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Owned 6

Bound by Deception

Jack Corbet has been chosen, just not in the traditional way. When
the Eoeans demand another sacrifice, the human government

doesn't want to give up one of their upstanding citizens. Though
completely innocent, convicted felon Jack is pretty indifferent to
being chosen as the aliens' latest sacrifice. Arming himself with

the hypothesis that Eoeans can't be that bad, he steps willingly
into the unknown.

Kelr, an Eoean diplomat, doesn't really want a human. Being half
Renka, he is disturbed by the touch of others and doesn't want to

risk becoming enamored with one. What he doesn't count on is a
human determined to have him, or the unexpected pleasure Jack's

touch brings him.

However, criminals are considered inferior goods to the alien
government, and Jack might find himself in hot water well before

he and Kelr are comfortable in their newfound relationship.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary, Science Fiction
Length: 35,017 words

BOUND BY DECEPTION

Owned 6

Jana Downs

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

BOUND BY DECEPTION
Copyright © 2013 by Jana Downs
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-338-2

First E-book Publication: July 2013

Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
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PUBLISHER
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www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

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Regarding E-book Piracy

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BOUND BY DECEPTION

Owned 6

JANA DOWNS

Chapter One

Prisoner 1989 was not a happy inmate. He leaned against the bars

that looked into the internal courtyard of Utopia State Prison and
sighed. There was something going on. It wasn’t like the
commissioner and the day guard to stay after quitting time, and that
had come and gone over half an hour ago. They whispered amongst
themselves down below, sitting at the table that himself and some
others played poker on during rec hour. The massive binder sitting
between them was occasionally marked off with a highlighter and a
page was turned. Something big was going down.

“You better come away from the bars, Jack, before Captain

Asshat comes by,” his cellmate Danny Decatur murmured from
behind him. Captain Jeremiah Aswan, aka Captain Asshat, was one of
the night guards who had a pole up his ass and a mean disposition to
match. It didn’t matter how well behaved a prisoner was, if they
caught his notice, they were going to get punished for something.

Utopia—a piss poor name for a prison in Jack’s opinion—was one

of the only open-air prisons left. They’d built it in a rectangle shape
with one door in and one door out on the bottom floor. The cells were
barred but open to the courtyard, a green stretch of field that looked a
bit like a football field and a park had a baby. During rec hour, they

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were allowed to wander the grounds below, and if they killed one
another, oh well. They were all lifers here. The cells sealed
themselves at lights out, and in the winter they were kind enough to
pump heat in through the small vent above their bunk beds. If
someone had the top bunk or a very understanding roommate, they
could feel it. If it was late spring, like it was now, the bigger problem
was burning up during the hottest part of the day.

Jack watched as they turned another page and the commissioner

wrote something down. “Something is going on.”

“Going on or not, Jack, you better step on back,” Danny warned,

his eyes flicking from the bars to the walkway beyond. He and Danny
were polar opposites in a lot of ways. Jack was cream where Danny
was mocha. Jack was quiet where Danny was loud. However, they
were both here for the same reason, murder, and had been on the same
bus to this place. Danny wasn’t a bad guy though. He said that his
little brother was getting the crap kicked out of him from a couple
bullies in their neighborhood. He’d gotten his father’s pistol and had
meant to threaten them. The gun went off. He got shipped to Utopia.
Jack believed him. A lot of cats in here were “innocent” but had the
eyes of killers. Danny sure didn’t. Maybe he was sympathetic to his
situation because of how Jack had gotten here. His thoughts shied
away from that though. He didn’t want to revisit the night his life had
ended.

Thirty-five to life with Danny boy wasn’t a bad way to serve

though. He was considerate, and they’d become friends of a sort since
they’d been locked up in the prison time forgot.

“They never stay late.”
Danny sighed. “Who cares, man?”
“I do. Something is up.” The lottery was over, so it couldn’t be

that they were looking over the list of names. The annual lottery was
an event most people had cause to dread. The “winners” were chosen
to be shipped off to the Eoeans for God-knew-what reason and never
heard from again. Every town had a different selection process, but

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the end result was the same. If someone’s number came up, they were
history. He wouldn’t know why they’d be doing that anyway.
Prisoners were exempt by law because the Eoeans didn’t want them.
They were damaged goods or something.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. It wasn’t like he minded that

part about prison. Since being here he’d poured over more history
texts than was probably healthy. The portable e-readers they were
allowed could only download books in the prison library, and history
was a major section. He’d begun to form some very startling opinions
about the Eoeans and the reason they held the lottery to begin with.

“Jack Corbet?”
He jumped as Captain Asshat stepped out of the shadows on the

right side of the walkway outside his cell. He swallowed. “Yes, sir?”

“You and your roommate need to put these on,” Captain Asshat

sneered, holding out the cuffs through the bars. They were expected to
put them on anytime they were removed from their cells. Dread
started churning in his stomach. This was not good.

“Why?”
“Are you defying a direct order, Corbet?” He was itching to beat

down, and Jack could see it in the sadistic gleam in his eyes. Not all
their guards were bad people, far from it, in fact. Jack got along fine
with most of them. It was just this guy who had a power hard-on from
hell.

He took the cuffs. “No, sir,” he muttered. Danny hopped off his

bunk and came over to stand beside him, and they helped one another
get linked up together. The best they could do was shuffle together
like this.

The cell door slid to the right, and then they were being pushed

down the catwalk. Their fellow inmates stared out at them with a
combination of hunger and, especially the older inmates, indifference,
like all their emotional caring had been sapped out a long time ago by
this endless circle of imprisonment. Jack wondered briefly if this was
what he was going to look forward to when he got older. Would the

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bitterness eat him alive from being here for someone else? He
should’ve been recently graduated by now, starting a career,
beginning a family. He’d given up all of that though. He hoped Jarrett
was happy. That might make this worth it. Maybe.

The steps were harder to navigate with the chains, but somehow

they managed to make it down the six flights of stairs to the bottom
floor. The bottom ring was mostly offices, a shower room, and the
holding tanks for solitary inmates and new inmates. If they
misbehaved, they were denied shower privileges for months on end. It
might’ve violated cruel and unusual punishment laws, but people
didn’t give a shit really what happened to them. Utopia was the worst
of the worst, and the isolation of being located in a rural area miles
from the nearest town didn’t help. Since the conversations with the
outside were monitored, it didn’t behoove a prisoner to spout or
whine to anyone about rough treatment. Come to think of it, when was
the last time I had a shower? He strained to remember, couldn’t. It
had once bothered the hell out of him to go without. His skin would
crawl and his scalp would itch like a motherfucker, but that had been
the first year. Now he was used to it.

They walked the track around the courtyard, passing the solitary

cells and the washroom, before they got to the offices. A quick glance
toward the tables showed the men who had been highlighting
passages from the big binder had packed up their crap and were
dispersing. The warden went into one of the empty offices down at
the far end, and Jack would bet their souls that they were heading that
way as well. He didn’t bother asking for confirmation. He wouldn’t
get it.

The bulletproof glass wall displayed a desk, a couple chairs, and a

small minifridge. The warden sat in a high-backed swivel chair, the
binder open before him on the honey-colored oak desk. Captain
Asshat keyed in a security code and pressed his thumb to the flashing
blue thumb pad. “Go inside and sit down on the chairs. You make it
difficult for the warden and we’ll make it real difficult for the both of

Bound by Deception

you,” the guard said, motioning the two of them to go inside ahead of
him.

Jack took a deep breath and shuffled inside. He took the seat

closest to the wall and waited for Danny to do the same. The warden
wasn’t exactly a very intimidating man. He was short, pudgy, with
laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. His brown hair was thinning
considerably, and he just didn’t have an authoritarian attitude. God
only knew how he’d gotten the job to begin with.

“Gentlemen, I’m glad you could join me,” the warden began. His

voice was just shy of squeaky. It would’ve been hilarious if he hadn’t
been so intent on sounding like he was in charge. “Mr. Decatur, your
lawyer has won an appeal in the city, and you are being transferred
there promptly. You’ll leave straight from here.” Danny beamed, and
Jack couldn’t help the flicker of jealousy that erupted over it. If he
won the appeal, Danny could be out of here in a few weeks’ time.

“Thank you, sir,” Danny said, shock and happiness in his voice.

Jack scratched his thigh. If that was it, there was no point in him
being here.

“So why bring down the two of us?” Jack asked before he thought

better of it. He braced himself, waiting for Captain Asshat’s
correctional bat to come down on his head from behind. Nothing
happened, but he had no doubt that he would pay for it later. Shit.

The warden leaned back in his seat. “We’ll get to you in a second,

son. Captain Aswan, please escort Mr. Decatur to the processing
station and then out to his transport?”

He couldn’t see, but he assumed Captain Asshat nodded because

he reached between and unlocked the connecting chain. “Let’s go,
Decatur,” Asshat rumbled. Danny shot him a hopeful look and twisted
his hand a little in a semblance of good-bye. Jack nodded at him
before turning his attention back to the warden.

It took the two of them less than thirty seconds to disappear,

leaving them alone. Jack shifted. “Am I in trouble?” He had stolen an

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extra Jell-O from the food cart as it passed, but he was pretty sure that
wasn’t a hanging offense.

“Not at all,” the warden said, smiling softly at him. It was almost

a look of pity, and that made him even more uneasy. “In fact, you are
the best behaved prisoner we have currently.” He drummed his
fingers against his considerable belly, emphasizing that one of the
buttons on his blue button up was about to fly away in protest.

“Then what gives? My lawyers weren’t working on appeal last I

checked.” Possibly because he’d confessed and pleaded guilty.

The warden cleared his throat. “You’ve been chosen, Mr. Corbet.”
“Chosen?” Talking to this jackass was like pulling teeth. “Chosen

for what?”

He shifted. “The Eoeans demanded one additional sacrifice this

year.” Jack’s heart fell. What the hell did that mean? “Needless to
say, the government doesn’t want to cause unnecessary panic.
They’ve decided that we’re going to bend the rules since the Eoeans
did.”

Jack sighed. “Let me guess, I’ve been selected for the additional

sacrifice even though I’m technically off-limits.”

“Yes. You understand that you are the perfect substitute.” The

warden was almost apologetic as he spoke. “It would be a noble thing
to do. Your name would be cleared of all charges, and your family
would be compensated.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “In exchange for my silence? I imagine the

Eoeans would be pretty pissed if they knew they weren’t getting what
they asked for.” He had probably read every single piece of literature
on the subject and knew all the theories on Eoeans. He’d increased his
knowledge to a level greater than the average person by his own
estimation.

It was the warden’s turn to cringe. “That is correct. You would be

making a good sacrifice for a noble reason.”

“I would be saving someone’s ass by putting my own on the line

of fire.” He gripped the edge of the chair he sat in. He hated the

Bound by Deception

prison, hated the strict schedules and soulless inmates. He wanted to
see a wide open space again. He theorized that humans were used as
slaves by the Eoeans as they built their society on the coasts. It didn’t
make much sense to him why they demanded a set number of humans
a year for any other purpose. Killing them seemed stupid, what could
that do? If humans were a food source, they probably wouldn’t have
stopped at the few they took. So in his mind, the only explanation was
slavery. Oh what the hell. Slavery was better than the life he was
living here.

“I’ll do it,” he said before the warden could say anything else. He

wasn’t going to die here like the courts had wanted. “I’ll lie to the
Eoeans and say I was selected like an average Joe.”

Relief showed in every line of the warden’s face. “Oh good. I

thought I was going to have to do more convincing than that, but this
is excellent.” He beamed. “Well, excellent. You’ll be taken to the
showers directly and prepared for the sacrifice. There is a team
waiting there to wash you up and get you ready to go. They will come
at a designated spot in the desert at sunup.” The wide desert stretch
that lay between the prison and Las Vegas was a dusty, dry place.

“You sure they’ll come?”
“They said they’d send something to fetch you.”
Something? Jack mentally shrugged. “Okay.” At least he’d get

that shower he’d been dying for.

* * * *

“I do not need, nor do I want to have a human,” Kelr said,

crossing his arms over his considerable chest.

Aldn Grace, his commanding officer and friend of a sort, inclined

his head in acknowledgement, his green locks falling forward to
partially cover his horns. “I understand, Kelr. However, the
government has spoken. You were one who was supposed to receive a
human. The glitch is being remedied. If you really don’t want him

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that much, Kelr, sell him. I hear people pay exorbitant sums for
them.”

Kelr huffed in frustration. Aldn was interested in little else besides

sums, figures, and credits. It made his position of government
Treasurer a near-poetic one. “I do not wish to sell another being for
profit either.” His mother was a slave, sold to his father back in
Eoean, and she had been miserable. He would not risk another being’s
health and well-being for any sum.

“Oh come on, Kelr. This is an excellent opportunity to overturn

some of your brother’s debt.” Aldn dangled the carrot effectively, and
Kelr was tempted, though he banished the notion as soon as he had it.

“I am almost repaid that debt already. Only a few more months

and I will be free of it.” His older brother had lost everything
gambling away their fortune at the tables between the span of Eoean
and Earth ages ago. After his death, Kelr had assumed the
responsibility of unpaid bills. He was the only one in the family who
hadn’t disowned Claric. Of course, his father and mother had perished
shortly thereafter. But his father’s wealth went to an uncle Kelr had
never met because of the association. He didn’t regret it though.
Claric was the only one who had understood the vibrations and felt
the oddity of being both Eoean and Renka.

Aldn clapped him on the shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Then

rejoice. You’ve got a human on his way to you.” His dark eyes
sparkled with mischief. “Maybe you’ll understand the vibrations of
sex for the first time.”

Kelr sniffed. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Renkas were special beings

known throughout the worlds as “makers.” They used detectable and
undetectable vibrations to create a practical use for string theory. In
short, he was telekinetic and a tad psychic since he could move
objects and influence mood by tweaking vibrations in and around a
person on a quantum physical level. It made Renkas excellent
diplomats. Thus why the Eoean government had jumped at the chance

Bound by Deception

to hire a half-Eoean, half-Renka male like Kelr for the Pressian
Relations Department.

Though, Aldn teased him rather mercilessly about sex due to the

Renkas’ reputation of avoiding the act if they could help it. Their
numbers had suffered because of it, but it couldn’t be helped. The
vibrations that were created when two beings coupled was sometimes
utterly overwhelming in intensity. Kelr could testify to that. Even
masturbating had become an exercise in control. He’d passed out
more than once from attempting it the first time his mating urges had
hit from his Eoean side. Now he could self-pleasure fine. However, he
didn’t trust anyone to make him that utterly vulnerable. He had only
coupled twice in his life and had no plans to do so in the immediate
future. All Father above, what if the human wanted to couple with
him? He cringed at the thought.

“Did they at least tell you what time he was going to arrive?” Kelr

asked, ignoring the speculative look Aldn was giving him.

“Any time,” Aldn said, smoothing a hand down his uniform. They

were both still dressed for work though they were in an Eoean bar just
south of headquarters. Usually, they both worked from home, but
today had been an exception in that they had been required to attend a
physical meeting at the government building. The presentation had
been utterly boring, but at least they had an excuse to meet up. “They
even sent a doorway to him so that he’ll come right to your doorstep.”

He pushed back from the tall bar table they’d occupied for the

past half hour. “Then I should go home. I’m sure Landen will let him
in, but it isn’t a good first impression.” He took up his glass of Yako
liquor and tilted it back, swallowing it in three long gulps.

“Sounds like a date.”
That gave him pause. “You need to stop that line of thought right

there, Aldn Grace. I mean it.” His friend was well intentioned, but he
did not need any more complications in his life.

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Aldn grinned, completely unapologetic. “Enjoy your time with

him, Kelr. I want a full report tomorrow.” They usually talked via
their vid-screens midmorning.

“There will be nothing to tell,” Kelr rumbled. He entered his

credit number on the bar top for the drink and then turned from the
table. His eyes scanned the smoky interior of the bar, taking in the
steel tables and the servers who flitted between them, taking orders.
The drink makers were mixing drinks in the back window by what he
assumed was the kitchen as the crowd of uniformed servers tried to
get their orders for the tables.

“Farewell, Kelr,” Aldn called after him. “Enjoy your new

acquisition!”

Kelr huffed but didn’t rise to the bait. There was going to be

nothing to tell. He needed to establish that with the human though.
He’d read up on them when he’d gotten the letter from the lottery
dispensary telling him about the glitch to begin with. Aldn had
intercepted the second letter about the arrival, which was why he’d
been asking him about it. He hadn’t bothered to read it himself.
However, what he’d read on humans had concerned him. They were
valuable for soul resonance, which he wasn’t interested in, and for
sexual compatibility, which he was also not interested in. He rubbed
the back of his neck under his mass of hair, the unease already
knotting the muscles. Maybe he would go for a swim when he got
home. That might stop the migraine that was threatening to form
because of his tensing muscles.

His mother would’ve been able to relax him with a thought. As a

full-blooded Renka, she was much better at manipulating the world
than he was. She was a true maker, not really with eyes for this world.
He dabbled, but he didn’t have the control to make something out of
something, to change a cup into a knife or something like that with a
thought. He could do the basics.

That’s it. I’ll just make the human not want me if it becomes a

problem. That relaxed him somewhat. He specialized in manipulating

Bound by Deception

emotional and physical responses. Things might not be as
inconvenient as I thought. With a little more confidence in his step, he
headed toward the transport he’d rented for the day and programmed
it to take him home.

* * * *

“Holy fucking shit!” Jack yelped as a door literally appeared out

of thin air a few feet from where he stood. The guards who were in
the truck behind him drew their weapons and aimed them at the thing.
The desert sky was painted a startling pink and orange coloration
which tweaked the brown landscape around them into more of a rusty
red than it usually was. He’d been brought out here, shoeless with a
thin gauzy blue nightgown thing on. He had been freaked about
stepping on a scorpion or something while he waited. Moot point
now.

“Go on,” Captain Asshat commanded, pointing his pistol at the

blue door.

Jack threw him an are-you-fucking-serious look. It looked like

one of the doors from Monsters, Inc. or something. Pop culture
references aside. It was a bloody door.

Tentatively he took a step forward.
“Hurry up!” Captain Asshat yelled.
Jack flipped him off. The guy wasn’t going to be making him

miserable anymore. He took a deep breath. Jarrett was going to be
taken care of with the fifteen grand they paid out for Jack doing this.
He could put it in his daughter Molly’s college fund. The knowledge
settled him a bit. He put his hand on the knob and twisted. He
squeezed his eyes shut and took a step inside.

Nothing happened.
There was no sonic boom, no flash of light, nothing. He pried

open his eyes and found himself standing on someone’s doorstep. He
blinked. Huh. He looked left and found a long path with a single rail

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running down the center and further off some kind of structure. He
looked the other way and saw the same thing. If he didn’t know
better, he’d think he was in some kind of subdivision. Then he looked
up. Yeah. He was definitely getting townhouse vibes from this. The
tall geometric structure was white stone and reminded him a little of
the pictures he’d seen in the books of pre-plague Greece.

The white door before him wasn’t the same type of stone but

white metal instead. Do I knock? Introduce myself like, “Hi, how’s it
going? I’m your new pet human.”? He pondered just walking the
other way, down the street and out of sight. He had nowhere to go, no
clue where he was. It just didn’t seem smart. Hey at least this way I’ll
get to find out if some of my theory on Eoeans are correct. That was
something at least. He took a breath to calm his nerves and knocked.

The door swished open, and he was nearly blinded by the amount

of light in the interior, white walls, white floors, bright blue-and-red
carpet, and sunshine-yellow flower paints in four-foot increments
along the wall leading to another entryway. Yikes. It was like primary
colors threw up all over the pristine space. There was nothing
soothing about it.

“Hello?” he called, stepping inside. The door swished shut behind

him Great. I just broke into an alien’s house. “Hello?” The sound of
movement made his heart pound. Fuck. Here we go. He mentally
braced. A gray-hooded figure stepped out of the doorway at the end of
the hall and took three steps toward him.

He swallowed as he caught a hint of blue. “Hello?”
The being pushed his hood back, and the very blue guy stared at

him. It was just as how the reports had claimed Eoeans to look like,
pale-blue skin, otherwise human features, multicolored, multifaceted
hair in a range of cool tones, and horns. The alien opened his mouth,
and the sound of ringing bells filled the air.

“Um, was that language?” he asked, tilting his head to the side in

question.

The being frowned and tried again.

Bound by Deception

“I have no idea what you’re saying,” Jack said, shaking his head.

The alien wasn’t all that intimidating. He was cute even. If he thought
away the blue, the horns, and the weird-colored hair, he was Jack’s
type. Desire started to shimmer. Leaving prison to be a sacrifice might
not have been the worst idea he’d ever had.

Another voice joined the conversation. “Landen? Is that the

human?”

That’s English.
Blue man said something over his shoulder.
“Ah, I see. Of course he wouldn’t have been tutored.” The sound

of creaky boards tracked the footsteps as the other alien approached.

From a side door out stepped more of what he’d been bracing

himself for. Jack’s eyes widened as he looked up and up and up at the
huge monster now in the hallway. He wasn’t blue like the other
Eoean. Instead he was a beautiful burnished red that was the same
shade of the garnet he’d had on his class ring back in high school. He
wasn’t just red though. The darker blue scales that were on some
places on the blue guy were on the newcomer’s skin as well in
patches, but they looked a slick black from here. His hair was also
solid black and shiny, longer than the other guy’s as well, falling a
few inches past his shoulders. But it was braided, so there was no real
way of knowing how long it really was. He was also seven feet tall, so
inconspicuous he was not, and built like every wet dream he’d ever
dared to have. Muscular, broad, and thick, he made Jack’s mouth go
dry in ten seconds flat. Forget Mr. Blue, I want Mr. Yum.

“Hi,” Jack breathed. “How’s it going?”
The alien tilted his head to the side. “Is my English all right? It’s

been some time since I spoke it. I worked in American Human
Diplomacy before.”

