by Maren Smith
“Hit the brakes, Sunflower.”
I loved her giggle that made her sound like she was sixteen instead of in her fifties. “So, what do I owe for the pleasure of conversing with my blessed child?”
“I've been keeping a secret.”
“We've discussed this. Secrecy implies we have a lack of trust.”
I shook my head—it was the only time she ever went full-parent on me. Trust and honesty were paramount in the Grove’s household. “You know I trust you, I always have, but I was just…just seeing where it would go.”
“Please tell me there's a person.” She practically danced where she was seated in the middle of her bed.
“Yes, his name is Anderson Mara.”
“Sexy name, promising. Is he fulfilling all your needs, Little and Whisper?”
“This isn’t a therapy session, and you will not get details, but yes.”
“I'm so happy for you. Is he around? Or will I have to catch a flight and surprise you so that I can even be introduced? I'm starting to feel as if you're ashamed of your parents. I can understand your father, I mean, military, lack of personality, strict…”
“Mother, you married him because you found him sexy in his uniform and wanted to see him out of it.”
“That is true. And I shouldn't say such things about my perfect husband.”
“Anderson is a lawyer, corporate, international law.” I snorted hard at her look of horror. “You married the man your parents were protesting in the sixties. Get over it. He's handsome and sweet, intelligent, and gives amazing cuddles.”
“You were always a cuddler. Very tactile. That's why I always stressed having an affectionate partner that was attuned to your specific needs.”
“And I am very affectionate.”
At the amused sound of his voice, I tipped my head all the way back. He brushed a kiss to my forehead, and as I looked back at my screen, he cupped my jaw and rubbed my cheeks with his thumbs. My mother had that look on her face, the happy one that brightened her eyes and turned her face slightly pink. She'd never been the type to be able to suppress her emotions.
“Told you I'd be back shortly. They didn't even need me. I could've told them where the file was. Who is this beautiful woman? No wonder my baby is adorable.”
“I'm Sunflower, the life-giver of the petulant one.” She introduced herself with a flourish, and I could already tell she was charmed by him.
“Nice to meet you, Sunflower, and I appreciate you.”
“He is sweet. I'm so happy to meet you.” He stood up, and I saw her grin get wider. “Ah, now I see. Did you pounce on his belly at the first opportunity?”
“So I'm not special, I see,” he said, as he took the seat next to me and drew me close, tucking me under his arm.
“You very much are. My son looks content, happy, and most importantly, safe.”
“And I promise to keep him that way. He told me you were in Japan, and I was wondering when I'd get the pleasure to meet his parents?”
“His father is off training, getting sweaty without me having the pleasure of partaking in the arousing view.”
“Sunflower,” I chastised, and Anderson chuckled loudly.
“You ruin all my fun. We have put in for leave so that we may visit our son. It's been a year since I've been able to put my hands on him.”
“Don't worry about finding a place to stay, my home has plenty of rooms. It would be my honor if you'd stay.”
I just settled more heavily on him and watched the interplay between them. If I didn't know my mother well enough, I'd warn her off. My parents were never fond of the men I'd introduced them to over the years. My dad hadn’t trusted them, or Mom thought they weren't empathetic enough to meet my emotional needs. He turned his head to kiss my cheek.
“I'm going to leave you two to catch up, and I'll get dinner started, baby boy, okay?” I nodded. “I hope we get to talk soon, but it's past his dinnertime.” They said their goodbyes, and I turned the phone until I was centered.
“You did great, Whisper. I approve, and he’ll make your dad happy. You know how he is about you being taken care of.”
“But we've only been together a few months.”
“Honey, your father and I haven't been separated by anything but his job since we met. Love or affection, whatever, doesn't have to take a lifetime. Sometimes we just know when someone is right. Our souls know.”
“Don't start with the reincarnation debate. We definitely don't have the time for it.”
“I can't wait to get home so we can have our debates again. I miss going up against your beautiful mind. How did I do so much right with you?”
“I think you're biased.”
“No, I'm not. We gave you the perfect home for you, the safety and open dialogue that a child needs to grow into a human that's spiritually and emotionally elevated. He and I disagreed on a lot with your upbringing, but never that. I'm going to go brag that my son has found his one. You have your dinner, and I'll see you soon.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, Whisper. You've always made me proud, no matter what you've thought.”
My face heated, and she giggled at her evil compliment giving. I disconnected the call and got up from the couch. I made my way to the kitchen and found him staring into the fridge. As I reached him, I wrapped my arms around his waist so my hands could curve around his belly.
“How does my boy feel about takeout? We just went shopping, how are we out of things?”
I loved it when he said we. He'd always done it as if I already had a permanent place in his home.
“We have plenty. You just don't want to cook any of it.”
“Semantics, baby boy. I'm sorry I had to run out.”
“Daddy, my father's in the military, so him running out is several countries, continents or oceans away. You went to your office.”
“Still doesn't mean I had to like it.” I stepped back, and I easily mimicked his movements without losing my hold. He turned in my arms, and I giggled as he lifted me to the island. “I'm not one who likes to break my promises. I told you we'd have a nice evening, just the two of us. Your Little could play, and then I'd take my big boy to bed.”
