Enslaving the King

Chapter 8

Raine sauntered into Hayden's office, smug with the memories of their last f**k, remembering Hayden's praise. He stopped. Hayden's yelling reached his ears. Raine noted that Hayden was giving a tirade into the phone at his desk. Raine waited by the door, shifting from foot to foot for an uncomfortable five minutes. When it ended, he crossed to the desk where Hayden had buried his head in his hands.

"Hayden," Raine said. "Lord."

Hayden glanced up, eyes burning with barely contained fury. Raine wondered if he could help with that. He knew how Hayden liked to work out his frustrations. But he couldn't shake the feeling it was different this time. A part of him was telling him to walk out right now. But he had a job, one that he took seriously. "Look, Raine," Raine. No Raineie, or babe, or even cupcake. Just Raine. Hayden's tone was gruff, worn, exhausted. He raked his hair with stiff fingers. "I'm not... I need to cancel our appointment today."

That stung. More than Raine wanted to admit. There was no buffer there. Just Hayden telling him a stiff no, not offering any reassurances or explanation. "But...I...I could help." He tried, lamely.

"Not this time," Hayden's hands clenched on the desk. "I don't have time to- And I don't... Just don't." His words simmered with something raw and bitter. "Don't argue with me, Raine. Not this goddamned time." His usually rambling manner of speech was replaced with short clipped sentences interrupting each other.

Raine had the feeling he shouldn't push...but he really did want to help. In the way he knew best. Wasn't that what he was supposed to do? "I could really work out some of that stress, Hayden. You know me." He stepped forward, offering a smile. "I'm very good at that." Raine didn't touch Hayden's face, even if a part of him wanted to. But he did reach forward to trail a hand down Hayden's shoulder to his chest, asking. "Let me suck you off, Lord," he purred. Hayden felt unbelievably tense, even through all his layers. Raine hadn't been able to see it, but there was even a fine tremble there, as if Hayden were coiled up tight, a viper about to strike. Raine saw something conflict behind the mismatched eyes.

Hayden grabbed his wrist and stood, jerking Raine back almost painfully. He shoved Raine away, almost knocking him off his feet with the force of it. "Get out of my office, asshole!" He yelled. "How stupid are you? I told you not to argue with-with- I am not in the mood for- for you. Or s*x. Do I have to write it on a friggin' sign and nail it to my forehead or would that still be too much for you to comprehend?"

Raine winced, rubbing his wrist and stepping back. He was too off-guard to even reply to that. All of it was sinking in, slowly, painfully.

Hayden's glare was death. He pointed at the door of his office. "Out. Now! Before we both regret it!"

Raine took one look at Hayden and realized his error. He'd been so wrong to push at all. Hayden wasn't just angry. He looked feral, bedraggled, hair a mess, eyes bright like a rabid animal's, coffee stains on his clothes, fists purpling as if he'd been punching something unforgiving like a wall. He looked worse off than the day Raine had met him in Holloway's office, just with less blood - however long that lasted.

Even if Raine wanted to stay...

He turned and left, a mix of shock and hurt in his chest. A bit of fear. Also anger, but he shoved that down. He shoved it all down, knowing he just needed to get home. 

Raine should've anticipated this. Just when things were looking a little too perfect, they went to hell.

He returned home, slipping into his room and locking himself in. He found The Shirt and curled up on the bed with it,

He was the biggest i***t on Helios. Agreeing to this. Lord Hayden wasn't someone one just casually banged for cash. He'd messed up. Hayden was pissed at him, at everyone apparently - but more importantly him. He should've left after Hayden first said he was cancelling their appointment. But Raine hadn't. Because he was a foolish i***t. Hayden was right. He was stupid, unbelievably so.

Raine wasn't even sure if Hayden would want him again after this. Did Hayden's temper at him have to do with before? Their previous sessions? With Raine pushing him too much? Even in his current state, Raine realized that seemed silly. As if someone like him could impact Hayden to that degree. It was likely other events he couldn't know were at the heart of Hayden's fury, and yet it sure as f**k didn't feel like it. It felt like he'd ruined this...whatever it was.

Job, he reminded himself. Job.

