Page 16 of Awakening His Daddy (The Lactin Brotherhood #17)

Chapter 16

Joe

This boy. He’s asleep in my arms and softly snoring.

Can anything be any better than this?

Well, maybe if the Christmas music wasn’t still playing on the stupid radio. I swear, if I hear “Frosty the Snowman” one more time, I’m going to throw that thing out the window.

My phone rings and Izzy stirs, so I’m quick to grab it. I meant to silence it, but I end up answering instead. Good thing, because Leo would kill me if I ignored him.

“How’s he doing?”

“Good,” I whisper.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because he’s sleeping.”

“Then go to a different room.”

If I tell him he’s sleeping on my lap right now, I’ll never hear the end of it.

“The power’s out, and I don’t want to leave the fireplace.”

“The power’s out! How long? How much battery do you have? Is that why Iz didn’t answer me? Is his phone dead? Why isn’t your phone dead?” I wait for him to finish ranting.

“You done?”

“Fine, I’m done.”

“The power went out early yesterday, and I’ve been saving my battery for emergencies.”

“There should be a power brick in my nightstand. I can’t say if it will have any charge, though. It’s been a while. Oh, and don’t go in there. Have Iz do it.”

“I won’t.”

“Good, then I won’t have to explain to you what a?—”

“I just said I wouldn’t.”

“Good call.” He pauses before whispering, “Was Izzy okay when the power went out?”

“Not really. I had to hold him, and he doesn’t like it when he can’t see me.” I can practically hear Leo nodding like he understands. “Why was he so upset?”

“Huh, oh. Not my story to tell. Just be careful with him. He likes older men and has daddy issues.”

“I’m not going to hurt him.”

“I know. It’s just I worry about him, and he doesn’t have anyone else to look after him.”

I’ve been looking after him for years.

“It’s fine.” I need a subject change before he asks about something more personal. “I hope you don’t mind that we decorated without you.”

“You decorated in the dark?”

“It wasn’t dark when we put them up. Hopefully the lights all work.”

“I’m not upset. Just save me some ornaments to put on the tree.”

“When will you be able to get here?”

“The airport into the city is still closed, so I’m staying at some four-star hellhole in Sydney while waiting on the beach.”

“Oh, yes. Terrible.”

“You know I don’t like the sun. I am not getting skin cancer on this flawless body.”

“TMI, Leo.” I sigh. “When do you think you’ll be able to make it here?”

“The snow is supposed to stop tonight, and hopefully the cleanup won’t take more than a few hours. I’m not sure about by you guys, though. Who knows when they will get the roads cleared. I’m shooting for the twenty-third, but Christmas Eve by the latest.”

“Christman Eve!” Izzy gasps from my lap and reaches for my phone. I didn’t even realize he was awake. “But then you can’t help with the tree, and we’ll miss the all-day movie marathon.”

“I know, Iz, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“How can you make up for abandoning your bestie?” Izzy grumps.

“With more presents.”

Izzy lights up. “More presents are good.”

I laugh but then realize I still haven’t figured out if Izzy is a Little or just wants a Daddy. I better find out, and I think I know the perfect way.

The two talk for a while about the one movie Izzy got to watch, and I just run my fingers through Izzy’s soft hair.

“I’m fine. It still hurts a lot, but the pills help.”

“You got the good stuff?”

“Yeah, but it makes my tummy upset sometimes.”

“Speaking of pills, I need to check on dinner and get Izzy some more meds.”

“More meds sounds good,” Izzy agrees.

“Not too much,” Leo warns. “Don’t forget to check the power block.”

“There’s a block?” Izzy gasps.

“Yep, in my nightstand.”

Izzy jumps up and runs to Leo’s room with his flashlight.

I hear Izzy yell, “Eww!”

Leo just laughs.

“I’ll see you guys soon. Love you.”

“Love you too,” I say.

“Love you too, you sick pervert,” Izzy says when he comes back in.

“Don’t kink shame,” Leo scolds.

“That’s not a kink, that’s a dragon cock sl?—”

I place my hand over his mouth because I already said I don’t want to know.

“Bye.” And then I hang up. “Are you hungry for dinner yet? You slept for a few hours.”

“I did?”

“Yep.”

“And you just let me lie on you. What did you do?”

