Page 19 of Shattered Dreams
Max wanted to burst out that it wasn’t his fault that he was laid up, that he couldn’t attend to his wife’s needs. But that wouldn’t be fair to the other man. It wasn’t Storm’s fault that one of their former friends had gone off his rocker and come gunning for Storm - and that Max had been caught in the crossfire. He took a deep breath. Then another, before finally releasing it on a heavy sigh. “I don’t know, man. Every part of me says no. That it’ll change Liz’s and my dynamic. But the dominant in me doesn’t want her suffering because I can’t even give her a fraction of what she needs, at the moment.”
“It wouldn’t have to be a permanent thing. Nor would I suggest you just allow any man to dominate your wife without consideration. It’s been nearly two weeks since Raine brought the topic up to me. I ran a couple different scenarios in my head, and even approached Lizzie about doing a scene with Raine and me to take the edge off. She politely declined, then changed the topic to the dog she’s gonna be begging you to adopt as soon as you get out of here.”
“Her and that damn dog. I swear…” Max closed his eyes. “She’s been after me for months about adopting a dog, ever since my heart attack. Something about how a dog would be the perfect companion for me while she’s out of the house.”
Storm shrugged. “It would be.”
Max glared at him. “I’m not bringing a…dog into my home just to reassure my wife that I will be okay when she leaves to volunteer at the library or the humane society.”
Storm actually laughed at him. “You act like she’s suggesting you two have kids to save your marriage.”
“Whatever,” he grumbled, pulling the cover up higher on his chest. Occupational therapy had been hard on him today. He was beyond fatigued. “So, tell me about what kind of dominant this detective is. I’m not about to trust just any dominant with Lizzie.” He tried to sound casual about it, to make it seem like he was only asking out of husbandly concern, but the submissive side of him, the part that he’d neglected for years really wanted to know as well. Which was surprising because, other than the man sitting across from his bed, no one at the club even realized that the owner wasn’t a dominant but a true switch. It’d been years since he’d submitted to anyone.Maybe that’s why I’m so anxious to find out what kind of dominant the good detective is.
“A natural. I sat in on two of his last scenes. He’s strict but caring.” Storm gave him a cool look, before dropping the bomb. “He’s a Daddy Dom.”
Something akin to need coursed through Max. Daddy Doms were his weakness. He didn’t need a dominant to beat the shit out of him – never had. He merely needed one that cared enough to take control, and to make sure that he followed the rules he’d set up for himself in the first place. Kind of an oxymoron if one thought about it. A dominant who needed a dom to remind him to follow the rules. At times it was too easy to fall into self-indulgence in being a top, he’d found. And the fact that a man he’d been attracted to from the start fell into that category was… “Interesting. And you think that Lizzie would benefit from bottoming for him?”
Storm stared at him for a long moment before finally nodding. “Absolutely – as would you.”
Max gnawed on his inner lip, ignoring the latter part of Storm’s statement. “And you’ll be there to observe?”
“If that’s what you want.” He slowly shifted in the chair until he was leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees. “But honestly, I think it would be better if you were the one to watch them.”
Max flushed. “Kind of hard considering I’m in here at the moment. There might be a little issue with privacy if you know what I mean.”
“But not forever, man.” He pinned Max to the bed with a stare that during Storm’s football days would’ve had opposing defensemen swallowing hard. “I know you think you’re protecting her but keeping her in the dark about your medical care is stupid. I talked to your nurse. Did you honestly think you could just take a taxi home and surprise her?”
Max shrugged. “Maybe. Hell, it’s depressing, man. There’s no good news when it comes to my medical prognosis. There’s not a chance I’ll ever be the man I was. I’ll be stuck in that damned chair…” He nodded toward the wheelchair at the end of the bed. “...or with a pair of arm braces for the rest of my life. How do I tell Lizzie that the dominant she fell in love with is gone? That I’ll never be able to physically discipline her again? That this is as good as it’s gonna get?” He smacked at the bedrail. “It’s definitely not what the hell she signed up for when she agreed to be mine.”
“For better or worse, in sickness or health man.” Storm reminded him, his eyes hard and cold. There was obviously no sympathy when it came to this matter with Storm. “That’s what you promised right, when you collared, then married her? Would you leave her if the roles were reversed?”
Max stared at his friend in disbelief. “I’d never abandon her because of something like this…”
“Then why the hell are you expecting her to abandon your stubborn ass?” Storm bit off. “Dom or sub, it’s a partnership.”
“But the dominant is supposed to be the strong one, the protector, the nurturer.” He slapped the rail of the bed again. “And right now, I can’t be any of those things to her, let alone her lover.”
“Really... is your dick broken?” A voice that had been haunting his dreams came from the open door. He watched in disbelief as Detective Elliot Landon slowly shut the door behind him, effectively trapping the three men together in the room.
“I…what the hell are you doing here?” he finally sputtered.
“Asking you a question, obviously.” Elliot stopped at the end of his bed, spun the wheelchair around to face Max before lowering his bulky form into it. Then he braced his elbows on the footboard of Max’s bed. “Which I’m still waiting on an answer to.” His eyes caught Max’s. “Is. Your. Dick. Broken?”
Max flushed a bright red, sputtered for a second or three, as said appendage attempted to rise to prove to the other man that his dick still did indeed work. “No,” he finally spat out.
“Good. Then you’re not as useless as you think.” Elliot continued to watch him with hooded eyes. “There’s more than one position to have sex in you know. Then there’s your tongue if that doesn’t work. But if you need some help, I’d be willing to show you.”
Max’s breath caught in his throat. Was the man actually propositioning him, or was he offering to fuck Lizzie? “Excuse me?”
“Look…” Elliot held his gaze, his eyes never wavering. “…I’m not going to pull any punches with you, Maxwell. I’ve been around a long time, denied what I wanted for even longer, but I’m done doing that. I find both you and your wife attractive. Not one or the other, but both of you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a package deal. Whether that means we end up together or not, only time will tell. You may not find me attractive. You might advise me to go take a long walk off a short pier, or hell, even tell me I’m barking up the wrong tree. Regardless, it won’t change the fact that I want to help you and Lizzie reconnect. What I witnessed two months ago in that hospital room is worth saving. You’re worth saving.”
Max wasn’t sure what to say to that. Confusion rode him hard, along with a sense of disillusion. How pathetic was he that another man had to offer to fix this for him? He was the dominant here, he was used to being in charge, and no other man was going to come in and offer to fix this for him.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.” Elliot barked out. “You’re no less a man than you were before the damned shooting. No self-pity allowed.”
Max stilled, for a second, the submissive side wanted to just give over to Elliot, to do as he ordered, but at the last second his dominant side roared to the fore. Fed up with the limitations of his very existence, he snapped back. “Nice try, Detective, you almost got the dominant tone down to a ’T’. I can see Storm was right to be impressed by you.” He narrowed his eyes. “However, it’s gonna need a lot more practice before it works on a...” he refrained from saying dominant, because he couldn’t wholly claim to be that in this particular moment in time. “…man who’s been in the scene as long as I have.”
Elliot watched him thoughtfully. “Point taken.” He remained where he was, continuing to stare down Max. “However, that doesn’t change my offer. I’d like to help you and Elizabeth, if you’d allow it.”
