Chapter 18

Eighteen

CALLUM

" M ouse seems to be happy." Simon rolled his chair away from his desk towards mine, his eyes focused on Mouse.

"We had a good talk over the weekend. He's promised no more trips to The Pit. Well, unless I'm with him," I answered, looking over to where Mouse was sitting at the counter, drawing. He'd kept on task for over an hour, but I'd noticed the little wiggles of his bottom and the occasional soft gasp he made.

This morning, after a fast round of blowjobs before Alice woke, I'd caged him like I'd promised I would. If he was able to keep on task today and finish the two pieces for me to hang up, I'd promised he could have an hour of play time when we got home, and that tonight, I'd fuck him caged and make him see stars.

To say he was eager would be the understatement of the year.

The weekend almost felt like a dream, and coming into work this morning meant stepping out of the self-created cocoon we'd been in.

Simon spun in his chair, giving me a confused look. I sighed, set my pencil down and leaned back in the chair. I wasn't going to get this sketch finished, especially with the red-haired giant sitting in front of me. I knew he and Mouse had talked briefly this morning, but I hadn't had a chance yet to ask Mouse how it went.

"What's on your mind, Sy?"

Mouse looked up at the sound of my voice and gave me a small smile, the one I was beginning to realise was just for me. It gave me a sense of pride and something deeper to know I made him feel like that.

Simon let out a deep breath. "Couple of things. Firstly, I want that prick Ziggy dealt with—either legally, or I want to beat seven shades of shit out of him. Rhys has already said he'd help."

"You know Mouse wouldn't want that. And I'm not sure how much he told you, but I feel the same way you do. But we got to let this fly how Mouse wants it to." Simon was Mouse's brother, but I was his Daddy, and in my mind that trumped big brother.

Simon arched a bushy, red brow. I could see by his face he was formulating an argument. "That prick can't get away with what he did to Mouse." Simon kept his voice low, but by the way Mouse turned his head towards us I gathered he heard him.

"Lamb," I called out to Mouse. "Watch the shop while your brother and I have a chat out the back, will you?"

Mouse nodded, shooting a worried look towards Simon. I smiled at him and nodded, and he relaxed slightly .

"Don't forget I'm supposed to meet Rhys for lunch," he said.

"We won't be long." I ushered Simon into the small kitchen at the back of the shop, pointing to one of the seats. He dropped his bulk into the chair, letting out an amused huff. "Lamb? Since when the fuck have you called Mouse ‘lamb'?"

"What did your brother tell you?" I wasn't going to give anything away without knowing Mouse was cool with it.

"He said you were helping him deal with shit, but also that he was going to start therapy with Declan. He asked that I don't bug him about it, and he'd talk to me and Dad about stuff when he felt he was ready." Simon shook his head sadly. "I didn't know he was still so messed up about Mum's death. I should've done something."

"You were lost in your own grief, and you know Mouse would've shut you out as soon as you tried to help him. He wasn't ready back then." I flicked the old kettle on and pulled out our usual mugs. I spooned instant coffee into Simon's and mine. It tasted like crap, but it was the best we could do. I shoved a few spoons of the hot chocolate powder Mouse was fond of into his mug.

"So, you going to answer my question?" Simon leaned back in the chair, and it groaned under his weight.

"Did Mouse tell you we're involved?"

Simon nodded, his face blank. "Yeah, he also told me to mind my own fucking business. Are you his Dom now too?"

"That's not something I'm going to answer, not unless Mouse has already spoken to you about it. You know my past, and I have your brother's best interests at heart. I care for him, and I don't plan on hurting him, but I also won't let you try to bully him for answers."

Simon let out a loud huff and crossed his arms. "I wouldn't."

"You bloody well would if you thought you were protecting him. You and I have been friends long enough for you to know I'm not going into this with him lightly. Your brother is special to me and if I'm honest I've had feelings for him for a while now. But as your boy eloquently put it, I had my head stuck up my arse."

Simon's face creased into a grin at the mention of Rhys, and he started to shake with laughter. "Don't worry, he got his arse paddled for that. Well, for being rude, not for stating the truth."

"Rhys is a good man, and he cares about his friends. I can't fault him for that. And he did text me an apology—but also pointed out he was still right."

Simon tipped his head back and barked out another laugh. "Course he bloody did. Look, you're my best friend and Mouse is my baby brother. I know you're not going to hurt him, but I feel like I'm supposed to do the whole shovel talk." Simon tilted his head and looked me up and down, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Well, fuck me, Rhys was right."

"Rather not. Bears aren't my type. And what was your boy right about?"

"You're Mouse's Daddy. Fuck, I never saw that coming. I knew you two were attracted to each other, I mean anyone with half a brain could see that. Mind you, the two of you were so dense it took you over a year to figure it out."

"Hey, I resemble that comment."

"Just speaking the truth. Okay, I'm not going to bug you anymore. I know how I'd feel about it if someone started sticking their nose into mine and Rhys's business. And I promise not to say anything to Mouse. His choice if he tells me or not."

"Glad to hear it. And it really is Mouse and mine's business. You're like family to me Sy, but Alice and Mouse are my priorities."

