TAKING ERIC HOME

L. L. Brooks

Erotic Romance

Secret Cravings Publishing

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A Secret Cravings Publishing Book
Erotic Romance

Taking Eric Home
Copyright © 2013 L. L. Brooks
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61885-571-8

First E-book Publication: February 2013

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TAKING ERIC HOME

L. L. Brooks

Copyright © 2013

Chapter One

Cale had never been able to understand how he excelled so

well at the pomp and circumstance, the pandering, and often
plain lying, when he hated it so much. He stopped a respectable
distance from the throne, bowed from the waist, eyes lowered
and head bowed, until King Lev Tro Lymm acknowledged him.

“You may approach,” Lev Tro said with a languid wave of

his hand.

Approaching didn’t mean he had permission to speak. Cale

moved forward, head bowed and mincing his steps. To look
directly at Lev Tro or walk boldly toward him would have been
an insult.

Lev Tro spoke, sounding as false as Cale knew his words

to be. “You have graced us with your presence. We are honored
to be of notice to your Alliance of Worlds.”

He really meant he had lowered himself to accept a visit

from someone so inferior. No one displayed arrogance as well
as royalty, and the Zonians excelled at it more than any race
Cale had encountered. During his position as ambassador, Cale
had more than learned how to play the game, with an advantage
precious few were aware of, his added senses. A warning

precious few were aware of, his added senses. A warning
already nagged at his heightened perception.

“The honor is ours, Your Majesty.” As much as he’d like

to get down to it, business was not discussed with the king. He
had to pay the right degree of homage to the prick before Cale
would be turned over to a subordinate to actually discuss the
future agreement with the Alliance of Federated Nations—under
the guise of allowing mining. The Zonian government made it
clear they would not be joining the Alliance. Fine—the Alliance
did not want them. He was there for an entirely different reason
than the one they claimed. Ambassador and spy at times became
dangerous.

“You may look upon me.”
Cale raised his head and eyes and damned his exceptional

peripheral vision. His eyes jerked to the side, astounded at what
he saw, before he got them back under control and his gaze
riveted on Lev Tro’s face. “I am honored, yet again, to be
granted such a privilege.”

Fuck, he’d screwed up. The king had caught the jerk of his

eyes and smiled knowingly. Handsome, naked men had always
been a weakness of Cale’s. From the look on the king’s face,
he’d done enough research on the coming ambassador to be
aware of his history. Cale had never hidden his preference in sex
mates. The line of men ranged from slight of build and feminine,
to tall and muscular, with various skin tones. None of them wore
more than codpieces held on by strings. No doubt the display of
flesh had been deliberate and the sought-after effect was

flesh had been deliberate and the sought-after effect was
immediate. Cale’s sweeping sight of one in particular had his
cock swelling, pushing up his groin, filling his pants with a telltale
bulge.

“You find our sample of cyborgs appealing?” the king

asked.

Even though shocked, Cale kept his eyes glued to the

crude painting of the Zon crest hanging behind the king’s head.
Absently studying the ugly warrior partly hidden behind a shield
with only his legs, head, and one arm showing, he answered. “I
was unaware your technology excelled to such a degree as to
produce such a magnificent achievement.” What shocked him
was the overt display of what was reported to be a well-guarded
secret of the direction of their research.

“Look again. Choose one for your pleasure. To show our

generosity, we would not wish for you to be deprived during
your stay with us. We understand your assistant does not share
your views on pleasure and did not accompany you on your
previous assignment to Oathin.”

His assistant, Selh, did not agree with his sharing of a man’s

body, something that often made Cale miserable considering his
hopeless feelings for Selh. Selh, however, had accompanied him
to Oathin in a very clever disguise. Cale, of course, did not
correct the king.

As well as bringing up the situation on Oathin, which had

generated rumors Cale had hoped had not reached this far, the
king, by making the offer of a cyborg as a plaything, had handed
Cale a diplomatic ticking bomb. In given a gift, reciprocation was

Cale a diplomatic ticking bomb. In given a gift, reciprocation was
expected, one significantly more valuable when the king was
involved. On the other hand, to refuse to accept amounted to
saying, anything you want to give me isn’t worth taking, another
insult. The dilemma helped ease the throbbing in his prick. Cale
did not often experience spontaneous erections, and he found his
current one disconcerting. Concentrating on other matters helped
to control his body’s unwanted reaction to the vision he could
still see from the corner of his eye.

Cale bowed his head again. “Though your generosity is

overwhelming. I fear I would be less than diligent in my duties if I
took the time to indulge in personal pleasure.”

“All business and no play dulls the mind. You will accept

my gift without qualms.”

His senses screamed more was hidden behind the offer.

Going for a bit of truth in the situation, Cale told him, “I have
nothing of equal or greater value to show my appreciation, Your
Majesty. I am but a servant.”

“I admire the ring you wear upon your finger.”
He would. The damned setting was a three-carat diamond

nestled in a band of gold. Ah well, easy come, easy go. A gift
from one would well suit another, and jewels had never been
important to Cale. “Then pleased be to take it.” He slipped it off
his finger and a servant scurried forward to take it. “It is my
honor to please you, though no gift of such great importance is
expected by my humble self.”

Lev Tro chuckled. “You will choose, Ambassador Cale

Peters. They are but wounded repaired with artificial limbs for

Peters. They are but wounded repaired with artificial limbs for
our service. All are trained to please those who prefer man-love
to woman.” He chuckled again. “And to accept without
argument any method of satisfaction their owner seeks.”

A bucket-load of control kept Cale from responding to the

insinuation behind those words. Cale knew of the rumors and
damned the fact they had reached across the galaxy, putting his
character and effectiveness in danger. Now he would have a
triple role to play, ambassador, spy, and sexual pervert, all while
ferreting out information. Lev Tro offered his gift based on those
rumors and would expect Cale to behave in a certain manner or,
again, he would be insulting the king by not performing as
expected, as if the gift had displeased him. This first meeting was
not going as planned, and he was learning things about Lev Tro
he’d never been warned of. He had yet to discern if the king was
amused by a representative of the Alliance being a sadistic
homosexual Dom and was throwing what he considered shame
into his face, or whether it was something the king also indulged
in and felt he had found a kindred spirit. From the looks of the
men standing in a row to the side, he suspected others did the
latter if not the king.

“Approach them,” Lev Tro ordered. “See which pleases

you the most.”

“The third from the right,” Cale answered. Lev Tro might

well believe he chose at random, but with his excellent peripheral
vision Cale had settled on the man he wanted before he ever
accepted. His choice of a man of equal size to himself, and

muscular, might have surprised Lev Tro. Then again if he based
his offer on the rumors, not the stereotype sadistic homosexual
preference of a dominant choosing a smaller, feminine man to
torture, he may not have been so surprised. Based on rumors, he
may have expected Cale to choose a man his own size or larger
to force into submission. Not needing his extra senses, Cale
could tell by looking, that the latter had already been done. Not
one of the men stood straight or held their heads up. From his
distance, he could also see scars marring their bodies. Still, it
was not the man’s size drawing Cale. His senses had centered
on him, tingling. Cale had not been drawn to a man in such a way
in a very long time, causing his unexpected erection.

“Take him to Ambassador Cale Peters’ rooms. Prepare

him,” Lev Tro ordered.

Again Cale’s senses flashed a warning he could not pin

down. The men were herded out, some stumbling, all shuffling
their feet. As Cale suspected, even though the honed bodies
suggested strength, it was a sham. They had been ordered to
stand without showing weakness. The combination of well-
developed bodies and weakness suggested either drugs or some
other artificial enhancement to create the bulk and definition he
saw in those of size. He would know which and much more once
he stood nearer his new servant and looked into his eyes.

The Zonians were an advanced race, and as with many

races well in advance of others, they had developed a high level
of brutality toward any inferiors. Cale didn’t doubt their cyborgs
were former warriors, but they were not necessarily Zonians.

were former warriors, but they were not necessarily Zonians.
From the intelligence they had gathered before approaching the
Zonians, they were prisoners taken in raids, forced into slavery
or used for experimentation, or both.

What Lev Tor described was a joining of mechanical and

biological with artificial limbs replacing flesh and blood. His
shock on seeing them stemmed from the very clear and
ostentatious display of how far the Zonians had advanced in both
their technology and in their obvious brainwashing and mind
control techniques. As advanced as they may be, the Alliance
would no longer tolerate them raiding, taking prisoners, and if
what they feared was true, building an army of cyborgs with the
purpose of invading, not simply raiding planets. Yes, ambassador
and spy could be a dangerous combination.

* * * *

Cale’s assistant waited for him in the hall, being too inferior

to be allowed into the king’s chamber. Selh, somewhat shorter
than Cale, had a compact, muscular body Cale often fought to
keep thoughts of caressing from his mind, just as he fought
against proclaiming his love for the man he knew had gained
respect for him, but not his way of life.

Selh fell into step beside him as they followed the king’s

emissary. To the observer, no words were spoken. A carefully
concealed skill shared by Selh and Cale enabled them to speak
privately, which was the reason they had been ordered to work
together despite Selh’s disapproval regarding Cale’s sexuality.

together despite Selh’s disapproval regarding Cale’s sexuality.

How did it go? Selh asked.
A few surprises, one of which is a gift from his royal

asshole of a sex slave I am expected to abuse unmercifully.

A muscle in Selh’s cheek twitched, a show of his surprise

though few other than Cale would recognize it as such. It would
seem they have done a bit of investigating.

Yes, as well as a disclosure, which troubles me. My gift

is a cyborg trained for the use of man-love without objection
as to what form that may take. I am expected to inflict pain
on what they tell me is a man with prosthetic replacements
to damaged limbs.

He’s exposing their technology to you? Selh asked,

skipping the other subject.

Yes and with hidden reason I have yet to discover.

Skullduggery is afoot.

Selh’s eyebrow twitched, another telltale show of emotion.

Must you use ancient phrases to confuse me?

Remember those I use and you will be confused less.
I remember those you have used. You have an unlimited

number of them.

They’re up to something. At the moment the only

reason that comes to mind for inserting an outsider into our
presence is to report all he observes.

That would be more easily accomplished by monitoring

the accommodations they give us.

Stopping in the hall, the emissary interrupted their private

conversation. “Your apartment, Ambassador Cale Peters.” He

conversation. “Your apartment, Ambassador Cale Peters.” He
pushed open the door, bowing Cale in ahead of him. “We do
hope the accommodations meet with your approval and needs.”

Grossly elaborate, was Cale’s immediate opinion. He had

never understood why those with riches felt the need to display
them in useless and obscene embellishments of gold and jewels.
He nodded in approval of furniture covered in fur he would be
loath to sit on, arranged about the room on carpets deep as a
mattress and surrounded by walls embedded with gold designs
of flowers with jeweled centers. He followed as the man
indicated a second door, stopping at the threshold of his
assigned bedchamber, fighting not to scream in rage.

Collared and chained, his new servant stood in a six foot by

six alcove, bare of any luxuries on walls, floor, and ceiling. No
comfort or necessities either. No bed, no cot, not even a blanket
cluttered the open cell, for cell was what it was, the chain from
his neck connected to a ring in the center of the bare section,
only long enough to allow him to reach the edge of the barren
floor. The simple codpiece he had worn had been stripped
away, leaving him completely naked but for the scars he wore,
evidence of previous torture.

Easy, Selh warned from behind him.
Though rage boiled inside him, Cale registered an oddity. In

the brief straight on glance he’d taken in the throne room he’d
noted the variety of scars on the man’s front extended down only
to the joint of his hips and legs. His legs, from what Cale could
see, were clear. Though the left arm bore its share, the right was
unmarred. What he could see of the face, nearly hidden from the

unmarred. What he could see of the face, nearly hidden from the
degree his head was bowed, was free of scars as well.

Cale managed a stiff smile, hoping his rage passed for

excitement. “I am curious, Emissary Procane. Your glorious king
spoke of replacing limbs. Which, may I ask?”

“Ah yes, you have chosen one of our greatest

accomplishments. This one encompasses the largest number of
replacements successfully made, both legs and the right arm.”

Cale followed Procane closer, knowing eagerness was

expected. The servant showed no response to someone
approaching him. His head hung, chin to his chest, and his arms
dangled lifelessly at his sides without a twitch or shudder until
Procane snapped his fingers and gave an order. “Turn so your
new master may more closely inspect you.” He told Cale, “The
snap is to alert it that it is being spoken to.”

Bile rose in Cale’s throat as the man slowly obeyed. His

back was a mass of lash scars from his neck to the under tuck of
his muscular buttocks, stopping at the juncture of hips and thighs,
as had the scattering of those on the front.

“This arm and shoulder.” Procane’s hand waved over skin

pale from the lack of sunlight as the man finished his shuffling
turn. “A steady regime of exercise developed the torso to match
the artificial appendages in bulk and appearance. You can see
the amputation and attachment are done with such skill not a sign
of scarring remains.” His hand dropped from the right shoulder
to indicate the left hip. “Both legs.” He looked up and smiled.
“All without any damage to the sexual organs. You will find,

“All without any damage to the sexual organs. You will find,
should you desire, it is perfectly trained to give as well as receive
with pleasing skill.”

Cale’s throat fought gagging. Though the genitals may well

not have been permanently damaged, even the man’s cock and
balls bore scarring, specifically three rings either cut or burned on
his penis. The rings formed ridges which some claimed enhanced
a stroking against the prostate. Procane did nothing to relieve
Cale’s repulsion.

“It will follow your orders explicitly and has received

extensive training in the art of pleasing with a physical
enhancement you may find most satisfying.” He indicated the
ridges of scar tissue encircling the limp penis.

Cale kept his eyes down, not to inspect the mutilation

performed for sick pleasure, but to prevent Procane from seeing
his rage and repulsion.

“No cock or sack piercings?” he managed to ask in a

reasonably controlled voice.

“No, not to its master’s tastes. As you have seen, there are

no artificial embellishments.”

Though he considered the deliberate dehumanizing, the

scarring, and the pain this human being had suffered depraved
beyond words, Cale spoke of the man in the same objective
manner Emissary Procane did.

“Who is its master so I may thank him?”
“He prefers to remain anonymous.”
A pity, for Cale would love to kill whoever the sadistic

bastard might be. “Does it not have a name?”

bastard might be. “Does it not have a name?”

“If a name seems necessary for you, call it as you wish.

Whatever name it once had disappeared when it came into our
possession. Do you not wish to examine it more closely? There
is a great deal of time before our evening meal.”

Cale took a step forward. Selh, able to read Cale as well

as Cale read him, moved forward as well. Cale, control
yourself.

“Leave me!” Cale ordered. Hearing the anger in his voice,

he mollified his tone. “I will become better acquainted with my
new servant in private.”

“Supplies which you may not have considered necessary

for your visit have been provided.” Procane pointed to a tall,
deep cabinet, tipped his head, and pointed again. “Your bathing
center.”

Be careful. If they watch they will expect—
I know what they expect!
I’m sorry, Cale. We never expected something like this.
Go.
I—
Go!
Selh suggested, “Ambassador Peters has come from a

long, tiring journey, Emissary. Perhaps we may leave him to
rest.”

“Rest, of course,” the emissary answered with a smirk,

which turned to a chuckle as he walked away.

Cale slammed the door behind them. His movements, jerky

and rapid, would appear as anxiousness to any observer. He

and rapid, would appear as anxiousness to any observer. He
opened the first cabinet Procane had pointed to, swallowing to
control the bile burning the back of his throat at the torture
devices hanging on the walls of the shallow closet. How he
would explain not using any of them if either Procane or the king
was repugnant enough to ask, he didn’t know, but he would not
touch so much as a single nipple clamp, cock or ball weight.

He did say aloud, “Had I more time, slave, we would

experiment. For now, down to your hands and knees.”

The slave, for slave not servant was what he was, lowered

himself, turning to present his ass to Cale on his hands and
knees. Cale’s contained rage affected his body with trembling.
What he had to do sickened him. At least rage and passion
appeared similar to any perverted watcher. His hands shook
fighting the buttons of his uniform. He threw the jacket to the
floor, sitting in a fur-covered chair to remove his boots. He threw
those. His pants dropped to the floor as he stood again,
disgusted with himself. Naked save for what appeared to be no
more than a timepiece on his wrist, he shuddered. Logically he
knew his arousal was no more than a normal reaction to
stimulation. Still for his cock to go rock hard at the sight of the
chained naked man when he walked in the door was to him a
weakness, his body reacting to what his mind found obscene. To
even entertain the idea of relieving himself on someone he knew
could not object turned his stomach, though the temptation was
there. Still he did take one thing from the cabinet, a bottle certain
to hold oil.

Oil it was, a thick heady smelling substance he smoothed

lavishly on his throbbing cock with his left hand. Walking to the
man holding position, Cale held his cock in his hand. In an
impatient gesture, he pushed the watch further up his wrist, a
natural enough looking action enabling him to turn on the
disrupter the mechanism held. Mentally counted, he took
position behind the man. When he reached the equivalent of ten
seconds, enough time for any electronic signals to be jammed, he
sat back on his heels.

“I’ll not violate you no matter how little your ability to be

aware of it,” he said softly, not even touching the man.

Cale gave himself relief, sliding his hand from the top to the

bottom of his shaft, tweaking the crown and slit with his thumb.
When he felt the break coming, when he knew his balls were
ready to shoot free the building cum, he positioned himself again,
kneeling between the man’s legs. With a brush of his watch
against his leg, he counted to three, jerked back his hips and shot
his cum on the man’s artificial legs.

Sitting back on his heels, still massaging his cock, for the

benefit of those who monitored the cameras, he said, “You are
not as tight as I like. The next time we will try your mouth and
see just how well you’re trained at sucking.”

Getting to his feet, he staggered slightly. There was one

thing in the cabinet he wanted, the key to that fucking chain. He
restrained himself from throwing it when he unlocked the collar.

“Stand.”
With no more emotional response than a mechanical toy,

With no more emotional response than a mechanical toy,

the man rose to his feet, head bowed.

“Lift your head. I wish to see your face.”
The head rose. With his first unobstructed view of the

man’s face, Cale drew a deep breath. “Pleasing,” he said, though
pleasing was far from the mark. His new slave was extremely
handsome in the rugged way Cale preferred and the face, as with
a single arm and both legs, was free of scarring. His eyes, a deep
green, however, were empty, staring straight ahead. Cale wanted
to ask what they had done to him to take the life from his eyes,
but he knew some of what they’d done, hacking his arm and legs
off as if he were no more than a hunk of dead meat. No, that
wasn’t right. Dead men don’t scream or cry. The minds of the
dead don’t regress in horror leaving a hollow shell.

“Go clean yourself.”
He pointed. His wind-up monstrosity of a doll shuffled

away. Cale’s rage was gone. In its place he fought tears.

Cale? Selh asked in worry.
Do not monitor my emotions, Cale ordered, slamming the

mental barricades down again.

When they are so strong it cannot be helped. I do not

mean to intrude.

Who better than you? Cale sighed, knowing he was not

going to like what Selh had to report. What have you
discovered?

The rooms are riddled with cameras and microphones.

Nothing we say or do will be private unless you use the
disrupter again, which I would not advise. Too often will

disrupter again, which I would not advise. Too often will
make them question.

I cannot carry on the deception here as we did on

Oathin, Selh. With a true victim instead of you portraying
one, we will be found out too soon. Send the retrieval
message. We may not know numbers, but we have seen
enough to know these people are all we’ve heard and more.
Our worlds must prepare to war with them.

Have you determined his race?
No, but his mind is gone.
Permanently?
Unknown, as is the full depth of what he’s suffered. It

was too much for him to bear and took his mind from him.

If we were to take him with us, it would be a great

advantage to our scientists.

To become no more than another experiment, a

specimen to study? No.

You would leave him here to suffer more?
The one they spoke of walked from the bathing room,

stopping in the center of the room to wait for instructions. His
head and arms hung as before, but something faint touched
Cale’s senses.

Cale?
A moment. Cale told the man, “Come to me.” As a robot,

the man obeyed, walking until he was two feet from Cale.
“Closer.”

One step more, he stopped a foot from Cale. Cale slid his

fingertips down his artificial arm, the skin surprisingly warm to his

fingertips down his artificial arm, the skin surprisingly warm to his
touch, but the faint stirring grew no stronger. Cale could only
describe it as listening to a conversation through water. He
moved his hand to the man’s chest—his fingers lay in a matt of
thick hair. The sense of some emotion flickered, still too faint to
grasp a hold of it.

For the benefit of those who watched, he ordered, “Kiss

me.”

Lips pressed together touched his lips, dead eyes staring,

not into his, but set straight ahead. A prickling started at the base
of Cale’s head, racing down his spine, leaving goose bumps
behind. Something was there. With a hand at the back of the
man’s head, he pulled him tighter. It gave the watchers something
to see, nudging the man’s lips apart, a fingertip to his chin, he
urged the man’s mouth open and drilled his tongue inside. The
stirring grew. Cale stepped into him, one arm around his waist to
hold him, his tongue exploring a sweet warm mouth, though
totally unresponsive. The stirring was there. He identified it.
Struggle.

“Fuck!” Cale stepped back, to cover his shamed reaction,

an immediate stiffening of his cock. “They may well have taught
you to not object to attention, but have failed to show you how
to respond. Are you even capable?”

His words triggered a response. The man’s hand rose to

grip his own limp cock. Cale stared as he manipulated himself,
an erection growing out of the circle of his fingers.

Cale jerked when Selh called to him again. So fascinated,

Cale jerked when Selh called to him again. So fascinated,

his own cock ached, he didn’t realize at first Selh was calling him
by voice, not telepathy. “What?”

“They have brought your servant’s dinner.”
“I will see to my servant’s feeding!”
Procane’s voice sounded. “It must eat what we prepare.”
Cale jerked open the door, stark naked. “Why is that?” he

demanded, though he knew the answer immediately on hearing
they would provide the food. Drugs.

“It is the simplest way to administer anti-rejection drugs,”

he answered, twisting to see around Cale into the room.

Possibly, but Cale thought the drugs were more to control

him, to lock away the man buried inside his body. That was what
he sensed, the man struggling to be free as the drugs weakened
before the next dose.

“Though I apologize for interrupting your play, it must be

kept on a schedule.”

Cale would have liked to punch the smirk off Procane’s

face, his eyes shifting from the man behind Cale jacking himself
off to Cale’s erection. Instead he smiled. “I will see that he eats
as soon as we have finished.”

“Do not be too long. You must prepare as well. The king

expects you at his table this eve.”

“I am aware of my duties, Emissary.”
Procane didn’t like his tone or words, but he backed and

bowed. Cale slammed the door, turning back to his slave. “Stop
before you come.”

The hand stilled, leaving Cale in turmoil. Those watching

The hand stilled, leaving Cale in turmoil. Those watching

and Procane would expect a finish to what they’d been
witnessing. Would letting the man fuck him amount to rape as
much as if he fucked a man incapable of saying no? Sex was the
strongest driving instinct in a man. Would ordering him to
perform while the drug wore off bring him even further out of the
drug? Would that even be a good thing considering the
circumstances?

While he worried he rationalized the need for the monitors

to see him taking it up the ass against his desire to be fucked by
that beautiful man, the man took a faltering step toward him.
Was he sensing the man’s need to connect in some way to
something living or still rationalizing his own growing need?

