a

few hours then fall apart. If they got wet, they were ruined. So they
would protect our feet, but we’d never be able to run in them. Not for
any great distance, at least.”

“I guess you could have always stolen a pair.”
“Do you know how difficult that is?”
“I guess I’ve never thought about it.” Gannon settled Alden on the

porch. “But it sounds like you have.”

“Constantly.” They went inside. “But whenever I saw a pair of

shoes, they were on someone’s feet. The only way to get them was to
knock the man out and steal them.”

“But new ones, like in a store. Couldn’t you steal those?”
“And where would I hide them?” Alden lifted his arms, prompting

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63

Gannon to look over his naked body.

“Right. That wouldn’t work.” Gannon looked down then up. “I

won’t make you stay. I mean, if you really don’t like me and decide
that you want one of my brothers better, I won’t stand in your way.”

“Didn’t McBride say that if you didn’t want me he wouldn’t get

you another?”

“I’d rather be alone than make you feel trapped.”
Touched, Alden stepped close and wrapped his arms around his

mate. He kept on hugging him even when he knew he should let him
go, but he couldn’t. He needed the contact, and he thought that
Gannon needed the reassurance. Eventually, Gannon touched his
chin, lifting his face. Alden thought he wanted to say something, but
he kissed him instead.

The contact started slow and sweet then turned hungry. Gannon

was careful not to grasp Alden too tightly, and Alden relaxed in his
embrace.

“As much as I hate to do this, I have to get to work.”
“Is that what you and McBride were arguing about?”
“Yeah.” Gannon shrugged. “He wanted me to take the day off, but

I want to work.”

It was the exact opposite of what Alden had thought.
“I want to be with you, really, it’s not that, but I don’t have any

money in my account and there’s stuff we’ll need. I want to take care
of you properly.”

Touched again by his kindness, Alden kissed him sweetly then let

him go.

“Enjoy your day off and don’t clean too much.”
“Will I be called to work in the field?” Alden hoped so. He wasn’t

so sure he could keep himself entertained in the tiny house day after
day.

“McBride said you will, but not just yet. He wants to make sure

you’re okay.”

“Is he…”

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Gannon waited with his hand on the front doorknob, and his

brows lifted with curiosity.

“He’s not upset with me, is he?”
“No.” Gannon shook his head. “He’s worried about you.”
“I thought he would be upset that I’m so broken.”
“You’re not broken.” Gannon left the door and came closer. “You

just need some help. All of us do.”

“I like that.” Alden had always thought of himself as so damaged

nothing would ever make him whole again.

“We’ll work everything out. I promise.” After a last kiss, Gannon

left, and Alden went into the kitchen.

To his surprise, everything he’d put on the table was cleared away

and put in its proper place. Gannon had cleaned up. There was still
plenty to do, but somehow, the fact that Gannon had removed the
source of their tension from this morning made Alden feel a hundred
times better.

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Chapter 7

McBride went to the platform, but there was nothing new. He

didn’t bother chastising the merchant for not informing him about
Alden’s issues since he doubted he knew. The merchant handled the
thralls on commission, taking a small bit of the sale for himself. He
wouldn’t have known what was going on, so McBride let the issue go,
especially when he had bigger and better things to concern himself
with, like his continuing descent into madness with Caleb. After their
interlude last night, McBride had left without a word, walked stiffly
across the yard, entered the big house, and slammed the door. He
hadn’t once looked back because he felt Caleb watching him. Now
that they were lightly bloodbonded, McBride would be tied to him no
matter what he did. Even if he found a suitable companion and never
drank from Caleb again, he would always feel him in the background.

Since there was nothing to be done about the mistakes he’d

already made other than not repeating them, he turned his attention
back to Gannon and Alden. His high hopes were shattered when
Alden had literally run into him this morning, but he was encouraged
by the concern Gannon showed. He had simply woken up in his usual
pissy mood, and it had scared the hell out of Alden. But even with the
slight hiccup, it seemed Gannon and Alden were working out after all.

In halting terms, Gannon told McBride what they’d done last

night. He was apologetic, thinking he’d overstepped his bounds, but
McBride had been relieved. It looked as if he would have to spend
some time with the two men, but they wouldn’t need as much
instruction as Bailey and Ferris had. They were still going to need
some help to deal with Alden’s panic attacks, but that was something

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that could be overcome with time, care, and consideration—all things
that Gannon was more than willing to do.

Since he was already on the edge of town, McBride went by the

Larsden place. Crime-scene tape still encircled the area, but
preliminary findings suggested it wasn’t a virus. As good as that news
sounded, McBride wasn’t counting it as a win until they definitively
knew it wasn’t a virus. However, even if it wasn’t, that didn’t rule out
some other type of infection. Something certainly had pushed the man
into a state of insatiability and superhuman strength. Ripping a man
apart barehanded wasn’t something a normal man could do. But the
crimetech, Quintus, had been fairly certain it wasn’t a blood-borne
pathogen.

“Fairly certain?” McBride had asked as he continued to dress. He

had a communication implant in his right earlobe that allowed him to
talk while doing other things.

“Well, all the tests aren’t back, so I’m not going to say it’s one

hundred percent not a virus, but I’m fairly certain.”

“So we’re counting this a semi-win?” McBride didn’t mean to be

snarky, but he was tired and concerned about his bond to Caleb and
what caring for Alden would cost Gannon. At least Bailey and his
mate seemed to be over the moon for each other. That relationship,
McBride was counting as a total win at this point.

“I think we should see a bit of a victory here. I’ve been keeping

my ear to the wire, and I haven’t heard a peep about anything else like
this happening anywhere.”

“That’s good.” McBride pulled on his shirt, buttoned it up, then

tucked it into his jeans.

“But there is another issue.”
“That’s bad.” McBride let out a long sigh as he pulled on his

second-favorite pair of boots. He’s most-favorite pair had been
burned up at the crime scene since they hadn’t known what they were
dealing with. Since it was better to be safe than sorry, everything
McBride had been wearing had been burned.

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67

“Well, it might be bad, but it might not.” Quintus sounded like he

was shuffling papers, and McBride pictured him at his desk in the
local office.

“Spit it out.”
“It’s just there are a lot of law enforcement people out sick. Have

you noticed that?”

“Not really. At any given time there’s about ten percent out due to

illness or vacation.”

“We’re running at a twenty-five percent outage right now.”
McBride hadn’t realized that. He might have if he wasn’t juggling

too many balls, but things were what they were. “Do you have any
ideas about what’s going on?”

“No, just I thought it was curious.”
“Well, ten percent isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Might just be the

spate of nice weather making men want to get out and do something.”
After a long, cold winter, the itch to get outdoors could make men
feign illness. Since McBride was constantly outside, he never lacked
for it, but other men who worked desk jobs indoors certainly could.

“I suppose that could be it.”
“But I’m glad you noticed, and let me know if you get wind of

something. It never hurts to be aware of a potential problem.”

“You’re welcome, Sheriff.” There was a brief hesitation on the

line.

“Ask.”
“How do you do that?”
“I can just read the silences.” McBride wondered if Alden could

do that, too. He could read lips and he certainly could read body
language, so it made sense he’d be able to read into a pause in the
conversation. To McBride, the hesitations said as much if not more
than the words.

“I wanted to talk to you about a promotion.”
“You don’t like being a crimetech?”
“Yes, I do, but I’d like to move up to the supervisor’s position

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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“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.”

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“That’s the problem.” Caleb stepped close, lowered his voice, and

whispered, “I’m starting to like it way too much.”

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Chapter 8

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

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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.”

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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—”
Gannon kissed him silent. Alden moved closer so their bodies

were pressed tightly together. Gannon knew Alden was aroused
because his hard cock slid against Gannon’s. Groaning low and deep,
Gannon reached out and rested his hand lightly on Alden’s hip. When
he didn’t flinch or seem to be distressed, Gannon cupped his buttock
and pressed him close. He knew everything was okay when Alden
made a whimpering cry of surrender.

Still, Gannon didn’t want to frighten him, so he rolled onto his

back while pulling Alden on top of him. Feeling the press of his body
practically made Gannon climax. Things got tenser when Alden
squirmed and parted his legs around Gannon’s hips. Rolling his body
up and back, Alden did a wicked little dance against Gannon, making
him more crazed than he already was.

“We should wait for McBride.”
Alden nodded, but he didn’t stop what he was doing.
“If you keep doing that, I won’t be able to control myself.”
Alden grinned and kept right on wiggling.
“You lusty thrall.”
“Put your hands up.”
Gannon did. He hoped one day they wouldn’t have to do this, but

he was okay for now. If it made Alden comfortable, he’d do whatever
he could.

“I like the way you feel below me.”
“I like how you feel on top of me.”
“And I’m starting to think neither of you needs me.”
Gannon startled and then laughed when he saw McBride standing

in the doorway.

Alden didn’t hear him, but he figured out what was going on

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when Gannon wasn’t looking at him anymore. As if caught doing
something wrong, Alden scrambled off Gannon and stood shaking by
the bedside.

“Whoa.” McBride lifted his hands. “You’re not in any trouble.

Trust me, I’m thrilled to see you two getting along so well. I just
came to help you through your first time.”

Alden’s shoulders slumped down to a normal position. “I thought

we had done something to anger you.”

“Not at all. I’m glad you’re comfortable with one another. Trust

me, that’s going to make everything much easier for me.” McBride
took the pouch off his shoulder and removed two items and set them
on the bedside table. “You’re going to need these.”

“What are they?” Gannon saw a smooth, silver cylinder and a

bottle of gel pills.

