9. CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9

Pride and lust surged through Mercury as he watched his boy come undone. "That's it, sweetness. Show me how much you love my touch."

Getting Dorsey off had him completely transfixed by the sight. He literally would be happy to watch Dorsey's reaction to getting off every damn day of his life. That said, he also was aware he needed to take care of his boy.

And damn, he wanted that to be true. Not that it wasn't going to happen, but he also knew, especially after Dorsey's rambling a few minutes ago, that it would take some convincing. His boy clearly had been led down the wrong path by his previous encounters. Mercury hated that for his sweetness, but he was more than happy to show Dorsey that he was a submissive and what that meant.

All he desperately wanted was for his sweetness to belong to him and only him. He just had to figure out how not just to make that happen, but for Dorsey to accept their dynamic.

And even though all he wanted was to sink his cock into his boy's ass, he knew that wasn't something that could happen yet. He'd promised. That was something he refused to go back on. Mostly. Technically, a hand job counted as intercourse, but he rationalized that it was as basic an act as it could be.

Yeah, he'd gotten Dorsey off–which was beyond anything he'd ever experience–but he'd only done it because he could sense his boy needed to get out of his head. Based on how he was leaning against Mercury, that had been accomplished.

But they needed to talk before anything else happened. He just hoped he could convince Dorsey that being his sub wasn't anything demeaning. He was certain too many people in his past had put ideas in his boy's head about what he was ‘supposed' to be.

It killed him to hear Dorsey think he was somehow not who he was supposed to be just because of his size. Don't get him wrong, he'd endured it his whole life. Mercury was smaller compared to other men. He wasn't exactly a ‘twink', but he wasn't what anyone he encountered thought was a top. That wasn't even close to who he was.

Not only was he a top, but he was also a Dominant. It had been what drew him to Dorsey. There had been zero doubt that Dorsey was a submissive. Mercury had studied enough people to know a sub the moment he'd laid eyes on him. Dorsey had been one of those people.

He just needed to make Dorsey understand and accept the dynamic. Considering who his boy's friends were, he was fairly certain it wouldn't be too difficult. They may not all be in the BDSM realm, but the one thing Mercury had noticed was they didn't judge each other. Make fun of? Yeah, but it was good-natured ribbing, nothing mean. With their help, Dorsey would find acceptance with who he was.

When their plates were empty, Mercury placed them on the coffee table and wrapped both arms around his boy. "I've got you, sweetness," he promised. "You are mine, and I will take care of you."

Dorsey's body relaxed into his embrace as he heard those words. There was still some tension, but it was obvious Dorsey was beginning to believe what Mercury was telling him. One day, Dorsey would completely trust him–he hoped.

"Are you ready to talk?" he asked softly.

Every muscle in Dorsey's body tensed again. Mercury hated how upset his boy was, but they wouldn't progress this relationship without discussing things. Dorsey was a sub. He may not have quite accepted that yet, but it was a fact he needed to deal with. Actually, he probably had known it, but because of society's assumptions, Dorsey had squashed his needs down.

Mercury's role was to show him how wrong those assumptions were, and he was more than willing to do so.

"Hush, my sweetness." He pressed a kiss to Dorsey's temple to soothe his boy. "I'm right here." That was something he would continue to tell him over and over until Dorsey believed it.

"Promise?" Dorsey asked so quietly Mercury almost didn't hear him.

He cupped that strong jaw and tilted it toward him until he stared into those mocha-colored eyes. "Promise," he vowed to his boy. "There is nothing that could ever take me away from you. Even you. Don't get me wrong, I would never force you to do anything. That said, if you told me you didn't want this, I would accept it, but still be by your side to support you. You are mine, sweetness."

Mercury leaned in and kissed those full lips in a searing kiss. "Now let's discuss what you told me and how we'd like our relationship to go from here."

He felt those muscles under his hands tense again. It pained him to know just how upset Dorsey was, but it couldn't be helped. His boy was too focused on what the rest of the world thought about him instead of accepting himself.