"Understand. I am happy for the two of you. Just, you know, needed to get the bullshit posturing out of the way."

A soft rap at the door had us looking over. Mouse stood there wearing a worried frown. "I didn't hear yelling or punches thrown so I figured everything was okay, but I thought I'd better check."

I held my arm out and Mouse stepped forwards, cuddling into my side. "We're good. Did you talk to him about the other thing?"

Mouse nodded and Simon grinned back. "Think it's a damn good idea, as long as it's not taking all of your savings. You know Mum wanted you to be able to look after yourself."

Mouse nodded, and I saw the pain in his eyes. "I think I was holding on to the money for so long because of guilt. Cal's helping me see past that. I'm not there yet, and I'm going to be honest, it's part of the reason I'm seeing Dec. Other shit too, that I don't want to get into right now. But buying into Viking Ink is something Mum would be proud of. She was so proud of you guys buying your dad out, Cal, and she kept saying this would bring good things."

"I think you're right." Simon stood, and I didn't miss the glisten of moisture in his eyes. "You going to give me a hug then? I was so fucking worried about you."

Mouse smiled. "Come here, you great lump. Just watch the back, yeah?"

Simon wrapped Mouse in a gentle hug, and I had to fight back a grin when Simon said, "You sure I can't accidentally pummel Ziggy's face into the ground a couple of times? We could call it my ‘happy you got together with my best mate' gift, or some shit."

Now I did laugh, especially at the exasperated look on Mouse's face.

"No pummelling, accidental or otherwise. That goes for the both of you. Ziggy's done. He's out of my life, and from what Cal told me, Marcus is making sure he's banned from every club in the north, and a few more to boot. It wasn't about kink for him, so I doubt he'll try anyway. It was about hurting me. But it backfired, and I don't want to waste another minute thinking about that sick fuck."

"Heard and understood," Simon muttered, stepping back. "I'm going to go get set up. Got another client coming in soon." With that, he headed back out into the studio.

I sat down at the small table and was pleasantly surprised when Mouse climbed into my lap, wrapping his arms around my neck.

"Need a hug, Daddy."

"Course, lamb." I kissed the side of his face and held him. I was never going to get used to how good this felt. " So proud of you, Mouse. You stuck with your tasks, and you handled Simon well."

"Thank you. It felt good to finish the piece, and talking to Simon was something I had to do. And it didn't go as badly as I thought it would."

I held him against me. We'd have to get back to work soon, but for a moment I got to enjoy this. "Hmm. When we get home you get to pick two things from your reward list."

We'd spent part of Sunday banging out a reward and punishment list. As far as Mouse was concerned it had way too many punishments, but I disagreed. His rewards ranged from extra time to play his video games to a nice ouchie-session with my vampire gloves, and everything in between.

Mouse looked up at me hopefully. "Can I get extra time playing Diablo III with Rhys tonight? We're going to do a Greater Rift run and bedtime is going to get in the way, and I'm so close to getting the season's rewards, Daddy."

"I think that's doable. What about your second reward?"

Mouse wiggled in my lap, giving a breathless chuckle when I tickled his side. He pushed his face against my neck and hummed as he thought.

"I want you to fuck me while I'm still caged, and not take it off me no matter how much I beg."

I buried my face against Mouse's hair. Jesus, this boy knew how to get to me already. "That sounds like a perfect way to end the day. So, no coming?"

Mouse shook his head. "Nope. And you might have to gag me so I don't wake Alice. I'm very loud when I want something badly."

I gave a breathless sort of laugh. "You're my perfect little Mouse." I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "We'd better get back into the shop. I'll finish making these cuppas and bring them out, and you can finish up that design you're working on."

"What do you want the designs for?"

"Well, I thought that you might like to come with me to the Steel and Skin expo in Glasgow next month, and whichever design I like best, you can put on me."

Mouse rocked back in my arms, his beautiful, brown eyes wide in shock. "That—holy fuck, that's—" He lunged forwards and kissed me hard before pulling back and grinning. "You know, I've always been jealous when you and Simon headed off to those big events. I can't believe you want me to come, and to ink you."

"Been planning on inviting you for a while. You earned your spot, lamb. Your work has been amazing and it's time to show it off. Besides, I heard there was going to be an extreme-piercing showcase and a suspension display."

"Oh man, that sounds amazing. But what about Alice? I don't want her to feel like I'm taking her dad's attention and time away." Mouse settled back down in my lap, looking thoughtfully at his hands.

"She won't feel like that, and you're not. I know it's a valid fear, but I promise my heart is big enough for the both of you to fit. You're both going to give me extra grey hairs I'm sure, but I love it."

"Your silver hairs are sexy as fuck. And okay, but I think we need to sit and have a proper talk with her. Tonight, maybe."

"Okay, I trust you." The bell over the shop door tinkled. "I'd better get out there. We don't want to leave Simon alone with customers too long. Mind you, he's not the one who calls them pretentious wankers."

Mouse smirked. "Nah. He just glares at them. Only time he's not growly is when he's cuddling Rhys."

I squeezed Mouse gently. "Funny how that works."