Erebi Seeking - 1. Chapter 1

Saturday:

Jiovanni

At nine o'clock in the evening Jiovanni stepped outside his apartment complex and got in a cab. He showed the cabbie his rather worn business card for The Screaming Faery, an upscale club for men on the north side of town.

"You got a guild card kid?" the cabbie asked through the wire mesh that separated the front of the cab from the back.

"Yes, I do." Jove told him and fished the card out of his wallet to show it to him.

"I was sure you didn't look old enough but it looks legit. No sense in driving all the way cross town if you're not legit you know."

"I understand." Jove said as he accepted the card back. Of course, he did not look legit; he was not nearly old enough to have his own card. However, he did look like Hunter, and he had been visiting the Screaming Faery for several months now and he was more confident when asked to show his guild card.

When they reached Northside, they hit heavy traffic, and the cab slowed to a crawl. Jove sighed and stared out the window. Today had been a very unsettling day, but tonight should help. Micah always helped settle his nerves. He smiled at his musings and allowed his thoughts to drift to the conversation he had with his brother earlier this afternoon.

Jove had come in from the roof to see Hunter sitting on the couch his head buried in his hands and some bills on the coffee table. The bills had been separated into a couple piles: due, past due, turn off. He noticed the rent was in the past due pile and electricity in the turn off. He also knew there was not much in the way of food in the apartment. In fact, they had not had milk for two weeks. He didn’t understand why Hunter didn’t use the money he knew Micah put on Hunter’s guild card every week, but of course, he couldn’t ask him about it directly. Jove sucked in his bottom lip and went to sit near his brother.

“What can I do to help?”

Hunter did not even look up, “Nothing, you’re too young.”

“Hunter, you can’t do this alone. What can I do to help?” he reached over and caressed his brother’s shoulder. “I made my promises to papa too, you know.”

“We need money. I can’t go out yet. Cordell…” Hunter just gave an angry look. “Odessa is keeping her promise to papa and mama too. Elaina is a baby, although she would scream if she heard me say that. So that leaves you Jiovanni, if I asked you, could you do what is necessary to make some money?”

Jove looked thoughtful, and then asked him, “What do you think is necessary?”

“Take my guild card, go out, find a rich old kagaro and fuck their brains out, their spouse too if that’s what they wanted, and charge them premium for the service. People say we look enough alike…”

“Are you serious?”

Hunter nodded. “I think it might work, with the right clothes, and the right club. You could not go to any of the local places, not only might you be recognized but they do not pay as well. However, a nice place up on Northside maybe, and not one of the leather or fetish clubs; those places would be dangerous.” Hunter grinned. “It would at least take care of the most pressing of these.” He patted the turn off pile.

“Hunter, if I get caught…”

“You will not Jove, don’t even think it. If you are very careful, and I know you will be…” Hunter had looked so relieved. “I think this will work.”

“Do you?”

“If you are not afraid.”

“I’m not afraid. Nervous, but not afraid, what if they suspect?”

Hunter turned so he could look at his brother better. “Many ganami pretend to be Hesti, the kagaro like it, they like to think they are the first after a Cleansing. You not only look young but are young so that is what they will think. You will just have to remember a few things that all new boys are told at their Cleansing: always use a condom -- it will keep you on the disease free status longer; and if it doesn’t fit in your mouth, do not attempt to put it in your arse until you have gotten more experience.”

Jove nearly choked on his laughter. No wonder Micah had behaved so strangely on their first night together.

“It’s not funny Jove, some people think ganami are just toys to be played with. We have rights under the law, and it is up to us to remember those rights and to enforce them. You will have the right to say no at any time. If you are unsure, negotiate. If a kagaro tries to force you to do anything you do not wish to do, report the kagaro to the club manager, immediately, even if you have to leave without your clothes. A little embarrassment is nothing compared to being forced to do something you may not want to do. Never let a kagaro tie you up, leave that for the erebi out there who like it and are paid well for their pleasure. Do you think you can remember all that, Jove?”

Jove had nodded. His father had told him a very different version of the same set of basic rules when he was eleven, and he had never forgotten them. “It doesn’t seem all that difficult.”

