Clan, Honor, and Empire, page 42
part #3 of Clan Beginnings Series
I’m an idiot for not noticing how bad off my Imdiko is. I’m tempted to have Breft punish me for letting it get to this point, Rajhir thought.
“No more arguments?” he pushed. “So it’s safe to assume we’re going to hold it at six weeks’ vacation. I’m glad to see you’re going to be smart and keep your mouth shut so I don’t add on more.”
Flencik went purple with rage. However, he either recognized Rajhir was not going to be moved or that Breft would back their Dramok up. Either way, he would be forced to obey no matter how angry he became.
The Imdiko jerked to his feet and stormed out of the dining cubby. His heavy footfalls told Rajhir he went into his private study. There was the sound of things slamming around as Flencik vented his fury. The loudness rivaled the storm rumbling outside.
It had been quite the day for Flencik’s rarely-seen temper, Rajhir thought. Thank goodness the man had no sense of how to use his powerful frame against others. Had Flencik been a trained fighter, Rajhir didn’t think he and Breft would have stood a chance.
Sounding simultaneously awed and amused, Breft asked, “Are you really going to make the call?”
Rajhir poured himself the last of the bohut. “I’d better. Flencik can’t lie for shit once he’s been caught doing something wrong, but he’s sneaky enough to keep quiet and go to work after I’ve left in the morning.”
Breft cocked an eyebrow. The pull at the corner of his lips showed amusement was winning. “He’d try it even with me watching him?”
“He’s very good at cajoling people to see things his way when he wants something bad enough.” Rajhir eyed his new Nobek. “I have talked to some of those who knew you back at the training camp. They expressed great surprise you’d gone off so hard on an Imdiko like Flencik. Knowing my clanmate the way I do, I fail to share in that surprise.”
Breft’s gaze narrowed. “He didn’t try to win me over. If you’re saying I’m easily played, you’re wrong. I did all the pursuing.”
Rajhir snickered at Breft’s defensive tone. “And that, my naive friend, is the story of how that sweet man charmed a brutal, nasty Nobek. You chased Flencik until he caught you.”
Rajhir didn’t believe that was what had happened between Flencik and Breft. However, it was too good an example of how devious Flencik could be. It made the perfect scenario to instruct the Nobek on what to watch out for when it came to the Imdiko’s gentle manipulations. Breft’s widening eyes told Rajhir he’d struck a chord.
The Dramok continued. “It’s obvious Flencik has you captivated. Just as he’s managed to get you into my clan, he’s perfectly capable of charming you into other things. Like perhaps letting him go into work to check on his research for just an hour behind my back. Then you’d hear, ‘Oh, I’m almost done, I’ll be finished in another hour.’ Next it would be, ‘Just five minutes more.’ Next thing you know, he’s gotten you to let him spend a full day watching cells regenerate.”
Breft turned to gaze at the door through which Flencik had stormed moments ago. He looked thunderstruck. “You think so?”
Rajhir chuckled. “Trust me, Flencik is not above using that sweet face to get what he wants. You’ll want to watch out for that.”
Breft grinned at Rajhir, his expression filling with appreciation. “Sneaky Imdiko. I didn’t know he had it in him. I like it.”
Rajhir punched the frequency that would connect him to Flencik’s supervisor. “I figured you would.”
Chapter 28
Dr. Tutos was not surprised by Rajhir’s call. “By all means, have Flencik take the time,” Flencik’s supervisor said over the com. “I’ve been after him to ease up since your father’s death. I’m worried he’s trying to drown his grief in work.”
“I’d prefer Flencik not even come in to re-arrange his schedule,” Rajhir said. “I’m concerned that if he steps in that hospital, it will take an army to get him back out.”
Tutos chuckled. “Your Imdiko has dedication that I admire. However, it’s working to his detriment when he can’t make himself slow down. I’ll handle it, Dramok Rajhir. Tell Flencik we’ll see him in six weeks.”
Flencik slept on his private room’s couch that night in revenge. Rajhir let him.
The Dramok told Breft, “I’m sorry it’s not the proper way to celebrate you joining our clan, but he does need the rest.”
