Caleb frowned. McBride’s wound shouldn’t still be bleeding. Worse, McBride shouldn’t be wearing an expression of concerned restraint. If anything, he should be the one man who looked confident in Caleb. That he didn’t seem to be steadfast in believing in him was devastating.
“Just what the hell have I ever done that makes all of you doubt me now?” Caleb rose from the couch, polished off his drink, and then moved to the bar to get another. He had been feeling damn proud of himself, but he wasn’t now. Everyone, including McBride, was wary and unsure. Caleb wanted to rail at them, but realized he’d never done much of anything to inspire confidence in anyone. His brothers knew of only a time or two when he’d gone out of his way to protect them. He hadn’t wanted them to think he was soft, but now he realized they didn’t seem to know how much he cared. Being seen as a strong man most certainly had its drawbacks.
“We don’t doubt you.” McBride finished his drink and set the glass aside. “We’re just not real clear on what you’re planning to do.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say
that makes two of us
, but Caleb refrained. Telling McBride and his brothers that he was seriously considering Gage’s offer wouldn’t be wise. They’d erupt in shock and possibly violence against him. So he kept quiet. Once he decided what he was going to do and how to present that decision to the group, he would, but until then, silence would serve him well. He had forty-eight hours to tell Gage what he was going to do, so he figured he had about forty to think on it.
Still, saying nothing seemed to be putting everyone on edge. To buy himself some time, Caleb took the bottle of whisky over to McBride and refilled his drink. He lifted the bottle, offering it out to the other men there, but they all shook off his gesture and clung more fiercely to their mates. All of them but for McBride had their arms around the men they loved. They showed him without words that they weren’t so concerned for themselves but struggling on tenterhooks because of their mates.
“I’m not going to do anything—” Caleb cut himself off. He’d been about to say that he wasn’t going to do anything unless they all agreed on it, but that wasn’t true. He simply couldn’t make that claim when he wasn’t the leader. McBride was still in charge. Caleb wouldn’t do anything unless McBride wanted him to do it. However, if he said that, he was going to be dumping everything on McBride, who clearly wasn’t ready to take command back. Conflicted, Caleb used one of McBride’s favorite tricks. He kept his mouth closed and let other men fill the void.
For a long time, no one said anything, which left his comment hanging out in the air, naked and twisting. Finally, Alden rose from Gannon’s lap. Unlike the other thralls, Alden didn’t wear a collar. Caleb wasn’t certain of all the details, but it was something about Gannon not wanting to own him. Gannon considered Alden free to leave if he so wished. Well, that, and if McBride permitted it. Caleb hadn’t understood at first, but now he did. Giving Alden his freedom was the most powerful gift, and it ironically made him fiercely attached to Gannon. Loyalty was far more binding than any collar.
“I want to go and see to the thrall.”
“Angel.”
“That’s his name?” Alden’s head tilted to the side. It was a habit he had when he wasn’t quite certain if he’d read someone’s lips right.
“That’s what Gage told me they called him.” Caleb had never seen a more terrified man. Leaving Angel alone wasn’t the kindest thing, but Caleb didn’t know what to make of him or Gage’s other offer. As far as he could tell, Angel was utterly untouched. No one had drunk from him or fucked him. How that had come about was a mystery given the state of the world, but Caleb hadn’t had the time or the heart to interrogate him. Besides, Angel was so frightened Caleb had a feeling he’d say whatever he thought Caleb wanted to hear. Or do whatever he thought would mollify Caleb the most. As soon as they’d stepped into the little house, Angel had gone right back to the bedroom, placed himself on the bed, and then lifted his butt up high, presenting himself to Caleb. Most slammers would have been utterly aroused and probably unable to resist, but Caleb wasn’t most slammers. He never had been and never would be. The only man he ever wanted to see offering himself like that was McBride.
“You’re not going out there.” Gannon was up and pulling on his mate. When he realized Alden hadn’t been looking at him when he spoke, he repeated what he’d said while cupping Alden’s chin. “I’m not going to let you go out there alone when we don’t know anything about him.”