“It’s not, really.” Hunter then explained how to access his guild account from the room, so he could be paid, “but before you leave, ask for the payment in cash at the desk. They do not like to give it to you, but most will if you ask politely enough.”

“I think I can do it.”

“Now, what you should wear…” Hunter looked his brother over critically, “something simple I think, not too stylish or sophisticated, you are trying to look like a newly Cleansed boy or a ganami pretending to be Hesti. I have a t-shirt you can wear that would be more appropriate for the clubs, do you have any nice jeans clean?”

“They should be.”

“Good that will be what you will wear tonight.” Hunter grinned. “And muss up your hair, not that too neat style you wear for school, all right?”

“I can do something else with my hair,” and he had. He wore his second best pair of jeans too, and one of Hunter’s club t-shirts with a light jacket. When he emerged from the bathroom, his black curls had been gelled so that it looked as if he had just crawled out of bed. Hunter had approved, and handed over his guild card and bus tokens. Jove smiled as he slipped the card in his wallet and the bus tokens in his front pocket along with the twenty he had for the cab. There was no need for Hunter to know he had cash on him. Then without another word between them, Jove sat down and waited until the time was right while Hunter, Elaina, and Cody left to go see mama at the hospital.

Jove briefly wondered how his mama was doing, but then the cab was slowing down. The Screaming Faery was on the right, and there was no more time for speculation. He had a date.

When they arrived, Jove paid the man, and then slid out of the cab. He walked up to the proper line and waited with the other ganami. Most of the young men on this side were eighteen or older and dressed in anything from worn jeans and tank tops to leather. Jove had decided on a pair of nice jeans and a clean t-shirt, like his older brother, Hunter, suggested. He did not want to let on that he had been coming here for a while and knew exactly what to wear. He wondered what Micah would think of his outfit tonight.

A few minutes later and he was entering the club, going through the procedure of handing over his guild card to the man at the door who greeted him by his brother's name then handed him a button with a number on it. The speech was always the same:

"Welcome to The Screaming Faery, Hunter, bar items will be taken from your account. Just listen for your name over the loud speaker if you're near one or if you can't hear it over all the noise, keep an eye on one of the boards." He gestured to some boards with numbers on them, "They'll post the number up there as well. In the event you are requested, go to the desk across the room there." He pointed to a desk by a door, "to receive your room key. For the record I have to ask, if there is anything you refuse to do?"

"Yes, I refuse to go home before I get laid, please inform Micah I have arrived if he is available. Will that do?" Jove told him with an impish grin. Some of the other young men behind him in line laughed.

"It will do. Enjoy your evening, Hunter."

"Thank you." Jove smiled again and moved on. Micah would be notified of his arrival if he was here and it would not be too long before his number came up on the board. He went over to the bar and ordered himself a soda; he rarely ordered anything stronger, although he often had a glass or two of wine in the room with Micah. He was about halfway through it when an older man sat down beside him.

"Haven't seen you here before."

"I don't usually stay on the floor very long," Jove told him with a smile, no sense in hurting the man's feelings too badly.

"Oh, can I buy you a drink then?"

Jove held up his half filled glass. "Have one, thank you."

The man leaned in, "Look, I think you are damn sexy and I want to get to know you better before inviting you upstairs, are you interested or not?"

Jove blushed, unsure what to say. He had not thought to pick up another man since coming here and bedding Micah. The man before him was good looking, but he was not in the same league as Micah. Luckily, he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder and a familiar presence behind him. "I'm sorry, I can't."

The man looked up and Jove followed his line of sight. Micah stood there in his normal club wear of leather pants and boots; shirtless still wearing the bite marks of their last lovemaking. "I see." He said to the both of them. Then to Micah, "You should mark your boy better if you are going to be his Mulciber." With that, he stood up and walked away.

Jove stayed seated, waiting to see if Micah was going to join him or request that he join him upstairs. A second later he felt the touch on his shoulder change, it was an urging to come. Jove stood and followed. His number had not been called, they would be going together to the desk.

Micah took Jove's button off and handed it to the clerk, who did not give him a room key. Micah had his own private room on the top floor. Together they entered the elevators and shared a single impassioned kiss that lasted until the doors opened again just outside Micah's private suite.

