10. CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 10

The little bell above his door barely rang when Dorsey heard several voices squeal. It was hard to deny he had practically jumped out of his skin at the sound.

His head jerked to the door to find Jesse, Ethan, Macon, and Vail coming toward him. Their expressions were that of pure glee. "Tell us everything, " Jesse gushed as all of them pushed toward the counter.

Not once in his entire life had Dorsey had anyone so invested in his life. Not even his previous roommates. Yet, somehow, these men were closer to him than he'd ever imagined possible. Or, and this was probably truer, they were a lot nosier.

"Uhm, what?" he asked, even though he damn well knew what they were asking.

Even as he said it, the door was opened again, and Danton, Kit, Flynn, and Nathan came in. The thing was, Dorsey knew they wouldn't be the last ones to show up. Fuck . That meant he was truly screwed. Not one of his friends would allow him to lie. Well… Maybe Danton, as he was a pushover, but otherwise, every single one of them would grill him until they were satisfied he'd told them everything there was to know.

"Stop," he exclaimed, uncertain what to say. He was severely tempted to call out his safeword, but he wasn't certain how to do that without alerting his friends. And fuck…that left him where?

"Okay, we're done," Flynn exclaimed to the entire group but kept his gaze on Dorsey. "Not all of us get it, but those of us who do, I seriously suggest you back off." Then he turned to Dorsey. "It's time to call him. Being overwhelmed is one of the main reasons Mercury is there for you."

The sheer terror that had been consuming him dissipated, knowing Flynn spoke the truth. Flynn hadn't even questioned the dynamic between Dorsey and Mercury, and he couldn't deny that he appreciated it. His need for his Dom had him flipping open his phone and hitting the send button on Mercury's number.

"Dorsey, is everything okay?" Mercury asked as soon as the call went through.

"Poison." It was all he could manage, and he honestly wasn't certain it was loud enough to hear.

The call disconnected instantly, and he stared at his phone, fearing what it might have meant. Had he made a mistake calling so soon after Mercury had said he could? Was he too needy? Had he been too weak? Would he lose his Dom already?

White dots danced in his periphery. Too soon, the ability to focus was impossible, and he swore there was someone trying to attack him. It was like a physical blow to imagine not having Mercury in his life.

He wasn't even certain how it had happened. He'd only just met Mercury. How could he have become so attached that quickly?

"Boy, stop." The sharp tone of Mercury's voice had him stilling and curling into his strong body.

"Please, help me," he cried out.

"I'm right here, sweetness," Mercury promised, and even though Dorsey couldn't take in anything going on, he trusted Mercury to tell him the truth.

Shaking, he sagged against that strong body. "Thank you, sir." He had no idea what made him call Mercury that, but it sounded right.

"Always," Mercury whispered. "Come with me, boy."

He had no clue where they were going, but he just followed. His brain was too fuzzy to make sense of anything else.

Somehow, they made it back up to his apartment. He stood there as Mercury stripped him bare and bound his hands in a soft cloth. He was led to the couch where Mercury sat them so Dorsey's side was pressed against his Dom's chest. Then, another soft cloth was placed over his eyes.

Strong arms held him tight even as fingers stroked his skin softly. "I've got you, boy. You're safe. I'll keep you safe, sweetness. You. Are. Mine. All mine."

He wasn't certain how many times Mercury repeated those words, but each time he heard him call Dorsey his, he could feel the anxiety pushing out of him. It was as if binding his hands, as well as taking away his sight, and only being able to hear the words of his Dom took away all sensation except for Mercury's body on him.

Dorsey didn't have to do anything. Just let his Dom take care of him. Suddenly, he just sank against Mercury. Relaxing into his embrace.

"Such a good boy," Mercury murmured several times.

Was he, though? Shouldn't he have been able to deal with his friends? How pathetic was he?

"Stop it." The demanding tone forced those thoughts from his mind. "You are brave, boy. So damn brave. You make me proud to call you mine."

"Then why do I feel like I'm weak?" He winced at how broken his voice sounded.

A kiss was placed at his temple even as those arms around him tightened further. "Because it's what you believe others think. But that doesn't make any of it true. You did what you needed to do in that moment, despite what you assumed others would think of you. That took a lot of guts."

He wasn't certain that was right.

"I'm certain enough for the both of us." Mercury's words told him he'd said that last thought out loud. "One day, you'll believe it, too.

He hoped so, but life had taught Dorsey otherwise.

Mercury had sat with him for an hour before Dorsey felt steady enough to head back downstairs. He'd been too chicken to ask what had happened after he'd made that call. Had his friends stayed and watched him completely fall apart?

He feared they had.

"Stop worrying," Mercury told him on their way back downstairs. "Flynn made them all leave before I had even gotten here, and considering I ran from my office across the street, he got them out quickly."

That time, Dorsey knew he hadn't said anything, so how in the hell had Mercury known what he was thinking?

