Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
K ade hissed as his head was yanked back, his arms flailing as he tried to keep his balance. He’d had enough of this idiot, “I said no, dammit.” Carver had grabbed his hair from behind, and he kicked himself for giving the man his back. He knew better than that, that was the number one rule. Never give the enemy your back, because you’d most likely be pumped full of lead before you knew what happened. He whirled around and threw his fist straight into Carver’s nose. The crunch of cartilage and grunt of pain made his day. When his hair was released, he jerked his head back, and then shot his leg out kicking Carver right in the groin. He heard the satisfying squeal and thunk as the man’s body hit the floor, and he was prepared to follow the man down and take his pound of flesh for all the boys this idiot had terrorized over God knew how many years. He whirled around when a hand grabbed his shoulder ready to hit someone else if needed, but instead he was yanked into a powerful chest that smelled of pine. Ram, his daddy was here. He could relax, Ram would take care of everything. He really hoped Ram would punch the guy too, or at least step on his nuts… as a Dom he must have done that before. Kade winced at the thought. Yeah that was a no from him, never gonna happen.
“Shhh, baby it’s me,” Ram said roughly before he pulled Kade into his arms, he desperately wanted to check Kade over, but he knew Kade would get weird because they had an audience. Josie had been damn near distraught trying to tell them what had happened, he was worried he hadn’t got the full story and Carver had harmed Kade.
“That’s assault on a police officer,” Carver moaned from the floor, he tried to stand but his legs wouldn’t hold him yet. The little shit had gotten him good.
Ram had never been so happy to see a man writhing on the floor in pain before. He was usually a pacifist, only jumping in to protect someone he cared about, but seeing Carver get a taste of his own medicine made him extremely happy.
“He said no like a lot of times, and you didn’t listen to that,” Josie said softly, his tears falling down his face, as he hugged himself and rocked back and forth. “He said no and you wouldn’t listen, you deserved that.”
Ronin shook his head at Carver as he pulled Josie into his arms, it was about fucking time someone had shown Carver he wasn’t all big and bad. Daemon had warned Ram and Ronin to not intervene, he needed Carver to make a mistake with someone not as intimidating as them, as fucked up as that sounded. “You did good, boy, I’m so proud of you.” He praised the boy as he calmed down, Josie thrived on praise and he really just wanted to be a good boy for someone. He really was a good man, a little lost at times but he was as sweet as could be, too bad they weren’t compatible for anything other than sex or Ronin would have snatched him up. Josie was sweet and eager to please, but he wanted something from Ronin he couldn’t give him. Thankfully Josie took that and didn’t push, a lot of the boys he’d played with before he’d gotten hurt had not been too keen to only do scenes. They wanted more and when Ronin had said no, they threw tantrums of epic proportions.
“Thank you, Sir,” Josie said on a hitch of breath, he was glad Ronin was holding him up, because his knees were shaking and he had no idea if they would last. He really liked the big man. Contrary to Ronin’s massive size he was sweet and gentle with his partners, even when he was doling out punishments he always made sure never to use his full power. Josie remembered the one time he’d begged Ronin to let go and just fuck him and boy he’d gotten what he’d asked for. He hadn’t been able to sit down properly for several days, and while he wouldn’t want that every single time he was thankful the big man gave him what he needed when he’d asked.
“Go ahead and take him home, I’ve called the cops,” Ram told Ronin and he glared at the sorry excuse of a man on the floor. If it wasn’t for Kade in his arms he would be beating the shit out of the man at this point, which is why when Kade tried to pull back Ram wouldn’t let him. He usually would let his boy go the second he showed he was ready, but Ram was honest to God afraid of what he would do if he wasn’t holding onto something. He’d tried to get Carver banned several times but none of the boys would press charges out of fear. Carver was a cop and would use that fact to his advantage every chance he got, and he would threaten the boys with jail time if they talked. Carver took advantage of boys when they were in their most vulnerable head spaces and when the boy tried to stop it Carver would make up a story and scare the boy into sleeping with him, then would use that and the pictures as proof in case the boy tried to press charges. While he hadn’t wanted his baby mixed up with Carver, the man didn’t stand a chance against Kade and he was both happy and annoyed by that fact. Kade shouldn’t have to fucking fight for everything in this life. He was just sitting there and he got attacked. Ram shook his head trying to rein in his anger. “Did he touch you anywhere else?” Ram asked as he held Kade at arms length studying him with a critical eye. God help Carver if he touched his boy anywhere else he would kill him, cops be damned he’d gladly spend the rest of his life in jail for protecting Kade. It was time someone came to his defense for a change.
