Trig reddened, and Lord Levin twisted the end of his mustache. “You kept Kit like a real sex slave. You’re raving mad if you think I’d leave you alone with a person you abused.”
“I wanted to get the cage to you and not have someone change their mind several months in. You told me you wanted to try it out yourself.”
Lord Levin flushed. “That doesn’t mean you get to keep a man like a real slave! I never said to break any laws or abuse people!
“I didn’t actually abuse him or anyone-”
“Don’t sit there and lie to me! You also assaulted your submissive, and he had evidence of physical abuse. Are you going to tell me he grabbed and twisted his own wrist? I thought you were a decent man I could do business with. After I read the notes-” He gestured at the parchment on his desk. “Outrageous. If someone has to flee in the night and kick you in the face to make you let go-”
Trig clenched his fists on the armrests. “It was exaggerated.”
Lord Levin flapped a hand at him. “Be quiet. Riju. You go first. I want you to explain everything that happened that night and why. Kit, you go next.”
Why did they have to recount the events again? Maybe it was to make sure the details still matched. Riju talked, and Kit went next.
The lord said their stories matched what they’d told before. Kit figured if they were lying, they might have changed things without even realizing it. Trig’s changed from the last time since he left out the lie about Riju and Kit being retarded. There was also no evidence of them robbing him that night, so he fibbed and said Riju tended to be very gullible. Kit had wanted to run away with him.
Kit struggled not to roll his eyes. Trig was really reaching.
“You said Riju was retarded.” Lord Levin glanced at the notes. “Kit too.”
“I misspoke.”
“Hmm. It’s funny you misspoke and insisted he was retarded several times.”
Kit almost wanted to laugh at the expression on Trig’s face.
“Well, it’s two against one, and this is a classic case of an abuser getting someone under his thumb and putting up a good front for years. Abusive partners don’t always have to be beating up the other every day. Now, if you want to go back to insisting that Riju is mentally retarded along with Kit, go right ahead. I’ll slap on more years for abusing someone who might not be capable of proper consent. We can go that route if you like.”
Trig’s face turned an interesting shade of red. “He’s only gullible with certain things.”
“Even if he’s gullible, you can’t stop him from leaving. If a pleasure slave says they’re done, they’re done. No exceptions. You're messed up in the head. You won’t be permitted to work or teach in The Edge ever again. If I were you, I’d leave Raven’s Landing because people won’t like you later once this news gets out. You’ll spend two years in prison for having a sex slave, two years for forbidding a safe word, two years for abusing a partner, and two years for physical abuse.”
“You expect me to spend eight years in prison!”
“Should I make it longer?”
Trig turned to Kit and Riju. “Tell him the truth-”
“How about if you tell the truth instead of whatever bullshit you pull from your ass?” demanded Kit. “Just admit it. You hate the idea of Riju having control of his own life without you. You even told me you felt confident in your ability to have a slave without a safety word. I'm ready to go and be done with this shit.”
“Me too,” said Riju. “Can we go?”
Lord Levin nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Riju, you’re going to fail if you try to start your stupid toy shop, and if you two get together, it’s going to be a disaster,” said Trig. “Neither of you are mature enough to run a business, and you’ll be wishing you were back in The Edge with me.”
Kit stalked through the office door and stopped to wait for Riju who paused to glance at Trig. “I’m so glad I didn’t marry you. What a disaster that would have been.”
Chapter Twenty
Pausing things between Kit and Riju was a good thing. They both needed time without sex. Riju spent a lot of time at night in the basement while he worked on toys. During the day, they took care of the shop and split the chores between each other.
Kit spent his evenings reading or drawing in the sitting room. He’d taken up residence on the couch since it was more comfortable than the pallet in his room. He could have taken Trig’s room, but it felt too odd to him.
One night, Riju came up from the basement with red eyes and sat on the floor by him.
“What’s wrong?” asked Kit.