“Then come with me. I don’t think it’s kind to leave him out there by himself. I wouldn’t like to be treated that way. Would you?”
“No one is going out there.” McBride pulled the rag away from his ear and grimaced when blood dripped down onto his neck. He put the rag back. “Caleb is right that we don’t know what he’s here for.”
“They were dragging him along.” Devon’s tone was condescending.
“And you think that means what?” McBride asked. Caleb knew what McBride was thinking, but Devon didn’t. Despite his brother’s considerable intellect, he didn’t know how to think like a devious criminal. Caleb was a little chagrinned that it came so naturally to him.
“Well,” Devon said. “It’s obvious he’s not with them. They wouldn’t have put a leash on him or that huge cape.”
“They might have only been trying to make him
look
like a prisoner.” McBride kept his voice low and even. “Caleb’s right. We shouldn’t assume he’s going to be friendly to us whether he was truly their prisoner or not. As difficult as this is, we have to be suspicious of outsiders.” McBride met Caleb’s gaze briefly then looked away. It was a look that seemed to say maybe they couldn’t be all that certain of the men already in their ranks.
Caleb bristled at that then let it go. He wasn’t a mind reader, and angering at McBride over nothing had caused both of them more trauma than it was worth.
“For all we know, they abused him.” Karsten crossed his arms over his chest. “And we all know abused thralls can’t be trusted.” Given how Karsten had come to them, it was no wonder he was offended by their distrust of Angel.
“That’s not what anyone is saying.” Devon tried to reassure his mate, who had been violently abused against his will, but Karsten wasn’t having it.
Karsten rose from Devon’s lap and moved swiftly toward the foyer. It was obvious to Caleb that he was intent on leaving and perhaps going over to the thrall, but McBride was up and off the couch, stepping in front of the archway that led into the dining room. Back and forth the two argued, but ultimately, McBride offered to go over and check on Angel. “Will that satisfy you?”
Karsten darted a fast glare at Caleb, and then his gaze softened when he looked at McBride. “Thank you.” But Karsten didn’t have to speak a word to make it clear he trusted McBride but not Caleb. It hurt. Being distrusted stung far more than Caleb wanted to admit.
“Ollie? Can you fix up something for me to take over there?”
“Sure.” Ollie was up and running off to the kitchen with his mate, Jonas, hot on his heels.
“There’s a fully stocked cookbot over there.” Caleb felt the need to defend his decision when he really didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. Isolating the thrall was exactly what McBride would have done. No one would have blinked at his decision, but when Caleb did the same thing he was a monster.
“He may not know how to use it,” Easton piped up. “We’re not taught that in the thrall house.”
“Only theory and no practice, right?” Jared teased his mate and then nuzzled his neck. Easton’s disasters in the kitchen were legendary.
“It won’t hurt to just take something over to him.” McBride stuffed his ear rag in his front pocket despite the fact his lobe was still oozing slightly.
The injury should have ruined McBride’s handsome appearance, but it didn’t, at least not in Caleb’s eyes. Somehow, he was far more interesting with some of his symmetry removed. As he watched, blood swelled up along the cut, filling out into a bubble that got bigger and heavier until it ultimately fell free. Caleb’s canines extended, and his mouth watered uncontrollably. It was totally inappropriate and would only make him look worse if anyone noticed, so he said nothing. Instead, he got up and exited the room right on McBride’s heels.
“I think I can handle talking to him by myself.” McBride stood in the foyer, waiting for Ollie.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.”
“You were over there for a long time with him. Did he say anything?”
Caleb’s canines only ached worse now that he was closer to McBride and could smell the rich, coppery goodness of his blood. Lowering his face, more to hide his sudden blood hunger than anything else, he murmured, “He was too scared to say much.”
“Did you—never mind.” McBride shook his head, flinging a single drop of blood onto Caleb’s arm.
