Page 70 of Reforging Onyx

Onyx blinked in surprise. “You really think I’m that powerful?” he asked. “Well, would’ve been nice before, I guess."

Dominic chuckled. “In a single focused attack, I think you could get through the shields of anyone I know, including mine. And no knowledge is ever wasted.”

Onyx mulled that over for a moment. Keeping him in a collar was really a waste, then, and he was pretty sure that others would’ve done worse than Dominic had to get him under control. It also told him a lot about Dominic’s death wish — he wanted the opportunity even now, but not the guarantee of death.

The time in the warehouse was the swing of that sword; the defenses were the shield that stopped it from meeting flesh.

Maybe he was starting to understand Dominic a little better.

Dominic gave Onyx a light kiss before nudging him to move, getting up. “Requests for breakfast?” He headed toward his desk.

He got up again and got dressed. “Waffles,” he decided. He hadn’t really enjoyed the pancakes the other day, so he might as well have another treat. He curled back up in bed, yawning widely. He hadn’t slept well, and he wouldn’t mind taking a cat nap before breakfast arrived. Now that Dominic was sated sexually, he’d probably even allow it.

Dominic chuckled, placing the order for waffles for Onyx and eggs benedict for himself before starting to get dressed for the day. He gave Onyx a look of amused affection. “I acquired some audiobooks on astronomy, if you’re interested in listening to them before your lesson,” he offered.

“Save lessons for lesson time,” Onyx mumbled with a yawn. “But maybe.” At least Dominic wasn’t making him learn how to do complex math or anything like that. Astronomy probably wasn’t what Dominic would’ve chosen for him, but he’d kept his word there.

And Onyx had gotten what he wanted.

He was starting to wonder if he wasn’t ambitious enough to take advantage of being Dominic Bancroft’s obsession. Maybe he needed to push harder, push for more.

Onyx dragged himself out of bed only when food arrived, and he tore into his waffles with gusto. He was in a surprisingly good, if thoughtful, mood as he sat by Dominic. So far, the only limit he’d found was Dominic uncollaring him outside of a controlled environment. What did that mean for him? If he was willing to do more… Dominic was already giving him everything he wanted.

What more could he even ask for?

The lessons in the warehouse, for one, but the price of that was going to be high. Very high. It would take away the last bit of dignity that he had, and open him up to Dominic pushing and pushing because once he had a taste of something, he didn’t stop. Onyx had learned that much. Dominic might’ve been letting Onyx set the pace, but once Onyx agreed to something once, that was it.

He had to be careful to leverage that properly.

“Office hours today?” he asked, resigned to boredom before his class in the evening.

“Yes,” Dominic confirmed before pausing. “It has been some time since your last workout with Shane.”

Onyx sighed, looking out over the room instead of at Dominic. “Yeah,” he said. “And I’m gonna get out of shape if I don’t keep training. I’m too still all the time. Do you think I could have another lesson with him soon?” He did not, however, ask for time spent in the rec room with the wolf. He didn’t think he could handle that again so soon.

“I had thought perhaps today, as long as you still do not wish for me to replace him with a different instructor,” Dominic said.

Onyx shook his head. “I don’t. I like working with him. He knows what he’s doing, and I’ve learned a lot from him.” He fidgeted in his seat. “It wasn’t even really his fault, last time. I am lucky. I guess. I just… it’s hard to see it sometimes.”

But when he had lessons on the horizon and a trip to the warehouse the next day, could he really deny that he was in fact lucky?

Dominic studied Onyx for a moment before nodding. “Very well."

Onyx didn’t like the scrutiny, and he squirmed beneath it, but he only nodded when Dominic agreed. He wasn’t going to tell Shane he was right, but he wasn’t going to hold it against him either. If he did… What would happen if Shane decided to leave, instead of Dominic dismissing him? That thought wasn’t a pleasant one.

When Dominic finished with the meal, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and set the plate aside, gathering his laptop and a file from the drawer of his desk. He also collected a vial of vampire blood and uncapped it, handing it to Onyx.

Onyx took the blood from Dominic and downed it, handing the empty vial back. Everything sprang into focus, bright and loud and sharp, and he hummed contentedly. Right after taking the vampire blood was as close as he ever felt to being normal.

Dominic returned the empty vial to his desk drawer, then indicated for Onyx to lead the way out of the bedroom to head toward his office. “I only have one meeting just after lunch today. My thought is to have you work with Shane before lunch.”

Onyx nodded. “Okay.” He was still a little uncertain as to how he’d feel seeing Shane again… and the question of whether the wolf might decide to leave nagged at him. He could work with someone new, he guessed, but he didn’t particularly want to.

Once inside Dominic’s office, he sat down next to the chair and put his headphones on, already ready to dive back into the book he’d been listening to.

It would be nice to move around, though.

Onyx blinked back into reality when Shane showed up, and he handed the headphones back to Dominic as he got up from the floor. He eyed Shane warily, but the wolf didn’t seem like he was holding anything against him. He didn’t think. Maybe.