“A rectal dilator and greasers.”
For a moment, Gannon was upset that McBride had interrupted

them, but not anymore. He had no idea how to use either item, but he
knew they were essential to good mating.

“Don’t look so stricken. I’m here to help.” McBride looked over

at Alden. “Are you ready?”

Gannon thought he was going to say no or turn away, but he

surprised him when he nodded enthusiastically. “I want to feel him.”

Gannon wanted to feel him, too. At least they were in total

agreement on that.

“Good.” McBride considered the bedroom. “It’s really amazing

what he was able to do.”

“We actually cleaned it up together last night.”
“Ah. That’s good.” McBride put his hands on his hips. “Since

you’ve already covered the basics of kissing and getting each other
aroused, I’ll move on to more advanced techniques.”

“What do you want me to do?” Alden looked at the objects with

more curiosity than fear, which was good.

“Since Alden has issues with being confined in any way, I’m

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going to have him sit on the end of the bed.”

Alden did as instructed. Gannon knelt down in front of him and

parted his legs when McBride told him to. When Alden leaned back,
Gannon had total access to his hole. Tight, pink, and oh so sweet.
Gannon was thoroughly disappointed when McBride told him to
leave that area untouched for now.

“You have to start slowly and build, or you’ll only make things

uncomfortable for Alden.”

That was the last thing Gannon wanted. With McBride guiding

him, Gannon teased his hands along Alden’s inner thighs, loving the
way he moaned, and parted them more widely.

“You see?”
“Teasing him makes him more eager.”
“Precisely. Now keep touching him along his inner thighs, but

move your fingers closer to his hole each time.”

By refusing to rush, Gannon had Alden practically panting by the

time he actually stroked one finger gently against his puckered flesh.
Alden made a cry that was so beautifully submissive every hair on
Gannon’s neck stood on end. An urge to plant himself deep was
tempered by a need to fully prepare his mate for his possession.

“Do the same thing now with your lips and tongue.”
Gannon continued to caress his mate, but using his face made

things far more intimate. After what seemed forever but was probably
only a few minutes, he edged ever closer to Alden’s tender hole. The
closer he got, the higher the pitch of Alden’s moans. When he swiped
his tongue up, Alden squirmed and uttered another far deeper
whimper. It was as if he were wordlessly begging Gannon to fill him,
to finish him, to let him know the finality of their union.

“Normally, I would tell you to hold him down, but that might

startle him, so gently grasp the underside of his thighs and hold them
up rather than down.”

Gannon did as instructed, and Alden relaxed into his grip. By

lifting and pushing him up rather than pinning him down, Alden

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79

became completely relaxed. Gannon continued to tease and torment
him until he didn’t think he could wait any more. His cock was so
hard it throbbed and his balls felt tight against his body.

With a gentle tap on Alden’s knee, McBride got his attention.

“These are grease pellets.” He held up a bottle of golden capsules.

Alden nodded. “I’ve seen them.”
“Have you ever used one?”
“No. We just talked about them.” Alden blushed ever so slightly.
“You place it within and then it melts, coating him so that he can

handle your prick.” McBride extracted one pellet and handed it to
Gannon. “Place it gently against his hole, and his body will do the
rest.”

Gannon did as instructed and was amazed when Alden’s body

pulled the pellet within.

McBride checked with Alden to make sure he felt okay. Then

Gannon teased him some more as the pellet melted.

“Now this is the rectal dilator.” McBride held it up so that Alden

could see it, too.

To Gannon, it looked like a perfectly smooth chrome finger.

“What does it do?”

When Alden blushed really dark red, it was clear he knew exactly

what it would do. As McBride explained, Gannon found himself
turning red, but with anger and not shame.

“What’s wrong?”
“I want to open him up with my cock, not some device.”
“It’s a way to ensure Alden doesn’t have any pain.”
“Oh.” Gannon would rather die than cause Alden any harm. When

he looked up, he caught Alden’s gaze.

“I want to feel you,” Alden said again.
“You will, but this—”
“Is unnecessary.” Alden sat up and gripped Gannon’s hand. “I

trust you.”

Gannon squeezed his hand. He wasn’t sure how he would know

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that they would work, but in that moment he did. The fact that Alden
trusted him enough to take him, on his own, without any
accoutrements, meant the world to Gannon. There was no way he was
going to let him down. It was a way for Alden to show trust and a
way for Gannon to show he could be gentle. “I’ll be so tender.”

“I know.” Alden leaned forward, and they kissed softly.
“Well, I’m beginning to feel totally unnecessary again.” But

McBride wasn’t angry. If anything, he looked happy. “And I know if
you go very slowly, you can do what you want without causing any
pain to your mate.”

Now that the moment had arrived, Gannon was nervous. He

looked over to McBride. “I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know what to
do. I mean I know in general terms but…” Gannon’s gaze returned to
Alden. “I don’t want him to have a moment of worry or fear.”

“He won’t.” McBride settled on the edge of the bed next to Alden.

“Relax.”

Gannon tried, but it was difficult when he felt so much pressure

on his shoulders. He almost changed his mind, but when he looked
up, he saw the trust in Alden’s eyes, and he was ready. With
McBride’s prompting, Gannon lifted Alden’s legs up and back.
Rather than struggle at being held down, Alden relaxed into the bed.
To show his willingness, he lifted his hands above his head. His
relaxed and enthusiastic posture gave Gannon the confidence to press
his cock against Alden’s hole.

“Go in very slowly.”
Gannon nodded and eased his way inside. When Alden’s brow

wrinkled up, he pulled back. After a moment, he tried again.

“That’s what you need to do. Slowly in, withdraw when he feels

pain, then ease back to where you were before. Each time, you’ll go a
little deeper. Each press within will open him up just a little more.”

It was a labor of love. But by taking his time and moving with all

due caution and care, Gannon was wordlessly showing his mate that
he could trust him. Their eye contact never strayed for long. Gannon

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was pleased that the only time Alden looked away was when the bliss
he was feeling got too intense and he closed his eyes. Each time that
happened, Gannon felt encouraged to keep going despite the fact that
sweat was pouring down his chest from restraining himself.

Hot, tight, and gripping, Alden’s body simultaneously pulled him

in but also tried to keep him out. It was so erotic and challenging that
Gannon was panting by the time he finally filled Alden down to the
very root of his prick. He closed his eyes, stunned that he was buried
in his mate for the first of hopefully many times.

When he opened his eyes, he looked right into Alden’s. There

were not enough words in the universe to describe the look on his
mate’s face. He looked dazed and so happy that he was barely able to
keep his eyes open. When he lifted his arms, Gannon lowered himself
over him, careful not to press on him or make him feel confined.

“You are so unbelievably sweet, my loving mate.”
“Do you hurt at all?”
“Not a bit.” Alden cupped his chin and let out a sound that

reminded Gannon of a purr. “I want to wrap myself around you.”

“Do. I want to feel you clinging to me.”
Once Alden embraced him with long legs and arms, Gannon

nuzzled his neck. He didn’t have an overwhelming urge to bite him,
but he found the blocking of the collar frustrating. Turning his head to
ask McBride to remove Alden’s collar, he changed his mind when he
found McBride was gently rubbing his canines with his tongue.
Without asking, he knew that his master needed to feed.

“Take off his collar so I can feed from him and you can feed from

me.” Gannon thought McBride was going to outright reject his offer,
and he wouldn’t be offended if he did. But he wanted him to share in
what he’d given. By bringing him Alden and embracing the
challenges of helping him, McBride had proven himself to be a
generous man who would always do right by the Morgan brothers. To
pay him back even the smallest portion would make Gannon feel
proud.

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“Are you sure?” McBride licked his lips hungrily.
“I am.” Gannon looked at Alden, who nodded.
“We haven’t done the candles and all that.” McBride looked

around the room as if verifying the items for the bloodbond ritual
weren’t there.

“I don’t care about the ritual.”
“Neither do I. I’m ready now.” Alden kissed Gannon.
Gannon was surprised when McBride’s hands trembled ever so

slightly when he removed Alden’s collar.

McBride kissed the spot above Alden’s carotid artery. “I freely

give him to you.”

Gannon nodded.
“Lift him up and turn so that you are sitting on the bed.”
When Gannon stood, Alden’s eyes went wide. “Are you hurt?”
“No, just, the change in the angle of your cock in me. I wasn’t

quite ready.”

Gently, Gannon settled on the edge of the bed. And though he

didn’t say anything, Alden seemed to enjoy being on top again.

McBride knelt on the bed behind Gannon. “Gently tease his neck

with your lips, teeth, and tongue. You want him to want to be bitten.”

It was easy to follow instructions when McBride was giving him a

perfect demonstration of what he meant. While Gannon teased Alden
into whimpering readiness, McBride did the same to Gannon. Each
brush McBride made against the scar on Gannon’s neck caused him
to hunger for his bite. Since McBride was working the right side of
Gannon’s neck, Gannon was working the right side of Alden’s neck
so they were all able to stay in sync.

Gannon had it easy because all he had to do was echo his master’s

movements on his mate. What made the encounter far more erotic
was the fact that both he and Alden were bare naked with Gannon’s
cock buried deeply into Alden, and McBride was there, too, but he
was fully dressed. Having him near, and having him a part of the
moment and yet separate from it was what was truly special. For just

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this one and only time, Gannon felt a bond with his master that he
would never know again.