Kade shrugged. “He slapped me… hits like a bitch.” He shook his head. A slap? The man would have been better off punching him. What kind of man slaps another man? This wasn’t the Oscars and he didn’t make a distasteful joke. He knew he should be more upset but he was really reeling over the fact that this man, who was a fucking cop had slapped him like a little girl. What ever happened to a closed fist? A right hook? A left? Why was he so offended the man slapped him instead of punching him? He should really write that down so he could talk to Justice about it because he damn near wanted to stomp his foot and call the man a little bitch for not hitting like a man.
Ram tried to rein in his anger, taking a deep breath and letting it out, whether Kade admitted it or not he could see his baby was shaken, he couldn’t imagine what it was like to be assaulted when you couldn’t see the hit coming. To be just sitting there one minute and assaulted the next made his mind reel just trying to process it. Would Kade react later? Was he really okay or just putting on a show? He cursed himself that he didn’t know Kade well enough to be able to tell yet if he was lying or if he was really okay. He gently palmed Kade’s cheek, while there was a red spot on his cheek there didn’t seem to be any damage anywhere else. “That’s all he did?” Ram demanded just to make sure. The man was gonna pay for this whether the cops took it seriously or not. He saw red anytime Kade was hurt or bothered.
“He grabbed my hair, but I think kicking him in the dick made him regret that decision,” Kade murmured, resting his face in Ram’s neck to take in his scent and to calm the big man. He could feel Ram shaking as he tried to calm himself down and Kade wanted to laugh with joy. Not that Ram was upset but that someone could have that reaction over him was new and he wouldn’t lie it felt really good. The woodsy pine scent always seemed to calm him and he sighed as he slumped into Ram’s arms, thankful the man was a little bit bigger than him and could hold him up no problem. It was nice to just check out for a minute and feel safe in the arms of the man he was quickly coming to adore. Valk brushed up against his leg and he patted his baby’s head for a good job done, Valk had been a superstar and while he wasn’t thrilled about the rumbling it was going to become a new party trick. He’d shape the behavior and have Valk react like that on command, that way when he was annoyed with someone he could just give Valk an order and his precious baby would turn into a demon ready to eat someone’s face. Now he would never let Valk actually attack, not that his baby ever would. That would take too much energy that the big boy just didn’t possess on a daily basis. He chuckled to himself just thinking about it, he’d have to tell Ram his plan soon, but he was done and ready to go home. Tonight was not going to be a fun night.
Ram settled Kade back into a booth, keeping him pressed up against his side while they waited on the cops to get there. He wanted nothing more than to get Kade out of there but he didn’t want to leave any chance that Carver could leave before the cops showed up. Carver had tried to get up and leave but Valk had decided it was his job to stare at the man and show his teeth if the man moved. Ram wanted to laugh, as a service dog Valk couldn’t hurt anyone, but he adored the big boy even more for what he was doing. He knew that man had hurt his owner and he was making his displeasure known in a way no one could mistake.
“I’m Officer Brown and this is my partner Officer Cameron, can you tell us what happened?” A middle aged man, with more gray than brown in his hair asked as he flashed his badge.
“Kade, do you want to tell them or do you want me to?” Ram asked softly. He wouldn’t take away Kade’s voice but he’d be ready to step in whenever. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
Kade nodded. “I’m good. I promise.” He patted Ram’s thigh under the table, he was happy Ram didn’t try to take over and actually let him explain his side. Ram was such a good Daddy. He turned in the direction of the two men. “I was sitting at the booth over there waiting on my partner to get done with what he needed to do before we left, and this man came over and sat with me.” He pointed at Carver who was still cupping his balls on the floor. “He started to talk to me like I was some type of play thing as I was petting my service dog. When he felt I wasn’t giving him the amount of respect he assumed he deserved he slapped me.”
Officer Brown raised a brow. “He slapped you?” He looked from Carver to Kade and back again. Yeah… Carver was an idiot so he could see that happening, but he was glad Carver got what he deserved. The man in front of him screamed don’t fuck with me, and the glasses actually made him a little scarier. He could easily tell by the guide dog and the glasses that the man was blind or at least had very low vision.
“Yes sir.” Kade sighed. “I told him several times I wasn’t interested in anything to do with him and that I was with someone else. I stood up to leave and he felt the need to grab my hair and yank my head back. I was Special Forces in the military for years so I dispatched him just before my partner and his friend joined us.” Kade pointed to Ram.