“Your English is good.” Slightly accented and sexy. Yum. He

hadn’t been aware he had a big alien fetish until that moment.

The alien nodded, the human trait odd for some reason. “I am Kelr

Nimativ, second spawn of Xulian Nimativ.”

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“Jack Corbet,” Jack said. “Though I suppose you already knew

that. So, the deal is that you own me now, huh?”

“That is correct. In the morning I will allow the tutor to teach you

about your purpose here and the expectations I have of you.” Kelr
shifted from foot to foot. “You have a concubine’s shift on.”

He gave a mental fist pump. Hell yes! I’m a concubine to Tall,

Red, and Sexy. Best. Decision. Ever. Karma must’ve finally circled
back around and given him a reward for sacrificing his life for his
brother’s.

“I will provide you other clothing tomorrow as well. I will not

expect you to…” Kelr trailed over and waved to his lower body.

Jack’s heart fell. Aw, damn. He cleared his throat. “Okay.”
“Do you hunger?” Kelr asked, considering him.
Jack shrugged. “I could eat.” He was a little leery of alien food,

but he figured they’d dealt with enough humans not to accidently
poison one.

Kelr spoke in the weird bell-like language to the blue guy who

gave a courtly little bow before stepping around Kelr and dashing
down the hallway. Kelr smiled at him, revealing straight white teeth
and a wicked set of canines. “I do apologize about the room. It has
only been myself and my manservant for years. If it suits you, I could
look into a bigger space.”

Jack blinked. That was awfully considerate of a slave owner. This

was somehow not what he’d expected when he imagined Eoean
slavery. “Um, this is fine. It’s bigger than where I used to live by
several multiples.” All true. His cell could’ve fit in here eight times
over.

“I would have you know that I would return you to your home

immediately if the government would allow me to,” Kelr said, his
gorgeous black eyes boring into Jack. The guy just seemed really
intense, almost elemental. And wow am I being fanciful. He’d been in
prison too long if he was ready to hump the alien’s leg just because he

Bound by Deception

was a powerful, considerate being. “I do not usually support the
ownership of sentient life. So I apologize.”

Jack did the only thing he could think of, he shrugged. “Hey, man,

shit happens. This is the Ritz as far as I’m concerned.”

“You think this is a step up in circumstance?” Kelr asked, an

expression of confusion on his pretty features.

Jack shifted, uncomfortable. Shit. He needed to be careful. If he

wasn’t, he was going to admit to being in prison. Man his social skills
were lacking. “You have a lovely home.” His mom would’ve said
something like that.

Kelr smiled again. “Thank you. I appreciate that thought.” He

motioned to the door he’d just popped out of. “Why don’t we go into
the eating room and sit while we wait for our meal?”

“Sure thing, big guy.” He paused. “Do I need to address you a

certain way?” I’m really bad at this whole “slave” thing.

“Kelr is fine,” his alien master said. “I’m not an Arak or

particularly traditional, so I allow my underlings the privilege of my
name.”

“What’s an Arak?” Jack asked.
“It’s a title given to a dominant male who follows traditional law

and has a harem to increase his size and stature. I am not full-blooded
Eoean, so I needed no help growing.” No, you certainly didn’t. “And
as I said, I’m nontraditional.” He turned, presenting his back. The guy
was only wearing some kind of black robe thing that did little to hide
the muscles of his gorgeous back or the thick swell of his ass. Yummy.
“Follow me.”

Anywhere. Jack had a definite skip in his step as he followed after

the alien. Kelr might not demand sex, but Jack was certainly angling
for it.

Jana Downs

Chapter Two

Kelr sighed. The human was aroused by him. This alone wouldn’t

have been overly alarming because he’d been slightly aroused by
Landen’s proximity earlier as well. The human might’ve just been
easily aroused. However, the thought of him seducing Kelr that was
circling through his brain was troublesome. Kelr felt the vibrations of
intent and arousal merging, becoming thought and, in turn, a plan. A
muscle in his jaw ticked. He hadn’t expected to start tweaking his
emotions so soon.

It didn’t help that he found the human attractive. His own

hormones had started flowing the instant he’d stepped out into the
hallway and found Landen helplessly trying to greet Jack and get him
what he needed. He turned his head to the side, catching the human’s
sight out of the corner of his eyes. He was a foot and some inches
shorter than Kelr’s seven-foot frame with deep-brown eyes that were
almost the color of chocolates. His hair was a fascinating shade of
blond, almost like spun honey with shots of a darker blond
throughout. It reminded him almost exactly of the differing sand
colorations down at the beach. His build was also depressingly
fascinating, thin like a swimmer’s, but muscular as well. Images
flickered in his mind of the two of them in several very sexual
positions, and Kelr saw Jack react to his vibrations, the arousal
intensifying. Damn it. The human was sensitive to his wave lengths.

The eating room was probably his favorite room in the house. The

walls were colored a dark forest green and the tan-and-white cushions
that acted as seats around the natural wooden table gave him comfort.
It wasn’t traditional, but he did a lot of his busy work in here. “Pick

Bound by Deception

any seat you like,” he said, motioning to the four other cushions as he
took up his usual seat. Of course Jack Corbet would pick the seat
closest to him. It was just how Kelr’s luck worked. He gave a smile
and tried to ignore how his arousal vibrated along his skin, leaving
gooseflesh in its wake. There was no way he would be able to eat an
entire meal like this.

He hummed a soothing melody that was just out of range for

human hearing and watched as the strings of Jack’s arousal came
undone. Kelr replaced the need for sex with the need for food, sleep,
things he could manage. Jack yawned, and Kelr was pleased with the
delicateness of his work. “Tired?” Kelr asked, knowing the answer.

Jack nodded. “I think so. It’s been a long day. Do you have

somewhere I can crash after I eat?”

“I have prepared my second bedroom for you. It was my office, so

you will have to forgive some of the boxes that are in the storage
pantry.” His office had been more of a place to collect all the things in
his life that didn’t need immediate use.

Jack smiled, and Kelr felt his twin cocks perk at the sight. “Not a

problem, big guy. I’m small. I fit a lot of places.”

There seemed to be innuendo in those words, but without the

physical vibration of arousal, it had to be Kelr’s imagination. He
discreetly put his hand in his lap and pulled his secondary cock off his
primary one as it attempted to arouse him further. Stupid things. They
didn’t have the least care about propriety or the fact that even though
his Eoean side was more than willing to join with another, his Renka
side would experience high levels of stress because of it.

Landen chose that moment to come in with the tray of food that

Kelr had asked him to prepare earlier. The food wasn’t heavy. Jack
probably would’ve called them finger foods if Kelr’s memory served
him correctly. But they would do for a light repast before bed.

“Thanks for the meal,” Jack murmured, eyeing the dish like he

was a starving man who hadn’t seen a decent plate in a long time. It

Jana Downs

was odd. Even though he’d tweaked the human’s hunger, this felt
deeper than that.

Perhaps he came from a poor circumstance. The file hadn’t said

anything, but then, they rarely said much beyond physical
characteristics. It would certainly explain why the house, which Kelr
had frankly been embarrassed of given the importance of his job,
seemed so impressive and why the food seemed so grand to him. Kelr
resolved even more firmly to make sure that all of Jack’s needs were
met.

Maybe he’d buy another slave to slake his lust, another soul who

needed companionship and escape from true slavery. Or perhaps he’d
do one better and look into having some Eoeans court him properly,
win his heart so that Kelr could give him away in good conscience. If
love was involved with a human, soul resonance and happiness were
soon to follow. Kelr was sure of it.

Jack yawned again, stretching his muscles over his head. “So what

is what on this plate?” he asked, shooting Kelr a sleepy look that
brought Kelr the unwanted image of the two of them lounging on a
soft mattress in the early morning light. There was something about
the human’s vibrations that were affecting his own. It was just plain
odd.

He pointed out the various foods, most of it seafood, and a few of

the vegetables that accompanied them. Jack sampled each one in turn,
quickly deducing which ones were his favorites. Kelr liked that he
was so enthusiastic about the tastes. He groaned when something was
good and made a disgusted face when something wasn’t to his taste.
Kelr had forgotten how expressive humans were.

Jack finished chewing the white fish on a slice of Yokun cabbage

and nuts and swallowed. “You’re staring at me.”

Kelr blinked. “I apologize. I wasn’t aware.”
The human gave him a slow smile again. “That’s okay. I like it.

You’re just real intense, like a mind reader or something.” He was
unaware of how close he came to accurately describing what Kelr was

Bound by Deception

technically classified as. “I feel like you’re seeing more than just what
I’m doing.” The human was very astute. He’d have to be careful in
the future.

“You flatter me.” He didn’t confirm or deny his observation. “Are

you finished?”

Jack licked his fingers clean. “Yep.” He took a sip of the creamy,

light-green juice that had the consistency of coconut milk. “Hmm, I
like this stuff.”

“It’s a staple in our homes. You’ll have it any time you wish. It’s

called Para milk.” Kelr preferred something with more kick to it, but
for everyday consumption, the Para milk would do. He pushed
himself to his feet. “Shall I show you to your bed?”

The human tilted his head up, sleep-ridden eyes blinking

languorously at him. “Sure thing, big guy. Lead the way.”

Kelr installed him in the place he’d had Landen prepare for him,

tucking him into the bed that he’d bought earlier that day. Jack
groaned as he settled into the mattress, and Kelr’s body responded by
tightening. Stop it.

“Thanks. This is great,” Jack said, smiling up at him with a

sleepy, peaceful expression.

Kelr swallowed. “You’re welcome. Sleep well, Jack Corbet.”
“You’re really gorgeous, Kelr.” The human yawned. “Is your hair

as soft as it looks?”

“Softer,” Kelr rumbled, turning from the bed. “Good night, Jack.”

He hurried out of the room and all but ran to his own. He couldn’t
handle any more face-to-face time with his new human pet.

* * * *

“An early bedtime, sire?” Landen asked as Kelr stripped off his

robe and hung it on the hook by his bedside.

Kelr nodded. “Yes. I find myself tired.” Exhausted actually. It

hadn’t been the trip into the city or the long day at the office that had

Jana Downs

him worn out. It was one shared meal with one little human away
from going mad. He needed to take care of himself before his lusts
rose too high. Jack’s dream vibrations were driving him up a wall.

Landen bowed. “Then I’ll excuse myself for sleep as well. I’ll

clean the kitchen in the morning.”

“Good night, Landen.” The servant’s quarters were on the second

floor in a loft. Kelr made sure that Landen had the most richly
furbished room he could afford. It was the least he could do for the
Eoean who had seen to his comfort since he was a newly born spawn.

Alone, he moved the covers off his hips as his twin cocks slowly

filled. The dreams Jack was having were decidedly sexual, and Kelr
couldn’t fight his attraction. He closed his eyes and felt around the
house, filtering through the familiar vibrations of his space. The
colors in the hallway hummed with a frequency that pleased him, but
it was not those vibrations that disrupted the calm hum of his home.

Landen’s dreams never disturbed him, but Jack’s was another

story entirely. For some reason, the tendrils of his thoughts about Kelr
reached out and caressed Kelr’s own vibrations, teasing him
mercilessly. Images flickered, fantasies he shouldn’t be having but
was helpless to contain washed through him in a rush of want and
desire. His cocks pulsed, their tips darkening to a deep red with a hint
of purple beneath. His lower cock wound around his primary cock,
milking a pearlescent blue drop of liquid from the tip. He added his
hand to the mix, gasping softly as the pleasure reverberated through
his entire being. His eyes slid shut as the vibrations started rocking
him.

The tendrils of Jack’s dreams invaded his pleasure, and deeper

into Jack’s reality he sank. He hummed to keep his mind from
floating away and becoming lost in that place. His molecules felt like
they were going to drift away the further he dove into Jack’s dream.

Is that how I look to him? He saw himself standing proud and

straight in the hallway, but he was naked this time, naked and
dampened with a fine sheen of sweat. Kelr was fascinated with how

Bound by Deception

relaxed and hungry he looked. He was certain he’d never had that
look on his face. His body was nearly perfect, but for one flaw. He
only had a single cock in Jack’s fantasy.

With a thought, he unwove that thought, replacing it with the

reality. Jack groaned, pulling his attention away from his mirror
image. Jack was naked as well, the human was a mass of need. But
his thoughts weren’t focused on his physical appearance, so the
details weren’t there. He was a mass of sensation, not detail. That was
okay though because Kelr could tap into that sensation, experience
what he was experience. The anticipation was heady.

Dream Kelr let loose a feral growl of desire and crossed the

distance between them, picking Jack up by his ass and slamming him
into a nearby wall. Kelr groaned, jerking his cocks faster, bringing
himself closer to that much needed release.

He pulled himself back from the dream, using it instead to fuel his

own fantasy. He wanted to touch without feeling like he was going to
shake apart. He wanted to fuck and enjoy himself like he’d never been
able to do, like when he jerked off. He focused on twisting his fist
over the heads of his pleasure organs and gave a low groan of surprise
when his lower cock shot. His second orgasm followed quickly on the
heels of the first, bathing his stomach with his spunk. He milked
himself until he shuddered from the sensory overload.

Masturbating felt wonderful, like flying or jumping off a cliff. It

was the most out-of-control thing he did on a given night. He breathed
easy as his internal vibrations settled. He hummed to himself,
summoning up the perfect sound for a good night’s rest. He
concentrated on the clean cloth over on the shelf across the room, and
it slowly floated to his hand. He wiped off his body, not bothering to
do more than toss the cloth onto the floor. He’d get it in the morning.
With that he sent himself into a deep slumber where he did not dream.

* * * *

Jana Downs

Jack woke up with cum stains on his gauzy blue slip thing. He

hadn’t had wet dreams quite like that since he was a teen, and damn if
he hadn’t been kinky as hell in those late-night fantasies of his. Kelr
had been the star in his own cerebral porn show. He rubbed his eyes,
brushing away the sleep. He couldn’t believe he was really here, in a
soft-as-sin bed, fantasizing about a gorgeous red alien with a scary
looking set of horns. He didn’t look like any of the Eoean sightings
he’d read about, but that was okay. He was sure they came in multiple
colors just like humans did.

The door swished open, and the blue guy from last night stepped

in. “Good morning, Jack Corbet.”

“Um,” Jack mumbled, he pulled the covers up to his chin. “Good

morning.” He frowned, a thought occurring to him. “Wait, you speak
English now?”

Blue guy nodded. “I sat with the tutor after you and Master Kelr

retired last night. I exist to take care of the house, so I thought you’d
enjoy if I spoke your tongue. I am Landen.”

“Nice to meet you, Landen,” Jack said, remembering his manners.

“But can I have some privacy for a minute?” He needed to get cleaned
up, and he couldn’t exactly roll out of bed to do so with him in the
room.

Landen looked rather apologetic. “I don’t mean to interrupt your

waking, but Master Kelr wanted me to deliver these to you.” The
Eoean held up a black tunic-looking thing made of the same gauzy
material his blue shift was and a pair of black pants of the same make
and color. They looked comfortable. “There is a red belt to match.
Synch it around your waist if the tunic is too big. I had to guess at
your size when I took Master Kelr’s tunic in. He says we’ll have you
measured for clothing in the next few days.” He smiled warmly, calm
written in every line of his body. “You’ll just love Master Kelr. He’s
the kindest master I’ve ever known.”

“Awesome. Um, leave the tunic on the bed, okay?”

Bound by Deception

Landen nodded. “Absolutely. Just call out when you’re ready. I’ll

be waiting on the other side of the door.”

As soon as the door swished shut behind him, Jack rolled out of

the bed and stripped off the blue shift and tossed it in the basket that
he hoped was the dirty laundry. He really needed to shower and wash
himself off, but he had absolutely no idea what constituted as a
bathroom around here. He’d have to ask, but damn if that wasn’t
embarrassing. So he pulled his clothes on instead.

He looked down at himself, wishing like hell there was some kind

of mirror. The clothes fit just right, no need for adjustments or sashes,
which was good. He already felt a little like a harem boy in this getup.
Not that he would mind being a harem boy to Kelr. But he didn’t want
to dress like one. At least it’s not ass-less chaps. He had a solid point.

“Okay, Landen,” he called. “I’m decent.”
The door swished back open. “Excellent. I’m pleased that it fit so

well.” He beamed. The guy sure was smiley. “I’m to escort you into
Master Kelr’s den and install you at the tutor while Kelr works. Do
you care for first meal?”

Jack’s stomach growled. “Breakfast?”
Landen nodded. “Yes. I’ll bring you a plate at the tutor.”
“Awesome.” He shifted from foot to foot. “Um, where is the

bathroom?”

Confusion flickered over Landen’s expression an instant before

understanding dawned. “Ah. Let me show you.”

* * * *

Embarrassing moment over, Jack settled into a big plush cushion

chair thing in front of a screen that looked a bit like his laptop back at
home except instead of a keyboard it had a panel of lights in its place.
The den was clearly Kelr’s new office. It wasn’t huge and only had
room for Kelr’s big desk, stacked with files and computer equipment,
and the cushion he sat on. His alien hadn’t even raised his head when

Jana Downs

Landen had delivered him there with a promise of food to come. The
décor in this room was like the hallway, bright colors, blue, yellow,
and green this time.

“I’m uploading the files I want you to learn,” Kelr said from

behind him. “Just look at the screen, and it will transplant the
information.”

Jack turned around to look at the gorgeous red alien. “Did you

sleep well?”

“Well enough,” Kelr rumbled, his eyes flicking from the screen to

Jack. There was something about the way he said it, a hint of
embarrassment perhaps that made Jack feel like he wasn’t the only
one having wet dreams. Kelr turned his attention back to the screen.
“Dammit!”

Jack jumped at the curse. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to have to purchase a new panel vid-screen,” Kelr said,

sighing loudly. “This one has a crack in it, and it’s only getting worse.
It’s the third one I’ve broken this year.”

“I’m sorry.” Jack didn’t understand why it was such a big

imposition, but then he didn’t know how expensive they were. In his
mind, any guy who could afford a house this size, a live-in servant,
and a concubine could afford a little computer screen. But he was
sorry that Kelr was upset about it.

Kelr’s black eyes met his. “Your sympathy is admirable. Watch

the tutor, Jack. Don’t worry about me.” There was a command there
that ruffled Jack’s feathers a bit, but he supposed he was a slave so it
didn’t matter. At least he’s nicer than Captain Asshat.

“Are you Eoean?” Jack asked before he thought better of it.
Kelr blinked. “Why do you ask?”
“You look Eoean, but you’re a different color. I was just

wondering if you’re a different ethnicity or something. I get curious
about things like that,” Jack said, stretching his legs out ahead of him.

“I forgot how curious humans are.” Kelr sat back further on the

eggshell-shaped chair he was sitting on. “I am half-Eoean. My mother

Bound by Deception

is Renka.” He didn’t explain further, and Jack thought he was already
pushing his luck with the asking.

He turned his attention back to the screen in front of him and

stared. Nothing happened. “Is something supposed to be happening?”

“Put your hand on the color panel,” Kelr suggested in a bored

voice. “That’ll activate the program.”

Jack did, and his mind was immediately swamped with

information. Eoean society, the Eoean language, the transportation
and colonization of the Eoean people, Kelr’s job as a diplomat, and
the housing district they were in, a middle-class neighborhood, was
all crammed into his brain. It was weird. One second he hadn’t known
any of that, but the next it was just pouring inside, taking up space
and giving him instantaneous understanding. It was winding down.
Jack wasn’t expected to do anything. He was expected to stay at home
and do what he wanted for the rest of his life. He frowned. What kind
of life was that?

His mind started drifting to sex and Kelr, and that seemed to

trigger a response from the tutor. It explained about seduction and
courtship in Eoean society both traditional and nontraditional like
Kelr. It also gave an anatomy lesson that made Jack drool. Two cocks.
Oh fuck yes. It was then he resolved to land him one very big red
horny alien. The tutor brought up some Eoean porn, and Jack felt like
he was transported into the sex scene as it showed him exactly how to
please an Eoean male.

“What are you downloading?” Kelr asked in a strangled voice.

“Turn that off immediately.”

But it was way too late for that. Jack orgasmed hard, shooting into

his pants, grabbing the head and guiding himself through it as his hips
snapped skyward. Images of the two of them twisting together in
sexual bliss followed. “Sorry,” he gasped. Embarrassment heated his
cheeks to a molten level. If he wasn’t twelve shades of red, he’d be
surprised. “I didn’t mean to—” He cut himself off, staring down at his
lap where the liquid proof of his pleasure was soaking into his clothes.

Jana Downs

Kelr surged to his feet, a decided bulge at the front of his own

black outfit. He huffed. “Come. You can’t walk around stained like
that.”

“I, uh, damn, um, I’m not normally so premature,” Jack

stammered.

“I don’t care,” Kelr said, cutting off any further explanation. “I

have no interest in your propensity to orgasm at any moment.”

Irritation flickered. “Uh, yeah, you could’ve fooled me, sugar.

Your hard-ons are definitely taking notice of the fact that I
orgasmed.”

Kelr’s jaw ticked. “It’s an understandable physical response given

the visual stimulation.”

“It’s bullshit.” Jack growled, pushing himself to his feet. “You’re

hard because you want me. Admit it.”

Kelr just seemed to grow colder as he spoke. “Why is it so

important that I say I want you? Are you that insecure about your
desirability?”

His embarrassment sharpened like it was honed by steel and

whetstone. “Fuck you, you prick. You could be a little bit more
sensitive to the fact that your god damn toy just made me jizz in my
pants like a fourteen-year-old.” He brushed past Kelr, and a jolt of
awareness zinged through him. It was almost like he had grabbed the
electric wire that ran in a circle around the tops of the walls of the
prison. He rubbed his arm where they’d touched.

