Clan and Commit (Clan Beginnings Book 7)

by Tracy St. John

“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll break it off. No harm, no foul, right?”

  Suddenly, being drafted didn’t feel quite so awful. Bacoj was still screwed as far as his hopes for school, but he had a real chance to win Vax.

  All things considered, life was pretty damned okay after all.

  “I did one other thing too.”

  The mischief playing over Vax’s expression had Bacoj chuckling. “Spill it, you fiend.”

  “I asked why Karil wasn’t serving, what with him being a Nobek of drafting age and all. I told them that to my knowledge, he’s fit enough to fight. They’re checking into it.”

  Bacoj gaped at him before hilarity hit. He laughed while the line of Dramoks and the greeting soldiers stared at him. Vax laughed with him, tears rolling down his cheeks.

  * * * *

  “Drafted?”

  Matara Felac went pale. Her hand, gripping a glass of leshella, had frozen halfway on its trek to her mouth. After a couple of beats, she set it down on the spotless white tablecloth covering the large formal dining table.

  Vax put his own glass down, ready to spring to her assistance should she faint. She probably wouldn’t. He thought Felac would prefer to stab herself in the throat rather than commit such a breach of dignity. It was clear that decorum was important to Bacoj’s mother, from her own appearance to that of her impeccable home. The only cracks in her flawless poise centered on Bacoj. She hadn’t merely embraced him when they’d arrived at the apartment in the fine Etaret Cavern System, where the smallest living spaces went for fifty years’ worth of Vax’s Nepor salary. She’d clung to her son, at last tearing herself away with obvious effort.

  Now the lovely Matara, hair coiled at her crown without a strand out of place, sat speechless. Her hand crept toward Bacoj’s despite Imdiko Sadiv sitting between them, reaching with discernable trembling.

  “I leave for combat training in a month,” Bacoj confirmed.

  “You’re fighting?”

  Vax thought she’d faint after all, especially since her clanmates were watching her with obvious concern. Sadiv touched her shoulder as Nobek Deehur tossed his napkin next to his half-finished plate.

  “He already said he’ll be a shuttle supply pilot. Combat training is a requirement for all troops during wartime, whether they’re to fight or not. I doubt he’ll see any action.” Deehur, like most elder Nobeks who served in the ground forces, was a roadmap of scars. His nose was crooked from who knew how many fights. His gaze had a hectic intensity that reminded Vax of his own Nobek father’s. Yet for all the aura of restrained ferocity, Deehur’s graying hair was pulled back into a sleek tail. His outfit of loose tunic and trousers were spotless. He was dignified in his way, a warrior who’d attained the rank of high commander in the ground forces.

  Vax felt a throb of sympathy for Felac. Bacoj’s welfare was a matter she took seriously, almost to the point of threatening her relationship with her only child. Bacoj’s description of being smothered by her until he’d moved out on his own declared Felac lived in terror of loss, equaled only by her love for her son.

  As if nothing were amiss, Vax brightly pointed out, “I’m to be a cook, and I have to train in combat too. I hope to learn how to make my spatula into a deadly weapon.” He grimaced and gestured threateningly with a closed fist, as if holding his lethal cooking implement.

  Bacoj, Deehur, and Sadiv broke into chuckles, their expressions grateful at the light turn. “Don’t forget flinging hot oil into the faces of your enemies,” Deehur advised.

  “And crushing skulls with heavy pots. Come and get it, punks.” Vax clenched his features in a mock-snarl.

  Felac didn’t take part in the joking. “What do your parents think of your decision, Vax?”

  “They’re a little worried, but proud.”

  “Only a little concerned?” She shook her head at the pilchok Sadiv offered her.

  “It’s my understanding that the carrier’s mission is to bring supplies to distribution centers. Unless the conflict spreads, we won’t be within actual battle zones. It sounds as if the biggest danger we’ll face is extreme boredom.”

  Felac finally eased up. She glanced at a still vid portrait on the wall across from where she sat. It was the only photograph among the expensive artwork decorating the oh-so-perfect dining area.

  Vax looked too, fascinated with the clan’s family shot, taken when Bacoj was a baby. When his Dramok father Rilb was still alive. The handsome man laughed across the years as he held his infant son curled in one arm, his other arm draped across Felac’s shoulders. She was at ease in the shot, and Vax wondered if that side of her had appeared since Rilb’s untimely death. Bacoj had inherited her smile.

