Chapter 11

A quiet snuffle woke me up, probably the only thing in existence that might be better to wake up to than the big, solid body I was tucked up against.

For a second, I didn't move. Couldn't, because even though Daddy was breathing in a soft, slow rhythm that told me he wasn't awake yet, his arms were wrapped all the way around me, holding me just as close as he had been when we'd fallen asleep.

After we'd done… um… all that.

A giddy sort of happiness bubbled up inside me, the kind I didn't even know it was possible to feel. And then the little beagle made another quiet sound, and my happiness burst into something even brighter.

I carefully wiggled out of Daddy's hold and scooted over to the edge of the bed, then peeked over.

A pair of the most gorgeous brown eyes in existence staring back up at me.

"Hi, girl," I whispered, reaching down to pet her head. "Are you okay?"

Her tail gave a small, tentative thump, and my heart soared. God, I'd been so scared for her—scared and mad—when that car had slammed into her. It had been horrifying, and it wasn't until I'd heard a quiet little whine that I'd realized the worst hadn't happened.

But I'd still feared it might.

She was really, truly going to recover though, wasn't she? Both Daddy and the vet had said so, but I knew that wasn't the kind of thing someone could promise.

Except, when Daddy made promises, maybe it was.

He'd kept every one he'd ever made me, and I bit my lip hard to hold in a smile when the little beagle gave my hand a cautious lick. Then another.

"I wonder what your name is?"

The bed dipped behind me, Daddy sitting up and pressing a kiss against my bare shoulder, then leaning over me to look at her, too. "I think that's up to you, baby boy."

His voice was scratchy with sleep, deep and low, and it sent a shiver through me that had my dick jumping with excitement.

I could easily imagine feeling weird about getting off with another man for the first time, or even feeling nervous about what it all meant, if it was real and if it would last, the morning after something like that.

I could imagine it… if I hadn't been with my Daddy.

But for the first time in my life, I didn't feel anxious about what I was doing or whether it would work out. I couldn't. Not with him. He made me feel?—

Well, lots of things. But calm and safe and happy were definitely three of them.

Being with him in person may have been brand new, but I knew him. I trusted him.

And even though it was obviously way, way too soon to say so out loud, I loved him, too. I was in love with him. Head over heels. And now that he'd said yes to everything, to just being with me from now on, not any other boys at the club, I was going to do everything I could to find a way to make him love me back someday, too.

I was his.

And I wanted him to be mine not just for right now, but hopefully forever.

The dog, though, was another story.

"She's too cute not to have an owner," I said, a little bit sad about that even though of course I wanted her to be loved. "So, um, I'm sure she already has a name."

"Maybe," Daddy agreed. "But no collar. No tag. No chip. We can try to find out if someone's missing her, but we should still call her something for now, don't you think?"

Her tail thumped again like she agreed, and I ducked my head, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. "Yeah, I guess so?"

"Is that a question?" Daddy teased me, rolling me back over to face him and tipping my chin up.

His eyes sparkled, and with the morning scuff on his face and the way his lazy, tender smile felt like something private and special and just for me, he was so overwhelmingly gorgeous that I almost couldn't breathe.

"Baby?"

"Oh! Um, yes. I mean, no? I don't… What was the question?"

He laughed, and I groaned, tucking my face into his neck. "Daddy," I said, throwing the no-whining rule right out the window, because right now, it did not apply. "You make my brain shut down."

He chuckled again, then kissed the top of my head, and I was pretty sure he was about to kiss me in a much more interesting way given the excited state we were both in under the covers, but then my phone buzzed from the nightstand.

Daddy pulled back, arching an eyebrow. "Do you want to check that?"

"No."

He laughed, dipping in for a quick kiss but then reaching past me for my phone and handing it to me. "I think you should. Remember, the vet has your number and they might have heard something."

He was right. They'd said they'd post a missing pet report for us.

But it wasn't the vet. It was Jacob.

I bolted upright, all the soft, sexy, happy-morning vibes shattering into shards of ice. "Oh my God. The house is flooding!"

Daddy sat up too, not looking even close to as panicked as I felt, but still with a super serious expression on his face. "Can I see?"

