Page 23 of Their Little Helper (The Lactin Brotherhood #22)

DALLY

“And…and I need my cup and water and…and I need my blanket…” Harley’s gaze bounced around the room as he tried to figure out his next demand.

Unfortunately, they’d all been fairly reasonable even though they were just his way of dragging his feet.

“I need a book.” He looked relieved as he found another demand but his Papa rolled his eyes. “Yes. I…I need a book and…and Daddy needs attention…”

Oh, that was interesting.

Even Pokey took notice as he was moving around the bedroom getting phones plugged in and he stopped mumbling to himself about not having enough sockets for two partners. “I will be in charge of giving your Daddy attention as soon as we’ve gotten you settled.”

“No.” Harley’s next round of stubbornness set in and he even crossed his arms over his chest, completely ignoring how milk was beading up on the tips of his nipples again. “Daddy ’portant too.”

He was amazing at being ridiculous when he wanted to…so it was a good thing most of the time he didn’t want to be as frustrating as his Daddy.

Pokey could only handle one high-maintenance partner and I was it.

“Daddy’s tired of this game.” I held up a hand and started lifting fingers. “One.”

Harley’s eyes went wide as another finger went up.

“Two.”

Santos shrugged as Harley looked to him for help. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when he gets to five. Your Daddy is slightly unpredictable.”

I was amazing, yes, but it also gave me the edge over drama queens in training.

“Three.”

Before I could lift another finger, Harley sighed and slumped over. “I sorry.”

Turning around, he lumbered to the bed with an exaggerated walk that made him look a bit like a half-naked Bigfoot. “I…I tired…oh dear.”

Oh dear?

Still dramatic and still in training, but he had his Papa fighting off giggles. The ridiculous Dom had to keep his back to Harley to make sure our slightly naught boy didn’t get the wrong idea about his behavior.

“Yes, oh dear.” Shaking my head, I managed to keep a straight face as I followed behind him and waited until he climbed on the bed. “That’s much better. Thank you.”

“I your…your good boy.” A good boy who couldn’t even get a full sentence out before he yawned again. “I tired.”

Since that seemed to be better to admit than claiming pain-in-the-ass status, I nodded and sat down on the bed beside him. “That’s okay. We’re going to help you relax.”

Admitting defeat, he nodded. “Thank you, Daddy.”

Once he knew there was no fighting a Daddy who could count to five, he settled back against the pillows and yawned again, eyelids already drooping halfway. “I…you…cuddle…”

“That’s right.” Whatever I’d agreed to had him sliding lower until he was almost flat on the bed and I took that to be my invitation to help his milk situation. “Good boy.”

Curling into him with me in the middle of the bed, I nuzzled against his chest and kissed between his beautiful pecs as he called them. He made a happy sound as I wrapped my lips around one nipple and then let out a deep breath as I eased the ache he was experiencing. “Daddy…”

He sighed out the word before taking another deep breath and lifting a hand to start slowly running it over my head. “Daddy’s…yes…”

I was fabulous, yes, but he didn’t need to tell me when he was so tired, so I returned his caress and slowly stroked his chest. He was still fighting sleep, but as Santos turned off the overhead light and moved over to the bed, Harley forced open his eyes. “Behind…Daddy…and…and cuddles.”

I wasn’t sure what Santos did, because I was slightly preoccupied, but it made Harley happy as his Papa climbed in behind me.

It was a tight fit even though the bed was huge, but next time I’d know to make Harley start out on one side and not the middle. Even Pokey chuckled, hiding his face against my back as I suckled from Harley and he kept letting out the cutest sighs.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t watching us, though.

No, our stubborn boy pulled Santos closer to me and even managed another quick pout. “’Ttention, Papa. ’Ttention.”

Bossy shouldn’t be so adorable, but it was and that made it impossible to fight against.

Even Santos stopped trying as he sat up just enough to kiss Harley’s cheek. “Yes, Daddy’s going to get lots of good attention, so you just close your eyes and listen to him being happy.”

That was an order I could get behind completely, so I let Santos handle our exhausted boy and just relaxed into Harley. For some reason that seemed to be what finally had him giving in to the exhaustion that had been pulling on him since he’d gotten off work.

All it took was for the ache to start easing and for Santos to rock his cock against my ass like he was making love to me and Harley was done.

