Sevastyan
Sevastyan finished combing his hair in the mirror and went back out to the bedroom.
Rei was on the bed, freshly showered, carefully replacing bandages on his legs and rubbing lotion into his skin where he could.
He smiled at Sevastyan, then quickly dropped his eyes.
Sevastyan pressed a kiss to his hair. It was already brushed and styled.
“Tell me when you’re finished, I’ll carry you out to the living room.”
“I can crawl, if you like, Master.”
“And I will be carrying.” Sevastyan smiled down at his slave.
Rei blushed and dropped his face. This morning, with sunlight filtering in through the windows, he looked fragile.
Beautiful and fragile, and badly handled by the world.
Sevastyan brushed his lips against one of the bruises on Rei’s bare shoulder.
He was going to do something about that.
Something to make everyone in their world think twice about touching this beautiful man again.
Sounds of hissing and objects striking walls came in from one of the other rooms. Sevastyan swung around. “Stay.” He took long strides through the suite, towards the sounds coming from Alexi’s room.
The door was open. The commotion was focused on the bathroom.
“Alexi!” Sevastyan called out. No answer. He moved through the room, coming to the bathroom. The door there was also open. Jonathan and Alexi were near the entrance, Jonathan crouched down, Alexi standing more towards the tub.
Lisa was jammed in between the wall and the toilet, a much too small space for a man of his size.
His teeth were ripping at the bandages on his hands, his knees bent and pulled up in front of him.
As Jonathan came close, Lisa lashed out, screaming through his gritted teeth.
He kicked Jonathan in the arm. Jonathan slipped on a towel and went down.
Sevastyan lunged forward and caught the man before he hit, pulling him back to the doorway and out of the way.
“Lisa, still,” Alexi bellowed.
Lisa’s eyes flared. “Fuck you.” He bit at his hands again, getting a section of the bandages loose.
They started to unravel. Alexi closed the distance between them, pinning Lisa’s hand and pressing Lisa’s entire back against the corner.
The toilet made an ominous sound of porcelain being ground across the floor.
“You have no right,” Lisa growled.
“I’m your master.”
“Are you?” Lisa spat in Alexi’s direction.
Alexi slapped Lisa across the face.
Lisa sucked in air, staring at Alexi, and laughed. He sounded insane. “You promised I was yours.” Betrayal laced every layer of his tone. “Go to hell, Alexi.
He sank his teeth into the bandages. Alexi tore them out of his mouth.
“Alexi, his ribs,” Sevastyan said.
Alexi dropped Lisa’s hand and stepped back. Lisa didn’t even pause. He got one hand free and started in on the other one.
“I didn’t bring sedatives. Do you have anything injectable?” Alexi said.
“That’s your big solution?” Lisa snarled. “Sedate your problem? Some master you are.”
“Lisa,” Sevastyan said quietly.
Lisa stopped. He met Sevastyan’s eyes and dropped his gaze immediately. But he didn’t stop getting his hands loose.
“He attacked Jonathan,” Alexi said.
“I told him to stop,” Lisa snarled.
“He was supposed to help you in the toilet because of your hands,” Alexi snapped. “You’ve never had a problem with Jonathan.”
Lisa’s eyes flashed towards Sevastyan and dropped again.
“Alexi, if I may?” Sevastyan said.
Alexi waved Sevastyan forward.
Sevastyan dropped to one knee in front of Lisa. He held out his hand. Lisa swallowed, his eyes moving between Alexi, Sevastyan, and Jonathan, then back to Sevastyan. Slowly, he held out both of his hands, the free one and the half-free one, averting his eyes.
Sevastyan took Lisa’s wrists in his palms, inspecting them.
“You’re bleeding.” He stroked the skin beside a shallow scrape on the side of Lisa’s palm, then turned the hand over, looking at the bruises and barely closed split knuckles from the fight that had saved Rei.
He set that hand down and started to unwrap the half-loose hand.
Lisa held still, saying nothing, his eyes on Sevastyan’s work.
Sevastyan finished and stood, shaking out both lengths of bandages.
“Use the toilet, sponge off. Don’t get the bandages wet.”
“Yes, sir,” Lisa whispered.
Sevastyan stood back. Lisa started to move and gasped, his hand going to his ribs. Sevastyan held out his hand and braced Lisa, helping him twist and slide out from the place where he had gotten jammed. The deep wound in his thigh was oozing blood.
“Ten minutes,” Sevastyan said. “Collect yourself and come present for discipline.” They were going to have to check the stitches on Lisa’s thigh, but he wasn’t going to mention that in the moment.
“Yes, sir,” Lisa whispered. His eyes were on the floor. There were more broken-open wounds and fresh scrapes on his skin.
Sevastyan suppressed the urge to show more care. He stepped back, closing the bathroom door.
“You’re not afraid he’ll hurt himself?” Alexi asked.