Another faltering step decided it for him. “Go to the bed.”
He went for the oil, smearing it thickly on his own ass crack

as he walked back to the bed. His slave stood beside the bed,
waiting, head and arms hanging. Cale closed his eyes for a
moment, concentrating, sending out his senses, probing. Was
what he doing right? Would it help the man find his way or did he
only justify giving into his own lust?

One finger on the listless hand twitched, hooking an instant,

pointing it seemed to his cock.

Cale went with instincts he depended on when his senses

were muddled. His oil-slicked hand covered the slave’s hard
cock, hot under his palm, throbbing, sending a wave of
sensations through Cale he had never experienced before. He
couldn’t see the man’s eyes. Barely touching his mind, Cale
sensed the struggle. He stretched out on the bed.

sensed the struggle. He stretched out on the bed.

“Take me from the top.”
The man climbed on the bed, on his knees, placing himself

as Cale raised his knees to his shoulders, lifting his ass to him.
Without prior preparation or stretching, despite the size of the
man, Cale pushed out with the ring of muscle around his asshole,
welcoming the pressure of a stiff, hard, hot cock steadily sliding
into him. He took the pain of entry, moaning, twisting as if he
savored it for the watchers. Mechanical, the slave’s movements
were mechanical, but he did know what to do. With his head
tucked to hide his face, he angled his hips, slithering his cock
across Cale’s prostate, sending the first wave of pleasure
through his groin and down his legs. Cale shifted, widening the
space between his legs, gripping the man, not the machine, at the
hips.

“Pound into me. Make me come.”
He pounded as ordered, but Cale felt more. The

consciousness stirred inside the body, grasping, searching for
more, and pounding with enough force to move both an inch at a
time up the bed. Cale gave himself to the action, no longer caring
they were being watched. He wanted this man. He wanted his
cum spurting inside him.

“Make me come,” he shouted, clawing those hips,

clenching his ass muscles tighter on the driving cock to make it
happen.

He hovered on the brink, the climax not happening until a

hand gripped his cock. As tight as any asshole, the hand moved,

hand gripped his cock. As tight as any asshole, the hand moved,
jerking him off. “Yes,” Cale shouted. “Yes!”

His own balls shot, cum spurted from his cock at the same

time his servant stiffened to a degree his entire body quivered,
shooting himself dry and soft.

In a flash of a moment, Cale reached through the veil of

faintness to emotion as the man crawled off him to stand beside
the bed, head and arms hanging.

Anger—deep inside a mind dulled with drugs was rage.

* * * *

Stepping out of the bedchamber in his formal evening attire,

Cale refused to look at Selh. What Cale had done in that room
was no secret to anyone. What really happened he alone knew.
Not even the man who fucked him had a true sense of the
significance of the action. He was too drugged, too senseless to
follow more than instinct, searching for a sign of life within
himself, seeking the strongest of all human drives, to know he
lived.

I know. I shouldn’t have let it happen.
Selh, always pragmatic, asked, Did you learn anything?
Drugs, something that blocks voluntary actions and

free will. We need to prevent him from eating any of the
food they bring him.

What about the anti-rejection?
I don’t know. If that is true, we could kill him as easily

as save him, Cale answered in misery.

Would not death save him as well? Living as a husk is

not living.

With a mental shake of his head, since they were being

watched, he asked, Why must you always argue both sides?

Habit. What is going on, Cale? What has drawn you so

to this man?

Cale’s first impulse was to deny he felt anything other than

pity. I don’t know , he answered instead. Something did the
first time I looked at him. With a mental scoff, he added, I
know one thing, after he fucked me, though he was
physically unable to display it, he experienced rage. He
hated what he did, and he hated me for being the one
ordering him to.

Perhaps you misread. He answered a tap at the door,

switching to voice. “Your escort for dinner.”

Dinner was an event Cale did not look forward to.

Procane’s smirks were annoying enough, but at least he didn’t
want details. The king was not as discreet. Cale barely sat
before he said, “I am pleased you have taken time from business
for pleasure. My gift pleases you?”

“With your urging, I have made use of it,” Cale answered

blandly.

“It does not please you?”
“It will in time. New toys must learn what is expected of

them.”

“It has been trained in use as a submissive. It has failed to

obey?”

obey?”

Taking a bite of food he hoped he didn’t choke on, Cale

shook his head. “Certain responses are appreciated to—shall we
say—encourage. Does it feel pain more so than arousal?”

“It will cry for you unless ordered to do otherwise.”
God, he wanted to kill the man. He forced a smile.

“Begging perhaps? It has not yet spoken a word.”

“It does not speak. Noises it made during training were

offensive. Its larynx was neutralized.”

The lump of food went down hard. “Irreversibly?”
Lev Tro shrugged. “We have never found an instance when

a reversal was desired.”

“You seem well informed of the progress and methods of

training.”

“I visit often. I find studying their methods to be satisfying to

watch.” He gulped down wine, swiped his mouth with the back
of his hand, and asked, “It was also trained to satisfy. Did it do
so?”

You know the answer, you prick , Cale thought with

vehemence, but only said, “It did. Do I sense it did not prefer
man to man before its training?”

“It would seem not. It took six men to give it its first

lesson.”

“Rape has a different effect than willing intercourse.”
“It was given a test with one of pleasing attributes.” He

snapped his fingers, signaling for more wine.

Cale’s heart sank. No wonder he’d sensed rage in Lev

Tro’s generous gift. The man was aware enough, somewhere in

Tro’s generous gift. The man was aware enough, somewhere in
the depths of his mind, to know he was not strong enough to
resist doing, when ordered, something disgusting to him. “Was
the training before the amputations?” he asked, sounding, he
hoped, only curious.

“Its arm and legs were destroyed when we found it. We

thought to train it only as a soldier, but its physical attributes
were of such a pleasing nature to gaze upon, it was retrained for
the pleasure and placed in convenience for those who favor man
to man. It proved disappointing to some for, as you say, it fails to
show spontaneous response in some areas. Your particular form
of entertainment is popular here as well as Oathin, though I
understand it is frowned upon on your home world. You must
have found the freedom of Oathin refreshing after the restraints
you live under. I find myself puzzled by your Alliance. Forcing
them to cease such practices seems a violation of a planet’s
rights.”

“Hypocrites,” Cale murmured even though his and Selh’s

investigation into the underground human trafficking—slaves
tortured to accept their new situation and sold, all supported by
the Oathin government—brought about those reforms. “It was,
however, not their form of entertainment as much as the method
of procurement for the slaves they traded in.” Choke on that,
asshole.

“Slave trading will never be eradicated. As you yourself

know, nothing is as satisfying as complete control of another
human being.”

“Ah, yes.” Cale feigned indifference although he would

“Ah, yes.” Cale feigned indifference although he would

much rather have told him how despicable their planet was. “Not
to mention the financial benefits, both in the sale of them and the
free labor, but surely slavery does not exist here?”

“Certainly not. We would not care to displease the Alliance

by encroaching on worlds they protect. It is my fondest wish we
come to amicable terms for our association.”

Lying sack of shit. Of course Cale didn’t say that. “We

look forward to such an occasion. Procane tells me your
cyborgs require constant medication with anti-rejection drugs.
Do you find this a weakness in the procedure you must
overcome?” With all his senses centered on Lev Tro, he would
soon have a better idea if any anti-rejection drugs were truly
necessary.

“A weakness, no. In your world do not your organ

transplants require drugs afterwards?”

He was gloating. Their drugs were better than those of the

Alliance worlds. They had conquered the problem of the body
rejecting something foreign. “Yes, they do. They have yet to find
a satisfactory neutral bonding element.”

Cale took a bite of meat and chewed slowly, calling to

Selh. Arrangements are made for our departure tomorrow?

Yes. We will go to our ship for a routine communication

and receive an emergency recall.

Fashion a collar and leash for my servant. Find clothes

for him for tomorrow. Order him to clean himself and put
him to bed. Drugged as he is from his meal, he’ll stand

him to bed. Drugged as he is from his meal, he’ll stand
unless someone orders him to lie down.

The Zonians will be hot on our asses if we take him.
Let them chase us. It will give us justification in

attacking them.

Selh mentally sighed. “In that case, I had better send an

alert as well.

Taking a sip of wine, Cale smiled round the edge of the

cup. He had never started a war before. His job had always
been to prevent them. The Zonians, however, deserved one.

Chapter Two

Cale stumbled. He actually stumbled for God’s sake when

he opened his bedchamber door. He twisted to look at Selh,
catching himself with his mouth already open. Snapping his
mouth shut, he asked, What the hell is he doing in my bed?

You said to put him to bed.
Not mine!
Where else then? The floor?
Slamming the door shut, Cale stomped into the room,

disrobing and throwing clothes as he went. Fuck. How was he
supposed to sleep with a naked man beside him who gave him a
constant hard-on just looking at him? Don’t look at him. That
was the answer. He killed the lights and slipped under the
covers, turning his back to his bed partner. Darkness was not
enough. Not looking was not enough. Big as the bed was, the
man’s warmth crept toward him under the covers. The pungent
smell of the lubrication they’d used earlier clogged his nostrils.
Not two minutes after he lay down, he had a fucking, hurting
hard-on.

His bedmate rolled from his back to his side, facing Cale,

the heat of his body inches away. Cale froze, holding his breath,
knowing the man slithered closer. Inch by inch the war to ignore
faltered when their bodies touched. Flesh met flesh, from his
shoulders to his toes, settling with his bedmate’s hard-on

shoulders to his toes, settling with his bedmate’s hard-on
pressing against the crack of his ass and his warm breath
brushing Cale’s neck.

Cale twisted, shoving the man to his back. He rolled his

disturbing bed partner to his side, his back to Cale. The new
position gave him a small measure of relief for about two
minutes, right up until an arch of his back and a scoot put his
tormentor’s bare ass into his crotch. Even worse, the same bare
ass flexed in a nerve-tormenting rhythm against his wanting cock.
Cale groaned, eased away only to have a hand close round his
cock.

“Oh fuck,” he got out in a gasp. Not only was the hand

warm and tugging, the pungent scent of lubricant wasn’t lingering
from earlier. The slick oil was on the man’s hand, smearing on
Cale’s cock.

Cale was lost when the hand levered his cock down, held

him steady, and the asshole the damned thing wanted so bad
pressed against the tip. His hips moved on their own, forcing his
cock past the opening hole begging to be fucked. In a split
second Cale had him face down on the bed, fucking the hell out
of him. He didn’t think. He reacted. The man under him walked
his knees up, raising his ass. Cale made the necessary
adjustments without missing one fierce drive into him. Lying over
the man’s back, Cale used both hands, one pumping a cock as
stiff as his own, the other cupping swinging balls, rolling the twin
kernels together, feeling them swell, ready to burst.

“Come for me,” Cale panted, his own balls about to blow.

He shifted his hands, both on the cock, tugging so each

slide to the end matched each plunge of his up his ass. He
couldn’t get enough. He couldn’t drive deep enough no matter
how loud his balls slapped against his ass or how hard the man
drove his body back to take every ram with his arms braced on
the headboard. His body grew too tight, threatening Cale with
madness before the trigger fired, releasing the tension. Each
squeeze of the muscles shooting out his cum drew a gasp and
moan from him. The man beneath him gasped and froze, his hips
twitching, and his cum spraying the bed. The last twitch finished,
and Cale’s bed partner collapsed, his knees sliding out from
under him to drop him flat. Cale fell, as well, in a sprawl over
him. His cock still buried deep, shame swelling inside him. He’d
been so hot he hadn’t noticed, not until his body cooled. How
many times had the miserable creature beneath him been aware
enough to know he was being raped to put all that scarring in his
rectum?

Resting cheek to cheek, panting to regain his breath, Cale

stroked the outstretched arms, rubbing the watch to give him a
flicker of electronic disruption long enough to whisper, “I hope
you wanted that. God, I hope you did.” Though how he could,
Cale couldn’t imagine.

* * * *

The collar Selh fashioned was a belt cut down to fit the

man’s neck. The leash was a symbolic cord which would not

man’s neck. The leash was a symbolic cord which would not
have held him had he tried to run. Selh produced a set of Cale’s
casual clothes, slacks with a loose fitting shirt, to dress the slave,
the collar of the shirt high to protect his neck from chafing. The
last was a consideration, which obviously had not been given
before. A ring of scarring circled his neck. As many times as
Cale knew the man had to have been bound, he couldn’t
understand a lack of a similar ring of scars around his right wrist.

Even as wounded as he’d been when they found him,

breaking him was not easy, Selh commented.

I don’t believe they ever did. Had they, it would not

have been necessary to keep him drugged.

Do you think taking him to breakfast with you is wise?
Dragging him around like a dog all morning will make

it less suspicious when I take him to our ship.

I’ve seen none of them doing anything like that, Cale,

he said in warning.

He’s my gift from their king. I want to show him off.

Perhaps start a new trend.

You are seriously pissed.
Yes, I am. He seduced me last night. I know were he in

his right mind, he would never have done so, and I feel like a
fucking rapist.

Cale picked up the leash, snapped his fingers, and told his

slave, “Walk behind me and keep your eyes on my feet so you
know to stop when I do.”

When they reached the dining hall, Cale was relieved to see

the king was not in attendance. He’d already had about all of the
man he could stomach and was sure Procane was going to be
enough to spoil the taste of his food. He ordered his slave to
stand behind his chair. To add to his image of total control, he
also ordered him to lay a hand on his shoulder. The last
backfired. His left hand, his flesh and blood hand, rested lightly,
the warmth of it seeping through the cloth of Cale’s uniform.
Tingles began from there, running down through his body, settling
in his crotch, his damned cock rising to attention and his balls
tightening. He turned once while speaking to the person next to
him, his peripheral vision seeing a similar bulge of interest in his
slave even in the loose pants Selh had dressed him in.

“Do you give your pleasure servants a drug to enhance their

readiness to perform as well?” he asked of Procane.

“No, but if they are slow to readiness, the oil enhances

erection. Have you not found that so?”

Cale considered that for a moment. “No.” He hadn’t

needed any oil to make him hard. Neither had his slave. “Does
the scent also intensify?” Was that why his passion reached
overwhelming proportions, and when they’d gone together, he’d
climaxed harder and longer than he ever had before?

“I have never noticed such a result. Its primary application

has always been to assist those slow or unable to function.” He
smirked again. “Or for those who prefer diverse associations to
assist in passage.”

What a discreet way to refer to an ass fucker needing lube.

“Diverse?” Cale leaned back in his chair, one eyebrow raised.

“Diverse?” Cale leaned back in his chair, one eyebrow raised.
“Is the practice not common here?”

“Though many prefer it, leading a servant around by a leash

is not.”

The reading Cale got from him was not one of approval,

although everything had been done to provide him the means.
Cale suspected a hidden agenda yet again.

Procane asked, “Have you decided on a name for it as

yet?”

“Eric.”
The name was out before Cale knew it was coming.

Surprised to hear the name pass his lips when he had refused for
years to speak it, he touched the hand on his shoulder and lightly
squeezed it. The name was fitting. He had failed Eric, failed to
save his life. He was capable of giving this Eric back his. One
finger under his hand moved, twitching a nail into the fabric of his
coat. An acknowledgement? He looked over his shoulder at the
top of Eric’s bowed head, barely able to see his expressionless
face.

“I’m quite pleased with His Majesty’s most generous gift.”
A wave of smug satisfaction from Procane hit Cale’s senses

with the force of a blow. With the first possible reason of why
occurring to him, he held himself from twisting again to look at
the man he’d just named after his brother. Fuck! His fucking
slave was a spy!

Selh!
Cale, damn, why are you shouting?
When you scanned our apartment did you think to scan

When you scanned our apartment did you think to scan

my new slave?

His hesitation answered before he spoke. “No. I didn’t

even bother scanning your bedchamber, knowing it would
be. I’m sorry, Cale. I should have thought of that.

So should I. I knew there was something there beneath

the surface. I should have looked the gift horse in the mouth.

Selh blew out a breath to exhibit his frustration. Though I

don’t know your reference, I understand your meaning. The
king meant for you to take him.

Then why tell me he’s dependent on a drug?
To sell it to you possibly. The man likes his riches. To

make you fight to have him would also lessen the possibility
of us realizing they mean for you to have him. What a
perfect way to gain inside knowledge of the Alliance plans.

Which we will make work to our advantage.
You intend still to take him?
Yes.
A hand on his arm drew him back to his surroundings.

“Ambassador, are you ill?” Procane asked.

“No, simple mind wandering.”
Procane waved his fingers at a servant and pointed to Eric.

“Take it to the kitchen and see it receives its morning meal.”

He snapped his fingers to alert Eric to an order. Cale spoke

first. “I have already said I will see to its feeding.”

“Its medications are—”
“There is no need to hide its medication in food. Provide

me with a supply and I will see to its administration.”

me with a supply and I will see to its administration.”

“I have not the authority to make such a decision.”
“I suggest you speak with whoever does quickly.” He

snapped his fingers over his shoulder. “Eric, kneel at my feet.”
He pushed back his chair to give him room to obey, under the
table. Eric’s aggression last night in bed had been contrary to his
expected behavior. If Cale hadn’t been swept up in lust, he
would have seen it. Though he admired the man’s ability to block
Cale’s senses, if the spy wanted to play submissive, he would.
He asked, as Eric went to his knees, hunching over to fit beneath
the table. “Can it whimper?”

“It is voiceless.”
“Then it can beg.” They believed him perverse. He would

show them how perverse he could be. Cale kicked Eric’s knee.
“Put your hands together and beg me for food.”

“Excuse me,” one woman said, leaving the table

immediately as Eric placed his hands together in a position of
prayer.

“You can feed its designated food as easily,” Procane said,

staring as Cale took a scrap of food from his plate.

“Not the same, my dear Emissary.” He kicked Eric’s knee

again. “Twist your head up and open your mouth.” He stabbed
the bit in. “Now lick my fingers clean.”

Two more excused themselves. They were no more

disgusted than Cale was with himself. What the hell was wrong
with him? He wanted to punish the man at his feet at the same
time his cock twitched unbearably from the sensation of that

time his cock twitched unbearably from the sensation of that
warm wet tongue licking his fingers.

“Ambassador Cale Peters, I request that you stop this,”

Procane pleaded. “You are offending the assembly.”

“To confuse me, after you have made this gift to me

knowing my preferences, now you make it sound as if my
diversions are perverted, dear Emissary.”

“No, no, I do not mean to offend. Some do not—”
Cale shot to his feet, tugging on the leash. “Yes, some do

not. If you wish this slave dosed, you will bring the medication to
me.”

“It has not eaten!”
“Nor will it until I give permission.”

* * * *

This is a fine corner I’ve painted myself into.
At least we’ll know if they mean for you to take him or

not, though I only feel marginally better after scanning him
and locating the transmitter.

Cale grunted. We’ll give them another hour. If they

haven’t given in by then, we’ll go to the ship.

To any monitoring of the cameras, Cale worked on papers

in his lap. Eric, on his knees, sat back on his feet on the floor at
Cale’s feet. Selh sat across the room, reading a book. Both
worked at appearing relaxed, though neither was, and Cale was
quite sure Eric had devised a way to sleep sitting up.

Ten minutes before the proposed deadline, Procane arrived

Ten minutes before the proposed deadline, Procane arrived

with another man. “A physician,” he explained and nodded to
Eric. “You will allow him to examine your servant for possible
rejection.”

“I doubt rejection would occur in so short a time.”
The physician snapped his fingers and ordered, “Stand.”
As Eric moved to obey, Cale countermanded with a quick

snap of his fingers. “Sit.” Eric obeyed, settling his butt back on
his heels.

“You do not understand the importance of his medications.

Onset of failure can begin in a matter of hours.”

“Then you had best give me his medication.”
“I will administer it,” the physician said.
Procane spoke up, rushing closer to Cale. “A compromise,

Ambassador. You will see to the feeding of your servant, and the
physician will administer the medication in the morning and
evening.”

“How will that work when I leave here?”
“It cannot leave here,” he said with a nervous laugh. “The

gift is only for your pleasure while in attendance.”

Cale lounged back in his seat. “A gift with a time limit?” He

scoffed slightly and told Selh, “It would seem I have paid dearly
for a short time of pleasure.”

“You misunderstand, Ambassador. As a representative, not

only will your stay be lengthy, but reoccurring. It will be available
to you during all of those times.”

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Cale went to his feet.

“I shall simply make the most of those times.”

“I shall simply make the most of those times.”

“You must not kill it or damage the appearance or

workings of its limbs. Your attentions must not mark the right
arm or the legs.”

Cale nodded, believing he understood. The artificial skin

didn’t respond well it would seem to cutting, burns, or impact.
He told the physician, “See to your chore. We have a
conference onboard ship for which we are late to attend in
waiting for your convenience.”

The physician jerked Eric’s head up by the hair and

jammed a pill in his mouth, hurrying when Cale picked up the
end of the leash. Selh walked to the door and opened it.

Giving a light tug on the leash, Cale snapped his fingers.

“Come along, Eric. You need exercise.”

Procane moved in an effort to block the door. “I believe it

would be better to leave it here.”

“I do not, especially since a time limit has been placed on

my enjoyment of it.” He stepped over the threshold and turned
back. “I have a meeting at noon with your counsel. Will any of
them be offended by my diversions?”

“Oh, no, of course not. Feel free to bring your servant.”
Sauntering at a lazy pace, Cale led the way. As they

rounded the first corner, he turned, slammed Eric against the
wall, and rammed his fingers down his throat until Eric gagged
and heaved. Selh caught what he threw up in a plastic bag. In a
manner of seconds they were walking again. Cale rubbed his
hand on his pant leg.

Did he bite you? Selh asked.

Did he bite you? Selh asked.
Only to begin with.
He knows what we’re doing?
More than likely it was simply a first reaction to

gagging before his programming took hold, than the drug
wearing off so quickly.

You did not trust him until I found the transmitter

buried in his chest. Something else you’ll no doubt feel guilt
for.

Shut up.
It wasn’t your fault, Cale.
Shut up.
You have to forgive yourself some day for failing to

save him.

Damn it, Selh, shut up!

* * * *

Eric either came out of the controlling drug to a degree,

enough to know they were being watched or he had an adversity
to entering the shuttle. He balked at walking up the gangplank,
just enough to tug on the leash.

Cale lifted his head with a finger under his chin. “We know.

We turned an electronic disrupter on when we left the palace.”
He rubbed a finger on Eric’s lower lip for the benefit of those

He rubbed a finger on Eric’s lower lip for the benefit of those
who watched and enjoyed the feeling too much. “They are
watching us I’m certain, so I’ll play the part a bit longer, but they
can’t hear us.”

“I’ll make certain they haven’t bugged the ship as well,”

Selh told him while Cale leaned forward and bit the lip he’d just
caressed, flexing his jaw muscles to make it appear he bit hard.
“Then I’ll take that transmitter out of your chest.”

“Your days as a Zonian slave are over.” He patted his face.

“You’re still too drugged to understand, but you will soon.” He
hooked a finger in the collar and pulled Eric in. He was still too
drugged. His emotions were too muddled and faint for Cale to
read clearly, but there were emotions, not an empty shell.

“Damn it,” Selh muttered as he stepped inside and closed

the door. “I forgot my book. Now I’ll have to find another copy
before I can finish it.”

He sat down in the co-pilot’s seat, strapping in while Cale

pushed Eric into a passenger chair and buckled a harness over
him.

“We’ve got about five seconds before they realize we’re

lifting off.” Cale settled in the pilot’s seat, strapping himself in.
“You ready for this ride?”

Selh turned a couple of levers. “I am now. The boys above

are waiting for us to make a hot landing.”

