Jared Morgan [Seven Brothers for McBride 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (11 page)

With guilty intent, Easton reached up and touched his neck right where the pale bite mark rested. Caleb wasn’t a fool. He would know something was amiss if Easton was collarless and walking away from Jared’s house. However, if he would just give Easton sanctuary, it didn’t really matter what he thought or what he said to the others.

Another half dozen steps brought Easton to Caleb’s porch. The massive man still hadn’t said anything, and his intense gaze hadn’t strayed from Easton from the moment he’d stepped outside. Easton opened his mouth to speak, but Caleb shook his head. For some reason, the simple gesture was terrifying, and Easton had no idea why. Perhaps it was the notion that, with the most subtle movement, Caleb could control him.

The story he’d kept hidden most of his life burbled up and wanted to explode from behind his tensely held lips, but he refused to open his mouth. Caleb would ask if and when he wanted to know. Maybe, if Easton pleased him completely, Caleb simply wouldn’t care. The image of Jared flashed in Easton’s mind. His shy smile, the way he’d looked so surprised and pleased when Easton had sucked his cock and plunged his finger deep in his ass. Jared had loved that trick, and Easton had loved doing that to him. But Jared couldn’t forgive him for the bite mark.

Caleb lifted his hand, stopping Easton in his tracks.

Easton stood on the porch feeling the cool, moist air caress his body. He shivered, but not from cold. Somehow, without showing anger, Caleb’s eyes were far more terrifying than McBride’s had been. Easton considered running, but Caleb was so close now all he would have to do is reach out one massive hand to Easton’s shoulders and he’d be pinned in place.

While he stood there, trembling, Caleb walked around him, looking him up and down, and then he leaned in close and smelled him. It was animalistic and strangely erotic. Easton waited for his assessment, but Caleb didn’t speak. After making a slow circle around him, Caleb returned to the front of Easton and stopped.

Caleb lifted his hand and touched Easton’s neck right where the faint bite was.

Easton hung his head. No one wanted him. It was one little bite so long ago, but it had ruined his life. What seemed so unfair to Easton was that it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t understood what was happening, so he had been unable to stop the man from biting him. One little nip was all it took to destroy his chances at a safe and happy life.

“Who bit you?” When Easton kept his head lowered, Caleb cupped his chin and lifted his face. “Tell me.”

“The thrall master.”

Caleb let go of his chin, but he didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he lowered his fingers to the scar. “Did he hurt you?”

Easton didn’t know how to answer that. The thrall master had said he was just going to show Easton how most slammers performed feedings. He had placed Easton in a chair, stood behind him, and then placed his mouth on his neck. He didn’t bite down, not at first, but then something happened and the thrall master wouldn’t let Easton get up. Over and over, he licked the spot on his neck, his breath wheezing against Easton’s skin. He hadn’t been afraid, just confused about what was going on. It was supposed to be play, but it had turned scary and serious.

“How old were you?”

“Thirteen.”

Caleb grimaced and removed his hand.

“Please don’t send me away.” Easton had thought Caleb would be a monster, but so far, he was the only one who had shown him kindness despite his shame.

“You have no collar.”

Easton shook his head. “No, I don’t. McBride removed it.”

“That means anyone can claim you.”

This time, Easton nodded, but he no longer held out any hope.

“Come inside.” Caleb turned and went within his house.

Easton stood there for a moment, not certain that he’d understood him, but when Caleb looked back over his shoulder, Easton stepped forward. As he followed Caleb inside his home, he kept his attention on his hair. It was truly beautiful and came down to the middle of his back in thick strands of glistening black. Easton had an insane urge to touch it, but he knew he wouldn’t until Caleb told him to do so. Unlike the easy give-and-take with Jared, Caleb was clearly the dominating force, and he would dictate everything they did.

“Are you claiming me?”

Caleb spun to face him so fast that Easton froze where he was. With a step, Caleb was close enough for Easton to see the hairs that had escaped his razor. Just a few were a bit longer than the others on the right side of his face. Easton only noticed because his fear made him hyperaware. Suddenly, Caleb lifted his arm, and Easton thought he would strike him or grab him, but he only reached past Easton and pushed the front door closed.

Now they were alone.

Unlike Jared, Caleb didn’t lick his lips or look around like he was afraid of getting caught. Caleb probably didn’t care. He was a slammer who did what he wanted and didn’t concern himself about other people.

Easton was even more afraid of that than he had been of McBride. There was something menacing about Caleb’s silence and his speculative gaze. Easton had no idea what he was going to do to him. Beat him, eat him, or perhaps fuck him. He could do all three and then toss the remains of his dead body out in a heap. What was truly terrifying was that Easton didn’t think anyone would care.

When Caleb moved away, Easton uttered a sigh of relief. Some of the tension seeped out of his shoulders.

“Sit.” He pointed to the table, and Easton dutifully sat. If Caleb told him to stand on his head, Easton would hop to it without a single question. “Are you hungry?”

“No.” Easton’s stomach hurt so bad he wondered if he’d ever eat again. “I feel sick.”

“You’ve had a rough night.”

“Is it going to get rougher?” Easton thought that was as close to the true question as he wanted to get. He didn’t know how to ask Caleb what his intentions were. Right now he should just be thankful he had a place to be.

“That depends.” Caleb settled across from him.

“On?”

“You.” Caleb leaned back in his chair, his gaze never leaving Easton’s face.

“What do you want me to do?” Easton realized he shouldn’t have asked. It was almost like he was trying to get Caleb to make him do something, and that was the last thing he wanted. Then again, Caleb clearly didn’t need any encouragement. If he wanted something, then he was more than capable of asking for it. Or making Easton do it.

“I want you to tell me what you really want.”