“And you are, you're here. I don't want to sound like I don't want you around, but big me likes my space. I don't want you to get mentally exhausted taking care of my needs.”
“And I can tell you honestly, that'll never happen. I loved coming home earlier with you waiting for me. I just want you to be happy.”
“And I am. Never doubt that. For the first time in my life, I have the Daddy and the man I was always looking for in one. We'll be great as long as neither of us tries to do more than we're capable of.”
“I didn't think that when Bell showed up, he'd have the person I was looking for with him. Now that we've established that we're just fine, how about that dinner?” he asked as he pulled out his phone and opened the meal delivery app.
We went through it until we picked something we wanted. He made the order. As soon as he was done, I wrapped my arms and legs around him as he carried me back to the couch to cuddle. Maybe my mother was right and time wasn't always a factor—some people just fit together the way they were supposed to, and I was going to enjoy that mine found me.
Chapter Ten
Anderson
Fuck, I hoped he liked it. My boy had a rough work week. He loved the kids and families he assisted, but there were also nasty parts of his job. Things that made him sad and in need of extra cuddles. He came to me to be held as he cried to release the horrors he'd seen or file he read. I wanted to protect him from that, but even with the stress of it, he felt like he was making a difference. The good softened the blow of the bad but didn't erase it completely.
I backed out of the room and surveyed my work. It was a bedroom fit for my baby boy. The furniture had arrived and was in place, and then I'd put a serious dent in the toy department. Not to mention the books that lined the shelves for bed
time. The closet had all the clothes my boy would need.
I'd painted the walls deep purple because it was his favorite color. The furniture was covered with a rich, dark stain, and I'd hung a blanket over the back of the oversized rocking chair, big enough for us both. His Little didn't have a designated space, and for our three-month anniversary, I was giving him one.
“Anderson.” I groaned at Bell's voice, yelling up the steps. I should've taken my boy's advice and not given, as Whisper called him, Bundy 2.0 a key. It was only supposed to be used for emergencies.
“Upstairs.” A few seconds later, he was stepping off on the second floor. “What are you doing here?”
“Mom is trying to set me up again. I had to escape, and she knows where I live.”
“Don't you have friends?”
“Go for the nuts, why don't ya? Someone's grumpy for being all happy and in love.” He was about to say something else until he noticed the room. “He's going to love it.”
“Thanks. I know it's a bit extravagant for a present, but he deserves it.”
“You've made him happy, man, a Little's dream room or just giving him a place to come after a bad day. I'm expecting a huge, and I mean a massive birthday present for introducing you two.”
“You brought him as free manual labor.”
“No, I didn't.” He gave me a wicked grin. “He hadn't dated in a while, and I knew this really nice bisexual dude who I kinda consider a friend who moved back to town. So, I thought, why not, what's the worst that could happen? Free labor, and never see each other again.”
“Thanks.”
“You're welcome. Besides, I took him to the club, and he didn't pay attention to any guy that hit on him. As long as I've known him, he’s had this obsession with bears, the hairier, the better. And don't get me started on the bellies.”
I chuckled as he shuddered, and I thought he protested a bit too much. “So who’s the woman your mother wants you to marry?”
“Some debutante. I had to listen for a half-hour about her chipped nail. I swear you'd think it was a catastrophic global warming event, and Mother Earth was going to wipe us out. I should've pointed out what today's humidity did to her hair.”
“You're such a bitch.”
“I wish Mom would get it through her head I'm gay. I've had to come out a hundred times, and she waves it off with her pageant perfection back and forth sway.”
I laughed as he did the perfect pageant or parade wave. “You do that too good.”
“We all have our secret talents. When’s he supposed to be here?”
“Any minute. He called saying he was going by his place, and then he'd be here.”
“I'll skip out then. I don't want to ruin your night.”
“You can stay if you’re worried about Miss Chipped Nail.”
“No, that's cool. I'll go somewhere to get myself some dinner and then head home. She'll need her Bathory Bloodbath, so, she's probably in for the night.”
“Just stop going to your Mom's.” I felt bad for him. Coming from the picture-perfect society family had worn him down. I'd been a part of that for a few years, and I was exhausted just thinking about what the image required.
He hung around for a few more minutes, and then I made my way to the kitchen. I was just pulling dinner out of the oven when I heard the front door open and close. Everything was ready, so I hoped I was, too.
I went to meet my boy, and the second he'd spotted me, a smile widened his lips.
“Hi, baby boy.”
“Hi, Daddy, how was work?” he asked as I leaned down to kiss him.
I hugged him tighter until I felt his laughter against my lips. “It was good. What about you?”
“Low-key, nothing major.”
“Do you know what today is?”
“Um, Friday?” I growled at his answer, and he pressed his lips to mine again. “Third-month anniversary since we had dinner.”
“And that means presents.”
“Anderson, you're going overboard on the presents, but I'm not going to complain because they're usually exceptionally fun ones.” He stared up at me with a wicked expression.
“Come on. I'm too nervous to wait until after dinner to show you.” And I was, it was a big step. I made him a space in my house. It was a decree for permanence, and as much as I felt ready to make the statement, we still had a long way to go before moving in together or anything else.
