Page 19 of Designation Prey

“You are very welcome,” he says with a grin that makes Daniel blush and want. Liam’s fingers slip out and Daniel gasps at how empty he now feels. His hand tries to go down between his legs, to take the Dominant’s place, but he stops himself, sliding his hand up and under the pillow so he doesn’t forget.

Oh no.

The desire and need he feels is still there, after all. Having Liam’s fingers in him kept it at bay. But it’s fine. He’s survived worse.

Liam rises, going to the sink to wash his hands, and Daniel lets himself really look at the man who is going to be his Dominant. He didn’t believe it before, that he’d be able to go home with him, get pleasure and a knot. Maybe even be called “boy” and “sweetheart.”

But now he does. Now it feels real. His Dominant is tall and broad shouldered, his hair straight and to his jaw. He needs a shave. Daniel had felt that on his lips when he’d briefly gotten to taste his mouth.

Kiss him.

Liam turns back to him, his gaze roaming over Daniel hungrily, and Daniel can feel that lust directed at him. This Dominant wants Daniel in return, and it makes him want to be bent over on his hands and knees so badly. He wants the Dominant’s fingers plunging in and out of him, slamming deep inside. And then his cock.

His Dominant.

Something he didn’t ever think he’d get. Getting fucked by a Dominant is supposed to make the ache go away, fill up a submissive and make them feel content in a way they only get from a Dominant’s come, sometimes a knot if the submissive is very lucky. Daniel is going to be mounted and bred and all the things he’s never gotten to have.

All the things they told him were wrong. All the things he himself was terrified of when he worried about becoming submissive and what that might entail.

Daniel wants it. He didn’t need to be afraid of getting it, he needed to be afraid of not getting it. He can’t and won’t tell this Dominant no. Ever. Which makes it acceptable to follow and want, makes Daniel’s own instincts almost overwhelming. He can go quiet and soft and wanting and this Dominant will get exactly what he wants from Daniel. “No” isn’t the right answer anymore.

The Dominant is older. He’s been in the sun a lot and probably spends a lot of time outdoors. Probably not older than forty. He has a straight nose with the faintest bump on the right side, probably from being broken once upon a time. And to think he’d once been terrified of wanting a Dominant, wanting to submit, worried that it would be awful. Wanting this man is as easy and natural as breathing.

“Let’s try the ultrasound. Do you want to present for it?” Liam asks.

Daniel wants it so badly he freezes. It’s training. Giving in to his instincts might not be so easy after all.

“What is it?”

“It just feels like presenting is wrong. What if you don’t like it? What if I do it wrong?” Is it a trick? He couldn’t stand that. It would destroy him if he obeyed and became accepting, and then it turned out to be a trap. Or what if he doesn’t do it right, or it’s just gross and pathetic? Maybe he shouldn’t do it, after all. Maybe there was comfort in saying no.

He isn’t vulnerable when he says no.

Liam’s nostrils flare, able to smell Daniel’s anxiety. He grabs Daniel by the chin. “I need this from you now. Be good,” Liam orders, even more beautiful standing over Daniel, command radiating from him.

Daniel gets to his knees on the bed, swaying in close to his Dominant without really meaning to. Daniel is just so drawn to him. He tries to scent him, his lungs warm, suddenly a little lightheaded. He touches Liam’s shoulder and he sways again. Liam looks at his neck. Should Daniel offer?

And suddenly he can hear his father’s voice in his head, echoes of him telling Daniel not to be a needy slut. Daniel straightens, hurrying into position. Who does he think he is, wanting a bite and a fuck like a whore, ungrateful for the gift and power he’s been given?

His father never would have let Daniel do this if he’d known Daniel would be so weak. Too weak to be a Dominant, to realize the change’s full potential.

He needs to fight his instincts.Make some effort, his father would yell, voice sharp and angry. That was when he’d look to his handlers, to the doctors, silently pleading for someone to step in.

They’d started shocking him when he’d offer his throat, get slick, try to present, or cry. It seemed like whatever his instincts were, everyone hated them. They did their best to get him trained into behaving like the Dominant he was meant to be, trying to salvage something from the disaster.

And that’s all Daniel really knows. He’s learned those lessons thoroughly through fear and pain. They’re drummed deep into his skull, carved into his bones. His submissive responses are wrong.

Which makes it hard to trust this. He should go back to hiding.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Why are you anxious?” Liam asks, petting his hair, his voice a rumble.

“This is bad. They’ll hurt me.” Even before he finishes saying it, he realizes where he is. The circumstances have changed, even if it’s just for a while. His father is sick. This isn’t his father making this decision, but a doctor who wants him to be treated like a submissive. He tries to chuckle. It doesn’t sound right. “Sorry, I got confused.”

“You thought you were somewhere else? Does that happen a lot?” Liam asks.

Daniel knows he’s trying to keep his voice even and calm. But it isn’t normal or healthy to make that sort of mistake. This isn’t his first experience with doctors. He knows the tone of voice they get when they’re surprised or disappointed with him.

“It’s fine. I know where I am. I’m sorry.”

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