“And what shall I beat him with? I bet I could bring him to tears using just my hand,” Kaleana purred. Thank the Spark it was her. A sense of calm overcame Will. He was as safe with Kaleana as he was with Malcolm. More so even because she had more experience than Malcolm in this area. He hoped Walken took her up on the challenge to use only her hand.
“And hurt that pretty palm of yours? I think not.”
“No, he needs the fire taken out of him.” Alex’s eyes glinted.
“A cane then. A nice thin, whippy one. The one hanging on the door of the cabinet should do the trick. And don’t worry about the carpeting, my dear. I haven’t found a stain yet that my people can’t get out.” So much for the cream carpet theory. “And while you’re getting the cane, Simon, go ahead and grab some restraints and pull that table over here. I’d like to see him tied to it.” Walken seemed to take great pleasure in directing the proceedings. At least the preparations were working in Will’s favor. Lying on a table would make it easier on his leg, and he wanted the restraints. They’d keep him from embarrassing himself. He wished it didn’t have to be a cane though. The damn things scared him. The pain was bad enough, but if Kaleana had to put enough stripes on him, it’d be hard to keep from overlapping and possibly drawing blood. He would have preferred something that wouldn’t have marked him so badly. Malcolm wouldn’t have an easy time seeing stripes.
Will needed to keep himself from trembling in fear. Instead of worrying about Malcolm’s reaction, he decided to take momentary comfort in the fact that he knew he wouldn’t let any real harm come to him, even if it meant ruining things with Walken. There was no safer place in the world for Will than in Malcolm’s line of sight.
When the table had been dragged over, Will removed his pants. He didn’t think for a moment he’d be allowed to keep them, and he wasn’t about to have someone else undress him. He bent over the end, trying to keep his nerves from churning up his stomach acid.
“No, that won’t do. Get up on the table. Tie his wrists and ankles to the legs. That way we’ll all get a nice view.” Will should have known Walken would take issue. He had situated himself so his backside had been to Jeremy and Alex, two Alphas he didn’t anticipate having to see much of in the future, and out of view of Malcolm. Unfortunately, Walken didn’t want to just see Will’s face, he wanted full view of it all.
Will situated himself and Kaleana and Simon tied him. At least he had the benefit of cuffs so he could struggle without having to worry about rope tightening and cutting off circulation. This way his leg wouldn’t have to support any of his weight, so that was one less thing to worry about.
Once Will was secured, Simon went back to Alex, and Kaleana picked up the cane. The sound of her swishing it through the air made Will’s skin crawl. She didn’t do it to scare him—he knew she only wanted to get a feel for its weight—but he couldn’t help his body’s reaction to it.
“Let’s make it more challenging. If you break the skin, you’ll get double what you give him.” Malcolm’s cool voice sent an involuntary shiver down Will’s spine. That tone was enough to terrify most Alphas, never mind Zeds.
“Yes, sir.” Kaleana nodded her head in acknowledgement, appearing meek and frightened. The three of them knew it was a hollow threat, but it gave her a clear out so Walken or anyone else wouldn’t order her to go harder than she felt comfortable with. Besides, if she broke skin, Malcolm would lose his mind. He’d make a shark smelling blood in the water look like a guppy. This way was safer for everyone, and Will was grateful Malcolm had a clear enough head to think of it.
Even though Will watched Kaleana, he could feel Malcolm’s eyes on him. He knew they wouldn’t leave him until this was done. It made it harder on him because he needed to be convincing, but he didn’t want Malcolm to forget their signal and do something rash when he saw the tears. He braced himself for the first strike, knowing that no amount of preparation would be adequate. Even Malcolm, who loved pain in ways Will would never understand, told him the first one was always a shock.
The hiss of air gave Will a split second of notice before a line of fire burned across his ass. He didn’t even try to hold in his exclamation of pain. These men wanted to see him struggle, to see him fight before he broke. The sooner he convinced them he was broken, the sooner they’d lose interest.
