Page 6 of Awakening His Daddy (The Lactin Brotherhood #17)

Chapter 6

Joe

“Listen up.” I raise my voice as soon as I get into the briefing room. “Hardman. Quiet,” I bark, and everyone chuckles. Right, he’s not here today. “Habit.” I shrug. “Alright, let’s get to today’s shift. First, it’s colder than a witch’s teat out there, and this cold snap doesn’t seem to be letting up. You guys are going to receive a lot of calls for wellness checks, and people are more likely to get into car accidents as things start to freeze over.

“Make sure that you take care of yourselves. Drink lots of water, take breaks in warm places, and tell your partner if you aren’t feeling well, especially if you can’t feel your fingers or toes. We don’t need to be taking any of you to the hospital either.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Trent teases.

I try not to think about how good those words sounded when Izzy said them to me the other night.

“Your Daddy isn’t here, and I refuse to be your stand-in. Ask Sebastian.” The other officers laugh now.

“Conner doesn’t like to share,” Mason adds with a grin.

“Let’s get back to it. Some property was damaged up in Mill Creek, so we’re going to have extra patrols around the clock in those areas. I know there are far more helpful things you could be doing, but these are the people who make this city and state run. So don’t do anything stupid, like lock your keys in your squad,” I finish up.

“I didn’t actually do that.” Trent scoffs, and everyone laughs.

“Dismissed, and stay safe out there.”

It ends up being a very long day, and I’m getting out of work about an hour late.

I don’t mind the overtime, but I’m starving now. Leo and I were supposed to go out to dinner, and I was going to reschedule, but he said he would make something and I should just meet him at his place.

I wonder if Izzy will be there.

Not because I want to see him again, but because I want to check in on him.

“Hey, Dad,” Leo calls from upstairs.

“Hey.”

“Dinner’s almost ready, so we’re just waiting for Iz to get here.”

“Smells good.”

“Thanks, it’s your favorite. Chicken tetrazzini.”

I hear a truck pull into the driveway.

“Oh!” Leo runs to the freezer. “Iz was complaining about how cold it was today and how he really just wanted a cup of hot cocoa. So…”

He pulls out a bucket of snowballs.

“Seriously, you brat.”

And then he runs screaming out the door.

Izzy seems startled when he gets hit with the first snowball, but he quickly recovers and tackles Leo. Leo tries to fight him off, but Izzy is much stronger.

I watch as they roll around, stuffing snow inside each other’s jackets, throwing hats and boots across the yard.

The two of them are soaking wet and laughing by the time they finish.

It was fun to watch them playing around like they’re twelve again. When they come in, they shake the snow off like wet dogs, and then, for some reason, they start stripping in the porch.

Izzy’s soaked shirt clings to his body. I can see the dark outline of his nipples, which is?—

I almost swallow my tongue when he removes it complete. His skin is golden brown from all the sun he gets at work, and it hasn’t faded much even in winter. Tiny water droplets sparkle as they slide down his very defined abs. When he starts taking his pants off, I turn away.

Or I should turn away, but I don’t. I watch as his hands move to the buttons on his jeans and pull down the zipper.

His boxer briefs are tight, and thankfully they’re black or I would be getting a better view than I already am with the clingy fabric covering his junk.

The screen door opens, and I jump out of the way as Leo comes in, also in only his underwear, which is lacy and black, and that kills any boner that I might have been getting. The lace itself isn’t the problem, it’s who it’s covering.

“You guys are such children,” I tease.

“Leo started it,” Izzy defends.

“And you finished it,” I praise, and he blushes.

“Hey, tackling me was not fair,” Leo complains.

“You’re the one who ambushed me, and you expected me not to defend myself?”

“Of course I did. You should let me win. That’s what besties do. I let my bestie win,” Leo whines like a diva.

“I guess you’re the better bestie.” Izzy pulls Leo into a hug.

“Damn right I am. Come on.” They head down the hall to hopefully put some dry clothes on.