On the board in front of him, Cale flipped a series of

switches in quick succession. Hands on the controls, he took a
deep breath, ignited the engines, and the shuttle shot straight up
in the air.

in the air.

“They’re going crazy about now.”
“Let them, the sick bastards.” The ship turned nose up. The

second set of engines fired. “I’ve got a favor to ask.”

“Been expecting it.”
Both were silent as multiple G-forces pressed them back in

the seats, distorting their faces with the pressure. As soon as they
broke free of the atmosphere, Cale finished. “Don’t tell them
anything more about Eric other than we rescued a prisoner who
can give us first hand intel.”

“That’s what I expected.”
“They’ll turn him into a lab rat, Selh.”
“Did I say no? Just keep in mind if they find out, I didn’t

see, hear, or know a thing. If they find out, it’ll cost you your
career.”

“I’m retiring.”
“For him?”
“As soon as I can discover where he came from, I’m taking

him home.” After all he’d done to him it was the fucking least he
could do.

Chapter Three

Captain Rand met them at the airlock, his eyes going

immediately to Eric with a slight curl to his lip. He too had
obviously heard rumors of Cale’s diversions on Oathin. “I am
not happy with you. You were sent to evaluate their intentions,
not start a war by stealing a citizen.”

“With as many as I’ve averted, to start a single one seems a

fair balance. The Zonians have already made contact?”

“Within seconds of your take-off, demanding you return the

king’s property. I don’t need to tell you, you had better have just
cause.” He paused, listening to the firing of cannon outside the
ship. “This is the first time I’ve delivered an ambassador and had
to fight my way off.”

“All the rumors we’ve heard are true. Enact the embargo.”
“This is your proof?”
Without looking behind him, Cale snapped his fingers.

“Take off your shirt. Let it fall to the floor and turn slowly until
you face me again.”

He didn’t need to look to know Eric obeyed. He saw it all

in Rand’s face, disgust, horror, and then anger.

“I will send the order immediately.” Rand turned on his heel

and left.

Loath to do it, Cale snapped his fingers again. “Put your

shirt back on.”

shirt back on.”

“I hope you can get him past having to do that. It’s

disgusting,” Selh commented.

"No argument."
“Hell, what will you do now?”
“Take him to the infirmary. I need that drug analyzed.”
“I’ll do it. It’s better a doctor doesn’t see him at all. Take

him to your quarters. I’ll have a meal sent to you since we both
know you will be spending hours in communication. I’ll be by
later to examine him.”

“Thank you. Follow me, Eric.”
No one followed. He had forgotten the signal. “From now

on you are to remember the name I have given you. No longer
will you respond to the snap of fingers. Follow me, Eric.”

Footsteps shuffled behind him just as surely as if there had

still been a collar and chain around his neck. When they reached
the levelator, Cale had to walk far enough in to be certain Eric
was not shut out of the box when the door closed. Neither he
nor Eric moved during the swift ride to Cale’s level and sideways
to his section.

The same care was necessary when they reached Cale’s

quarters. Once inside, hidden behind the door and away from
security monitors, Cale gave in to the weariness, not so much of
body but of soul. Both hands on the back wall, he leaned until his
forehead rested on the cool metal surface.

“We won’t know the full extent of what I may have done to

you in taking you from them for a very long time.” Sucking in air,

he turned to face the man standing two feet from him. “I hope it’s
a good thing.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I hope it’s soon
enough.”

The beeping of the communicator signaled the beginning of

what was going to be a series of arduous calls. “Sit down, Eric.
I’ll be at this all day.” He pointed to a chair. “Communicator on.”

Not too surprising, the first was from Procane. The man

was furious and not bothering the slightest in diplomatic protocol.
“Return him immediately or face dire consequences.”

“I think not.” Cale sprawled on the sofa. “I find myself so

pleased with the king’s gift I could not bear to leave without
him.”

“You had every intention of stealing it! You are no more

than a common criminal! The king demands you return his
servant immediately.”

Cale drew a deep breath, staring at a spot on the ceiling.

The things he’d witnessed, the things he’d heard, all the vague
things he had sensed and not understood slid into a clear picture.
“Is it usual protocol to house a visiting ambassador in the king’s
play room,” he asked, his voice ice cold. The garish decorations,
the closet stocked with torture implements, the prepared alcove
cell, none of those things were assembled for his pleasure.
They’d been in constant use. His eyes dropped back, his gaze as
cold as his voice. “Was it a twisted sense of humor that
prompted the king’s gift or even perhaps a thought of
blackmail? It’s unfortunate for him he based his actions on false
rumors. He received no new ideas in how to torture a man from

rumors. He received no new ideas in how to torture a man from
me. We cannot stop all animals who find enjoyment in the agony
of others, but we will stop Zon from taking more prisoners to
turn into slaves.”

Procane’s mouth popped open and closed until he looked

like a beached fish. “You-you-the king-he-he…” Gulping, he
finished, “You have no proof of your claims.”

“My proof stands in this room. Once we analyze the drugs

you’ve given him, deprogrammed him, and…”

Chuckling, Procane told him, “You will make a fool of

yourself with your claims. Save yourself the embarrassment and
return it.”

Selh, get here immediately! Bring a full body scanner.
I wish you would stop yelling at me. I just spilled a full

cup of hot coffee down my chest. On my way.”

“Do you hear me, Cale Peters? Return the servant. It

misses its master, or do you intend to make yourself its new
one.”

“As I said, it is unfortunate you listened to untrue rumors.

Communicator, off.”

As soon as the screen went blank, Cale launched off the

sofa. “Stand up, Eric. Take your clothes off.”

The door opened, and Selh pushed a cart in. “What’s

happened?”

“What one claim could I make that would discredit anything

I said?”

“Since you’ve had him strip down, I assume you assume it

has to do with him.”

has to do with him.”

“Do you want him standing up or lying down?”
“He’s fine as he is.”
Eric stood stark naked, arms and head hanging. Not a

single movement, not even a flinch, changed his position as Selh
flipped the cart top to vertical, pulled at the top, extending its
height and turned a switch on.

Cale laughed, backing up to drop on the sofa. “Yes, I

would have been very embarrassed if I claimed they had
amputated his limbs and attached—fuck, oh fuck.” He pushed
up and moved back to stare at the illuminated screen.

Selh didn’t curse. His voice was faint, his face a mask of

sickness. “I don’t see one bone that hasn’t been broken.”

“How long?
“Five, six,” Selh answered, pointing at different areas.

“Maybe seven years for that one.”

“That fucker’s had him for seven years?”
“Fucker?”
“Lev Tro, that was his private play chamber.”
“He had him somewhere else to do this kind of thing or

perhaps something taken out before we arrived. I didn’t see
anything in that closet that would do this kind of damage.”

“Record it. Do a full external and internal.”
“Cale, what have you got in mind?”
“Record it. Call me when you’re finished.”
“Cale?”
“I’m done, Selh. I can’t take any more.”
Cale walked to his desk and pressed a button on the inter-

Cale walked to his desk and pressed a button on the inter-

ship communication system. “Bay three,” electronic tones
answered.

“Prepare my ship.”
“Yes, Ambassador. What will be your destination?”
“I’ll file that in flight.”
“Yes, sir.”
After disconnecting, he stood there, staring at the desktop,

seeing nothing. What was there he wanted to take? What in
those rooms meant anything to him?

“I’ll go with you,” Selh told him.
“No,” Cale murmured in a whisper. “No.” Pulling himself

out of it, he spoke in a normal tone. “I’m going home. You know
how bored you’d be. You will arrange for his care?”

“Of course. I’ll finish this and return the equipment and then

come back for him.”

“I should pack, I guess.” Crossing the room, he didn’t look

at Eric. He couldn’t. Ten minutes later, he still couldn’t when Eric
shuffled into the bedroom. “Go sit down on the sofa and wait for
Selh.”

No one had given him the order to dress. Naked, Eric’s

hand closed around his cock, pulling at it.

“Stop it, Eric. You’re no longer anyone’s sex slave.”
Still pulling at his cock, Eric cupped his balls with his other

hand, turned, and bent over.

“I said stop it. Go sit down,” Cale snapped, shifting to ease

the fullness growing in his crotch.

the fullness growing in his crotch.

Eric backed toward him, ass first. In a fury, Cale jumped at

him, jerked him up by his shoulders. Eric stepped into him, head
down, but one hand going to Cale’s cock. Cale groaned. “I
can’t keep fucking you when you’re only following some
programmed behavior set in your head. I don’t even have the
excuse any longer of knowing it was being recorded.” He
groaned again, his hips twitching to keep himself from leaning
into the hand caressing his cock. Holding Eric’s head between
his hands, he lifted it. “The drug is wearing off. You can fight
this.”

With his head lifted, he stepped again, into Cale, rotating

his hips to rub his cock against Cale’s.

Bracing the palms of his hands on Eric’s hips, Cale shoved

him away. Eric staggered back, turned and bent over, shuffling
backward, presenting his ass to Cale for the taking. Cale backed
as well to avoid the ass aimed at his crotch. He backed into the
wall and cursed. Jerking open his pants with one hand, he
slapped the door switch with the other, closing and locking the
door. Though Eric would obviously have taken a dry, painful
fucking, Cale would not torture him. He went to the bedside
table, Eric’s ass still following. The same ass wiggled when Cale
smeared on lube.

“Put your hands on the side of the bed,” Cale directed,

smearing himself up as well with one hand, penetrating the tight
asshole with the middle finger from the other hand.

The physical response was a wiggling ass, pushing back,

and an increase in Eric’s breathing rate. If there was any

and an increase in Eric’s breathing rate. If there was any
emotional response, Cale couldn’t see it or sense it.

“You can’t hate me any more than you already do.” He fit

the head of his cock and thrust, burying himself. He bent over
Eric’s back, flexing his hips, concentrating not on reaching his
own climax—that was inevitable—but in giving Eric one. “I wish
I could take it all away from you, all the pain, agony, and terror.”

Eric’s feet shifted, he rocked on Cale’s cock, almost as if

he answered, telling Cale he wanted what Cale did. What a self-
deluding thought, to excuse himself for taking advantage of a man
unable to think, but—God—what a man. To even have
physically survived all that was done to him had taken the
strength of a mountain. His strength was amazing. He rocked,
taking each of Cale’s plunges deeper, increasing their speed, and
increasing the force. One of Eric’s hands left the bed, grabbing
for himself. Cale, from experience he did not care to remember,
knew what he was doing—trying to pinch back his climax.
Without a break in rhythm, Cale snatched a shirt from the case
he’d been packing, swatted Eric’s hand away, and covered his
cock with the cloth.

“Come when it’s your time,” he ordered, “Not when I give

you permission.”

The results were immediate. Eric’s back arched, his butt

clenched hard, triggering Cale. They climaxed together. For each
spurt of Eric’s cum, Cale was squeezed. Milked dry and limp,
Cale fell back to the floor, dragging Eric with him when their
spasms passed.

“All right, you’ve followed your programming,” Cale told

“All right, you’ve followed your programming,” Cale told

him, wiping him dry quickly. “Now get dressed.”

* * * *

Eric had to return to the front room for his clothes.

Dressed, Eric returned to the bedroom. He followed when Cale
carried his packed case to the front room and stood by it while
Cale went through his desk drawers, taking the few items he
wanted, ignoring the incessant beeping of the communicator.
Picking up his case, Cale told him, “Sit on the sofa and wait for
Selh.”

Eric’s body twitched, feet turning to obey, body twisting in

the struggle to overcome the programmed compulsion to obey
and his suppressed will not to. Cale sat his case down and lifted
Eric’s head, a hand to each side of his face. He stared into green
eyes staring unseeingly past him.

“I know you’re in there. No more drugs, now. You’ll work

your way free. People here will help you.” Hesitating, Cale
added, “I know you’ll hate me for this, but it’s something I have
to do.”

Cale kissed him, sweet and tender. He savored the taste of

him, saddened in the lifeless response. “I could love you.” He
touched him lightly on the face and backed away, snatching up
his case and running out the door.

Slowing to a walk in the hall, he touched his lips, rubbing in

the taste of Eric, that and the tormented memories of the man.
He still did not understand what had drawn him so quickly to him

He still did not understand what had drawn him so quickly to him
or why he inexplicably wanted more than the desire just the sight
of him ignited. Unusual. Without the signals and returned
preferences of attraction to a gay man, Cale had never
experienced such a desire to simply be in a man’s presence.
He’d never been a cuddler or gone in much for fondling, even
foreplay. With Eric he had to fight himself from indulging all of
those things. No sooner had he reached satisfaction at Zon than,
if not being observed, if not knowing Eric was not a truly willing
participant, he would have taken him again—or been taken.
Both ways, anyway, Cale wanted him. Yet it went beyond the
physical.

Cale, you have to come back, Selh cried out.
No, I’m done with it. You know as much as—
It’s Eric. You have to come back. He’s hurt himself,

and he-he’s-you have to come back.

Cale ran. Selh did not upset easily. His tone was one of

near hysteria. The cause of it made Cale’s stomach twist when
he hurtled through the door to his quarters. “Eric, sit down!” he
managed, his chest heaving to keep from vomiting.

Eric fell to his knees, sat back on his heels, and bowed to

him, forehead on the floor.

Selh dropped into the nearest chair, leaning forward to bury

his face in his hands.

“How-how…”
“He was against the door when I got here. I could hear the

thumping before I got it open.” Selh straightened. “Every time I

pulled or pushed him away, he went straight back. He was trying
to follow you. You should have ordered him to wait for me.”

“I did.” Recovered enough, he hoped, Cale squatted in

front of Eric, lifted his head, and groaned. “What have you done
to yourself?”

A bruise turning from red to purple covered his forehead.

Blood trickled from his nose. Some even seeped from a slight
cut through one eyebrow.

“If you ordered him to stay and he did that to himself trying

to follow…hell, I don’t know what it means,” Selh said, moving
to squat beside Cale. “I think most of it is superficial, but we’ll
need a scan to be sure he didn’t give himself a concussion. What
did you say to him when you left?”

“That he was free, to sit on the sofa, and wait for you. Help

me get him up. We’ll take him to the infirmary.”

“No.” Selh rose to his feet, taking one of Eric’s arms, lifting

it. Eric stayed put. “There are too many fools here who don’t
know about your mission who will believe you did this.”

“I don’t care what people think.” Cale took Eric’s other

arm, and Eric stood up immediately.

“You do—more than you admit—but do nothing to protect

yourself. That’s always been left up to me. Take him into the
bedroom. Get those bloody clothes off him and get him to bed. I
can take care of this.”

Holding Eric between them, the two men argued. “How do

you propose to keep him hidden?” Cale demanded.

“I don’t. As soon as things quiet down for the night, you’ll

“I don’t. As soon as things quiet down for the night, you’ll

take him with you.”

“I can’t do that!”
“Then you have to stay. He isn’t going to be separated

from you.” He gripped Cale by the shoulder, squeezing tight.
“You’ve made some kind of connection that reached through the
drugs and brainwashing, Cale. How or why that’s happened
we’ll understand more of once we get the drug analyzed, but for
now, you seem to be his lifeline.”

He studied the man weaving between them. “You did

promise to take him home. That may be what he’s grabbed a
hold of.”

“I can’t until he tells—they said they neutralized his voice.

Did you see how in that scan?”

“Yes.”
“Can you reverse it?” The expression on Selh’s face

prompted him to grip Selh’s arm. “Can you reverse it?”

“I can try, but I have no idea how much damage they’ve

done to his larynx. They plugged it with a disk of some non-
organic material. Taking it out may leave too much scar tissue.”

He didn’t ask why Selh hadn’t given him that information

before. Selh knew how it would affect him and had tried to save
him any more anguish. “If I ever get my hands on Lev Tor, I’m
going to kill him.”

“I would help, but for now, let’s take care of Eric.”

* * * *

Cale put Eric to bed, washed his face and applied cold

chemical compresses to his nose and forehead. He had to order
Eric to close his eyes before he could complete the last. The
blank stare never altered as the compress moved close, nor did
the lids lower on their own, when the cold pack touched. They
had him so programmed even his automatic reflexes were
controlled, yet another thing to make Cale’s insides want to
heave.

Arriving back in less than fifteen minutes, Selh carried in a

smaller scanner. With it he determined Eric’s injury was only a
slight concussion, his skull wasn’t fractured even though the
bruising and swelling reached to the top of Eric’s head from
pounding the door in his bowed head position. His nose was not
broken either, a miracle as far as Cale was concerned with the
way it and both of Eric’s eyes had swelled and discolored.

“There’s no damned way we can hide that,” Selh grumbled.

“I’ll have to walk ahead of you and make sure the way is clear.”

“I can’t take him with me, and you know the reason why.”
Selh sighed, straightening to face Cale. “You don’t know

he wasn’t gay before this was done to him. It may have been
what attracted Lev Tro in the first place.”

He couldn’t take his eyes off that damaged face. “He said it

took six men to hold him down for his first lesson.”

“He told you the drugs were anti-rejection too. You can’t

believe anything he said.”

“No, he would want to break a man like this into accepting,

break his will and his spirit. You didn’t feel the hate.”

break his will and his spirit. You didn’t feel the hate.”

“Of course he has hatred. That doesn’t mean it was

directed at you. If you aren’t going to answer the communicator,
turn the damned alert off. The beeping is driving me crazy.”

“They will demand to see him.”
“Yes, they will. I suggest you get him off this ship as soon

as possible.”

“You’ll have to come with us.”
“No.” Selh stood, digging into his bag. “I still have a career

to consider. I won’t live off your wealth.”

“I will hire you.”
“No, Cale.” He made adjustments to the air syringe he

held. “Explain to him what I’m going to do. It’s going to cause
him some pain.”

“You offered to go before. Why do you refuse now?”
“Before I offered on impulse. I’ve had more time to think

about it.”

“You’re right. I’ve asked too much of you through the

years.”

“No, you haven’t, but this I can’t do.” He waved his hand

toward Eric in reminder.

Rather than explain since he wasn’t too sure what Selh

would have to do, he told Eric, “Selh is going to remove the plug
in your throat so you may speak again. Don’t be frightened.
Listen to what he tells you and do as he says.”

“Help me move him so his head hangs over the bed.”
They turned him to lie supine across the width of the bed,

his head hanging off the side to straighten the passage from his

his head hanging off the side to straighten the passage from his
mouth down his throat. Cale sat beside Eric with his hand on his
chest. How much comfort he gave Eric, he didn’t know. It did
comfort him until Eric’s heartbeat started racing with the first
prick of the needle through his skin. “Selh, he’s—”

“I know. I’ll work as fast as I can.”
Rubbing Eric’s chest with his thumb, Cale talked to him.

“This isn’t to harm you. It’s to help, to give you back your voice.
You will have some pain.” He asked Selh, “How much?”

With a penlight in Eric’s mouth and a probe down Eric’s

throat, Selh didn’t answer. He shifted positions for a better
angle, grimaced, and pulled. “I don’t see any kind of stitching,
but it doesn’t want to come out.”

Selh shifted position again. “He has to hold his throat still. I

can’t get a hold of it with it moving.”

Eric’s body was rigid, but the muscles in his throat jumped,

bobbing his larynx. “Hold still.” Cale soothed, stroking Eric’s
throat. “Still, now, still. It’ll be over soon.” He told Selh, “He’s
holding his breath to do it. Hurry.”

“That’s making it worse. He’s too tight. Distract him.”
“Listen to me, Eric. What he’s doing hurts, but it’s okay.

It’ll be over soon. You have to relax.” Cale groaned when Eric’s
arm moved. He was naked under the covers, but the covers
weren’t thick enough to keep him from clutching his cock, lifting
it up from his belly. “Fuck.”

“If that will make him relax, go ahead,” Selh told him.
“Very funny.”

“Very funny.”
“His breathing is restricted. Get his mind off what I’m

doing.”

Damned if he’d fuck him in front of Selh. He did brush

Eric’s hand to the side, taking his cock, massaging it in soft
squeezes. Some of the things he thought to say, would have said
maybe if they were alone, he kept in his head. Every time he was
near Eric, especially when they were touching, he had to remind
himself Eric wasn’t his willing lover. His cock growing hard as a
rock was not anything more than a response to stimulation.

Eric’s hand covered Cale’s, pushing to make Cale stroke

him, his fingers closing to hold, not lay over.

Selh fell backwards, holding up the probe with a gray

substance on the tip. The red of blood covered the edges. “It
tore some. He’s going to have a sore throat for a while.” He laid
the probe on the bedside table. “Help me prop him up.”

Together they turned Eric on the bed. Selh pushed him up,

leaning him into Cale while he arranged the pillow to put Eric in a
half-sitting position. Eric’s hand went to Cale’s crotch, something
Selh didn’t miss when they lowered him, even though Cale
pushed it away and stood.

“I have to say that’s the most bizarre surgery I’ve ever

performed,” Selh commented in a bland tone.

Standing, Cale told him, “It’s his programming. I don’t

know what the trigger is, but he’s compulsive about seducing.”

“Maybe it isn’t his programming. Maybe you’re the reason.

Or at least the trigger.” Selh put the plug in a specimen container
and repacked his bag. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. We’ll

and repacked his bag. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. We’ll
sneak him out then.”

He hadn’t closed the door before Eric’s hand was back at

his crotch and his hips bumped. “You’re in no condition for
that,” Cale told him, no matter how badly his own hips wanted to
hump.

Fearing Eric was going to bounce himself off the bed, Cale

sat back beside him. “I’ll take care of it if you’ll be still.” To
prove it, he flipped the covers back and grabbed hold of Eric’s
cock. “Close your eyes.” He had to have those blank eyes
closed for what he was going to do next. “When you try to kill
me for this, I’ll know you’re getting well.”

Cock gripped tight in his hand, Cale kissed him, really

kissed him, as he’d wanted to do from the first minute he saw
him. He shoved his tongue inside Eric’s mouth, slipping it over
his tongue, running along the inside of his teeth. Sweet, but with a
tang of blood, he drilled his tongue deep, mimicking what he
wanted to do with his cock up Eric’s ass. He settled for going
down on him, kissing his way to the cock he jerked off, taking it
deep in his mouth, sucking hard to begin. He pulled back to swirl
his tongue over the tip, washing away the taste of blood with the
taste of Eric’s pre-cum. His tongue flickered across the tip,
drilled the slit, and slavered over the ridge. He licked from the
base to the crown, sucked and nibbled the sides until Eric lay
rigid on the bed obeying his training to not show his pleasure.
When Eric’s hand moved to pinch off his climax, Cale laced his
fingers through his, holding it away. He took the cock in his
mouth again, swallowing it, swallowing the explosion of cum

mouth again, swallowing it, swallowing the explosion of cum
hitting the back of his throat. Cale sucked him dry, licking and
kissing as the cock softened.

Pulling away, he told him, “Now go to sleep.”
Without looking back, he went to the bathroom to release

his own hard-on.

* * * *

“I’ll contact you when I get the report back on the drug.”
Hesitating at the hatchway, Cale asked again, “Certain you

won’t come with me?”

With a lopsided smile, Selh told him, “Three’s a crowd.”
“It isn’t—”
“It is. If you aren’t already in love with him, you’re falling

fast.” He smiled again. “It’s past time, Cale. You’ve punished
yourself too much, for too long. You’re opening your heart
again.”

For more heartbreak , Cale thought. He said, “You’re a

romantic, Selh. Once he comes out of his stupor, he’s going
home.”

