A Superior Slave (Ganymede Quartet Book 0.5) (4 page)

Martin had been in training for auction day all of his life, but now that it was almost upon him, he felt unprepared. He’d always understood that someone else, a master, would decide the course of his life, but something in Martin’s nature made him wish for control. He felt like a fraud because he was meant to be the best of the best, but he knew he was far from an ideal slave. His mind was rebellious, making him wish for things he had no right to desire.

He wanted his master to be a handsome boy, dark and handsome, and he wanted this master to like him more than he was supposed to. He wanted to beguile this rich, privileged, handsome boy and make him want to do Martin favors, to touch him and care for him in ways that masters weren’t supposed to do. He had never voiced these desires to any of his friends or teachers because they certainly weren’t the thoughts of a top boy, a servile boy, the sort of boy Martin was supposed to be.

Martin had only ever wanted to be the best. He’d dreamed of becoming a companion, one of the elite, and one of his happiest, most triumphant memories was hearing his name called when Mr. Jacob read from the list of boys who were to be his new charges.

Martin and his friends had had a good life at Ganymede. Up until they became sixes, their lives were simple and they had no real responsibilities beyond working to get along, minding their manners, and learning their letters. They’d played outdoors in good weather and inside the barns in bad. They’d had plenty of food to eat and were treated with kindness and affection by the adults and older boys. Most importantly, they’d had each other, all the other boys in their cohort. They’d slept together in warm heaps of tangled limbs and milky breath, and they’d roamed the farm in cheerful marauding packs, trailed by harried, patient minders.

From their sixth through twelfth years, boys had outdoor chores and did all manner of farm work in addition to attending lessons in the farm’s classrooms. Ganymede was a dairy farm and also grew apples and potatoes for sale in the nearby towns and as far away as the city. Additional gardens supplied food for the residents of the farm, and there were chickens and hogs that needed tending, as well. Once you were a six, you worked at
something
, whether it was farm labor or efforts to improve yourself.

As a companion-in-training, Martin was in a special category and no longer had to do farm work; no more milking duties, no gardening, no harvesting. Instead, he had been encouraged to cultivate talents, to develop interests that might make him appealing to a rich family. His skills as rider, dancer and musician had been honed. He had been required to exercise, to strengthen and improve his body, and it had been impressed upon him that this should be a lifelong endeavor.

Martin’s childhood friends were not the boys he was close with now, but he loved them all the same, and he’d said heartfelt goodbyes at the party. But his friends
now
, his fellow companions, understood him better than the boys he’d loved when he was just a six, or even a twelve. They’d gone through the same things, had the same training, learned the same lessons. They understood how hard Martin had worked and acknowledged his effort; he was well-liked and respected amongst their group.

With this in mind, Martin surveyed the compartment again, hoping someone might want his company. Leo and Sandy were kissing passionately, and it looked as though Sandy was crying again. Stuart was slumped against the wall of the train car, his cheeks pink and lips parted, but Charlie was not visible at all, hunkered down below the level of the seatbacks. Noah was straddling Georgie’s lap and moving against him with his head thrown back, and, as Martin watched, he put his hands to either side of Georgie’s face and bent to kiss him.

It seemed that he was essentially forgotten. All the rest were in urgent pursuit of pleasure, and Martin felt keenly the loss of his bedmate, his handsome Richard, who had died unexpectedly two years prior. What he wouldn’t give to have Richard beside him now, even knowing they’d be separated again tomorrow!

The tenor of Martin’s thoughts veered from hurt feelings to anxiety to a sort of anticipatory boredom, both dull and alert. He watched the landscape whip by, fields and cows and trees, and tried to imagine what the city would look like. The closest any of them had ever been to a city was the Ganymede produce stand at the market in the town nearest the farm. They’d all had a turn selling apples there, and most of the boys had appreciated the opportunities to interact with girls, both the free girls buying apples and the slaves-in-training from House Demeter who brought eggs to market.

Being tall and handsome, Martin drew plentiful female attention, but he wasn’t attracted to girls. He liked them well enough to talk to, but he had no interest in intimacies with them. Boys like Martin were always made companions if they were attractive and reasonably intelligent. A few of the others were like him, completely uninterested in women, but most of his friends were attracted to both men and women to some degree. You couldn’t really be a proper companion if you didn’t enjoy sex with other men, after all. Growing up surrounded by boys and men, you naturally became accustomed to taking your comfort from other boys, even if you felt you’d rather be with a woman if given the choice.

