Chapter 19

“You promised not to let your affairs at the Docks get in the way of official business,” Kelevra’s annoyed tone came through the line as Madden made his way back to the Butcher’s bedroom.

“I didn’t,” he replied. “Something else came up.”

“Madden. Do you have any idea—”

“Yes, actually.” He dropped down onto the bed, exhausted. He’d been too wary to sleep these past couple of nights, too worried that something might happen to Berga or those guys might return. Madden could take care of himself, but unconscious, his man was vulnerable, and ensuring his safety had to come first. Even before his Royal duties. Still, that didn’t mean he’d been completely irresponsible. “Yuze contacted me last night after the party and said everything had gone as planned. You should be thanking me right now, really.”

“Thank you,” Kelevra drawled, “for sending a mafia member in your place?”

“Yuze is a Royal,” he reminded. “The Quint name is well known throughout several galaxies. He did us a solid going in my stead, and he was able to book the deal. Why are you complaining?”

Madden had contacted Yuze last minute and sent him to the gala event in his place. At first, the Satellite member had refused until he’d learned Madden’s reason. The Brumal member's tune had changed the second he'd name-dropped Berga.

He knew what he wanted, and Madden was going to do whatever it took to ensure he got it. If that meant manipulating his friends and those in their social circles? So be it. He’d do it shamelessly and without the need for repentance.

Sila Varun had been right. He wasn’t a good guy, and everyone knew it. Why bother pretending otherwise?

“Your mother was livid,” Kelevra told him. “I bet you didn’t bother checking in with them beforehand, did you? They decided to cut their business trip short and arrived just in time to see you noticeably absent. ”

“She’ll get over it.”

“Will she?”

“Yes, as soon as that first fat paycheck from this deal rolls in, she’ll forget all about her irritation.”

“And your father’s irritation in regards to your present company?” he drawled. “What about that?”

“So you know.”

“I know because you wanted me to,” Kelevra said. “You wanted everyone to. Why else would you have sent Yuze Quint, a known member of the Satellite, instead of someone like Zane or Pavel? He wasn’t quiet about your reasoning either, by the way. He walked right up to my sister, bowed, and apologized on your behalf, saying you were busy nursing your Butcher boyfriend back to health.”

Wow. Madden was seriously going to have to repay Yuze. What was the guy into? Maybe he’d buy him a hoverbike.

“Knew I chose correctly,” Madden grinned.

“You sound far too pleased with yourself. Do you have any idea how complicated you just made things for everyone?”

“Kel, I’m going to be real with you,” he said, “do you think I care?”

“Not in the slightest,” he sighed.

Madden dropped his device next to him and yanked the black t-shirt he’d been forced to put back on before going to the lobby over his head. As soon as his bare skin was exposed to the warm temperature of the room, he felt a million times less restricted.

“Does he know you’re sowing seeds?” Kelevra asked.

“Odd way of putting it, but no. Not yet.” He’d find the right time to tell him. Right now, Berga was still struggling with coming to terms with the fact the two of them were together. He’d need to beat that detail into his brain first and would worry about the rest later.

But not, like, literally beat.

Berga might like pain, but he was still in a bad way physically.

Maybe he’d beat himself off though, to satisfy himself enough to resist pouncing on the guy. Madden widened his thighs on the bed and glanced down. Even the thought was enough to have his cock throbbing and lengthening in his pants.

“Having a way to tie the Butcher to me isn’t a bad thing,” Kelevra mussed. “But Baikal may be a harder sell.”

“I’m not with him so you can use him,” Madden warned.

“Noted.”

Maybe he really should rub one out before going back to the kitchen.

“My sister has decided to let you off the hook this once, since this has never happened before, but take this as a warning, Madden,” Kel said. “The Emperor isn’t the forgiving sort. She won’t care that you’re my best friend if you cost her a treaty in the future. ”

“Don’t be so dramatic. I covered my ass, didn’t I? I wouldn’t leave you hanging.”

“I know that. That’s why I’m not currently outside the Butcher’s apartment with a blaster.”

Madden bristled, but before he could say anything, another man on the side of the line with Kelevra grunted loudly enough he could hear.

