Rise to Submit [Rise of the Changelings, Book 4] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) (22 page)

Mason’s hand skimmed down Ian’s throat. His smile faltered and for a second fear filled Ian. He was savagely choked whenever Newman had done the same thing. Ian wanted to struggle, to push Mason’s hand away, but the hand didn’t close around him. It just stayed on his neck, unmoving. Ian’s fear began to slowly fade when he realized that Mason wasn’t going to hurt him.

“Better?” Mason asked after a long moment of intense silence.

Ian gave a slight nod.

“I will erase every trigger those bastards have instilled in you.” Mason was staring into Ian’s eyes, but he wasn’t sure if the man was talking to Ian or himself.

Ian wasn’t sure where this aggressive behavior was coming from, either. Mason had been nothing but gentle with him. It was as if a switch had been clicked on inside of the guy.

“I’m jaguar, Ian.” Mason said, as if answering Ian’s thoughts. “I’m aggressive, possessive, and dominating as hell. It’s hardwired into my DNA. You want me to take over your life and give you what you are hungry for?”

Ian nodded as a warm power began to sink deep inside of him, claiming his frigid depth, setting fire to a place that had been glacial for so long.

“Then I can do this only one way.” Mason leaned closer, running his cheek over Ian’s, his fingers that had been resting on Ian’s throat reaching up and sliding through his hair, giving it a light tug. “My way,” Mason stated firmly into Ian’s ear.

“Can I ask something of you?” Ian’s voice was shaky, proof that he was teetering on the edge of hope and desperation.

Mason glanced at him, and the stroke of his eyes was a sensual caress that Ian could almost feel. “Go ahead.”

Ian felt a fine tremor begin to vibrate inside of him as he locked eyes with Mason. “Never let me go.”

Mason held on to Ian, needing the closeness as all changelings did, but giving Ian what he needed as well. The man was filled with so many scars—physical and emotional—that Mason feared he wouldn’t be able to heal the man.

Ian was his to hold, his mate, a man who was so lost inside himself that Mason was determined to reach him and pull him into the light. He had feared his reaction to Ian. The reaction that made Mason want to dominate the man—the aggressive urge to control his every move. But it seemed Ian needed just that. Ian was begging for Mason to unleash the Dom he held inside of him.

If that was what it took to heal his mate, to help him through this hell he had lived in for so long, then Mason would be whatever Ian needed him to be.

He knew what Ian meant when he asked Mason to never let him go. The smaller man wasn’t asking to be hugged. “You are my mate, Ian. There isn’t a chance in hell I’ll ever leave your side.”

Ian looked confused for a second and then he nodded. “When you bit me,” he murmured.

“Yes,” Mason answered. “When I bit you, I was trying to get you away from Newman, to cast him out, but it also bound us together, something I don’t regret happening.”

Mason moved, slowly, sinuously, like a lazy cat as he pulled Ian up to straddle his lap. “But I still haven’t claimed you in the way that I have been craving to.” His fingers moved to the drawstring of Ian’s pants.

“Mason,” Ian said, and Mason could scent his mate’s fear once more. It wasn’t overwhelming, but enough to give him pause.

“Yes?” His fingers played at the waistband as he waited for Ian to tell him what was wrong. When the man said nothing, Mason glanced up. “Answer me, Ian,” Mason said firmly. He was beginning to realize that the man wasn’t as forthcoming as Mason would like if he didn't demand it from Ian. It dawned on Mason that just talking to Ian wasn’t going to always work. The man had been horribly abused and very skittish.

But who wouldn’t be after what those vampires had done to the small human?

“I don’t…” Ian looked down to where Mason was playing with his mate’s skin, teasing it, running the tips of his fingers over Ian’s navel, making small circles, and then gliding back down to the waistband. He wasn’t going to stop tracing Ian’s skin. Not only did Mason crave touch, but he was showing his mate that touching was going to be a very integral part of their lives.

“Like sex,” Ian finished with a loud swallow.

Mason shouldn’t have been stunned after what the man had been through, but he was. He managed to keep the surprised look off of his face as he lifted Ian’s hand, placing the delicate fingers on his chest. Ian’s hand was shaking as Mason said, “I’m your source of strength. When you feel like you are slipping through the cracks and falling to the depths of what those monsters have done to you, reach for me. I’ll always be where
you
need me to be.”

