Page 11 of Enforcer’s Little Warrior (Little Paws Haven #3)

Bash

Coming home to an empty house would have thrown him, if not for the sensors he’d linked to his phone. They were the only way he’d have felt comfortable leaving Romy alone while he went to work. Originally he’d installed it so he couldn’t miss any of the fun things his mate and the boys got up too. But having it on meant added security for his mate when he couldn’t be there, and Bash hadn’t experimented with the alerts. If a mouse sneezed on that property, he’d know about it, which was why he headed away from crash grounds the moment he had a chance to change out of the black t-shirt and jeans that made up his security attire. Just to make certain other crash members recognized them from a distance, whoever had designed them had emblazoned the word security in big, bold letters across the front, and down one of the legs of his jeans.

At least it’s not across your ass, Daddy, then everyone else would be staring at it and I wouldn’t like that. He’d chuckled at the time, loving that Romy said whatever was on his mind. Only Bash was starting to recognize the signs when he was holding back, like whenever the subject of the boys came up.

Not that Bash was doing any better. He’d found one of Toofus’ socks when he was folding laundry the night before and gotten hit with a sense of longing that had left him immobile and staring at that sock for a good twenty minutes before he moved along to the next piece of clothing.

Bash was grateful for the friendship that Romy had formed with Cosmo and hoped his mate knew that never once during the time he’d been playing with Cosmo at the club had they ever crossed the line into something truly physical. He’d provided the safety and comfort Cosmo needed to let his Little self out and put some distance between himself and the things he’d seen and experienced while working for the council, while Bash had been entrusted with valuable information that had saved more than one crash member’s life.

Due to the troubles they’d all recently experienced, and all Bash had learned about Nomad and Harley, he sent them a text before heading up their driveway, so they wouldn’t have cause to worry about who was approaching this late in the day. That Bash had changed into soft sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt had not just been out of comfort. From the moment he’d seen Nomad and Cosmo on the video feed picking Romy up to for a playdate at their house, Bash had hoped to finish his rounds and make his report with enough time left to get a little playtime in.

He hadn’t even seen Little Bumper in any of his new outfits yet and wished he’d been there to dress him when he’d changed for playtime. He was also hoping for a chance to speak to Nomad and Harley about how they’d approached the creation of Cosmo’s playroom, so he’d have a starting point to begin work on Romy’s. If there was one thing he’d learned through the care he’d offered Cosmo, it was the importance of a safe space to be Little, especially when that Little had experienced the things Romy and Cosmo had. In the whirlwind of things that had happened since they’d discovered that they were mates, he hadn’t been able to provide that for Romy and was now worried he might have failed his mate right off the bat.

Especially after the way they’d had to let those boys go.

He rubbed at the center of his chest at the crushing feeling returning. Damnit. He was supposed to be the badass…well no longer enforcer, but security was just as tough a gig. On top of it all, he was the Dom, he was supposed to know what to do to help his boy feel better. But how was he supposed to do that when he couldn’t keep his own emotions in check?

This might be the time to humble himself a little and bring that up to Harley and Nomad, too. With all they’d faced together already, if there was one thing he could trust, it was that any weakness he showed in front of them would remain with them.

As he pulled up in front of their house, he let out a long breath and opened the SUV door to hear laughter drifting from inside. Now that made him feel better just knowing his boy was having fun. Nomad opened the door before he reached it, a reminder that his boy could be in no better hands beside his own when it came to being protected.

“Perfect timing, they’re building a stuffed animal fort in preparation for movie time,” Nomad said, grinning widely.

“Have they eaten yet?” Bash asked, hoping he hadn’t missed the chance to feed his Little Bumper.

“Supper, but not a snack.”

That would do. Bash followed Nomad in and gratefully accepted the cup of coffee Harley slid him.

“Romy said you’d switched from enforcer to security,” Harley mentioned, his brows rising. “How’ve the first shifts been?”

“I don’t want to say the Q word and jinx it, but it’s been a nice change to know exactly what time I get to go home to him each day and when I’ll have to leave so I can at least make sure everything is set up for him before I have to go. I just… I felt like we started and now we’re starting over and it’s hard to wrap my head around the way everything turned on a dime,” Bash admitted in between sips of a deep roast coffee that smelled amazing.

“It’s easy to roll with the punches when someone’s shooting at you,” Harley said. “It’s all instinct then. You shoot back, you evade, you survive and live to fight another day. That’s all our lives were for so long that there are times when the domestic shit that should be easy throws me for a loop because I start second guessing just how easy it is and go looking for a problem that isn’t there.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot easier when you can shoot the problem and move on, isn’t it?”

“You can say that again,” Harley admitted, getting a groan from Nomad.