I thrust the phone into his hands, shaking. Then I realized I couldn't do that. I had to fix this.

I jumped out of bed, then looked down at the little beagle as another wave of panic hit. I was sure Daddy would drive me home and not make me take an Uber, but we couldn't just leave her. So I should take an Uber. But I didn't want to go alone. But it wasn't his responsibility.

Oh God. My parents were going to kill me. I might have enough in the account for a plumber next month, but if it was flooding as bad as Jacob said it was, it might need more than that? And I didn't know?—

"Owen," Daddy said, turning me around to face him.

He was still stark naked and oh my God, so hot, but I couldn't even enjoy that because I?—

"Baby," he said, a little sharply, but not mean. "Breathe."

"Okay."

He smiled. "That's it. Now take another one. We're going to handle this."

"Okay," I repeated, my panic settling down a little bit even though I still had no idea how we were going to handle this.

"Are you okay with me calling your roommate back directly?"

I nodded.

"Good boy."

That made even more of the panic calm inside me, and I couldn't even be embarrassed about it.

Daddy smiled, kissing my forehead. "I want you to go get yourself dressed, then take the pup out to do her business and get her fed and watered while I talk to your roommates and give Juan a call."

"Juan? Um, why?"

"Because he lives closer to your house than I do, and doesn't have a dog to care for before he heads over, so he'll beat us there."

"But… why?" I repeated, still confused.

Daddy gave me a look that was both stern and tender, and I knew the flooding was a big deal—like really big, capital-B Bad—but it was impossible for panic to even exist in the same world as a look like that, and the feeling of relief that rushed in to take its place, even before Daddy said a word, was so big that it had tears springing to my eyes.

"Because, baby," he said softly. "You're my boy, and I'm taking care of you."

I still had no idea what that had to do with his friend Juan but I didn't ask again, because I didn't have to. I wasn't on my own anymore. I didn't have to figure this out all by myself this time, or be overwhelmed by how much I didn't know, or try to figure out where to start.

Daddy had already told me what my job was right now—clothes, then dog—and all I had to do right now was do it.

I felt horrible that Stumpy had lost a leg, but I had to admit she was kind of adorable in a tenacious survivor kind of way once I got her all set up in her sling with the cute wheels, so she could push herself around. She was still too weak and exhausted to really explore Daddy's amazing backyard, but I could tell that she wanted to.

Focusing just on that for now, like Daddy had said I should, went a long way toward easing some of the tight panic that had hit me when I'd first read Jacob's text.

"Good job, Stumpy," I said as she sniffed a bush, then looked back at me with her tail wagging a little, like she wanted me to notice.

I smiled at her, pretty sure she'd be happy living here forever.

I didn't blame her.

The house my parents had bought was fine. Not too nice, since their long-term plan was to just keep renting it to college students, since it was so close to campus. But there was nothing really wrong with it.

Well, other than the flooding and some of the maintenance I could never quite seem to catch up on.

But still, it was nothing like Daddy's house.

He'd mentioned once when we'd been texting that he'd built it himself, and now that I was here, I could see all the care he'd taken in designing every bit of it. How warm and comfortable it felt with the seasoned wood and golden lights. How Stumpy and I could laze around in the cozy living room or play ball in the backyard together if we both actually lived here, too.

Stumpy started awkwardly chasing a butterfly, and I got a little lost for a second in a daydream about Daddy and I making dinner together in his gorgeous kitchen, then sitting out on the patio, all curled up together to watch the stars with the beagle at our feet.

Then my face flushed with embarrassment when I realized how dumb I was being, spinning this whole future where Daddy and I were…

Well, where we hung out.

A lot.

Or, you know, like I lived here too. And not just because, if I was being super, super honest with myself, I wouldn't mind living somewhere else where I didn't have to be responsible for everything all on my own. Not even because Daddy's house was so gorgeous.

It was because of him.

I liked him.

And I kind of wished he liked me enough to… to want to spend more time together, too.

"Dumb, right, Stumpy?" I whispered, scooping her up after she finally got done with the butterfly and did her business.

It was a little bit awkward with her casts and assistive mobility device, but she was worth it. Especially when she gave my chin a tiny, cautious lick.

