Page 20 of Rogue Royal
Douglas wandered over to the sub, making sure to always keep in the sub’s vision, and therefore, being able to see Talon, too. He crouched in front of the sub, lifting his hand slowly to wipe the tears from their face.
“Are you okay?” The sub shook their head. “Okay. Let’s get you settled on the bed. Can you bear with us a few more minutes, then I will personally ensure you are safe and cared for?” The sub nodded, more tears overflowing. “You are so brave. Thank you.” Douglas helped him to stand upright, and with effort, the sub shuffled to the bed, climbing on with several winces and painful cries. When they were lying on their stomach with their face to the side to see him, Douglas covered them with a light sheet.
“What happened?” His other cousin Patrick appeared in the room.
Douglas stood and transferred his focus to Talon. “Talonbecame a little too heavy-handed with a sub who said ‘red.’”
“He didn’t—”
Douglas held up a finger. “Talon’s exact words were, ‘Don’t you red me! You deserve this after what you’ve done to me! You’ll take what I give you after that performance.’” Douglas inhaled, calming his anger. “I’m assuming you’re not happy with something that happened tonight?”
Talon waved a hand towards the sub. “He humiliated me in front of the entire room. Despite me giving him what he asked for, he didn’t come and pretended I was hurting him.”
Douglas glanced at his cousins, observing the fury on their faces, which undoubtedly mirrored his own. The sub sobbed beside him, and Douglas, telegraphing his movements, rested his hand on the sub’s head, stroking through his hair.
“Take him to the office. Get Frederick here.”
“No! I am within my rights to—”
“You have no rights here anymore!” Douglas’s words whipped across the room, stunning Talon. “Anyone who could do this because he refused to listen to his sub is not welcome in this club.” He focused on Patrick and Christian. “Take him. Do not leave him alone. I will be out of commission while I tend to the aftercare of this sub.”
Both nodded and escorted Talon out of the room, closing the door after them, and Douglas refocused on the sub. “What’s your name?”
“Eddie.” A hiccup accompanied the words.
“Okay, Eddie. I’m going to tend to the wounds on your body.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m going to grab the things I need. Everything is in this room. I won’t be leaving you alone.”
He fetched the first aid kit from the cupboard in the corner of the room—the same as what was present in all the rooms—grabbed a bowl, and filled it with warm water, taking it all back to the bed. Douglas sat next to Eddie’s hip and met his gaze.
“This is going to sting, sorry.”
Eddie nodded and pinched his lips. Douglas wet a gauze swab and dabbed it tenderly over the wounds, cleaning it repeatedly to ensure it was free from potential infection. The antiseptic cream he used made Eddie hiss and flinch, but Douglas couldn’t do anything about it.
“Despite what happened and how, the marks look good on your skin.” He skimmed his hand along the sub’s spine in circles, soothing Eddie with his words and his hands. “I am so proud of you for speaking up and using your safe word. Never feel you can’t do that, okay? Don’t let his ignorance stop you from believing in the power of your safe word.”
He could see Eddie’s tears seeping into the pillow, and he changed position, sliding onto the bed next to him. Douglas rested his head on the pillow, facing each other, and stroked Eddie’s head and back. He pressed a kiss to his forehead and settled in to stay with him. He didn’t want to cover the wounds yet; they needed to breathe a little first, but he pulled the cover over Eddie’s back and another over his lower legs and feet.
They lay in that position for several long minutes. Douglas tried not to think about Talon because he knew his tension would bleed into his aftercare, but it was difficult. Instead, his thoughts moved to Maverick. Frederick’s words circled his head. Could he somehow bring what he’d learned in the club into his and Maverick’s interactions? What would be suitable and sneaky enough to slip by unnoticed? Douglas didn’t want to do something without Maverick’s knowledge, but he wanted to prove Maverick would be interested in it.
Before anything could happen, he needed a conversation with him. For some reason, Maverick’s body language whenever the club came up showed what he thought was fear. Douglas would talk about the side of BDSM some new people didn’t realise—it wasn’t all about pain and hurt.
Douglas kept Eddie safely in the cocoon, chatting about inconsequential things until it was time for him to head home. It would be an uncomfortable ride, and he would be on bed rest for a few days to ensure his wounds healed properly. The club would ensure they properly recompensed Eddie for any wages lost during the time he couldn’t work.
“Okay, little one. I’m going to bandage your wounds for the journey home. When you get there, I want you to take them off to air them and rest up for the next few days. If you need someone to come to your house and help with anything, let me know, and I will sort it for you.”
“Thank you, Master Douglas.”
“You’re welcome.”
He pressed another kiss to Eddie’s forehead and stood, making quick work of the gauze and bandage, and helped Eddie to get dressed in the clothes brought from the changing room for him. If it wouldn’t have hurt Eddie more, Douglas would’ve carried him to the entrance, but he knew it would. Instead, he helped support him whilst shuffling carefully.
A member of staff waited in the reception area to escort Eddie home, and after a few more words of encouragement and praise, Douglas transferred him to the other person’s care. Douglas stood, hands on hips, moving his jaw back and forth while he tried to calm the heat invading his body. He glanced at Clarice.
“Is Frederick here?”
