He grasped Ethan’s hair in his hands and made him keep still while he began to slowly thrust into his hot mouth, slow, steady strokes that took them both to the edge. Time seemed to stand still, and he could have been here forever, slowly thrusting into the velvety soft, hot as hell mouth. Konnor was so close, and then Ethan made a little move with his tongue that took him over the edge completely, his hips bucking and his mouth opening to let out a long, feral groan of pleasure.

Ethan swallowed every drop, and then sucked and licked to clean up, even holding Konnor’s softening cock in his mouth until he pushed him gently away. Konnor’s voice sounded rusty and hoarse even to him as he spoke breathlessly. “I don’t even want to know where you learned to do that. Don’t tell me.”

Ethan gazed up at him sadly, and whispered, “Yes, sir.” He sat back on his heels and waited for Konnor to move. Finally Konnor pulled up his pants, tucking himself back in. Still a little breathless, he put a hand on Ethan’s cheek, rubbing his thumb over it for a long moment. Then without another word, he turned and left the room.

“Well, did you get things straightened out between you?” Larssen asked.

Konnor eased himself down in the chair next to Larssen and shook his head. “Not exactly. H-he wants me to treat him as my love slave .”

“What?”

“He has it all figured out. He said he knows I can never love himbecause he’s just an omega

and I’m an alpha, and never the twain shall meet, or some such shit . He would only embarrass me, blah, blah, blah, and I would be miserable. So since he doesn’t want me either, because I’m a high-maintenance alpha and it would keep him under a strain always trying to keep up, he will just be my love slave, which will, of course, free me up to find someone else. Oh, and I can give him to you and the cousins too, andhe’ll service you whenever I want him to.”

“ What?”

“Don’t keep saying what like that. I’m telling you what the man said.”

“What did you say?”

“Not too much. It’s kind of hard to talk when he’s got his mouth wrapped around my dick.” “Okay, too much information. Tell me the part again where he’s going to service me.” “Not if you want to keep breathing.” Konnor gave his brother a dark look, and Larssen held

up his hands in front of him.

“I’m joking, little brother. Sorry. But seriously, what are you going to do?” “Well, I’m not going to let him walk around in a leather thong like he wants to, unless we’re alone, of course. And I’m not going to take any other lovers or allow him to either. And I’m definitely not going to let him be my damn love slave. He’s my mate, and he needs to get over all this shit and act like it.” Konnor flopped back in his chair and crossed his arm over his chest. “If I’d known he was going to be this much trouble, I might have given some thought to just leaving him with that woman, I can tell you that.”

“No you wouldn’t, so don’t even t ry to lie about it.” Larssen said, smiling. Konnor made a rude noise and stared straight ahead, not giving an inch.

“Do you remember when we were little kids and we’d go over to our grandmother’s house?”

“What in the fuck has this got to do with anything?”

“I’m trying to make a point here, just work with me. Do you remember?”

“Of course I do, but what does this walk down memory lane have to do…”

“I’m getting to it. I was older than you, and you remember grandmother lived with our other Nana. Nana was her human concubine, did you ever know that?”

Konnor shrugged. “I guess so. I don’t know. She was just Nana to me.”

“Right. Well, she used to tell us those human fairy tales. But after a few years, I decided I was way too big to listen to those stories of hers about princes and elves and all that. I told her that I didn’t want to hear any more of them.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So I knew right away I’d made a big mistake. Thereyou’d be, sitting in her lap, getting all the attention as she told you those dumb stories. She’d pat your hair and whisper in your ear, and I thought I’d die from jealousy.”

Konnor was staring at him Larssen now, his eyes narrowed. “So what’s the connection?”

“Don’t you get it, Konnor? Ethan is telling you he wants to just be your love slave, your concubine, and that he wouldn’t mind if you fell in love with someone else. I, for one, don’t believe a word of it. I don’t think he’d like it at all, and I think if you tried to take another lover, it would kill him. He’s your mate, and the mating connection goes both ways.”

“So you’re saying I should make him jealous?”

Larssen shrugged. “No, but I’m saying take him at his word. Treat him a little like a submissive slave. Maybe flirt with other attractive men. Call his bluff. It’s what he asked for, after all. Let him try it for himself and see if he likes it.”

Konnor laughed. “I think I like this. I don’t want to flirt with any other men, but if he wants to be my slave, how can I disappoint him, huh?” He stood up and rubbed his hands together. “Sometimes you really do get just exactly what you’ve been asking for.”

