December 22

A YEAR LATER

Alot could happen in a year. One could definitely grow accustomed to flying first class in that time. One could also be on his fourth travel pillow because he kept forgetting them in lounges all over the world. Work environments could change—case in point, Kim, Mya, and I were now on the fourth floor in our own little office area, booyah—snickerdoodle recipes could be improved, people could move in together, and adorable boys could build up an impressive collection of stuffies because Daddy was awesome.

Just kidding—my snickerdoodle recipe had been perfect for years.

I munched on one right now and brushed the crumbs off my hoodie, and I laughed at the movie playing. Elf was the best! Poor Daddy—he had to work all the way to DC, while I got to nap and watch movies and eat cookies. With my newest stuffie in my lap! I’d named him Turtleton.

Every now and then, Daddy glanced my way with that sexy, soft smile of his.

I loved the red-eye, because I had no bedtime, and everything was dark and peaceful. Plus, when we arrived at our destination, we could nap together and order room service. We were champions at that!

When the movie ended, I removed my headphones and told Daddy it was time he took a break. Then I prepared some snacks for him. I ordered coffee and brought out the tiny-tiny flask of syrup I’d brought—’cause Daddy loved the one I made for him—and I gathered two cookies and some peppermint bark on his tray table.

Daddy sighed contentedly and stowed away his laptop. “What would I do without you, baby?”

“Eat way less sugar,” I laughed.

He chuckled and stretched a bit. “I still see those dark-chocolate orange squares in my dreams.”

Yeah, they’d been so good—for Daddy. The chocolate had been too dark for my tastes. “One of the upsides to my recipe exchange with Cam. He made them for Lucian.”

I was so excited to meet the new additions to Cam’s relationship tomorrow. Daddy and I had met Noa twice this year, and then we’d all had a busy summer and fall—and so much had changed for Cam and Noa! Not only had they found their third, they’d found a freaking fourth, so they had an entire kink family going on now.

Even better, Cam’s new Master was the man he’d been in love with for so long. I was very happy for my cousin. Lucian had just needed to recover from a bad relationship, and then he hadn’t been able to resist Cam for a second!

When Daddy’s coffee arrived, I poured a little bit of syrup in there before he took a sip and nodded with approval. “Excellent. Did you and Cam settle on our plans for tomorrow?”

“Yessir, he and I gotta buy some last-minute presents, and then we’ll all meet up for lunch at a restaurant he recommended,” I answered. “You won’t be outnumbered by brats this time!”

He laughed at that. “I admit, I’m looking forward to meeting Lucian and KC.”

Yeah, me too. I didn’t know much about KC, only that he was Noa’s Daddy Dom. And, um, former stepdad? Something like that.

To be honest, I hoped meeting Cam and Lucian would make Daddy think about the relationship he shared with me. ’Cause Cam told me he and his Master had recently begun discussing the idea of marriage, and my Daddy had never once mentioned it! So yeah. I wanted that thought in his head. I mean, he seemed traditional enough that marriage wasn’t a strange concept. For Santa’s sake, he’d been married already! And it felt so wrong that Daddy supposedly wanted to spend the rest of his life with me but only had been married to someone else. One might say I’d developed some jealousy issues on the topic.

He was mine, dammit. Only mine. Mine, mine, mine.