Page 19 of Awakening His Daddy (The Lactin Brotherhood #17)

Chapter 19

Izzy

Joe sits on the back of the tub, with his thick and hairy thighs bracketing my body. He’s wearing a robe, but if I turned around, I would get a full-frontal view of his dick.

“Face forward, boy,” Daddy scolds lightly. “Remember what it felt like to get soap in your eyes?”

“I didn’t like that.”

“I know. Now head back and let me rinse your hair.” It reminds me of being a kid and my mom washing my hair. When was the last time someone washed my hair like this? I lean into his touch and find my butt sliding forward on the slippery bottom. I reach out to stop myself, but my hand is in a trash bag. There’s a big splash, and Joe’s in behind me, holding me up with his strong body.

“I’ve got you,” he assures me and pulls me back against him.

“Thanks. I promise I’m not usually this clumsy while getting cleaned. It’s this stupid broken arm.” I glare at it, and he chuckles.

“I figured, or you would have drowned by now.”

“Ha-ha, Daddy,” I deadpan.

“Sorry, but I couldn’t resist.”

We relax in the quiet bathroom before he asks, “What happened, with your dad?”

Ugh, do we really want to do this?

“Both my parents were addicts and my mom overdosed when I was maybe five or six. Dad got worse after that, and whenever he was sick of me or had people over, he would lock me in the closet.” Joe growls now, but I hurry to continue. “Sometimes he would forget about me, and he’d leave me there overnight. That’s when I would panic. It was so dark and cramped, but if I called out, he would…” I pause, remembering.

“You don’t need to tell me any more if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do. He would kick me and tell me to ‘shut up or it would be worse.’ Thankfully, he let me out to go to school every day.”

“I had no idea. I would have killed him.” I can feel the pure rage rolling off him.

“Is it wrong that I’m so hot for you right now?” I drag my nails up his thighs, and he shivers before he chuckles.

“Go on.”

“Things changed for the better when one of my dad’s relatives who I’d never met died and left him the house next to yours. Now there was a yard he could just banish me to, and since I was ten, no one worried about a ten-year-old wandering the backyard for hours, except for Leo. I guess he was watching me from his upstairs window, and he couldn’t figure out why I spent so much time outside doing nothing. When I told him I was bored, he invited me in, and you were so nice to me. I never wanted to leave, and luckily, you didn’t seem to mind that I was always there.”

“You kept Leo busy, and let me tell you, that kid was trouble. He needed to be busy every second or he would get into something.”

“I think that’s why we got along so well. He wanted to get into trouble, and I was terrified of getting into trouble. We helped balance each other out.”

“I did notice that he was better behaved when you were over, but he still wasn’t an angel like you.”

“I was naughty sometimes,” I defend.

“Yeah, but I always knew it was Leo’s idea.”

“True.” I look down at the water now. “I can never thank Leo or you enough for what you did for me.”

“Hey, I’m glad I could help.” He kisses the back of my head. “Now if you would tell me where your dad is, I would gladly go and kick the shit out of him.”

“Did you just swear?!” I gasp in shock. I’ve never heard him swear except in the shower, but he thought he was alone.

“It was warranted.”

“I suppose it was, but he’s in jail.”

“Even better. I can have one of the inmates take care of that for me.”

“No, don’t. I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“Fine.” He nibbles my ear. “But only because you asked me not to. Why is he in jail?”

“He killed someone while he was high. Thankfully, I was away at college. He had to sell the house to pay his fines and legal fees.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell us?”

“Leo knows, and I’m still not entirely sure he didn’t have something to do with Dad going to jail.”

“I hope my son didn’t have someone killed, but I wouldn’t put it past him to do it to protect you.”

“He got so mad whenever my dad would hurt me, but I would make him promise not to do anything because I didn’t want to get thrown into the foster system and sent away.”

“I would have adopted you.” He sounds surprised but sure of his words. “I would have.”

“I know, but we were worried that wouldn’t be possible because of all the rules, but mostly, I didn’t want you to.”

“Why not?”

I turn to face him now. “Because I didn’t want you to be my dad. I wanted you to see me as more, and if you adopted me, you never would.”

“So you’ve just been waiting this whole time, hoping I would notice you?”

“Well, not waiting exactly, but hoping. I’ve fucked around and dated, but there’s only one person I’ve ever truly wanted.”

“Izzy, it’s?—”

“Don’t,” I warn.

“I was going to say flattering.” Then he pulls me into his arms for a long steamy kiss, and we make out until the water gets cold.

“Can we have lunch and watch some movies?”

“Sure, not Christmas movies, though.”

“It’s funny that you think you have a choice.”

“We’ll see who gets the remote first.”

“I’ll make a deal with you. We can make out through all the commercials if you watch with me.”

He tilts his head, clearly thinking about that. “Isn’t that a reward for you too?”

“Fine, we can just fast forward the commercials.”

“How about this? You pick a movie, and I pick a non-Christmas movie.”

“Can we still make out during the commercials?”

“I suppose.” He huffs an exaggerated sigh like it’s the worst thing in the world, before he kisses me and helps me out of the tub.

We just finished our third movie, and while he said he wouldn’t pick a Christmas movie, he picked a comedy about a dad who wanted to give his family the perfect Christmas. Instead, their Christmas lights don’t work. A squirrel gets loose in the house, and the police destroy their house after they kidnap someone. It was pretty funny, and I wouldn’t mind making it a part of our family tradition.

“Why haven’t we watched that before?”

“Leo and I watch it every year. I can’t believe he’s never shown you this one. But you guys are addicted to those sappy lovey-dovey Christmas movies. So maybe he never had the time to show you.”

“We can add it to our rotation.”

“I think you and Leo will have to continue the sappy movies without me.”

“We can compromise and throw in your movies too.”

“That’s very sweet of you.” He kisses me sweetly. “Now it’s time for bed. Daddy is tired and full.”

“You should have told me. You could have been my late-night snack.” I rub his pecs.

“That’s what the popcorn was for. Besides, I didn’t want you to miss the movie.” He turns the TV off and the Christmas lights fill the room. “You really did a great job. Wrapping the beams was a good idea. I can’t believe I’ve never thought of that before.”

“That’s why I’m the professional.”

“You are.” I feel his lips ruffle through my hair. “They look so pretty. The red and green. I love how you wrapped the fireplace.”

“Just wait until we get the tree. I found enough strands of white light to make it glow.”

“I can’t wait to help you with that, but for now, let’s get you some more pain meds, brush those teeth, and get you to bed.”

“Yes, Daddy.”