“Agreed.” Breft didn’t seem put out in the least over the Imdiko pouting. “Besides, there’s all the rest of my life once he gets over it.”
Rajhir saw to it that he did his duty by the Nobek that night. Breft was stunned by the amount and variety of sex toys at Rajhir’s disposal. The young man’s shock allowed the clan leader to take advantage and dominate. It was the last time that week he was easily able to overcome his battle-trained clanmate.
Flencik was still sleeping when Rajhir left for work the next morning. By the time the Dramok returned home for the evening meal, Flencik was more like his old self. He even greeted Rajhir with a smile and a kiss when he came in. He still looked weary, however, and he was quieter than usual.
“He slept until late afternoon,” Breft told Rajhir in a low voice as they took care of dinner preparations. Flencik relaxed in the entertainment room, watching the news vids. “He acts drugged.”
“The exhaustion is catching up to him now that he’s being made to acknowledge it,” the Dramok opined. “We’ll keep an eye on him. If he’s not doing better by tomorrow evening, I’ll insist he gets checked out by a doctor.”
However, Flencik did improve each day, a little at a time. By the end of the first week, he was putting weight back on and didn’t seem so pale. Yet Rajhir agreed with Breft that Flencik should be recovering faster.
One night Rajhir asked the Imdiko what he did all day while the Dramok worked. Flencik gave him a put-out look.
“I’m watching vids. Reading. Walking on the beach. Shopping. Napping. Going crazy because Breft won’t even let me com the hospital to check the status of my research or my patients. I’m bored senseless, Rajhir.”
“Good. Keep it up. I want you back to your old self. And don’t think when you go back to work I’ll put up with you doing 17-hour days,” Rajhir warned. “If you pull a stunt like that again, I’ll have Breft strap your ass until you can’t sit.”
The Nobek sighed wistfully upon hearing that decree. “Great. Now you’ve got me wanting to encourage Flencik’s misbehavior.”
Another improvement was that Flencik’s bruising from wild sex antics with Breft had lessened dramatically. That was because Rajhir had the younger man take out his aggressive hormone-driven needs on him instead. Mornings and nights found the pair battling all over the home for dominance. Rajhir made sure he and Breft fucked first thing so the Nobek wouldn’t take out some of his more violent tendencies on Flencik while Rajhir was at work. At night, Breft was hot-tempered from keeping himself reined in all day. He and Rajhir went at each other with little mercy before they collapsed into sleep.
Rajhir now fully appreciated the brutality of the Nobek breed’s youthful sex drive. He felt sympathy for his new clanmate. Breft never failed to apologize profusely for losing control and dealing out damage. It was apparent his contrition was genuine.
It was also apparent that despite the bruising he’d visited on Flencik before, Breft had held back tremendously when intimate with the Imdiko. Rajhir’s more controlling nature set off the Nobek’s worst tendencies, and their fights for dominance left both men reaching for bandages often. Rajhir was grateful his father Astef had trained him in some fighting tactics and plenty of self-defense. If not for that, he thought Breft would have landed him in the hospital more than once.
Such was the state of things nearly two weeks after Rajhir forced Flencik to go on sabbatical from work. Then one night after a particularly fierce encounter with Breft, the exhausted and sore Dramok fell asleep. It was quite dark when he was roused by Breft shaking his shoulders.
“What? Huh?” Rajhir mumbled, his eyes peeling open with difficulty. He looked into Breft’s face, noting the swollen black eye he’d given him during that night’s fight.
Then Rajhir realized that Flencik was not between them on the sleeping mat, where he belonged. Flencik wasn’t in bed at all.
“What is it, Breft?” Rajhir asked, shoving aside his tiredness.
Looking worried, the Nobek said, “Something is wrong with Flencik. He got up about 15 minutes ago and went into his personal room. I followed him and he’s just sitting there, staring into space. I asked him if he was okay, but he won’t talk to me.”
“All right. I’ll see what’s going on.”
Rajhir stifled a groan as he got up. He was black and blue all over. Breft looked a little better off despite losing their nightly battle this time.
Rajhir had won that night’s round but according to his body, it had come at a high price. It was no wonder younger Nobeks tended to find themselves partnered with each other for recreational sex. Unlike Imdikos and Mataras, Nobeks rarely clanned at an early age. No sane Dramok or Imdiko would allow themselves to get beat up twice a day over sex.
