Kyle nodded. Then, because his beautiful mate seemed to be waiting for him to say more, he cleared his throat and tried again. “Yes, I speak Earthonian. I understand what you’re saying.” His voice sounded rusty and hoarse to his ears, but a lovely smile lit up his mate’s face.

“Good. You’ve been asleep so long I was beginning to be afraid my brother damaged your brain with his drugs.” He caressed Kyle’s face with a warm hand and Kyle couldn’t stop himself from leaning into the soft touch.

“What’s your name, sweet one?”

“Uh…” Gods, what was the matter with him? He couldn’t even think of his own name. What kind of drugs had they given him? Then suddenly, the words popped up in his mind and he sighed with relief. “It’s K-Kyle. Kyle Balanescu.”

He nodded. “I’ll put that on your papers, but of course, I’ll call you Nobyo, and you must always answer to that. Understand?”

His mate’s nearness was intoxicating to Kyle, and he pretty much felt like agreeing to anything he said. Not that he clearly understood more than half of it. Everything was so fuzzy and muddled up in his head. What did he mean by his papers? He nodded anyway.

“Use words, sweet one. My name is Taz, but you should address me as Taz-lan. It’s a sign of your respect for me.”

Kyle nodded again, and his mate gripped his chin firmly, pulling Kyle’s face up to his. “Speak, Nobyo. Say, yes, I understand, Taz-lan.”

“Yes, I understand. Taz-lan.” He didn’t, of course, but it seemed to please his mate, so he repeated the words.

Kyle was rewarded with a beautiful smile and a much-too-quick kiss on his lips. Kyle lifted his face toward him, chasing more, but his mate straightened up. “Thank you, Nobyo. Now let’s get you out of this shackle and get you cleaned up. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up before I bathed you.”

Bathed him? Well, the gods knew he needed it—he was filthy from rolling around in those cages, and he could even smell himself. But he wasn’t sure about being bathed, even by his mate. Still, his mate certainly had been kind and even loving toward him so far, and it wasn’t like he didn’t want his mate’s hands on him—or all over him, for that matter. Maybe it would be better not to fight him on the small issues, in case something much more burdensome came up later.

He didn’t struggle at all when Taz took off his shackle, and helped him stand up. The drugs still in his system made him feel terribly weak, so he had to lean heavily on Taz to get to the bathing chamber.

Taz opened the door to a small room that contained a large pool, almost filling the space. Gentle steam was rising from it, and Taz stepped up beside it and began pulling off his clothes.

Though still feeling dizzy and groggy, Kyle perked up when he saw that golden flesh being revealed to him. Taz’s body was magnificent, long and lean with well-defined muscles everywhere. The tiger stripes were all over his body, even his big cock, which was lined with the stripes right up to the mushroom-shaped head, which, to Kyle’s surprise, was totally black in color. It was striking and outlandish and totally enticing.

Kyle took a half-step towards Taz’s cockwith his hand outstretched. Before he could stop himself he tripped over absolutely nothing at all. His mate turned and caught him in his arms, drawing Kyle’s body up to his. The feeling of being in his mate’s arms for the first time was so blissful, he closed his eyes and sighed. His mate chuckled in his ear. “Be careful, Nobyo. The drugs are very strong. You’ll have to let me help you for a while.”

“A while? No, I don’t want these drugs. They make me feel so…”

“I know, but they’re necessary to keep you from shifting until we fully bond. After we bond, you won’t want to leave me, and I can stop giving the drugs to you.”

Kyle looked up at him and shook his head. “No, I won’t leave you—I won’t ever leave you.” He tried to look him in the eye. His mate simply didn’t understand. “You’re my mate. I can’t leave.”

“That’s right, darling. But we say nobyo. It’s all right. You’ll get used to it all soon.”

He began pulling Kyle gently toward the pool, and Kyle went willingly enough until he put the first foot in the water. It was hot and tingly, and he quickly jerked his foot away.

“It’s a little warm, but it will help to soothe the bruises you have on your body. I had the servants put in some medicine to help them heal more quickly. Come, Nobyo.” He pulled at Kyle’s hand and Kyle followed him down the steps into the water, wincing at the temperature.

After a few seconds, though, his body adjusted and the heat of the water seemed to seep into his bones. Taz pulled him close and they simply stood together in the water for a few moments, wrapped in each other’s arms. Kyle felt Taz’s hard cock pressed against his stomach, and he rubbed against it with his own, causing Taz to groan and catch his breath sharply. He lowered his mouth to Kyle’s ear and whispered to him.

