Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
That seemed to confuse him.
“First of all, if that phone ends up in the wrong hands, we don’t want anyone tracking you down,” I told him. “Second of all, I know your number by heart.”
“Oh,” he mouthed. He raked his teeth across his bottom lip—that I’d recently kissed—and snatched his beanie and gloves. “I accept that,” he muttered and walked out.
It was too soon to smile and he was already gone, but I hoped we’d find something to smile about soon enough. I had to fix this. And yes, he probably did need confirmation of how special he was to me, because he’d seen my slowing things down as rejection.
I’d already acknowledged to myself that I was powerless to resist him. Needing to pump the brakes, however momentarily, didn’t change things for me. I simply needed to think things through.
It was the responsibility of a good Daddy Dom.
Not to say the notion of becoming his Daddy Dom didn’t fuck me up, because it did. So much more was at stake now. If things didn’t work out between us… Fucking hell, I couldn’t lose that boy. He meant the world to me.
CHAPTER 7
Wade Winters
Ilost the next couple of hours going through every scenario I could think of, based on what I now knew. Our attraction to each other, if things went wrong, what Quinlan and Chris might say, how Yaya would react, the age difference, the gravity of Kayden’s crush… My own feelings.
If I wasn’t pacing or staring into the fire, I was digging out Kayden’s birthday presents and preparing them for tomorrow.
I came to a stop in the center of the floor and eyed two of the wrapped gifts in my hands, and I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of turning it into a game for him. I could give him clues about where to find the presents.
I could already sense his competitiveness. He loved to race and chase points. He had a special grin for the opportunity of defeating Chris in a game or impressing me in a challenge. All mischief and determination.
Goddammit.
I rubbed a hand over my jaw and sighed heavily.
Could I even go back to being just his overprotective brother figure at this point? I adored every moment he was in his Middle space around me. I wanted more of them.
And you want to be the Daddy he gives each smile to.
Think of the possibilities.
He already means more than anyone you’ve ever dated in the past.
More to love, more to lose?
My stomach was knotted up with stress and worries.
Kayden was an all-or-nothing kind of young man. If I wasn’t prepared to fight for a lifetime with him, I shouldn’t even open the door to the possibility. What was the alternative? Date casually? Share a kink-only dynamic? Fucking laughable. Even before I knew what it was he wanted with me, I had to be ready for anything and everything.
I hid all four birthday presents under a loose floorboard for now, and then I walked over to the window between the kitchen nook and front door. He was out there, rolling around in the snow with all four dogs.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
I bet it would be easy to fall for that boy. As effortless as falling. Into a fucking volcano.
I ran a hand through my hair.
At least I wasn’t worried about an outcome in which he got over me. I’d rather hurt for years to come and still be close to him than the other way around. If he’d liked me for so long already, maybe he already knew that kind of hurt.
That pained me.
“I do feel vulnerable, but the cat’s out of the bag and I’m not going to run away for once. I’ve had a crush on you on and off for years, and nobody likes unrequited feelings.”
They weren’t unrequited anymore.
He wasn’t going to run away, and fucking hell, neither was I.
We couldn’t go back. And why would we?
I wanted a second first kiss. One that I could remember and think back on. I’d been too shocked by my own behavior—and that it was happening at all—to enjoy what’d taken place on the couch earlier.
Okay, enough of this. It was time to figure out the rest together. Every guy wanted to be swept off his feet with patient conversation, negotiations, and let’s take this slowly.
I could feel the sexual tension already…
I was doomed.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I was shouldering this situation as if I knew what I was doing and he didn’t. In reality, he’d probably had greater successes with partners than I had. I could hem and haw till the cows came home, and I’d never felt this absurd urgency to commit or jump into things.
Until now.
The dogs took notice when I stepped out onto the porch, and it made Kayden look up as well.