Page 21 of Matthias’s Protective Embrace (Cardinal Falls #3)

“Yes, please.” He’s practically vibrating out of his skin next to me. “Um, what else do we need to talk about?”

It’s not fair to force him to spend time running through various situations in his mind. “I can be a bit… controlling in my relationships.”

“Is that cause of the whole Daddy thing?” I freeze at Frank’s question. Here I thought I’d done a pretty good job of dialing things back and keeping my secrets.

“What do you know about that?” I ask, keeping my voice soft.

“I heard you talking to Sam.” He shrugs. I know exactly what conversation he’s talking about, but I hadn’t known he was close enough to hear.

“And? How do you feel about that?” Frank’s face usually gave away his emotions, making him easy to read. Right now, I couldn’t guess his thoughts. People had a lot of opinions on those types of relationships. The only one I care about right now is the one from Frank.

“I, uh, did some research.” I can’t help but smirk at the way his cheeks redden as he admits it.

My guess is a good portion of that ‘research’ involved porn.

“I’ve never been in one before, but I’d like to try.

” His lip makes its way back into his mouth.

This time, I let it be, wanting to give him a moment to pull his thoughts together. “I’m not sure what you get out of it.”

“That’s a good question. I like the caregiver aspect of it.

I like making sure that the people I’m with are taken care of…

that their needs are met. With that comes a certain amount of control.

If I’m going to make sure someone’s—your—needs are met, then I need to make rules for you to follow.

Ones that we agree on together.” Something tells me rules are going to be a sticking point for him.

“So, what exactly would you want control over?”

“Well, that’s something the two of us would need to discuss more as we get to know each other. But, as an example, I might insist that you make sure you have water to drink throughout the day to keep you hydrated.” It’s a low bar, but it seems like a good starting point for this conversation.

“You already do that.”

And I’d been made. So I might have been Daddying him this whole time.

I count it as a win that he didn’t notice until now.

“You’re right, I do. I’d insist on it even more if we continue.

Not because I think you aren’t capable, but because it’s important to me that you’re safe.

The same thing applies to food. You can’t do physical labor all day if you aren’t getting enough calories.

I’d insist on a decent breakfast and lunch, with snacks as well. ”

He opens his mouth, then seems to swallow whatever he was going to say. “I try, but getting up early enough and remembering to bring things is hard.” Frank’s been working hard at it, making to-do lists in his notebooks, but I can tell how much he still struggles.

“I know. That’s part of my role. Helping you come up with a system that works and allows you to follow the rules.

I would never ask something of you that I didn’t think you could do.

It’s a partnership between us.” He fiddles with an imaginary piece of lint on his pants.

“Frank.” I wait until he looks up at me.

“Can you come over here?” It might be a bit of a risk, but I think he’ll handle the conversation better if we’re touching.

He moves slowly, closing the distance between us to crawl back onto my lap. We might still be figuring this out, but something tells me we’re moving in the right direction. As soon as he’s settled, his muscles relax against me.

“That’s better,” I say. “What other questions do you have right now?” There’s a lot of talking ahead of us, but I want to make sure he can sleep without questions swirling through his mind.

“Do I have to call you Daddy?”

I give him a light squeeze. “Thank you for asking. No, you don’t have to.

Titles aren’t that important to me. When— if —you choose to use that word, I want it to be because it means something to you.

” I try to keep my voice even, leaving out the emotion that I feel thinking about him calling me Daddy .

“You can try it at some point when you’re ready, and then we can talk about how you feel.

There’s not one right way for us to do this.

” I’ve played with people who called me Daddy in bed, but it doesn’t hold the same weight when it’s only for a short period of time when there’s no feeling behind the word.

“What else?” His flat voice makes me think he’s bordering on overwhelmed. I can’t blame him for that. It’s a lot to take in all at once and probably a far cry from what he imagined when he kissed me.

“Let’s take it one step at a time. What are you thinking right now?”

“Um… I guess that it doesn’t sound that much different than our current relationship, but with the addition of sex.” He turns to face me, wiggling his ass against my half-hard cock. “There would be sex, right?”

I can’t help but groan. He’s killing me. “Yes, there would be sex. When we’re ready.” I added the last part to make sure he knows that it’s not happening tonight. I still want my date.

“Okay, then.” Frank seems satisfied for the moment.

There are still a million things I want to mention, reassurances I want from him that he’s not jumping into this without thinking it through.

For now, I have to trust that he knows what he wants and that he’s willing to tell me.

While he can be timid at times, he speaks his mind well.

“Good, then for tonight, let’s finish this movie and get some sleep. We can talk more in the morning.”

I can sense a hundred arguments going on in his head, but none of them make it to his mouth.

Instead, he lets me arrange us so that he’s resting between my legs with his head on my chest. In this position, he must be able to feel how hard I am.

As uncomfortable as this is, I hope it reassures him that I’m not pushing him off but rather trying to ensure we build something that extends beyond the bedroom.

At least I hope that’s what we’re working toward. It’s been a long time since I tried this with anyone. If his soft sighs and constant snuggling into me are any indication, I’m doing at least a few things right.

“Okay, time for bed,” I say as soon as the credits start to roll on screen.

It’s as much because I’m tired as it is that having him this close to me without allowing myself to touch him properly is killing me.

I’ve been at least half-hard since he first kissed me, and his constant repositioning hasn’t helped.

I nudge Frank up, and it takes him long enough to respond that he may have dozed off without me noticing.

“Oh, I’ll get going then.” His shoulders fall as he speaks.

“No, Firecracker, you’re staying here tonight.” A mischievous grin spreads across his face. “In the guestroom,” I clarify. As much as I want to have him snuggled up next to me in bed, there’s no way I’ll be able to hold myself back from claiming him if he’s that close.

I expect some sort of argument, but instead, he simply says, “Okay,” before grabbing a few half-finished food containers from the coffee table and shuffling into the kitchen.

I follow behind him with the rest of the dishes.

It only takes us a few minutes to get everything put away in the dishwasher or fridge.

It’s shockingly domestic, the end-of-the-night-cleanup, half asleep, but working side-by-side to get everything done before bed.

My parents did this my whole life. I watched them work together to keep the house maintained.

We frequently had help in the house for some pieces, but mostly, it was the two of them late at night, cleaning the kitchen or living room. It always looked… boring.

It’s different on the inside, being the one working with a partner to accomplish a necessary task. It’s surprisingly intimate.Enough that it chokes me up for a second.

“That okay for tonight?” Frank asks, looking around the space. It’s not as clean as I’d like, but not bad enough to keep me up any later.

“Perfect.” I put my hand on his lower back and lead him down the hall, stopping off at the guestroom.

“You sure you want me to sleep in here?” he asks, pressing himself closer to me until I groan. That’s absolutely not what I want, but it’s the best choice.

“Yes, that way we both sleep tonight.”

“Do I at least get a goodnight kiss?” He’s back to chewing on his bottom lip.

The way his words come out confident, but his body language is shy, fascinates me.

I’m hoping he gets easier to read once we’re more established.

For now, there’s no way I can deny him. I lean in, and he barely gets his teeth out of the way before I capture him in a deep kiss.

I tell myself to keep it chaste, but my body has other ideas.

Kissing him is intoxicating, and it’s too easy to lose myself in the moment.

I break away, putting a little space between us before we get out of hand. “Goodnight.” I want to add my boy to the end of that sentence, but it’s too soon.

“Night.” I expect him to linger longer, maybe ask again if he can sleep in my bed, but instead, he slips into the spare room and closes the door behind him.

I stare at the door longer than I should, already dreaming about our future.