Kelr’s hands curled into fists. “I apologize. I do find you

desirable, Jack. You are a beautiful man. However, sex is a painful
experience for me. Please, understand.”

“Why?”
“It’s always ‘why’ with you,” Kelr sighed. The exasperation was

thick in his tone, turning it into gravel. “I’ll have the tutor tell you
after I get you into some new clothes.”

“I’ll find them myself.” He really didn’t want to face Kelr or his

confusing nature. Jack rubbed the place over his heart as hurt and

Jana Downs

Chapter Three

Kelr had bungled that nicely. He sat back down at his desk and

sighed, drumming his fingers on the stone surface as his cocks
throbbed with every beat of his heart. He’d already had to pull them
apart twice as they demanded satisfaction. Witnessing Jack orgasm
and feeling the physical vibrations as they reverberated throughout the
room had destroyed the indifference he’d been wearing in his
presence.

He had to come up with another plan of action because it was

pretty evident that ignoring his arousal was not going to work. The
human’s presence was too big in the house for him to ignore it so
completely. He pressed his finger on the file he’d been working on
and saved it. He was ahead at work as per usual, so he could afford to
take a few hours off.

How did normal Renkas engage in sexual activity without

physically doing the act? He had some of the best databases in the
world to work with for research on other cultures. It was part of his
work as a diplomat. He opened the file on Renkas and tried to find the
answer he was searching for. Sexual information was far and few
between. Apparently diplomats weren’t meant to take their duties that
far. He would have to dig a little deeper, go in another direction. After
a moment’s hesitation, he turned toward the only way he knew would
provide him what passed for Renka pornography.

He tapped into the frequency that was being broadcast on the

interstellar network that connected to all civil planets. Renkana was a
small planet off the beaten path, so finding their channel was difficult.
However, he managed with relative proficiency. The pornography

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was the easiest thing to find. At first it was just sounds, a swirl of
color that vibrated alone his skin, making him gasp softly. His eyes
shot to the doorway, certain someone would open it. Almost of their
own volition, his eyes wandered back to the screen. Two Renka males
sat side by side, just their shoulders touching. It puzzled him at first
until they started to hum. Every nerve in his body shuddered from the
sound. His eyes shut, and the image of the Renkas kissing plastered
itself onto his cerebrum. They ran their hands over one another,
touching, caressing, arousing. Kelr groaned, his cocks stirring and
beginning to rub against one another. His hands tightened on his
thighs as the song played on.

He ached to take his cocks out and pleasure himself. He was going

to have to watch porn more often. This was better than his own
fantasies. The smaller Renka straddled the larger one’s lap before
taking his single cock in hand. Kelr apparently had more of an Eoean
build than a Renka one. He was larger overall, two cocked, and
horned. But his hair was the same shade of midnight as his brethren.
His secondary cock stroked his primary one as the smaller Renka rode
the larger male’s dick, crying out as they fucked. Kelr opened his
eyes, expecting to see the song mirrored in reality. But it wasn’t. They
remained where they were, eyes closed as they hummed their song,
the occasional groan issuing from one of them as something in the
mind felt especially good. They didn’t even touch their cocks, but he
could tell from the erections they were sporting that it wasn’t all
mental.

“Oh cool.” Jack’s voice made him jump. “They’re red like you. Is

this a meditation channel? I did yoga a bit during rec time. It was
pretty relaxing.”

Kelr felt his entire body heat. “It’s nothing,” he rumbled, hitting

the X on the channel.

Jack tilted his head to the side, studying him, his face only six

inches from his own. “Uh-huh. Well, I changed clothes.”

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“I, uh, I see you. That. I see that,” Kelr stammered, casually

laying his arm over his lap and praying the desk had hid the erections
he was sporting.

“Can you upload the thing about your pleasure?” Jack asked, a

knowing look in his gaze. Damn it.

“Of course. Go sit by the vid-screen, and I’ll send you the file.”

Kelr’s erections reacted to Jack’s proximity, straining toward him.

“You sure you don’t need me to leave you alone to take care of

the hard-ons you were milking when I came in?”

Kelr’s eyes snapped to Jack. “Um, I–I’m not milking—”
“Uh-huh. Sell that to someone else, big boy. I’ve got eyes.” Jack

leaned forward, the vibrations of his confidence in his appeal bleeding
through every pore. His embarrassment from earlier had apparently
vanished in the time he’d gone back to his room and— His gaze
settled on the gauzy blue outfit Jack had donned once again. Landen
had apparently cleaned his concubine’s shift. The light blue shift only
came to midthigh on the human, and its purpose of easy access made
Kelr even harder if that was possible. Kelr needed relief, badly. The
human had been here twenty-four hours and he was already tempting
him to do what he’d sworn he wouldn’t do when taking the human on.

“Watch the video, Jack.” He leaned back in his chair, letting the

human look his fill. He’d already been found out. He might as well
stop being afraid of it. “It doesn’t matter that I’m aroused. It’ll hurt to
touch you. Just watch the program.”

Jack nodded, his gaze never leaving his hard cocks. “Okay.” He

licked his lips like he was thirsty before turning away and shuffling
toward the screen he’d left on the cushion.

Kelr opened his work back up and tried desperately to concentrate

on what he needed to do to complete this draft of the response from
the Pressian government. They were making more demands on the
Eoean workforce, better technologies and more taxation. He needed to
talk them down from some of their more unreasonable demands. They
were fishing for something to be angry about, a way to get more from

Bound by Deception

the government. He sighed. There was no way that he was going to be
doing anyone any good trying to negotiate when his mind was so
utterly not on task. He found the program on Renkas and uploaded to
his human’s vid.

“Your program is ready to view,” Kelr said, glancing up as Jack

settled into the cushion.

Jack waved his hand. “I got this, big guy. Starting it up now.” He

placed his hand over the light pad, his eyes riveted on the screen.
Everything the human did had an intensity to it, like the vibrations
were somehow deeper entrenched in reality than the average creature.
That intensity was intriguing.

“You humans must live extraordinarily fascinating lives,” Kelr

murmured. “What did you do before you came here, Jack Corbet?”

Jack lifted his head and took his hand off the light pad. “The same

thing other people do I imagine.” That was rather evasive. “I went to
school, had a family, a job, all that stuff.”

“Did you have a sexual partner that you were close to?” Kelr had

always been fascinated with the prospect but had never actually
experienced it himself.

The human barked out a laugh. “Um, no. Not in a long time. The

last boyfriend I had was in high school.” He turned around to fully
face Kelr, his arms draped over the back of the cushion. “How about
you?”

“I have never had a partner for longer than a night,” Kelr

admitted. “I have urges like any Eoean male, but the Renka side of me
prevents consummation most of the time.”

“So you’re a mix breed huh?” Jack asked, a perplexed look on his

face. “To be continued until after I watch this video. Okay?”

Kelr inclined his head. “Yes to both of your questions. I will

work.” He commanded his eyes back to the screen and tried to
concentrate.

* * * *

Jana Downs

Renkas only had sex to procreate. Jack blinked as he turned the

information over in his mind. They were apparently too sensitive for
physical sex but instead they got down and dirty mind-to-mind in
some bizarre form of mind fucking. He scratched the bridge of his
nose with his free hand as the tutor showed him why Kelr thought he
couldn’t touch Jack. Half-breeds are considerably less sensitive than
their full-blooded counterparts. Nonetheless, even these half-breeds
have extraordinary mental skills that enable them to manipulate their
environments through the use of sounds. The tutor played a series of
humming sounds that didn’t mean much to Jack but were apparently
examples of Renkas singing things into existence. That is pretty damn
bizarre. Pretty though. Apparently they sang notes in both audible
and inaudible sound vibrations.

When the tutor finished, he wasn’t as deterred as Kelr seemed to

want him to be. He was highly skeptical that he could achieve orgasm
just by Kelr humming to him, but he was willing to give it a try. He
regretted that they wouldn’t be able to actually touch, but he’d take
what he could get.

“Do you understand now?” Kelr asked, his voice a deep rumble of

authority. Jack wasn’t really big on authority.

He turned his head so that their gazes clashed. “I understand that

you fuck differently than I do, not that we can’t fuck.”

Kelr blinked. “Excuse me?”
Jack inclined his head. “You heard me, big guy. According to

your tutor thing, we can bone, just not in the physical sense.” He
crossed his arms over his chest. “So what’s your next excuse?”

“This is not an excuse!” Kelr sighed, that cute tic starting up in his

jaw again. “The times I have attempted sex with another have not
ended well. We cannot touch.”

This guy couldn’t be serious. No one could be that ignorant of

their own biology. “Um, what about the mind-to-mind vibration sex
stuff?”

Bound by Deception

That seemed to give the alien pause. “Ah.”
Ah? What the hell does “ah” mean? “Kelr, did you not know you

could do that? Your tutor rapid fired that info within the first minute
of starting.”

Kelr chuckled, the sound low and self-mocking. “Of course it

would take a human to explain that to me,” he muttered, half under
his breath. Louder, he said, “I had not thought to try to be frank. I’ve
never experienced the tutor about the Renkas. I was raised in an
Eoean household. My mother had stopped talking by the time I was
nine cycles old. I was not educated on her half of my heritage.”

“That sucks,” Jack said softly. “I can’t imagine growing up like

that.” His heart went out to the alien. His parents lived in Vegas and
lived extraordinarily simple lives. His mom was a teacher, and his dad
was a mechanic. They didn’t have much, but they were happy with
that. Both had been devastated by Jack’s arrest though. He’d been
tempted more than once to tell them the truth but had refrained. He’d
promised.

“I did not feel like I was suffering over the course of my

childhood. I assure you,” Kelr rumbled. He had the I’m-a-man-and-
can’t-be-bothered-with-nonmanly-emotions thing down. Jack was
tempted to roll his eyes. “It simply gave me a more sympathetic
understanding of those who I have power over.”

“I’m guessing your dad didn’t try to be understanding of your

mom’s needs,” Jack said, watching the emotions play over Kelr’s
face. He was good at reading people, and it had served him very well
in his former life.

Kelr inclined his head. “That is correct. However, it is bad form to

speak ill about those who have passed. My father was a man of his
time and his circumstance. I don’t hold it against him.”

“Good for you,” Jack complimented. A lot of guys who had gone

through shitty things in their childhoods turned it outward and made
sure everyone paid for it. Hell, the cage was full of people like that.
“And I’m sorry for your loss.”

Jana Downs

“I have come to terms with their passing,” Kelr said, running his

fingers over his desk like he was playing a piano. “The plague
claimed many lives, not just the lives of your people.”

Jack nodded his understanding. He’d never really contemplated it,

but it made sense that the Eoeans suffered losses as well. However, it
was time to change the subject. The subject was just too heavy. “So,
about this mind vibrations sex thing. Can I volunteer to be your
guinea pig?”

Kelr considered him. “Why would you want to do that? You don’t

know me. I offer to respect you as an independent being, and you
instead offer to be my concubine. To use a human phrase I’ve heard
before, what gives?”

Jack shrugged. “I find you attractive. You find me attractive. Two

consenting adults should be able to do the horizontal tango without
worrying about misunderstandings. I haven’t had sex in a long time,
man. I’m not going to go into this with the impression that we’re
going to have this epic romance or whatever. We’re just two dudes
figuring out how to get you and me off without you having a
meltdown.” He nodded toward Kelr’s crotch. “You can’t tell me that
your hard-on is comfortable.”

“So sexual gratification is important to you?” Kelr asked, tilting

his head to the side.

“Well,” Jack said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s not a have-to but

it would be nice to have some carnal attentions from someone I found
attractive.”

Slowly, Kelr nodded. “If this experiment fails because you aren’t

a Renka, will you accept that you and I cannot have sexual relations?”

“Sure.” That was easy enough to agree to. If he had the possibility

of being able to touch his alien master even in his fantasies, he was
going to take it. It might be the last time he got to attempt to touch
anyone. I never fancied being a monk, but it looks like it’s headed that
way.

Bound by Deception

“If it should fail, I will try to find you another lover,” Kelr

offered. “I know there will be many Eoeans who would love to have
the chance to court a human.”

Jack blinked. “Seriously? I thought Eoeans were big on human

sacrifices. Don’t you guys have your own lottery to dispense us?
That’s what the tutor said.”

“Most Eoeans wish to achieve soul resonance with their humans,”

Kelr explained. “It’s the hope of that that keeps the humans in such
high demand and the lottery necessary. The Eoean government said
when they first discovered that humans could achieve that status that
they would create a fair system for dispensing.”

“What’s soul resonance?” He hadn’t heard the term before. “I

have done a lot of research on Eoeans, but there isn’t a lot in the
human texts about the Eoeans other than how it deals with the Great
Plague, the treaty, and the tributes.” He’d gleaned some things from
the texts he’d read, like the slave thing and the fact that it made sense
the Eoeans needed humans. But he didn’t understand the “why” of it.

Kelr pushed back from the desk. “Soul resonance is when two

souls connect and form a joined string between them. I’ve heard they
vibrate in perfect sync, but I’ve never seen the phenomenon myself.”
He stretched his arms over his head, elongating the muscle of his
shoulders. Jack tried really hard not to let his attention wander to how
gorgeous he looked making the motion. He was almost painfully
beautiful. “What your texts don’t tell you is that even those immune
to the plague suffered consequences from it. The Eoeans primarily
accessed their technologies via their minds. The plague coupled with
the unfamiliar atmosphere on Earth disabled that ability but in the
most minute sense. Supposedly, soul resonance restores the power,
bestows immortality, and even heals illness.”

“Wow. So human beings are like magic cure-alls.” He turned the

idea over in his mind as Kelr laced his fingers behind his head. “You
know, there is a saying that goes if it seems too good to be true…”

Jana Downs

Kelr nodded. “I am familiar with the saying. It most often is.

However, in this case, I believe what the scientists say. I do not know
if it applies to other species other than the Eoeans, but I imagine they,
too, have special connections with humans. Your wavelengths are
very flexible.”

“Flexible enough to connect in a biblical way?” Jack teased. His

alien had a puzzled look on his face right before understanding
dawned.

“Ah, we’ve returned to copulation,” Kelr said, a grin flirting with

his lips. “You have a very focused mind when it comes to the
subject.”

Jack beamed. “It’s one of my many talents.”
“Then let’s explore them,” Kelr rumbled, pushing himself to his

feet. Jack blinked. He’d expected some kind of delay, but a quick
glance at Kelr’s still very prominent erections told him that Kelr
wasn’t getting any work done until he was taken care of. Jack
understood the problem. He’d experienced it himself.

Jack rolled to his feet in one fluid movement. “Where we doing

this thing?”

“My room seems appropriate,” Kelr said, walking around the desk

to the door. He slid his thumb along the pad and the door slid open.
“Are you coming or are you going to stare at my cocks all day?”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Jack scrambled after him. He was

more than ready to get naked with his beautiful new owner. He
thought back to the cell that was either too hot or too cold, too
crowded, and about a million other unpleasant things. Life was
looking up. Karma had finally circled back around and was giving
him back a life he could grow to like a lot. It was about time.

Kelr led them down the hallway past the room Jack was staying in

and past the sitting room as well. They came to a room at the far end
of the hall that Jack assumed was their destination because with a
quick swipe of his hand, Kelr opened the door. Landen was putting

Bound by Deception

stacks of black outfits like the one Jack was wearing away in a panel
of drawers that pulled out from the wall.

Landen glanced up and saw the two of them in the doorway. “I’m

sorry, Master Kelr. I was unaware you and your human needed this
room.”

“It’s fine, Landen. I’ll finish,” Kelr rumbled, his entire face

softening as he took in the blue man. A spark of something that felt a
little like jealousy filtered into Jack’s chest.

“Of course, Master Kelr,” Landen said, straightening from his

clothes pile. “I have plenty other chores to do. I think I’ll go sweep
off the walkway down to the beach and then break my fast. It should
give you several hours’ peace.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “The ocean is here? How did I not know

this?” His eyes went to wall on the far end, but it was devoid of
windows. “Will you show me later?”

Landen chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll be much too tired then.”
Kelr cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed. “It is appreciated.

Why don’t you take my transport into town and gather us our weekly
supplies?”

“After I sweep off the steps, I will do so.” Landen actually winked

at Jack as he passed them, and Jack couldn’t help but snicker. The
Eoean knew the score.

The door swished shut behind Landen, leaving the two of them

alone again. Kelr pointed toward the mattress that took up majority of
the room. “Pick a side.”

Like the rest of the house, the room wasn’t ornate but simply

decorated. The tones here were blacks and reds though, significantly
less bright and loud than the ones out in the hall. The black mattress
was covered with a red blanket the same shade as Kelr’s body. Jack
imagined Kelr would disappear in it when he slept if he wasn’t so
damn big. The carpet was a soft dove gray which matched the bed and
the walls matched the color but for a dual strip of black and red
around the room. It suited Kelr. Eoean blue seemed too tame.

Jana Downs

Jack settled onto the far end with his legs crossed and waited

patiently as Kelr took up a spot on the other side. “So do you really
just sing to me and we do a Vulcan mind meld?” Jack asked, shifting
into a more comfortable position. He swallowed as he watched his
massive lovely alien uncoil from his stiff position and assume a more
relaxed pose with his back against the wall and his legs spread out
before him.

“It’s not so much singing as producing a song. I use more than the

vocal cords that are in your detectable range.” Kelr paused. “What is a
Vulcan mind meld?”

“Um, yeah, Star Trek reference,” Jack explained, aching to reach

out and touch Kelr but knowing his couldn’t. “It was a show about
aliens before we humans knew about aliens. Anyway, will you do the
singing thing now?” He needed to connect.

Kelr reached for his tunic and slowly pulled it over his head.

Jack’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. His deep candy-apple-
red skin had a lovely set of black swirls that looked tattoo-like on his
shoulders and rib cage. Jack hardened behind the cloth of his
concubine’s shift, and it rode up almost obscenely. Without thinking,
he echoed the movement Kelr had made, stripping off his shift in one
fluid movement. Kelr sucked in a breath as Jack tossed his shift over
the edge of the bed. Naked, Jack raised his gaze to catch Kelr’s. Their
eyes met.

“I will sing to you, Jack Corbet. But remember not to touch me,”

Kelr said, settled back even further as his second cock stroked the
first, jerking him off with sure, swift movements.

“I’m ready.”

Bound by Deception

Chapter Four

“Oh god,” Jack gasped as the first note filled the air. It was like

the air around him vibrated with need. Whatever Kelr was doing went
beyond sound. He felt every note shimmer in the air around him, and
he was pleased to hear Kelr groan as Jack arched up into an invisible
caress.

“You can feel it?”
Jack brought his hand down to wrap around his already-weeping

erection. “Fuck yes.”

“Good.” Kelr’s eyes shut, and Jack followed suit. The instant his

eyes closed, he wasn’t in the bed anymore.

He was on the beach, a place he’d never been before, straddling

Kelr’s lap while Kelr kissed him. Their tongues tangled, and the alien
ran his hands possessively up and down his aroused body.

“Ride me,” Kelr rumbled, squeezing his hips. “Ride me well,

Jack.”

Jack didn’t need any more encouragement than that. Kelr’s prick

was already slicked, and in this other reality, lube was a nonissue. He
took Kelr’s cock in hand and slowly lowered his hips. The thick head
of Kelr’s primary cock stretched his passage, spreading him wider and
better than any other before him.

Kelr’s fist wrapped around him, pumping his arousal as he rode.

“Feels good,” Jack murmured, gripping his lover’s shoulders. “You
feel so fucking good.” He’d needed this for so long.

“You do as well.”
Jack concentrated on squeezing Kelr’s cock with his body,

needing him to be as pleased as Jack was. His own body was already

Jana Downs

perched on the edge of relief, and it wouldn’t take much to make him
careen headlong into orgasm. The sensation of Kelr filling him was
almost painfully intense, and the emotions reverberating through him
weren’t all his. He could feel Kelr’s pleasure but also his frustration.

His eyes popped open, and the bedroom came back into focus.

“Kelr?”

“Yes?” Kelr’s voice had a thread of breathlessness lacing it.
“You can’t get off, can you?”
The alien made a noise of annoyance and opened his eyes. “I can

feel you, but it’s distant, like a dream.”

Jack’s erection wept at that. He wouldn’t keep this up if Kelr

wasn’t there with him. “It’s okay. You don’t have to finish.”

“I can self-pleasure while I complete you,” Kelr said, his deep

gaze sinking into Jack. “It is not ideal but”—he paused, shuddered—
“I want to watch you find release, Jack. You’re beautiful.”

The compliment sank into his marrow and made his entire body

flush with the pleasure of it. Jack ached to reach out and touch him, to
show him how much it meant to be valued, desired. He curled his
hands into fists on his knees to keep from doing it.

Instead, his lids fell down and he was back into the fantasy world

Kelr had made in his head. The humming resumed, and everything
sharpened to a realistic place that felt as real to Jack as the bed he sat
on. If Kelr had used his power in the least aggressive manner, it
would’ve been frightening. However, there was nothing but good
feelings here.

He clung to Kelr’s shoulders as he drove upward into Jack’s tight

passage, commanding him into ever higher planes. When Kelr set his
teeth to Jack’s shoulder and bit down, it was all over. Jack cried out,
bucking up as his cock shot the sticky proof of his pleasure against
Kelr’s ropey abdomen. The alien growled, slamming up inside him,
carrying Jack further than he thought possible.

Abruptly, he was pitched back into reality, the back of his eyelids

the only vision he was seeing. He opened his eyes and stared as Kelr

Bound by Deception

jerked himself one final time before both of his cocks erupted in a
flood of orgasm. The vision must’ve cut out when Kelr couldn’t sing
anymore. He glanced down at his own lap and saw the aftermath of
his own release painting his abdomen. His hole ached like he’d really
ridden Kelr hard and he regretted the loss of him inside. He raised his
eyes, and their gazes clashed. Hunger still swam in the depths of
Kelr’s pitch black orbs.