Once inside they went through the procedure of Micah paying 'Hunter' for his time while Jove went to the bathroom to prepare himself for Micah. His lover had very particular tastes and he had learned them well. When he was ready, he came into the bedroom wrapped in nothing but a white towel.

"So, what would you like tonight?" Jove asked as he stood between a very naked Micah's knees.

"I think I would like to see you wear this." Micah pulled out a wrapped package and handed it to Jove.

"A gift?" Jove sat on the edge of the bed and took the gift from him. "What did I do to deserve a gift?

"Who said you had to do anything? You make me happy. Now open it." Micah watched as Jove opened the package and smiled as he pulled out the a ball on a leather strap, two pair of padded leather cuffs, and something he had no idea what it was, but it looked sort of like a malformed rubber penis.

Jove pulled them out one by one and held them up, giggling. "I'm not sure if I should thank you or not." He grinned at Micah, "other than these," he indicated the cuffs, "I have no idea what these things are for."

Micah grinned. "Are you adverse to learning?"

"Not my will, but thine." Jove told him softly and held up the ball gag. "Teach me."

Micah released a breath he did not realize he had been holding when Hunter responded so favorably to his gift. William told him it might be too soon or the young man might not be interested in the activities of the Erebi. However, Micah had argued that his lover had responded favorably to each stage of the training that he had been introduced to up to this point. Every thing he had been asked to do he had complied with out questioning; always responding the same, "Not my will, but thine." Micah never taught him those words, and he never told William he used them.

He took the ball gag from Hunter's hand;"you know this means you are mine," he said softly.

Hunter nodded.

"Truly mine."

"I know," Hunter caressed Micah's cheek, "I'm where I choose to be."

"Did you truly have a choice?"

"Every time I come to you I have a choice and every time I choose you." Hunter told him.

Micah sighed happily, then smiled, knowing his lover would respond that way.

"Stand up, Hunter."

Hunter stood up, leaving the towel on the bed. "I feel like things are... different between us."

"Are you frightened?" Micah was glad the ganamus was comfortable with his nudity around him now. Their first meeting had been more like a Hestial Cleansing than the chance meeting of two soon to be lovers, but Hunter had explained that it was his first time with a male lover, which explained his nervousness. Micah often wondered if he still visited women, but did not have it in his heart to ask, not yet anyway. If the young man had other commitments, it was his business.

"No." Hunter smiled. "You would never hurt me more than I need to be hurt."

"And you trust me for that?"

"Yes, I do."

"There is a ceremony, it's quite simple. Part of it is private, and part of it is not so private. I do not want to rush you, Hunter; this is a very important thing. The gifts are part of the preparation, but they do not have to be. We can keep them private between us until you are ready." Micah caressed the ball gag with his thumb and looked Hunter in the eye. "You don't have to if you don't feel you're ready."

"Would it please you?"

"Greatly."

"I am yours, Micah."

Micah smiled at Hunter. "Then kneel Neophyte and begin your First Passage."

Hunter knelt at his feet and Micah placed the ball in his mouth, Micah then adjusted the straps so the gag would not come off. He did not want it so tight it pulled at Hunter's mouth, but neither did he want it so loose that he could work it out easily. When he was sure it was properly placed, he kissed his lover's forehead and smiled.

"Up here, Hunter." Micah pulled him up and across as he sat down positioning him across his lap. His gifts to his lover were within Hunter's vision and the nightstand where he kept the lube was to his back. Micah reached over and pulled out the lube, then reached over and picked up the anal plug. He had chosen a rather large one for Hunter because he had taken him so easily and he liked to feel full.

"Do you still want to do this?" he asked.

"Yes." Hunter answered, forming the word around the ball.

"As part of this lesson you will learn to call me Sir." Micah caressed Hunter's arse cheeks then smacked them sharply. "And you will learn there will be repercussions for disobedience, do you understand."

"Yes Sir." Hunter spoke as clearly as possible around the gag.

"Good." Micah took his time with the lube, playing with Hunter and the plug until it was seated the way he wanted it. When he was satisfied, he directed Hunter to stand.

Hunter struggled to his feet and stood before Micah, the arse play and strange fullness in his arse causing his penis to stand at attention.

