Heart Mate

Katzman 4

Heart Mate Hassan Al'Abdalha has seen his brother, Bogden, find his mate, and now his Shaikh has decided that it's his turn. Hassan was married once before and he never wants to experience that again. It was a dismal experience that left him miserable by the time his wife passed away. So Hassan comes up with a plan. He asks his brother to find him a mate like his own, a brüter, with the intention of it being a contract in name only. But fate has a funny way of messing with people's lives. The brüter that he goes to the capitol to claim turns out to be Hassan's fated mate. Rayne is also a man on the run and he runs right into Hassan's arms. If they can keep from fighting their mating, they might actually find out that they want the same things out of life— each other. Unfortunately, there are those that don't want them to find happiness together, and being in pridehome in the middle of the desert surrounded by family and warriors won't stop them from getting what they want. Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Futuristic Length: 56,351 words

HEART MATE Katzman 4

Stormy Glenn

EROTIC ROMANCE MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

HEART MATE Copyright © 2011 by Stormy Glenn E-book ISBN: 1-61926-143-X First E-book Publication: December 2011 Cover design by Jinger Heaston All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers Dear Readers, If you have purchased this copy of Heart Mate by Stormy Glenn from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book. The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment. This is Stormy Glenn’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Glenn’s right to earn a living from her work. Amanda Hilton, Publisher www.SirenPublishing.com www.BookStrand.com

HEART MATE Katzman 4 STORMY GLENN Copyright © 2011

Prologue McCarthy Hall, Elquone Rayne McCarthy sat on the cold wooden floor, his small fingers drawing circles in the dirt that lined the long hallway. He could hear loud, angry voices coming through the door across the hall from where he sat. Rayne knew that the voices inside were discussing him. The argument had been going on since just after breakfast this morning when a messenger had delivered a missive to his father from the High Ruler of Katzmann. He could hear the shrill voice of his stepmother, Angela, screaming at his father and the loud retort of his father as he yelled back at her. Rayne didn’t understand quite what they were arguing about, but he knew it wasn’t good. Nothing good ever came from Angela raising her voice. Even at the age of five years old, Rayne had experienced many of his stepmother’s tempers. And he never came out of them unscathed. Suddenly, the screaming and yelling stopped. Several moments later, Rayne heard the door open. Looking up, he saw his stepmother come charging out of the room, her long, royal purple skirts swishing angrily behind her.

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Angela’s lips twisting in an ugly sneer as she growled. “If it’s the last thing I do, I will make you rue this day. This I promise you, you stupid little brat!” Angela marched past Rayne, purposely striking Rayne’s leg with her foot. Rayne watched Angela storm down the hallway, not moving until he was clearly out of sight. Slowly crawling to his feet, Rayne walked toward the door opposite of him. He crept silently into his father’s study. Looking cautiously around the room, he could see his father sitting behind his large oak desk, a piece of paper in one hand, a glass of amber liquid in the other. “Papa,” he said softly. Sir Arturo McCarthy III raised his head at the soft sound and smiled. “Come here, my boy.” Rayne raced across the room as fast as his little legs would carry him and launched himself into his father’s waiting arms. Arturo buried his head in Rayne’s soft, light brown curls. “How’s my favorite boy today?” Rayne hugged his father as tight as he could before settling down on his lap. “I’m fine, Papa. Why is Mama Angela mad at me?” Arturo positioned Rayne more firmly on his lap as his eyes strayed to the message sent by the High Ruler. “Well, I don’t think she is really mad at you. She’s more mad at me than anything.” Rayne’s brow puckered as he tried to figure out why anyone would be mad at his wonderful father. “Why, Papa? Did you do something that made her mad?” Arturo shook his head slowly. “Not exactly. More like I agreed with someone and that made her mad.” Arturo reached down to the top of his desk and picked up the message from the High Ruler. He held it in front of Rayne so that he could see it as he began to explain. “Do you remember the wife of the High Ruler of Katzmann, Seanna Rai?” Rayne thought about it for a moment then shook his head no.

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“Hmm, well, Seanna Rai is a friend of mine. We also do some business together. She was here on a diplomatic visit last year.” “Oh, you mean the lady with the black hair and the soft laugh?” Arturo laughed. “Yes, my boy, the woman with the black hair and the soft laugh.” Rayne peered at the piece of paper his father was holding in front of him, trying to understand the letters and their meaning. Finally, giving up, he said, “Read it to me, Papa.” Arturo laughed at him and began to read the message. Dear Arturo, I am pleased to announce that the cargo we traded for in the North will bear us a mighty trade. We did very well with the beef and spices, but not so well with the wool. I expect to hear more on this from Capt. James next time he is in port. As usual, all of the wares are stored at our Market Street warehouse. If you have any questions concerning the accounts please send word to Mr. Krammer. He has proved to be an invaluable resource, and I appreciate you sending him to me. He is an excellent accountant. As for that other matter you asked me to deal with, it is done. Mr. Krammer will record your last will and testament with the courts on both planets as instructed. I have enclosed a copy of the final signed and notarized copy with this letter. And, as requested, your son, Rayne, has been listed as sole beneficiary of your estate. Arturo, I feel compelled to tell you that I do not envy you when your wife finds out what you have done. But, I sure would like to be a fly on the wall when you do. I offer you my sympathies, my friend. There is one last thing I would wish to mention. Last week, Mr. Jones, of the Whittack Club, made mention to me that Angela has been to the club several times over the last month and her account is way past due. Mr. Jones was hesitant to mention this to me, but knowing of our close business relationship, and because he has been

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unable to reach you for several months, felt that maybe I could contact you. Mr. Jones also made mention of the fact that Angela has been seen repeatedly in the company of a Mr. Thaterus Graves, whom you and I are both well acquainted with. I’m not one to rag a tale, Arturo, but this is something you might want to look into. Mr. Graves is of a greedy, conniving ilk. I will inform Mr. Jones that I have passed the message on to you and let the matter lie in your hands. Please give my regards to Rayne. Take care and be safe, my friend, until we meet again. Your friend, Lady Seanna Rai Rayne took the paper his father held and looked at the letters on it. “Papa, what is a benefitery?” Arturo laughed down at his son as he began to stand. “It’s beneficiary, my boy. It means that when I die, you get everything I have.” Rayne grew concerned at the mention of his father’s demise. “But, Papa, I don’t want you to die.” “Oh, I have no plans on dying for a long time, so don’t you worry about that.” Arturo folded the message back up and began to place it in his drawer along with his will when Rayne spoke up. “Can I keep it, Papa?” Arturo looked down at Rayne. “Keep what, Rayne?” Rayne pointed to the small bundle of papers that his father held in his hands. “The benfitery message, Papa.” “Now why would you want to keep that?” Rayne hid his face in his father’s shoulder. “Because it has my name on it.” Joy flooded Rayne when his father’s booming laughter filled the large study. “Of course you can, my boy, but only for a little while. I

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will need it back before you go to bed. Deal?” he asked as he lifted Rayne’s chin from its buried position. Rayne smiled up at his father. “Deal!” Arturo handed Rayne the bundle of papers and watched him fold it up and slide it into his pocket. Standing up, Arturo lifted Rayne onto his shoulders. “Now, what do you say we go find Cookie and see what she’s been making for us?” Rayne clapped his hands with glee, forgetting all about the bundle of papers in his pocket. “Oh yes, Papa, let’s go find Cookie!” Rayne bounced with excitement when his papa set him down on a chair by the kitchen counter and reached for a fresh baked cookie, handing it to him. Yum. “You stay here with Cookie, Rayne,” Arturo said. “I’m going to go see if I can get Mama Angela to forgive me.” Rayne nodded as he chewed on his cookie, watching his father turn and leave the room. Papa would do it. Papa could get anyone to do anything he wanted. Everyone loved Papa.

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Chapter 1 Hassan Al’Abdalha slammed his hands down on the table with annoyance, his eyes blazing with fire at the man sitting across from him. “I can’t believe this. You’re telling me that I have to have a mate? Have you completely lost your mind?” Shaikh Bogden Dhal Wuher Al’Abdalha’s body shook as he chuckled. “You say that like having a mate is an affliction.” Hassan moved his shoulders in a shrug of anger. “It is.” Bogden laughed softly. “Look, Hassan, there are certain things you have to understand. Without a mate, you could lose Hassy. And, as the brother of the Shaikh, you have to produce an heir.” “I have an heir, remember? You do remember your nephew, Hassy, don’t you?” Hassan asked with returning impatience. “You just mentioned him.” Bogden nodded his head. “Yes, I remember Hassy very well. I still have sand in my boots from the last time he stole them.” He chuckled again. “But that’s not the point. What if something happened to him? Who would be your heir then? What if Shaikh McGuffery gets his way? Who is going to be your heir then?” “You speak of Hassy like he is disposable.” Hassan growled. “Look, brother, I wouldn’t be saying this if it wasn’t important. You need to have a mate to provide a home for Hassy. You also need to have more children to insure that our line continues. Why do you think that Anjali and I plan to have so many children?” Hassan snickered. “Because you can’t keep your hands off of him.” Hassan could swear that he saw a blush creep up his brother’s face.

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“Okay, besides the fact that my mate was not adverse to my affections, a mate for you would kill two birds with one stone.” Hassan leaned forward on the bench as anger consumed him. “I don’t want another mate. I had one, and we all know what a dismal failure that was. She was miserable. She hated it here. And she did her best to make the rest of us miserable.” Looking his brother, he asked with a grudging voice, “Do you think I want to go through that again?” Bogden shook his head decisively. “No, I know you don’t want that. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You may find a mate that you can spend the rest of your life with, someone who will make you as happy as Anjali makes me.” Hassan snorted. “Okay, maybe you won’t find someone like that. I’m not even sure that angels like Anjali are born more than once in a lifetime. But you could at least find someone who you can have children with. You don’t even have to like her. You just have to have children with her.” “Him.” Bogden’s eyebrows shot up. “Him?” Hassan leaned back and fit his fingers together. “If I have to have a mate, at least don’t make it another female. I’ve already been down that road before, and it was a very bumpy ride. I’d prefer someone like your mate.” “From Elquone?” Hassan nodded. “A brüter contract then?” Hassan nodded again. “A contract like that is not legal on Katzmann,” Bogden said. “You know that.” “It seems to have worked for you and Anjali.” “True, but Anjali is my mate. That supersedes everything. Besides, I claimed him as my mate in front of pride. Everything that

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his contract required was something required for me to claim him as my mate. It worked for us.” “So, find me someone like Anjali.” Hassan grimaced. “Just don’t expect me to go all warm and fuzzy on him. Once he provides me with a child, he can do what he wants as long as he leaves me alone.” “Done. You get him with child and then go on your merry way. You don’t even have to share a room with him.” Bogden swung his hands around the room. “This place is big enough that after you get him with child, you don’t even have to see him if you don’t want to, and after two or three children, you will have fulfilled your obligation.” Hassan grabbed a glass of water from the table and leaned back, sipping the clear liquid slowly. He was quiet for several moments before he spoke, his voice quiet and resigned. “Just tell me you can find someone who is not hard on the eyes.” Bogden chuckled slightly. “Yeah, that would help.” He took a long sip of his water before speaking again. “All right, I will contact Chellak Rai right away. With his connections, he’s sure to know someone.” Coming to his feet, he patted his brother on the shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “You won’t regret this, Hassan.” Bogden set his glass down on the table and headed off to contact the High Ruler of Katzmann. Hassan leaned forward and poured himself some more water. Raising his eyes to meet his brother Urik’s, he asked, “And what do you think of all this?” Urik plopped down on the bench his brother had been warming seconds before. “Better you than me? I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes? Want a bag to put over his head?” Urik was laughing for all he was worth by the time he was done speaking. His merriment swiftly dwindled when Hassan glared at him. “Okay, okay,” he said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Urik reached for a glass and poured himself some water. “I don’t know. I understand what Bogden

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wants you to do, but I have to tell you, I would hate the idea of mating someone I don’t like, let alone don’t know. But it would solve a lot of your problems.” Hassan shrugged his shoulders. “I guess. But I am not looking forward to this. The thought of having another mate just rolls my stomach. I’ll be lucky if I can even summon up the desire to bed this guy.” Urik slapped his hand on his thigh as he spoke in a casual, jesting way. “Oh, Hassan, you’re the legend that young boys dream of being. You could summon up the dead as long as there’s a warm body in your bed.” A flash of humor crossed Urik’s face. “Besides, once you get this brüter with child, you can always find a mistress, male or female. Bogden did say you don’t have to share a room with him.” Hassan took another sip of his water and leaned forward to rest against the tabletop. “You know, you’re right. All I really have to do is accept a contract. That would satisfy Bogden and the courts. I don’t really have to sleep with him.” Urik shook his head. “Whoa, Hassan, if you don’t sleep with him, how will you get him with child?” Hassan gave Urik a cold, calculating smile. “Oh, I’ll accept a contract with whomever Bogden finds. But I’m not going to sleep with him or get him with child. I’m going to find myself someone I like, and when all of this stuff with the courts is over, I’ll annul the contract and still have the bedmate of my choosing.” Urik set his mug down on the table. “But, Hassan, what are you going do about Bogden’s wish for more children to carry on our family line?” “It’s simple. I’m not going to do anything. Once you claim your mate, you’re going to carry on the family name. I’m just signing a contract.” ****

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Rayne McCarthy sat quietly in a chair as Saris Chattan bandaged his hand. “Well, Rayne, are you going tell me what happened this time?” the doctor asked as he stood up. Rayne shook his head. “It was nothing. I was trimming the rose bushes and slipped. That’s all.” Saris just shook his head with a grim look. “Okay, if you say so. But, please promise me you will be more careful in the future. You may be a full-grown adult now but I still worry about you.” Rayne laughed softly. “I know you do, Saris, but I’ll be okay.” Rayne stood up and straightened the wrinkles in his blue shirt. “How are things at home? Is Varl still giving you trouble?” “Varl will always give me trouble. But I can handle him.” Saris stopped to look at Rayne as he cleaned his hands in a small bowl of water. “Are you sure? He’s a pretty bad sort.” Rayne nodded his head. “Yeah, I’m sure.” Saris went back to washing his hands. “If you say so. Things were sure different when your father was around. He would never have let Varl around you, let alone behave the way he does.” Rayne grabbed his cape and walked toward Saris’s desk. “If my father was still around, Varl wouldn’t even be here.” “That’s true enough.” Saris laughed. Rayne pulled his credit stick from his pocket and held it out to the doctor. “Now, Rayne, you know you don’t need to pay me.” Rayne laughed softly as he wrapped his cape around his shoulders. “I also know that you would grow poor if I didn’t, what with the way you keep giving away all of the High Ruler’s money to the poor.” Rayne waved good-bye to the doctor and started for home. He walked slower toward home with each step. He really didn’t want to go home, but he had nowhere else to go. Rayne knew that the only things waiting for him were a rotting house and a drunken stepmother.

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If he was really lucky, Thaterus, his stepmother’s mate, would be off somewhere else. And, if the gods were truly in a good mood, Thaterus’s son, Varl, would be gone also. Varl was six foot three, big, strong, and really mean. He never seemed to take a bath, and he drank more than Angela did. He was far meaner than Angela ever thought of being. One night about two months ago, Thaterus and Angela had gone to bed in a drunken stupor. Rayne had been asleep in his bed when he awoke to find Varl climbing into bed with him. Varl had covered Rayne’s mouth so that he couldn’t scream. Life turned into a nightmare after that. As Rayne walked up the drive he saw that Thaterus’s carriage was in the drive. Beside it, Varl’s horse was grazing in grass beyond the driveway. That meant they were both here. From the laughter he could hear coming from the library windows, Rayne knew they were all well on their way to being drunk. Rayne’s steps slowed as he tried to figure out what he was going to tell Angela about being late. He was supposed to be home a couple of hours ago to arrange dinner. Thaterus got pretty upset when his food was late, and that meant Angela was going to be upset, too. Rayne’s steps halted when he heard his name mentioned by Varl and then everyone laughing. He knew they were laughing at him. He pretended that he didn’t mind them laughing, but everyone had laughed at him all of his life, and deep down inside, it did hurt. Rayne drew in a deep breath and then walked up the front steps and into the house. As he shut the door behind him he heard his stepmother call out and cringed. “Rayne, is that you, boy? Where have you been? Don’t you know it’s too dark out at night for a good boy like yourself to be out and about?” Rayne whimpered inside. His stepmother was definitely drunk. “I was out gathering herbs. I lost track of time. I’m sorry. I will check on dinner right away,” he said as he quickly headed toward the kitchen.

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“No, you come in here and be sociable.” Rayne slowly walked into the library. Thaterus was sitting on the sofa, his arm placed around Angela’s silk-clad shoulders, her blonde hair falling over his arm. They each had a glass of amber-colored liquid in their hands. Rayne could tell from the empty decanters on the floor that they had been drinking for some time. Varl was sitting in the brown wing chair by the front window. He held a half-full decanter in his hand. Rayne smiled a small fake smile at the trio. “Hello,” he said in a quiet voice, “how are you?” Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Rayne. Then laughter filled the room. “I taught him right, didn’t I? He’s grown up to be quite the little man, now hasn’t he?” Rayne turned to walk back toward the kitchen when he heard his stepmother say, “Rayne, why don’t you come in and sit with us and be neighborly?” Rayne didn’t turn around. “I have to go check on dinner.” “Now, Rayne.” He swallowed hard when he heard the anger rising in his stepmother’s voice. Rayne slowly turned to face the three people sitting in the living room, staring at him. None of them were laughing now. Rayne walked into the living room and went to sit in the old straw mat chair in the corner. “No, come sit with me,” said Varl, a lewd grin on his face. “I’m fine where I am.” Angela sat up, Thaterus’s arm falling down her back. “Rayne, don’t you think you should go sit with Varl?” “Really, Angela, I’m very comfortable where I am, thank you.” Rayne stopped calling Angela mother several years ago at her request. Angela felt she was too old to be called mother. “Rayne, go sit with Varl.” Rayne knew he had to sit with Varl or he would never hear the end of it. He stood up and walked over to Varl’s chair. As soon as he

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was close enough Varl grabbed him and pulled him down onto his lap. Immediately, Varl’s large arms went around Rayne and his dirty hands started to run over his body. He smelled of whiskey and cigars. Rayne felt nauseous. Varl leaned over and tried to kiss Rayne. He leaned back as far as Varl’s arms would let him. Varl’s lips fell on his neck. His tongue started a wet trail down Rayne’s throat to his collarbone. Varl ran his free hand up Rayne’s stomach. His hand started squeezing Rayne’s nipples through his shirt. His other hand began to inch its way up under the edge of his shirt. Rayne pulled on Varl’s arm, trying to get it out from under his shirt. Varl’s hand had reached his abdomen when Rayne started to squirm in earnest. He looked over and saw his mother glaring at him. Knowing there was nothing he could do, Rayne stilled his quivering body and tried to pretend that he was somewhere else. This worked until the words Thaterus was speaking began to sink in. “We’re gonna plan the signing ceremony for Saturday. What do you think, Rayne? Would Saturday work for you?” Rayne looked over to Thaterus. “Saturday? Signing ceremony?” Varl laughed as he ran his hand past the waistband of Rayne’s pants, pinching the edge of his ass. “Yeah, Saturday.” Rayne was confused. “What signing ceremony?” Angela curled into Thaterus’s arms as she laughed at Rayne. “Your signing ceremony, silly.” “What?” Rayne cried desperately, pulling at Varl’s hand, which working its way around to the front of his body. “What are you talking about?” Angela stared at Rayne, the look on her face telling Rayne that he should not argue, and if he did, it was going to go very bad for him. “Varl wants you, and being the loving mother that I am and wanting only the best for you, I told him he had to sign a contract for you first. So, when Varl asked me for your contract I had to say yes. What else

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could I say? You two are in love, and I would never stand in the way of true love.” Angela’s voice was mocking. Rayne glanced from Angela to Varl and then back to Angela. “Varl and I are not in love.” “Now, boy,” Thaterus started as he stood up, “my boy says he wants you. If my boy wants you, he’s gonna get you. Besides, he said he has already been in your bed. In my book, that means a contract.” Rayne jumped off of Varl’s lap. “He told you what he did to me?” Rayne could not believe that Varl had told them what he had done and now they wanted him to marry the slimeball. “Of course he did, honey. My boy tells me everything.” Rayne was astounded. “You’re okay with that?” Angela started to stand up. “Why shouldn’t I be?” Varl stood up and took a step toward Rayne. He quickly backed away from him as he stared at them, his mouth hanging open in astonishment. Varl had tried to force himself on Rayne, and they didn’t care. “He tried to force himself on me, and now you think I will sign a contract with him?” Angela stepped forward and slapped Rayne across the face. “How dare you speak that way about Varl? He’s a good upstanding gentleman.” Rayne held his cheek in his hand, tears starting down his face. “But, Mama—” Angela slapped Rayne again. “Don’t call me mama.” Thaterus shoved Angela out of the way and grabbed Rayne by the arms. He moved his arms up Rayne’s, his hands squeezed around his neck as he pulled him close. “Don’t ever say anything bad about my boy again. You will never be good enough for him. You dangled yourself in front of him until he couldn’t help himself. He told me all about it.”

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Rayne was scared, but he knew that for once he had to stick up for himself. “I will not marry that…that heathen.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. “You will sign a contract with whomever I tell you to marry,” Angela yelled at Rayne from behind Thaterus. “I will see him hung before I marry him.” Rayne growled from between clenched teeth. Thaterus threw Rayne against the hallway wall as he yelled. “You will never, ever speak about my boy like that again. I’ll make sure of it.” Thaterus started to reach for him until Varl spoke up. “Wait, Rayne will be my property as soon as the contract is signed. He needs to learn who his master is. I’ll take care of it.” Rayne cringed against the wall as Varl walked toward him. He could tell from the glint in Varl’s eyes that things were going to be bad for him. Varl was going to hurt him worse than he ever had before. Varl reached down and grabbed Rayne’s arm, pulling him to his feet. Rayne tried to pull away from him, screaming for Varl to let go. Varl backhanded Rayne, making his lip bleed. “Shut up, you stupid bitch!” Varl dragged Rayne down the hallway and up the stairs toward his bedroom. Rayne knew that if Varl got him into the bedroom and got the door shut, he was never going to see the light of day again because he would fight until he died before he let Varl touch him again. When he tried tearing away from Varl’s painful grasp again, Varl picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. Kicking the bedroom door open, Varl threw Rayne into the bedroom. He screamed as he hit the bedside table, scraping his back as he fell. The pain that seared down his back was like a lightning strike, hot and fast. Rayne could hear the seams on his shirt rip as Varl dragged him to his feet. “You will never, ever, raise your voice to me again,” Varl snarled as he began to shake Rayne. “Do you understand me?”

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Rayne tried to fight Varl until he saw that that only excited him more. “Go ahead and fight me. I will always be stronger than you will. I guess I’ll just have to teach you who’s the master.” Grabbing Rayne’s arms, Varl pushed him down to his knees. Rayne tried to push away from him. Varl raised his hand, slapping Rayne across the face again. “Never, ever, push away from me. When I want you, I will have you. You remember that. You will remember who your master is.” Varl grabbed a bunch of Rayne’s hair. Pulling his head back, he leaned down, snarling into his face, “I will be your first and your last, for the rest of your life. No other man will ever touch you for as long as you live. You will do what I want or I will punish you. As your master, I have that right.” “You are not my master!” Rayne said between clenched teeth. “You will never be my master.” Looking straight up into Varl’s eyes, Rayne whispered, “I will see you dead first.” Varl pulled Rayne across his knees. Grabbing his belt from the bed beside him, Varl doubled it over. “I want you to know what I will do to you if you ever threaten me or raise your voice to me again.” Rayne cried out in pain as he felt the belt strap come down over his ass. Varl hit him again and again with the belt. Rayne knew there were bleeding welts on his back. He could feel the wetness trickle down his sides. Rayne’s screams became quiet sobs as Varl finally stopped hitting him. “This will be your punishment every time you disobey me,” Varl said as he dropped the belt onto the floor. “Do you understand me?” Rayne was in a world filled with pain. When Rayne didn’t answer him, Varl grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head back until he was looking up at him. “I said, do you understand me!” Rayne whispered, “Yes.” “Good. Don’t ever forget who is the master around here. I am and always will be your master.”

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Varl pushed Rayne to the floor and stood up. He started to take off his clothes. He threw his shirt down onto the floor and reached for his breeches. Rayne glanced down to where his hands were. From the bulge in his pants, he knew Varl was excited. Varl reached over and grabbed Rayne’s wrist, pulling him to his feet. Pulled up against his body, Rayne began to tremble as fear and anger knotted inside him. Grabbing a handful of his hair again, Varl began forcing his mouth over Rayne’s, his tongue trying to gain access to his closed mouth. Getting no response from Rayne, Varl shoved him back. “You’re useless.” He sat down on the edge of the bed. “Take your clothes off.” Looking at Varl under his lashes, Rayne could see that he was getting tired. He dropped the remains of his shirt on the floor and reached for the opening of his pants. “Come here,” Varl said as he scooted to the edge of the bed, his legs spread open. Rayne took one step toward him before he was grabbed and pulled between Varl’s legs. Varl ran his hands up over Rayne’s chest, shoving his arms out of the way. Varl threw his robe at Rayne. Seeing salvation, Rayne grabbed the robe and put it on. “Now go clean yourself up. You look terrible,” he said as he pushed Rayne toward the bedroom door, which was still open. “Bring me some whiskey first. And hurry up. I want you to thank me for signing a contract for you before I go to sleep.” Rayne stumbled down the hallway to the stairs, hearing Varl’s laughter all the way. In the study, Rayne grabbed a decanter of whiskey and a glass and headed back upstairs. As he passed the library Rayne heard the voices of Thaterus and Angela. Creeping toward the door, Rayne peeked through the crack left by the half-open door. He could see Angela sitting on Thaterus’s lap, running her fingers through his brown hair.

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“You know, Thaterus, once Varl gets Rayne to sign on the dotted line we won’t need him anymore. We’ll have all that money as soon as the ink’s dry on the contract.” Thaterus patted Angela’s exposed thigh. “I know, my dear, but we need him for at least the ceremony night. The contract has to be consummated. If Rayne were to have a small accident after the contract was consummated, then it wouldn’t matter. The terms of his father’s will, the stupid old goat, will have been fulfilled.” Angela took a sip of her drink then smiled. “But darling, if I know Varl, the contract will be consummated tonight. Who’s to say that Rayne wasn’t a virgin when the contract was signed? Who would know the difference, especially once he is gone?” Thaterus’s low laugh sent a chill up Rayne’s spine. “You do have a point there, my dear. But, the day after the signing ceremony would be better. As Rayne’s new father, I think it would be only right that I give him one last night to enjoy my son’s wonderful talents.” Thaterus let out a chuckle. “And maybe mine, too.” Angela sat up straight. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice starting to quiver. “What?” Thaterus asked as he looked up at Angela’s face. Angela jumped up and stomped her feet. “You said you wanted to get your hands on Rayne. What do you mean?” Angela stomped her foot again as she began to whine. “If you love me, how could you possibly want Rayne? I thought you loved me?” Thaterus quickly stood up and reached for Angela. “Now, Angela, you know I didn’t mean anything by that. How could you possibly think I would want that adolescent, unpracticed guttersnipe after having an arousing woman like you?” Angela cocked her head to one side as she stepped out of Thaterus’s reach. “Then what did you mean?” Thaterus stepped forward and grabbed Angela’s hand. “I was talking about the day we don’t have to worry about that stupid boy signing a contract with some other man.” Thaterus rubbed Angela’s

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hand with his. “I love you and only you. Didn’t I stay by your side when you wedded that abhorrent man? Didn’t I console you night after night after he forced himself on your helpless body?” Angela nodded her head in agreement. “And didn’t I help you get rid of him when he wouldn’t agree to change his will?” Thaterus asked as he leaned down to kiss Angela on the lips. Rayne inhaled sharply then jumped back out of sight as Thaterus’s last words began to make sense to him. Angela and Thaterus had murdered his father. Rayne held his hand over mouth to silence the cry building up inside of his heart. His beloved father had been murdered by these two contemptible people. Hearing the voices begin again, Rayne wiped the tears from his face and peeked back through the crack in the doorway. Thaterus was sitting down again and pulling Angela onto his lap. Thaterus smiled deeply as he looked into the glowing fire. “Don’t worry, my dear, Varl and I will make sure that Rayne gets exactly what he deserves.” Angela raised her face to look at Thaterus. “Do you promise?” she asked like an uncertain little girl, looking for reassurance. Thaterus nodded. “Yes, I promise. And I will personally make sure that you get exactly what you deserve, too.” Angela smiled and slowly began unbuttoning Thaterus’s shirt. “You know, just thinking of all the things that you and Varl are going to do to that deceitful little shit is making me all warm inside. Make love to me. Show me that you truly want me and not Rayne.” Thaterus eagerly ripped the top of Angela’s gown down, freeing her nipples to his hungry hands. Thaterus laid Angela down on the floor. “Oh yes, my dear, I will definitely show you how much I want you.” Rayne turned away from the lecherous couple on the library floor and walked up the stairs as fast as his pain-racked body would allow.

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Walking into his bedroom he found Varl reclining on the bed. He walked over to the bed and handed Varl the decanter and glass. “Give us a kiss.” Rayne leaned down and placed his lips on Varl’s. He gagged when he felt Varl’s tongue pass his lips and touch his tongue. Varl suddenly pushed him away. “You’re worthless. You can’t do anything right. Go get cleaned up before I get really mad.” Rayne turned and started to walk out the door. “Hurry the fuck up. I’m not a patient man. And we have to consummate this thing before we go to sleep.” Rayne paused outside his door as Varl continued speaking, almost as if to himself. “Stupid, stupid will. Have to marry the damn boy to get the old man’s money. I don’t even like him.” Rayne’s pain-racked mind grabbed onto one word of Varl’s speech, the will. What did his father’s will have to do with Varl wanting his contract? Thaterus and Angela had also mentioned his father’s will. Rayne didn’t remember much about the time his father died other than hearing a loud noise while eating his cookies in the kitchen, but he did remember Angela telling him that his father had left everything to Angela and Rayne would now be at Angela’s mercy for the very food on the table and the clothes on his back. What could Varl possibly gain from getting his contract? Rayne walked down the hallway to the chamber room. Going inside he shut the door. He didn’t dare lock it. He went over to the mirror. Taking a deep breath, he raised his eyes to see what kind of damage had been done. Rayne winced when he saw what he looked like. His mouth was swollen and turning purple. His lips were cracked and covered with dried blood. His eyes were tiny slits below his eyebrows. He looked like a raccoon that had been run over by a carriage several days ago. He was in bad shape.