I couldn’t decide if I was being punished or I was just the best Daddy ever, but I suckled both sides to make sure he’d sleep soundly and managed not to scream at Santos for making me crazy.

Yep, best Daddy ever.

Santos wasn’t bad either, though, because he kept up the slow rocking even though it had to be making him nuts too. My ass was fabulous and he was just teasing himself.

Yes, we were both amazing.

Santos’s groan as I finally released Harley’s nipple said he knew it too. “I can’t decide if he tortured me or if I’m going to blame my aching balls on how sexy you are.”

Hmm.

“Well, I do have a great ass.” Wiggling it against his hard cock, I grinned as he let out another frustrated sound. “I’ve got good lips too, though.”

Rolling over, I wiggled into his arms and stole a kiss.

He moaned, nibbling on my lips and teasing his tongue against mine as I silently demanded more, but as soon as he deepened it, he pulled away, eyes wide. “I.”

I wasn’t nearly as tired as Harley but I admit that it took me a moment to realize what the issue was.

The milk.

Hmm.

Santos was clearly thinking something, so I took a chance and whispered softly. “Harley said you’d never tasted it and I guess I can understand that.”

No. I could not, but that wasn’t the response he needed to hear at the moment.

“But I think it’s time that I ask a few questions.” Maybe? It had to be better than when Harley was awake just in case it was more traumatic than I was assuming.

I could handle trauma Papa…he might not be able to without worrying forever.

“I…” Santos’s gaze bounced between us for a few seconds before he let out a breath and rested his head in his hands. “Yes. You have the right to ask questions.”

I was his partner and coparenting our boy.

“You also have the right not to be ready for my questions, though.” He seemed to need that reminder, so I didn’t mind when he chuckled.

“I know.” Closing his eyes, he seemed to force himself to relax as he wrapped his free arm around me to rest his hand on Harley’s chest. “But there’s no reason to put this off.”

I wasn’t so sure about that but he needed to be in charge of the discussion for the time being.

“I lactate, yes.” That wasn’t a surprise but I nodded and waited for him to take the next step. “It started when I was a teenager, but unlike most of the men in the Lactin Brotherhood, I don’t struggle with having too much. Quickly pumping every couple of days is enough for me to be comfortable.”

Oh.

When he opened his eyes, it seemed to be him trying to decide if I understood the situation. I thought I did, but I crossed my toes that I wasn’t going to fuck up the situation. “So it’s enough to make dating narrow-minded people difficult, but not enough to make the guys who are into it happy.”

Barely nodding, Santos’s next words came easier. “It hasn’t made dating easy and it’s put me in a difficult position.”

Most men would probably think he was lucky as far as the lactating thing went, but I could see how it would be frustrating.

It still didn’t explain why he’d never tried it but that seemed to be a me thing.

“Well, it’s not an issue with us.” Harley didn’t seem to have a problem one way or the other, and I was happy to have Harley for milk cuddles. “So you just need to make what you need a little clearer. I don’t always understand why it makes some people…why it makes people react unexpectedly.”

Bodies were just bodies and did fascinating things.

Santos chuckled, leaning in to give me an almost innocent kiss that time. “Thank you for being careful with me, but I’m going to do my best not to react as strongly.”

Hmm.

“I’m not sure if that’s a healthy promise or not.” I was going to need a degree in some kind of therapy to deal with them both in healthy ways. “I think I’m supposed to let you react any way you need to.”

Although that didn’t really sound any better.

Santos shrugged, clearly not worried about what we should be doing for his mental state. “I need to think before I react or at least think as soon as I react and I haven’t been doing a good enough job at that. I’m worrying about issues that you don’t have.”

Because I was perfect and he just kept forgetting that fact.

“I’m sure you’ll find new ones.” People always did even if they had to make up ridiculous shit. “So let’s focus on those and not the ones we don’t have.”

Santos chuckled but nodded. “Deal.”

I was waiting for the other shoe to drop but he snuggled closer and kissed my head that time. Wondering if maybe there wouldn’t be footwear in my future, I raised one eyebrow and gave him a clear heads-up I was going to be a pain in the ass again. “So…can I kiss you?”

It was a make-out kind of night but I wasn’t ready to get up and brush my teeth yet.

“I deserve that question even if it’s a legitimate one.” We both knew it was, so I just waited patiently for him to stop being dramatic. “I was just surprised at how clearly I could taste him on you. It wasn’t…I was just surprised.”