Seth laughed but they continued to the house. “That’s my line.”

* * *

Two days later, Seth was outside alone with Leah, practicing in the backyard. He was about to take his third throw when a wasp dive-bombed him. Without thinking, he stepped to the side as he threw in an attempt to avoid the bug.

Leah yelped, a sound he’d never heard her make before. The pained sound sent Seth’s heart through his feet.

He dropped the whip and ran over to her. “Oh my God! Babe, are you okay?”

“Yeah, what happened?” She’d rolled over, sitting up, and had her hand clamped to her inner thigh.

“A goddamned wasp almost nailed me. Let me look.” Seth’s heart raced, and he was terrified he’d wounded her.

“I’m okay. It’s okay.”

“No, let me look!” He finally pried her hand away and saw the blood. “Oh…shit! Oh, honey, damn it! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

She clamped her hand over it again. “Seth, it’s okay.”

“You’re fucking bleeding! It’s not okay! Goddamn it, I’m so sorry!”

Kaden apparently heard the commotion and raced down from the house. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Leah proudly smiled and showed him. “My first mark from Sir.”

Kaden examined it and laughed. “Very good, love.”

“This isn’t funny!” Seth screamed, trying to get a better look at her leg. Leah kept pushing his hands away.

Kaden shook his head. “I guarantee you it hurts you worse than it hurts her.”

“This isn’t funny!” Seth screamed again. “Goddamn it, Leah. Move your fucking hand.” He finally got a good look at it, relieved to see it was only a minor cut. “It’s not fucking funny! If I’d hit your artery or something—”

She grabbed his chin. “Stop.” Her voice dropped, firmer than he ever remembered hearing it. “I’m okay, Seth. Sir, I’m fine.” She pulled him in and kissed him. “Master put far worse and deeper ones on me while He was learning. Trust me, this is nothing. I consider this a badge of honor to finally wear Your mark.” She kissed him again, then let him help her to her feet. “I’ll go wash it off and put some ointment on it. It’ll be fine. It’s all right.”

Seth watched her walk to the house, his entire body trembling from nerves. He shook his head and looked at Kaden. “I can’t do this, man. I can’t fucking do this! I can’t hurt her like that! Goddamned wasp came out of fucking nowhere—”

“Stop.” Kaden’s firm tone startled Seth. “It was an accident. I meant it when I said it’ll hurt you a lot worse than it hurts her. The pain’s already fading for her. You’ll be stinging every time you see the scar.” His face darkened. “Trust me on that.”

Seth swallowed hard. “I can’t stand hurting her like that, man.”

“I know. It sucks. The first time I cut her with a whip I nearly bawled like a baby. You saw how she reacted. She did the same thing to me. She’s strong when she needs to be, when she can be, in the ways she can be strong. Don’t ever forget that.” He looked at Seth. “There are times, like this, when you have to trust her. Remember, pain is nothing to her when she’s in subspace.”

“She was in fucking pain that day she sliced her arm open. I thought she would go into shock on me.”

“That was different. She wasn’t in subspace when it happened. She wasn’t trying to hurt herself. When she’s in subspace, you could probably pull out every one of her goddamned fingernails and she’d beg for more. There’s a huge difference. If you hadn’t wigged out on her, she’d be begging for more right now, I guarantee you.”

Seth eventually sighed. “I probably harshed her mellow by freaking out, didn’t I?”

“Dude. You did.” Kaden smiled. “But that’s okay. You can make it up to her later, I’m sure.”

* * *

Later that night after dinner, Seth willingly gave in to Leah’s request to not just join them but to spend the night. He spent a long time loving her while Kaden held her in his arms. He gently ran his lips over the welt on her leg, hating himself.

Leah sensed his inner turmoil. She kept her fingers tangled in his hair, or her fingers laced through his, and constantly murmured to him.

When they all fell asleep later, she had her back tightly nestled against Kaden, with his arm around her waist. But she had Seth tucked against her chest, cradled in her arms as he cried himself to sleep while Leah whispered to him.

* * *

The next morning, Seth still felt like shit. The wound would heal cleanly, but the ugly purple bruise surrounding it would take days to fade.

Leah started to get up to make coffee, but he grabbed her hand. “No, babe, I’ll go do it. You stay in bed.”

