Ever since the change he’s felt empty. He looks at everyday objects and imagines them inside him. It’s horrible and disgusting how fixated on it he’s always been.

A horrible, shameful thing that they knew to watch out for.

But he didn’t ask to be like this. He can trust no one. Everyone is always waiting for him to fail. And he does. And then it’s back in for tests and corrective measures. More experiments.

Daniel shakes his head, scared of obeying the suggestion. It has to be a trap. He’s going to panic. He looks wildly at his Dominant, needing to see the lie on his handsome face.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I can’t! I’m not supposed to. It’s bad. What do I do?”

“You obey me. Now. Fingers in your hole! Soothe yourself.” His voice is like the crack of a whip, keeping Daniel’s past experiences from closing in.

Daniel freezes with indecision.

“You’re fine,” Liam says, and urges Daniel’s hand between his legs, fingers to his hole. “There you go. Good boy. Deep, baby.”

He whimpers and presses two fingers inside, shivering at the calm that instantly descends on him.

Daniel makes a soft sound when he exhales, letting his eyes close, desperate to believe that he’s safe for the moment.

“There you go. Doesn’t that feel good? You just obey your Daddy.”

“A-are you?” Daniel whispers, forcing his eyes open to look at Liam’s face. To see the lie, if he can. “My… Daddy?”

“I am,” he says, like a vow. “I promise… Daniel, I swear you can trust me. For as long as you’re with me, I’ll be your Daddy.”

“You’re… you’re with them.”

Liam sighs heavily. “Let me go see about getting you out of here. One step at a time, okay?”

“Sir?” he asks before the Dominant moves away. “You’re still… it’s still better than anything else I’ve ever had. I’m grateful. Maybe just… if you could… don’t make promises you can’t keep, either. Please?”

Liam’s lips go into a hard line, his eyes very blue as he stares at Daniel for a long moment. Then he gives a forced smile. “I understand. I’m going to go talk to the doctor for a minute. And then I think we should be able to go. I’ll help you get dressed and get out of here. Can you just lie there until I get back?”

“Yes.” That might be all he can do.

“Good.”

Daniel clutches Liam’s shirt to his face.