Centrepiece

Chapter
15

I
do hope you\'re enjoying this just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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“I
don’t know how much more of this I can take.” Ray squeezed his eyes closed
against the tears, feeling his body tremble with exhaustion and despair. “Ever
since they came back from that stupid meeting, I swear they have gotten worse! I
can’t do anything without feeling
like I have to check and make sure I’m not vulnerable. I mean, the other day I
tripped over a shoe into Kai’s arms and he took that as an invitation, and
yesterday I was bending over to get something out of the bottom of the washing
machine and Tala-”

“I
get the idea, Ray.” Bryan scowled, glaring at the spot in front of him.
“Have you said anything to them? Asked them to stop it maybe?”

“A
couple of days ago I told Kai I had a headache, and all he said was he could
give me something to take my mind off it and throceroceeded to-”

“What
goes on between you and those freaks in the bedroom is not something I really
need to know about, Kon.” Bryan scratched the back of his neck. “What about
Tala? Have you said anything to him?”

“A
few days ago he said he had noticed I looked a little off and wanted to know
what was wrong and if I needed to go to the doctor. I said I was unwell but that
didn’t stop him from… you know, since you already seem to know it all.”

“Charming,
Kitten.” Lavender eyes settled on Ray’s face, watching him. “The option of
simply walking out is still available, you know. I can cover you.”

“I
appreciate that, Bryan, but this is my fight, not yours.” Ray let a t a long
sigh, shaking his head before glancing up. “Can I ask something?”

“Go
ahead.”

“Was
Tala actually flirting with you the other day?”

Bryan
rolled his eyes before he shrugged, his expression hardening. “Tala has been
flirting with me for years. It’s just what he does. I have a rough idea when
the kid first did the deed too, and trust me, it weren’t after the first
Championship.”

“Yes,
I’ve noticed he’s rather experienced. As is Kai.” Ray’s eyes flickered
toward him. “As are-”

“Don’t
even think about going there, Kon. That territory is out of bounds, remember?”
Bryan watched him begin to pace, gaze hard yet calculating. “Besides, that
night it was you who was the dominant
one. You haven’t seen what I’m capable of, and you won’t anytime soon,
either.”

“And
I can understand that.” Despite the fact
I am hell attracted to you, I shall resist my urges to send you onto your back
again and screw your brains out. “So what can I do? I can’t just walk
out and leave them hanging.”

“Ray,
if you don’t leave, the only hanging
that’s gonna be happening is you when you lynch yourself.” Bryan’s
lavender eyes narrowed. “Look, you’re taking a big enough risk simply coming
in here when they could come inside any second. All it takes is for you to load
up your things and I’ll drop you off anywhere you want to go, okay?”

Ray
sighed, “No.”

“No?”

“No.
I can’t just leave them like that.” Ray sighed. “They weren’t always
bad. In the beginning I think they might have loved me. They at least deserve an
explanation.”

“Sounds
to me like if you’d tried to give them an explanation they wouldn’t have
given you the chance to speak.” Bryan frowned. “I think you’re scared.”

Ray
looked up sharply. “What?”

“Scared
of life without them.” Bryan’s eyes once more swept over him. “They’ve
become so dominating you feel as if you have to rely on them, that you cannot do
anything without them. You fear being alone.”

Ray
frowned. Could it… be true?

Bryan
shrugged, dropping back to lie on the bed and knitting his fingers behind his
head. “I’m not surprised, really. I noticed early on that they were
dominative and you were submissive. They’d say jump and you’d do it, you
were so easily led.”

Ray
glared at him, then raised an eyebrow. “Just because I appear submie
de
doesn’t mean I am all the time you know.”

“I
realise that. Experienced it first hand, remember?”

Ray
looked down at him for a moment before moving to join Bryan on the bed. “So
what do you prefer?”

“What?”

“Dominative
or submissive? What do you prefer?”

“Dominative,
though I think you probably already guessed that.” Bryan cracked an eye open
as he looked up at him. “Back at the Abbey they used to call me ‘Iceheart’
as I was so cold and antisocial, rarely getting involved with anyone. It was a
big thing when I did, an even bigger one if I let myself be the submissive.”
He shrugged, closing his eye again.

“Why
was your being submissive a big thing?”

“Cause
it was so rare. It was only when I trusted someone enough that I let them
dominate me. Normally, if one of my lovers tried to dominate me, I’d flip them
onto their backs and…” he smirked. “Punish
them.”

Ray
felt a shudder move up his spine as he picked up what had been left unsaid. “I
see. I guess that doesn’t really surprise me.”

Bryan
sniggered.

Dropping
onto his back, Ray knitted his fingers together and set them on his chest,
gazing up toward the roof of Bryan’s room. “They always called me hard to
get. Back in my village all the girls wanted me, and some of the boys too, but I
turned them all down. It wasn’t until Kai and Tala came out with their
proposal that…” He shook his head. “Everyone probably thinks I’m a slut
now.”

“Being
in a threesome don’t make you a slut. Just means you’re open to ideas and
experimentation. That’s all threesomes are.”

“Ever
been in a threesome?”

“Maybe.”

Ray
looked across at him. “Even been in a relationship like mine? Where you feel
trapped with no way out and the walls feel like they’re closing in,
suffocating you?”

Bryan
remained silent, Ray frowning as he saw the corner of the elders lip twitch
before Bryan abruptly pushed himself up, glancing down and meeting Ray’s
golden eyes. “Better get movin’, Kitten, before your boyfriends finish and
come looking for you. Don’t want them to find you in here, do ya?”

“You
have a point.” Ray was slower in sitting up, running a hand through his
fringe. “I’m surprised Kai didn’t ask you
to help him fix his car.”

“Maybe
he did.”

Ray
looked at him. “Oh really?”

Bryan
smirked. “Maybe I told him where to go.”

“Sounds
about your style.” Ray smiled as he stood, reaching out to caress Bryan’s
face. “It’s good having someone to talk too.”

“The
Demo Boys have been dumping their shit on me for years, not to mention so have
nearly all thst ost of the other boys in the Abbey. You could say I’m used to
it.” Bryan raised his hand to brush against Ray’s. “Remember, kid,
you’re the only one who can get yourself out of this.”

Ray
nodded. Unfortunately, I don’t know how.

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Did
Bryan just avoid answering a question there?