“He may not want to.”
“He will.”
“You do know Lev Tro will have men after you as soon as

you leave the safety of the ship.”

“That thought did occur to me.”
“You can’t go home. That’s the first place they’ll look for

you.”

you.”

“Also a thought that has occurred to me. Take care, Selh. I

am going to miss you.” The last was the closest he would get to
revealing his true feelings for Selh to him. He may well be falling
in love with Eric, but he still loved Selh.

“And I you.”
A large hole in Cale would be left open. They had worked

together for five years, beginning when tests showed they both
possessed a high degree of telepathic abilities. No one had
expected how strong or how quickly those abilities between the
two would develop from random reception of vague thoughts to
full-fledged conversations. The skill had proved invaluable more
times than not when their ambassador assignments included
espionage, while from the very beginning Cale had to hide his
attraction and desire for Selh.

Closing the hatch, Cale’s first impulse when he turned to

find Eric standing a few feet from him was to lead him to the co-
pilot’s seat and strap him in. A different thought followed. Eric
had to start learning to do things for himself.

“Take the co-pilot’s chair and prepare yourself for take-

off.”

Eric hesitated, his jerking feet and body appearing to be in

some manner of conflict. His body won, twisting until his feet
followed, dragging in protest. He did, however, sit in the chair.
He gripped the arm rests until Cale thought he might rip them off
before he settled back, pulled the harness straps over him and
buckled himself in.

Cale had discovered a new way to discover who Eric was

Cale had discovered a new way to discover who Eric was

and where he came from.

“Run through the flight check list.”
Eric’s head quivered before it snapped once in a shake and

his hands again gripped the armrests.

“Do you know how?”
Vibrating from head to toe in a battle either against

programming or drugs, his head inclined a bare fraction of an
inch.

“Is it the language the labels are in?”
The battle took place again. Cale feared Eric would go into

convulsions before his head dipped.

“I’ll teach you as we fly. For now I’ll do it. You rest.”
Cale imagined Eric was exhausted from the injuries he’d

given himself, the surgery, and the intense struggle that had taken
place minutes before, He was relieved when Eric relaxed,
slumping down in the chair, letting the harness auto adjust to his
new position. He could also jump to his feet and dance in joy.
Eric had answered him!

* * * *

Well away from the ship, Cale switched on the autopilot,

released his harness, and stretched. It was early morning on his
time schedule, and he hadn’t slept since the morning before. Eric,
still exhausted from his previous evening’s trials, slept in the co-
pilot’s chair. Cale saw no reason to disturb him, making his way
back to his berth. In his own ship, no more than a shuttle, he

back to his berth. In his own ship, no more than a shuttle, he
didn’t spend money on frivolities. Everything was practical and
compact. The berth was barely long enough for him with only a
few inches to spare on each side if he laid flat on his back. None
of which mattered to Eric when he crawled on top of him.

“No, Eric. There isn’t room for both of us.”
Eric’s persistence turned aggressive. He pulled at the

fasteners of Cale’s jump suit, letting him know without a doubt
what he wanted.

“Eric, we can’t—”
Words choked off when Eric’s tongue went down his

throat. Cale had the strength to hold or push him off. He didn’t.
The hand after his cock as soon as the front of the jumpsuit
opened persuaded him to co-operate. As difficult as it was in the
restricted space, he got the jumpsuit off his shoulders. Getting it
off his hips took them to the floor. Cale was belly down, ass in
the air before he knew it.

“We need lube,” he cried out, already panting and crawling

away.

Strong hands gripped him at the thighs, pulled him back and

a hot, wet tongue hit his ass crack, drilling to find his hole. Cale
had never been tongue fucked in his life and being rimmed made
him wonder why not when it felt so damned good, so totally
erotic. Cale went to his hands and knees, shoving back, and
pushing out. If that tongue wanted up his ass, he’d let it, wanted
it. He wanted the thumb, which jabbed in next, twisting so the
fingers could play with his balls. Already fighting not to shoot off,

fingers could play with his balls. Already fighting not to shoot off,
Cale jerked free when the thumb withdrew and a cock pressed
to enter.

Twisting to his butt and scrambling backward, he shouted,

“You aren’t going to dry fuck me.”

Damned if Eric didn’t follow, on his hands and knees, head

down, snatching at his feet to catch him. He recognized what
phase Eric was going through. A fantasy rape was one of the
favorite games in a dominant-submissive, sadomasochistic life
style. Eric wasn’t really trying to rape him. If it were for real,
he’d use his fists to subdue him. He was being rough, pretending.

Cale twisted to his front scrabbling to his suitcase, falling to

his chest every time Eric caught and jerked one of his feet. He
had the lube in his hand when Eric got both of his feet, flipped
him over and pulled him until his feet were to either side of his
hips.

Cale worked the top of the lube, squeezed some on his

fingertips, and frantically twisted to slap it on his ass while Eric
forced his legs up, pressing them down to his chest. The damn
tube of lube went everywhere when Eric rammed himself in and
Cale’s ass clenched in pain.

“You’re hurting me! Calm down!” Squirming to ease the

burning and intense stretch from the lack of complete
preparation, he cussed. “God damned D/s shit. I don’t know the
fucking safe word to turn you off!”

Cale couldn’t do anything more than clench his fists and

ride through it. Hard and no satisfaction to the victim was the
rape scene. He knew it wouldn’t last long, and sighed in relief

rape scene. He knew it wouldn’t last long, and sighed in relief
when Eric shot off. He expected Eric to pull away, which was
usually how the scenes ended. Instead he slid until he lay with his
head in Cale’s crotch. He licked and then sucked one of Cale’s
balls into his mouth, but damned if he didn’t pinch the base of
Cale’s cock to keep him from coming.

“Please, baby, please let me come.” Cale knew he didn’t

sound sincere. He wasn’t. He was reciting the games the D/s
group played. He and Selh had studied them before they went
underground in the clubs. “Please, baby, I’ve got to come.”

In less than a minute, it was no longer a game. Eric

proceeded to give him the gentlest, most erotic blowjob he’d
ever had. “You’re my master, sir. Please let me come.”

At two minutes, Cale would have given just about anything,

said anything to get relief. “I belong to you. I’m your pet.” He
ground the last word off with a groan. “Oh, God damn it! Let me
come! Please!”

Eric released his hold at the base of Cale’s cock and

jerked his head back, holding Cale’s cock so the cum shot all
over his own belly and chest. Limp when it finally ended, Cale
sprawled, arms flopped out to his side and his legs spread with
Eric still between them. He thought the show was over. His
mistake. Eric crawled up, and starting at his shoulders, began to
lick the splattered cum off.

Hands on both Eric’s shoulders, Cale tried to push him

away. “I can clean it off.”

Eric caught his wrists, pushed them to the floor and

continued with his cleaning job. Too tired to fight him or play the

continued with his cleaning job. Too tired to fight him or play the
game, Cale dropped his head to the floor, letting it happen. Eric
must be following some kind of programmed scenario and had to
play it out before he’d quit. Passively letting it happen lasted until
Eric sucked a nipple into his mouth, nibbling while he ran his
tongue over the tip.

“Oh, fuck,” Cale said with a groan, his cock twitching and

growing. “Time for a new safe word. You hear me? New safe
word. Pilot. When I tell you pilot, you stop.” Eric moved to his
second nipple. The safe word was forming on his lips until Eric
lowered himself, using his belly to massage Cale’s cock by
rocking. “I’m going to hate myself for this.”

Cum sticky between them, Eric worked himself down,

licking and nipping. Cale expected another blowjob when Eric
reached his cock and gave it a good sucking. Instead, once he
had Cale good and hard again, Eric rose up, turned, lifted Cale’s
cock, smeared it with cum he’d gathered on his hands, and sat
back down, taking the cock inside him.

“I don’t like it like this. On your hands and knees.”
Eric went into deaf mode. Rolling his hips, back and forth,

pulling off an inch or two, pushing back on, driving Cale crazy.
He only thought he didn’t like it that way. With Eric’s legs
together, he was tighter around Cale than he’d ever been,
clenching even more with each roll of his hips. Cale drew his
knees up and spread them, letting Eric settle even lower. Cale’s
climax rocked him. He bucked hard enough to nearly throw Eric
off, and jackknifed up, swinging his arms around Eric. He

wanted to hold him, damn it, he wanted to hold him while he
came, and clutched him tight, kissing his neck and shoulders.

“Pilot,” he whispered, still panting to catch his breath.

“Pilot. No more today or you’ll fucking fuck me to death.”

* * * *

“I’ll give it to you in layman’s terms since I know how you

are with anything scientific.”

“Please do.”
“You can spout off phrases from the seventeenth century

on, but—”

“Selh, please.”
“The drug they’ve been giving Eric blocks any free will as

we suspected and suppresses the conscious mind, making them
helplessly vulnerable to imprinting.”

“It’s something the doctors there are familiar with and

know the effects?”

“Wakerri.”
“Illegal as hell.”
“Not if you aren’t a member of the Alliance. We’re getting

a lot of flak on that point as well as being accused of interfering
in a planet’s free rights.”

“Neither unexpected. What about the drug? How long is it

going to last?”

“A couple of weeks to a couple of months. Sorry, I can’t

be more specific. It’ll wear off by degrees. Those imprints are
going to be at different levels, depending on where he was when

going to be at different levels, depending on where he was when
they were forced into him. So some will wear off sooner than
others. There’s also the forced training, about which we have no
information. Your boy’s going to be erratic as hell.”

Cale grunted. After the morning he’d gone through, that

was putting it mildly. Once he got Eric to stop, and he hadn’t
been sure Eric couldn’t have gone on forever, Eric dropped into
a deep sleep. “Long term after-effects?”

“Flashbacks are common. There could be any number of

possible effects too varied to give you an answer even if we
knew how much physical and mental abuse went along with it.
The levels develop in stages according to how long the drug is
given. The stuff deposits itself in the blood and tissue, releasing
various components, depending on the duration of each
component. What we saw was the wearing off of the one with
the least longevity. Wakerri was designed to create the perfect
slave, Cale, and it does. None of the torture he went through
was necessary as long as he was on it. He’d have done anything
they told him including cutting his own throat. The thing is, it’s
expensive, too expensive to keep an army under control and too
difficult to keep administering under battle conditions. The other
cyborgs you saw, and Eric, were special cases. Now there’s
doubt Lev Tro is building an army despite the rumors the
Alliance has heard or what we reported. ”

“They were sex slaves, strong enough to survive whatever

they did to them, and a different commodity. Lev Tro is still in
the slave trade.”

the slave trade.”

“Yeah. How’s Eric doing?”
“He answered me yesterday. I thought he was going to go

into convulsions fighting the drug, but he answered me.”

“Vocal?”
“Head movement.”
“I hate to tell you this, but the Alliance wants you to bring

him back.”

“They want to study him.”
“Yes. As you say, not unexpected. There’s more. Lev Tro

has offered a bounty on your head. He’s calling it a reward for
information as to your whereabouts and the return of his servant.
There’s something off about this whole thing, Cale. I can’t see
him going to such extremes for a slave he can replace.”

“Saving face. I stole from him. Now he has to prove I

won’t get away with it.”

“He could have just kept his mouth shut. He gave him to

you, damn it.”

“But never expected me to take him off the planet. Nor did

he ever expect him to be off the drug.”

“I know that tone. What do you have ticking in that brain of

yours?”

“Nothing solid, but you may be right about there being

some other reason.” Cale drew in a deep breath and exhaled
slowly, tapping a finger on the armrest. “Might be able to
discover what when Eric can talk to me. Until then, keep me
posted.”

“Negative. I’ve been put on suspension.”

“Negative. I’ve been put on suspension.”
Cale jerked straight up in his chair. “Because of me?”
“Yeah, they have this idea I should have stopped you

instead of walking you to the gangplank. I should have taken you
up on your offer.”

“Don’t worry about it. The sky isn’t going to fall in. You’ll

get reinstated as soon as they get over being pissed over losing
him.”

“I think it’s a bit more than that, but you’re right. I’m not

going to lose any sleep over it. I’m going to take the time to do
some of the traveling I’ve always wanted to do, see the sights
instead of working on the planets I visit.”

“Do you need any funds?”
“No. To use one of your phrases, I’m flush.”
“I’m going off radio, Selh. This is the last time we can talk.”
“Be careful.”
“You too.”
Cale flipped a switch, not only ending the transmission but

turning off the radio. He wouldn’t be able to monitor Alliance
calls, but they wouldn’t be able to send a tracing beam either.
His next course of action was to change course. They’d headed
long enough toward his home. It was time to make his way to
where he’d intended from the moment he decided to take Eric
with him. To begin, Lev Tro might have gone after him for
embarrassing and insulting him. He was willing to take his
chances on that. Once he took Eric, he knew without a doubt,
Lev Tro would stop at nothing to find them.

The source of his dilemma knelt beside his chair and turned

The source of his dilemma knelt beside his chair and turned

it, his hand going to the convenient zipper at his crotch. Cale
caught his hands. “No.” Eric air humped. “No.” Twice refused,
he stood, turning his ass to Cale’s face. “No.”

Cale meant to turn Eric to face him. Eric twisted, falling in

his lap. In that position, Cale did one of the things he’d wanted
to do from the beginning. He embraced him. “You’ve got to get
it through your head you aren’t a pleasure slave anymore. The
drugs are wearing off. You’re going to gain more and more
control…and you’ll remember what you were before, what you
loved and hated.” He planted a kiss on his neck and pushed him
off. “Let’s get something to eat.”

Cale had to push him further as he stood, and again to get

by him to reach the galley section of the ship. “Did you hear the
whole conversation?”

His nod was jerky, but he didn’t have to struggle to the

degree he looked like he was having a seizure.

“They suspended Selh. He’s going to meet us in five days.

We’ll go from there to a place I know, a planet with enough
hostile indigenous wildlife to discourage settlers. It also doesn’t
have enough minerals on it to interest mining companies. It does,
however, have breathable air. I set up a safe hideaway for myself
years ago. Lev Tro isn’t the only one who’s ever wanted my
head.”

Eric still stood by the pilot chairs, head and arms hanging.
“I hate that position, and you no longer need to hold it.

Raise your head and look at me.” Eric raised his head. He didn’t

Raise your head and look at me.” Eric raised his head. He didn’t
look at him, but past him with that empty stare. Cale was certain
he’d responded to what he perceived as an order, rather than
resisting his programming. “Sit down. I’ll bring you something to
eat as soon as it heats.”

Eric knelt on the floor by the pilot’s chair.
“Sit, Eric, damn it! You’re not a damn pet anymore!” He

rushed at him, shaking him by the shoulders. “You don’t kneel at
anyone’s feet, and you don’t get fed scraps from the table like a
dog. Stand up and sit in the chair.”

Eric didn’t stand, he sank, folding down to his knees, his

shoulders shaking.

Cale dropped to his knees beside him and pulled him in his

arms against his chest. Another D/s phase? “I’m sorry, baby. It’s
okay. I’m not mad. Just sit in the chair.”

Twisting, Eric wrapped his arms around Cale’s waist,

straightening enough to push his face into the crook of his neck
and shoulder. Cale kissed him on the ear. “It’s okay. Get up
now so I can finish our dinner.”

Instead, Eric pushed until Cale sat down, stretching himself

across Cale’s legs. Cale shoved him off, jerking his legs free.
“I’m not a fucking Dom,” he shouted at him. “I don’t do
spanking. I don’t do bondage. If you don’t get anything else
through your head, you get that.”

Eric didn’t stand. He went to his hands and knees and

crawled toward him.

Still shouting, Cale told him, “I’m not your Dom! You stand

up like a man and look at me.”

up like a man and look at me.”

Eric stood. He raised his head too. He didn’t look at Cale.

Cale couldn’t take it anymore. In the open-structured craft, there
was nowhere to go to be alone but the head. He stood in the
shower, his hands braced on the sink, sucking in air. His body
shook until he sat on the commode to keep his legs from
collapsing. It took him ten minutes to get himself back under
control.

“I’m sorry,” he said as soon as he stepped back out. “I

shouldn’t have lost my temper.”

In the exact same place as he’d left him, Eric made no

response. He probably didn’t know how to respond. In all his
training, getting an apology for being raved at didn’t seem likely.

“Go sit down in the chair and wait for your dinner.”
Obeying, sitting in the chair, bowed over until his head

nearly touched his knees was not what Cale had in mind. He let
it pass. He’d screwed up enough for one day. He pulled the
food out of the heater, tossed it on plates, and carried them to
the chairs. “Eat.”

Cale didn’t tell him to sit up straight. Cale slid the plate onto

Eric’s legs, under his nose, and sat down next to him. “I don’t
know how much you understand or if you’ll remember what I
say. Right about now I don’t know much of anything. I
overreacted. The whole D/s thing drives me crazy. My brother,
he, ah, he was in a D/s relationship. I’ve spent nearly my entire
adult life fighting for the rights of others to be free and when I
saw how—saw the way he lived, I didn’t understand. Even now
my head tells me a dominant relationship is voluntary,

my head tells me a dominant relationship is voluntary,
consensual, but my emotions still see it as a loss of will.”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Eric ate

steadily with no indication he heard or listened. Cale wasn’t too
interested in his own food.

“We fought about it. I wanted to save him from a man I

believed was abusing him. The man was older. My brother was
only seventeen. They went to the clubs a lot, did scenes, that
kind of thing. He wore a collar when they went out. He said it
didn’t mean anything more than he belonged to him. Belonged
was the word that made me crazy. No one human being should
own another. I learned the difference when a club they were at
was raided. The slavers had the idea someone already trained as
a submissive would be easier to sell. They didn’t stop to
consider love. I hadn’t stopped to consider love. My brother’s
Dom was killed trying to protect him because he loved him. My
brother was his submissive because he loved his Dom. He didn’t
love the man they sold him to. The man who bought him wasn’t a
Dom. He was a sadistic bastard like Lev Tro. My brother
wouldn’t submit to his owner and was dead before I could find
him.”

He smiled grimly. “I know that lifestyle wasn’t what killed

him. I know it, but that’s only logic. I can’t tolerate it.”

All of Eric’s movement stopped with the last bite off his

plate. He sat, hands holding the plate, waiting.

“I’m tired, Eric. I’m going to lie down, and I don’t want

you to disturb me.” He took his full plate and Eric’s empty one,

dumping both. He had probably just ripped his heart out for
nothing.

* * * *

He hadn’t been disturbed. He woke up even feeling like he

could handle Eric again. The thought lasted until he saw Eric
slumped over in the chair asleep. Damn it! He’d never thought to
tell him to lie down when he got tired. Cale’s light touch on
Eric’s shoulder startled him. He shot straight to his feet and then
dropped to his knees.

Taking a deep breath first to control his temper, Cale told

him as calmly as possible, “Sit on the chair.” Cale started back
to the galley, schooling himself not to show his reaction to a man
on his knees in front of him. “Do you need to relieve yourself?”

The full-fledged nod he got in answer was some

consolation.

“Go on in. Do whatever you need to do. Take a shower if

you want to.”

Preparing the food packs and heating them took all of two

minutes. Cale left Eric’s on the counter and carried his to the
pilot’s chair. Eric came out a few minutes later, stark naked,
which Cale should have anticipated.

“Take your plate and come sit down,” he told him, eyes on

his plate to avoid the view. Scarred or not, Eric had a beautiful
body, and even soft, he had an impressive-sized cock. Not that
Cale hadn’t noticed both those things before. He would never
lose his appreciation of the sight. Neither, it seemed, would his

lose his appreciation of the sight. Neither, it seemed, would his
cock. He’d have been happier if Eric had been covered when he
sat down with his plate balanced on his thighs.

“There are fresh jumpsuits in the middle compartment. You

can dress when you finish.”

Eric’s head wobbled in a battle before it shook to the side.
“No?” A smile creased Cale’s face. “You’re telling me

no?”

One finger stretched out from where it held to the plate,

pointing at Cale. A point at him while refusing clothes could
mean about anything, but Cale had a pretty good idea it only
meant one thing coming from Eric. “I’m not angry with you. You
don’t have to appease me.” Eric pointed again, putting Cale in a
dilemma yet again. Sex was withheld for punishment. Sex was
given as a reward. If he refused, Eric would think he was being
punished. If he accepted, he’d think he was being rewarded,
keeping him in the D/s mind frame. “After we eat.” He smiled
again when Eric nodded. Reward for any reason was better than
the punishment he’d already suffered. When Eric’s mind cleared,
pleasure was what Cale wanted him to remember, and he wasn’t
going to worry if he was rationalizing just to have sex with him.

Chapter Four

“You could not have parked closer?” Selh complained,

huffing as he trudged up the gangplank.

With a case hanging from his neck in front, a backpack

reaching from the top of his head to his butt, another large case
in one hand and two smaller cases in the other, he had reason to
puff.

“Was it necessary to bring so much?” Cale countered,

taking the large case from Selh’s hand.

“Was I to take a galaxy tour without being prepared?” Selh

shifted the two smaller cases, one to each hand. “They were
watching me, you know.”

“Still?” Cale led the way inside, going straight to the storage

units.

Selh answered while they stored his cases, doing a bit of

shoving to make them all fit. They could not take off with loose
items capable of becoming missiles in flight. “It is hoped they still
watch the front while I lowered my precious belongings out the
window in the back, hoping I did not kill or injure myself in
following. The large case, by the way, is filled with your clothes,
for the two of you. I didn’t think you’d think to bring enough for
two.”

Only after the compartments were securely closed did Selh

look at Eric, strapped down in a berth. “How is he?”

look at Eric, strapped down in a berth. “How is he?”

“Virile,” Cale answered, taking the pilot’s chair, lowering

himself gingerly. His ass and insides felt bruised and his cock
raw. He would not say how many times or the variety of
positions he had found himself in during the last five days. Eric’s
education in providing variation ranged from begging to
threatening actual harm.

“So you must restrain him?” Selh asked in a tease, taking

the seat beside him.

Cale lifted off from the air dock. “As I fear he perceives

restraint as punishment, I attempt to limit it, but when there is no
other answer, I do so. As you are a not a voyeur or homosexual,
I fear this is going to be an uncomfortable journey for you in so
restricted a space. I have identified triggers for some behavior,
but unfortunately, simply being in his presence is all it takes the
majority of the time. The king could not have been with him
around the clock as I have been or they both would have died
from exhaustion.”

“You still believe it’s only his programming that causes him

to seek your constant attention?”

Cale’s smile held a trace of sadness he made no effort to

hide. “He’s pleasing his master, Selh, as he was tortured into
learning to do. No more.”

Selh leaned forward. “Where are you taking us? We need

to leave here as quickly as possible. They must know by now I
am no longer in that hotel.”

“And will be looking for my ship.” He pointed to the large

luxury air yacht tethered in a floating berth in an isolated field.

“Ah, now I understand why you have flown so close to the

ground in a circle.” He chuckled. “While they search for the
frugal, you will hide in obscene extravagance and gain us time to
disappear before they trace your purchase of it.”

“They will not. A man whose identity I created years ago

bought it.”

“Excellent. Should I inquire as to why you felt the need to

do so?”

“Though I planned my revenge, I planned also to live after.”
They lapsed into silence for a moment before Selh asked,

“Did you manage it without exposure?”

“Yes.” Cale eased the ship into the lifeboat bay of the

yacht. “Fortunate now, don’t you think?”

