Chapter 22

Grady

Happy. Worried. Turned on. Nervous.

His emotions were running the whole spectrum and it was impossible to sort them out logically. The only thing I could do was pick out the ones I was most confident about and try to help him calm those down.

Alick was worried about what I was thinking about him having such a little side and his diapers, so I focused on that first since it felt so big. "Your body is always beautiful no matter what I have you wearing. Period. But your headspace affects a lot about how I react."

And we'd started dipping into the territory that would make him nervous…but I knew we had to push through that or it would keep hanging over our heads.

"With your youngest headspace, the diapers and bottles were about taking care of you and being your Daddy. Things like the trust we were building and just how special it was for you to show that side of yourself to me was the biggest thing on my mind." Not the only, I wasn't dead, but mostly that was what I thought about.

He made a quiet, nervous sound, but he nodded like he knew he was supposed to agree with me.

I didn't think he did, so I kept going.

"But this morning when you woke up and started inching under the covers, I knew you were big." He'd still been adorable, but it was in a completely different way. "At that point, you were in your diaper and it's just got so many wonderful submissive associations for me, I couldn't help imagining you naked again and this time it was much more grown-up pictures in my head."

Alick squeaked and he was almost a tomato color, but he didn't hide and he didn't safeword.

So, progress?

Unsure, I kept stroking his face.

"I thought about holding you tight while you submitted completely for me." I didn't have to spell that part out because his mouth dropped open. "Then I'd get you all cleaned up, and of course I'd take my time doing that."

He was opening and closing his mouth like a fish and it was taking amazing amounts of self-control not to smile.

"Then I'd have to get you dirty, but I wasn't sure what direction that should take. Frotting. Jerking you off. Sucking your dick again. There are just too many options." Giving him what I hoped was a studious, slightly confused look, I raised one brow. "Do you have an opinion? If you're a good boy, I might let you pick."

Mouth open.

Mouth closed.

Mouth open.

Mouth closed.

Well, he hadn't hidden again yet.

"I know most of the time I come across as a sweet, slightly goofy Daddy, but I promise there's a wicked control freak hiding just under the surface." And it seemed like I needed to show my baby boy.

Seeing was definitely believing with some things.

So I reached under his arms and picked him up, laying him down beside me on the bed while he finally started blinking at me. It seemed to be a step in the right direction, so I stretched out beside him, propping myself up on one elbow so I could look down at him. "My sexy boy."

Running one hand over his chest, I played with the edges of his T-shirt and didn't even try to hide the lust he inspired. Sure, there were deeper emotions running through me that I knew he'd feel if he took a peek at our bond, but I didn't want there to be any question about my desire for him.

"You were so cute when you tried to hide from me, but you couldn't disguise those shivers or the needy sounds you made." Not that he seemed to realize it. "You were giving me very naughty ideas."

Yep, it wasn't my fault he was so sexy.

"Just cuddling with you made me wake up hard, but watching you and seeing you blush and hide…oh, that made me even harder." Trailing my fingers down to play with the bottom of his shirt, I made sure my hand brushed the front of his diaper.

His still dry diaper.

I wasn't going to ignore it and I wasn't going to let him hide from it either. His limits list alone said he liked this type of play, but he'd gotten so many ridiculously negative reactions about it, I knew it'd take him a while to get comfortable with it.

"Then you snuggled closer and your head kept rubbing my erection." Shaking my head as he started doing his fish impression again, I sighed. "I might have to punish you for that. You were teasing me and probably trying to edge me. I can't have that."

"No." He licked his lips, willing to fight to make his mouth and brain work at the same time. "I…I didn't do it on purpose, Daddy. I was…I was distracted."

Well, words and no safeword, we'd made incredible progress.

"Are you sure?" As I made him think again, I ran my hand around his hip and down his bottom where I squeezed his ass. "I can't imagine being cuddled up to you and not noticing you were hard."

And now I had a reason to check.

"Hmm." As I caressed around the front again, I slid my hand over his bulge and down between his legs. "Yes, I can feel your erection…or maybe a sexy cock in a diaper should be a stiffy?"

