Chapter Fourteen

Conyod curled in Sletran's arms in the Nobek's bed after they'd made love. Their breathing had steadied, and his lover had ordered the ventilation fan on a higher setting to cool their warm, perspiring bodies. Exhilaration had drifted to contentment.

Only one thing kept the moment from perfection. Conyod's glimpse of Erybet earlier had brought an ache to his heart even Sletran's proposal of living together couldn't diminish.

Stop being greedy. You have the most amazing Nobek alive as yours. Be grateful.

He was. Though his dearest wish hadn't come true, the wish to be Sletran's clanmate in every way possible and the wish he could have Erybet as well, he'd attained the next best situation. Sletran was committed to him. Sletran loved him as Conyod had loved the Nobek for so many years. They were clanmates in the ways that counted most, despite lacking the registered status on the government books.

It didn't keep a rebellious part of his mind, which always had to pluck out what was missing and show it to him, from reminding him of Erybet and what could have been. Despite their too-short relationship, Conyod had been sure of the Dramok's rightness for him and Sletran. His glass-half-empty piece refused to stop feeling the empty space where Erybet belonged.

I won't let it ruin what I have. I'm lucky, and damn it, I'll appreciate it.

He was determined, but the little voice he couldn't shut off no matter how hard he tried whispered, but Erybet…

* * * *

Sletran nodded his thanks after Erybet's aide told him, "The group commander will see you, sir."

The Nobek walked in the inner office. The door shut behind him as Erybet rose from his desk to acknowledge Sletran's bow. "Squad Leader Sletran, is there a problem?"

"Yes sir. I'm afraid there is."

The line between Erybet's brows deepened in concern. He met Sletran's gaze for the first time in weeks. "Report then."

"The problem is fate has granted me the greatest gift I could hope for: an Imdiko who loves me."

Surprise drifted across the Dramok's visage before pain shadowed it. Anger lit, a refuge for him to hide behind. "What the hell is this?"

"This is a wakeup call for you. I won't let Conyod go, not for anything. I can't."

"I got the message. You won, I lost." A growl had slipped into his voice.

"No one had to lose. With all due respect, sir, if you'd get your head out of your ass, you could have him too. It's clear to me he loves you. If you haven't figured it out, I have the greatest respect for you, which is at the least a decent foundation to build more upon."

Erybet's anger had become watchfulness. A hint of hope peeked at the edges. "As I do for you, beyond your abilities as a soldier. Although the ‘head in my ass' reference doesn't quite ring as high esteem."

"My regard for you says you can handle a blunt observation." Sletran allowed the corner of his lips to drift up.

"Your regard has been obvious. I've wanted to thank you for speaking on my behalf before the committee, Sletran. It could have cost you." Erybet's tone softened.

"I thought those proceedings had been kept quiet."

"They were, and I don't know exactly what you reported to them, but I'd heard you'd been called in to answer questions. Considering Zyrf was reassigned soon afterward and Akrij took command of my group, I figured you'd spoken well on my behalf. I'm grateful, Sletran. And…and I've regretted my blindness where your worth as a friend and lover were concerned."

Sletran's heart beat faster. Erybet had the expression of want he'd worn for Conyod, but on this occasion it was directed at the Nobek.

He kept his tone steady despite the hope seizing him. "You should consider giving Conyod and I a second chance."

Erybet barked a sudden laugh. "I told Conyod he was na?ve to settle for the first likely men he'd encountered. It turns out he wasn't the fool. I was. There you were all this time…even discounting Conyod's obvious devotion to you, I knew what a fantastic Nobek you were, and I just…"

He gestured angrily at himself.

"Don't feel bad. I spent years seeing Conyod as the traumatized kid I helped instead of the young man he became. Even after he attained maturity, it took me years and a meeting I cursed myself for agreeing to until he showed up. Ancestors help me, did he ever show up."

Erybet stepped around his desk and approached Sletran until they stood a mere two feet apart. "You asked me to consider giving you and Conyod another chance, which is rightly my question. Will you give me another chance, Sletran? With an eye toward honoring me by becoming my Nobek, if I don't fuck up again?"

Sletran could have grinned from ear to ear. He allowed a smile better suited to a Nobek of his standing. "Even if it were for only Conyod's benefit, I'd say yes, but I want you for myself as well."

"Thank you." Erybet's grin was wide enough for both of them.

