“You really are fascinated with my body hair, aren’t you?”
“I am.” Easton looked up at him and grinned. “Probably because I don’t have any.”
Jared nodded and considered his mate’s body again. He loved the creamy smoothness of his skin. He also found that without hair, all of him was fully displayed. It made him seem vulnerable and fragile somehow, which made Jared feel powerful and protective. Clearly, whoever came up with the idea of how to engineer thralls knew what he was doing.
“So would he?” Easton leaned over the sink so he could finger-comb his hair back from his face. The way he was standing lifted his tight little butt high. Jared couldn’t help himself. He leaned over and lightly bit each of Easton’s buttocks, making him jump and giggle.
“Would Caleb leave?” Jared thought about it as he re-dressed in the clothing they’d tossed off onto the floor. Since he hadn’t worked a bit all day, the garments were still fresh. He didn’t want to have to wash them for no reason, not when McBride had cautioned everyone to conserve what they had. “I don’t think Caleb would go unless…”
“Unless?” Easton turned from the sink and helped Jared button up his shirt.
“Well, if there are no more thralls coming to the farm, Caleb might go in search of one.”
“He’s lonely?” Easton folded up the shirtsleeves so they hit around Jared’s forearms.
“I think so. Once, we had a mechanical man that was for us to use for our physical needs and Caleb fucked it to death.”
“Zooks!” Easton shivered. “He’s that big down there?”
Jared laughed. “It wasn’t the size of his dick, which is pretty damn big, but he’s really strong. He threw the thing in the stocks and fucked it so hard he broke it.” Jared would probably never forget the sight of the snapping and popping fireworks exploding from the robot while Caleb kept right on plowing away at his backside. “When he climaxed, he jerked back and came all over the poor thing. I thought Bailey was going to burst into tears since he’d never even gotten to use it once.”
“Did you?” Easton exited the bathroom with Jared right behind him.
With a tap on his shoulder, Jared got his attention and pointed toward the kitchen. “I got to use it once, but I didn’t really like it all that much.”
“Why?” Easton settled at the table.
“It felt weird.”
“His backside, you mean?”
“Yeah. It was cold and squishy, but I don’t know what a real man is supposed to feel like, so that wasn’t it so much as the strangeness of having my brothers watch me.” Jared was too much of a private person to enjoy being on display whereas Caleb reveled in it.
“Everyone stood around and watched everyone else?” Easton made a face.
“Yeah. Weird, huh?” Jared programmed the cookbot to make something fast and simple. Again, he was trying to conserve what they had.
“Didn’t you watch?”
“I did, but I felt odd doing it. I really just wanted—” Jared cut himself off rather suddenly when he realized he was spilling his guts to a man he hardly knew. Easton was his mate, but still, he had been private for so long that sharing made him feel strangely uncomfortable.
“You can tell me. I won’t laugh or make fun of you.”
Jared looked over his shoulder at Easton. His face was open, earnest, and very compassionate. He would never do anything to hurt someone else deliberately. He simply wasn’t that kind of a man.
“I watched because I wanted to learn how.” Jared blushed. “That makes me sound so pathetic.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Easton rose and came near so he could place his hand on Jared’s back. His touch was light but surprisingly soothing. “It makes you sound like a very caring man.”
“Caring? Because I wanted to watch my brothers fuck a robot?”
“Caring because you wanted to see how it works so that when you had a mate, like me, you would know what to do.” Easton leaned up into him and kissed his mouth very lightly. “I think that’s nothing but sweet.”
“Aw, well, thanks.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Well, if all of you were using the bot, isn’t that kind of…messy?”
“Messy?”
“In his backside.”
“Oh! No, no. It wasn’t like—ew!” Jared shook his head to remove the yucky visual. “We had to wear a protective sheath, and the robot was self-cleaning. Well, Caleb didn’t wear one, I don’t think. Anyway, after each man used him, the robot washed himself out.”
“Well, good. Otherwise…”
“Yeah, that would be gross.” Jared glanced out the kitchen doorway and then out the living room window. From this angle, he had a good view of the stocks where Caleb had immobilized the mechanical man. Even though he’d watched, Jared didn’t feel he really knew all that much about how to approach his mate in the bedroom.
“I think brothers should share, but not that much.” Easton giggled.
“So do you really know a lot about sex?” Jared was somewhat intimidated by the notion that his mate knew more than he did. He was the alpha partner, and he thought he should be more knowledgeable.
“I know theory, but I’ve never put it into practice.” Easton laughed, but Jared didn’t know why.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, just, I also studied cooking, and when I put that into practice I made the most awful food in the world, so I’m wondering if I’ll do the same with sex.”
“No way.” Jared pulled him close, loving the way his body fit so perfectly against his. “You seemed to know what you were doing when we were in the bathroom.”
“We did do a very good job, didn’t we?”
“We certainly did.” Jared made a series of lazy circles on Easton’s back. “Does it bother you to be naked all the time?”
“No. I’m used to it after being this way my whole life.”
“How old are you?”
“I turned legal age just last week.”
“Eighteen, huh? I always wanted a younger man as a mate.”