At the peak of Gannon’s arousal, McBride pierced his neck and

drew hard. Gannon echoed the movement on his mate, shuddering
when Alden let loose a cry of pain mingled with pleasure. Gannon
was almost going to pull away to check on him when Alden gripped
his head and held him tightly to his neck. At the same time, he
tightened his rectum around Gannon’s cock. The combined pleasure
of his master and mate gave Gannon a spectacular climax. He cupped
his hands to Alden’s hips, pulling him down as he thrust up. Alden
came between their bellies and his grip on Gannon’s head tightened,
making him draw harder against his neck.

McBride drew one last pull and let go, licking the wound closed.
Gannon followed suit, but he kissed Alden, loving the way he

eagerly opened his mouth and swirled his tongue so he could taste
himself in Gannon’s mouth. Lost in the kiss, Gannon hardly noticed
that his master was gone, and he was left alone with his bloodbonded
mate.

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Chapter 9

Alden didn’t want to part from Gannon, but eventually they had to

when his cock went totally soft. Once he withdrew, Alden wrapped
his arms around him and clung fiercely to his mate. He had been
terrified that it would hurt, that he wouldn’t enjoy sex or giving
blood, but he found he adored both. He gushed out thank you half a
dozen times and kissed his mate’s face until he finally landed on his
lips.

He couldn’t hear Gannon laugh, but he felt his chest vibrating

from the sound. Moreover, Alden was also able to feel his joy.
Gannon was happy, and that was exactly how Alden wanted him to
be. His fear was gone. He knew he would still struggle with his
emotions, but it wouldn’t be as crippling as it had been. A calm
seemed to have come over him once they were bound by blood.

Alden had always dismissed the tales of the rather psychic nature

of the bloodbond, but now he knew there was something there. He felt
his mate. He knew Gannon far more intimately after they had shared a
combination of blood and sex. Lust had certainly been a part of their
mating, but that had been softened into something very close to love
by the care Gannon had shown in claiming him.

Initially, the idea of not using the rectal dilator had been a bit

frightening. Alden had horrific images of being ripped apart by an
overzealous mate, but one look into Gannon’s eyes and he knew he
would take his time and go slow. He had made the right choice.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.” Gannon kissed him

repeatedly then rested his forehead against Alden’s. “Are you
happy?”

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85

“I am.” Alden suddenly realized they’d forgotten all about

McBride. He lifted his head and looked around the bedroom then
back at Gannon.

“He left after he fed.”
“Was he happy?”
“I think so.” Gannon reached up and touched the spot on his neck

where their master had fed from. “He usually doesn’t drink that much
unless he’s enjoying the taste.”

“Do you think the fact that you were drawing from me helped to

sweeten your blood?”

“I do.”
“What did you think of your first blood?”
“You were so delicious.” Gannon stroked his finger tenderly over

the fresh scar on Alden’s neck. “Does it hurt terribly?”

“No. It’s sore, but not drastically so. I feel amazingly good.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Alden wanted to make sure Gannon understood just

how happy he was. “I trusted you completely, and you didn’t let me
down.”

Gannon blushed at bit at his praise. “I was so afraid of hurting

you. I think it took me far longer than it should have.”

“I’m glad you took your time. Better slow than too fast and then

both of us being unhappy.”

Gannon grinned and then stood, keeping Alden in his powerful

arms. “Are you hungry?”

“I am.”
“I say we should shower, eat, and then get right to bed.”
“Turning over a new leaf, are you?” Alden was pretty sure that

Gannon spent most nights playing games in the big living room chair
until he had to go to bed by necessity.

“I’m a mated man now, so I have to take my responsibilities

seriously.” Gannon carried him into the bathroom and set him on his
feet. He fiddled with the shower, stepped in, and then pulled Alden in

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with him.

They played in the shower as they cleaned up, but they didn’t

linger too long, not when Gannon’s tummy was rumbling so strongly
that Alden was able to feel the vibrations when they were pressed
together.

In the kitchen, Gannon programmed the cookbot while they

played footsie under the table. When the meal was ready, they ate,
brushed their teeth, and then returned to bed.

“Do you want the light on?”
“No.” Alden was certain that he would be okay. “I feel safe.”
Gannon couldn’t look happier. He reached out, flipped the light

off, and they snuggled together under the sheets. Alden thought that
he was too excited to actually fall asleep, but the next thing he knew
was waking up to sunlight streaming in through the window. He
realized he was alone and exited the bed with some trepidation.
Curious if Gannon was in a bad mood again this morning, Alden
padded his way first to the bathroom and then to the kitchen.

“Good morning.” Gannon pulled a chair out for Alden.
“Good morning.” Alden settled at the table, and within a few

minutes he had a plate with eggs, meat, and fruit arranged artfully.

Gannon sat across from him, and they ate in silence. Gannon

looked sleepy but happy, and Alden was relieved that they wouldn’t
have a repeat of yesterday. Once their meal was done, Gannon
dressed for work.

“McBride said he wanted you to work, too. Are you ready?”
“There wasn’t a suit in the things he dropped off yesterday.”
“You won’t need it. Today, we’ll be planting tallos. All you need

is a sturdy pair of trousers, good shoes, and a long-sleeved shirt.”

“Why the shirt?”
“To protect your silky, pale skin.” Gannon stroked his fingers

over Alden’s shoulders right up to his neck. When he hit the fresh
scar, Alden shivered so hard he almost shook himself out of the
kitchen chair. He had no idea that he would be so incredibly sensitive.

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“Do you like that?”
Alden was unable to speak and barely able to nod, but he

managed.

“Are you sure you’re up for working today?” Gannon settled in

the chair nearest to Alden.

“I’m fine.”
“I just want to make sure. It was your first feeding.”
“I liked it.”
“Me, too.”
Before they could fall to kissing again, they moved back to the

bedroom and went to the closet. Gannon tapped his shoulder. “Wow.
It’s amazing.”

“You’re welcome.” Alden had organized all of Gannon’s clothing

so that if he was late in the morning, he would be able to find what he
needed in a snap. “And you no longer have to sniff things to know if
they’re clean. Every few days, I’ll take the clothing from the
bathroom, wash it, and hang it up in here.”

“You will? No, no. We will do that. Since you’ll be working in the

field right along with me, it wouldn’t be fair for you to do all the
house stuff.”

“Okay, we’ll trade off. One does the laundry and the other cleans

the bathroom.”

“I like that. And together we can do the bedroom and the living

room.”

“They shouldn’t get too bad.”
“We can have sex after,” Gannon suggested.
“Now that’s the way to motivate us!”
“Let me help you dress.” Gannon selected a thick pair of pants,

but he couldn’t find a shirt that he liked from what McBride had
brought over so he selected one of his own. “Is it weird to wear
clothes for the first time?”

“A little.” Alden pulled the pants on, and it took several minutes

for him to get used to the feel of them. “I’m afraid they will chafe.”

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“If they do, I’ll slather you in lotion each night.”
Grinning, Alden allowed his mate to help him slip on his shirt.

The sleeves were so long they almost hung down to his knees.

“Trust me. I’m going to make this work.” Gannon rolled up the

sleeves so they hit at Alden’s wrists. Then, he gathered the shirttails
together and tied them around Alden’s waist. Grasping his shoulders,
Gannon turned him so he could see himself in the mirror over the
dresser. “You look so gorgeous I want to strip all this back off you,
toss you on the bed, and kiss my way all over your body.”

Alden met his gaze in the mirror. “Is that so?”
“I won’t, but I’d really like to.”
“You make me feel so confident.”
“You should be. You’re wonderful.”
“Will your brothers like me?”
“Oh yeah. They’ll be drooling all over you.” Gannon kissed the

scar. “But only I can have you.”

“Good.”
“Did McBride put some shoes in there?”
There was a pair that fit okay for now, but Alden needed sturdy

boots. Still, they were going with what they had because Alden
wanted to be a part of things. Fitting in and finding himself useful was
important to him.

After dropping a hat on his head, they left the house and went out

to the field. Unused to the physicality of the work, Alden found it
difficult to keep up with the others. He noticed that the other thrall,
Ferris, was having the same problem he was. Somehow, knowing he
wasn’t alone actually made him less self-conscious.

“Remember that I’ve been doing this since Jonas brought us here,

and while we were in prison we worked on public roads and stuff.”
Gannon offered out a flask of water that Alden greedily drank from.
“You’re doing fine. Really.”

“Thank you.”
Alden met the other brothers, and they all seemed nice enough but

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for the one they called Caleb. Rather than working with the group,
Caleb was fixing a fence quite a distance away, but his gaze kept
returning to them. Alden wasn’t sure what it was about the eldest and
biggest of the Morgan brothers that disturbed him, but he found
himself glad Caleb wasn’t too close. There was something of an
animal about him. Something base and predatory.

A tap on the shoulder turned Alden’s head toward Ferris. “Don’t

worry about Caleb. He’s been behaving since McBride told him if he
didn’t he wouldn’t get a mate of his own.”

“That’s good to know.” The information helped to lower Alden’s

concern about him. He still found it strange how Caleb kept his
distance from the group, but maybe that was the only way he was able
to behave. Or maybe being close to what he so desperately wanted
was simply too difficult for him to handle. To find a thrall who could
take that man was going to be a daunting task.

As the day wore on, Alden became more adept at planting the tiny

seeds. The precision they had to work under was exacting, but he
didn’t mind. This was far better than being in the thrall house all day
trying to find a way to thwart the bullies. Unlike the others, Alden
didn’t spend his time talking, mainly because it was impossible for
him to focus on his planting and someone’s mouth at the same time,
but he found he enjoyed the respite. He was able to keep to himself,
plant the tiny golden seeds, and think of all the strange things he’d
always wondered about but had no time to think deeply on.

