Page 52 of Natural-Born Cullers

“Martin….” Gray kept the warning light.

“Not—” Martin looked up. “—here.”

Gray eased off. “Okay. Back at mine. Let me patch my… scratch up first.”

Martin managed a small smile despite the rub at his head. “But just for clarity—there’s really no physical punishment? A little light… heavy whipping? Maybe?”

As Gray snorted, Brennan flicked a look at Halliday.

“No,” said Halliday. “No whipping. Not of a psychopath. Gray may honourably step up as a Dom to a cross to take punishment, but during it…? That’s not safe play. It’s not sane.”

Martin cocked a brow at Gray, and such a wicked smile came his way. “You need new friends with balls, mate. You really, really do.”

Someone pushed through into Brennan’s office, forcing Gray to look up as he finished cleaning his wound as he sat with his shirt tugged up.

Jan took one look around—at Martin sat behind Brennan’s desk, feet up and flicking through some paperwork, how Brennan shook his head at him from over by the window—then he was coming over, jacket coming off.

Gray winced. He looked more ready for a brawl in the street than Gray did. Even Martin flicked him a look, a snorted smile.

“Mr Richards—” started Brennan, but Jan tugged out a chair and smacked it down right in front of Gray, ignoring Brennan completely as he sat.

“This yourdon’t worry, is it?” Elbows on knees, Jan leaned forward. “Because I swear you told me that today was just signing paperwork to make it official. Now I not only get a call saying Martin was triggered, but they also let him stab you?”

“Not stab,” said Martin “I’m technically more slash than hack, and way after consent is given. Always better to make them live with the sickness in their head, right?”

“I’m more fucking worried about you, Martin.” That came so bluntly off Jan, and amazingly, it shut Martin up. “You okay?” he said over to him.

Martin frowned, just a little. “MC,” he said, and a small smile crept in. “It’s all… all….” He rubbed at his head. “All long cowls, Latin, fucking in time to chanting. And it… it….” Martin stopped, tried that again. “Paperwork’s signed in blood here… apparently. You didn’t know that, Janice?”

Jan eased off his knees, his look staying on Martin, the stress that bled his way from back behind the desk, because some of that had sounded a little like Jack there. Gray caught that too. “Okay. Home.” He stood and crouched by Gray’s side, taking up butterfly stitching the wound as he gave a cough. “Youokay?”

Gray winced. “All good,” he said softly, but a lot of anger off Jan went behind him, to Brennan.

“Yeah, I know,” said Brennan. “But it needed to be done, Jan. You know why.”

“No, I fucking don’t, actually.” Jan continued working away. “But Gray’s going to explain it to me, start to finish, as clear as bloody day when we get home. No way you’re going back to work today, not with how your head is,” he finished with a look at Gray.

Maybe he was right. Other than when Gray had allowed Jan into Dom training and the fallout of that pressure, he’d yet to find a time where Jan was wrong.

“Master Raoul?”

Gray looked back to the door, not noticing how Brennan had left. Now Jason stood there, a clean shirt in hand.

“This is for you, sir.”

Master.

Despite all the bullshit over how he’d reacted, Gray had his title back. Guilt came with it because he felt so displaced as a Dom, he always had. But he’d been seen today for the first time, and no one had run away, trying to hide as they called out for his sectioning.

Maybe Cal was right. Something was shifting. Gray wasn’t quite sure what, but he hoped it was enough to bring Light some of the calm he was starting to find.

Chapter 16

Change

“Light? Hey.” A tap came at his shoulder. “Time to get up, bro.”

A hand wiping his face, Light grumbled into the darkness of his bedroom. CK One burned low around the bed, and Light chased it with a groan, a soft call of—“Still dark. Give me a few more minutes, yeah?”

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