surprised to find himself utterly terrified. What if his Master was like his last Trainer? What if he desired to see his blood and pain more than his pleasure? He resented how this person whom he’d never met had this much control over him already.
“Can you give us a moment?” The voice of his Master went straight to his cock as if some sort of signal had been given to his body at those softly uttered words. Payne blushed as his body stirred without provocation. He’d been engineered to be this man’s lover. If there was a formula for fated mates, the Facility had figured it out and tapped into it.
“Of course,” the Trainer said. “When you’re ready, press the red call button on the wall, and I’ll be back with you.”
The door swished open and closed, and they were alone. Payne shifted from foot to foot as silence stretched on. It was his scent. His scent is driving me crazy. Maybe this was what they meant when they said they were absolutely compatible. All he could think about was plastering his body all over whoever was in the room with him and wallowing in his scent. A sharp intake of breath from the other man clued Payne in that the man appreciated his oil-slicked body and his hardened arousal.
“Look at me,” his soon-to-be Master commanded. “You haven’t looked at me once. Look at me.”
Payne raised eyes and met the man’s light-blue ones, and his world shifted. He’d never seen anything or anyone so beautiful. Payne’s arousal jerked. Oh my. What would it be like to touch him ?
“What is your name, Vessel?” the man asked. He didn’t have a cold voice like his instructors had.
Payne swallowed. “I’m Vessel 8189, though I prefer Payne.”
The man smiled. “I like a man who asserts himself. I expected shy and submissive, but this is even better. Calm confidence has always been my weakness. It’s uncanny how well the compatibility works.”
Payne shrugged. “If you say so, my lord.”
“Then I will call you Payne. May I touch you, Payne?” he asked with a smile.
Payne was confused by his politeness. “If that is what you desire, my lord.”
“I want you to call me by my name. Call me Alec,” Alec corrected.
“As you wish…Alec.” Payne tested the name on his tongue and found it pleasing. His body jumped as Alec’s fingertips touched the planes of his stomach.
“You are gorgeous,” Alec complimented.
“Thank you, my…Alec,” Payne corrected himself. This was awkward but not uncomfortable. He could get used to this. He wasn’t allowed to call anyone by name but his fellow Vessels. Perhaps his new owner would fulfill some of Payne’s desires in addition to his own. Payne could only hope.
* * * *
Alec’s hands moved freely over his skin, tracing his muscles with barely restrained lust. Alec tried to explain his out-of-character groping. “I don’t know why I feel like I need to touch you so badly.”
“It’s our compatibility,” Payne explained, gasping as Alec traced the puckered tips of both his nipples. “We are perfectly aligned. The urge to mate is normal.” Is that my imagination, or does he seem a little breathless ?
“Is it normal for people to, uh, be with their Vessels before they leave the Facility?” Alec asked. The more he touched Payne, the more he desired to touch and explore and— Damn, I’m acting like an animal. He doesn’t deserve that.
“Not normally, but I’m sure they’d make an exception if you so choose,” Payne said, leaning into Alec’s touch.
“I don’t want you to think that I am just some horny guy aiming to get off.” Alec felt the need to explain, which was ridiculous because that was what the Vessel was made for after all. He mentally rolled his eyes. He wasn’t some guy Alec was aiming to pick up at a bar. This was basically a handpicked partner or something. He wouldn’t really be a partner, though, would he? He was a very expensive toy. He got confused by his own marketing. But it certainly
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