That wasn’t how he normally was around dominants like Asher and Caspian.
“You need to dominate,” Asher told him, releasing him, as he obviously recognized Cal’s reaction. “I believe that’s how you, being how you are, can begin to work through what was done to you. You can’t get that from me. Not these days, my friend.”
“You can get it from me,” Caspian spoke, his shadow falling over the door a moment before he came into full view, his gaze trained steadily on Cal.
Caleb swung around in surprise. “You think I’m fucked in the head now, ruined.”
“Then prove me wrong.”
They stared at one another for a moment, each of them trying to weigh up the other and where they were each really coming from beneath the surface impressions.
And then Caleb gave a tight nod.
In the next moment, Cas was leading him away with him.
“Jesus,” Damien breathed.
“Impressive restraint,” Asher told him.
Damien smirked. “Right back at you.”
Fuck me. What a fucking mess.
25
~Caspian~
“We do this and you need to actually use your safe word if things become too much, Caleb. That’s my one condition for going against my better judgment here and giving into what you believe you need. I can’t gauge where you’re at right now, so you absolutely must use it if it gets too much at any point for you,” I told him over my shoulder as I shut my bedroom door. “Are we clear?”
I turned around to face him only to be slammed against the door the moment I did with him now completely naked and right in my face.
His nails dug into my biceps, although he was noticeably much more careful with my right arm that was out of the sling and now merely wrapped with gauze like my hand.
“I’m not going to need a safe word. You are.”
I frowned. “My understanding was that we were going to meet halfway.”
“No,” he growled.
His eyes were wild, his gaze all over the place.
Unstable.
That, combined with the hazardous energy emanating off him was a concern.
But his desperation to do this transcended that. He needed it. And he’d just made it clear that he needed to do it his way.
I sucked in a breath.
I’d relinquished control to him before.
Just never all the way. I’d never allowed him to top me completely.
We’d been building to this before he’d been taken and everything had fallen out of place.
However, as I was more than familiar with through my exploits over the years, namely at Obscura and with Caleb, to dominate another safely you needed superb control, presence of mind and a clear head, along with an astute awareness of your partner and their cues and responses.
Seeing as though a lot of those things were in question right now when it came to Caleb wanting to take on that role, it made for some very real concern and the potential of danger.