Page 12 of Their Little Helper (The Lactin Brotherhood #22)

SANTOS

“I think alternating between… stress relieving types of sessions after work is a good place to start.” Talking about scenes in public without actually saying scenes, little time, or BDSM wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

Dally was even behaving himself in the science museum and Harley had stopped blushing.

That was mostly because our boy had decided to ignore anything he didn’t want to hear and was as close to little as I thought he’d get in public…

and since he was currently intently playing with a game show simulator that was based on science questions, we weren’t going to push him further into his little space.

Dally realized that too and took full advantage of his distracted state, and how loud the area was in general, by dropping his voice and shifting closer.

“It’ll be easy to get him to talk about toys and what he’s like when he’s…

playful…but I don’t think he has much experience with the other side of your plan. ”

Dally clearly understood how much Harley wanted us to be subtle about the lifestyle parts of our relationship in public, so I did my best to keep my voice just as low.

“Agreed. He’s curious, though, and I think giving him an easy list to go over as a jumping-off point would be a good place to start. ”

Slowly nodding as he processed what I’d said, Dally laughed as Harley got a silly question right and did a little happy dance.

But surprisingly, it didn’t distract Dally from our conversation.

The squirrel was actually very focused on making sure we took care of our overstressed boy.

“Two questions. Do you think showing him your list or mine would overwhelm him? Do you think we need to have pointed conversation about his lack of experience?”

That was a good question.

“Eventually he’s going to need to explain that in more detail, but he seems uncomfortable with it.” Maybe ashamed? It was hard to tell. “Do you think he’s gotten negative responses from dates and boyfriends about it?”

Dally cleared his throat. “Um, I’m not sure he’s really had anything we’d consider a boyfriend.

He’s been kind of vague about that too. If dates and people coming up to him at the bar always assume the strong and silent type means Dom or moody top at the very least, he might not have gotten that far very many times. ”

People were either astonishingly stupid or he was a better actor than I was imagining.

“That would be frustrating. Incredibly frustrating.” And I just kept coming back to how stupid people were because the man doing a happy dance because he’d just passed another level in the game show thing was in no way a Dom.

“We’ve approached it a few times but I think we’re going to have to spell out our feelings clearer at some point. ”

“Without giving him a heart attack.” Dally sighed as we both pictured how that conversation would go. “Maybe we do it after he’s had a really good orgasm?”

That was quiet enough that no one overheard us, but it seemed like a grandmotherly woman across the room was very good at reading lips based on how wide her eyes had gotten.

Some people obviously needed to learn there were more ways to be nosy than just listening to a conversation, but for the time being, I rotated to block her view of Dally.

“Another possibility would be using careful language when he’s…not at his most adult.” That version of Harley was happy, unfazed by Dally, and just wanted his partners to be nice to each other. “It might work as long as we say it right.”

The question was…could Dally choose his words that carefully.

“We’re just going to have to see when the moment is right.” Dally seemed to think he could, so I tried not to let my worry show on my face. “And maybe we work in a few personal stories he can relate to?”

As I thought about that, Dally shrugged. “Littles like stories.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“Yes. We’ll keep an eye out for ways to work in appropriate stories as well.” And somehow make them easy enough to process that our nervous boy didn’t give himself a stroke. “He seems to be enjoying himself now, though.”

Harley was relaxed and smiling, turning to us and laughing even when he lost to an odd question about wind there was no way a child could’ve answered. “I almost won.”

“You did great.” Dally bounced on his toes, remembering not to say anything outrageous as Harley walked back to us. “Some of those questions have to be made to stump people.”

They probably didn’t want one person to be able to play the game that long so the line could keep moving, but we were fortunate because there weren’t that many people in the museum.

The nice weather had probably pulled them toward outdoor activities, but Harley seemed perfectly at home going through all the exhibits.

It was probably another thing that potential dates got wrong.

“Should we do a few more of the games or should we go walk through that architecture exhibit?” Dally looked completely innocent which would’ve made any smart man question his intentions.

But he made Harley blush because we’d already walked past that exhibit. “That’s…that was Legos.”

“Ah, but it was about the way tall buildings were designed and how they made them structurally sound. That means science.” Dally shrugged as Harley looked tempted. “And there were plenty of adults building too.”

Most of them were with their kids, but Dally was right about the number of men who seemed to be taking the Legos very seriously. “My tower is going to be the most structurally sound. Dally’s is going to fall the moment someone breathes on it.”

Harley clearly wanted to play with the blocks, so I didn’t mind poking at Dally’s competitive side to make sure our boy got to play.

Sometimes you just had to take one for the team.

Dally’s sharp inhale and wide eyes said I’d hit him just right. “That’s…of course my tower is going to be better than yours. I’ve worked construction.”

His job history must look like he had a dozen people living inside him based on the random shit he’d talked about over lunch. “Prove it.”

Looking sexy and offended, Dally’s head whipped around so he could focus on Harley. “I’m sorry. Those are fighting words. You’ll just have to hang out and pretend to play while I make an example out of Pokey.”

At some point he was going to get tired of that nickname…he had to eventually get tired of it.

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Glaring at Dally got another wonderful reaction from the crazy man that had Harley trying not to smile. “If anyone is going to be the example, it’s you.”

Harley’s eyes lit up, for some reason not worried about our bickering as he shook his head. “You’re going to have to be nice and share.”

Dally rolled his eyes. “There had to be thousands upon thousands of bricks in that room. I don’t have to share unless I want to.”

Shooting me a glare, he stuck his nose up in the air. “And I’m not going to share with Pokey until he admits defeat.”