  Was Rilb’s death from an incurable disease the source of Bacoj’s moments of uncertainty? It must have been difficult to grow up as a Dramok without that immediate influence in his life. Bacoj had only been four when he lost his father, so the impact was bound to have had consequences.

  Felac’s mind was very much on her deceased clanmate as well. “I wonder what Rilb would say about all this?”

  Sadiv’s eyes twinkled, as they had for most of the dinner. He was the easygoing member of the bunch. “He’d tell Bacoj to fly fast and watch his—”

  “Really, Sadiv.” She was smiling at her clanmate, however. It wasn’t the same unguarded expression in the picture, just a ghost of it, but the tightness around her eyes had disappeared.

  Deehur’s grin was big as he winked at Bacoj. “Watching out for yourself goes double for me. Even if you’re light years from the warzone.”

  Felac was all dignity again as she gazed levelly at her son. “Knowing you, it’ll take a miracle for you to send word from time to time that you’re doing all right.”

  “Should I remind him, Matara Felac? How often would you like him to message or com you? Once a week? Twice?” Vax was obvious in his attempt to score points with his potential mother-in-law, but he didn’t care.

  “Twice,” Felac said as Bacoj answered, “Once.”

  “Twice a week it is.” Vax grinned as Sadiv and Deehur snickered.

  “Thank you, Vax. It’s nice to have an ally when it comes to Bacoj’s stubborn refusal to check in.”

  “I don’t need to check in. You com me almost every day,” Bacoj pointed out.

  “If I didn’t, I’d never hear from you.” Felac sighed. “Young men are so indifferent to their mothers. What they call independence is an excuse to ignore us.”

  “I do not ignore you.” Bacoj’s eyes flashed, but his voice never rose. Vax was impressed with his restraint. He’d have to reward his lover later.

  Meanwhile, it was fun to dig at him when there was nothing he could do about it. Vax said, “If he fails to keep you properly informed, let me know, Matara.”

  “I’m sure your mother never has to beg for the details of what’s going on in your life.” Felac sniffed and raised her glass again.

  “I do my best. I hate for her to worry over me.”

  Bacoj bowed his head, tilting it so his hair covered his face from his mother’s view. Vax could see the snarl his friend aimed at him, however. He beamed at Bacoj as Deehur covered a chuckle by coughing into his napkin.

  Deehur arched a brow at Vax. “Someone knows who rules the roost here.”

  Felac glared at him. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Only that we all bow to the best of us, my love.” He reached over to claim her hand so he could kiss it.

  Sadiv offered her pilchok again. She sniffed and her eyes narrowed, but she accepted it. Bacoj gazed at his parents with amusement. And love.

  Vax enjoyed meeting them and learning about Bacoj’s relationship with his parent clan. Now that he knew the lay of the land, it was obvious his efforts to charm should be concentrated on Felac. Doing so would keep him in the family’s good graces long enough to determine if Bacoj was the Dramok for him.

  It seemed more and more, career or not, ready or not, he’d found the right man.

 
* * * *

  Stinging pain in his neck woke Vax. He cried out. A heavy weight covered him. He couldn’t move. Waves of darkness impeded his vision.

  Someone on top of him. Biting him with fangs, though the pain had disappeared. He yelled again and shoved at the muscled body pinning his down.

  It shifted, lifting up just a little. Morning light came from the wall on the left, from the vid window of Bacoj’s sleeping room. His host looked down on him, fangs descended so they showed behind his square teeth. He grinned. “Easy, pretty Imdiko. I have to claim control before you try to take it from me again.”

  His weight descended, and he bit once more. Vax already felt the effects of Bacoj’s venom, the intoxicant making him passive to the Dramok. Obedient, no matter how he might wish otherwise.

  The hard lengths of Bacoj’s cocks against his abdomen told Vax sex was on the menu. Sex that Bacoj would be able to dictate, since the bite rendered its victim unable to resist commands. Vax would be completely at the Dramok’s mercy. If Bacoj had any.

  His weak struggles to push his assailant off were to no avail. His lover kept him trapped until Vax had no fight left in him. Only when Vax lay still and moaning did Bacoj lift his weight from the other man’s body.

