Free Clan and Conviction (Clan Beginnings) by Tracy St. John Page B

the way into his apartment.  As soon as he crossed the threshold the lights came up about thirty percent.  It was dim, but good enough to see by.
    Most of his furniture had been placed, good heavy pieces made to withstand careless and sometimes rough use.  Many of the Nobek’s personal and decorative items were still packed up in the containers that were stacked along one wall.  It wasn’t that Wynhod didn’t know where to put his belongings.  He’d simply not been in a hurry to pretty his new home.  He wasn’t much for the indoors anyway.  The only thing he’d been quick to unpack besides his clothes was his mountain climbing gear.
    He turned to Gelan, who peered with some amusement at the half-done arranging.  While the Dramok canvassed the greeting room, Wynhod stared at him.  Damn, Gelan looked good.  His friend was still young and looked it.  The years had only set a more mature cast on his face.  When they’d last been together, Gelan had still been three years from being able to clan without parental permission.  Now he was old enough to ask anyone he wished.
    Wynhod frowned at himself.  He’d not even had a full day with Gelan yet, but clanning had already entered his mind.  Could that be right?  Or was it just his memories and overriding lust for the regally handsome Dramok driving him to think such thoughts?
    He shook his head.  The soul searching could wait.  Right now, he was ready to fuck.
    Pretending to have some civilization in his soul, Wynhod said, “As I mentioned, I haven’t really unpacked yet.”
    Gelan nodded.  “This is a nice space.  Convenient too, if we want to ride to and from work together.  I live only five levels above you.”
    “Those are larger homes, aren’t they?”
    Gelan shrugged.  “I bought in two years ago looking towards the future.”
    Wynhod swallowed.  Gelan had purchased a unit fit for a full clan, consisting of at least three men if not also the female lifebringer most groupings hoped to attract.  Yet he hadn’t started his clan yet.  While Mataras were nearly impossible to find and Imdikos not a given, Nobeks were a simple matter to clan.  Gelan could have easily already found a clanmate of Wynhod’s breed … and yet he hadn’t.  He’d said over dinner he hadn’t been serious over anyone since leaving the Northwest Mountain Territory.  Since his affair with Wynhod.
    And now here they were, together again. 
    Wynhod had attracted many Dramoks in the past.  He’d made his mark as a superior enforcer early on in his career, before he had even met Gelan.  His strength, confidence, and ambition were appealing to would-be clan leaders; a boon considering Nobeks outnumbered all the other breeds and weren’t guaranteed to clan.  There had been some good matches for him too, at least on the surface.  Yet somehow, Wynhod could never see himself joined permanently to any of the Dramoks who had courted him.  He hadn’t been stroking Gelan’s ego when he’d told him no other Dramok had compared following their affair.  He’d never experienced the immediate camaraderie he’d found with Gelan. 
    That same instant attraction fucked with his head, body, and even heart right now.  Gelan’s mere presence had always felt perfect to him before, and he felt perfect now.  There remained only one last piece of the puzzle to fit, the one that had his cocks filling with need.  Wynhod had to have Gelan, to know if everything still worked between them the way it had before.
    Just like the old days, Gelan’s mind ran along the same lines.  Even as Wynhod sprang for him, the Dramok came at him too.  Their bodies crashed against each other with a heavy thud.  The next instant they were grappling, each trying to gain control of the other man’s body.  The air came alive with grunts, growls, and the sound of tearing fabric.
    Feeling that magnificent body straining against his brought vicious lust to the fore.  Wynhod’s cocks swelled in