“I knew you would be something special the first moment I saw you, but this…” He kissed Kyle voraciously, leaning him backward and moving his hands down to cup his ass. He ground against Kyle, and Kyle felt his wolf trying to emerge again, so he could properly claim his mate. Taz drove his tongue deeply into Kyle’s mouth, sweeping across the inside of it, tasting and claiming him. Kyle brought one hand down between them to clench Taz’s cock, pulling at it frantically, wanting to pleasure his mate. Taz groaned again and arched his back, driving his hips forward. A slight noise behind them made Taz break off with a muttered curse. He whirled to face the door, pushing Kyle protectively behind him.

A servant stood there, holding a tray in trembling hands, his head bowed. “I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to interrupt. You asked me to bring you these soaps.”

Taz sighed and nodded. “Yes, of course. Put them down, please, by the side of the pool.”

The young man, Tygerian from the look of him, set the tray down and bowed his way out the door. Taz released his grip on Kyle’s arm and moved over to the tray, then sat down on one of the steps leading into the pool.

He picked up a bottle and uncapped it, then motioned for Kyle to come closer. “This is a soap I have made especially for my household. Come closer, Nobyo.”

Kyle moved between his legs and Taz poured a little of the soap in his hands and started to rub it first on Kyle’s hair. He’d never had his hair shampooed by anyone before, and he was surprised at how intimate and sensual the experience was. Taz stared straight into his eyes and Kyle leaned forward to bask in his delicious scent.

The soap smelled a little spicy and musky, reminding him of his mate, so he didn’t mind having the soap rubbed over his body. He enjoyed the feel of Taz’s hands on his chest and stomach. He moved farther down and his hand closed over Kyle’s rigid cock, and Kyle gasped with pleasure. This close, his mate’s scent was driving him wild, and would continue to do so, he knew, until they had mated properly.

The wicked hand continued down to his balls, which got the same close attention, and then Taz was turning him around, rubbing more of the soap over his back and buttocks. He reached his crease and ran his fingers along it, finding his hole and massaging the soap in gently, but thoroughly, with one of his fingers. He slipped in another finger, and began to stretch him slowly. Kyle flinched at the burn and tried to pull away.

“Be still, Nobyo. I need to prepare you for our mating.”

Kyle tried even harder to pull away. “No—I’ve never done this. Not there. I don’t want it.”

The fingers stilled and Taz’s voice sounded right by his ear. “You don’t wish to mate with me?”

Kyle turned in his arm and put his hands on Taz’s waist. “It’s not that. Of course, I want to mate with you. Just not…I’ve never done that before.” He tried to speak clearly and distinctly, though he heard the words slurring. The drugs must still be working on him, and he felt a bit floaty and like all of this was a dream.

“I want to do that to you,” he said, putting his head on Taz’s big chest.

Taz gave him a beautiful smile, and twisted him back around so quickly it made him dizzy. He bent him over. “No, baby. That’s not how it’s done.” Kyle felt the blunt head of something hard pushing against his entrance and he tried to stand back up straight, but Taz pushed him down again. It wasn’t his cock, surely. It was too hard and unyielding for that.

“Relax, Nobyo. Push back against the burn—I promise to be gentle. We can take our time.” He moved his hand over Kyle’s shaft, sliding his hand rapidly up and down its length. Kyle surprised himself by lifting his ass higher in the air, then pushing back forward, fucking himself on Taz’s hand. Taz caught his breath and moaned in Kyle’s ear.

“You’re so tight, Nobyo.” He pulled the thing he was pushing in him out partway and then pushed in again. He was easing it in farther each time, and Kyle arched back against him.

“I’ve—I’ve never done this before, Taz-lan. I don’t like it.”

“You’ll be doing it often in the future, sweet one. You’re mine now, Nobyo, and I will enjoy your beautiful body as much as I want. I’m putting a plug inside you to stretch you for our first time. It will help you, you’ll see.”

Kyle heard himself moaning. Taz’s plug was pressing into him harder, and he felt it breach the tight ring of muscles at his hole and slide deeper inside him. Kyle growled at the burn, and tried to pull away. He felt a none-too-gentle slap on his ass.

“Oh gods,” he groaned, and heard Taz give a satisfied chuckle. He shifted the plug a little and rubbed against something inside Kyle that made him cry out in surprised pleasure. What was that? It burned and felt like heaven all at once. Taz pulled the plug back out and then moved it in again, hitting the spot over and over, until Kyle was almost mindless with pleasure. He was afraid to move in case he was encouraging his mate, and surely he shouldn’t be enjoying this. At the same time, he was afraid the feeling might stop.