Graham huffs. “Weird how that pain doesn’t change.”
Colton thinks about the statement, the oblique admission. “Do you like pain?”
His gaze is hard. “I fight back when someone hurts me.” It isn’t actually an answer.
“Yes, I saw the punching bag.” Could this man kill him with a punch? Absolutely. Are dropping submissives dangerous? They certainly could be. This one undoubtedly is. “You saying you’re gonna hurt me?” he asks, the hint of dominance unintentional. He’s reacting to Graham, which isn’t what’s needed.
“Don’t fucking try to do that to me. I don’tgetrolled.”
Which makes Colton flinch. “I’m sorry. I swear it wasn’t intentional. You are… well, you know how you are,” he says and feels himself blush. He closes his eyes for a long moment and ispositive he can feel the submissive staring, analyzing the wash of color, how sincere he is.
“No, I don’t. Say it,” Graham hisses.
A dare.
Submissive rights have been a long-fought battle. The military isn’t certain that submissives should be able to object when a Dominant wants them. He doesn’t know what this submissive has experienced in his past, but it is undoubtedly something bad.
Colton raises his hands, takes a step back, acknowledging that he fucked up. “You’re beautiful and you’re in distress. I’m usually good with that, but fuck, you’re just as far off the spectrum as I am. I think it, um… I just need to be a bit more on guard. I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.”
Graham hauls in a breath, looks him up and down again, and for one solitary second Colton thinks the man is going to drop to his knees and try to tear Colton’s clothes off.
That second passes.
“Okay. Well, I can see why you’d prefer to just deal with the fallout, I guess. I have a friend…” He swallows, hates talking about this. And it isn’t his story to tell, so he chooses his words carefully. “He had a very bad experience a few years back. Couldn’t stand to be touched for a long while. Those were some very dark days. He couldn’t even be in the same room with me at first. Just… couldn’t. But, um.” He has to clear his throat because just thinking about those horrible days makes him want to cry. “He did get better. He found his Dominant and is married now. He’s happy and so fucking strong.”
Graham’s jaw is hard enough to break something. His eyes are intense on Colton and his hand keeps clenching and then relaxing. Is the submissive aware of what he’s doing?
“He’s a submissive. Why did you say he was strong?”
“Because he is. Best man I know.” Colton closes his eyes. The submissive’s distress is oppressive and hard to be around. Every instinct Colton has is telling him to help, to reach for and touch the submissive until Colton gets it right. Does he need a hug, a cry, or a fuck? Does he need to hurt more?
Maybe he needs all of it.
Colton can’t do anything. Not yet, and maybe not at all, so he keeps his eyes closed and takes a breath, focuses on his own control.
This is what Colton is good at: resisting impulses. Most other (or maybe all other, since Colton’s here) Dominants would see and feel Graham’s roiling, anxious energy and would either try to fuck Graham or get the hell out. Probably get the hell out as Graham won’t be easy. There are a lot of easy submissives around.
Graham Knox isn’t just a hostile mess. He’s powerful.
“My friend couldn’t bear a lot of typical D/s interaction. He needed a Dominant but didn’t want one. When he’d drop, he’d sit by me on the couch. That’s it. And he could touch me. Just having a Dominant next to him made things better. He had lots of negative thoughts when he dropped. My being there helped with that, too,” he says.
“Dominants don’t want to sit with a submissive on the couch,” Graham snarls.
“Most don’t. You’re right. My dominance is unusual.Ican sit on the couch with a struggling sub and not take advantage,” he says, proud of the fact. “This doesn’t have to be about me. I’ll sit beside you and not ask for more. Anything you want,” Colton promises.
“You’re gonna do what I want? Helpme?” Graham growls. His chin jerks up in challenge and he takes a threatening step closer. “Then leave.”
Colton winces. He was afraid Graham would say that. “I will leave. But your boss brought me here for a reason and your friends are worried about you. Could I maybe stay for a bit longer? You can ignore me completely.” He drops his gaze, a willing submission. “Please?”
Graham swallows audibly. “How long?”
“Fifteen minutes?”
The weight of Graham’s glare makes him feel twitchy. Colton keeps his shoulders relaxed, gaze to the side and down, allowing Graham to look as much as he wants. If nothing else, Graham does want to look. The seconds spin out and it feels like a full minute goes by before Graham speaks.
“I don’t care what you do.”
“Okay, thank you.” He risks a glance up.