One of the very first things he considered was his new and

interesting master. McBride had been upset yesterday, but not unduly
so, and he seemed determined to help his slammers acclimate in
whatever way he could. This impressed Alden because most landed
gentrymen wouldn’t care what their slammers felt. He’d seen how
they behaved when he and the other thralls had gone out. They
wouldn’t bother to take the time to ensure they were able to mesh
happily with their thralls if they were so lucky to have them. But
McBride took a very different tack.

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If Alden could ask him any question, he would ask him if the

blood from Gannon had tasted sweeter after Gannon had had his first
taste of Alden. He’d heard all manner of speculation from the other
thralls about why gentrymen needed far more blood than any other
class, but none of the answers he’d heard made sense. To Alden, it
seemed to be something physiological. Genetically, the landed
gentrymen were much bigger than the average slammer, and
practically gigantic compared to most thralls. The Morgan brothers
were the exception to that idea, though. They were almost as big as
McBride.

His gaze went again to Caleb. He was exactly as big as McBride.

That notion got him to wondering about where the brothers had come
from. All men were decanted now that there were no women, and the
Genetics Board was careful to keep a balance between the classes so
that there wouldn’t be a glut of one that could possibly lead to unrest.
Keeping everyone happy in their place was a tricky business. Which
begged the question of the massive Morgan brothers. And seven? The
more Alden considered, the more he thought they’d been special
ordered. That could be the solution.

Perhaps some landed gentryman had wanted to leave his son a

solid set of slammers that could work his fields, feed him well, and
generally support him all the way into his old age. That would
certainly explain the Morgan brothers. Alden wanted to ask his mate,
but he doubted that Gannon would know. Moreover, he probably
wouldn’t care. Gannon didn’t seem to be too concerned with what
other men were doing. Alden wasn’t, either. He was just curious. He
thought it had something to do with his need to make order out of
chaos. He hoped the longer he was here and the safer he felt, the less
driven he would be to straighten everything up.

Alden turned at a tap on his shoulder.
Caleb was behind him, staring at his neck. “Where’s your collar?”
Reaching up, Alden realized they had forgotten to put his yellow

strip of leather back on. Since they hadn’t followed the ritual, they

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had neglected to put Gannon’s mark of ownership on him. By going
around bare, Alden was essentially offering himself to any hungry
slammer.

“Go up to the house and put it on.” By the motions behind his

closed lips, Alden knew that Caleb was massaging his canines with
his tongue. It was the same motion McBride had made last night
while watching him and Gannon. How curious that Caleb was
mimicking the hunger of a gentryman.

Out the corner of his eye, Alden saw movement, and the next

thing he knew, Gannon was on top of Caleb. His fists were flying.
After hours to plant perfectly even and well-spaced rows, the brothers
destroyed his efforts in seconds.

“Stop!” Alden wasn’t foolish enough to get between them, but he

tried to get them to quit fighting. He wasn’t sure what prompted
Gannon to attack, but he was fairly certain he thought his brother was
doing something in appropriate with him. “He didn’t touch me!”

The other brothers gathered around, giving Alden his first good

look at Gannon’s twin. Ollie was a carbon copy but for the way he
wore his hair and the fact he didn’t have a scar on his face. But it was
the youngest, Bailey, who managed to get the brothers apart.

“Do you want to ruin your chances of getting your own thrall?”

Bailey asked Caleb.

“He started it!” Caleb pointed at Gannon, and Alden had to admit

that was true.

“He was trying to cut in on my mate!” Gannon yelled, thrusting

an accusing finger at Caleb.

“I was not. I was telling him to go put on a collar so he wouldn’t

be flashing his neck all around.”

Gannon’s eyes got big as he looked at Alden. Without another

word and no apology to his brother, Gannon hustled Alden back to
their tiny home. He toed off his boots and left Alden on the porch
since his shoes were muddy. After a moment, Gannon emerged with
Alden’s collar.

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“I’m sorry.” He slipped it around his neck then kissed the area

above the scar. “I forgot that you can’t go without one.”

“I forgot, too. And your brother didn’t touch me.”
“He was looking at your neck and drooling.”
“Even if he was, he didn’t touch me.” Alden reached out and

clasped Gannon’s hand. “Please stop.”

Gannon took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I know I’m getting angry

for no reason. I just don’t trust Caleb.”

“I know, but I’m okay.”
“And me getting angry scares you.”
“It does. But not when it makes sense.” Alden was a little edgy

about the situation, but it was nothing like the outright fear he’d felt
yesterday. “I really do understand why you’re upset, but there isn’t
any reason for it to go any further than it has.”

Gannon drew another breath, but he said nothing.
“Let’s go back to work.”
They returned to the field. Alden righted the damage then returned

to planting the row. By the end of the day, he had done an entire row
all by himself. The brothers had all done twice to three times as much,
but that was okay. They were experts, and he was new.

“So, what did you think of your first day?” Gannon asked as they

walked side by side back to their house.

“My arms and back ache, but overall I feel really good.”
“You’ll get used to it after a few weeks.” Gannon slipped his clay-

encrusted boots off on the porch, and Alden followed suit. “Picking is
a little easier, but you’re on your feet all day and your hands get
tired.”

“What do you think about while you’re working?”
Gannon blushed a bit.
“Never mind.” Alden knew exactly what he’d been thinking about

all day. It became even more obvious when the front of Gannon’s
trousers swelled.

“That was just today. How could I help but think about you?”

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Gannon realized that Alden was having trouble untying the knot on
his boots, so he dropped down to his knees to assist him. Despite the
tiny size of the knot and how big Gannon’s fingers were, he managed
to work it apart almost effortlessly. “…don’t you think?”

“I’m sorry, I was watching your hands. What did you ask me?”
“We could really make this work, don’t you think?”
“I do.” Alden crouched down so they were eye to eye. “I really,

really do.”

“Good.” Gannon looked around. “Now, let’s go in the house,

clean up, and then make each other messy.”

“You read my mind.” Once they were behind closed doors, they

stripped each other out of their clothes and tossed them on the floor.
When Gannon reached down to pick them up, Alden tossed them
back on the floor. “We’ll worry about them after.”

“Are you sure? That’s how my house got into the state it was

when you moved in.”

“I promise we’ll clean up the house, but I really want to clean up

our bodies first.” Alden went off to the bathroom with Gannon hot on
his heels.

“I guess you’re not used to being dirty.”
“In the thrall house, we never really got messy.” Alden turned on

the water and then stepped in. The area seemed roomy until Gannon
joined him. “I keep forgetting how big you are.”

“How could you after last night?” Gannon cupped his cock.
“I meant more than just there.” Alden grabbed the soap and

started cleaning Gannon’s massive chest. The hair that began below
his belly button made sudsing the soap much easier. When his hands
were good and slippery, he slid them down and wrapped them around
Gannon’s cock. He didn’t have to hear to know he made a low,
grumbling growl of need. Alden was able to feel the vibrations
through his hands. “I love the sounds you make.”

Gannon’s eyebrows rose.
“Oh, I don’t hear them, but I feel them. The vibrations. When you

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groan and it’s all low like that, I can feel it deep inside my body.”

“It makes you hard.” Gannon moved just a bit closer so he could

cup Alden’s cock in return. He groaned again, making sure that Alden
could feel the sound through his hand and around his cock.

“Just looking at you makes me hard.” Alden tightened his fist, but

when he realized Gannon was far too close to climax, he moved with
a softer touch. “I don’t want you to find release until you’re inside
me.”

“Then we better hurry up and get out of the bathroom.”
They were in the bedroom before either one of them had fully

dried off. Before he knew it, Alden was seated on the edge of the bed
with Gannon between his legs. Lifting them up, Gannon proceeded to
tongue him until he was moaning and wiggling. Alden had never
imagined it would be like this to give himself to a slammer. Frankly,
he never thought that would happen for him. He thought the other
thralls would go too far one day and they’d kill him long before he
could ever be sold. He’d never been so happy to be wrong. Gannon
was so much more than he thought he would ever have. Truly, Alden
felt blessed.

On the verge of climax, Alden was stunned when Gannon

disappeared and then returned. Alden knew why when he felt a
greaser slide up his ass. As it slowly melted, Gannon teased his mouth
over the tip of Alden’s cock, but he wouldn’t let him climax.

“How do you know when to pull back?”
“You make this high-pitched keening noise.” Gannon swiped his

tongue from the base of Alden’s prick right to the tip. “Very sexy and
also a very clear indicator of just how close you are.”

Alden tried to control the sounds that he made, but he was

woefully unsuccessful. After he was practically in tears with need,
Gannon rose up and planted his prick against his hole. Everything
slowed down as their gazes met and held. With amazing care, Gannon
pressed into him. Bit by bit his cock slid inside Alden. Just like last
night, there was no pain at all because he refused to rush. It was so

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sweet and beautiful Alden felt his eyes water.

“Am I hurting you?” Gannon stayed so perfectly still that for a

moment, Alden was able to feel his heartbeat in his cock.

“No, no. It’s not that kind of pain. It’s not pain at all. I’m just so

overwhelmed by how intense this is. I didn’t think it would be like
this.” Alden envisioned pain and shame that would end up destroying
what little of his self-esteem was left. But this was beautiful and
sweet, making him feel cherished and desired.

“I didn’t think it would be like this, either.” Gannon reached up

and removed Alden’s collar. “I really don’t like this thing.” He tossed
it over his shoulder.