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As he gazed into the mirror Rayne saw a flash of color in the background. Turning around he saw that there was a dark brown mishlah hanging on the back of the door. Rayne reached for the traditional cloak, pulling it off of the hook. He held the cloak against his chest as tears streamed down his face. As he stood there crying, he felt a cool breeze brush his face. Rayne turned toward the window and began to smile through cracked lips. The window was open and big enough for him to fit through. And there was a large tree just outside of the window. As Rayne stared at the open window an idea began to form in his head. Rayne pulled the door open and peeked down the hallway. He could hear Thaterus and Angela still fooling around in the library. Rayne walked down the hallway toward the top of the stairs. He slowly crept down the stairs and to the library doors. Looking around the corner, Rayne saw Thaterus and Angela still engaged in their lustful activities. Turning away from the couple in the library, Rayne crept back up the stairs toward his room. He quietly walked into his room. Varl was lying on the bed, his hand holding the decanter of whiskey. He was out cold. Rayne walked cautiously over to his wardrobe. He pulled out several changes of clothing. Going to his chest, he pulled his satchel out and stuffed the clothes into it. Rayne also grabbed several items he wanted to keep with him, including the stuffed animal Seanna Rai had given him when he was a child and a picture of his parents on their wedding day. The last thing Rayne grabbed was his father’s will. He had suspected that his stepmother hadn’t followed the will, but there hadn’t been much he could do about it when he was a child. As he became older, Angela wouldn’t let him leave the estate without an escort. And ever since the maid had interrupted Varl’s assault, all of the house servants had been fired and sent on their way. The new

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servants, what few there were, had been handpicked by Thaterus. Rayne no more trusted them than he did Varl. Keeping one eye on Varl, he walked over to his bookshelf. Opening a book, he pulled out an envelope and placed it in his satchel also. Grabbing his shoes and another set of clothes, he crept out of the bedroom. Rayne quietly locked the bedroom door from the inside and closed it behind him. Going down the hallway, he went back to the chamber room. He didn’t let his breath out until the door was closed and locked. Rayne laid his satchel on the floor and dressed in the extra set of clothes he had brought with him into the chamber room. He slipped his shoes on last and then picked up his satchel. Rayne carefully hid the satchel in a chest at the back of the closet in the chamber room, then cautiously unlocked the door and opened it. Seeing no one coming down the hallway, Rayne crept out of the chamber room and down the hallway toward his stepmother’s room. Listening for any sounds of footsteps, Rayne slowly opened the door and crept into the room, closing the door behind him. Rayne walked over to Angela’s dressing table and opened the bottom drawer. Inside were several small boxes. Rayne pulled the boxes out and laid them on the dressing table and opened them. His breath caught in his throat at the beauty before him. These were his mother’s jewels. They were supposed to have been Rayne’s jewels according to his father. But when his father had died, Angela had taken them, telling Rayne he was too young and irresponsible to have them and that they were meant for a woman to wear. Rayne grabbed all the jewels and shoved them into one of the black velvet bags holding a pearl necklace that his father had given his mother on their wedding day. Rayne cinched the bag up tight and placed it in his pocket. Then he carefully closed all the boxes and placed them back in the drawer,

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just the way he had found them, closing the drawer when he was done. Walking to the other side of the room to a set of double doors, Rayne laid his ear on the door, listening for voices in the adjoining room. Hearing none, he opened the doors and walked into Thaterus’s dressing room, closing the doors behind him. Walking to the far wall, he pulled a large painting of a hound off the wall and set it on the floor. Rayne reached for the round knob on the wall safe and began to twirl the safe combination. This had been his father’s dressing room, and apparently, Thaterus hadn’t changed the combination when he had moved in. He probably didn’t think that Rayne knew the combination. But, it was easy to remember. His father said it was a very important date. It was Rayne’s birthday. Opening the safe, Rayne began rifling through the papers stacked inside. He pulled several bundles of cash out and laid them on the floor. Next he began going through the papers he had found. There were several papers with his father’s name on them, a few with Angela’s name on them, and one with the name High Ruler Rai on it. Rayne also came across a couple with his name on them as well. He started to go through the papers more carefully when he heard voices coming from the hallway, heading toward the bedroom. Rayne dropped the papers on the floor and closed the safe. Placing the painting back on the wall, he picked up the papers and the bundles of cash and ran to the dressing room door leading to the hallway. Waiting until the voices faded into the bedroom next door, Rayne opened the door and raced down the hallway toward the chamber room. Once inside, he locked the door and leaned against it, taking just a moment to catch his breath. Picking up his satchel, Rayne placed his treasures inside and cinched it tight. He dropped his satchel out of the window and climbed through. Grabbing onto the tree, Rayne began to shimmy his way down until he could drop himself down onto the ground. He picked up his satchel and started around the side of the house. Rayne

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stayed close to the ground and in the shadows as he snuck out of the yard. When he reached the end of the yard he glanced back toward the house. In a second-floor window, he could see his stepmother sitting on Thaterus’s lap dripping whiskey into his mouth as she laughed. Rayne watched for a few seconds and then walked down the drive. He was never going to set foot in that house again. As he neared the end of the drive he heard the front door slam open. “Rayne!” yelled Varl into the dark night. “Where the hell are you?” Rayne crouched down into the bushes. They knew he was gone. “Get back here right now, or what happened before will seem like a cakewalk.” Rayne knew that if he stayed there they would find him. He stayed crouched down near the bushes as he swiftly walked away from the hell he had lived in for so many miserable years. It took Rayne three hours to walk through the fields until he felt safe enough to walk on the road. He had to be careful. Thaterus and Varl had ridden by several times. By the time he reached the road, Rayne was covered in dirt and mud. Every time he heard a rider he dove into a ditch or the bushes. He was tired and in a lot of pain. But he still had several hours to go before he would feel even a little safe. Rayne had watched the area for about an hour before he felt it was safe enough to walk out of the bushes toward the clinic where Dr. Chattan worked. He knew the doctor would help him. Rayne looked down the road when he heard a rider coming right toward his hiding spot. The rider would be here in a few seconds. Rayne ran across the road and into the bushes on the other side of the road. He crouched down as low as he could when Varl rode by. Varl rode around the corner then turned around and rode back, stopping at the crossroads. He climbed off of his horse and walked around the crossroads. He glanced around, as if trying to see into the

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darkness. Stopping in the middle of the crossroads, Varl raised his hands to cup his mouth. “Rayne,” he yelled, “I know you’re out there. It would be better for you if you just came out.” Rayne quivered as he heard Varl yell. If the man found him, Rayne knew he would never get away. Rayne crawled backward as Varl began to walk toward his hiding spot. Backing farther into the brush, Rayne turned around and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He could hear Varl yelling into the night as he ran. Hopefully, Varl didn’t hear him running. The way his heart was beating, Rayne was sure Varl would hear it. Still, he ran and ran. When he finally stopped to take a breath, Rayne found himself standing at the gates to McCarthy Hall. He had run full circle. Rayne wrapped his arms around himself as he fell to his knees. It seemed to Rayne that he was never going to get away from this hell or the demons that lived there. Rayne knelt there in the drive, sobbing. Rayne screamed and jumped around to land hard on his back when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He scooted out of reach as fast as he could then looked up at the face of the figure standing in front of him. It was Dr. Saris Chattan. Rayne sat there stunned for several seconds while the realization that it was the doctor sank in. “Rayne?” the doctor asked as he slowly walked over to where he could help Rayne to his feet. Reaching for Rayne’s arm to help him up, he stepped out of the coach lamp’s full glare and the lights fell on Rayne’s face. “My gods, what happened to you? Who did this?” He wrapped his arms around Rayne. Rayne fell into them, crying. His sobs racked both their bodies with their intensity. “Rayne, Rayne, come on, tell me what happened.” Rayne raised his tearstained face. “You have to help me,” he begged. “They’re going to find me.”

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Saris grabbed Rayne by the arms to get a better look at him. “Who’s going to find you? Who’s after you, Rayne?” Rayne started crying again as he pointed to the house. “Them!” Saris turned to look down the drive toward Rayne’s house. Rayne jumped when loud yelling started coming from the house. “Come on,” Saris said. Saris helped Rayne into his carriage then climbed on top. He turned the carriage around and headed down the road. “I’ll take you somewhere safe.” **** Saris shook Rayne awake. “Wake up, Rayne. We’re here.” Rayne sat up and looked around through his swollen eyes. They were in a docking bay. Rayne didn’t remember boarding a ship or even taking off from Elquone. “Where are we?” Saris helped Rayne out of the bed he laid in and through the ship to the dock. “We’re on Katzmann.” He wrapped his arm around Rayne and helped him down the steps. A very tall, intimidating man stood several feet away, armed soldiers behind him. “Uh, are we in some sort of trouble?” Rayne asked. “No, not at all.” Saris chuckled. “This is my mate, Trajan Varl.” Trajan looked at Rayne’s face in astonishment. “What happened to him?” Saris just shook his head. “Let’s get him back to the palace, and I will tell you what I know. Right now we have to get Rayne some medical treatment and then get him cleaned up a bit.” Trajan nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, of course. Come right this way.” He waved his hand toward the exit out of the docking bay. He began walking next to Rayne and Saris, the soldiers following behind them. “Where are we?” Rayne asked again. His head hurt too much to think, but he couldn’t seem to stop.

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“After I found you on the road in front of your house and saw the damage,” Saris said, “I took you back to my ship and flew you here. If anyone can keep you safe from Varl and his father, it’s my mate and the High Ruler of Katzmann. Chellak Rai doesn’t hold for people being forced or beaten up.” “Ah,” Rayne replied as if he understood. He didn’t. He was just glad to be somewhere away from Varl. Rayne barely blinked when Saris and Trajan led him through a set of large gates and into a large building. He was too tired to appreciate the palace’s beauty and too injured to really see more than a blur. Saris led Rayne to a side chamber and helped him into a chair. “Okay, I want you to wait right here while I get a bowl of water to clean you up.” Saris handed Rayne a blanket. “I also want you to disrobe and wrap up in this.” Rayne nodded his head slowly. “Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Rayne stared at the closing door for a few seconds before he stood up and started to unbutton his shirt. He quickly found that the blood from the belt welts had dried through his shirt. He could not take his shirt off without ripping the flesh. Rayne took everything else off but the shirt and laid it down over his lap. He sat there until Saris came back into the room. “Rayne,” Saris said as he walked into the room, shutting the door behind him, “I need you to take your shirt off so that I can examine you.” Rayne felt a tear slide down his face. “I can’t.” Saris walked over and patted his shoulder. “Rayne, it’s okay. I’m a doctor. I’ve seen it all before.” Rayne shook his head. “It’s not that. I can’t get my shirt off.” Saris gave Rayne a reassuring smile. “I’ll help you.” He reached over to help Rayne off with his shirt. As he started to pull the fabric away from Rayne’s back he found that it was dried to his back by blood. “Good Lord above! Trajan!” he yelled.

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Trajan came into the room in a rush several moments later. “What? What’s wrong?” “I need your help. His shirt is stuck to his back with dried blood.” Trajan walked around the table to look at Rayne’s back. Rayne could hear his swift intake of breath. “He’s been whipped,” Trajan whispered. Rayne jerked in pain as Saris tried to pull the garment down farther. “Trajan, get me some water. We need to soak this off.” “How bad is it?” Rayne asked, his voice quivering. “It’s pretty bad, Rayne.” Trajan brought in some water, and Saris began to soak Rayne’s shirt off. The cool water felt good against his skin, but it still hurt each time a bit of fabric was pulled free. Rayne kept his jaw clenched the entire time. Over the next several hours, Rayne was examined from head to toe. He was scrubbed, cleaned, and his wounds medicated with an herbal poultice. By the time Saris and Trajan were done with Rayne, he was exhausted. But he was alive and away from Varl. Rayne was lying on the cot in the medical infirmary, waiting for the herbal drink Saris had given him to take effect, when the doctor walked in. He came over and sat on the edge of the cot. “Rayne, can you tell me what happened?” Rayne tried to scoot up into a sitting position. Saris quickly reached over and helped him sit up. “When I got home they were waiting for me.” “Who was waiting for you?” Rayne looked into his concerned eyes. “Angela and Thaterus and…” Rayne couldn’t stop his voice from trembling. “And who, Rayne? Who else was there? Was it Varl?” Rayne wiped the tears from his eyes as he nodded. He hated feeling so weak that he was reduced to tears, but his emotions were in chaos.

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Saris stood up and walked over to a large oak desk. He grabbed a small white handkerchief and walked back over to Rayne. Handing the cloth to Rayne he asked, “Did Varl do this to you?” Rayne nodded his head. As he sat down again, Rayne proceeded to tell Saris everything that had happened to him since he had left the doctor’s clinic the day before. “He hurt me a lot. He said he was going to own my contract. He tried to make me do things with him. It wasn’t anything like you said it would be.” Saris grimaced. “Rayne, that is not the way it was meant to be. When it’s between two people who care about each other, love can be wonderful. What Varl did to you was not between two people that care about each other.” Rayne looked at Saris in confusion. He was kind of staring off into space, as if a special memory had caught his thoughts. “Have you experienced that kind of love?” Saris let out a little laugh. “Yes, Rayne, I have experienced that kind of love.” Rayne stared at the doctor. “With your mate, Trajan?” Saris nodded. “Yes, being mated can be a wonderful thing. I don’t think I would want to face life without Trajan.” Rayne’s look of astonishment made Saris laugh. “It’s true, and maybe one day, you’ll be able to experience it yourself. Not everyone is lucky enough to find their mates, but if you are, don’t ever let go.” Saris stood up and helped Rayne lay back down on the bed. “Now, you go to sleep. We’ll talk about what we are going to do with you when you wake up. You get some rest. And don’t worry, no one will hurt you here.” Saris walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Rayne settled down into the folds of the blanket he had been given. He felt the herbs begin to take effect as he thought about what all had happened that day. Rayne fell into a deep sleep, the first good sleep he had in many months.

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**** Several hours later Rayne woke to the sound of movement in the room. Sitting up with a start he looked quickly around the room. He settled down with a sigh when he saw that the other occupant in the room was only Saris. Seeing that Rayne was awake, Saris smiled over at him from his position behind the desk. “Good morning, how are you feeling?” At his words, Rayne suddenly felt every ache and pain. “Oh, not so good.” The doctor came out from behind the desk to help Rayne into a more upright position. “I bet. Right about now you should feel like you got kicked by a horse.” “Several times.” Rayne laughed then moaned as his lips cracked. Saris gave Rayne a glass of water. “Here, take this. It has healing herbs in it and will make you feel better.” Rayne looked at the herbs in the glass. “What is it? Will it hurt me?” The doctor shook his head. “No, it won’t hurt you. It’s just an herbal relaxant.” Rayne looked at the glass skeptically, then placed the glass to his lips and swallowed. Saris watched Rayne drink the herbal mixture, a thoughtful look on his face. “Rayne, you do realize that Varl and your stepmother will not stop looking for you?” Rayne glanced down at his trembling hands, twisting them in his lap. He drew in a deep breath and then looked the doctor straight in the eyes. “Yes, but I will not go back, ever. I would rather die first.” Saris stood up and walked back over to the desk. “Okay then, we have some work to do.” Rayne looked at him in confusion. “What?”

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Saris looked up at his question. Sitting on the edge of the desk, he said, “We don’t want Varl to be able to get at you again, and we don’t want Angela trying to force you to sign a contract with Varl, so, there are some steps we have to take.” Rayne slowly stood on his trembling legs and walked over to the desk. “Steps? What’s going on in that crazy head of yours?” The doctor laughed at Rayne’s poor attempt at humor. “Well, I’ve been talking all morning with some friends of mine. First, you have an appointment in about two hours with a magistrate friend of mine. He is going to look at some of those legal papers of yours.” Rayne set his cup of water on the table and leaned against the desk. “The papers I took from the safe box?” “Yes,” Saris said as he handed Rayne a pastry from a silver tray on the table. “We are going to see what we can do about finding you a guardian.” Rayne looked at the doctor in confusion. “A guardian? Doesn’t my stepmother have guardianship over me?” “Normally yes, but the other paper he is going to look at is your father’s will. I am positive that Angela has broken it somehow. We just have to figure out how. Then we will make sure that you have a guardian who will care for you and your inheritance.” Rayne was trying to follow along as much as he could. “How can you do that?” He smiled. “Well, I have some friends at court, one of whom just happens to be the High Ruler himself, and they are going to help us.” Rayne started to smile at the thoughts going through his head. “And what is step two?” “Well, we have to do something about what they did to you. You can’t let them get away with this.” The smile left Rayne’s face. “I just want to forget it all.” Saris reached onto the silver tray for another pastry. “I realize that. What I have in mind is a little different. You’re going to swear out a statement on all the ways that they have violated your father’s will. I

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want it on record so that we have something to use if they ever bother you again. I plan on sending this statement to an elder at the Federation of Planets. If Varl or Angela ever contact you, he will give it to the Council of Elders.” Rayne gazed down at the floor. “I guess you’re right. What’s step three?” The doctor stuffed the rest of his pastry into his mouth and chewed several times before he answered. “You have to decide what you want to do from here. You will have your freedom now.” Rayne raised his gaze to meet Saris’s. “Freedom?” **** Several hours later Rayne let himself into the suite that Saris had arranged for him. It was one of the nicest places he had ever been in. It was even nicer than his own room back home on Elquone. The suite was actually divided into three rooms. There was the chamber room, which doubled as a dressing room, the bedroom, which had a queen-size bed and a balcony, and a parlor area, which had a fireplace and another balcony and a small kitchenette. Rayne had never seen anything like it. He had tried to get the doctor to find him something less ostentatious, but Saris wouldn’t hear of it. He said that it was about time that Rayne started to enjoy life a little. Rayne wasn’t sure he was ready to enjoy life yet. It was scary.

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Chapter 2 Rayne had come into his room with plans of a long nap on his mind. He pulled the blankets back, stripped down to his underwear, and washed his face in the basin of clean water near the bottom of the bed. After he was done, he went to look at himself in the floor-length mirror hanging in the dressing room. He was a mess. His face was still swollen, but he was now able to see out of his eyes. He had bruises down his neck from where Thaterus had wrapped his fingers around his throat. There were also bruises all down his ribcage from where Varl had hit him, and his back was one big welt. Rayne could touch certain areas on his back without wincing but most of it was still pretty tender. Rayne walked back into the bedroom and climbed into the bed. It felt so good. He felt the soft feather mattress begin to relax his muscles as he thought about all that had transpired today. With Saris and his mate, Trajan, as his escorts, Rayne had gone to see the magistrate and filed a statement against Angela, Thaterus, and Varl. The last thing they had done was to write a letter to Angela and her crew, telling them that Rayne was no longer their responsibility. It was a lie, legally, but hopefully it would hold them off long enough for Rayne to follow through with his plans. Rayne had been very surprised at how nice everyone had been to him. They all seemed to believe his story, and they even seemed to be on his side. Rayne knew that if he had gone to the authorities on his

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planet, he would have been told to go home like a good little boy and stop making up stories about Varl. He was a gentleman after all, and he was the best he could expect in a man. Rayne was the son of Angela McCarthy, and everyone knew she had no morals about whom she slept with. Why would her son be any different? The next morning, Rayne was sitting at his desk writing a note while he ate his breakfast when there was a knock at the door. Rayne walked over to the door and leaned against it. “Who’s there?” he asked, holding his breath. “It’s Saris, Rayne.” Rayne’s breath came out in a rush as he unlocked the door and let the man in. “Hello, doctor.” Saris faced Rayne, smiling. “I think we have solved your dilemma.” Rayne cocked his head sideways in curiosity. “How?” Saris pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve and held it out for Rayne. “This! This is going to solve all of our problems.” Rayne took the paper from the doctor and began to read it. Dear Chellak, I know this is a strange request, but I could think of no one better to ask. As you well know, I am greatly concerned about the continuation of my pride. My brothers have grown big and strong, but none of them mated or have children except Hassan. And that is where my issue lies. Hassan married four winters past, and his wife gave birth to a fine healthy young son before passing from this world. However, she was not Hassan’s mate. I now find that to insure my lineage and the safety of my people, Hassan must take another to his bed. He has left this decision to me. I am asking that you, in your best judgment, find my son a brüter such as your own mate. He needs be a comely man, one of good character, and not barren. Virgin or not,

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does not matter. I only ask that he have a soft-spoken nature and be of good breeding, someone not afraid of hardship. I hope that you can help me with this most unusual request. I wish to see my brother settled. He is restless without a mate. If you could assist me in this, you would have my gratitude and that of my entire family, as well as my pride. My sincerest regards and good health to you and your mate. Your friend, Shaikh Bogden Dhal Wuher Al’Abdalha Rayne laid the piece of paper down on his desk and slowly walked to the window. He stared out the window for several moments, contemplating the letter, before looking back at Saris. “Do you know this man? Why would he ask his brother to find him a brüter?” Saris shook his head. “No, I don’t know him personally, but my mate does. Trajan and Shaikh Bogden Dhal Wuher Al’Abdalha served together before we were mated. Trajan says that they are good people.” Rayne slowly walked around the room. “I don’t know, Saris. It just seems like this would be just about the same as signing a contract with Varl.” At Saris’s look of disbelief, Rayne chuckled. “Okay, okay, maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as signing a contract with Varl. But, I don’t want to sign a contract with anyone. I was supposed to get my freedom, not get tied down again.” “Rayne, you won’t be able to get your freedom by yourself. You know that. Any unmated brüter, young or old, is easy pickings for any reprobate out there. You knew you would have to sign a contract at some point. All of the money your father left to you in his will is tied up in a trust that you can’t access until you’re older, assuming Angela hasn’t spent it already. You need someone to care for you and protect you from Angela and Varl until then. Besides, every brüter is required to sign a contract at some point. It’s the law on Elquone.”

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“This isn’t Elquone!” “No, but you’re still an unmated brüter. If the wrong people get their hands on you, they can force you to sign a contract, whether you like it or not. You need the protection that a contract will bring you. This is the perfect solution. This man is looking for a brüter. You need protection. You could almost set your own terms.” Rayne shook his head. “I don’t know, Saris. Do you really think this could work?” Saris hesitated before he answered. “Rayne, while I am not sure that this is a great idea, I think it is one you should strongly consider. You would have the protection of an entire pride and their families. Varl could never harm you there. You would be all the way in the desert, and while it is a heathen country, it is also filled with strong, sword-wielding heathens. You should consider it.” Rayne picked up the letter again and glanced over it for several moments. Looking back at the doctor, he said quietly, “All right, Saris, I’ll agree to this but under one condition.” Saris raised an eyebrow in query. “And that would be?” he asked. “You have to be there for the signing ceremony.” Saris chuckled as he nodded his head in agreement. “Okay, I think that would be acceptable.” Hugging Rayne in his arms, he said, “This is for the best, Rayne, I promise.” Saris released Rayne and walked toward the door. “Now, I am going to have Trajan write to Shaikh Bogden Dhal Wuher Al’Abdalha and tell him that we have found his brother a brüter.” Rayne’s laughter lasted until he closed the door behind the doctor. Then reality set in. He was going to sign a contract with a complete stranger. He had to be out of his fucking mind. Rayne read the letter several times before he went to bed. That night as he was sleeping, his dreams were filled with vast wastelands of golden sand. There was also a man in his dream. He was a tall man with gentle hands. He couldn’t quite make out the man’s face, but

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something told him it was a handsome face. When he woke up, Rayne knew for sure that his decision had been the right one. Rayne made himself take a bath and eat some breakfast before he went to his desk and the vid-pad. When he finally began to compose his letter to the Shaikh’s brother, he went blank. What would he tell the man? How could he tell him about what Varl had done? This was a complete stranger. Rayne stared at the vid-pad for a long time before he came up with what he wanted to say. Dear Hassan Al’Abdalha, By now you have received a letter from Trajan Varl, stating that he believes he has found you a proper brüter. He has chosen me. I had hoped to meet you before we are to sign the contract between us, but from what I understand from Dr. Chattan, time is of the essence. I am not really sure why I am writing this letter. I felt that we should have at least some kind of contact before we are to sign the contract that will bind us together. I have never been to the desert or anywhere on Katzmann, for that matter. Dr. Chattan says it is a beautiful country. I look forward to seeing it. Trajan said that you come from a very large family. I look forward to meeting them. I was an only child, so I do not have this particular experience. I am sure that we will both need time to learn about each other and to grow accustomed to our life together. I look forward to meeting you and wish you long life and good health. Yours, Rayne Rayne read his message over again before he sent it off to Saris to be sent along with his letter to the shaikh. He didn’t really think he would hear from Hassan, but he felt he had to make some kind of contact with him. The man was going to be his contract holder. Rayne decided he had to start living his life. Hassan could decide that he didn’t want to sign a contract with him after they met, or he

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may have already found someone. Rayne knew that he couldn’t depend on the man coming through. He had to take charge of his life, no matter what Saris said. He had to find a place to live, just in case Hassan decided not to accept him. Rayne knew that financially he would be okay. With the money he had taken from the safe box, Rayne had enough to buy a small cottage somewhere and to live comfortably for quite some time. He also had his mother’s jewels that he could sell if need be. Rayne just hoped that he wouldn’t need to. The jewels were one of the last connections to his mother that he had. Being on his own was an eye-opening experience for Rayne. While the day-to-day routines were the same as when he lived with Angela, there was no one to tell him what to do and when to do it. Rayne liked living on his own. It was a bit lonely, but he had started to make friends with the other people who lived in the palace and liked them all. Rayne guessed that he looked all alone, because the people in the palace had taken him under their wings. Rayne was grateful for everything they did for him, especially making him feel welcome. It was nice to know that there were nice people in the world. Rayne had been living in the palace for about a month when, as he was on his way back to his quarters from the market, Sorina, a servant, stopped him to tell him that a tall, dark-haired man had been looking for him. Rayne immediately thought of Varl. He had been found. What was he going to do? Rayne hurried up the stairs to his suite. Going inside, he quickly locked the door behind him, leaning against it. His heart was pounding. He didn’t know what he was going to do. He just knew he had to find out if Varl was actually here. But how he was supposed to do that, Rayne had no idea. Staying locked in his rooms seemed like the best solution at this point. Making sure that the door was locked, Rayne put the goodies from his basket away, lit a fire, and walked into the kitchen, and then fixed

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himself something to eat, grabbed himself a glass of water, and went to sit on his little sofa. Rayne checked to see that his heavy stick that one of the servant’s sons had made for him was within easy reach. A young man living alone could never be too safe, even if he did live in the palace. The guards couldn’t be everywhere at once. He picked up the vid-pad he had been reading all week and proceeded to read it while he ate. It was a good handbook. It was all about medicinal herbs. Saris had given it to him after discovering Rayne’s interest in the healing arts. Rayne enjoyed reading anything having to do with healing. Rayne jumped up in fright when he heard a heavy knock at his door. Grabbing his heavy stick, he cautiously walked over to the door. “Who is it?” he asked, trying to sound like anyone but who he was. “I’m looking for Rayne McCarthy. My name is Hassan Al’Abdalha. I’m a friend of a friend. I was sent by Trajan Varl and Saris Chattan,” said a deep voice from the other side of the locked door. Hassan Al’Abdalha? He was here? Rayne let the breath he had been holding slowly seep out of his lungs. He lowered the stick to the floor and reached for the door. Rayne opened the door just a crack to see who was outside. It was a man, a very tall, muscular, golden man. Rayne had no idea what Hassan looked like, but he hoped this was him. He was fucking gorgeous. He was clean, and his long golden hair was swept back in a tie. Opening the door a crack more, Rayne looked out at the man standing in front of the door. “How do I know you are Hassan Al’Abdalha?” The tall man looked at him, dumbfounded, then laughed as he pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket. “You invited me to come see you, and now you want to know who I am? You are

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definitely different, Rayne McCarthy. I’ll give you that.” He handed a vid-pad through the crack between the door and the wall. Rayne closed the door and turned on the vid-pad. It was the letter he had sent off with Trajan’s. Rayne glanced quickly at the door and then back to the vid-pad. He turned the vid-pad off and then opened the door. He stood behind the door as he let the man in. As Hassan walked in, he handed him the letter. “Sorry, you can’t be too careful these days.” Hassan stepped into the room and turned to face Rayne, a peculiar expression on his face as he sniffed the air. “No, you can’t.” Rayne shut and locked the door again. As he turned to face Hassan, he found himself staring at his broad chest and up to where his massive shoulders filled the dark cloak he wore. He let his gaze slide up Hassan’s chest to his face. His profile was sharp and confident while his dark, golden eyes framed his handsome square face. He stood tall with thick, golden blond, unruly hair. Rayne’s head barely came to the middle of Hassan’s chest. “Just how tall are you?” Rayne asked, awestruck. Hassan’s chuckle was deep and rich. “I’m six foot seven. Why?” Rayne let his eyes roam down the man’s body to his boot-clad feet and back up his strong, muscular legs, which were wrapped in the tightest black pants that Rayne had ever seen, to Hassan’s face. “My gods, you are really tall.” Hassan turned and looked around the room that was Rayne’s home. “Is that going to be a problem?” Rayne looked at Hassan in confusion, his mind still reeling from having found the most beautiful man he had ever seen. “A problem? What do you mean? Why are you here?” Hassan looked back at Rayne. “Would you mind if we sat down?” Rayne felt his face flush when he realized that he had forgotten his manners. “No, of course not. Please, have a seat.” Rayne walked over to the sofa and sat down, drawing his feet underneath him.

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Hassan sat in the chair across from Rayne after taking his cloak off and laying it over the arm of the chair. “Well, Rayne McCarthy, it is nice to finally meet you.” Rayne looked at Hassan, still confused. “Why are you here?” Hassan folded his hands together. “I thought about what you wrote. I thought about it a lot. And I decided that I had to meet the man who would write such a letter. I really don’t want to have another mate, but I liked what you had to say. I also appreciated the fact that you seemed willing to go ahead with the contract signing. I had no intention of ever finding someone again after my wife died, but my brother insists that I do. He wants to insure that our line continues. Do you have a problem with that?” Rayne’s mouth dropped open. Hassan was here to discuss the contract signing. Rayne’s mind instantly went into panic mode. Hassan actually wanted to sign a contract with him. Rayne searched his mind for anything that would get this man away from asking to sign the contract. He wasn’t quite ready for that, yet. “Why didn’t you respond to my letter?” Hassan sat back in the chair, not saying anything for a few moments. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to you. It’s not every day that you propose a contract with someone.” Rayne sat up straighter in his chair. “Propose? You really want to sign a contract with me?” Hassan looked into Rayne’s eyes. “Yes, I do. But there are a few things you have to know first.” Rayne’s heart fell to his feet. Hassan stopped talking and drew in a deep breath. He looked over at Rayne, his gaze burning up his body. Rayne squirmed nervously in his seat. “I don’t like to beat around the bush, so I’ll get right to the point. This will be a real mating, in every sense of the word. I expect to have all the rights any contract holder would have. No mate of mine will be sleeping in any bed but mine.” Rayne felt his insides quake. “What do you mean?”

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Hassan looked at him in surprise. “Rayne, you have to know what I am saying.” Rayne shook his head. He knew the basics of a brüter contract, but he was getting the impression that Hassan was talking about something totally different. Hassan sat back in his chair, running his hand over his chin thoughtfully. After a few moments he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his long hard thighs. “Rayne, I expect to have all the rights any mated couple would have. That is your duty, to see to my needs. This will not be a mating of convenience.” He paused, waiting for Rayne’s reaction to his cold description of mated life. “I also want more children, somewhere down the line. If this is a problem, you need to let me know now.” “Why would you want to sign a contract with me if you don’t know me?” Hassan stood up and walked over to the window, looking out into the night. He was silent for a few moments before he looked back to Rayne. “I don’t want to be mated again. I had a wife already. She died giving birth to our son, Hassy. But, as the brother of our shaikh, I must help continue our line. I need to have more children. I also don’t have a lot of money, so if a life of luxury is what you are wanting then we can stop this before it starts. Everyone works at the pridehome, even you. You will be expected to help care for our home. Do you think you can handle that?” A thought hit Rayne at his words. He vaguely remembered something in the letter he had read from the shaikh about a child. “You have a son already?” Hassan came back and sat down on the sofa next to Rayne. “I do, but living where we live can be hard on anyone, let alone a small child. I need to have lots of sons and daughters to insure that one of them can take over for me when I am gone.” Rayne thought over everything that Hassan had told him. He wanted this to be a real mating, not one in name only. Rayne didn’t

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know if he could do that. The very thought of having relations with any man scared the daylights out of him. He had really hoped to find someone who would want a contract in name only, even if the shaikh’s letter had stated the need for children. He hadn’t really thought that far ahead. Now that Hassan was here, and stating his requirements for the contract, the reality of the situation hit Rayne hard. “Hassan, there is something you need to know. My family is, well, not good. My father died when I was very young, and my stepmother raised me. Actually, the servants raised me. I don’t know anything about having a family.” Hassan took Rayne’s hand in his, making him jump. “Is that your only concern?” Rayne nodded his head, hoping that Hassan would never learn about his other concerns, keeping his eyes on their clasped hands. “Look at me, Rayne.” Rayne lifted his eyes to Hassan. He could feel his hands tremble. Hassan lifted one of his hands to the bottom of Rayne’s chin, lifting his face up even more. Rayne watched Hassan’s face move closer. His heart jumped when Hassan’s lips softly brushed his. Hassan ended the kiss and moved his face away from Rayne’s before he could respond. “See, you will learn to respond to me in time. I know that you must be afraid of your duties as a brüter. That is to be expected in a…uh…man such as yourself. True, I am a very large man, but you will learn to accommodate me. I will teach you all you need to know. For now, your acceptance of me is enough.” Rayne slowly moved his head from side to side, keeping his eyes on Hassan’s lips. He actually thought that he was afraid of his size. Hassan had no idea that Rayne was afraid of him, not because of his size, but just from the fact that he was a man. “So, are you going to sign a contract with me?” Rayne raised his startled eyes to meet Hassan’s. “Can I think about it for a while?”

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Hassan let go of Rayne’s hands to sit back on the sofa. “I am sorry, Rayne, I can’t give you much time. I have to head back to the desert in a couple of days. I really can’t be gone long.” “Okay, I’ll give you my answer before you leave.” Hassan sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I guess that is all I can expect. But if your answer is yes, you’ll be going with me. Once you belong to me, we will not be separated again. And don’t expect a fancy signing ceremony. I don’t have the time or the resources at present. Are you agreeable to this?” Rayne nodded his head. “I guess so.” Hassan stood up and grabbed his jacket. “Good. Well, I have to go. I have to get a room and get some rest. I had a long ride here. I’ll come back tomorrow morning. Maybe we can take a stroll.” Rayne stood up to stand in front of Hassan. “I have some stuff to do in the morning.” Hassan started putting on his cloak. “Okay, I’ll be back in the afternoon then.” Rayne thought about what he had said earlier about not having a lot of money. “Why don’t I make dinner for us here?” He was sure he could get the cook to lend him some stuff to make for dinner. They had become pretty good friends. Hassan didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Okay, I guess that would be okay, as long as you let me help make dinner.” Rayne laughed at the thought of Hassan cooking. He didn’t look like the type. “Okay.” When he raised his eyes to meet Hassan’s, there was a peculiar expression in them. “You’re beautiful when you laugh,” Hassan said. “You should do it more often.” Rayne stopped laughing at his words. It reminded him that he had not had a lot to laugh about in his young life. “Hey,” Hassan said as he lifted Rayne’s chin. “Don’t stop on my account.”