Then he’d be waiting a long time.

Harley’s quiet snicker said he realized that, but he couldn’t help being sweet and trying to distract us. “But what if I do best?”

Dally was quick to frown at him. “You weren’t going to play. You were just going to watch so I can beat Pokey. If you play then we have to be nice. That’s a terrible idea.”

Looping his arm through ours, Dally marched us out of the games exhibit. “I have to win, so I can’t be polite. Besides, you made it sound like they’re boring. I bet Pokey wasn’t even thinking of buying some for his never-ending condo.”

I ignored the shot about my home because he hadn’t said playroom or anything that would make Harley nervous. “I won’t buy him things he won’t use. I’m the responsible one.”

Dally was not…he would be the fun caretaker who made lists of questionable decisions.

Harley’s grin made me question if he was thinking the same thing, but again, he was too sweet to say it out loud. “You’re both going to buy me things I don’t need, but that’s okay, I’ll get used to it.”

He needed toys and we all knew it, so I filed away the protest as just for show.

“I bet I can find the best sets.” Keeping in mind their probable financial status, I made sure to keep the bet fair. “First one to find a link to the best set…on a legitimate site…wins.”

Dally’s grin made him look like a Batman supervillain, so I turned to Harley before the madman could talk.

“If he ends up as some kind of supervillain, I want you to remember that I called it first. We’ll tell the press he was sweet when we first met, so it had to be some kind of lab experiment gone wrong. ”

The snort Dally let out made Harley snicker. “It would be an experiment gone right and I would take my newfound powers in stride. I am adaptable.”

That was one word for it.

Somehow our giggly boy managed not to laugh and nodded as he gave Dally a serious expression. “You are very good at handling changing situations.”

Because he was a walking, talking train wreck that barreled into every situation without thinking about what could go wrong.

Like somehow getting targeted for a pickpocketing in one of the safest areas of the city.

Hell, maybe the state.

Harley and I had our work cut out for us, but if anyone needed two partners it was Dally.

“I think I’m going to have to play too just to make sure you both play nicely.” Harley knew he’d been scammed by his Daddy but he didn’t seem to mind being pushed.

He did seem to second-guess his own sanity as he kept going, though. “But…but the most stable tower…the most stable tower under six inches tall gets to pick a prize later.”

Eyes as wide as saucers said he knew the kind of shenanigans he was risking, but he pushed through whatever fears or dirty fantasies were racing through his mind. “But…but everyone has to be nice. Good winners and losers.”

Huffing, Dally shot both of us an adorable glare. “I’m always nice and always a good winner.”

Bullshit.

However, we were currently not in a location I could use that word, so I made a low snort. “I’m sure you are.”

Our banter had successfully distracted Harley into a less stressed state, but I wasn’t sure it would last long. Just walking toward the room with the Legos and exhibits on the science of architecture had him taking a subtle, but still deep breath.

It’d been his idea, though.

That meant I wasn’t supposed to ask if he’d lost his mind…right?

Dally’s excitement might end up being contagious and then we’d all make ridiculous decisions.

“Dally’s the type to cheat, so in the future, we need clear rules written down for situations like this.” Fine print was just as important as a limits list. “General rules. Acceptable rewards. We’re not playing loosey-goosey just so Dally wins.”

Harley was pretending to take the situation very seriously. “What if I win? Do you think I’ll cheat?”

“In a heartbeat.” Narrowing my gaze at him got a giggle from both of them. “You’d use that cuteness and bamboozle us both.”

Harley’s eyes lit up but he curled in on himself and gave me an adorable pout. “Oh I…I wouldn’t do that.”

He really was a better actor than I’d given him credit for.

“Remember that expression.” Dally did a wiggle that seemed to mean his thoughts had turned wicked. “We’re going to come back to that when I win. I know what I want as my prize.”

Something naughty.

“See why we need to negotiate?” I gestured toward the troublemaker as Harley blushed and grinned, dropping my voice low. “You probably meant dessert and his mind went to the gutter.”

Blushing again, Harley looked out at the displays and buildings that surrounded the tables full of more Lego bricks than I’d ever seen in one place. “Um…I didn’t mean dessert.”

With that admission, Harley swallowed hard and released our arms. “I think…I think I’m going to go play.”

As he escaped, Dally flashed a grin. “He’s so cute.”

And definitely not as innocent as he sometimes appeared.

“If we’d already had his limits list then we could help reward him without him having to push outside his comfort zone and talk about it.” We really were doing some of this backwards.

“If we’d already gotten his limits list, he’d be dead of a heart attack.” Dally shrugged, not worried about it. “And I think he needs to learn to trust us a bit more before any of that will come out easily.”

“So when he wins, we’ll just wing it?” That was a terrible plan.

“Yep.” Dally’s ridiculously bright smile said he wasn’t seeing it the same way. “It’ll be fine.”

Hopefully.

“So are we making sure he wins?” Going into situations without even the basics organized was not helpful.

“Or I win and then I ask for something from him as my reward.” Dally’s selfish glee had me mentally debating what kind of supervillain he’d be. “Either way, we’re all going to have fun.”

As long as he won?

“And when I win, I’ll talk to him and carefully figure out what his limits are so I can ask for that as my reward.” If we weren’t going to let Harley win then I could make sure to wipe Dally’s ass in the contest.

“You’re crazy.” Shaking his head, Dally started his bouncy, excitable walk over to the table where Harley had found some space. “I always win. It’s not hard to arrange.”

Because he cheated?

Was he really bragging about that?

At what point were we going to come back to the Dally needed a Dom conversation?