“I’m fine. You, however.” He glared down at the bandage wrapped around Rabbit’s arm from where the bullet had grazed him.
“We put sun cream on it. It’ll be healed by tonight.”
“Don’t ever do that again, Rabbit.”
“Don’t ever almost get shot again,” he countered, and when that earned him a glare he shrugged. “See how ridiculous that ask is? Let’s just both promise to be as safe as we can be from here on out. That seems fair.”
“Bargaining again, little bunny?”
“Always.” He flashed him a grin and then stood. “If you really don’t want to talk about your father right now, and I really don’t want to talk about how I just killed a man, then let’s talk about us.”
“Us?” Baikal’s look turned suspicious and he glanced at the door, almost as if trying to decide if he could make it there and throw the lock before Rabbit got a chance to escape through it. Whether or not that was what went through his mind, however, he stood his ground, giving Rabbit the chance to explain.
“You’re going to have to move back here,” Rabbit began, “now that you’re the Dominus, and my house is twenty minutes away. It’s not far, but it’s not great either. I still plan on sticking with my regular schedule, going to the studio, keeping up with my practices. I’ll ease up a bit, of course, but for now, I’m not sure enough about giving it all up to risk falling behind.”
“What’s your point?” Baikal asked. “Are you trying to get rid of me? You’re free from your mother and now I’m no longer needed, something like that?”
Rabbit tilted his head, curious. “If I did say that, would you order her ban lifted? Tell her to come back here so she can torment me?”
He made a face as though offended. “Of course not.”
“Would you lock me up in this house then?” he asked. “Keep me prisoner? Maybe take it one step further and chain me to your bed so—”
“Enough. No, and no. I wouldn’t do any of those things to you, Rabbit.”
“How would you stop me then? If I wanted to leave.”
It was obvious Baikal didn’t like that comment, but he was struggling to hold his temper in, his hands forming such tight fists at his sides his knuckles looked like they were about to pop. “Do you want to leave me?”
“Just answer the question first, Void.”
“If you wanted to go, I would let you.” He took a step toward Rabbit, instantly filling up his space so he was forced to retreat.
Rabbit banged into the edge of the table and Baikal followed, planting his palms at either side to trap him and fill his space with the heady scent of him.
“I’d let you, little bunny, and I’d even give you time. A year, perhaps. Maybe more, maybe less. It would depend. But once that time was up, I’d come for you. I’d come and I’d make you fall for me all over again. And you would.”
“So certain?”
“Yes.” He smirked wickedly. “I’m the only one who knows how to play you the way you like.” He ran the pad of his fingers up the curve of Rabbit’s thigh. “The only one you’ll ever think about in the dark when you’re touching yourself. You know I’d never hurt you. So if you want to go,” he stepped back abruptly, “there’s the door. No one will stop you on your way out.”
Rabbit gave himself a moment to collect himself and then straightened.
To his credit, it was clear Baikal was doing his damnedest not to show how nervous he was.
It was tempting to leave him hanging and make him suffer for a bit longer, the same way Void had always enjoyed making him suffer with those plugs, but he couldn’t bring himself to actually do it.
Baikal sucked in a sharp breath when Rabbit stepped into him and buried his face against the curve of his throat.
He hugged him tightly, breathing in that comforting scent, letting it fill his lungs. It smelled like safety.
And home.
“Will you marry me, Void?” He felt the Brumal King tense in his arms, was prepared for when he was pulled back so Baikal could look at him.
“Repeat that.”
“Marry me,” Rabbit said, the words clearer now that his face wasn’t pressed against Baikal’s throat. “Not right this second. After graduation.”