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Rayne was quick to reassure Hassan that he had not stopped laughing because of him. “Maybe I will have to give you something to smile about.” Hassan leaned his head down toward Rayne’s as he wrapped his arms around him. Rayne felt his knees quake when Hassan’s lips touched his. He closed his eyes and tried to enjoy what the man was doing to him. His eyes popped open in surprise when he felt Hassan’s tongue pass over his lips. It was nothing like when Varl had kissed him. Rayne heard a low groan come from Hassan as he wrapped his hands around his buttocks and lifted him up. Rayne felt a warm feeling flow through his body as it was pressed up against Hassan. He could feel a hardness press against his abdomen. The hard length of Hassan’s cock made him start to tremble. He started to press his hands against Hassan’s shoulders when he suddenly set him down on the floor. “No more of that or I will never get out of here.” Hassan chuckled as he turned away from Rayne and headed for the door. He opened the door and turned back to face a still-shaking Rayne. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Rayne nodded his head in agreement. He held the door open until Hassan walked through it. Before he could close it Hassan turned with a smile. “We’re going to have a good life together, you’ll see. And Rayne, whatever demons you are running from, I will protect you, as will everyone in my pride. If you consent to be my mate, they would all lay their lives down for you, each and every one of them.” And then he closed the door. Rayne stared at the closed door for several moments before he turned around and walked back into the parlor. He had a lot of things to think about before Hassan came over tomorrow afternoon. The first of which was whether he would agree to the contract. The last, how in

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the hell he was going to handle the uncertain feelings Hassan provoked in him. Everything in between was just chaotic. **** Hassan leaned against the door for a few moments after he closed it, taking in several deep breaths. When he arrived at the palace to meet Rayne, he never expected to meet his mate, the soul destined to be entwined with his for all eternity. Things like this just didn’t happen. Hassan now knew who the man was that had been starring in the vivid dreams he had been having for the last couple of weeks. He could put a face with the gorgeous body he’d been fantasizing about. Knowing those dreams came from Rayne being his mate only added to the fantasy. Mates often shared dreams. Being able to connect through dreams was one of the first signs of a mating. Rayne McCarthy was not the scared, timid man Trajan had described in his letter. Hassan had hoped for someone who was attractive. He had never expected a raving beauty that made his blood boil just from looking at him. Signing a contract with Rayne was looking like a better idea by the moment, on all accounts. Hassan needed someone to satisfy the courts, and producing more children for his pride didn’t look like it would be a problem, either. Hassan didn’t think he would be able to keep his hands off of Rayne. As it was, it had taken all of his willpower to walk out of the room before he ravished the man. That probably would not have gotten Rayne to agree to sign a contract with him. Rayne was running scared from something. Trajan had hinted at it in his letter, although he hadn’t gone into detail. Whatever it was, Hassan knew he had a better chance of protecting Rayne back at pridehome than he did here at the palace.

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Hassan pushed himself away from the door and began to walk down the corridor. It was all he could do just to walk away knowing that his mate stood right on the other side of a thin piece of wood. Thoughts of Rayne’s soft violet eyes and sexy body filled his head and made walking a bit uncomfortable. **** Rayne wrestled with the demons he needed to conquer before Hassan arrived all morning. Was he doing the right thing in signing a contract with Hassan? The man had said that this would not be a contract in name only. But, Hassan didn’t love him, either. Hassan barely knew him. Rayne wasn’t expecting to find true love, at least not right off, but he had hoped to eventually have a little love in his life. If he signed a contract with Hassan, he might never experience that love. On the other hand, Hassan did say that he would protect Rayne with his life, as would every man, woman, and child in his pride. There was something to be said about having that kind of protection, especially considering his circumstances. Rayne also knew that if Hassan ever found out that he had not told him the whole truth, he might never forgive him. He wasn’t sure what to do. Should he tell Hassan about Varl and his stepmother, knowing he might not go through with the contract signing if he knew? Rayne still hadn’t made up his mind about the contract when he heard a knock at the door and Hassan’s deep voice came through. Climbing to his feet, he brushed off his shirt and smoothed it down with his hands. He quickly crossed over and opened the door. “Hello, Hassan.” “Well, Rayne, have you decided to sign a contract with me?” Rayne let out a short, shaky laugh. “You sure don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

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Hassan shook his head. “I don’t have time to. I just received word that I am needed at home. I have to leave right away. I need your answer now, Rayne.” Rayne looked up at Hassan, his tall, wide-shouldered frame blocking out the light from the corridor. He looked strong enough to hold up the world. “Hassan, there are things about me that you do not know, important things.” Rayne slapped his hand over his mouth when he realized what he had been about to reveal. Hassan reached up and grabbed Rayne’s hand in his large ones. “Do you love someone else?” He growled. Rayne shook his head. “Do you know for certain that you cannot bear children?” Again, Rayne shook his head. “Do you already have a contract with someone else?” Rayne let out a nervous laugh. “Not that I know of.” Reaching up with one hand to smooth the hair back from Rayne’s face, Hassan looked deep into Rayne’s eyes. “Then there is nothing else I need to know. Everything else we will work out in time. But maybe this will help…” Hassan grabbed Rayne by the arms and pulled him close up against his chest. Rayne glanced down at the ground under his feet and back up into Hassan’s eyes. “Are you sure, Hassan? There are a few—” His words stopped as Hassan placed his finger over his lips. “Shush, mayht. We will work them out after we sign the contract. There is nothing more I need to know about you except this,” he said as he leaned down to kiss Rayne on the lips. “Now, shall we go sign that contract?” Rayne nodded his head in agreement, unable to speak. The lump of fear lodged in his throat prevented it. He had to be out of his mind.

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Chapter 3 Several rushed hours later, Rayne and Hassan stood in front of Chellak Rai as they signed the contract between them. The contract itself would only be legal on Elquone, but the mating practices performed during the ceremony would meet the requirements of Katzmann. Hassan wondered what was going through Rayne’s mind as the man promised to be his forever. Did Rayne really understand that they were mates, that this was more than a simple contract signing? Would Rayne understand the honor that went with being mated to a Katzman? Would he run when he discovered the hardship of living in the desert? Would Rayne understand the beauty of the desert? Hassan couldn’t help but ponder that when the bag of desert sand he had brought from the province of Leonidia was spread out on the floor and Rayne was encouraged to walk through it to stand at Hassan’s side. During a mating ceremony, the mate of a Katzman from Leonidia was to walk through the hot burning sand to prove his willingness to join his mate wherever he was. A bag of sand from Leonidia would have to do until Hassan could get Rayne home. When Chellak directed, Hassan knelt on the floor at Rayne’s feet and secured a small gold anklet around his ankle. Then he stood and took the goblet of water from Chellak. After pouring a small amount in his hand, he held his hand out to Rayne, offering him a taste. Joy rolled through Hassan when Rayne took the offered water without comment or protest. Hassan doubted Rayne understood the significance of the gesture, but everyone watching did. Their mating was more than a signing of a

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contract. By completing the rituals of his people, Hassan was binding Rayne to him in the ways of his people. The next step had Rayne’s eyes widening, but he didn’t protest. Hassan sent him a reassuring smile as he used a ceremonial dagger to make a cut across the palm of his hand then did the same to Rayne’s palm. He handed the dagger back to Chellak then grasped Rayne’s hand, holding their hands palm to palm, mingling their blood. The only thing left to complete the ritual was claiming Rayne physically. Hassan preferred to do that without an audience. When Hassan handed Chellak a bag of gold, the High Ruler announced that the contract was finalized. To Rayne, it was payment for his services as a brüter. To Hassan, it was the mate price required by his people. He didn’t much care who received the money as long as it brought Rayne to him. Hassan reached over and cupped Rayne’s chin tenderly in his hand. Rayne leaned his head back and gazed up into Hassan’s eyes. Rayne had apprehension blazing in his soft violet eyes. Hassan leaned down, his mouth hungrily covering Rayne’s. Blood pounded in his brain, leapt from his heart, and made his knees tremble. Had he ever been kissed like that? Had anyone ever tasted so sweet? Nope. Finally, Hassan pulled reluctantly away and held Rayne at arm’s length. Grabbing Rayne’s arms, he picked the man up and swung him around excitedly. “Now I can show the proper way a mate fulfills his duty.” He chuckled when he felt Rayne tremble against him and quickly hide his face. “Hassan!” Hassan let Rayne’s body slide down the front of his body, his face split into a wide grin. “Oh, mayht, the High Ruler knows why we signed the contract.”

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Rayne glanced quickly to Chellak Rai in confusion. “He does?” he asked in a small voice. The High Ruler smiled, his catlike features softening as he winked at Rayne then nodded to a small man standing off to one side. “My mate was also from Elquone, Rayne. I imagine Hassan has as much trouble keeping his hands off of you as I have with Demyan.” Rayne quickly turned his head and buried his face in Hassan’s chest again. Hassan threw back his head and let out a great bark of laughter. He loved the fact that his mate flushed so easily. It was very cute. Hassan reached down for Rayne’s hand. He pulled Rayne close to his body and walked him out of the room. They had both signed the necessary paperwork and were headed back to Rayne’s quarters to pack up his belongings and get them ready for shipment to Hassan’s home in the desert. Saris said that he would make sure that the rest of Rayne’s stuff was sent to Hassan’s home. They had to leave right away and didn’t have time to take a lot of Rayne’s things. Hassan knew Rayne was a little nervous about leaving everything he knew behind and moving to a strange place with a man he had only known for a couple of days. But, Hassan held his contract now, for better or for worse. He wasn’t going to give Rayne up. Rayne unlocked the door to his rooms and walked in, Hassan following behind him. He could see a small smile on Rayne’s lips as he ducked his head to keep from hitting it on the top of the doorframe. He knew Rayne found it a bit amusing. Hassan walked over to Rayne and took his cape from him. He laid it down over the side of the couch and pulled Rayne into his arms. “This has all been rather sudden for you, hasn’t it?” he asked, the smile still on his face. Rayne, looking startled and confused, continued to stare up at Hassan.

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“There is only one way to get that look off your face. Do you know what it is?” Rayne shook his head in denial. “When a man is staring at another man like you are staring at me, and his mouth is hanging open, the only way to make him smile is like this.” Hassan’s large hand took Rayne’s face and held it gently. His lips pressed against Rayne’s, devouring their softness. After several seconds Hassan lifted his head to gaze down into Rayne’s eyes for a moment. He needed to know that Rayne was on board for what he planned for the two of them. Lowering his head again, he recaptured Rayne’s lips, his kiss more demanding this time. In one forward motion, Hassan pulled Rayne into his embrace. He could feel the pounding of Rayne’s heart. It was exhilarating and scary as hell. “Rayne?” Hassan asked softly. Rayne looked up at him. “Mayht, what’s wrong?” When a tear slipped down Rayne’s face, Hassan picked the man up in his arms and walked over to sit on the sofa. He held Rayne in his arms, caressing his back and kissing his head as he whispered nonsense words to him. When Rayne’s cries had quieted down to hiccups, Hassan gave him his cloth handkerchief to wipe his face with. He helped Rayne smooth back his hair and wipe the tears away, giving him time to compose himself. “You want to tell me about it?” Rayne laid his head down on Hassan’s chest and began to tell him a story that had him gritting his teeth within moments. Anger burned through him to find these people and cause them just as much pain as they had caused Rayne. Instead, Hassan just held Rayne as he recounted the story of Angela and her husband. Rayne looked at him, his lips quivering. “Are you mad?”

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Hassan took Rayne’s hand in his, bringing it to his lips and planting a small kiss on Rayne’s knuckles. “Of course I’m not mad. But I am your mate now, and you have to do what your mate says. You promised to obey me when you signed the contract, remember?” At Rayne’s quick nod, Hassan continued. “And, as your mate, I say that you no longer have to be afraid. I will protect you.” Rayne shrugged and looked down. “I guess.” “You guess?” Hassan knew Rayne didn’t believe him. He would in time. “Is that all you have to say to me, to your mate, your lord and master?” Rayne laughed at Hassan’s pretense of astonished outrage. Hassan smiled down at Rayne. “Good, now that’s better. I like seeing you laugh.” Hassan pulled Rayne up to stand in front of him. “Now, let’s see what you really look like without all this junk on.” He reached for the buttons on the front of Rayne’s shirt and began to unbutton them. Rayne bit his lip and glanced away from Hassan and what he was doing. “Don’t we need to get going?” Hassan shook his head. They did, but Hassan refused to leave the palace grounds until he had claimed his mate. He planned on Rayne being with child by the time they reached the province of Leonidia. “We have something else to do before we leave this place,” he commented. Hassan finished unbuttoning Rayne’s shirt and pushed it down his arms to his waist, leaving Rayne dressed in only his pants. His breath caught in his throat as he caressed Rayne from his smooth shoulders down his silky arms. Rayne was breathtaking. His gaze dropped from his bright violet eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was tender, almost a murmur. “I think you’ll do. Yes, I think you’ll do nicely.” Hassan’s heart jolted when he saw the fear in Rayne’s eyes. Gathering his mate into his arms, Hassan held him snugly. “I’ll not hurt you, Rayne,” he whispered into Rayne’s hair. “I promise.”

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A knot rose in Hassan’s throat as he buried his face against Rayne’s neck. He never thought to hold his mate in his arms. Rayne had been through something that Hassan wasn’t even sure he knew all of. The man needed protection, caring, and understanding. Hassan hoped to provide that for him. But first, he needed to insure that his claim on Rayne could not be negated. The contract between them wasn’t exactly legal everywhere. The people at home certainly would understand it, but not everyone would. Only by claiming Rayne as his mate did Hassan have a chance to hold onto the man in his arms. Hassan lifted Rayne into his arms and sat down on the sofa, sitting Rayne on his lap. Hassan reached for the edge of Rayne’s pants when Rayne suddenly reached a hand out and stopped him. Rayne wouldn’t look Hassan in the face. “Please, blow out the candle.” Hassan watched Rayne for a moment before he reached over to snuff out the candle, plunging the room into darkness. Hassan again reached for the buttons of Rayne’s pants, this time hesitating before unbuttoning them. “I’ll do it.” Rayne stood up and unbuttoned his pants. Although the light in the room had been extinguished, the moonlight streaming through the windows provided Hassan with a perfect view of Rayne’s nearly naked body. As Rayne started pushing his pants down his legs, Hassan’s whole body seemed to be filled with anticipation. He couldn’t tear his gaze from Rayne’s profile. His body was as eager and erratic as a summer storm. Rayne dropped the pants to the floor and quickly covered his groin with his hands. He inhaled sharply when Hassan leaned forward and grabbed him. In one forward motion, Hassan pulled Rayne into his arms, resting his face against the smooth skin of his abdomen. Hassan ran his hands up Rayne’s back and down to grasp his ass cheeks. Hassan inhaled Rayne’s sweet scent, his passion running

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rampant. “Oh, mayht,” he whispered against Rayne’s soft skin, “you don’t know how much I want you.” A quiver surged through Hassan’s veins when he felt Rayne’s fingers clench in his hair. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew that he needed to give Rayne more time. But for now, touching him was the only thing he wanted to think about. Hassan slid his hands across Rayne’s silken belly and up his stomach to his chest to gently caress the little brown-hued disks there. Hassan’s pulse surged when the soft nipples puckered in response. Blood pounded in his brain. Feeling Rayne’s body tremble, Hassan wrapped his strong arms around Rayne and pulled his mate onto his lap, pulling Rayne’s legs apart to straddle his thighs. The feel of Rayne’s bottom pressed against his hard cock sent his senses reeling. Hassan could barely contain himself as he quickly reached down to untie his breeches and free his aching cock. His breathing became sharp and rapid as he felt Rayne’s fingers caress the strong tendons in the back of his neck. Hassan rolled over, pushing Rayne’s body beneath his on the sofa cushions. Rayne’s body squirmed. Hassan explored the soft lines of Rayne’s back, his waist, and his narrow hips. His lips explored the tight muscles of Rayne’s panting chest. Instinctively, Rayne’s body arched toward Hassan’s as if begging for more. Hassan quickly grabbed the small vial of oil out of his pocket and lubed his fingers. He leaned back and looked into Rayne’s eyes as he reached behind the man and started readying the way for his claim. Rayne’s eyes widened, a soft inhale of breath falling from his lips. But he never looked away from Hassan. A soft moan escaped Rayne’s lips. That sweet sound was all it took to throw Hassan over the edge. His tormented groan was all the warning he gave Rayne before thrusting into the man’s tight ass. He was carried away on a wave of ecstasy with one push of his hips. The world spun and careened on its

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axis with each thrust until he exploded with a loud roar of Rayne’s name. Hassan came to his senses slowly, feeling Rayne’s sweatdampened hair brush across his chest. His thoughts fragmented as he continued to explore Rayne’s body with his hands and lips. He was exhausted and his back ached between his shoulder blades. And he never felt more wonderful in his life. “My mayht,” he whispered. “My beautiful mayht.” Hassan lifted his head from Rayne’s chest and gently brushed his lips across his. His kiss was slow and thoughtful. He rolled onto his side, an arm wrapping around Rayne, pulling the smaller man with him, tucking Rayne’s curves into his own contours. Hassan felt Rayne’s tired body relax into his and knew he had fallen asleep. He reached behind him and pulled his cloak down off the back of the couch to cover Rayne’s naked, cream-colored frame. Hassan inhaled softly as, in his sleep, Rayne’s leg pressed up over his thigh and nestled into his most tender region. Hassan chuckled in wonderment at this new mate of his. He had expected the comely, simple young man described in the letter from Trajan. Not the delicate, angelic man that was now his mate. He certainly hadn’t expected to be so captivated by Rayne. Hassan knew that Rayne could grow to be his biggest obsession. This did not sit well with Hassan. He started to get up, needing to be alone with his thoughts, but Rayne’s instinctive grasping of his shirt stilled his movements. With a resigned sigh, Hassan got up, grabbed Rayne’s pliant body in his arms, and carried him into the bedroom. He settled into the soft pillows leaning against the headboard, Rayne cradled in his arms. Hassan rested there for several hours, waking every time Rayne moved or sighed in his sleep. Finally, a couple of hours before the dawn, Hassan woke to find Rayne’s body wrapped around his. The cloak that had been covering Rayne’s nude body lay loosely around his waist. Hassan reached

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down to pull the cloak up over Rayne’s body, but feeling the man’s soft skin rub against the hard flesh exposed by his unbuttoned shirt, he changed his mind. He pulled the cloak down further, displaying more of Rayne’s delicate body to his eager gaze. Rayne was curled up, his head resting in the curve of Hassan’s shoulder. One of his hands rested on Hassan’s chest, the other behind his back. Rayne’s legs rested over Hassan’s thighs. Hassan slowly pulled Rayne’s arm down from his neck and laid it at his side, revealing Rayne’s smooth chest to his gaze. Although his eyes had adjusted to the light, he could still only see the faint outline of Rayne’s nipples. But just from that, Hassan knew that they were glorious. Hassan tentatively laid his trembling hand on Rayne’s neck and let it proceed down his chest to one pert nipple. His broad shoulders heaved as he breathed heavily. Gently his hand circled the outline of Rayne’s nipple, feeling the soft texture. He let a finger flick the tip of Rayne’s now-swollen nipple, watching as it hardened from his touch. Hassan rubbed the brown nipple between his fingers. His desire for Rayne inflamed even more with his moan of pleasure. Hassan lifted Rayne’s body up further against his. Wanting more, he slid his hand across Rayne’s silken belly, past his abdomen, to Rayne’s thighs. His hands searched for pleasure points. Parting Rayne’s thighs, Hassan’s fingers found the pleasure point he had been searching for when they wrapped around Rayne’s hardening cock. He began a lust-arousing exploration of Rayne’s silky flesh from tip to root. “Hassan,” Rayne groaned. Hassan’s gaze traveled over Rayne’s passion-flushed face and searched his eyes. Something intense flared between them. Hassan watched Rayne’s eyes dilate as his hands continued to stroke his cock.

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The pleasure Hassan gained from watching Rayne’s ecstasy was pure and explosive. Rayne’s body suddenly arched as he cried out his pleasure, his breath coming in long, surrendering moans. Hassan laid Rayne’s spent, trembling form on the mattress and covered his body. He swallowed hard when Rayne held out his arms. Hassan moved into the cradle of Rayne’s thighs, groaning loudly when the smaller man’s body accepted him with the first thrust. Together they found a tempo that bound their bodies together, soaring higher until the peak of delight was reached. Hassan’s world was filled with Rayne as his breathing returned to normal. He reached down to brush a lock of hair away from Rayne’s face. He caressed the skin of his thigh. Neither of them said anything, not wanting to break the peace and contentment that seemed to be flowing between them. So, they just lay snuggled on the bed, their legs intertwined, finally succumbing to the numbed sleep of satisfied lovers. Hassan woke some time later feeling a heavy weight on his chest. Looking down, he found himself staring into a set of brilliant violet eyes. “Hello, mayht,” he whispered. Rayne smiled in response. “Um…do you think you could…uh…?” Rayne nodded toward the arm wrapped around him. Hassan looked down at Rayne’s flushed body and smiled again. “Sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you.” Rayne shook his head. Hassan sat up and reached for Rayne’s arm to help him up. As soon as he was in an upright position, Rayne quickly grabbed Hassan’s cloak and held it over his naked body, a blush creeping up his neck. Hassan chuckled as he stood up. He grabbed his pants and pulled them on. When he turned back to Rayne, his mate hastily lowered his eyes to the bed. Hassan could see the embarrassment seeping through Rayne’s body. He chuckled softly to Rayne as he headed to the bathroom to relieve himself.

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“You better get used to that, mayht. I always sleep in the nude.” Hassan chuckled as he stepped into the bathroom. He quickly took care of business then moved over to the sink to wash his hands. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment as the realization that he was mated suddenly sank in. He had a mate. He wasn’t alone in the world anymore. Oh sure, he had his family, his son, and his pride, but it wasn’t the same as having the one person fated to be his by his side. Having a mate was altogether different, and scary as hell. If something happened to Rayne, Hassan would tear the world apart, and he didn’t even know the man very well yet. If his emotions became involved, he was doomed. Hassan clenched his jaw. Maybe that was the answer—keeping Rayne at arm’s length. When Hassan walked back into the room a few moments later, Rayne stood beside the bed fully dressed. Rayne looked up and flashed Hassan a small smile. But the smile slowly fell from his lips. “Hassan, is something wrong?” Hassan looked up, frowning. “What? Oh …uh…no. We better get going if we want to get a good ways past the hills by nightfall. It’s a long ride back to my home.” Rayne nodded his head. “Okay, I’ll get my stuff.” Hassan nodded absently, his thoughts already on other things. The pass through the mountains was a dangerous one. He didn’t like the idea of traveling through them with Rayne, but modern technology was forbidden in his province. **** An hour later, just as the sun was dawning over the mountains they would soon be heading for, Hassan helped Rayne mount the horse he had purchased for him and then mounted his own. “Are you ready, mayht?” Rayne took a deep breath and smiled at Hassan. “Yes, I am.”

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Hassan nodded his head and broke his horse into a small canter. He heard Rayne’s horse follow behind him. A small unit of soldiers followed behind Rayne. Hassan refused to travel through the desert without some protection. Luckily, his brother had supplied him with soldiers heading to the capitol for training on the trip there. The ones returning had already been trained. Hassan and Rayne rode north for several hours. By the time they stopped at an inn for the night at the base of the mountains they had to pass through, Hassan felt like his body would never be the same again. Rayne didn’t seem to be faring any better. Hassan assisted Rayne down from his horse and handed the reins to the stable boy. He grabbed Rayne’s satchel and walked into the inn. Opening the door, he looked around the quaint little place. It was small but clean. There was a stone fireplace at one end of the room and a staircase at the other. There were several tables set around the room, each with a candle cup and spices. From the back of the room, Hassan could hear a woman humming. Hassan assumed she was cooking from the smells emanating from that direction. As soon as the smell of the food reached Hassan’s nostrils, the rumble in his stomach reminded him that he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Hassan set several leather bags down at Rayne’s feet and headed toward the back of the inn. “Wait here,” he told Rayne. “I’ll be right back.” He came back a few minutes later after securing a room. He carried a pitcher of amber liquid and two mugs. He set them down on a table and helped Rayne into a chair. He poured them both a mug of ale and handed one to Rayne. “The innkeeper’s wife is making up a room for us now.” He took a drink of his ale after Rayne nodded his understanding. Lowering his glass to the table, he looked at Rayne. His head was bent and he was contemplating the mug of ale in front of him like it

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was a fine jewel. Hassan watched Rayne’s fingers move up and down the glass, remembering the way his fingers had rubbed over him in just the same way. Taking a deep breath, Hassan quickly looked away, his heart beating a little faster. He couldn’t believe that the simple motion of a man’s thumb aroused him so much, especially a man who seemed so scared of him. Rayne still jumped at the smallest touch. If the chill between them got any colder, it would turn to ice. Hassan started to say something to Rayne when the innkeeper’s wife came down the stairs. “Your room is ready, my Lord.” Hassan nodded and stood to his feet and held out his hand. “Are you coming?” Rayne grabbed Hassan’s hand and stood up, following him up the stairs. Hassan opened the door to their room to be met with a wonderful smell. He came to a sudden stop when he saw that dinner had been made and set out, the table decorated, and there was a fire in the fireplace. “Who? Who did this?” Rayne asked, almost to himself. Hassan turned to stare at Rayne. “I arranged it. I guess I thought you should have one night of being lazy before we head home.” He just hadn’t expected the atmosphere to be so romantic. Rayne continued to stare at him, astonishment written clearly across his face. Hassan sat him on the edge of the bed then walked to the small dining table. He grabbed a bottle of wine placed there and two glasses. He walked back to the bed and sat down. Hassan poured the wine, then set the wine down and handed Rayne a glass. “Here, this will help you feel a little better.” Rayne stared at the wine like it was a snake. “I don’t like alcohol.” Hassan smiled at Rayne. He was so young. “A little bit will do you some good.” He watched Rayne stare at his own glass skeptically then take a large swig of the wine. He had downed half the glass before Hassan knew what he was doing.

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“Mayht, you have to sip it, not gulp it.” Rayne stopped long enough to take a breath of air then he drank the rest of the wine. Hassan watched him down the last of the wine with surprise. “You haven’t drunk very much, have you?” Rayne shook his head. Hassan chuckled. “We need to get some food into you.” Hassan stood up and walked back to the table. He dished up the hearty stew into a bowl and grabbed some bread. Walking back to the bed with the food, he found Rayne passed out cold on the mattress. Hassan chuckled as he set the food down on the small table beside the bed. “Mayht, you would be a lot of fun with an entire pitcher of ale.” He lifted Rayne up and pulled back the covers before he laid him down on the bed. Rayne looked so sweet, but Hassan knew he would be very uncomfortable sleeping in his clothes. He sat on the bed next to Rayne and he began to undress him. He pulled off his shoes, dropping them on the floor beside the bed. Hassan unbuttoned Rayne’s shirt and pulled it off of his shoulders and down his arms. Next, he went to work on Rayne’s pants, dropping them on the floor as well. Hassan gently laid Rayne back down on the mattress. His breath caught in his throat at the sight before him. He hadn’t been able to see Rayne’s entire naked body last night in the moonlight, just feel him. He had known that Rayne was beautiful then, but he had no idea that he was this exquisite. Hassan was awestruck. Almost against his will Hassan reached out his hand to touch Rayne. He moved his hand to cover the whole of Rayne’s chest then trailed his fingers over Rayne’s nipples, watching them pucker in eager response. Taking a deep breath, he trailed his hand down Rayne’s abdomen to his semi hard cock. He moved his fingers down past Rayne’s cock to gently cup his balls. Rayne, even in his sleep, responded to

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Hassan’s touch. His body arched up to meet Hassan’s hand. He stretched his hands over his head and arched his back. Hassan’s hands trembled, his breath uneven. He knew he had to stop or he would be all over Rayne and then he would truly be scared of him. He was already hard as a rock. Hassan lifted the blankets to cover Rayne’s body. As he began to cover Rayne’s luscious nipples, he stopped. He had to have just one little taste of Rayne’s soft flesh. Leaning down, he slowly let his tongue pass over one nipple, then the other. Rayne moaned his pleasure. Hassan gently took one nipple between his lips and sucked on it. Rayne wrapped his hands around his head and pulled him closer, as if wanting more. Hassan kissed his way up Rayne’s chest to his neck and then his lips. He kissed Rayne, softly at first. When his desire became more than he could handle, he kissed Rayne harder, wanting to draw his mate into himself. Forcing himself to stop what he was doing, Hassan looked at Rayne’s face. His eyes were open and staring up into his. The smoldering flame that he saw in Rayne’s eyes startled him. “I have to go, Rayne.” Rayne brought his fingers up to his chest and curled them in his shirt. “No, stay with me.” Hassan let his head rest against Rayne’s as he took in large gulps of air. Rayne couldn’t have any idea what he was saying. “Rayne, mayht, if I stay, I’m going to make love to you. You need to rest.” Rayne was motionless for several seconds. Finally, Rayne began to unbutton Hassan’s shirt. “Okay,” he said. To Hassan, those words were as close to heaven as he thought he was ever going to get. “Mayht, do you know what you are doing?” Rayne ran his hands over Hassan’s exposed chest, wrapping his fingers in the soft hair that covered him. “I know what I’m doing. I want you to stay here, with me.”

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Rayne ran his hands down Hassan’s chest, past his abdomen to his cock. Hassan inhaled sharply when Rayne’s fingers wrapped around his hard cock. Rayne looked deeply into Hassan’s eyes as he ran his hands over Hassan. “Rayne,” Hassan said in desperation, “you have to stop, mayht. I don’t know how much longer I can control myself.” Rayne reached for the tie on Hassan’s breeches. “I want you to lose control.” When Rayne began to untie his pants, Hassan grabbed his hand and pulled it away. Rayne looked up at him in confusion. “What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?” Hassan kissed Rayne’s fingers as he held onto them. “No, mayht, you didn’t do anything wrong. You have to stop this, though. I can’t take much more.” Rayne pulled his hand away from Hassan and pushed on his chest. Hassan fell over onto his back as Rayne pushed him. His eyes widened when Rayne climbed on top of him and laid his head down. He had one hand curled in Hassan’s hair and the other hand resting just under the tie of his pants. “Rayne?” Hassan asked. “Rayne?” he asked again when he did not answer. Peering down into Rayne’s face, he found that his eyes were closed. When he started to softly snore, Hassan knew he was asleep. Damn! Maybe he shouldn’t have said no so many times. Hassan started to move his mate off of him when Rayne suddenly tightened his hold on him. It didn’t look like he was going anywhere any time soon. Hassan settled back into the pillows, wrapped his arms around Rayne, and settled in for a very long night.

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Chapter 4 Rayne slowly opened his eyes, squinting when the light filtered through the curtains. His head felt like someone was using a jackhammer on it. Rayne started to move his hand when he realized that it was entangled in hair. He glanced up only to find that he was lying on a large arm which was wrapped around his chest. Taking inventory of where his body was placed, Rayne discovered that there was a thick thigh sandwiched between his. The other large hand was cupped around his cock, which was no longer covered. In fact, none of his body was covered. From the feeling of the hard cock pushing at him from behind, the man in bed with him was also naked and he was ready to go. Not sure what to do, Rayne slowly turned his head to look at the man in bed with him. For a moment, Rayne thought that it was Varl. Seeing Hassan, he let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Hassan.” Looking up, Rayne found Hassan looking back at him, the smile in his eyes containing a sensuous flame. “Hello, mayht. Did you sleep well?” Rayne was a little disconcerted. He dropped his eyes to his chest, then quickly back up again. “How long have you been here?” he asked in a nervous little voice. “All night, mayht, all night.” Rayne didn’t quite know what to say to that. He desperately wanted to ask Hassan if they had done anything, but he was afraid to ask.

