Chapter 41: I will never call you
Cass sighed, wanting to put his head in his hands. Instead, he closed his eyes, sighing again and Draken rumbled above him.
"You’re in pain. Should I call in your aid?" He asked and Cass wasn’t even sure what to do. What he did know was that this Draken? This one that wasn’t harsh, or abrasive? Was dangerous. Damaging. He had no doubt that if he spent too much time around this version of him that Cass could find himself crumbling under his own convictions.
He just needed to remind himself that this was a limited time deal.
If they didn’t deepen their connection, then it was going to fade away. Cass had no intention of deepening his connection, and he had to make sure that Draken got that message too.
Right now was just...not the time. He didn’t have the energy to argue with him, or to put up his normal walls. Draken was right. He was in pain. While their conversation had distracted him enough to push it to the back of his mind, that didn’t mean that he completely forgot about it.
It was just at the back of his mind.
"Yeah." Cass admitted quietly and Draken moved quickly, rushing to the door. Thankfully, Sam was waiting on the other side, a fresh tray with another glass of the sewage liquid on the tray. Cass made a face at the sight and Sam’s lips twitched, before he composed himself.
"Ah. Perfect. Lord Blackburn was saying he was in pain." Sam’s eyes hardened and he strode towards the bed, placing the tray beside it. He hesitated, glancing at Draken nervously and Draken sighed. "I won’t stop you from feeding him. Is it really that awful?" Draken asked and Sam looked even more hesitant.
"It’s subjective." Cass said, and Draken seemed surprised.
"It’s subjective? How? Do people taste different things when they taste it?" Cass shrugged.
"Apparently, and no, you can’t taste it." Draken closed his mouth, his expression souring.
"I’ll remember this." He muttered and Cass fought himself from allowing his lips to turn up. This was the man who hurt you. This was the man who did so twice, and had no care for your needs until he hurt you. He’s only taking care of you because of a short term contract.
Yeah. If Cass viewed it that way, it made it easier for him to wrap his head around. He could manage this. It would be fine.
"Sam, just help me take the tonic." Cass told the other man in the room and Sam nodded. He appeared to harden himself before he raised the glass to Cass’ lips. Cass was sputtering on the first sip, but somehow managed to drink it all. He fucking hated it, and because he was twitching, he’d made a mess.
"It’s alright my Lord. I’ll help you get changed once you feel a bit better." Sam told him comfortingly. Ah Sam. Sam went to turn away and Cass grabbed onto his wrist. Sam froze.
"You did a good job today." Cass told him, and watched as the freckles on Sam’s face practically disappeared as he flushed.
"O-Oh. Thank you my Lord." Cass nodded, giving his wrist a slight squeeze before Sam scurried out of the room. Draken watched them intently.
"Is he yours?" He asked and Cass blinked, staring at him.
"He’s...my employee." Cass said and Draken scoffed. He crossed his arms, looking over Cass with his piercing orange gaze before he ended up staring into Cass’ gaze.
"I know that. I’m not blind. I’m asking if you’re sleeping together." Cass felt his face flush.
"N-No! That’s not-I would never sully one of my employees that way! That’s-That’s an awful thing to do!" Cass protested, offended and Draken’s smirk only fueled Cass’ anger. "Why are you smirking like that? Don’t tell me you have people around you that you sleep with who you pay for other tasks? That’s horrid. You have no idea what that can do to someone who you have more power over. They don’t feel like they can say no." Draken bent over and started laughing, making Cass even more angry.
"I can’t! You sound so fucking prissy. God, were you always like this? I bet you were, you just didn’t say it." Draken wheezed, his hands on his knees as Cass grew even more upset on the bed. If it wasn’t for this weak body of his, he would be smacking him aggressively.
"What are you even doing here if you’re just going to make fun of me?" Cass spat angrily and Draken slowly sobered and stared at Cass. He knew he was trembling, his body fighting the liquid he’d just poured into himself, and he was flush-faced from his anger. He probably looked like some trembling Victorian child lying on his deathbed.
"I’m not making fun of you." Draken told him softly, and Cass frowned.
"You are." He replied tartly and Draken appeared to be fighting laughter again. He coughed, containing himself, but clearly Cass noticed. He was not pleased.
"I promise you, I am not making fun of you. If I was, you would know." Cass glared at him.
"How can you be so sure?" Cass demanded and Draken stared at him.
"How about this? If I plan to make fun of you, I’ll tell you, alright? But I don’t think picking on the weak is fun. Despite how you normally are, you are currently weak, and I feel like that is something you can’t argue about." Draken’s lips were turned up slightly as he said that. Cass hated that he was right, and Cass crossed his arms, staring at the man.
"Alright. So you’ll tell me when you plan to make fun of me? How will that benefit me?" Cass demanded and Draken chuckled.
"Well, that means you’ll never have to worry that I’m making fun of you until I tell you. Is that not a relief? I thought it would be. You seemed rather...uptight, so I thought this would be good for you." Cass gasped.