As long as I'm not fired, he thought. But he didn't know that. Maybe he hadn't gotten fired today. But what about the next time Hayden was too angry. What if Hayden informed him when he next walked in to the office that he was done with Raine's attitude and Raine's mouth and Raine's defiance and... Well, Raine himself. This was the best job Raine had ever had. The thought of losing it made him want to crawl into a hole and never leave it. It wasn't perfect, it could be exhausting, and there were days even Raine felt less than up to being able to please Helios's king, but in the end, it was the best thing that'd happened in a long time. The money, he told himself. It was the best thing because of how much money he was bringing in now.

Yes. The money was all he wanted from this. Not the pleasure, not Hayden pressed against him, murmuring in his ear, or the man's stupid jokes... Raine felt an ache deep in his chest. He wanted... He wanted his soulmate, but even if they appeared right now, how would he explain anything to them, that his heart was...feeling things he didn't want it to for...

Hayden.

Yeah.

That.

He'd felt so stupidly complete with Hayden pinning him against that desk, filling him up, praising him through both pain and pleasure. He hadn't wanted it to ever end...

Raine was definitely in too deep. Maybe it would be better if...Hayden did fire him. It would be painful, but at this point, maybe he could still recover.

He pressed his face into The Shirt.

It didn't matter either way. He was never going to meet his soulmate. And he was never going to be anything more than a p********e in Hayden's eyes.

Raine struggled with bitter and anxious thoughts for the rest of the night.

Raine stepped into the office, yawning, rubbing his eyes with his palms. Last night’s sleep had been more bothered than normal. The pressure from his supervisor was getting to him. That, and the way Hayden had been acting lately - almost like they were back to square one - put a pit of anxiety in Raine’s stomach that wouldn’t leave. Worse than square one. More like negative one. After the first day back from Hayden's angry episode, Hayden had mostly ignored him. For a couple days, Raine had barely been allowed to blow Hayden, and any thought of bringing their usual play to the table was out of the question. Hayden barely spoke to him. It was like...all his worst fears were starting to come to life. It felt like walking on eggshells, like there was a timer on how much longer Hayden would even want him around.

He'd thought he would at least be able to keep Hayden entertained longer than a f*****g month.

Hayden sure had been glued to his computer a lot too, punishing the keyboard with pounding fingers and throwing angry curses at the monitor every now and again.

Raine kept having dreams of walking into the Pleasure Palace, getting called up to the supervisor’s office, and Bryant gleefully firing him on the account of “Hayden getting bored”.

Focus .

He couldn’t afford to let his current distractions get in the way of his work with Hayden. All Raine could do was try his best - no, harder than his best now. He had to win back Hayden's interest before it all fell through. But how to do that… Raine began putting himself together and thinking of an especially saucy opening line. He knew how much Hayden liked being called Lord. He’d go for that sweet praise today-

His foot splashed in a puddle.

A puddle?

Raine hesitated and looked down.

Blood.

“Oh my god!” He shrieked, jumping back. His first thought was lamenting his once-beautiful, now-soiled skag skin boot he'd chosen today. His second thought was what the f**k- what the f**k? There wasn’t time for a third. An unexpected noise registered in his thoughts. Loud, labored gasps. Raine’s eyes snapped up, following the thick trail of blood up towards Hayden's desk. As if the person it belonged to had been dragged. Hayden loomed over a still-heaving form there on the floor, glaring, hands clasped around a gold and black Hyperion pistol.

Raine felt his skin tingle, his own blood vacating his face. He did a few backsteps, forgetting how to breathe. 

Hayden crouched next to the struggling form. “I’m disappointed,” he growled. “How is it, that no one in your department has any friggin sense in their friggin' useless noggins!?” He demanded. “How is it, that no one discovered the nest of traitors growing right under our friggin’ noses! What exactly is Maliwan offering you shits that makes you think you can get away with this!”

The dying man gave a wet cough in response.

“Oh I see,” Hayden hissed. “I should just vent your entire sector. Who knows how many of you traitors have weaseled your way in? Friggin’ Maliwan. I swear if it’s not Dahl or Torgue, it’s you shits causing me problems. Did you really think I wouldn’t find your little plans to steal my Eridian tech!? Did you?”

Another cough. “S-sir-”

“Shhh,” Hayden responded in a soothing voice, “It’s alright. I’ll deal with ‘em aaall in time, kiddo. You just...gotta die first , mm’kay?” Hayden stood, looking at his gun in thought. “But...you aren’t really worth wasting another bullet on, are you, i***t?” Hayden twirled the gun and holstered it. He kicked the guy over. He stomped on the man’s throat and pushed, working out a noise that Raine really wanted to forget. "And you definitely don't deserve a swift death!"