* * * *

Conyod was alone in Sletran's quarters. He hummed as he viewed the virtual tour of the apartment Sletran had found for them to possibly move in together. The Nobek had been right in that it wasn't fancy, but it was bigger than either of their current living spaces. They could make it nice for the couple of years they'd live in it until their pay grades went up. Though Sletran didn't aspire to a rank that would tie him to a computer and endless reports, he was willing to advance to group commander and maybe a little higher. Conyod had no doubt his lover would earn the rank sooner rather than later.

The door to the outside opened, and he glanced from the view of the decently sized kitchen of their prospective new home to greet the Nobek. His jaw dropped.

Erybet stood next to Sletran.

"Look at the stray Dramok I found. Can you believe they let his type on these hallowed grounds?" Sletran demanded of Conyod.

"Hello, Conyod." Erybet eyed him with the familiar warmth the Imdiko had missed.

Conyod rose from the lounger he'd been sitting on. "Erybet. What…hi. How've you been?"

He heard how stupid he sounded, but it was all he could manage to keep the urge to fling himself at the beautiful man at bay.

"I've been lonely. Pissed off at myself for letting the two best potential clanmates I could ask for slip through my fingers."

Two potential clanmates. Conyod looked at Sletran to confirm his ears weren't playing tricks on him.

His Nobek nodded. "Like you, I think he's the right Dramok for us. He's agreed to give this another shot."

"Let's be honest." Erybet scowled at Sletran. "I jumped at the chance when you, as you so delicately put it, told me to pull my head out of my ass. It was true I needed to. So here I am."

"Did you really say that to him?" Conyod didn't know whether to laugh or be appalled.

"It got his attention."

Erybet sighed and appealed to Conyod. "I've been an idiot. Can you forgive me?"

For an answer, the Imdiko rushed to him and wrapped his arms around the gorgeous man. Erybet apparently got the message because he kissed him as soon as he stopped laughing. Warmth rushed through Conyod as he glanced from Dramok to Nobek.

He had a chance for the greatest prize he could ask for.

Sletran gave him a warning look. "We'll take our time to make sure this is right for us. You prefer to follow your gut where feelings are concerned, but a lifelong commitment isn't a decision to make lightly."

Conyod knew he was right, but if Erybet had asked them to clan then and there, he'd have found it hard to wait. He fended off the nudge of disappointment he couldn't have what he wanted immediately by asking, "Are you saying we can't have sex this very second?"

"Those hormones," Erybet groaned to Sletran, but he was grinning. Since he was still hugging Conyod close, the Imdiko detected lively interest perking up.

"There's only one cure for a young man's lust. I guess there's nothing to do but give it to him." Sletran sighed as if he faced a trial rather than lovemaking.

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine if it's such a chore. I have two hands. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Conyod made as if to head for the bathroom.

"Like hell you will." Sletran pulled him from Erybet's grasp and lifted Conyod onto his shoulder. "Come on, Erybet. Let's seal this deal."

"I'm all in."

Laughing, the trio made their way to Sletran's sleeping room. More accurately, Erybet and Sletran made their way, and the Nobek carried Conyod there. He was tossed onto the bed.

He had a brief instant of renewed amazement at how the two men worked together as if they'd been making love to him for years. They required no speech or even glances of confirmation as they crowded close to him and simultaneously pulled at his clothes. Theirs was a choreographed dance as they bared skin, as they stroked and kissed, as they brought him to full passionate excitement.

Eagerly aroused, Conyod as usual couldn't keep from writhing beneath them. They alternated between pushing his seeking hands aside, pinning him, or simply ignoring his increasingly frantic motions. They handled him as they pleased, and he discovered he was no match for the pair who'd been trained to overcome their enemies. Masculine chuckles filled his ears as they played and kept him helpless to work his will against them.

They drove him crazy as a mouth would briefly warm his cocks, then move away. Or a hand would grip him, pump a single time, then depart to fondle him somewhere else. They tormented him deliciously, their focus seemingly on driving him out of his skull with desire. His feet kicked the air. His ass bounced on the mat. He fought to touch them, then himself, only to have his hands brushed aside.

Then Erybet pinned him so he couldn't move while Sletran found the hovercuffs he kept near the bed. Conyod was shortly bound so he was vulnerable to their whims. The pair examined his prone body, their expressions gloating.

"Dinner is served," Erybet snickered.

"Looks tasty," Sletran agreed. He went to the drawer in the wall where he kept various instruments of excitement and torture. Many served both functions.

Conyod had no opportunity to see what the Nobek chose. Erybet manipulated the hovercuffs so he was forced to kneel on the opposite side of the mat, his back to the rummaging Sletran. He gazed up at the Dramok, who set his trapped hands behind his neck.

"Does this work for you?" Erybet asked Sletran.