“I’m sorry,” Jack murmured, panting for breath. “I thought that

would work.”

Kelr shrugged. “It’s all right, sweet. It was the greatest satisfaction

I’ve had in some time. I had hoped it would work as well.” He
scooted to the edge of the mattress before hopping off and crossing
the floor to one of the panels. A sink appeared as he keyed in some
kind of code, and he pulled open a drawer of washcloths. He wet two,
tossing one to Jack before using the other one on himself.

Jack wiped himself down with a few economical movements.

“I’m still sorry. I did like it though. Gives a whole other meaning to
the phrase ‘mind fuck.’”

Kelr chuckled. “You are quite correct.” He went over to stack of

clothes Landen had left and started putting them away. He didn’t
bother to dress, and Jack was not the least bit sorry about it. The man
was gorgeous naked.

“Why do I get the impression that Eoeans go naked a lot?” he

asked, getting off the bed and grabbing up his concubine shift. He
pulled it over his head.

“Because you have good observation skills,” Kelr rumbled,

closing the drawer once he put the last outfit inside. “We dress to be
polite in formal situations or when we are at work. Typically in casual
situations we go in little clothing or none at all, depending on the
company.”

“So you were dressed for my benefit?” Jack asked, flirting just a

little. He felt relaxed, calm, better than he had in a very long time.

Jana Downs

Mind fucking or not, it worked like the real thing. It was too bad that
Kelr hadn’t had the same experience.

“Partially,” Kelr said, a smile on the edges of his mouth. “And I

work. It can be distracting when I am playing diplomat to other
species who do not share my disregard for clothes. Speaking of
which, I suppose that I need to dress once more. I have to draft a
video conference with the Pressians today.”

“Those are the guys who kicked you off your planet right?” The

tutor had thrown a lot of information his way. Pressians were little
short dicks who looked like cuddly Care Bears but had all the
compassion of Attila the Hun.

Kelr nodded. “Yes. We have to pay them tribute every year as you

saw from the tutor. However, we don’t just pay them in humans. We
must give them goods, services, things of that nature. And we
negotiate the amount of credit we owe them each year. They don’t
want to bleed us dry because our productivity suffers. However,
sometimes they get a little greedy, and I am the one who has to talk
them down.”

“Huh,” Jack said, severely disappointed when Kelr pulled on a

pair of his black harem pants. “So you have to answer to them still?”

“We all have our masters, Jack. It is the nature of the universe.”

Kelr sighed. “I should have given Landen instructions to pick up
some cloth from the market. Do you have a color preference?”

“Whatever you like,” Jack said. “I have no preferences really. Just

not pink or yellow.”

Kelr inclined his head like it was completely understandable. “I’ll

make a color selection and e-mail it to Landen’s portable device.”

Jack waited for Kelr to finish dressing. “Do you think I could go

down to the beach while you work?”

Kelr hesitated. “I have no problem with you going down to the

beach, but put on some sun protection and don’t go too deep into the
water. The currents that run by this stretch of beach are very strong.”

Bound by Deception

“I just want to see it. I’ve never seen the beach before.” Of course

no human had. The Eoeans occupied the beaches on every inch of
coast. It didn’t mean he hadn’t seen old photographs and artists’
representations of the oceans, but he’d always been curious. “You and
I could do dinner tonight, hang out, swim.”

“Our experiment failed. I cannot join as other Renkas do. It would

be mutual masturbation at most,” Kelr said, frowning. “I thought you
would wish for me to leave you alone now.”

Jack shook his head. “Nah. I told you I’d drop the sex stuff. But

that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right?”

Kelr considered him for longer than he would’ve liked before he

slowly nodded. “Very well. I usually don’t make it a habit of making
friends, but you are intriguing.”

Jack grinned. “I aim to be irresistible.”
“You actually succeed rather effortlessly. Were it another reality, I

would keep you as mine. However, I will content myself with your
friendship instead.” Kelr opened the door. “If you are hungry, there
are prepared meals in the cooling unit in the kitchen.”

“I’ll bring you something to munch on after my trip down to the

sand.” The thought of experiencing sand as something more than a
novelty toy tickled him for some reason.

“I appreciate the thought. Enjoy your trip down to the beach.”

Kelr walked out of the door and proceeded down the hallway. He
pointed to the left hall that Jack hadn’t walked down yet. “The back
door is through there. I’ll reset the security to allow you to open it
when you get back.”

Jack headed down the hallway. “Thanks.” He let himself out of

the house with a skip in his step. Things were good.

* * * *

Kelr drafted his initial proposal, sent it off to the Pressians,

submitted his official status report to his superiors, and made fabric

Jana Downs

choices from the available fabrics that Landen had messaged him
with. All in all, he’d had a productive day. It seemed that releasing
himself with Jack had done a lot to ease his tension and focus his
mind. Perhaps there was something to the human’s statement that sex
was a cure-all. Granted, he’d been left somewhat unsatisfied by the
encounter but only because he was greedy for more. He wanted to feel
Jack like he had in the images he’d planted in his frontal lobe.

He sighed as he thought of Jack’s easy acceptance of their roles.

The human had a certain charm to him that Kelr couldn’t place. His
stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten second meal
yet. Jack was supposed to be bringing them something from the
kitchens, but Landen would be back soon. With a few presses of his
fingers, he brought up his outside viewers.

Jack walked along the surf line, his concubine shift tied around his

waist like some type of loincloth or skirt. He smiled at that. The
human was only concerned with covering his genitals. He’d make
sure there were some outfits made that reflected that. He was carrying
something with him. It looked like the old flowerpot that had been
sitting on the small porch that led to the steps. Why in the world is he
carrying that? Jack knelt and picked something up from the beach
before putting whatever it was in the pot. The human certainly was a
curious creature.

A message indicator flashed. He touched it to bring up the

message and laughed out loud. It was from Aldn.

Did you couple with him yet?

He typed out a quick reply message.

Stop bothering me about the human. I’m allowing others to court

him. Spread the word.

Bound by Deception

He hesitated before sending. He’d promised Jack that he would

allow others to court him so that he could achieve happiness and
respect with a gratifying sexual partner. But a curious possessiveness
filled him. He shook his head to dispel it. He had no right. It didn’t
matter if he owned Jack on paper. He refused to own another being in
anything other than the most superficial of senses.

He sent the message and exited out. After a few more clicks, he’d

logged out of his work interface and pushed back from his chair.
Since Jack was apparently very distracted by what he had found
outside, Kelr would make something quick to take out to him. He
heard the transport pull into the parking space out front and connect to
the transport spot. Landen had returned.

The front door alert chimed, and he heard the servant as he made

his way down the hallway. Kelr grabbed a collection plate out of the
drawer of the eating tools and placed it on the counter before opening
the cooling unit and extracting a plate of fruit and bite-sized slices of
meat and breads. He filled the collection plate and closed the lid.
There was a section where he could put two flagons of juice for easy
carrying that he filled and attached as well.

“How did it go, Kelr?” Landen asked from the doorway. Kelr

wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there, but he figured it
hadn’t been long. Landen had been caring for Kelr and Kelr’s mother
since Kelr was a child. He dropped the formal “master” whenever
they were alone.

“You can imagine how it went,” Kelr said, checking the lids to

make sure that they could be carried without spilling. “We did try to
couple as Renkas do.”

“And?”
Kelr shrugged. “It didn’t work. I didn’t bother to try a physical

connection. It’s pointless. I know the results of touching another.” He
regretted that the most. “However, we did come to an understanding.
He wishes to be friends, and I am inclined to grant that wish.” He

Jana Downs

turned from the counter to see Landen reclining easily in the doorway,
frowning.

“Friends?” he repeated, making the word a distasteful curse. “You

have an attraction for one another. Is friendship satisfying enough?”

Kelr leveled a look at him that clearly said that it would have to

be. “I have decided to allow other worthy Eoeans to court him since
he desires physical attention, but he and I are to be friends alone.”

Landen sighed. “If I could take your burden from you—”
“Then I would be my father’s son and not the man I am today,”

Kelr interrupted. “I don’t dislike or regret my life, Landen. All is well.
I’m going to take a snack down to him. He’s been at the beach most
of the afternoon.”

Landen nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“I’ve read that some humans are absolutely fascinated with it. I don’t
quite understand their adoration of a large body of water, but it’s quite
humorous. I would suggest giving him a thorough tour. I’ve heard
they like wildlife.”

“A diving trip might be in the works then. I am due vacation after

the negotiations with the Pressians.”

“Those insects still crave more from us?” Landen sneered.
Kelr held up a hand to silence him. “It’s of no importance,

Landen. The strong are always demanding on those who are under
their thumbs.” Someday perhaps they’d be in a better place and would
have the ability to shrug off the Pressians steely grip, but until then,
being angry did nothing.

“I know.” Landen sighed. “Go take your human his repast. Shall I

start on his new tunics? Or shall I change the design to more
concubine shifts?”

“The tunics in a similar style to mine is fine. Tomorrow we will

compile a list of males who we will invite to court him.”

Landen inclined his head. “Very well.”
Kelr picked up his collection plate before heading to the back

entrance and out into the heat of the day. It was still several hours

Bound by Deception

until sunset, and he hoped that Jack had listened to him about the sun
protection. The coolness of the breeze off the water tended to hide the
sensation of burning that occurred when the Earth’s sun was high
overhead. Eoean flesh didn’t burn easily, but Kelr had his mother’s
red skin which would turn almost muddy when burned by sunlight.
He’d learned the hard way when they’d first arrived here.

“Jack!” he called as he padded barefoot down the hot path to the

sand. He rarely wore boots, so his feet were used to the abuse. Jack
had wandered down the shoreline some ways. It was a good thing he
lived in a very friendly community because he’d gotten off of Kelr’s
stretch of land by several hundred feet.

Jack lifted his head, saw Kelr, and grinned before lifting his hand

in a wave. He turned from his current course and made his way back
toward Kelr. Kelr waited for him at the edge of his property. As Jack
came closer, Kelr winced. His beautiful pale skin was a light pink.
He’d not used the protection. He made a mental note to send Landen
after some salve for the burn when they got back into the house.

With the flowerpot under his arm, Jack stopped two feet from

Kelr. “I’m sorry I took so long. I found some really cool stuff on the
beach and decided to start a collection. Did you get done with your
work?”

Kelr nodded. “I did. I thought you might be hungry.”
“I’m starving,” Jack said, clearly exaggerating, “but I’m thirsty

more than anything else.”

“I have some of your favorite beverage as well.”
Jack smiled. “Awesome.” He glanced up at the sky. “Can we get

out of this heat though? It’s getting uncomfortable on my shoulders.”

“You have burned yourself,” Kelr lectured. “I told you to use sun

protection.”

“Save it, big boy,” Jack interrupted. “I’m a grown-up. I can make

my own decisions. Besides it’s not so bad.”

That was what he thought. The light pink would darken and

become even more painful as the day wore on. However, Kelr kept

Jana Downs

his council. He would return to his lecture when Jack started to whine
about the pain he was in. “We can go eat in the kitchen.”

“Sounds good. I can show you my awesome new stuff.”
Kelr turned, amused by Jack’s enthusiasm, and made his way

back to the house. “Sunset is the best time to eat on the beach. We’ll
do that one evening if you like.”

“Hell yeah,” Jack said, coming up to walk beside him. Kelr was

struck by their height difference all over again. He had to look down
considerably to look at Jack’s face. “This place is amazing. The beach
goes on forever, and the ocean is so big.”

Kelr smiled. “I am happy you enjoy it.” If he thought this was

amazing, he would be floored when he saw some of his friends’ and
associates’ domains. Kelr really lived in a hovel in comparison.
People of his pay grade had compounds and acres of land. Jack would
find out if one of them became his lover. Another twinge of jealousy
struck him that he hastily cast aside.

“Ow,” Jack yelped as they reached the walkway. “That sand is

hot.”

Kelr looked up. “Shall I go get you something to cover your feet?”
“Nah. I’ll run.” What would running do? “I’ll meet you there.”

Jack stepped around him and bolted up the steps and across the
walking path.

Kelr followed after him at a more reasonable pace. What a strange

creature.

* * * *

Jack laughed as Kelr finished telling him a grossly inappropriate

story about how a visiting alien dignitary had mistakenly thought Kelr
was going to “service” him and his brother as part of negotiations for
some kind of refugee status for the aliens on their planet. The look of
absolute horror at the mere memory was enough to send Jack into a

Bound by Deception

cackling fit. Kelr was surprisingly funny, and he was a hell of a
storyteller.

“Dear God, I would’ve loved to see the look on your face when he

whipped it out,” Jack said, grinning from ear to ear. He picked up a
piece of a blue strawberry thing and popped it into his mouth.

Kelr chuckled along with him. “He was quite proud of it. All four

inches of it.”

Jack nearly choked on his piece of fruit. “Oh wow.”
“Precisely.” Kelr sipped his juice and picked up a piece of bread-

looking stuff. “So, Jack, tell me about yourself. What did you do
before you were selected for the lottery?”

Jack hesitated. This was the part he’d been dreading. No one was

supposed to know that he was a convicted felon. He sighed. He hadn’t
talked about before in years. It made him homesick and had been too
difficult to deal with where he’d been.

“I see you have pain associated with the memory of where you

came from,” Kelr rumbled, his expression missing nothing. “If you
don’t wish to talk about it, you don’t have to.” If Jack wasn’t more
careful, he was going to give away his secrets, and then he would be
in trouble. Kelr might send him back, and he couldn’t stand the
thought of that. Jarrett needed the money, and he’d given his word
that he’d keep his mouth shut about it.

He shrugged. “There really isn’t much to tell. My parents were

normal. I have a twin brother named Jarrett, and we grew up in this
little subdivision just outside Las Vegas. I was a baby when the
Plague hit, and my brother contracted a lesser form of it. His heart
was weakened even after we got the vaccine. He had to have a
transplant when we were five. I always watched out for him.”

“You care about him very much.” It was a statement. Kelr took

another sip of his juice. “I was not close with my siblings. I was too
different from them and couldn’t play like them. Eoeans are very
physical, just like humans. As half-Renka, it was painful for me to
touch them.”

Jana Downs

Jack ran his fingers over the table they sat at. The heavy stone slab

was cool to the touch and felt extraordinarily cold on his red forearms.
Kelr might’ve had a point about the sunburn thing. “Jarrett was
different, too, so I get it. It’s why I always looked out for him. He was
too weak as a kid to do much. I always felt guilty for being able to do
the sports and the physical activities that were too much for him. It
wasn’t until high school that he was really healthy enough to do the
same stuff our peers were doing. Of course he went a little buck wild
with the ability.”

“How so?”
“He got into a little trouble here and there doing stupid kid stuff.

He got his girlfriend pregnant, and they got married right out of
school.” He shied away from the memory of what happened next.
“Anyway, we lost touch after that.” Because I went to prison for him.

“I am sorry you lost contact with your brother,” Kelr murmured, a

look of empathy and apology written on his face. “Perhaps you will
find a new life for yourself here and make a new family.”

Jack forced himself to smile. “You’re a nice guy, Kelr. Seriously.

You’re a real catch.” Lucky me.

Kelr looked embarrassed by the compliment, his eyes shifting

away like he was uncomfortable. “I am only a partial catch. I am no
good to a lover. I could perhaps procreate in an artificial setting, but
physically touching is difficult.”

“So these vibrations do what to you exactly?” Jack asked, curious.

He knew that Renkas found it painful, but he didn’t understand the
why.

“Renkas are unique creatures in that they are able to tap into the

minute essences through the use of vibrations. Everything in existence
is composed of these strings that make up the atoms, molecules, and
eventually objects that we can see and touch. All these strings are
basically the same type of matter, but depending on how they move,
how they vibrate, what direction they vibrate in, and at what speed
they’re oscillating, they are different things.” Kelr took a breath, and

Bound by Deception

Jack was pretty sure his head exploded. Wrapping his head around the
concept after barely scraping by in high school with a D in chemistry
wasn’t helping. Kelr continued, “Renkas are able to basically unravel
those strings through the use of audible and inaudible sound so that
they can manipulate matter. The reason I can plant a thought in your
mind is because I can unknot and re-stitch the strings in your firing
neurons to accept information the brain wasn’t necessarily given. Or I
can move objects because I make the physical space around the object
less dense than the air around it. It’s hard to explain.”

“So in theory, you could remake the universe with a thought.”

Yep. Pretty sure my brain just caught on fire. “Why don’t Renkas do
that then? If they’re that powerful, why don’t they remake the
universe?”

Kelr chuckled. “Who says they haven’t? They’re called makers

for a reason. My mother could look at this plate and think ‘knife’ and
a knife it would become. It is manipulative quantum physics.” He sat
back in his chair, pushing the plate of food away from him. “I am
nowhere near as strong or as cerebral as she was. I couldn’t ‘unmake’
something with a thought. I am actually fairly limited. Of course the
downside to having all that metaphysical power is that the ‘real’
world ceases to have a greater meaning, and you’ve already seen what
it’s like when we try to touch others. My mother was so traumatized
by my father’s attentions she stopped speaking.”

“That’s awful,” Jack whispered. “I’m really sorry I pushed for the

whole touching thing.”

Kelr shrugged. “Don’t apologize. I’m only half-Renka. I have

physical sexual needs like any other Eoean. It could’ve very well
worked. Besides, my mother’s situation and mine are quite different.
She was given to my father as a gift for a business merger that her
father and mine brought about. She was forbidden to deny him, and
my father craved her. It was a bad situation.” He shook his head like
he was chasing away bad thoughts. “Back to your original question,
the vibrations unsettle my strings. The tone of physical touch vibrates

Jana Downs

along the nerve endings and shakes the strings inside me much like
the echo of a gong being struck. To give you an example of what
happens, I lost consciousness a few times just learning how to self-
pleasure, and then during my first sexual encounter I had a seizure
that put me in bed for three days.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, that’s fucked up.” He couldn’t

imagine how isolating it had to feel to want touch and yet be unable to
ask for it or accept it. He thought it had been bad when he’d been
locked in solitary for fighting his first month in the cage. What Kelr
said was a whole new level of torture.

“It was unpleasant.”
Understatement of the century. “So you can”—what word had he

used?—“self-pleasure now?”

Kelr nodded. “Yes. I can.”
“If you ever need some visual stimulation or a jerk off buddy, I’m

your man.” He hadn’t meant for that to come out nearly as pervy and
self-serving as it did. He winced. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded.”

Kelr chuckled. “You amuse me. Fine. If I am ever in need of some

live stimulation, I will summon you. Fair enough?”

Jack grinned. “Suppose so.”
“Good. Now that that is settled, I need to know what type of man

you find attractive.”

Jack blinked. Now that was an interesting question.

* * * *

Fuck. Oh fuck it hurts. Jack groaned as he rolled over on his

extraordinarily soft bed in absolute agony.

“I did warn you, Jack,” Kelr’s voice rumbled from above him. He

pried his eyes open and focused on the figure standing above him.
“You’ll wear sun protection next time?”

Bound by Deception

“God, yeah. Help.” He’d sworn he wasn’t going to whine, but

fuck that, nothing hurt like a really bad sunburn. His skin felt too tight
and hot.

Kelr sat beside him on the bed with a jar of something on in his

hand. “I will ease you, sweet.” Then he rubbed the ointment into his
skin, soothing the burn. Jack sighed in relief.

“Thank you,” he whispered. No one had taken care of him like

this since he was a child. It felt good. “Keep it up and I might beg you
to keep me.”

Kelr chuckled, rubbing more of the magic serum into his aching

muscles. “I might not trust another to watch over you, sweet. So I
wouldn’t beg too hard.”

Jana Downs

Chapter Five

“Pressians are dicks,” Jack said as he finished up his article on

Pressian initial interference on Eoean. He had been interested in
Eoeans when he’d had only a little information on the subject. Now
he had so much information, he was happy as a pig rolling in mud.

“I will not argue that point,” Kelr agreed from his chair. He was

still working on the paperwork between the Eoeans and the Yanza
government. They apparently exported a few of their products to the
planet, and Kelr had been brought in to help with the arrangements of
import and exportation fees and the purchase of additional docking
territories on both sides as well. It was a massive project that had
dragged him away from his duties for the past two months, but Jack
could hear the pride in his voice when he talked about being selected.

“How are things going with them by the way?” Jack asked, sliding

his finger over the screen of his e-reader. “Last I heard they were still
being stubborn about the amount of technology you guys are shipping
out.” Eoeans were pretty well known throughout the universe for their
technologies, at least from what Kelr had told him. They’d been
building things they couldn’t actually operate for years now.

Kelr moved his hand over his screen, clearly still engrossed with

his work. “They want Eoeans to concentrate more on military grade
cerebral technologies. It doesn’t behoove us to do so. They have
enough control without us making them weapons to hold over our
heads.” He paused, looked up from his screen. “Don’t you have a
date?”

Jack sighed, rubbing his palms over his knees. “Do I have to?”

Bound by Deception

Kelr blinked. “You know you don’t have to. But Da-ran is a very

respectable Eoean. He is a nontraditional male with a great garden
property further down the coast. I have it on great authority that he’s a
stand-up male.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been on a dozen dates with ‘stand-up males,’

and all of them bore me to tears.” True to his word, Kelr had arranged
for him to go on dates with other men under his or Landen’s
supervision in an attempt to find him a male he wanted to be with on a
permanent basis. Unfortunately, none of them had even made it to
first base. Jack hadn’t been interested. He had a lot more fun hanging
out with Kelr than the guys Kelr set him up with. Their chemistry was
just spot on, and Jack wasn’t good at being enamored with more than
one person at a time.

“Give them a chance, Jack,” Kelr lectured for the millionth time.

“Some of them really liked you. You are very charming when you
wish to be.”

