Page 7 of Enforcer’s Little Warrior (Little Paws Haven #3)

Bash

Romy’s heartbroken wails did more to rouse Bash than anything else, including the muddy water washing the blood from his body. The sound stabbed at him, along with each cry of Daddy that Romy let out. His sobs, Bash could barely breathe, they hit him so hard. Harder even than the blood of the owl when it dripped into his mouth from his horn. It didn’t matter to Bash if his legs wobbled and his vision kept zoning in and out, he was getting to Romy.

Stumble-staggering, he crashed into a solid wall of muscle only to feel solid arms steady him. Glancing up, he could barely make out Arlo’s face as his fellow enforcer kept him from face planting in the muddy water.

“Look at me,” Arlo snapped, the order helping to sharpen Bash’s focus. “There’s poison in your blood. If you don’t burn it off and puke it out, it will kill you. If you let that happen, I will claim your mate and those boys for my own.”

Now that was not gonna fuckin’ happen.

Grunting, Bash attempted to shove away from him, only to find himself shaken like a rag doll, which further pissed him off.

“No!” Romy wailed. “I want my Daddy, not you!”

Shaking his head to clear the fog, Bash huffed, snorting out his fury even as his stomach twisted up again and he nearly doubled over. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasha restrain Romy to keep his mate from stumbling between them.

Her mouth pressed to Romy’s ear, but Bash couldn’t hear what she was saying to him. Not over the roaring in his ears at Romy’s continued sobs.

“You hear your boy?” Arlo asked, drawing Bash’s attention back to him. “He wants his Daddy, but his Daddy is about to pass out on my feet. Guess he’s not going to get what he wants, is he?”

“F-fuck you,” Bash stammered, trying again to shove him away, but it was like smashing into a wall made entirely of titanium and tungsten.

“Is that what you want?” Arlo spat. “Me to fuck your corpse in front of him after that poison kills you? If that’s the case, I promise to give him one hell of a show.”

Snorting in fury, Bash finally mustered the strength to rear back and take a swing at Arlo, which the bastard ducked. He returned fire too, forcing Bash to get his arm up so he didn’t get a huge fist square in the face. The force of the impact on his arm sent a stab of pain through his injured shoulder, while the rapid movement tore something, making it bleed more. Blood dripped down his arm as he tried to tackle Arlo, only to have the fucker sidestep. Face first in the wallow Bash went, the water smacking him in the face and left him sputtering. More furious than before, he rumbled out his displeasure. Not only was the bastard threatening to take everything from him, but he was forcing Bash to humiliate himself in the process.

Desperate to prove that he deserved Romy and those boys in front of the whole crash, Bash thrashed in the water and rolled, slipping and staggering, to regain his footing, turning in time to avoid the kick Arlo had aimed at his ribs. Heat and fury drove him to unleash a flurry of punches and kicks, all blocked by Arlo, who shoved him off his feet once more.

Mother fucker!

“Fuckin’ weak ass enforcer!” Arlo snapped. “Do better, or don’t, and lay there and watch me claim your mate in the mud right beside you. I promise I’ll have enough left to make you my bitch after I get done with him.”

Roaring, Bash came up out of the water with an uppercut that actually connected, though Arlo got his arm up to block the haymaker Bash swung at him next. Half blind from the water and mud in his eyes, Bash slugged it out with him, until a stiff shot to the midsection doubled him over and all that twisting his belly had been doing finally resulted in him spewing dark, bloody bile everywhere. Heave after heave, he brought it up along with the remains of his supper. Until he went to his knees in the wallow, humiliation warring with the sting of defeat as he knelt, shaking and puking his guts out.

When an arm draped over his back, he feared it was Romy attempting to cling to him again, and he swung his head so he could see him one last time, only to find Arlo kneeling beside him in the mud. “Breathe and finish getting that shit out of your system,” Arlo said. “Forgive me, my brother, for the things I said. I needed you mad enough to fire up your system to purge that shit eating at your insides.”

It took a moment to sink in and once it did, Bash swiped at his mouth, then embraced Arlo, patting his shoulder. “Nothing to forgive, my brother,” Bash said, the haze of anger fading at the reality of the truth. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” A bottle of water appeared from the left, and he nodded at Zander, another enforcer. He nodded his appreciation, then took a mouthful to rinse and spit out the foul tasting poison. When he finished cleaning his mouth, he drank the remaining water, happy when it didn’t upset his stomach.

Arlo took the bottle from his trembling fingers, grinning. “Let me help you to your mate.”

Bash felt no shame at all about letting Arlo bare the bulk of his weight when that meant he finally got to gather his sobbing mate in his arms and hold him close. Stroking his back, Bash nuzzled his neck, chuffing and murmuring comforting sounds in Romy’s ear until they both finally settled.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured past his thickening throat, his emotions riding him hard. “I’ve got you. Daddy is right here, and no one is taking him away from you. You’re going to stay right here in Daddy’s arms for as long as you need to. Safe, you are safe, my little bumper. Safe with me, I swear.”

Someone checked his shoulder, but they weren’t impeding him holding Romy, so he let them do what they needed to do.