Hayden glanced up, right at Raine, gaze bright and fiery. The eye-contact was like a shock of cold water. “Oh. Hey. Babe.” With each word, he twisted his boot into the guy harder. “I’ll get to ya in just...a sec… Make yourself...at home.”

“Hayden…” Raine said, struggling to find his composure and phrase his words correctly. His voice came out a bit high-pitched. “Uh...is this really necessary…?” He winced and ran a trembling hand through his hair, trying to steady himself. God, was this going to be a regular sort of thing!? He didn’t want to see, hear, or be anywhere near these executions! His heart was about to burst out of his chest. Boy oh boy was he getting too good at forgetting who he worked for exactly.

“What? Oh this?” Hayden glanced at the dude - how was he still alive? Raine thought - “I mean, I know right ? I’m wishing I had used the bullet, he’s just... takin’ forever to die, ain’t he? I don’t got all day, asshole!”

Another choked sound.

“I meant-” Raine started.

An explosion of noise interrupted him. A searing pain burned through his leg. Raine screamed. The shock of weight on his aching limb sent him sprawling to the ground, whimpering. He reached down. His shaking hand came away red. His entire body registered the agony now. He groaned, tears building in his eyes.

A glance up and Raine saw Hayden unload a full clip into the guy.

“I’d mangle your friggin’ corpse if I had the time!” Hayden snarled before rushing to Raine’s side. Raine flinched, expecting a rough grasp, but Hayden's hand landed without mark on his shoulder. “Raine? Where’d he shoot ya?”

“Leg…” Raine grunted, trying to fight the pain. Now wasn’t the time to be weak. He had to let Hayden know he could handle it.

Hayden glanced at his leg. “Alright. Alright- alright. We’ll get it taken care of, pumpkin, alright? Just stay with me, sweetcheeks.” Hayden tapped his face firmly. “That’s it, no passing out or I dock your paycheck.” Hayden breathed a sigh when Raine gazed at him blurrily. Raine saw him pull a knife out.

Raine started panicking. “Oh god, don’t- don’t-” Was Hayden going to cut the bullet out? “No- no- there’s-” surgeons, doctors, anesthesia. What was Hayden doing?

“Shhh, it’s okay, tiger. That’s it.”

If Raine had been in less pain and more coherent, he might’ve noticed the difference in Hayden's voice - how kind it sounded. But Raine was in a lot of pain and was definitely not coherent. He was about to start screaming in terror. Hayden lowered the knife and...cut away the pant leg from his wound? Oh- oh . Yeah, that made more sense. Raine felt nervous relief, but he was still uncontrollably shaky from the agony.

“That’s a relief,” Hayden said, examining the wound. “The bullet seems to have just grazed ya. Still a fair amount of blood, but you’ll be fine. Just fine.” His voice was heavy with something. “Just hang tight for one minute, okay, sweetheart?”

Raine nodded, swallowing. Hayden stood up and hurried away. Raine could’ve called Hyperion’s emergency line, but everyone knew how notoriously slow they were about responding. They were almost always backed up and understaffed. And would they even be allowed up here without Hayden's permission? Hayden seemed to have some kind of plan to take care of him. Raine was surprised he wasn’t being assisted to a hospital ward though. He should probably get stitches, at least.

Hayden returned with a wad of gauze. He wrapped it around Raine’s leg, prompting Raine to hiss in response as it tightened against his wound.

“Come on, babe,” Hayden said. “This should be nothin’ for you. I know you like it rough and hard. Here, don’t think about the pain. Just think about my Lord d**k. That’ll make it better.”

“Your bedside manner...is amazing , Hayden,” Raine groaned, pained in more ways than one. “Just fantastic. Also you don’t get to flirt when I’ve just been shot!”

“You know it’s helping.”

"And also I have barely gotten to even see your 'Lord'" he made air quotes, "-d**k in like, a week, which is not my fault-"

"That starved for it, huh?" Hayden teased. What Raine wasn’t expecting was for Hayden to grab him and stand up, hoisting him with what seemed to be little effort. He pressed Raine to his chest. "Pipe down, buttercup. We'll fix that later." His voice was quiet.

Raine blinked. “Hayden-?”

