12. Chad

I didn't want to wake up. If I could've stayed in that bed with Ricky for the rest of my life, I would have. But we were both covered in a light sheen of sweat, and my body was sore from being in the same position all night long. I needed to move.

"Good morning."

Surprised he was awake, I looked down at Ricky and smiled. "Good morning, sweet boy. Are you ready to get up?"

"Not really, but I guess we have to." He yawned and lifted one arm, stretching with a twist and arching his back like a sleepy kitten. "I think I need a shower."

Excellent idea. "Me too. How do you feel about conserving water and taking one together?"

He smiled widely and nodded. "Yeah. I like saving water."

I patted his bottom gently and glanced toward the bathroom door. "Hop up, sweetheart. I might have time for breakfast before I've got to get to work."

His lower lip jutted out when I mentioned leaving for work. "You have to go?" He got out of bed, still unzipped from ass up and around to his bellybutton, but he didn't try to cover himself. Good boy.

"Yeah, in about an hour. I wish I could stay longer, but I have to see clients this morning."

His shoulders dropped, and he turned to me, this time dropping his hands over his dick as if hiding it from me. "Clients that you have to see in person?"

His face was absolutely devastated, and I wasn't sure where things had suddenly gone so wrong. "Yes, but only for a few hours. What's wrong?"

Ricky's lower lip started to tremble, and he turned away, rushing into the bathroom. "Nothing."

Wrong answer, baby. "Ricky, turn around."

His whole body went rigid, and then he turned to me with big eyes.

"Last night, we talked about you being my sweet boy, right?"

That full lip began to quiver again as he slowly nodded.

"And do sweet boys lie to their Daddy?"

A single tear slipped from his eye as he slowly moved his head from left to right. "No," he whispered.

I placed my hand on this cheek and used my thumb to wipe away the tear before leaning forward and kissing his forehead. "Then you will always tell me the truth. Do you understand?"

He sniffled before blowing out a deep sigh. "Yes, Daddy."

Fuck, I liked how that sounded. What I didn't like was seeing the hurt in his eyes and hearing the pain in his voice. Tilting his head up so he was looking right at me, I took a step back and stared right at him. "Okay, then let's try this again. Why are you so sad right now?"

His chin fell forward so I was looking at the top of his head, not his anguished eyes. "I guess I'm sad that you have to go to work but more sad that you're seeing a client. I wish I could be your only client."

"Oh." I'd never had a relationship where my partner was jealous of my business. Seeing clients was just something I'd done for so long that it never played a part in my personal life. But I wanted my relationship with Ricky to be different, and I was willing to work to make that happen. Wanting to hash things out before we got in the shower, I slipped one arm behind his back and the other behind his knees and lifted him into the air.

Ricky instinctively circled his arms around my neck and relaxed, resting his head on my shoulder as I took the few steps back to his bed and sat down.

"Thank you for being honest with me. I can see how an exclusive relationship would include you being the exclusive one to feed from me." I thought about that for a moment as I considered my current client list. "Let me first tell you that I don't have a sexual relationship with my clients. As you know from the first time I was here, when I'm being paid, I don't touch or do anything inappropriate."

He bit his lip as if he wanted to say what I knew was on his mind, but he held his breath, allowing me to continue.

"But, as you also know, sometimes the client can take things a bit further on their own, and I understand that's a boundary you're not comfortable with me crossing."

Ricky sucked in a deep breath and his lip pushed out again. "I can be comfortable with it. I know you can't change everything just for me. So as long as I get you at bedtime, I can share."

I didn't want him to feel like he had to share me or that he was settling for only a portion of what he deserved. Ricky deserved every bit of me if that was what he wanted. But I did have some commitments I had to take care of before I could make major changes in my client list. "The clients I'm seeing today are newborn babies."

Ricky's eyes went wide and his jaw fell open. "Like real babies?"

"Yep. In the intensive care unit at the hospital. They were born early and don't have a mom who can feed them, so I've been hired to feed them twice a day while they're supplemented with formula and to hold them. We call it skin-to-skin therapy, and it's important for their development in these early days."

He smiled, finally relaxing. "That's so sweet. I love babies."

I cocked my head, quickly veering from my original plan. "Would you like to come with me today? After I feed them, I usually just hold them for an hour or two. You can help."

Ricky‘s eyes got big as he realized what I was saying. "You mean, I might be able to hold one of the tiny babies?"

"Yep." I kissed the tip of his nose, so happy that he was feeling better about the day. "Let's get all cleaned up, and I'll let my friend at the hospital know that he's got two helpers for today."

Ricky threw his arms around my neck and kissed me hard, smashing his lips to mine and claiming me like I'd just given him an engagement ring. "You're the best Daddy ever. I'm sorry I was being selfish. I want you to help little babies get strong and healthy."

I closed my arms around him tight, glad he understood where I was coming from. I pulled back and stared into his eyes. "If we're gonna do this—be in a relationship—we're gonna be exclusive. I'm only your Daddy and you're only my boy. No one else has any part of us in that way. Which means, I'll need to reevaluate my business model."

Ricky sighed and held up his hand to stop me from going on. "No, it's okay, Chad. You can still see your clients. I don't want to be greedy, and I love that you want to help people."

He was such a sweet boy.

"I have enough business from the frozen and fresh milk deliveries that I don't need to take on private clients. And if you're fine with occasional requests from the hospital for babies in need, I'll refer my adult clients to other consultants I know. There are plenty of us to go around." I shrugged and made sure he knew how sincere I was by holding both of his cheeks steady. "I was just trying to stay busy until I found you."

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, soaking up his warmth and affection in a way that gave new meaning to skin-on-skin contact.

This thing between us was moving at light speed, but it didn't feel rushed or sudden.

It felt perfect.