Tymber Dalton - The Reluctant Dom

It kept her mind focused, got her out of the house for a little while. Even though Kaden got out of bed and walked around and was still continent, he spent most of his time either in bed or on the couch in the living room.

On the morning of Leah’s birthday, Kaden produced a tiny box and handed it to her. Seth knew its contents because he’d wrapped it for Kaden.

She smiled as she fingered the small silver tags, with both Kaden and Seth’s initials engraved on them. Then she leaned over and gently hugged him. “Thank you, Master.”

Seth’s present was an intricately braided silver locking choker necklace, similar to her other day collar. It already bore a matching engraved tag.

She hugged him, hard. He heard her barely choked back sob as she pressed her face against his chest. “Thank you, Sir,” she whispered.

“Well, let’s put it on you and see how it looks,” Kaden said.

She leaned in and held her hair up while Kaden made the switch.

“It’s beautiful, love,” he said with a smile. “Now you’ve got another collar in your collection. Sir picked this one out for you.”

Kaden wasn’t fooling Seth. He probably wasn’t fooling Leah, either, unless she was really burying her head in the sand. Seth knew damn well why Kaden insisted on Seth ordering the necklace. He wanted Leah to get used to the fact that she’d be wearing other collars in her life, not just the ones he’d bought for her. The dual-engraved tags were yet another tactic, helping ease her through the transition as gently as possible under the circumstances. Kaden hadn’t pushed the issue sooner and knew he couldn’t put it off any longer.

* * *

Christmas morning, Seth awoke and held his breath as he watched Kaden’s face. Kaden’s chest rose as he took a breath.

Seth closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Thank you, Jesus.

Any day but today. They’d made it through Leah’s birthday. If they could at least make it until December twenty-sixth that was fine with him. After that…

After that, every day was numbered. Kaden refused doctor-recommended IV fluids and nutrients that would keep him going a little longer. He was down to water, broth, and pediatric electrolyte solution. The lever had dropped to the lower end on Seth’s mental gauge. Nearly pegged out at E.

Black.

He silently prayed for any time after January first and suspected that might be pushing their luck. It would be far easier on Leah emotionally to handle Kaden’s death on a date at the beginning of the year rather than at the end.

She was in the kitchen fixing Seth’s coffee the morning of December twenty-eighth when Kaden turned in bed and looked at him. “You know where all the paperwork is, right?”

Seth nodded. “Yeah.”

“DNR?”

Seth nodded.

“Okay.” He reached for the remote and turned on the TV. “I think you’ll be making the call pretty soon.”

Seth’s heart chilled. “Not yet. Please.”

Kaden’s wan smile didn’t reassure him. “I know. I’m trying to hang on until after New Year’s.”

“That’s fucking spooky, dude. Reading my mind again.”

“It’s logical. I don’t want to ruin this time of year for her or you. That would suck.”

“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”

Kaden smiled a little broader, reached over and patted Seth’s arm. “You say that now. But brother, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Seth didn’t know if he even wanted to ponder what was in store.

Another prayer answered—Kaden quietly celebrated New Year’s with him and Leah alone at home, although they all drank white grape juice and not champagne at Leah’s insistence.

Kaden, of course, smiled and let her have her way.

But he barely sipped his. Seth took the glasses away before Leah could see Kaden hadn’t really drank any.

On January third, Seth closed the door to Kaden’s study before making the phone call he dreaded. Everything had been arranged in advance. Starting tomorrow, the hospice nursing staff would be on hand to help.

Kaden called Tony and asked him to stop by. When he arrived, Kaden asked for some private time to talk with him. Seth took Leah out to the backyard and held her as they sat under an oak tree.

She couldn’t cry.

Twenty minutes later, Tony walked out to them. “How are you two doing?”

Seth nodded. “Hanging in there.”

Tony crouched down and started to reach out to Leah. She sat with her eyes closed and her head tucked against Seth’s shoulder. Tony met Seth’s gaze. Seth finally realized what he wanted. He nodded.