“That’s what’s killing me about the situation with the boys,” Bash admitted before he lost his nerve. “I can’t fix it. There is no part I can order. There is no grave I can dig and there’s no bullet that can solve it. What am I supposed to do with that?”

“Accept it,” Nomad said from where he’d perched on a stool at the far end of the counter, a steaming mug in front of him. “Anything less than that and you’re asking for problems.”

And what was Bash to say to that? When as much as he hated to admit it, deep down, he knew Nomad was right.

Romy

His little heart beat fast as he added another toy to the fort, holding his breath. “Ohhhhh.” He giggled at the wobbling it did as Cosmo picked up the last stuffie to add to the top.

“Don’t move,” Cosmo murmured, his eyes gleaming like bright stars at Romy.

They had played all afternoon and Cosmo’s daddies had played with them before they went and left them a few minutes ago.

“I won’t, I promise.” He clasped his hands together and held his breath once more.

A rumbly noise coming from the open door got Romy tilting his head, grinning. He looked at Cosmo, bursting to say something, but he’d promised to be quiet.

The second Cosmo placed the stuffie on the top, Romy dragged Cosmo from the tower towards the door. “Shusssshhh,” he shout-whispered to Cosmo, “I hear my Daddy.” Excited, he got down onto the floor wiggling his bottom as he moved onto his knees to crawl out to find Daddy like Cosmo’s kitty-cat. He was so quiet and could hide in small spaces, Romy had been practicing.

“Keep your bottom down,” Cosmo said in his ear, crawling next to him.

“I am,” he hissed back, looking over his shoulder just to check.

“Now, what do we have here?”

Romy craned his head back as far as he could to look up at Daddy. “I’s a kitty-cat, can’t you see,” he exclaimed. Couldn’t Daddy see that?

“His bottom is too high,” Cosmo informed Daddy.

“Is not,” Romy said, his lower lip quivering.

Daddy scooped him right off the floor and cuddled him into his chest. The smell of his aftershave tickling Romy’s nose as his legs dangled while a large hand held his bottom. “You looked gorgeous, Little Bumper, like a rainbow kitty-cat. I’m sorry Daddy missed playtime with you and Cosmo.”

Romy looked down at Cosmo, the smile back in place. “See.”

Cosmo shrugged as he got up, the knees of the onesie covered in dust.

“Nooooo, you got my dino dirty,” Romy wailed, tiredly. His lips back to quivering.

A kiss brushed over his forehead. “I think my Little Bumper needs a nap before snack time, but maybe Daddy should take you home.”

A big fat tear rolled down Romy’s cheek as Cosmo’s daddies came into the room right as he hissed at Romy.

“You’ve played so nicely together all afternoon, so we’ll have less of that.” Nomad gave Cosmo a stern look that made Romy sniff louder at his friend getting into trouble.

Cosmo got up and sniffed.

“I’m sorry, Cosmo,” Romy muttered, rubbing his face in Daddy’s neck as his skin got all hot and itchy.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get it dirty. Daddy will wash it, won’t you?” He batted his eyelashes at Nomad, making him grin.

That had to be good? Maybe Romy hadn’t gotten Cosmo in trouble.

“I will and I’ll give it to your Daddy, Romy, okay?”

He nodded, his head only moving a little because he was tired and wanted a nap. His eyes drifted shut a moment later when Daddy started to sway with him in his arms. He liked that a lot.

~/~/~/~

He blinked sleepily, his brain trying to fathom why there was sunlight shining in his eyes. A soft rumbling noise came from under his ear. He moved and his naked body slid against silky hard muscles, even as the arms holding him close tightened a fraction.

“Are you awake?” asked a gruff voice that didn’t sound like Bash usually did.

He chuckled and rubbed his cheek against the bare chest beneath him. “Maybe,” he replied cheekily, feeling content all the way down to his toes. He had no memory of getting into bed or being undressed, both of which had happened, but when was the question. The sun out the window lying low could have been sun rise or sun set.

Bash moved, and he got jiggled a little as they came to rest against the head of the bed, which stopped the sun shining directly into his eyes.

“What time is it?” he asked, his belly rumbling.

Bash reached over to the bedside drawers and picked up his watch, careful not to knock Romy while he did. “Five-thirty am.” He dropped the watch, and it rattled on the wood before he settled back, appearing unwilling to let go, which was fine with Romy. “You were a very tired boy last night.” He kissed his head. “You must have had so much fun?”

In the light of day, Romy considered his answer when there was nothing in Bash’s tone to indicate how he felt about Romy leaving for a play date. He had a brief memory of Bash swaying and him feeling ready for a nap, then nothing. He chewed his lip and moved ever so slightly to get a better look at Bash.

“I did.” He paused, feeling his tummy knot. “That was alright, wasn’t it, Daddy?”