Creation's Control

Chapter Five

Ryen woke the next day to see Drekk at the foot of the bed, wide awake and smiling.

“What? You been staring at me all night?”

“In your dreams.” Drekk chuckled. “You look better.” Ryen felt better, more centred, his limbs relaxed. Damned if he’d admit it to Drekk. He stretched, satisfied when Drekk’s gaze darkened and lingered on his chest before sweeping down his front.

“I’ll meet you at the table in the front.” Drekk pivoted on one foot and left.

Maybe he’s not as calm as he’d like me to believe he is. Stars knew Ryen wasn’t. As he took care of his morning needs in the lav and dressed in clean clothes—clothes Drekk had apparently stolen out of his dwelling—Ryen pondered his new state of mind. He wouldn’t say he was miraculously healed of any and all anger, but his pressing desire to lash out wasn’t there.

Fastening his trousers, Ryen grazed his cock, not surprised when it failed to respond.

He’d been conditioned never to experience pleasure at his own hands. Creations were meant to focus on what their Handlers wanted. Sex had its place, a reward for a job well done, to soothe the savage beast. Masturbation took a warrior’s mind off his mission. If he could please himself, why work so hard to earn that sexual favour?

Drekk had taken himself in hand yesterday, Ryen remembered with startling clarity.

Like a switch, his libido turned on. His cock rose at the recollection of Drekk coming over his hand, his belly...

Damn it. Ryen willed his body under control. He even called on that crappy meditation to calm himself, and was surprised when it worked.

Stepping outside the bedroom, he paused to study Drekk grabbing their food from the processor. Drekk wore snug rak-hide trousers and a sleeveless grey shirt. He remained barefoot. More training indoors. Ryen tugged at the cuffs Drekk hadn’t activated since he’d begun the meditation training. So long as they kept this fragile peace, he might not need to.

Though Ryen still intended on some payback for this entire situation, he grudgingly admitted Drekk meant him no harm.

Truth be told, Drekk could have done anything to him. The male had openly admitted to wanting Ryen. He possessed enough strength to make life difficult, even without the cuffs.

Yet he’d helped Ryen soothe that ball of rage inside him, had touched him with reverence and gave up his bed.

Drekk glanced up and smiled. The warmth in his gaze tore down another of Ryen’s defences. How the hell could he beat Drekk senseless when the male looked at him like a...well, like a friend?

“Took you long enough,” Drekk teased. “There’s only so much water on the planet, you know.”

“Shut up.” Ryen surprised himself by enjoying the sense of camaraderie. “Where’d you sleep last night?”

“On that again.” Drekk pointed to a lump in the corner. “It really does make into a comfortable bed. Just the press of a simple button and instant comfort is mine.”

“Pneumatic pump?”

“No, Eyran technology.” Drekk’s smile dimmed. “The assholes made more than just us. They actually have a knack for nanite technology. I appropriated it years ago. Along with the design to build more.”

Ryen approved. Anything that fucked with the scientists on Eyra was okay with him.

“So what’s on board for today? You letting me go yet?”

“Are you kidding? You have yet to master your meditation. You can barely tolerate anyone touching you, and you haven’t hit the wall yet.”

“Hit the wall?”

“You haven’t come across a situation that tests your control.” Ryen snorted. “You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

“Very funny. I’m talking about a dangerous scenario. Remember, we’re going to be working for Rafe. Cheltam, his alter-ego, has some major bad-asses he deals with on a daily basis. I—hopefully we—are his defence and muscle to make things right. Ryen, this job can give you what you’ve been missing for so long. A righteous purpose. We help those in need.”

“Yeah, well, I need less lectures and more food.”

“No kidding. You eat twice as much as I do, and Rafe complains about my intake.”

“Probably because you eat gourmet. What is all this shit?”

Rare fruits and vegetables, the nutritious crap reminded him of the stuff he’d once been forced to eat in the labs. The sumptuous meat Drekk served was his only saving grace.

“You didn’t complain about the coya fruit last night.” Drekk’s bland tone contrasted with the wicked look in his eyes.

