by Jana Downs
Pleasure Vessels 1
Born to Please
Vessel 8189, Payne, doesn’t want the man who the Facility has deemed his perfect match. A specially designed person whose DNA has been spliced with shifter DNA, his entire life has prepared him for his owner and mate. However, the man they’ve chosen isn’t the spoiled, arrogant jerk he anticipates.
Alecander Kane is the CEO of marketing for the Facility where Payne is housed. He never wanted to take a Vessel because he craved more of a partner than a slave. Unfortunately, his father has other plans. He has gifted Payne as a birthday present.
After they meet, a problem at the Facility sends them rushing back to the place Payne grew up to deal with the cleanup. Together, they will uncover all the secrets that have been festering for years and change the way Vessels are treated forever, all the while discovering that being born for pleasure doesn’t necessarily preclude falling in love.
Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Futuristic, Shape-shifter
Length: 37,072 words
BORN TO PLEASE
Pleasure Vessels 1
Jana Downs
EVERLASTING CLASSIC
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at
[email protected]
A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove
BORN TO PLEASE
Copyright © 2013 by Jana Downs
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-607-2
First E-book Publication: March 2013
Cover design by Sloan Winters
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Born to Please by Jana Downs from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Jana Downs’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Downs’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
BORN TO PLEASE
Pleasure Vessels 1
JANA DOWNS
Copyright © 2013
Prologue
United Earth, 3004
Payne breathed a deep sigh of resignation as his Trainer delivered a last sharp blow to his blood-smeared back. He hissed through clenched teeth as his body relaxed and his conditioning caused him to nearly come as the scent of sweat and leather assaulted his nostrils and the braided tail of the whip slithered down his back.
“Very good, Payne,” his Trainer complimented. “You didn’t have to use a safe word that time. I took you to the edge.”
Payne nodded sloppily and staggered to his feet so that he could walk to the spot where he was expected to kneel. He stumbled and fell to the floor and had to crawl to the spot instead. His sweaty forehead touched the cool stone of the training center. Here at the Facility, they believed in all measures of practicality and luxury to train their Vessels for their inevitable placement with their future owners. The floor was no exception to that philosophy. It was some sort of imported marble, designed to keep cool and be easy to clean.
“I am grateful to you, my lord,” Payne spoke in the antiquated way in which he had been trained.
“You are welcome, Payne. You may return to your quarters after visiting the Tech-Med Unit.” The other man’s footsteps echoed off the floor as he exited through the Trainer’s sliding doors at the front of the room.
Payne stayed where he was for a long time, in between sleep and awake. He was in the final stage of his training, training he’d been undergoing since he was a child. His final training was to be a sexual submissive, which he was learning was vastly different than being a slave. He’d always been a slave in the sense that he’d always belonged to the company, but soon he’d be sold to an individual for private use. He wondered briefly what it would be like to belong to someone. Not just to be owned by some corporate entity and faceless Trainers but to belong to a person with likes and dislikes and tastes that Payne would have to learn.
“Payne, are you too injured to take yourself to the Tech-Med Unit?” Desiree’s voice broke him out of his dazed stupor. She was his bunk mate and fellow Vessel. She was also his twin sister.
He turned his face to the side and rested his cheek on the floor. The lights of the room were dim and exuded a sense of calm that was as deliberate as it was artificial.
“I am well, Desi. I could use some help, though. My legs are shaking.” He pushed himself into a sitting position. She helped him stand and supported him as they made their way through the Vessel passageways and into the medical center at the far end of the hall.
“You were in there for almost two hours. You’re scoring very highly on the submission scale lately. You’re in the top five Vessels on base and top fifteen percent in the company.” Desi rattled off the statistics like they were impressive, which by company standards, they were.
They reached the far end of the hallway, and he managed to hop up into the unit that was resting against the far wall with minimal pain. The sterile white cube structure had been a blessing in times like these. From what he heard from the Trainers, it cost a fortune to have and operate.
He keyed in his personal code and laid back to let the machine work its magic. Payne listened to the hum of the Med Unit as it repaired his torn tissue so he wouldn’t scar and tried to share in his sister’s enthusiasm.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” he said as the robotic a
rms of the Tech-Med Unit finished its round and told him in its mechanical voice to exit from the healing chamber.
