Onyx
Because I like knowing it’s there.
At all.
He quietly got up, grabbing clothes and getting dressed while Dominic went to the bathroom to clean his hands.
Every movement made him keenly aware of the plug in his ass as it shifted and rubbed against his inner walls. Only the promise of food could make him ignore its presence, even as the cracks in his mind threatened to expand.
“I have a couple of meetings this morning,” Dominic said when they were sitting at his desk and beginning to eat breakfast. “Your magic tutor will be arriving in the early afternoon. I will sit in on the first half of the lesson to ensure that everything is going well. Your astronomy tutor will arrive tomorrow evening. Lessons will be indoors at first, but some subsequent lessons will be done outdoors with supervision.”
Onyx ate, squirming in his chair. He’d gotten used to going without a plug, and while this one was considerably smaller than the one he’d worn while Dominic had fucked the hate into him, it was still uncomfortable.
Maybe not physically, per se, but in a way he couldn’t get away from mentally.
He didn’t want to think about it.
“Tell me about the tutors?” Onyx requested instead of losing himself to thoughts he didn’t think he could handle falling prey to.
“They are both witches,” Dominic said. “Cecile Thorne is your magic tutor. She was quite fascinated at the idea of teaching magical theory to a Rayne and is open to the idea of practical lessons as well in the future. So long as her safety can be assured, of course.”
Would Dominic be able to guarantee safety to anyone teaching Onyx if he had his collar off? Dominic knew better than to be the one near him, because Onyx would almost certainly be compelled to lash out with magic if he had an opening, no matter how things had progressed between them.
But the Thorne witch… She might be safe. “Of course,” he echoed. “I wouldn’t hurt her.”
As long as she wasn’t a dick to him, anyway. As long as he couldn’t think of a way to hold her hostage without it backfiring spectacularly.
“Your astronomy tutor is Lawrie Alexander,” Dominic continued.
“A witch of minor ability, but who is researching astral bodies as part of a scientific endeavor. Learning from him may be more a matter of asking a question and listening to him extol the science of it rather than formalized education of any kind. But we will see how it goes. He is young but quite enthusiastic.”
Onyx frowned slightly. “That sounds so boring,” he complained. But then, lessons of any kind sounded boring, so he guessed that was that. He went back to eating, then demanded, “Okay, I ate, I’m fine, the plug can come back out now.”
He wasn’t so sure he was fine, but he wasn’t going to say that.
Dominic chuckled. “Very well." He wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it down. “Take your shorts off and lie on the bed, or bend over, whichever your preference.”
Unsure of whether bending over would give Dominic any further ideas, Onyx hesitated. But it would be easier and faster, so he quickly pulled down his shorts and underwear and leaned over the bed, spreading his legs slightly.
Was Dominic imagining fucking him? Or was he safe?
“Okay. Take it out,” Onyx said.
Dominic grasped the base of the plug and pulled it out of Onyx’s hole with only a bit of resistance. “Wash it off,” he instructed, holding it out for Onyx. “And I’ll put it back in in the office before your tutor arrives.”
Onyx pulled up his shorts, then gingerly took the plug.
He went to the bathroom so he could clean it off, then returned to hand it back to Dominic.
He didn’t want anything to do with it, but at least he wouldn’t have to deal with it again until the afternoon — and he was much less anxious now, knowing that Dominic couldn’t change the size and shape.
Assuming he hadn’t been lying.
“What am I doing all day?” Onyx asked, resigned to a morning of boredom.
Dominic slid the plug into his pocket. “A book or music in the morning. Lesson after lunch, and this evening is not yet planned out. Did you desire to do something specific?” He grabbed his laptop and unfinished coffee and gestured for Onyx to lead the way out of the bedroom to the office.
Onyx nodded, following Dominic toward the door. “I don’t know. Maybe I can test out what she teaches me,” he said dryly.
On Dominic, preferably.
Dominic chuckled. “Much too short of notice to have a magic day today, but I can move some things around and do it in a couple of days.”
Onyx perked up at that. He was still surprised that Dominic wasn’t holding the last time against him, but he wasn’t going to bring that up.
“I won’t hurt her,” he promised. “When we do lessons for real. She might get a little hot, but I won’t touch her.
Neither will my magic.” He could promise that much — probably — but he couldn’t promise not to hurt Dominic.