His brother’s murderer had died in a private room believing

he had seduced a man into joining him who would allow himself
to be strapped into a sling to play a scene of bondage and rape.
The club owners wouldn’t have cared had the scene gone too far
causing death or injury to the submissive. Such was the way on
Oathin. He imagined their surprise when their patron, not a
nameless man from off the street, was found gagged, castrated,
and bled to death instead.

“Did it ease your guilt?” Selh asked softly as they stood.
“No, but it made one less of the Oathin slave ring.” He

went to the berth. “Unless there’s something you need now,
we’ll unload later.”

No sooner were the straps holding Eric into the berth

No sooner were the straps holding Eric into the berth

released, than Eric, naked, fell to the floor on his knees, bending
over with his head on the floor.

“Why is he naked, and what’s he doing?”
“I can’t keep clothes on him is why he’s naked. He wasn’t

allowed any, remember? As to what he’s doing, asking for
forgiveness for whatever reason I tied him up—I think.”

“That Dom/submissive training is disgusting.”
“This isn’t D/s,” Cale snapped and shook his head at the

tone of his own voice. “Sorry, Selh. I’m exhausted, but more
and more I come to realize the difference between the lifestyle
my brother chose and this.”

Switching to thought he explained, He will go through a

series now, begging for forgiveness, begging to be able to
please me so he doesn’t suffer more or worse punishment.

The series began. Eric inched forward until the top of his

head touched Cale’s shoes. Head still on the floor, his hands slid
up Cale’s shins, without the slightest doubt of where they were
aimed.

“Not now.” He told Selh, “I’ve tried stopping this. At his

feet, Eric rotated, offering his ass. The programming is buried
too deep. As some of my efforts triggered other responses
more demeaning and sickening, I find this one the easiest to
deal with. I can at least put him off as long as I can stand it.

Selh raised an eyebrow at the last.
You’ll see what I mean after I deny him for long. He

stepped around Eric, telling him, “Follow me, Eric.”

Eric obeyed, falling into step behind him, pulling on his cock

Eric obeyed, falling into step behind him, pulling on his cock

with one hand, squeezing the base with the other, and air
humping.

“How long can he keep that up?”
Cale led them to the lounge. “Until I either allow him sex or

order him to leave me alone. If I deny him, he weeps.”

“At least here you can put him in a room and close the

door.”

“I locked myself in the head, thinking being out of his sight

would stop it. He slammed his head against the door. When I
ordered him to stop, to go sit down, and leave me alone, he sat
on the floor at the door until I came out. I did warn you this
would not be a pleasant journey.” He turned to Eric. “Not now.
We are going to eat first. Stop begging.”

The jerking on his cock stopped, his hips stilled their

pumping, but one hand still squeezed the base of his cock.
Moisture dripped from his down-turned face.

“He’s crying?” Selh exclaimed.
“Yes.” Cale stroked Eric’s hair. “Fix us something to eat,

Selh. We’ll join you after I’ve calmed him.”

He was to beg the bastard and be so devastated he

wept? Selh demanded.

No. He cries because he’s so terrified of the coming

pain of the punishment for not being able to please him.

Cale led Eric into the bedroom. He started for the bed,

stopping in the center of the floor instead. If he went to bed first,
it signaled a D/s scene. He avoided starting one whenever he
could. Inadvertently triggering one that developed into a

could. Inadvertently triggering one that developed into a
particularly violent scene taught him a lesson. He also doubted
Selh would have understood the sounds of struggle they would
produce. Cale had to take them once they started as much as he
could. If he used the safe word, it triggered another begging
sequence for failing to please him properly.

“I don’t know if you are deprogramming or I am being

trained the most, Eric.”

As always Cale was already aroused, his cock throbbing,

and he still had not identified all the triggers. Eric went into
aggressive mode, his hand stroked down Cale’s flanks, circling
his hips, gripping his ass cheeks firmly, drawing Cale to him to
grind their cocks together while Eric’s tongue licked at his throat.
Cale’s head fell back, welcoming the attention, giving Eric
clearer access. He didn’t know if he would give or receive this
time. He hadn’t recognized enough triggers as yet as to what
signaled Eric on how to proceed. Silence and acquiescence was
usually the best on his part, waiting and seeing, but his body
always responded. Retrieving Selh and docking without any
distractions had taken several hours. He expected an extended
bout with Eric performing extra hard to please and avoid
punishment.

Thinking of how long he’d had Eric strapped in that berth,

he asked, “Have you need to relieve yourself?”

Eric withdrew, head and shoulders hunched. In dread of

what he might have triggered, Cale pointed to the head and sat
on the edge of the bed to wait. Fifteen minutes later, Eric tackled

on the edge of the bed to wait. Fifteen minutes later, Eric tackled
him from behind, threw him to his back, and used towels torn
into strips and tied together as makeshift ropes to bind his wrists
one at a time to the elaborate headboard. The scene, Eric’s first
in bondage, was going to be rough.

Cale gave token struggle as was expected, grateful the

bindings weren’t tight to a degree he couldn’t have pulled loose if
necessary. He hoped to be able to carry through without using
the safe word. Only then would Eric subside when both had
climaxed. He also hoped a spanking wasn’t going to be involved.
His ass had stung for an hour after an episode thrown across
Eric’s lap had left him shamefully aroused followed by an intense
climax when Eric finished by fucking him.

“What are you going to do, sir?” Cale recited the formulaic

words, twitching to hold still, nervous over what Eric would do,
as he was again ashamed of his swift arousal. He knew he had to
hold any climax until given permission to come. In the past
holding back had been to extend his own pleasure, never in
consideration of a man he fucked, building him to climax first.
“Don’t tease me, please sir. Let me come.”

Eric knotted the crude rope ends around each of Cale’s

ankles. Cale straightened his legs, expecting the length to be
draped under the foot of the bed. He received a smart slap on
his belly and went limp. With the middle of the rope’s length in
both hands, Eric crawled between Cale’s legs, pushing the rope
to the head of the bed, lifting Cale’s feet toward the wall. He
spread his hands, shortening the distance, spreading Cale’s legs,
leaving his ass in the air.

leaving his ass in the air.

“Lube’s in the drawer, baby. We don’t want to make your

beautiful cock sore.”

Or his ass anymore. Spit and cum might well allow

entrance, but not as smooth a one. Although Eric most often
bottomed, his cock had to be as sensitive as Cale’s as well after
all the times he’d fucked him. Eric leaned over him to reach the
drawer. As always, despite what he did, his face was an
expressionless mask, the man behind it operating by rote. He
straightened with two things in his hand, and Cale tensed.

The foot-long dildo supplied for Cale’s self-satisfaction

could be dangerous in another man’s hands. He hadn’t planned
on bringing a guest along when he made preparations for the
possible need for escape after killing his brother’s murderer. Him
pumping something that size up his ass, and being able to stop
when he knew when it was too much, was a far cry from
someone else ramming it in who couldn’t feel when a limit had
been reached.

“Give me your cock, please, sir.”
His alarm grew when, instead of obeying, Eric sat back on

his heels, hands out of sight beneath Cale’s airborne ass. When
he rose, one finger penetrated Cale’s ass at the same time as
Eric took Cale’s too hard and painful cock in his mouth. While
the hot wet mouth promised nearly instant relief, the other
promised a deeper satisfaction. A second finger and then a third
promised more and more, teasing his prostate, driving in, pulling
out, stretching him for what Cale wanted, Eric’s cock up his ass.

“Fuck me, please fuck me, sir. Please give me your cock,”

“Fuck me, please fuck me, sir. Please give me your cock,”

he begged, panting for a gulp of air between each word. Only
then would Eric release the hold of his free hand, blocking Cale’s
climax.

The fingers left his ass, but the mouth didn’t leave his cock

any more than the fingers pinching off his climax. Hard, cold
rubber shot up his ass. “Eric, be careful!” he cried, convulsing,
nearly slapping his stiff cock in his own face, he jerked away so
hard.

He broke the rules, he veered from the game, and paid for

it. Eric went to his knees slapping one ass cheek and then the
other with the hand not holding and twisting the dildo in Cale’s
ass. He didn’t, however, hold Cale’s cock any longer. At the
angle Cale hung at, his cock spurted his cum in his own face, and
Eric still applied stinging open-handed swats to his ass.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped out. “I’m sorry, sir.” Two more

swats and he couldn’t take anymore. “Pilot, damn it, pilot! Untie
me!”

Eric flew from the bed, dropping to his knees, head on the

floor, his ass pointing at Cale.

“Fuck.” Expelling the dildo was no problem even if he felt

like he’d just pushed out a baseball bat. Working one hand free
to get to the knots at his ankles and other wrist took longer. He
was pretty damned pissed when he managed it. “I’m going to get
a shower. You go to bed and fucking stay there.”

* * * *

Selh concentrated entirely too hard on the book in his lap

when Cale came from the bedroom. Without looking up, he said,
“I take it pilot is your safe word.”

Furious, Cale retorted, “If you weren’t straight I’d have

you join in to relieve me. He’s fucking me to death.”

Cale was hit with a wave of emotion that staggered him as

Selh said, “If it would get me with you, I’d be interested.”

“My God, Selh, I—you never—fuck!”
“Sorry.” Selh closed his book and met Cale’s astonished

stare. “I didn’t mean to let it slip out. It’ll make things awkward
now that you’re in love with him.”

“How could you have hid that from me for so long?”
“The more you learned to hone your sensing abilities, the

more I learned to barricade mine from you. I didn’t fall in love
with you all at once, either.”

“You aren’t gay?”
“No, and I’ve never wanted any other man. It wasn’t even

until we were on Oathin, pretending to be lovers that I realized
how much I wanted those little embraces and kisses to be true,
not pretense on your part, and how much I wanted to make love
to you. I tried to tell myself it was just the situation, surrounded
by all that sexual stimulation. Once we left there, I knew it wasn’t
true. Outwardly it was even easier to hide. You’d killed all your
loving emotions when Eric died. You didn’t want love, you
didn’t expect it from me, and didn’t see it.”

“I wasn’t pretending,” Cale choked out. “They were a way

to touch you that you’d never allow otherwise.” Cale twisted to
look at the bedroom door. “I can’t—”

“I know. Even if he wasn’t about to fuck you to death, you

feel loyalty to him.” A small smile touched his lips. “One of the
things I love in you. He’s brought you back to feeling something
besides anger, guilt, and grief. I love him, too, for that.”

For a tormenting moment the thought of ordering Eric into a

threesome flickered across his mind. The sensation of that dildo
going up his ass at the same time his cock was throat deep in a
mouth had been instant climax awesome. He couldn’t do that to
Eric. The man was never gay to start with. Once he found his
conscious mind he’d reject Cale with a hatred Cale knew he
deserved. He might well be helping Eric fight through those levels
of torture and programming, but he was fucking him because he
wanted to. Eric would need Selh when he could think on his own
again, a straight man to help him find his way, except Selh had
just admitted to wanting a homosexual relationship.

“Once we take Eric home, there’ll be time for us.”
“Not if you don’t love me too, Cale.”
“I’ve always loved you. I didn’t allow myself to express it,

Selh, but I’ve loved you for years,” he said in misery. He drew a
deep breath, looked to the ceiling and blew it out, not that the
exercise helped relieve his stress much. “I didn’t know how
much until your blast knocked down my last defenses against
ever loving anyone again. I love you both. God, can you
understand that?”

“Yes.” He too looked at the bedroom door. “He’s like a

“Yes.” He too looked at the bedroom door. “He’s like a

magnet, isn’t he, drawing out every emotion. Everything in me
wants to protect and help him as much as I want to make love to
him.”

Cale couldn’t help remembering all the nights he’d gone to

bed with a hard-on wishing Selh was with him. His mouth
twisted into a grin. “Are you going to bottom or demand top?”

Selh chuckled. “I’ve imagined it both ways. I thought

maybe I could start on top and work into the bottom. It’s going
to be a new experience for me either way.” He shook his head
and chuckled again. “Don’t look so serious, Cale. I’ve waited
this long. I can wait as long as it takes. I’ll go heat that food up
now.”

Taking another deep breath to settle himself after those

revelations, Cale called to Eric. “Eric, take a shower and then
come to the galley.”

Within moments, Eric stood at the bedroom door, stark

naked as usual, head and arms hanging.

“Selh, change of plan. I’ll get the food. You get Eric into

some clothes.” He added in thought, and we’ll see if you’re
right about me being the only one he responds to.

Selh came back from the galley grumbling. “That won’t

work. You’re his master.”

“Anyone that walked into that room was his master.”
“He never made any sexual moves toward me no matter

what you ordered.” He walked by Eric. “Come back in here.”

Eric didn’t move.
“Go with him, take a shower, and get dressed,” Cale

“Go with him, take a shower, and get dressed,” Cale

ordered. Eric still didn’t move to obey, but his body twisted and
jerked. Cale threw his hands in the air in frustration. “I don’t
know what he can or can’t fight yet.”

Standing behind Eric, Selh replied, “He doesn’t either, and

if the doctors are right, it can change from minute to minute. Is he
okay? He looks like he’s going into a grand mal.” Selh laid a
hand on Eric’s shoulder, and Eric flinched, twisting away.
“Maybe you’d better—”

“No.” Cale held a hand out to silence Selh.
Eric’s body seemed to shake forever before he took one

step toward Cale and got one hand to his own cock, jerking on
it. He’d disobeyed. Cale could have cheered. He signaled Selh
instead to come out, while he went to Eric. He had to show him,
prove to him enough times disobedience wouldn’t earn
punishment until he believed it.

Selh came out, grumbling again. “I’m going to eat. You two

may never make it in there.”

As predicted, a bout of shower sex followed, Eric taking it

up the ass while warm water sprayed down on the two, the heat
and pounding of the water intensifying every sensation. Cale was
in such a state of exhaustion, he leaned one elbow on the table to
keep himself up. He had to straighten to be able to eat and
continually remove Eric’s searching fingers from his lap. Unable
to stand anymore, he stood, tapped the table, and gave a stern
order.

“You stay here. I’m going to lie down and get some rest.

Stay here.”

Stay here.”

“Good luck,” Selh murmured.
Try to keep him here. I’m going to end up sick if I don’t

get some rest.

Both of you will if he doesn’t slow down. It might be

better to lock him in a room even if he cries.

He thinks it’s punishment, Selh, or that the punishment

is coming. He gave Eric’s hand a squeeze. Being alone may be
part of the punishment as well. Giving Eric a kiss on the cheek
he told him, “I’ll be back in a few hours. You can lie down on
the sofa if you want and sleep while I do.”

* * * *

“I tried to keep him out,” Selh explained. “He sat still for

the first hour. When he got up, I thought maybe he was headed
for the sofa. When he walked by it, I pushed him down and have
been fighting him since then to keep him there.”

Groggy as hell, Cale pushed out of the bed and staggered

slightly as Eric crawled onto it. “Not now, Eric.” He told Selh,
“Anytime he joins me in bed, he thinks he has to play a scene.”

“You just did that a couple of hours ago.”
“I know.”
Cale and Selh stood facing each other. They never saw

what was coming until they both jumped, clutching at Eric’s
hands gripping each by the cock. Cale did no more than tense
and stand still. Selh’s first reaction was to push the hand away
and back off until he looked into Cale’s eyes. Trembling, he

and back off until he looked into Cale’s eyes. Trembling, he
stayed steady, gripping the wrist, pushing the hand back.

“You’ll have to teach me, Cale. Even as much as I watched

it on Oathin, I don’t know what to do.”

“Take your clothes off to start.”
All three stripped. Selh’s body language showed how much

he wanted to cover up, flinching again when Eric took his cock.
He fell back against the wall, legs straddled, when Eric took him
in his mouth. He exhaled, slamming his head back, when a finger
wet with pre-cum went up his ass.

“Cale, I don’t know if I can…” He ended in a shudder,

gripping Eric’s hair with both hands.

Cale pulled Eric back. Selh, though willing, was a virgin.

Virgins didn’t do well their first time out on the bottom. “Lay on
your back on the bed, legs hanging over the end,” he told Selh.
He took lube from the tabletop, squeezed a goodly portion out
and slowly massaged Selh’s wet cock, covering him completely.

Eric didn’t go to the bed. He stood behind Cale, clenching

and unclenching Cale’s ass cheeks. He stooped enough to run a
hand up between Cale’s legs, raising him to his toes in surprise
and dropping back down in pleasure when Eric cupped his balls,
his thumb working into the hole of his ass.

“Cale,” Selh said with a groan, “I’m going to last about five

seconds.”

“If you can’t finish me off, Eric will.” If Eric didn’t finish him

before they ever got started.

Eric went to his knees, turned Cale by the hips and took

Eric went to his knees, turned Cale by the hips and took

him in his mouth. He inched backward on his knees, working up
on the bed, still sucking Cale, his thumb finding his asshole again.

Eric’s eyes were closed. Cale wished he knew why. Was it

that what he did was so repugnant in the depths of his mind, he
didn’t want to see? Or was he following deeply imprinted
orders, not being fit to look on the face of his master. Whatever
it still was, he knew how to prepare him for a threesome. The
maneuvering ended with Eric on his back, Cale straddling him on
his hands and knees receiving an exquisite blowjob, his ass
already stretched to receive Selh.

“Now’s the time, Selh. Push into me slowly.”
Cale spread his legs more, giving Selh room to come up on

his knees between his calves and Eric’s body. Selh did so, each
move hesitant and uncertain. His touch to Cale’s back was
feather light, his back, not his hips or his ass.

“Fuck me, Selh. Make love to me.” He wanted to add, do

it fast because this position is killing my legs. He held his tongue.
In a few moments, with what Eric was doing to his cock and
balls, his pain threshold would be so high with the adrenaline
pumping through him he wouldn’t feel the discomfort. “Push into
me, Selh. You need to know if you suffer from some fantasy or
this is what you really want.”

“I know.” His cock head touched, hesitated, and then

pushed.

Cale pushed the tight ring of muscle out, welcoming him in.

Selh froze as the ridge of his crown buried. “Cale, oh Cale.”

“Deeper,” Cale ordered, struggling not to buck and pump

“Deeper,” Cale ordered, struggling not to buck and pump

in answer to the mouth sucking him hard, swallowing his cock all
the way to his balls. “I’ll lose you if—”

Selh jumped, driving in inches deep. “He just stuck his

thumb up my ass!” he exclaimed and laughed. “This is better than
I ever imagined.”

“Fuck me!” Cale ordered in a shout, as hot as he was going

to get without shooting off. “Pound into me, fast and hard.” He
was right, being ass and mouth fucked at the same time drove his
body crazy.

Trying to obey, Selh’s hips jerked erratically. As he’d

predicted, he lasted about five seconds before his cock erupted,
filling Cale with his hot spill. Cale followed an instant later, Eric’s
hand squeezing and milking his cock with each pump, swallowing
and sucking for the last few drops before Cale collapsed. He fell
one way, Selh fell the other, the two landing one to each side of
Eric.

As exhausted as Cale was, he wasn’t finished. Eric was not

going to give that kind of satisfaction and not receive any of his
own. He rolled up, braced on Eric’s stomach and took him in his
mouth.

Selh lifted his head enough to see what he was doing and

asked, “Can I help?”

“Massage his balls, rub the nuts between your thumb and

forefinger.”

Doing as directed, he asked, “How do I know I’m not

doing it too hard?”

Deep-throating Eric, Cale didn’t answer. From what he

Deep-throating Eric, Cale didn’t answer. From what he

could see, Selh wasn’t doing any more than teasing in his
concern over hurting. Selh cupped the sack in his hand and
watched in amazement when Cale swallowed, over and over,
taking as much as he could down.

“How does he just lay there like that? He doesn’t moan or

anything.”

“My guess is if he showed any pleasure he—”
“I know.” Propped up on an elbow Selh looked into the

face of the immobile man between them and stroked his hair.
“No more pain, only pleasure for you from now on.” He placed
a gentle kiss on Eric’s forehead, started, and looked up in guilt.
“Am I trespassing?”

“No more than I am.” He settled down with his head on

Eric’s shoulder. “Go to sleep, Eric. I’m tired, and I know you
are.”

Cale wrapped an arm around Eric’s waist and draped a leg

over his. Selh did the same on his side. He must have heard us
talking to have done that, Selh sent to him.

Or something we were doing triggered it.
I think he’s coming out of it, Cale.
When he looks me in the eye, says no, and doesn’t

nearly have a seizure over disobeying, I’ll believe that.

You’re afraid to see the changes, afraid whatever

changes there are won’t be enough.

If he comes out of this with memory and sanity intact,

Selh, he’ll very likely try to kill us.

I don’t know. Before I fell in love with you, I thought

the only right thing was to fall in love with a woman. I
learned love is gender blind.

He isn’t.

Chapter Five

Cale touched Eric lightly on the shoulder, backing off

before he could finish his roll to his feet and grab for Cale.
“There’s clean clothes for you on the bed. Take a shower and
join us in the lounge.”

Walking out as if he expected nothing more than for Eric to

do exactly what he said, he arched an eyebrow at Selh in the
galley as he walked out of the bedroom. He didn’t shut the door,
not wanting Eric to feel locked in and still a prisoner.

“How long do you plan on staying here?” asked Selh,

who’d kept his distance since the two had been up that morning.

“A couple of days. They would have expected us to take

off as soon as you disappeared.”

“How long are the stores onboard going to last?”
“Long enough. We will have to make one stop for fuel.

That will be our only danger point.”

They both smiled when the shower turned on.
“I’ll go start breakfast.”
“He slept a solid night through, Selh. That’s a first.”
“So is not panicking when he couldn’t keep you in sight.”
“I think you’re still trying to make more of it than it means.”
“Time will tell.” Selh flipped on the radio. He and Cale both

listened to the chatter while Selh took out food packets to heat.

listened to the chatter while Selh took out food packets to heat.

“…kidnapped a Zon citizen to feed his

sadistic, perverted sexual desires, exposed on
his assignment to…”

“What the hell!” Selh exclaimed, flipping the electronic

voice off. “The Alliance knows better than that. Why aren’t they
countering?”

“They’d have to admit they sent spies on foreign soil, both

times to disclaim his charges.”

“Everyone knows they do, and everyone else does too.”
“And none admit it.”
“Lev Tro has the balls of an elephant, charging you with

kidnapping—so you could sexually abuse the man for God’s
sake!”

“Why is Eric so important to him that he’s willing to chance

him being rescued by some bounty hunter or law enforcement on
any planet? There’s enough evidence in his body to prove our
claim of torture. It has to be something worse.”

“Torture includes murder, Cale. Besides, as twisted as that

bastard is, it could just be an insane obsession.”

“He saw me picking Eric as some kind of joke.”
“Because he had a transmitter implanted in his chest. He

was looking forward to a lot—”

Cale twisted to face Eric as he shuffled in, and to Cale’s

relief he was dressed in the clothes he laid out for him. If he’d lift
his head, he’d be a lot happier. “There you are. Just about to
think you’d fallen in. Ready to eat?”

Moving to the galley booth even before Eric’s head

Moving to the galley booth even before Eric’s head

bobbed, he slid in, asking Selh. “What culinary treat have you for
us this morning.”

Selh grunted. “They all look and taste pretty much the

same.”

“Come sit down, Eric, and show Selh what you’d like to

have.”

Eric slid in, hands in his lap, and head ducked. His head

stayed down when Selh held the packets out. “Eggs and cakes,
eggs and potatoes, or eggs and eggs? I promise they’re all
equally tasteless.”

“Actually, this one is sweet enough to give it flavor if you

have a sweet tooth.” Cale touched one packet and asked Selh,
“You saw the food they brought for him the first night? What
was it?”

