He heard Konnor say softly, “I’m glad you got that out of your system. Of course, you just added another fifteen minutes to your punishment.”

Ethan didn’t even bother to whimper, knowing it would do him no good. Instead, the orgasm, along with the stress and the strain of the last two weeks began to take its toll on him. Even though he’d spent the entire afternoon in bed, he could feel a bone-deep tiredness settling over him. He closed his eyes and finally gave in, sinking down into a calm acceptance of his alpha’s authority over him.

He came back to himself when he felt Konnor tugging on his ankles again. He had barely even realized any time at all had passed. Konnor had already unstrapped him and now he was taking off the cuffs. He finished and reached over Ethan’s head to unsnap the collar and then put an arm around his shoulders to help him sit up on the side of the bed.

“I’m going to take off your cuffs, now, baby, but keep still. Wait for me to help. When the blood rushes back in, it’s going to hurt.”

Ethan nodded, yet when the cuffs were taken off, he moved his arms reflexively and the pain as he did made him weak as stars danced in front of his eyes for a moment. He gradually became aware again and found that he was half lying across Konnor’s lap, as he massaged his shoulders and upper arms. Ethan raised his gaze up to Konnor’s. “Hard-headed, stubborn boy. What did I just tell you?”

“T-to keep still and wait for you.”

“And did you listen? Hell no. What am I going to do with you?” He kept massaging and fussing until the rubbing gradually turned into caresses, and Konnor began to drop little kisses all over his shoulders. Ethan leaned back into his chest and turned his face toward Konnor’s throat.

Konnor bent to kiss the tip of his nose. “I guess I’ll have to figure it out, won’t I? In the meantime, maybe you’d like me to help you with your otherlittle problem…”

“My prob…” The problem in question gave off a gentle pulse again in his backside and Ethan squirmed uncomfortably. “Oh gods. Yes, please. I can’t believe I forgot about it.”

“Mm-hm. Lie down on your stomach again.”

Ethan stretched out on his stomach and dutifully raised his bottom for easier access. Konnor pulled the plug out gently, and Ethan made a whimpering sound as it came out. He was surprised at how his hole clenched and contracted, obviously reacting to its loss. “Oh, I feel…”

“Empty? Neglected?” Konnor asked as he rose on his knees behind him and slid down his pants. “Hang on, baby. Help is on the way.”

“I bought him in Tygeria a few years ago from a breeder . Expensive as hell, but he’s a beautiful thing.”

Ethan gazed over at Konnor, loving the way he looked. His face was flushed with excitement and his wine-colored eyes were dark this morning and sparkling with passion. They were on their way to meet his cousin Nikolai and his mate to ride vetamis. Ethan had never heard of one before that morning, but apparently they were some kind of giant half-bird, half-lizard creature. Wild and hard to tame, they were indigenous to a planet called Tygeria, covered in dense forests and jungles on the other side of the galaxy. The inhabitants rode these creatures for pleasure, even though they were dangerous and highly unpredictable. Part of the fun, according to Konnor, though Ethan was far from convinced.

He was unaccountably shy this morning with Konnor. For the past several days, they had lived together quite companionably, and the sex between them had been frequent and amazing. Konnor treated him more like a lover than a slave, and Ethan was growing more attached to him every day. Whenever Konnor left the room, even for a few minutes, Ethan found himself going in search of him and simply watching him at whatever he was doing. Konnor would look up at him with his beautiful, warm eyes and seem glad to see him.

So far, Lucas, the alpha of Lycanus 3 had left Konnor alone with Ethan, not giving Konnor any assignments and saying they needed time together to figure things out, in his words. Ethan was uneasy, though, about the implication that Konnor could leave soon to go after a bounty or to take a shipment of bauxite somewhere. How could he stand to be away from Konnor so long? He had no idea if Konnor would take him along, as the other alphas did with their mates. But he wasn’t a mate anymore. He’s asked to be treated like a slave, even though he could have kicked himself a million times since then. The idea of being left behind made his stomach ache, but he refused to ask Konnor. He was working hard to just accept whatever he gave him and stop trying to worry over things. It wasn’t working well so far, but he was trying.

“Ethan? Are you listening to me? ”

Ethan jumped, turning toward Konnor. “I’m sorry, yes, sir. You were talking about the vetami.”

Konnor grinned at him. “I want you to ride with me, Blondie. It’s so much fun. Nikolai and Jagger are coming too, so we can race.”

The idea of sitting on the back of a huge half-bird, half lizard while it soared over the treetops didn’t seem exciting to Ethan. Terrifying, maybe…

“I…uh…I think I’m afraid of heights.”