He submitted to the other witch when he had to, but the hatred still ran deep within him. With how often Dominic manipulated him or forced him into doing things he didn’t want to do, how could he pass up an opportunity to break free?
Maybe he still was a little suicidal.
Maybe he always would be.
But if he went down in a blaze, he wouldn't wake up again. Fire destroyed everything, including vampires.
“A discussion we can have at a later time,” Dominic said. “What book are you listening to?”
Onyx grumbled, but he followed Dominic into his office instead of arguing.
He grabbed the headphones from their usual spot and went to sit down by Dominic’s chair.
“Oh, it’s nothing you’d be interested in.
" It was based on one of the games he played, and he felt silly for enjoying it as much as he did.
Dominic would probably think it was stupid. He could find out in a heartbeat what it was; he’d purchased it, after all. But even though the other witch arched an eyebrow, he didn’t press further as he opened his laptop and got to work.
The morning passed relatively quickly, and Onyx ignored both Dominic and his business associates as he listened to his book. It wasn’t until the Bancroft witch touched his shoulder to let him know that it was time for lunch that he pulled the headphones off and zoned back into the moment.
He stalled while eating, though, not looking forward to having the plug being put back in. The whispers of cracks in his psyche still lingered as memories brushed against his mind, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape them completely.
For all that he’d wanted the magic lessons, Onyx was reluctant to pay the price for them.
Dominic finished his lunch first and set the plate aside, taking the plug out of his pocket and lube out of his desk. “Your tutor will be here in half an hour,” he said after a glance at the clock.
Onyx reluctantly ate a little faster. This was the lesson he’d fought to have, so he didn’t actually want to miss it.
And he definitely didn’t want to stall to the point where Dominic would try to do something like forcing him to take the plug while the Thorne witch watched.
“Yeah, okay." He eyed the lube and plug.
Dominic chuckled. “The more that you wear it, the less distracting it will become,” he pointed out. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Onyx scoffed at that. He didn’t think it was ever not going to be distracting. He’d never gotten used to the last plug, though granted, that had been considerably bigger. This was small enough to where he might be able to forget about it if he was distracted enough.
Maybe.
“I’m ready, I guess.” He sighed, slower to drop his shorts and bend over for Dominic.
What would happen if Dominic chose now to break their arrangement?
Onyx started to tense at the thought, but he forced himself to relax as much as possible as Dominic slid the lubed-up plug inside of him.
“I still don’t like it,” he muttered as he pulled his pants back up.
The plug shifted inside of him, a taunt…
A promise he never wanted to see fulfilled.
“I’m aware,” Dominic said, the amusement lingering in his voice making Onyx scowl. “It won’t feel so strange when you’ve gotten more used to it.”
Onyx grumbled, but he didn’t bother to respond.
There was a light knock on the door, then Dominic’s assistant cracked open the door. “Sir, your guest has arrived. She’s waiting for you in the blue room.”
“Good.” Dominic rose to his feet.
Onyx followed suit, anxiety and excitement warring inside of him as he trailed behind Dominic out of his office and through the house to the sitting room Cecile Thorne was waiting in.
She was younger than Onyx had expected, maybe a few years older than he was, with dark red hair that had been neatly secured into a bun at the nape of her neck. She looked professional, and she was probably as uptight as someone twice her age.
Still, she was willing to teach a captive Rayne witch magic, and that had to count for something, didn’t it? Onyx couldn’t clock how powerful she might be, not with his own magic banked, but her family name indicated that she probably wasn’t weak.
Cecile smiled and popped up from the chair she’d been seated in. “Mr. Bancroft,” she said. “Thank you for having me.”
Dominic nodded slightly. “Miss Thorne. This is Onyx Rayne.” He squeezed Onyx’s shoulder lightly.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Cecile smiled at Onyx.
She was either brave or stupid, and Onyx didn’t know which he preferred. It wasn’t like he thought he’d be able to escape. The fantasy played in his mind of being able to seduce her, to convince her to take him away from here, but what the fuck did he know of seduction?
Besides, no one would be able to withstand the wrath of Dominic Bancroft if he felt spurned by the target of his obsession.
No, there was no escape for him that way.
“Yeah,” Onyx told Cecile. “Same. Thanks for agreeing to teach me and all.” He didn’t know what to say to her beyond that. How long had it been since he’d tried to carry on an actual conversation — besides the disastrous attempt at talking to other pets?