“Worse-looking than this. My guess would be fiber for

filling and loaded with nutrients. A man Eric’s size would need a
lot to keep his bulk.”

Cale couldn’t help worrying as to how many times he’d

been starved in between. He was certain the drug in his food had
only been for their benefit.

“And exercise. You like to exercise, Cale. Did you bring

anything along to keep up with it?”

“An exercise room below.”
“Maybe Eric would like to get some exercise in after we

eat, as long as he understands he would only be doing it because
he wants to.”

“You could use some. If he doesn’t want to, he can watch

“You could use some. If he doesn’t want to, he can watch

us.” One side of Selh’s mouth quirked, another recognizable trait
he had. “Say it.” He burst out laughing when Selh’s face colored
red. “You’re embarrassed? What? Did you ogle me the times
you accompanied me to the gym.”

“You have a very nice body.” Selh shrugged slightly. “That

was the nearest I could get to seeing you naked until, well, until
last night.”

Cale bumped Eric with his shoulder. “He’s embarrassed

this morning and not too sure how he should act now.” He rose
up, tugged Selh closer by his shirt front, and kissed him. “That’s
how.” Dropping back in his seat, he lifted and turned Eric’s head
by the chin and planted a kiss on his lips. Eric’s eyes closed the
instant Cale touched him, and he flinched, both of which Cale
expected. “Thank you, baby. You made our first time together
something really special.” He kissed him again, releasing his hold
and watching that head drop again.

“Yes, Eric, thank you. I was really nervous about my first

time.”

They both grinned when Eric’s shoulder twisted in a small

shrug.

“Shit!” Selh retorted.
“What?”
“Company.” Selh hurried to the pilot’s seats. “Security

patrol. They’re probably checking out every vessel they can
find.”

“Don’t worry.” He gave Eric a pat on the shoulder as he

“Don’t worry.” He gave Eric a pat on the shoulder as he

slid out of the booth. “I’ve got it covered.”

Selh received a sideways hug when he reached him. “Give

them your Versal accent and read the numbers.” He handed him
a registration sheet and fed him information in silent mode.

“Ahoy the ship,” a voice called over the radio.
Answering in a thick accent, Selh returned the hail, asking,

“What today I do for you, ‘entlemen?”

“We had a report of a ship coming in late last night.”
“Yay, me be it.”
“How many in your crew?”
“Me,” he said and chuckled. “Other meet in Boletter. Boss

man pay only when wanted.”

“That’s a lot of ship for one man to be flying.”
“I be lot of man.”
After several routine questions, ships registry, time of

departure, and destination, the man returned to ask some of the
same over.

Cut him off, Cale ordered.
“I say so before. My breakfast grow cold. Make quick,

please.”

“We’re looking for a class A shuttle, two or three men,

silver, no embellishments.”

“See many such. Port from here.”
“Any away from the port, last night, cruising low?”
“Nay, my food gets cold.”
“Call in if you do see anyone, and stop cruising around,

flying low at night. Next time, I’ll write you up.”

flying low at night. Next time, I’ll write you up.”

The man disconnected saving Selh the necessity of

answering. “Well?” he asked of Cale.

“We’ll leave tonight.”
“You want me to get a ticket for cruising low at night?”
Cale barked a laugh. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Serious, Selh followed. “He was suspicious, Cale. He’s

going to remember this ship.”

“Yes, and they’ll remember until it disappears.”
“You’re going to fly this one into the belly of a bigger ship.

You have turned extravagant.”

“No, this ship will fly until it runs out of fuel on the far side

of Tartaka. We’ll be in the shuttle a long way from there.”

“Cozy,” he commented, glancing at Eric. When Cale

chuckled, Selh turned red in the face. He turned even redder
when Cale whispered to Eric. “What did you say?”

“I told him you’re cute when you blush. In all the years

we’ve worked together, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you
do that.”

“Yeah, well, last night was the first time you ever let me

fuck you too.”

“Yeah, and I can’t wait to do it again.”
“So what’s stopping you?”
Eric’s hand moved under the table to grip his cock through

his clothes and pull.

“After we eat,” Cale said with a sigh. “I have to have some

fuel to keep up with you two.”

Chapter Six

“No,” Cale said flatly. He shouldn’t have answered the call.

He knew he shouldn’t before he ever went to the shuttle to take
it in private and wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been high encrypt, high
alert priority.

“I know this last case was difficult for you.”
“Difficult! It fucking ripped me up, and you knew it would!

You had more intel on what was going on there than you gave
me! You knew about his private—”

“I’m sorry, but you know how important this is!”
Both withdrew, getting their tempers under control. Bicer

spoke first. “I am sorry, Cale. We’d heard rumors. That was all.
We had no idea the extent or that the bastard would make you a
gift of one of his victims.”

“Based on what he heard of Oathin,” Cale pointed out

bitterly.

Bicer nodded. “The man isn’t completely rational, or he

wouldn’t be pushing this the way he is, but it’s our only
opportunity to get him. As long as he stays on Zon we can’t
arrest him. Once he comes off that planet, we can for the crimes
he’s committed on Alliance planets.”

“He knows that. He’s got something up his sleeve you

haven’t figured on. I am not bringing him back, and I’m not
putting myself on trial when you won’t divulge the truth about

putting myself on trial when you won’t divulge the truth about
Oathin. Everything that happened there supports all the charges
he’s making.”

“We’ll back you. You have my word on that. Your ability

to go undercover is gone. There’s no reason to keep your past
activities a secret any longer.”

Cale snorted, not believing they were going to admit in

public they’d violated their own laws in covert activities. “No.”

“We know you’re on Palavillian, Cale. Selh disappeared

there, your ship was spotted, and I know you well enough to
know you’re hiding out until the search is called off. You can turn
yourself in there. I’ve already got a ship on the way for retrieval.”

“No.”
“You saved one man. What about all the others?”
“You fucker.”
“I know. Cale, we don’t think he’s only involved in the ring.

We think he’s the head of it. Help me stop the bastard.”

Cale shook his head. “If I come in, if, I won’t bring him,

and I won’t bring Selh.”

“It’s no good without them. You know that. We’ll protect

him. You have my word on it, and once you come in, he can get
the professional help he needs. Have you discovered who he is?”

Shaking his head again, Cale chewed his bottom lip. “Selh

took the plug out of his larynx before we left the cruiser. He still
isn’t speaking.”

“How is he doing otherwise now that the drugs are wearing

off?”

“The programming hasn’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
Cale answered him with a slight shrug. He believed Bicer

really was sorry, but with Bicer the job always came first. “If
you’ve got it in your head he could testify, forget it. I wouldn’t let
you put him through that. He’ll be visible to see I haven’t abused
him the way Lev Tro claims, but hands off. No interrogation and
he’s to stay with either Selh or me in a protected environment.”

“All right.”
Cale snorted. “That came too easy, Bicer.”
“No. I know you, Cale. I know where you’re coming from

with him, why you’re driving to such extremes to protect him. I’ll
contact the Palavillian authorities, tell them you’re coming in, and
arrange for you to be taken to private quarters until the cruiser
arrives.”

“You better not fuck this up or leave me hanging, Bicer.”
“I have no intentions of ending up on your enemy list. I

know what happens to those you want dead.”

That was the first reference to Cale’s private business on

Oathin and the unsolved murder of a slave ring king. As vague as
it was, Cale suspected he’d had a bit of help in leaving Oathin
without being arrested for it.

“We call him Eric,” he stated and disconnected. If Bicer

had any doubts as to how far Cale would go to protect the man
known to them only as an unnamed male, Cale had just told him.
He’d kill anyone who hurt him.

* * * *

“I didn’t do anything to start him off, Cale. I swear.”
Selh, backed into a corner with his hands held shoulder

height, had a look of panic. Eric was backed up against him,
bent over, rubbing his bare ass into his crotch.

“I left you alone with him and ordered him to stay.”
“He’s killing me.”
“Relieve yourself.”
“He’s yours, not—”
“He doesn’t belong to anyone!”
Two things happened at the sound of his anger. The first

ripped Cale’s heart out. Eric dropped to his knees, shuffling on
them, even with his head on the floor, to turn his ass to Cale.

Selh gripped his hair with both hands, holding his head. “I

didn’t mean it like that. I meant—”

“I know what you meant. I’m sorry.” He knelt beside Eric,

stroking his hair. “It’s okay, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you.
You didn’t do anything wrong. Come sit down now.”

Eric shuffled on his knees until his ass faced Selh. His hands

crept toward Cale’s crotch. Cale gripped his wrists to still them
while he talked with Selh.

Weary to his soul, Cale told Selh, “He isn’t going to quit

until he’s done what he thinks he was supposed to do.”

“I don’t know if I can.” His arms dropped to his side, his

palms pressed against the wall. “I can with you, but with him I-
I…”

I…”

“Feel like you’re taking advantage of him, using him?”
“Cale, it isn’t like that with you. He wants you.”
“You don’t know that any more than you don’t know he

wants you,” Cale said, fighting to keep his voice even.

“You’ve never shared a lover.”
“Yes, Selh, I did last night, and if you think sharing with you

bothers me, it doesn’t. I want the two men I love to love each
other.”

Selh shook his head. “I don’t know enough yet. I don’t

want to hurt him unnecessarily. I thought maybe you could—well
—maybe teach me by—you know—but if it was me, and I—”

“You want me to fuck you?”
Selh’s voice nearly whined. “Yes. That way I’ll know what

I’m doing to someone else and if it hurts, I’ll know not to do it.”

“It always hurts to start, Selh. That can’t be helped until the

passion raises the pain threshold so high it shuts out the pain.”

“I know that.” He grinned in self-consciousness. “I’ve been

doing some reading.” His color went to a bright red hue. “I
thought about going to one of those places to get lessons, but I
couldn’t bear the thought of anyone but you touching me.” He
tipped his head toward the man on the floor. “And now Eric.
The two of you make my blood boil, and right now my balls feel
like they’re going to burst.”

Cale tugged Eric up to his feet with the hold he had of his

wrists. “Let’s go to the bedroom, sweetheart, and teach Selh
how to make love to us.”

The sight of Eric’s body and what was happening in that

The sight of Eric’s body and what was happening in that

room when he walked in was enough to put Cale in a ready
state. He would have walked away, been able to, if not for
Eric’s insistence. He had to finish some program set in his head.
At least Cale told himself that, praying it was true and not his
selfish rationalization. He dropped Eric’s wrists, his arm around
him to lead him to the bed. Eric already worked the fasteners on
Cale’s shirt as they walked.

Shirtless as he stretched out on the bed, he motioned Selh

to join him. Eric opened and removed Cale’s pants. One stiff,
hard and throbbing cock popped up. Eric leaned back for the
lube, but instead of applying it, held it out to Selh, making both
men stare for a moment.

Conditioning?Selh asked, or is he doing what you said?
Probably just following orders, conditioned to make

allowances for the situation.

God, you’re negative, he retorted, taking the lube.

Squeezing a glob on his palm, he asked, “Your cock, right?”

“And your ass.” He rose up, pulled Selh down beside him.

“Only I’ll take care of the ass after you get me ready.”

“You look ready to me,” Selh told him, eying his cock.
“No, I need that lube, well massaged in.”
Hesitant and unsure, Selh’s fingers closed around Cale’s

cock. “Squeeze it, sliding up and down, pulling on it. The tip is
the most sensitive. Your thumb…”

He ended in a moan. Selh may never have jerked off

another man before, but must have had some personal
experience and needed few lessons. He rose up on his knees

experience and needed few lessons. He rose up on his knees
using both hands, one making sure every inch of Cale’s cock
was covered, the other examining every wrinkle and knot of his
sack.

Cale had to squeeze himself off. “Up on your hands and

knees, baby.”

Scrambling to obey, Selh jerked back when Eric flopped

on the bed, his head at Selh’s crotch. “What’s he doing?”

“He’s going to give you a double header.”
“Huh?”
“Lean over him; brace your hands on either side of his

hips.”

Selh’s head jerked from Eric’s head position to his own

crotch. “What does that do for him?”

“That depends on you.”
Eyes jerking, Selh shook his head. “I don’t know how to

do that.”

“So far you’ve proven to be a natural,” Cale said with a

chuckle, pushing Selh down with a hand on his back.

Stiff as a board, Selh positioned himself, quivering from

whatever Eric did beneath him as Cale squeezed out an over-
generous amount of lube. If he didn’t keep himself in control and
handle this right, Selh would never want to bottom again, and
Cale most times preferred the top.

Selh’s body was relaxing, and his hips already flexing

slightly. “If you lower yourself to your elbows you can…” He
didn’t need to finish. Selh’s head went down, and his tongue

didn’t need to finish. Selh’s head went down, and his tongue
went out, mimicking what Eric did to him, Cale was sure. “I’m
going to spread the lube. When I press, push out like you’re
farting to let my finger in.”

Selh pushed out immediately. Cale wanted to kiss that

sweet little welcoming hole. He drove his finger in instead, driving
straight for Selh’s prostate. The instant he touched it, Selh
jumped so hard he nearly left his finger.

“Oh, sweet damn!” he exclaimed, looking over his shoulder

at Cale. “My prostate, right? Sweet mother, I’ve never felt
anything like that. Fuck me, lover, fuck me.”

“I have to stretch you first. Don’t be so impatient.” He

pushed another finger in, grimacing along with Selh although Selh
tried very hard not to show it. “It burns and will for a while
longer,” Cale warned, pumping gently.

“I can’t concentrate,” Selh said with a moan. “Am I

supposed to hold still, cause it’s getting really hard to do.”

“Do what comes naturally.”
With a mouth around his cock, fucking it was the thing to

do. Cale timed his finger fucks to the movement of Selh’s hips.
Selh went back to eating Eric’s cock, barely flinching when Cale
added another finger up his ass. He did flinch, barely, and froze
when Cale replaced his fingers with the head of his cock.

“Relax, baby, relax.”
Selh mumbled around the cock in his mouth, pushing back

to take more. Cale gave it to him, angling for the prostate,
flinching himself when fingers tickled his balls and fighting not to
drive full in. The finger tracing the crack in his ass was enough to

drive full in. The finger tracing the crack in his ass was enough to
make him lose full control, knowing where it was going, knowing
what Eric was going to do for him.

With a tight hot ass around his cock and a finger in his ass

stroking his prostate, Cale forgot about giving lessons. He did
remember one thing, pounding Selh without conscience.

“Eric, you come when you want to,” he shouted in a pant.

“Don’t you hold back.”

Like rockets, they all shot off at once. Moans, groans,

slurping and gulping followed, diminishing to soft noises of
contentment. Cale fell to one side, his head at Eric’s legs. Selh
fell to the other.

Selh, the virgin, recovered first. Leaning over Eric’s legs he

kissed Cale. “Thank you, God, thank you.” He leaned the other
way, taking Eric’s mouth. “Thank you. That was the most
amazing—incredible thing I’ve ever felt.”

Cale gave Eric a light kiss as well, settling back down

beside him, arm over his chest. Selh followed suit, his arm resting
against Cale’s. Eric lay between them, flat on his back,
responding to none of it at all with his eyes closed. A few
moments later, his arms moved, hands going toward crotches.
Cale caught his hand, intertwining his fingers. Selh, his head
raised, saw and did the same.

Whispering, Cale told him, “As much as I love you, and

love making love to you, I don’t want you doing this unless you
want to, Eric.”

“Same for me. Don’t make love to us unless you want to.

Just go to sleep.”

Just go to sleep.”

Eric’s fingers tightened, and his body trembled.
Cale stroked his shoulder. “Go to sleep, baby.”
“We’ll be here when you wake up,” Selh promised,

stroking on the other side.

Both cuddled up to him and slept when his body relaxed.

Both rolled away after their nap, kissing his cheek when they
woke, hoping not to trigger a round of seduction from finding
someone in bed with him.

“Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starved.”
“I’m going to take a shower first,” Cale laughed at the look

on Selh’s face as he touched the dried cum on his chest. “We’ll
take turns. Go ahead while I get some clothes out for us.”

“We’re going to have to renew the water supply,” Selh

called out, skipping to the head.

Cale didn’t have the heart to tell him it wouldn’t be

necessary just yet. Selh wouldn’t like hearing the results of his
conversation with Bicer. Hell, he didn’t. After the last round with
Eric and the small breakthrough they’d made, he was rethinking
his decision anyway. Could he live with his conscience if he let
his love for one man stop him from preventing others from
suffering the same torture?

What’s wrong? Selh asked, rushing from the head.
I told Bicer we’d turn ourselves in.
“You can’t fucking do that!” Selh was upset to a degree he

shouted aloud and cursed, which he very seldom did.

“Selh, he—”

“No!” Selh calmed himself enough to speak in a normal,

though strained tone. “Using a phrase you used once, he’ll hang
you out to dry. They won’t expose their covert activities to save
one man.”

Lev Tro is coming from Zon to testify against me. They

can get him on neutral soil and arrest him.

He won’t show up. He’ll get you out where he can get

to you and not show up!

Then the charges will be dropped and we’ll be free to

go.

You did not pick the right time to become an optimist!
We have ways to protect ourselves, and we have

friends we can depend on. We have to do it, Selh, no matter
how much I want to take the two of you and run away.

With a flip of his hand toward the bed, Selh stormed out of

the room. “I’ll fix us something to eat while you explain it to him.”

Eric was on his knees beside the bed. Raised voices only

meant one thing to him—anger, and anger led to suffering. Cale
knelt beside him, holding him by the shoulders. “No one is going
to hurt you.” He raised Eric’s face with his hand cupped under
his chin. “Open your eyes, please. Open your eyes and look at
me.”

The eyes opened, and Cale mentally shouted, Selh! in joy.

Sadness followed hard on its heels.

Never had Cale seen such confusion and pain in a pair of

eyes. Rushing in, Selh dropped to his knees beside them, hugging
Eric in excitement and then hugging Cale. Cale smiled again,

Eric in excitement and then hugging Cale. Cale smiled again,
pushing the sadness aside. Eric had just taken a monumental step
forward. He squeezed Eric’s hand, even though Eric’s gaze
jerked around, unable to meet either his or Selh’s.

“I know you’re confused. It’s the drugs. The more they

wear off, the more sense you’ll make of things. You’ll know
what you want to do, not what was beaten into you to do. You
can say no, Eric, any time, without being punished for it. Any
time. Now, let’s get a shower and get dressed so we can eat that
horrible food Selh is preparing for us.”

“Have fun,” Selh said, helping Cale ease Eric to his feet. I

mean that, Cale. You were first, and I think that’s
important. My time will come for one on one with each of
you.

I love you.
I know.
Though Cale had Selh’s blessing, he had no deliberate

intentions to turn the shower into another round of sex. Once
inside the bathroom, he told Eric, “You go ahead and shower
while I shave.”

Cale turned his back, picking up the shaver he didn’t need.

He never had more than fuzz. He’d given a whisker burn to a
lover too many times before he’d invested the money for
treatments to prevent a heavy growth. He’d shaved the fuzz off
one full cheek before Eric stepped into the shower tube.

“I’m going to get us some clothes,” Cale called to him, not

trusting his reaction to the play of hands on that body working up
suds.

suds.

Eric stumbled out of the tube, covered in bubbles, chin to

his chest again.

“You’ll itch like crazy if you don’t rinse that soap off.” Eric

didn’t move. “I’m only going to the bedroom. I’ll be right back.”
Eric pulled at his cock. “Is that what you want?” His hand stilled,
but he didn’t let go. “After we clean up and eat we’ll do that—if
it’s what you want to do, not because you think you have to. I
like making love to you, Eric, but I like being made love to as
well. Finish your shower. I’ll be right back.”

* * * *

“A little change of plan.”
“You gave your word, Cale.”
“Actually I didn’t. We only talked about how things would

be if I did. Selh brought up an interesting point that may make
me cancel altogether. We don’t turn ourselves in until Lev Tro
leaves Zon. I also want some insurance you have enough to
arrest him, or are you waiting for what comes out at the trial to
do that?” He didn’t receive an immediate answer. “Bicer?”

“We need your testimony,” he answered evasively. “You

didn’t get us enough while you were there, Cale, and our source
is too afraid to give us anything concrete until we get Lev Tro out
of Zon.”

“Your source?” His tone was biting. “Your source didn’t

tell you about Lev Tro’s favorite leisure time activities? You’re a
real bastard.”

real bastard.”

“I could tell you I thought it’d be another way for you to

avenge your brother’s death.”

“You’d better not.”
“He’s the head of that ring, Cale. That much we know.

We’re still evaluating and making connections to all we’ve gotten
from Oathin, and more and more of them are starting to talk.
We’ll get him.”

“When you get him to the court room, call me again.”
“Cale, you—”
Cale cut the connection.

* * * *

“Good news, boys.” Cale walked back in, attempting to

judge Selh’s mood. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or hurt and
supposed it was a bit of both. Eric hadn’t attacked him. Both sat
on the sofa, Selh with a book in his lap, Eric gazing at his empty
one. “We’re going for a cruise, see some sights.”

“We need to. The port of entry just called to see why we

haven’t left when I told the cops we were.”

“What did you tell them?”
“That I found a leak in the freaking toilet I had to fix first.”
“Pick a chair, Eric. We’re going to lift off in a few minutes.”
“What did you tell your cops?”
“No merchandise, no show.”
“Good.” Selh moved to an overhead compartment and

secured the book safely behind a locked door. “You can watch

secured the book safely behind a locked door. “You can watch
better from here, Eric. See what an excellent pilot Cale is.”

Cale and Selh took the pilots’ seats at the head of the

lounge, watching the reflections in the windshield. Both smiled
when Eric moved to the chair Selh had indicated and strapped
himself in.

In just the last day I can see a big difference in him.
Are you prepared for the time he tells us to go fuck

ourselves?

Love is gender blind, Selh reminded.
So is gratitude. Let’s hope it doesn’t imprison him in

another way. Flipping switches, he told Eric, “Eric, keep your
arms on the arms of the chair. The G-force to break free of a
planet this size is pretty strong.”

“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to go out in orbit and call for a new toilet.”
“Hide in plain sight?”
“And call on some old friends. I don’t like the idea of

trusting new ones with that bounty on my head. Bicer had
already contacted the authorities here to make arrangements.”

“He might as well have sent up a flare.”

* * * *

Eric finished the hot pack of food Selh set in front of him,

eating as mechanically as always. Selh set a second down. Eric
ate it. Selh heated a third, set it down.

“Don’t you think he’s had enough?” Cale asked, puzzled

“Don’t you think he’s had enough?” Cale asked, puzzled

by what he was doing.

“He hasn’t stopped eating, has he? I don’t think we’ve

been feeding him enough. When he’s had all he wants, he can
push it away.”

Force-fed?
Possibly. I noticed he doesn’t seem to taste anything. I

shudder to think some of the things they fed him.

Best you don’t. He turned to voice. “You don’t have to eat

it if you don’t want it.”

“What did Bicer say when you refused to surrender?” Selh

asked while Eric stared down at the food.

“He tried to make me think I’d given my word. He’s got a

source he just got around to telling me about.”

“But not who, I’m willing to bet.”
“Of course not, but he knew about that room before he

sent me there.”

“The bastard.”
“He thought about playing the more revenge for you card,

but backtracked on it.”

Eric put his hands in his lap and shifted slightly in the seat.
Selh put both elbows on the table, leaning forward. “If you

really quit, what are we going to do for a living now? And don’t
say nothing. I told you, I won’t live off your wealth.”