“Just charming? I’m wounded. You should say I’m irresistible.”

Except to Kelr, he wasn’t. The man had iron control over his libido.
Jack understood logically that he shouldn’t hit on him, but it was next
to impossible with how gorgeous Kelr was. However, he wasn’t just a
pretty face. He had a rapier wit and a stronger than average sense of
fairness and justice. He was everything that Jack desired in a
boyfriend and everything he couldn’t have.

Kelr tilted his head to the side like he usually did when he

couldn’t figure out if Jack was joking or not. “You’re irresistible,” he
said, a slow smile spreading his lips. “Happy?”

Jack forced himself to smile. “Ecstatic.” He closed his reader and

pushed himself to his feet. “I guess I’ll go wash up. Where are we
going?”

“I’m not sure,” Kelr said, dropping his gaze back to the screen. “I

know that we’ll be traveling into town, so expect to be treated to a
meal or something.”

Jana Downs

“Great.” The sarcasm was thick enough to spread with a butter

knife. He walked over to the door and swiped his finger over the entry
pad. “Hey, Kelr?”

“Yes, Jack?”
“Do you think we can take a break after this one? I’m getting a

little burnt out on blind dates. Maybe you and I can just hang out this
week, go out together. As friends of course.” He said the last quickly,
afraid that Kelr would protest if he didn’t make the distinction.

Kelr hesitated, his black eyes boring into him like he could see his

motivations clearly. Something between them sparked and heat rose
up. Jack’s body hardened behind his new red harem pants. Kelr
seemed to like the color best on him, so Jack wore it as often as his
wardrobe allowed. “As friends,” Kelr allowed. “As friends we will go
out.”

Jack’s heart skipped a beat. “Cool.” He left out the door and all

but skipped down the hallway. He would have a solid week of Kelr
and nothing else. He just had to deal with one more alien fawning all
over him. Then he would be free.

* * * *

Kelr heard the alert on the front door but knew Landen was

upstairs changing for their outing. Apparently his servant wanted to
pick up a few things while they were dining in town. He sighed and
shut down his work interface. He ran his hand over his face as
annoyance bubbled up in his gut. Mine. The inner voice needed to
stuff it. Jack wasn’t his to claim. His cocks said otherwise.

They needed to shut up, too.
He pushed back from his desk and stood, walking swiftly out of

his office to the front door to allow in their guest. He opened the door
without preamble, a greeting to Da-ran on his lips.

He frowned. “Aldn, what are you doing here?”

Bound by Deception

Aldn stood on his step, unapologetic and grinning. “Hi there,

gorgeous. Da-ran got held up in the city dealing with some mess from
overhead. He sends his apologies.”

Kelr’s eyes narrowed. “I see. I wonder who could have caused

such severe difficulties for him.”

“No need to wonder, dear Kelr. I take full credit,” Aldn said

cheerfully. “I can’t help it. You wouldn’t let me take him out for
weeks.”

Kelr growled. “That’s because you are a man whore.”
Aldn blinked. “A man whore?”
“A male who copulates with many others without regards for a

relationship. Jack taught me.” He’d learned many new expressions
from his human. If he ever got back on human-Eoean relations, he
was set.

“Ah. Well, I am reformed.” Aldn pushed past him inside. “So

where is the lovely human you’ve been so incredibly closemouthed
about?”

“I sincerely doubt that you are reformed, Aldn,” Kelr rumbled.

“You need to leave. You’re not taking my Jack out.”

“Your Jack?” Aldn asked raising a dark-blue eyebrow.
Kelr slowly counted backward from ten. “Jack deserves the best

male available.” He ignored the implied connection Aldn was hinting
about.

“I am eligible, Kelr,” Aldn said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“And I’m your best friend. That should count for something.”

“It doesn’t,” Kelr snapped.
Jack’s voice made him jump. “Um, is everything okay?” Kelr

turned to see Jack standing in the hallway, his red-and-black tunic and
pants on along with the sandals Kelr had bought him. The colors
screamed that he was Kelr’s, and it pleased him on some primal level
that said he needed to fuck Jack no matter the consequences.

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“Everything is fine,” Kelr said, carefully positioning himself

between Jack and Aldn. “Da-ran will have to reschedule his date with
you. It appears he was delayed.”

Jack pointed toward Aldn. “And who is that?”
“No one.”
Aldn growled. “I’m someone all right. I’m Aldn, Kelr’s friend.”

Aldn glared. “At least when he claims me.”

“I don’t claim you,” Kelr spat over his shoulder. “You are a

menace sent to me by the All Father for retribution of past wrongs.”

Jack started laughing, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Jealousy hit all over again. Those were his smiles. “Oh wow. I am
going to like this guy.” He brushed past Kelr, and Kelr had to ball his
hands into fists to keep from reaching out for him. Jack extended his
hand. “Jack Corbet, nice to meet you.”

Aldn looked pleased. “I am looking forward to getting to know

you, Jack Corbet. My friend hasn’t told me much about you.”

Kelr huffed. “Grasp his hand, Aldn. It’s a human greeting.” He

did so, but they both seemed intent on ignoring him.

Jack’s hand clutched Aldn’s longer than Kelr liked. “He likes to

keep me all to himself even if he shares occasionally,” Jack said,
winking. Is he flirting? Kelr repressed the growl that filled his throat
but barely.

Aldn chuckled. “I can see why. You are a lovely creature. I’m

very happy to be able to fill Da-ran’s place this evening.”

“You’re not too bad yourself,” Jack complimented. “So where we

going?”

“Landen!” Kelr yelled, unable to suppress his instincts any

further. He was shaking with the need to place himself between Jack
and Aldn. He hadn’t reacted this strongly to any of the other suitors.
The others had only garnered a passing regard by Jack. Aldn had
captured his attention, made him laugh. It was unacceptable.

Pounding footsteps told him that Landen was going double time

down the stairs. “What is, Master Kelr?” Landen asked, tearing

Bound by Deception

around the corner and coming to a sudden stop about three feet from
them.

“You are to accompany Jack and Aldn on their outing.” He

couldn’t bring himself to say the word date. His entire body vibrated
with a song to hurt Aldn, badly. What is wrong with me? He wasn’t a
male who lost his temper, ever.

“Kelr?” Jack asked. The question went deeper than his name, but

he couldn’t deal with that either.

“I’ll speak with you when you return.” Kelr turned away from the

two of them and headed back to his office.

“Why don’t you come with, Kelr?” Aldn called, clearly

bewildered by his reaction.

“I have work to do,” Kelr tossed over his shoulder. “You two have

fun.” He didn’t mean that.

He shut himself in his office and turned on his music with a quiet

hum. He needed to center himself. He sat at his desk and opened his
work folders. The words blurred together, but that wasn’t the point.
The music was prerecorded soothing tunes that vibrated in just the
right manner. He took a deep breath. He would have to smooth things
over when they returned. He had no right to react in such a manner.
None at all.

* * * *

“He must like you,” Aldn said as Jack stared after Kelr, his chest

tight with a combination of anger and pain.

Jack tore his gaze away from the closed office door and back to

Aldn. “Like me? I think he just pitched a fit like a six-year-old.” A
quick glance at Landen showed him the stony-faced rigidity that was
Landen’s unhappy face. He’d only worn it once before that Jack could
remember, and that had been when they’d been discussing Pressian-
Eoean relations. The man hated the Pressians with a passion.

Jana Downs

“His reaction says a lot,” Aldn murmured, a thoughtful look on his

face. “Hmm, anyway, shall we go?”

“Where are we going?” Jack asked, turning his mind away from

Kelr and his weird reaction.

“I had my servant prepare a meal for us down by the water,” Aldn

said, smiling. “I heard humans like the beach at all hours.”

Jack nodded. “That sounds good.” He loved how wide and open

the world outside was. After being in a cage for years, being outdoors
was a thrilling experience for him. An idea occurred to him. “You’ve
known Kelr a long time, huh?”

Aldn’s lips twitched in amusement. “Come out to the beach and

I’ll tell you about him.”

Jack was convinced.
They made their way down to the beach that was lit with blue

glowing lamps the same shade as Eoean skin. He was partial to red
himself. However, it did provide great lighting for Aldn. He was a
beautiful Eoean, a beautiful male period. He was funny and had all
the charm of a man who was definitely used to others finding him
physically appealing. Jack had met plenty of guys like him back in his
old life. He’d never date any of them. The scene was romantic
enough, and the stone table had been arranged with a fine collection
of foods, but the mood wasn’t right.

“Sit,” Aldn said, motioning for him to sit down. His servant stood

to one side, a small table of his own set up with food. Aldn inclined
his head to him. “Thank you, Moritt.”

Jack sat down on one side of the stone bench. “So how long have

you been friends with Kelr?”

“A long time,” Aldn said, taking the opposite seat. “Since we

were spawn.” He chuckled. “I can tell this entire courtship business is
an utter waste of time for every interested male he keeps throwing at
you.”

“What do you mean?”

Bound by Deception

“Both you and Kelr are absolutely enamored with one another,

and no one on this planet has even the remotest chance of turning
your head in their direction.” He sipped his drink, and Jack echoed the
motion, needing to do something with his hands. He took a swallow
and started choking.

“Jesus!” he hacked, his throat and stomach instantly on fire.

“What the hell is that?”

Aldn chuckled. “It’s Yako liquor. It’s Kelr’s favorite and mine,

too.”

“It’s like kerosene.” He put the cup back on the table and eyed it

like it was a snake.

“Sip it. Don’t gulp it,” Aldn instructed. Jack tried it. It was a little

less of a punch that way. “Since Kelr is so ready to brawl over you,
I’m assuming the connection between you two is present but not
secure.”

Jack shrugged. “We have the chemistry. But we can’t…”
“Have sex,” Aldn finished. “I give him a hard time about it, but I

really hate that he can’t connect in a physical way. It’s the Renka side
of him.”

“I know.” Jack sighed. “That’s why I’m letting him force this. He

thinks he’s respecting me by ‘letting’ me date other guys.”

Aldn drained his glass and motioned his servant for another. “He

is one of the rare individuals in the universe that truly believes in
equality. I think his mother has something to do with that.”

“What happened to her? I mean, Kelr gave me the basics, but the

details are somewhat lacking.” Jack hungered for any information that
had to do with the sexy alien that had been nothing but the epitome of
respectful since Jack had been taken from prison and shipped off in a
late sacrifice.

Aldn looked at him, his dark eyes shining in the light of the

torches. “Renkas shatter when they’re touched too much. They’re
very powerful but fragile all the same. Kelr’s father was a traditional
Eoean Arak or house leader, and his will was absolute. I think he

Jana Downs

loved her in his own way but tried to force her to be an Eoean
concubine and broke her in the process. Kelr watched it happen and
molded his life so that he wouldn’t damage others. His compassion
makes him excellent in diplomacy and in humanitarian concerns.”

“He’s a good man.” Jack sipped his Yako and managed not to gag

that time.

“He’s a great man,” Aldn corrected. “He deserves much more

than he is destined to have. Which brings us back to the dilemma,
what are we going to do about your little problem?”

Jack shrugged. “There isn’t much to do.”
“There is much to do,” Aldn said, drumming his fingers lightly on

the tabletop. “Kelr cares about you. He’s sitting there in his office,
pondering exactly what we’re doing out here, imagining my head on
the end of some cannibal’s skewer.”

“He knows it’s a hopeless situation, has declared it in fact,” he

said, rubbing his hands over his thighs as a weird tension started
developing in the pit of his stomach.

Aldn leaned forward. “He’s holding out for you whether he knows

it or not. It’s instinctual. He wants to claim you but knows he can’t.”

“So how do I remedy the situation?” The tension was developing

into annoyance at a fairly quick rate.

“Give him certainty on where he stands,” Aldn murmured,

reaching out and swiping his thumb over Jack’s bottom lip. “Give me
a chance to court you, not superficially as you give everyone else. But
give me a real chance.”

“I like him,” Jack admitted. “What if there is a way?”
“Have you two touched?”
“No.”
Aldn shrugged. “Then touch him. If it is possible, you’ll know. If

it isn’t, well, you’ll know that, too.”

“He won’t let me.” If Kelr would’ve let him, he would’ve tried it

already. But Kelr kept them separate, and the constant reminder that

Bound by Deception

the slightest physical touch would cause pain made Jack keep his
hands to himself.

Aldn chuckled. “Then push him.”
“How?”
“Give me a kiss.”
Jack blinked. “Excuse me?”
Aldn’s lips twisted up into a grin. “I said, give me a kiss. My

vibration will linger on you like an imprint. It’ll drive him insane.”

“Why would I want to hurt him more than I already am?” Jack

asked, annoyed all over again. Kelr was a really stand-up guy. It
wasn’t fair to either of them.

“You need to give him closure,” Aldn rumbled. “Either he’ll

choose to pursue you or he’ll give up. Either way, he’ll have the
answer he needs to find peace.”

“And if he chooses to pursue me?”
Aldn shrugged, the gesture very human. “Then I will bow out. He

is my friend, after all.”

Slowly, Jack nodded and leaned over the table. “Fine. One kiss.”

He didn’t have to wait long. Aldn leaned up and smashed their
mouths together, nearly knocking Jack backward in the process. Aldn
grabbed his biceps and held on as Jack opened his mouth under the
firm presses of Aldn’s tongue. He wasn’t a bad kisser by any stretch.
He was practiced, smooth. Jack let his eyes slide shut, and he tried to
fall into Aldn’s mastery. Their tongues danced, and he felt…nothing.

He pulled back. “Stop. That’s good enough.”
Aldn grinned again. “Fine. I’ll steal more kisses after you and

Kelr lose your erections for one another.”

Jack sat back in his seat. Yeah. He didn’t think that was

happening anytime soon.

Jana Downs

Chapter Six

Do not act like a jealous ass. Do not act like an enraged jealous

ass. No matter how much Kelr repeated the mantra, he couldn’t help
but feel that it was all for nothing. His meditation had lasted all of five
minutes, his energy too excited to settle into a relaxed vibration. He
paced the halls, went to the windows in the kitchen and back to his
office. He could see the lights leading down to the beach. It was
romantic, beautiful. Infuriating. Aldn had gone all out for this little
escapade of his.

He sat at his sitting chair, rubbing his hands over his thighs over

and over to still their nervous tremble. What if he likes Aldn? The
whole point in this dating process had been to find Jack a new master,
one who could fulfill all his needs, but there had been a small part of
him that had hoped that Jack would choose Kelr instead.

Yes, because life with you would be so much better than with

another male. The cruel voice sounded especially malicious in his
head. It was the same voice that had told him all his life that he was
strange, different, not like his fellow siblings. What’s he supposed to
do with the rest of his life with you? The attraction of a unique-
colored alien will fade and then what? You’ll banish him to a life of
celibacy, for what? Great conversations? Pathetic.

He heard the door open in the kitchen, and he was out of his chair

before he thought better of it. He all but ran down the hallway to the
kitchen and was vibrating with anger by the time the door swished
shut behind Jack and Landen. Landen took one look at Kelr’s face and
went back out the door, no doubt figuring the two of them needed a
second.

Bound by Deception

Jack raised his deep-brown eyes and met his gaze. “Kelr?” The

moment he spoke, Kelr growled. He could feel that Jack had been
kissed, thoroughly. He stepped forward and slammed his body into
Jack’s, pressing him against a nearby line of shelves. The normal
jarring sensation as his energy met another living being was present
but distant. Mostly, Kelr felt Jack’s heat through the thin material of
his clothing. With another rumble, he lowered his head and claimed
Jack’s lips in his own. Mine. The human groaned into his mouth and
surrendered to his touch.

Something sparked between them, and a type of vibration he’d

never felt before reverberated down the line. He moaned into the kiss,
pleasure shaking him to the core. His cocks pressed insistently behind
the material of his pants, and the urge to mark Jack, to claim him, rose
up swift and fierce to overwhelm his normally calm demeanor. He
broke the kiss only long enough to pull his shirt over his head and toss
it aside. He’d never been skin-to-skin with a lover, not even when
he’d had sex, but he craved it now.

“Kelr,” Jack groaned, his eyes eating him alive as he took in the

bare expanse of his chest. He reached out and ran his hands down
Kelr’s abdomen before pulling him against him again.

“Mine,” Kelr snarled, needed the affirmation. There was a small

part of him that told him to stop, demanded that he stop doing what he
was doing. It wasn’t fair to for him to kiss and touch when it would
only end badly. Except, right now it felt amazing. Jack cupped Kelr’s
cocks through his pants, and Kelr couldn’t help but to pant at the
touch. The human expertly touched him like he’d done it a thousand
times before. Kelr shuddered. All Father, yes.

“God, you’re so fucking hot, Kelr,” Jack rumbled, kneading him

and expertly finding the ridge of both his dicks with ease. He
scattered kisses over his chest as he did so, grinding against his leg as
he touched.

“Jack,” Kelr whispered “Jack.” He sucked in a breath, pushing his

hips into the human’s seeking hands. But he didn’t just want to be

Jana Downs

touched. He wanted to touch in return. He wrapped his arms around
the human’s body, kneading his muscled ass as he grinded into him.
“Beautiful Jack.”

Jack nipped his chest. “Hmm, you’re not so bad yourself, big

boy.” He licked the flat disk of Kelr’s nipple, making Kelr jump.
“Take me to bed?”

Kelr’s cocks jerked at the suggestion. “Yes. Mine.” He felt Jack’s

excitement, felt his overwhelming desire for more. He wanted to fuck
and, All Father help him, Kelr wanted to fuck as well, regardless of
whatever physical pain was inflicted on him.

The human pressed a kiss to his collarbone, but it was a stretch. It

was odd that he’d never noticed their height difference before. “I’m
yours, Kelr. Promise to keep me?”

Kelr hesitated, indecision overwhelming the lust for a split

second.

Jack looked up, frowned. “Kelr?”
“Um…”
His eyes narrowed and he removed his hands. Kelr nearly wept at

the loss. No. I felt so good. For once, I felt like a man. Jack’s eyes
narrowed. “What is this then?”

Kelr felt the cord connecting them flux before dispersing. Almost

immediately waves of vibrations assaulted his sense, giving him an
instant headache. He took a step back as his heart fell. “Jack, I am
sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you.”

Jack’s nostrils flared and his cheeks turned bright red. “You’re a

coward, Kelr. Really you are.”

He knew that, but it still stung to hear Jack say it. He cleared his

throat. “How was your outing with Aldn?” He couldn’t bring it within
himself to say what it really was. His possessive streak was still too
close to the surface and his body was screaming at him to say “yes”
and return to what they’d been doing the moment before.

Bound by Deception

“Our date was great.” Jack paused. “He was a hell of a kisser.” He

reached down and rearranged his erection. “I was just coming to tell
you that I wanted him to stay the night with me.”

Kelr couldn’t help the snarl that tore itself from his throat.

“Excuse me?”

Jack huffed like Kelr was being unreasonable. “I want him to fuck

me.” Kelr felt the words like a physical blow. “I mean, that was the
goal of all this song-and-dance bullshit.” He shrugged, giving Kelr a
calculating look. “Kelr, we have to stop this. You want me. I want
you. We like each other, and it has the potential to be something
more. However, this is the part where I tell you what my daddy told
me when I was younger. You can’t ride two horses with one ass,
Kelr.”

“Meaning?”
“Meaning you can’t be with me halfway,” Jack said, crossing his

arms over his chest “Either you’re riding the pony that includes a
relationship with me or you’re riding the one that means no
relationship with me. Make. Up. Your. Mind.”

Kelr waffled, indecision warring in his mind. He knew what he

should say. He knew he should tell Jack that he couldn’t give him
what he needed and walk away, but everything in him screamed
otherwise. He sighed softly. “Do you want to be with me, Jack? Even
if that meant you would never have sex again?”

“There are more important things.” Jack was so stubborn. It was a

downright charming quality.

“Then yes, Jack Corbet. You are mine, and I want to be with you.”

He gritted his teeth at the mental image of Aldn and Jack touching.
“You will not see Aldn again.”

Jack’s gaze was uncompromising. “Tell me you’ll give this

touching thing a chance. Tell me that I’m yours.” He reached down
and caressed his cock through the pants almost identical to Kelr’s
own. Kelr groaned at the sight. Jack gasped and did it again. “Tell me,
Kelr.”

Jana Downs

Kelr couldn’t speak past the desire in his throat. Instead he

dropped his shoulder and pushed it into Jack’s abdomen, scooping
him up in a fireman’s carry. Jack chuckled and caressed Kelr’s back
as Kelr turned and strode toward his room. His human was right. It
was time for him to take what was his, damn nobility and the
consequences.

The door opened, and they stepped inside.
“What changed?” Jack asked as Kelr tossed him onto the center of

his bed. Kelr attacked the tie on his pants and accidently ripped the
material. It didn’t matter though. He was going to do this, claim Jack
as he should’ve claimed him from the beginning. Fighting his nature
and Jack’s desire had been the worst sort of idiocy.

“Aldn,” Kelr admitted, grabbing some lubricant from the panel

shelf near his closet.

“What about him?”
Kelr waved his hand. “Strip for me, human.” He stroked his hard

cocks one after the other, watching his lover against his bed and
knowing that in just a moment he was going to have all of Jack in all
the ways he’d dreamed about over and over again. Fear lingered in the
back of his mind, telling him that it wasn’t possible to take what he
wanted and enjoy it.

Jack slowly pulled his tunic over his head, revealing his ropey

abdomen and paler body. “Answer me, Kelr. What about Aldn pushed
you to lose control?”

“He is not honorable,” Kelr hedged.
A teasing smile stretched Jack’s lips as he lay down and ran a

hand down his abdomen to the tie on his pants. “So?”

“You might have liked him. He’s…well, he can be charming and

he’s good with males.” Kelr’s body flashed hot at the thought. He was
ready to murder Aldn for even attempting to seduce his human.