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Hassan leaned down and kissed Rayne’s ear, then his exposed neck. “Don’t worry, mayht, we didn’t do anything. I undressed you then you undressed me. In the night, what we were left wearing came off. But nothing happened. I would prefer to be invited into your bed when you are sober.” Rayne’s heart lurched to a stop. Nothing had happened. Then a second thought hit him. He had invited Hassan into his bed? “But, now that you are awake, I will accept your invitation.” Hassan rolled Rayne onto his back and stuck his muscular thighs between his. Rayne could feel the little hairs on his leg teasing him. “Is that invitation still open?” He rested his head on his hand, his elbow beside Rayne on the mattress. With his other hand, Hassan caressed Rayne’s abdomen, which was exposed. Hassan still wanted him. “Yes, it is.” Slowly and seductively, Hassan slid his gaze downward. Rayne felt very self-conscious as he looked at his naked body. Rayne’s heart fluttered wildly in his breast. Hassan’s eyes shifted back up to his face. His mouth covered Rayne’s hungrily, his lips hard and searching. His moist, firm lips demanded a response from Rayne. Breaking contact with his lips, Hassan began to kiss a path down his chin to his throat. “Ask me to stay again,” Hassan whispered against Rayne’s skin. Between each word, he planted kisses on Rayne’s shoulders, neck, and face. “Tell me you want me.” Rayne’s heartbeat skyrocketed. He could hear the harsh, uneven rhythm of Hassan’s breathing. Hassan raised his eyes to meet Rayne’s. His steady gaze bore into him in silent expectation. Rayne swallowed hard. “Stay.” “Ah, Rayne, you’ve made my dreams come true.” Hassan gathered Rayne close to him, holding him next to his heart. He ran his hands down his side and back up to his chest. He

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lowered his head, his tongue flickering over Rayne’s nipples, even as his hands slid across his silken belly. “Touch me,” Hassan whispered against his skin. Rayne pushed closer to Hassan. He tentatively let his hands roam over Hassan’s back. Hassan began a lust-arousing exploration of his soft flesh. The stroking of his fingers sent pleasant jolts through him. Rayne didn’t know what was happening to him. He had never felt like this before. Hassan moved his body to cover his. Rayne’s skin tingled against his hair-roughened chest. He lay panting, his chest heaving. It was flesh against flesh, man against man. Rayne welcomed Hassan into his body, shattering the hard shell that he had built so carefully around himself as he met each thrust of Hassan’s cock. A deep feeling of peace entered his being. Hassan seemed to be different than Varl. As Hassan aroused his passion, Rayne couldn’t control an outcry of delight. He yielded to the searing need, which had been building since he had first set eyes on his beautiful body. Arching his body into Hassan’s, Rayne cried out as he reached his peak. Hassan’s groan of ecstasy following seconds later, then he collapsed down on top of Rayne. They both lay there for several seconds, their bodies glowing in the heat of satisfaction. Hassan raised his head to look at Rayne, his eyes caressing him softly. “You are really something, mayht,” he said, his voice thick and raspy. Rayne looked at Hassan through his thick lashes. “Why?” he asked in an unsteady whisper. What was Hassan thinking? Did Hassan think he was a slut just like Angela? Was he dissatisfied with him? Hassan kissed the tip of Rayne’s nose, his cheek, then his forehead. “You make me feel things I’m not supposed to feel.” Rayne was confused by Hassan’s words. He was confused about a lot of things. He had responded to Hassan in a way he never thought

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he would, especially after what Varl had done to him. He also hadn’t thought he would ever enjoy being with a man. He never knew it could be like this. Rayne had just met Hassan a few days ago, and here he was in bed with him, and he was enjoying himself. Rayne could only hope that Hassan didn’t think he had loose morals. Some men didn’t think their mates should enjoy lovemaking. Rayne also found that he genuinely liked Hassan. He liked being with Hassan. He felt safe with him. And Hassan might be the only thing that could keep Rayne safe from Varl. “Rayne, do you think you are going to be happy mated to me?” Hassan’s question brought Rayne’s mind back from the whirling thoughts it had begun to sink into. He raised his eyes to meet Hassan’s. Looking deep into them, trying to see into his soul, Rayne raised his hand to brush a lock of Hassan’s golden hair back from his face. “I guess so.” Hassan lifted himself over Rayne. “You guess so? What kind of answer is that?” He began to kiss Rayne’s chest. “I want a definite yes or no. I want to know you are sure about this decision, because now that you are my mate, I’m never letting you go.” Rayne kind of liked the sound of that. He reached down, placing his hands on either side of Hassan’s face, and brought it up to his. Rayne’s lips found their way instinctively to Hassan’s. It was a kiss for his tired soul to melt into. Drawing away from him, he looked into his eyes and gave him the answer he hoped Hassan was looking for. “Yes.” The smile that lit up Hassan’s face could have lit a thousand sunsets. Crushing Rayne to him, Hassan pressed their mouths with a savage intensity. Rayne’s body arched toward Hassan’s, matching his urgency with his own lusty needs.

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The hot tide of passion raged through both of them. The pleasure was pure and explosive as together they soared to an awesome, shuddering ecstasy. Hassan rolled onto the mattress, taking Rayne with him, his arms wrapped around Rayne’s midriff. Rayne settled back, enjoying the feel of Hassan’s arms around him. His lips brushed against him lightly as he whispered into his hair. “I’ll make you happy, Rayne. I promise.” As he lowered his lips, Hassan sealed his vow with a kiss. Rayne thought about his words. He hoped so, but he seriously doubted it. But maybe Hassan could keep him safe. Happiness was something he never thought he would have in his lifetime. Happiness was a luxury. It was a luxury he couldn’t afford. After a slow and lazy meal, Hassan helped Rayne gather up his stuff and then rushed him downstairs. He seemed to be in a hurry now that they were mated. Rayne knew it was because of the demands from home and tried to hurry. “We’ll take camels from here on out,” Hassan said as he helped Rayne mount one of the huge beasts. “Camels handle the desert better than horses.” Rayne nodded and watched Hassan mount his own camel. He glanced back at the inn again, remembering their slow, lazy morning together. He had a feeling it would be the last for a long time. “Rayne.” At the sound of Hassan’s voice, Rayne plastered a smile on his lips and faced him. “Yes, Hassan?” “Are you ready?” Rayne nodded, forcing himself to keep looking in front of him and not back at the small inn, the place where he had started to have strong feelings for his mate. Hassan, Rayne, and the soldiers accompanying them rode for what seemed like miles and miles. Rayne didn’t ever think that his thighs would be the same again. He was positive his back wouldn’t be. It ached in places he didn’t know he had.

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Finally, they reached an oasis and Hassan said that they could camp there for the night. Rayne knew that they wouldn’t be staying at an inn again. Hassan had told him that he didn’t have a lot of money, and it took money to stay at an inn. Besides, the less people who saw him with Hassan, the less people who could give Varl information on where he might be going. And that was just fine with Rayne. Rayne glanced over at his sleeping mate. Hassan had been asleep for several hours now. He seemed exhausted. As soon as Hassan had set up camp and they had eaten, Hassan had reached for him. They had made love at first with a fiery passion, as if Hassan couldn’t get enough of Rayne. He hadn’t even given Rayne time to get his heart to stop beating at such a rapid speed before Hassan was on him again. This time they took things nice and slow. They were able to take the time to explore, to arouse, and to give each other pleasure. Twice before the night was over, Hassan made love to Rayne again. Each time he reached for him, Rayne’s body melted against Hassan’s and his world was filled with his big, strong mate. Never once in his wildest dreams had he thought that he could feel such sweet ecstasy. Never once had he thought he would ever feel anything but distaste for a man. Each time Hassan had reached for him, Rayne didn’t know if he could let the man have him again. Then he would remember that he now belonged to Hassan. But every time Hassan took Rayne in his arms, he made Rayne forget all about Varl. By the time they were done, Hassan was the only thing that existed for Rayne. It was very confusing for Rayne. It was kind of funny how life could throw a person such a curveball, Rayne thought as he watched Hassan sleeping next to him. Leaning over to Hassan, he laid his head on the man’s shoulder. Hassan, even in his sleep, was aware of him. He raised his arm and wrapped it around Rayne, pulling him snugly against his body. With the smell of Hassan surrounding him, Rayne fell into a deep sleep, his nightmares at bay for once.

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Rayne woke to Hassan gently shaking him. “Mayht, it’s time to wake up. Come on Rayne, open those beautiful violet eyes for me.” Rayne opened his tired eyes to see Hassan standing next to him. Sitting up, he turned to look around. At first, he was confused about where they were until he saw the camels packed and ready to go. The soldiers stood near their camels, waiting. Looking back to Hassan, he started to stand up. “Time to go?” Hassan chuckled. “We still have a long ways to go, mayht.” Hassan assisted Rayne in getting dressed and gathering up his stuff, then escorted him to his camel. He helped Rayne mount his camel and the journey began all over again. The next several days, the routine was pretty much the same. They would ride for hours and hours, until Rayne felt like his ass was on fire, then Hassan would stop to make camp. He would set up camp while Rayne prepared a small feast for them, and then they would eat. Rayne would barely get his last bite down before Hassan would reach for him, pulling him into their tent and stripping his clothes quickly from his body. Half the time, Hassan didn’t even take the time to undress Rayne. He just pulled Rayne’s pants down and buried himself inside of his ass. Hassan seemed to be on some sort of mission. He never asked if Rayne wanted to make love, he just did it. Although Rayne had to admit, he probably would not have said no. He enjoyed the way Hassan made him feel. They would make love until the wee hours of the morning before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Then, in the morning, it would start all over again. Only once had this routine changed, when Hassan had caught Rayne washing up by a small pond in the middle of an oasis they had camped next to. His shirt had been pulled down around his waist as he washed up. Hassan had immediately gone to Rayne and begun yelling at him about baring himself in front of other people. Rayne had just stared at

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Hassan in fear as he held his shirt up over his exposed chest. Then Hassan had reached for him. Rayne smiled as he thought about how Hassan had made love to him, almost frenzied-like. He had been a man obsessed. But, for Rayne, his fixation didn’t seem that bad. Still, Rayne felt like there was something Hassan was keeping from him, some secret. At first, Hassan made love to Rayne each night like he couldn’t get enough. It was swift, furious, and passionate. Then, the second time he made love to him, Hassan treated Rayne like fine china, almost as if he were apologizing for his earlier raging, and sometimes tempestuous, foray. And sometimes in the night, with a look on his face that seemed to imply he was going against his own will, Hassan would reach for Rayne again. For Rayne, it was a journey into the unknown. It was frightening and exciting. When Hassan made love to him, he made Rayne feel like he was the only man in the world for him, like he was the most important thing in the world to him. When he wasn’t making love to him, Hassan began to grow distant. Rayne didn’t notice it at first, but more and more each day he had noticed little things. Hassan had stopped talking to him as he had in the beginning of their journey. He was more impatient. Rayne didn’t know what was going on with Hassan, but he assumed he was worried about his pride. He hoped that once they reached Hassan’s land, Hassan would once again become the man he had met. And hope was all he seemed to have these days. When they reached the sandy dunes on the far side of the mountain pass, Hassan rode a little ahead of Rayne. They had made it safely through the mountain pass, but, according to Hassan, danger lurked around every sand dune. They wouldn’t be safe until they reached pridehome. As Hassan crested a small dune, Rayne slowed his camel then pulled him to a stop. There would be no going back after this. Rayne

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realized that it might even be too late now. But at least behind him, he had a hope of surviving on his own. Out in the unforgiving desert, he’d die within days, and he knew it. Rayne felt his stomach begin to get queasy. He covered his mouth with his hand and looked around frantically. He slid from his camel and ran over behind a pile of rocks. Bending over, he proceeded to lose the contents of his stomach. A few moments later, Rayne heard Hassan ride up then he felt a cloth being pressed into his hand. Hassan gave Rayne some water to wash with. When he was done, Hassan helped him back to his camel and went to his to climb on himself. “You gonna be okay?” he asked. Rayne had his head resting on the camel’s neck, his hand wrapped around his midriff. His eyes were closed. Rayne slowly nodded his head, not opening his eyes. “I’ll be fine.” “Uh huh,” Hassan said. Rayne whipped his head back, letting out a surprised yelp when Hassan lifted him off his camel and placed him on his lap. Rayne didn’t say a word, just rested his head back against Hassan’s chest. “Are you carrying?” Rayne’s eyes snapped open as he swallowed hard. “Ma–maybe.” The thought terrified him. He had enough trouble taking care of himself. What did he know of caring for a child? “You’ve been eating meat every night, so I know you are fertile. Could we have created a child so soon?” “You seem to know a lot about brüters.” “Of course,” Hassan replied. “My brother assured me he would find someone of your caste for me when he decided I needed to mate. He wants our family line continued.” Rayne frowned as Hassan’s words hit him like a boulder. “You really were specifically looking for a brüter when you found me? It wasn’t just because of the situation I was in?” “I was.”

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“Of course,” Rayne whispered as his heart plummeted into his toes. He never hid the fact that he was from Elquone from Hassan. They had signed a contract after all. But he had held out hope that Hassan wanted him for him, and not just because he could give birth. Apparently, any brüter would have done. Rayne pressed his lips together to keep from crying out his denial of every last dream he had being ripped away from him. It wasn’t Hassan’s fault that he had hoped for more. Hassan had never made any promises. It was Rayne’s heartache to bear alone. Hassan and Rayne rode in silence for several miles before Hassan suddenly grabbed Rayne and pushed him down near the camel’s neck and lifted his hips up in the air. He pushed the edge of his pants down, baring his ass. Rayne looked over his shoulder into Hassan’s passion-filled eyes in surprise and maybe a little fear. “Not a word!” Hassan growled between clenched teeth. The smile on Rayne’s lips quickly turned to a groan of pleasure as Hassan lifted his hips. Rayne’s breath stuttered when Hassan’s fingers sank into his ass, stretching him for Hassan’s thick cock. The strength of Hassan slipping inside his tight ass from behind took Rayne’s breath away. Hassan kicked the camel into a trot, moving the camel faster. The motion increased the ecstasy they were both feeling. Rayne felt as if his body was half ice and half flame. He was fully aware of the hardness of Hassan’s thighs brushing against his ass. Rayne held onto the camel for all he was worth as Hassan pushed the camel into a full gallop. He could just barely hear Hassan’s harsh breathing over the beat of the camel’s hooves sinking into the soft sand. But he could feel the pulsating cock moving deep inside of him, arousing him to a fever pitch. The hot tide of passion raged through both of them as they soared to an awesome, shuddering ecstasy. Hassan brought the sweaty camel to a standstill as he laid his head on Rayne’s back. Rayne savored the feeling of satisfaction Hassan left

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with him as he pulled out of his ass. It was sweet and tender and sent one last shudder of desire through his body. Hassan arranged his clothing and tied his pants before pulling Rayne’s pants back up over his ass. Rayne slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing when his sore ass rubbed against the camel. “Ouch,” he cried out in pain. Hassan reached down and grabbed Rayne by the arm and lifted him off the camel. Setting Rayne on the ground, he tossed him the reins of his own camel and started riding down the trail once again, leaving Rayne standing there with their guards just feet away. Rayne watched him ride off, confusion filling every cell of his body. What had he done wrong? Why was Hassan so mad at him? Tears of confusion and anguish slowly found their way down his cheeks as he climbed onto his camel and followed after Hassan. Seeing Hassan riding several yards ahead, his back straight and unyielding, Rayne gave into the tears that were clogging his throat. He wept silently, rocking back and forth, a flash of grief ripping through him. He wept for his father, for the pain and loneliness he had endured growing up, and he wept for the mate that seemed to desire him one moment and hate him the next. Rayne wept for all the dreams he had given up over the years, especially the dream that involved having a mate that loved him. Trying to swallow the lump that lingered in his throat, Rayne dried the remaining tears in his eyes. His sense of loss was beyond tears now. It was a faint memory that he might pull out to dream about when he was alone and needed hope.

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Chapter 5 “Rayne, hurry up. You’re lagging behind.” Rayne shivered with fatigue as he spurred his camel into a trot, soon catching up with the still-brooding Hassan. “You can’t lag behind like that. You might get lost. At the very least you could be taken hostage, and I don’t have the money to ransom you. Don’t you know anything about traveling? About the desert? Do you want to be kidnapped? Ravaged by strangers? Is that what you want?” Rayne’s whole body was engulfed in a tide of weariness and despair at Hassan’s harsh words. Rayne shriveled a little at Hassan’s expression of anger. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, biting his lip until it throbbed like a pulse. “It won’t happen again.” Hassan just turned his camel around and headed up the trail. Rayne urged his camel after him, his anguish almost overcoming his control. They had been riding for quite some time when Rayne finally felt well enough to start looking around. They were in a large valley surrounded by sheer rock cliffs. Rayne could see that the mountains, while far off in the distance, were golden and bare of trees or bushes. There seemed to be sand wherever he looked. The mountains came down into rolling dunes of sand. Camels dotted the landscape, more appearing the farther they rode. Occasionally, they would pass a cluster of tents or a path crossing. It seemed to Rayne like they were in a barren wasteland. “How far is your land?” Rayne asked Hassan.

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He answered without taking his eyes off the path ahead of them. “Not too much farther. We’ll be able to see it soon, but it will take us awhile to reach it.” For a long moment, Rayne just looked at Hassan, waiting for more. When Hassan didn’t say anything, Rayne’s curiosity kept him from staying silent. “Tell me about it,” he asked eagerly, trying to find a common ground of peace between them. Hassan looked over at Rayne, his gaze resting on him. “What would you like to know?” he asked indulgently, looking back to the road. “I don’t know. You said your brothers live with you. Tell me about them.” Hassan looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, there are three of us. I’m the baby of the family. Bogden is the oldest and our Shaikh.” “Shaikh?” Rayne had never heard that term before. “The leader of our people.” Rayne frowned, confused. “I thought Chellak Rai was the leader of your people.” “No, Chellak Rai is the High Ruler of Katzmann, our king. My brother is more like the governor of our province.” “You said there were three of you?” “Bogden is the oldest, which is why he’s the Shaikh. The second oldest is Urik. He’s also the biggest, the quietest, and the most intense.” Hassan chuckled. “Bogden is mated to Anjali, who is also from Elquone. Bogden believes Urik has found his mate, but Urik’s not talking.” Rayne heard the soft lilt in Hassan’s voice as he talked about his family. “You must care about them very much.” “They’re good people. I always know I have someone to guard my back when they’re around. They may give me more headaches than I care to remember, but they’re always there when I need them.” Rayne was quiet for a few moments before he brought up another subject. “Tell me about your son.”

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The smile on Hassan’s face was instantaneous. “Hassy? He’s your son now, too.” Rayne liked the sound of that. “So, tell me about our son.” “Ah, one minute he will drive you to distraction and the next he’ll steal your heart.” Rayne could tell that his mind was now on his son. Watching Hassan, he could see his mouth curving up in a smile. Suddenly, his smile was gone. Rayne watched him, wondering what was wrong. “Hassan?” He didn’t say anything for a moment, but when he did his voice was very low and husky. “Hassy doesn’t speak much. He hardly says anything. The local healers say there is nothing wrong with him physically. They say he must have been traumatized somehow when he was younger and that is why he doesn’t talk. But I can’t think of anything that could have happened to him that would traumatize him.” Hassan glanced over at Rayne beseechingly. “That’s why he needs special care.” Hassan said that last bit with a warning in his voice, almost as if he didn’t know if Rayne would be gentle with his son. Rayne smiled over at him, trying to reassure him that he would be gentle with Hassy. Hassan and Rayne were quiet for the next several minutes until they came to another road crossing that Hassan pulled his camel onto. Rayne glanced around excitedly. “Is this it? Are we home now?” Hassan shook his head. “Not quite yet. I have something I want to show you first.” Rayne bounced on his camel as they turned off the path onto a little dirt trail. “What?” Hassan chuckled at Rayne’s excited words. “You’ll see.” They rode up the little trail they were on as it started to slope upwards. To Rayne, it seemed like they were again riding forever. Finally they came to a little clearing where Hassan pulled his camel to a stop and jumped off. He walked around and helped Rayne off his

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camel. Grabbing his hand, he walked Rayne over to the edge of a cliff. “That’s your new home,” he said, his voice full of pride. Rayne looked out over the cliffs. Below him was a picture of heaven. There were acres upon acres of sand as far as the eye could see, except for one place. There was a road that divided the sand. At the end of the road was a large village built into the side of a mountain with a tall stone wall surrounding the entire place. Green trees and life flourished inside those stone walls. “It’s beautiful.” Hassan wrapped his arms around Rayne and rested his head on top of his. Feeling Hassan’s arms around him, Rayne forgot where he was. Looking out over the small valley, he daydreamed about how his life could have been. He leaned lightly into Hassan, tilting his face toward his. Hassan bent his head slightly forward, and his lips slowly descended to meet Rayne’s. The touch of Hassan’s lips on his sent a shock wave through Rayne’s entire body. Rayne suddenly found himself lifted into Hassan’s strong arms and carried to the edge of the rocks surrounding the cliffs. As Hassan set Rayne down on the ground, his hands moved under his shirt to skim his chest. Moving his hands to the front of his shirt, Hassan grabbed the edge of his neckline and ripped the shirt open, scattering the buttons all over the ground. Rayne inhaled sharply at Hassan’s action. He knew he could not hide his true nature for long. Hassan slid the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. He just stared down at Rayne for a moment then reached down and pulled out his knife. Rayne started to tremble when Hassan brought the knife up to his body. He cut the fabric of Rayne’s pants from waist to thigh then pulled the pieces out from around him. Hassan dropped the material on the ground and put his knife back into its sheath.

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Raising his eyes to Rayne’s, he said, “You will wear the traditional garb of our people from now on.” He laid his hands on Rayne’s midriff and gently stroked up his body to Rayne’s chest. “I like having easy access.” He chuckled lightly as he lowered his lips to Rayne’s nipple. Rayne lay down, closing his eyes. Hassan slid one hand down Rayne’s taut stomach to the swell of his hip. Rubbing his hands along Rayne’s legs, Hassan knelt between his thighs. When his hands reached the apex of Rayne’s thighs, Hassan’s thumbs gently rubbed over the head of his hard cock, massaging him. Rayne let out a small whimper. No one had ever touched him like that except Hassan. Hassan moved his hand, caressing him with more of his fingers. Rayne felt himself getting hot. He started panting, unable to help himself. His eyes closed. His neck arched off the ground. Rayne let out small groan of protest when Hassan stopped caressing him. When he felt Hassan replace his fingers with his tongue, he almost jumped off the ground. Hassan continued using his tongue on Rayne, sucking his cock deep into his mouth until Rayne’s hands were wrapped in his hair and tears of pleasure streaming down his face. Rayne straightened his body, letting his shaking legs fall down. Hassan grabbed him and pulled him up into his arms. Reaching down between their bodies, Hassan untied his pants. Rayne groaned when Hassan started stretching him. He’d have to remember to ask just how many vials of oil the man carried on him. Hassan always seemed prepared. But, he’d ask him later, much later. When Hassan pulled his fingers free and pushed into Rayne’s receptive body, Rayne wound his arms around Hassan’s neck, holding on for all he was worth. Hassan wrapped his hands under Rayne’s buttocks, lifting him up. Crushing Rayne to him, Hassan pressed his mouth to Rayne’s. He smothered Rayne’s lips with demanding mastery that made Rayne’s heart thunder in his chest. Hassan began to move in and out of

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Rayne’s ass, thrusting faster and faster. Rayne cried out as he reached the peak of delight and filled the space between them with his release. Moments later, he heard Hassan roar then collapse down next to him. Hassan rested his head on the ground next to Rayne’s head. His breathing was harsh and ragged. They stayed that way until Hassan slowly lowered Rayne’s leg to the ground and pulled away. Hassan reached down and buttoned his pants. Looking at Rayne, Hassan’s gaze was riveted on his face, then moved over his naked body slowly. Rayne didn’t miss his obvious examination and approval. He wanted Hassan to find him desirable. Rayne watched Hassan as his gaze moved back up his body, coming to rest on his face. The look in Hassan’s eyes was full of tenderness. Hassan pulled Rayne close, fitting their bodies snugly together. Rayne rested his head on Hassan’s broad chest, wishing he never had to move. They stayed cuddled together for quite some time until a voice from the edge of the clearing yelled out, “Hassan! You’re home, brother. When did you arrive?” Hassan turned his head quickly toward the voice. “Oh hell!” Rayne tried to peer over his arm to see who it was, and then he remembered that he was naked. “Oh gods, Hassan. I have to get dressed.” Hassan glanced back down at Rayne. He placed his body between Rayne and the man walking toward them. “Urik, stay where you are and turn around.” Urik stopped walking. “What’s wrong, Hassan?” Hassan chuckled. “Urik, just do as I said.” When he was sure that Urik had turned around, Hassan picked Rayne up and walked over to the camels. Hassan grabbed Rayne’s bag off his camel and handed it to him and then stood back to keep an eye out for Urik. Rayne opened his bag and pulled out another outfit and quickly dressed.

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When he looked up he found Hassan gazing at him in such a way that he knew what was on the man’s mind. “Hassan,” he said, forgetting that there was a strange man standing just yards away from them. He stepped over to him and wrapped his arms around Hassan’s neck, tilting his head back to see into his eyes. “We really don’t have time for this,” Hassan said, reminding Rayne that they were not alone. Rayne felt the heat flooding his face. He pulled his hands quickly down from around his neck. Hassan chuckled quietly and pulled him back into his arms. “Maybe we have time for one small kiss,” he whispered. Hassan’s kiss was slow and thoughtful, but it sent the pit of Rayne’s stomach into a wild swirl. Hassan pulled reluctantly away and held Rayne at arm’s length. Rayne raised his eyes to find Hassan watching him. His eyes were a brilliant gold color. “If that’s what you call a small kiss, I really want to see what you consider a long kiss.” As he watched, Hassan’s eyes turned to a dark, smoky amber. “I’ll show you later,” Hassan said with quiet emphasis, the smile on his face turning to a gentle chuckle. “Come on, let’s go meet my brother.” Hassan placed his hand on the small of Rayne’s back and pushed him toward the strange man on the other side of the small clearing. “Urik,” he yelled, “you can turn around now.” The man turned and began to walk over toward them. Rayne watched him as he approached. He was taller than Hassan was, but not by much. He had golden blond hair like Hassan, but cut shorter. He was also very well built. Rayne began to notice that, while normally he probably would have found Urik very attractive, when compared to Hassan, he just didn’t measure up. The one thing Rayne did notice was that the closer Urik got the bigger his smile became and the smaller Hassan’s smile became. He felt Hassan’s body become rigid, and he moved slightly away. Rayne

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glanced over to Hassan in confusion. He couldn’t tell what the man was thinking. His eyes were hooded by his dark lashes, and his face was as blank as marble. He wouldn’t look at Rayne. He did offer a small smile to Urik as he came nearer to them. “Hey, brother, when did you get home?” Hassan shook the hand that Urik offered to him. “Just a few minutes ago. I wanted to show Rayne around from up here.” Urik gave Rayne a once over, starting with his feet and ending at his head. He smiled a brief smile at him and then looked back over to Hassan, dismissing Rayne as if he didn’t matter. “Is this him?” he asked of Hassan, nodding his head in Rayne’s direction. “Yes,” was all that Hassan said in response. Urik looked back over to Rayne, who was leaning toward Hassan. “He’s not much to look at, is he?” Rayne felt mortified. Urik was looking him over like he was a streetwalker. Hassan seemed unconcerned with all of this. “He’ll do.” Rayne felt the earth shift under his feet. His whole world seemed to be spinning out of control. What was going on? Hassan had been so loving a minute ago, but now he didn’t seem to care that Urik was ogling him. Rayne wrapped his arms around himself in a protective gesture. Hassan was acting like he had earlier. Rayne’s embarrassment quickly turned to annoyance when both men began to speak as if he wasn’t even there. Hassan didn’t even introduce him. “Have you heard anything?” Hassan asked. “No, not a word since you left.” Urik looked over to Rayne. “Does he know about—” Hassan nodded his head. “I told him all he needed to know.” “And?” Urik asked. “And what?” Hassan asked, his voice filled with annoyance. “Will he do it?” “He’ll do whatever I tell him to do.”

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Hassan’s reply made Rayne’s temper flare. He wasn’t a slave. “Is everything ready?” Hassan asked. Urik nodded his head in answer. “How do you think he’s going to handle it?” he asked, nodding at Rayne. “What do you think?” Both men looked at Rayne in surprise when he spoke up. “If you’re both going to talk about me like I’m not here, I might as well leave,” he said softly, his eyes narrowing. He turned away, not waiting for a reply. With stiff dignity, Rayne walked back to his camel and climbed on. He could still hear Hassan and Urik talking even as he walked away to stand by his camel, and he wanted to scream at them to shut the hell up. Both men stared after Rayne until Urik chuckled. “Fiery little thing, isn’t he?” “You have no idea.” **** Hassan and Rayne rode in silence. Rayne was hashing over what had happened up on the cliffs. Hassan had been rude to him. He had certainly been cold to him since Urik had shown up. Urik had definitely been rude. Rayne looked sideways to Hassan as they rode into the main path going to the keep. His face was a cold mask. He almost didn’t look like the man he had signed a contract with. Rayne didn’t know what was going on. When they were making love, Hassan was wonderful, loving and caring. Now, it seemed like he didn’t even like Rayne. And Rayne didn’t think he could go on this way for the next several years. Hassan was turning into the nightmare that was Varl. Some small part of Rayne was still hoping that Hassan would be different, but that hope was dying with each passing moment. He didn’t see much hope for the future. It was going to be like a slow death.

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“Hassan,” he said, his voice shaky and uncertain, “did I do something wrong?” Hassan glanced sideways to look at Rayne’s worried face. “No.” Rayne glanced down at his hands, twisting them nervously in his lap. He pondered his next words carefully. “Then why are you being so cold to me?” Hassan’s eyes widened in astonishment. “I didn’t know I was. I just have a lot of things on my mind.” Rayne looked at the expression on Hassan’s face. He seemed unaware of how he was acting. “Maybe I’m being paranoid,” he said, trying to put Hassan in a better mood. He looked back down at his hands again, then out at the surrounding area. Hassan smiled at Rayne. “You’re just nervous about meeting your new family. It’ll be okay.” Rayne looked over at Hassan’s smiling face. “Maybe you’re right.” He didn’t think so, but he really didn’t want to start anything on his first day in his new home. Hassan patted the space in front of him. “Come over here.” The way he was speaking, Rayne could almost believe he was being paranoid. Rayne leaned over and Hassan pulled him onto his camel, grabbing the reins of Rayne’s camel in his hand and tying them to his. He placed his arm around Rayne and pulled him closer. Leaning over he placed a kiss on his head. “Everything will be okay, mayht, you’ll see.” Hassan pulled the camel to a stop when they reached the large stone gateway. Rayne looked past his arm to the large stone keep beyond the wall. “Oh Hassan, it’s beautiful.” Hassan smiled at Rayne and pointed. “That’s our house, the big one in the center.” Rayne was awestruck. The building was huge, three or four stories tall. It looked like a cross between a palace and a rock cliff. It had a very large front door with small windows above it. Front steps and a

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stone landing circled around the front of the keep all the way to the side. The courtyard in front of the building was very large, with people coming and going. There were bushes planted along one wall. The wide variety of colors in the bushes astonished Rayne. There seemed to be almost every color in the rainbow. It was gorgeous. And this was the desert. How did that happen? By the time Rayne was done looking at the courtyard and the front of the house, he was leaning over Hassan’s lap. He looked excitedly back to Hassan. “Is the inside as beautiful as the outside?” Hassan chuckled at his enthusiasm. “The inside is also very nice, but it needs some work. With training and everything, we have let it go a bit. It needs a gentler touch than we have.” He pulled Rayne back to his chest. “Maybe you can do something about that.” Rayne stared at Hassan, speechless. He glanced back at the building. Hassan said that he would actually let him put some personal touches on it. He found that thought very satisfying. “You’d let me fix it up?” He looked at Hassan with a very hopeful look on his face. He had never been able to fix anything up before. Angela liked things her way, and her way was really tacky. Rayne had hated it, but Angela wouldn’t let him change anything. Rayne wasn’t even allowed to put things the way he wanted them in the kitchen, and he was the only one who had any contact with the cook. Rayne decided to see just how far Hassan would let him go. “Hassan,” he said with some hesitation, “who does the cooking?” Hassan frowned. He must have thought it was a strange question but decided to answer it anyway. “Well, several women in the pride take turns cooking.” Rayne glanced at Hassan to find he had the most sheepish grin on his face he had ever seen. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take over the cooking if I can arrange things the way I want them. I love cooking.”