  “That should be enough. Don’t move. Don’t speak. And don’t come.” Bacoj gripped Vax’s rigid primary and pumped. Heat shot into the shaft, and Vax yelled. However, he remained perfectly motionless, held in place by Bacoj’s order. Lying there, suffering under the demanding grip without being able to enjoy release.

  “So wet and hard,” Bacoj crooned, watching his face as he drove him insane with longing. “I’m sure you have plenty of ideas on what you’d like me to do with you. You always do. Too bad you can’t tell me any of them.” He bent and licked the tip of Vax’s shaft, sending a lightning strike of lust through his groin. Bacoj straightened again, grinning at the helpless noises he made. “No, this is about what I want to do with you, Imdiko. Can you imagine the fun I’m going to have after your games last night? You enjoyed yourself at my expense during dinner with my parents, didn’t you? Hmm? You have to pay for that now. Good thing neither of us is working today.”

  Vax had waited for some form of punishment the night before. However, Bacoj hadn’t indicated there would be any. He’d bided his time, waiting to catch Vax at his most vulnerable instead.

  It was a bad sign. Bacoj was determined Vax would pay for setting him up to com his clingy mother twice a week.

  “Let’s start with some sensitizing cream and a paddling. Roll over and put your ass in the air for me, Imdiko.”

  Vax had felt limbless an instant before, but Bacoj’s command put him in motion before he could think. His face was in the sheets—which smelled deliciously of Bacoj and the sex they’d had before falling asleep the night before—and his butt stuck up barely a second later.

  Humming happily, Bacoj rubbed the offered cheeks with rough hands. “Lovely, lovely Vax. I swear there’s nothing so incredible as seeing your ass up and begging for attention.” He gave it several slaps, leaving Vax moaning into the mat as hurt sizzled. The sensation zapped straight to his cocks, making them jolt.

  Cool cream was rubbed into his flesh, and the pain increased, as did his excitement. Bacoj slathered sensitizer on his buttocks, rubbing it into the crack as well. His finger pushed into the Imdiko’s hole, promising enthralling torment later. There wasn’t a damned thing Vax could do about it.

  “Don’t come,” Bacoj reminded him as he coated Vax’s shafts with the cream. Already needy, Vax screamed into the linens as violent rapture seized his sexes. Cum rose to the tip of his primary, fighting to spew out. Yet the venom in his veins held him captive, making him a slave to Bacoj’s dictates. He couldn’t come, not until he had the Dramok’s permission. That permission wasn’t likely to be granted in the near future.

  “I like that. Scream for me again.” Bacoj chuckled as Vax did so.

  He released Vax after a few more smacks. Then he was gone, though there were soft sounds of movement behind the Imdiko. Bacoj returned and grabbed his secondary, setting off another frenzied yell. Arousal was a ferocious, gut-clenching hunger that stole all sense from Vax.

  “That’s it. Naughty Imdiko is being punished. Take it, naughty boy.”

  Bacoj pumped his secondary, and Vax’s body tried to find a way to fight free of his control. He couldn’t move when Bacoj’s thick wooden paddle thudded against his buttocks, bringing white-hot pain.

  Agony and ecstasy tore into Vax in equal shares. His wails were continuous as Bacoj relentlessly masturbated and spanked him. The Imdiko couldn’t even claw the sheets; the order to not move ruled him inexorably. He had no choice but to accept the punishment.

  His flesh heated into an inferno. Bacoj wouldn’t cause real damage, but the sensitizing cream made it feel as if he held a flame to Vax’s flesh. His body begged to escape. His brain refused to give the order.

  Meanwhile, his sexes felt swollen, ready to burst under the pressure of arousal. Surely Bacoj’s venom shouldn’t be able to keep Vax from orgasm. Nevertheless, brutal desire continued to increase, driving him crazy with need.

  Hot tears flowed into the bed linens as the paddling and pumping went on and on. Through it all, Bacoj voiced his satisfaction.

  “That ass is turning the perfect shade of red.” Smack! “Where are your tricks this morning, Vax?” Smack! “Did you think I’d always allow you to call the shots?” Smack!

  Vax wanted to apologize, but Bacoj had frozen his speech. Only wails escaped his lips.

  “You like being under me.” Smack! “You like it when I take what I wish from you.” Smack! “You can’t say you don’t when you’re so fucking hard in my hand.” Smack! “Not when your cocks are jerking, trying their damnedest to shoot cum all over the sheets.” Smack!

