Serum – Chapter 25

Chapter 25

“How is it that you are here, Julius? Or were you lying to Riki about that being your real name?” Iason said. For nine long years, the man before him had worked for him, and Iason never discovered his identity. A man not born and ID tagged as a citizen of Midas, and DNA not registered in Guardian’s database. He was a ghost. A phantom that had become a valuable tool.

A potential threat he kept close.

“I would not lie to Riki, Sir Iason. I gave him my true birth name,” Julius said.

“And yet you failed to give it to me,” Iason said softly as he watched Riki be led away. The darkness pressed around them, held back only by the stick lights his soldiers speared around him. However, his eyes could penetrate the inky blackness. He could see whether someone was hiding and listening.

“Anonymity, Sir Iason, is in my contract,” Julius said. “The exchange of personal information beyond that of the service I provided was not something that needed to be known; I eliminate prospective problems Amoi might face for you and for the benefit of our world. Anything more than that would make us associates. This is something you and I do not want.”

“And yet you told Riki, someone you never met before and knew to be mine,” Iason said. “Would you care to explain what motivated you to confide in him?”

Julius dared to look him in the eye. “He needed to trust me, Sir Iason. Riki is clever. He would have sniffed out that I lied to him if I gave him a false name. We were in a situation where his life was on the line if I failed to obtain his trust. It was the only way he would have been comfortable with me watching his back.”

“Is that so…” Iason said softly. He recounted every operation he sent Ghost on. On more than one instance, the man faced circumstances more dire and deadly than what he faced here. Not once had he shared any kind of intimate details with the Tanagura covert team he’d be paired in. Until now.

Until Riki.

“The mission I sent you on, to learn about the dead female, Amelia’s, people. What did you learn?” Iason asked.

Julius’s face stoned over. “There was no information, Sir. Her people are all dead. It seems they were targeted by assassins and eliminated before I reached them.”

Assassins or assassin?

“I see.” What he was telling him was old news. According to the investigator he dispatched in secret, the woman killed in Riki’s company—while trying escaping Kirin’s planet—, her people had been alive and well. They had fled to an uninhabited planet just outside the Mazoriule galaxy. His agent had been six days behind Ghost—Julius. Those robbed women had been alive and well when his man had seen them.

“You will return with me to Eos and give me your full report,” Iason ordered.

Julius bowed. “That would be unwise on my part, my lord. I would be exposing myself to too many eyes.”

“It was not a request,” Iason said. A man of his skill would disappear from his grasp the moment an opportunity presented itself. He could not let that happen. Ghost did nothing without a reason, and there was a purpose behind his talking openly to Riki.

“I understand, Sir Iason,” Julius said. “However, I deeply regret that I am unable to accommodate you. I will submit my full report of what happened here, and on my mission off-world, once I’ve reached a safe location.”

Iason laughed softly. “No is not a word I take kindly to, Julius.” He turned and walked away. “I would have thought, as my employee, you knew that by now.”

oOoOoOo

Elliot watched from a distance with concealed concern as Marcus carried his blank expression, and horribly wounded, pet from the hole in the tunnel floor. He remembered the blue-haired pet from the pet introduction party a couple months ago. Humorous. Intelligent. The young man was handsome while the other pets around him seemed childish in their prettiness. The lack of life in the pet’s eyes did not sit well with Elliot. He genuinely liked Marcus’s pet. He knew Aisha owned the other twin and that he too suffered. Elliot did not see them leave, but heard the commotion of Aisha’s departure. He could only hope the two pets did not suffer too severely.

Riki was next to be plucked from the depth. Iason’s mongrel fared better. The ever-present fire flared brightly in the mongrel’s eyes. The damage done to Riki’s body looked nothing compared to those on Marcus’s pet.

Elliot sighed with sympathy.

Of course, Riki would not have sustained alarming injuries. Riki was a mongrel and thus bred for fighting and surviving harsh environments. Unlike Marcus’s delicate pet who had been born in luxury with the safety of harem guards. Riki was a weed impervious to pesticides. A trait Elliot reluctantly admired in the offensive mongrel.