"Perfect." The Nobek came around the mat to join them. Whatever he'd chosen from the "happy drawer," as he called it, was kept hidden behind him.

Wide-eyed in nervous anticipation, Conyod looked at the pair. There was no use in asking what Sletran had. No use in asking what they planned to do to him. No use begging for relief from his throbbing cocks. He was theirs to do with as they wished, for as long as they wished.

"These look good," Erybet growled. He grasped Conyod's shafts and slowly worked them. Conyod groaned, his whole frame stiffening in response to the tight grips. His hips moved in instinctive rhythm to Erybet's movements as the Dramok watched his face.

"You want my mouth on you, don't you? You want me to suck these hungry cocks."

"Yes," Conyod gasped, lost in the thrall of expert handling. He doubted Erybet would do so. At least not right away. He had the feeling he was in for a long bout of teasing.

It was a complete shock when Erybet bent low and enveloped Conyod's secondary in his mouth. The Imdiko shouted his surprise as wet warmth engulfed him, drew back, and swallowed him again.

Erybet didn't stop. He continued to fellate Conyod at a measured pace. The bound man's focus narrowed to the full, sensuous lips wrapped around his smaller length, to the strong hand pumping his primary, to the sensation of the Dramok's rough tongue applying friction to his sensitive intimate flesh. Only the delicious feeling of Sletran's calloused hand massaging his ass stole any of his consideration from Erybet's incredible attentions.

Though the pace was deliberate, Conyod's still-youthful hormones eagerly seized on what was happening. His cocks felt full, the sensation of yearning building until he knew he'd eventually come no matter how careful and slow Erybet sucked him. He trembled as the relentless heat rose. Then he shook as his pulse throbbed demand through his sexes. At last, he quaked, need rising fiercely. It didn't matter when Sletran broke off from massaging his ass. Erybet was giving Conyod all he needed for ultimate gratification.

The sweet pull of Erybet's attentiveness disappeared, as did his hold on Conyod's primary. For a full second, Conyod refused to credit it. Then the Dramok stood tall in front of him, his smile evil.

"What—?" Conyod began.

A sound like rain on a hard surface pattered, cutting him off. He had only a second to wonder what it was before stings lit his ass in darts of pain. He jerked, and his brain emerged from the fog of arousal.

His head whipped to the side. Sletran knelt on the bed next to him. His arm swung in a lazy arc, and another spatter of hurt splashed Conyod's buttocks. The Imdiko yipped. Sletran's arm drifted back, bringing a knotted-tailed leather flogger in view.

He struck again, harder. Conyod couldn't keep from trying to avoid the strips of leather painting his ass in torment. He failed, thanks to the cuffs on his ankles keeping him in place. All he could do was twist. His attempts to avoid discipline meant Sletran's flogger found previously untouched flesh. Conyod gasped and flinched under an increasing torrent that roasted his unprotected ass. The soft thuds of the strips became constant, working up and down his buttocks and thighs. Conyod couldn't think straight to beg for mercy.

The flogging stopped. Conyod was so focused on the burning throb of his ass, he shouted in shock when Erybet sucked his larger cock to its base.

Pain and bliss swirled through his body, confusing him. Was he in heaven or hell? His thoughts scrambled, puzzle pieces dumped in a pile. His cries were inarticulate, halfway between sobs and laughter.

Bit by bit, pleasure gained dominance. It reduced the smarting of his ass and thighs to intense, pulsing warmth. Erybet's mouth and throat were hot, demanding Conyod's surrender to increasing sensuality. Even when the Dramok grabbed his butt, holding him in place as he sucked and swallowed, the discomfort of the grip on his smarting flesh merited only a passing moan. Rapture grew, promising greater gratification in the near future.

Again, Conyod was too fuzzy-brained to credit it when Erybet released him and retreated to watch. Sletran's flogger whipping him astonished him anew. Pain became ascendant, and he fought to thrash his way free in vain until the Nobek relented and Erybet bent to his somehow undiminished erections.

Conyod quaked under the excruciating bliss as much as the flogging. He fought to make sense of the baffling assault of sensations: agony and ecstasy, twined so tightly together as to become a single uproar. When Erybet relinquished him in favor of Sletran's punishment, what the Imdiko experienced was no longer precisely pain. It was intense, and it was passionate, but neither hurt nor bliss defined what was happening to him. The cadence of his cries had no category.

As if given a signal, his tormentors simultaneously changed tactics. The flogging ended, and Sletran dragged him toward the middle of the mat. Clothes flew from Nobek and Dramok like startled birds taking flight. They drifted to land on the floor, out of Conyod's sight.

