Page 23 of Designation Prey

Daniel blushes and smiles at him. It’s exactly what he wants.

8

Daniel is much taller than Liam expected. He’d seemed so much smaller in the bed. Daniel looks at him, then away, and a blush crawls up his cheeks. His shoulders hunch in.

“What happens now?” Daniel asks.

“We get you comfortable with being my submissive. Your heat isn’t close, which is for the best. It’ll be enough of an adjustment without that, I imagine.” Liam reaches up a hand to Daniel’s face, touching his cheek. “Are you familiar with the traffic light system? If I ever do something you can’t handle or that you don’t like, I want you to say red. And I’ll stop immediately. If you’re scared or panicking, need a moment or something like that, you say yellow. If I ask you what color you are and you’re happy with what’s happening, what will you say?” He’s staring at Daniel’s mouth, thinking about getting his cock into that wet heat.

“Green.”

“That’s right, my good boy. I won’t be mad if you say red or yellow.”

“What about—I’m prey. Shouldn’t I not be allowed red?” Daniel tries to shrug, to make it seem like he doesn’t care very much. As if he hasn’t thought about what it might mean to be prey since the moment he came into his designation.

“That might be more advanced than what we have time for. Nonconsensual play is something we’d engage in if we knew each other well. Let’s see how it goes and if you’re not evening out well, then we might experiment.”

“What if… what if I’m too strong? What if I resist?”

It’s an interesting enough question that Liam wonders what Daniel has heard, how much he knows about his designation. “You won’t be, honey. If you were able to fight me, then I wouldn’t even try it. Your body will help me.”

“That’s—” Daniel whispers the next word. “Weakness. Isn’t it?”

The submissive is gorgeous, attempting to pretend he doesn’t know what the condition means.

“That’s right. Weakness is very special. It’s rare, and it usually only happens to submissives when your body knows what it needs and is trying to help you get those needs met. If you’re strong enough to fight me, then I’m doing something wrong. If you can fight me, then you should. Trust me and trust your body. You fight when you need to, and you surrender when you need to.”

Daniel whimpers, leaning against the wall as if the very idea is overwhelming. Hell, maybe it’s making him weak right now. He puts his arm more securely around the boy.

“I don’t want to fight you,” Daniel says, as if the very idea of being so defensive upsets him. Maybe it does. Daniel is an extremely gentle submissive who has been badly abused. He needs time and a place to recover. He needs to feel safe and process the things he’s endured.

Frankly, Liam isn’t sure if any submissive should be in the field. It all seems like one massive mistake that the military is determined to double down on. Submissives stay in the military to be of use to the Dominants who need them. To expect more of them is wrong.

That is not a popular opinion. He knows a lot of submissives who would be offended by the very suggestion that they shouldn’t be fighting right alongside a Dominant.

Anyway, it’s just his opinion formed after years of experience, and it’s not like anyone is going to let him guide policy, so what does it matter?

The submissive in his arms right now has no business being in the military. He needs to be a pet, a prize, kept in a home and well-loved by a greedy Dom.

Liam leans into his space and kisses him gently on the forehead.

“Oh,” Daniel whispers, as if the chaste kiss was unbearably erotic. “I might fall down”

A submissive as responsive as Daniel is a gift. He can’t wait to get Daniel home and in his bed. On his knot. “I’m expecting a little bit of fighting, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it. Sometimes, submissives have to be shown what they need. Instincts don’t always kick in. That might happen a lot with you. It might be very difficult, at first, to give yourself to me as much as we both need you to. Your handlers spent a lot of time making you believe things that weren’t true, teaching you to fight when you shouldn’t, and doing what they could to confuse your natural instincts. Whenever it’s difficult for you, you have to try to remember that it will get better, that I do know what’s right, and I want what’s best for you. And that it isn’t your fault it isn’t easy. It’s difficult for every submissive in different ways, but because of your experiences it’ll likely be especially difficult for you.”

Tears fill his eyes. “Why would you want to deal with that?” Daniel tries to push away from him. “I mean, I guess it’s your job. But why would you want that job?”

“Listen to me. I know we don’t know each other very well and this might be hard for you to believe. So pay attention and see if you think I’m lying: I want you and it has nothing to do with the job.”

“I don’t believe you,” Daniel says instantly.

He chuckles. “Well, alright. And that’s okay. Over time, you will. Getting weak for me, submitting for me and being on my knot, knowing you’re giving me pleasure and I’m taking care of you will convince you. When you find yourself too weak to struggle, unable to fight me, that’s how you know it’s right. That you’re just a little confused because of what they told you. That’s when you trust yourself as a submissive and you trust me as your Dom. Getting to show that to you is something I want.”

Daniel’s lower lip trembles and Liam kisses it. Then he presses a little closer, hauls him against his cock, and rubs against him. “See what you do to me? I need inside you.”

“G-good,” he whispers. “I believe that.”

It’s a start.

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