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  Ori whimpered gently around Raynard’s cock.

  There was no guile in him. Whatever he might have done or what he may have been taught in the nest, Raynard had no doubt that, as Ori knelt at his feet, every reaction he offered him was the simple truth. There could be no doubt Ori was exactly where he wanted to be.

  Ori dipped his head and tried to take more of Raynard’s shaft between his lips. Tightening his grip on Ori’s hair, Raynard stopped him short.

  There was only one man who could ever be in control of what happened between them. Ori couldn’t be allowed to think that task fell to the duckling in the relationship. Ori opened his eyes. He seemed to understand. Raynard relaxed his hold a little as he guided Ori closer—at the pace Raynard chose.

  Ori moved easily with his hand, tenderly working Raynard’s shaft as more of the length slid between his lips. As Raynard pulled him back a few inches, a touch of uncertainty made it into Ori’s eyes. He was obviously afraid his treat was going to be taken away.

  Raynard said nothing. He just tugged Ori closer again, feeding his cock back into his mouth. A moan of pure pleasure surrounded Raynard’s shaft. No words were necessary.

  Ori placed his hands on Raynard’s sides in an effort to balance himself. They were nothing like the soft, fluttering hands of the humming birds that had knelt before Raynard in recent years. These were a working man’s hands, a service sub’s hands—strong and calloused by enthusiastic servitude.

  Raynard guided Ori’s head up and away from him again. No fear now, Ori’s expression was all eager anticipation at being dragged back in toward his master. Perfect, wet heat caressed Raynard’s cock with each movement, sending waves of pleasure racing through his veins. He let even more of his shaft slide between Ori’s lips, until the tip touched the back of his throat.

  No panic, no hesitation, Ori accepted everything Raynard was willing to offer him as if it was a gift he was truly blessed to receive.

  A dexterous tongue laved the head as Raynard let Ori move far enough away from him to fawn over the very tip of his cock for a little while, but Raynard soon tired of the teasing. He pulled Ori lower over his lap, quickening his movements, letting the friction of a hot willing mouth slide against his cock from tip to base. For just a little while, Raynard stopped worrying too much about Ori and simply let his body take its pleasure from him.

  “That’s right,” he whispered.

  The snippet of praise pulled a murmur from Ori. He tugged at Raynard’s hold on his hair and dipped his head lower. Raynard’s cock slipped into his throat for the first time.

  Raynard held him there, permitting no retreat. Ori looked up at him, wide-eyed and glorious. There was no way he could breathe with Raynard’s shaft filling his throat, but there was no sign of panic in his eyes. He stared up at Raynard, trusting and perfect, and he didn’t pull back until Raynard tugged gently at his hair. For a moment, Raynard’s cock slipped from between Ori’s lips.

  Panic flashed, sudden and frantic, in Ori’s eyes. He immediately bobbed his head back down toward Raynard’s erection. A tightened grip on the messy, mottled strands stopped him short once more.

  Unable to reach Raynard with his lips, Ori extended his tongue and licked the pre-cum leaking from Raynard’s cock-head. Perfect. Unable to wait another second, Raynard finally released his grip. Ori sucked his way back down his shaft as if he had been born to serve another man that way.

  Ori’s fingers dug into Raynard’s sides as he held onto him more tightly. He seemed to be trying to encourage Raynard to move.

  Raynard resisted Ori’s attempts to coax him into thrusting forward, but it was impossible to ignore the bliss Ori’s mouth offered. Left to his own devices now, Ori worked him fast and feverish, whimpering with need as he seemed to try to beg an orgasm out of him.

  Raynard tipped his head back as blistering pleasure rushed through him. He couldn’t help but thrust forward. His cock slid even farther into Ori’s mouth as his climax stole all the oxygen from the world. Ori’s reactions were quick. He pulled back, just far enough to catch the full taste on his tongue, as Raynard came into his mouth for the first time.

