Page 23 of Rogue Royal
“I wondered if it was better the devil you know. If he’s under our roof, we can keep an eye on him. If he’s out there, he has no restraints.”
“Hmm. I guess we have to hope he’s learnt his lesson.” Patrick sighed. Talon reversed out of the space and spun his wheels as he raced for the exit. Luckily for Talon, he slowed down and didn’t break through the gates; otherwise, he would’ve had a whole heap of trouble land on his doorstep. Which, if Patrick was honest, he wished he had.
When Talon gunned out of the car park, Patrick clapped Christian on the shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get back. I wonder what other trouble has happened while we’ve been dealing with this shit.”
Christian chuckled. “I dread to think.”
They entered the lift. “I don’t understand some people’s way of thinking,” Patrick said when he’d depressed the button for the foyer. “How can anyone think it’s okay to hurt someone without their consent? It’s different when it’s consensual, as you know. My brain can’t understand when it’s done to emotionally hurt someone as well as physically.”
“I’m right there with you. It doesn’t make sense.”
When they entered the foyer, Douglas met them.
“Are you heading out?”
Douglas nodded. “Yeah, after that, I need to decompress. I’ll catch you later.”
Patrick touched Douglas’s chin, as did Christian, then let him go. He watched after him until he got into the lift, then turned back to his other cousin.
“Something is going on with him. He seems more down than usual.”
Christian frowned. “I’ve not noticed. Do you think it has something to do with the photos from the paper?”
“It might. It’s not like that’s unusual, though.”
“True.” Christian squeezed his shoulder. “We’ll monitor him, as we do everyone in the Scandalous Six.” He grinned.
Patrick groaned as he aimed for the doors to the conversation room—Douglas’s name for it was fast becoming the name they used. “Don’t you start with that name, too. George has a lot to answer for.”
Christian laughed and pressed his finger against Patrick’s chin as they split up to get back to work. Patrick exhaled and followed the route to the pet play area. In some ways, he was glad to be in that area now. The playful banter of the pets always brought a smile to his face. He would need it tonight.
By the time he got home that night, exhaustion had claimed him, but he couldn’t sleep, his nightmares too close to the surface. Instead, he lost himself in the monotony of his favourite TV show and tried to distract himself from the pain he’d sworn he’d seen in Douglas’s eyes when he’d left. Sooner or later, the man would explain what was going on.
****
Chapter 9
Maverick
What had Mav been thinking when he’d sent the message to Douglas? For several hours after Douglas had left his apartment, he’d been trying to figure out where he stood on the BDSM front. He knew pain was not his kink, in no way, shape or form. He’d spent another half an hour checking out internet sites, researching what he could. There were so many of them, and they were confusing, although Mav had found that not all BDSM was pain-related. When he’d seen those words, he’d tried searching for more but couldn’t.
In the end, he’d decided to ask Douglas about it but wanted to ensure they were on even footing. Propositioning Douglas for information into the BDSM lifestyle was not his best move. He planned to provide Douglas with ways to encourage good behaviour—though he would word it better—and hopefully ease some of the tension between him and his father.
As he drove towards the castle on his first day back, he recalled the message he’d received from Douglas.
DOUGLAS: We’ll talk about it when you return. I’ll book you in for a meeting.
Mav hadn’t been sure if Douglas was joking and hadn’t replied. Clenching the steering wheel gave him no relief from the butterflies taking flight in his stomach or the increase in his breathing. Why had he sent the message? He should’ve continued to research.
Showing his badge to the castle guard, he entered the car park and parked in his designated spot. He turned off the engine and stared out through the windscreen. What the hell was he doing?
A knock next to him made him jump, but he lowered the window when he saw a guard.
“Is everything okay, sir? You seem a little out of sorts.”
Mav wanted to laugh but nodded instead. “Yes, sorry. I’m a little in my head this morning.”
“No problem, sir. I was just checking. Have a good day.”
