Page 18 of Phantom Faceoff (Daddies of the League #5)

Chapter Seventeen

Malachi

Zander has a way of sneaking his way into parts of my life I hadn’t expected to let anyone into.

I want him.

Goddamn do I want him.

In ways I haven’t wanted since the days I’d let myself get lost in Mack.

I want to get lost in Zander.

The motel we pick out is close to campus so if anyone needs out in a hurry they don’t feel trapped.

I wanted to get there first, to give myself time to gain a little confidence, but as I had work—as I do most days—I’m the last to arrive.

Julian and Zander are sitting on one of the two beds together, Zander’s hand on Julian’s thigh as they lean their heads close together, passing quiet words between them.

It’s hard not to smile at their happiness, at my two boys enjoying each other’s company.

My boys .

When did I start to think of them like that?

It feels natural. Right.

Maybe I’m more into this Daddy thing than I thought.

Julian catches sight of me first, and I can tell by his big grin that he’s dying to bounce right into my arms.

When he opens his mouth, it wobbles slightly, but he quickly recovers. “Mal!”

I move around to the bed, holding out an arm that he quickly falls into. I kiss his head, well aware of Zander’s gaze on us.

“What are you two up to?”

Julian grins. “Trouble.”

Zander laughs and smacks him on the thigh, making Julian squeak and giggle.

He’s feeling full blown Little today.

I’m not sure how I feel about that given what we’re about to do. But I’ll table that until I get him alone.

“We were talking about you,” Zander says. “About tonight.”

“We don’t have to do this,” I tell them. “If anyone is uncomfortable …”

“Mal.” Julian takes a step back and grabs hold of my shoulders. “You always take care of everybody else. Let us take care of you for once. Besides.”

He steps back and drops into Zander’s lap. “Sex with Z is hardly a hardship.”

I cross my arms over my chest, trying to hide the bout of insecurity swimming through me.

“But with me watching?”

While we’ve never been particularly turned on by each other, we’ve also never explicitly been turned off either. At least, I haven’t.

Julian drags Zander’s arm across his chest so he can hold it. “It’s hot. Someone watching us … directing us …”

He flashes me those innocent eyes, and it’s impossible not to smile. “Directing, huh? What did you have in mind?”

I’d planned on being a relatively silent observer, not wanting to get in the way of whatever makes them feel good.

“We want you to get as much pleasure from this as possible,” Zander says, dropping his chin onto Julian’s shoulder. “Since you won’t let us touch you.”

“Cheeky brat,” I mutter, and it makes him grin. “Fine. If there’s something I want to see, I’ll tell you. While we’re at it, let’s go over what we don’t want to happen.”

“Obviously Mal and I won’t be interacting in any sexual way,” Julian says. “Zander knows how I am in bed. And Mal? I’m up for anything you throw at me.”

Zander nuzzles into Julian’s neck, peeking up at me like he’s trying to copy Julian’s innocence—which I don’t buy for a second.

“Your dick is off limits,” he says, and I shudder. “But what about kissing?”

“You can kiss me. Jules too, if he wants.”

Julian grins, but Zander’s falls.

“Or not? Is that a limit for you, Wildfire?”

His expressions grows contemplative, and he eventually nods. He hesitates before he speaks, eyes brewing with conflict.

I step forward and card a hand through his hair, directing his face up to mine.

“This doesn’t work if we aren’t honest with each other.”

His arms tighten around Julian, but his eyes remain locked on me. “I feel like a hypocrite. I don’t want anyone else to touch you.”

A cage of butterflies opens in my chest, the breath in my lungs growing heavy and hot.

“New rule then,” I say, tendrils of excitement spreading through my body. “Nobody touches me without Wildfire’s permission.” As soon as relief settles into his eyes, I tug his hair and recapture his attention. “Not even me.”

Julian wiggles in Zander’s grasp. “Oh. He likes that.”

I figured he would.

“You’re sure you’re good with all of this?” I ask, shifting my focus to Jules—red cheeked and smiling.

“Absolutely.”

I can still tell that he’s holding back, so I clear my throat and put a little space between the three of us.

“Wildfire, why don’t you get cleaned up in the bathroom while Jules and I have a chat?”

Zander nods and kisses Julian’s cheek. On his way past, he grabs and gives my fingers a quick squeeze before shutting himself into the bathroom.

I sit down on the bed beside Julian, and as soon as we hear the shower running, he sighs and throws himself back on the mattress.

“Daddy,” he whines. “God, I’ve been dying to say that.”

I had my smile behind my hand. “I could tell.”

He pouts his lip out. “Don’t tease me. I’m horny and Little at the same time. That’s new for me.”

