Ryker had spanked Lex’s ass the first time he was alone with him, and that was good. He needed to remind Lex that discipline was a way of life for him now. Ryker had slipped a little earlier, when he’d gotten carried away and made love to him, but it wouldn’t happen again. From now on their encounters would be more about business and less about pleasure. Or he should say, all about Ryker’s pleasure and Lex’s humiliation. As Lex bent over the sink, Ryker dragged his eyes off his delectable bare ass and finished undressing. He flipped on the security camera when Lex wasn’t looking, since this was as good a time to start filming him as any.

He had another momentary pang of something that felt like regret when Lex came back over to the tub, his face eager to please and his arms full of luxurious soaps and shampoos. He kept stealing little glances at Ryker and he looked apprehensive now, instead of sleepy and relaxed and happy as he’d been when Ryker first came in. Lex’s hair was curling riotously over his head in the steamy room, making him look young and vulnerable, and he was nervously biting his full lower lip.

Ruthlessly pushing down the urge to pet him and coax the smile back to his face, Ryker eased himself into the steaming tub. He glanced back up at Lex. "Well, hurry up, damn it. I don’t have all night."

Lex put on some extra speed and his feet slipped on the wet tile. His legs flew up in the air, and the bottles of soap sailed up in front of him too. It took all of Ryker’s incredible speed to leap for him, catching his head just before it cracked onto the tile floor. His hips hit hard, though, and he gave a little cry of pain as Ryker swooped him up in his arms and carried him back to the tub. He put Lex on his stomach, leaning him over the edge while he examined his backside, trying hard not to be moved by Lex’s little cries of distress.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My-my lower back…ow, I think I broke something."

Ryker rolled his eyes and smiled. "Stop being a baby. Nothing’s broken, just a little bruised." His hands massaged and kneaded his flesh, though, and it was all he could do not to drop a kiss on his sweet little ass. He spent several long, satisfying minutes rubbing his hands over Lex, probing here and there lightly with his fingers to make sure he wasn’t, in fact, badly injured. He’d taken a hard fall.

Finally, satisfied that he was only bruised and shaken, Ryker eased him down to sit in his lap. The feel of all that soft, naked skin gave him an immediate erection. His wolf leaped eagerly into action again, desperate to finally claim its mate.

Breathing too hard, he reminded himself firmly that he could master his beast. He put his arm around Lex’s waist, just to steady him, and put his own head back on the ledge to give himself time to regain control. He was almost there when he felt Lex’s head drop to his shoulder and his nose nuzzle into the side of his neck. Lex’s hot, sweet breath brushed against his throat.

"Thank you for saving me. I would have hit my head if you hadn’t caught me."

It seemed the gods were determined to make this as difficult as possible for him. He tilted his head downward to tell Lex he’d rested long enough—to see to his duties immediately. It was at that precise moment that Lex raised his chin, putting his soft lips only a breath away from Ryker’s.

With a groan, Ryker took him in a hard, fierce kiss. He meant to punish him for being who he was, for being so vulnerable and so irresistible. Instead, the second his mouth touched Lex’s lips, he parted them, welcoming Ryker in with a soft exhale, a little sigh as if this was what he had been waiting for all his life and just when he’d been about to give up, it had finally arrived. Ryker tightened his grip and pulled him around so Lex could straddle him. He leaned him back and ravished that sweet mouth. He thoroughly tasted Lex, running his tongue around the inside, tangling with his tongue and then pulling back to lick at his full lips.

Nor was Lex a passive partner in the kiss. He gave as good as he got, biting Ryker’s lip at one point and drawing a hint of blood. Ryker pulled away and looked down at him in surprise, but Lex put a hand on the back of Ryker’s head and pulled him close again, going after another kiss.

By this time they were both breathless, and Ryker’s cock felt like a rod of Byzanthean steel. He gently picked Lex up and put him down on the bench beside him, then got up to move to the other side of the tub, some one and a half meters away—not nearly far enough, but it would have to do. He needed to calm down before he sank his teeth into Lex’s neck and claimed him thoroughly. He had every intention of fucking him, and soon, but it would not be a mating. Ryker was strong and he could do this. He just had to regain a little control first.

"No," he said, holding up a hand to stop Lex as he started moving across the tub toward him. "Stay over there for a minute."

"But-but why?" Lex’s brows drew together and he tilted his head to the side. "Did I do something to make you mad? I know I’m not very good at this…"

"Oh. You’re good, all right. I just need a moment."

Lex’s hand drifted down to his own erection, and Ryker found his gaze drawn to it. Lazily, Lex stroked up and down his shaft, little drops of pre-cum clouding up the bubbling water in front of him. With a growl, Ryker moved back to sit beside him, his hand brushing Lex’s aside.

"Let me do that," he said, and moved his hand up and down Lex’s cock, enjoying the soft skin of it, hefting it in his hand. It was a beautiful cock, not as large as his own, but well-shaped with velvety skin. It was rigid and pointed arrogantly upward. As he ran his hand over the shaft and reached down to weigh each ball carefully in his hands, kneading and massaging them, Lex put his head back and moaned softly.