Ian curled his fingers into Mason’s shirt, giving it a slight tug. “The sorrow eats at me. I feel so damn alone. I’m starving for someone, anyone to take me under their wing and show me what it
should
be like. I can barely breathe most days. I’m constantly screaming inside my head from a dark abyss that refuses to let me go.”

The man was breaking Mason’s heart once more, but he had to make Ian see the truth. “That abyss is you, Ian. The only one refusing to let go is you. Submit to me, in every way, and I promise, with time, the darkness you feel will fade.”

“Every way?” Ian asked, his eyes skeptical.

Mason leaned forward and nipped Ian’s chin, even though he knew the man was averse to biting. He was going to get his mate past that as well. When he sank his teeth into Ian’s shoulder, Mason was going to make damn sure the man associated biting with him—not vampires, and most certainly not getting high. “Every way, Ian.”

The beast yowled softly as Mason stood, carrying Ian to the bed. “Tonight is about trust, Ian. You will give me yours and I will show you that you have nothing to fear from me.”

Because even though they had kissed before tonight, and Ian had tried in the past to give himself to Mason, fear had been the overwhelming scent coming off of the man.

But tonight, Mason was going to show the small human just what pleasure was all about. He was going to gain Ian’s trust and show the man there was nothing in the world that would make Mason hurt him.

Mason laid his mate on the bed and then pulled the man’s shirt over his head, but didn’t take it fully off. The shirt trapped Ian’s arms behind his back, leaving Ian totally vulnerable to Mason.

His mate’s pale skin was revealed to him, two brown nipples peaked, but it was the many scars that Mason traced his fingers over. They weren’t his marks, but another’s, and they hadn’t been given to Ian with love.

The knowledge made his jaguar growl.

His mate lay there, one foot planted on the bed, the other dangling over the edge. His cobalt-blue eyes were watching Mason’s fingers, his slim chest taking in shallow breaths.

Ian was nervous. Mason could not only see it in the man’s eyes, but scent it as well.

Mason took a step back, appraising how beautiful Ian looked semi-trapped on the bed. “This is the beginning, Ian.”

Ian’s head lifted, his eyes rising only as far as Mason’s chest.

“Look at me,” Mason commanded evenly, firmly. “You will meet my eyes when I’m speaking to you.”

It looked like Ian was struggling to do as Mason ordered, but he finally met Mason’s gaze, although his eyes kept flickering, as if he was fighting not to look away.

“Tonight is also about you.” Mason stepped forward and let his fingers wander back down toward Ian’s waistband, “about giving you something you’ve never had before.”

Ian looked like he wasn’t sure if he should bolt from the room or trust Mason. “W–What is that?”

“Pleasure.” Mason reached inside Ian’s thin pants, circling his hand around Ian’s flaccid cock. His thumb began to caress the head, giving the soft shaft small strokes. “No pain, Ian. Just pleasure.” Mason knelt before Ian, pulling the pants down Ian’s waist and taking the man’s limp shaft into his mouth.

Ian gasped, his hips jerking. Mason had a feeling receiving oral sex was something Ian had never had the pleasure of feeling. That was going to change. This wasn’t only about what Ian needed, but showing him things he didn’t even know he wanted.

As Mason licked around the soft skin, Ian’s cock began to lengthen. He placed his hands under Ian’s thighs, pulling away long enough to lift the man’s legs, and then engulfed his mate’s now-hard cock once again. When he glanced up, Ian’s hands were scrambling on the bed, grabbing at the blankets, curling into the thin fabric until his knuckles turned white.

Mason knew the man was starving for affection, hurting for someone to love him the way only a…Master could. He didn’t want Ian to call him Master, though. Sir would do just fine. The man had waited a lifetime for this, and Mason was going to give him everything he needed, everything he craved, and so much more.

Ian whimpered, his legs shaking.

Mason pulled away. “Tell me how I make you feel. I want to hear the noises you are holding back. Whisper in the dark, give me what you’ve never given anyone else.” His mate had feared for so long, had held back what he really wanted.
No more
. Mason was going to help Ian become the man he knew Ian could be.

Ian cried out, his voice strangled, high-pitched, and tear-filled as Mason swallowed him down. The smaller man’s body shuddered, shook, and writhed as Mason used Ian’s hard cock to fuck his own mouth. His fingers gripped Ian’s thighs harder, but not enough to cause pain.