Tony gently touched her arm. “If you guys need anything, no matter what, and I’m talking not even…the other stuff. Anything I can do, please don’t hesitate to call me, day or night. Okay?” Tony was one of the few people Seth knew really meant it, not just spouting meaningless bullshit he had no intention following through on.

She nodded without opening her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Seth felt it, the dulling down Kaden had warned him of. Beyond exhaustion and grief, something more, something deeper, like a hard shell forming around her.

After Tony left, Seth helped Leah to her feet. He kept an arm around her waist, afraid she might fall.

Kaden was sitting up in bed. He had his glasses on and watched TV. Leah immediately curled up in bed beside him, tucking her head against his side, where she spent most of her time now.

Kaden reached over and stroked her hair. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hi, handsome.”

Seth leaned in the doorway. “Honey, can I make you any dinner?”

She shook her head.

The strength in Kaden’s voice surprised Seth. “Leah, you will eat a bowl of soup or I will send you out to the kitchen.”

Eventually, she nodded. “Thank you, Sir,” she whispered. “I’ll take a bowl of soup, please.”

Kaden stroked her hair again. “Good girl, love.”

Seth fixed her a bowl of soup and brought it to her. He sat on her other side and watched her eat it, making sure she finished every drop.

When she finished she immediately curled against Kaden’s side again. He looked tired, haggard. The weight loss was especially hard to witness, and why Seth suspected Kaden always insisted on wearing loose T-shirts now. The sight of his bones pressing against his flesh was almost painful to look at.

No matter what, Kaden still tried to make this easy on them. Forever a control freak.

Kaden carefully rolled to his side and curled his arm around her. “Love, you need a session tonight with Sir.”

She shook her head and clutched his T-shirt in her fingers. “No. I want to stay here with You.”

“You can come back to Me after you have a session, love.”

“Please don’t make me go right now.”

He nuzzled the top of her head. “No, not right now. Later. All right?”

“All right.”

Seth couldn’t guess how much longer they had. The fact that it was nearly impossible for Kaden to keep down anything, including water, wasn’t a good sign.

* * *

Ed had been another call to make. He stopped by the house every morning and evening. Seth fully appreciated Kaden’s planning now. He would have a hard enough time functioning, plus keeping Leah safe, without trying to deal with everything else.

Thank God for that.

The hospice nursing staff was excellent. Having been fully briefed ahead of time by Ed and Kaden, no explanations for Seth’s relationship was necessary.

Seth and Leah rarely left Kaden’s side. Seth timed her sessions to coincide with the nursing shift changes. They were quick and with very little ritual. Just enough to keep her with them.

Just enough to keep her crying.

Every time Seth woke up, his first action was to look at Kaden. Seth was unable to sleep more than an hour or so at a time, the slightest sound or movement from either Leah or Kaden jolting him awake and aware.

They were down to waiting.

Seth realized that with the den door closed, the nurse couldn’t hear if he used the crop on Leah. He started carrying her into the den, giving her a superquick session, and immediately forcing her to eat something while she was still responsive enough to not fight him. All usually in the space of ten minutes, then she was back in bed with her fingers laced through Kaden’s.

How much longer could he hold on?

How much longer could Leah hold on?

While the previous months seemed to fly by too fast, the minutes now crawled, every tick of the clock an agony. He didn’t want Kaden to die. He didn’t want to lose his friend. He wanted to put off the inevitable as long as possible.

But he also couldn’t stand seeing his friend’s obvious pain. How he’d made it all this time without using anything but minimal pain meds toward the very end. Seth couldn’t believe it.

Then again, that was Kaden, the ultimate control freak. Why should his death be any different than his life?

* * *

On the eighth afternoon after hospice started, Seth sensed the change in Kaden’s breathing, knew the nurse did but wasn’t sure if Leah understood. He touched Kaden’s arm.

His friend opened his eyes and sadly nodded. He licked his cracked lips. “Can the three of us be alone for a minute?” he whispered.

The nurse kindly smiled and left the room.

Leah sat up and held his hand. “Can I get you anything, Master?”

He nodded. “You need to do something for Me, love.”

“What?”

Kaden removed his wedding band and held it up. He looked at Seth. “Give me your left hand.”