  Ori swallowed, his throat working rapidly as he took everything Raynard was willing to feed to him. Pleasure flew through Raynard like the rush of air beneath his wing feathers as he twirled and danced high in the evening sky. Every muscle, every fibre in his body gave up all objectives bar the simple processing of bliss.

  As Raynard finally collapsed back against the seat, his mind went blank. Eyes closed, it was easy to believe the entire world had ceased to exist, until the sensation of someone gently suckling on his softening cock tenderly called him back to reality.

  Raynard opened his eyes, but Ori’s remained closed. His lips were thinned into a narrow pink line as he cradled his master’s cock in his mouth and caressed it with his tongue. Ori didn’t protest when Raynard, too sensitive to really appreciate his continued service, nudged him away.

  The little fledgling knelt on the cushion at Raynard’s feet with his eyes closed and his breathing ragged. One last time, Raynard threaded his fingers into Ori’s hair. Pulling him forward, Raynard prompted him to rest his forehead against his leg while he got his breath back. The invitation earned Raynard another pleased little murmur from Ori.

  Taking a deep breath, Raynard dropped his head back to rest against the high cushioned support of the chair. Everything he’d told himself about remembering to let his hawk side fly more often was pushed aside by the knowledge that there were even more important needs a man couldn’t fail to ignore. A master couldn’t ignore his submissive.

  When Raynard lifted his hand from the back of Ori’s head, Ori hesitatingly looked up at him. His own needs were written plainly in his expression. Raynard didn’t doubt that, if he looked farther down Ori’s body, he’d see hard evidence of the fact. Ori would be just as turned on as he had been most of the day, and more desperate to come than ever.

  Raynard smiled slightly to himself. Not yet.

  Standing up, Raynard stretched to his full height. His body was all sleepy satisfaction now, content to rest easy after sating its desires for both flight and everything else.

  Ori stayed on his knees, staring up at him.

  “Stand.”

  Ori obeyed. His movements were more than a little clumsy, which Raynard expected. But there was also a stiffness in his actions, which betrayed that all wasn’t well in Ori’s world.

  Raynard ran his hands over Ori’s shoulders, working his fingers into the deep layers of muscle. They were knotted with far more than frustrated desire.

  “Sore?” Raynard asked.

  Ori swallowed. “I’m fine, sir.”

  Raynard frowned. Perhaps it was time to think of adding another servant to the household. “Your work has been—”

  “It’s not that, sir!”

  Raynard raised an eyebrow at the unexpected interruption.

  Ori hesitated, but pushed on. “It just happens sometimes, sir.”

  Raynard ran his hands over Ori’s shoulders again, testing the muscles as they moved beneath his fingers.

  Ori was right about one thing, it wasn’t his work that was the problem. Ori was merely going through the same process as every other shifter who was approaching his full avian maturity. Resting hadn’t helped ease Raynard’s growing pains when he was Ori’s age. It was unlikely to help Ori now.

  Raynard nodded to himself and added a new item onto his mental to-do list, but he was surprised just how relieved he was to be able to hold off on getting another servant and keep the boy to himself a while longer.

  He was about to turn away from Ori and make his way up to his bed when he remembered just how inexperienced a submissive his little duckling was. Tucking a knuckle under Ori’s chin, Raynard made him look up. “You remember the orders I gave you earlier?”

  “Yes, sir.” Ori’s voice was hoarse and roughened by desire for his own release. A touch of colour
rose to his cheeks, but there was no lack of understanding there.

  Raynard nodded, satisfied that in spite of his obvious need, Ori would follow the command not to come by his own hand.

  “Good boy.” Raynard offered him an approving nod before leaving him to switch off the lights, damp down the fires and retire to his own bed below stairs.

  * * * * *

  Raynard glanced to his side as he stopped the car at a set of traffic lights. Ori sat next to him, calmly watching the world go by through the passenger side window. If he was at all curious or concerned about where they might be going, he hid it well. Raynard smiled slightly to himself. There might be some things his fledgling needed to work on in the future, but giving up control of any and all decisions to his master wasn’t one of them.

