All the Gear by Kim Dare

Author:Kim Dare [Dare, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

*

Leaning forward, McCormack closed the gap between them until his chest was pressed against Theo’s arm. It let him put his lips even closer to Theo’s ear, so he could talk to him through the leather of the hood, without needing to speak so loudly all the men around them would overhear. And, even more importantly, it meant that Theo would be able to feel every breath he took.

Reaching around Theo, McCormack settled his other hand on Theo’s skin, just above his solar plexus.

“Can you feel when I take a breath?”

“Yes, sir,” Theo said, automatically matching the volume he spoke at to McCormack’s.

“Good. When I breathe in, you breathe in. When I breathe out, you breathe out.”

“Yes, sir.”

McCormack let him do that for a minute while he watched the scene over Theo’s shoulder.

He’d thought it would be a mild enough one to start him off with. Either, there was something specific about the scene that pressed all the wrong buttons for the boy, or McCormack needed to find a lighter level again.

Theo kept breathing in time with McCormack and it seemed to be doing the trick, helping him to relax.

“Good boy,” McCormack whispered to him.

He glanced around the room, wondering if there was something suitable to show Theo next.

He soon spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Jack was over by the pillory. Even if he couldn’t see him, McCormack was sure that Ricky would be there too. The dynamic between them was a gentle one. That could work.

McCormack tightened his hold on Theo’s lead and took up the slack. “Turn around.”

Theo obeyed. That put them almost eye to eye, with Theo just an inch taller than McCormack. McCormack held eye contact with him for a few seconds.

He’d been wrong. Theo wasn’t calmer. He was just hiding his anxiety more effectively.

“Come along.”

There weren’t going to be many quiet spots in the club on a night that busy, but McCormack knew the building well. The corridor leading toward the staff break room was empty enough and much closer to hand than their private room.

“Do you remember me asking you about your limits?” he asked, as he brought Theo to a stop in the corridor.

“Yes, sir.” He sounded wary now.

“And saying that we were going to work out what your limits are as we go along?”

“Yes, sir.” The penny still didn’t drop. Theo obviously had no idea what he was prompting him towards.

“Did anything occur to you when we were watching that scene?”

Still nothing. Theo looked completely blank. Since prompts didn’t seem to be helping, McCormack just remained silent and waited for Theo to put the pieces together himself.

Finally, a light bulb went on.

“No, sir!”

McCormack raised an eyebrow at him.

“I mean, no, what they were doing isn’t a limit for me, sir.”

“You were on the verge of hyperventilating.” McCormack stated it like the fact it was. There wasn’t any accusation in his tone, but there wasn’t any inclination to sugar coat the truth either.

“I…”

Not inclined to help him out this time, McCormack waited, confident that Theo would find an end to the sentence eventually.

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