Hayden raised his wrist and talked into his watch, not bothering to explain any of this to Raine. He must’ve...had some sort of Echo on it. “Yeah, cancel all my appointments for today. I won’t be back in for awhile. Also, make sure my office gets cleaned up before tomorrow.” He hissed the last word. "I wanna be able to see my Lord reflection in the floor, you hear me? Also, I need anything in the auditorium rescheduled because I’ve got some executions planned and we all know how the masses loooove a good execution. I'm sending the list down to security, because they've got some arrests to make. Make sure they don't screw it up or they'll explain to me just how they did, got it?”

Raine was somewhat in and out, still aware of being carried, but the fiery pain was extremely distracting. He stopped listening to Hayden's words and closed his eyes, drifting into the darkness behind his eyelids.

Raine cracked open his tired eyes to an unfamiliar room. After a few seconds of trying to discern where the hell he was, he pushed himself up, breath leaving him in shock. The room was breathtaking. So unlike the rest of Helios. Hyper-realistic stars and space vistas adorned the walls. The gold and black furniture looked expensive and super inviting. So did the fluffy rug on the floor. There was a fireplace. It was so lavish... It even smelled good, like lavender. He hadn't smelled something so sweet in awhile...

Raine looked around. Right at Hayden. He jumped. "Jesus! Are you watching me sleep like a weird old p*****t?!" Hayden sat next to the bed, brows furrowed.

"Glad you're just as grumpy as ever," Hayden muttered, standing. 

Raine shifted back against the pillow - god the bed was so soft - feeling awkward. "Actually... Where am I?" He had his guesses. Hayden let out a loud, long sigh, as if something were really ruining his day. Raine stiffened, quickly remembering how he'd screwed up with Hayden before. "Sorry, I-" 

“Y’know," Hayden interrupted, "this isn’t how I wanted to introduce ya to the penthouse. Wanted it to be more sexy than...ouch-y, maybe drag you in here naked with only a collar on or something, but that didn't happen, did it?”

“This is your penthouse?” Raine exclaimed. That explained the over-the-top fanciness.

“Yup,” Hayden said, placing his hands on his hips and jutting his chin proudly. “Pretty cool, right?”

"Yeah, that's- that's one way to describe it." Pretty cool? It was f*****g gorgeous. Raine was envying it from the bottom of his soul. "Wait a minute-" Raine glanced at his still bandaged leg, wincing. “I...uh... Wasn't I...needing a doctor or something?"

“Nope. Good as new. You're welcome." Hayden walked over, reaching towards Raine’s leg.

Raine flinched, expecting pain. “Wait-”

Hayden prodded his leg, but the expected pain never happened. Raine was confused.

"So how's it feeling?”

Raine shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“Good. Should be healed," Hayden explained. "I gave you one of those healing shots- you know, the red things?" Hayden encouraged his knee to bend, lifting his leg up. He unwound the bandage. The skin underneath was covered in dried blood, but the wound was closed. “Handy, right?”

"Aren't those...expensive?"

Hayden raised a brow at him. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Yeah, right, uh...sorry if I bled on anything."

"No problemo. Everything here is completely replaceable, of course."

"Everything?"

"Everything. What, you think I get attached to little dumb objects. Gimme a break." Hayden's face shifted to a bit less amused as he gazed at Raine. He pointed at Raine. "Well...maybe not everything that's in this room at this moment."

Raine cleared his throat, a bit of a burn in his cheeks. He changed the subject before he made a fool of himself. "At the office... It was all so fast... I'm not sure I even know what happened, so...” He trailed off.

Hayden's eyes darkened. “That asshole had a gun. Somehow got past the metal detectors and everything. Once I find out how...someone's gonna pay dearly.”

“What did he do to uh, deserve the uh...stomping on the neck thing?”

“Oh him?” Hayden asked with a venomous voice. Raine regretted asking now, because Hayden didn’t look fully satisfied with the guy's death. “He was just like all the other useless shithead traitors. Trying to send secrets back to Maliwan !” Hayden spat. “Friggin cockroaches. No, worse. At least cockroaches have a sick name and are useful in pulling pranks... Anyway, not only that, but the i***t had the nerve to friggin’ take a shot at you! You! What the hell? If you were dying, wouldn’t you take a shot at the person friggin’ killin’ you instead?”

“Your shield…” Raine breathed.