Alick went a delightful purple color, but his only form of hiding was to press his face against my chest. I'd have worried but his hips were rocking forward and getting what had to be some good friction against his cock. "Yes, I think you liked that. You've got a sexy stiffy, and I bet if you hadn't been so distracted, you'd have humped the bed."

Oh, that had him sucking in a breath.

"Has my naughty boy done that?" His reaction said he'd at least thought about it. "Have you put on your diaper and humped the bed pretending that Daddy was watching?"

His hips said yes even if all his mouth wanted to do was groan.

"I bet he was saying naughty things while he watched you." I certainly would have. "But now you have me wondering if you were humping your dry diaper or a wet one?"

That got a shiver and he sucked in a breath again.

"I'm starting to realize that I should've read between the lines on your limits list and asked a few more questions." Him pressing his face even tighter against me gave me a good idea about what his answer would be, and he was still doing his best to come against my hand, so I wasn't too worried about killing him.

"I should probably also figure out what would be a better orgasm, humping a wet diaper, humping a dry one, or humping against Daddy's cock." It was definitely a legitimate question at that point, but it seemed to scramble his brain because he went still again.

Hmm.

Oh, another shiver.

"I…I…you, Daddy?" He didn't seem confident in that answer, but we'd go through it in more detail later. "I want you?"

Had he meant for that to come out like a question?

Unsure of that, I pressed my hand harder against his erection. "Does your stiffy want to rub against Daddy's cock?"

The mix of innocent and dirty seemed to do it for him based on how his entire body tensed and a low moan escaped as he relaxed again. It took several long moments before he could deliberately react and nod against me, though. "Please?"

"Good boy." Leaning over, I kissed his head and gave his cock a squeeze. "I'm so proud of you. One more step, though, then I'll get you all clean and we'll have fun making you dirty again."

Oh, that'd scrambled his brain too.

He sucked in a breath and did his best to crawl under me. "Help."

I knew part of the feeling was wanting to hide so I couldn't see what he was thinking, but I had a feeling he needed to feel my control as well. Testing out the theory, I leaned over him and let him burrow as far under me as he wanted.

I ended up draped over his upper body with his legs tangled up in mine. I wasn't sure it was exactly comfortable physically for him, but emotionally he loved it. He sighed and it seemed like every muscle relaxed at once.

I was hoping that meant the lower muscles we'd been talking around would relax too, but I was patient, so I ran my hands over the areas I could reach and let him feel safe. "Good boy, you let Daddy know what you needed to feel safe and I'm so proud of you."

He went still for a second before nodding against me. I wasn't sure if he was agreeing that he was a good boy or if he was responding to something else, but I didn't poke at it. I simply hugged him tighter and snuggled him as best I could.

After a few more minutes, he took a slightly ragged breath and whispered so softly I wasn't sure a human could've heard him. "If I'm stuck, well, it's Daddy's fault."

That'd definitely been him talking to himself again, but I managed not to react, so I wasn't sure he realized it.

Yes, it was my fault he'd shoved his way under me and I'd become the rock he'd wanted to crawl under. The logic wasn't unexpected, though, and his talking to himself meant his brain was working enough to safeword if he needed it.

"Daddy likes control. He's a dragon. They do that." As his nearly silent rambling continued, his body started to relax again. "Doms do that too. It's logical."

Well, it was good to know that he thought I was logical.

"And I'm his sub." That seemed to connect to general submission kind of things in his head because he sighed. "That's the rules. It's on my list."

I couldn't decide if he was logical or insane, but either way I liked how he was talking himself into doing exactly what we both knew he wanted. If he had voices in his head, I was glad they were at least helpful and agreed with me.

But just in case he needed a push, I started rubbing his ass since that was one of the only parts of him poking out at an easy angle. "Such a good boy for submitting to his Daddy."

Honestly, I wasn't sure this felt like something a Daddy would do, but Master didn't seem to be his word of choice, so I just went with it.

"Who do you belong to, baby boy?" Hugging him, I went back to making slow circles over his ass. "Who do you belong to?"

He groaned, but I could feel desire surging through the mate bond, and the way his ass clenched said he was having some good thoughts too. "You…you, Daddy."