I get the table set and plate up dinner while I wait for them to come back.

“They’re too tight,” Izzy complains while pulling the pants out of his crack.

“They’re supposed to be, to keep everything in place.”

“I could use some blood flow to my balls,” Izzy gripes.

“Fine, just go commando then.” Leo rolls his eyes.

Suddenly, it hits me. Izzy is wearing Leo’s underwear, which gross, but does that mean it’s something lacy?

The thought of pink lace against his golden skin is a revelation that I don’t have time for, so I clear my throat.

“Come on. Dinner is getting cold.”

“Thank you, sir,” Izzy says.

“Thank you, sir, ” Leo mocks in a super-sweet voice.

Izzy shoves him. “It’s called being polite. Not that you would know anything about that.”

“I don’t need to be polite. I’m fabulous.” Leo pushes Izzy back.

“You should always be polite,” I answer as I catch him.

“Yes, Dad.” Leo’s voice drips with sarcasm.

“Don’t sass me, Son, and sit down.” Leo is as independent as you can get. He hates taking help even for the smallest things. He’s always been that way. He wouldn’t even let me tie his shoes, and he went to school every day with them undone until he learned.

“Here, I made a cup of hot chocolate for each of you.”

“Thank you! This was just what I wanted after a day like today,” Izzy cheers.

“God, you are such a little suck-up.”

“Shh,” Izzy hisses and takes a bite of his dinner. “Wow, this is really good.”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Leo huffs.

“Because you never cook.” Izzy points with his fork.

“But that doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Just won’t,” I add.

“I hate the cleanup, but since I was cooking for you two, I figured you could clean up. It’s only fair.”

“But I hate washing dishes,” Izzy whines, and I try to hide my smile.

“I’ll wash, you dry.”

“Fine.” He pouts but continues eating. “Did you get any sleep after I left?” he asks Leo.

“Plenty. After I got naked.”

Izzy puts his fork down and turns to Leo. “You did not!”

“Fine, I didn’t.”

Izzy eyes him sideways, and I don’t think he believes him, and honestly, I don’t think he should.

“I’m going to drag my balls all over your pillow,” Izzy counters, and I snort a laugh.

“Eww. I swear I didn’t.” Leo shoves him back.

“How are your holiday projects going, Izzy?” I interrupt, not wanting to hear about balls dragging over dinner.

Izzy lights up. “So good. I can’t believe I finally got the chance to run the Christmas decorations.”

Izzy works as a landscape architect, and he specializes in electrical and lighting. Every year more and more clients want to have their homes decorated for them, and Izzy enjoys making it fun and easy for them to control.

He did my cabin last year and got a few jobs up there too.

“I got to use the nail gun.”

“What?” I snap back to his talking.

“It shoots nails so hard, and it’s so cool. I was up on the ladder and hanging permanent hooks so it will be easier for the homeowners or us to do the lights next year, and it was freezing, but I barely noticed because I was having so much fun using the nail gun.”

“Remember that you need to take breaks to keep yourself warm and always be careful on the ladders?—”

Leo cuts me off. “Ugh, that’s what OSHA is for. Stop babying him. He might like it in the bedroom, but he doesn’t need it outside of it.”

“If he doesn’t like it, he can tell me.”

“Yes, sweet quiet, Izzy will tell anyone that something is bothering him.” Leo’s sarcasm is strong now.

I’m about to answer when Izzy whispers, “I don’t mind. It’s nice to have someone worry about me.”

Leo reaches over and gives him a single-arm hug.

“Oh, sweetie. You know I worry about you all the time.”

“I do.”

This poor boy really doesn’t have any family, which is why he spends so much time with us. I was so proud of him when he bought his own house.

He’s so much farther ahead of me when I was his age.

I was a beat cop with no college education and a six-year-old son with a wife who hated me as much as I hated her. We managed to stick it out for a few more years until Leo actually told us to get a divorce because he was tired of us fighting.