She tried to protest. Then, one of the few times Kaden ever overruled Seth.

“Love, go make our coffee. We’ll be out for it shortly.”

Leah quickly kissed them both and jumped out of bed. She left the bedroom.

Once Kaden was sure she was out of earshot, he turned on Seth. “Stop it. You can’t do that.”

“I fucking hurt her, man! I feel horrible!”

“She’s already over it. She was over it minutes after it happened. She humored you last night because she felt bad that you were so upset, but fucking stop it. Enough’s enough.”

Seth felt shocked. “You cold-hearted bastard! That’s your goddamned wife! How can you sit there and tell me enough’s enough?”

He leaned in. “Because that’s the way she wants it. Remember how she freaked out over the laundry when you first moved in? I’m not kidding when I say she needs you to man up now.” He dropped his voice even lower. “I’ve been busting your balls about her leading you around by the short hairs, but I’m also telling you it’s got to stop. Now.”

A haze of rage clouded Seth’s mind. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Kaden frowned. “You have got to get a handle on this. It’s okay while I’m still around, because she’s got me. But quit this fucking bullshit once and for all before I’m gone! She needs to know you’re strong and steady and will take care of her. I’m not talking about grieving. She expects that from you. I’m talking you cannot let her get her way all the time. She needs to feel you’re her Master. Right now, you’re acting like a fucking pussy!”

Seth opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it closed. He wanted to deck Kaden. Never in his life had he ever felt that before.

Kaden met his angry gaze. “You know I’m right. You’ve seen her long enough now to understand what I mean.”

“You let her get her way.”

“When I decide to. In things that don’t fucking matter. This matters. This is an issue of strength. This is a time when you have to put on your goddamn big-boy britches and just suck it the fuck up. It’s done. It’s over with. She knows it was an accident. Believe me, she understands you’re upset about it. It’s over, it’s done, move on.”

He got out of bed, leaving Seth sitting there stewing. Kaden walked into the bathroom. Seth finally got his wits about him and went to his own room. He started for his bathroom, then turned and locked his bedroom door.

Fuck it.

He used the bathroom before pulling on some running clothes. He listened at his bedroom door for a moment, heard Leah and Kaden talking in the kitchen, and quietly walked down the hall and let himself out the front door.

The morning felt cool, but even though it was December the highs were predicted to be in the upper seventies. Seth didn’t bother stretching. He hurried down the driveway at a quick, loping pace, wanting to put distance between himself and the house and the sound of Kaden’s accusation ringing in his ears.

How could he not feel badly about what he did? Fuck! He’d hate himself every time he saw the mark. Maybe it wouldn’t leave one. Still, he’d feel horrible about it.

The sound of her pained yelp as the whip cut her.

Christ, he’d never get that out of his brain.

He picked up the pace, running faster, harder, until he was pushing himself at a blistering sprint. When he finally ran out of wind he was on the other side of the development.

At least this whole thing had forced him to get back in shape. He’d almost returned to his Army weight, and most of the flab around his belly had melted away. He looked decent, had regained most of his stamina. In the small park he stopped, did fifty push-ups, fifty sit-ups, and started running again.

He didn’t want to return home.

Home. Funny, it was home. Kaden said he needed to see it as his home. Despite hating the circumstances, Seth begrudgingly admitted yeah, it was home.

His home.

His woman.

Maybe he was still missing a key point in understanding this crazy mess. When he thought of Kaden being angry, Seth still wanted to punch his lights out.

He’d hurt Leah. How could Kaden be okay with that?

He purposely avoided the house. He didn’t know what time it was. He guessed he’d been gone for over an hour by the way the sun had moved.

He stopped at the park again, took a sip of water from the drinking fountain, then stood in the shade to stretch. He lay back in the grass and clasped his hands behind his head. Above him, soft clouds scudded across a bright, blue December sky.

His first year in the Army, he’d been stuck in Germany. What a fucking miserable place that had been for a native Florida boy. After he was sent to Iraq he missed the cold Berlin nights while he was sweating his ass off inside a Humvee under thirty pounds of body armor and another thirty of gear while trying not to get shot at.

He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. Every time he did, the sound of Leah’s pained yelp pierced through his soul.