"You are beautiful, Hunter." Micah told him as he picked up one set of cuffs -- the wrist ones. In a few seconds, he had them on and adjusted for maximum comfort and restraint. Then he picked up the ankle cuffs and did the same thing. Hunter's erection had twitched, but not deflated, obviously he was enjoying this attention. "You know, I can keep you like this for hours." Micah ran his hand over Hunter's erection with a feather light touch.

Hunter moaned ever so softly.

"You would like that wouldn't you?"

Hunter blushed, nodded his head, and intoned, "Yes, Sir," around the gag.

Hunter

“Elaina, go to bed, it’s past your bedtime.” He called down the hall, in her general direction.

“It’s Saturday!” she complained.

“Yes, but you still have a bedtime.”

“Mama would let me stay up,” she whined.

“Elaina, bed, now.”

“I don’t want to and you can’t make me!” she yelled back at him as she flounced into her room and slammed the door.

Of course, he could not make her, he could barely help himself on and off the couch and she knew it. However, he could make her life miserable in a million other ways and she knew that too. “Don’t push me, Elaina. As the only adult in the house I get to decide who lives here.”

The door opened and she peeked out, “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh I wouldn’t?” he asked her as he reached for the phone. “I’m not mama, I don’t have to put up with your mouth. If you don’t want to mind me, then you can go live somewhere else.”

“Fine!” she shouted and slammed the door again. This time he heard bed springs and the light went out from under the door. She may not be going to sleep, but she was in bed.

“You know,” Cody said from the kitchen where he was finishing up the dinner dishes, “You don’t have to be so mean to her. She really misses mama.”

“We all do, Cody. Do you think this is easy?”

“No, it can’t be. Do you plan on sending us all away when mama dies?”

Hunter let out a sigh. “No, I don’t. I promised mama I would keep the family together for as long as possible. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to do it, but I promised.”

“Just like you kept your promise to papa?” Cody asked.

“You don’t know anything about my promise to papa.”

“I know he made us all promise to stay away from the guild.” Cody put the last dish in the cabinet.

“Did he tell you that? Or are you just guessing it?”

“He told me he didn’t want us in the Guild.”

“And what else did he say?”

Cody shrugged. “Nothing important.”

“It must be important, considering our earlier conversation.”

“It’s just…” Cody came in and sat down in the chair, “why did you do it? You know mama didn’t want you to, but you went and joined on your birthday, against her wishes.”

“I did it because papa told me to. Well not exactly to do it on my birthday, but he said that if mama needed my help with the finances that I should go to the guild. She was struggling to keep us all fed, housed, and clothed. It was hard on her. When I started working, she was able to stop working the doubles every other night and spend more time with Elaina, who needed her. Mama and I fought about it, but she understood my decision, and she respected it.”

“Like you respected mine today?”

“I was angry. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not like you Hunter. I can’t do that.”

“I understand, it’s just you are old enough. Jove is not.”

“Yeah, where is Jove?”

“Doing what you refused to do.”

“Jove?” Cody looked at his elder brother, “but it’s illegal.”

“Only if he’s caught.”

Cody shook his head. “I should have… I didn’t know you were going to ask him. I mean, at least for me it would be legal. I’ll go tomorrow and talk to Franko.”

“No Cody, let Jove do this.” Hunter told him. “I don’t think I could bear breaking my promise to mama twice before she’s even dead. After she dies, you do what you want.”

“She made you promise tonight didn’t she?”

Hunter nodded.

“And you promised knowing he was out there?”

“I did. He’s not joining the guild, officially.” Hunter sighed again. “But I don’t think I could face her again knowing I lied to her about you too.”

“All right, but when she’s passed, I’ll do my share.”

“That’s what papa intended.”

“I think so too.” Cody stared at the wall. “It won’t be much longer will it?”

“No, I don’t think so. She seems worse every time I go to see her.”

“Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Are you going to wait up for Jove?”

“I’m going to stay up for a while. I’d like my drawing stuff, but it’s in my room. He may get home before I go to bed, but I doubt it.”