The tunnel, cramped with military personnel, burst with sudden energy. Elliot’s superior height allowed him to see over the soldiers heads. They were lifting Iason from the hole. Being a Blondie, Elliot had the benefit of not having to grovel at the Syndicate Leader’s feet. It was sickening how they prostrated themselves for Iason. Then again, unlike those men, Elliot did not have to fear a painful death if he angered Iason. Annoying retaliation, yes, but nothing permanently damaging.

Elliot glanced down at the tender plant he held in his hand. A strange specimen he discovered—

“Mailauwa Pluemisea.”

Elliot blinked and stared at a dirty mongrel. He’d never seen such a splendid display of raw masculinity before. Even covered in filth and blood, Elliot was rendered dumbfounded by the man’s beauty. Long dark hair matted with grime lay over wide shoulders. His eyes traveled down the mongrel’s heavily muscled chest. Elliot quickly raised his gaze the moment he realize he was ogling the man.

“Pardon?”

The mongrel smirked. He copper-flecked eyes sparked with humor. “Mailauwa Pluemisea is the name of the plant you hold in your hand. Did you know that if mixed with the petals of a flower called Raych-Tiad, it cures just about any airborne illness?”

Intrigued, Elliot smiled. “Does it now?”

The mongrel’s smirk slowly faded from his beautifully shaped lips.  “So I’ve heard.”

Elliot moved closer to the mongrel. “What else have you heard?” By watching and listening, he learned that Riki was an intelligent creature. He would have to be to capture Iason Minks attention for so many years, and with such devotion. Never did it occur to Elliot that there might be another mongrel, in the Slums, who could also be capable of using their higher mental functions. And yet, there was.

Soldiers stepped in front of him and surrounded the mongrel before Elliot could get closer to the male. “Forgive the intrusion, Sir Elliot,” a solider said. “We need to take him into custody for questioning before we release him.”

Release him? The very thought of not conversing with the mongrel shocked Elliot, just as much as it surprised him that he would want to speak to the mongrel.

“Is there a problem, Elliot?” Iason asked, coming to stand at his side.

Elliot made a snap decision. “I need this mongrel, Sir Iason. There are questions he may provide that could assist me in categorizing the local plant life I do not have information on. I…” Elliot paused. A look had crossed Iason’s typically expressionless face. A look a normal person would have missed. Iason seemed perfectly composed. However, a sinister light shined in his ice-blue eyes that sounded the alarms in Elliot’s head.

“But of course,” Iason all but purred. “If he has information that could benefit the Syndicate, then by all means, he will be held in our keeping for your use.”

Elliot’s eyes narrowed.

The mongrel stiffened.

“He would need to be checked for parasites,” Iason smoothly continued. “And held in quarantine for a day or so, but I could make it so that you could foster him in your apartment. Would you like that?”

A deal with the devil, and The Devil was exactly who Iason was. He had showed Iason a weakness. His desire to learn more about the mongrel had opened him up for attack, and Iason had wasted no time in doing so.

However…

To have the mongrel in his apartment. To be able to watch him and learn why he found him so engaging in such a short time. Could he take the chance of falling into Iason’s web? There was no telling what the Blondie would ask of him in the future. And if the information were to get out that he housed a mongrel…

“His identity would have to be concealed, of course,” Iason said. “I can have Mikhale falsify pet academy papers to give him breeding status. Or I can have Marcus, Orphe, and Aisha swear to the fact that this mongrel came from the same harem from which they purchased their pets.”

“Is this some kind of bribe to keep me silent about entering Ceres?” Elliot said. “If it is, then there is no need for you to do so. Even if I had not joined you, just by knowing you journeyed to Ceres I would be held accountable for breaking Jupiter’s law.”

Iason smiled. “Bribery, I’m sure you know, Sir Elliot, is not something I have the patience for.”

Elliot highly doubted that.