“Asshole,” Ryen muttered as he attacked the plate Drekk set before him. Much as Drekk annoyed him, the jerk also amused him.

“Damn, is that a smile I see?” Drekk stared in mock astonishment.

“Cut it out.” Ryen’s grin grew wider.

“I think I may pass out from the shock.”

“Good. Then I’ll get my hands on that controller and fly out of here.”

“Have fun searching for it.”Drekk rubbed his chest. “I hid it on my body today.” Ryen wanted to look for it, right now. Shaking free of such thoughts, he tried to focus on his food. But as he ate, he couldn’t stop glancing at Drekk’s sculpted chest through the v-neck of the vest he wore. Nor could he avoid the large arms Drekk flashed as he gesticulated while he ate. The taciturn man he’d once thought Drekk to be never seemed to shut up.

Oddly, Synster’s warnings of perversions and unnatural longings seemed less significant each day Ryen spent in Drekk’s company. What could it hurt to indulge in some human curiosity? Drekk was a hardy male. Ryen wouldn’t break him, as Drekk had said.

Which made Ryen wonder what it would be like to lose control during sex, to let it all out...

“Okay. Today we work on your control.” Drekk stood and put his dishes into the wash receptacle. “If you finish that mound on your plate, we’ll get started.” Ryen finished his meal in record time, eager to see what Drekk had in mind— to hasten his exit out of this place, he reminded himself. “We going to lose the cuffs today?”

“You’re kidding, right? You’re going to need them later.” Ryen immediately went on alert. “Why?”

“See? That’s why. I’m just screwing with you, and you’re ready to take my head off. I’m trying to teach you a new way to live, Ryen. I can’t be on my guard one hundred percent. Once you ‘hit the wall’, like I know you will, we’ll both be glad for the cuffs.”

“You keep threatening it. Just do it. Push me as hard as you can. Watch me handle it.” Ryen could taste his excitement. “I’ve been good the past three days, haven’t I?” Drekk shook his head. “You’re not ready yet. Get over here and assume Petal One hand position.” When Ryen hesitated, Drekk turned mean. “Now. ”

The need to obey hit him hard. Off balance, Ryen grumbled as he sat down and crossed his legs, but he had no thought to refuse. He tuned out of his surroundings and followed Drekk’s instruction. Soon basking in the harmony within himself, Ryen came to a sudden realisation, one that both shocked and unnerved him. He wanted to submit to Drekk, to a male who had saved his life, but who hadn’t bested him in combat. Emotionally stable and even-tempered, superior when it came to control, Drekk had yet to prove himself in an all-out fight.

Why do I want to submit now that I’m free? How fucked up am I? Uncomfortable with the truth, Ryen pulled himself from his meditative state.

Drekk sat across from him, his legs crossed and his arms assuming Petal One position above his head, his hands entwined. Drekk’s sluggish pulse and stillness told Ryen he’d entered a similar state of calm.

The strong column of Drekk’s throat rippled when he swallowed. The scent of honeyed citrus lingered on his skin, from the blan juice he’d consumed. Muscles tanned by the harsh sun strained as he held his pose, and Ryen wanted to feel that skin under his palms. To cause the male’s rosy nipples to pebble, to feel the delineated form of Drekk’s abdomen as Ryen worked his way lower.

The temptation Drekk had planted, to see if sex with a male would equal what he imagined, taunted Ryen to take what he wanted. The advantage was his for the moment.

With Drekk inwardly focused, Ryen could take him down. Not to harm him, but to test his friend’s— the man’s—reflexes. Now, when Drekk was vulnerable, Ryen could take what he needed, a warrior’s right. It wouldn’t be rape, he knew. Drekk had openly admitted he wanted Ryen. What better way, then, to see if Ryen returned the attraction wholeheartedly?

But under Ryen’s direction, not Drekk’s.

Ryen pounced.

He pinned Drekk underneath him in two seconds, one hand over the male’s entwined hands, holding him to the ground, the other around Drekk’s neck.

“One word from you and I’ll disable your tongue.” The angle of his fingers under Drekk’s jaw meant business. “Nod if you understand.” Drekk glared and nodded.