Desi continued. “That means you’re going to be graduating at the ‘A’ class level of Vessel. You’ll get the best placement!”
Payne rolled his eyes. “You know that isn’t how it works, Desi. Matches with our Masters are due to complete chemical compatibility found out through the extensive tests they give us before putting us on the market. Once you’re paired with your future owner, they give you a personality alignment to finish your programming. Being an ‘A’ class Vessel just means I’m more expensive. Though I don’t have to worry about it considering I’m already promised to someone.”
Desi gave an exaggerated sigh. “God, you are no fun!”
Payne snorted. Yes, “fun.” It’s a lot of “fun” to have my original personality rearranged to fit some fat cat with more money than sense. He rubbed his temples. It didn’t even matter that his owner hadn’t been the one who purchased him. Payne was no better than an expensive gift for a spoiled rich kid’s enjoyment.
“It’s not going to be so bad, you know,” Desi whispered.
Payne’s eyes snapped up to meet the fearful gaze of his sister. He mentally kicked himself. She was terrified, and her placement was next week.
“I’m sure you’ll really love the Master they match you up with,” he assured her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He kissed her temple as she started to tremble.
“Promise me you’ll try to be happy with yours, Payne. You’ve got dreams that you ought not to have.” Desi hugged him more tightly. “You’re not like the rest of us. You were raised for a specific person, educated to suit a certain person. You were commissioned as an infant for him. The rest of us do not have such certain prospects.”
“I’m sorry, Desi. That was insensitive of me. I promise. I’ll try to be happy.” He tried to think of the moment when he would finally meet the Master in his file. He swallowed hard. “We’ll both be happy. It’s the promised land, remember?”
She smiled, her gaze misty. He winced on the inside, well aware of how dreams and reality often were incompatible. Change was coming, and change in a Vessel’s world usually meant pain.
Chapter One
“Happy birthday, Alec!” Joey said, blowing his noisemaker and filling Alec’s champagne glass…again. His younger brother was already red faced and laughing, obviously well on his way to intoxication. Alec couldn’t help but laugh at his brother’s antics. The family had decided to have this birthday party at the corporate office downtown instead of the usual villa they rented in the mountains. It suited him just fine. This way he would be able to leave straight from the city and make his way home.
“Son.” The voice that broke through the merriment of the family get-together dropped the temperature in the room by ten degrees. He shivered as his father’s icy tone ricocheted off his soul. The Facility’s seniormost CEO was a man few would cross and even fewer would deliberately seek out.
“Hello, Father,” Alec said, turning to face the old man head-on. “How are you?”
Ice-blue eyes met his matching ones. “Just fine. Been busy on a new prototype at the Facility. Not that you’d know much about that. You and your brothers are very good at living the high life from my labors.” The old man still looked intimidating despite being well on in years. His broad shoulders and narrow waist still bespoke of a strength that should’ve been impossible at his age.
Alec gritted his teeth. “We’ve been over this, Father. I don’t handle experimentation. I’m the face of the Facility. Vessels are the high-end luxury item that is becoming a must-have for the wealthiest members of society, and everyone wants to know about them. I’ve been touring Europe to set up the new test facilities there. I’ve been working my ass off for the company. This birthday party is my last stop on my way home and to a well-deserved rest.”
His father’s jaw tensed. “That’s why I came, boy. To give you the birthday present I’ve been preparing for you for years.” His father handed over a dark-blue folder embossed with the Facility’s emblem of two crossed swords in front of a blazing sun.
Alec frowned. “What’s this?” He opened the file and was stunned by the headshot inside. Emerald-green eyes pierced the viewer with the intensity of their gaze, and dark-chocolate hair framed the loveliest face Alec had ever seen.
“This is your present,” his father said. “When you were five years old, I had a diagnostic done on you that I then used to engineer the perfect mate for you. I was pretty surprised when I found out that you’d grow up to be a homosexual, but such things can’t be helped once they’re solidified in young children. His name is Payne, and you can pick him up at the Facility in town tomorrow.”
“Dad!” Alec exclaimed, his eyes bulging. “You manipulated a Vessel to suit me when I was five?” That was unheard of. Usually they ran tests and paired the buyer with an existing Vessel. This level of manipulation would only be dared by his dad.