Caleb stared at the crimson splatter for what felt like a solid hour. The urge to lick it shook him to the core. Such a small drop of blood wouldn’t bind them, but the taste of it might make him crazed for more. What seemed a lifetime ago, Caleb had nicked the tip of McBride’s finger and sucked at the pearl of blood. In that moment, he’d luxuriated in the taste of his master, but what he’d been thinking about at the time was performing the same motion on McBride’s cock. But then he remembered when they’d been in the shower together, and McBride had tried to bind them. He’d spit his blood out because he wasn’t ready then and he wasn’t so sure he was now.
In the end, Caleb lifted his arm and licked the drop of blood. McBride’s essence exploded in his mouth, making his teeth itch and his cock harden.
A low, slow groan caused him to look up.
McBride had witnessed what he’d done. “I need to know.”
“You have the worst timing.”
“I know. But that doesn’t change anything.”
Caleb brushed his hair back tenderly, loving the way McBride moved forward into his caress. “Rather than tell you, let me show you.” Caleb traced his finger down to McBride’s injured ear. Carefully, he swiped his finger against the still-bleeding wound, and then put his finger in his mouth.
After another groan, McBride moved closer.
For a moment, Caleb thought they would toss caution to the wind and go at one another hungrily right here in the foyer, but the sensual spell was broken when Ollie entered with a covered plate. McBride stepped back with smooth precision. It was as if they’d never been pressed closely together at all.
Ollie offered out the covered plate to McBride, but Caleb took it into his hands first.
“So you’re coming with me?”
“I am.”
A curious look crossed McBride’s face, but Caleb couldn’t read it, and then McBride was opening the door. The first thing that struck Caleb was how cool the evening had turned. As soon as he stepped out, his nipples hardened. He realized going over to the little house in an aroused state would absolutely send the wrong message to the thrall, but there wasn’t a lot he could do to tame his hormones. McBride always brought out his basest urges. From the moment Caleb had seen him, he’d wanted him. That yearning had never abated for long.
“Were you able to get any information out of him at all?”
“Not really.” Caleb left off rubbing his teeth with his tongue since that only seemed to aggravate his hunger. “He said he was kept blindfolded.”
“He wasn’t used?”
“Not from what I could tell.”
“I noticed you checked him out rather thoroughly.”
Caleb heard the jealousy in McBride’s tone. “I was playing a part.”
“You played it very well.”
“Would you have had me play it badly?” Caleb’s grip tightened on the plate.
“Not at all. I’m just a little concerned you managed it so perfectly.”
Caleb stopped about twenty feet from Ollie’s house. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s really going on?”
“Nothing. Let’s just get this over with. We can talk later.” McBride looked to continue on, but Caleb reached out his free hand and grasped his shoulder.
“Not later. Too many times we’ve fucked things up because we wouldn’t listen, we’d lie, or we’d imagine things that weren’t true.”
“Now you want to talk?” McBride scratched at his ear and got a smearing of blood for his trouble. With a few softly mumbled swears, he took his rag out of his pocket and pressed it to his ear. “Where was this man when I was pouring my heart out at the dinner table?”
“Did you really expect me to stand up and start telling you exactly how I felt in front of everyone?” Caleb couldn’t imagine a more terrifying scenario.
“Well, yeah. I managed to handle doing it.”
“Well, you have more balls than I do.” Caleb realized he was clutching the plate so hard he was going to break it if he didn’t relax. “I felt utterly exposed.”
“I’m sorry.” McBride’s annoyance seemed to soften. “That wasn’t my intention.”
“What
was
your intention?”
“I just wanted you to know the truth.”
“Couldn’t you have done that in private?”
“Well, no. I wanted to clear the air. I didn’t want to hide anymore, and that meant letting everyone in on the truth. I was sick of feeling ashamed of how I felt about you. In the old way of things, our relationship was wrong, and I kept feeling that it was, but another part of me knew it was right all along.” McBride grimaced. “Clearly, I’m not the most eloquent speaker. I’m trying to say I don’t want to hide behind my class, my shield, any of those outward trappings anymore. I want to be honest with you about how I feel.”