A door opened behind him and he never even turned to see who’d come in, figuring it was the asshole guards, come to hit him again or pour more water down his throat. He resolved to fight them this time, now that he could think a little more clearly. He wouldn’t allow them to put him back in that cage—they’d have to kill him first.
When the rapid footsteps got right behind him, he turned and scooted backward, thinking he could make his stand better with his back to the wall. It was then the scent that had been assailing his nostrils since the door opened finally registered on him, and he went completely still, his mouth falling open a little.
It was his mate, crouching down beside him, a look of concern on his beautiful features. It wasn’t Tarr. That was definite now, and Kyle couldn’t figure out how he’d ever mistaken the two. There was a strong resemblance, to be sure, but the exotic creature beside him was much more beautiful. He was huge, the sleeveless vest-like garment covering his chest doing nothing to hide his muscular chest and arms. His skin was exquisitely marked with faint, thin tiger stripes running just under the golden skin, and his hair was a golden-red color, as were his eyebrows and eyelashes. His eyes were as golden as his hair, and he was simply the most delicious thing Kyle had ever seen.
He said something rapidly in his language, Tygerian, of course, and then seemed to concentrate hard on the next words, which he spoke in Earthonian, a mixture of several of Earth’s primary languages and the official language of the Alliance.
“Don’t be frightened, nobyo. You’re safe now. I had to chain you to keep you from trying to escape and hurting yourself. Do you understand me? You do speak Earthonian, don’t you?”
Kyle nodded. Then, because his beautiful mate seemed to be waiting for him to say more, he cleared his throat and tried again. “Yes, I speak Earthonian. I understand what you’re saying. ” His voice sounded rusty and hoarse to his ears, but a lovely smile lit up his mate’s face.
“Good. You’ve been asleep so long I was beginning to be afraid my brother damaged your brain with his drugs. ” He caressed Kyle’s face with a warm hand and Kyle couldn’t stop himself from leaning into the soft touch.
“What’s your name, sweet one?”
“Uh…” Gods, what was the matter with him? He couldn’t even think of his own name. What kind of drugs had they given him? Then suddenly, the words popped up in his mind and he sighed with relief. “It’s K-Kyle. Kyle Balanescu. ”
He nodded. “I’ll put that on your papers, but of course, I’ll call you Nobyo, and you must always answer to that. Understand?”
His mate’s nearness was intoxicating to Kyle, and he pretty much felt like agreeing to anything he said. Not that he clearly understood more than half of it. Everything was so fuzzy and muddled up in his head. What did he mean by his papers? He nodded anyway.
“Use words, sweet one. My name is Taz, but you should address me as Taz-lan. It’s a sign of your respect for me. ”
Kyle nodded again, and his mate gripped his chin firmly, pulling Kyle’s face up to his. “Speak, Nobyo. Say, yes, I understand, Taz-lan. ”
“Yes, I understand. Taz-lan. ” He didn’t, of course, but it seemed to please his mate, so he repeated the words.
Kyle was rewarded with a beautiful smile and a much-too-quick kiss on his lips. Kyle lifted his face toward him, chasing more, but his mate straightened up. “Thank you, Nobyo. Now let’s get you out of this shackle and get you cleaned up. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up before I bathed you. ”
Bathed him? Well, the gods knew he needed it—he was filthy from rolling around in those cages, and he could even smell himself. But he wasn’t sure about being bathed, even by his mate. Still, his mate certainly had been kind and even loving toward him so far, and it wasn’t like he didn’t want his mate’s hands on him—or all over him, for that matter. Maybe it would be better not to fight him on the small issues, in case something much more burdensome came up later.
He didn’t struggle at all when Taz took off his shackle, and helped him stand up. The drugs still in his system made him feel terribly weak, so he had to lean heavily on Taz to get to the bathing chamber.
Taz opened the door to a small room that contained a large pool, almost filling the space. Gentle steam was rising from it, and Taz stepped up beside it and began pulling off his clothes.
Though still feeling dizzy and groggy, Kyle perked up when he saw that golden flesh being revealed to him. Taz’s body was magnificent, long and lean with well-defined muscles everywhere. The tiger stripes were all over his body, even his big cock, which was lined with the stripes right up to the mushroom-shaped head, which, to Kyle’s surprise, was totally black in color. It was striking and outlandish and totally enticing.
Kyle took a half-step towards Taz’s cockwith his hand outstretched. Before he could stop himself he tripped over absolutely nothing at all. His mate turned and caught him in his arms, drawing Kyle’s body up to his. The feeling of being in his mate’s arms for the first time was so blissful, he closed his eyes and sighed. His mate chuckled in his ear. “Be careful, Nobyo. The drugs are very strong. You’ll have to let me help you for a while. ”
“A while? No, I don’t want these drugs. They make me feel so…”
“I know, but they’re necessary to keep you from shifting until we fully bond. After we bond, you won’t want to leave me, and I can stop giving the drugs to you. ”
Kyle looked up at him and shook his head. “No, I won’t leave you—I won’t ever leave you. ” He tried to look him in the eye. His mate simply didn’t understand. “You’re my mate. I can’t leave. ”
“That’s right, darling. But we say nobyo. It’s all right. You’ll get used to it all soon. ”
He began pulling Kyle gently toward the pool, and Kyle went willingly enough until he put the first foot in the water. It was hot and tingly, and he quickly jerked his foot away.
“It’s a little warm, but it will help to soothe the bruises you have on your body. I had the servants put in some medicine to help them heal more quickly. Come, Nobyo. ” He pulled at Kyle’s hand and Kyle followed him down the steps into the water, wincing at the temperature.
After a few seconds, though, his body adjusted and the heat of the water seemed to seep into his bones. Taz pulled him close and they simply stood together in the water for a few moments, wrapped in each other’s arms. Kyle felt Taz’s hard cock pressed against his stomach, and he rubbed against it with his own, causing Taz to groan and catch his breath sharply. He lowered his mouth to Kyle’s ear and whispered to him.
“I knew you would be something special the first moment I saw you, but this…” He kissed Kyle voraciously, leaning him backward and moving his hands down to cup his ass. He ground against Kyle, and Kyle felt his wolf trying to emerge again, so he could properly claim his mate. Taz drove his tongue deeply into Kyle’s mouth, sweeping across the inside of it, tasting and claiming him. Kyle brought one hand down between them to clench Taz’s cock, pulling at it frantically, wanting to pleasure his mate. Taz groaned again and arched his back, driving his hips forward. A slight noise behind them made Taz break off with a muttered curse. He whirled to face the door, pushing Kyle protectively behind him.
A servant stood there, holding a tray in trembling hands, his head bowed. “I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to interrupt. You asked me to bring you these soaps. ”
Taz sighed and nodded. “Yes, of course. Put them down, please, by the side of the pool. ”