Sevastyan braced himself internally. He’d just given Alexi a grave insult, being able to calm Alexi’s slave for him. If it were any other master, he wouldn’t have, but Alexi was more level-headed. Even so, the man’s pride had just taken a hit.
“He won’t kill himself with Rei in the suite,” Sevastyan said.
Alexi and Sevastyan moved away from the bathroom door. Alexi kept looking back at it. “Sedatives?”
“Only pills,” Sevastyan said. “I’m fortunate I have as much of my kit as I do, after the fiasco with Dirk’s men. You won’t need it.”
Alexi’s eyes tightened with irritation. “I let him run too long,” Alexi muttered. “I thought his training was strong enough.
Sevastyan held up his palms. “Let me guess? Jonathan was sent in to prepare Lisa for the day?”
Alexi nodded curtly.
“His training is fine.” Sevastyan said. “You trained him beautifully. He just killed three men, for us. For himself, and Rei.”
Alexi narrowed his eyes. “I haven’t had my morning coffee. Speak more plainly.”
“I’ll go do the coffee, sir,” Jonathan said softly.
Alexi nodded and waved his assistant off.
Sevastyan lowered his voice. “We haven’t had a problem since I bound his hands. It has been hard on him. He usually grits his teeth and closes his eyes, but he bears the handling. The last day or so he’s even been sweet. It was working.”
“He was soft to handling last night when we were getting ready to sleep,” Alexi agreed, hesitation lacing his cadence.
Sevastyan nodded. He had to give Alexi time to come to his own conclusion. It was right there.
Alexi let out a long breath. “But I was the one handling him. He doesn’t trust Jonathan.” He closed his eyes. “I didn’t realize the fight had changed him that much.”
“It started before the fight,” Sevastyan murmured.
Alexi looked at Sevastyan askance.
“Make him tell you about Morocco,” Sevastyan answered the unspoken question. “He’s trying. But he’s slipping back into survival. He’s closer to the Lisa you got from the kennels than the Lisa I last saw with you.”
Alexi sank down onto the end of the bed and covered his face with his hands. “I’ve never failed this spectacularly with a slave that’s shown such promise before.”
“You didn’t fail.” Sevastyan backed away and put his back to the dresser, crossing his arms. “He’s still in there doing what he was told. He was soft for you, last night.”
“Yes, but you just gave him what he wanted. After he spat at me.”
Sevastyan chuckled. “When has your wild fox ever stopped spitting? I thought that was one of the features you liked.”
Alexi laughed ruefully and wiped his hand over his cheek.
He checked his palm, but there was nothing on it.
Lisa had never actually gotten spit on him.
“Sometimes I think I should just chuck him into a cage and break him. But every time I make up my mind to do it, something tells me that would be the end of everything I love about my wild fox. I can’t bring myself to destroy something so magnificent.”
Sevastyan smiled at Alexi. “You’re an artist.”
Alexi glared at him, but this time there was wry humor behind the fake outrage. “Mind the flattery, young one.”
Sevastyan laughed.
The sound of a toilet flushing and water falling came from behind the bathroom door.
A few moments later the door opened. Lisa stood in the doorway, head bowed, shoulders slumped.
He’d dried himself, mostly. His hands were nervous, opening and closing at his side.
He took a step forward and then went to his knees.
He crawled into the bedroom and paused, equidistant between Sevastyan and Alexi.
“Come here,” Alexi said, taking control.
Lisa went to Alexi’s feet and stayed there, his rear resting on his upturned heels, knees tucked under him, hands on the floor, head hanging. The wound in his thigh was still seeping blood.
“Why did you fight Jonathan, slave?” Alexi said to Lisa.
Lisa’s fingers flexed in the shag of the carpet. “He touched me, Master.”
“I told him to touch you.”
Lisa tucked his head lower, his body getting smaller against the floor.
“You’ve been an excellent slave for years now,” Alexi said softly. “This is what I would expect out of someone with no training.”
Lisa trembled but said nothing.
Alexi reached down and lifted Lisa’s chin, holding his slave’s jaw in his hand.
“What changed?”
Lisa swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving up and down. He blinked away crystalline confessions gathering on his lashes. “You promised,” he whispered.
“Did I break my promise?” Alexi murmured.
Lisa’s eyes hardened. “Yes.” He tore his face out of Alexi’s hand.
Alexi let him go but Lisa went nowhere, staying where he was, face averted, shoulders hunched.
“Tell me what happened in Morocco,” Alexi ordered, voice almost gentle.
Lisa’s whole body tightened, which would have appeared impossible, but happened nonetheless.
“Nothing. Served some food. Walked around, poured wine, just like you said.” Lisa’s voice dripped with loathing.
Alexi waited.
Lisa pulled away, scooting backwards.
Alexi’s hand shot out, catching Lisa by his multicolored locks. “Little fox,” he murmured.