Konnor looked at him in amazement. “What? That’s just silly. I’ll be with you the whole time,” he said with supreme confidence. “You’ll love it.”

Ethan was pretty sure he wouldn’t love it, but he kept quiet and stared straight ahead. They were getting closer to the stables where the vetamis were being kept, and he could see a tall, muscular figure already there, standing next to a smaller, more elegant man with a long curtain of dark hair.

“There’s Nikolai now with his little prince,” Konnor said. “It’s about time you got acquainted more with my family and their mates.”

Ethan nodded. “I’d like to meet them. Did you say Jagger is a prince?”

“Yes, from Jayron. And he’s something. Beautiful, as you can see, but also very imperious and demanding and hard to please. I understand all of that changes when they close the door to their bedroom.” Konnor turned to him with a twinkle in his eye.

“Really? Ethan’s raised one eyebrow suspiciously.

“Oh, yes,” he said with a laugh. They parked the jeep, and Konnor jumped out to catch his cousin in a big hug. They started joking and wrestling with each other while Jagger came forward with his hand outstretched.

“Hello, Ethan. I’m Jagger. This is probably going to take a while, so I decided to go ahead and introduce myself, since my mate can’t be bothered.”

The mate in question was currently on his back on the ground, holding Konnor in a headlock. Ethan shook his hand and smiled at him. “I’m very glad to meet you, too, Jagger. Konnor said you were from Jayron.”

Jagger brightened immediately. “Yes, do you know it? It’s a small planet, and kind of old- fashioned. Not much technology. We actually held Niki prisoner there for a while. Long story I’ll have to tell you sometime.” He glanced down at Nikolai fondly, shaking his head. “Maybe I should have kept his leash. It might have come in handy.”

Ethan’s eyes grew wide. “His leash? You put an alpha on a leash? I can’t even imagine.”

Jagger laughed gaily. He was exotic looking, small, with long, silky navy blue hair and slanted eyes of a color that perfectly matched his hair. He really was quite beautiful, especially when he laughed. “Of course, it was all a sham on his part, but he fooled me for a while.” He took one slender booted foot and dug into his mate’s side. “Are you quite finished rolling around in the dirt, Niki? I want to ride.”

Nikolai got to his feet, pushing Konnor off him with a parting cuff to his ear that would have probably knocked Ethan flat. Konnor seemed unfazed by it and dusted himself off as he came toward Ethan and put a proprietary arm around Ethan’s waist. “Nikolai, Jagger, this is my…uh…this is Ethan.”

Nikolai grabbed him in a big hug, slanting a smirking look over at Konnor, who pulled Ethan back possessively and shoved Nikolai away. “Maul Jagger, why don’t you? Leave Ethan alone,” Konnor said, but his tone was good natured, and it was obvious the two were very close.

Ethan glanced over to see Jagger regarding him closely. Jagger was so elegant in his black, silk tunic and leggings that Ethan felt like a big, overgrown ox next to him. But Jagger put him at ease right away by putting a warm hand on his arm and fingering his sweater. “This is lovely. Did it come from the local shops?”

Ethan looked down at himself. He was wearing new dark pants and a rich red sweater that was soft and probably expensive, though Konnorwouldn’t tell him how much it had cost. He’d gone out a few days before with Ethan in tow, and bought him an entire wardrobe of clothing and shoes and coats, paying no attention to his protests about the cost.

“Yes,” Ethan said. “The one on the corner by our house. The shopkeeper said it was Meruvian wool.”

Jagger raised his eyebrows. “Ooh, nice. I think this color would look very goodon me, don’t you, Niki?”

Niki put an arm around his mate. “Anything looks good on you, princeling.” He dropped a kiss on the top of Jagger’s head, and Jagger punched him in the arm.

“Watch the hair,” he rolled his eyes at Ethan. “It’s like living with a giant, badly behaved puppy.”

Nikolai grabbed him and bent him back across his arm, kissing him thoroughly, and completely ignoring his attempts to kick his way out of the embrace by wrapping a leg around Jagger’s to keep him still. When Jagger finally gave in and stopped struggling, he let him up for air, but kept an arm around his shoulders. “Fortunately,” he said with a smirk. “Jagger loves puppies.”

“Idiot,” Jagger murmured, but Ethan saw his lips twist up a bit at the corners. “Why don’t you lie on your back, and I’ll rub your tummy.”

“You first,” Nikolai said with a leer and kissed his mate again.

Konnor began pulling Ethan toward the stables. “C’mon, Nikolai, you can play with your mate later. Let’s go get our vetamis so I can beat your ass in a race.”