“That sounds like you’re threatening Berga, Kel,” Rin Varun’s teasing voice trickled through. “You better reassure him before he makes a follow-up by threatening me, and you inadvertently burn a two decades-long friendship.”

“Does it?” Kelevra clicked his tongue. “To clarify, I was threatening to shoot you, Madden. I wouldn’t risk an all-out war with the Brumal. You shouldn’t either.”

“I won’t.” He relaxed on the bed, staring up at the blank white ceiling.

“Then what are you doing? Because I’ve never known you to get serious over a person before. If this is a game—”

“It isn’t.”

There was a pause and then, “What if it’s a game to the Butcher?”

Madden’s eyes narrowed. “Then I’ll figure out a way to change the rules in my favor.”

“I’m hungry,” Rin stated.

“I have to go. Next time you see my sister, make sure you grovel.” Kelevra hung up without another word.

“You look worn out.” Berga appeared in the room and Madden sat up quickly, watching as the Butcher approached, the box he’d gotten in the mail with him. “Did you do something to piss off the prince?”

“Yeah,” Madden chuckled.

“Was it me?”

“Unfortunately, you’ve been unconscious, so no.”

Berga rolled his eyes and set the box down on the bed next to him before peeling back the tape. “If I recall correctly, that didn’t stop you the last time.”

“Sleeping and being unconscious due to an illness are two separate things,” Madden defended himself.

“Is that what you think then? That I’m some poor, helpless, sick man who needs your protection?”

He sensed the trap and was careful with his response, keeping his tone light and his expression open. “Not at all. Who would think that of the Butcher? Only a moron. Like that guy you murdered the other night.”

“Canham?”

“Ah, so you do remember.”

“Bits and pieces.” Berga pulled something black from the box and then tore it out of its plastic packaging with less care, holding it up for inspection after the fact.

Madden blinked at it and stared. “Is that…?”

“A butt plug,” he confirmed, tilting it this way and that as though he’d never seen one before. “I don’t usually play with toys in the bedroom. Unless drugs count?”

“Probably not.”

“Oh.”

“Why did you buy that thing?” Madden almost didn’t dare hope, but then… “Why were you at the Docks? Did you come to see me race?”

He snorted. “I certainly wasn’t there to watch you allow those people to throw themselves all over you.”

“Sorry, sorry. It was a test of sorts,” Madden admitted.

“Test?” Berga’s interest in the toy came to abrupt end and he turned that unsettling gaze on Madden instead. “Like an experiment?”

“You could say that.” Though, he wasn’t so sure he should be.

“I was also conducting an experiment,” Berga said. “How did yours go?”

“Well, you ended up having an episode so…”

“Inconclusive then?”

“Not necessarily. Not if you tell me you were jealous of those fans.”

Berga clicked his tongue and sighed. “It made me slip into psychosis, what do you think?”

Madden stiffened. “It what?”

“Don’t look so put off. I don’t blame you or anything. Neither of us knew that was a possibility. But apparently, I must subconsciously like you a lot more than I realized. Seeing you give in to all those people's advances had me…” He seemed to st ruggle with the right word for a moment and said, “Unsettled.”

“Why?” Madden recalled Bay’s final diagnosis. If the root of Berga’s issue was really the fear of abandonment… “Did you think I didn’t want you anymore?” he dared ask. “That I’d abandon you?”

“Tossing me to the side isn’t that farfetched of an idea,” Berga stated. “Even my parents were capable. Why wouldn’t you, a man I’d only fucked a couple of times, be less capable of it than them?”

“If you thought that might happen,” he motioned to the toy, “why buy that?”

“Optimism?”

Madden laughed before he could help it. “I didn’t think you had that in you.”

“I don’t.”

“Then—”

“Should we use it now?” Berga held the plug up.

The doctor said there was nothing inherently wrong with him, that his body had merely reached its limits and he needed rest to recover. Looking at him now, it was clear Berga’s coloring was already returning to normal, and his movements weren’t stilted or lagging. He seemed fine.

