His mom had always told him the importance of controlling a room, and yet here he was, completely overshadowed by Baikal and that thick, cloying energy he emitted.
“What are we here for?” he asked quietly, hating himself for sounding so weak after a single push and one caress that he’d barely even felt on his head. Something was seriously wrong with him because while he was still scared, there was something else lurking beneath the surface as well, something potent and strong, almost foreign.
Everyone on campus gushed about how sexy Baikal Void was, but Rabbit had never paid much attention to really notice.
Until now.
Maybe it was the way he was standing so close, that intoxicating scent of his still reeling Rabbit in. Or maybe it was lingering sensations brought on by the gay porn still playing behind him, the sounds slicing through the silence as he waited for the other man to give him an answer he wasn’t entirely sure he actually wanted to hear.
Rabbit Trace was used to being the center of attention wherever he went, even when it was the last thing he wanted to be. But here, now, being the object of Baikal Void’s observation was ten billion times worse than merely having to ignore the chatter and various glances tossed his way when he passed by in the halls.
“Quick question first,” Baikal said, and when Rabbit didn’t argue continued. “What do you think of me?”
Rabbit waited, sure there was more to it than that, but when he didn’t add anything else or elaborate he scowled. “What?”
“It’s a simple question.”
“It is not,” he disagreed. “But okay. I think you’re a manipulative prick who gets off on throwing his weight around and intimidating others. Happy?”
“Are you intimidated by me, little bunny?” the corner of his mouth tipped up in a partial smirk.
Rabbit planted a hand against his chest and tried to shove him away, but despite their similar heights, the other man was much stronger than he. “Move. I’m leaving.”
“You tried that already,” he reminded. “Didn’t work out so well for you. Sure you want to give it another go? I might lose my patience and really scare you.”
“Remember that part about me thinking you’re a prick?” he snapped. “Correction. You’re an asshole. Didn’t your father ever teach you how to play nice with the other kids?”
“My father is the Dominus of the Vitality Brumal Mafia,” Baikal Void said. “He taught me many things, how to be nice wasn’t one of them. Now, how to get what I want…” His look turned sly. “That he taught me how to do in spades.”
“What is this?” There was sexual tension in the air, and he didn’t have to have experience to know that. He wasn’t quite sure when the shift had started, maybe it’d been there the whole time and he was just too stupid to have noticed, but it was pretty obvious now that Baikal was coming onto him, and that was almost more confusing than when he’d thought the guy was just messing with him to relieve some boredom.
“What’s it look like?”
“It looks like you’ve lost your mind.” He tried to get him to move a second time, but that only had Void reacting with more aggression.
Baikal captured the space between them, pinning Rabbit between his solid front and the couch so that Rabbit was practically bending backward in an attempt to get away from him. With a hand on his nape, he hauled him back, fingernails digging into Rabbit’s scalp threateningly when he struggled.
“You can’t do this,” he sounded shaky, and Rabbit forced himself to calm down, urging his racing heart to get a grip. If he suffered one of his panic attacks now, he’d be completely at the other man’s mercy.
“Please follow that up with a statement about how it’s illegal,” Baikal told him. “Seriously. I could use a good laugh.”
Right, because he was Brumal and also friends with the Emperor’s son.
Shit.
Rabbit had always known the planet he’d grown up on had its fair share of corruption, but since it’d always been that way and it hadn’t personally affected his life, he’d been pretty unconcerned about any of it. Now though…
“I’m not just a nobody off the street,” he tried, deciding a switch in tactics might fare better.
“You’re popular,” Baikal hummed in agreement. “I know. I bought a magazine with your face on it just this afternoon. Are you suggesting I find myself an easier target? Not very altruistic of you. How will the rest of the galaxy perceive you if they found out you’re not as dashing as you’ve led them to believe? That really, you're just like the rest of us, hiding behind a disguise, trying to fool the world.”
Rabbit snorted before he could help it, and when that caught Void off guard, he smiled triumphantly. “Is that the card you have to play? You’re going to threaten to ruin my career?”
He’d be doing him a favor, but he didn’t bother voicing that last part. In fact…
“I don’t believe you,” he goaded.
“Don’t believe I’m capable of fucking your life up,” Baikal drawled, glancing down at Rabbit’s lips pointedly before he locked eyes with him once more, “Or don’t believe I’m capable of fucking you, little bunny?”