“One of the other boys that is here tonight tried to intervene and when that didn’t work he came and got me and Ronin. Ronin is over there with the boy, Josie, trying to calm him down,” Ram told the Officers. He wasn’t worried, he had seen both of the men here before and he knew at least Officer Brown was a Daddy. He’d seen him do a few scenes with Josie, and he was always here on Little’s night when he didn’t have to work.
“Is Josie okay?” Brown asked, he looked over to see the adorable boy sitting next to Ronin as the man tried to help Josie go through his breathing exercises to help with his anxiety.
Ram nodded. “Yes, he’s just shaken up.” He pointed to the camera on the ceiling. “We also have cameras with audio if you would like to see.”
Brown nodded. “Yes please. How did you dispatch him Mr. Kade, and would you like to press charges?” He really hoped he would, he was getting tired of getting calls about Carver where no one wanted to stand up to him.
“I punched him in the face and then kneed him in the nuts, and yes he needs to pay for all the shit he’s done to others as well,” Kade said tiredly, now that his adrenaline was gone he was crashing fast. He rested his head on Ram’s shoulder as he tried to conserve his energy to make it home.
“I don’t think that’s necessary for a misunderstanding,” Carver grunted from the floor as he tried to stand, his right leg giving out on him as soon as he put weight on it.
“I don’t think me saying no, more than once, is a misunderstanding. I think that’s you thinking just because you have a badge that you can do whatever you want to people and they’ll be too scared to do anything about it. Man, I spent months as a POW in some of the harshest conditions in the world, you ain’t shit compared to that,” Kade told him. “I don’t even need my sight to kick your ass, you use your power as a cop as a way to treat people like shit, and get away with it. Now you have to pay the consequences man, we’ll see how you like being harassed and manhandled after you’ve said no.” Kade gave him a shit eating grin. “I bet you’ll be some man’s bitch within the hour you get there.”
Brown snorted, as he cuffed Carver and hauled him to his feet, relishing in the man’s whimper. “I guess we can only hope,” he murmured as he passed Kade and Ram on his way out of the front door.
Ram sighed deeply. “Thank God none of the other littles saw this.” That would have been hell, trying to calm down over thirty littles and their angry Daddies. He shuddered just thinking about it.
Kade chuckled weakly. “No kidding.” He sighed, raking his hands down his face. “Can we go home now? I don’t think it was a good idea to come here tonight.” He slumped forward, he was so fucking tired all of the sudden and it was hard to keep his eyes open.
Ram winced. He hated that this was the welcome Kade had gotten tonight, he had hoped some of the people here would have been a good source of friendship for Kade. He doubted Kade would ever want to come back, and that thought made him sad. “Yeah, baby, let me take you home.” He made sure to stay close to Kade but didn’t touch him. Which fucking sucked but he didn’t want to make things harder for Kade, and he knew from experience being touched after you had an adrenaline rush was almost like nails on a chalk board. Nothing worse than having the person you care about flinch away from your touch because it’s so overwhelming.
Kade raised a brow and stopped almost causing Ram to bump into him. “Don’t go and start treating me like I’m fucking delicate Ram, I won’t stand for that shit.” He would kick Ram’s ass if he started to treat him like he was weaker.
Ram swallowed hard. “I’m not trying to, but we never discussed your boundaries on this type of thing, whether you want me to touch you or not. I’m going based on things I’ve learned over the years. If you want me to touch you, tell me that, otherwise I won’t because we haven’t discussed it.”
Kade nodded, grunting his agreement and continued to walk towards the door that would lead him outside and to Ram’s truck. Once he was all buckled in and Ram was behind the wheel he spoke. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to snap at you, I should have known you wouldn’t treat me like everyone else does.” He was man enough to apologize for his mistakes. Just because he had mental health problems didn’t mean he didn’t owe those who he blew up on an apology. He still did it.
Ram smiled sadly, Kade looked like he was waiting for Ram to call the whole relationship off. He hoped one day soon Kade would know he could rely on him, without a doubt, and these moments would be few and far in between. He knew why Kade did it and he couldn’t even get mad at the man for unconsciously trying to protect himself. “It’s okay baby, this is going to take some getting used to on both our parts, don’t you think?”