“Let us say that if you wish to start a… friendship with a mongrel, I would last person to deny you the pleasure,” Iason said. “If you want him, I am more than happy to assist you in keeping him.”

The mongrel stepped forward. “Sir—”

“Silence,” Iason hissed. “You are in no position to speak to me, mongrel. Learn your place.”

Elliot glanced at the mongrel, then back at Iason. Trust was a word Elites did not use when describing relationships between one another. They had a code, alliances, and a brotherhood, of sorts, that they honored. Could he take Iason at his word? Could he trust him? He wanted the mongrel. As spontaneous as his desire to have him was, Elliot did not regret his outburst.

“You would force Orphe, Marcus, Mikhale, and Aisha to lie, just so that I may have him?” Elliot asked. It seemed ridiculous that four of The Seven—the most powerful Blondies within the Blondie ranks—would put their reputation, along with their standing with Jupiter, on the line just so he could have a mongrel.

“You would also have the backing of Raoul, Gideon, and even that of Gabriel. Think of it as insurance, Elliot,” Iason told him. “By taking on this creature, you are reassuring our brethren that you will not speak of what has gone on today. And that goes for the atrocities the Platinum conducted here as well.”

To the soldiers watching, Elliot seemed to hesitate. However, his mind rapidly ran through every scenario of what could happen if he accepted Iason’s pact…and what could happen if he did not. To be given the protection of all seven of the highest-ranking Blondies, and the power of Sir Gabriel. There was no reason not to agree.

“If you wonder about the soldiers speaking of this. They know what would happen to them if they uttered one word of what is transpiring here,” Iason said.

His mind made up, Elliot firmly nodded. “We have a deal—” He gasped as the mongrel suddenly went wild. Beating the guards surrounding him to the ground, he leapt over the soldiers bodies and made a break for the exit. Elliot and Iason blocked his path and the mongrel skidded to prevent crashing into Iason. A wise choice in Elliot’s opinion, and only confirmed his belief in the mongrel’s intelligence. For a lowly creature like the mongrel, to touch Iason Mink was to sentence yourself to death. Which was why when discovered that their leader was engaging in nauseating intimacies with Riki, the cries of outrage had been heard beyond the courtyards of Eos, and into the streets of Tanagura.

“Where are you going, mongrel?” Iason coldly said forcing the mongrel to back up as the Blondie advanced.

Elliot stepped in front of Iason. “I have accepted your deal, Sir Iason,” he said. “He is now my property and under my protection. You have no authority when it comes to him.” Inwardly, Elliot sighed in annoyance. By opening his mouth in defense of the mongrel, he was challenging Iason. However, he did not back down. He made his decision, foolhardy as it was.

Iason’s cold gaze slid over to his. “That may be so, Elliot. Nevertheless, you will give me access to him. I believe he has precious information I need, and I will have what I want.”

“I have no doubt that you will,” Elliot agreed. “But not today. And when that time does come you will not harm him. I will make sure that you do not.”

Iason suddenly smiled. His face lighting up with humor where before it held a hint of death. The change in his attitude threw Elliot off. “He has not been in your presence for no longer than five minutes and already I can see a difference in you. If you are not careful, Elliot, he may change you as Riki has changed me.”

Elliot’s lip curled. He found the mongrel handsome and fascinating, but not in the disgusting way Iason viewed his mongrel. “My interest in him is far from the unnatural relationship you have with Riki,” he said.

“We shall see, Elliot,” Iason said. “We shall see.”

oOoOoOo

Riki hung his head and allowed the five shower jets to massage his body. It never ceased to amaze him how wondrous the Elites medicine was. All but dragged from the tunnels in Ceres, they whisked him back to Eos hospital—entering through the backdoor, of course. That Ruby doctor took one look at him, striped him down, and shoved him into an enclosed Restorative bed. In less than an hour, every one of his wounds were gone.

Hours of kicking ass, and getting his ass kicked.

Every hard won injury erased. All evidence of his unwanted adventure wiped clear from his skin. It was as if it never happened. But he could still feel them. Feel their fists and teeth beating and sinking into his flesh. Their hot breath on his skin as he fought to free himself from their damaging lunacy.

