Page 22 of Discordant Cultivation

Blood ran down Kieran’s arm, the returning circulation made all of them bright red simultaneously.

Vale released the restraint. “Play.”

Kieran tried to play. He got through maybe half the song before he abandoned singing and his chest stuttered with aheld back sob, before his fingers fumbled so badly the chord progression collapsed into fragments.

“Stop,” Vale said. “Again.”

“I can’t—” Kieran’s breath came in harsh pants. “Please, I c-can’t do this anymore—”

“You can.”

Vale reached for Kieran’s arm, but he jerked backward, pressing himself into the couch. “No—no more—”

“We’re not finished.”

“I can’t—” Kieran tried to stand, but Vale blocked him, one hand firm on his shoulder. “Pl-please, I can’t—”

Vale retrieved the salt. Kieran’s eyes went wide watching him open the container.

“Don’t—” Kieran’s voice pitched up toward panic. “Please d-don’t, that’s going to—”

He tried to pull his arm away, but Vale caught his wrist. Kieran twisted, using his other hand to push against Vale’s chest, a genuine fight-or-flight response overriding any attempt at strategic compliance.

Finally. Real emotion instead of performance.

Vale shifted forward, using his weight to press Kieran back against the couch. Kieran struggled harder, his breath coming in sharp gasps as Vale’s thigh pressed between his legs, pinning him in place.

“Stop fighting me.”

“Get off—” Kieran tried to buck him off, his hands pushing at Vale’s shoulders.

Vale settled his full weight across Kieran’s lap, straddling him with knees on either side of his hips. He caught both of Kieran’s wrists in one hand, pinned them above his head against the couch back.

The position was immediately, viscerally intimate.

Kieran went rigid beneath him, eyes wide with something beyond just fear. “W-what are you—”

Their chests were pressed together, Vale’s face inches from Kieran’s, close enough to feel every panicked breath against his lips. Close enough to see the precise moment when Kieran’s panic shifted into something closer to terror as he realized exactly how trapped he was.

“Hold still,” Vale breathed, trying to ignore the warm feeling that was getting hotter..

He applied salt to the first wound with his free hand, watching Kieran’s face contort from this close. He felt every flinch, every attempt to twist away, every gasp as the salt burned through already damaged tissue.

Kieran made a sound that might have been a scream if he’d had enough air for it. His whole body arched up against Vale’s weight, his spine curving in a way that pressed their hips further together.

Vale’s body responded before his mind could override the reaction.

His pulse quickened and his cock stiffened in his pants in response to having Kieran trapped beneath him, creating a delightful friction as he struggled.

No… This doesn’t happen... This is educational.

Vale moved to the second wound, applying salt while Kieran sobbed breathlessly beneath him, still trying to pull his wrists free, still trying to arch away from the burning pain.

“Pl-ple-e-ease—” The word came out broken, desperate. “Pl-please s-s-stop, please—”

Their faces were too close. Vale could see every tear gathering in those brown eyes; he could feel every shuddering breath and smell the fear-sweat and blood.

This isn’t supposed to feel like this.