“It’s supposed to show that you own me.”
“I don’t want to own you.”
Now it was Alden’s turn to lift his eyebrows.
Gannon lowered himself down so their bellies were pressed

together, trapping Alden’s prick between their bodies. He balanced
his weight on his elbows and cupped Alden’s head. “I want you to be
with me because you want to, not because you have to.”

“But you literally own me.” Alden didn’t mind because that was

the way of the world.

“I know, but I don’t want to think of it that way.” Gannon

hesitated. “Do you feel like I own you? I mean if it were up to you,
would you want to be with me?”

Alden was so emotional he couldn’t talk, so he nodded, entwined

his arms around Gannon’s neck, and pulled him close. How in the
world had he gotten so lucky? In his passion, he rocked up, digging
his heels into Gannon’s buttocks, which caused him to thrust forward.

Kissing, they worked their bodies together faster and faster until

Gannon got close to climax. Knowing what he wanted, Alden turned
his head to the side, exposing his neck. Gannon kissed him and licked
the scar, readying him for when he opened wide and bit him. Alden
climaxed as soon as his teeth sank in. He bucked and released again
when Gannon tightened his mouth and drew firmly as he thrust deep

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and came so hard Alden could feel each powerful jet.

Alden realized he was completely pinned down, but he wasn’t

afraid in the least. He trusted Gannon completely. He realized again
how lucky he was when he felt the first strong bonds of love
wrapping around his heart.

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Chapter 10

Hunger caused McBride’s canines to extend and itch. He wanted

to sink his teeth into Caleb’s neck while Caleb fisted his thick prick,
but he knew if he did that he was only going to make matters worse.
Not only did he want Caleb, but apparently, from what Caleb said
yesterday in the barn, he wanted him back just as much. In some
ways, that actually eased McBride’s mind because at least his
obsession wasn’t one sided, but in other ways it compounded his self-
loathing because he shouldn’t have ever let things get as complicated
as they were.

Their relationship was doomed before it ever got started.
He could never offer Caleb more than a secretive relationship.

Their encounters would be furtive, and in the long run they would be
unfulfilling. Neither one of them would be truly satisfied. Worse,
since McBride owned Caleb, he would be in a subservient position to
McBride and not a true equal like a companion would be. That would
chafe Caleb’s pride. Caleb could play at being submissive, and he
could make the appropriate sounds to make McBride crazy, but he
would need his turn at being in charge.

For a moment, McBride imagined Caleb taking control of him. If

only Caleb were a landed gentryman, they could make it work.
McBride could give and take with a member of his own class. But
with Caleb as a slammer? No. McBride couldn’t see himself relaxing
enough to allow that to happen. Not being permitted to fully express
his sexuality would eat away at Caleb. The anger that simmered just
below the surface would rumble under pressure and eventually he
would blow.

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Moreover, sooner or later every one of his brothers would realize

what was going on. It would be obvious if McBride didn’t buy him a
thrall. But even if he did, and they somehow conspired to continue
their illicit affair despite Caleb’s bond with a thrall, they would just
make getting caught even faster. Just the thought of buying Caleb a
man to share his bed twisted McBride’s gut.

Even last night, when he should have fully enjoyed the unique

moment he shared with Gannon and Alden, McBride found himself
wondering if he could handle a similar situation with Caleb. To drink
from Caleb’s neck while his cock was buried in his mate and he took
his first draw of his thrall’s blood…no. McBride realized he would
not be able to handle that. Gannon’s offering last night had been
exquisite but he’d never be able to focus if Caleb were with another
man.

Frustrated, McBride strode purposefully out of his house and

across the center of the cul-de-sac, intent on drinking from Ollie. But
his feet wouldn’t carry him that direction. As if they knew that wasn’t
what he really wanted, McBride’s feet automatically drew him toward
Caleb’s house. He stepped on the porch but found the lights were off
and the door was partially open.

Curious, he pushed the door in.
“Finally.” Caleb was sitting at the table in the dark. The sun

wasn’t fully set, but house was much darker than the outside yard.
“I’ve been waiting since I quit work.”

“Waiting for what?”
“You.” Caleb grasped his hair and pulled it to the side, exposing

his neck.

McBride’s teeth no longer itched. Now they ached. In fact, his

whole body started to throb. Lust, longing, and need bundled up,
pushing him toward Caleb. Hesitating, McBride turned and closed the
door. Even as he was telling himself not to, he did it anyway because
he didn’t want to be interrupted. Compounding his error, he went over
to the window and peered out at the other houses. Since Caleb’s place

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was at the end, he had a clear view of all the other brothers’ homes.

“I turned the lights off so they wouldn’t see.” Caleb was right

behind him, his voice sexy and so damn compelling McBride thought
with his voice alone, Caleb could lower his jeans. He wouldn’t have
to use his hands at all. Just his wicked voice would compel McBride’s
pants to unzip and slide down to his ankles all on their own.

“I’m only here—”
“To feed. I know. I’m ready for you.” Caleb moved behind

McBride, and as he spoke, his hot, moist breath caressed the short
hairs on the back of McBride’s neck. “I’ve been thinking of you since
I saw you in the barn yesterday.”

“You realize this can’t go anywhere.” McBride didn’t really pitch

it as a question, and even if he had, he wasn’t sure if he was asking
Caleb or reminding himself that this was going to end badly because
there was no way in hell it could end well.

“I know.” Caleb lowered his mouth to McBride’s virgin neck and

placed the most delicate kiss above his carotid artery. “But I want you
even if I can only have you once, in the dark, with neither one of us
able to tell anyone.”

“You would tell. You’d love to have something over me.”

McBride refused to tilt his head to the side to give Caleb free access.

Unfazed, Caleb didn’t mind maneuvering his head in the tiny

space between McBride’s shoulder and head. Tenderly, he tugged on
his shirt collar, exposing his neck.

McBride braced himself for a vicious bite, but it never came.

Caleb licked and kissed the spot where he obviously wanted to make
his mark, but for whatever reason he chose not to.

Big hands gripped McBride’s shoulders, urging him to turn

around, which he did. He thought Caleb would grab him and push
him where he wanted him to go, but he did the opposite. With care,
and the slow seduction of a man with nothing but time, Caleb moved
close, lowered his head, and kissed McBride.

Firm lips pressed so gently against his the contact was almost

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fleeting. Afraid if he didn’t respond Caleb would stop, McBride
opened his mouth. He told himself if Caleb swiped his tongue against
his tooth, McBride would instantly pull away. But Caleb did nothing
but kiss him. McBride was furious when all Caleb did was ease his
tongue into McBride’s mouth. His taste was sunshine and raw earth,
hunger and need.

All too soon, Caleb pulled away.
For a long moment they stood in the darkened house, looking at

one another. McBride knew he had to walk away. He knew he should
walk away. But he found he couldn’t.

“I thought you wanted a mate?”
“I do.” Caleb leaned close and nipped McBride’s lips. “I want

you.”

“I can’t give you that, and you know it.”
“You can if we keep silent.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Even if I screamed the truth from the rooftop, do you think

anyone would believe me?”

“Perhaps not initially, but when I didn’t buy you a thrall and never

took a companion, your brothers would start to believe you.” All it
would take was one or two loose words in town and McBride would
be sunk.

“Then buy me one and get yourself another man.”
“Knowing that we don’t really want them?”
“Perhaps they will want each other and we can keep up

appearances with their consent.”

It was thoroughly unlikely, but McBride couldn’t stop thinking

about it. He wanted to be with Caleb, and he found himself willing to
do almost anything to get where he wanted to be, but he hesitated,
too. Just because he could get away with something didn’t mean he
should do it. Breaking the law as the sheriff was serious business.

“I’m supposed to set an example.” Why in the world was he trying

to convince Caleb this was a bad idea? The person he really needed to

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convince was himself.

“What better example could you set than defying a set of

ridiculous laws that keep you away from what you truly want the
most?” Caleb lifted McBride’s hand and kissed his way down his
fingers to his palm. He licked him and looked at him at the same time.

McBride’s cock swelled to full hardness so fast it hurt.
As he watched, mesmerized, Caleb licked his way along his index

finger. He did this with slow sensuality, as if he were licking
McBride’s cock. And then he lightly scraped his exposed canine over
the tip. Not enough to draw a lot of blood, but enough to give himself
a taste. He drew McBride’s finger in his mouth and sucked hard.

Even though it was a minute amount of blood, it was enough for

McBride to feel the pull. His heart sped up, and something in his body
changed so drastically he felt profoundly altered. Unable to determine
what was different, all he could think of was something changed on a
cellular level. As much as he thought he should yank his finger out of
Caleb’s mouth, he refused. It felt good. Each swirl of his tongue eased
a bit more blood out of McBride’s body and made him hunger to taste
Caleb in turn.

Summoning the last of his strength, McBride stepped back, which

yanked his finger out of Caleb’s mouth with a pop that echoed in his
house.

“Feed from me.” Caleb again offered up his neck, but McBride

shook his head.

Reaching behind him, he twisted the doorknob and stumbled out

of the house without taking his gaze off Caleb. Turning away, he
strode over to Ollie’s house. He knocked once and entered. Ollie was
in his kitchen, making something that smelled so good McBride now
had dual hungers.

“Are you here to feed?” Ollie looked exactly like Gannon, but he

didn’t have a scar on his face. He did have one across his belly that
stood out since he was very deeply bronzed and he was cooking
without a shirt on. “Let me put this aside to rest and I’ll be ready for

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you.”

