Quickly, he bowed from the waist, respectfully. “An honor to meet you, Alpha Lucas. ”
Konnor quickly introduced him to two other men standing on the dock beside Lucas, but the names didn’t register on Ethan, who was beginning to feel overwhelmed again. To his horror, he heard Larssen speak up beside him. “Lucas, if you’d like, Ethan has made a kind offer to take care of all of our sexual needs. Since you’re the alpha, you can go first. ”
Ethan sucked in a terrified breath and saw Lucas look from Larssen to Konnor in complete confusion. One of Konnor’s big, muscular cousins standing next to Lucas laughed out loud and said, “Where do I sign up?”
Lucas shot him a quelling glance, and he stepped back, as did Ethan, backing up into Konnor’s warm body and turning his face in toward his chest. Konnor put a hand on the back of his head and spoke up quietly. “Knock it off, Kyle. I don’t think Ethan is quite ready for all that. I’ll explain later, Lucas. For now, I think I’ll take Ethan home. He’s worn out. ”
“Of course,” Lucas said. “When you get him settled, come over to my place for a few minutes. I need to talk to you about some things and get your report. ”
“Of course,” Konnor said, and put a hand on Ethan’s wrist to pull him along behind him to a large jeep that sat on ridiculously high treads, making it possible to move through the sandy terrain of Lycanus 3. The others all piled on board, and the jeep took off at a more rapid rate of speed than Ethan would have thought possible in the deep sand. The place was like a big desert for almost as far as he could see, except for the faraway mountains that were a deep green. It was a strange, stark landscape, but beautiful in a way. The jeep, driven by the alpha Lucas, traveled quicklythough there didn’t seem to be actual roads, and they soon came to a large grid of houses and shops, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Traveling down a wide space between the houses, which was like a driveway, only with swing sets and lawn furniture at the sides, Konnor spoke in a low voice in his ear. “This is where we live, Ethan. All the alphas live in homes close to each other, with the different ranks spreading out around us. This will be your new home. ”
Ethan nodded and settled himself closer to Konnor, who didn’t move away. Maybe that meant that he wasn’t so mad at him anymore. Ethan certainly hoped that was the case. The jeep pulled up to a large home and stopped in front. Konnor got out and pulled Ethan with him, waving at his cousins and his brother. The house was the standard Lycan concrete, fairly large with the big windows Lycans liked to let in plenty of light. Once inside, Ethan could see Konnor wasn’t home much. The furniture had a thin layer of red dust on it, and Konnor flipped on a vacuum switch as they walked in. Right away the vacuum system started its hum and a gentle swirl of dust began as the suction all over the house cleared it away. They stood by the door until it finished and within minutes, all the dust was gone and the air was left fresh smelling and sweet.
There wasn’t a great deal of furniture in the house so far as Ethan could see, but it was functional and nice. Konnor led Ethan down the hall to a bedroom and nodded toward the bed. “Take off your clothes and lie down. I’m putting you to bed for the rest of the day. ”
Ethan glanced up in surprise, and Konnor pointed again. “Go. You’re pale and you look exhausted. The fever from the venom has only just stoppe
d, and it’s left you weak. I want to find you in that bed when I get home. Got it?”
Ethan nodded.
“Ethan, I don’t ask rhetorical questions. Do you understand? ”
“Yes, sir. I understand. Stay in bed, yes, sir. ”
Konnor nodded and then surprised Ethan by dropping a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll wake you up later and make you something to eat. For now, go to sleep. ” Konnor gave him a gentle shove inside and closed the door. Ethan took off all his clothes—Konnor didn’t say to leave anything on—and lay down on the soft bed. Maybe he’d close his eyes for a few minutes, but he really didn’t think he’d be able to sleep. After all, Konnor had to wake him up just before they landed and he’d slept for over two hours then, Konnor told him. Sighing, he closed his eyes anyway, and was completely taken by surprise when sleep swallowed him up.
Late that afternoon, Konnor came back home, feeling ready to get something to eat and just sit around relaxing for a change. He wondered if Ethan followed his instructions and slept the afternoon away. He’d been worried about him earlier that day when he’d seemed to droop back against him after meeting most of his family on the dock. Come to think of it, his family probably was a loud, intimidating group,and Larssen’s teasing hadn’t helped. He wished he’d never told Larssen what Ethan had said. He hated to embarrass him. He’d have a word with Larssen later.
He let himself in and noticed how quiet the house was. Checking the bedroom, he found Ethan curled up with the covers over his head. Konnor left him sleeping and went into the kitchen for a food packet and some beer. As he prepared his meal, he took a long swig and thought about the cereal he’d given his mate earlier. It had been a little mean, and he regretted it now, but he wanted to teach Ethan just how undesirable his little plan to be his love slave really was. Still, he must be starving, and Konnor was trying to decide if he should go wake him when he heard a slight noise behind him. It was a sleepy-eyed Ethan, wearing the shirt from earlier and not much else. His blond hair was tousled and looked soft and silky. The shirt hit him at the top of his thighs and Konnor could see a tiny bit of flesh peeking through. He felt the slam of attraction hit him hard andturned back to the counter so Ethan wouldn’t see his erection.