“Good.” Ryen couldn’t help his arousal, nor could he miss the hardening bulge in Drekk’s trousers. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he mimicked. “I just need to confirm something.”

Drekk remained still, curiosity warring with the anger in his gaze. Ryen didn’t care.

He’d danced to Drekk’s tune, now it was his turn.

Ryen studied Drekk’s face, lingering on his lips. Wanting more, he slowly lowered his mouth. Drekk started to speak and Ryen tightened his hand.

“I know you feel my hand around your neck. I’m not playing, Drekk. Shut up and let me...do this. I need to know.”

With a sigh, Drekk surrendered. The power crushing through Ryen swamped him.

Heady that he’d regained control, he kissed Drekk full on the mouth. Unlike a female’s soft lips, Drekk’s felt firmer. Ryen plundered his mouth with a seeking tongue, tasting the sexual essence of Drekk as his excitement grew.

He ground into Drekk’s belly, rubbing his cock along Drekk’s while he deepened the kiss. Groaning, he loosened his hold on Drekk’s throat and devoured the male. He tasted so damned good, so familiar yet foreign at the same time. Lust built into an all-consuming blaze as Ryen took and took. Drekk moaned under his assault, and it was all Ryen could do to give him some air.

He removed his hands from Drekk’s throat and wrists, caught in his own game.

Leaning up on one elbow, he ripped Drekk’s shirt down the middle and pinched his nipples.

Harder, with a roughness that made him want to burst.

“Fuck,” Ryen growled and latched onto Drekk’s nipple. So unlike the flesh he normally played with, the feel of solid muscle under the taut nipple aroused Ryen with its difference. No fleshy mound, but a steely plane of strength under such tender skin.

Drekk arched into his mouth and thrust against him, pushing Ryen to take more. In a frenzy, he shoved his hand down Drekk’s trousers and gripped his hot cock. Drekk moaned his name.

“Oh yeah. Better.” Ryen returned his attention to Drekk’s chest. He bit hard.

Drekk sucked in a breath and moisture beaded at the tip of his shaft. “Stop,” Drekk breathed when Ryen let go of his shaft to massage his balls.

The feel of another man’s shaft hard and slick for him sent Ryen over the edge. Like an animal, he tore at Drekk’s clothes. He nipped and sucked, laving his way down Drekk’s body, using any and all excuse to rub against his grey-eyed seducer.

“More,” Ryen rasped until he captured Drekk’s cock in his mouth. So fucking good... He let go of the pheromones bursting at the seams.

“Dammit, Ryen.” Drekk ground into his face, holding him close by the roots of his hair.

Ryen sucked hard, wanting more of the salty-sweet cum beading at Drekk’s slit. He wanted to drink it down, to swallow every fucking drop.

Drekk yanked on his hair. “Let go, dammit.”

Forced to release Drekk’s cock, Ryen stared up at Drekk in a daze. “What—” In a heartbeat, Drekk shoved him flat on his back and held him down with ease.

Amazed at Drekk’s speed, agility and a power he’d never accredited the male, Ryen could only stare up at him. Sure Drekk was strong, but to manage him with such ease...

“Cuffs, spread wide.”

Ryen’s arms and legs spread open, turning him into a human X. “Dammit, let me go. Let me touch you, taste you.” He licked his lips, drugged on Drekk’s taste as he watched that slit fill with milky seed. “Stars, Drekk, let me suck you.”

“No.” Drekk’s voice was hoarse when he answered. “Remember who’s really in charge, Ryen. You don’t please me unless I let you.” Ryen bucked, enraged in an instant. Denied his desire, frustrated to be so close and rejected yet again, he went crazy.

Through it all, Drekk sat over him and waited until Ryen exhausted himself.

“Done?”

Ryen didn’t know why, but this torture seemed worse than anything he’d been through. Though Drekk hadn’t physically harmed him, not allowing him the ecstasy he craved, the intimacy he knowingly sought, wounded him.

On the verge of tears and fucking pissed about it, Ryen readied himself to break every bone in his body to escape when Drekk leaned down and kissed him.

So softly, so gently. The touch undid him.

Sighing into Drekk’s mouth, Ryen’s tension faded. He demanded more, then quieted when he realised Drekk had indeed resumed control.