Kade sighed. “Yeah probably.” He wrung his hands. He just hoped to God, Ram would have patience with him because he was starting to realize Devin did more damage to him than he’d originally thought, he’d thought all his shit had come from his parents and losing his brother. He didn’t want to always compare Ram to Devin or hell, even his father. He wanted to just be with Ram and not have that voice in the back of his head saying it would end up the same way. He could potentially really fuck this up if he didn’t get his issues under control.
Ram could see the internal debate, and reached over and gently grabbed Kade’s hands. “It’s okay Kade, I promise. I told you we’re both gonna fuck up in the beginning, I just want to get you home because I’m afraid this is going to hit you harder than we both expect.” He would love to get his boy in the bath to help him relax but he had a feeling that would be too much at this point. He sent a quick text off to Owen letting him know that they wouldn’t be able to take the puppies right now and that he’d have Dusty bring back their stuff later in the week. He wanted Kade to have his undivided attention right now, and while he’d love to have a puppy again that would be a lot with how much Kade needed him at the moment.
Kade sighed. “It’s probably best if I stay at my apartment alone tonight.” Even as he said it he felt nauseous, he didn’t want to be away from Ram, but he knew the night would be full of nightmares and panic.
Ram studied Kade for a second. “Why is that?” He wanted to know the real reason and hoped Kade would give him that.
Kade grunted. “I will probably have nightmares tonight and I tend to get a little violent during them. I don’t want you there if that happens.” He didn’t want Ram there because without his sight he could mistake Ram for one of the bad guys, he’d never forgive himself if he hurt Ram whether he was trying to or not.
“Because you don’t want me to see you like that?” Ram guessed.
Kade snorted. “You’ve seen a lot already but no, I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to associate you with the bad guy and since I can’t see you, I’m afraid I won’t be able to tell the difference. My nightmares always end in a battle. It’s either me or the guy trying to kill me.”
Ram could understand that, but he also had years of training and dealing with service members, he wasn’t worried about what Kade could do to him. He was worried about what Kade could do to himself. “How about this, I’ll sleep on the couch. I don’t want to leave you alone tonight, especially after what happened, so please Kade, don’t ask me to.” If push came to shove he would camp out in his car but he wasn’t leaving.
Kade nodded. He really didn’t want to be alone but he was afraid the nightmares would come for him tonight and he really didn’t want Ram to see that or be a part of it.
Ram patted Kade’s thigh as he drove them back to Kade’s apartment. He couldn’t wait to have the man out to his cottage but with everything going on, now wasn’t the time to take Kade out of his comfort zone. By the time he pulled into the parking lot Kade was fading fast, slumped against the passenger door and it looked like the man could barely keep his eyes open. “Come on baby, let’s get you into the shower and into bed.” He would have just taken Kade to bed, but he had a feeling the man would want to wash off the day.
Kade grunted his agreement and waited until Ram opened his door before he got out and let Valk out. His faithful companion immediately pressed up against his left thigh and helped steer him in the direction he needed to go. He was so tired he couldn’t even tell which way he was standing. Kade was thankful Ram allowed him to find his own way, the man seemed to know when to back off and let Kade do what he had been doing for so long.
Ram smiled at his two babies, Valk was doing exactly what he had been trained to do and Ram felt a burst of pride for the mastiff. He’d known Valk was different the day the twelve week old puppy was placed in his arms. To see him doing the job he was bred and trained for made him so happy, and to watch Kade allow the big beast to take care of him was so sweet he wanted to cry. He would never tell Kade that though. Once they were upstairs in Kade’s apartment he took off Valk’s gear. “Alright go hop in the shower, I’m going to feed Valk and then I’ll be in there okay?”
“Okay,” Kade mumbled through a yawn as he started pulling his clothes off on the way to the bathroom, leaving them where they fell.