As he limped down the hall towards Flencik’s private room, Rajhir remembered telling Breft how all young Kalquorian males had to deal with the overwhelming carnal urges of puberty. He’d insisted the Nobek needed to stop behaving like an animal. He felt like an ass now for saying such things.
Rajhir’s recent conversations with Astef had verified that Dramoks and Imdikos did not have the same hormonal experiences as adolescent Nobeks. Rajhir had gotten quite the education in the warrior breed’s sex drives these past few days. He now knew that Breft couldn’t help the desperate need that rode him almost nonstop. The Nobek had reached the stage at which he could exercise better control than he currently did, but Rajhir could appreciate it was damned hard to do so when one’s cocks were stiff, swollen, and aching for relief. It was Astef’s opinion that in order to maintain better restraint over himself, Breft needed a good reason to do so. He needed an incentive that affected him at his emotional core.
Rajhir had not yet come up with a compelling excuse that would flip that switch for his Nobek. As he stumbled down the corridor, Breft trailing silently after him, he hoped he’d figure that out soon. Rajhir enjoyed the sex, but the side effects hurt like hell.
Rajhir entered Flencik’s personal room without knocking. The Imdiko sat on his overstuffed couch, hunched and staring at the floor between his feet. He didn’t look up to acknowledge his clanmates. He sat and stared, looking the most miserable Rajhir had ever seen him.
Flencik’s personal space was as stringently clean as ever, owing to the fact its occupant was a doctor. Shelves with personal mementos and vid pictures lined the walls, not a speck of dust daring to mar their surfaces. The desk was tidy with only the state-of-the-art computer system and Flencik’s handheld in evidence. Even the hover chair, currently resting on the floor, looked as clean as the day the Imdiko had unpacked it from its shipping case.
The surroundings were lively with flowers in vases, bright landscape artwork hanging on the walls, and plush, colorful pillows surrounding Flencik on the couch. The room was as cheerful as the usual demeanor of the man who spent his private time in it.
Tonight Flencik was a long way from cheerful. Worry wormed its way into Rajhir’s gut. Was his beloved clanmate ill? Had the Dramok erred in not insisting Flencik be checked out by a doctor before now? Exhaustion alone could not account for the obvious wear Rajhir saw on his lifemate’s face.
He came over and sat down next to his clanmate. “My Imdiko? What’s wrong?”
Flencik’s head rose. His dejected gaze held Rajhir’s for a moment before looking to Breft. Then he looked at Rajhir once more, his eyes brightening with unshed tears. Flencik shook his head and resumed staring at the floor.
Rajhir turned to the third man in the room. “Go out for a bit, Breft.”
“Why? I want to help.”
The Nobek’s tone hedged on belligerent, but Rajhir knew he was genuinely concerned for Flencik. Whatever else the youth’s shortcomings might be, Breft loved their Imdiko with unstinting devotion. For that alone, Rajhir thought it had been worth clanning him.
Right now though, the Dramok felt sure that Flencik would not speak of what was bothering him in front of Breft. It had been in the way he’d looked at them both.
In his most diplomatic tone, Rajhir whispered to the Nobek, “I need to get him alone and figure out what’s in his head. This calls for subtlety.”
Breft frowned. Rajhir could well imagine what the Nobek was thinking: his function within the clan was to protect its members. Something was wrong, and to fix it, Breft needed to discover what was going on.
However, there was no enemy for Breft to fight on Flencik’s behalf. Even so, his instincts were on the rise, evidenced by the slight waft of arousal scent coming off him. The need to fight excited Breft, just as everything else seemed to.
The spicy aroma gave Rajhir an idea. He told Breft, “Take my handheld and go to a pleasure club. You’ll find funds under the files labeled with my name. Use the account labeled ‘personal’, not ‘household’.
“The pleasure club?” Breft looked at him in surprise.
Rajhir nodded. “Find some other Nobeks to play with for a little while. No Imdikos or Dramoks, though. Remember, you’re ours.”