“Please,” he whispered, wanting the untouchable offering Drekk held so near.

“Please what?”

Confused, Ryen didn’t know what to say. Drekk stared down at him with compassion, and the hurt within faded.

“Wait here.”

Like he was going to get up and leave? Ryen tugged at his wrists and ankles, his cock tormenting him with every brush against his rough trousers.

Drekk returned with another band, this one wider and studded with grey stones the colour of Drekk’s eyes. Grey stones? Not a band, then. “A collar.” He cringed when Drekk put it on him. But as the fastening cinched closed, a surge of meekness took him by surprise.

“Please what?” Drekk asked again and straddled Ryen’s belly, resting on his knees.

His glorious cock bobbed, flushed and ready, the head wet with arousal.

Drekk had earlier told Ryen when submitting to call him ‘Sir’—a reality Ryen had discarded until this very moment.

“Please, Sir,” Ryen choked on the word, though Drekk’s delight soon soothed the sting.

“Very good.” Drekk ran a finger over the synthetic collar that was surprising smooth against Ryen’s flesh. “You acknowledge my control. Your subservience to someone else. To your master.”

“Yes,” Ryen whispered, confused as to why this felt so right, when he should have felt degraded.

“Tell me what Synster did to you.”

Shocked at the question, Ryen didn’t answer, and Drekk repeated himself. The sound of that demon’s name on Drekk’s tongue, here now, was a perversion.

“No.”

“Yes. Let that festering sore heal. Let the ugliness out.” Drekk removed Ryen’s clothing, petting him with callused hands where he met bare flesh. The touch offered comfort while the words threatened to undo this careful peace. “Share with me, Ryen. Tell your master what he wants to hear.”

Ryen had trouble breathing, anxiety riding him hard. The sudden urge to please almost hurt, worse than the memories of what he’d been through.

“Easy. I’m here.” Drekk put the clothing aside and knelt between Ryen’s spread legs, understanding in his eyes. “Tell me.”

Ryen saw a face that knew what his life had been like. Compassion and acceptance lent him the strength to share what had only been his private suffering.

“Synster hated me. For no reason I could ever understand, he pushed me harder than the others. Even as an adolescent, I was beaten for minor infractions. I never did anything right enough for him. He taught me to hate before I learned how to love my sisters.” Ryen would never forgive him for that. For all the negative bullshit he struggled with on a daily basis. “When I outgrew him, he set the AI’s on me.” Constant battles with artificial intelligence machines that nearly bled him out. Several near death experiences. And one instance where Ryen did in fact die, where he saw countless star systems and the vague impression of a soothing presence just out of reach.

“Maybe he envied your strength,” Drekk offered in the sudden quiet. “As I recall, my own Handlers were weak. The scientists of Eyra are a puny lot.”

“Yeah, they are.” Were. Ryen eased at the reminder that Synster was no more. His sister’s new mate had seen to that. “The bastard got off on watching the AI’s beat me bloody. Enduring the beatings stirred my hungers. For what I was never really sure, but Synster filled that void with sex. The pervert would order me to fuck while the nanites fixed me. Painful pleasure. And each time the desire grew, until one woman wouldn’t satisfy. I needed two, then three. Many at the same damned time.”

“When you were alone? What did you feel then? The same need for many to sate you?”

“All I wanted was space alone, time to ‘be’ without an audience. But I was never alone.” Ryen couldn’t look away when Drekk began stroking himself. Talk of Synster didn’t matter as much as watching Drekk.

“Never.” Ryen swallowed. “Never given any privacy from my Handler or the guards. They would make me want, so fucking bad. They took women in front of me, aroused me, then left me there. I wasn’t allowed the same pleasure. I’m still fuzzy on the details, but I found the notion of masturbating distasteful. My frustration turned to rage, and it built until I could think of nothing but killing. Synster used that energy to experiment. I’d meet greater and greater tasks, almost impossible tests that I didn’t fail. Yet instead of taking pride in his successes, Synster tried harder to defeat me. The bastard would assign me more killing until I came to crave it. I couldn’t stop myself. The destruction...”