There would be no pain when showing Ian how good sex would be between them.

When Ian’s arms began to flail, Mason used one arm to hold his mate’s thighs up and used the other to grab his mate’s wrist. He gave it a firm squeeze. Ian immediately gave Mason the other free arm.

He held both wrists with his other hand as Mason fucked Ian’s cock with his mouth. Ian pulled at Mason’s hold, but Mason didn’t let go. He knew Ian didn’t want him to let go. The man was testing his boundaries, seeing if Mason would relent. There would be no relenting. Mason had already told his mate that things were going to be done his way.

He wasn’t going to hold back and he wasn’t going to allow Ian to feel unsafe any longer.

Mason gave a sharp growl, giving his mate the added pleasure of the vibrations as well as a warning to stop trying to pull free.

A pulse of heated desire shot through Mason to mount his mate and claim him. But he knew he could hold back. Ian wasn’t ready for full penetration. Besides, tasting his mate was just as pleasurable for him as he knew it was for Ian.

His mate’s balls drew up close to his body, but Ian was still fighting against his release, his head thrashing back and forth. Mason drove Ian’s cock down his throat, sucking him hard, and tightened his hand on Ian’s wrists, all in the same moment.

Ian’s body arched off of the bed, a strangled cry falling from his lips as a harsh burst of seed pulsed down Mason’s throat. He could feel the perspiration on Ian’s skin and knew the man had fought his climax tooth and nail.

But Mason never gave up that easily.

Ian’s body jerked as Mason slowly let the limp cock slip from between his lips, lowering Ian’s legs down toward the bed. His teeth ached to claim Ian, but Mason ground his jaw, pulling control over his jaguar.

As Ian lay there panting, Mason rose to his feet and began to smooth his hands over Ian’s body. Ian’s eyes fluttered opened and then fell to Mason’s groin.

Mason shook his head as his hands roamed over Ian’s still-shaky legs. “Not tonight, Ian. Right now I want you to take a shower so you can sleep better.”

Ian scooted from the bed, took his clothes the rest of the way off, and then wandered into the bathroom.

Mason sat on the edge of the bed, running his hands over his head, wondering…just wondering. He had always longed for a mate. He just had no clue he was going to get one who was so damaged. Leaning his head back, Mason let out a long breath, and that was when he noticed the shower wasn’t running.

Getting up from the bed, Mason strode to the bathroom. The door was ajar, so he pushed it until he saw Ian sitting on the closed toilet seat, staring at his hands.

“I’ve never felt anything like that,” Ian confessed as he continued to stare at his hands.

Not only had Mason brought the man pleasure, but confusion as well. Mason moved into the cramped room, squatting down in front of his mate. Without a word, he pulled Ian’s hands behind his back, shackled his wrists, and then pulled the man forward until Ian was lying against his chest.

“That’s because you’ve never had anyone that cared about you.”

Ian’s eyes were filled with fear and confusion when they flickered up to Mason’s. “And now I do?”

His whisper was soft and hesitant as if Ian had never conceived of the idea, even if he had longed for it. Mason smiled and trailed his fingers down the side of Ian’s face.

“Now you do.”

Neither said a word after that, but Mason could scent his mate’s unease fading. He rested his chin on Ian’s head, taking in the moment, letting his jaguar purr with contentment as Ian gave a small sigh.

“It all makes so much sense now,” Freedman said as he held the piece of paper in his hand that Rick had given him. “Your father. Fuck, this is more screwed up than I thought.” Freedman leaned against the wall. “When my team was first given the assignment to kill you, my gut told me it ran deeper than what O’Hanlon was telling me. None of it had made any sense.”

Rick sat there silently, his mind in total chaos. He remembered the man who had raised him clearly, vividly. Never once had Rick felt like he didn’t belong, like he wasn’t Estevez’s son. The man had loved Rick like any father should love his child.

So why hadn’t his parents told him that his father was actually his stepfather? The betrayal hurt deeper than anyone would know. He felt as though his entire childhood was built on lies and deceit. That might be a bit extreme, but not when Rick trusted very few.

Had Isabelle known? Rick wanted to ask her, but not when she was already going through problems with her pregnancy.