Stunned, Easton had to clarify. “You want to know what I want?”

Caleb nodded.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Easton had imagined a whole bunch of crazy things happening to him when he entered Caleb’s house, but a psyche-probing session wasn’t one of them.

“Do you love Jared?”

Torn between telling the truth and saying what he thought Caleb might want to hear, Easton simply shrugged noncommittally.

Caleb slapped one big hand to the table. His blow caused the table to bounce, and so did the chair Easton was sitting in. “I asked you a question.”

“I think I could have come to love him, but he doesn’t want me now that he knows I’m totally broken.” Easton spewed it all out in one big chunk.

“Broken?” Caleb leaned back in his chair, his gaze assessing. “Jared fucked you then kicked you out?”

Easton winced at the way Caleb made it sound so ugly and vulgar. “He didn’t want me when he realized I’d already been bitten.”

“He didn’t ask when it happened?”

“No.”

“So he popped your factory seal, found your neck was ruined, and then turned you loose?” Caleb
tsked
several times. “And I thought he was smarter than that.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Sometimes a man doesn’t know what he’s got until it’s gone.”

Easton still didn’t grasp what Caleb was talking about, but he chose silence over saying something inane that might upset his new and rather strange master.

“Stay right there.”

Easton did as instructed, but he slumped down a little. When Jared had given him that same instruction, he’d gone off to get a bottle of greasers.

Caleb rose from the table and went back toward what Easton assumed was his bedroom. The house had the exact same layout as Jared’s, so Easton was fairly certain Caleb went to his room, but for what? Was it greasers? If it was, would he be gentle? Or would he take him outside, toss him in the stocks, then make enough noise so that everyone could come out and see what he was doing? Easton chewed at his bottom lip while he waited.

Caleb returned to the table with a swath of green fabric that matched his eyes. “I’ve been saving this since I turned eighteen.”

“It’s beautiful.” Easton thought it was just a piece of fabric until Caleb put it on the table. When he did, Easton realized it was a very intricate thrall collar. His heart sank a little. He still wanted Jared, but he supposed he had no choice but to become Caleb’s property.

“I’ve always wanted a mate.” Caleb’s massive fingers stroked very delicately over the fabric. “The idea of having someone to call my own appealed to me. But then I realized that it was unlikely to ever happen.”

Confused now, because Easton had thought it was clear he was offering out himself to Caleb, he tried to be noncommittal in his answer just like he had been with his shrug. “I don’t see why not.”

“Because I don’t like skinny young men with no body hair and timid personalities.”

Easton felt his spine stiffen. He had gone from one brother who didn’t like him to another who didn’t like him for an entirely different reason that he couldn’t do anything about. “I was fashioned this way. It wasn’t my choice.”

“I’m not saying you’re ugly, Easton. To the contrary, you’re very, very beautiful.” Caleb continued to stroke the collar lovingly, almost as if he was picturing the man he wanted to wear it, the one he didn’t think he would ever get. Something about the motion was very sad to Easton. “Given how the world has been spun so far from center, I have no doubt that men would gladly fight to the death for you.”

“But I’m broken.”

“I don’t think most slammers would care.” Caleb flashed him a rather sad smile.

“Your brother does.”

“Jared might have felt differently if he’d taken the time to ask you about the situation, but he chose to act without thinking.” Caleb shook his head and sighed like he was disappointed in Jared. His behavior was more that of a father rather than that of a brother. “I think Jared will wake up tomorrow in a world of regret. But it will be too late.”

“Because you are going to claim me?” Easton waited, holding his breath for Caleb to confirm his supposition.

“Two can play at the faux mate game.” Caleb spoke under his breath while darting a determined glance toward the big house. “I’m not going to let any more of my brothers make foolish choices that will get them hurt in the end.”

“So you are going to claim me?” Easton needed a clear answer rather than strange comments that made no sense and meaningful looks that baffled him.

“Can you keep a secret, young Easton?”

“I kept the secret of the biting for years.” Moreover, he’d kept the secret that Jonas and McBride weren’t really—“You know.” That’s what that cryptic comment about fake mates had meant.

“Know?”

“About McBride and Jonas.” Easton realized that if Caleb didn’t know, he’d pretty much just told him and also proved he wasn’t the best man at keeping a secret. It seemed that he simply couldn’t do anything right out in the real world. In the thrall house, he’d been a star, praised for his punctuality and almost-photographic recall, yet out here, he was nothing but a walking disaster area.

“Don’t look so glum. I knew from the very moment McBride took Jonas into his house that they weren’t ever going to be companions.” Caleb made a fist that was just about as big as Easton’s skull. “But I need you to keep a secret just between us. Can you do that?”

“Will it help me get Jared back?”

A gentle smile eased its way across Caleb’s face. “You really do like him, don’t you?”

“I think I could love him.”

“Even after how he’s hurt you tonight?” For some reason, Easton’s answer seemed to matter a great deal to Caleb. Almost as if Easton could forgive Jared for hurting him, then Caleb could forgive someone who had hurt him.

“Even after tonight, I could still come to love him.” All Easton had to do was picture Jared’s face when he spoke about Alden’s deafness. His compassion for his brother’s mate was crystal clear. Easton believed that if Jared took some time and found out the truth, he would be as compassionate toward Easton as he was toward Alden. Neither Easton nor Alden was responsible for what had happened to them. Once Jared understood that, he would want Easton back. As long as his brother hadn’t defiled him. Easton had a feeling if Caleb used him in any way, Jared would never touch him again.

“I’m glad that you’re willing to give my brother a second chance.”

“Like you said, I think Jared reacted without thinking. He was hurt because I didn’t tell him the truth. My only hope is that he’ll give me a second chance.” In Easton’s opinion, both of them could have behaved better.