Easton pulled back a bit so he could look up. “How old are you?”
“I’m an ancient twenty-three.”
“Oh, my. A much older man. Well, if we’re lucky, you still have a few good years left.”
“Let’s hope.” Jared chuckled and pulled Easton tight to his chest so he could rest his chin on the top of his head. “You feel good.”
“I do?”
“Yeah. Like you fit me perfectly.”
“I think I do.” Easton tilted his head up, offering his lips.
Unable to resist, Jared kissed him and eased him backward.
“Where are we going?” Easton asked in between kisses.
“The table. I’m going to eat you up.”
Easton’s laughter filled the small kitchen. “You already did that in the bathroom.”
“Well, maybe I’ll take a bite of your long and sexy neck.” Jared waggled his brows as he laid his mate down on the table.
Suddenly, the playful gleam in Easton’s eyes was gone. He lifted his hand to his neck and protectively covered it.
“What’s wrong?” Jared had only been kidding, but Easton seemed to be suddenly serious. And the way he was covering up his neck made Jared suspicious. “Let me see your neck.”
Chapter 6
“Let me see your neck,” Jared said again, and his look of suspicion deepened.
Easton demurred and playfully pushed Jared’s hands away. “We are supposed to wait for McBride.” He was trying to recapture their earlier ease, but his fear must have shown clearly to his mate.
Frowning, Jared moved to the far kitchen window. “The metal shutters are down on the big house, so I doubt he’s coming.”
Easton was terrified that his shame would now be revealed, but at the last moment he remembered the thrall merchant keying the lock on his collar to McBride’s touch. “Only your master can remove my collar
.”
“It’s locked?” Jared returned to where Easton was sitting and traced his fingers over the thick, pink leather.
“Once I’m sold, it has to be keyed to my master’s fingers. During the ceremony, he’ll unlock it, remove it, and then it will be keyed to you.” Easton hoped that when that happened Jared was attracted to him enough that he wouldn’t care about the two tiny scars on his neck. If Easton were careful, he could deliberately tilt his head to the other side and use his hair to cover up the mistake on the right side of his neck.
“Why is it pink?” Jared left off the collar and now traced his fingers around Easton’s nipples, making them stand at attention.
“It indicates my price.”
“Were you expensive?” Jared worked his hand down the smooth plane of Easton’s belly then traced lightly over his flaccid cock. Although, if he kept touching him like that, he wasn’t going to remain soft for long.
After uttering a groan of pleasure, Easton nodded. “Pinks are the most expensive.”
“But why pink?”
“Oh!” Easton arched up when Jared cupped his balls and then slipped his finger below to rub the sweet spot between his sac and hole. “I can’t think when you’re doing that.”
“Let’s try this.” Jared lifted his hand and caressed Easton’s belly. “Better?”
“Much.” Easton loved the way his mate touched him with curiosity and care. “It is said that pink became the most expensive collar because of the color of our holes.”
“Your hole is pink?” Jared’s sleek brows lifted.
“I don’t know since I haven’t seen it, but that is what was whispered about in the thrall house.”
“Alden’s collar was yellow.”
“Yellow? I’ve never heard of that. And I certainly doubt his hole was or is yellow.” Easton reached out and stroked his hands over Jared’s golden-brown arm hair. He was hairy, but not everywhere. His arms and legs were both thick with strands, but it was beautifully attractive. When Jared pressed against Easton’s hairless body, the feel was one of sharp masculine power.
“He’s deaf.”
“Oh, how sad.”
“He can read lips, but you have to touch him to get his attention first.”
“Is that why you tapped my shoulder when we were coming out of the bathroom?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I got in the habit because of Alden, and I just seem to do it to everyone now.”
“I don’t mind. I was just curious.”
“Just be sure to remember with Alden. He feels really badly when he misses things. I don’t like him feeling left out.”
“I’ll do my best to remember, but if I forget, you remind me, okay?”
“I will.”
“Good.” Easton considered. “But wait. How can he be deaf when we are genetically engineered?”
“His mate, my brother, Gannon, said he got sick when he was an adolescent and it ruined his ears.” Jared was still rubbing Easton’s belly, but his gaze kept wandering down the length of his body.
After a moment, Easton realized why he was looking that direction. “You want to see if it’s true, don’t you? You want to see if my hole is pink.”
“Yeah.” Jared met his gaze and blushed lightly. “Just curious.”
Since he wasn’t determined to inspect Easton’s neck anymore, he thought this would be the perfect distraction, and he was curious about the state of his own body. However, he didn’t want to give in too readily. If he did, his mate might think he showed his private parts to everyone.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Easton didn’t have a chance to play hard to get, because Jared eased him backward until he was lying on the table.
“I’m inspecting my mate.” Jared made a great show of looking Easton over. He extended his limbs all the way, counted his fingers and toes, and then he poked, prodded, and probed every spot he could reach before he placed a chair between Easton’s tightly pressed together legs. “Don’t be shy now, boy. A man wants to see what he’s paying for.”
Easton burst into gales of laughter. “You sound just like the thrall merchant!”