“I’ll get your stuff.” Cody offered and left the room to get the items, returning a few minutes later. “I just hope he’s safe. Some of the things I’ve heard…”

“If he listened to me, he’s safe.” Hunter reassured his younger brother. “Now go on to bed, and try not to wake Elaina.” Cody went into the room he shared with his sisters closing the door softly. “He has to be safe. Both mama and papa will haunt me forever if he is not.” Hunter said to no one in particular, and then opened his sketchbook.

Elaina

Elaina flopped down on the bed with the lights out. She hated it when they treated her like a baby. She so was not a baby any more. Couldn’t they see she was becoming a woman? She had her period for crying out loud, wasn’t that enough proof? Frustrated she pulled the pillow over her head and screamed. She knew it would not do any good, but it made her feel better. The only one who even came close to understanding her was Jove. Sometimes at night, he let her whisper her secrets to him. None of the others seemed to care about her needs. Jove told her there was no harm in the things she wanted to do so badly, but that she could not talk about it to the other girls at school. He always said that. Do not talk about it, no matter what, promise. She had promised because she had wanted him to keep talking to her in the dark. He never touched her and she never touched him, he said that was wrong because they were family, but she had imagined his hands on her when she touched herself. Just as she did now, she did not think it was wrong, not one bit. With the blanket over her and the pillow over her face, she kept to her favorite fantasy and soon she shuddered in a quiet orgasm. Smiling, she brought her fingers up to her mouth and sucked them as she rolled over to try to get some sleep.

Cody sat on the edge of the bed in his underwear. Elaina was breathing steady so he was sure she was asleep. He pulled his sock over his penis and began to jerk off before going to bed. He was just getting into the rhythm good when the bed moved behind him and the pillow hit him upside the head.

“How dare you!” Elaina whispered loudly. “That is so gross!”

Cody pulled up his underwear and grabbed his robe as he ran out of the bedroom, apologizing all the way. It was half an hour before he left the bathroom and reentered the bedroom, this time he just slipped into the bed and went directly to sleep.

Micah

When Micah finally let Hunter cum, his eyes were closed, his legs trembled, his nipples swollen from the attention they had received and his breath came in short pants from around his teeth which were biting into the gag. He moaned ever so softly as his jism shot in thick ropes nearly up to his chin to mix with the cooling splatterings Micah had left there earlier. Hunter shuddered once then was still. Micah sat and watched him as his breathing returned to normal. He had loved his boy well; William would be pleased if they ever decided to make their relationship a public one. Unlike some of the people who were inclined to the way of the Mulciber, Micah believed the union of an Erebus and a Mulciber to be an equal one outside the contracted terms. He and Hunter were not contracted yet, but he hoped they would be, and the contract he would offer would be fair. Probably more than fair as he had not had the opportunity to research what consisted of a fair contract. He reached up and wiped some cum off Hunter's face. He was sleeping. Micah stretched out beside him and let him sleep for a while; he would need his rest for what came next.

Odessa

The library of the university wasn’t the most romantic place, but there Sterling Coppel was, on his knee with a ring in his hand. Odessa clasped her hand over her mouth and smiled.

“Will you do me the honor of being my wife?” he asked soft enough not to disturb those around them too much.

“Sterling, I don’t know what to say,” she whispers, pulling him up into the chair beside her.

“Say yes and make me the happiest man there is.”

“You know I can’t, I’ll loose my tuition.”

“I’ll pay it. I would never keep you from your dreams Odessa.”

“I know you wouldn’t any more than I would keep you from your work.” She reached over and held his hand. “But with mama in the hospital, and papa gone, the boys and Elaina need me.”

“My apartment isn’t that far from your place, you would be able to check in on them when ever you wanted.”

“Hunter needs me, Sterling. They all need me,” she looked him in the eye.

“I need you too.” He leaned forward and kissed her, “but I can wait until you are ready.” He held out the ring. “Why don’t you hold on to this.”

“I didn’t say yes.”

“You didn’t say no.”

She smiled at him and let him put the ring on her finger. “I didn’t say no.”

“I have to go… commitments.”

“I understand.”

“I’ll see you Monday though, yes?”

“Yes, on Monday.”

“Give your mother my love.”

“You’ve never met my mama, Sterling.”

“I can still love her for having you, can I not?” He smiled at her.