“I do have vineyards, you know. I can work your butt off

picking grapes and stomping them into wine.”

Eric’s upper arm moved to indicate he was pulling on his

cock.

cock.

“When was the last time you ever made any money off that

vineyard?” Selh asked, his gaze glued to Eric’s flexing arm.

“I never have as a matter of fact. I’m letting the wine age.

You can become the distributor and make us a mountain of
money. We can live off the fruits of your labor from the fruits of
my vineyard.”

“I think I’d rather be a professional gambler.”
“Can you play, tri-monts, Eric?” Cale asked, having no

idea if they played the board game on Zon or wherever Eric
came from.

Eric stilled to listen.
Cale told him, “Selh’s the worst tri-monts player you’ve

ever seen. I’ve seen him dealt a pat top hand and still lose the
pot.”

“Because someone bluffed me,” Selh retorted.
“And you fell for the bluff beautifully.”
Cale went to a compartment and came back with a deck

and game board. He dealt out the hands, including one to Eric.
Eric stared at the cards for several seconds before he picked
them up. For the next two hours, he played a mediocre game,
losing more than he won and only then winning when one or the
other of them folded with a winning hand. In the third hour he
won on his own, manipulating the pieces in a cagy strategy. Not
once did he display any degree of emotion, but by God, he was
thinking for himself, doing something other than attempting to
seduce them, and Cale was positive he was learning a game he’d
never played before.

never played before.

They’d reached another turning point, showing independent

movement and thought in small ways. Slipping a cracker off the
plate Selh fixed for them as a snack, not taking the wine, and
nodding when Cale asked if he’d rather have water, and drinking
the water.

He made no proposals of sex until Cale could barely stay

awake and announced he was going to bed. Eric stood as soon
as he did, but only touched his crotch, not clench and pull at his
cock.

“Thank you, but I’m exhausted.”
Cale walked off leaving him standing there, but he stopped

in the lounge to watch what happened next. Eric shuffled his feet
until he faced Selh as he stood.

“Do you want sex?” Selh asked. Eric shuddered, but

actually shook his head, one finger extending to point at Selh.
“Then we won’t. I’m pretty tired too. The last few days have
been pretty stressful. I could use a good night’s sleep. I’ll take
the couch, Cale. I’m a bit shorter than you are. You and Eric can
share the bed.”

“There’s room for all three of us if you don’t hog the

blankets.”

“I don’t know. Is that all right with you, Eric?”
Without a shudder, Eric nodded and without prompting

walked to the bedroom, following Cale. Now, Selh said, taking
the tail end of the procession, if lying down with us doesn’t
trigger a seduction, we’ll know we’re getting somewhere.

trigger a seduction, we’ll know we’re getting somewhere.

We’ll know we’re really getting somewhere when he

chooses the couch.

Stop being so negative, unless you’re sensing something

you aren’t telling me. Cale jerked to a stop and turned to face
him. Selh groaned. What is it?

Nothing. I haven’t sensed any feelings in him since Zon.
He’s blocking you? he asked in amazement.
Cale snorted, pulling off his shirt. Or am I subconsciously

blocking him because I don’t want to face it?

He tried then, concentrating on the man slowly undressing a

few feet away from him. There’s another explanation. It’s
possible what I picked up before was at a subconscious
level. If I can’t now, then it’s at a conscious level. His brain
is working in there, Selh.

If he’s blocking you, it means he doesn’t trust us.
Or it’s something he learned to keep from showing Lev

Tro how he felt and hasn’t let go of it yet, or can’t.

And you accuse me of arguing both sides.

* * * *

Packed three across, two men were awakened at the same

time the same way. “Eric, I want to sleep, please,” Cale moaned.

Eric released his hold of Cale’s cock and rolled to face

Selh. “Is this what you want?” Selh asked with a sleepy yawn.

A small pump of his hips was the answer, and Cale rolled

to put his back to them and give them a degree of privacy. He’d

to put his back to them and give them a degree of privacy. He’d
told Selh he had as much right as he did, and he meant it. He
chuckled when Selh received a lesson in control even with his
own cock stiff from listening to them.

“What are you doing? You stopped me! It’s not funny,

Cale. My balls are going to rupture.”

“He’s not ready.”
“I’m not doing it right then, am I? Am I missing his

prostate?”

“He knows how to angle his hips to—” He rolled as he

spoke, and the first thing he discovered was Eric held himself as
well, balancing his weight on one arm. “Give him permission,” he
said softly.

“Permission, you have permission to come.” He groaned

and twisted. “Cale, he isn’t letting go. I’m hurting here.”

Cale went to his knees, whispering in Eric’s ear.

“Remember, you don’t need permission. You come when you’re
ready. You have sex when you want to have sex. You have sex
with who you want to have sex with. No one tells you anymore.
It’s what you want when you want it and where.”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Selh cried, each word louder, and it was a

good thing the bed was bolted to the floor. Even though Eric’s
only sound was a harsh, raspy breathing, he bucked as hard as
Selh.

Selh collapsed, driving Eric flat and flopped to his back

next to him. “I thought I was going to die and then went to
heaven,” he panted out. What the hell was he doing?

You had one hell of a climax, didn’t you?

You had one hell of a climax, didn’t you?
He was playing a Dom even on the bottom?
That’s the only thing I can think of. I might try that

with you next.

The hell you will. Selh rolled, an arm and a leg over Eric.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. Go to sleep both of you.” He started to roll his

back to them when Eric’s arm crossed over his chest. Cale
rolled the other way, his arm over Eric’s waist, his leg crossed
over Selh’s.

* * * *

“Hell, it’s the damn radio,” Cale grumbled.
Selh pushed up, staggering. “I have to get it. You aren’t

supposed to be here.”

“Don’t forget your accent.” Cale called as he disappeared,

rubbing the hard-on he’d woken up with. If not for sleeping
cuddled up to Eric all night, he’d think it was no more than a piss
hard, but he knew better. So it seemed, did Eric. The tip of one
finger touched him.

“I’d like to fuck you, Eric. Do you want to?” He stopped

Eric from rolling to his belly. “Only if you want to. If you’d rather
fuck me, that would be okay too. I just want to share our
bodies.” He waited several seconds, neither of them moving. “If
you don’t want to do anything, that’s okay, too.”

Eric’s hand moved, dragging the backs of his fingers up

Cale’s thigh. Cale drew his far knee up, spreading his leg out in

Cale’s thigh. Cale drew his far knee up, spreading his leg out in
invitation. Eric rolled on top of him, settling as Cale spread his
other leg. Drawing that knee up as well, their cocks nestled
together, Eric’s only semi-hard.

Wrapping his legs around Eric’s waist and his arms around

his shoulders, he embraced him lightly. “Don’t do this if you
don’t want to. I’ll understand. Don’t do it if you feel you have to,
for any reason.”

Eric humped, hooking his arms under Cale’s knees, lifting

them to his shoulders as he rose and walked on his knees. Cale
stretched his arm out, searching for the lube. Readying a hefty
amount, he whispered, “Let me touch you. Let me get you
ready.”

Arms between his legs, ass lifted in the air, Cale found

Eric’s cock with both hands. “You’re beautiful. The most
beautiful man I’ve ever seen,” he told him while he massaged the
lube into the cock growing in his hands. “I know you probably
don’t want to hear this, but I love you.”

Eric covered Cale’s hands with one of his, gathering up

lube on his fingertips. He greased the crease between Cale’s butt
cheeks with teasing pushes at his asshole and drawing a nail
around it in circles, not plunging in, not stretching him for what
was to come. When he did, it was swift, knuckle deep, striking
straight at Cale’s prostate. Cale bucked and groaned. Eric’s
other hand pressed at his abdomen, holding him down. Cale’s
illusion of gentle lovemaking shattered. Eric was in Dom mode,
pinching Cale’s cock at the base. He wasn’t ready for Cale to
come, teasing him and making him wait for permission.

come, teasing him and making him wait for permission.

Cale refused to play the game. He pushed hard, down

against that finger. “Make love to me. Don’t just fuck me. Make
love to me.”

To judge from the force of the second finger entering him,

Eric had either not gotten the message or ignored it.

“Come down to me. Let me kiss you while you fuck me.”
A third finger rammed in, all three missing his sweet spot,

and two fingers still pinched off his cock. Eric, however, did lean
forward, finding Cale’s mouth blindly with his eyes closed.
Previously, it had been Cale’s tongue tasting the inside of Eric’s
sweet mouth, plunging inside, reaching for his throat to mimic the
action of the fingers up his ass. This time Eric’s tongue drove in,
forcing Cale’s back. He kissed hot, deep, and heavy, ending
with a gasp for breath when he sank his cock. Cale gasped as
well, grateful for the fingers tormenting his cock. He’d have
come that instant without them. He wouldn’t have experienced
the slow sensual stroking of Eric’s cock against his prostate,
driving his body crazy with the need to explode, wanting at the
same time for the pleasure coursing through his body to go on
and on. Had he ever been a screamer, he’d have screamed then
when the pinch released, when his body went into convulsions of
ecstasy, Eric slamming into him, intensifying the pleasure with his
own climax. Not until Eric released his legs, collapsing over him
could Cale breath in great gulping gasps, arms and legs wrapped
tight around a man fighting for air as much as he did.

“That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Selh

said from the doorway.

said from the doorway.

Cale held a hand out to him in invitation. Selh crossed the

room in a near run, gripping Cale’s hand with both of his as he
sat on the side of the bed. After a hard squeeze, he released with
one hand to find one of Eric’s. Holding both, he repeated, “That
was beautiful.”

Cale couldn’t find his voice. He used thought. He

participated, Selh! He gave back! He felt!

* * * *

For the three days they stayed in orbit, Eric showed more

and more improvement in small ways. He played board games
with them and won without their help, he made choices in food,
refusing some, indicating he wanted more of another. Without
prompting he took showers, found his own clothes in the closets
or drawers, and kept clothed unless going to bed. He exercised
with them, showing both up in the amount of weight he could
press, endurance, and stamina. He also indicated to them when
he wanted sex, and not with the pathetic begging. One time he
refused, leaving the bed when Selh showed an interest, leaving
him and Cale to share time alone. Still, everything he did was
with his head down and not speaking. Selh could find no physical
reason for a lack of voice. Eric simply wouldn’t talk. They could
only surmise the torture he’d endured for speaking when he’d
been ordered not to, was too deeply engrained.

The excuse of a malfunctioning toilet would only buy them

so much time. They changed the bogus problem to a water
pumping system leak needing more than the captain could
handle. They returned the yacht to the floating berth, made
arrangements for an engineer to attend to the matter, and slipped
away later that night. For two more days they stayed hidden, the
shuttle parked in a forest. The message came that Lev Tro had
left Zon. The time had come to make themselves available to the
local law enforcement agents.

If Eric was aware of what was happening when they left the

shuttle for the hotel suite Cale arranged for them, he gave no sign
of it, walking calmly behind him and Selh. When the first officials
arrived to discuss the terms of their surrender, he sat in a chair,
head down, hands in his lap, not appearing to be listening to a
word.

“No,” Cale told them. “We will stay here until

representatives of the Alliance Enforcement Department arrive.
This was made clear, Commissioner Canpert. Post guards if you
wish, but you will not remove us to your jail.”

The man’s eyes could not stay on Cale’s face. Staring at

Eric, he commented, with a sneer, “It would seem he has
responded well to your training.”

“He is doing remarkably well at recovering from brutal

training and heavy drugs,” Cale countered. “Your opinion is
prejudiced by lies.”

“If that is so, you have no objection to my questioning

him?”

“I do for reasons already stated, which is why you have

“I do for reasons already stated, which is why you have

been ordered not to do so.”

The man raised his hand and flicked his fingers. The officers

behind him drew their weapons. “If questioning him proves they
are lies, I will follow those orders. If not, I will not allow you to
continue torturing a man. Take them to the bedroom and hold
them there until I call. If they resist, shoot them.”

Cale wanted to resist, and would have had he not feared

what would happen to Eric if he and Selh were dead. “He
doesn’t speak, only nods or shakes his head,” he warned,
backing for the bedroom.

“That will be enough.”
Not a full minute later, Canpert screamed for help. Cale

rushed in to find him pressed against a wall, Eric’s bare ass
pressed against his crotch, Eric bent double with his hands on the
floor.

“Get him off!” the man screamed. “What the hell have you

taught him to do? Get him away from me!”

Cale was already on his knees to one side, Selh to the

other. “No, Eric, you don’t have to do that, not anymore. Stand
up now.”

“It’s okay,” Selh soothed. “No one is angry with you.

Come on now, stand up.”

“No one is going to punish you,” Cale crooned, holding

back the physical comfort he yearned to give. “It’s all right now.
It’s all right. Go with Selh.” He told Selh in an undertone. “Put
him to bed and stay with him until he calms again.”

Sputtering and scarlet in the face, Canpert exclaimed,

Sputtering and scarlet in the face, Canpert exclaimed,

“What have you done to him?”

“In a protected environment we’d gotten him past thinking

anytime he was left in the room with a man he had to submit to
being raped by him,” Cale answered with a calm he was far from
feeling. Eric’s body trembled when they reached him.

“Rape! He practically raped me, begging for me to-to-and

when I refused he-he—”

“If he didn’t beg, he was punished. Let me tell you what

just happened. First he offered to suck your penis. When you
refused, he offered you his. With refusal, he pulled on his,
humping his hips, offering to fuck you. When you refused that, he
offered his ass to you, for you to fuck him. Had you continued to
refuse he would have begun the program again, not because he
wanted you in any way, but because if he had failed to please
you, he would have been punished. You’ve seen the scars of the
physical ways. You see in his behavior, the mental results. Had
you asked for and studied the records of his behavior and
appearance when we took him you would have known at least
enough to know better than to force him into a room alone with a
stranger. Sex is not a reward for him. It’s an escape from pain.”

“How many times have you given him an escape?” Canpert

sneered.

“Numerous, but now being alone with me or Selh does not

trigger the response you just witnessed. We’ve identified many
other triggers. A raised or angry voice sends him to his knees
with his head on the floor.”

“Don’t tell me more. I don’t want to hear it. It’s disgusting.”

“Don’t tell me more. I don’t want to hear it. It’s disgusting.”
Cale’s tone went hard and cold. “If disgusting is the

strongest word you can use for the torture that man has suffered,
you don’t know enough. As much as we have drawn him away
from, he still will not raise his head; he still will not speak. How
much torture would you have to endure to remember to never
raise your head, never look a man in the eye, or never speak, not
even to scream in agony?”

“You would know about screams of agony.”
“Yes, my work on Oathin stopped them there, just as with

this man and my time spent on Zon, I will stop the Zonians as
well. You and others like you who believe unsubstantiated
rumors while turning your head while slavers go through your
ports allow this disgusting thing to happen. You need to see just
what you support with your greed.”

“We do not support slavers!”
“I have traced the routes of those ships. How can a ship

with a hold full of men, women, and children chained to the walls
and rails, dying of thirst and starvation, their backs bloodied from
the whip, go unnoticed?”

“We don’t examine all cargoes. A few are certain to slip

through.”

“Should I quote you numbers of the few? Your government

is corrupt. You are corrupt, pretending concern for a victim,
making a display in front of honest men, while following orders to
take him.”

Canpert signaled the men with weapons. “I will not listen to

Canpert signaled the men with weapons. “I will not listen to

your insults. You are on your own until the Alliance agents arrive.
Pray you are wrong in our corruption, for you will not have any
guards.”

“A convenience also arranged, I am sure.”
Two men hung back in following Canpert away. Honest

men, Cale knew from the confusion and reluctance he sensed in
them. The other two were indifferent. If the last two were called
to a hearing they would lie to suit their superior. Cale followed all
five to the door, closing and locking it behind them. He pulled a
chair in front of it, knowing it would hold little out, but dislodging
it would give him warning.

“Cale,” Selh called.
Cale recoiled, physically and mentally, at the bedroom door

from the wave of rage he sensed washing over him. Contained
rage was the cause of Eric’s trembling, not fear. Emotion from
Eric he’d never felt before overwhelmed him. Cale rushed to him
and Selh, who held Eric down in the bed. “I’m sorry, Eric. I
wouldn’t have let that happen if—”

Eric twisted away from Selh’s restraining hands and lunged

up, an arm hooking around each of their waists to draw them
close. “You aren’t angry with us for failing you?” Cale asked in
amazement.

Pulling until all three were on the bed answered them. Eric

had a hand at each crotch, groping for their cocks.

“We can’t do this now,” Cale told him. “We have to be on

guard for—Eric!”

Never before had Eric bitten him. He did so then, clamping

Never before had Eric bitten him. He did so then, clamping

down with his teeth on Cale’s belly. His hands ripped at the
pants of both men, throwing himself over Cale while pulling Selh
over his back.

“He wants to-to-while he’s-he’s…” Selh cried, his frenzy

matching Eric’s in realizing what he wanted.

“He knows what he wants. Mount him.”
“We don’t have any lube,”
“Use spit.”
Clothes were ripped off, spit provided lube for Eric’s cock,

sinking in without prior stretching. Selh’s spit gave Eric a little
comfort before he plunged into Eric’s ass. Cale barely felt the
weight of the two men, hooking his heels around Selh’s thighs to
open himself up and lever up his hips. Erratic movement
smoothed instantly to a synchronization of three working for one
frantic objective, all three reaching achievement at the same time,
two filling the air with cries of erotic satisfaction.

* * * *

Flinching slightly as he sat, Cale commented, “I hope we

don’t get that compulsive often.”

“Me either. I feel raw.” Selh took a seat beside Cale on the

sofa. Eric had gone to sleep immediately afterward, leaving Cale
and Selh in a slight state of shock. “A confirmation of some
kind? Was that what drove him to such an extreme?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe he just needed to work his rage off.”

He sighed and blew out a breath. “When I first felt it, I thought it

He sighed and blew out a breath. “When I first felt it, I thought it
was directed at us for failing him.”

“So much emotion for him, but did he open his eyes even

once?”

“No, nor did he make a vocal sound. There’s a major

block we haven’t reached yet, Selh.”

“For now, I believe we have a bigger problem. Are we

going to make it out of here alive?”

“I had truly hoped the bribes had not reached as high as the

commissioner’s office. I have taken precautions, Selh. I hope
they are enough.” His head jerked up to listen. “I pray they are
enough.”

A small explosion shattered the window. Three men swung

in through the broken glass, rappelling down from the roof.
Three more used their combined weight to smash through the
door, shoving the chair across the floor. Selh and Cale jumped
to their feet, back to back. Six hitting them at nearly the same
time drove them apart. Cale disabled one before two others
slammed him to the floor. One straddled him, hands around his
throat while the other captured his arms and pressed them to the
floor.

“Choke him down,” the one holding his arms ordered,

wrapping a leather band around one wrist.

“If you kill him, it will be your head,” a new voice, but one

too frighteningly familiar. Cale strained his neck to see and
confirm who stood at the doorway. With a raised hand, a lop-
sided smirk distorting his face, Lev Tro wiggled his fingers. Two
more entered behind him, following as he walked to the

more entered behind him, following as he walked to the
bedroom door where he snapped his fingers. “At my feet.”

Fighting unconsciousness, Cale heard a soft thud. He

twisted, sickened at what he knew he would see, Eric, still
naked, on his knees, head to the floor. Shuffling, he crossed the
last of the distance between them until his forehead rested on
Lev Tro’s feet.

“Conditioned reflex, is that not what it’s called?” Lev Tro

asked. Cale, his hands bound before him, was lifted to his feet
by his arms. “Did you truly think removing him from the drugs
would release him from my control?” He chuckled, pacing as he
talked, Eric shuffling on his knees to follow. “That was to be my
next experiment. I thank you for advancing it to this stage.”

He turned, waiting until Eric’s forehead again rested on his

feet. Patting his head, he told him, “I am unhappy with you, my
pet.” His fingers closed, gripping a handful of hair and twisting.
Eric’s body trembled, but he made no move to pull away. “You
have disobeyed me. You know what that means.”

A violent shudder shook Eric, and his hand crept up Lev

Tro’s shins. Lev Tro kicked him away. Eric scrambled back to
his head on the floor posture, inching back to take more
punishment.

Unable to stand more, Cale shouted, “He did what you

ordered!”

“No, he did what you ordered. The drug does make them

so pliant. However, his orders from me from the very beginning
were to never let another man touch him.”

“Fight him, Eric! You do not have to obey!”
“Gag him.” Lev Tro’s eyes gleamed when the man pulled a

ball and strap from his pocket. “You recognize that instrument,
do you not?” he asked, watching Cale fight having the ball forced
between his teeth and secured with straps around his head. “I
never had the need of such with my pet, but have found the use
of them entertaining with others.”

“They are ready for transport,” one man reported.
Lev Tro waved his hand and snapped his fingers. “Stand

and follow me.”

Cale was forced to walk, struggling every inch of the way

to the roof and waiting shuttle. Selh was carried, also gagged and
bound, unconscious from a bloody gash on his forehead. Both
were tossed to the floor in the center while Lev Tro went to the
throne mounted at the rear of the chamber. The man was
obsessed with a vulgar show of his wealth even there. A snap of
his fingers and a point put Eric back on his knees in front of him,
shaking violently.

The shuttle lifted off, moving at ground speed. They would

not yet be leaving the planet, a factor Cale hoped would be in
their favor.

“Did you think me fool enough to go where your Alliance

could take me?” Lev Tro asked, his tone conversational while he
raised one foot and kicked Eric away. Eric scrambled back to
the same position as he talked. “They thought themselves so
clever, arranging a trap for me. Instead, I have arranged a trap
for you. I have some very interesting events planned for our

for you. I have some very interesting events planned for our
journey to Zon. My pet, could he speak, could tell you I am very
inventive in my forms of entertainment. Ah, so quickly we arrive.
You have always shown such great interest in my enterprise. I
am gifting you with a personal tour.”

He leaned forward, stroking and then gripping a handful of

Eric’s hair. “Have you scuffed your knees? What have I told you
about marking your legs, hmmm? Stand and let me see.”

Eric got to his feet while Lev Tro held his head down by his

hold of his hair. He tsk, tsked at the redness, shaking his head.
“As soon as we reach a more convenient location you must be
disciplined for this.” He rose, adding, “Follow me now.”

Cale and Selh, rousing back to consciousness, were hauled

to their feet. Selh, half carried and half dragged, moaned behind
his gag. Where are we?

On one of his slave ships.
Oh, God.
Stay calm. We’ll get a chance to escape. When we do,

I’m going to kill him.

* * * *

The hold held hundreds of men, women, and children,

chained to the walls and rails bolted to the deck. “This is where
he began his journey,” Lev Tro told them, playing the congenial
tour guide. “Just over there against the wall was his position. I
believe I see one who has failed the first test, rather like a natural
culling process. If they cannot survive the discomfort, periodical

culling process. If they cannot survive the discomfort, periodical
withholding of food and water, they will not survive their
necessary training to prepare them for sale.”

He released the hold he had of Eric’s hair to pat him on the

head. “He did very well here, still strong enough to walk when
his shipment reached the end of this stage. He did well to begin
with in my training camp, but so stubborn. Oh, I am building an
army. I believed he would make a fine soldier once he came to
understand there was no escape, no return to his life of luxury
and privilege.”