He needed to see Malcolm, to let him know he was fine, to take strength from the familiar, loving face. He sought those eyes that had always looked on him with love, even if it was guarded. When he found Malcolm’s gaze, Malcolm nodded his head. It was slight, barely noticeable, but it told Will that Malcolm was aware, that he had everything under control, and Will didn’t need to worry. All Will had to do was get through it.
The second one fell and Will shrieked, but Malcolm still nodded. With each stripe, Malcolm nodded, keeping time, holding Will steady. He tried to force his mind to the elusive space he knew Malcolm traveled to during a beating, but he couldn’t. He simply wasn’t wired that way. In his logical mind, he knew Kaleana was going easy on him, but he’d never been able to handle pain well. The screams and tears were not feigned; he just didn’t do anything to hold them back. He allowed himself full expression, and it helped take the edge off the pain. Each stroke sent him struggling against the bindings, but there was always Malcolm’s gaze, letting him know it was all right.
However, Malcolm could only anchor him for so long. On and on Kaleana beat him. His rational mind knew he was lucky to have her beating him. She wouldn’t do anything horrible. The stripes were painful, but not nearly as painful as they could be. She never hit him in the same place twice. Her timing was the perfect blend of not stacking the pain to unbearable proportions but not letting the pain fade either. She kept him constantly screaming, and he knew it was for his benefit, to end this as quickly as possible. By keeping the strikes close together, she could make it appear as if she hit him harder than she did.
None of that mattered. All he knew was that he hated that cane. He’d rather be stuck in a room with a dozen hornets than take one more stroke.
Tears flowed freely down his face, and his throat grew hoarse from screaming. His ass was nothing but fire, and each strike felt like a red-hot poker stoking the flames. He sought out Malcolm’s eyes again and saw that he still nodded with each hit. He needed it to stop. He needed to crawl into Malcolm’s arms and let him kiss away his tears. One word and it would all end. One word and he’d have the comfort of Malcolm’s embrace and possibly the satisfaction of seeing him physically assault Walken.
No. He couldn’t. He hurt now, but it would fade. He had no doubt it was worse in his mind than it was in actuality. The suffering of his people, on the other hand, would never stop if they couldn’t find a way to take down the Geneticists. The beating couldn’t go on much longer.
Will turned his head to look at Alex, offering his tears to the man who had wanted them. It wasn’t a surprise to see him stroking his prick. His eyes were dark with lust and cruelty. Snot ran down Will’s face, but as he drowned in pain, there was no room in his consciousness to feel humiliation. Will let go of any inhibitions he might have left and screamed so loud with the next stroke that he thought he wouldn’t be able to swallow for a week.
Alex orgasmed, and Will wanted to puke.
“Bravo, Kaleana.” Walken applauded, and the beating stopped. Thank the Spark, the beating stopped. “The poor boy’s backside looks like a washboard. Now we know why Malcolm keeps him around. You need someone to practice on. What other skills do you have to show us, I wonder?”
Will turned to face Malcolm, to let him know that he was all right, that nothing Walken could say could possibly hurt him.
“I have a devilishly talented tongue, sir.” Kaleana took a seductive step toward Walken.
“Then show us what you can do, you minx. In fact, let’s have a little wager. Malcolm, I’ll bet you ten thousand credits that she can’t get your cripple off.”
Kaleana stopped her advance and put on a faux po
ut. Will thanked her silently for the effort, but he didn’t think it’d save him this last humiliation.
“Now, now, don’t look so sad, my dear. I’m afraid after that display, I simply wouldn’t be a good judge of your talents.”
“You’ve obviously never had her mouth around your prick. I’ll take that bet.” Malcolm played his part perfectly.
Will desperately wanted to feel good. He welcomed anything that would distract him from the pain, but the thought of Kaleana sucking him off after beating him mortified him. At least Malcolm had taken that dumb bet so now he’d have the satisfaction of beating Walken to cushion the humiliation. The way these Alphas threw money around sickened him. A Beta could live for six months with that many credits, and Walken was willing to throw them away on whether or not a Zed could orgasm?