McBride entered the kitchen, and the glorious smell was even

stronger. Ollie was the only brother who didn’t use the cookbot. He
said it was good, but cooking was one of the things Ollie enjoyed the
most. Since he often made more than he could ever eat, he shared
things with his brothers.

“I should hire you to cook up at the big house.” Everything Ollie

made smelled better than what McBride’s cookbot had managed to
produce.

“And then who would work your fields?” Ollie grinned as he took

a roast out of the oven and settled it on the stovetop.

“I would put my cookbot out there.”
Laughing, Ollie settled at the table and tilted his head to the side.

His easy acquiesce was what Caleb should do when McBride wanted
to feed, but he never was so accommodating. Ruthlessly, McBride cut
those thoughts off. He had to stop thinking about him and comparing
him to his brothers. Even if it killed him, McBride wasn’t going to be
drinking from the eldest Morgan ever again.

Teasing his finger across the scar caused Ollie to moan. “Does it

hurt when I bite you?”

“It does when your teeth first reopen the wound, but when you

start to pull, it feels incredibly good.” Ollie stayed very still. He was
one of McBride’s favorites to feed from because he made the entire
thing effortless. “Do you mind if I climax while you feed?”

“No.” McBride would enjoy watching him stroke his cock. Ollie

had a frank, straightforward way of masturbating that made him seem
almost clinical. It was visually interesting to watch but didn’t arouse
McBride the way that watching Caleb did. Damn. He couldn’t even
control his wayward thoughts for two minutes.

Ollie exposed his cock and warmed himself up as McBride teased

his scar. The smell of the roast blended with his blood hunger, making
his mouth water as his teeth itched. Lowering his head, he bit hard
into Ollie, loving the way he tightened his body so he didn’t jolt and

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throw McBride off his hold. Against his will, McBride found himself
pulling hard on Ollie while thinking of Caleb.

He slowed the strength of his pulls because he wanted to taste if

Ollie’s climax changed the taste of his blood. Last night, when he’d
tasted Gannon while he drank from his mate for the first time,
McBride had been astonished at how much richer his blood tasted. He
felt no powerful bond toward Gannon, but the sweetness of his blood
had been delicious. It was only when he thought of Caleb that he’d
made a mental mess of things and had lost his enjoyment of the
moment.

“I’m close.” Ollie’s frequency of movement increased. “So close.”
McBride looked down and saw Ollie’s fist was concentrating

strokes at the tip of his prick. Faster he flicked his wrist, cupping up
around and under the crown. At the precise moment when he
ejaculated, McBride pulled hard. He was rewarded with a powerful
taste. It wasn’t as sweet as Gannon’s, but he’d been pulling blood
from Alden. And then he realized that as good as it was, it was
nothing compared to the taste of Caleb.

Letting his slammer down easy, McBride finally finished and

licked the wound closed.

Ollie stayed seated.
“Ollie?”
“I’m okay.” He shook his head, tucked himself away, then rose to

wash his hands in the kitchen sink.

“What happened?”
“I just felt it more.”
“Felt what more?”
“You pulling.” He shook his head again as if he were trying to

shoo away the feeling. “It was like I could feel each cell of blood
going from my body into yours.”

“That’s never happened before?”
“No. Even with Jonas, and he—” Ollie’s eyes went very big, and

then he dropped his gaze to the floor.

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McBride had a terrible foreboding that if he asked, he was going

to hear something he didn’t want to know. But he felt he had to know.
“What did Jonas do?”

“Nothing.” Ollie moved to the stove and checked his roast. “Do

you want some?”

Knowing that he should say no didn’t stop his stomach from

letting out a great grumble.

“Well, that answers that.” Ollie smiled, but it didn’t quite touch

his eyes. It was clear he wanted to share but just as clear he didn’t
want to talk about Jonas.

“I don’t want to intrude.” Sharing a meal with one of his

slammers was a little more intimate than McBride wanted to get with
them. After the mess he’d made of things with Caleb, he didn’t want
to start another kerfuffle with a different brother.

“Please, it’s not a problem. I always make more than I can ever

eat.” Ollie set another place at the table. “And truly, it would be nice
to have someone to eat with.”

“I’m hoping to get you a mate tomorrow.” McBride settled at the

table watching Ollie hustle about his kitchen. He had knocked out the
wall between the living room and kitchen so that he could put in more
cabinets. It created a wonderfully open feel that the other brothers’
houses didn’t have.

A look of happy surprise transformed Ollie’s face, but just as

quickly it vanished. “I’m happy just to serve.”

“Liar.” That caused Ollie to jerk his head up. “You want a mate.

There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I don’t want to seem pushy or like I think you owe me.”
“I don’t think of you that way at all. I really am getting thralls as

quickly as I can.”

“I know you are.”
“Then what was that look for?”
“I just—nothing.” Ollie took the seat across from McBride,

unfolded his napkin, dumped it in his lap, and then started serving

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himself while McBride did the same from the dishes nearest to him.

“Please tell me what Jonas did. I have a feeling it ties to why

you’re worried about getting a thrall.”

“I’m not worried.” Ollie tried to smile, but joy never managed to

light his eyes.

“You are.” McBride took a small portion of everything then tasted

the roast first. It was beyond good. He’d never had meat so tender that
he was able to cut into it with the side of his fork. “This is incredible.”

“Thank you.” When Ollie smiled this time, his honest pleasure

transformed his whole face.

“Please tell me.”
Ollie dropped his attention to his plate and took several bites.

McBride couldn’t force him to talk, but he thought if he were calm
and open, he might be able to compel him to share. Whatever it was,
it bothered the young man and seemed to embarrass him as well.

“Jonas was my father’s companion, and he’s the one who brought

you here?” McBride already knew this for a fact, but he thought it
would help to get Ollie started talking.

Ollie nodded. “He bought us when Bailey was finally old enough

to be sold. Usually brothers get separated, but Jonas wanted all of us.”

“Were you happy to stay together?”
“I was. And I think my brothers were, too, even though Caleb

would never admit the truth.”

“Caleb is different from the rest of you.” McBride tried to give it a

rest, but he clearly couldn’t.

“Not so very much.”
“Jonas never fed from him?”
Ollie nodded, and McBride was pleased to have his suspicions,

and Caleb’s claim, verified by a disinterested third party.

“Jonas was afraid of Caleb.”
“I can understand why. Wasn’t Jonas smaller than him?”
“He was smaller than all of us.”
“Then why did Caleb bother him and the rest of you didn’t?”

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“Because the rest of us know our place is to serve our master.”

Ollie nodded slightly in McBride’s direction. “Caleb didn’t like
Jonas, so he refused to let him feed.”

“And Jonas didn’t punish him?” McBride took another bite of the

roast and tried not to drool all over his plate. The vegetables were
good, but the meat was divine.

“Oh!” Ollie shot out of his seat. “I have gravy, too.”
He fiddled with something on the stove then settled a pourable

container near to McBride. Dutifully, he lifted it up and poured some
over the meat and whipped potatoes. He took a bite and decided then
and there that Ollie had to come and cook for him. Hell, he had to
cook for everyone on the farm. His talents were utterly wasted in the
field. Surely the cookbots could be retrofitted to plant the tallos. They
wouldn’t be able to pick it, but they could surely drop the seeds into
the ground and cover them up.

After praising Ollie to the heavens for his food, McBride asked

again about Jonas and Caleb.

“When Jonas bought us, we lived with him in his house. Not here

in Woven Spire, but over in Curve Port.” Ollie pointed in the general
direction of the massive seaport town. McBride had been there once
to conduct business for his farm. It was crowded, smelly, and noisy.
He was very glad when he returned to Woven Spire. “We each had
our own room, and he would come to us when he was…in need.”

The way Ollie said that made McBride’s belly tighten. “In need of

what?”

“Blood.” After a very deep breath, Ollie added, “And sex.”
McBride pushed his plate away. He wasn’t hungry at all anymore.

“He took you against your will?”

“No.” Ollie pushed his plate away as well. “Oh, I’m making a

mess of this. Jonas only fed from my brothers, and he didn’t force me
to—that is, I wanted to do—Jonas just had me…”

McBride almost didn’t want to hear him say it. If he spoke of

what had been done to him, it seemed to make the pain more real. But

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then McBride thought of Alden, and how talking about the abuse
helped him to realize he wouldn’t be treated that way here. McBride
wasn’t a man who solved things with his fists, and he wasn’t going to
let anyone else do so under his watch. Moreover, he wasn’t going to
let one of his men suffer needless regret for what a landed gentryman
had done to him against his will.

“Jonas had me do things to him.” Ollie turned very red and then

rose to clear off the table.

Rising in turn, McBride reached out for Ollie, taking his hand

gently and leading him into the living room. There was one small
couch and a table. McBride put Ollie on the sofa and settled on the
table directly across from him.

“What did you do to Jonas?” McBride needed to be clear if he

was going to help. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions or make
Ollie feel worse about what had happened.

“What does it matter?” Ollie looked out his front window toward

the big house. “He’s gone now.” Ollie sounded sad, almost as if he
missed Jonas desperately. That stunned McBride and made him think
he had the situation wrong.

“I need to know. I can’t help you or your brothers unless I

understand.”

“It won’t help you with Caleb.”
For a moment, McBride thought his liaison with Caleb had

already been exposed, but Ollie’s next words disabused him of that
notion.

“Jonas didn’t make Caleb so angry and rebellious. Caleb has

always been that way. Although, the last few days he’s been nicer.”
Ollie smiled. “I think he really took to heart that you won’t get him a
thrall unless he behaves.”