Holding him tightly, hoping it reassured Dorsey somewhat, he said, "I get that people expect us to be in certain roles based on our appearances, but just because it's what they think doesn't make it so. As I mentioned, I'm a Dom, which, for me, means I like to be in charge of our relationship. Every single aspect of it. From what we eat to when we work, although I would never interfere with you running your business, as long as you don't overwork yourself. I also will be in charge during sex. You will have a safeword and I expect you to use it if things become too much, which means at any time. Even if I'm not with you, I demand that you call me and tell me your safeword, and I will be there as soon as possible. You are my priority, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and happy."

He pressed a kiss to Dorsey's temple as his boy started to melt back into his embrace, as if he not only understood the words but also accepted them completely. "Do you have any questions or want to say anything?"

Dorsey blew out a shaky breath, but he was no longer filled with tension so Mercury took that as a good sign. "Honestly? Yes and no. I mean, I'm so relieved and am still trying to take it all in. Can I ask questions when my brain starts working again?"

That had Mercury chuckling lightly. "Of course, sweetness. You can ask them any time you want. In fact, it is one of my requirements of you. I don't want you to ever hold anything back from me. No matter how scary it might be, I expect you to trust me with your worries fully. I get that having only known each other a week, you may not completely be able to trust me, and it will take some adjustment, but that is the goal."

Dorsey slowly nodded as if he was still thinking about all of it. That worked for Mercury. He wanted his boy to be completely on board with their relationship, not just jump into it without thought.

"For now, I need you to choose a safeword. It should be something easily remembered, yet not something you would likely say so there won't be any misunderstanding when you casually talk or need to use your safeword because you're overwhelmed." This would be slightly more difficult because words like red and yellow didn't work in a 24/7 Dom/sub relationship like theirs would be.

He couldn't help but smile at how Dorsey's tongue peeked out between his lips as he thought about his safeword. It was so freaking adorable.

"Poison," he said after about five minutes. "It's not something I would need to say."

He tilted his boy's head toward him and placed a gentle kiss on his full lips. "Poison it is. Now, as much as I'm loathe to let you go, I think it's time I drive you home. We both have work tomorrow, and I want you to get a good night's sleep."

Even though Dorsey frowned, he nodded reluctantly as he said, "I know you're right, but I don't want to go."

He placed another kiss, this time on his forehead. "I know, sweetness, but I need you to think about what I've said regarding our relationship. I want you to really consider if it's what you want. I'm not an easy man to be with. In fact, I'm quite demanding, and you need to be positive that's the best thing for you."

Even if he wanted to insist Dorsey was his sub, Mercury wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Ever. Including not being in a romantic relationship if it's what he needs. Oh, he'd still watch over him because Mercury wasn't kidding when he'd said Dorsey was his. But if he had to do it from afar instead of by his side, Mercury would.

"Now come. It's time to get you home." He loved the way Dorsey let him open both the front and car doors for him and put on his seatbelt instead of insisting he could do it for himself. And when they arrived in the parking lot behind Tasty Balls, he didn't even try to get out of the car. He just waited for Mercury to come around and help him.

Damn, he was perfect.

Walking him to his door, he took Dorsey's keys, unlocked the door, opened it, reached his hand inside, and turned on the light. Then he took Dorsey in his arms and kissed him until they were both panting.

"Good night, sweetness. I want you to text me when you go to bed and get up in the morning, okay?" There would be many more demands, but he didn't want to overwhelm him so soon.

Dorsey didn't even question his request. If anything, he grinned like he really loved the idea. "I will."

One day soon, he would hear ‘sir' at the end of that.

After one more brief kiss, he nudged Dorsey inside. "I want to hear you lock the door, boy." That earned him a shiver and another smile, as well as a slightly dazed expression in those brown eyes.

Mercury would be one lucky man if Dorsey agreed to be his sub.