  Yes, Vax liked it when Bacoj took control. It was a difficult admission. He’d always considered sex a game to win, by dictating the action through suggestions and seduction. He played his lovers, getting them to do the things he desired so they’d forget their own particular desires. Letting them think they were in control all the while.

  He’d been caught at it several times by Bacoj by then. Often, the Dramok had been content to let him have his way. It appeared the situation had changed profoundly in the wake of Vax’s scheming with Felac. Bacoj was very much his own man, and he’d decided to inform Vax of that.

  His to do with as he wants. It was difficult for Vax to think clearly while the Dramok pummeled his ass and flogged his dicks. In fact, his thoughts were only coming through in small snatches, half-formed and disconnected. That realization somehow barreled through the pain and elation.

  His to do with as he wants.

  On the heels of that understanding came a curious warmth that had nothing to do with his aching rear and shaft. An odd sense of security took hold of Vax. A belonging, as assured as when he’d been a child in his parent clan’s home.

  His to do with as he wants.

  Strange euphoria overcame the Imdiko. The paddle rose and fell as enthusiastically as before. Bacoj’s grip on his shaft was as tight and demanding. Agony, delicious and awful, remained in full force. Yet it was suddenly wonderful. Vax submerged in paradise, mesmerized in glorious bliss. He floated in a sea of tranquil rapture, apart but somehow immersed in what was being done to him.

  His cries of anguish became moans of delight. He reveled in his torment, gifted to him by the exacting Dramok. He belonged in all ways to Bacoj, his entire being riveted in surrendering to his lover.

  Bacoj caught the change. “That’s it, Imdiko. Give yourself over to me.”

  The spanking ended. The mat moved beneath Vax, shifting as Bacoj shoved himself between his legs. His primary settled against Vax’s pucker, which spasmed at the contact. No preparation, but Vax didn’t wish for any. He ached to serve Bacoj, to offer himself for the Dramok’s enjoyment.

  Bacoj speared him with a groan, his tapered length spreading Vax open, sheathing
himself in tight warmth. Vax shuddered at the pain that morphed into elation as it stabbed into his sexes. He wept quietly at the desperate urge to climax, while his lover buried deep within him.

  “Sweet Imdiko,” Bacoj sighed, rubbing Vax’s buttocks so that fresh, beautiful hurt filled them. “You make me so happy, Vax. Everything about you is perfect.”

  The words and the feeling behind them brought a smile. No lover had ever spoken that way to Vax. The feeling of belonging increased.

  He was eager to obey when Bacoj said, “Fuck yourself on my cock.”

  Vax would have done so without the intoxicant bending him to the Dramok’s wishes. It was a thrill to thrust back against his lover, to fill himself with Bacoj’s thick shaft over and over, encouraging his master to moan with pleasure.

  “That’s right. Harder. Ancestors, that feels so fucking good. Harder. Oh shit. I’m coming, Vax. I’m coming. Coming!”

  With a shout, Bacoj let go. He jolted inside Vax, filling him with warmth that leaked out to drip down his thighs. The Dramok came for a long time.

  Vax shuddered, tormented and enthralled as his own shafts pulsed with unrequited need. He felt Bacoj’s every groan as he continued to thrust, coaxing every last drop of seed free.

  Then they were still, Vax whimpering and Bacoj gasping in the aftermath. After a few minutes, Bacoj pulled free and stepped back.

  “On your knees. On the floor.”

  Something within Vax hesitated. The venom was wearing off. Nonetheless, he wanted to obey. He crept off the mat and knelt at Bacoj’s feet.

  Bacoj tossed a towel before him. “Jerk yourself off onto the towel. Keep your eyes on me while you do it.”

  Perhaps he should have been embarrassed at how eagerly he did as he was told. Yet in that moment, Bacoj was everything to Vax. Gazing up at the Dramok’s intent expression, Vax gripped his cocks—moaning in agony as he did so. They remained hypersensitive from the cream.

  “Go ahead. Make yourself come for me.”

  It only required a couple of tugs for an avalanche of ecstasy to roar through his shafts. Vax screamed as he bowed with the force of climax. Jets of cum flew from him in thick ribbons, ripping free while Bacoj watched.