The guards ‘escorting’ him back had told him he had been missing for almost twelve hours. Just twelve hours… It had seemed like an eternity down there. The darkness. The smell of blood and sweat. The exhilaration of the fight. The unwanted nostalgia the underground brought back. Fighting to stay alive.

The fear…

Being a scared kid on the streets of the Slums trying to pretend he was top dog so that no one preyed upon him. He hadn’t felt that particular kind of fear in a long time. The cold nights. The hunger.

Riki shut the water off and stood there in the luxurious shower stall. He had come a long way from the feral child he had once been—and not just because Iason kidnapped his punk-ass and made him his pet and sex slave, with unlimited access to his bank account. Once, he would have relished in the afterglow of a good fight. Now? All he wanted to do is crawl into bed and take a nap.

“Fuck, I’m getting old.”

Opening the glass shower doors, Riki sighed and stepped out. He grabbed and wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way to the bedroom, across the white carpeted floor, and into the walk-in closet. He snagged a random pair of shirt and pants from the dresser. The redheaded Ruby prick of an Elite had refused to let him see his gang after he’d been healed. He needed to see them. He had to see them. No one would tell him what happen to them, and fucking Iason had stayed back in Ceres. His ring also did not work on the front door. He was locked in the apartment until Iason allowed him to fucking leave.

Turning, Riki jumped in surprise, dropped his clothes to his feet, and almost lost his grip on his towel when he saw Iason silently watching him from the doorway. He rested a hand over his pounding heart and laughed softly. “Shit,” he said. “After the day and night that I had, can you please not sneak up on me? You almost gave me a heart attack—”

Riki grunted in pain as Iason slammed him against the wall. Clothes fell from their hangers and on Riki and Iason’s head.  “What the fuck—” Iason slammed his mouth against his, forcing his tongue into his mouth. Ripped free from his towel, Riki moaned as Iason molded his body against his, then grabbed and kneaded his ass with a hard grip. Their hot breath mingled as Iason slanted his mouth over his. Every touch carried a hint of desperation with their rough caress.

He hissed as Iason yanked his head back and began kissing his neck. Pressed against the wall, Riki was imprisoned and his arms restrained, tangled in the thick wall of clothing caging them in from the sides. Gripping the back of his thighs, Iason lifted him into his embrace. Riki wrapped his legs around Iason’s waist.

Iason gave Riki no time to breathe or think. The Blondie continued his attack on his lips and neck as his fingers plunged into him, stretching him. The discomfort was fierce. Hot and bothered as he was, his body was nowhere near ready to accommodate any type of penetration, let alone the three digits pushing in and out of him. Yet, Riki did not utter one word. It was a claiming. A declaration of dominance. One Riki had known would be coming, but never to this extreme. There were no words said, and Iason was a Blondie that loved to whisper seductively in his ear. Even when pissed his Blondie never stayed silent when fucking him.

Without warning, Iason released him, spun him around, and shoved him against the wall. His legs spread wide Riki bit back a shout when Iason drove his hot, thick, length into him. Iason stilled and withdrew completely from his body, only to reenter him fast, almost brutally. Pulling him back as he surged forward. Where, at first, there had been pain, it was replaced with the white-hot fire of pleasure so intense Riki did not think he would be able to survive the onslaught.

He felt Iason’s hand wrap around his hardened cock, stroking him, pushing him higher and higher until he felt as if he would shatter, but denying him the fiery explosion he so desperately craved. Riki pushed back against Iason’s demanding thrusts, seeking fulfillment—begging for release. The Blondie was not so giving. Iason controlled his movements. Stopped him from cumming. He was so close, but Iason would yank him back from the edge the moment heaven was within reach. Iason’s cruelty knew no bounds as he brought Riki to the breaking point repeatedly, only to snatch it away from him.