Kaleana untied him and he winced as he moved off the table to stand next to it, bracing himself with his right hand to stand. She knelt in front of him, and all thought left his brain as Kaleana touched him. He had to blank out everything else if this was to work. In his periphery, he was aware that the other Zeds in the room were fondling each other or servicing their Alphas. The only reason he allowed that bit of information into his consciousness was to try to convince himself that no one was watching him.
He focused entirely on the feel of her gentle fingers and soothing tongue. She loved him. She wanted him to feel good. Slowly she coaxed him to arousal. It didn’t matter if he should feel embarrassed, because if he let her, she’d release the chemicals in his body that would dull the pain in his backside. Once again, he sought out Malcolm. Even though it wasn’t fair to Kaleana, he pretended it was Malcolm’s mouth around him, Malcolm’s sure hands fondling him, Malcolm’s tongue swirling around the head of his cock. The look in Malcolm’s eyes said he wished for that as well. Will relaxed, closed his eyes, and let Kaleana bring him to climax as he dreamed of Malcolm. He sank into the sensation, letting the waves of pleasure dull the pain.
“Well, you are quite masterful. I’d keep a Zed ’til she wrinkled too if I had one as talented as you.”
Will’s anger flared at Walken’s insult to Kaleana, but he pushed it aside and went to Malcolm before anyone could think up any more interesting ways to humiliate him.
“Cover yourself.” Malcolm’s voice made it sound as if he were disgusted by the sight of him. Will was grateful for the permission to dress. He sat on the floor on Malcolm’s left, placing all of his weight on his right thigh in an effort to minimize the pain. Kaleana dressed and sat on Malcolm’s other side. As soon as Will found a position that he felt he could manage for an extended period, Malcolm’s hand came down on his shoulder. Will shuddered at the familiar warmth and nearly cried with relief when Malcolm guided his head down to his lap. With Malcolm running his fingers through Will’s hair, Will wanted nothing more than to fall asleep.
“Well, I think that was quite the finale to tonight’s entertainment. Jeremy, Alex, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. I’m afraid I must ask you to leave now. I have some business to discuss with Malcolm, but I do look forward to the next time we can get together. Perhaps we can have Simon wrestle a girl and redeem himself.”
The two Alphas said their farewells and left with their Zeds. Will wondered if the only purpose to having the other Alphas present had been the moment when Walken ordered them away. As far as power plays went, it was effective, as was losing ten thousand credits. Well, effective on anyone other than Malcolm. Will knew he still harbored a little hero worship for his lover, but the thought of Malcolm being intimidated by anyone seemed too ludicrous to consider.
“I believe I have something you may want.” Walken steepled his fingers and eyed Malcolm with a more serious expression than Will had seen him wear all night. He had shooed his two female Zeds off his lap and they now sat languid next to him as Will and Kaleana did with Malcolm.
“Really?”
“Now, now, don’t play coy, Malcolm. I was thrilled to hear when I received confirmation of the patent transfer that the previous owner had received a call from you with a very generous offer.”
Will could kick himself. His overeagerness had pushed Malcolm to appear eager as well. That put them at a disadvantage in the negotiations. He needed to learn patience.
Malcolm shrugged. “I thought it might be beneficial to have tucked away in my portfolio, but now that you have it, I have no need for it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I saw potential in it for some projects, but the slim profits wouldn’t justify the cost. I had only made the offer because I thought the Geneticists could benefit from it in the right hands. There are no hands better than yours when it comes to the Geneticists.”
Walken’s eyes flickered at the flattery. “I saw the potential in it as well, but you already have the infrastructure in place to fully exploit it. I had hoped for a partnership.”
“I’m afraid I don’t do partnerships.”
“You never have played well with others.”
“No, and I don’t intend to start now. If you’d like to sell the patent to me outright, I’m willing to be fair and compensate you for your time.”