Hayden's lips tilted harder, if possible. “Yeah, guess the asshole figured that much. Guess he thought he could just take someone down with him. Someone I...” Hayden stepped closer to the bed, looming over Raine. Raine swallowed, leaning back more. He was squishing the pillows quite a lot, he noted in the back of his mind. “I guess what didn’t compute with him, is that nobody messes with what’s mine.” His voice was a deep growl. Raine shivered, though not out of fear. The look in Hayden's eyes made something deep in him squirm with pleasure. Hayden still clearly wanted him.

Hayden shook his head and lightened his tone. “But not to worry, buttercup. You know what this means, right?”

Raine shook his head. "No, I really don't," he said in a dry tone.

“No more office work for you.”

Raine’s heart plummeted. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening. He sat up as abruptly as he'd leaned back. Hadn't Hayden just said that Raine was his? Why would he-? “Hayden- please, that's unnecessary- I’m fine! I can do it-”

“Nope. You can’t. Because I said so. And what I say, goes.”

Raine almost choked against the sudden lump in his throat. Maybe the nightmares had had some truth to them. He’d only worked for Hayden for over a month now. He couldn’t be done. Not when he was finally on top of things. “Hayden- I- You can’t do this to me, I- I’ll be more careful-”

“Do what?” Hayden asked incredulously. “Help keep you safe? I thought you didn’t want to be around danger?”

“If- if you do this, they’re gonna fire me, I can’t-” Raine shut his mouth. For all of two seconds, anyway. "Why do you act like this if you don't want me around anymore!?"

“Fire you?” Hayden squinted. “Why the hell would they do that?”

“I...if I fail to please Lord Hayden, it’s over. Bryant will have my head.” He swallowed, trying not to panic. “If I get fired… They’ll throw me off Helios- I can’t-”

“I dunno who the frig Bry-onion is but you’re still gonna please me just fine,” Hayden replied, leaning on the bed, eyes bright and cheery. It was quite a whiplash from his dead-seriousness and anger from a moment ago. He looked...excited.

Raine blinked. “I...am?”

“Yup.”

“I’m lost.”

“Instead of working at my office, you’re gonna work an overnight shift here at my penthouse most nights, if you catch my drift.”

Raine blinked again. And again. Once more as he processed what was being asked. “Oh... oh. See- see, I thought, you were firing me-”

“Why the hell would I fire you? You’re one of the few deals so far this year that hasn’t blown up in my face. Besides, you’re a distraction in the office. Not a bad one, buuut... This way I’ll be more motivated to get my work done and get home because I’ll have something waiting. A sweet piece of ass that loves to sass. Heh I rhymed... Such a poet.."

Raine snorted. “Seems about right.” Relieved. He was so relieved. 

“So whaddya say?”

“Of course,” Raine said. “That sounds great to me. Er, it may take me a bit of time to...get used to the hours, but I’ll be...um, here , I guess?”

“Yeah you will. I’ll give you an ID so you don’t get fried like a skag steak trying to get in here. This is the most well-defended place on Helios. It's even 100% fireproof. I sometimes burn s**t on the kitchen floor 'cause I can. Anyway, ain’t nobody gonna hurt your sweet ass again, baby.”

Raine probably shouldn’t have been as turned on as he was by that sentence. Hayden didn’t mean it in a special way. He just wanted to protect his investment. Raine was definitely not going to complain about the added security, though. Unless...locking himself in all night almost every night of each week with an egomaniacal CEO he'd witnessed murdering two people counted as less secure, but… Raine didn’t feel like he was in danger from Hayden, even after Hayden's blow up. Hayden had been surprisingly attentive and careful with him overall.

“Alright, do I start tonight?” Raine asked.

“God, you're eagerness is half your charm, buttercup... If you feel up to it, sure. If not, tomorrow’s fine. We’ll figure out your days off later.”

“I um...might need a nap first-”

“Yeah, those shots take a lot outta ya, don’t they?”

“-and then some dinner and then I should be good for tonight.”

“Sounds great. I gotta go take care of a couple things, but I'll be here this evening. Make yourself at home, baby." Hayden acted as if he were about to leave, but he paused and sighed. He turned back to Raine. "Oh uh...also, I know I've been a d**k lately... So if you want to....really take it out on me later, feel free. If you know what I mean. There's uh...even an old whip lying around here somewhere...if you want to..." Hayden cleared his throat and broke eye contact, leaving the room before Raine could even respond.

Raine gaped at the door.

Holy s**t.

Raine was smart enough to at least know what an apology from Lord Hayden sounded like.