With a motion of his hand, the guards turned Cale and Selh,

clearing a path for him to lead Eric by them. “He thought to
escape. The first time one leg was fractured in a device of my
design. The bone is easily snapped without damage to the skin,
and then quickly cast to prevent deformity or lameness. The
second time, I ordered both legs broken. Each time he was
lashed for infractions, beaten, or placed in the restriction cell,
starved until he staggered or crawled when released, my lust for
him grew and my determination to break him to my will. Despite
his punishments, he still attempted to escape a third time.”

With a casual wave of his hand he asked, “What was I to

do?” He answered himself. “I had no choice but to fracture both
legs and one arm. Watching the punishment administered I could
no longer contain my lust for him. I must admit I was aroused to
the point of coming in my pants at what would have been his
screams had he a voice.” He chuckled slightly, sobering
immediately. “I was enraged when he refused me yet again. In so
much pain, so willing to take more rather than willingly share his

much pain, so willing to take more rather than willingly share his
body with me, I vowed to break him of his arrogant, stubborn
pride.”

He stopped at a door, a look of smugness on his face.

“You will see now how I was able to train such an obedient pet.
This room is often used by the guards for a bit of pre-training of
those appealing to them. I’ve had a few items added, especially
for you. You will learn what it means to steal what is mine as he
will be reminded what it means to disobey me.” He pushed the
door open, snapped his fingers, and ordered, “Go inside.”

The fucker had a throne in the room and a steaming meal

waiting for him. Mounted on the floor in front of it were three
metal frames surrounded by various racks and tables, too many
of which Cale recognized the use of from their time on Oathin.
Slings and straps hung from the ceiling. Various instruments,
restraining harnesses, and whips hung on the walls. None were
velvet-covered or fur-lined. Lev Tro made no show of pretense.
This was not a D/s den. It was a torture chamber.

Lev Tro ordered Eric to his knees, his forehead on Lev

Tro’s feet. The king ate, watching Cale and Selh’s useless
struggles against being strapped into the right and left frames,
leather cuffs biting into flesh of the ankles and their wrists.

“Anticipation is a psychological form of torture, you know.”

He continued to eat while he talked. “He knows punishment is
coming, but not yet in what form. He sees the frame and always
remembers from the first time I strapped him into one with his
limbs in casts after he refused me for the last time. I had been too
gentle with him. The frames, as you can see, are hinged on the

gentle with him. The frames, as you can see, are hinged on the
sides. The casts on his legs prevented me from manipulating him
to kneel to me, but not from bowing. Each time he refused to
take me in his mouth, I had no choice but to discipline him. I had
it in my mind that he must come to me willingly. His constant
refusal to understand after, oh, a month, drove me into a rage. I
understood then he would never understand until he had felt my
love for him. Even then he did not, fighting me until he ripped and
tore, ruptured inside the doctors said.”

He brushed his fingertips clean of crumbs, leaned back in

his throne, and crossed his legs. “I had that alcove prepared, a
place to keep him safe from the harm he caused himself when he
was able to leave his bed. He didn’t care for the collar and
chain, not to begin. He did come to understand it meant no
punishment was coming, not there in that room when he obeyed
me. So stubborn, so many times I had to drag him into the
discipline room. A month I had to wait, a month spent in study.
His first new lesson was that he was mine, my property and my
brand would proclaim it. Knives heated in braziers for the
cutting, not deep enough to sever nerves or veins. I drew three
rings around his penis. I promised to be more patient in breaking
him of his stubbornness and pride, in teaching him to obey. It
was no longer important that he gave himself willingly, once I had
crossed the line with force. Patience and experimentation in
learning what different positions gave us the most pleasure, what
discipline was the most effective in enabling him to learn.”

Waving his arm at the various things in the room, he told

Waving his arm at the various things in the room, he told

them, “Hanging on the frame, bent double, face down, face to
the ceiling, off the frame, hanging from his arms, hanging from his
feet, hanging from both arms and legs. I allowed no one else to
touch him unless I needed assistance in raising his weight. I killed
one guard who accidently marred his leg. During that time I no
longer sought his acceptance, choosing instead to show my
strength. He failed me again in his weakness. The second time I
called the physicians, they told me if I continued I would kill him.
They told me of a drug, very expensive but it would put him in a
state of total helplessness, he would have no choice but to obey
my wishes. My only question was would he feel pain. Discipline
without pain has no value.”

“Why?” Cale choked out from around the gag.
“My love for him is so great, I could not stand that he

would not love me back. I was always fair and truthful. When I
gave him the drug the first time, I told myself he would still know,
deep in his brain, who I was and it was because of my love for
him, my desire that he be perfect, that I trained him. He had to
learn to please me or be punished and know the terror of the
pain to come. Even as I disciplined him, it was with love. Though
there were so many failures on his part, I wished to share our joy
with others, to teach them how to teach those they loved.
Though many of them shared their bodies completely with others
watching, even joining in, our love was always private, until now.
I swore no other man would ever touch him and live, if any other
man did, he would suffer punishment as he has never known
before.”

before.”

He rose, walking slowly around Eric, sniffing. “I smell your

sex on him. I have seen how you look at him, both of you, with
your lust. You will pay for stealing him. You will pay even more
for trespassing on what is mine.”

With a snap of his fingers, he told Eric, “Go to the table.

Choose a knife.” He told Cale. “He could never abide inflicting
pain—his greatest weakness. He never found pleasure in it, or
pleasure in even watching. Now he will, on my order, inflict pain
on those who violated my property.” With another snap of his
fingers, he said, “Carve an X in each of their chests.”

Eric stood at the table, the knife in his hand. His body

twisted one way, his feet another. Behind his gag, Cale
screamed, “Fight it, Eric. You can fight it.” The words were no
more than a garbled sound, but still he screamed.

Even those few seconds of hesitation were more than Lev

Tro would tolerate. Ignoring the sounds Cale made, he stormed
to the table, snatched up a second knife and swiped it across
Eric’s chest.

“Open your mouth,” he ordered, fumbling in his pocket. He

withdrew a pill, held between his thumb and forefinger. Halfway
to Eric’s mouth, he grunted, the pill slipped from his fingers, and
his mouth dropped open. His expression was one of shock.

Eric’s arm moved again. The knife he buried in Lev Tro’s

gut slashed downward, cutting through cloth and flesh until it hit
bone. He withdrew his arm and stabbed again, straight into Lev
Tro’s crotch. Eric’s hand at his throat kept Lev Tro from falling
to the floor. Blood and guts spilled over Eric’s arm as he

to the floor. Blood and guts spilled over Eric’s arm as he
withdrew the knife and stabbed again.

The door burst open, and Eric spun and crouched with the

knife held to defend.

The man in the lead threw his hand up to stop the rushing

group’s progress. He waved those behind him back, backed
himself, and leaned against the doorframe, looking at Cale. “This
is the man you hired us to protect?”

Cale and Selh both shook their arms, rattling the frames,

and shouting behind their gags.

The man in the door, smiled. “I am not entering until he

drops that knife.”

Eric, head high, shoulders and back straight, eyes glittering

with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, gave no sign of
surrendering the knife. He sidestepped, using it to cut one of
Selh’s arms free.

Try to calm him down, Cale ordered.
Selh jerked the harness off his head, pulled the ball free of

his mouth, and screamed. “Calm him down? You fucking knew
they were coming and never told me!”

As he spoke, Eric cut his second wrist free and moved on

to Cale.

You calm down. It’s over. With his first arm free, he cried

in joy, He’s functioning, baby. He’s functioning freely.

A new man pushed his way through the group, stopping

just past the door to stare, jerking and grimacing when Cale
popped the gag out of his mouth.

“You fucking son-of-a-bitch,” Cale shouted, fighting to get

his other arm free. “What the hell kept you!”

“Two things,” Bicer answered, trying for casualness. “There

were more than a few men to come through, and I didn’t know
you expected me.”

“You think I’m too fucking stupid to know you were using

us for bait!”

Still fighting his way out of the straps around his ankles,

Selh screamed. “I was! Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Everyone needs to take a couple of deep breaths and

calm down,” Bicer advised, eyeing Eric. “We’ve got a real mess
here to sort through.”

Cale did take deep breaths, though not for Bicer’s sake.

He gripped the metal frame to keep from doing what he wanted
to do more than breathe, hug Eric and Selh to him. Selh sat on
the floor, unbuckling the last ankle bond, and Cale didn’t know if
he was ready to make their relationship known—not even if he
ever would be. As for Eric, he had no idea what he felt, after the
last breakthrough. His mental defenses were as high as his
physical ones, if not more so.

“Are you okay?” Cale asked, allowing himself a light touch

of Eric’s arm.

Eric nodded, his eyes moving to follow Bicer’s wide circle

around the room to look more closely at Lev Tor. “No question
as to who killed him,” Bicer stated, looking from the pool of
blood and pile of spilled guts on the floor to the blood covering
Eric.

Eric.

“Self-defense,” Cale and Selh said at the same time.
“Of course, with more than good reason.”
Another man pushed through those crowding the door for a

look inside. Procane stumbled to a stop, his face blanching at the
mess on the floor.

“Your source?” Cale asked with a sneer.
“Yes.”
Procane sidestepped until he stood in full view of Eric,

lowered himself to one knee and bowed his head. “Your
Majesty.”

“What?” Cale exclaimed.
“Huh?” Selh grunted.
“I’m surprised you didn’t trip on to it by his scars, or lack

of in some areas,” Bicer commented, moving closer. “Cale, Selh,
may I present His Royal Majesty, Ankar Kan Lymm, rightful
king to the throne of Zon.”

“No,” Cale said in a groan. “Ankar died sev—”
“Seven years ago,” Bicer finished for him. “While on a

galaxy tour, a gift from his father, his ship was attacked by
pirates, looted, and shot from space. His uncle, Lev Tro, had
been commissioned by the king to assassinate him. He arranged
to have him turned over to slavers instead, though not out of
benevolence. As a twelve-year-old boy, Ankar had refused his
uncle’s attentions, reporting him to the king when he tried to
force him into having sex with him. Lev Tro was expelled from
the royal court, assigned to operating the slave ring. He arranged
for the king’s death two months after Ankar’s supposed death

for the king’s death two months after Ankar’s supposed death
and assumed the throne.”

“The crest of Zon,” Cale said faintly, pieces fitting into

place. The crest of Zon was an ancient warrior holding a shield
leaving only his legs and right arm visible, the background jagged
stripes, equal in number to the brands seared into Eric’s penis.

“Yes.” He dropped his voice slightly. “Lev Tro taunting him

during torture, telling him his only shield would be his scars.”

Of all the questions and uncertainties whirling in Cale’s

mind, he snatched one to ask, “Why would his father order his
death?”

“Ankar made it clear when he took the throne, he would

abolish the slave trade. His father considered it a weakness
detrimental to the good of their world.”

Eric made a far from regal gesture at Procane. He not only

wanted him off his knees, he wanted him and everyone else out
of the room, waving his arms and pointing.

“He’s been through a traumatic…” Cale broke off, realizing

he was assuming a position of representation he had no right to.
Eric was a king for God’s sake.

“Oh course, of course,” Procane sputtered. “If I might

suggest, Your Majesty…” he hesitated when Eric shook his
head. He directed the last to Cale, “…there’s a room down the
hall where he can refresh and rest himself with clothing in an
appropriate size.”

With more hand motions, Eric made it clear everyone was

to move out of his way.

Bicer said as he reached the door. “Your Majesty.” His

Bicer said as he reached the door. “Your Majesty.” His

voice faltered when Eric shook his head. “We of the Alliance…
there is a massive job of reconstruction, identifying the
prisoners…” He left off what he was saying, shifting abruptly to a
different subject. “After you have rested we can discuss your
return…”

Eric shook his head again. Cale, as much from habit as a

wish to assist, said, “I think he’s telling you he doesn’t want to
be king.” Or was he guilty of wishful thinking?

A rather short, imperial-looking nod answered. Equally

regally, he pointed at Cale and Selh. A king would not have two
homosexual lovers, but then Eric had not been a homosexual to
begin, at least not that Cale was aware of. He could well be
demanding a private meeting to order silence on all that had
happened between them.

“I suppose that means he wants you to accompany him,”

Bicer said, his ire over being dismissed showing. With another
nod, Eric turned and left. “Third door to the right.” While Selh
followed, Bicer delayed Cale with a hand on his arm. “Talk to
him. It’s very important he take his throne.”

“With the Alliance in attendance.”
“Yes,” he snapped. “There are hundreds of thousands of

people to identify and return home.”

“And an army to disband.”
“Yes.”
“Who stands in line for the throne if he refuses?”
“Procane, the king’s cousin.”

“Procane, the king’s cousin.”
“How convenient.”
“Cale, it’s—”
“I’ll talk to him, but no matter what I say to him he’ll need

some time to adjust.”

Cale needed time to adjust. He didn’t have any idea how

he was supposed to act when he reached the room but was fairly
certain it was no longer as a lover. He took a deep breath and
put on his political protocol skin when he opened the door to
find only Selh in the sitting room.

“Where is he?”
“Taking a shower.”
“Did he indicate anything?”
“That he wanted a shower, walking off and leaving me with

a flip of his hand.” Back on balance to a degree, he gave Cale a
strained smile. “You should have seen him walking down that
hall, naked, covered in the blood of the man he’d just killed, and
looking every inch a king.” He scoffed. “I hope the hell you
didn’t see that coming without warning me.”

“I didn’t.” He sank down to sit beside him, giving his hand

a squeeze. “I’m sorry for the scare you went through, but I
couldn’t tell you help was coming, build your hopes up and be
wrong.”

Both sprang to their feet when Eric appeared even though

he was still naked. Cale started down to kneel. Selh followed
suit. Eric shook his head, walked straight to them, and cupped
their crotches.

Fighting the reflex to go straight to his back, Cale managed

Fighting the reflex to go straight to his back, Cale managed

a calm, “Are you sure you want that?”

The squeeze of his cock answered. Selh moaned beside

him, announcing he was getting the same treatment. Three hit the
floor and rolled together, disposing of clothes. Eric latched onto
Cale’s cock with his mouth, Cale took Selh’s down to his throat,
and Selh sucked Eric’s. Eric broke lose long enough to spit wet
a finger, finding Cale’s asshole to finger fuck. It felt so damned
good, Cale did the same to Selh. Selh bucked in surprise,
sucked his own finger long enough to wet it, and drove it into
Eric’s sweet ass. Humping and bumping, three climaxed
together. No drawing out their union. No teasing with blocking a
climax in their joy of being alive, and Cale feared, their last time
together as three. They shifted from the human circle their bodies
had formed to lay beside each other, Eric in the middle.

“Eric, I would really like it if you would fuck me tonight,”

Selh said softly.

Selh had not asked or volunteered to bottom since his first

and only time in that position. Cale was more than willing to
accommodate him, but Eric moved first, rolling to between
Selh’s legs, hooking his arms under his knees. Considering how
few times Selh had been on the receiving end, Cale was
concerned about the position, one he knew could cause more
than the usual amount of initial pain.

“Maybe I should.”
“If it’s okay with you, Cale, I want to have him inside me. If

you’d rather it was just you he fucked though, that’s okay.”

“You idiot. Let’s move to the bedroom though and look for

“You idiot. Let’s move to the bedroom though and look for

something to use as lube.”

He went to the head, searching the cabinet, determined to

use soap if he could find nothing else. He returned instead with a
jar of cream often found on ships where the artificial air dried the
toughest of skins.

“Let me lubricate him. I love the feel of him in my hands.”

Cale paused and added, “And the feel of your sweet little ass.”

Cale smeared lube on Selh’s sweet little ass with a good

finger reaming and moved to Eric, on his knees behind that same
little ass, arms hooked under Selh’s knees. Cale thought to tell
Eric to take care, but in the same flash of thought, realized Eric
would without being told. Eric had frustrated him to the point of
frenzy more than once, but he had never deliberately hurt him
even when playing a Dom.

Taking Eric’s cock in one hand, Cale gripped it at the base,

leaning down, licking and lapping up beads of salty pre-cum
before he swirled his tongue around the ridge, drilled it into the
slit, and followed with a kiss.

Eric lifted Selh higher, draping his legs over his shoulders.

Eric finger fucked him slow and easy. Each time Eric stroked
Selh’s prostate, Selh bucked and groaned. Each time he added
another finger, stretching Selh to easily take his stiff, hard, and—
compared to Cale’s—oversized cock, Selh tensed. Cale
suspected Selh had been a little afraid of that length and breadth,
and that had been one reason he hadn’t asked before. Eric took
special care, spreading his fingers to stretch Selh even more.

special care, spreading his fingers to stretch Selh even more.

Selh stilled when Eric moved closer on his knees. He

tensed, when the tip of Eric’s cock touched his asshole.

“Relax,” Cale whispered, taking Selh’s cock in his hand.

“Push out, welcome him in.”

“Oh, my God,” Selh murmured in a groan. “He’s huge, and

it hurts.”

Eric had barely penetrated, not deep enough to stroke

Selh’s sweet spot. Cale took Selh’s mind away from the burning
pain, taking Selh’s cock in his mouth, close enough to feel every
move they both made. He sucked on Selh’s cock hard, even bit
lightly, Selh relaxed, adjusting, tensing, relaxing until Eric rested
within him full depth.

“Now,” Selh told him in an outrush of air when, without

withdrawing, Eric flexed his hips moving inside of him, rubbing
slightly against his prostate, driving Selh to panting, each breath
out one word. “Now, now, now.”

Eric’s hand pushed under Cale’s face, pinching Selh’s cock

off. Cale chuckled, knowing the vibrations would drive Selh even
wilder. They had him bucking, clawing at Cale’s back, and
pleading.

“Let me come. Oh, God, I’ve got to come now.”
Concentrating on building Selh to one of the greatest

climaxes he’d ever had, Cale started slightly when a hand wet
with lube hooked at his waist, pulling him to face Eric. In what
started as an uncomfortable twist, he never let go of Selh’s cock,
one leg draped over Eric’s back to open himself to a thumb
fucking from heaven. He choked trying to swallow the same time

fucking from heaven. He choked trying to swallow the same time
he came, the same time Eric came, the three again sharing the
moments of sexual bliss and collapsing in exhaustion when the
spasms faded to no more than twitches.

Panting still physically, Selh’s thoughts were even. Is he

going to leave us?

I feel he is saying goodbye.

Epilogue

Through the night they pleasured each other, slept in

snatches, and pleasured each other again. That morning they had
nearly impossible shower sex in the shower stall after which they
dressed, all but Eric who refused any of the elaborate suits in the
closet. None had to be a genius to know the clothes were Lev
Tro’s.

Cale told Selh, “See if anyone thought to bring our luggage

onboard.”

“Clothes and breakfast. Be right back.”
The door closed behind him.
“You no longer want me.”
Cale was in the act of sitting down when the quiet voice

filled the room. Open-mouthed, he missed too much of the chair,
slipped off and landed on his ass on the floor with a thump,
staring at Eric.

“You no longer want me,” Eric repeated. “You feel you

have helped me enough now to save me as you could not your
brother. I understand.”

Cale shook his head in denial, managing a squeaky, “Why

haven’t you ever let us know you can talk?”

“You always said as soon as I could, you would take me

home. You understand now why that terrified me.”

home. You understand now why that terrified me.”

“But—but, I thought—I didn’t know—shit.” Cale had to

stop talking and gather his thoughts after realizing the one thing
he promised he’d do for him was the last thing Eric ever wanted.
No wonder he’d never spoken. Calmer, he said, “It is your
home. With Lev Tro gone…” The words trailed off as Eric
shook his head.

“Procane is no better. He has always known I lived and

what Lev Tro was doing to me. He helped him, both in my
kidnapping and what was done. He only turned traitor thinking
my mind was so destroyed he would be king with our uncle
removed.”

“Then have him arrested,” Cale retorted, pushing up to his

feet. “He can play the informer ploy for personal gain with the
Alliance, but not the king.”

“What did that man say to you before you left the

chamber?”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t work for them anymore.” As

much as he hated to say it, and it ripped his heart out, he knew
he fucking had to. “If Procane is as bad as Lev Tro, who will
help those slaves, Er—Your Majesty? Can you just turn your
back on them now and live with it?”

“Can you?” Eric gripped his head with both hands. “Come

with me, you and Selh. I know it is not fair to ask you. I know it
all sickens you, but to lose you—I do not think I can bear it. I
have been alone, always alone, and the love…”

“You aren’t a homosexual,” Cale stated and smiled sadly.

“When you have more time for recovery, you'll return to your

“When you have more time for recovery, you'll return to your
natural desires. If we are there, you’ll feel obligated to not pursue
them.”

“I was alone in a dark terrifying place. I saw; I heard, but

there were thick layers between I couldn’t claw through to touch
or feel. A voice said to me ‘get on your hands and knees’ and I
obeyed. That part of me beneath all those layers didn’t want to.
That part of me braced for more pain, wanting not to live, only to
go deeper where pain wouldn’t reach. Then the voice said, ‘I
will not violate you.’ I felt life again. I reached for the voice and
held on. I clawed, fighting to find my way to that voice, your
voice, and that feeling of living again.”

Cale didn’t want to miss a word Eric said, but he had to

ask Selh a question when a new thought struck him like lightning.
Did you ever feel Eric might be telepathic?

Of course, how else would you have been able to reach

him, as deeply as they had suppressed his consciousness?
You seem disturbed. Is something wrong?

A moment.
“Another voice, not as strong but as insistent, reached into

me. I don’t know that I can explain, but when touching the
bodies belonging to those voices, when they touched mine, even
though I still could not claw my way through the layers to—to be
me again, I felt alive. I wanted to live, and I know something that
is troubling you. It is common on our world for a man to love a
man, though I had never thought I would. Now I love two. I love
you, Cale. I love Selh. You are parts of my soul, and I will never
be whole again without you.”

be whole again without you.”

Cale?
“I know it isn’t fair to ask you to expose yourself to all of

that again, to deal again with the lies and deceit of politics, but
Procane will not stop the tortures or the slavery.”

Cale!
The door slammed open and Selh barreled through. “Damn

it, answer me!”

Cale turned to face him. “I am about to, and though I

cannot answer for you, I know what your answer will be. I was
about to suggest the new King of Zon, facing the reconstruction
of his government, the dissolution of the slave ring—”

“We all know what he’s up against. You don’t have to list

them.” Selh slammed down the tray of food he carried. “Get to
the point. Is he dumping us?”

“No,” Eric stated.
Selh’s knees wobbled. He started to drop to a chair,

caught himself, and shot back up, long enough to start down to
one knee. “Sorry, Your Majesty, I—”

“Never treat me differently,” Eric snapped, freezing Selh

halfway between standing and kneeling.

“In private,” Cale added in condition. “We were just

discussing how he feels compelled to take his throne, but didn’t
want to lose us.”

“I will not,” Eric stated in a tone of command.
Selh’s eyes filled with tears, but he did manage to stand

straight.

straight.

Cale continued. “I think there’s only one answer for a man

in his position. Advisors, especially the two men who rescued
him, would be more than acceptable to all parties, though we
should keep the depths of our relationship private at least for a
while.”

“He wants us to go with him?” Selh asked with a huge grin

beneath tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Said he wouldn’t go without us. He seems to love us as

much as we love him even if we are men.”

Selh cried in triumph, “I told you, love is gender blind!”

*THE END*

About the Author

A resident of the southwest, L.L. is new to the m/m genre and

welcomes comments at [e-mail]

Other books by L. L. Brooks

The Captain's Seduction

Hard for a Gay Vampire

L. L. Brooks and Shannon West

Taking Dylan Down

Defending Devon

Secret Cravings Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com