A soft look came over Jack’s face, and Kelr was very afraid he

was going to lose his sanity during this encounter. “You were
jealous.”

Bound by Deception

Kelr nodded, but it was begrudgingly. “Yes, stubborn human. I

was jealous. Now, strip for me!”

Jack finally obeyed him, slowly removing his tunic and pants with

two mechanical motions. Seeing the human naked was akin to being
transported to a pleasure world on the outer ring where people went to
lounge in sexual decadence. Jack was lean but muscular, and his
brown eyes were filled to the brim with want. The vibrations of desire
scattered along Kelr’s nerve endings, and he ignored the slight
discomfort they caused. He was having his human.

“I can’t wait to have you inside me,” Jack rumbled, echoing

Kelr’s thoughts. He went over to Kelr’s bed and crawled on it,
positioning himself on the center for Kelr’s pleasure. “Lube?”

“Patience, beautiful boy,” Kelr commanded. He would savor this

in case it was the last opportunity he had to touch Jack.

Jack grinned and stroked his cock from base to tip. “Patience isn’t

my strong suit, Kelr. I’ve waited weeks to do this.”

Kelr wrapped his hands around each ankle and jerked him down

so that Jack was forced to his back. “I will savor you, Jack.” He ran
his hands up Jack’s calves, loving the feeling of strong male muscle
beneath his fingertips. The human spread his legs accommodatingly, a
soft smile on his face.

He’d never seen anyone so trusting. In all actuality, Jack

should’ve been intimidated by their differences, but he seemed to
embrace them eagerly. Kelr couldn’t resist pressing kisses to the
inside of Jack’s knees, working his way up to the burgeoning arousal
that was screaming for his attention. He’d never allowed himself the
pleasure of sucking someone before. The vibrations of desire skittered
along his nerve endings, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. In fact,
it was a little exciting.

Finally he got to Jack’s already pre-cum-slicked erection and

sighed in appreciation. He licked the head of Jack’s cock. Kelr purred.
He tasted like the sea, salt and moisture mixing together to create the
most intoxicating flavor he’d ever had the pleasure of indulging in.

Jana Downs

Jack gasped and gripped hard to his blanket, twining his hands in the
soft material.

He suckled the tip into his mouth, reveling in the whimpers

coming out of Jack’s mouth with every downward lunge. “Slick me,”
Jack panted. “Spread me.” He gasped. “I need you.” It was good to be
needed, to be so utterly desired. The past few weeks had shown Kelr
more than anything that they could be excellent friends. The potential
for more was always present, always in the back of his mind. Now
that potential was becoming a reality.

He grabbed the lubrication and pressed it to the tight ring of

muscle that guarded Jack’s entrance. In this way, they were just alike.
Kelr sucked harder and bobbed his head, nearly gagging himself on
Jack’s thick length. He hummed low, eliciting a near scream from his
companion. He adjusted the tune and had the circular toy he kept by
the bedside hover over to him. He snatched it from the air, lubing it
up in two swift motions. With another press of the button the toy
started to vibrate. He used it sometimes when he was pleasuring
himself at night but only to rub along his cocks, never for what he
intended to do to Jack.

“What the fuck is that?” Jack yelped as the toy vibrated against

his entrance. Kelr chuckled. Jack groaned as the tip of the toy
penetrated his entrance. “Oh wow, Kelr. You’re a lot kinkier than I
thought you’d be.”

If he was talking about the toy use, Kelr could blow his mind with

normal Eoean pleasure rooms. He didn’t point out that on the
kinkiness scale, he was the least kinky out of all of Eoean society by
his estimation. Come to think of it, out of Renka society as well. He
was a unique one when it came to sex.

“This will stretch you so I can take you, Jack,” Kelr said,

watching the tip disappear into Jack’s tight body.

“I can’t take both your cocks.”
Kelr’s lips twitched. “I didn’t expect you to. You’ll take one then

the other.”

Bound by Deception

“Fuck, yes! That feels fantastic,” Jack rumbled as the toy slid

deeper. It widened as it did, pulsing and spreading with each plunge.
Kelr’s secondary cock caressed his primary one, milking him as the
desire rose. The vibrations excited rather than hurt, and Kelr was
pleasantly surprised by the feeling.

He hummed, commanding the want into a higher plane. Jack

groaned and spread his legs wider, arching up. Kelr wrapped his
mouth back around Jack’s length as the toy stretched him. Jack was
crying out in regular intervals, his limbs shaking as the vibrations
speared him deeper. Kelr couldn’t feel what Jack felt exactly, but he
could tell by the excitement in the strings of energy surrounding Jack
that he was enjoying every second and more.

“Kelr, please,” Jack moaned. “I can’t take any more.”
Kelr obliged him and slowly pulled the toy from Jack’s writhing

body. He tossed it aside before taking his secondary cock in hand,
pulling it off his primary cock where it was trying to milk his first
cock and induce orgasm. Jack smiled at him and put his legs around
Kelr’s waist. This was the real test. When two bodies joined during
passion, the vibrations typically shook him out of his skin. If he could
take Jack without experiencing pain, he imagined that his love life
would be made completely new. And I’ll never stop having sex. The
wry thought made him smile, and Jack returned the gesture.

“You’re mine,” Kelr rumbled as he pressed the tip of his

secondary cock against Jack’s tight hole.

Jack gasped. “Likewise, big guy.” The possession felt good going

both ways. He’d never allowed someone claim over him, but with
Jack it felt right. He took a deep breath before slowly beginning the
glide inside Jack’s tight entrance. Then the human surprised him by
reaching down and grabbing the tip of his primary cock, jerking him
off as Kelr sank into his depths. Kelr’s eyes crossed. By the three
moons, had anything felt so perfect? Their eyes met and the intensity
of the vibrations aligned, and once again all hesitation or discomfort
left him. Touching Jack was akin to lining up perfectly. Soul

Jana Downs

resonance. The term gained an entirely new meaning. Apparently for
a Renka, soul resonance implied that they gained the ability to
touch…a lot.

Mine. Forever. Always. Mine. Kelr felt hope blossom in his chest

like buds in springtime. They’d always shared a connection, but he’d
denied a physical one in anticipation of the inevitable pain that would
follow. This was paradise.

“Kelr,” Jack groaned, digging his heels into Kelr’s back as he

seated himself fully. “It’s been so long.”

Kelr couldn’t speak. He was feeling too much, and all of it was

good. He pulled his hips back before surging forward again. Pleasure
shot through his cock and his mind in unison. It was like he was
merging with Jack somehow. He did it again and again, chasing the
higher precipice that he knew instinctively existed just outside his
reach. Jack cried out, urging him on, moving in unison with every
thrust of his body.

It seemed only seconds before Jack was screaming his release to

the ceiling, and Kelr’s cock went off at the instant tightening of Jack’s
form around him. He growled his way through that release and was
left panting in the aftermath as his other cock demanded attention.

“I love how you purr for me,” Jack murmured, easing off his spent

cock. Kelr pushed up to his heels as his human squirmed out from
under him and flipped over to his stomach, elevating his hips before
throwing a wink over his shoulder. “I am going to love your double
orgasm thing. I need you again. I can feel you inside, Kelr. I feel how
much you need me, too.”

Kelr was helpless to resist the entry. He took his primary cock in

hand and pushed roughly inside Jack, unable to help the feral edge to
his thrust. He was a male in rut and could do nothing but grind inside
the object of his lust. Jack was right there with him, pushing him
higher. A few frantic thrusts later and the pleasurable heat threw him
headlong into another orgasm. He was the one who screamed that

Bound by Deception

time around, shuddering through another intense release as Jack
whispered his praises.

He collapsed onto his lover’s back, reveling in the way their

sweat-slicked skins touched and the contrast therein. “Jack,” he said
the name like a prayer.

“Yeah?”
He pressed a kiss to Jack’s neck. “You amaze me, my human.” He

pulled his cock from the welcoming confines of Jack’s body. “Thank
you.” Their connection lingered, making him feel like they were
connected by two powerful cords of destiny.

“I feel funny,” Jack said, rolling to his back and looking up at

Kelr, who moved off the mattress to seek a washcloth to cleanse them
with.

“Funny? What’s humorous?” He knew better, but his ability to

translate human slang was off due to the state of his scrambled mind.

Jack chuckled. “Not funny as in humor. Funny as in strange. It’s

like everything inside me is chilled out. I never want to move again.”
He smiled. “I think this qualifies as the best sex of my life.”

Kelr ran the clothes underneath the faucet. “I am of the same

mind.” He turned from the water with washcloths in hand. “Stay with
me?” He’d never had a lover stay the night.

Jack nodded. “Absolutely. I hope you’re a cuddler.”
For Jack, he’d be anything.

Jana Downs

Chapter Seven

Weeks passed in absolute bliss. Jack had never been so utterly

captivated by someone as he was by his alien master. The dating thing
had been left by the wayside after that first night, and Kelr had told
Aldn that Jack was no longer available for courtship. The alien had
taken it well from what Jack could see, but then again, he’d suspected
from the first that Aldn had really only wanted Kelr to hook up with
Jack anyway.

As strange as it was, he’d never felt freer than he did belonging to

Kelr. He’d picked up some hobbies, most of which involved alien
histories and the evolutions of civil societies all over the universe.
He’d built a scale model the other day to imitate a traditional Renka
dwelling that Kelr had been pretty impressed with. Of course Jack
was planning on making more after that. He liked when Kelr was
relaxed and smiling. He especially loved when he was allowed to play
with the gorgeous mass of black silk that masqueraded as his lover’s
hair. It was an intimacy he thoroughly enjoyed. To say they’d grown
closer was a pale comparison to what actually occurred. Jack was
perilously close to falling head over ass in love with the alien.

The sex thing was still a little touch and go at times. They weren’t

always in sync, and when they weren’t, Kelr’s frustration mounted to
an almost visible irritation that would result in him burying himself in
work for days after. Jack was trying to be patient though. When they
connected and everything lined up perfectly, their sex was the stuff of
romance novels, and he wasn’t exaggerating in the least to say so. He
just wished he could figure out the magic formula to make it that great
every time. It wasn’t fair that Kelr got the short end of the stick when

Bound by Deception

it came to getting off. Jack didn’t regret his decision though. He’d
told Kelr it didn’t matter, and it didn’t. He loved being with the male
too much to give him up over the few times their relationship sucked
a bit. Besides, he was determined to figure it out.

“Son of a two-jointed Kurn whore!”
The curse had Jack looking up from his reader. “What is it?” Kelr

was standing at his desk, staring at some kind of writing on the blue
vid-screen that he had pulled up. He looked furious.

Kelr’s black eyes met his. “The Pressians are claiming that we’re

making deliberately inferior products and shopping them to their
outposts as part of some malicious scheme.” He sat down heavily in
his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “That’s the most ridiculous
thing I have ever heard.”

“I’m sorry they’re being dicks again,” Jack said, frowning. “I’m

guessing you have to diffuse the situation?”

Kelr nodded. “Unfortunately. Damnation. If I don’t, we’ll have

another plague war on our hands.”

Jack’s heart skipped a beat. “Seriously? Over some faulty

equipment?”

“They’re even saying we’re giving them inferior humans to sell as

well.” Kelr growled. “As if we’d ever risk war over something like
that.”

“Inferior? How?” A sick sensation started swirling in his gut, and

a sinking suspicion set up there.

Kelr sat back further in his seat and crossed his arms over his

massive chest. “If you’ll believe it, they’re saying we’re taking human
criminals and shopping them out as civilian products. Can you
imagine? As if we’d risk setting loose criminals in the civilized
universe. They’re just looking for reasons to start a fight.”

Jack felt the blood drain from his face and hit the off button on his

reader. “That really is stupid. Real stupid.” Someone had opened their
big mouth, and it certainly wasn’t him. Would Kelr even want him if
he knew the truth? The uncertainty made telling him out of the

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question. He didn’t want to be judged for something he didn’t even
do. God, this sucks. “So what’s the plan?”

Again, Kelr shrugged, looking more than a little agitated by the

fact. “We’ll submit a history of each vessel we’ve transferred in the
past five years and hope that it’ll be enough to keep them happy.
That’s all I can do. As far as the technology goes, they know we can’t
test the products due to our inability to access them through our
cerebral cortexes. Their plague made sure of that. Soul resonance is
the only scientifically proven method to access it, and the rarity of the
event is one in a billion. To blame us for malfunctions when we can’t
test the product is stupid.” Without really intending to, Jack started
humming the same soothing melody Kelr used whenever he was
trying to calm Jack. Surprise flickered over his lover’s face an instant
before a smile stretched his lips. “That’s very sweet of you, Jack.”

Heat spread over his cheeks. “Sorry. I just like when you hum to

me when I’m upset. I’ll stop.”

Kelr shook his head. “No. Don’t stop. I was enjoying it. You may

not be able to manipulate the strings of the universe, but your
thoughtfulness touches me.” He paused. “Erm, Jack?”

“What?”
“I have been meaning to say something for several days now, but I

find myself at a loss for words. Would you mind if I sang something
to you now?”

Jack blinked, unsure what the hell Kelr was talking about. He

pushed aside his discomfort. His government had given him a good
cover story and a history that fooled the Eoeans. There was no reason
to be nervous about the Pressians’ accusations. He needed to think
more of his lover and less about the news. There was always some
species somewhere getting butt hurt about something. If he got riled
up every time one of them went fishing, he was liable to pull his hair
out.

“Sure. I like listening to you.” Kelr was good with words. He was

a diplomat after all. But when he sang, there was no doubt exactly

Bound by Deception

how he was feeling. Jack should’ve prepared himself better for what
Kelr was doing, but he had no defense once the man opened his
mouth as a song that wasn’t quite music filled the air. There weren’t
lyrics or even tones that he could pick out as a sharp, flat, or whatever
other musical notation there was to make. It was like pure emotion,
unfettered or misinterpreted by things like words or gestures. He felt
Kelr’s affection, the love he found it impossible to name because the
Eoeans didn’t have a word for it. The song faded away to nothing, and
Jack stared at his alien, stunned.

“Kelr,” Jack whispered, swallowing as emotion threatened to

swamp him.

“It’s all right if you don’t return it right now,” Kelr said quickly,

turning his attention back to the vid-screen. “I only wanted you to
know that you meant much to me. No one else would put up with my
flaws.”

Jack swallowed, hard. “You are a good man, Kelr. You are my

man. That means something special.” Of course he couldn’t spit out “I
love you” or anything like that. He was so tripped up over the fact that
Kelr had just sang it to him in the most unbelievable delivery he’d
ever had the pleasure of hearing.

“Thank you, sweet. I appreciate you.” Kelr sighed. “You might

have to go down to the beach with Landen this afternoon. My work
may take me longer than I expected.”

“Sure. That’s okay.” Jack fiddled with a loose string on his pants.

“Hey, Kelr?”

“What, sweet?”
“What would you do if you found some of the humans really were

prisoners?” he asked, trying to keep his tone inquisitive.

Kelr looked up. “I would have no choice but to return them to the

human government and demand repayment. The administration may
even cut off the number of vaccinations issued to reflect their
proposed values. Why? Do you know something?”

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Tell him. “No. I was just wondering what the reparations were.

You know me, I’m always curious about how Eoeans handle things.”
He deliberately looked away and back down at his e-reader.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kelr nod, clearly satisfied by

his explanation. “Would you go fetch us some mid meal from the
kitchen? Landen prepared a plate before he left, but he’s gone to visit
some relatives today.”

Jack surged to his feet, eager to run away from the guilt eating at

him. The guy had all but told him he loved him, and Jack had lied to
him in return. He felt like a Grade-A asshat. “Sure. I’ll be back in just
a minute. You want some juice?”

“That is my preference.”
Jack turned from Kelr’s desk and turned toward the door. He

needed to tell him. But how did he tell his lover that he was a
convicted felon and a liar to boot? They’d talked many times about
their pasts. He’d deliberately left out any mention of his prison life.
While it had felt like only a tiny omission at the time, now it seemed
like he had left out a major part of his story. This was a part of
himself that he’d known would produce obstacles. However, he
hadn’t anticipated it being so dire.

He made his way down to the kitchens and opened the refrigerator

to get the plate Landen had made him. For the first time since this
whole thing began, he felt trapped. Prison hadn’t made him feel like a
rat in a cage, but keeping something from his lover did. He took a
deep breath as his heart started to pound. Take it easy, Jack. This is
nothing. He cares for you, you care for him. That’s all that matters.
His internal pep talk did little to ease his crappy mood.

Grabbing the plate and the juice from the fridge, Jack placed both

on the counter before turning toward the panel that pulled out to
display their cups. He grabbed two of the attachable variety and
poured both full before twisting their lids on. The Eoeans were very
practical when it came to their cutlery. He’d give them that.

Bound by Deception

He attached the cups to the tray and stared down at the plate. He

had to tell Kelr. He just needed to work up a way for the conversation
to evolve naturally. He picked up the tray and made his way back to
the office. Kelr was just where he left him at his desk, moving his
hands over the screen in the same calculated way he always did.

Kelr raised his eyes as the door swished shut behind him. Kelr’s

beautiful lips turned down to a frown. “What is wrong, sweet?”

“What if they take me away?” The question was out of his mouth

before he thought better of it.

Kelr pushed back from the desk and opened his arms. “They’ll

never take you from me, sweet.” Jack slid the tray of food on the desk
beside his lighted touch board and went into Kelr’s arms. He took
comfort from the way Kelr held him close, sharing his warmth.
Logically, he knew that Kelr experienced mild irritation whenever he
touched someone like this, but he needed to be held for just a
moment.

“Hey now, I didn’t tell you to frighten you, Jack,” Kelr rumbled,

squeezing him tighter. The strange connection flared between them,
and he felt Kelr’s muscles relax.

“I hate that touching you causes you pain,” Jack murmured.
“I am not in pain, Jack,” Kelr said. “To say touch is pain is

oversimplifying my reaction to the energies of others. It’s akin to
running your hand over a low electrical current. At times it can
irritate, but mostly, it’s not painful. I enjoy this touch with you.
Holding you is a pleasant experience.”

“Good.” Jack tilted his head up and offered his lips for a kiss, and

Kelr didn’t make him wait. Jack felt desperate for his touch, but Kelr
kept the pace slow, gentle, loving. Jack’s heart pounded, and he clung
to Kelr’s tunic. His alien’s lips felt incredibly soft on his own, and the
deep presses of his tongue made Jack’s already-desperate cock even
more eager for touch. He hadn’t planned on distracting Kelr from
work, but he felt like they both needed it after the Pressians’ message.

“Kelr?”

Jana Downs

“What, sweet?”
Jack nipped his lips. “Do you think we can try the sex thing?”
“Hmmm, I still have work to do.” Jack knew he’d won though.

Kelr’s eyes were half-hooded, and his two cocks were poking him in
the ass with each shift of his hips.

“Want to work on me for a while?” Jack ran his hands down

Kelr’s chest, loving the gorgeous expanse of flesh. He could spend
days worshipping Kelr’s massive frame.

“Yes,” Kelr murmured, giving him another squeeze.
Jack was struck by a sudden inspiration. “How do you feel about

blow jobs?”

His lover’s nostrils flared, and his black eyes sparked with want.

“If that is how you wish to begin.” Jack gave him a grin before sliding
off his lap to his knees between Kelr’s thick thighs.

“Go on and work. I’ll be down here driving you insane,” Jack

teased.

“You want me to ignore you while you service me?”
“I want to be your hot intern and you’re running the universe as

president or something.” Jack’s desire rose exponentially as he spoke.
He’d always been a sucker for role-play. It turned his buttons for
some reason.

“Hmm, perhaps you are my captive stolen from a far-off planet,

and I am an Eoean prince who wants to claim my prize.” Kelr’s
suggestion went straight to his cock.

Jack groaned. “Or that. That would be good.”
“Service your master then, human,” Kelr rumbled.
Hell, yeah. Jack pulled Kelr’s pants down over his erections as

Kelr turned on his vid-screen. Jack had never considered himself
particularly cock-hungry before, but Kelr made him downright
ravenous. Both of his cocks were long, thick, and eager for his touch.
The light-blue pre-cum on their tips beckoned him to taste. Kelr was
extraordinarily sweet. Not only did his spunk resemble cotton candy
in color, it had a sugary taste as well. He used his hands to work

Bound by Deception

Kelr’s second cock an instant before he sucked his lover’s top cock
into his mouth.

Kelr growled low in his throat, reaching down and stroking the

top of his head as Jack bobbed on his prick. The unique flavor that
erupted over his tongue made him groan. He loved being on his knees
for Kelr, loved touching him, and being fucked by him. Everything
about the man called to him, and he couldn’t imagine this new life of
his without him.

He stroked Kelr’s secondary cock harder, pulling on his prick as

he hollowed out his cheeks. The alien did an admirable job of
pretending to work as Jack suckled him obediently. A quick glance
upward revealed that Kelr was playing the Eoean equivalent to
solitaire. The firm set of his jaw and his labored breath was the only
thing that indicated he was affected by Jack. He was so damn happy
Kelr had given them both a chance to explore whether or not they
could touch. Without that, they never would’ve explored how hot it
could be between them.

The calling screen popped up, and Kelr’s grip tightened in Jack’s

hair. “Keep going,” he murmured, voice tight with desire.

The vid-screen flashed, and Aldn’s face came into view. Jack

grinned around Kelr’s cock. Kelr could deny all he wanted that he
was an alpha man through and through, but it was impossible to deny
when it came to the little moments of jealousy that cropped up
whenever he thought about the Aldn situation.

“Greetings, Kelr,” Aldn said, his voice as cheerful as it usually

was. Jack closed his eyes and gave himself completely up to the
fantasy Kelr had created. He was nothing but a slave servicing his
master. He hadn’t wanted to leave his planet, but now he was hungry
for his alien master. He nearly choked when he started to chuckle.
The scenario was only slightly off from the truth.