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Hassan looked into Rayne’s eyes as he thought about it, his face blank. “I don’t know. You’ll have to get everyone’s permission for that.” Rayne felt his hope float away. “Come on, we have to go in. I can see Urik watching us from the steps.” Hassan climbed off his camel, reaching back to help Rayne down. Rayne looked nervously toward the house. “Hassan, do you think they will like me?” Hassan wrapped his arms around Rayne. “If you’re really nice to them, I’m sure they will like you. I think you should be more worried on whether or not I like you.” Rayne forgot the faces staring at them as he wrapped his arms around Hassan’s chest. “I know you like me.” At least, he hoped so. He raised his face up to receive Hassan’s kiss. He kissed Hassan, lingering, savoring every moment. Ending the kiss, Rayne opened his eyes to find Hassan watching him, the smoldering light in his eyes plain to see. “See? You do like me.” Hassan wrapped his arms tighter around Rayne as he hugged him close. His laugh was deep, warm, and rich. Releasing Rayne from his arms he grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the keep. “I just might like you yet. I just might.”

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Chapter 6 Hassan walked up the front steps to the house and opened the massive doors safeguarding the home within. Grabbing Rayne by the arm, Hassan escorted him into the entry hall of the great keep. He tried to imagine what Rayne saw when he looked around the entry hall with vivid curiosity. Would he see the cobwebs in the corners or fading colors in the tapestries that hung on the walls? Or would he see that the house was well lived-in and loved by all of them, even if they didn’t have time to keep it in perfect shape? “This is the great room,” Hassan said as he led Rayne to the room straight in front of them. The room had a lot of potential, but the furniture needed a lot of help. It was old and raggedy looking. At one time it had been beautiful, but it had all seen a lot of wear and tear. Hassan took Rayne’s hand and led him across the great hall to a short hallway on the east side and the closed doors at the end of the hallway. “This is the war room. You are never to go in here unless told to by me. Do you understand?” Rayne frowned but nodded his head. Hassan reached for his hand again and pulled him back into the great room. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the house later. Right now you need to meet my family.” Hassan led Rayne through the hallway and down the stairs to the kitchen. Hassan saw the questionable look on Rayne’s face and looked around, seeing the kitchen through his eyes. “I know it’s not much to look at, but someone did clean it up. I’m sure you can do something with it.”

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Rayne looked around the room, his gaze coming to rest on Hassan’s uncomfortable face. Reaching up to lightly stroke his face he said, “It looks very clean. Someone did a real good job. I am sure that I can fix it up real nice.” “I’m sure you can,” Hassan drawled with distinct mockery. He turned and walked back up the stairs, not waiting to see if Rayne followed him. Turning around at the top of the stairs, Hassan stopped to stand between the entrance to the fourth floor and Rayne. Rayne looked up into Hassan’s face when he bumped into him. “What?” Hassan gazed into Rayne’s eyes for several moments before shaking his head. “It’s nothing. Never mind.” Hassan started to turn around when Rayne’s hand on his arm stopped him. “Hassan? What is it? What’s wrong?” Hassan turned back to Rayne, seeing the concerned look on his face. He grabbed Rayne by the arms and kissed him, his lips taking Rayne’s with a savage intensity. Finally, several moments later, Hassan raised his head from Rayne’s and stared deeply into his eyes, his mind clouded with uneasiness. There were so many things he wanted to say to Rayne. He just couldn’t seem to make them pass his lips. Maybe it didn’t matter. Rayne was a brüter. He expected to sign a contract with someone. He didn’t understand what being a mate really was. Maybe he never would. Unable to put into words what he was feeling, and a little afraid to, Hassan released Rayne and walked into the room before them. He said hello to his brother and his mate, then nodded toward Anjali’s brother and Malachi, one of his brother’s soldiers, before going to stand before the fireplace. When he turned, Rayne was just walking into the room. Upon his approach, the men at the table all stood and faced him. Hassan stayed still, watching his mate greet his family.

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“Hello,” Rayne said as he walked over to stand beside Hassan, grabbing ahold of his shirt. Hassan reached down and pulled Rayne’s trembling fingers off his shirt. “Rayne, this is my family. You’ve met Urik.” Urik stepped forward to take Rayne’s hand in his. “I would like to apologize for my earlier rudeness. It was uncalled for, and I am very sorry.” Rayne just smiled at him. “Beside Urik is Yasir, my brother’s assistant.” Rayne smiled again and nodded. “This is Marika. He is the brother of Bogden’s mate.” Marika stepped forward to shake Rayne’s hand. “Hello,” was all he said. Hassan could see the concern on Rayne’s face as he looked at him. Hassan leaned down to whisper into Rayne’s ear. “Don’t worry about him. He doesn’t talk much.” Rayne looked back at Marika and smiled his brightest smile. Hassan inhaled sharply when a smile began to form on Marika’s face. “Please call me Mika. I prefer it. Only Bogden calls me Marika.” Rayne patted Mika on the shoulder. “Okay, Mika it is.” Looking to who was next, Hassan found everyone staring at Mika in bewilderment. “Huh, this is Malachi,” Hassan said as he tried to get everyone back on track. Malachi stepped forward. “Hello.” He nodded at Rayne. “Hello, Malachi, how are you?” “I’m fine, thank you. It’s nice to meet you.” Hassan glanced up when everyone suddenly got quiet. He could feel Rayne stiffen beside him. The men parted and Bogden walked slowly toward Rayne. Stopping in front of him, Bogden glanced from Rayne’s head to his toes and back up again. Rayne took a step toward Hassan. “Rayne, this is my brother, Shaikh Bogden Dhal Wuher Al’Abdalha.”

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Rayne’s smile wobbled. “Hello.” Hassan’s jaw dropped in shock when his brother reached down and grabbed a hold of Rayne’s hips, measuring them with his hands. Rayne tried to disengage his hands, but Bogden was too strong. “Hassan!” Rayne exclaimed as he struggled to get away. Hassan gritted his teeth as he just stood there. Everything in him shouted for him to rip his brother limp from limb, but the man was his shaikh. To strike out at his shaikh, brother or not, was a death sentence. Rayne looked to Hassan in confusion. “Hassan!” he cried again in desperation, pushing at the Bogden’s hands. Bogden suddenly released Rayne as quickly as he had grabbed him. He nodded as he started to walk away. “He’ll do, brother. He’ll give you plenty of sons. Just make sure you feed him a lot of meat and fuck him often. It’s the only way to ensure that you have plenty of children.” “Yes, Bogden,” Hassan growled as he grabbed Rayne and pulled him back. Bogden nodded his head as if he was satisfied. “Now tell me about your trip.” Hassan escorted Rayne to one of the chairs by the table then sat down beside him. He began talking to his family about his recent trip to the capitol. At one point, Hassan glanced at the food piled on the table. “Is any of this edible, Urik?” “Oh sure, we had a woman from the village make it for us.” “Good, we wouldn’t want Rayne to leave us on his first day here.” Urik and Hassan started talking about foods they wanted to have Rayne cook for them and laughing about remembered cooking disasters. He frowned when he saw Rayne get up from the table until he watched him walk across the room to kneel on the floor in front of Hassy. Hassan smiled. He wanted to run to his son and hug him after

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not seeing him for so long, but he was more curious to see how Rayne reacted to the boy. He leaned forward and listened to them. “Hi, my name’s Rayne. What’s yours?” Hassy smiled up at Rayne and lifted his wooden sword for his appraisal. “Sord,” he said in a small voice. Rayne smiled again at him. “Sword. It’s a sword. Can you say SW-O-R-D?” Hassy looked at Rayne, his head cocked to one side. “Sword,” he said, looking at Rayne for approval. “That’s right, sword.” Rayne’s voice was soft as he spoke to Hassy. “My name is Rayne. Can you say Rayne?” Hassy gave Rayne his wooden sword, a small chuckle coming from his mouth. “Dada, sword,” he said. Deciding that he had said something profound, he began clapping his hands. “Dada sword!” he yelled louder. Hassan got up and walking over to Rayne and Hassy. Upon hearing him approach, Hassy looked up to see who it was. Joy instantly came across his face as he jumped to his feet and wobbled over to Hassan. “Papa, papa.” His excitement was evident to everyone around. Hassan leaned down and swung the little boy into his arms. “Hello, Hassy, how’s my boy today?” He hugged the child close to him. Hassy placed his chubby little hands on either side of Hassan’s face. “Hassy miss papa. You no go.” His voice was very serious for someone so small. Hassan tried to look very serious in the face of his son’s pensive look. “I promise that papa won’t go anywhere for a long, long time. Okay, little man?” Hassy smiled his okay and then moved on to other things as if the conversation had never happened. “Papa bring Hassy someting?” he asked eagerly.

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Hassan nodded his head as he began to walk over to Rayne. “Yes, I did, but first I want you to meet someone.” Hassan knelt down next to Rayne and sat Hassan on the ground next to him. “This is Rayne. He’s going to live with us now.” Little Hassan looked at Rayne for minute, a thoughtful expression on his face as if he was trying to work some problem out in his mind. He looked back at Hassan. “Papa bring Hassy someting?” “Yes, Papa did bring you something. But first, I want you to meet Rayne.” Hassy threw his arms around Rayne’s neck. “No Rayne, dada. Papa get Hassy a dada.” Rayne and Hassan both stared at Hassy in surprise. Then Rayne chuckled. “Yes, Hassy, Papa brought you a dada.” Hassan searched Rayne’s face, trying to read his thoughts. Was it really that easy to get the two most important people in his life to accept each other? Hassan could only pray it was. “Hassy, this is your new dada.” Hassy leaned over and wrapped one of his arms around Hassan, the other one still around Rayne. “Papa and dada. Hassy happy now.” Hassan placed his free arm around Rayne as he stood up, Hassy in his other arm. “Papa’s happy too, Hassy.” Hassan reached over and gave Rayne a small kiss. He broke the kiss and jerked back when he felt a small hand pat his cheek. “Hassy kiss, Hassy kiss.” Rayne leaned over and kissed Hassy on the cheek. “Papa kiss Hassy.” Hassan laughed as he leaned over and kissed Hassy on the cheek. Hassy began to squirm until Hassan let him down. As soon as his feet hit the ground he was running toward Urik and Bogden. “Hassy got dada,” he yelled as he ran. Hassan watched Hassy run across the room to his uncles. “It seems that I owe you a thank-you. Maybe you should just start keeping a tally.”

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Rayne smiled. “He’s a wonderful little boy. Do you think he will mind having a new father?” “No. He never knew his real mother. She died giving birth to him.” Hassan grimaced at the memory then walked back across the room. He came to stop in front of the group of guys patiently listening to Hassy talk about his new dada. He glanced up when he saw a soldier walk hastily into the room and over to Bogden. The man leaned down and whispered something into his ear, nodded, and rushed out of the room. Bogden stood and slammed his hand down on the table. There was dead silence for several moments. Then suddenly everyone started asking what had happened. “One of our caravans was attacked down by the eastern border. It looks like the Dudgeon Pride. The caravan was burned and all our people slaughtered. It was Fegus’s caravan. He was killed, too.” Mika stood up and asked in quiet voice, “And his wife and children?” Bogden’s eyes glowed red as he answered. “His wife was killed, after she was raped and beaten. Whoever did this made Fegus watch as they violated and killed her. The children saw it all happen from their hiding place in sands. Little Ramose brought them here with him to report the killings.” **** Rayne felt ill. He watched the men discuss the situation for several more minutes then started wandering around. He found several more rooms but the doors were closed and Rayne didn’t feel comfortable enough to open them without permission. Finally, he found himself on the balcony. Rayne was amazed at the view. He could see for what seemed like miles. Pridehome was situated in the middle of a great desert, surrounded on all sides by sand except one. The village itself was built into a cliff face.

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Even though he couldn’t see them, Rayne knew that there were sentries surrounding the village. Still, it was a beautiful and peaceful place. There was an abundant green covering the village that drew away from the harshness of the barren desert. Rayne eventually walked back to the room only to find it empty except for Hassy, Mika, and Malachi. Malachi told Rayne that Hassan, Bogden, and Urik had left for the site of the attack. Since it was just to be them for mealtime everyone sat down and begun eating. Hassy decided that he had to sit next to Rayne. Every time Rayne got up for whatever reason, Hassy was right there with him. He wasn’t going to let Rayne out of his sight. By the time everyone was done eating, Rayne was exhausted. It had been a really long day for him. Rayne waited for a servant to come gather up the mealtime dishes but no one came. Malachi and Mika finished up their food and walked over to the fireplace to sit and have an after-dinner drink, leaving the dishes sitting where they were on the table. Rayne glanced down at Hassy, who just looked up and smiled. Leaning down, he whispered, “Will the servants come and take the dishes away?” Little Hassy looked at Rayne in confusion. “Servants? Papa don’t have servants.” Rayne’s jaw dropped open. “Then who does the cleaning?” Hassy smiled up at Rayne as if he had just figured out the problems of the universe. “You do, dada.” Rayne smiled at Hassy through clenched teeth. “Well, then, I guess I had better get busy then.” Rayne stood up and began gathering the evening dishes. Finding a large tray on one of the sideboards, he laid the dirty dishes on the tray and carried them downstairs to the kitchen. Finding a large bucket, he drew water from the well and heated it up over the fire that someone had started in the fire pit. Once heated, Rayne used the water to wash up the dishes. Rayne decided to use the

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remaining hot water to scrub down several of the tables and cupboards. He rearranged several odd pieces of furniture around the room and scrubbed down the wine rack. By the time he was done, the kitchen was gleaming and Rayne was not. After cleaning the kitchen, Rayne went looking for Hassan, or anyone else that could tell him where he was supposed to sleep that night. Hassy was asleep in his own room, a nanny present right next door to him. Rayne watched him sleeping for several moments from the doorway to his room before smiling at the nanny and moving on down the hallway. The family room was empty except for Bogden. Rayne didn’t really want to talk to him, but as tired as he was, asking the shaikh where he could sleep seemed like a small price to pay. “Bogden,” he began quietly, only to be interrupted by a cold, contemptuous voice. “That’s Shaikh Bogden Dhal Wuher Al’Abdalha to you, brüter,” he replied, his curt voice lashing out at Rayne. Rayne looked at him in surprise. “Very well, Shaikh Al’Abdalha,” he said, his voice bridled with the beginnings of anger. “Could you tell me where I am to sleep?” Bogden took a drink of his ale and shrugged his shoulders. “How am I supposed to know?” And then he started mumbling to himself quietly as he warmed himself in front of the fire. Rayne glanced around the room, his tired eyes aching from lack of sleep. He looked back at Bogden again. “Can you at least tell me where Hassan is?” Bogden shrugged his shoulders under the robes he was wearing. “He’s doing man’s work and doesn’t need you hanging on his coattails.” Rayne’s anger flared even more. This time he could not control himself. “Do you know anything at all?” Bogden’s chin rose just a bit as he looked up at Rayne, his lips thinned with anger. “You dare to speak to me in such a manner? I am shaikh here.”

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Rayne took several steps back as the man stood to his feet. Rolling his shoulders back and standing to his full height, Bogden was huge. “You are nothing but a brood mare to sate my brother’s appetite and give him sons. He signed a contract with you for one simple reason, to carry on our family name, nothing more. Don’t you ever forget that.” Rayne felt suddenly weak and vulnerable in the face of Bogden’s anger, mostly because he knew Bogden was right. He was nothing but a brood mare to Hassan. Rayne raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Look, Shaikh Al’Abdalha, I don’t want to argue with you.” “Argue with me? Are you mad, boy? I would never lower myself to argue with a mere brüter. That would be a dishonor to my name.” He looked at Rayne with a sardonic expression that sent Rayne’s temper soaring once again. “A dishonor? Your only dishonor is the way that you are speaking to me. I am your brother’s mate.” Rayne threw the words at Bogden like stones. Bogden’s voice was cold and exact as he responded to Rayne’s words. “Mate? My brother had a mate. You will never be a mate like she was. He married her because he wanted to. He signed a contract with you because he had to, not because he wanted to. At least she proved that she had worth. You haven’t even done that.” “I’ve been mated less than a week.” Rayne’s voice rose an octave as he cried out. “How can you possible expect me to get with child in so little time?” Bogden shrugged his shoulders. “It’s going be pretty hard to get with child if you don’t spend more time with your mate.” “How am I supposed to spend more time with my mate if you don’t tell me where he is?” Rayne’s disbelief showed in the tone in his voice. There was a cold edge of irony in Bogden’s voice as he replied. “Now, that would be your problem, wouldn’t it?” Rayne’s anguish peaked to shatter the last shreds of his control. His eyes blurred with unshed tears. He spoke in a broken whisper.

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“Shaikh Al’Abdalha, you are a cold, bitter man. With a brother like you, no wonder Hassan turned out like he did.” Rayne’s words were barely out of his mouth before he was abruptly caught by the elbow and firmly escorted out of the room by a furiously angry Hassan. He pulled Rayne into a room just down the hallway from Hassy’s room. Hassan thrust Rayne inside, slamming the door closed behind him. Rayne stood motionless in the middle of the room, his fear almost a tangible thing. Hassan reached out, swinging him around. His tone was relatively civil despite his anger. “I don’t ever want to hear you speak to my brother like that again.” His eyes glazed with rage. Rayne’s mouth opened in dismay. “Hassan, you don’t—” Hassan shook Rayne by the arms until his teeth rattled. “Ever! Do you understand me?” Rayne closed his eyes, feeling utterly miserable and alone. “You have dishonored me with your behavior. You will apologize to my brother.” Hassan spoke so viciously that Rayne wondered how he could have ever thought him kind. Opening his eyes, Rayne swallowed hard, lifted his chin, and boldly met Hassan’s gaze. “No.” “Then you will stay in this room until you do.” Hassan’s voice was quiet yet held an undertone of cold contempt. He thrust Rayne from him and turned on his heel, striding from the room and locking the door behind him. Rayne stood in the middle of the room listening to his footsteps thundering down the hallway before nearly collapsing onto the bed as his knees buckled beneath him. He closed his eyes, his heart aching with pain. Curling himself into a ball, Rayne pulled the covers over his head and cried himself to sleep.

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Chapter 7 Opening his eyes the next morning, Rayne sat up and looked around the room he’d been left in. With an odd twinge of disappointment he realized that there was no one in the room with him. He was all alone, still. Someone had obviously been in the room at some point during the night. His bags were sitting by the door. Rayne climbed out of the bed and went to his bags, rummaging around for a clean outfit. After getting dressed, Rayne started to become aware of his surroundings. He was in a large bedchamber. From the sparse furnishings around the room, Rayne surmised that it was a man’s room. There was a bed against one wall, a stone fireplace on the other. There were four doors leading out of the room besides the one leading to the hallway. They were all closed. At first, Rayne didn’t feel right about opening them, as he didn’t know whose room he was in. But, after sitting around for several hours, his curiosity got the better of him. Opening the first door, he found a dressing chamber. Several pairs of breeches were piled in a corner followed by another pile of shirts. It slowly began to dawn on Rayne that these were Hassan’s chambers. The next door Rayne opened lead to the balcony. The view from here was much the same as the one he had seen from the balcony off the family hall. The next door led to an empty room. There was no furniture, no tapestries, and no paintings. Just dust. Rayne’s curiosity at the room ran rampant until it dawned on him that it was a study of some sort. It obviously hadn’t been used in some time. Opening the last door, he found a small room. This had to be Hassan’s private study. Rayne stood in the doorway looking inside for

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several moments before closing the door and heading back to the empty study. Standing in the middle of the study, Rayne, his hands on his hips, staked his claim. This was going to be his room, someplace where he could feel warm and sheltered. Hassan could have the whole rest of the place to do with what he wanted. But this room was going to be his. The first thing he needed to do was clean it. In the bedchamber, Rayne pinned his hair up and started to work. Heating up the water that was left to wash with, Rayne started scrubbing the study. It took a while, but by the time he was done, the walls were free of cobwebs, the windows were sparkling, and the hardwood floor shined. It was a beautiful room. It would be perfect, especially once he got some furniture in it. Going back into the main bedchamber, Rayne grabbed his bags and carried them into the study. He pulled out several items before coming across what he was looking for. Holding his precious treasure in his hands, Rayne sighed deeply. His longing almost brought his eyes to tears. He walked over and placed the small painting of his parents on the windowsill. Hopefully, later, he would be able to get some of the things his father had left him. Until then, he would just have to make do with this small painting of his parents. Having cleaned the room, and finding nothing else to do, Rayne crept to the door and peered out. Luckily, Hassan hadn’t locked this door when he left. He could see no one about. Slipping out of the room, he quietly closed the door behind him and crept down the hallway toward the family hall. Rayne was glad to find the family hall empty also. Listening for noise from down below, Rayne slowly crept down the stairs. Reaching the main floor, he slowly slipped past the open door to the war room and farther down the stairs to the kitchen. Reaching the kitchen Rayne peered around the corner, making sure the room was empty. It was. Rayne walked into the kitchen and

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searched around for something to eat. There didn’t seem to be much. Finally, he found a block of cheese, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of wine. Rayne grabbed it all and shoved it into a small leather bag he found sitting on one of the cupboard shelves. Satisfied that this would feed him, he started back up the stairs. Again, reaching the main floor, he slipped past the war room door and further up the stairs to the family hall. Assuring himself that the family room was empty, he raced across the room and down the hallway to the bedchamber, not breathing a sigh of relief until he was safely inside with the door shut. Rayne leaned up against the door, taking several deep breaths before heading toward the study. He was just opening the door when Hassan walked out of his study. “Disobeying a direct order from the shaikh’s second-in-command is a hanging offense around these parts, you know.” His head gestured toward the food that Rayne held safely against his chest. Rayne felt the resentment and anger of the night before rise up in his throat. “So is starving your mate.” A wry grin passed over Hassan’s lips before he reached for the food that Rayne held protectively in his arms. Rayne took a step back, holding his precious cargo away from Hassan’s outstretched hands. Hassan slowly let one of his hands drop to his sides. “The same could be said about starving me.” He turned his other hand over, the palm turned up, waiting. Rayne stared at the upturned hand for several seconds as if it were a snake ready to bite him. Looking up, Rayne found Hassan’s dark eyes staring into his, the message written in them unclear. He looked away hastily then moved restlessly from one foot to the other. Nervously, he bit his lip as he tried to understand what Hassan wanted from him. Half in anticipation, half in dread, Rayne raised his eyes to meet Hassan’s golden ones once again. He was unnerved by this sudden

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change in Hassan. When he tried to speak, his voice wavered. “What do you want from me?” Hassan shook his head as if genuinely concerned. “Nothing that you can’t give me, mayht.” Rayne slowly laid his stolen bounty in Hassan’s outstretched hand. Hassan dropped the bag of food to the floor and walked forward to stand in front of Rayne. He reached out and cupped Rayne’s chin in his hand, searching his upturned face. “That’s not what I want from you right now, Rayne.” There was a sensual lilt to his voice. Rayne watched Hassan’s eyes turn a dark liquid gold as one of his fingers lightly rubbed across his trembling lips. When he spoke again, his voice was tender, almost a murmur. “I want something only my mate can give me.” “Hassan—” Rayne said, his voice a broken whisper. He felt Hassan’s passion-filled eyes roam over him, followed by his hands. Lightly, Hassan fingered a loose tendril of his hair before curling the hair caught on his hand. Hassan’s free hand moved to Rayne’s neck. His steady gaze bore into Rayne’s in silent expectation then dropped from his eyes to his shoulders to his chest. His stare was bold and assessed Rayne frankly as it slowly and seductively slid downwards. As his gaze slid back to Rayne’s, Hassan seemed to be asking him a question. Something intense was flaring through his disturbing gaze. Rayne tried to throttle the dizzying current racing through his body. He tried to remember why he was angry with Hassan, but the thought was as elusive as his anger. He was powerless to resist him. Hassan reached up and held Rayne’s chin in his hand, the other one still wound in his hair. He pulled Rayne roughly, almost violently, to him. His mouth covered Rayne’s hungrily, his lips hard and searching. Suddenly, Rayne was lifted into the cradle of Hassan’s arms. His trembling limbs clung to Hassan as he laid him down on the large

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bed. Hassan showered kisses around Rayne’s lips and along his jaw before moving down to his throat. Rayne was shocked at his own eager response to the touch of Hassan’s lips. His nearness made Rayne’s senses spin. His hand moved under his shirt to skim his hips and thighs. With the other hand, he unbuttoned his pants, his fingers icy but the palm fiery hot. Hassan grasped the neckline of Rayne’s shirt and pulled down, ripping the material from neckline to waist. His eyes raked boldly over the skin he had just exposed to his hungry gaze. Rayne tingled as Hassan whispered his name. He moved toward him, impelled involuntarily by his own passion. Hassan’s hands moved to caress Rayne’s smooth chest, his nipples firming instantly under his touch. Rayne buried his hands in Hassan’s blond, silky hair as the man’s hands began caressing his soft flesh. Rayne felt the cool brush of Hassan’s fingers on his skin as his body was slowly, worshipfully uncovered. When his body lay bare to Hassan’s insatiable gaze, Hassan took his hands, encouraging them to explore his own heated body. Rayne ran his hands down Hassan’s neck to be met by the collar of his shirt. He tugged at his shirtsleeves impatiently. “Hassan…” he murmured quietly, “your clothes. Take them off.” Rayne felt Hassan’s whole body shudder as he jumped off the bed to disrobe. Rayne watched from his position on the bed as Hassan pulled his shirt over his head and pushed his boots off his feet. When he reached for the tie on his pants, Rayne’s embarrassment got the better of him. He didn’t turn back to face Hassan until his naked body pressed down on his. He gasped as bare chest met bare chest, Hassan’s body partially covering his. He could feel the heat of Hassan’s body course down the entire length of his, and his whole being flooded with desire. Hassan’s touch upon his skin was divine ecstasy.

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Together, they took the time to explore, to arouse, and to give each other pleasure. Rayne was drawn to a height of passion by each touch of Hassan’s hands, his mouth, and his body until his body exploded with sensation that overwhelmed his senses. Rayne lay on the soft bed, the weight of Hassan’s body pressing him into the feather mattress. His head was buried in Rayne’s neck, his hands resting on each side of his head. Rayne had one hand resting on Hassan’s muscled back. With the other one, he brushed a strand of Hassan’s sweaty hair back from his closed eyes. His hand trembled slightly as he moved it further down Hassan’s cheek to his jawline. Rayne almost jumped when Hassan’s hand came down over his, gently squeezing. His fingers were cool and smooth as they touched him. His lips planted a soft kiss in the hollow of Rayne’s neck before he rolled their bodies over with Rayne coming to rest on Hassan’s side. Hassan reached down and pulled the covers up over their tired, naked bodies before pulling Rayne more snugly against him. He felt Hassan’s lips brush his brow seconds before Hassan faded into a satisfied sleep. Rayne lay in Hassan’s arms, not moving for several hours as his mind burned with the memory of their lovemaking, recalling the smoldering passion that had thrilled him. He was astonished at the sense of fulfillment he felt at Hassan’s touch. It shouldn’t be that way, not after last night. This thought made Rayne’s heart and mind fill with fear. Then an even more terrifying realization washed over him. Each time that Hassan made love to him, he would be merely filling a moment of physical desire. Rayne, on the other hand, would be allowing Hassan to tear apart his soul. Suddenly all pleasure left Rayne. Pain squeezed his heart as he thought of the man sleeping peacefully at his side. Panic like he had never known before welled in his throat as Rayne realized that the

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issue was no longer if he could love a man like Hassan but whether he could keep his love from Hassan. It would give Hassan too much power over him to know that Rayne had feelings for him. He already had control over Rayne’s body. Hassan could destroy him if he ever realized that he controlled Rayne’s heart as well. Rayne was finally exhausted, his whole body engulfed in tides of weariness. Threading his fingers through the light touch of curly golden hair on Hassan’s chest, Rayne closed his eyes and drifted off into an uneasy sleep, his dreams filled with thoughts of Hassan. Rayne woke some time later in the night to the feel of Hassan making love to him again. Knowing that it could eventually destroy his last shred of sanity, Rayne welcomed Hassan into his body just as he welcomed the man into his heart. **** Rayne opened his eyes, squinting at the light shining through Hassan’s study door. Leaning up on his arms, Rayne glanced around the room. There was no one about, but from the tub of hot water steaming by the fireplace, Rayne knew that there had been. Rolling over to smother his face in Hassan’s pillow, Rayne knew he had not been gone long. The pillow was still warm, and it smelled of him. Rayne inhaled deeply, loving the strong, musky scent of Hassan. Smiling, he scooted to the edge of the bed and crawled out, heading for the tub of hot water with glee. Climbing into the tub, Rayne’s senses relished the feel of the clean, hot water running over his soft skin. It felt so good. Rayne felt like he hadn’t washed in months. Using the washcloth and soap that had been set beside the large wooden tub, Rayne scrubbed his body from head to toe then washed

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his hair. Finally, when the water was getting cold, Rayne grabbed a towel and climbed out. He was clean. And he felt wonderful. Rayne dried his body off and dressed in clean, fresh clothes. After rubbing the towel over his hair several times until it was only slightly damp, Rayne grabbed his comb from his bags and combed out his hair, then tied it in a braid. Looking around the room, Rayne realized that he had made a mess. Cleaning it up would at least give him something to do while he waited for Hassan. He straightened up the bedchamber, hung the towels out to dry, and dumped the dirty water out the window. Finding nothing else to do, Rayne sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Hassan to come back. He wanted to leave the room, he desperately wanted to. But, after the caring way that Hassan had held him last night and the discovery that he cared about Hassan more than he really wanted to, Rayne was determined to continue their relationship on a better footing than it had begun on. Rayne had vowed to obey him when he signed the contract with him, and already he had broken that vow. It was time for him to start fulfilling the vows he had taken when he mated Hassan. Rayne felt a warm glow flow through him. This would turn out okay. Hassan would see what a dutiful mate he could be and learn to care about him. Rayne’s mood seemed suddenly buoyant. He felt elated by his new objectivity. It lasted until Hassan walked into the room and all of Rayne’s insecurities of the night before returned in force. Hearing Hassan open the door, Rayne sat up in the bed from where he had been trying to take a nap. Hassan strode in and walked to his study, not even acknowledging that Rayne was in the room. Rayne could hear him rummaging around in his desk. Getting off the bed, Rayne walked to the doorway of the study and peered inside. Hassan was sitting at his desk, reading over some papers that he had in his hands. He didn’t really want to disturb Hassan, but his stomach was growling in hunger.

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Cautiously, Rayne stepped into the room. “Hassan.” His head didn’t even rise from the papers he was reading. “What do you want, Rayne?” He was irritated, Rayne could tell by the tone of his voice. “I’m hungry.” Hassan didn’t answer him. Rayne waited several moments before speaking again. “Hassan, I’m hungry.” He didn’t answer. “Hassan,” Rayne said again. This time, Hassan laid his papers down on his desk, folded his hands in front of him, and looked Rayne straight in the face. “What do you want, Rayne? Can’t you see that I’m busy?” Rayne twisted his hands together in the folds of his shirt. “I’m hungry.” There was a critical tone in his voice as he answered. “Then eat.” Rayne’s voice was heavy with frustration as he replied. “I can’t. You told me not to leave the room.” A shadow of aggravation crossed Hassan’s face. “Well, that didn’t seem to stop you yesterday.” Rayne shrugged his shoulders, his remorse at his defiance eating at him. “I know and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it.” Hassan stared at Rayne, complete surprise on his face. “You shouldn’t have been disrespectful to my brother in the first place.” Rayne swallowed the sharp retort that came to his lips. He tried to remember that he was going to be a dutiful mate—no matter how much it grated on him. “You’re right, of course. It was wrong of me to say what I did.” Hassan nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, it was, but as you seem to be truly repentant, I guess I will let it pass this time.” There was a snap in his voice as he continued, “But don’t ever let me hear you speak to my brother like that again. Do you understand?” Rayne was too surprised to do more than nod. “Well, good.” Hassan turned his attention back to the papers he was reading. “You may go.”

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Rayne hesitated, torn by conflicting emotions. “Hassan—” His voice broke off in midsentence as Hassan’s curt voice interrupted him. “Go, Rayne, before I change my mind.” Rayne turned and ran from the room, not stopping until he got to the bottom of the stairs. Reaching the kitchen, Rayne came to a stop, his back resting on the cold stone wall. As irritated as Hassan seemed to have been, Rayne was still amazed at the thrill Hassan gave him. With a small smile on his face, he went about finding something to eat. After cooking up a small meal, Rayne carried the food back upstairs to the bedchamber. Setting the food on a small table by the door, he could hear Hassan still working in the study. He prepared a small plate and a mug of ale, which he took into the study and laid on a table by Hassan’s desk. Without saying a word to Hassan, he turned and walked back out of the room. Grabbing his food, Rayne went to sit out on the balcony overlooking the beautiful desert below. Rayne was halfway through the small apple he had found when he felt a presence behind him. Turning to see who was standing behind him, Rayne found the one person his thoughts had been centered on. “Mind if I join you?” Hassan asked with an irresistibly devastating grin. Rayne’s smile was eager and alive with affection and delight. “Please. I would enjoy the company,” he replied, indicating the space next to him. Hassan wedged himself into the seat next to Rayne and started eating the food he had prepared for him. Neither of them said anything for a while, both contemplating their own thoughts. Finishing the last of his food, Rayne leaned back in his chair, relaxing and soaking up the sunlight. It was nice to just sit with Hassan, not arguing or making love, as much as he seemed to enjoy the last. His contentment full, Rayne started to fall into a light slumber.