“I do?” Jared peered at Easton as he trailed one finger down the line made by his held-together thighs. “Come on, now, and spread your legs.”
The look on Jared’s face was playful but passionate. A long time ago, Easton had understood perfectly the reason for erotic play. It was a way of easing tensions and readying oneself for the time when play would become real life. Easton felt a charge of fear galvanize his body, because there had been one who took play too far, but that was long ago, and he trusted the man above him. Jared wouldn’t hurt him or use him then toss him aside. He wasn’t that kind of man. With his help, Easton parted his legs.
Jared’s gaze moved from his belly down his legs. “You’re really beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I’ve just never thought of myself in that way.” Easton would gladly change his opinion of that, because every time Jared looked at him, he felt more stunning than he ever had.
“If you don’t want me to do this, I don’t have to.” Jared started to press Easton’s legs back together, but Easton forced them apart.
“I want you to see me. All of me. I know you won’t be cruel.”
“Cruel? Oh, no. Not ever.” Jared leaned forward and kissed each of Easton’s knees then settled himself on the chair he’d placed between his legs.
Easton closed his eyes, wondering what he looked like to his mate. He heard the chair scrape across the floor, and then he felt Jared’s breath tickling the inside of his thighs. It seemed like forever since either of them had said something, but Easton didn’t want to be pushy, so he kept quiet.
“Relax. Let me just look at you.”
Easton wasn’t so certain that he could release the tension in his body, but then Jared’s big hands made soothing circles on his legs as he eased them back. Eventually, Easton was holding his legs up with his hands cupped behind his knees.
“You really are pink.”
Easton looked down right as Jared looked up.
“You’re pink and perfect and—”
Jared’s face disappeared, and the next thing Easton knew was the feel of his tongue making soothing circles around the tight ring of flesh that protected his hole. Unable to control himself, he uttered a cry of surrender and then said something about giving himself completely to Jared as long as he didn’t stop.
“I won’t stop.” Jared teased his pointed tongue all over his most sensitive and private flesh, making Easton wonder about the presentation of his body, but when he recalled they had just showered, he relaxed and spread his legs wider apart. When he’d first read of one man doing this to another, he had thought the nature of it unclean, but not now. It was wonderful. What amazed him was how sensitive the skin of his ass was. He swore he could feel each delicate bump on the surface of Jared’s tongue. But then Jared surprised him yet again by making the same slow circles with the smooth back of his tongue. Rough and smooth took turns stroking over his hole.
“Fill me. I swear I will die if you don’t.”
Jared looked up at him, and his face was that of a hungry beast. He didn’t want food or blood, but flesh. Jared wanted to sink his prick into the tight heat of Easton’s body, and nothing was going to stop him. He was an animal in need of mating, and Easton was willingly spread before him.
“Stay here.”
“What?” It was the last thing Easton ever expected to come out of Jared’s mouth after the heated look he’d just given him. “Where are you going?” Easton would have sat up, but Jared shook his head and growled lightly.
“Stay exactly where you are, or I shall have to punish you.” After lifting his brows menacingly, he left the kitchen and then the house.
Easton considering moving just to find out what kind of punishment Jared would mete out, but he was so aroused and excited he truly didn’t want to disturb whatever his mate wa
s going to do with him. His belly quivered in anticipation.
What if he’s going to the big house to get McBride? Easton chewed his bottom lip. He wasn’t ready to do everything tonight. He’d been excited to merge with his mate, but he wanted more time for their feelings to deepen before they attempted a bloodbond. He also needed a chance to explain about the marks on his neck. They were so pale that McBride hadn’t noticed them, but Easton had a feeling Jared would.
“Did you move?” Jared’s voice came from the living room, and Easton heard him closing the front door.
“No. Does this mean I’ll be rewarded?”
“Oh, you’ll be rewarded, all right.” Jared’s voice was sinfully seductive.
Easton examined him but didn’t see anything in his hands. “Why did you leave?”
Jared moved close and settled himself back in the chair. “Never you mind. You’re going to get your reward now for being such an obedient mate.”
Easton waited breathlessly. Jared lowered his head and picked up right where he’d left off. Around and around he teased his tongue. The only difference this time was a subtle shift in his breathing. After a moment to consider, Easton realized Jared was stripping out of his clothes while teasing Easton with his tongue. Eventually, he was bare, and now he added his fingers to the teasing slips of his tongue.
Slowly and with great care, Jared teased his finger around the pucker and then eased it inside of Easton’s bottom.
Unable to keep his eyes open, he closed them and simply allowed himself to feel everything that his mate was doing.
“Does that feel good?”
“Yes. Oh, yes. It feels so incredibly good.”
“Did you know your sweet, pink hole has darkened?”
“It has?”
“I imagine it’s all the blood rushing to that area. It’s now a very beautiful blushing rose.” Jared eased his finger in and out as if it were a very tiny and flexible penis. “A stunning little rose that’s opening up to me.”
Easton opened his eyes in time to see Jared rise and push the chair back. He realized the table was the perfect height to line up his hole and Jared’s cock.
Jared Morgan [Seven Brothers for McBride 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 5