  Ori chose that moment to glance in his direction. He immediately echoed Raynard’s smile, apparently delighted by the simple fact his master was pleased about something.

  About ten minutes later, Raynard pulled up outside a leisure centre. Ori glanced at the sign above the door, but made no comment. He got out of the car when Raynard nodded for him to do so, and followed Raynard into the building without a word. Ori only hesitated when they reached the changing rooms and Raynard handed him a towel, along with a pair of swimming trunks.

  “Sir?”

  “You know how to swim?”

  Ori nodded.

  “Get changed.”

  Ori did as he was told, quickly stripping out of the clothes he’d put on just before leaving the house and squirmed into the tight black swimsuit.

  Soon, the only thing Ori wore, apart from the speedos, was his leather collar. Raynard reached out to remove it. Ori jerked away from him. For a second, Raynard thought that Ori was worried that his raised hand meant a blow. But no, the look on Ori’s face made it clear that had he realised exactly what Raynard had been about to do. His instinctive aversion to the idea of losing his collar had apparently got the better of his manners.

  Ori peered up at Raynard, his eyes full of pleading. Raynard held his gaze, offering no response. Ori swallowed rapidly. Dropping his gaze, he finally stilled and accepted Raynard’s decision. Within seconds, the buckle was undone and the leather gone. Ori’s neck was only bare for a moment before Raynard had a thick silver chain fastened in its place.

  Ori looked up, his expression full of both relief and confusion.

  “Chlorine and leather don’t mix,” Raynard explained. And public displays of Ori’s submission wouldn’t mix well with humans who couldn’t be trusted to understand what a collar really meant between avians either.

  Ori nodded. He ran his fingers over the silver chain as if to reassure himself it was just as substantial as his usual leather collar. He found the tag and nodded again. “Yes, sir.” Ori put his clothes neatly in one of the lockers, along with his towel. When Raynard indicated he had no inclination to take it from him, Ori fastened the elastic band holding the locker key around his ankle.

  Raynard nodded toward the door leading through to the pool. “Go on.”

  Ori didn’t go so far as to speak up and question Raynard’s order, but he did look at Raynard’s clothes as if wondering when Raynard intended to change.

  “Hawks aren’t known for their love of water, duckling. I’ll be up on the balcony,” Raynard informed him, only just resisting the temptation to usher him on his way with a sharp tap on the arse. But, no, it wouldn’t do to send him out there with an erection testing the elastic on his speedos.

  Once Ori had left his sight, Raynard made his way out of the changing rooms and up the stairs. A wide gallery ran the whole length of the pool, with tables and chairs set up at regular intervals so spectators could watch the swimmers in comfort.

  There weren’t many people venturing into the water at that early hour of the day, and there were even fewer people watching them. Raynard took a seat at the table with the best vantage point. He was just in time to see Ori approach the pool and lay claim to a lane no one else was using.

  Settling his toes on the tiled edge, Ori took a slow breath and peered into the deep water as if it contained the answer to every question in the universe. Then he looked up. Raynard saw Ori’s gaze travel along the length of the balcony rail as he looked for his master. When Ori found him, one nod was all the encouragement he required. Ori no longer needed to ask anything of the sparkling blue depths.

  Ori’s dive was the most graceful movement Raynard had seen him make. He cut through the water as if he’d been born there and was merely returning home. Long, powerful strokes took him to the far end of the pool. Disappearing beneath the water, he tucked himself into a tight ball, spun around and pushed away. He glided for several yards before his head broke the surface and he raced down the length of the pool again.

  Raynard relaxed in his seat. There was no sign of all the tension that had been building in Ori’s muscles now. It wasn’t flight, but for an avian who was destined to be as at home on the water as he was in the air, it seemed to be as close an approximation as Raynard had hoped it would be.

  Another length, then another, and Raynard watched as Ori seemed to lose himself in the simple pleasure of feeling his body turn weightless in the water.

  As he stared down at Ori’s lithe, muscular frame cutting through the water, Raynard let his mind wander back toward his own recent flight. Did it feel the same for Ori as it had for him, when he’d eventually made it back into the air after so long trapped on the ground?