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The silence was broken by Hassan’s quiet words. “I never did show you around the place. Would you like to see it?” Rayne sat up and smiled over at Hassan. “I would love to.” Hassan stood to his feet and held out his hand. Rayne’s heart sang with delight as he jumped to his feet and grabbed Hassan’s outstretched hand. Yes, things were going to be just fine. Hassan walked Rayne to a long hallway on the other side of the family hall. Looking around, Rayne saw a door on either side of the hallway and one at the end. This time, Hassan showed him all the rooms. Bogden and Anjali had the eastern wing of the floor. All the others shared a wing to the south. Hassy was in the nursery located in the west part of the floor, which was right down the hallway from Hassan’s bedchamber. There was also a library and several balconies located on this floor. On this floor, Hassan also showed Rayne the armory, storage, and infirmary. The armory seemed to be the only room in the whole place that had been kept clean and in reasonable condition. The infirmary consisted of several cots and a few empty cupboards and nothing else. Rayne made another mental note to have the room aired and fresh linen brought in. He also needed to get some herbs together and dried out in case anyone came down with an illness. Even though he hated the job, the need to have a clean, wellstocked infirmary was very important, especially when his mate was a warrior. When Hassan didn’t show Rayne the fifth floor, he asked about it. Hassan told him that it was where the warriors resided and he need never go up there. It was another one of Hassan’s “rules.” But, considering that it housed several single men, Rayne didn’t think it would be too hard for him to stay off that floor. Finally, Hassan showed Rayne the rest of the main floor. After seeing the great room, there wasn’t really much else to see. There

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were a couple of storage rooms, a wood room, a food-warming room, and a library. Hassan told Rayne that the library, as well as the study off the bedchamber, would be his now, and he could do with it what he wanted. Rayne was elated. Not only was Hassan going to let him have the study off their bedchamber but he was going to let him have this room, too. Maybe he really did want him here. Hassan spent the rest of the day with Rayne. He even helped him fix dinner. For Rayne, it was a day of pure enjoyment. Hassan was attentive and tender and affectionate. Rayne felt sure that his previous irritation was just a matter of circumstance. He had obviously been agitated by the loss of the caravan. Now that the matter was under control, he was the same caring and loving man that Rayne had mated. Rayne knew that their future was going to be a good one. After cleaning up the dinner dishes and straightening the great hall as best as he could, Rayne sat down on the old wooden log bed in their bedchamber and looked at Hassan in bewilderment. “How did your mother clean all of this? It’s huge.” Hassan chuckled as he leaned down to take his boots off. “She had help. My Aunt Jolene lived here with us.” Rayne began to pull his shirt over his head. “And where is she now?” Hassan stopped what he was doing, a sad look coming to his face. “Jolene was killed in a riding accident a couple of years before Margaret died. There have been no others here since then except me, my brothers, and my father, and he died several months ago. Anjali, Bogden’s mate, has only been here a couple of months and he’s been busy with their son.” Well, that would explain why the keep was in such disorder. Rayne dropped his shirt on the floor and walked over to Hassan, laying his hands on the man’s chest. “I’m sorry, Hassan. I didn’t know.” “I know you didn’t. It was a long time ago.”

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Hassan suddenly swept Rayne, weightless, into his arms and carried him to the bed. Gently, he eased Rayne down onto the bed. He began kissing him as he pulled his pants down. When he was naked and trembling in anticipation, Hassan stood up and began to undress himself. Rayne watched from his reclined position on the bed. He was filled with a strange inner excitement that he didn’t know was possible to feel. The glimpse of Hassan’s strong golden body made his heart beat more rapidly. Rayne swallowed tightly as Hassan dropped down next to him. He moved toward Hassan, compelled by his own passion. He could feel Hassan’s uneven breathing on his cheek as he held him close. His lips brushed his nipples, making him inhale sharply at the contact. Hassan really had a thing for his nipples. Quickly, Rayne slid out from under Hassan, pushing him down onto the bed. Climbing over him, Rayne sat down, feeling the man’s hard cock press against him. He wanted to be in control this time. Rayne laid his hands on Hassan’s chest and began to caress him. Leaning down, he let his lips brush over the same trail his hands had just blazed. Hassan began to slip his hands up Rayne’s arms, ever so slowly, bringing them down to cover his chest. He let his fingers roam over Rayne’s nipples, causing him to arch his body as he moaned. Rayne figured turnabout was fair play and took Hassan’s nipple into his mouth, lavishing it with his tongue. Hassan’s loud groan of pleasure told Rayne he had done the right thing. Moving his tongue down farther, Rayne took Hassan’s cock into his mouth. Hassan nearly came off the bed at the unexpected contact. “Oh Rayne, mayht…” he whispered, exciting Rayne with the way he said his name. Hassan pulled Rayne roughly, almost violently, to him. “Mayht, when you do that, oh gods!” Hassan’s groan was a heady invitation Rayne couldn’t ignore.

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“Can I go for a ride?” he asked playfully, glancing at Hassan. The smoldering look in Hassan’s eyes made Rayne tremble even more than he was. Hassan took his hand and guided it to his cock, showing him how to sit down for a really good ride. Rayne sat down, Hassan’s pulsating cock filling every inch of his ass. There didn’t seem to be a place inside of him that Hassan wasn’t touching. He filled him up completely. Rayne placed his hands on Hassan’s chest, lightly flicking his nipples as he began to move up and down on the man’s thick cock. “Rayne,” Hassan said as he looked up into his eyes. “Take your hair down. I’ve never seen you without your hair in a braid.” Rayne, wanting to please Hassan, reached up and grabbed his long braid. Pulling it around in front of him, he began to unbraid it. Hassan placed his hands on Rayne’s hips, watching him as he undid his hair. Every few seconds he would push himself up into Rayne and then slowly withdraw only to push himself back into him again. Rayne finished unbraiding his hair and ran his fingers through the soft curls, spreading his hair out over his body. Looking down at Hassan, Rayne found him watching him with awe in his eyes. “What?” Hassan reached up and ran his fingers over a strand of Rayne’s hair. “You’re more beautiful every time I see you.” Rayne smiled as he placed his hands on Hassan’s chest again. “Make love to me, Hassan.” He could feel Hassan’s heart beat faster at his words. He started thrusting into Rayne and then out faster and faster. Rayne tried to meet each thrust of Hassan’s body, but he had never been in this position and was somewhat uncoordinated. Hassan was holding his hips so hard that Rayne was sure he would have bruises in the morning. “Oh mayht, I don’t think I can wait. I’m sorry.” Suddenly Hassan slammed Rayne’s body down on his forcefully, arching his upper body off the mattress as he yelled out his release.

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Rayne, feeling Hassan’s cock pulsating inside of him, let himself succumb to the passion that had been building inside of him. Waves of ecstasy throbbed through him. Rayne’s groan of satisfaction followed mere seconds after Hassan’s as his spunk splattered all over Hassan’s chest. Rayne collapsed onto Hassan’s chest, his breathing harsh and uneven. He lay there until his body told him it was time to move. Sitting up, Rayne ran his hands over Hassan’s chest, loving the feel of his mate. Hassan opened his eyes, looking up at Rayne with a satisfied grin. “I guess I didn’t have to wait for you after all.” Rayne smiled back at him. Rayne grabbed his hands and brought them back up to his chest. He grinned when he felt Hassan’s cock start to harden inside of his ass. “You’re going to kill me within a year. I just know it.” He began to move his hips up and down, getting a gasp of surprise from Rayne. Rayne matched his tempo, thrust for thrust. Hassan sat up and wrapped his arms around Rayne. “Lean back.” Rayne arched his body over Hassan’s arms as he asked. This brought his nipples up right in front of Hassan’s mouth. Lowering his lips to them, he proceeded to nibble every surface of Rayne’s chest. Rayne, starting to get lost in the pleasures Hassan was invoking in him, moaned in a low tone. He reached his peak of pleasure, grabbed Hassan’s hair in his hands, and arched even more over his arms. “Oh, Hassan!” Hassan lowered his hands from Rayne’s back and grabbed his hips. Holding onto Rayne gently, Hassan pushed Rayne’s hips down on his and held them there. Rayne grinned when he heard Hassan let out a loud, raspy groan. Rayne slid his hands to Hassan’s chest as he fell back onto the bed, his breathing coming in rapid spurts. Rayne leaned down and kissed Hassan softly on the lips before he sat up again. Hassan just laid there, his eyes closed. Rayne moved his hips up and down real

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quick, causing Hassan to squeeze his hands around them tighter as his body arched off the bed. “Oh, mayht,” he groaned as his body stiffened. Suddenly their bedroom door slammed open as Urik and Malachi walked in, carrying some bags. They both stopped suddenly when they saw Rayne and Hassan on the bed. “Ashu!” Urik swore. “You are one lucky bastard!” Urik’s words brought Hassan to action. He pushed Rayne down on the bed and pulled the covers up to cover him as he jumped off the bed. He walked, angrily, toward Urik and Malachi. Malachi dropped the bags, turned, and ran out of the room, yelling his apologies as he went. It was clear that he was very embarrassed. Urik, on the other hand, had no idea that his life was in jeopardy. Hassan stopped in front of Urik, who was trying to look around him to see more of Rayne. “So help me, Urik, if you don’t leave right this second, I am going to wipe the floor with you.” At the anger in Hassan’s words, Urik came to his senses. Color flooded into his face. “Oh gods, Hassan, Rayne. I am so sorry.” Hassan grabbed the door and pushed Urik toward it. “Just go!” Urik dropped the bags he had been holding and backed out of the room, apologizing as he went. Hassan started to walk after him. Rayne couldn’t allow Hassan to beat his brother to a pulp, no matter how embarrassed he was. “Hassan.” Rayne sat up, leaning on one arm while holding the sheet to his naked body with the other one. “Come back to bed.” “Go away, Urik.” Hassan grinned as he pushed at the door and started to walk toward the bed. Hassan crawled onto the bed and Rayne laughed as he let the sheet fall away and opened his arms to receive his mate. He saw Urik shake his head and turn to leave. “What a lucky bastard.”

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Chapter 8 “Ashu!” Rayne sat up, hearing someone yell, his heart pounding in his chest. Quickly looking around, his eyes filled with fright. Hassan stood in the doorway to the dressing chamber looking at him, rage filling his eyes. Rayne grabbed the sheet he had been laying on and wrapped it around himself. He scooted to the other side of the bed, sinking down into a defensive posture. Rayne kept his eyes on Hassan. He had seen too much, witnessed too many painful scenes to not know that Hassan was in a rage about something. When Hassan began to walk toward him, Rayne felt ice spreading through his stomach. He started to tremble. This was sickeningly familiar. Hassan was in a rage, and he was the reason. Hassan was finally going to be true to his nature. Rayne knew it had to happen someday. He just hoped it would wait a little longer. Hassan’s loving behavior of yesterday was a distant memory. When Hassan came around to his side of the bed, Rayne scrambled to the other side. He gulped hard, hot tears slipping down his cheeks. Hassan suddenly stiffened as though Rayne had struck him. “Rayne, I want you to come over here.” Hassan said the words quietly, but with steel in his voice. Rayne shook his head no. He wasn’t stupid. “Rayne, I am not going to hurt you. Now, please, come over here.”

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Rayne, again, shook his head no. Hassan was lying, he just knew it. Hassan suddenly reached across the bed to grab Rayne but got nothing but the edge of his sheet. Rayne jumped up and ran to the balcony door, leaving the sheet behind. He started to open the door and run out when Hassan’s quiet voice stopped him. “Rayne,” Hassan said softly, his voice gentle hearted. “You can’t go outside naked. Everyone will see you.” Rayne laid his head on the door, his anguish almost overcoming his thin grasp on his control. He knew Hassan was right. He also knew there was no way out for him. He was trapped. Hassan stood up and slowly walked toward Rayne, stopping several feet from him. “Rayne, there’s nowhere to go. Come to me.” Rayne lifted his head from the door and turned around to face Hassan. He swallowed the desperation in his throat and began to take small steps toward Hassan. He knew from experience that once his escape was gone, it wouldn’t be quite so bad if he just did what Hassan wanted. As he stepped to within arm’s length of him, Hassan spread his arms wide, not touching Rayne. “Put your arms around me.” Rayne tried to stifle a sob as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Hassan. His body was shaking from head to toe. “I’m going to pick you up and lay you on the bed.” Rayne trembled, knowing what was coming. Hassan was going to hurt him just like Varl had. Hassan did as he said, picking Rayne up and laying him down on the bed before lying down beside Rayne. Embracing Rayne, Hassan fit Rayne’s body more snugly against his. He just held Rayne in his arms, letting him cry. Rayne closed his eyes, his heart aching in pain, waiting for Hassan to begin hurting him. After a while, Rayne began to notice things around him. Hassan was lying on the bed, holding him and softly stroking his hair. He was nestled against Hassan’s chest, their legs intertwined. Hassan wasn’t

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forcing him to stay where he was. Rayne pulled away slightly. Hassan let his hands fall from around him. “You can get up anytime you want to, mayht, but I would really like to hold you for just a little bit longer,” Hassan said softly. Rayne slowly laid back down into his arms. He was very bewildered. Hassan wasn’t acting the way he was supposed to. Hassan just held him for a while, waiting until he had stopped trembling. He never tried to keep Rayne from trying to get away. “Rayne,” he said. Rayne stiffened. “Mayht, it’s okay, I just want to ask you a few questions.” Rayne relaxed a little bit. “What?” he asked in puzzlement. “Who did this to you?” Rayne’s breath stopped. “Did what?” How could Hassan possibly know what had happened to him? He had told Hassan some, but not all, of what had happened at Varl’s hands. Hassan kissed the top of Rayne’s head. “Mayht, I saw the marks on your back. I know someone hurt you. Can you tell me what happened?” Rayne thought about what had happened for several moments, making Hassan wait anxiously. “Varl did it when I refused to sign a contract with him.” “Who’s Varl? You mentioned him before, but I don’t remember exactly who he is.” Rayne told him who Varl was. “And where was your mother when all of this was going on?” Rayne started at the beginning and told Hassan almost everything that had happened that he hadn’t wanted to share earlier. There were still things he wasn’t sure he was ready to share. Part of Rayne wanted to tell Hassan everything. Another part of Rayne knew that if he did, Hassan would never love him. Rayne didn’t tell Hassan that he thought Varl was still after him. Hopefully, he could figure this all out before Varl showed up. And he would show up. Rayne had no doubt of that.

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Hassan rolled Rayne onto his back, his body only partially covering his. “I will never let anyone hurt you like that again. I promise.” Rayne gazed deeply into Hassan’s eyes, trying to see if he was telling the truth. “How did you ever let me make love to you after what he did to you?” Rayne blushed lightly at his question, trying to come up with a quick answer. He shrugged. “I liked you.” Hassan smiled a devilish grin down at Rayne, before letting his head rest on his. “Oh gods, I hope so.” Hassan kissed the tip of Rayne’s nose, then his chin, and then his cheek. Rayne knew he had to tell Hassan the truth, all of it. If Hassan decided he didn’t want him after that, at least he had a few days with him. “Hassan, there is one thing I do need to tell you.” Hassan stopped his careful inspection of Rayne’s neck to look up at him. He sat up and pulled the sheet over the both of them, wrapping his arms around Rayne. “What?” Rayne looked down at his trembling hands, trying to put the words together to tell Hassan everything. “Mayht, you can tell me anything you want to.” Rayne looked up into Hassan’s eyes, giving him a weak smile. “You’re going to be very upset.” Hassan seemed to think about Rayne’s words for a minute before he answered. “Rayne, I can’t promise that I won’t be upset, but I can promise that I will never hurt you with my anger.” Rayne took a deep breath and started saying what he had hoped never to have to say. “First, I want to tell you that I never knew what making love was until you. What Varl tried to do to me was horrible. After that I never dreamed that making love could be so nice between two people.” Hassan smiled at Rayne. “Just nice?”

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Rayne laughed nervously at his words. “Okay, it was better than nice. It was extraordinary.” “That’s better. For a minute there, I thought I had lost my skills.” “You haven’t lost anything, believe me. When you first came to me with your proposal, I didn’t really want to mate with you. You wanted us to have a full relationship. I didn’t think I could do that.” Rayne stopped talking, trying to gather his thoughts. “I decided that the only way I could get away from Varl was to sign a contract with you, no matter what you wanted. And you wanted a mate in all ways. So, I gave you what you wanted.” Hassan was silent and still for so long that Rayne was afraid that he didn’t want him anymore. “What if I had turned out to be violent like Varl?” “I thought about that. But it was a chance I had to take.” Rayne raised his eyes to meet Hassan’s. He was not smiling. “Say something, Hassan. Please.” “What do you want me to say, Rayne? Do you want me to say I forgive you for lying to me? Or how about if I told you that I had no problem with the fact that you mated me only to get away from another man? Maybe I should tell you that it’s okay with me that you don’t really want me touching you.” Rayne shook his head. “No, Hassan, it’s not like that.” Hassan pulled his hands from Rayne’s grasp. He scooted over to the side of the bed and stood up. Looking back down to Rayne, his lips curled in a snarl. “What is it like, Rayne? Can you tell me that? What am I supposed to think when my mate tells me that the only reason he lets me touch him is so that I will protect him against some madman?” Rayne scooted over to the side of the bed while Hassan began to get dressed. He had to make Hassan see reason. If he lost Hassan, Rayne wasn’t sure what he would do. He needed the man like he needed air.

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“Gods, you must really find me disgusting if you had to get drunk that night just to let me touch you.” Grabbing his shirt, Hassan headed for the door. He paused at the door to look back at Rayne. “Don’t worry about having to lie to me anymore. I wouldn’t touch you now if you begged me. I wouldn’t want you to think I mated you just for sex.” “Hassan, no!” Rayne cried out in desperation when Hassan started walking away. He jumped off the bed and raced after his mate. “Hassan!” Rayne reached the door just as Hassan stepped through and slammed it closed. Rayne leaned his head against the cold, hard wood as tears slid down his face. He could hear Hassan’s heavy footsteps as he walked away and Rayne knew he wouldn’t be coming back. He had just lost the most important thing in his life. **** Hassan wasn’t around for breakfast. Rayne hadn’t seen him since he had left earlier that morning. He cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast and then, with Hassy in tow, went from room to room making a list of everything he wanted to do or fix. By lunchtime, he had made a list of everything on the first floor and some of the rooms on the second floor. He cooked up lunch, placed it in a basket, and took Hassy with him out to the practice field. Walking toward the practice field, Rayne heard yelling coming from the area just to the right. Looking to see who was yelling, he saw Urik waving at him. It looked like all of the men were out in the practice field. Walking across the field, he approached the men. Urik walked down to him and Hassy. “Hi, Rayne, what’s up?” Rayne held up the basket to show him. “I brought you some food.”

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Malachi and Mika came running up when he mentioned lunch. “Did you bring us some food, too?” they both asked, hopefully. Rayne barely had time to nod his head before they took the basket and ran to sit down, yelling their thanks as they went. Rayne laughed as he watched them dig into the basket. Hassy ran over to join them in their eating frenzy. Rayne looked around, trying to see Hassan. He spotted him working on the far side of the practice field. Rayne stared at Hassan as he walked toward him, wondering what he was thinking. Just then Hassan looked up and right into his eyes. Rayne could see that he was still angry with him. His heart dropped when Hassan turned away, showing no signs that he had even seen him. But he knew he had. Was this what their life was going to be like? What had happened to his happy ending? “He’s been that way all morning.” Rayne turned his head to see Urik coming up behind him. “He’s pretty upset about something. Did you two have a fight?” Rayne nodded his head. “Something like that.” “You just have to give him some time. He’ll come around.” Rayne just looked back to where Hassan was working, longing making his heart ache. “I suppose,” he whispered. But he knew Urik was wrong. Hassan was lost to him. “Hey, Rayne, I really want to apologize for last night. I was way out of line, and I am very sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. You just surprised me. But, I am sorry.” Rayne tore his gaze away from Hassan to look at Urik. A small smile formed on his lips. “It’s okay, I forgive you. Just don’t do it again.” Urik turned red. “I won’t, I promise.” Rayne looked to Hassan once more before he gathered up the leftover food, grabbed Hassy by the hand, and headed back toward the house. As he walked, Rayne could feel Hassan’s eyes on him, watching him. There wasn’t much he could do to convince Hassan

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that he wanted him. It was a conclusion Hassan had to come to on his own. Rayne finished drying the last of the mealtime dishes later that evening and put them away. The men were out in the courtyard, enjoying the evening quiet. Hassan was still outside working. He didn’t come in for dinner. Rayne hadn’t seen him since the noontime meal. Urik patted him on the shoulder as he walked by and whispered into his ear, “Give him some time.” Rayne was trying to give Hassan time. They had only been mated for a couple of weeks, and it seemed like his whole future was doomed. Seeing that Hassan still wasn’t home, Rayne decided to go to bed. There wasn’t much else he could do. Rayne wrapped the bed sheet around his naked body and walked over the French doors. He had been waiting for Hassan for hours. It was sometime in the middle of the night, and he still had not come to bed. Maybe he wasn’t going to. Rayne walked out onto the balcony. He sat down on one of the wooden benches that were on the balcony. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this situation. How was he going to convince Hassan that he really did want to be mated to him? He had been afraid of him in the beginning, but in just the last day Hassan had made him so happy. He had made Rayne feel safe. Rayne was thinking things over when he heard the bedroom door open. Turning, he saw Hassan walk into the room. Rayne stood up and walked to the doorway, leaning against the door jam. Hassan didn’t light any candles as he began to undress. He obviously didn’t realize that Rayne wasn’t in the bed. Rayne watched Hassan take off his clothes, wanting him. When he began to undo his pants, Rayne knew he had to make his presence known. “Hassan,” he said softly. He looked up in surprise, pausing in the midst of undressing. “We need to talk about this.”

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Hassan dropped his hands from his pants and placed them on his hips. “I don’t think we have anything to say to each other.” Rayne walked toward him slowly, almost afraid he would run. “We have to work this out. We can’t go on like this forever.” Hassan ran his hands through his hair, obviously a frustrated gesture. “I don’t know what to say to you, Rayne.” Rayne walked up to Hassan and stood in front of him. “You don’t have to say anything.” Dropping the sheet to the floor, Rayne wrapped his arms around Hassan’s neck. “Just let me show you how much I do want you to touch me.” Rayne brought his body up against Hassan and reached up to press their lips together. Hassan just stood there, his arms hanging at his sides as Rayne kissed him. Rayne ran his hands down Hassan’s chest to the opening of his pants. When he started to run his hands inside of his pants, touching his cock, Hassan grabbed Rayne’s hand. Rayne lifted his head to look at Hassan in query. “This won’t work, Rayne.” Rayne felt the hardness of Hassan’s cock with his other hand. “It seems to be working to me.” Hassan inhaled sharply, his eyes shut, when Rayne gently squeezed him. Opening his eyes he looked at Rayne. His eyes were frosty, as if there was no life in them. “It’s sex, Rayne. Is that what you want? Sex? I can give you that.” Rayne gasped as Hassan pushed him back onto the bed. Hassan knelt on the bed between Rayne’s thighs as he covered his body. Rayne cried out as Hassan held him down to the bed. He started to struggle when Hassan lifted his ass into the air. “Is this what you want?” Hassan snapped. Pain swamped Rayne as he reached up and pushed on Hassan’s shoulders. “Hassan, stop. Please!” he cried out. “Please!” ****

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Hassan looked into Rayne’s frightened eyes. Suddenly it hit him, what he was doing to Rayne. He was acting just like Varl. When reason came back to him, Hassan realized that he was shaking. Then he realized that it wasn’t him that was shaking. It was Rayne. Leaning back he looked down into his mate’s face. Rayne’s eyes were closed, but tears were streaming down his face. “Oh gods, Rayne,” he whispered as he leaned up on his elbows, cradling Rayne’s face in his hands. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Rayne opened his tear-filled eyes to look up at him. “You promised you would never hurt me.” Hassan closed his eyes, letting his head rest on Rayne’s. He had almost violated his mate. Rayne was never going to forgive him. He looked back into Rayne’s eyes. “I have no excuse for my actions. All I can say is that it will never happen again.” Hassan pushed himself off of Rayne and rolled off the bed. He picked the sheet up off the floor and covered Rayne. He grabbed his pants off the floor and pulled them up his legs, feeling like he was a hundred years old. Hassan swallowed hard then looked down at Rayne. “I promise, I will never touch you again unless you ask me to. And I will never touch you in anger.” Rayne just stared up at him. Hassan picked up his shirt from the floor and headed for the door. “I’ll go sleep in the study.” He had reached the door when Rayne’s voice stopped him. “Hassan,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. Hassan stopped at the door and waited for Rayne to tell him what he thought of him. Nothing he could say would be as bad as what he was already putting himself through. He would never forgive himself for what he had done. There was no excuse. “You can sleep here.” Hassan’s eyebrows shot up as he turned back to face Rayne. He was sitting on the side of the bed, looking at the floor. Hassan closed

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the door softly. Taking a hesitant step toward Rayne he asked, “Are you sure?” Rayne nodded. “Yes, I’m sure.” Rayne stood up and walked to his side of the bed. Pulling back the covers, he dropped the sheet and climbed into bed. Hassan watched Rayne until he laid back and pulled the covers up around his shoulders. Walking to the bed, he pulled his pants off and dropped his shirt to the floor. Pulling the covers back, Hassan climbed into the bed next to Rayne. They lay in bed, both in their own silent hell, until Rayne rolled over and cuddled up to Hassan. Hassan jumped a little in shock when Rayne wrapped his arms around his chest. Slowly, he lowered his arm to Rayne’s shoulder and pulled him closer to his body. “Is this okay?” Rayne placed his trembling hand on Hassan’s chest. “Yes.” Hassan lay awake long into the night, long after Rayne fell asleep. He couldn’t believe that Rayne had let him stay after what he had done, especially knowing what Varl had done. Granted, what Rayne had done was wrong, but what he had done was even worse. Not only had he attacked his mate like an animal, but he had also lied to him. It was a lie by omission, but it was still a lie. When he had gone to meet Rayne, he was planning on signing a contract with him just to please his brother. But the minute he laid eyes on Rayne he knew it would be more than that. They were mates, not just two people entering into a contract. That changed everything. It had been all he could do not to take Rayne that first night they met. After Hassan had seen him naked, it had been even worse. Rayne was, without a doubt, the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. When Rayne had asked him to stay, Hassan would have stayed even if he had known why his mate was letting him make love to him. Hassan knew that. But, having Rayne say it out loud was such a shock to him. He probably shouldn’t have said what he did. In fact he knew he shouldn’t have said what he did. He clearly overreacted.

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Hopefully, Rayne would let him make it up to him. He doubted it, though. He knew if he were in Rayne’s position, he would never allow another touch. Even though he meant to keep his promise, he didn’t want to face the future living with Rayne and never being able to touch him again. It would be a very slow, painful death. But, if that was what Rayne wanted, he would do it. He would do whatever he had to do to stay near his mate. Hassan woke up the next morning to find Rayne draped over his body. His arm was wrapped around his chest, his head was nestled in Hassan’s neck, and his thigh was pressed against Hassan’s cock. Hassan was uncomfortable, but not so much that he was going to move Rayne. Any contact with his mate’s body was heaven, and hell. Rayne started to stretch as he woke up. As his thigh moved up closer against Hassan’s cock, Hassan grabbed his leg and stopped it. “Mayht, if you move that leg up any further, you won’t have the choice about using that again.” Rayne picked his head up off of Hassan’s neck and raised the sheet to look down to where Hassan had a hold of his leg. Rayne cautiously removed his leg from between Hassan’s thighs, then pushed himself off of Hassan’s body and sat up against the headboard, pulling the sheet up. Hassan sighed in frustration then pushed himself up to sit next to Rayne. He sat there quietly, waiting for Rayne to say something. The first move had to be his. When he didn’t say anything, Hassan tentatively reached down and grabbed Rayne’s hand, bringing it to his lips. He kissed Rayne’s fingers, one at a time. When he was done with Rayne’s fingers, he turned his hand over and kissed his palm. “Can I touch you?” Rayne didn’t look at him as he nodded. Hassan held his breath as he pulled Rayne over to sit between his thighs and wrapped his arms around his unyielding body. He savored the feeling of Rayne’s skin as the man laid back against him. At least Rayne was willing to try.

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Hassan could see that his eyes were still open. “Rayne?” Rayne leaned his head sideways so that he could look into Hassan’s face. Hassan just looked at him for a moment, his gaze caressing Rayne’s face. He finally reached up and brushed the hair back from Rayne’s face. When Hassan started to speak about what he had done the night before, Rayne covered his mouth with his finger. “Sshhh.” Rayne turned over and placed his legs on the outside of Hassan’s so that he was kneeling over his lap. Wrapping his fingers in Hassan’s hair, he brought their mouths together. “Kiss me.” Hassan’s heart launched into his throat at Rayne’s words. He let his lips touch his slowly at first, but when Rayne’s tongue reached out to touch his, Hassan deepened the kiss. He could feel Rayne’s cock pressing into the side of his thigh, hardening by the second. Moving Rayne’s body over his, Hassan reached over and grabbed the oil off the nightstand. He quickly lubed his fingers then reached down and fitted his fingers into Rayne’s tight ass one by one until his mate was stretched enough to accept him without pain. He never wanted to cause Rayne pain again. Once Rayne was ready, Hassan gently pulled him down onto his cock. He kept his eyes on Rayne’s face, watching for any sign of discomfort. Hassan drew in a deep breath when Rayne settled against him. He leaned his head back against the headboard, his eyes closing with a groan of satisfaction. He never thought he would feel such bliss again, not after what he had done. “Make love to me, Hassan,” Rayne whispered. “Make me forget that last night ever happened. Make love to me like we were just mated and none of this ever happened.” Hassan opened his eyes to see a tear fall down Rayne’s cheek. “Is that what you want? Is that what you really want?” Rayne nodded.

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Hassan wrapped his arms around Rayne, pulling him close to his body. Running his fingers through Rayne’s thick, light brown hair, Hassan pulled his head close to kiss him. It was a kiss his tired soul could melt into. Hassan wanted to make love to Rayne until the man understood that he was the center of Hassan’s universe. He did everything he could to make Rayne forget what he had done to him the night before. By the time he was done with Rayne, he may not have forgotten what Hassan did, but he might forgive him. After that, neither of them spoke about that night again. Hassan would remember what he had done until the day he died. He would also remember the way that Rayne had forgiven him.

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Chapter 9 This time when Rayne and Hassy walked out to the practice field with a picnic, Hassan was the one who walked over to meet them. He gave Hassy a ruffle on the head. Rayne he took into his arms for a long, leisurely kiss. “Hello, mayht.” Setting Rayne down on the ground, he placed his arm around him and walked him across the practice field to meet up with his brothers. His brothers seemed to really like it when Rayne made them a picnic. They all sat down on the blanket Rayne had brought and attacked the food basket. After everyone had eaten their fill, no one seemed to want to get right back up and get back to work. They all just kind of lay around and enjoyed the summer afternoon. Finally, Hassan got up and told the boys to get back to work. He picked up his sleeping son and walked Rayne back to the house. Back inside, Hassan laid Hassy in his bed and nodded to his nanny. Rayne watched as he carefully tucked Hassy into his bed. Hassan walked quietly out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Coming up to Rayne in the hallway, he winked. “Want me to tuck you in, too?” he asked in a thick, sexy voice. Rayne giggled as he pulled Hassan into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Hassan was gone by the time Rayne awoke the next morning. He didn’t mind. Hassan had a lot of work to do, and he did, too. Rayne grabbed Hassan’s pillow and buried his face in its soft feathers. It still smelled of Hassan.