Maybe he should see if the twins were still awake and wanted to play some game or be told a story. It wasn’t how he’d imagined spending his last day with his cohort, to be sure, but it would be better than moping. He was about to call out to them when he heard his own name.

“Martin! Martin, why are you alone? Come sit with us!”

Martin turned to see Ben and Mitch beckoning and grinning at him. Ben was a pretty little thing with tawny hair and blue eyes, and his best friend Mitch had just the sort of coloring Martin liked. They were both Choice boys. Perhaps it was snobbish, but the Superior boys tended to socialize with only other Superiors and the Choice fellows, letting the Standards fend for themselves.

Martin returned their smiles and got up from his seat. He made his way down the aisle, swaying slightly with the movement of the car. Mitch got up and welcomed Martin to sit beside Ben with a graceful sweep of his hand, then slid in next to him, hip to hip.

“None of us should be alone today,” Ben said, taking Martin’s hand. He leaned his head on Martin’s shoulder and idly played with his fingers. “I
want
to find a master, I really do, but I wish I could have a master and still keep my friends close.”

Mitch slipped his arm around Martin’s shoulders and leaned close, his breath tickling Martin’s ear. “I was too shy to say so when we were together, but you’re a wonderful partner. You were so good to Benny, too. It’s obvious to me why you’re top boy.”

“Thank you.” Martin’s cheeks pinked at the praise.

Ben shifted in his seat. “Can I…?” He neither finished his sentence nor waited for an answer, but instead got up on his knees and straddled Martin’s lap. “If I remember correctly, you’re a really good kisser.”

Martin laughed. “You could test me to see if your memory serves you well.”

They necked for a bit, Ben grinding against Martin’s lap and panting in his mouth. Mitch watched, occasionally dipping in to kiss Martin’s neck or to steal a kiss from Ben, and every now and then he pushed at his cock with the heel of his hand. Martin decided he would ask Ben to suck him and had opened his mouth to voice the request when a hand came down heavily on his shoulder. He turned and looked up into Georgie’s face. Georgie’s hair was out of its tail and his braces were off his shoulders and hanging at his hips.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Georgie said, though he plainly was not sorry at all. “I need Martin.”

“We’re right in the middle—” Ben began.

“Finish with Mitch,” Georgie suggested, unconcerned. “I have limited time and you know Martin’s special to me.”

“We
all
have limited time,” Ben pointed out testily, though he did climb off Martin’s lap.

Mitch sighed and got up to let Martin out.

There was a wet spot on the front of Martin’s faded trousers and his cock was obviously hard, but it wasn’t the sort of thing that any of his friends would find remarkable. It would be different out in the wider world, the world of masters, where you were required to be discreet about your arousal.

Georgie took Martin’s elbow and steered him up the aisle to his empty seat.

“You’re bossy,” Martin said, though he wasn’t complaining.

“I made a deal with Noah so he would leave us alone for a bit.”

“What did you promise him?” Martin took his seat and Georgie sat next to him.

Georgie rolled his eyes. “I promised I wouldn’t suck your cock, so be warned I won’t be doing that.”

Martin laughed.

“He wanted reassurances, as well, so I said some sweet things to him, and I did mean a few of them. I do care about him, after all. He’s really only horrible when it comes to you.”

“I don’t know why he bothers being so jealous. You chose him, after all.”

“I haven’t chosen anybody,” Georgie insisted. “I’ve just shared a bed with him.” He stroked Martin’s hair, smoothing the strands, and then touched his cheek. “But do you really want to spend our time talking about my relation to Noah? Wouldn’t you rather kiss me instead?”

“I
would
rather kiss you,” Martin said readily, nodding agreement.

“Then do it.”

Martin put his arms around Georgie’s neck and gave him a tender kiss, the soft press of his lips followed by the merest flick of his tongue. Georgie sighed and opened his mouth for Martin to deepen the kiss and fisted his hand in Martin’s hair. Out of the corner of his eye, Martin saw Noah glaring, and he shifted in his seat so he wouldn’t have to look at Noah any more.