“Greetings, Aldn,” Kelr rumbled. “Did you receive the missive I

forwarded you a moment ago?”

Jana Downs

“Of course. You should’ve received the receipt already.” He

paused. “Why did you really call me? Security has been apprised of
the situation. Do you think it’s going to be too tough to handle?”

“Not at all. I hope to have the situation resolved quickly and

efficiently. I just wanted to make sure you got my message.” Kelr’s
sentence ended in a gasp as Jack ran his tongue along the underside of
Kelr’s primary cock and kneaded the tight sac beneath his lengths.
His own cocks were so hard that he was liable to orgasm before he
ever got around to touching himself. Being with Kelr had taught him
patience though. With two cocks and a huge frame to play with, it was
almost impossible to play with more than Kelr when he did this.

Aldn chuckled. “All right. You’re being very strange, Kelr. Is

your human doing well?” They’d talked about the situation, and
everything was supposed to be water under the bridge.

“Very well. He is…precious.”
“Hmmm, I admit my jealousy, my friend. Not for your Jack, of

course. He and I wouldn’t have worked long term. Perhaps the lottery
will bless me with a human of my own.”

“I’ll send my wishes to the All Father for you.” Kelr was close.

Jack could tell by the hard flex and near-constant drip of pre-cum. He
bobbed his head harder, plunging down over and over again to deliver
the maximum amount of pleasure possible to his alien master.

“All Father above,” Kelr gasped. “I have to go, Aldn. I’ll call you

later.”

Triumph sang through his veins, and Kelr cut the connection and

shot his spunk into the back of Jack’s throat. “Take my pleasure,”
Kelr commanded, his whole body shuddering as Jack swallowed him
down. Always, Jack thought, his mind spinning deliciously. Always,
I’m yours.

Kelr hummed for him as Jack lapped his prick clean, and goose

bumps broke out over his arms. When their connection tethered them
so closely together, Kelr would sing his pleasure, humming and
vibrating in the way that was uniquely Kelr.

Bound by Deception

Jack looked up, needing his lover’s touch. “Lube?”
Kelr reached down and cupped Jack’s cheek. “Look in the panel

by the sink.”

He pushed himself to his feet and hurried over to the panel Kelr

indicated. His cock was restricted by the cloth of his pants, so he
pushed them down his hips before tossing off his tunic top. Naked, he
smacked the panel open and dug in the drawer Kelr had indicated. It
took him ten seconds of digging to find what he was looking for and
held it up triumphantly when he turned back toward his lover. When
he met Kelr’s gaze, something possessive and aggressive shone in the
black depths.

He shuddered. “What is it?”
“Get over here and ride my cock, slave. You’ve distracted me

from work long enough.”

Oh wow. This side of Kelr was new, and Jack did not hate it. At

all. He lowered his eyes, continuing the game. “What do you want of
me, Master?”

“Such an obedient human,” Kelr rumbled, a downright sadistic

gleam in his eyes. “I want you to get on your hands and knees and
crawl over to me. Slick my secondary cock up well, and if you are
good, I’ll let you ride me.”

Jack’s cock jerked hard, waving for Kelr’s attention. “Okay.” He

couldn’t even think of the appropriate response as the blood drained
from his skull and congregated in the southern region of his body. He
dropped to his knees before pitching forward to all fours with the lube
clenched in one fist. He wasn’t sure why the fantasy was so potent,
but as he crawled forward to his big alien lover, all he could think
about was how much Kelr looked like an alien conqueror right now.
And how much that turned him on.

He reached his lover’s legs and rubbed against them like a cat.

“Pull them the rest of the way off,” Kelr said, widening his legs. He
extended his hand, palm raised, and Jack took the hint. He put the
lube in Kelr’s hand and then turned to his designated task. It took

Jana Downs

some wrestling, but he managed to de-pants his lover. He figured the
loose material would be easy to remove, but Kelr didn’t help him out
and it was surprisingly difficult.

Finally, he tossed the pants aside and looked up at Kelr. “May I,

Master?”

“Yes, boy.” Kelr’s plush red lips were quirked up into a half smile

as he handed Jack the slick once more. Jack poured some onto his
hand before he took Kelr’s secondary cock in hand and worked it with
sure movements. A soft gasp filled the air, and Kelr’s head fell back
as ecstasy filled his features. “Good boy.” The compliment sent a shot
of pleasure through him. In this scenario, he wanted to be Kelr’s
vessel. He wanted his lover to use him, and he wanted to enjoy it
thoroughly.

He reached down and stroked his own cock as he worked Kelr’s

dick. “Jack,” Kelr growled. “Ride me.” Apparently they were past the
point of games now. He climbed up into his lover’s lap, straddling
Kelr’s muscled, thick thighs. He squeezed more slick into his hand
and hastily prepared his ass with eager plunges of his fingers. “Jack.”

He angled Kelr’s prick upward and pressed the thick tip to his

entrance. He gasped, his whole body trembling with the urge to sink
down and take him inside. The angle was a little awkward, and Kelr’s
secondary cock felt huge in this position, but Jack wanted to be
fucked so badly he ignored the slight burn of entry. Kelr’s hands
rested on his hips, controlling the motion as he moved. Jack spread
his thighs wider over Kelr’s as he was fully seated. The feeling of
completeness was powerful, perfect.

Their eyes met, and awareness filled him. He could feel Kelr

inside him on an internal level that went beyond the physical. It was
like their souls merged or something equally as insane sounding.
“Kelr, I love you.” The words were out of his mouth before he
thought better of it.

Kelr made a noise of satisfaction before lifting Jack up and then

slamming him down on his lap. “Mine.” The possession reverberated

Bound by Deception

through his body and took up residence in his soul. Kelr might not
understand the human word for the emotion, but Jack could feel the
answering emotion inside him.

Jack rose up and pushed his body down on Kelr’s thick prick.

Sparks of pleasure erupted behind his eyelids at the motion, so he
repeated it. He rotated his hips, trying to establish a rhythm that
would send the both of them careening over the edge of release. The
sheer desire on Kelr’s face made Jack even more desperate for him.
Without warning, Kelr leaned up and claimed his mouth in a kiss,
continuing to fuck up into Jack’s needy body as their tongues mated,
lips smashed together in a mimicry of what they were doing with the
rest of their bodies.

He knew the exact instant that Kelr fell off the precipice, and Jack

followed right after him, aware of nothing but his lover as his cock
shot all over Kelr’s still-clothed abdomen and his sweet alien master
buried the sticky proof of his pleasure deep in the recesses of his ass.

They panted in the aftermath, both trying to regain their breath as

the intensity rocked them. Jack had never felt closer to Kelr than he
was at this exact moment. He leaned their foreheads together and
prayed that nothing would take Kelr away from him. I should tell him.
His conscience was going to have to shut up. He couldn’t tell,
couldn’t risk the consequences. He held his lover close and prayed
that his past would stay on the other side of the world where it
belonged.

Jana Downs

Chapter Eight

Kelr loved him. There was no other way to describe what he felt

for his human. It was amazing how humans could sum the
overwhelming emotion he was experiencing in one word, “love.”
He’d been unable to return the sentiment earlier when Jack had
murmured the words during the height of passion, but he would return
them soon, make a real gesture of it. Romantic gestures weren’t
common for him, but he supposed that he could ask Aldn for advice.
His friend seemed to have taken his claim of Jack with ease and had
probably been angling for it since the beginning. He was sure Aldn
would be all too happy to give him advice on romance.

Kelr had put back on his pants but had to lose the shirt after their

earlier playing had dirtied it. He was working on the Pressian
situation without much success. He didn’t have any leverage, and the
ugly creatures that ruled over them all were particularly difficult to
deal with. It was one of the reasons he was chosen for the position. He
had more patience than most Eoeans by virtue of his Renka heritage.

Jack leaned his hip against his desk, looking at him expectantly.

“What is it, sweet?” Kelr asked. Jack had been buried in the Pressian
histories the last time he’d glanced up.

“I am going to go for a swim,” he said, giving him a satisfied

smile. “Want to join me?” His lover always got cocky after sex. It was
like he took each orgasm like a victory. Not that Kelr minded. He had
never had pleasurable sex before, so the triumph of happiness during
the act made him particularly smug as well.

Bound by Deception

He shook his head. “I need to finish this and have it sent to my

head office before I am finished for the day. The Pressians are an
impatient lot.”

“They’re the ones that made the plague, didn’t they?” Jack asked.

Kelr looked up, surprised at his lover’s intuitiveness. He hesitated to
answer. He might have mentioned the great plague in passing but he’d
never explained the true depth of Pressian involvement. It was
something they’d deliberately left out of their interactions with the
humans. But this was Jack, his lover and good friend. They’d shared
too much for him not to trust his human.

He nodded slowly. “Yes. They made the plague to punish the

Eoeans. Were it not for our presence on your planet, humanity would
not have suffered from it.”

Jack nodded like it was just like he expected. “I had my suspicions

after reading the histories and a few of the things that you mentioned.
The timing seemed odd to me. Eoeans didn’t tell people because
humans would’ve blamed them right?”

“You’re incredibly astute. That was the reasoning in the

beginning.”

“It’s still not the Eoeans’ fault. Someone really needs to teach the

Pressians some manners,” Jack said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kelr shrugged. “The entire universe is bound by the rules of

power, sweet. Those with power often laud it over the rest of us.
Perhaps someday the Pressians will get their comeuppance. Until
then, I will clean up the messes they make and negotiate for my
people.” He nodded toward the door. “Go on to the beach and enjoy
yourself. You don’t need to worry about the Pressians. I’ll handle it.”
He turned his attention back to the vid-screen and opened up another
file. He needed to extract the information from the files of the chosen
humans and attach them to the proposal he was writing.

“Kelr?”
“What, sweet?”

Jana Downs

“What if the Pressians were right? What if some of the humans

were criminals?”

Something about the way he asked it had Kelr looking up to meet

his gaze. He searched his human’s face looking for the answer in his
expression. “Jack, do you have something to tell me?”

Jack shook his head. “No. I was just thinking about what could

happen if they don’t believe you.”

“They will,” Kelr assured, sitting back in his desk chair. “I have

the truth on my side.”

Jack hesitated a second longer before nodding. “Okay. I’ll be

down by our part of the beach.”

“You do enjoy the outdoors.” Once his brother’s debt was cleared,

he would get a longer stretch of land for them, something with a
beach longer than Jack would want to walk, something with privacy.

“I love the freedom of walking outside, answering to no one.” He

paused. “I’d like it better with you.”

“I will join you as soon as this is complete. One day I’ll give you

a private beach and a home big enough for children if you like.” It
was a promise Kelr had never wanted to give to anyone else.

His lover smiled. “That would be nice.”
“It’s only two more months’ time before we can start looking

together.”

Jack laughed. “That’s oddly specific.”
Kelr shrugged. “By then my brother’s debts will be paid and my

income will effectively double.”

“You mentioned you had a brother who had a gambling problem,”

Jack said. “Claric, wasn’t it?”

Kelr nodded. “Yes.”
“You didn’t tell me you took on his bills.”
“It never came up in conversation.” Kelr brought up his family

pictures on his vid-screen and opened the file of him and his full
sibling. “This is Claric and me when we were younger. This was on
my father’s ship.”

Bound by Deception

“You two look almost like twins.” Jack reached out and traced his

finger along the picture, making it larger.

“We were similar in age,” Kelr agreed. “He and I looked most like

our mother in coloring.”

“I have a twin brother,” Jack said. Kelr blinked. What did that

have to do with anything? “When you’re that close, it’s easy to take
on their burdens, even if they don’t always deserve the generosity.”

“You speak from experience?”
“We all have family burdens, Kelr. I just didn’t know how alike

we were.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “All right, get back to
work. I’m going for a swim.” He leaned over and kissed Kelr’s lips.
“I’ll see you later.”

“Enjoy, sweet.” He turned off the picture application and got back

to work.

* * * *

Hours later, Kelr stretched his arms over his head in an effort to

dislodge the knots in his upper back and shoulders. He’d at least made
some headway in his argument with the Pressians. A glance at the
clock revealed it was time to log off the network and grab his lover
for a quick supper. Landen wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, but Kelr
was fairly certain he could make them something edible.

He pressed an icon to bring up his log out menu when a red box

popped up. He frowned. He’d never seen a box like that pop up
before. With a press of his finger the box dissolved to reveal the
message beneath. A cursory glance made his eyes widen. “All Father,
have mercy.”

ATTN: Agent Kelr
Discrepancy in Human Records: Jack Corbet. Residency

information: incorrect. Tax record: incorrect. Work History:
incorrect. Social History: incorrect. Request immediate investigation

Jana Downs

to clarify discrepancies. Remand human for duration. Report to
superior security officer. Notify Pressian Relations of discrepancy.
Enact additional investigations into other Human Records.

End Correspondence

Kelr read it again and again. Impossible. What the Pressians had

claimed couldn’t be true. This was a trick, some kind of mistake. He
pushed back from his desk, not bothering to log out. He had to know
the truth. He pressed the communications key and held his breath
until Aldn’s face came into view.

“Showing off again, Kelr?” Aldn asked as he took in Kelr’s

unclothed chest.

“I need you to stall them,” Kelr commanded, fear and anger

warring for supremacy inside him. “I don’t care what you have to do.
Stall them. The order is going to go out to collect Jack, and I need you
to stall the security order until I get him ready.” He had to prepare a
case, some kind of argument.

Aldn’s playfulness fell away, and his expression became rigid.

“They issued a recall?”

“A remand and present at head office. I need time. I can’t—” He

bit his bottom lip, unable to focus as his thoughts spiraled into a
terrifying place. “I can’t lose him, Aldn. Help me?”

Aldn nodded. “Of course. Go get him ready and start the prep. I’ll

stall the security order. Go.”

Kelr cut the connection and turned from the screen. He had to get

to Jack, and he had to get him ready for the hearing that would
inevitably take place. The Eoean government would just have to see
reason. They had soul resonance. That had to count for something.

He made his way out of the office and down the hallway, running

to the back door that led to the beach. He burst out the door and into
the sunshine. He didn’t even care about the hot wood of the porch or
the equally hot sand as he sprinted down the path, eyes scanning the

Bound by Deception

beach and surf for signs of his lover. His eyes zeroed in on Jack’s
form about twenty yards out into the surf.

“Jack!” he called, motioning him to come close. His lover waved

and then slowly made his way toward him. Kelr was squirming with
impatience.

“Hi,” Jack greeted as he broke the waterline. He looked at Kelr’s

face and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“The Pressians have concocted some story about you violating the

guideline of acceptable humans. There are some discrepancies in your
file. They’re going to want you to go into headquarters, but I’m
having Aldn stall them. I don’t want you to worry. I will figure this
out. I will not let them take you from me.” Kelr knew he was
babbling, but he couldn’t seem to help it. He jerked Jack into him,
uncaring that the other being was wet. Jack buried his head in Kelr’s
chest, inhaling sharply, clinging to him. Kelr ached to comfort him.

“Kelr, I need to tell you something.” The whispered words didn’t

register for a full minute as Kelr’s scrambling mind struggled to make
purchase in the unfamiliar landscape of thoughts. Right now he
should’ve been nearly shaking apart with the high level of emotions
he was experiencing. Those sorts of disruptions wore on his normal
control, but it was like Jack was holding him together by the virtue of
being there, holding him. It was a completely foreign feeling but one
he was intensely grateful for.

“What do you need to tell me, sweet?”
“I was a prisoner.”
Kelr jerked back. “What?”
“I was convicted of murdering a man who threatened my brother’s

wife.” Jack swallowed, his gaze pleading as he gazed up at Kelr. Kelr
couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

“Why didn’t you tell me? How could you have kept this from

me?” But he knew, didn’t he? He’d said it himself. He wouldn’t be
able to keep Jack if he had said something. He stared down at his
lover with new eyes. He couldn’t reconcile the person he knew with

Jana Downs

the person Jack described. How can he be a murderer? Eoeans had
strict laws forbidding such things, but it was his Renka nature that
made the possibility impossible. The disruption of strings when a
person was killed was akin to an explosion. It would cause untold
amounts of pain to someone like Kelr.

Jack bit into his bottom lip. “They asked me to volunteer to go to

the Eoeans when the second round of lottery was called. They didn’t
want to cause panic among the civilian populations. I’m a good guy,
Kelr. I promise. I was chosen because I’m nonviolent and levelheaded
and shit. I promise.”

“Promises of behavior or not, I can’t keep you,” Kelr said,

horrified at what he was saying. “You lied to me so completely. If you
would’ve told me this afternoon, I could’ve been prepared. I could’ve
tried to make a defense.” He swallowed, hard, and realized how
emotional he was becoming. He took a step back as the vibrations
from Jack’s emotions skittered across his skin, the motion painful and
repulsive.

Jack’s beautiful eyes filled with tears, and his hands balled into

fists at his sides. “I know. I’m sorry this blindsided you. In the
beginning, I was just happy to be out of the box, and you were so nice
and everything was good, and then I fell in love with you and I didn’t
want to do anything but stay with you. I’ll do anything to stay here.
Please, forgive me.”

Kelr shook, unable to separate his feelings from Jack’s. Their soul

resonance was absolute, but the connection was painful when they
were out of sync. “Did you kill the man they said you did?”

His lover’s bottom lip trembled. “I didn’t.” Hot relief filled him.

Thank the All Father. Jack’s eyes went to the surf, refusing to meet
Kelr’s gaze. “I never told anyone the truth. No one but me and Jarrett
know.”

“Jarrett is your twin sibling is he not?”
Jack nodded. “Yes. It was late. Jarrett was pulling a double at the

Lowe’s store we worked at. We were stocking new inventory after

Bound by Deception

closing. He got a call from his wife. They got married right outta high
school because she was pregnant, but they’d been separated for six
months before that. She’d just moved back in with him at this little
rinky-dink apartment over on Sunset. Apparently she’d been seeing a
guy when they were separated, and he was over at the house. He
broke out a window and was threatening her. She was real scared but
didn’t want to call the cops because it would ruin his life or some
shit.” He took a deep shuddering breath. “I told Jarrett I’d cover for
him, and he left. A half hour later, he called me and told me to come
to his house.”

The events unfolding sent a spear of unease into Kelr’s gut. He

thought he knew where this was headed. “Your brother killed him.”

Jack’s jaw tightened, and he gave a curt nod. “The guy pulled a

knife and tried to cut his wife, but Jarrett got him to leave. But Jarrett
didn’t feel like she would be safe if he left it alone, and he didn’t trust
the cops to handle it. He followed the guy back to his house and shot
him.” Kelr felt ill. “If he would’ve shot him on their property, it
wouldn’t have actually been as bad, but because he’d followed
him…it was awful. He was upset and didn’t know what to do, and he
had his little girl to look after. I volunteered to confess to it. I told the
cops I had to protect my family, and that was true. Jarrett was a mess
and he made bad decisions, but he had my niece to look after. With a
confession, it wasn’t hard for the cops to get a conviction.”

That was more in line with the man Kelr knew. Jack was strong,

loyal, everything that Kelr admired in a lover. “Your nobility is
admirable. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I’m not,” Jack said, raising his chin. “Because if I hadn’t, I never

would’ve met you.”

Kelr felt his expression soften. “You are amazing, my love.”
“Love?”
“You know I do,” Kelr said, making the pledge with ease. It was

almost a relief to have the word to express himself. “I love you.”

Jack trembled. “Does that mean you forgive me?”

100

Jana Downs

Kelr nodded. “You know I do. I even understand your reasoning.

I’ll have to think of something. Your innocence will work in our
favor.”

“No one can know, Kelr,” Jack said, reaching out and grabbing

Kelr’s hand in his own. “I can’t risk my brother getting arrested.”

“There should be no reason to involve human authorities. Do you

trust me?” Kelr needed to know now if Jack was going to fight him.

Slowly, Jack nodded, squeezing his hand at the same time. “Yeah.

I trust you.”

“Good. Let’s get you ready.”

* * * *

The transport vehicle arrived in twenty minutes. Kelr transferred

whatever he was working on to a tablet that looked about the same
size as the one Jack used as an e-reader. He hadn’t said much as
they’d bathed and dressed other than a quick call to Aldn to let him
know to axe the stall order he’d requested. Fear circled the veins
around his heart in a constant flow that made Jack numb from the
neck down. He ached to connect to Kelr, to reassure himself that he
was still loved and wanted like he had been before he’d told him that
he was really the criminal the Pressians thought he was.

“Kelr?” he asked as they climbed into the seats in back. No driver

was steering the car. It had apparently been programmed to take them
wherever the Eoean government demanded they go. The windows
around them darkened, leaving them encased in a soft blue-gray light.

“What, sweet?”
Jack bit his bottom lip as he spoke. “I need you.”
Kelr finally looked up from his tablet. “I need to finish this.” His

gaze scanned him from head to toe in the seat next to him. “I told you
not to worry, Jack. I will take care of you.”

“I need you to take care of me now. If this is the last time, I need

to touch you a little bit. We don’t need to have sex or anything. I just

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101

need you to hold me.” He knew it was a little needy, but he didn’t
know how else to ask.

Kelr didn’t disappoint. He opened his arms and nodded. Jack

immediately cuddled in close, resting his cheek against Kelr’s clothed
chest. They were both wearing Kelr’s signature black and red, and for
whatever reason he enjoyed the feeling of security it gave him to wear
his lover’s colors. “I will never let you go willingly,” Kelr promised
as Jack breathed in his scent.

“I’d never go willingly,” Jack returned. “No matter what, my heart

stays with you.”

“I don’t want your organ if the rest of you doesn’t come with it,”

Kelr said, sounding mildly alarmed.

Jack chuckled. “It’s an expression. In our culture, the heart

represents the feeling of love we experience.”

“Ah, that makes more sense.” Kelr kissed his temple and gave him

a squeeze.

