Evan sat down on the edge of the bed. The doctor laid a hand on his shoulder.“Ready? Don’t be so scared. All of the victims we’ve ever spoken to claimed to enjoy this experience very much, though I understand it can be quite—intense.”
“Intense like how?”
“The wolf’s penis has that gland I told you about that encircles the base. Perhaps you’ve seen it?It’s called the bulbus glandis, which is present in most canine creatures. It was designed to ensure the females became pregnant when they received it inside them, and is always a part of the first mating. With males, apparently it provides extreme stimulation to the prostate gland, causing multiple and very intense orgasms. The first mating can take a long time, and you’ll be ‘tied together’ for the duration.”
“Jesus.”
“Yes, I’m afraid so, but only the first time. Are you wearing the anal plug I sent over for you last night?”
Evan’s face flamed as he nodded. Hell, yes, he was wearing it and it was damned uncomfortable. It took him almost an hour to get the thing inserted the night before, because it was so damn big he had to keep stopping, and then trying to shove it a little higher. Once he’d finally got it in, he could barely walk.He’d managed to get to sleep, but he couldn’t wait to remove the thing.
“It should have helped to stretch you properly for this first experience. If he has relations with your afterward, his glandwon’t be..um...inserted. You have experienced anal sex before, you told me.There’s lube in the drawer. Oh, and insist he use plenty of it.”
Evan nodded, his face flaming again.
The doctor smiled.“No second thoughts? Cold feet?” When Evan shook his head, he patted his shoulder and went to the door, stopping with his hand on the knob.“I’m about to bring him in.Get ready.”
The first thing Brett saw when he walked in the door was Evan, standing by the bed nervously.He wasn’t in his Hunter green uniform, but was wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt. Nothing simple about the way they fit his body though. The t-shirt hugged his torso, showing off every lean muscle, and the jeans...God, they were sinfully tight, and left little to the imagination. The idea that he’d been wearing them in front of other men made Brett furious. Soon, baby. Soon I’ll tell you what you can wear on that gorgeous body, and it won’t be anything to show yourself off to anyone but me. Brett wanted him out of those jeans and naked on that bed just as fast as he could get him there.He willed himself to slow down and take his time. After all, they’d have a lifetime together.
He was standing next to the head of the bed, near what Brett knew must be a panic button. Dr. Cornsilk had explained the set-up carefully. He stopped a few steps inside the room and let his eyes sweep up and down his boy. Brett had to play this game with him just right, if he was to believe it. He set his shoulders and made his voice harsh.
“ You? What are you doing here? What’s all thisfor?”
Brett saw Evan wet his lips and drop his eyes downward.“Didn’t they tell you?” “Tell me what?”
Evan stared back up at him, his eyes very large and blue. He was breathing through his mouth and looked scared to death.
“They want you to...to mate with me.”
“What?”
“To mate with me. It’s an experiment. They think you might secrete something in my blood either with the mating bite or the—the gland thing on your...”
“Is that right?” He sauntered over to the bed as Evan backed away. He flopped down on the bed on his back. A little smile played around his lips.“What makes them think I’d mate with you?”
The heat rose to Evan’s cheeks. “You don’t have to, of course. They can find you someone else if the idea of having sex with me is so repugnant to you.”
He started for the door, but not before Brett saw a hurt look in his eyes. Brett called out to him from the bed.“Stop right there.” Evan hesitated, then turned slowly around to look at the man.“Bringyour ass back over here.”
“What if I don’t feel like bringing my assback over there?”
Brett smiled.“Please, Evan, would you please move your sweet little ass back over here?”
Evan hesitated, giving the wolf a dirty look, his blue eyes flashing. In the end, he walked slowly back toward the bed, his feet moving like they were stuck in quicksand. But he was coming, and that was the important thing.You’ll learn to follow my commands more quickly in the future, sweetheart. Brett gave him plenty of time, holding out a hand to him as he got closer. He took his hand and pulled him down onto the bed to sit beside him. Brett noticed he winced a little when he sat, and leaned to the side. What was going on with his little Hunter?
“I didn’t say I didn’t want to mate with you, sweetheart. I just wondered what made them come up with the idea? And what made you agree to it?”
