Authors: Anitra Lynn McLeod
Tags: #Romance
“I’d like to see more by this vendor to get the rest of my men companions,” McBride said as he perused Ferris’s papers. They were in order. As a bonus, the young man spoke three languages.
Hmmm
. McBride considered. That meant he was smart, but again, he seemed terribly shy, so he would have to wait and see if there were sparks with Bailey. If not, this fine young man could go to another brother.
“No additional stock today, sir.”
Gone was the disapproving look once the man realized the thrall was not for McBride himself but for a man he owned. McBride found it curious, because no landed gentryman could buy a thrall for himself. He almost asked if one had done so, but he decided not to chase after lawbreakers when enough of them fell into his hands on their own.
“Tomorrow I will have new thralls from the same man. He usually brings two but lately only one.” The seller was happy to put them on reserve for the sheriff. Such a move was wise given how McBride could make or break the man’s ability to keep his market platform open.
“Until tomorrow, then.” McBride considered the payment bond, approved the amount verbally, and then added his thumb stamp. “Come along, Ferris. I will have you mated by nightfall.”
Ferris dutifully walked behind McBride with his head down and his hands held protectively over his genitals. Once McBride was seated in his saddle, he turned and pulled Ferris up, seating him before him on the
dressiter
. The six-legged beasts offered an amazingly smooth ride.
When Ferris tensed at the feel of McBride’s cock digging into his buttock, McBride soothed him. “You will not be harmed. I assure you. I will teach your mate and you how it is to please one another.”
“Yes, sir. I thank you, sir.”
“Are you afraid of large men?”
“A bit, sir.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t rightly know.”
“I think you will suit my proud Bailey well. He’s large, but gentle.”
“I will not be yours, sir?”
“No.” McBride would love to have a companion of his own, but as a landed gentryman, he couldn’t simply buy a pretty male to assuage his passions. He had to have one of some standing. If he had a man in his home and in his bed, he had to be of his same class. Just the idea of making the rounds with a thrall on his arm made him wince. No. When he mated,
if
he mated, he would have to have a very special and particular type of man. The mere thought of trying to find one sounded like nothing but drudgery. McBride would stick to hand service and his right to use his men’s necks until he absolutely couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Will you use me, sir?” Ferris had relaxed slightly against McBride’s bulge.
“No.” But McBride had to admit Ferris’s body felt good against his, and his long, sleek neck was appealing. “You are not to be bandied about to all and sundry.” McBride was aware that some less-wealthy gentrymen bought one thrall for many slammers. He thought that practice was barbaric, but since it was legal there was nothing he could do about it. “You will belong to one man, and him alone. After I’ve instructed you, there will be none other to touch you but him.”
Ferris sighed and his tight shoulders relaxed. As the
dressiter
moved, it gently swayed Ferris’s buttocks against McBride’s rapidly hardening cock. McBride did his best to ignore the stimulation. When his teeth started to itch, he teased the tender tips with his tongue. Tonight, he would drink, but not from this boy.
“Did your owner ever touch you?” McBride should have asked before he bought him, but Ferris seemed so well cared for the thought hadn’t crossed his mind until the boy’s trepidation at being close alerted him to the potential molestation.
“He fingered me, lightly, just to test my firmness, but he did not penetrate my hole, and he never bit my neck. He was rather taken with another.”
McBride was glad he had not been swindled. Some men used the blow test, like he did, but others preferred to use an educated finger. Pressed against a thrall’s rectum, it became very evident if the factory seal had been broken. Any bite on the neck left a telltale scar.
“Your mouth is pure as well?” McBride noticed during his inspection that Ferris had perfect teeth.
“Yes, sir. I have always been diligent about my self-care.”
“You seem strong as well.”
“I took fitness classes in addition to language.”
“Excellent. I have a
tallos
farm that could use more strong hands.”
“I thought I was to be a blood thrall?”
“You will service your man as your duty calls, but you will work, too. I will not have you lay idle on your back while the others labor.” McBride knew of some companions who were treated that way, but he saw no reason not to use all hands to further his farm. “You will be given a share of the harvest.”
“Oh, thank you, sir!” Ferris straightened at that, as well he should. Most thralls were treated like property. They had limited rights, and once their allure as a sexual object faded they were often drunk from until they died. But McBride saw no reason to enslave the companions of his men. Like the Morgan brothers themselves, their companions would have the same basic rights. McBride expected them to work, but he was generous with their benefits. They each had their own small mechanized house complete with a cookbot. They earned a portion of the
tallos
harvest profits. They were free to go off-world once a year for a vacation, and he had most recently promised to provide them all with companions. It was going to cost him dearly, but in the end, McBride believed he would be repaid threefold. If they were happy and had an outlet for all that pent-up passion, they would be able to focus on work and stop fighting amongst themselves.
At one point their prior owner had bought them a sexdroid, but they’d broken the poor thing the very first night. It was Caleb who had fucked the thing into a meltdown. Built to withstand the rigors of a mining planet, the sexdroid couldn’t handle one encounter with the massive Caleb. McBride shivered. He was saving Caleb’s companion for last. To satisfy his hungers, McBride would probably have to go off-world. A young, tender thrall like Ferris would never be able to withstand the demands of sex with Caleb let alone his hunger when he needed blood. If a man made of steel couldn’t, then how could a man formed of flesh?
Bailey, on the other hand, was almost as big as Caleb, but he was the youngest and the most kindhearted. He would be respectful of his companion and willing to be sweet if he was pleased. The more he chatted with the bubbly Ferris, the more McBride became convinced he would pair to Bailey very well.