Ethan was still sitting on the side of the bed when Konnor came back in. He was afraid he’d said too much, especially when he lied and told him he didn’t love him. That was such an obvious lie he must know it. Hell, he’d dropped to his knees and sucked his cock the first time he ever saw him. When he heard Konnor at the door, he immediately, dropped to his knees and assumed the position Katya had taught him, hands behind his back, knees apart, eyes lowered respectfully. Konnor’s feet moved into his line of sight, and he simply stood there for a long moment.

“Kiss my boots, Blondie.” Startled by the request, Ethan raised his head and looked up at his mate. Konnor’s lips were set in a firm line, and he looked down at Ethan with a stern expression. “Did I tell you to look at me, slave?”

“N -no, sir. Sorry,sir,” Ethan said, quickly lowering his gaze. He could feel his cheeks burning. Well, this was what he asked for. It looked like Konnor was giving it to him, all right. He bent his head and pressed his lips chastely to each of his master’s boots. When Konnor continued to stand there, Ethan reminded himself he promised to be the best love slave ever, so he bent to this new task. He kissed all the way up each boot, and then licked his way back down. It helped that Konnor’s scent was strong, and it was really making Ethan excited. He spent a long time sucking a little wrinkle of leather into his mouth around the ankle and licking his way back down to the toe. He glanced up under his eyelashes and saw a distinct bulge in Konnor’s pants.

Finally, his master put a hand on his head. “Enough. Unlace them for me, so I can take them off. I want to get some sleep, if I can.” Sleep? What happened to supper? Maybe Konnor and his brother had eaten a big meal and forgotten all about him. His stomach was growling, but he said nothing, just busily unlaced his master’s boots and then sat back on his heels to await his next order. Konnor stepped around him instead and sat down on the bed to take off his boots. He stretched out on his back and gave a deep sigh of contentment, leaving Ethan on the floor, wondering what he should do next. This love slave thing was confusing. He was used to responding to firm orders, not wondering what his next move should be.

“Uh, sir ?”

“Yes, Blondie? What is it now? I’m trying to get to sleep.”

“Well, I just wondered…that is, should I…”

“Should you what?” Konnor sat up propped on one elbow and looked down at him. “You

can go to sleep too, if you want to.” Ethan started to stand up and Konnor gave him a cold stare. “On the floor, Blondie. That’s where slaves sleep.”

Ethan blushed. “Oh…all right. May I…may I have a pillow, sir?”

Konnor threw a pillow at him, and Ethan stretched out on the floor. The only problem was that he was freezing. Air currents drifted over his body down there, and he realized all the air vents were low to the floor. He turned to his side and hugged his arms around his body. That worked for about thirty seconds until he became aware his hipbone was digging into the hard floor tiles beneath him. He flopped to his back and stretched out, but that didn’t work either, because now his back started to ache. He turned to his other side, shivering a little. His stomach growled again, and he wondered if he should ask his master to feed him. No, it would be better not to disturb him again. He flopped back over on his back, trying to find a comfortable position.

“Good gods, what are you doing down there, Blondie? It sounds like one of those animals on Tasmore 9, the ones that spin themselves along rather than walking in a straight line.”

“I-I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t seem to get comfortable. Do you think you could spare a blanket?”

“I only have one.”

“Oh. All right, sir, I’ll try to be quieter.”

“Oh shit, just get up here.”

Ethan scrambled to crawl up on the bed beside Konnor, careful not to touch any part of him, which was no mean feat in the tiny bed. It meant hanging one leg off the bed, but at least he was mostly under a blanket now. Konnor still wasn’t through with him quite yet, however. He grabbed his left wrist and stretched it above his head. Ethan craned to see what was happening and was a little shocked to see handcuffs attached to the wall. Of course, he’d always heard rumors that alphas were very dominant and liked to play a little rough. Some even enjoyed a little kink, or a lot, according to Mistress Katya, so perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised. Konnor put the cuff around his wrist and snapped it closed, then leaned down to gaze into his face. “Maybe that will keep you still. Now turn on your side. Pull your damned leg up here. That’s right.”

When Konnor had him arranged the way he wanted him, he lay down behind him, spooning him, a heavy arm around his waistand one long leg wrapped around Ethan’s. His master was deliciously warm.