Finding Eden(45)
Danny glared at him, the night making him more irritable than usual. “I can handle antibiotics and alternating Tylenol and Motrin.”
“If he gets worse, if his fever won’t stay down, if his back starts to look infected, call me,” Jason went on as, if he hadn’t heard Danny. “I’m coming back tomorrow to check on him. You’ve just got to keep him alive until then. Can you manage that?”
“Why are you so convinced I’m an incompetent idiot?”
Jason gave him a look then glanced back toward the house. “Do you really want the answer to that?”
“I didn’t do that to Paul,” Danny reminded him. “I haven’t talked to him in weeks.”
“But you knew what he likes,” Jason countered, looking profoundly disappointed in Danny. “You knew he was vulnerable.”
Danny closed his eyes and looked away.
“Fine,” he admitted in defeat, not able to come up with an argument for that. “I was overwhelmed. A few weeks ago he was golden to me, totally perfect, too perfect. I didn’t know he liked this stuff and I freaked when I found out. I was in shock, but that’s not an excuse. I’m an asshole, okay? Worst friend in the world.”
“Wait,” Jason said, turning to him in surprise. “You’re not his Master?”
Danny winced again as he remembered pushing Paul away. “No, he’s just my friend. We’ve been best friends since grade school.”
“You don’t play in the scene?”
Danny frowned at Jason. “Why does everyone just naturally assume I’m a freak?”
“Hey,” Jason said, narrowing his eyes. “I play in the scene, remember? I don’t appreciate that comment. I’ll admit my tastes are unique, but that doesn’t make me a freak. It’s not okay to insult someone just because they’re different from you.”
“Okay,” Danny said, looking away and choking back a retort. “Tonight wasn’t freaky at all. Lots of guys get a hard-on having their backs ripped to shreds.”
“You need to find someone who will keep him in line once he heals,” Jason said seriously. “I’ve only seen him play with women. I assume that makes him straight.”
Danny pulled a face, not really sure how to place Paul’s sexual orientation. “I guess.”
“Have you been with him?” Jason asked, raising dark eyebrows curiously. “I noticed he was pretty touchy feely with you in the shower.”
“What do you care?” Danny growled, not knowing why his heart chose right then to clench from the agony of the past two weeks.
“I’m not judging you. I’ve been with a few men. Maybe Paul’s more like me than I realized. He’s submissive, that’s it. It probably doesn’t make a difference if he’s with a man or woman as long as the person is dominant enough,” Jason said, studying Danny as if he also enjoyed unraveling secrets. “Your friend and I have similar tastes in a lot of things. I was just curious if this was one of them.”
“Yeah, I was with him. Took about two days for it to go to hell,” Danny admitted, wondering why he was telling his problems to this doctor he barely knew. “He was into the humiliation of being with a guy, and I was into telling him to fuck off for being a freak.”
“I already told you I don’t appreciate that,” Jason said softly, his good humor disappearing. “Did he put his trust in you?”
Danny nodded. “Yeah, he said he trusted me completely. Wanted me to hurt him, dominate him, be his version of a sexy asshole. He was painfully honest about it from the beginning.”
“And you pushed him away?”
“I wasn’t into it.”
“Then why’d you fuck him, knowing he was?”
“Can you cut me a break? I’ve had a really long night. I get it, okay? I know it’s my fault he spiraled downhill. I should have protected him and I didn’t. Are you happy? Are you fucking pleased to know the guilt is eating me alive?”
“Not particularly.” Jason flipped his cigarette out into the lake. “Do you want the name of a responsible Domme to refer him to?”
“Fuck that!” Danny barked, thinking Jason was clinically insane. “None of those cunts are touching him.”
“They’re not all like that. He was looking for irresponsible ones to play with on purpose because they break the rules. Most are trustworthy women who care for their subs,” Jason went on. “He needs someone trained, perhaps an older, more experienced Domme. I can point you in the right direction. I know he’s in college and probably broke, but he’s gorgeous and extremely charming. I doubt they’d charge him.”