Finally, the young Lycan seemed to shake himself out of it. He opened the door of the cell, still without saying anything, and brought the food and water over to where Tarr was chained to the wall. One big chain wrapped around Tarr’s waist, giving him enough leeway that he could make it—barely—to a waste bucket in the corner. In addition, his hands were chained in front of him, connected to another chain around his waist. There was just enough length to allow him to bring his hands near his mouth to eat. He had to pour the water into his bowl and lap at it like an animal, however, an oversight that he was sure was not an accident.
The Lycan placed the bowl of food and the water bottle within his reach and backed away, still staring at him. His body posture radiated extreme discomfort, and Tarr was curious about him. He seemed almost shy, and Tarr found it rather endearing. Shyness didn’t exist with his people, and he didn’t totally understand it.
“Cat got your tongue?” he said, and then smiled rakishly. “Or is that just wishful thinking on my part?”
“I-I, uh, brought your supper. ”
“Yes, I see that,” Tarr said with an amused glance. He looked the young Lycan up and down again. Really quite good-looking. He actually got a little twinge just looking at him, and his dick swelled a bit. Almost like—but no, that wasn’t possible. Tarr remembered his brother’s almost instant reaction to the nobyohe’d brought him, this man’s cousin he supposed. Tarr had taken to the Lycan immediately, like he’d been his true mate, but that was just a fairy tale, surely. There was no such thing as a true mate, one person who could fulfill you like no other. He’d heard of other species, including these Lycans, who felt they had a fated mate, but he’d always considered that to be just mindless drivel. One good-looking, warm body was just like any other, surely.
“Okay, so…if you need anything else, just um…I-I’ll be in the next room, so you know…I can hear you if you call. ”
“I don’t remember you from before,” Tarr said, ignoring the Lycan’s stammering. “You weren’t with the ones who kidnapped me, were you?Who are you?”
The young man opened and closed his mouth, then closed his eyes and seemed to be trying to steady himself. Something was wrong, but Tarr couldn’t figure out what it was. He tried again.
“I said, who are you?”
“I’m LarssonBalenescu,” he said, straightening his shoulders and trying to glare down at Tarr, though it wasn’t a hundred percent successful. “And to answer your questions, no, you haven’t seen me before. I only arrived back on Lycanus 3 this morning. And youweren’t kidnapped. You were taken into lawful custody. You have a bounty on your head. ”
Tarr snorted. “Lawful custody? According to whose laws?The Alliance?” His tone turned scornful. “Tygeria doesn’t recognize that entity as having any authority at all and certainly none over Tygerian nationals. Fuck the Alliance. ”
The young man—Larssonhe’d said—drew himself up and glared at him again. “Tygeria is a lawless planet—a cesspool of thugs and thieves. One day they’ll be brought to heel by the Alliance, and made to follow intergalactic law or face the consequences. ”
Tarr made another rude noise. “One day, huh?And just who is this that’s going to ‘bring us to heel’? The Alliance? Ha!They’ve been trying for over a hundred cycles, and they’re no further along than the first day. ” Tarr picked up the bowl of food, along with the ceramic spoon, and took it awkwardly up to his mouth. He took a bite, finding it to be some kind of stew with a flavor he didn’t recognize. He made a face, sat the bowl down beside him, and glanced back up at the boy.
“And for the record, I was kidnapped, no matter how you Balenescus try to spin it. ”
Larsson growled menacingly deep in his throat and took a step closer to him, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. “You dare say that to me? You took my cousin, Kyle, against his will, and gave him to your piece of shit brother like he was an animal!He’s been raped and abused, and we’ll have our revenge! You can count on it. ”
Though his words made Tarr furious, he refused to let him see how much they affected him. He lifted one shoulder negligently. “Your relative was in my bar to relieve me of my own freedom. He got what he deserved. He wasn’t touched by me or my men. As for my brother…” He fixed a savage glare on Larsson. “There was no rape of any kind. My brother took your relative as his nobyo—a great honor for the man, I might add. He hasn’t been abused in any way. If you knew anything about our culture, you’d know that. ”
Larsson took a few steps toward him, growing careless in his rage. “You’re a liar! We have a vidof him being beaten!”
Tarr looked startled and then lowered his brow. “Beaten? Then it’s a fake! My brother is too fond of his little nobyo. He would never hurt him or have any reason to abuse him. Everyone knows what sluts the Lycans are. ”
With a loud growl, Larsson rushed him, falling on top of him and putting his hands around Tarr’s throat. Tarr’s hands were cuffed, so he could only push them up to break his hold, but before he could something very strange happened.
The second Larsson touched him, he let out a huge gasp and released all the tension from his hands. They moved up from his throat to cup Tarr’s face, and Larsson lowered his mouth to take Tarr’s in a fierce, possessive kiss that made Tarr’s hands drop uselessly back to his lap. Larsson thrust his tongue inside Tarr’s mouth and ravaged it with his own before pulling back and looking down at Tarr in a daze. By this time, he was practically straddling Tarr, sitting on his lap. The Lycan’s eyes were unfocused and the pupils were huge. Before Tarr could move or say a word, Larsson’s eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed on top of Tarr, burying his face in Tarr’s neck.
Feeling alarmed, Tarr quickly pushed him away to check the pulse in his throat. He seemed to have a strong one, if the solid thumping was any indication. Tarr knew nothing about Lycan physiology, but he was hoping most humanoids were somewhat similar. He was at a loss as to what to do. He thought momentarily of trying to snag the keys, but even if he were able to get to them, he’d still have the chain around his waist to contend with, and the lock was currently digging into his back. Even if he found the right key, he wouldn’t be able to contort his body enough to unlock the chain.
Larsson gave a little sigh just then that Tarr found adorable, and he gazed down at him. This close, the young man’s long eyelashes smudged across his cheeks like little fans and his lips puffed out a bit with each breath. Unable to stop himself, Tarr bent to taste those lips. Larsson tasted a little like mints and tea, and his lips were warm and soft and lush. Tarr suddenly was overwhelmed by his nearness and bent to brush his lips over Larsson’s again and again.
Larsson started to stir and Tarr pulled quickly away, leaning his head back and looking down in amusement at Larsson when his eyes flew open. He straightened up immediately, pulling down his shirt and looking at Tarr in outrage.
“What-what did you do?” he shouted, scrambling back to his feet.
Tarr smiled lazily. “Ididn’t do anything. You, on the other hand, suddenly grabbed me, kissed me on the lips and then fainted dead away. ”
Larsson’s hair was a burnished brown, but his skin was as pale and translucent as a redhead’s, showing every emotion clearly. Color sprang to his cheeks and his eyebrows shot up. “I did not faint!”
Taz cocked his head. “Pretty sure you did. ”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“It’s all right, baby. It’s not the first time I’ve had such a strong effect on a man—first time anyone ever fainted though. I’m kind of flattered. ”
“I didn’t faint, I tell you! II just…I mean I…oh gods!” He turned on his heel and stormed from the cell, slamming the door behind him, casting back a glare that was so icy it should have frosted up the entire cell. Larsson pointed a finger back in through the bars at him. “I’m warning you. Try something like that again, and you’ll be shipped back to Tygeria in little pieces!”