  By the time Ori finally stopped at the edge of the pool, over an hour had passed. From his vantage point, Raynard watched Ori pull deep lungfuls of air into his body. He’d pushed himself hard. It took him a few minutes to catch his breath while his head remained bowed over the edge of the pool.

  Suddenly, he looked up. A hawk’s vision let Raynard easily spot the question in his eyes. Some of Ori’s recently discovered peace left him. He was obviously concerned his master would be angry with him for spending so long there.

  Raynard let Ori see his approval shining down on him. As quick as ever to echo his emotions, Ori’s expression morphed into a stunning smile—more carefree then than Raynard had ever seen him.

  He gave Ori another hour to soothe his muscles in the pool before he finally beckoned him away from the water to join him upstairs.

  Ori was out of breath when he arrived at Raynard’s table, his hair more than a little damp and his cheeks flushed. He obviously hadn’t dawdled on his way back to Raynard’s side.

  Tapping the leg of the opposite chair with his toe, Raynard pushed it away from the table. Ori took the hint and sat down.

  “Feel better?”

  “Yes, sir.” He looked down for a moment, as if not sure what to make of the question now that he’d uttered his automatic response. It seemed as if he had been so busy enjoying himself he hadn’t noticed the pain slip from his joints.

  “The aches will start to fade away once you achieve a full shift,” Raynard promised.

  Ori looked up at him through his lashes.

  “You’re allowed to speak,” Raynard reminded him, when Ori failed to say a single word of his own volition.

  “Most of my foster parents said they were just growing pains, sir.”

  Raynard considered the statement. “Broadly speaking, they were right—the avian version. Your body is preparing itself to be able to shift properly in a few months’ time.”

  Ori nodded.

  Raynard pushed the tea he’d bought for the fledgling a little closer to him.

  “Thank you, sir.” Ori wrapped his hands around the mug.

  “Did any of your foster families know you’re a shifter?”

  Ori stared at his tea. “The Greens were the last family I stayed with, sir. Mrs Green encouraged me to find out one way or another.”

  “And you did that by?” Raynard asked, as he suddenly realised that he had no idea how an avian raised among humans would do that.

  “I went t
o a doctor. She did blood tests. They showed I’m an avian, but they can’t distinguish between species.”

  Raynard remained silent.

  “Once I knew, I started trying to research things.” He frowned at his tea. “Humans don’t know much about…” He sighed. “I found out there were nests, but that was about it. I approached a few of the nests, but most of them are…” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Species specific?” Raynard suggested, guessing that he’d landed in breeding colonies.

  Ori nodded. “Finally, a woman at one of the nests that didn’t want me, directed me to the Anderson Nest. She said it catered to all avian men, regardless of species.” He sipped his tea. “It sounded perfect. I guess it was. I mean, they let me stay.”

  Raynard tightened his grip on his own cup of coffee. The less he thought about Ori’s treatment at the nest the less likely it was that he’d want to kill someone. He cast around for another topic.

  “You said you had foster families plural?”

  Ori nodded. “Seven altogether, sir. I…I wasn’t very good at fitting in.” He blew gently on the surface of his tea before taking another sip. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m not really… Maybe it was just me…” He forced a smile. “The clumsiness didn’t help… There was always something that would break, then I knew it wouldn’t be long before the social workers would be sent for to take me back.”

  There was a wistful tone in his voice that clawed at something inside Raynard. As changes of topic went, his choice had been bloody awful. Ori didn’t say anything else as they finished their drinks. Raynard wasn’t sure what to say either. Finally, he stood up and it was impossible to let the silence linger any longer between them. “Come on, fledgling. Time to go home.”

  Ori smiled up at him, as if Raynard had somehow chanced to say the perfect thing. Raynard ruffled Ori’s hair as he stepped past him. For the first time, Ori didn’t flinch at all at the sight of a raised hand.

  As he made his way out to the car, Raynard found himself feeling rather pleased with himself as well as his submissive.