Page 49 of Inhuman Nature

“I’mtellingyou that we will work this out together. I’m telling you to stay,” Rake said.

“That’s all very well, but I don’t have to do what you tell me. You’re not my Master, and you’re not my Dom.” That Shaun got the words out without stuttering was a wonder.

Rake raised one of his thick eyebrows in challenge. “Oh, I’m not, am I?”

“No,” Shaun whispered.

“Don’t you want me to be?”

Shaun dropped his eyes to the floor. He couldn’t meet Rake’s intense gaze like this.

Rake lifted Shaun’s chin with one finger, forcing his head back up. “Answer me, sweetheart.”

Shaun shook his head. “I can’t.”

“You can,” DJ said from where he still sat on the sofa.

“Tell me yes, Shaun,” Rake said. “Tell me yes, that you want both of us on your side. Tell me yes, and let’s all finish what you and DJ started earlier.” Rake’s hand slid round to pull the hair at the back of Shaun’s head. The grip wasn’t punishing, but it was unyielding, keeping Shaun’s head up and forcing him to meet Rake’s eye.

Of course, Shaun was stronger than Rake and could break free at any moment. But he wanted to be in Rake’s arms, wanted Rake to hold him and touch him and control him. He trusted Rake to demand things of him that would only bring him pleasure. And that was why his request was so hard to refuse.

There was only determination in Rake’s eyes. No fear. None of the anxious thoughts that haunted Shaun’s mind.

He swallowed, throat dry.

“May we kiss you, Shaun?” DJ asked as he came and stood beside Rake.

There was something about the question that broke Shaun’s resolve. “Yes. Please,” he said, sounding far needier than he intended.

Rake swept in, capturing Shaun’s lips in a bruising kiss. DJ’s body settled in close beside them, his hands banding around Shaun’s chest. Shaun held on for the ride as Rake moved his head where he wanted him, coaxing his mouthopen with an insistent prod of his tongue.

Rake pulled back so suddenly that Shaun was chasing him before he’d realised. But Rake used his thumb on the side of Shaun’s jaw to twist his head and turn him towards DJ. Shaun didn’t wait for further instruction. He got up on his tiptoes to press his lips to DJ’s, who met him with equal fervour.

Rake’s fingers carded through Shaun’s hair as he and DJ kissed deeply. And then DJ’s hands went roaming underneath Shaun’s jumper, following the planes of his body. So caught up in everything, Shaun got taken by surprise when DJ broke off.

“Your back,” DJ rasped.

Shaun blinked in confusion. “My…?” And then it hit him.

The marks left by Lawrence.

“Can I see?” Rake asked, rubbing his thumbs into the knobs of Shaun’s rigid spine, right at the back of his neck.

“Please,” Rake said. “Let me check them.”

Shaun screwed his eyes shut. “Okay.”

Rake pulled the jumper over Shaun’s head, spinning him gently around. “Oh, sweetheart,” he said, a soft finger trailing down his skin.

“They’ll fade with time and more blood,” Shaun whispered.

“Does it hurt?” DJ asked.

“No.” Shaun’s face burned, the blood he’d taken from Rake and DJ heating his skin. “You can ignore them. They’re ugly.”

“No, they’re not,” Rake said.

“Not at all,” DJ agreed. He grabbed Shaun’s hand and pressed it to his own dark skin, trailing Shaun’s fingers across his stomach where his shirt had ridden up. “Are mymarks ugly?”