He’d skipped out on going to the cafeteria for this exact reason. Maybe that made him a coward, but he wasn’t ready to even try to explain the events of last night, even to his one and only friend.
Fortunately for him, something caught Sila’s attention at that very moment, and his gaze followed someone as they walked across one of the vertical connecting paths. He even swiveled in his seat to maintain eye contact when the guy slid into a gazebo three down.
“Hold that thought,” he said, tapping his knuckles against the wooden surface before rising to his feet. He left his bag and headed straight for where the new arrival was sitting. Rabbit watched as he took the empty seat there and grinned at whoever the other guy was.
He was in the process of trying to figure out if he’d ever seen the guy before when suddenly someone latched onto the thin black scarf he’d placed over his neck while he’d been getting ready that morning. The material was torn free and he let out a sound of surprise, turning and reaching for it automatically.
Only to come up short the second his eyes met with teal-blue ones.
“Little bunny,” Baikal drawled, his displeasure apparent in his low tone. “Care to explain this?” He held up the scarf now bunched in his left hand and waited.
He’d forgone the leather jacket today, but those dark-framed glasses were perched on his nose, and his all-black uniform had the first three buttons undone, showing off a swath of tanned skin.
Before he knew what he was doing, Rabbit’s gaze was trailing over that exposed flesh, dipping lower to follow the line of buttons all the way down to—
“Hey,” Baikal said, and Rabbit jumped, “my eyes are up here. But,” he leaned in so he could speak directly against the curve of his ear, “I like knowing you’re already this hungry for my dick after the small sampling I gave you last night.”
Rabbit scowled and went to swivel back around, but Baikal latched onto his neck and forced him to remain in place, gaze turning steely all over again.
“You still haven’t given me an explanation. Why the scarf?”
A couple of female students walked by on a separate path, saw them, and giggled amongst themselves.
Rabbit tried to pull away but that only caused the grip on him to tighten.
“Still haven’t learned your lesson?” Baikal clicked his tongue. “You’re no match for my strength. Why bother? It’ll be so much easier for you if you just learn to answer and do as you’re told the first time.”
He glared.
“None of that,” Baikal chided. “This is the second time you’ve made like you’re going to go back on our arrangement and I’m already sick of it. Adjust your attitude.”
“Sure thing, your majesty.” The words popped out before he could help it, but once they had and it was too late to take it back, Rabbit forced his expression to remain stony. “And the scarf was to cover up the mess you made of my neck.”
“I’ll let that first comment slide.” Baikal released him and then made to slide into the booth at his side, forcing him to move to make room. “As for this,” he tossed it onto the empty bench across from them, “if I mark you in an obviously visible place, it’s meant to be seen. You won’t cover them up again.”
“That’s not what—”
“You agreed to be mine,” he cut him off. “What? Did you think I meant only in the bedroom?”
“Didn’t you?” Rabbit had sort of thought that was the case, yeah. They fuck then they go their separate ways. But even if he hadn’t, making him walk around campus with a giant hickey on his neck? “I’m not okay with this.” He pointed to the mark, but Baikal merely shrugged.
“You’ll adjust,” he said, before he had a thought and the corner of his mouth turned up mischievously. “The same way your ass adjusted to my—”
Rabbit slammed a palm over his mouth, sending a dirty look to the male student who’d been in the process of passing by their table and who’d been paying them more attention than necessary.
Instead of getting upset, Baikal ended up laughing, the sound muffled by Rabbit’s hand. He waited until the student had passed and was fully out of earshot before he grabbed onto Rabbit’s wrist and moved him off. He kept hold of him, however, dropping their hands to his upper thigh.
When Rabbit tried to pull away, he tightened, hard enough this time there was a burst of pain that had Rabbit wincing.
“Don’t test me, little bunny,” he warned. “Some pushback is fun, but I won’t like it if you step too far out of line. I expect to be obeyed.”
“I’m not one of your Brumal you can just order around.”
“Exactly,” he surprised him by agreeing, before he added, “I don’t fuck any of them.”
“You haven’t fucked me either,” he snapped. Squeezing his eyes shut and letting out a slow breath when he realized what he’d done.
“Patience,” Baikal told him, chuckling at his discomfort. “I’ll be stuffing you full of my cock soon enough.”