A light chuckle in his ear told him once again that his Dom seemed to know what he was thinking. "You don't exactly hide your expressions, sweetness. As soon as we headed down, your entire body froze. It didn't exactly take a genius to know why. I will warn you, Flynn did stay to get Tasty Balls open for you."

Even though it meant facing his friend after what had happened, he couldn't help but smile that Flynn had been there for him. Not only had he encouraged Dorsey to call his Dom, he got everyone out to not overly embarrass Dorsey and helped him out with his store. Not that he was exactly surprised. Flynn seemed to have a better sense when any of his friends needed their Doms.

Two weeks ago, Macon had been extremely…well, not agitated exactly, but definitely…off. Dorsey had known Macon had tried to kill himself a couple of years before, but he hadn't realized that when something stressed him, he tended to rub at the scars on his wrists. It wasn't until Flynn had called Macon's Dom, Tyge that Dorsey had realized what it meant.

Then again, out of all the couples in Cedar Falls, he'd noticed Flynn and Jax had a stronger bond than most. Don't get him wrong, all the couples were extremely in love and had solid relationships, but there was something about the pair that was almost breathtaking to watch.

Walking into the main part of the shop, he let out a shaky breath as he faced Flynn. His friend just walked right up to him and hugged him tightly. "You got this." Then he left without another word.

No looks of pity. No recriminations. Just that bit of encouragement.

Arms came around him from behind. "I told you that you had nothing to worry about, sweetness." He placed a kiss on the shell of Dorsey's ear.

"I'm going back to the office to grab some files and my laptop, and then I'll be back," Mercury told him.

"Wait." Dorsey's placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "Why are you coming back? Don't you have to work?"

Mercury traced Dorsey's jaw gently with the back of his fingers as he smiled at him. "I plan to work from here, so I can watch over you today."

Dorsey's jaw dropped at that announcement. He stared after Mercury's retreating back, and then he ran across the street like he didn't want to leave Dorsey for too long. Was it possible for his heart to literally melt?

He'd never known anyone could care about him as much as Mercury did, and they'd only recently met. Yet, even as Mercury worked at the far corner table, Dorsey felt him watching over him, whether he was typing away on his computer, reading through files, or even talking on the phone. It just didn't seem possible that the man acted as if Dorsey was his entire focus.

That was especially true when anyone came in. He would swear Mercury was ready to pounce if they so much as gave Dorsey a hard time. Sure enough, the moment Jesse and Gabriel came in, Mercury was up and behind the counter, standing next to Dorsey before he could blink.

Mercury's warning look at the two made him smile, indicating that his Dom had meant it when he said he'd be watching over Dorsey.

"Wow," Jesse said as he looked at Mercury. "Down boy. We come in peace. I'm just getting a box of fudge for Danton in hopes he'll give me a mani/pedi, even though he claims he's booked. I want to look pretty for my date with Parker tonight since Gabriel was nice enough to babysit Lily for us."

Gabriel looked startled. "I did? I don't remember that."

Jesse nodded at his friend and assistant. Technically, Gabriel was more than that, as he helped Jesse run the town by keeping him organized, but Dorsey hadn't heard what his title actually was. "You know, when I mentioned this morning, Parker was taking me out," he said.

"No, you didn't." Gabriel was shaking his head. "You said you would need a babysitter, but I never said I'd do it. Lakyn is making me dinner tonight. I can't cancel on him again."

Jesse nodded. "Great. We'll just drop Lily off at your house, and she can eat with you. Just tell Lakyn she's in a chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese rut, so he should make that for you."

"He was going to make one of my favorites, shrimp scampi," Gabriel complained. "Can't you foist her off on Ethan and Bram?"

Jesse shook his head. "No. Ethan got in trouble, and he's hoping Bram will punish him tonight."

Okay then.

Gabriel tried to appear resolute. "I'm not interrupting my dinner with Lakyn because Ethan wants to get spanked. Ask Zane and Aidan."

Again, Jesse shook his head. "Aidan is taking Zane to some new bakery in Atlanta that does specialty cakes. He's trying to expand his business again."

"I'm still not babysitting," Gabriel told him.

Jesse turned to Dorsey. "Can you get me two dozen of Danton's favorite Tasty Balls?"

"Two dozen?" he asked.

"Yeah, one to get my mani/pedi, and one to convince him that Lily and Quincy need a play date." Quincy was Danton's nephew, although since he and his husband Kyle had adopted him at such a young age, he calls them dad and papa.

Grabbing one of the bigger boxes, he quickly went to work filling it. The whole time, Mercury stood there with that same warning expression directed at Jesse, who was making funny faces at him.

Feeling lighter than he had since his friends had bombarded him earlier, Dorsey let out a giggle. That was when his entire world shifted, for Mercury looked at him with awe as if he'd just made his Dom the happiest man on earth.