Chapter 5

This couldn’t be happening. Reed’s cheeks flamed as several subs glanced his way where he knelt by the spanking bench as the dungeon filled, either curious or sympathetic. Some of them knew exactly what had gone down and that was the most humiliating thing of all.

He’d fought in that fucking ring, giving and taking his own challenges, for over a year. What the hell had he done to lose that right?

Pressing his eyes shut, he thought back over the past few weeks. There’d been moments when he’d thought finally—finally—Curtis would stop seeing him as nothing but Noah’s ward. A burden that had been thrown at him and Lawson. But nope, not a damn thing had changed.

Hadn’t since the night Curtis had pulled him over his knee after dragging him home from the strip club two years ago. If he hadn’t, maybe Reed wouldn’t be so aware of the man’s eyes on him. Wouldn’t wish…

He’s waiting for Noah. He’ll always be waiting for Noah. And you’re just someone he has to deal with to make Noah happy.

Fucking familiar. Kinda like how his dad had taken care of him when his mom was sent overseas. Not like he really wanted to be there, but because it was what she’d wanted. He made sure Reed ate and went to school. Ignored him the rest of the time.

Then when mom didn’t come home, he’d met someone else.

One day he was just...gone.

Resting his forehead on the padded bench, Reed pressed his eyes shut. Damn it, he’d asked for nothing from Curtis. Nothing. Just to be fucking left alone and not reminded that he didn’t want Reed either. Let him be with those who did want him, even if it was just for one night.

Much as Kovit scared him, the man’s interest was clear. At this point, Reed wanted him here just to give him that warm feeling that he wasn’t completely useless. That he could give something. A few moments of laughter or pleasure. Some raw satisfaction.

A cold bump against his shoulder brought his head up. Dallas crouched in front of him and handed him the bottle of water. His deep, warm brown eyes held more understanding than Reed had expected. “You really needed this, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Reed took a few gulps of water, then handed the bottle back. “Thanks for ratting me out, man. Couldn’t have been anyone else, mine was the last fight and no one else knew yet.”

Dallas bowed his head. “Fuck, kid, I—”

“I’m not a goddamn kid. You see me in here all the time getting turned out by different guys and you still don’t get that?” Reed bounced his forehead off the bench a few times when Dallas frowned, just to find an outlet for his frustration. “I’m supposed to have a choice in here. I earned my place in the ring. Now because I need to be ‘protected’ I’ve lost both.”

“No, you haven’t.” Lawson’s hard tone had Dallas shooting to his feet, even though his cuff was on his left wrist now. Not surprising. A lot of the Tops, and even Doms, responded to Law that way. But Lawson’s focus was on Reed. He motioned for him to stand. “Reed, I won’t have you punished for following my orders. It’s too late for you to get in the ring now, but you know you would’ve lost, yes?”

Lips pursed, Reed looked over at the other two men who’d come in with Law. Both dressed in their leathers again, but their shirts were absent. Kovit looked mildly irritated. Curtis looked… Shit. Curtis had fought Kovit. And lost. Bad.

Everything inside Reed urged him to go to Curtis and take care of him. Get him a drink. Put some ice on his head and his ribs and his...hell, maybe just fill a bath with some ice and have the man lay in it for awhile. He was in rough shape.

“Yeah...you’d be shoveling me off the fucking mat.” Reed shook his head. “So what? I know how things work here.”

“Good. Then you’ll take your loss.” Lawson glanced over at Kovit, an edge to his tone. “Unless you were looking forward to seeing how much you could hurt Curtis in here as well?”

Kovit laced his fingers behind his neck. “Tempting, but I prefer my partners willing. Reed came to me, though I do wonder about his motivations. Is he claimed or not?”

“No. I’m not. Which means you can talk to me.” Reed hiked his chin up, trying not to notice that Curtis was grinding his teeth hard enough to shatter every one. “I lost so—”

“I lost.” Curtis tipped his head back when Law frowned at him. “Are we seriously doing this? You’re giving him to a sadist for the night? Come on, very fucking funny. Doc’s probably getting a kick out of this. Joke’s over.”

Lawson put a heavy hand on Curtis’s shoulder. “Go downstairs. Let Doc take a look at you. If you’re that desperate for pain, I’m sure he’ll oblige.”

Curtis went still. Locked his gaze with Lawson’s. “No. Lawson, this—”

“Don’t make me involve Noah. This conversation will be awkward over the phone while he’s surrounded by inmates. He gave Reed permission to participate here. That’s final.” Lawson nudged Curtis toward the door. “And you’re interrupting negotiations between a Dom and his submissive.”

The color left Curtis’s face. For a minute he looked at Reed like he wanted to drag him out of there, rules be damned. And in that same instance, Reed wanted him to. Wanted him to do something that would prove Reed mattered more to him than whatever Noah would think if he made some kind of claim.

But Curtis simply gave Lawson a jerky nod and strode out the door without so much as a backward glance.

With that, Lawson stepped back. Addressed Dallas. “Supervise the rest of the scenes. I’ll deal with this one.”

Ugh, how the fuck is that gonna work? Embarrassed, he met Kovit’s eyes. “Ready to play in the sandbox?”

Kovit let out a soft laugh and crooked his finger at Reed, motioning for him to follow. He brought him to a simple padded bench. Moving as though Lawson wasn’t even there, he snagged the hem of Reed’s shirt and pulled it up over his head. When Reed drew in a shaky breath, Kovit cupped his cheek.

“Look at me.” Approval filled his gaze when Reed obeyed. “There we are. Tell me your safeword, boy.”