I took his hand and led him upstairs. I saw his confusion as we stopped outside one of the supposedly empty guest rooms.
“Close your eyes.” He did, and I moved him to stand in front of the door. I hugged him with one arm, took a deep breath, and opened it to reveal his room. I moved him inside until I stopped us in the middle. “Okay, open them.”
His gasp was followed by silence as he looked around, but he never left me to investigate.
“I know it's big and probably too much, but I wanted you to have a space that was yours. That you could be Little any time. This is for you. If the door is closed, I know you just want to have time to regress and process. If it's open, then you're inviting me in.”
“You did this for me?” His voice cracked, and I turned him to face me. He had tears caught on his lower lashes, and one made a slow journey down his cheek.
“Baby, it's always for you. You know I'm not fond of your job. I see what a bad day does to you. This was my way of giving you the escape you needed, with or without me. This is also saying that I want you in my life, my home, but that your alone time is important to me, too. One day we'll make all the other big adult steps that I'm ready for, but you're not.” He opened his mouth to protest. “None of the explanations. We've had all the talks. The expectations laid out. You know I want you to move in one day, maybe more. Me forcing you to take steps outside your timeframe will ruin what we have.”
“Thank you.” He twined his arms around my neck and held me tight. I hugged him back and lifted him off the floor.
“Did I get everything you needed?”
“You got way more than I needed. It's the perfect play space.”
“I'm glad you think so. I wanted a designated space, one that completely separates regression from adult. I want you to come here any time you need, whether I'm home or not. Just let me know with a text so I don't worry.” We always turned our phones on silent when we were together. That time was for us. This room went the same way.
“I promise I'll message. Can I explore?” He wiggled down, and I reluctantly released him.
“It's yours, explore away.” I backed away until I leaned in the doorway. The happiness on his face, the awe in what I'd done, was clearly there for me to see. Being a Daddy Dom over the years was something I could ignore in the hectic schedule of my life or when I knew someone didn't want that part of me.
My boy wanted every part—the almost middle-aged man, the loving and affectionate Daddy with moments of strictness. I knew my expression was probably silly as I observed him touching every item he passed or testing out the rocking chair and bed. My job had turned into my life. Casual sex replaced the happy ending I craved. I wanted a person to see me, accept and love the parts that, to some, were weird or undesirable.
I'd found that in a sassy man and boy who'd made every piece connect, especially the ones I'd never found a place for. Loving him until he was ready—that was all I needed.
Epilogue
Whisper
I was in my favorite spot in the house—on my Daddy's lap. I was sucking my pacifier as he read me a bedtime story. We'd been together a year, but I hadn't moved in yet. I liked having my own space even if I was at home with him more than my house. He understood, and he still traveled for work.
“Baby boy, I love you so much.” He plucked my paci from my mouth.
“I love you, too, Daddy.” I met his mouth with mine, but he didn't do more than gently brush his lips to mine. The room that he’d set up for our Daddy and Little time wasn't for sex. He'd take me to our bedroom for that. I was su
rrounded by all my things—toys, bed, everything needed to keep a baby boy and Little happy.
“Are you ready to be Daddy's big boy?”
I nodded my head. Then he set my book aside, stood, and carried me to his big bed. He laid me down gently and stripped me of my superhero pajamas and my cloth training pants. As soon as I was naked, he straightened and I watched him as he removed every item of clothing, exposing his big hairy body. His thick cock was already hard and ready. He grabbed the lube and condom, placed it on the bed, and then stretched out.
“My baby is so sexy, needy.” As he whispered, he stroked my oversensitive clit—pinching it between his fingers and my hips arched off the bed.
A shuddering sigh escaped my lips as he moved lower and pushed two fingers inside me. I rode his fingers as he roughly kissed me, biting at my lips and working his way down my neck, chest, sucking up marks as he went. His marks reminded me who I belonged to when he wasn't around, as if I'd forget. He'd loved on and fucked me countless times.
My skin turned sweaty, and my stomach contracted as he drew his tongue from my navel through my bush. I pushed my head into the pillow as he wrapped his mouth around my clit, sucking me off as I fisted my hands in his hair.
“Daddy.”
My tensed muscles relaxed slightly as he released my long nub, and his fingers slipped from me, only to be replaced by his tongue.
“You like when I suck you off, don't you, boy?”
“Uh-huh.” My thighs rested on his broad shoulders, and his big hands were curved around the front, massaging the shaking muscles. I hissed as he bit my inner thigh, sucking hard. I watched as he released it, my skin red and bruised, and he repeated on the other side. He knew just where I needed to be touched. How rough or gentle I needed it—my Daddy gave me everything.
I squeaked as his fingers were back, but this time slicked with cool lube, and he worked his fingers inside. Fuck, I loved it when he fingered me, vagina or ass, as long as he was inside me.
“My boy's needs always come first, unless he's being naughty, and then he gets corrected and my big boy doesn't get Daddy's cock.” He pinched my still sore ass from my spanking because I'd thrown a tantrum when he said it was bedtime earlier than normal. He removed his touch, and he pushed up to kneel between my spread thighs.