“I tried to explain,” Sasha whispered, her eyes full of tears.

Bash nodded and mouthed “ thank you ,” understanding now what she’d been doing when he’d caught sight of her whispering to Romy, who had fallen too deep into his little space to comprehend why Arlo had done what he’d done. Bash would make sure Romy understood it fully once he’d settled down and had time to see that Bash was okay. What he needed now was comfort and reassurance. Bash had more than enough energy for that.

Romy

Sinking away from the chaos was what he did to protect himself. His brain was fuzzy, his heart had beaten so fast, it made him shake. His desperation caused everything to feel like the world was spiraling around him so fast he couldn’t catch his breath.

Large hands rubbed at his clothes, causing the wet cloth to itch him. But he could smell Bash under all the other smells, so he buried his head close to the warm, sticky body and snuffled to seek the purest bits.

There… there is Daddy.

Voices rumbled through him and around him, only he paid them no mind. He wasn’t ever gonna move from this spot. Happy in those big arms holding him, he let them carry the weight that could make him feel small and useless.

We aren’t useless with Daddy, the Little voice insisted. We helped him and now he’s rewarding us, even though you got bossy.

He held on tighter, he wasn’t normally a naughty boy.

“I’ve got you. Daddy’s right here.”

The rumbling helped, then other hands touched him, and he flinched away. “Noooo, don’t touch me,” he wailed in distress. Fear from before came out of its box, the one he carefully tucked away to keep hidden everything that hurt him.

“No one but Daddy is going to touch you, okay little bumper. Daddy promises. I just need help to get up.”

He lifted his head, blinking hard. “I’s can help you, Daddy.” He shifted his bottom off the legs and wobbled to his feet. Not looking around, he offered his hand.

It was hard, because Daddy was so much bigger and heavier than him. But with some huffing and puffing, they were standing, and Romy was grinning. “See, I’s good boy.”

A gentle hand cupped his cheek. “The bestest boy in the world. Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

He looked up shyly when the hand dropped away. “You need a bath Daddy, you’re dirty too.” He gave him a thoughtful look and went to click his little fingers. It was hard, but he managed on the second try. “We’s could have a bath together,” he offered, giving one of his biggest smiles.

“I’ll go run it,” someone said, chuckling.

But Romy was ignoring them because they were the one to say they’d touch him. He didn’t want anyone but Daddy touching him ever again, so he said so. “No touches from anyone but my Daddy,” he said in a snappy tone, scowling at those close by.

His lower lip trembled because he used his naughty voice again. He looked up at Daddy from under his eyelashes to check if he was mad. “I’m sorry, Daddy,” he whisper-shouted.

Daddy chuckled, and he got his cheek caressed. “Daddy feels the same and if I had the energy, I’d carry you to the bathroom.”

He grinned, seeing he was going to be a great help to his Daddy. He slipped under his big arm and lifted it with effort over his shoulders. “Lean on me Daddy, I’s can help.”

Huffing, puffing once more, he also panted, getting stickier from helping by the time they got to the bathroom. But it was worth it as Daddy continued to chuckle. The sound was like happy birds chirping in the morning. Then he was back to scowling, thinking about the horrible bird-thing who hurt Daddy.

At the side of the big bubbly bath, Daddy ran a finger between his brows and stopped his chuckles. “What’s up, little bumper?”

“That bird was bad.”

“He was.” He kissed the tip of Romy’s nose, making him giggle when his dirty whiskers tickled. “Let’s not talk about that. Daddy needs to brush his teeth and then give his boy a bath.”

“Together Daddy, a bath together,” he stated quickly, so Daddy wouldn’t forget.

“Yes, together.”

Two minutes later, Daddy’s teeth were clean and sparkly in his dirty face, he helped Romy into the bubbles. They tickled his skin and went a gray color as he sank down. “Oh no, they’re getting dirty,” he exclaimed.

“We can wash off the dirt, then run another bath with fresh bubbles.”

He bounced in the water, getting more bubbles to change color. “We can.”

“Absolutely. Now make room for Daddy.”

He squished himself up one end, but still he ended up on top of Daddy because he was so big. It was all right because when Daddy touched him it made him feel good and tingly.

As promised, the water got emptied, and they got fresh bubbles. Daddy fed him bits from the large plate someone left outside the door for them while they waited for the bath to fill. Now Daddy’s skin was all clean because he’d been a good boy and helped, so they were squeaky clean. They were dry and in snuggly clothes. Ones that felt soft against his skin.

He crawled up on top of Daddy when he lay down next to him and opened his arms. Romy moved around, looking for the comfiest place. His face pushed into the crook of Daddy’s neck and sighed in contentment. He inhaled and got a good whiff of clean Daddy.

He lay there for a moment, something inside him nudged at him. His lips parted, and he mouthed at the skin, then his teeth bit hard and true. The scent surrounding him changed, only not in a bad way. There was a low rumbled groan against his cheek as he sucked hard.

There, that fixed everything. No one was going to threaten to take him from Daddy again or touch him. He was Daddy’s forever. He shut his eyes and sighed happily.