Which naturally I had to reward with a dozen more kisses and scritches before going back inside to face the rest of today.

It was going to suck. I already knew that. But when I got back inside and finished feeding Stumpy, Daddy said he'd already given my roommates instructions on how to shut off the water, make sure nothing electrical was a danger, and start mitigating the flooding.

There was nothing else for me to do yet, other than make sure Stumpy took her medicine and got settled on her bed—where she promptly fell asleep—then get myself dressed and ready to go.

By the time we drove out to my house, Daddy's friend Juan had already started using a boxy truck with huge hoses to get the water out, and he told us that his sister was on her way to Daddy's house to watch over Stumpy for us, in case she woke up and needed anything.

"Is it, um, is it really bad?" I asked, hugging my arms around myself as some of my Daddy-induced calm slipped away once I saw how wet everything was.

Daddy put his arm around me, which for some reason made Juan grin and wink at me, which had to mean it wasn't too bad, right? Or else he wouldn't have looked so laid back and cheerful?

"It's probably not going to livable for a few days," Daddy said, which both made my stomach cramp but also made me appreciate that he wasn't sugarcoating it. "The flooding may have damaged some of the flooring, and Juan says the hot water heater is shot."

"Okay. Um, okay." I nodded, maybe a little manically, and rubbed my clammy hands on my pants. "So, maybe I should call the insurance company?"

Daddy smiled at me. "That's right, baby. And I can help answer any questions they have if you'd like."

"Yes, please."

"You should also let your parents know, if they're the property owners."

My stomach swooped, but he was right. "Okay," I whispered. "Um, yeah. I can do that."

"I know you can. I'm proud of you. But before any of that, why don't we go through and make sure you've got what you need for the next few days, and see if there's anything we need to salvage or remove."

"What I need? For what?"

He frowned. "I told you, sweetheart, you boys can't stay here during the remediation. It will take a few days at a minimum to dry everything out enough for you to return, and then you'll need to get a new hot water heater installed and probably get the whole system checked before you've got running water again."

A sick dread filled my stomach, but I tried to breathe through it and be an adult about it all. "Oh. Okay. Um, so… should I get a hotel then? Do I have to pay for one for Jacob and Ryan and Tyler, too, do you think? Because they've already paid rent for the month, so it wouldn't be fair if?—"

"Baby," he said, cutting me off with another of those stern/tender looks. "Your roommates have already made arrangements. They've got places to stay. And I assumed you'd come home with me."

I stared at him. He did? That kind of made me want to cry… and kind of made me want to beg him to fall in love with me already, as totally and completely as I'd already fallen for him, and then never, ever, ever leave me. Not for the rest of my life.

"Owen?"

I blinked, shoving all that down deep where it wouldn't burst out during any embarrassing moments. "Um, okay. If you're sure?"

He laughed, low and gentle, and pulled me in for a kiss. "I'm sure."

"How long can I stay?" I blurted.

My face flamed. I had not meant to ask that. He'd already said it would probably only be a couple of days until the house was livable again.

"Sorry! I didn't mean, um, I know you already told me. And don't worry! If you get sick of me before everything's fixed over here, I can leave early!"

"I'm not going to get sick of you, baby boy."

I bit my lip. "You might?"

He laughed. "No."

"But—"

He covered my lips with a finger. "No."

I tugged it down. "But what if you do? Because I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"I won't. And if you're worried about that, then let me make it clear. You will always be welcome in my home. No house disaster required. Always, baby. I want you there for as long as you'd like to stay."

"That, um, that might be a really long time," I whispered, my heart starting to pound.

And instead of taking it back, or pointing out that he obviously hadn't actually meant "always"—at least, not the kind of always that also meant forever—he just smiled as if I'd given him something precious, leaned down and kissed me, and whispered "I hope so" in my ear.

And then did every single thing he'd said he would, sticking by my side as I dealt with the soggy stuff in the house and the insurance company and my roommates and even my parents, too.

And then he took me home.

Well, to his home.

But making him fall in love with me suddenly didn't seem quite as far-fetched or impossible, and between that and the way the sleepy beagle opened her eyes and gave her tail a happy thump when we walked in, it kind of felt a little bit like it might be okay to dream of it being my home someday, too.