Power & Control

21: Living Dead

"Can I lay down for a bit? With you?" His request was a surprise coming from him, but not that shocking considering the situation. I've lost count of how many times I've held Harry in this bed.

How many times I've held Evelyn.

"So you want cuddles?" I teased, chuckling to myself as I propped up a pillow against the metal headboard, laying my back on it. He subtly nodded, his attention on me as I got comfortable on the bed, extending my arms out.

"Go ahead. You've earned it." I smiled in reassurance, watching his breathing grow heavier. Moving slowly, he crawled over my body and lowered himself down on top of me. With his head laying on my chest, he breathed out heavily and curled one leg up over mine, slipping his arms under the pillow behind my back. I waited until he got comfortable, examining the freckled skin of his biceps as they flexed by the way he chose to lay. Once he was settled, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and let my hand into his hair, twisting the long strands at the crown of his head around my fingers. He hummed in appreciation, burrying his face into my shirt even more.

"Did you enjoy what we did today Niall?" I soothingly spoke, making sure I didn't get in the way of him relaxing as I continued playing with his hair, my free hand tracing lines along his spine. His skin was soft, delicate and warm. I could see some irritated spots that were the results of the whip I used on him. I ran my fingers along one red line across his shoulder blade with a smile threatening to break on my face.

"Mhm." He barely nodded, stretching his arms even more before pulling me closer, though there wasn't really any space left to do so. I took in a deep breath. His embrace felt odd, unfamiliar, yet incredibly comforting.

"Did I make you uncomfortable at any moment?"

"No." He whispered, sighing deeply once again. I looked down to find out his eyes were closed, long light lashes resting on his rosy cheeks. For the first time ever, he looked sweet, soft, kind. Dare I say, even beautiful. I caught myself smiling at the sight of him seeking shelter into my arms.

"Will you let me dominate you again sometime?" His eyes opened at my question. He blinked a couple times, though made no motion to lift his head. I could tell he was in deep thought, contemplating his response. The few silent seconds he took had me slightly nervous, worried I wouldn't get to experience all this with him again.

"I will, but I still want to dominate you too."

"I'm up for that. I really liked how you dominated me." I chuckled, twirling a strand of his hair around my fingers before patting it back down.

"Did you?" I could hear the pride in his voice, could practically see the smile threatening to break on his face.

"Yeah, you did a pretty good job." I reassured him without giving away just how much I actually liked it. His breath fanned over my arm I kept around him, his chest pressing against my stomach as it rose and fell.

"Did that lad you mentioned dominate you too?" I furrowed my eyebrows at his unexpected question, finding no reason behind it. But I found no harm in responding either.

"He did, though it wasn't really his strong suit. We worked better together when I had the upper hand."

"So it was an ongoing thing? You and him?" I narrowed my eyes at his follow up question, unable to understand his persistence over the subject.

"What are you trying to find out Niall?" He lifted his head at the sudden harshness in my tone, taken off guard.

"I just wanted to know how serious you were with him. If you were dating." He looked up at me, the cobalt blue of his eyes so vibrant it could put the ocean to shame.