Page 368 of Sticks and Stones
Will understood.
It was clear where Corbin’s line was drawn, and he’d make sure he did what he asked. Since he was the victim, he got to pick his boundaries.
“I can’t promise I won’t be angry, like I said. I want them dead for touching what is mine. I won’t pity you, Corbin, because I know how hard you fought.”
That was what he wanted to hear.
“Thank you.”
When Corbin went to take his shirt off, it was clear it hurt his shoulder and body.
“I’ll get it,” he said. “Just tell me if where I touch hurts, so I can do this as painlessly as possible.”
He nodded.
Will took his one arm, and gently pulled it from the t-shirt, and then did his other. When he lifted the shirt off of his body, he saw what they did to him.
And he got sick.
Corbin’s body was covered in bruises, lacerations from what looked like him being whipped, and marks that had to hurt. They would scar his back, and leave marks forever.
He moved behind him to survey the damage.
“It’s bad,” Corbin said.
Will did the only thing he could think of doing. He gently left kisses on the wounds on his back, trying to soothe them.
Corbin closed his eyes, and fought damn hard to not break more from that act of tenderness.
“I hate them,” Will whispered. “I hate them more than I’ll ever be able to articulate. I despise what they did to the sweetest man in the world. I hope they hurt them in ways they never expected. I hope Gene pummeled them, and broke them into pieces.”
Corbin knew the feeling.
“It gets worse,” he warned.
Will assumed.
What Will knew was Corbin gave during sex, he didn’t receive. He knew that what they’d done to him likely hurt his ass in ways he’d never thought possible. As a bottom, he was accustomed to sex.
As a Top, he wouldn’t be.
“I think you need to know something,” Corbin said. “And if it makes you hate me, I understand. I wouldn’t blame you. I hate myself because of it.”
Will moved to stand in front of him. There was nothing that would make him hate him.
NOTHING.
“What?” he asked.
He shared.
“I didn’t let them do a rape kit on me, so I didn’t have to face them in court. I can’t face them. I’m not strong enough to hear people whispering, and to see my name in the paper. I’mnot brave enough to face the other detectives as they know what happened to me. I don’t know if I can even go back to work if it gets out.”
Will softly touched his face with his palms, framing his cheeks with his hands.
“I don’t blame you,” he said. “I’ve had many rape cases, and I know how brutal they are. I don’t hate you for that, Corbin. I understand. As the victim, that’s your choice.”
Corbin kept talking.