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Rayne giggled as he flung the pillow down on the bed and jumped out. Going to the dressing chamber, Rayne searched through his clothes until he found just the one he wanted. It was a simple-cut shirt made of a soft violet color that matched his eyes. Going to the vanity, Rayne braided his hair. Looking into the mirror to make sure his appearance was just perfect, Rayne headed out the bedchamber door. Skipping down the stairs, he headed for the kitchen. He was starving. As he passed by the war room, Rayne heard Hassan call out his name. Rayne changed the direction he was walking and headed into the war room. Hassan was standing behind his big wooden desk overlooking some papers. “Good morning, Hassan,” he said cheerfully. Hassan looked up from the papers he had been glancing over. “Good morning, mayht.” Rayne smiled. “Did you need something?” “Hmm, yes. I have a few things to discuss with you. Today is the day for you to take over your duties as my mate.” Rayne’s head cocked to one side in confusion. “My duties? I thought I did that last night,” he said, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. Hassan was being so intense. Hassan laid his papers down and walked around to Rayne’s side of the desk. “This is serious, Rayne.” Rayne clasped his hands behind his back and pursed his lips. “Oh.” Hassan reached down for a piece of paper from his desk and proceeded to read from it. “I think it is about time for you to take on your duties to the household. I have given you sufficient time to get used to your new surroundings, and now that you have, you must act the part of the mate of the captain of the guard.” Rayne’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. Was he serious? Act the part of the mate of the captain of the guard? Sufficient time to

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get used to his new surroundings? Had Hassan totally lost his mind? “What are you talking about?” Hassan reached down and started gathering his papers. “Just as I said,” he stated distantly, as if he was no longer interested in the conversation. “You’re my mate. It’s time for you to start acting like it.” Rayne could feel the ire building inside of him. “And just what did you have in mind?” Hassan shrugged. “I just think this place could use a little cleaning. Aren’t these things that mates do? It’s your responsibility.” Rayne reached for the paper Hassan had been reading moments before, his temper beginning to boil as reached the end of the list. “This is what you want me to do? This is what you see as my responsibilities?” Rayne asked as he shook the paper in Hassan’s face. Looking up at the waving paper, Hassan grabbed it from Rayne’s hand and tossed it down on the desk. “Of course. My mother took care of all of these things, as did my Aunt Jolene. I mated you because I needed someone to take care of these things.” Hassan looked into Rayne’s irritated face. “Do you think you can do that, or do I need to find someone else to do it?” Rayne grabbed the paper up off Hassan’s desk. “Fine. Do I get a household allowance?” Hassan shook his head. “Rayne, I told you in the very beginning that I didn’t have very much money. You knew that when you mated with me. You will not live a life of luxury here. Here, everyone works.” Rayne carefully folded the list and slipped it into his pocket. His voice wavered as he tried to comprehend what he was hearing. “Is that a no?” Hassan glanced up from his desk with a sardonic expression that sent Rayne’s temper soaring. “Yes! I’m sure that you can accomplish everything on this list with a little elbow grease. Get your hands dirty for once in your life.”

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Rayne clenched and unclenched his fists against his robes. As casually as he could manage, he said, “Hassan, there are several things on this list that will require money. How do you expect me to get this stuff done with no money?” Hassan slammed his hands down on his desk and leaned forward as he lowered his voice. “This is not my responsibility. It’s yours. I don’t want to be bothered with it. I have more important things to do.” Rayne flinched at the tone in his voice. “You have lived a pampered, sheltered life, Rayne. It’s time for you to stop playing house and start being a mate.” Rayne took a step back from the desk, anger and fear knotting inside of him. “But, Hassan—” Hassan sat down in his chair. “You figure it out. You’re dismissed.” With that, Hassan turned his attention to his paperwork and ignored Rayne. Rayne stood there, in front of Hassan’s desk, for several more moments, hoping Hassan would say something, anything, to stop the nightmare he had just entered. Hassan raised his head to look up at Rayne, his voice impatient. “Was there something else you wanted, Rayne?” Rayne swallowed hard, trying to manage a feeble answer. “No? Good. You may go. I have work to do.” Rayne felt ice spreading through his stomach. He was suddenly anxious to escape Hassan’s disturbing presence. Picking up the edges of his robes, Rayne raced from the room, his destination anywhere but in the same room with Hassan. With tears streaming down his face, he could barely see where he was going and didn’t stop running until he hit a hard solid object. Strong arms wrapped around Rayne to keep him from falling. “Rayne, where are you off to in such an all-fired hurry?” It was the Shaikh. Rayne quickly turned his face away from Bogden, trying to hide his tears from the man. His throat ached with defeat. “I was…uh… I

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was just going for a walk.” Rayne tried to separate himself from Bogden’s strong grasp. “Whoa, Whoa, slow down, Rayne.” Rayne could hear the quiet consideration in his voice and bit down on his lip in dismay. Bogden reached over and cupped Rayne’s chin tenderly in his warm hand. At first, Rayne resisted, but at his persistence, he finally let him raise his face up to his. Bogden searched Rayne’s upturned face. “What happened, mate of my brother? Did someone upset you?” Rayne bent his head and studied his hands. “Rayne?” Rayne nodded back at him without speaking. “Was it Hassan?” Rayne turned away, not wanting to answer. He stepped out of his encircling arms and walked over to sit in a nearby chair. Bogden slowly followed Rayne and sat down beside him. “Rayne, look at me. Please?” Somehow, Rayne managed to face him. “My brother can be very bullheaded at some times.” Bogden chuckled at Rayne’s snort of disbelief at his statement. “Yeah, well, maybe a little more than sometimes.” His expression stilled and grew serious. “Now tell me, what happened?” Rayne eyed Bogden with a calculating expression. “Why are you being so nice to me? When I first met you, you were so very rude.” Amusement flickered in the eyes that met his. “I wanted to see what you were made of. Life in the desert is not easy. I needed to be sure you would be an adequate mate for my brother. You didn’t disappoint me.” Seeing the laughter in his eyes, Rayne chuckled. “I hated you.” Bogden threw back his head and let out a great roar of laughter. Rayne watched the way that his face changed as he laughed. He seemed years younger. Finally catching his breath, Bogden smiled at Rayne. “Oh, Rayne, you are going to be so good for my brother.”

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Bogden laid his hand on Rayne’s. “Now tell me, what has my brother done to cause you such distress?” Rayne sat in the chair, his thin fingers tensed in his lap. Uneasiness knotted in his stomach. “If you tell me what happened, maybe I can help.” Rayne swallowed with difficulty and found his voice. “Hassan told me that it was time that I started acting like a real mate, that it was my responsibility and he wanted no part of it,” he muttered hastily. Bogden’s brows drew downward in a frown. “What exactly are your responsibilities?” Rayne reached into his pocket and withdrew the paper he had taken from Hassan and handed it to him. Bogden’s mouth spread in a thin-lipped smile as he read over the long list that Hassan had prepared for Rayne. Bogden looked up at Rayne. His eyes were gentle and contemplative. Folding the paper, he handed it back to Rayne. “He expects you to do all of this on your own?” Rayne nodded his head. “How?” Rayne shrugged. “He says he doesn’t care as long as I don’t bother him with it.” Bogden nodded his head. “Yes, that sounds like my brother,” he said, his voice resigned. “What about hiring some people from the village to help you?” “I can’t,” Rayne spoke in a broken whisper. “Hassan won’t let me.” “Why not? Haven’t you directed servants before?” “We didn’t have many servants while I was growing up. My stepmother preferred that I did it all. She said it built character. But that’s not the problem.” “If that isn’t the problem then what is?”

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“Hassan won’t allow me to have a household allowance.” To Rayne’s dismay his voice broke slightly. “How can I hire people from the village or do all this stuff with no money?” Standing quickly, Rayne straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. “He said that it was time that I stopped playing at being a mate and became a real one and that I was pampered and spoiled and I needed to learn how to work because everyone here works.” Rayne’s cheeks burned in remembrance of Hassan’s cruel words, and he felt bereft and desolate. Tears slowly found their way down his cheeks. Bogden stood up and walked to Rayne, wrapping an arm around him. “Oh, Rayne, I am sorry. My brother can be a real camel’s ass when he sets his mind to it.” “And then some,” Rayne murmured, half laughing, half crying. “Come with me. I have a plan.” Bogden grabbed Rayne by the hand and led him out onto the balcony. An easy smile played at the corners of his mouth. Rayne followed Bogden out onto the balcony, his curiosity getting the better of him. An hour later Rayne walked toward the great room with a sense of strength and quiet determination, a secretive smile softening his lips. He had a plan and, it seemed, an ally. Over the next several days, Bogden introduced Rayne to several of the villagers. Through what seemed like the hand of fate, Rayne found the perfect servants for every position in the house that needed to be filled. The first person he hired, and who Rayne saw as one of the most important, was Mariana. She was about forty-five years old and lived in a rundown house on the edge of the village. She had no husband and no children to care for her. From what Bogden told Rayne, different single men in the pride would hunt and deliver meat to Mariana once a month, and in exchange, Mariana would cook for them. While Mariana was grateful

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for the meat that the men brought her, she truly wished that she could be more self-sufficient and able to care for herself. She also wished that there was some way that she could make money for things instead of just cooking for food. It didn’t give her any way to repair her home or buy things that she needed. But, as a widow, she also felt that she didn’t really have any choice in the matter. Cooking in exchange for food on her table seemed to be her only choice. Rayne had lunch with Mariana, and after tasting the wonderful meal that Mariana produced, asked Mariana to come work at the Shaikh’s house. At first, Mariana didn’t think it would be a good idea. Working there meant traveling to the Shaikh’s house every day early in the morning and not leaving until late at night. When Rayne told Mariana that she would have room and board at the keep plus a small salary, Mariana liked the idea a little more. When Mariana heard that the kitchen would be her domain, to organize and run the way that she wished, Mariana started packing. Over the next several days, Rayne hired four maids, and two young boys to work the garden, and a seamstress, and two kitchen helpers for Mariana. Rayne also contracted with several people in the village to repair or make things he felt were needed around the keep. He hired a carpenter to help build and repair the furniture he had found in storage, a man who did pottery to make a new set of dishes and vases, and a laborer to help with odd jobs around the keep. Slowly, Rayne began to make his presence known both in actions and in words. First, he and Mariana tackled the kitchen. There was not a lot of major work that needed to be done. Most of it was rearranging stuff and putting in personal touches. Knowing that there had not been a woman in the house in several years, Rayne didn’t do anything too outrageous. The most important thing he did was work out a menu plan with the new cook. He also arranged to have the old herb garden weeded and replanted. If there

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was ever going to be any flavor in the foods that Mariana cooked, they would need the herbs. Hassy was blossoming under Rayne’s care as well. He never called Rayne anything but dada, and he still followed Rayne everywhere, trailing his every step. At night he would not go to sleep unless Hassan and Rayne both tucked him in, and he was talking more and more every day. With Bogden’s words of wisdom ringing in his ears, Rayne decided not to make an issue of the things that Hassan had said to him. He would just show Hassan that he could be the mate that he wanted. As the days went by, Rayne tackled each of the rooms in the large house. In the downstairs rooms, Rayne cleared out each room before he tackled it. He stripped and varnished the hardwood floors. When he was done, the floors sparkled. Then, when the floor was done, Rayne tackled the furniture. Some of the furniture was beyond saving, but most of it just needed to be repaired. The carpenter he had hired at first didn’t want to work with an outsider, but after finding that Rayne knew what he was doing, he was more than eager to do it. In the evenings, after everything had been taken care of, the men were very willing to help repair, strip, and varnish the old furniture. They left the upholstery stuff to Rayne. After he had the furniture in place, Rayne decorated with tapestries, rugs, and attractive pottery made by the local craftsman he had hired. In the bedchamber, Rayne added handmade quilts, tailored toward each person, and tapestries to brighten the rooms. He had the most fun decorating Hassy’s room. In this room he added all the personal touches he had missed as a child. By the time he was done with Hassy’s room, it was a child’s dream come true. Hassy loved it. Hassan’s war room took the longest. Besides repairing the furniture and the floors, Hassan’s filing system left something to be desired. Rayne talked Hassan into letting him organize everything.

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Hassan hated the idea at first, but when he saw how Rayne was able to find any information he asked for at a touch of a finger, the idea grew on him. Hassan seemed to be really pleased with the room, especially when he saw the old oak desk Rayne had found in storage. He had shut the doors and they had broken in the oak desk in a way that it was probably not meant for, but it made Rayne glad that it was a very sturdy piece of furniture. Rayne and Hassan’s bedroom was the last room he had to fix, so he took special care to make it really nice. This was the room where Hassan and Rayne spent a lot of their time. In this room, Hassan showed Rayne that he was beginning to care about him. He needed to make it special. Working when Hassan was away in the practice field or working somewhere in the village, Rayne carefully put the room into its former glory. With Anjali’s help, he got their room fixed up with a handmade quilt, thin, gauzy curtains for the doors, and a beautiful tapestry of a desert oasis. Finally, Rayne added the furniture he had found. Then all he had to do was wait for Hassan to get home so he could show it to him. Rayne was in the kitchen cleaning up the mess he had made when making two pies when he heard Hassan bellow his name. Knowing Hassy was still down for his nap, Rayne hurried up the stairs toward the great room. Rayne was just coming down the hall, wiping his hands, when the front door opened and Hassan came storming in. Rayne stopped in his tracks when Hassan slammed the front door closed and rapidly walked into his war room. Rayne wrung his hands together, worried about what might be wrong. Sure, he had seen Hassan rage at one thing or another. He had even seen him go after one of his brothers, but he had never seen him this angry. Walking to the edge of the door, Rayne peered inside. Hassan was standing by the side cabinet, drinking a glass of something he had

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obviously just poured himself. The way he was downing the stuff, Rayne knew he was very upset. Rayne stepped quietly back into the hallway. He really didn’t want to be around Hassan when he was drinking. It brought back too many painful memories. “Rayne,” said a low raspy voice, stopping him in his tracks, “come in here, please.” The way he said please had the hair on Rayne’s neck standing up. Rayne turned around and walked into the room. He stopped just inside the door, keeping it to his back in case he needed to make a quick getaway. “Hello, Hassan. How was your day?” he asked, as casually as he could. Hassan stared at him, a snarl on his lips. “It was hell!” Rayne flinched at the tone of his voice. It reminded him of that horrible night a few weeks ago when Hassan had taken his anger out on him. He chewed on his lower lip and stole a look at Hassan. He was rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes closed as if he were exhausted. Rayne instantly went from being afraid of Hassan to feeling concern for him. He walked over to him and placed his arms around him, resting his head on Hassan’s broad back. Rayne didn’t know what to say or how to make him feel better, so he just held him in his arms. When he felt Hassan’s arms come down to hold onto his, Rayne knew he had done the right thing. They both stood that way for several minutes until Hassan pulled Rayne around to the front of him. When Hassan lifted Rayne’s chin and brought his face up to his, his eyes were filled with a strange light that Rayne had never seen before. His lips were hard and searching, as if he was looking for the answer to his problems in Rayne’s soul. Parting his lips, Rayne raised himself to meet his kiss. Hassan finally raised his lips only to stare into Rayne’s eyes, a message there that Rayne could not read.

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As casually as he could manage, he asked, “Hassan, what’s wrong?” Rayne began to shake as fearful notions built in his mind. “Hassan?” he asked in a broken whisper. Maybe one of the boys was hurt? Maybe Katzmann was going back to war? Maybe… Hassan’s hand came up. His fingers tenderly traced the line of Rayne’s cheekbone and jaw. Rayne turned his head to kiss the palm of Hassan’s hand. Raising his eyes again, he found Hassan watching him, a desperate, almost panicked look in his eyes. When Hassan spoke, his voice was tender, almost a whisper. “Promise me you will never leave me, mayht. Please, promise me.” Rayne felt his heart stop at Hassan’s words. “What’s wrong, Hassan?” Hassan wrapped his fingers in Rayne’s hair, pulled him as close to his body as he could be. “Just promise me, Rayne.” Rayne felt himself tremble inside at Hassan’s obvious pain, whatever it was. Pulling back from him, he placed both of his hands on Hassan’s cheeks. Looking straight into his eyes, wanting Hassan to know he told the truth, Rayne bared his soul to his mate. “Hassan, I’m your mate. I will never leave you, not as long as I live.” Hassan squeezed his eyes shut at Rayne’s words. “More! Promise me more. I want it all.” Rayne wasn’t sure what Hassan was looking for, so he gave him the only answer he could. “Hassan, I love you. That’s all I have to give. My love is all I have to give you.” Hassan opened his eyes to look into Rayne’s, his eyes saying what his lips could not. “I need you. I will always need you,” he whispered. Rayne had never seen Hassan like this. It unnerved him. It scared him. “Hassan, won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” Hassan stood up straighter, as if he was trying to get a hold of himself. He reached down to grab Rayne’s hand and pulled him over to one of the chairs sitting in front of the fireplace. Sitting down, he pulled Rayne down to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around Rayne, pulling his head down to his chest.

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“I have something I need to talk to you about. I should have told you this from the very beginning, but I just never found the right time.” Rayne cuddled into Hassan’s chest and waited for him to say what he needed to say. He could not imagine what Hassan had to tell him that could have him this upset. Rayne waited several moments while Hassan gathered his thoughts, not saying anything that might distract him. Thoughts of showing him the bedchamber were long gone from his mind. His only concern was Hassan. He had bared his soul to Hassan, knowing that he would not, could not, respond in kind. Rayne knew Hassan cared about him. He also knew Hassan did not love him. But maybe, just maybe, one day he would grow to love him, even if just a little. When Hassan began to speak in low, raspy tones, Rayne brought himself back from his wandering thoughts to listen to him. “Rayne, when my brother wrote to Chellak Rai about finding me a mate, it wasn’t because I couldn’t find someone on my own. I could. I just hadn’t found anyone I wanted to be with, at least not until I met you and realized we were mates. You know that, right?” Rayne nodded. Hassan was a powerful man with a physique that could stop a raging boar. Anyone would be happy to have Hassan interested in them, anyone breathing, that was. “I agreed to let my brother write that letter because I hadn’t found anyone around here who I wanted to be with. I wanted someone who wasn’t from around here, someone who was not known. I had no idea I would find you.” He leaned over and kissed Rayne’s hair. “My wife, Margarita, died when Hassy was born. We were friends growing up, but we were never in love. Oh sure, we cared about each other, but we were never in love. Margarita’s father had wanted her to marry a man from another pride, but she didn’t want to. She came to me and asked me to help. So, I did. We got married.”

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Rayne frowned when Hassan stopped speaking. Margarita had a strong hold on Hassan, even now. Rayne just didn’t know how strong of a hold. He didn’t want to compete with a dead woman. “What happened?” “A few months later, Margarita was pregnant with Hassy. When she died, Margarita’s family wanted to take guardianship of Hassy. He was my son. I couldn’t let them take him. So, I fought them. It almost started a war between our prides. A treaty was signed when the local mediator sent by the High Ruler made the decision that I should keep him, but that Margarita’s family had liberal access to him. I agreed. How could I not? Margarita’s family fell off the face of the earth. They never came to see him, or called to see how he was doing, or even sent him a letter. I thought I was all done with them. I was wrong.” Hassan paused to take several deep breaths. When he started speaking again, his voice was stronger and firmer. “About a year ago, Margarita’s sister, Rutika, contacted me. She said she wanted to come see Hassy. I said yes, of course. When she showed up to see Hassy, she spent about five seconds with him and the rest of the time telling me how much she missed me and how wonderful the place looked.” Hassan stood up and walked to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out some papers. Rayne walked over to the desk to join him. Hassan looked up at Rayne as he approached. He looked tired. “Four years ago, we had a lot of financial problems, one of which was the upkeep of the pride. The last few years hadn’t been good ones. We also had an illness sweep through the pride. Many died. Those who didn’t die were very sick. That combined with occasional raids by other prides and marauders took their toll. The village has improved a lot since then.” Rayne waited for Hassan to finish speaking his mind. He knew there was more to the story. Hassan was too tense for an economics speech.

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“I never got along with Rutika very well. She always seemed like a money-grubbing man-eater to me. It gives me the creeps.” Rayne saw Hassan’s body give off a small shudder. “Anyway, Rutika got really upset when I refused her advances. She swore she was going to get me. She said she was going to get me where I would feel it the most. She said she was going to take Hassy away from me. I couldn’t let her do that. A few weeks later, I was sent these papers.” Hassan handed Rayne some papers. Reading them over carefully, Rayne found that they were court papers. “Rutika took me to the local magistrate for guardianship of Hassy. I was given one year to prove that Hassy was in a stable home. At the end of one year, the case will be reviewed. At that time, if I cannot prove that Hassy has a stable home life, Rutika gets a chance to prove that she can raise him in a stable home. One of the problems that the judge mentioned was that Hassy didn’t have anyone to care for him besides a nanny. So I let my brother find a mate for me, and someone to care for Hassy. That’s how I found you.” Rayne looked up to find Hassan smiling at him. He cocked an eyebrow in silent question. “I think I got the better end of the deal,” Hassan said. Rayne smiled back at him. “Why do you say that?” he asked as he came around Hassan’s side of the desk. Hassan pulled Rayne close to him. “Because you love me. I never thought I would find something like what we have, and now I have you.” Hassan held Rayne in his arms for several moments, not saying anything. Finally, Rayne raised his head and looked at him. “Hassan, why, if you have me now, were you so upset when you came home?” Hassan sat down on the edge of the desk, dropping his hands from around Rayne. “I know I should not have been so upset, but I ran into Rutika when I was riding on the southern border today. We had

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words. She said that no matter what I did, she was going to get Hassy from me.” Rayne laid his hand on Hassan’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “I’m sorry, Hassan.” He reached down and squeezed Rayne’s hand. “When I told her that she was never going to get her grubby little hands on Hassy, Rutika hinted that the only way she would stop her pursuit of guardianship was if I played her game.” Rayne’s jaw opened in astonishment. “She actually said that?” Hassan nodded. “Yes, just about. I told her I was mated. She said that she didn’t believe me, and even if I was, I needed to get rid of my mate before she came into the picture.” Rayne was astounded at the gall of this woman. “She told you to get rid of me?” “Yes. I guess I just got really angry that she thought I would actually rearrange my life to fit her needs. She thinks that I am totally at her mercy, because of Hassy, because of money, because she thinks she is so alluring.” He stood up on his feet and lifted his hand to Rayne’s face, running his fingers along his cheek. “I will never give you up.” Rayne smiled up at him as tears started to pool up in his eyes. That was as close as he was probably going to get to hearing Hassan say he loved him. “I love you.” “I hope so, because gods know I can never live without you.” Hassan hugged Rayne close for a few seconds then released him, walking toward the office doors. “Hassan,” Rayne said cautiously. Maybe now was the time to show Hassan the bedroom, get his mind on something else. Hassan stopped at the doors and turned. “I have something I want you to see.” He walked toward Hassan and took hold of his hand, pulling him up the stairs. “I’ve already seen what you have to show me, mayht.” The meaning in his sexy voice was very clear.

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Rayne laughed back at him. “Hassan, that’s not what I have to show you.” Hassan gave Rayne a small frown. “Too bad.” Rayne pulled him down the hallway to their bedroom door. Before opening the door, Rayne turned, blocking the door with his body. “Close your eyes.” Hassan’s eyebrows shot up. “What?” Rayne laughed at his astonished expression. “I want you to close your eyes. Please?” Hassan stared at Rayne for a few seconds, and then he closed his eyes. Rayne waved his hand in front of his face, making sure his eyes were really closed. When he was sure they were, he opened the bedroom door and pulled him inside. “Okay, open them.” Hassan opened his eyes and stared. He looked around the room, turning in a full circle. He walked around, touching the repaired furniture and the tapestries. He then moved over to the bed. He leaned down and ran his hand along the beautiful handmade quilt that Rayne had made, and then he sat down on the edge of the bed. Hassan looked once more around the room before he let his gaze fall on Rayne’s anxious face. “It would seem that you have made yourself right at home.” Rayne’s heart jumped into his throat when he said that. Was Hassan mad at him for what he had done? Rayne sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at Hassan. “Where did you find all of this old furniture? Did you bankrupt me?” Rayne shook his head. “No, I found it all in the attic. I spent hardly anything on the whole room. Your brother loaned me most of the money. He’s paying me to make him and Anjali some things. If you don’t like it, I can change anything you want.” Rayne jumped up and ran over to his dresser. Opening the top drawer, he pulled out a large notebook. He walked over to Hassan and

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handed him the book. “This is a list of all the money I spent. We can return anything you don’t want.” Hassan opened the book and looked over all Rayne had written along with the receipts. When he was done, he handed the book back. His hands trembling, Rayne took the book from Hassan and turned to walk back over to the dresser, placing the book back into the top drawer. He turned back to Hassan, waiting for his decision. Hassan looked around the room one more time before he looked up at Rayne. “Well, I guess since you’ve already spent the money, we will just have to keep it all.” Rayne’s mind tried to process what had just happened, but it wasn’t working. Rayne stared up at Hassan, trying to figure out what he wanted. He was getting very confused. Looking into Hassan’s face, he saw that his mate was trying desperately to hold back a grin. Suddenly Rayne’s mind kicked into high gear. Hassan was pulling his leg. Seeing that he was figuring out what was going on, Hassan could not seem to control himself any longer. His roar of amusement was deep and rich and filled the room. Rayne growled low in his throat and attacked him. Hassan caught Rayne as he landed in his lap. He fell back on the bed, Rayne landing on top of him. Rayne hit Hassan’s chest with his fists, yelling at him to never do that again. Hassan was still laughing when he rolled over on top of Rayne, pinning his hands above his head. “Mayht, you were so worried that I wouldn’t like the room that I just couldn’t let the chance get away.” Rayne stopped his struggling to look up into Hassan’s face. “How could you do that to me?” Hassan’s grin was still from ear to ear. “Rayne, you’re my mate now. If you wanted to spend all of my money on pink velvet seat covers, I wouldn’t care. This is your home now, too. I am glad that you have put your personal touches in it. That’s what I wanted when I gave you that list.”

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Rayne frowned in confusion. “But I thought you wanted me to do my duty as your mate.” “I wanted you to make this your home.” Rayne’s eyebrows shot up. “So, you gave me a list of chores?” Hassan chuckled. “I gave you a list of things to fix so that you would make this into your home, someplace you were comfortable.” Hassan waved his hand around the room. “Just look what you’ve done with this place.” “Do you like the bedchamber, though?” Hassan kissed the tip of Rayne’s nose. “I love the bedchamber, mayht, and my war room, and the kitchen, and the rest of the house. It all looks wonderful.” Rayne lowered his eyes, ashamed of having attacked him. “Oh.” Hassan laughed at his little comment. “Yeah, oh.” Hassan leaned down and kissed Rayne’s nose again, then his cheek, then his chin. Holding Rayne’s hands above his head with one of his, Hassan reached down with his other to start unbuttoning Rayne’s blue shirt. “Let’s see if you can give me a few personal touches.” **** Rayne lay in bed for a long time after Hassan left, taking Hassy with him so Rayne could sleep. Rayne had a lot of things to think about. To begin with, when Hassan held him in his arms, every thought in his head flew right out. Hassan made love to him like he was the only man on earth for him, and he made Rayne feel things that he had never felt before with anyone. Hassan cared about him. Rayne knew this deep down inside. But Hassan also seemed afraid to let Rayne into his heart. It was like the very thought of loving Rayne terrified him. Rayne knew that his love for Hassan was growing more apparent as each day passed. He couldn’t seem to help it. Hassan just had this hold over him that Rayne could not shake, not that he wanted to. But,

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he was very confused by all of this. It was not something that he was used to. There had not been a lot of loving feelings when he had lived on Elquone, not since his father died. No one there had cared about him or even made him feel welcome. Rayne knew that Hassan tried to make him feel welcome and wanted in the best ways that he could. And to an extent, it worked. When Hassan wasn’t upset with him, he made him feel very welcome in his new home. To be honest, Hassan’s whole family made him feel more than welcome. They had embraced him like he was a long-lost relative. It had taken a while, but he was getting to know each and every one of them in his own special way. Hassan was a different story altogether. Rayne just couldn’t figure him out. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to. He seemed to enjoy watching Rayne try and understand him. When Rayne thought Hassan was going to act one way, he would act the other. One minute he was loving and caring and the next he was a temperamental monster. Rayne never knew where he stood with him. It was all very confusing for him, and a bit aggravating. Their sex life was another story. Rayne knew exactly what Hassan was going to do and when. He couldn’t seem to get enough of Rayne. Whenever he was alone, or in a spare room, or even in the middle of cooking something special, Hassan would drag him somewhere and make love to him. Rayne had to go to sitting farther away from Hassan at mealtime because he was constantly groping him under the table. The first time he had done it, Rayne had shrieked and accidentally dumped his dinner on Urik, who was sitting next to him. It was very embarrassing. If his laughter was anything to go by, Hassan had found the whole thing very amusing. Rayne couldn’t ask for their sex life to be more wonderful. He had also begun to suspect all of the sex they had been having, plus the meat he’d been eating, had produced the results Hassan wanted. Rayne was pretty sure he was carrying.

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A couple of weeks ago, Rayne had written to Saris, telling him how things were going for him. He had written back right away. He seemed genuinely happy for Rayne. He was planning on coming for a visit soon with his mate, Trajan. He had also given him the news from home. Varl seemed to be interested in a local man’s daughter. Hopefully, that would keep him from looking for Rayne, but from what Saris had told him, he had better not hold his breath. About the time Rayne and Hassan had mated, Angela had filed a missing person’s report on Rayne. The local magistrate had questioned Saris. He had given them everything he had on what Varl had done to Rayne. The magistrate had wanted to talk to Rayne, too, but Saris had told them he didn’t know where Rayne was. Varl had even gone by Saris’s clinic and threatened him, trying to get him to tell Varl where Rayne had gone. Since Saris didn’t know, he couldn’t tell him anything. Rayne didn’t think they were going to be able to find him on Katzmann, but just to be on the safe side, Hassan and Rayne had filled the family in on a few of the facts, telling them to be on the lookout for any strangers. They had all expressed their concern. It made Rayne feel good to know they were concerned. Rayne slowly climbed out of bed. Getting dressed, he went downstairs. Rayne went to the kitchen and prepared himself a small snack. He picked up his snack and walked up the stairs to the front door. Stopping at the small side table in the entry, Rayne grabbed some messages that had been left there and then walked outside to the courtyard. Sitting down in a chair, he laid his snack down and began to open the letters. There were some bills from local merchants, a letter for Anjali, and some papers from a barrister’s office. Opening the letter from the barrister, Rayne began to read. It basically said that the oneyear time period was up and the case was going to go back to court.

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Rutika and her father were going for full legal and physical custody on the basis that Hassan was an unfit father. He was never around to spend time with Hassy. He had even mated just so he could have someone to take care of Hassy and he wouldn’t have to. Rutika said that the only reason that Hassan wanted custody of Hassy was to get his hands on the money that Margarita had left him. The papers were from Rutika and her father’s barrister. Rayne set the papers down and thought about the situation as he ate his snack. Was there anything that he could do about the situation? Why were Shaikh McGuffery and his daughter trying to take Hassy away from his father? Rayne sat and thought a few moments more before an idea hit him. He got up and walked back inside to Hassan’s war room. Going over to the desk, he opened the drawer and pulled out the court papers from the first hearing. Reading over it, Rayne was able to confirm his suspicions. Grabbing all the papers, Rayne shoved them into a knapsack and headed for the stables. After having a stable boy saddle a camel for him and getting directions to the McGuffery home, Rayne headed in that direction. Leaving the keep with a small unit of warriors, because Hassan would be pissed if he left without one, Rayne headed east. The McGuffery pride was relatively easy to find. There was a major road that led between the two villages. Rayne assumed that this meant that the prides were on friendly terms. At least, he hoped so. Riding up to the front of the house, Rayne climbed down from his camel and handed the reins to a stable hand. This might not be a good idea, but he had no other choice. He had to do something about this situation. He couldn’t let Hassan lose his son. Walking up to the front door, Rayne knocked loudly. After several moments, an older woman opened the door. “Can I help you?” Rayne smiled his best friendly smile. “I would like to see Shaikh McGuffery, please.”