“I’m not worried about Caleb.” Not outwardly, at any rate,

McBride thought. “I want to help you.”

“Me? I’m fine.” Ollie fiddled with the seam on the side of his pant

leg.

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“You’re scared.”
“No.”
“You’re afraid of everything tumbling out when you get a thrall.”

It was a guess, but apparently a good one.

Reluctantly, Ollie nodded. “I don’t want to think of Jonas when

I’m with my mate.”

And that explained what Jonas had his slammers, or at least one of

the Morgan brothers, do to him. Ollie had fucked Jonas at Jonas’s
prompting. A part of McBride was so stunned he tried to push the
information away, but he couldn’t. Once he knew, he couldn’t
unknow the specifics. Like what his father had done with Jonas to a
thrall, he now knew even more shocking details. Just what kind of a
man was this Jonas?

“What you did with Jonas was what he ordered you to do. It’s not

your fault.”

“Ordered me? No, you don’t understand.” Ollie’s gaze went soft

focused and dreamy. “I did what he asked me to do because I wanted
to do it. Jonas was so beautiful. Since he was smaller than me, I could
pretend that he was my thrall.”

“And Jonas enjoyed that?”
“He loved it so much that he said he wanted to run away with

me.” A mixture of shame and lust twisted Ollie’s features.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Jonas never should have asked

for such things from you.”

“I know, but I also feel that maybe it was my fault that he did. I

liked when he fed from me, so I was always stroking myself and I
think he thought—well, it doesn’t matter now. He’s gone.”

“You stroke yourself with me and I don’t think that gives me the

right to push you into a situation that isn’t of your choosing.”

“You’re different.” Ollie met McBride’s gaze. “You’re a man of

law and order. You wouldn’t do something that broke the rules like
that.”

The implicit trust Ollie had in him caused McBride a bit of shame

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for the wrongs he’d already committed with Caleb. And probably
Gannon and Alden. He racked his brain trying to think if it was wrong
for him to drink from his slammer while he in turn drank and fucked
his thrall. McBride didn’t think the law was as exact as that, but the
fact that he was ashamed by being pushed by lust to do such a thing
made it inherently wrong. He hadn’t forced either man to do his
bidding, but he hadn’t discussed the situation before he simply acted
on impulse.

“And I don’t want to lie.” Ollie looked down and then up. “I

wanted to do those things to Jonas. I…I think I was halfway in love
with him.”

Something softened in McBride’s heart. “Did Jonas love you

back?”

“I think he did.” Ollie dropped his gaze to the floor again. “But

Caleb said he was just using me.”

Was that why Caleb seemed so driven to lure McBride into a

compromising position with him? It was just a way of getting back at
the upper class.

“What do you think?” McBride asked softly. He thought Ollie

was devastated when Jonas left without him and that was what had
caused his stricken look at the notion of getting a thrall. Ollie wanted
Jonas, but he realized that could never be.

“I think Jonas loved me in his way, but we couldn’t be together

because of who he is.”

That was exactly what McBride had been thinking about Caleb,

but now he was even less clear on what Caleb’s motives were.
Revenge? Honest interest? A perverse need to see just how far he
could go before McBride slapped him down? One thing was certain.
Whatever Caleb’s reasons were didn’t matter. McBride was in charge,
and he was the only one who could call a stop to the situation before
it got completely out of hand.

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Chapter 11

“Are you ever going to tell me the tale of how you got this scar?”

Alden traced the line that went from Gannon’s hairline, down and
across his eye, finally ending at a spot on his left cheek.

Gannon never wanted to tell that tale to anyone. Only his brothers

knew the story, and he’d like to keep it that way. But Alden was his
mate now. Lying to him was wrong and then Gannon would have to
tell his brothers that he fibbed, so he decided he’d better tell the truth.

“When I was younger, I was very nosey.” Gannon recalled the

dark and stark hallways of the slammer house. “Do you know where
slammers come from?”

“Prisons?”
“Right.”
“I always thought they were like the thrall house.”
“Not even close.” Gannon shook his head. “You lived in a big

house where you had your own room, right?”

“Once I was old enough, yes. But before then I was in the dorm

area with all the other boys my age.”

“A prison is like living in your own room but all day long. The

only time I saw the other slammers was when we gathered in the
cafeteria for meals.” Gannon shivered when he remembered the awful
food. Cold, gloppy, and generally unpleasant, he’d only eaten it
because there was nothing else and the hunger pains were worse than
the rank taste of the food. “Well, I saw them when we did public work
projects, too, but we couldn’t really talk then.”

“They wouldn’t let you?”
“No. The work was too hard to carry on conversations. Anyway, I

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knew my brothers were decanted from the same pair of men as me,
but I never knew anything about either of my fathers. Most slammers
don’t. The prison keeps brothers loosely together, hoping to sell a
large group to a gentryman for a higher profit.”

“You stayed in your room all the time?”
“For the most part, yeah. That’s why when Jonas bought us and

we went to his house it was hard to adjust. I think it was hardest on
Caleb.” Gannon explained how Caleb had felt exposed and vulnerable
being on the outside of the big prison walls.

“I would think he would be happy to have a certain measure of

freedom.”

“I don’t think that was how he felt. In the prison, our time was our

own, and we were able to do what we wanted to do in our rooms. I
had a gamer, and I was pretty happy. But whatever Caleb did, he
couldn’t do on the outside.”

“You don’t know what your brother did all day?”
“No. My other brothers told me what they did, but Caleb never

told anyone.”

“Was it something wrong?”
“I don’t think so. You can’t get the products needed to do

something illegal, but whatever it was, Jonas must have taken it away
from him or something because Caleb hated Jonas.”

“Maybe he just resented being owned.”
“I don’t think so.” Gannon considered. “Anyway, Jonas was going

to send Caleb back, but he changed his mind. I don’t know what
changed it, but Caleb was left alone in his room.”

“That’s not telling me how you got the scar.”
“I’m getting there, but you keep interrupting and getting me off

track.” Gannon kissed the tip of Alden’s nose. “Now, where was I?
Right. Caleb was safely locked away in his room while the rest of us
had the run of Jonas’s massive house. We helped with chores, but
there weren’t a lot as Jonas had mechanical servants.”

“He must have been very wealthy.”

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“He was. Or seemed to be. But then things started to change.

Furniture went missing. And then the rugs, the paintings, and the
household items like lamps disappeared. It was like they would be
there one day then gone the next.”

“How strange.”
“It was. One night I heard something, and I was curious if I could

solve the mystery of the disappearing stuff. I snuck downstairs, but I
didn’t see what I was expecting.” Gannon recalled that moment and
the shock that had made him gasp, turning the men’s attention to him.
“My master, Jonas, was being fucked by a mechanical man while
another man, a landed gentryman, watched.”

Alden gasped, making pretty much the same noise Gannon had

when he’d walked in on the scene.

“The man who was watching rose and attacked me. He said he

was going to cut out my eyes so I’d never see anything again.”
Gannon traced the mark. “He would have blinded me if not for Ollie.”

“Your twin?”
Gannon nodded. “Ollie must have heard the noise, too, because

the next thing I knew he flew down the stairs and attacked the man for
hurting me. He swiped his blade across Ollie’s belly, giving him a
scar.” Gannon traced a line across his own stomach. “And then the
man was gone.”

“You don’t know who he was or what happened to him?”
“He was the neighbor. He never came around again. Jonas was

frantically getting us help while the mechanical man just stood there.”
Gannon shivered. “It was so strange the way his eyes seemed to
follow Jonas wherever he went, but there was no emotion there.”

“Did he disappear, too?”
“No. Not too long after that event we moved out here to the tallos

farm. Jonas was with McBride’s father, and he gave us the
mechanical man.” Gannon lowered his voice. “I asked the robot once
if he remembered me or what he’d done to Jonas, but I think Jonas
had his mind erased because he had no idea what I was talking

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about.”

“Where’s the robot now?”
“Caleb fucked it to death.”
Alden tenderly kissed the scar right as it dipped down and took a

nick out of Gannon’s eyelid. “I’m sorry he hurt you.”

“Do you think it’s ugly?” Gannon thought that was what had

terrified Alden when he’d first seen him.

“No. It doesn’t stand out that much. Jonas must have gotten a

good surgeon.”

“You really don’t—”
“I was afraid at first.” Alden lifted up so that he could look

Gannon more squarely in the face while they were lying in bed. “But
not now. It’s just a part of you, like the way the sun bleaches your
hair, or the way your nipples harden when you talk about your
gamer.”

“What?” Gannon looked down at his chest. His nipples were

perfectly flat.

“Tell me about your favorite game.”
As Gannon described the complicated scenario, his nipples rose to

attention.

“See?”
“I’ll be damned.” Gannon laughed. “I knew I loved to play games,

but I didn’t realize I loved it that much.”

“I think it’s cute.” Alden lowered his head and kissed each of

Gannon’s nipples. “I just hope someday you’ll have the same reaction
when you talk about me.”

“Oh, I’m already there.” Gannon grasped Alden and rolled him

onto his back. “But you don’t activate my nipples.”

“No?”
“Oh, no. You get my cock straining to make contact.” To prove

his point, Gannon nudged Alden with his prick.

“I’d much rather have control over your cock than your nipples.”
“Who said anything about control?”

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Alden lowered his head but then looked up at Gannon. It was

seductively submissive. When he asked Gannon to get on his back, he
couldn’t roll over fast enough. Once he was situated, Alden inserted a
greaser. He straddled his hips and then wiggled his tight little ass until
Gannon was practically begging him for release.