Will had to hold back a snort that would have been both painful and embarrassing given the stuffiness of his nose from all the crying and the soreness in his throat from screaming. With how puffy and red he felt sure his face still was, he didn’t want to draw any attention to himself, but the ludicrousness of Malcolm’s statement caught him off guard. Walken had spent no time at all on the patent. It must be easy to make money when the game was rigged in his favor.
“I had planned to pursue a licensing agreement.”
“I have no interest in licensing it from you. I’m afraid you’ve wasted an evening.”
“You haven’t even heard my terms.”
“It doesn’t matter what they are. There are too many proprietary secrets in my company. I can’t expose those secrets, which is what I’d be doing with a licensing deal. Under current law, you and your lawyers would have full access to my company’s financials and our entire operation in order to verify that you are being adequately compensated and to confirm which products the patent is being used for. I’m sorry if this was a bad investment for you, but I’m simply not interested.”
“What would you be interested in?”
“I told you: buying it outright from you.”
“Now that hardly seems fair. I’m entitled to a royalty.”
“Then you’ll need someone else to give it to you. I do have competitors who may be interested in it.” He didn’t need to remind Walken of the obvious—that no one could possibly make him much money with it. Panacea’s competitors were tiny regional suppliers and manufacturers. They wouldn’t have the necessary resources to take full advantage of the patent. They wouldn’t even be able to make collars with it because Malcolm had exclusivity with the Geneticists.
“What if we structured the deal so that full ownership of the patent transferred to you and I received an annuity?”
Malcolm continued to run his fingers through Will’s hair, but other than that, he didn’t move. The silence grew thicker by the second, and Malcolm seemed in no hurry to break it. He just stared at Walken as if he were content to sit there all night. Whoever spoke first would lose, and Will knew it wouldn’t be Malcolm.
“I can have my lawyers work out the numbers with yours. I’m sure we can come to an equitable agreement.”
“I should think not. My lawyers are not being paid to make ‘equitable’ arrangements.”
Walken chuckled. “Of course. How foolish of me. Still, what do you say we let them hash it out?”
“You have forty-eight hours to present me with an offer. I’d make it good, because if I turn it down, I won’t entertain another one.” Malcolm stood and so did Will when he saw Kaleana follow suit. “Thank you for the invitation. The canapés were delicious.” He didn’t give Walken a chance to say anything. He left the room with his usual quick strides, leaving Will and Kalean
a to follow him in stunned silence.
Chapter Six
Malcolm gripped the steering wheel harder as he accelerated. Something about tearing down the road gave him satisfaction that flying never could. Seeing the road whip past, the change in movement at the slightest touch of the wheel—it all provided an outlet for the anger he felt.
He glanced in the rearview mirror to see Will lying on his stomach while Kaleana placed a cooling blanket on his backside to try to relieve some of the pain. Twenty-six. Twenty-six stripes. He had counted every one as Will’s cries had shredded his heart. Each stroke was filed away in his mind. Each one would be accounted for when it came time for the reckoning. At least Kaleana had managed it without resorting to his back. He didn’t know how he would have reacted had she struck Will’s thin shoulders. He had hardly any muscle or fat to absorb the blows.
“How does it look, Kaleana?”
“I’m fine.” The arm Will lay on muffled his voice.
“I didn’t ask you.”
“I don’t think there will be much bruising. I was really trying for a whippy motion to snap the skin. The bite stings, but I didn’t follow through with any strength.”
“See, it’s fine. All you’re doing is drawing attention to what a wuss I am.”
“You are not a wuss.” Malcolm wished he could pull over and handle Will right now, but it’d be better to get home. He could put the car on autopilot and turn his seat around to care for Will, but he didn’t seem to want more attention.
“Yeah, just because I didn’t beat you bloody doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. Any sane person would have cried and screamed, and there was no reason for you to hold back.”
“It wasn’t as bad as I made it sound.”
“It was bad enough that you don’t need to justify yourself. I don’t want to hear another word from you on the subject.” Malcolm hated issuing orders, but he couldn’t stand to hear Will talk that way, especially when there was nothing he could do about it.
[In Distress 02.0] In Pain Page 5