“Get on my lap,” Georgie said. He slid to the middle of the bench as Martin obediently moved to kneel astride his thighs. He rubbed Martin’s hard prick through his trousers and then began unbuttoning the placket.

Martin shrugged out of his braces and bent to kiss him. “What are you doing?”

Georgie snorted. “Well, I’m
not
going to suck you. But I want to make you come.” Martin’s prick sprang forth from the vee of his trousers, wet and slick, and Georgie took hold of it with just light pressure, fingers barely touching the tissue-thin skin. They both watched, breathing hard, as Georgie played with it, petting the head. Martin shuddered and a surge of fluid welled up from the slit, a thick droplet sliding down the shaft and disappearing into wiry reddish hair.

“What about you?” Martin asked in a low whisper. “Don’t you want to come, too?” He reached for Georgie’s buttons.

Georgie shook his head and stayed Martin’s hand. “Not yet, all right? I want to give you my full attention.” He gave Martin more of the delicate, glancing contact that had him squirming and rocking his hips in search of more pressure. “You’re always so eager,” Georgie said fondly, his voice husky. “Begging for it.”

Martin scoffed at this. “I don’t beg.” He lifted his hips in insistent little thrusts against Georgie’s palm.

“Maybe not with your mouth,” Georgie countered. “But you do with your body. You do with your eyes.” He wrapped his fingers around Martin’s prick and at last gave him the definitive touch he craved. Martin moaned and trembled as Georgie gave him a few squeezing strokes, his thumb sliding across the wet head on each upstroke. Martin took Georgie’s mouth in a hard, insistent kiss and thrust into his fist. To his dismay, Georgie let go of his cock.

“Georgie?” he asked, baffled and blinking, blood pounding in his ears.

“Please don’t come yet. This might be the last time we ever do this.” Georgie did not look at him, uncharacteristically shy. “I don’t want it to be over in a hurry, all right?”

Martin was touched by this and melted into Georgie’s embrace. They kissed and Georgie pulled the tie from Martin’s hair and took the loose waves in slippery handfuls. A few kisses later, they held each other desperately close, rocking in a tight embrace.

“I’ll miss you,” Georgie said quietly. “I’ll never forget you.”

“I won’t forget you, either,” Martin promised. He was quite sure he would never forget any of these boys, even the Standards. He wasn’t in love with Georgie, but he did love him, and they’d shared so much. He tightened his arms around Georgie’s neck and they kissed again, deeper and more languid. Georgie slid his hand between their bodies and took hold of Martin’s cock again and squeezed, slow strokes.

Martin sighed and moved against Georgie’s hand. They had done this so many times, dozens and dozens, and Georgie’s fingers felt almost as familiar as his own, and Martin would miss this, this deeply erotic ease, and he trembled as Georgie touched him with practiced skill.

When he came, he called out, “Georgie!” and shuddered against him, burying his face in Georgie’s neck.

Georgie caught Martin’s mess in his hand. He brought his hand to his mouth and licked his palm, then offered his sticky fingers to Martin to lick clean. Martin kept his eyes on Georgie’s as he did it, both of them very solemn. No doubt Noah would be angry that Georgie had tasted him, but he hadn’t actually sucked Martin’s cock, after all.

“Am I forbidden from sucking you?” Martin asked, petting Georgie’s hard cock through his trousers.

Georgie thought about this a moment. “Hmm. I’d like it, of course, but I think you’d better not. He’s so upset about everything already. I don’t want to hurt him, you know.”

They weren’t supposed to be jealous, none of them, but boys still formed attachments. Boys still had rivalries. When they were all new companions-in-training, Noah had wanted Richard for a partner, but Richard had chosen Martin instead, and Noah had gone with Georgie. When Richard had died, Georgie had been one of the boys who’d made sure Martin had comfort, and an angry Noah had accused Martin of wanting to take away everything that mattered to him. It seemed obvious to Martin that Georgie cared a great deal for Noah, much more than he’d admit, because he put up with so much bad behavior. But no matter their feelings for one another, they were all destined for other partners, and Martin wasn’t sure Noah understood or accepted that.