Evan ventured a look directly up into his eyes and answered the first part of his question, ignoring the last. “They told me Elias Winters is trying to come up with an antidote for the blood match thing.Winters says it’s too late for his son, but maybe it will help someone else if they can get their hand on another mate. They think it must be something from your gland, or something in the bite. They think if you...mate with me, then they can check my blood afterward. See what they find.”
Brett put back his head and laughed.“Well, good luck with that one! I think we might be as happy to find that antidote as the Hunters are.”
Evan tilted his head.“Why would you say that?”
“Because some of us think it’s a damned pain in the ass. The Blood Match is no respecter of sexual orientation, or age, or desire or anything else. You just see someone or smell them, more accurately, and that’s it. No matter how illsuited you might be for each other.”
“Smell them?”
“The blood mate has a unique odor to the other mate. Sort of sweet.Hard to explain, but it’s compelling.It draws us in and won’t let us go. Then,after the mating bite, it’s impossible to ignore, no matter what.Like I said, a pain in the ass.”
“What if they’re already mated to someone else?”
“That’s what I mean—they could be. There have even been a few rare cases of three people sharing the match. Unless they’re into ménage, one of them is screwed.And wolves don’t share! Don’t even get me started about the human equation. My alpha Marco has a human mate.He’s a brat and nothing but trouble. They fight all the time and then make up with embarrassingly loud sex. The human is gorgeous and smart, but to my way of thinking he takes way too much effort. Always running away or storming off in a huff. Our beta has a human mate too. Both of them lead their mates a merry chase. It’s stupid. My mate will never be allowed to act that way.”
“So you don’t like humans? I’m guessing you would never mate with one. So where does that leave me?I guess they can’t make you mate with me.” Evan’s voice seemed a little hurt, and Brett mentally chastised himself. He was talking too much. What was there about this human that had him spilling his guts to him and saying way more than he should have?
“No, I like humans all right.I didn’t mean to give that impression. Some of them are quite beautiful and sweet.Hell, they’re all interesting. And Ican’t help who I mate with—that’s the point, sweetheart.” He lifted his hand to the side of Evan’s face. “Like you, for instance.”
“Me? But I’m not your blood mate.”
“Who says?” He reached out and took a lock of Evan’s hair in his fingers, rubbing it against his thumb gently.
“What do you mean? How can that be? I volunteered to do this. When they first approached me, you hadn’t even been captured yet.”
“And why do you think I allowed myself to be captured?”
Evan looked stunned. His mouth opened and closed. Alarmed, he started to stand up, but Brett pulled him back down, lying back against the pillows and holding Evan across his chest as he looked down at him.“Listen, baby. I know this is hard to understand. All this is a set-up, all right.But it’s my set-up. Dr. Cornsilk is one of us.He’s related to the wolves, though not by blood. He’s the stepson of a wolf. Thewolf’s human mate was a widow, and he lived with the clan since he was a baby. He infiltrated the Hunters years ago. He’s only one of several people we have on the inside here.”
Evan’s face was almost blank in shock. His mouth opened and closed several times. Brett smiled and put a finger to his lips.“Shhh...they’re in deep cover, babe.”
“Then why are you telling me this? I don’t understand.”
“I’m telling you because I know you’ll never get a chance to tell anyone. I’m taking you out of here with me, Evan.”
“No!” Evan cried out in alarm and this time he made it all the way to his feet before Brett pulled him back down and across his body.
Brett put a hand to his back and began rubbing gently.“Don’t get scared, honey. I’m right here and nothing is going to hurt you. I did all this for you.”
Evan straightened up, pushing Brett away.His face registered surprise and skepticism. “I’m not scared, I’m confused! You’re saying you allowed yourself to be captured to be with me?”
“That’s right. First, I guess, you need to know that mostall of what you’ve been told about my people is lies.We’re not monsters. We don’t prey on humans, or go out looking for trouble of any kind. We only want only to be left alone to live our lives.We’ll defend ourselves if attacked, and we protect what’s ours, but I think that’s different from being a monster, don’t you?”
Evan nodded very slightly, but Brett could see that he was listening carefully.
“And this experiment thing is not about what they told you at all. You were set up too, sweetheart. These bastards know just enough about the wolves to be dangerous. They know that once we mate with a human or even bite them, they have to feed from us. From our blood. If that doesn’t happen, they become feral creatures, half wolf, half men.That’s what they had planned for you, sweetheart.”