Chapter Seven #3
Marrick only hesitated for a moment. “If you’d spent your whole life determined not to let anyone stop you grabbing everything life could offer you, then realised you’d give up on all that, for two guys you barely know, you wouldn’t find them frightening, you’d find them terrifying.”
Luther took a step forward, then another, until he lowered himself down to crouch at Blaine’s feet, right next to where Marrick sat.
“You want to protect me from something, protect me from that, because that scares the hell out of me far more than a bit of rough play ever will.”
“If we hurt you—”
“You didn’t hurt me!” Marrick snapped. He paused for a moment and took a calming breath. Letting go of Blaine’s fingers, he held his hands out, displaying his body. “You didn’t hurt me. I’m fine. See?”
Blaine’s eyes ran over Marrick. He looked perfectly fine, even his clothing appeared to be unharmed by their little tumble, but that wasn’t the whole truth, Blaine knew it wasn’t. “The way I held you hurt you. I saw it in your eyes.”
Marrick swallowed.
“If you lie to us about what really hurts you, how do you expect us to keep you safe from…from feeling that way?”
Marrick looked up and met his eyes. Blaine forced himself to look away from him, just for a moment, just to confirm that Luther felt the same way. When he looked back, Marrick’s gaze was still there waiting to trap him once more.
“But, if you could tell us the truth about what will hurt and what won’t do you any real harm, then…” Blaine took a deep breath and nodded his willingness to try to play the games their pet liked so much.
Marrick merely continued to stare at him, as if not sure what to believe.
“Not just physical injuries. You’d have to tell us what scares you—in the wrong ways—too,” Blaine added.
Marrick nodded.
“The whole truth,” Luther prompted. Their pet turned to look at him and nodded his acceptance of that, too.
For a few seconds, Marrick was silent. “I liked it when you pounced on me,” he whispered. It was the truth, Blaine could see it burning in his eyes. But perhaps it wasn’t the whole truth. He didn’t just like it—Blaine was pretty sure Marrick bloody well loved it.
Blaine smiled. Moving forward, he took Marrick’s wrists in a tight grip and pushed him back against the grass once more.
“Tighter?” Marrick asked.
Blaine cautiously strengthened his grip. Marrick held his gaze until a little purr of pleasure escaped from his throat.
Blaine increased his grip again, and that same pained look flashed through Marrick’s eyes.
“A bit too tight,” Marrick whispered.
He’d hurt him. Arslan was right. Blaine sprang away from Marrick, retreating until not one bit of his skin was in contact with Marrick’s body. He’d hurt him and…
Marrick sat up just far enough to support himself on his elbows. He looked from Blaine to where Luther was still crouching next to them, watching over them.
“I don’t break promises lightly.”
And he’d promised to tell them how much was too much.
Blaine swallowed rapidly as he stared down at their pet. It took all the courage he was aware of having and more, but somehow, he put his hand back around Marrick’s wrist, very gently. He cautiously tightened his hold on him until Marrick nodded his head.
“That’s just right?”
Marrick nodded again, not seeming to be able to find any words.
A wrist appeared at the edge of Blaine’s field of vision. He glanced up and met Luther’s gaze. Luther’s expression told him everything he needed to know. Blaine wrapped the fingers of his free hand around Luther’s wrist, making sure his grip on Luther was exactly the same as his grip Marrick.
Luther studied the hold very carefully for several seconds before taking back his hand. He immediately reached for Marrick’s free wrist. One nod later, they both knew what was an acceptable amount of pressure to place on that joint and what wasn’t.
“What else can you handle?” Luther purred, leaning low to let the words caress Marrick’s ear.
Marrick murmured his pleasure, arching off the grass to press against any bit of bare skin within his reach.
“Can a human survive outdoors without these?” Luther tugged at the shoulder of Marrick’s shirt.
Marrick nodded. “Maybe not so much in winter though,” he added, his voice rough.
“That’s good,” Blaine told him, moving to lie on the grass next to Marrick as he ran his fingers down the buttons on the front of Marrick’s shirt. “You promised us the truth, didn’t you?”
Marrick nodded, apparently more than a little fascinated by the sight of Blaine playing with those buttons.
“If we do something that might hurt you—you’ll say your word.”
Marrick nodded.
Blaine shook his head. “Promise.” That was important. He’d seen the truth in his eyes when Marrick said he wouldn’t break a promise lightly.
“Promise,” Marrick rasped out, trying to rub his crotch against Luther’s hand as Luther played with the tab on his fly.
“We want you naked.”
Marrick would have nodded, but Blaine stopped him short. “That wasn’t a question.” His pet had given them the information they needed. It was up to his masters to make the decisions now.
Pleasure danced in Marrick’s scent.
Blaine chuckled. “I thought you didn’t like your masters telling you what you what to do.”
Marrick grinned up at them both. “It depends what we’re doing at the time. If we’re getting laid, you can be as bossy as you like. I’m all for orders when it’s about sex.”
Blaine ran his eyes down Marrick’s body.
Every line of him seemed to be subtly different, just a little bit more perfect.
Within minutes, his clothes had fallen away.
Not all of the garments had remained as intact as they probably should have, but Marrick made no complaint—possibly because his squirming to help them remove them had led to the majority of the tears along the seams.
Finally, Marrick was as naked as they were. Blaine stared down at their pet, at where their hands held him in place, their grips tight enough to turn the skin white along the edge of their hold on him.
“We’ll tread carefully,” Blaine said. “No rushing. That’s how accidents happen, how humans get hurt.”
Marrick nodded.
“You won’t be allowed to have whatever you want until you can prove what you want does you no harm. In some ways, you are like Ryland,” he added. “He let himself get into situations where he could have been hurt in a way he wouldn’t have enjoyed at all. That is not allowed, not ever.”
Marrick nodded again, seemingly willing to agree with anything and everything his masters said to him right then.
Dipping his head, Blaine pressed a kiss against their pet’s bare skin. Rubbing his face against Marrick’s body, he inhaled deeply, savouring the pleasure in his scent along with the simple fact that he was back there with them.
Luther was quick to follow Blaine’s lead. Within moments, their tongues were exploring Marrick’s body as their hands pinned him down firmly against the grass.
They soon chanced upon that ticklish little spot that made their pet writhe and howl for them. Within minutes, he’d squirmed his way out of their tight hold on him.
Rather than try to get away, he flung himself with complete abandon toward them both. They rolled back and forth on the grass, pouncing on each other and toppling each other over and over again.
It was impossible for Blaine not to be a little bit more careful with Marrick than he was with Luther, to make sure their human didn’t land too harshly, that he wasn’t knocked and battered around the way another lion might have been if he’d been caught between them.
But, as their laughter mingled, it was impossible to believe that Marrick cared about such insignificant details. He was there with his masters, and as they collapsed back on the sun warmed grass, all of them panting for breath, it was impossible to believe all wasn’t perfect in his pet’s world.
Picking his head up off the grass, Blaine looked to Marrick, and then past Marrick to where Luther lay on the other side of their pet.
The moment was perfect. That only made it harder to face the bitter truth—there was one thing still left to be done before they could all rest truly comfortably together.
If they demanded the truth of their pet, they couldn’t refuse him the same in return.
Blaine closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he couldn’t look at either Marrick or Blaine. He stared up at the sky and told the last truth that was left to be told between them.
“If Arslan hadn’t stepped in, he’d be dead.”