Erybet grasped his cuffed wrists and moved them from the nape of his neck so Conyod's palms settled on the mat, placing him on all fours. Sletran grasped his hips, his muscled thighs pushing the Imdiko's apart. Conyod felt the slick tip of him at his entrance. He gasped when Sletran claimed him…not brutally but steadily, demanding he yield until the Nobek's groin met the younger man's ass. Conyod whimpered at the renewed sting of the welts his lover had left and the aching fullness of his girth, though the sensations were heady rather than uncomfortable.

Fingers carefully curled against his scalp, fisting a handful of his hair. His face was tugged up to an eyeful of Erybet's livid cocks. Their spicy-sweet scent was intoxicating as it washed over him. Instinctively, Conyod's lips parted to receive what the Dramok wished to give him. Erybet's tapered primary, pre-cum beading the slit at its tip, slid on his tongue and deeper. His flavor filled Conyod's mouth, and he swallowed to claim his master's gift.

Hot, demanding flesh claimed him from both ends. They took him firmly, then slower, then fast. Erybet held Conyod's hair out of the way and Sletran pressed his buttocks apart so they could watch him serve their lusts. They pumped shallowly, they ground deep, they rutted like animals. They sighed, they groaned, and they growled. The hair rose on his body in instinctive alarm at the bestial sounds.

He drew delight from serving them, in being theirs to command. His cocks bobbed in rhythm with their thrusts, the primary tapping his abdomen when Sletran was forceful. His ass continued to pulse from the flogging, an erotic beat that transmitted straight to his shafts, which never faded in their excitement. He was a textbook Imdiko. Though he had alpha instincts of his own, he ultimately lived for and found gratification from taking care of those he loved.

The fact he had Sletran and Erybet to serve brought a deeper contentment than climax could ever offer. Despite his aching cocks, he'd never been happier than at that moment.

Their groans announced their joy in him a split second before the warmth of their passion jetted in his ass and mouth. Conyod submerged in the feeling of heat filling his rear passage and running down his thighs, in the warm spicy-salty sweetness pouring in his mouth and throat. He lost himself in the song of their moans. He bathed in the musky scents of the men drowning in pleasure.

He loved them with the entirety of his being.

They slowed, gasping fulfillment, and settled to a stop. There was a stretch of stillness, then slight movement from the pair. Trapped between them, skewered by their thus far undiminished erections, Conyod had no idea what was happening until he heard the telltale sounds of kissing. He closed his eyes to contain the abrupt sting of tears. They were searching for each other, attempting to find more to their relationship than mere respect and a shared affection for him.

Please, let this happen. Let them love each other as I do.

A few seconds later, they emptied him of themselves. Dramok and Nobek rolled him onto his back. Sletran regarded his engorged shafts in surprise.

"Didn't lose it on us yet, youngling? I'm impressed."

"Hey, it isn't as if I'm a teenager, you know." He scowled, then grinned. "Just don't let a breeze hit them."

They laughed. Erybet kissed him and glanced at Sletran. "Do you mind if I have the first shot?"

"I think he'd enjoy welcoming you back as soon as possible." Sletran settled next to Conyod, his fingertips tracing the lines of the Imdiko's torso.

They'd stretched him long on the sleeping mat, leaving him cuffed and unable to move of his own volition. "Do you have to be in complete control?" Conyod asked as Erybet swung a leg over his hips to straddle him.

"I want your attention on what I'm doing to you. No distractions." The Dramok gripped his prisoner's primary and settled it against his entrance. "I want you to feel this as intensely as possible."

Conyod's cocks were already sending warning signals, threatening eruption at the mere grasp of Erybet's hand and the promise of the man's tight warmth. He had the idea his youthful eagerness would betray him too soon.

Damn it, I wish I had better restraint.He ached for this joyous reunion to last longer than his sexual appetite would allow.

His command over himself might have been lacking, but he was in the power of a Dramok, the breed for whom control was a mandate. Erybet lingered motionless, simply holding Conyod's primary at the threshold of invasion, watching his face with laser focus. As nothing new happened, the surge of lust threatening to undo the Imdiko receded to a quieter hum of arousal.

"Better," Erybet said approvingly.

He inched down, enclosing the tip of Conyod's cock in his taut flesh. Almost at once, excitement woke and clamored greedily. Erybet halted immediately and held still again. Conyod's hips strained to shift upward, to claim more of his incredible grasp where it felt best. However, they'd extended his arms and legs to their limits, robbing him of his ability to move. All he was capable of was tensing.

