Page 228 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

'Okay, sweet boy,' I murmur, catching a fistful of his hair and guiding him back.

He follows the pressure immediately, panting, eyes glassy and eager, every reckless piece of him still controlled by the sound of my voice, and mine alone.

I ease his hand away and hold his wrist, grounding us both before he can rush.

'I know what you need,' I say, brushing my thumb over his pulse. 'You need me holding your leash so you don’t feel alone anymore and you don't have to think about anything except feeling good.'

Blaze nods, dazed and desperate.

I tighten my grip on his hair in reprimand.

'Use your words, baby boy.'

'Yes, Daddy,' he rushes. 'Need it.'

'Go on, then,' I say, my breath coming faster now. 'Show Daddy you can be gentle. Show me I’m safe with you. Fuck your big Alpha cock in Daddy's little Beta hole.'

Chapter Fifty-Five

Shade

A high, fractured sound tears from Blaze as his eyes widen, and then he surges forward. His hand clamps around my hip hard enough to bruise, dragging me farther down the couch while his other arm pins my thigh open. A snarl forces its way through his clenched teeth as his Alpha takes control, driven by the instinct to fuck the willing body beneath him.

"Stop," I say clearly.

He freezes above me with his chest heaving, his grip still painful and his cock pressed against the twitching furl of my hole. The tendons in his neck strain as he fights the urge to thrust, but he obeys.

Relief loosens my lungs.

I knew he would stop, though knowing what Blaze is capable of makes the risk impossible to ignore. I’m exposed beneath an assassin who knows exactly how to hurt a body and sometimes craves pain, his own and someone else's, when he returns from a mission like this.

I’m frightened by how quickly he lost control of himself, but I’m not afraid that he intends to take the control from me.

Fear pours through the bond from him because he knows what almost happened, and he needs me to keep this situation firmly in my hands.

I catch his jaw and bring his gaze to mine.

‘You’re all right, baby. I’m here.’

His nostrils flare as he forces each breath to slow. A whimper escapes him, and his fingers release my hip before he pulls his hand away and waits for my next instruction.

‘You can start again when you’re ready.’

He shakes his head. "Shade…"

"Daddy," I correct gently, switching to spoken words when the bond becomes too crowded for him to answer through it.

"I can’t. My head’s wrong." His hands curl against his thighs until his knuckles pale. "It’s full of noise, blood, and every bad thing I know how to do. My Alpha keeps telling me to grab you, hold you down, and fuck you raw until you’re crying. I want you, but I don’t want to hurt you. That’s why I stay away from the Pack when I’m like this." His voice breaks. "Please, Daddy. Don’t let me hurt you."

The bond confirms every word. Violence and arousal still drive through him, carrying fresh memories from the mission, but beneath them is the Blaze who wants my hand in his hair and my voice telling him he is good. He wants permission to stop being the Alpha Blackgate fears and return to the idiot who makes Halley laugh into her pillow.

Both parts of him are waiting for my answer.

I stroke my thumb along his jaw. "You don’t have to trust yourself yet. Trust me."

A rough whine leaves him.

I do trust him, because he stopped when I told him to. Now he has to learn that he can return from a mission carrying all that violence and still choose to be safe with the people he loves.