Inhuman hearing meant this answer was clear to me, but a human Dom would've struggled to hear it. Thankfully for him, his Daddy was a dragon and they were amazing Doms. "That's right, baby boy, and your Daddy likes control, doesn't he?"

The memory was too fresh to ignore and Alick had to nod under me. "Yes, Daddy."

"Good boy." His reward was for me to slide my hand between his legs, giving him the delicious friction again.

Alick's body knew what he wanted even if his brain was slow to send the message to the rest of him because he started rocking his hips before he realized what he was doing. When his moan escaped, his body jerked like it'd surprised him, but he didn't stop. "Daddy…"

"Yes, you like that softness rubbing against your stiffy." An embarrassed squeak escaped but it didn't take long for him to nod…probably because it was too obvious for him to ignore. "Good boy. And you've got such a good stiffy. I can feel it and I know it's going to feel so wonderful to come."

A needy whine filled the room as he tried to work my hand faster, but he was too trapped to get the right amount of friction…not that I was going to let him come until he'd used the diaper. This was something we had to move past or it'd fester in his head.

"We're both so lucky, baby boy. Mates are always compatible and I don't have to worry about how much I love controlling you." I could almost feel a light bulb go off over his head. "And now that we're both on the same page, I don't have to worry about liking that I got to help little Alick go potty last night."

Embarrassment surged through the bond but it was quickly followed by desire and what I thought was his submission…and then more desire.

Bingo.

"I got to help you brush your teeth and read you a book. I got to take care of you completely and that was sweet. What is this making me feel, baby boy? Can you sense it?" We were going to have to work out exactly how clear the bond was for him since he was human, but from what he'd said, it felt like he could sense quite a bit.

Waiting was hard and so was I, but after a few moments, Alick took in a slightly ragged breath and let it out slowly again. "Grown-up things. And…and happiness…and…mate things?"

That was probably a good description.

"The mate thing is how much my dragon side loves knowing you're my mate and I guess I'd describe it as a very possessive feeling. You're my mate, baby boy. All mine and I love that." Whatever he was getting from me probably surged through the bond because he let out a soft sigh and shivered.

"I…I like belonging to you, Daddy." Muscles started relaxing again as the whirlwind in Alick's head seemed to slow. "I'm…I'm your mate and you…you really like controlling your mate."

Yes, I did.

I'd clarify that I was sane later, but for the moment, I nodded against him and sighed. "Yes, I love controlling my mate because it just shows me that you're mine, and when you submit, it feels so good, baby boy."

It was almost a physical goodness, not just an emotional one, but I didn't have the words to describe it. There was just something about him being my mate that went beyond the regular happy feelings people had always described.

He was my mate.

Alick shivered again and the soft, needy sound that followed was filled with sweetness and submission. "Daddy…Daddy, say the words."

"Are you sure, baby boy?" Snuggling him tighter the way he seemed to like best, I focused on the bond and sent all the wonderful emotions I was feeling through it. "I don't want to rush you."

"I'm…I'm your mate, Daddy." His earnest whisper would've been enough, but he focused on the bond and I could feel his love flooding through it. "Mates are always compatible."

"That's right. They are, baby boy." Returning all the wonderful feelings he'd sent through to me, I focused on our bond and being his mate and his Daddy. "And as they bond, they understand so much about each other."

Just feeling his emotions brought us unimaginably close.

"I know what a wonderful friend you are and how excited you were to find your mate. I know how strong you are inside and how much you love having a Daddy to hold you tight and to take care of you." I wasn't going to downplay that I loved being wanted. "I know you've got an amazing green thumb and have created the most beautiful world to surround yourself in."

He'd made the perfect world for both of us without even realizing it.

"I know you've listened to the magic you couldn't even feel yet and let it guide you to get you ready for me." In practical matters and with things like exploring his little side instead of ignoring it.

My only regret for him was that he hadn't found someone wonderful to take care of him until I'd found him.

But I couldn't go back in time and fix that, so all we could do was talk about his insecurities and move forward.

"And I love you more than anything, baby boy." After knowing how special he was, how could I not?