Ryen didn’t want to think about it anymore. He wanted to be here, in the now. The memories were dragging him under. Fury rose once more, tempered by the mesmerising stroke of Drekk’s hand. Pleasure and pain, he reminded himself.

“Cuff, release right wrist.” Drekk ordered in a quiet voice. “Synster’s gone now. Your Creator is dead as well. You’re free to take pleasure. So pleasure yourself.”

“I can’t.” An automatic reply that alarmed him. Another damned instance of his conditioning. So much for being free.

As much as he wanted to vent his frustration, he couldn’t tear his gaze from Drekk’s arousal. Desire began to replace his anger as he listened to the rasping breaths of his sexy ‘master’.

“You can. When you watched those women, when you felt arousal, you could do nothing about it. But now, you can.” Drekk’s hand moved faster. “Touch yourself, Ryen. Do what I do.” He leaned forward and took Ryen’s free hand. Placing it over Ryen’s groin, he said thickly, “Take that fat cock in your hand and grip it hard. Up and down, like this.” Enthralled, Ryen mirrored Drekk’s actions. As if he were the one holding Drekk. The scent of sex and desire flooded the room, eroding any need to distance himself from such physical joy. Ryen imagined himself jerking Drekk off, and he groaned with desire.

“That’s it. Pretend it’s mine. Pretend that thick cock in your hands is my shaft. I’m going to come all over your sweet skin. Oh yeah. That’s it. Faster. Good, so good,” he panted as he shot all over Ryen’s belly.

The flash of warm wetness on his skin, coupled with Drekk’s ecstatic expression, sent Ryen into orgasmic bliss. The smell of spent passion, of the beautiful spice Drekk released to hold them close, took his inhibitions away.

Ryen moaned as he watched his cum spatter, mixing with Drekk’s.

“All of it, every last drop.” Drekk panted as he wrung himself, shaking the last of his seed onto Ryen. He wiped their mingled cum over Ryen’s belly, chest and nipples, arousing him anew. “You did well. Very good for your first lesson in obedience.” The satisfaction and dominance in Drekk’s posture as he knelt over him forced Ryen to look away. It was a minute before he realised how deeply he’d succumbed, and Ryen struggled to accept what he’d done. No. He’s not my master.

As if sensing Ryen’s turmoil, Drekk fused their mouths, drugging Ryen with a bruising kiss that sparked Ryen’s erection with new life. So firm, so demanding. Ryen flexed his ass, instinctively wanting to hurt there. Fucked hard, taken.

“Cuffs, release,” Drekk ordered. He quickly clamped his hands over Ryen’s wrists with enough might to hold Ryen down indefinitely. Such raw control seduced Ryen past any hint of disobedience. “Say my name.”

“Drekk.” Ryen breathed hard, winded, as if he’d just run a race. Drekk kissed him again, his dick sliding through the mess on Ryen’s belly. Drekk held Ryen’s wrists with one hand and reached with his other between Ryen’s legs. Warmth engulfed Ryen’s cock as Drekk squeezed him tight.

“Say my name.” Drekk started to jerk him off, harder and harder as he waited.

“Drekk.”

“No. Stop dicking around and say it.”

“I don’t know—”

“You damn well do.” The meanness was back. “Fucking say it.” Drekk’s grip was so tight it hurt. Stars, it hurt so good...

“Sir,” Ryen rasped as he prepared to come.

Drekk let go and suddenly replaced his hand with his mouth.

“Yes, that’s so good.” Ryen couldn’t think as he tangled his hands in Drekk’s hair, urging him for more.

Drekk rubbed his hand over Ryen’s belly and sucked harder. Then, to Ryen’s shock, Drekk pushed a finger in his ass.

“Oh, oh yeah.”

Drekk shoved that finger past Ryen’s sphincter, a painful intrusion that, coupled with his heavenly mouth, forced Ryen into an orgasmic shock. He came hard, jetting into Drekk’s talented mouth. The rapture was so extreme it forced Ryen to shut down, mentally and physically, while he tried to accept so much pleasure. And he faded with Drekk’s scent over him like a blanket of comfort.