“Then, after you’ve accepted your punishment, you’ll be forgiven, and I will be very pleased with you,” Ellery went on.“I’ll hold you close, just like this, and tell you how good you’ve been in accepting your punishment.And, whether you’re being punished or not, you’ll know that your master still…cares for you.”
Ellery quickly swallowed down the words that had almost slipped through his guard when he was too busy thinking about Kefir’s reactions to notice if he was giving away far more than he should.
And you’ll know your master still loves you.
After just a couple of days, he knew it couldn’t be true.Ellery had far more sense than that.But the thought was still there in his head, in a place where it had never been before.There weren’t many things he hadn’t said to a sub over the years, but that phrase was one of those rare things, and there was no way in hell he was going to blurt them out right then.
“Yes, sir.”The words were whispered very softly against Ellery’s chest, but there wasn’t the slightest hint of uncertainty or fear in them then.
In a few minutes, Ellery slowly became aware that Kefir was fast asleep, his head resting over his master’s heart, their bodies moving gently against each other every time either of them took a breath.
Chapter Nine
“He put a damn collar on you?”
Kefir looked up from his place on the rug in front of the fire in the meeting room.Luther and Blaine loomed over him.They liked looming.But, as someone who was already aware that he was significantly shorter than all the other lions in his pride, Kefir wasn’t quite sure what they thought it was going to achieve with him.
He stared up at them until they got bored with standing over him and sat down next to him on the rug.
Kefir managed to scrape up a welcoming smile.“Marrick is—”
“He’s fine,” Luther cut in.
Kefir nodded and turned his attention back to the flames.They danced very prettily in the fireplace, but the heat they gave off wasn’t the same as the warmth of another man’s body.Humans might be somewhat cool to the touch, but it was amazing how they could heat a bed when a lion was snuggled close against them.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, but his muscles remained tense as the words he’d overheard played around and around inside his head.The way they’d spoken about his p—his master, the way they planned to treat him.Anger and fear battled for control of Kefir’s mind.He pushed them both down, but he couldn’t make them disappear altogether.
“A collar,” Luther muttered, his tone making it clear how much he loathed it.
“I like it,” Kefir said, still facing the fireplace.
“Kef, listen—” Blaine stopped short as Kefir turned toward him.
“I’m listening,” Kefir said, quite calmly.“Whatever you wish to say, you’re welcome to say it—to me.”
“What?”
Kefir swallowed, his collar moving against his skin with the motion.“I know what you’re planning.”
Luther and Blaine exchanged a look above his head.He knew better than to try to read the silent message that passed between them and waited patiently for it to be transferred into words.But no words came.
“If you have a problem with the relationship a lion has with a human, you take your complaints to the lion,” Kefir reminded them.“I’m the lion.”He might not be a master, but he was still a member of his pride.He was still a lion.
“You’re not acting like a—” Blaine yelped as Luther elbowed him in the ribs.
“Don’t hurt him.”Even Kefir himself wasn’t sure if he meant it as a warning or a plea.Whatever it was, if it didn’t work, he knew what his only other option was.“I don’t wish to have to leave this pride and find another, but if I don’t think he’s safe here, then—”
“No!”Blaine and Luther said, at exactly the same time.
Kefir looked from one of them to the other and back again.“You’d leave if you didn’t think Marrick was safe with—”
“Of course we would, but he’s our mate…” Blaine trailed off.
“Bloody hell!”Luther whispered.“You’re in love with him.”
“Yes.”There didn’t seem to be anything else for Kefir to say on the matter.It was a simple statement of fact.He was in love with his master.“But, if he’s not safe here then…”
Luther brushed the whole issue aside with a rather embarrassed wave of his hand.“Gave up on that idea days ago.”
