And his own thoughts led back to Lucianrelentlessly.
The ease with which he followed instruction was breathtaking. He took to submission as naturally as birds did to flight—all it took was a little push and Lucian had spread hiswings.
Now it was time to see if his fledgling would come back tothenest.
Hedid.
Marcus scented his omega in the air before he saw him, and as soon as Lucian rounded the corner, Marcus drew him into his arms and pushed him against the wall. The gasp Lucian rewarded him with was worththewait.
He wasperfect.
“You were so good tonight.” Marcus’ voice was meant for Lucian’s ears alone, but it carried through the air with powerful intent. Lucian shivered against him, his neck outstretched and his head thrown back. The moon was waxing, and the alley was a little brighter than it had been the week before. “You did exactly what I wanted you to do. Do you know what thatmeans?”
“No,” Lucian whispered. The tiny way he spoke was tantalizing beyond belief. Marcus was no stranger to omegas, but his previous partners had already been broken. Now that he had a fresh canvas, he found himself momentarily paralyzed bypotential.
There was so much he could do. So much he wantedtodo.
But only somuchtime.
“It means that you deserve to be rewarded,” Marcus told him, words rolling like thunder. The rumble darkened his voice in the same way lust did, heightening his awareness of the desire he felt until he couldn’t take it any longer—his hand plunged down to palm Lucian through his pants. Lucian was already hard. “So what will it be, fledgling? Do you want to play with me? Right here? Right now?Tellme.”
“Yes.” It parted from Lucian’s tongue light and fragile, spiraling through the space between them like a ballerina across a stage. Lucian didn’t know the moves to their dance yet, but Marcus would teach him. He knew that Lucian would make himproud.
Marcus’ hand tightened. He gripped Lucian firmly, his thumb stroking the hardening bulge behindLucian’sfly.
“Look at you,” Marcus murmured. He planted a kiss on Lucian’s temple, letting Lucian hear the ragged way he was breathing, letting him know that he was just as eager for this as Lucian was. “You’re already hard. How long have you wanted this? How long have youwantedme?”
“Since the first time I saw you,” Lucian whispered. His arms tightened around Marcus’ neck, and he pushed his hips forward to rub himself against Marcus’ hand. “Wanted yousobad.”
Marcus’ hand tightened to near painful levels, and just as he’d wanted, Lucian gasped for him. It was the same fragile, breathless sound he’d made the week before that Marcus hadfallenfor.
“Then let me give you what you want.” Marcus’ hand parted from Lucian’s crotch. He undid the button of Lucian’s slacks. When he spoke next, his voice had dipped into a seductive, conspiratorial whisper. “But remember, this is a secret. If you don’t want anyone to find out, you can’t make asound.”
Lucian’s eyes were shut tight, his face a strange mix of tension and slack. It was as though he was trying his best to hold himself together, while at the same time wanting more than anything else to fallapart.
Marcus’ hand slipped behind Lucian’s fly. His palm met Lucian’s boxer-briefs, and he stroked Lucian open-palmed for a while, tempting him. Lucian made small noises in his throat, barely formed but far too erotic for Marcus to ignore. Lucian rolled his hips, stroking his cock against the breadth ofMarcus’palm.
“Remember, you need to be quiet,” Marcus whispered into Lucian’s ear in warning. Then, warning issued, he slid his hand behind the elastic waistband of Lucian’s boxer-briefs and grasped his cockinfull.
Lucian choked back a cry and buried his head against Marcus’ shoulder. He bit down into Marcus’ shirt, gagging himself as Marcus’ hand pumped. Marcus grinned against the side of Lucian’s head, enamored. His new toy had all the markings of greatness. Given time, Marcus knew he wouldexcel.
“Pump yourself into my hand,” Marcus whispered, inviting Lucian to move. “Show me how much you want me. I want to know it, not justhearit.”
A change rippled through the air then, like what Marcus had said stirred reality in ways it wasn’t meant to be stirred. The sexual energy once so vibrant between themdulled.
Lucianchanged.
What had once seared with its heat now burned with its impropriety. Lucian didn’t stop moving, but when he did move, there was a marked change in the motions he made. Lucian pushed into Marcus’ hand once, puffed out a breath onto the knot of fabric in his mouth, and started to move his hips as though he’d been born for it. Tension ran through Lucian’s body, holding him upright when before he’d been slack. The rocking of his hips was too perfect tobereal.
For someone so young who—to Marcus’ knowledge—had never been trained before, the execution was stunning. Lucian moved like he’d had years of practice. But the intent behind the way he pushed into Marcus’ hand bothered Marcus on a level not even the heat of their situation couldremedy.
Tonight was about rewarding Lucian for following Marcus’ word, but the way he moved was for Marcus’ pleasure, nothisown.
“Stop,” Marcus demanded. Lucian did. He released the shirt he’d clamped between his teeth to look at Marcus, and Marcus searched his eyes for meaning. The lust they’d nurtured throughout the night was no longer red-hot in Lucian’s eyes—it had burned out and glossed over like molten sand turned toglass.
The deadened lookdestroyedhim.
“Who trained you?” Marcus asked, his voice cutting through the silence of the night with more force than he’d intended. If it was someone at The Shepherd, Marcus would tear them limb from limb. No submissive should ever feel like that. Lucianwashurt.