Riki cursed, threatened, begged and pleaded. Iason ignored his cries and continued to drive into him with wild abandonment until Riki could hear himself sobbing for mercy. He grew fearful when Iason suddenly pulled out of him. He glanced over his shoulder. His heavy pants stilled at the unearthly, terrifying, beauty of Iason’s passion-hardened face.

“Get on your knees.”

Riki shook with hunger and did as ordered. He did not have to wait long. Iason pushed his head down on the carpeted floor and caught his hips. Riki shouted as Iason thick cock penetrated him again, fire streaked up his shaft and down to his balls, with the fierce sensations the new position awarded him. Riki couldn’t move. Iason’s strength held him still while he thrust into him again and again relentlessly.

Time raced on in a blaze of fire until Iason gasped softly above him, and Riki shuddered as he felt the heat of Iason’s seed fill his hole. Iason slipped out of him. Fear snaked through his mind. Fear that Iason would punish him by leaving him without dousing out the fire burning unchecked within him. Knowing he’d go insane if Iason did. Riki lay there panting, his hands fisting the short threads of the carpet under him. White thread that came with him when Iason flipped him onto his back. His Blondie parted his legs roughly and lay his chest between them.

Riki jerked up and gasped when Iason’s scorching hot mouth wrapped around his cock in a tight fiery fist. His lips pulling and squeezing as he sucked on him erotically. His hot, moist, tongue lapping up his pulsating shaft as his fingers caressed his heavy sac. Riki arched his back, sinking his fingers into Iason’s silky hair—fighting to grab hold of some kind of lifeline until he finally gave Iason what he demanded. Every nerve ending burst with life. Riki sobbed in blessed release as he came, his seed shooting in waves of pleasurable, ball tightening, relief.

“Shit,” Riki panted. “I think my brain short-circuited.” Iason crawled up his body, nipping and suckling on his nipples before he kissed him tenderly on the lips. Riki could taste the salty essence of his cum. He was not a fan of tasting himself on his lips, but Riki was too drained to care.

They lay silent, catching their breath and laid in one another’s arms on the floor. Clothes littered the floor, under and around them. Riki shifted in Iason’s embrace. The Blondie’s leather rubbed uncomfortably against his skin.

“Why didn’t you strip?” Riki asked, finally breaking the silence.

“I did not see the need to,” Iason stoically replied.

Riki grinned. “You couldn’t take it off, could ya?”

He laughed as Iason sighed at him.

“There were a few difficulties in attempting to disrobe,” Iason confessed.

Riki ran his hand down Iason’s wet, leather clad chest. “You shouldn’t have gone swimming in it.”

“And you should not have gotten yourself kidnapped and thrown in an underground cavern with psychotic, rejected experiments,” Iason said, squeezing Riki tightly.

Riki rolled his eyes. “You didn’t come back with me,” he whispered after a while. “Why?”

“Elliot took an interest in your mongrel friend, Julius—”

“One, he ain’t my friend,” Riki interrupted. His body deliciously sore, he sat up and looked down at Iason. “And what kind of ‘interest’ are you talkin’ about?”

Iason stared drolly up at him.

“No. Hell, fucking, no. Seriously?” Unless Julius was sprouting a flower out of his ass, Elliot would never notice Julius’s existence. Shit, even if Julius did somehow bleeped on that bitchy Blondie’s radar, Elliot would never ever turn to look in his direction.

“I am.” Iason smiled.

“How—” Riki paused. “You gave him to Elliot, didn’t you.”

Iason pulled him back down into his arms. “Am I to hear you repeat your displeasure on my giving your mongrel friends to my Blondie brethren?”

“Again, he ain’t my friend,” Riki repeated irritably. “And no. This time I’m glad you did. He knows things about me, Iason. Shit not even I knew about myself. Eos is the perfect place for him to be.”

“He cannot escape,” Iason said.

“Yeah.” Riki laid he head on Iason’s chest. “He may have the answers we need.”

“And we will get them, beloved,” Iason said kissing him gently on the head. “Even if I have to rip the answers from his throat, he will give them to us.”

 

Serum – Chapter 24 ★ ～☆ Serum – Chapter 26
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