“Yes, you can,” she blushed and he kissed her again, a more romantic kiss.

“Until Monday…” he whispered then left her sitting with her books in the library where she stayed until it closed, and then took the last bus home from the campus. Mama would not understand her loving Sterling. He was too much like papa, he was even ganami like papa had been when mama and papa had first met. He was still drug and disease free, and she knew he sold himself to women as well as men. He had explained that usually couples purchased him as a third for the evening. He liked his employment and did not want to give it up even after their marriage, and she understood that. She would never ask that of him, not like her mama had demanded of her papa. Had papa stayed a ganami he may have still been alive. This would be a difficult decision for her to make, she decided as she walked up the stair to the apartment. She wished she could talk to mama, or even Hunter, but he has so many troubles on his mind, and mama was so sick. No, she decided, this was something she would have to decide on her own.

Standing outside the door, she slipped the ring off her hand and put it in her pocket. Yes, it was time she started to make some adult decisions, regardless of her hesti status.

Jiovanni

It was well after midnight when Jove stirred next to Micah. His arms were still stretched up over his head secured to a bolt in the headboard by a length of rope and his ankles were secured individually to other bolts in the footboard. His arse still felt full so he was sure Micah hadn't removed the gift he placed there earlier in the evening. His nipples ached, as did his cock and balls, but he had expected that after their love making session. He wanted to lick his lips, but found it impossible to do with the gag still in place. At his movements, Micah stirred as well. "Are you ready to continue?" he asked from out of Jove's line of sight.

Jove nodded his head, unable to make the words with his too dry lips.

"Mmm… that will cost you." Micah promised him as he touched one of his feet. Jove did not resist his repositioning, although it was awkward at first to have both his wrists and his ankles tied above his head, his ankles were at a higher angle though and that did help.

Micah took a few minutes to play with him as he removed the anal plug then he felt a sharp smack on his arse. It was not delivered by Micah's hand; but a good-sized, leather-covered, wooden paddle that sent delicious shivers up his spine. Four more whacks just as sharp followed, and despite the stinging shame of being paddled, Jove found himself with a raging hard-on. He just did not understand his body. Micah understood him though as he took his penis in hand and massaged it gently. "Liked that did you?"

"Yes, sir." Jove whispered as he looked up at him through damp lashes.

"Should I give you five more" Micah asked.

"Yes, sir." Jove told him.

Micah nodded then picked up the paddle again to deliver the promised five whacks, this time slowly masturbating Jove between them. On the fifth whack, Jove ejaculated all over his own face. Micah smiled at him. "I think you enjoy this, Hunter."

Jove blushed bright crimson.

"But I think you enjoy this more." Micah told him as he mounted his bound boy.

Jove moaned behind the gag as Micah took up the empty place with in him.

"That's right, Hunter, just for you."

His sphincter had been stretched for hours and he had very little control over it, but he focused all his attention to that one muscle and on pleasing Micah. Jove was surprised to find that tied as he was he was still able to buck and thrust with his lover, although Micah was more in control, he was not completely at his mercy. His cheeks were tender from the spanking, which made the pounding he was now receiving all the more intense as he flexed various muscles in an attempt to bring Micah the greatest pleasure possible. Soon, too soon, it was over as Micah cried out and hot jism flooded Jove's bowels.

When he was able, Micah ungagged his lover and claimed his lips for his own. Jove kissed him back, accepting Micah's tongue into his mouth as willingly as he had accepted everything else Micah had shared with him.

Micah kissed down his lover's jism covered body and bit his nipples once more before reaching up to undo the cuffs that bound Jove's ankles and then his wrists, leaving the cuffs attached to the ropes tied to the bed. There were red welts around his limbs and there might be some bruising, but there was no blood, no cuts, no permanent damage.

There were no words of love spoken between them as Jove stood up on shaky legs and went to the bathroom to clean up. This time Micah followed him. "Do you mind if we share the shower?" Micah asked, almost shyly.

Jove looked up at him. Just five minutes ago, this man was the picture of self-assurance, now he was nearly demure. It was confusing. "Thy will, Micah." Jove told him gently, trying to explain to him by his behavior and body language what he expected of him as a lover and as a man.

