Read My Forever for Free Online

fair lashes, Kyle blushed shyly before looking away. “I followed him back to his place. He started doing drugs and tried to make me take them. When I tried to leave, he pulled out a knife and said I was going to whore for him. Seven hours later, his girlfriend came home and managed to sneak me out of the bathroom window. Pretty stupid, huh?”
    “No. Not stupid. Everyone is a little naïve at fifteen.” What killed him was that he knew he was getting the watered-down version of Kyle’s hardships.
    “Jake couldn’t support me for long. He didn’t make enough money and couldn’t get laid with me sleeping on the couch. One day he came home with a friend—Craig. His friend said he would let us move in with him if he could have me.”
    “Have you?”
    “As a…boyfriend. I was of age at the time,” Kyle said defensively. “And he was nice at first. Took care of me, bought me things. He said I belonged with him.” He grew silent, spinning the bottle in his hands. After a few minutes, he continued in a hushed voice. “He told me he was into BDSM. It sounded cool at the time. I mean, who doesn’t like a little kink in the bedroom, right?”
    The slight tremors in his voice made Lucas want to reach out and encase the smaller man in a protective bubble—place him on a shelf where no one could hurt him again—but he held himself back. If there was any chance of convincing Kyle to stay until he could support himself, Lucas needed to know the whole story.
    “I just didn’t think it would hurt that much. Or be so all-consuming.”
    Lucas drew his brows together. “What about your safe word?”
    “My what?”
    He turned his head away from Kyle, unable to hide the anger he knew was written in every contour of his face. While his previous line of work had never allowed him to have an actual relationship, he’d had his fair share of experiences in domination. He’d even been the submissive a few times to learn his own reactions and detect them in those he dominated. The first and most crucial rule to be adhered to in BDSM was to respect safe words. They drew the fine line between pleasure versus pain and abuse.
    When he was able to get his violent emotions under control, he asked, “What did you mean by ‘all-consuming’?” Lucas’ heart lurched as a tear slid down Kyle’s cheek and into the corner of his mouth.
    “He started controlling everything I did. Told me when to shower, eat and talk. I wasn’t allowed out of the bedroom if he had company over. Getting my job was the first time in years he’d given me permission to be outside of the house without him or Jake.”
    “And where does your brother fit into all of this?” Lucas growled. At Kyle’s startled expression, he said, “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you. I just… Please go on.” Kyle wouldn’t meet his eyes, but thankfully his tone was enough to convince the younger man to finish his story.
    “Jake was mad the first time he saw Craig hit me, but Craig turned around and bought him a new laptop. After that, the gifts kept coming and Jake agreed to keep an eye on me whenever Craig wasn’t at home.”
    “And that’s why you think you can’t leave? Because Craig will stop giving your brother a free ride?”
    Kyle looked up sharply, a mixture of defiance and pain in his eyes. “Jake was the only one who cared about me when I was homeless. He took me in and sheltered me. I owe him my life.”
    “And he expects you to pay him back in blood?”
    Kyle slammed his half-empty bottle down on the coffee table and stood up so quickly he wobbled. Lucas jumped up after him but when he reached out a hand for support, Kyle jerked away as though singed by his touch.
    “Kyle, wait. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. You have to know that what your brother’s doing is wrong. He’s a grown man capable of taking care of himself.”
    “I tried to get away once!” Kyle yelled, face now wet with unbridled tears. “He dragged me back. You think