Ram fed Valk and chuckled as he bent to pick up the trail of clothes Kade had left him on the way to the bathroom. He slowly entered the bathroom tossing Kade’s clothes into the hamper and making noise just in case Kade didn’t want him in there. Not that it would be a problem as Kade was currently asleep. Ram huffed, Kade was still standing but was leaned up against the wall with his feet braced and the water hitting his chest. His head was tipped back out of the stream and he was slumped in on himself. Ram took a minute to study his boy before he made a move. Kade’s caramel skin called out to him to be kissed and licked. He wanted the man to be covered in his marks which surprised him. He'd never wanted to mark a boy before but he wanted everyone to know Kade was his. His boy’s body showed the horrors he had seen, and he would never stop being amazed at how strong Kade was. Scars littered his whole body from his head to his feet and everywhere in between, but the scars on his thighs and groin made his heart ache. Knowing they were only put there to try and break Kade made rage so powerful swell inside him that he wanted to beat the shit out of anyone that dared look at his boy. Kade was so strong, willing to try again, willing to let Ram see what had been done to him and hoping Ram would do nothing but love him anyway, and he did. He loved Kade more than he even knew how to express, and to some it might seem fast but he’d secretly loved this man from afar for years, and he was so damn giddy and beside himself with joy that the man was finally his. He took his time stripping as he studied Kade, the man was so damn cute all slack jawed and snoring softly. He had to grin when he looked lower, he had no idea what Kade was so shy about. The man was hung, maybe only a quarter of an inch shorter than his own almost nine inches, though the scars had definitely made him catch his breath the first time he’d seen them. He remembered Doc saying they had hooked him up to a car battery, using wires wrapped around his dick to burn his skin. He now had a raised scar that covered his dick from the base to just under the mushroom head. He easily slid into the shower and gently kissed Kade’s slack lips. “Baby you don’t need to sleep in the shower.”
Kade grunted, smacking his lips, before he settled back into the wall, still asleep.
Ram tried to muffle his chuckle, the man was just too damn cute for his own good. He gently wrapped his arms around Kade’s waist and brought them up the man’s back trying his best to ignore the deep ridges of scars that his fingers brushed over. One day soon he would lay his boy out and worship his body. He urged Kade forward, palming the man’s head, until he rested it in the nook of his neck. “I’m gonna wash you okay? Just relax and hang on to me,” Ram whispered in Kade’s ear, he was hoping the love and affection he was giving would help buffer the nightmares to come. He wanted Kade to sleep peacefully after today, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t happen.
Kade hummed and wrapped his arms around Ram’s neck as he slumped into the man’s body, knowing Ram wouldn’t let him fall. He had no idea why he was so fucking tired and it was starting to grate on his nerves, he’d never slept this much at once in his whole life.
Ram was in fucking heaven, his baby was warm and content in his arms and allowing him the freedom to take care of him, he couldn’t imagine anything better. He pumped a couple squirts of Kade’s body wash into a washcloth and set about scrubbing every inch of Kade’s body.
“Fuck,” Kade hissed when Ram made sure his dick was extra clean, rolling the foreskin back and gently washing the head before pulling the foreskin back over the head of his cock.
Ram chuckled. “Gotta make sure you’re clean.”
Kade hummed in agreement putting his head back down on Ram’s shoulder. He loved these fucking shoulders, they were so thick and powerful, yet his head fit perfectly in the curve and they could easily hold him up. He could just let go for a minute and regroup.
Ram nuzzled into Kade’s cheek as he continued to wash him, before taking a step forward and setting Kade under the spray. He ran his hands through Kade’s hair making sure he got all the shampoo and soap off him before he shut the water off. “Can you stand for just a second baby?” he asked softly, kissing Kade’s forehead.
Kade grumbled a little bit but stood on his own while Ram got out and grabbed a towel, before he set about making sure Kade was thoroughly dry.
“What do you wanna sleep in, baby?” Ram asked as he led Kade to the bed and urged him to sit on the foot of the bed.
“Boxers,” Kade mumbled through a yawn. He had a feeling he would wake up in a cold sweat tonight and being in clothes would make the claustrophobia worse. He really just wanted Ram to be his pillow but he knew he’d never be able to fall asleep if he knew Ram was near him, afraid he’d end up hurting the man.
“Alright, lift up.” Ram tapped Kade’s thigh as he pulled another pair of tight black boxers over Kade’s legs. He needed to find out where Kade got them and then make Kade wear nothing but them while he got to sit around and watch. He kissed Kade’s forehead again. “Bed time.” He helped Kade settle in his massive bed, making sure the man was covered and already dozing before he headed back out to the living room. He was becoming annoyingly acquainted with his boy’s couch and he didn’t like it, he wanted to be so close to Kade you couldn’t tell where he ended and Kade began. He loved the feeling of Kade’s warm body pressed against his. He loved how Kade soaked up his attention like a dying plant, because he had much more to give the man. He hated how Kade was scared to have him sleeping with him on bad nights. He could understand where his baby was coming from but he hoped one day soon Kade wouldn’t worry about his nightmares scaring Ram off. They all had nightmares and he hated leaving Kade to face his demons on his own.