Still…

“All right.” Madden took the plug and stood, quickly undoing the snap of his pants. He kicked out of them and then reached back into the box when he saw there was also a tube of lube in there. “But if you don’t feel good at any point, you tell me and we stop.”

Berga nodded but frowned as he popped the top and slathered a healthy dollop of lube on the toy. When Madden crawled onto the bed and spread his legs, he asked, “What are you doing?”

Madden paused with one finger pressed to his entrance and then glanced over his shoulder at the Butcher, who was eyeing him with a wealth of confusion. “Prepping. Isn’t that what you bought this thing for?”

“Prepping,” Berga pointed at his ass, “yourself?”

“Why?” He straightened so he was kneeling. “Did you want to do it for me?”

“No,” Berga shook his head, “I want you to do it to me .”

“What?” He must have misheard him. There was no way… “But you’re a top.”

“Aren’t you?”

“It wasn’t awful when you stuck it to me that night at the Docks.”

“I agree,” Berga concurred, “but it also wasn’t nearly as good as when you gave it to me.”

“You’re serious?” The Butcher was actually telling him to fuck him? “You’re going to bottom for me?”

“You said it yourself. I need you now. At least until I can completely conclude that you’re the reason why I can break out of the delusions.”

“So…you’re going to let me fuck you just to keep me around?” Madden wasn’t sure why that bo thered him so much, but it did. It left a bad taste in his mouth and he was scowling before he knew it. “Are you forgetting? According to you, I’m also the reason you slipped into one the other night.”

“Seeing you flirting with others definitely messed with my psyche,” Berga agreed.

“You really shouldn’t say things like that. If you think you’re becoming dependent on me, you should keep that on the down low, Butcher. That’s how you get taken advantage of.” Man, Sila had been right about that as well. Berga didn’t have a manipulative bone in his body. Poor—

Wait a second.

Madden cocked his head. “You’re doing that thing aren’t you.”

“What thing?” Berga blinked at him, all innocence.

Turning, he sat back down, tapping the lubed toy against his thigh absently as he considered all the angles. “That thing where you distract me by handing me a drink that you’ve somehow drugged without my notice. You did it to Canham too.”

“Oh, sleight of hand? I’m always doing that thing, haven’t you caught on by now?”

“I don’t follow.”

For a moment, it appeared as though there was something else Berga wanted to say, but he must have changed his mind. “Anyway, you said you wanted to see what reaction I would make? That’s why you were flirting with those people? Does that mean you were hopeful I would get jealous? ”

“I won’t lie and say you’re wrong.”

“And just now, you were willing to let me stretch your hole for my cock because you want to keep me around, don’t you?”

“I like you,” Madden stated plainly. “Do you like me?”

“I’m invested in figuring this thing out.”

He sighed. “Sometimes you’re too blunt, Butcher.”

“My point is, you’re willing to do things to keep me around, and I’m willing to do the same. We’re on the same page. There’s no need to continue denying it. It just so happens, I surprisingly like how you feel inside of me. If I have to pick which way we do it, I would choose that. I,” he plucked the plug out of Madden’s hand, “am choosing that.”

“As hot as that sounds, we shouldn’t. The doctor—”

“Screw the doctor.” Berga hummed and corrected, “Actually, don’t. In fact, if I find out you’ve touched anyone other than me while we’re figuring this out, I’ll—”

“That’s just it, Butcher,” Madden stopped him. “Since that first night, I haven’t wanted anyone else.”

“Don’t fall for me, Mad King,” Berga warned. “This is just another experiment, there will eventually be a conclusion.”

Maybe to him, but for Madden, it was already so much more than that. “Agreed. It’s when one of us dies.”

He pursed his lips. “Don’t say things like that. ”

“But it’s the truth.”

“Your truth, maybe.”

Madden sighed. “It’s too late, baby, for more than just denial. You’re the one who told that redheaded moron to spread the word I’m yours. We may have been holed up here the past few days, but I still have ears on the streets.”

Not to mention, he’d helped push things in that direction himself by having Yuze announce it to the Emperor.

“I…” Berga seemed torn, “shouldn’t have done that.”

“Are you worried about Baikal?”