“You’ve proven your point.”
“Is that what I was doing?” Alden wrapped both his hands around

Gannon’s cock, but he didn’t move them.

“I—what were you doing?”
“I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when your

hard cock started poking me.”

“I’ll try not to do that again.”
“Try?”
“I’ll try real hard?”
Alden’s fists squeezed around his cock. “Talk about hard.”
Gannon forgot what they were talking about when Alden stroked

his hands up and down the length of Gannon’s cock. When he
shimmed back so he could bend over and lick at the tip, he pretty
much forgot his own name. Alden did things with his mouth and
hands that had Gannon prepared to surrender everything he owned to
him.

“You’re lucky that all I want is you.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.” Alden moved up so that he was balanced with his

tight buttocks right above Gannon’s thoroughly tormented prick.

“I’m yours.”
“All of you?” Alden asked, lowering himself so that the split in

his bottom was right above Gannon’s cock.

“All of me. Right down to the last cell in my body.”
Grinning, Alden rose, causing Gannon to groan. His

disappointment turned quickly into ecstasy when Alden angled
Gannon’s cock toward his hole. So slowly it was like a dream, Alden
sank down.

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Bit by bit Gannon filled his mate’s ass, all the while looking right

into his eyes. There was a playfulness in Alden that Gannon hadn’t
seen before, and he realized by not wanting to put a collar on him to
show ownership, he’d proven something to Alden. Wordlessly, he’d
shown his mate that this wasn’t about possessing him, but about
building a life together. Even though their love was new, each day
would only bring them closer. This time, they moved with languid
ease. Alden took full advantage of his position on top, and Gannon
enjoyed being ridden. As his lust increased, his teeth began to extend.

“I can see your canines.”
“I don’t have to feed.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Your neck doesn’t hurt?” Gannon stroked the scar and let out a

groan when Alden tightened around his prick.

“It’s tender, but not painfully so.” Alden leaned close. “I liked last

night.”

Gannon flashed on the feeling of McBride pulling on him as he

pulled his first taste from Alden. The shock of that had been so
intense that when he climaxed, it had been the most powerful orgasm
he’d ever had. “I liked last night, too, but tonight, I want it to be just
us.”

“You didn’t want to share with our master?”
“No. I mean yes. I mean I didn’t mind. It was very intense. But I

want to know what it’s like when it’s just you and I.”

“Me, too.” Alden lowered his chest to Gannon’s and then

straightened out his legs.

Carefully, Gannon rolled until he was on top of his mate. They

kissed and rocked gently until Gannon felt that same hungry pressure
to bite. He held off and teased the scar, wanting to increase Alden’s
pleasure along with his own. When Alden was panting and
breathlessly begging him to feed, Gannon pushed him just a bit higher
before he lowered his head and bit.

Alden whimpered while Gannon growled and sucked deep. The

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taste of his mate exploded in his mouth, making him think of fire and
lust in dark corners with furtive thrusts. He rammed his hips forward
one last time, planting his prick as deep as he could. Right as he
climaxed, he pulled another long drink and thought he would die from
the intense pleasure. The orgasm he felt last night was nothing
compared to this.

Rocking his hips and pulling with his lips, Gannon was lost in

pure sensation. At the back of his mind he worried about his tiny
mate, but his whimpers and cries confirmed that he was also
experiencing sublime bliss. His eruption between their bellies was
hot, slick, and caused Gannon to finally finish his own long release.

Licking tenderly at the wound, he closed the edges, then kissed

along Alden’s face until he turned his head. Their gazes met and held.

“I’ve never felt anything like that.” Alden looked as amazed as he

sounded.

“That was twice as strong as what I felt last night.” Gannon was

still glad that his very generous master had been a part of their first
time, but he was doubly glad that things were even better when they
were alone. “I’ve never felt so close to someone.”

“Me, either.”
“But I worry.”
“About me?”
“No.” Gannon shook his head and kissed his mate a dozen times.

“I know that we can work out whatever differences come our way.
I’m just worried that if McBride can’t find all my brothers mates, they
might not stay away from mine.”

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Chapter 12

Alden hadn’t considered how tense things would be if McBride

couldn’t find the other slammers mates or if perhaps he couldn’t
afford them. McBride might be what the other thralls called land rich
and money poor. He certainly didn’t dress or carry himself like he had
loads of funds, but looks could be deceiving. Perhaps McBride didn’t
feel a need to live up to anyone’s view of him.

“I’m an idiot for saying that.” Gannon rolled to his side, taking

Alden with him. “He’ll find them mates. And if he doesn’t, he’d never
allow them to just take mine.”

“He wouldn’t.” Alden knew that for a fact. “McBride is very

caring.”

“I think so, too.”
“He has to be to give each of you a home and then a mate.”
“The homes were actually a gift from his father.”
“Oh?”
“Before we had the houses, we lived in the big house.”
“You did?” Alden was surprised. “I thought that landed gentry

didn’t like having slammers in their home?”

“Jonas did. Master McBride, our master’s father, didn’t though.

So he bought each of us a mechanical house.”

“And how did Jonas feel about that?”
“I don’t know for certain, but I don’t think he liked it. He wanted

us in the big house, but I wanted to be out here.”

“Did Jonas ever hurt you?”
“No. He drank from me occasionally, but I think he didn’t care for

my taste as much as some of my brothers’.”

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Alden couldn’t help but feel there was something not quite right

about Jonas. Not just that he was performing an unusual sex act in his
own parlor, but there was something unwholesome about the way
he’d treated his slammers by basically letting them live in his house
as if they were some kind of family. The notion of families was one
that was long past. No one lived that way anymore. At least that’s
what Alden had learned in the thrall house.

Maybe that was what he’d been after, though. Perhaps Jonas had

been a lonely man who tried to soothe his emptiness by filling his
home with men. But the curious tableau that Gannon had walked in
on puzzled him. Jonas having sex with a mechanical man wasn’t
illegal or anything, but why had he been watched by another man?

Knowing it was none of his business didn’t stop Alden from

asking pointed questions. “Was McBride’s father the man Jonas
was…performing for?”

“Oh, no. McBride’s father was very quiet and hardly ever came

out of the house.” Gannon frowned as he looked out the window.

“What?” Alden rose up on his arm and looked out toward the

field. There was a light bobbing along the rows they had planted.
“Who is that?”

“McBride, maybe? He could be counting the rows.”
Together they watched the light but quickly grew bored. They

settled into bed and pulled the covers up.

“Do you want the light on?”
“No. I’m okay without it, but thank you for asking.”
Gannon’s fingers rested on the switch.
“What?”
“Jonas wasn’t a very good man, but he wasn’t a horrible man,

either.”

“I didn’t say that he was.”
“I know, but I feel like I have to explain that while what Jonas did

was odd, he wasn’t evil.”

Alden nodded even though he wasn’t sure why Gannon was

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defending his former master.

“I think he was very tormented.”
“By what?”
Gannon shrugged. “I don’t know, but he seemed happier when he

came here and was with McBride’s father.”

“Maybe they helped one another.”
Gannon lifted his brows.
“When mates mesh very well, I think it can help each of them

become a better man.” Alden leaned up and kissed his mate’s lips.
“You helped me to not be so afraid, and I’ve helped you to have some
much-needed structure.”

A grin transformed Gannon’s features. “I think that’s the way of

it.”

“Turn off the light, my mate, and hold me while we sleep.

Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”

“Are you still sore?”
“I’m fine.” After they’d eaten, they’d traded backrubs that turned

into more sex. Alden had a feeling that would probably be the norm
for them. At least for a while.

Gannon shut off the light, swept Alden against his powerful chest,

and within a dozen breaths they were asleep.

Alden woke up because there was a light streaming in through the

bedroom window. Confused, he rubbed his eyes, wondering why the
sun was so small. As he peered out toward the field, he blinked
rapidly, trying to grasp what he was seeing.

There was a light bobbing along, but it didn’t follow the same

pattern as it had earlier. This time, it was much closer to the
semicircle of the brother’s houses. Alden watched as the light came
closer to his and Gannon’s home. His brow knitted together as he
struggled to see who was holding the light.

Suddenly, the light flashed in his face, causing him to duck back

into bed.

Holding his breath, he nestled close to his mate and feigned sleep,

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but he actually had his gaze riveted to the window. After what seemed
half the night but was probably only minutes, the light swept over the
window then focused on Gannon’s face. The light held there for a
long time but then dipped down the length of Gannon’s exposed
body.

Alden looked up at the window while the man with the light was

busy looking at Gannon. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but
he saw a man with pale hair and worried eyes. Whoever he was, he
was so focused on Gannon he didn’t even flick the light toward
Alden. As the light moved up to Gannon’s face, Alden worried that
Gannon would awake and become angry, but instead, he rolled,
putting his entire face into the beam.

The light disappeared from the window so fast it was disorienting.
Baffled, Alden stealthily climbed out of bed then peered out the

window. The light was now moving toward the next house, which
belonged to Gannon’s twin. And then Alden gasped. The light had
jumped away when whoever was holding it saw Gannon’s face. The
only thing that really showed the difference between Gannon and
Ollie was the scar on Gannon’s face. Alden remembered how the light
had stroked down Gannon’s body and rested on his abdomen. If not
for the blankets, whoever held it would have seen that there was no
scar on his body. When Gannon moved, the man with the light had
been able to see the scar on his face.

Alden realized the man with the pale hair and worried eyes was

looking for Gannon’s twin, Ollie Morgan.

THE END

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