“Watched the fire.” And you . “Speaking of which.” I slide off the couch with a groan and a chorus of cracks so I can stoke the fire.

I am getting old.

What would a strong young man like Izzy want with an older man like me?

Leo said he likes older men.

Leo also said that I’m not supposed to get his hopes up.

I don’t even want to get his hopes up. He’s just helping me with my leaking problem while I’m stuck here, and I’m helping him in a completely platonic way because he’s hurt.

Even though my dick keeps thinking about the feel of his mouth on my nipples. The soft pull— Gah, stop it!

Focus on something else, like dinner.

Yum, nothing like a good fire-roasted piece of meat. Izzy stands up and stretches, the move exposing a sliver of his tanned and toned belly.

He’s got a six pack.

When was the last time I had a six pack?

“It’s called hard work, Daddy,” Izzy teases when he notices I’m staring.

“It’s not, I’m not… I’m just remembering when I had a six pack.” Ha, maybe thirty years ago.

“I’m glad it’s gone.” He saunters over and bends down to kiss my cheek. “You’re much sexier now. The perfect Daddy.” Then he walks toward the bathroom, throwing a wink at me over his shoulder before he shuts the door.

And if that doesn’t inflate my ego to twelve.

I’ve never been ashamed of how my body changed. I mean, I can still get it, but it’s still nice to hear.

I move the pot out of the fire and onto the stone hearth to cool. When I remove the lid, the smell is amazing and my mouth waters.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, boy.” I replace the lid and get up.

“Can you help me wash my hands?”

“You don’t need me to pull your pants up?”

“I managed, but you could pull them down again, if you wanted to.” I give him the side-eye, and he huffs. “Fine, just my hands, please.”

“You’re a good boy, asking for help.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” He looks at me with such admiration, and darn it, I want to be worthy of it. His lips twitch, and he presses up on his toes to meet my mouth. The kiss is short and warm.

I’m about to tell him he shouldn’t kiss me when my arms wrap around him and pull him in close.

“Thank you, baby. That was very sweet of you.”

“You’re welcome.” His hands move up my sides and over my chest. “I could kiss you again and show you just how sweet I am.”

“How about we eat dinner instead?”

“That isn’t as fun as more kisses, but it smells amazing.”

“I just need to grab some plates, and we can dig in.”

“Can we eat in front of the fire? It’s warm and the house is too cold.”

“Good idea. Then we can actually see what we’re eating, and it won’t be too dark.”

“See? I’m a smart boy.”

“Very.” He follows me into the kitchen and turns on his flashlight, even though we can see just fine.

“Do you know when the power might come back?”

“It depends. I reported it as out, but they will need to wait until the storm has passed.”

“Leo said it should be stopping tonight.”

“Hopefully the plows will get out and then they can fix the power.”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

“Can I ask why you’re so afraid of the dark?”

He shrugs. “Childhood.” I give him a confused look. “I was sometimes trapped in dark places, and now I’m scared of the dark, but I’m okay as long as I have a nightlight.”

“What do you mean by trapped?” I will find and kill his dad if he did anything to hurt my boy.

“Nothing, it isn’t a big deal just, can we move on?”

I nod, but I don’t like it. I want to know who hurt my boy.

“Sure.” I dish up dinner and make sure not to give him any celery. Just as I sit down, the song on the radio changes to “Frosty the Snowman.” My fingers twitch to grab it and rip out the batteries until Izzy starts singing along.

“I love this song, don’t you?”

“It’s not my favorite,” I grit out through clenched teeth, and he giggles.

“I’m going to go clean up the kitchen.” He tries to interrupt, but I continue. “I thought you could play with a box of Leo’s old toys that I found in the closet earlier.”

“Toys?” His eyes crinkle with confusion. So not a Little? Probably.

“Yeah, or there are some puzzles you could do. One of them is five hundred pieces.”

“Five hundred pieces! Will you help me with that one?”

“Sure.” I take his hand and lead him to the kitchen. “After I finish the dishes. You can get started by sorting out all the edge pieces.”

“I can do that. Can you light more candles? I like my flashlight, but the candles are more romantic and give off better light.”

“Romantic, huh?”

“I’m not trying to seduce you, but candles are romantic. Everyone knows that.”

“Okay, but don’t put the moves on me.”

“I won’t, but you can put the moves on me.”