I guess I’m not really that different now.

Tammy got the house in the divorce and half my savings, so now I live in a small apartment because I don’t see the need to have anything nicer since it’s just me.

“Alright. We can have dessert and then you can get this place cleaned up,” Leo says.

“Ice cream?” Izzy asks.

“Didn’t you just have ice cream?” I tease, and Izzy blushes.

Leo looks at me but doesn’t say anything.

“You can never have enough ice cream,” Izzy says.

“Yeah, Dad.”

“I’ll get the bowls.” I start to stand.

“Sit, it’s my kitchen.” Leo jumps up, and I sit back down.

“How was your day?” Izzy asks.

“Days like this are some of the hardest. When it’s this cold, people are more likely to get sick, and we spend a good amount of time doing wellness checks.” I don’t mention the three frozen bodies we found. “The longer the winter goes on, the worse it gets.”

“Yeah, we make sure that everyone takes breaks and has hand warmers and stuff. We mostly just focus on snow removal after the holidays are done and it’s warm in the trucks.”

I nod, and Leo comes back with three bowls.

“Here you go, Iz, extra sprinkles for you. Extra hot fudge and caramel for me. And extra sprinkles and strawberry topping for you, Dad.” I glare at my son. “Fine, just plain old boring vanilla, like everything else in your life.”

He’s not wrong.

“There’s nothing wrong with vanilla.” Izzy points his spoon at Leo.

“Thank you.” I nod.

“Izzy’s not vanilla,” Leo teases, and Izzy blushes.

“Stop it.”

“What? He already knows what you want.”

“But we don’t need to talk about it.”

So we finish our ice cream in silence. Leo stretches and stands up.

“I’m going to go take a shower since I don’t have to do dishes.”

Izzy groans again.

“Come on it will be quick,” I say.

“Fine.”

Izzy waits next to me as the sink fills. I notice he’s watching the bubbles build with a smile on his face, so I scoop some up and blow them at him.

“That tickles.” He giggles as he bats them away.

“Sorry, I thought you liked bubbles.”

“I do! They just tickled.”

“Then why don’t you like dishes?”

“Because my hands get all wrinkly.”

“You should wear kitchen gloves then.”

“I dream of getting a dishwasher.”

“Hey, you just bought a house and you’re working your way to your dream job.” I wash a plate and hand it to him. “You’ll get there.”

“Yeah, it just sucks right now with all the repairs.” He dries the plate and puts it away. “But you’re right. I’m getting there.”

We continue with the small talk, and before we know it, we’re all done.

“See, that wasn’t so bad.” I nudge his shoulder.

He leans into me and rests his head on my shoulder. “It must have been better because you helped.”

I turn to look at him and he’s got this contented smile. When he notices me watching his mouth, he licks his lips. I’m pretty sure he didn’t do it on purpose, but it’s obvious that he wants to kiss me.

“I’m happy to help you,” I say.

The sound of footsteps in the hall has me stepping back.

“Awesome. Now I don’t need to worry about the shit sitting in my sink until it grows fuzz and starts its own fucking civilization.”

“Do you need to swear so much?”

“I hardly swear at home. If you want to hear me swearing, you should come with me tomorrow while I fix some asshat’s computer fuck-ups. It’s like a goddamn shit show.”

“And on that note, I think it’s time I head home. I could use a shower, too.” And a pump. I dry my hands on Izzy’s towel.

“Yeah, me too. I’ve had a long day.”

“Come on, I’ll walk you out,” I offer.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to do that.”

“Why don’t you two leave at the same time and I’ll wave from the porch.”

“I’ll miss you.” Izzy wraps his arms around Leo and holds on for a long time.

“It’s only three days, and I’ll call you all the time.”

“I know, but still.” Izzy sniffles.

“You’re adorable.”

I step in for a quick hug. “Have a good trip.”

“Don’t let him get too lonely,” Leo whispers, and I nod my head.

“Come on, Izzy.” I lead him to his car.