“Do you think we can beat this?” he asked, closing his eyes as the

world whipped past them. He’d only been in the Eoean city a time or
two, but he could care less about it at this exact second. The most
important thing for him was right in this vehicle.

“Honestly? I don’t know. I hope we can, but I have no other

events to compare it to. This has never been a problem before. I really
have no idea how the Eoean authorities are going to react to this.”
Kelr sighed. “However, they do value my opinion, and Aldn will no
doubt come to our defense. I pray that it’s good enough.”

“Can I talk to them?”
Kelr hesitated. “I don’t know if that would be a good idea, but I’ll

consider it after I have a full case report put together.”

“Whatever you think is best.” He had no experience in negotiating

jack shit, so he’d take Kelr’s advice on this one. It was almost like he
was a lawyer, which Jack supposed he was. Except in this case, he’d
be arguing to keep Jack enslaved or whatever the Eoean term for it
was. He rubbed his temples with his free hand. This is the second time

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I’m on trial. I just can’t seem to stay outta trouble. He would’ve
laughed if the situation wasn’t so bloody grim.

“Did the human government ask you to lie?”
“Not exactly,” Jack hedged. He didn’t want to start a spat between

governments either. This felt a little like a bad spy novel at this point.
“They asked me to leave it out in conversation.”

“A lie by omission is still a lie,” Kelr said. He shifted slightly so

he could look at his tablet and hold Jack at the same time. “I’ll have to
tell them. However, with your innocence, I might be able to convince
them that you are a worthy candidate for selection. That’s the angle
I’m going to go with.” Jack went silent and let him work, turning over
the possibilities in his head. He felt helpless, like he wasn’t
contributing anything. It was a frustrating feeling. He closed his eyes
and concentrated on not freaking out. It was the only thing he could
do now.

It seemed only minutes when Kelr gently shook his shoulder to

wake him. Jack blinked, tiredness slowing the motion. “Already?”

“Afraid so,” Kelr rumbled. “Follow behind me and don’t say

anything. We’ll discuss what our plan is as soon as we get settled.”

“Okay.” He couldn’t think of what else to say. He climbed out of

the transport after Kelr and was surprised to be looking up at a huge
geometric building that was twisted in weird blue and gray angles that
defied everything he knew about physics. “Whoa.”

“The government building is rather impressive,” Kelr agreed.

Aldn came out of a side entrance and waved at the both of them. He
jogged down the steps as Kelr huffed. “How in the name of all things
holy did he beat us here?”

“I left straight from my home and came here,” Aldn said, nodding

in Jack’s direction. “Hi, cutie pie. You hanging in there okay?”

Jack nodded. “Think so. I’ll be better when it’s over.”
“Likewise. Kelr is threatening to have a stroke. I can tell.” Aldn’s

gaze went to Kelr. “How’s the debunking strategy going?”

“Useless,” Kelr said. “We’re having to go in a different direction.”

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103

Aldn frowned. “You must be joking.” He glanced at Jack, and

Jack tried not to squirm. He didn’t like people he considered even
vague acquaintances looking at him with that type of blatant
speculation. “You a criminal, beautiful boy?”

Kelr stepped in front of him, blocking his view. “Back off.”
Aldn was silent for a good thirty seconds. “Kelr, I don’t know

how you’re going to fix something like this.”

“Carefully,” Kelr said calmly. “I just need to know that you’ll be

by my side in the meantime.”

Aldn scoffed. “Of course. He’s your lover, and you’re my best

friend. You’re going to be perfect together. I’ll fight to the last man
for you.”

“Good. Have they assembled?”
“Yes.” Aldn ascended the steps, and Jack and Kelr trailed along

after him. “A special committee came in a few minutes ago. I don’t
think they would’ve cared so much if the Pressians hadn’t threatened
another Plague War. Anyway, I assigned myself as your security
escort. I’m assuming there were no breeches along the way.”

“Not even Landen knows the situation.”
“Good. It’ll give them more options.”
Jack listened to them discuss what was going to happen with

barely any interest. His mind was pitched back to a time when he
made this walk before. He thought his time for being ashamed of
himself was over. Logically, it didn’t make sense for him to be,
considering he hadn’t actually committed the crime he was convicted
of but still. He remembered all too well what it felt like to be looked
at like he was a lesser being, like he had eaten babies or something
equally as heinous. The lawyers had talked like he wasn’t there as
well. They’d glanced at him but never really talked to him.

“Jack,” Kelr said, looking over his shoulder.
He raised his eyes. “Yeah?”
“You’re my lover. Walk beside me until we get to the meeting.”

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Jack warmed at the words. This connection of theirs was pretty

neat. He knew instinctively that he and Kelr were on the same page.
“Love you, Kelr.”

His alien smiled. “I love you as well, Jack. Do not worry.” It was

impossible not to worry in this circumstance.

Jack steeled himself against the feeling of hopelessness that was

threatening to build. “Worst-case scenario, what will they do?”

Aldn and Kelr exchanged a glance, and Jack knew he wasn’t

going to like the answer. “It will not get to the worst-case scenario,”
Kelr said firmly, squeezing his hand and humming a song that relaxed
Jack’s muscles to the point he thought he would fall asleep if he
didn’t knock it off.

“Stop it,” Jack snapped, shaking off the comfort as a spike of fear

shot through his gut. “I know you’re tryin’ to calm me down, but you
are freaking me out more.”

Aldn pinned Kelr with a look. “You need to tell him, Kel. He

deserves to know.”

Kelr sighed. “I know. I’m sorry, Jack.” He looked up toward the

fast approaching door Aldn had come out of. “Worst-case scenario is
that you’re considered a security breach. Meaning the government
can’t return you and I can’t keep you. You’d be executed.”

Jack swallowed hard, everything inside him stilling at the words.

“Well, fuck.”

Aldn’s sympathetic eyes turned toward him, pity swimming in

their blue depths. “My sentiments exactly.”

* * * *

Kelr felt like he was going to lose his mind. The long hallways

that led to the emergency meeting room seemed to stretch on forever,
and despite Aldn’s calming words, his mind had done just as Jack’s
had and went to the worst thing possible. Though he’d reassured Jack,

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105

he wasn’t entirely sure he could argue the point well enough to get
them from imprisoning him indefinitely at least.

“Kelr,” Aldn whispered, pointing to the line of guards that had

assembled outside the meeting room. They were apparently taking
this issue more seriously than Kelr anticipated. The entire building
appeared to be on lockdown. The place was usually reasonably empty
due to the fact that a lot of Eoeans worked from home. Only the
government officials, parliament and the like, stayed in and around
the city. However, this was the first time he’d seen it so empty in
addition to the members of the security team called in for the
duration.

The door swished open to admit the three of them, and Kelr was at

least a bit relieved to see the security officials mingling around a table
of refreshments. It was clearly not going to be overly formal, for
which he was grateful. The Eoeans turned in unison to look at them.

“Kelr,” his division leader, Talbot, greeted. “I am happy to see

you arrived safely. The message from the Pressians was quite
concerning.”

He inclined his head. “The Pressians are being particularly

stubborn given the situation. Despite the truth of the accusation as it
concerns my human, he is not in fact a criminal. I put to the council
the suggestion that they allow me to analyze the human data and
prove my lover’s innocence.”

Talbot glanced at the other assembled Eoeans. “He is still a

convicted criminal, Kelr. Innocent or not, the humans willingly
deceived us and the Pressians are not going to be happy.”

“Unfortunately, that is correct,” another councilman said, sipping

his cup of what looked like Yako liquor.

“They only suspect. They don’t know for sure. Humans are

terrible about covering up their tracks on these situations,” Aldn cut
in. “The Pressians lord over us in ever-tightening circles. Giving into
their threats will only make them use the technique more.”

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“And what do you suggest for a solution?” Talbot asked. “We

could cover up this instance, but what about the next? What are the
consequences for the humans for their blatant disregard for the rules
of the treaty?”

“My government won’t risk it again,” Jack piped up. Kelr cringed

as everyone turned and looked at Jack. He raised his chin in a defiant
gesture that made Kelr’s stomach twist in fear. “The only reason they
did it this time was to keep the civilians from panicking. You didn’t
give any sort of explanation other than ‘we need another sacrifice’
this time around.”

“Ah,” Talbot said. “We did not consider the humans would read

into the need for an additional sacrifice.”

“Humans are weird like that,” Jack said.
“If I was consulted on the issuance, I could’ve put it into a report,”

Kelr added. “Human relations have been under diplomatic security
since we began building our society here. Was the human consultant
not available?”

The councilmen shifted, giving one another identical looks of

guilt. Ah, so this was the problem. He couldn’t believe they failed to
notify the human government of the reasoning. “We did not feel it
was necessary, but we will remedy the situation as well as issue a
sharp reprimand for the issuance of an improper tribute.”

“I would suggest allowing my human lover to assist,” Kelr said,

smoothly sliding in the suggestion. “The humans are more
comfortable working with people they perceive as the same as
themselves.”

“We haven’t decided if it’s proper for you to keep him, Kelr,”

Talbot said, shooting him a disapproving look. “In fact, we need to
discuss this privately. Your human shouldn’t be privy to state
secrets.”

Two guards that Kelr hadn’t noticed standing on the periphery

came forward as if summoned by Talbot’s words. Kelr growled low
in his throat, the hum shoving the people nearest him back. Jack’s

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107

eyes widened but didn’t seem otherwise affected. “Jack stays with
me.”

“Kelr—”
“We have soul resonance, Talbot,” Kelr said, baring his teeth in a

feral display of aggression. “You try to take him away from me and
we are going to have a problem.” Violence was very difficult to do for
most Renkas, but it seemed like his Eoean side won out on the
biological argument with this one. Everything in him said that Jack
was his and nothing was going to come between them.

Talbot’s eyes widened. “You have soul resonance with him?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Aldn scoffed. “There is a reason we ask for

them in the lottery.” He put a hand on Kelr’s shoulder. “How about I
take Jack while you deal with the council? I will watch over him.”

Kelr hesitated the barest second before he nodded. “Fine.”
“Kelr, no!” Jack snapped. “I want to be here.”
“Jack, trust me. Please, let me talk with them. I’ll make it better. I

promise.” He pulled his human into a tight hug, trying to put
everything he was feeling into the embrace. Their connection flared
bright, pulling them closer as they mingled. The vibrations of Jack’s
being seemed to absorb into Kelr’s effortlessly. Nothing had ever felt
as right as holding his lover.

Jack huffed like it was the last thing he wanted to do. “All right.

I’ll go. You be safe, huh?”

“I will,” Kelr promised. “Give me just a moment and I will be

back with you.” He released Jack and Aldn stepped forward, grabbing
Jack’s elbow and pulling him gently from the room. Kelr watched
him until the door shut gently behind the two of them.

“We should execute the human and report to the Pressians that

everything is cleared up,” one of the council Kelr had never met
rumbled from the back of the pack.

Kelr whipped around. “Over my dead body.”
“Then provide a suggestion to tidy up the situation,” Talbot said,

exasperation evident in his voice.

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Kelr held up his PDA. “I have the optimal solution with data

evidence to back it up.” He thought he saw a flicker of relief in some
of their expressions. It was good to be the most prepared guy in the
room.

* * * *

“He’s going to be all right,” Aldn said as Jack paced back and

forth in the small space they occupied. Kelr had been arguing with the
council for over an hour, and Jack hadn’t stopped moving the entire
time. He honestly hadn’t been able to sit still. This was worse than
sitting through his trial because at least when he’d been doing that,
he’d been able to see the byplay, hear the argument. This was like
sitting in purgatory, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“I know he’ll be all right. Kelr is amazing. But those guys look

like douche bags.” Jack plopped down on the bench beside Aldn.
“What’s the chance of us getting out of here without something awful
happening?”

“You have the strangest expressions.” Aldn shrugged. “The longer

they argue, the more the likelihood of success goes down. But who is
to say? No one has been in this position before. However, Kelr is a
great diplomat. He argues for a living.”

As if on cue, the door slid back, and Jack surged to his feet.

“Kelr?” Kelr ducked into the room, his long black hair hanging loose
about his shoulders and triumph written all over his features. Jack
grinned. “We got it?”

Kelr opened his arms. “Would I let you down?”
Jack threw himself into Kelr’s embrace. “Never. You’ve never let

me down.” And he never would. He knew that better than he knew
anything.

“Everything is going to be dealt with,” Kelr promised. “The

council has agreed to modify your file, and I’ll continue to negotiate

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109

with the Pressians. It’s about time we stood up to them, and this will
be the perfect small scale opportunity to do so.”

“So I’m yours?”
Kelr nodded. “Yes. Jack, I do have a confession to make.”
Everything in Jack’s body tightened. “What?”
“I had to pay a fine on your behalf, and we’re going to have to

delay that house I promised you for another six months or so.” Kelr
said it deadpan, and the seriousness in his voice just made Jack laugh.

“Jesus and here I thought you were going to say we’d have to

sacrifice our firstborn or something.” He giggled, happiness bubbling
up inside him and overflowing. It was like he’d been given a second
chance at happiness. The right way this time. He scattered kisses over
Kelr’s face, cheeks, and his mouth. “I don’t care if we have to live in
the back of a transport for the rest of eternity so long as we’re
together.”

Aldn cleared his throat behind them. “I’ll go call the transport to

pick you guys up.”

Jack didn’t even look up as he left the room. Kelr kissed him

again, holding him close. “I will keep you forever, Jack, for all
eternity.”

Jack smiled against his mouth. “’Til death do we part.”
Kelr smirked. “Well, we have soul resonance so, about that…”

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Epilogue

One Year Later

Life as the immortal lover of an alien sex god didn’t suck. Or did,

as the case was at this exact second. Jack groaned as Kelr sucked his
cock while he fingered Jack’s needy hole with firm presses of his
fingers. His lover hummed around Jack’s length, the vibrations
washing over and through him as their soul resonance tightened to a
fever pitch. He ran his fingers through Kelr’s amazing black hair and
begged him to never stop. He babbled to the point where he wasn’t
even sure what he was saying anymore.

Kelr bobbed his head, running his tongue along the underside of

Jack’s needy prick. His fingers grazed one of Jack’s pleasure spots
and Jack didn’t know if he could take much more. “Kelr, please,” he
begged.

Kelr chuckled and pulled back. “Ready?”
“Yes!” he yelped, more than ready to be stuffed full of his lover’s

thick cocks. The idea of double orgasm from his man sent shudders
down his spine. There was no sexual encounter even comparable to
how great sex was with Kelr. Kelr pulled his fingers free as their eyes
met.

“You’re mine,” Kelr growled. Something cold pressed to Jack’s

entrance, and he strained toward release as his balls tightened at the
sensation. The stretching toy Kelr had bought was supposedly the
easiest way for human lovers to be stretched to accommodate Eoeans
dual cocks. It was their first time trying it out, and Jack was more than
ready to take whatever Kelr could dish out. The toy pulsed inside him,

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111

widening in gradual degrees as Kelr continued to suck his cock in
time with the pulsation.

Jack writhed, spreading his legs wider. The toy spread him wider,

and he gasped at the sensation. “I don’t know if I can,” he whined as
the burn grew past the point of comfortable.

“Just a bit farther, sweet,” Kelr said, raising up off his dick for a

second. “You’re almost there.”

Jack gritted his teeth and nodded, forcing his muscles to relax. He

concentrated on moving in counter rhythm to how Kelr was working
him. More lube filled him, easing the burn and transforming it into
pure pleasure. He gasped. He’d never been so full. The toy felt
fantastic, but he knew it would pale in comparison to Kelr’s hot
cocks. The thought made more pre-cum erupt from his tip as a
minishockwave threatened to send him over the edge.

He held onto his sanity by his fingernails. It seemed like an

eternity later that the damn thing chimed indicating his readiness for
Kelr’s cocks. His eyes flicked down to see Kelr’s lengths working
against one another. It was sexy as hell. He loved watching Kelr
respond to him.

With a press of a button, the toy returned to its initial size, and

Kelr pulled it free. He surged up Jack’s body, a feral look of
possession painted all over his face. Jack clung to his shoulders,
smattering kisses over his chest and neck. He was more than ready to
have Kelr fuck him through the mattress so to speak. Just because
they were on a beach towel instead of a mattress didn’t make it any
less of a viable turn of phrase.

“Want you,” Kelr rumbled, a deep hum tightening his balls even

further. When the alien reached up and tweaked his nipples,
everything in his body trembled with unending want. He was a breath
away from coming. Kelr put more slick on his dicks and pressed the
twined heads against Jack’s stretched entrance. Jack bore down,
needing his lover inside him.

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“Love you,” Jack murmured. He bit his bottom lip as he was

filled. Nothing ever felt as good as this.

Then he couldn’t speak as Kelr began the long push inside him.

He gasped as Kelr bottomed out inside him. Their eyes met for a
moment, and Kelr’s hands tightened on his hips. Jack’s body
throbbed, and he clawed at his lover’s back, needing him to move.
Finally, Kelr complied with his silent demand and pulled his hips
back a few inches before surging forward once more. Jack’s mind
blanked as every pleasure spot inside him ignited.

They moved together, both chasing the orgasm that existed right

outside their reach. He felt rather than heard Kelr’s command to
come. It was an instinctual knowing that came straight from the cord
of their connection. Jack cried out, his back bowing as his cock shot
the sticky proof of his pleasure against the planes of Kelr’s abdomen.
Kelr growled, his cum bathing Jack’s insides with strong pulses of his
cocks.

Jack sighed and let his legs slide off Kelr’s hips to splay on the

beach towel he’d fashioned out of some bathing cloths in Kelr’s
house. It was more of a big absorbent blanket than anything. Kelr
leaned down and nuzzled the side of his neck. “You all right?”

Jack smiled, his sweat-slicked body hot from the combination of

Kelr’s fucking and the warm sun. “I’m wonderful. What do you say to
a dip in the surf?”

“I would like that.”
The sun was setting over the horizon, and the only sound was the

crash of the waves and the occasional call of the gulls. It was a
beautiful late afternoon in paradise. Kelr slowly pulled his cocks from
Jack’s body before rolling to his feet and offering Jack a hand up.

“I think we can declare that a success,” Jack said, even as he

winced from the soreness in his ass. He twined their hands, staring out
into the ocean as Kelr led them toward the waterline.

“Agreed,” Kelr rumbled. His lover wasn’t a man of many words,

but what he said, he meant. As promised, a couple months after their

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113

confrontation with the council, Kelr had taken him house-shopping.
Which in true Eoean style was just plain weird. They had spent two
weeks spending the night with various sellers up and down the coast
like interested house guests. They’d stumbled onto this property the
second to last visit to the one of the southern coasts, and they’d fallen
in love with it. Kelr had made the deal with the former owner over
supper, and the rest was history.

The Pressians had backed off somewhat with their demands and

questions concerning humans, and the human government was now
dealing with one of their own. Jack had been selected as a diplomat,
and he liked the fact that he had a real job now. The paychecks didn’t
suck either. Slowly, the mystery was being bled out of the lottery
process, and Jack thought that it was going to be better for everyone if
their most intense fears were revealed to be rubbish. Though he
suspected the human government still wasn’t telling the civilian
populace about Jack’s involvement. It wasn’t really his business
anymore, but he still wished things could be different, Eoeans and
humans comingling naturally. However, so long as the Pressians held
the threat of war over all their heads, that wouldn’t happen, couldn’t
happen.

“Do you think we’ll ever be really free of the Pressians?” Jack

asked as the water rushed over his naked skin. They had waded out to
midthigh, and the cool liquid was the perfect temperature.

Kelr shrugged. “With soul resonance, I believe the Eoeans could

achieve many things. Though, we’re not really warriors. We’d need a
strong alliance with another race.” His eyes flicked to Jack. “What is
drawing your mind to such heavy topics so soon after sex, sweet?”

“I don’t know,” Jack hedged. “I was just thinking about how

afraid humans are of the lottery and how much they dread it every
year. If they only knew how happy they could be with Eoeans, they
wouldn’t be. Then I thought about the Pressians and the necessity for
silence.”

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“Humans are impatient by nature,” Kelr said, pulling him into the

circle of his arms as the water crept up to his belly button. “The one
thing I know about the universe is that things do not stay the same.
Whether it is a year from now or a hundred, the Pressians will be
overthrown by some other race, or some plague, or some something
else. The only constant is change.”

He was right of course. His lover was always right when it came

to the other species. The only things that he could do to be really
productive were his relationship and living the life he was living right
at this exact moment. If he were being completely honest, it was a
really great place to be. Especially since they loved one another so
intensely and the sex was stellar. Since Kelr had claimed him, he no
longer felt pain when they touched.

“So, did you finish the proposal for the new shipping tax on

imports to Earth yet?” Jack asked, sinking to his knees so that the
water lapped his chin. He loved the currents in the water, loved the
beach and the wide open freedom it represented.

“Must we talk of work?” Kelr returned, following his example and

sinking down as well. A piece of seaweed brushed against Jack’s
nipple, necessitating a shiver.

“Well, no. However, you told me that we wouldn’t be able to have

a free night until you finished…”

Kelr claimed his lips in a kiss as a wave crashed over their heads.

Jack came up laughing and sputtering as his alien winked at him.
“Don’t worry, sweet. I finished it this afternoon. I’m yours for the
evening.”

Kelr was his for all eternity, but Jack would take his undivided

attention for the next few hours. He shot his lover a grin. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweet. Forever.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jana Downs lives in the beautiful mountains of western North

Carolina with three cats, one dog, several dozen fish, and a very
understanding partner-in-crime who hates to read but makes
exceptions for her stories.

You can usually find her either watching bad reality TV, buying

way too many books on Amazon, or dreaming up another man or two
to occupy her time because life is good but several drop-dead
gorgeous nonexistent men is just better.

For all titles by Jana Downs, please visit