"I am not uptight!" He protested, realising that protesting it only made it seem like he was. Cass grumbled, hating that Draken had driven him into any kind of corner, even one so juvenile. "Fuck you. I’m not who you are trying to make me out to be." Cass turned his gaze away from Draken. He was only aware of the man coming up beside his bed again from the heat that seemed to radiate off of his body.
"Are you sure you can handle the words you uttered? If we do so, there is no going back for you. I doubt it if you know this, but we bond for life, Lord Blackburn." His words were so soft, so quiet, that it took Cass a minute to process what he was saying.
Cass gasped, shifting away from Draken as his lips brushed Cass’ ear. He slapped his hand over it, protecting it and Draken’s orange gaze danced. Cass realised at this moment that Draken’s eyes had shifted. Changing from the regular human pupil that he normally saw, to a slitted, elongated pupil that he would expect from a dragon.
He blinked, and Cass realised that his eyes had two eyelids, like a cat. He watched, fascinated as Draken moved closer, and Cass was able to witness him blinking up close and personal.
"Well? Lord Blackburn?" Draken murmured and Cass found that he couldn’t remember what Draken had said. He blinked, stunned as he stared into those large orange eyes that appeared to be getting closer.
"W-What?" Cass stuttered. "Wow." He mumbled, feeling like he was being transfixed by Draken’s gaze. Draken chuckled.
"I had no idea you would be so excited by my eyes." Draken seemed...pleased. Very pleased, and Cass ignored the deep rumble that filled the air between them until he felt weight being pressed onto the bed with him.
Cass panicked as he realised that Draken had placed his hand on the bed. Not just on the bed, but beside Cass, and not near the edge. Cass had been so engrossed in his gaze he’d failed to notice that Draken had encroached on his personal space again, and in a fair more intimate way this time.
"D-Draken, what are you doing?" Cass whispered angrily, and Draken chuckled.
"I’m just giving you a better look. A little more up close and personal. Why are you upset? Did you not like it? I thought you would. Your pain seemed to lessen when you were distracted." Cass swallowed, cursing inside that he couldn’t refute his words.
Draken had a direct connection to his emotions. The fucker.
"W-While that may be true, I’ve already warned you about the distance. You’re getting too close again." A warm breath washed over Cass’ face, filling his nostrils until they stung with sulfur. Cass did his best not to cough, and Draken smirked.
"It’s very endearing that you struggle against yourself so much. I had no idea." Cass’ eyes widened before Draken leaned in and planted a kiss against his forehead, his lips far too soft for a man who was supposed to be dumb and strong. "Just ask, and I’ll be more than happy to show you my eyes again. Be it in your den, outside in the gardens, even in the dead of night. You just need to ask." Draken told him, winking and Cass felt his whole body shake.
"Draken, I am going to do no such thing." Cass told him firmly and Draken laughed. He was all smiles as Sam entered into the room without knocking, a stern look on his face. Draken glanced at Sam, before turning his gaze back to Cass.
"Hmm. We’ll see. Oh! Before I forget, you should send that fledgling to me. He needs some training." Cass furrowed his brows in confusion and Draken smirked. "The other one? Who I shoved? Send him. I’ll beat him into a full grown, uh, beast like me." Draken told him, and Cass felt like he’d been sucker punched.
Byron was a dragon? What? He thought that he had been a fairy! That’s what he’d made it sound like! That damn little-
No. This was fine. It wasn’t as if Byron had done anything to betray him. Cass had just made assumptions. He shouldn’t have done that. That was on him.
Sighing, Cass put his head in his hands before he groaned.
"Fuck. Sure. Take Byron. Just bring him back in one piece, alright?" Cass muttered. They wouldn’t kill each other, right? That wasn’t a thing? If Cass...recalled the things that Draken had told him about his sad backstory, it sounded like they just...didn’t help the ones that were strong enough.
Maybe he was one of those?
Draken’s chuckle didn’t instill confidence.
"As long as he doesn’t resist, he shall come back in one complete piece, and a full fledged beastie. Like me. Aren’t you glad you have someone like me in charge of our clan?" He boasted, puffing up his chest and Cass had to take a moment to raise his head from his hands and realise what he was doing. He looked like a preening bird, and Cass refused to laugh.
"Uh, sure. If that’s what you want to hear. Now, can you leave? I need some rest, and Sam is going to help me change." Draken frowned.
"I could-"
"Do you help Fiona change?" Cass shot back and Draken froze. He grumbled.
"No. I do not."
"Then good night, Lord Draken." Cass told him, forcing a smile on his face. Draken blinked several times before he nodded.
"Good night, Lord Backburn. Feel better in the morning, and may the sky be cloudless while you sleep." It was an odd goodbye, but Cass just nodded and waited as he closed the door.
Cass felt like he collapsed against his bed. That was so draining. Dealing with him was going to be exhausting from this point on.