Nodding, I stroke a hand through his hair, which he promptly grabs and presses to his cheek. “I know, baby. Is this going to be too much for you?”

“As long as it makes you happy”—he kisses my palm— “I want this.”

What did I do to deserve a friend like him?

“I just don’t want things to be weird.”

Julian’s playful smiles takes over, and he drops my hand, propping up on his elbows.

“Malachi. You told me that you’ve had actual daydreams about Zander and I fucking. Did that bother me? Not at all. It’s not like you were thinking about fucking me.”

I must make a face, because Julian’s laugh rings throughout the room. When he sobers, he reaches for my hand that I readily give.

“I guess this kind of feels like a game. A sexy game. And it makes me feel … Little.” He scrunches his face. “I’m one hundred percent going to slip and call you Daddy.”

“I don’t mind if you don’t mind,” I say, and his eyes widen. “But we have to talk to Zander about it first. Make sure he’s comfortable.”

Julian nods enthusiastically, pulling me down to the bed beside him and throwing his arms around me. “Thank you, Daddy.”

The two of us chat idly while we wait for Zander to come back out, and the quick-witted words I’d planned die on my tongue when he does.

There is no shortage of attraction with Zander for me. Watching him sweat makes me hot. The lazy smile and forwardness he often exhibits makes me soft for him. His brattiness? That does something extra to my body, makes it hard to keep my hands off him.

So, yes, Zander—with water dripping down his body and a tiny towel tied around his waist—gets my gears churning.

“Are you allergic to underwear?” I ask once the words find their way back to me.

A grin. “We’re going to take our clothes off anyway, right?”

I roll my eyes, but I can’t say I’m mad about getting to take a good look at him unabashed.

“Sit down. We need to have a talk.”

He does, sitting on my other side and mumbling under his breath, “Uh oh. Daddy’s upset.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and breathe out hard—though I’m trying my damnedest not to smile.

“It’s about that, actually.”

“About what?”

“The use of ‘Daddy’ tonight.”

Zander’s face turns a bright red, and Julian giggles beside me.

“Hey. Open and honest, remember? Jules?”

For a minute, Julian sits chewing his lip, the excitement dimming to nervousness, but he finally takes in a breath and grabs my hand for support.

“Without going into extreme detail—because then we’ll never get to the good stuff—” He huffs some hair out of his eyes on a laugh. “Mal is my best friend, and he takes care of me.”

“Uh huh.” Zander starts to smile, and I smack him lightly on the thigh, earning me a heated glare.

“Sometimes I need a little extra care. For me, that looks like calling Mal ‘Daddy’ while I … regress.”

“Oh.” Zander’s eyes open wide, and he grins. “Is this the Daddy origin story?”

Jules nerves seem to be getting the better of him, so I take over.

“When Jules feels safe to be vulnerable, he addresses me as Daddy more often than Mal. If it bothers you, he won’t, but he might be more reserved to keep it from slipping out.”

I know this is important to Julian. What might be fun and sexy for Zander and I is bigger for him, and I want to respect that.

“The fact that he’s willing to include you in that is special.”

Jules’ smile is small, but his eyes shine with appreciation. As if to hammer the message home, he leans into me and says in his small, quiet voice, “thank you, Daddy.”

Zander watches the two of us quietly, then slowly slides closer and holds a hand out to Julian.

“You can be as open as you want with me,” he says when Julian laces their fingers together. “You told me once that Malachi makes you feel protected. He does for me, too.”

A lump forms in my throat, chest tightening like someone has physically wrapped their hand around my heart and started squeezing.

When Zander looks at me, I can see the honesty on his face, but he’s quick to cover it with a teasing smile. “You’re kinkier than I thought, Daddy. ”

He’s half bent over my lap already, so it’s easy for me to smack a palm on his bare ass hanging out of the towel.

“Shit!” He curses, jumps back, face contorting in discomfort.

“And Zander calls me Daddy because he wants to be punished.”

Zander glares, but the blush on his cheeks and the chub tenting his towel betrays him.

It strange; no part of me wants to hurt him. I don’t even find spanking him like I just did particularly thrilling.

It’s his reactions that spur me on, that have me trying out things I was convinced I had no interest in.

“Jules, baby, your turn to shower.”

I ruffle his hair and usher him to the bathroom, smiling as he pecks Zander on the cheek before disappearing.

Now that it’s just the two of us, I find myself eyeing Zander with much more appreciation than I’d allowed myself previously.

He’s got tight, toned muscles with a soft center. His dirty blond hair is short but just long enough to fall into his face. The way he watches me watch him—the grin that unfolds—I almost want to say to hell with tonight’s plan.

Pin him to the bed and make him beg for release.