His father snorted at his dramatic reaction. “Of course. I wanted to give you a present that would suit you for years to come. This way he isn’t grossly younger than you, just five years, and he won’t be seeking you out for money and divorcing you to get alimony. You’re welcome.”
“But, Father, I don’t want—”
“I have to get going,” his father interrupted. “There is another meeting I have to attend before I can go home. Have a good birthday.” He turned without allowing Alec to finish and walked back through the brightly decorated living room, through the barrage of guests, most of whom Alec didn’t even know, and out the front door. The man certainly knew how to make an exit.
He drained his champagne glass and set it on the tray of a passing waiter. Well, it was the most interesting gift anyone had ever given him at any rate. He drummed his fingers against his slack-covered thigh and wondered what it would be like to have a Vessel, to be responsible for another being. Dating the old-fashioned way was apparently not in his future. He sighed. He didn’t know if he liked this.
* * * *
“Suck me.” Trainer R’s harsh, masculine voice broke through Payne’s nightmare. His eyes slid open in disorientation. It was the middle of the night according to the digital readout over his head. Three a.m. It was against normal protocol for a Trainer to come to the Vessel’s quarters at any time, even stranger for one to come in the middle of the night.
Payne rubbed his eyes in confusion. “Trainer R, sir?” he asked, his voice gravelly from sleep.
“I said get out of bed and suck me.” The Trainer grabbed his arm and all but hauled him out of bed. Payne cried out in pain as thick fingers bruised his arm and he fell heavily to his knees. He winced, his apprehension growing. What was going on?
Desiree’s voice interrupted from the top bunk. “Excuse me, sir.”
Payne couldn’t see her, but he willed her silent. This was his regular Trainer, and he didn’t tolerate questioning.
“You will remain silent for the duration, Vessel Desiree,” the Trainer snapped. “This is the last test in your training, Payne. You must be prepared to give your Master pleasure at any hour he deems appropriate, even if that means in the middle of the night.”
Payne frowned. This sort of sporadic training wasn’t supposed to take place until the week before placement, and it was never supposed to be sexual. Fear began to infiltrate his body. Even if he called foul, he would be punished for bucking his training, and he knew it. There was no good solution here.
“Sir?”
The Trainer growled. “I didn’t give you permission to speak, boy.”
“Sir,” Desiree interrupted again. I don’t want you punished, sissy. He swallowed. Please hush. If he’s going to hurt me, no one will even care. “This goes against normal protocol. If a Vessel is to be trained in the sexual arts prior to their placement with their owner, then the act must be witnessed in a full Facility lab with the proper witnesses. Shall I call the Director and arrange for Payne’s t
ransportation?”
Dead silence met her challenge. Payne started to sweat, praying it worked. The Trainer sighed like she’d pointed out a very inconvenient truth. He cleared his throat. “Be ready at 8:00 a.m. Your Master will be here to pick you up at eight thirty.”
Payne sat back, stunned at the announcement. He was being picked up tomorrow? He was leaving the Facility?
“Get some sleep, Vessel. You have a big day ahead of you.” The Trainer gave him an indiscernible look and sighed again. He looked as if he were about to speak again, but instead he shook his head and left the room. Payne knew he dodged a bullet with the Trainer’s easy surrender to Desiree’s bluff. But it wasn’t his near miss with the Trainer that had unnerved him. It was what the Trainer had revealed.
The rest of the bunk was silent, and he knew that the others wouldn’t say a word. They’d been trained not to comment. Payne tucked himself back into bed. He lay awake, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He was surprised at the panic that raced through his bloodstream at the thought of his long-awaited Master. Tomorrow he would no longer be a statistic on the company’s chart. Tomorrow he’d no longer be just Vessel number 8189, Pleasure Unit P102. Tomorrow he’d be just Payne. Tomorrow he’d become someone’s lover.
* * * *
“When do I get to see the Vessel?” Alec asked as he was given the grand tour of the Boston-based Compound. Apparently they rolled out the red carpet when the son of the senior CEO came calling. It was as opulent as every other Facility Alec had been to. Marble floors, high ceilings, and expensive lobby furniture was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the wealth of the place.