It wasn’t typical for a man clanned to two other males to seek sex outside his unit. In fact, it was frowned upon, but Rajhir needed to find out what was wrong with Flencik. Breft playing with someone of his own breed could be condoned this one time, he thought.
When the Nobek hesitated, Rajhir prodded him on. “Go on. Have some fun with those who can offer you a proper challenge for a change. Give me an hour with our Imdiko to figure out what’s going on.”
Breft looked at their morose third. Perhaps seeing the fighting skills of a Nobek would be no help to Flencik, he gave in. “You’ll com if I’m needed for any reason?”
“Where will you be in case I have to contact you and you’re unable to reach your portable?”
“Dramok Orerb’s club. I’ll let him know you might call and he’s to interrupt whatever I’m doing.”
Rajhir thought of how the Nobek behaved when he was in the middle of sex. He had his doubts that Breft would handle an interruption with anything but an attack, but then again, the man was dedicated to a fault to Flencik. Rajhir thought perhaps he was selling Breft short when it came to his priorities.
“Good idea,” he ended up agreeing.
Flencik’s low, weary voice startled them both. “You two are driving me crazy with all the whispering. Cut it out.”
At least he was talking now. Impatient to capitalize on that, Rajhir told Breft, “Go on.”
“All right, if you’re sure.”
Still looking concerned, Breft left the room. Rajhir waited until he heard the home’s door to the in-house transport open and close. He got up and went out to the greeting room to verify Breft had left. The Nobek was protective of Flencik, and Rajhir appreciated it. Yet he was positive their Imdiko would take it badly if Flencik thought he was being ganged up on. It was better to be sure Breft wasn’t secretly sticking around, only to pop up at the wrong time.
Reassured that their clanmate had gone out, Rajhir returned to Flencik’s private room. He sat down once more next to the Imdiko and laid a hand on his shoulder. “He’s gone. Talk to me.”
Flencik raked his fingers through his curls and turned his tortured stare to Rajhir. “You’re a wreck,” he said.
The Dramok lifted an eyebrow. “Funny. I was thinking that about you.”
Flencik waved his hand at the bruises that mottled Rajhir’s torso. “I thought I’d have to take you both to the hospital tonight. You went at it like you wanted to hurt each other.”
“I take it as a compliment that Breft thinks I’m worthy enough an opponent for him to use so much force,” Rajhir said.
“He was never that harsh with me. Also, I’ve never seen you as brutal as you are with him. I didn’t know you had those tendencies in you.”
“I’m rougher with him than I’d prefer to be, because he needs that kind of outlet. If Breft was training with Global Security, he’d be able to take that frustration out on other youngling Nobeks. He’d be able to fight it out there and fuck out whatever is left here. It wouldn’t be necessary for us to get that harsh with each other.” Rajhir chuckled ruefully as he catalogued his various aches and pains. “I admit, he’s putting me through my paces. I’m no kid.”
“Neither of us is.” Flencik didn’t join him in his humor. He shook his head, his expression despairing. “His needs are too much for us, Rajhir. Someone is going to get badly hurt. Don’t think I haven’t picked up on you distracting him from me, either.”
“Better me bruised than you.”
“Why? I can take it. What I can’t take is you two beaten bloody almost every night and morning!”
Flencik got up to pace, his features twisted with emotion. Rajhir knew the Imdiko was worried for both of them. It took a certain level of brutality to dominate Breft, one Rajhir was not used to exercising. It was easy to overestimate the might needed. In retrospect, the black eye he’d given his new clanmate had occurred from using more force than even the Dramok thought necessary. Yet in the heat of battle, it was easy to lose control. A lot of after-sex time was spent with Rajhir and Breft apologizing to each other for their actions.
He tried to console Flencik with the same excuses he gave himself. “Once Breft is in the hands of the Global Security trainers, a lot of this will be taken care of. His biggest problem is he doesn’t try half the time to calm his mind and register the consequences of how hard he fights. They’ll work with him on that.”
Flencik stopped pacing. He stared down at Rajhir. “I spoke to Astef yesterday about the matter. According to him, Breft needs something to jolt him on an emotional level.”
“I’ve discussed it with my father as well. We have to find something that will keep Breft from letting his hormones take over his brain.”