“You’re moving far too quickly for my comfort zone,” he stated. “Perhaps we shouldn’t—”

Madden’s hand snatched his wrist when the Butcher went to step away. After all the work he’d put in to get them here, he wasn’t about to push his luck. If they needed to slow things down, so be it. He could follow Berga’s lead if that’s what it took.

“If we’re doing this, let’s do it,” he conceded, patting the spot next to him on the bed. “I can’t be the only one with their clothes off in here, baby.”

Berga rolled his eyes but started to undress, more careful with his clothing than Madden had been with his own. He even folded them and set them aside, but once he was finished, he didn’t sit down as instructed, hovering instead.

Madden chuckled and stood. “Lay down on your stomach.” He took the plug back as Berga got into position. “This is kind of small. It’s not going to do much in the way of stretching you open for me.”

“I know.”

He quirked a brow. “Did you buy this size on purpose, Butcher?”

Berga nodded as he settled and wrapped his arms around the pillow, spreading his thighs open. “I like pain. But if you go in with no prep I might tear.”

“You mean like when you fucked into me that way?”

Berga grimaced. “It was…”

Madden laughed. “As I recall, you said it wasn’t so bad since it was my blood. That change?”

“I would prefer it if you didn’t bleed,” Berga replied tentatively, as though confused by his own words. “Believe it or not.”

He shifted so that he was kneeling between Berga’s legs and spread his cheeks, letting out a low whistle when he caught a glimpse of his puckered hole. “I’ve been thinking about how tight you are for days, baby.” Madden smoothed a palm over one of his plump cheeks and then smacked him, grinning when Berga hissed but didn’t complain.

His entrance resisted when Madden started to insert the plug, gently at first, still a little worried about Berga’s overall health.

“If I wanted it sweet,” the Butcher ended up growling, “I would have asked your friend Zane to fuck me instead.”

Yeah, that would do it.

Madden shoved the toy the rest of the way in and ground his palm against the end of it for good measure, pinning Berga’s hips to the bed with a hand against his lower back. “Setting aside the fact Zane is a strict bottom, I absolutely dare you to say that again. You aren’t the only one capable of losing their minds from jealousy, Butcher.”

“Then if you want me,” he countered, “I suggest you start acting like it, or—”

He yanked the toy free and then drove it back in hard enough Berga emitted a whimper. “Or?”

Berga shook his head against the pillow. “I don’t remember.”

“Probably something about melting my insides.”

“Probably,” he agreed, followed by a moan as Madden started pumping the toy in and out of him, twisting it as he pulled. “Good Light.”

“Do you always need pain?” He needed to have a better understanding of how far to take things. Giving people what they wanted, becoming the person they needed, was like second nature to Madden. A couple of questions, brief observation, and he could attract just about anyone he wanted.

Though, he never would have guessed in a million years someone like Berga Obsidian would become his target.

Or that he was playing for keeps.

He’d realized that earlier when Berga had still been unconscious and Madden had sat by his side, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. Life was so delicate, so fleeting, even for Vitals who were stronger and had faster heal times than many other species. Allowing his whims to guide him had always been his way, but it was apparent that this was definitely more than that.

He was drawn to the Butcher.

He wanted to consume him, bask in his madness. And if he happened to burn in those chaotic flames? It’d be worth it just to have touched the Butcher's fire.

“No,” Berga answered once he could force words past his moaning. “But I like it.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I won’t hurt you.”

He chuckled. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep, Butcher.”

“You’re getting weird on me.” He turned his head, catching Madden’s eye over his shoulder. “What’s up? Should we stop?”

“Do you want to?”

“Of course not.”

Madden drove the toy in with more force, growling when that had Berga groaning for him. “Be sure. Be absolutely sure.”

Because Madden wasn’t going to let him go after this. No matter what.

“Just,” Berga pushed back against the plug, “fuck me already. With your cock.”

“You gave in to me, Butcher,” Madden said, pulling the toy free and resituating himself so he could line up his crown between those cheeks. “Remember that later, yeah? ”

He buried himself to the hilt with one hard thrust that had him instantly questioning if he wasn’t already burning alive.