Chapter 8

“Lawson isn’t wrong, Noah. If this is black market and Jamie knows it was laced with one thing, it could be laced with any number of other things.” Jared brought Reed directly to the room behind the glass window in the clinic, the dim lights brightening as he flicked a switch on his way by. “Lawson, you’ll need to keep him calm. Jesus Christ. I said get high, not obliterated.”

Reed made a face at the smell still clinging to him. “I only had like two drinks. I figured having more candy at once would be doubly obedient. Sorry, I guess you can’t trust me either.” He slumped on the table, waiting for at least a buzz to kick in as he stared at the white paneled ceilings. “I could have needles sticking out of me now. Much better high. Instead, everyone’s gonna get pissed and walk out.”

“No one’s walking out, Reed.” Lawson eased him up, one arm behind his back, peeling his shirt off. “If you had two drinks, why do you smell like you’re wearing half the bar?”

Next to him, Jared wheeled over something that looked like the inside of a car air intake, or motor, or some shit, except with a clear plastic container attached that he might find in Keiran’s food storage bins. A spray bottle lay next to it along with a coiled length of black plastic tubing in a sterile package.

“Open so I can numb your throat, Reed.” Holding up the spray, Jared tapped Reed’s cheek lightly.

“Do I have to, sir? I think my body would know if it was poisoned. That’s definitely a thing.” Also Reed had to answer Lawson first. Questions were kind of like orders. “Curtis surprised me, sir. I fell onto a dozen drinks. Jamie got the members drinks and cheese steaks. Which I would love just about now.”

Jamie sidled toward the door.

“Are you going to get me some cheesesteak, indie rock? Can I have another drink too? This ish is freaking me out.” Reed tried to tug up his shorts as Lawson was tugging them down. “Not now, sir. This is a clinic. That would be inappropriate.”

“All right. We’ll have to strap him down.” Jared lifted a restraint from the side of the table that looked kind of like things he normally played with in the medical section of the dungeon. “Let’s do a scene, Reed. Please me and you can have some cake as well as the cheese steaks—” Jared snapped his fingers toward the door. “Another muscle and you’ll be sorry, Jamie. Stay put.”

Reed laid back, letting Lawson take his shorts. Making the Doms happy sounded like a very good idea at the moment. And being naked wasn’t a huge deal. The clinic was a bit chilly, though. He looked at the contraption beside him. “This is going to suck, isn’t it.”

Jared’s gaze widened behind his glasses, then his lips twitched upward. “Quite literally, my boy.”

By his side, Lawson drew a light blanket over Reed’s legs, up to his waist, then kissed his forehead. “You’ll be all right. And I’ll be right here. Just follow Jared’s instructions and try to relax.”

That wouldn’t be too hard, Reed was starting to feel a bit more relaxed already. He sighed, letting his eyes drift shut. “Any chance we can wait until the good feelings hit? Like five more minutes and I’ll be golden.”

Voices from the gym rose and fell as someone opened the outer door, followed by quick footsteps, Curtis coming to Reed’s side. “Are you...is he…?”

“I’m fine.” Reed wanted to hang onto the fact that he was fucking pissed and hurt, but he was getting kinda mellow. He smiled, his mouth feeling a bit far away as he tipped his head to one side to look at Curtis. “Huh. Maybe I didn’t need five minutes. This is nice.”

Curtis stroked Reed’s hair back, the soft tugs and light touches adding to the blissed out high. “I’ve got you.”

“No, that would be me.” Jared nudged Curtis gently out of the way—or at least it looked gentle through the descending haze. “Open your mouth Reed. This will taste a little bitter. Five minutes and it’ll be all done.”

“Okay, that’d be good. I’ve got stuff and things to do.” Reed opened his mouth, bracing his hands on the table beside him before the whole thing could tip over. Along with the room. “Whoa… We need to get the foundation checked. The leaning tower of crazy does have a nice ring to it, though.”

Jamie snickered somewhere off to Reed’s right...or maybe in outer space.

The bitter spray coated Reed’s throat as he swallowed, adding another kind of numbness. Someone held his left hand and walked to the other side of the room with it, taking it away for safekeeping, as Jared gently pried Reed’s mouth open.

“Close your eyes and swallow, Reed, then keep swallowing.” Jared’s voice was close. “Like deep-throating. Let’s see how talented you are.”

Giggling, Reed swallowed, because he really was good at that. But then there was something huge in his throat. Too big. He slapped the table, not sure anyone saw what was happening to him. The thing was trying to choke him. Not warm, like a nice hard dick. Maybe it was a snake. A snake climbing down inside him, going deeper and deeper.

He opened his eyes, trying to plead with someone to save him from it. He couldn’t talk. Why couldn’t he talk?

“You’re doing great. You’re safe.” Smiling down at him, Jared continued the most fucked up medical play scene ever, his fingers just outside of Reed’s view. “Lawson, raise the head of the bed up about a foot. We’re almost done, Reed. You can stop swallowing. Just breathe. In and out.”

Breathing was very hard when the world was growing under him, moving in ways it definitely shouldn’t be. But all he had to latch onto was Jared’s words, guiding him through whatever was happening to him. Everyone had gone so far away and the room kept getting brighter. He tried to bring his hand up to shield his eyes, but his hands were somewhere else.

Parts of him had been worth keeping. He wasn’t sure which ones.

But, deep inside, he hoped for only one thing.

That Curtis had his heart.

And somehow, that would be a piece of him he’d never want to let go.