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The woman opened the door and let Rayne inside. “Please come this way.” The woman led Rayne into the great hall. “Please wait here,” she said then turned and left the room. Rayne glanced around the room. Clasping his hands behind his back, Rayne walked over to the paintings on the mantel. There were several. Seeing one particular painting, Rayne stared at it. It was a wedding painting of Hassan and Margarita. She had been very beautiful. She seemed to be happy, but from what Hassan had said, she wasn’t. “She was very beautiful, wasn’t she?” said a deep voice from behind him. Rayne spun around to see a tall older man in deep blue robes standing at the entrance to the living room. “Yes, she was.” The man walked in a little further. “I had heard that Hassan had mated. What do you want, mate of Hassan?” Rayne stared at him for a few moments before he began to speak. “Would you mind if we sat down?” he asked. “Of course, please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?” Rayne shook his head. “I just want to say what I have come to say, and then I will leave.” Rayne sat down on a low platform filled with pillows, Shaikh McGuffery sitting across from him on another bench. “I want to know why you are trying to take Hassy away from Hassan.” Angus looked at Rayne in confusion. “Who is Hassy, and why would I take anything from Hassan?” Rayne’s mouth dropped open in astonishment for a moment then his lips snapped together firmly. “Shaikh McGuffery—” “Please, please, call me Angus. I hate being called Shaikh McGuffery. It’s so pretentious.” Rayne smiled at him in agreement. “Okay, Angus it is.” Becoming serious, he began his speech again. “Angus, I know what you are

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doing. I have the court papers right here.” Rayne reached down into his knapsack and pulled out all the court papers. Handing the papers to Angus, he continued. “I understand that your daughter died, Angus, but that is no reason to punish Hassan. He lost her also.” Angus looked over the papers Rayne had handed him. “I think you and your daughter are being very cruel. Hassan is a good father, and you will never be able to prove otherwise.” Angus finished reading over the papers, set them down on the table, and stood up to pace over by the window. Rayne was stunned when he looked at him with tears in his eyes. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.” This was definitely a turn of events that Rayne was not expecting. “What do you mean you didn’t know?” Angus walked over to a table and poured himself a drink. Downing it, he set the glass down on the table. Turning to face Rayne, he came back to sit down across from him. “I never knew. When my daughter married Hassan, I disowned her. I didn’t want them to get married. I had other plans for my daughter. I was so angry that she would disobey me. By the time I came to my senses, she was dead. I never got to tell her how sorry I was and how much I missed her.” He wiped his eyes with a trembling hand. “When she died, I was in the capitol, at the High Ruler’s court. I wasn’t able to get back in time for her burial. I never went to the cemetery or to see Hassan. My whole world had died with her. I left. I couldn’t stay here. There are too many memories of Margarita here. I just recently came back. I only came back to get this place ready to hand over to my son, Enard.” Rayne leaned over to pat Angus on the hand. “I never knew that I even had a grandson.” Rayne froze when he said that. How could he not know? “I don’t understand what these papers are. I never filed guardianship papers against Hassan. I didn’t know.”

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Rayne stood up and began to pace the room. “Angus, if you didn’t file these papers, how could your name be on them?” He shook his head. Suddenly he jumped to his feet, startling Rayne. “That bitch!” He looked at Rayne. Rayne could see the anger, mixed with anguish, in his eyes. “Who?” “I left my oldest daughter, Rutika, in charge here. I gave her my seal and a letter of authority. My son wasn’t old enough to take over yet. She must have used that position to file these papers in my name.” Angus stormed out of the room, coming back with a piece of paper a few moments later. He read the paper for several moments before yelling out for someone named Rinardo. An old man came running into the room as fast as his thin little legs could carry him. Angus began yelling at the small, thin man, waving the paper around in the air. Rayne listened to the conversation he was having with what could only be his steward. The conversation took about ten minutes. When he was done, Angus had written a missive to have the custody case against Hassan dropped, and papers were being drawn up to bequeath to Hassy what was supposed to go to Margarita. Since Margarita had died, he had made Rutika his sole beneficiary of much of his property, all except the main homestead, which was to go to his son. Apparently, Rutika wanted to make sure it was all hers. Angus finally turned back to Rayne. “Now, would you mind telling me about my grandson?” Rayne smiled and sat down on the bench. “Oh, do I have stories to tell you.”

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Chapter 10 Rayne headed back to the keep several hours later as fast as he could ride. His heart felt much lighter than it had been just hours before. He couldn’t wait to see Hassan and tell him what had happened. Riding into the courtyard, he rode past the house and over to the stable. He quickly dropped off his camel then went looking for his mate. Rayne called out for Hassan as he headed toward the practice field. Hassan came running over. Rayne smiled at Hassan as he took his hand. “I have some wonderful news for you.” Hassan’s eyebrow arched. “Oh?” Rayne just smiled up at him. “I had a very interesting day. Let me tell you about it while we go inside.” Hassan put his arm around Rayne and walked him inside the house as Rayne told him about his day, starting with the letters. They were in the great hall sitting at a table by the time Rayne was done with his story. Hassan just stared at him, looking totally dumbfounded. “He never knew? How could he not know?” Rayne explained to Hassan about Angus McGuffery being out of the area for so long. “Well, I knew he was gone, but Rutika kept telling me she had been talking to her father. I didn’t have any reason not to believe her. Are you sure he was being truthful with you?” Rayne nodded. “Yes, I heard him talking to his steward. He couldn’t fake what he was going through.” He paused to give Hassan time to think. “Hassan, you need to go see him. You two have to work

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this out. He has a right to see his grandson, and Hassy has a right to see his grandfather.” Hassan slowly nodded his agreement. “I know you’re right.” Hassan stood up and walked toward the front door, only to stop and come back. He gave Rayne a quick kiss then turned and walked back down the hallway. “Chalk another one up, mayht.” Rayne laughed at his reference to his invisible thank-you tally. Hearing Hassan’s horse ride away, Rayne stood up and headed for the kitchen. It was time for Mariana to start the evening meal. Rayne and the rest of the family were just sitting down to mealtime when the front door opened and Hassan called out for Rayne. Rayne quickly stood up and walked down the hallway. “We were just sitting down to mealtime. Are you going to join us?” Hassan’s eyes were bright as he smiled at Rayne. “Do you have enough for one more?” Rayne cocked his head to one side, curious. “We always have room for one more. Why?” Hassan turned around and opened the front door. Angus McGuffery was standing there in the doorway. “Well,” he said as he clapped his hands together, “Angus, welcome to our home.” He grabbed his hand and started to pull him into the great room when a small voice yelled out. “Papa!” Hassy came running down the hallway, throwing himself into his father’s arms. After hugging him, Little Hassan began to tell Hassan all about his day. Rayne looked up at Angus to see tears forming in his eyes. “He looks just like his mother.” Rayne let go of Angus’s hand to reach for Hassy’s. “Hassy, there is someone here I want you to meet.” Hassy looked over at Rayne, then to the older man standing beside him. “Hello, I Hassy.” He stuck out his hand to shake. Angus looked at Hassy and then to Hassan then Rayne. “I don’t know what to say.”

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Rayne smiled at him. For someone who ran an entire clan, he seemed pretty scared of one small little boy. “Hassy, this is your grandfather, Angus.” Hassy looked at Angus curiously for several tense moments. Then he smiled a big toothy grin. “Okay. Gampa Angus sit with me?” He squirmed to get down. Hassan barely had time to set him on the floor before he was off and running again. The three adults watched him run into the great hall, talking as he went. From the silence in the other room, Rayne knew he had just told his uncles about Grandfather Angus. “Well, gentlemen, shall we eat?” Both men looked at him like he had just suggested they all jump off a cliff. Rayne started laughing as he headed down the hallway. “I said I loved you, Hassan. I never said I wouldn’t make your life interesting.” Rayne smiled when he heard them talking as they followed behind him. “You have a lot of trouble bundled up in that little package.” Hassan chuckled. “Don’t I know it.” **** Several days later, Rayne was puttering around the house when he heard someone knock at the front door. Rayne walked to the front door and stopped dead in his tracks when it pushed open. His stomach instantly clenched in fear. “Hello, Rayne,” said Angela. Beside her was Thaterus, and behind both of them was Varl. “What do you want?” Angela smiled a hollow smile. “Why, Rayne, we’ve come to take you home where you belong.” Rayne shook his head. “I am home.” Thaterus slammed the door open further as he pushed past Rayne. “Don’t be stupid, boy. Now get in here and get us something to eat. We had a long trip.”

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Rayne just stood there as Angela brushed past him into the house. How in the hell had they gotten all of the way through the village to the house? Where were the sentries, the warriors? Where was Hassan? When Varl got to Rayne, he stopped. Rayne looked up at him, his level of fear mounting with each passing second. He felt like he was frozen in place and couldn’t move a muscle. “Hello, Rayne, miss me?” Varl grabbed Rayne by the arm and shoved him into the house, slamming the door behind him. Varl pulled Rayne into the entry hall and pushed him up against the wall. He pressed his body up against his. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.” He pressed his mouth to Rayne’s, sticking his tongue into Rayne’s mouth. Rayne began to struggle against him. Varl took his lips from Rayne’s only to reach down and rip the neckline of his shirt. He reached his hand over and twisted one of Rayne’s nipples, causing Rayne to moan in pain. “I’ve missed you.” “Varl, let the boy go. There’s plenty of time for that later. I’m hungry,” yelled Thaterus from the great room. Varl released Rayne, pushing himself away. As soon as he released him, Rayne bent over and threw up on the floor. “Oh gross. That’s disgusting.” Varl quickly jumped out of the way. When Rayne was done, Varl pushed him toward stairs. “Go upstairs and clean yourself up. And hurry up. We’re hungry.” Rayne did as Varl demanded, using any excuse to get away from him. “Don’t even think about trying to get away. You could hurt my baby.” Rayne swung around to face him, terrified that Varl knew that he was pregnant. He hadn’t even told Hassan yet. At his stunned expression, Varl laughed. “What? You didn’t think I knew? Of course I knew. I had you good, didn’t I?”

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Rayne tried to hide his surprise at the words. Varl thought that the baby he carried was his. Rayne quickly realized that Varl didn’t know he had fallen into a drunken stupor before he had been able to force himself on Rayne. He hoped he never found out, at least not until Rayne could escape. Rayne walked to the stairs and climbed to his room. Getting to the top of the stairs, Rayne turned to go into his room when he heard a small voice. “Dada, what wrong.” Rayne turned to see Hassy standing in his doorway. Putting his finger to his mouth, he whispered, “Sshh.” Grabbing Hassy’s hand, Rayne rushed him into his room. Going over to the double doors that led to the balcony, Rayne opened them and walked out to the edge of the railing and looked over. It was a long ways down. There was no way he could make it. But maybe Hassy could. Going back into his room, Rayne pulled the sheets off his bed and began to tie them in a knot to make makeshift rope. He tied the end around Hassy and walked him out onto the balcony. Rayne knelt down next to Hassy, rubbing his hands up and down his little arms. “Honey, listen to me. There are some very bad people downstairs. Dada can’t get away. I am going to lower you over the side to the ground. I want you to go find papa or one of your uncles. Tell them what dada said. Can you do this for dada?” Hassy’s lower lip began to tremble. “Honey, can you be a big boy for dada?” Hassy nodded. “Good boy.” Rayne helped Hassy climb over the railing and then began to slowly lower him to the ground. The pain it caused Rayne was immense, but he knew he had to do it. He only hoped it would not hurt the baby. When Hassy was on the ground, Rayne threw the rest of the sheets over the edge. After telling Hassy to pick up the sheets and run to the stable, Rayne watched him run until he was out of sight.

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Going back into his room, Rayne changed his clothes and washed his face. He was just walking out of the dressing chamber when he found Angela walking around the room, looking at things, putting little items in her pockets. Seeing Rayne walk out of the dressing chamber, she turned toward him. “You shouldn’t have left. Varl wasn’t very happy.” Rayne looked at her, trying hard to remember that this woman was his mother. “I wasn’t going to sign a contract with Varl, no matter what you said.” Angela looked down at Rayne’s stomach. “Well, now you’ll have to.” Rayne lifted his hand and waved it in front of Angela’s face. “See this?” he asked, indicating the ring on his finger. “I’m mated and there is nothing you can do about it.” Angela stared at Rayne’s ring, surprise on her face. “Varl, Thaterus, you’d better get up here.” Angela backed up to the door, hearing the two men run down the hallway. “What’s wrong?” Thaterus asked, clearly out of breath. “Rayne says he went and got himself mated. Now what are we going to do?” Thaterus looked over at Rayne, rage filling his eyes. “Then we’ll just have to make him unmated, won’t we?” Rayne felt fear rip through his body. Running through the double doors to the balcony, Rayne started screaming. “Hassan, they’re going to kill you. Hassan!” Suddenly, arms wrapped around him from behind. A hand went over his mouth as he was pulled back into the bedroom. Rayne was thrown down on the bed on his back. Someone grabbed his hands and pulled them over his head. Rayne heard a tearing sound then he felt his hands being tied to the wooden headboard. Rayne began to scream when the hand was removed from over his mouth until a piece of cloth was tied around his mouth. Next, his legs were tied down to the footboard. Rayne

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looked frantically around the room as three people climbed off the bed. Thaterus looked down at Rayne’s spread-eagle body and then to Varl. “Son, you’d better do something with this boy, and fast. He needs to know who’s the master. He could cost us a lot of money.” Thaterus slapped Varl on the back, giving him a lecherous wink. “When you’re done teaching him who is the master, call me. I’d like a go at him.” Thaterus grabbed Angela by the arm and pushed her out of the room, shutting the door as he left. Rayne heard Thaterus slap Angela as they walked away, not feeling a bit of sympathy for her. Varl looked back over at Rayne and smiled. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. Leaning over he trailed his hand down Rayne’s jaw. “So pretty and so naughty!” As he said the last part he slapped Rayne across the face. He got up and walked into the dressing chamber, coming out with a wet washcloth. “The magistrate took my belt, but this will work.” To show Rayne, he slapped it across his hand. “Do you remember what I said I would do to you if you ever disobeyed me again?” Varl walked over to the bed and sat down. He reached over and began to unbutton Rayne’s new shirt. When he started to part the fabric, Rayne looked away. He tried to get his mind to go somewhere else. Hassan would be here to save him. He just knew he would. He had promised he would never let anyone hurt him again. Rayne was looking out the open balcony doors when he saw a movement by the railing. His heart started pounding faster. Watching closely, Rayne saw Hassan climb over the railing. Tears started down his face when Hassan looked at him. He knew Hassan would rescue him. Looking back up at Varl, Rayne knew he had to distract him. He started to mumble. Varl looked up at him in surprise. Finally, he reached up and pulled the gag out of Rayne’s mouth. “What?”

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Rayne licked his dry lips. Seeing Varl’s reaction to the movements of his lips, a plan began to form in his head. “I’m sorry, Varl. I know I shouldn’t have left the way I did, but you scared me. You are so strong and…and…” Varl was looking at Rayne like he had lost his mind. “If you untie me, I can show you how sorry I really am.” Varl looked skeptical, but he leaned over and started to untie him. He had gotten one hand untied and was reaching for the other one when Hassan hit him over the head with the handle of the knife he was holding in his hand. Varl didn’t make a sound as he slumped over on the bed. “Oh gods, Hassan, I knew you would come.” Hassan began tying Varl up as he talked. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.” When he was done with Varl, he pushed him onto the floor and then sat on the bed. He finished helping Rayne untie himself. When he was all untied, Hassan hugged him close. “Oh, mayht, I am so sorry. I thought you would be protected here. I am so sorry.” Rayne clutched Hassan to him, wanting to erase the feeling of Varl’s hands on him. Suddenly he remembered Hassy. “What about Hassy? Is he okay? Did he make it okay?” Hassan nodded, chuckling softly. “I thought I was going to die when he came tearing in to the practice field, that stupid white sheet blowing in the wind behind him. But I was so proud of him when he told me what had happened. He repeated what you said, word for word. He didn’t miss a beat when he ran toward the house and told me it was time to go save his dada.” “There’s two more downstairs, Angela and Thaterus.” Hassan nodded. “Yes, I know. But don’t worry. We took care of them before I came up here.” He got up and helped Rayne to his feet. When he was standing in front of him, Hassan began to button up his shirt. “This is for my eyes only.”

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After making sure that Varl was tied up and still unconscious, he ushered Rayne out of the room and down the stairs. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Hassy rushed through the door and launched himself at Rayne, Angus close on his heels. “Dada okay?” Rayne nodded. “Hassy do good?” Rayne grinned. “Hassy did great. You did just what dada wanted, and I am very proud of you. You saved me.” His smile lit up the room. He started dancing around the room, telling anyone who would listen that he had saved his dada. Rayne inhaled when Bogden, Urik, and Malachi walked into the room, bringing in the tied-up Angela and Thaterus. He moved closer to Hassan, feeling his arm come around him. Rayne looked over at the woman who had been his stepmother for most of his life. “Why couldn’t you just leave me alone? I never did anything to you. Why?” Angela looked at Rayne, smirking. “For the money your father left you. We only wanted the money.” Rayne was confused. “What money? I don’t have any money. It’s all in a trust that I have no access to.” Angela shrugged. “When your father died he left you everything. I didn’t get a single cent. It can only be released to you when you reach thirty or to whoever signs your contract.” Rayne saw red. “That’s why you wanted me to sign a contract with Varl? For the money? That’s why you let him beat me? That’s why you were going to let them kill my mate?” Rayne walked over to his mother, hatred for the woman eating away at him. “I hope I never see you again, as long as I live.” Rayne turned around and walked out of the room without another word. The boys held the trio in the great hall until the local magistrate got there. After they took away the protesting trio, Hassan and Rayne gave them a complete report. Finally, they left, leaving a tired and relieved family behind.

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Hassan helped Rayne into his war room. “Rayne, there is something I want to show you.” He went to his desk and opened a small drawer. He pulled out a black object and laid it on the desk. It was a knife. “This will be here, in my desk, in case you ever need it. Okay?” Rayne looked at the weapon in disgust. “If you say so, but I don’t ever think I will have to use it.” Hassan put the knife back into the drawer and shut it. “I just want you to know where it is, in case you need it.” Hassan wrapped his arms around Rayne. “Let’s hope you never need it.”

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Chapter 11 Three months later, Rayne was lying in bed after Hassan left to go work on the practice fields. He usually got up really early, but this morning he had stayed late to cuddle with Rayne. Sex was out of the question at this point, but cuddling was not. Rayne decided that it was time for him to stop daydreaming and get out of bed. Getting up, he put his robes back on, then went downstairs and headed for the kitchen. He needed to talk to Mariana about the noon meal. It took a lot of cooking to feed his army. Arriving in the kitchen, he found it empty. Today must be Mariana’s day off. Rayne decided to start making preparations for dinner himself. He was reaching for a plate in the cupboard when he felt the first twinge. Rayne dropped the plate on the floor, shattering it, as he doubled over in pain. Taking a few deep breaths, Rayne felt the pain go away. Waiting to see if it would happen again, Rayne stayed where he was. When nothing happened, he started toward the pantry to get a broom. He had taken only a few steps when the pain hit again. This one brought him to his knees. Rayne waited on his hands and knees for the pain to subside. When it did, he stood up and headed for the stairs. Rayne knew he had to get to Hassan. It took Rayne about ten minutes to get back up the stairs. Looking at the front door, Rayne knew he was not going to make it out to the practice field. He staggered into the great room and sat down at a bench. The baby was early. Tears of pain and fear started to trickle down his face. Rayne stood up and tried to make it to the entrance hall when another

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pain hit. This was by far the worst pain yet. Rayne grasped his protruding stomach and fell to the floor, hitting his head on a table as he fell. **** Hassan glanced up when he heard shouting coming from the house. With Rayne so far along, he worried every time anyone stepped outside. Someone yelling caused him great concern, especially when he saw the frantic look on Mariana’s face. Hassan dropped the ropes in his hand and started running toward the cook. “It’s Rayne,” Mariana shouted as she got closer. Hassan didn’t even stop to ask questions. He just raced past the cook and into the house. Every last bit of breath Hassan had in his lungs left when he spotted Rayne on the floor of the entry hall, a pool of blood spreading out over the hardwood floor under his head. Hassan dropped to his knees beside Rayne, hesitant to touch him but afraid not to. He needed to know that his mate was alive. “Rayne?” he whispered as he reached for his neck, checking for a pulse. “Mayht?” Relief flooded Hassan went he felt a strong and steady pulse. He reached for Rayne, not even glancing up when he heard footsteps running into the house. “Get a healer, now!” he snapped as he gathered Rayne into his arms and carried him up the stairs. Hassan gently laid Rayne down on the bed then went to the bathroom for a clean cloth. He came back and sat down on the side of the bed, pressing the cloth against the gash in Rayne’s forehead. After wiping some of the blood away, Hassan could see that the cut wasn’t too deep. It just bled a lot. Hassan was worried that Rayne hadn’t moved, not even a twitch. “Mayht?” he whispered as he leaned over him. His heart beat a little faster when Rayne’s stomach moved under his hand. The baby seemed to be okay. That didn’t mean Rayne was.

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“You can’t leave me, mayht,” Hassan whispered into Rayne’s ear. He felt tears start to prickle the corners of his eyes. “You promised.” Hassan’s heart started to break when Rayne gave no response. He couldn’t lose him. Rayne was the only thing that made Hassan’s crazy world seem reasonable. He kept Hassan’s demons at bay and gave him a place to call home, and it wasn’t the building that they lived in. Rayne was his home. Hassan buried his face in Rayne’s neck as he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. “Please, mayht, please don’t leave me. I need you. I can’t live without you. I…I love you, Rayne.” Hassan couldn’t believe how easy the words were after he said them. He couldn’t believe how freeing they were. Hassan felt something inside of him well up and spread throughout his entire body, warming him from the inside out. He felt a whispering in his mind, a low buzzing sound, and his heart quickened. “I love you, mayht,” Hassan whispered silently. The buzzing grew louder and louder until Hassan wanted to cover his ears. And then he heard it, a faint whisper. “Mayht?” “Hassan.” **** Hassan began to stir when he felt fingers brush through his hair. His eyes widened when he looked up. Rayne was awake and looking at him. He jumped up and leaned over his mate. “Rayne.” He leaned down and kissed Rayne lightly on the lips then buried his face in Rayne’s hair. He started mumbling to him. “I thought I had lost you. When I heard Mariana screaming, my heart stopped beating. I don’t think it started again until I saw you open your eyes.” Rayne put his free arm around Hassan. Hassan’s whole body was trembling. “Oh gods, mayht, when I found you, crumpled on the floor, blood all around you, I thought I

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was going to die.” When Hassan brought his face back up to kiss Rayne again, he had tears on his cheeks. Rayne reached up to caress his cheek, bewildered. “I told you I would never leave you.” Hassan laughed through his tears. “Yes, you did. Next time I’ll listen to you.” Hassan hugged Rayne as close as he could manage without hurting him. Rayne suddenly frowned and rubbed his hand over his flat stomach. Hassan saw the panic come to life in his eyes. “Hassan,” Rayne said, his voice becoming hysterical between one word and the next. “Where’s my baby? My baby’s gone. Hassan, where is he? What happened to my baby?” Rayne started to struggle in Hassan’s arms, trying to get up. “Rayne, Rayne, calm down, mayht, you have to calm down.” He was trying to keep Rayne from hurting himself. “Saris!” he yelled. The door opened and Saris came running in. He saw what was happening and reached for a bottle on the side table. Rayne was screaming at Hassan now, all reason gone. Bogden came running in. Seeing what was happening, he helped hold Rayne down while Saris administered a sedative. Within seconds the sedative started to take effect. Rayne stopped struggling and fell back on the bed. “Hassan,” he said in a near whisper, “what happened to my baby?” Hassan took Rayne’s hand in his, leaning close to him. “The baby is going to be fine, I promise. You just get some rest now. I’ll tell you all about it.” Hassan started telling Rayne about the birth of their baby. He hadn’t even gotten to the good part when Rayne fell asleep. Hassan chuckled as he realized he’d have to wait to tell Rayne about the wild ride the family had been through since Rayne was discovered on the floor. First, there was Urik’s frantic ride to the local healer, then everyone’s absurd rush outside of Rayne’s bedchamber. Hassan was

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holding Rayne in his arms, the whole family standing at his side when the healer rushed into the room, yelling for water and sheets. Servants had come running from every direction. They had placed Rayne on the bed and the healer had examined him. When it became apparent that they were not going to be able to stop his labor, Hassan had put in a call to Saris. By the time Saris arrived a few hours later, Rayne’s cut had been dealt with, but he was in full-blown labor. Saris and the healer had rushed everyone out. They had tried to get Hassan to stay in the hallway, but he would have none of it. He was there all the way. He was there when Saris cleaned Rayne up and assessed the damage, and he was there when the doctors delivered a beautiful brown-haired baby girl, and he was there when Saris placed that perfect little girl in his arms. The minute Hassan looked at her, he was in love. She was the very image of Rayne, right down to the violet eyes. The healer had taken the baby away to examine her and then clean her up while Saris had taken care of Rayne. They said Rayne did not have a concussion, but he had banged himself up pretty bad. Only time would tell when he woke up. Hassan hadn’t left Rayne’s side since he was brought into the room. He didn’t plan on leaving it until he knew Rayne was okay, either. He didn’t want Rayne to wake up alone. Hassan was watching Rayne for any sign of movement when his eyes started to flutter. He held his breath, leaning closer as they fluttered then finally opened. Hassan smiled so wide he thought his mouth might split open. “Hi, how are you feeling?” Rayne licked his lips. “I’m thirsty.” Hassan smiled as he reached over to the bedside table, grabbing a short glass of water. He gently brought it up to Rayne’s lips. When Rayne was done, Hassan set the glass back down on the table and turned back to his mate. “You look much better.”

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Rayne’s smile wobbled a bit. “Do you remember the last time you woke up?” Rayne frowned then shook his head no. “Well then, I guess I will fill you in on everything that has happened, but first, there is someone I want you to meet.” Hassan turned to walk out of the room, stopping at the door. He turned back to Rayne as he opened the door. “Now don’t go anywhere.” Rayne smiled. Hassan stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He walked right next door and grabbed the small bundle from his brother, Bogden. He had a crowd of people follow him back into the bedchamber. When they saw that Rayne was awake, they started to be as loud as usual. “Hey, Rayne, how are you feeling?” Urik asked as he let go of a squirming Hassy. “Dada booboo all gone?” Hassy wrapped his arms around Rayne, kissing any spot on his face he could reach. Rayne started laughing at Hassy’s exuberance. Hassan smiled. Rayne was definitely feeling better. Hassan walked around his brothers and over to Rayne’s bed. He had something in his hands. “Rayne, I would like you to meet our daughter.” His voice broke as he said his words. He leaned down and laid the baby in Rayne’s trembling arms. Urik fluffed the pillows behind Rayne’s head, helping him to sit up. Rayne looked down at the precious bundle in his arms and then up at Hassan, wonder all over his face. “Hassan?” Hassan sat on the edge of the bed and proceeded to tell Rayne the whole story of his ordeal. While he was talking, everyone piled quietly out of the room, leaving the two lovers alone. As Hassan talked, Rayne pulled the blanket back and looked at the baby girl. He traced the baby’s fingers and toes, her light brown hair, and her soft pink cheeks. There wasn’t any baby fat on her because she was so early. But she was perfect.

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At the end of his story, Hassan touched Rayne’s hand where it rested on the baby. “Saris said she will be just fine.” Rayne was wrapping the baby back up in the blanket when Saris walked into the room. “Well, look who’s awake. And how are you feeling today, Rayne?” Rayne smiled. “I’m perfect.” “Well.” Saris chuckled and gestured for Hassan to take the baby. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that, hmm?” Saris examined Rayne for a few moments and then nodded in satisfaction. “Yep, it looks like you are indeed perfect. Just remember, no eating meat for at least six months and no sex for six weeks.” Hassan paled. “No sex?” Saris arched an eyebrow. “You heard me.” “Sucks, doesn’t it?” Trajan asked. “Try having twins. It doesn’t matter if the body is healed or not, you’re too damn tired.” **** A few days after Rayne first woke up, Saris announced that he could get out of bed and join the family in the great room. Rayne was dressed and sitting in a chair by the window, holding the baby, when Hassan walked in. He stopped when he saw two of the three most important people in his life sitting by the window. Rayne looked up and smiled at him. “Hi,” he said softly. Hassan let go of the door and walked over toward them. Kneeling next to the chair, Hassan kissed Rayne on the lips and leaned over to kiss the baby softly on the head. Looking back up to Rayne he said, “Hi, mayht, are you ready to go downstairs?” Rayne handed the baby to Hassan. “Definitely.” Hassan took the baby from Rayne, giving him a longing look. “How long did Saris say I had to wait?” Rayne laughed. “Six weeks. You can suffer that long.” As he stood up next to Hassan, he ran his hand down Hassan’s pants to grab

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the bulge building there. “There are always other things we can do until then.” Hassan shuddered as he groaned. “Gods, I’ve missed you, mayht.” He wrapped the sleeping baby in her blanket and laid her down on the bed, making sure there were plenty of pillows around her. “Come here.” Rayne walked into his waiting arms. Hassan lowered his lips to Rayne’s, kissing him like a starving man. And he was a starving man. It felt like forever since he had held Rayne in his arms. They were still locked together when a voice by the door said, “Well, I can see I will be back in here in a few months.” They broke apart and looked toward the door to see Saris standing by the door. “Hopefully, you will be seeing a lot of us. I like big families.” Saris laughed at Rayne’s stunned expression. “You also can’t seem to keep your hands off of your mate.” Hassan leaned down and kissed Rayne’s mouth, closing it. “Thank the gods he doesn’t seem to mind!” “Just try and space them out a little, okay?” Hassan looked over at Saris in confusion. Then understanding hit him and he laughed. “I will try my best.” Hassan helped Rayne down the hallway. Stopping at the end of the hallway, he glanced over at Rayne. “Well, mayht, are you ready to have our new daughter meet everyone?” Rayne smiled over at Hassan. “Yes, I believe I am.” Hassan walked up beside Rayne as they headed downstairs to the great room. Rayne turned to Hassan, questioning him about where everyone was. “I don’t know,” he said as he shrugged. “Why don’t you go on in to the great room and I will go and find them.” Rayne nodded and headed into the family hall. Hassan quietly trailed behind him, watching closely. He knew exactly where

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everyone was. Rayne stopped suddenly and jumped when everyone shouted, “Welcome back.” Everyone rushed forward and started welcoming Rayne back. Hassan grinned and handed the baby to Saris as he slipped away to get something special he had been working on for the past few weeks in secret. It took him just a few minutes to run outside and grab his little surprise. When he came back into the great room with it in his arms, he could hear the exclamations of wonder from everyone, but he had eyes only for Rayne’s reaction. He carefully set the antique, handcrafted rocking cradle on the floor in front of Rayne then grabbed his hand, looking around the room. “This cradle has been in my family for five generations. Throughout the years, every newborn baby born into this family has slept in it.” Urik stepped over and handed Hassan a little book. “This is our family history. Every birth, death, and mating has been recorded in this book. All the people mated in this family have their names in this bible. All the children who have slept in this cradle have their names in this book. Today we add a new name to this book.” Hassan felt tears come to his eyes as he looked at his mate. “Rayne, our mating may have started for all the wrong reasons. But I will never regret it, not for the rest of my life. I’m not sure I ever expected to have any more children after Hassy was born. This baby was a surprise to us all, but she was born in love. With your permission, I will add our daughter’s name to this book.” He tried to tell Rayne with his eyes how much he loved him. And he told him in other ways, too. “I love you, Rayne,” he whispered through their mental bond. “I always will.” Rayne looked shocked as he glanced around the room at everyone. They were all looking at him, waiting. “None of you mind that the baby and I are here, that we have disrupted your lives so much? None of you mind that Varl and my stepmother came here?”

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Bogden looked at everyone, then at Rayne. “As Shaikh of the Leonid Pride, I think I speak for everyone here. We were a little skeptical when Hassan requested a brüter as his mate. When he brought you home, well, we all tried our best to accept you. After a while, you made this place a home, and, whether or not we wanted it, you wormed your way into our hearts.” Everyone laughed at the last bit of his statement. “When Hassan told us everything that had happened to you it didn’t matter to us. You and the baby are now and will always be a part of this pride. Nothing else matters. We take care of our own.” Rayne looked around the room at all the dear faces smiling back at him. “Do you all feel this way?” Everyone nodded their heads. “Okay then,” he said, looking back at Hassan. “You can put the baby’s name in the book.” Hassan opened the book and turned to a page with several names written down in it. Rayne leaned over to watch Hassan write the baby’s name in the book. He was writing it down under the words that he had written just a few months earlier. He finished the writing and closed the book. Hassan walked over and placed the book on the antique trunk Rayne had found in the storage room. He turned back to the group of people, a broad smile on his face. “Well, don’t we have a party to get to?” Everyone started laughing at his statement. They filed out of the room and down the stairs, heading for the great hall. Hassan grabbed Rayne’s hand, holding him back. When everyone had left the room, Hassan wrapped his arms around Rayne. He leaned down and gave Rayne a light peck on the lips. “That is for my daughter.” Leaning back, Hassan whispered softly against Rayne’s lips, “This is for me.” Hassan touched his lips to Rayne’s, kissing him like he was the most important person in his life. And he was.

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THE END WWW.STORMYGLENN.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Stormy believes the only thing sexier than a man in cowboy boots is two or three men in cowboy boots. She also believes in love at first sight, soul Mates, true love, and happy endings. Stormy lives in the great Northwest region of the USA, with her gorgeous husband and soul Mate, six very active teenagers, two boxer/collie puppies, one old-biddy cat, and one fish. You can usually find her cuddled in bed with a book in her hand and a puppy in her lap, or on her laptop, creating the next sexy man for one of her stories. Stormy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website at www.stormyglenn.com

Also by Stormy Glenn Siren Classic ManLove: Katzman 1: The Katzman’s Mate Siren Classic ManLove: Katzman 2: Dream Mate Siren Classic ManLove: Katzman 3: Pride Mate

For all other titles, please visit www.bookstrand.com/stormy-glenn

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