The ride back to the
tallos
farm was uneventful. The sun was high, the air was hot, but all too soon the world would be even hotter. This was the first harvest of the spring
tallos
. All through the upcoming summer his men would be planting and harvesting. When winter came, they would erect massive curved buildings over the rows to keep out the snow but let in the light. There was no idle time on a farm like his, which was why he needed strong men.
Down the long drive from the main road to where his house sat was one of his favorite sights. They called it the big house, and it was. Four stories tall with two wings coming off the sides, McBride’s inherited house looked like a huge white bird that had landed in the middle of the black earth. Since water was such a premium item, he didn’t have much in the way of plantings, but that was fine with him. What he loved about the place was the huge windows. When the shades were up, the house was almost as bright as daylight inside.
The road continued on past his house to a cul-de-sac where the Morgan brothers had their little homes. In the very center of the circle were the elaborate stocks, but McBride hadn’t had to use them and hoped he never would. All seven brothers were lined up outside their houses, waiting for McBride to enter the center of the street. Seven small but tidy homes were evenly spaced around the dead-end circle of the street. McBride’s house was situated across from the circle and was about as big as all their houses added together. Given a choice, McBride never would have built such a large house that demanded so much utilities, but his ancestors had had the place built and his father had left it to McBride when he passed away. The first thing he’d done when he’d entered was close off most of the rooms. Since the staff was mechanical, he didn’t have to fire anyone. He simply shut them off and left them in the wings in case he ever needed them again.
“Sir?” Ferris asked, his voice very low and breathy.
“Yes?”
“I am afraid, sir.”
“Why? I’ve told you clearly you will not be harmed.”
“But they are huge, sir.” Ferris swallowed so hard McBride heard a dry click.
“Calm yourself, young Ferris.” McBride gently patted his thigh, marveling at the soft plush of his skin. “I will teach your companion how to care for you.”
“Are you gentle?”
McBride considered. He could be when he chose to be, but lately he’d been consumed with darker dreams of rough embraces and snarled demands. Clearly, he needed another visit to the off-world grindhouse for landed gentrymen. There, he could indulge the depth of his perverted desires and suffer no recriminations. Men such as he had huge appetites for sex and blood. Since they were not allowed to own thralls directly, or to fornicate with their slammers except when they were punishing them, they were afforded grindhouses until they found a suitable companion. McBride hadn’t been to one in months because he’d been putting all of his money back into his farm. However, his nightly masturbation ritual was becoming tedious. A big, burly grind would be just the kind of man to take his mind off his troubles for a while.
“Sir?”
“It matters not what I am,” McBride finally answered. “I will teach your companion to please you. If gentle touches are what arouse you, then that is what he will give you.”
“Thank you, sir. I am reassured.”
“Good.”
“One last thing, sir.”
“Yes?”
“What is a rectal dilator?”
Bailey Morgan had never seen such a beautiful man. A surge of jealousy swept over him when he saw McBride’s hand on the man’s pale thigh, but Bailey pushed the uncomfortable feeling away. As the youngest, he doubted the first companion would be for him. Tears tried to well up, but Bailey wouldn’t let them flow. If nothing else, he had his pride. All he could do was watch with a sense of hopeless fascination, wondering which one of his brothers would receive the most stunning companion in the universe. If that dazzling creature were for him, Bailey swore to all the stars in the sky he would work three times as hard each day if he could fuck that amazing man each night.
McBride stopped in front of Bailey’s house, and his heart almost exploded out of his chest. Absolutely shocked, Bailey waited a full thirty seconds for McBride to move on. When he didn’t, Bailey tremulously asked, “Is he mine?”
“He is indeed.” McBride’s smile was reassuring. “His name is Ferris.”
“Ferris.” Bailey thought the name suited him. His hair was dirty blond and tapered around his forehead and ears. When he finally met Bailey’s gaze, he discovered Ferris’s eyes were molten copper. His heart skipped a beat. Bailey had long dreamed of a companion with gleaming metallic eyes.
“Help him down, Bailey.”
Trembling, Bailey reached out his hand. When Ferris slipped his hand in his and Bailey realized Ferris was shaking, too, he soothed, “I would never hurt you.”
Ferris smiled shyly and dropped his gaze. His copper eyes widened, and then he blushed.
Bailey realized his cock was pressing against the translucent weave of his
tallos-
picking suit. Without the protective fiber covering his body, the buds of the
tallos
plant would dig into his flesh. Since it was a hot day, he was bare below the protective garment. It was curious to Bailey how something so thin could be so shielding. The outfit was unsnaggable by the barbs that enveloped the
tallos
bulbs, but it was also almost entirely see-through.
“Off with the rest of you now. I will bring each of you a companion in turn.” McBride dismissed Bailey’s brothers, and they went after a few quiet grumbles. All but for Caleb. Rather than go, Caleb planted his feet wide and glared at McBride.
Bailey cringed.
Caleb was going to ruin everything. For once, just for one time in all the years they’d been together as brothers, couldn’t Caleb let Bailey be first without making a mess of it? Caleb was the oldest and the biggest. Since he often caused the most ruckus, he usually got to go first with everything. If McBride took Bailey’s companion and gave him to Caleb, Bailey would never forgive either one of them.
“Caleb, don’t make me get the prod.”
“Maybe I’d like that.” Caleb spit on the ground, making the black dirt puff up around where the gob landed. Heat had made him sweat and plastered his long black hair around his face, neck, and bared chest. He looked savage and heartless.
“I will dock your percentage.” In opposition, McBride was calm and cool. His short brown hair was smoothed against his skull from the heat, which Bailey saw when McBride lifted his hat and finger combed his hair back before settling his hat back on his head. Unlike Caleb, McBride didn’t use his massive body to intimidate others. Rarely did he even raise his voice. There was something about his low-key manner that made Bailey eager to please him.