“Hi,” Ethan said softly . “Is it okay if I get up for a while, sir? I hope you don’t mind that I put on your shirt when I got up. II’m a little hungry, and I smelled the food. ”
“Since you’re already up, I wonder why you bothered to ask,” Konnor said, more sternly than he’d meant to. He was still struggling to find the right tone to take with his mate. On the one hand he wanted to show him how silly this idea of being his slave was, and make him want to embrace his role as his mate. On the other, what he really wanted to do was throw him down on the floor right damn now and fuck him till he screamed his name. He knew Ethan didn’t love him…he’d been quite clear about that fact. But Konnor had increasingly strong feelings for Ethan. At first it had been a strong sense of possessiveness and a need to protect him, but with every passing hour he was with him, he could feel his love and attraction for the boy growing stronger.
If he could get him to admit he wanted to be Konnor’s mate, then he hoped that with time, Ethan might grow to love him. In the meantime, Konnor had to admit, making Ethan submit to him was hot. He didn’t want to live that way all the time, but in their most intimate moments, it was exciting and what he’d always needed with his lovers. As a matter of fact, he owed his boy a little punishment for all he’d put him through. He decided he’d had enough of this stupid game. It was time to push his boy to his limits so they could end this shit and have the relationship he thought they both really wanted. He needed to get Ethan to the point where he could admit what he really wanted and take his place as Konnor’s mate, albeit his submissive mate. He wanted to pamper him and take care of him and spank his round ass until it was bright pink. Konnor squared his shoulders and prepared to do battle.
“I’m sorry,” Ethan said softly, interrupting his thoughts. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind if I had something to eat…”
“You thought…” Konnor turned back around to glare at him. “That’s the problem with you, Blondie, you try to think too much. It’s what gets you in trouble. I know what you need, and your only job should be to trust me to give it to you. On my own schedule, not yours. Do you understand that?”
Ethan shuffled his feet and stared at the floor. “Yes, sir. ”
“Do you? I wonder. Maybe this love slave idea is too hard? I seem to remember a lot of bold promises made to me not too long ago. Maybe you’re not quite so ready to be a slave, after all. Is that it, Ethan?”
Ethan surprised him by shaking his head firmly. “No! ” His voice rang out loud in the quiet kitchen. “I can’t go back to Mistress Katya. I can’t!” He fell on his knees and looked up at Konnor through a curtain of blond hair falling in his eyes. “Please, master. Let me stay with you. ”
Konnor was horrified. Scaring his mate was the last thing he’d intended. He went to him and pulled him up into his arms, holding him tightly against him until the trembling began to ease. Drawing him over to a chair in the living area, he pulled him onto his lap and settled him there before he trusted himself to speak again. “Ethan, honey, you’ll never have to go back to Katya. I didn’t realize until just now that I never told you that I had her arrested. She and her whole operation are officially out of business and that includes that bitch Doma Helga, who sold you to her in the first place. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. There’s been so much going on in my mind since then…but it’s no excuse. There’s no question of you going someplace else. You’re mine, and I take care of what’s mine, understand?”
Ethan nodded against his shirt. “All right,” Konnor said. “But that doesn’t mean you get away with bad behavior. Running from me, for example, will get you a spanking if you ever do it again, and I mean it. You won’t sit down for a week, understand?”
Ethan nodded again, but more slowly this time. “As for your other bad behavior, like making decisions on your own, I have ways of dealing with that too. Tonight, for example, since you can’t seem to stay still on your own, I’ll help you to remember how. Now sit down at the table and eat your dinner. Then go to the bathroom and back to bed. Got it?”
He pushed Ethan up and pointed toward the table. Ethan went over and sat down quickly, attacking his food with gusto when Konnor placed the food packet in front of him. When he finished, he realized Konnor was staring at him, and he wiped his mouth and started to ask a question before thinking it would probably get him in more trouble. Konnor would tell him whatever he wanted him to know. He closed his mouth quickly and lowered his gaze.
“Bathroom,” Konnor said and Ethan got up and went unhesitatingly to the room he’d passed in the hallway. After relieving himself, he walked to the door and found Konnor waiting for him. He jerked his head toward the bedroom, and Ethan dragged his feet slowly inside the room, feeling apprehensive about what was about to happen. Konnor said he’d remind him how to be still. Did that mean the cuffs again? Last time when he’d cuffed him, it hadn’t been so bad, but Konnor had been with him the whole time. He wondered if he’d be alone this time.
“Face down on the bed,” Konnor said, and Ethan complied, glancing up nervously at him. “What part of face down do I need to explain to you, Blondie?” Ethan turned his nose toward the mattress and closed his eyes until he heard Konnor take something from the drawer beside the bed. He moved his eyes desperately to the side, trying to see out of his peripheral vision, but he couldn’t see a thing. Then Konnor pulled Ethan’s hands behind his back and snapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. Ethan gasped, and raised his head, only to get a resounding slap on his ass.