Sletran chuckled. "Difficult lesson, isn't it? Don't worry; we're patient teachers."

Conyod noted the Nobek's stroking of his chest and abdomen had halted when Erybet had frozen. He groaned as his cocks jerked, demanding what his lovers wouldn't give him quickly.

Only when desire subsided to a sane level and the tension in his muscles eased did Sletran resume caressing him, his fingers leaving electric trails. Then Erybet eased further onto Conyod, gaining a couple inches before the Imdiko gave himself away by straining.

"You're torturing me," he gritted between his teeth.

"Hush. You'll get exactly what you deserve," Erybet said. He'd taken enough he could release his hand's grip on Conyod's cock. He licked the wetness from his palm and fingers, his eyelids heavy in contentment.

Conyod drew a deep breath and attempted to gain command over his lust. How could he, when Sletran lay next to him, the Nobek he continued to marvel he'd won? When Erybet loomed, his elegant body and perfect features too beautiful to fully comprehend? And the delicious snugness of their joining, which drove him crazy despite his efforts to stay sane.

It took a minute…to Conyod, it seemed like an eternity…before Sletran drew circles around his nipple and Erybet sank a couple inches. Once more they halted and waited for him to calm enough to continue.

An eternity later, Erybet sat on his groin, his ass flexing on Conyod's raging shaft. The Imdiko's every breath exhaled on a whimper. He was on the verge, as close to erupting as he could be without it actually happening. He was aware of Sletran and Erybet watching him as his head tossed. He no longer cared if he lasted or not. His need to come had erased any vestige of self-control.

They wouldn't allow him to do so. They waited him out until his desperate craving gave him room to think. Only then did Sletran's tongue whorl his nipple and Erybet ease up and lower on him.

So very slowly. Just enough to let desire increase in increments, rather than surge uncontrollably. Conyod realized he was enjoying the anticipation of the coming climax almost as much as its actual fulfillment. He was conscious of Sletran's every lick and kiss to his chest and abdomen. He was achingly cognizant of Erybet's pull on his shaft, of every inch of his clutching passage when he enclosed Conyod again. Each second passing was more incredible than the last.

Better yet, when his groans increased as the minutes passed, they didn't stop. Their lovemaking remained steady, and he felt passion creeping its way to the end. Enthralled by their possession, he fought to delay it for as long as possible.

When they finally coaxed sweet unfurling ribbons of ecstasy from him, he rejoiced in each surge of bliss rather than being blinded by it. He was fully present for each rapturous jolt as it left him to join with Erybet. Afterward, hearing their adoring whispers as he floated on a sea of glowing pleasure, he marveled they cared so much to give him the precious experience.

How could he not love them?

* * * *

Conyod's leg bounced as the shuttle's window vid brought Clan Tuher's ranch in view. Erybet, who piloted since it was his personal vessel, glanced at the nervous gesture. He put his hand on Conyod's knee and smiled reassuringly. "It'll be okay."

"They had no idea until two days ago I've been seeing a Dramok seriously. You have no clue how protective they are."

"I do because you and Sletran have thoroughly warned me. Hey, they might surprise you. I don't have the history with your family Sletran does."

They both glanced at the big Nobek standing between their seats in the cockpit. His expression was relaxed, and he winked at Conyod. "Maybe there'll be less resentment, but don't sell yourself short where earning their bitterness is concerned, Erybet. You're a Dramok, the very man who could clan their son. Therefore, you can take the last hope they have of convincing him to come home and stay."

"We can turn around and forget the visit," Conyod muttered. His conversation telling Lafec he was bringing a potential clanmate to meet her and his fathers hadn't gone well. Though she hadn't outright refused to allow Erybet to visit, he'd sensed it was on the tip of her tongue. He thought only Tuher's gruff acceptance had kept her from the denial.

"I'll be fine. We all will be." Erybet squeezed Conyod's knee before releasing him to work the controls to land next to the shuttles belonging to Clan Tuher and their ranch hands. "I'll tell you who I'm concerned about meeting…the celebrated Dresk. If I can't win his approval, you'll drop me like a shovelful of kestarsh shit."

Conyod was surprised into laughter. "There he is, in the center of the corral. Black curly fur, white mane."

"I recognized him immediately, thanks to your pictures. Quite the handsome fellow. You will find a smaller, less intimidating mount for me to learn to ride, right?"

"If you can survive my mother and Vel, you can survive riding any kestarsh." Conyod woofed a breath as his four parents left the stables and approached the shuttle, which was settling on the ground. "We can still run."

"Come on, Conyod." Sletran gripped his elbow and pulled him to his feet.