Page 49 of Bottoms Up
Atlas chuckled, sitting to our left. “Indeed, they do not. They’re pretty high energy for old human dudes, though.”
“I’d wondered about that,” I said. “I can’t tell, and Hailey won’t share what she can smell.”
He shrugged. “Technically, if you ask if they’re human, I can’t answer because a non-answer is an answer, but there’s no rule against me commenting on their humanity when you haven’t asked.” He glanced at me and back to the stage. “I was looking forward to meeting you, so I’d know if you’re male or female, but I find I still don’t know.”
“I keep telling people I’m both, and also kind of not really either one, depending on how you want to define the parameters.”
“She’s more female than male tonight,” Julian said. “I love her no matter her mood.” He kissed my forehead. “Even when she’s pissed at me, which thankfully doesn’t happen often.”
Chapter 18
Julian
I walked into the playroom Gavin had offered for our use, fully in charge. Atlas followed, stripped without prompting, and fastened wrist and ankle cuffs onto himself as instructed.
I’d telepathed Gavin’s instructions about Atlas’s scarring to Silver on the walk from the limo.He has scarring on one nut and one ass cheek. We are not to mention it. The scene will end if we do. Gavin says we can touch and fondle those areas if we can do so without revulsion, without pity — and he’ll pick up on our scents, so it’s important he only gets acceptance. If we can’t do that, we should ignore the scars.
Now, I saw the scarring on his ass, and it was bad. Burns overlaid with burns plus blade work. And all of it had to have been burned and carved into his flesh with silver. Shapeshifters can heal everything else. Okay, except hellfire, but what were the odds?
Atlas moved with quiet competence. No hesitation, no eagerness, but practiced surrender. Not true submission, but that was fine. He hadn’t offered more than what was necessary to get his next fix.
And we weren’t here to offer him anything else.
With my new power level, I could get past shields better, and I’d been through his top-level memories. It would take some time and finesse to go deeper, but one of the things I’d learnedwas where his nickname had come from — he knows every country on the planet, where it is on a map, and the geopolitics of every area as well as the specific geography and how best to survive it without being seen or noticed.
“You were named Atlas because of your intellect,” I told him. “When in this room, or any other with the same purpose, I’ll call you Muscles.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
I’m getting better at looking for specific memories, even in shifters with decent shielding, I told Silver.
Handy. I’ll follow your lead, Sir.
I know you will. He prefers sustained pain that has to be endured, and he doesn’t disassociate. He wants to be fully present to experience the full agony. Look at me, Silver.
She turned and met my gaze, and I telepathed,I’d like to watch you crush someone else’s balls. Probably best not to roll them completely flat right off the bat, but you could maybe at least psych him out with the handle of the squid whip.
Gavin had assured me he’d taken everything personal out of the room, and we could use anything in here. There was a bin for us to put the things we use, so items can be sterilized.
I found a stasis bracelet and locked it onto Atlas’s wrist. “Gavin assures me you have control and won’tchange, no matter what, but the love of my life is a human, and I need to be certain.”
He sucked air in and grimaced, and I rubbed his arm. “I can scent your agony. We’ll call that the first layer of anguish.”
Some bracelets merely keep shapeshifters fromchanging, while others block their inner animal completely, along with all the magic of a shifter. The loss of it is supposed to be a huge hit, and rather excruciating. I hadn’t known for certain what kind of device it was, but I wasn’t surprised Gavin had one of the more painful ones in his playroom.
His breathing remained even after the initial response. His expression didn’t twitch. But I could feel how raw and empty it made him inside, losing touch with his inner beast. How deeply the silence cost. He was in hell, and he welcomed it.
I looked through the cock cages, found one I thought would be fairly uncomfortable for him, and deftly ran his balls through the trap part, threaded his dick into it. And then tested to make sure it was secure.
It was.
I imagine that, if a slave drain was put in me now that I’m used to having more magic flowing through me, I’d feel a similar agony. Rather than being at the bottom of the hierarchy, I’m stronger than about half the coterie, possibly slightly more. My fears about being everyone’s bitch weren’t going to happen.
Also, Marco tells me it’s clear I’m still growing magically, and this is why those who are over me are treating me with respect, since there’s a chance I’ll be stronger than them in a century or two.
“Layers,” Silver said. “An excellent plan. I see a bottle labeled pepper lube. Let’s start with a medium plug and work our way up. That way we can stretch him wider and wider, and he’ll get a new dose of the pepper oil each time.”
“Oh,cuore mio, mon trésor, amore mio. I’ve missed this, with you.”