"Hunter, what we do in the bedroom…" Micah began as Jove turned on the water, "…well, it should stay in the bedroom."

"Does this mean I did not please you?" Jove asked.

"Of course you pleased me! Why would you think you didn't please me?"

"Well you said there was some part of our loving that would be not so private…"

Micah blushed. "Yes, but you didn't say you were ready."

"I'm not, yet, but we shouldn't be strangers when we step out of the bedroom either." He reached up and soaped up his lover. "I liked it when you claimed me downstairs, but now, it's almost as if you want to be rid of me."

"Hunter, I…" Micah paused then bent to claim his lovers, lips again. When they parted, he tried again. "I don't know the words for what I feel for you. You make me want to protect you, to claim you as my own. You make it easy to do what we did tonight -- too easy."

"So you want me to struggle more? To defy you?" Jove questioned trying to understand what was expected so that next time he would do it right. "Would you prefer if I wept?"

"No, Hunter, you are perfect. Too perfect sometimes, it is as if you can sense what I need and give me exactly that much and not one bit more." Micah rinsed off the soap and watched as Hunter soaped himself. He had marked his boy well. His boy… Micah shook his head… he had to get that thought out of his head unless he really meant it. He stepped out of the shower area and began to dry off.

Hunter followed shortly wrapping in a second towel and drying his hair with a third. "You said when you bound me that I was yours. I accepted that, Micah, but if you need time… I accept that too." He began to dress so he could be on his way before the club closed down completely.

"Come back tomorrow."

"I have another commitment tomorrow ." Hunter told him, "but I will make it up to you next week." He winked.

"Hunter, if… if we do decide to take this to the next level, the other commitments will have to stop."

"I know, but that decision hasn't been made yet, now has it?" he grinned cockily and slipped on his shoes before tossing the used towels in the laundry basket.

A few minutes later Jove was pressing the down button on the elevator and considering his future. He wanted to ask Micah to explain some things to him, but he got the feeling he should already understand them from the way they were so casually discussed around him. He could not quite ask Hunter about them, at least not after just one night. Hunter would think he disregarded all of his advice; it was bad enough it disregarded the majority of it. As soon as he was old enough he planned on getting tested for everything under the sun, as he and Micah had never used a condom, but their father had seen to it that he and his brothers had been well inoculated before he died although they had been too young for the initial series and boosters. As far as he knew, he was not due for any boosters until after he turned sixteen when it would be legal for him to get them.

He checked out at the main desk, collecting Hunter's card and five hundred dollars in cash. He did not like to have that much money on him, but Hunter told him to bring the money home. He did not know how much Micah actually paid him, but five hundred seemed fair for one night of services. He asked for one hundred in twenties, to pay the cab, and went out to hail one home.

The ride home was uneventful, and it gave Jove more time to think about his future. He rubbed his wrists where they were bruised. He was not sure how he was going to hide those particular marks. Maybe he would have to ask Micah to be more careful in the future. He had until Monday to figure it out though. Tomorrow he would be at the hospital with his mother; it was his and Odessa's turn to stay by her bedside and wait. Hunter and Cody shared today. Their mother did not want them there, but they did not want to leave her there to die. They knew she was not going to come home; it was only a matter of time.

When the cab came to a stop Jove looked over at the meter, eighteen dollars and fifty cents. He handed the man a twenty and got out of the cab, then he began the long walk up the stairwell to the apartment. Everyone was asleep when he went to Hunter's room and put Hunter's guild card and the money in the drawer, then he went to the room he shared with his two sisters and brother, everyone sleeping in one big bed. He had not belonged in that bed for a very long time, now he had reason not to sleep with them any longer. He sighed in relief. He was suddenly glad Hunter had come to him rather than to Cody, now he did not have to be so secretive with his family. He could see Micah so long as he brought home money at least until Hunter's leg healed. They would not mind that it was illegal; they had to eat.

He grabbed his pillow and blanket and went back to Hunter's room. This is where he belonged, in the room reserved for the family ganami. Once there he closed the door and stripped down to his underwear and climbed in bed with his older brother. Hunter shoved him against the wall and draped his good leg over him, and Jove happily fell asleep.