Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Cameron Jacobson

“Hold on, checking the mailbox now.” I trapped my phone between my shoulder and cheek and opened the mailbox. Bills, bills, insurance whatever—ooh, coupons… There! “I think I got it,” I said quickly, excitement bubbling up. “It’s a gold envelope.”

“That’s the one,” Macklin said with a smile in his voice.

I hurriedly opened the letter and couldn’t help but grin widely. It was official. Master Kingsley and Tate were getting married in June!

“Wait—oh, holy crap…” I took a breath when it dawned on me that they were getting married with a kink theme. The invitation was addressed to Master Lucian Leroux and Sir KC Hayles, and they each got a “plus-one slave.” It was a high-protocol wedding.

Oh my God.

“Did you see it yet?” Macklin pressed. “It’s gonna be all Masters and slaves.”

“I see it.” I scanned the elegant invitation, all dark red and gold, and I couldn’t freaking wait. “I don’t know what to say. I’m so flippin’ excited!”

He laughed softly. “Me too—partly because, I mean, it’s right up our alley, but also…”

I nodded and cracked up. “Imagine all the Littles and brats!”

“I know! Lane and Ty have been bitching about it all morning.”

Too fucking funny. I couldn’t wait to see Noa in a fancy suit, and how he’d have to act like a perfect little slave boy.

If nothing else, maybe he could find the humor in it. He needed that. The past three days, we’d worked overtime to brighten his mood, and he was slowly but surely coming out of his shell. At least, he didn’t fear Christine was right any longer. KC had made him understand that she was a total narcissist.

Now, Noa was mostly mourning and trying to let go so he could move on.

After I’d wrapped up my call with Macklin, I headed back inside to continue lunch preparations. KC was at work, Master was running errands, and Noa was on a playdate. Mr. West had picked him up earlier, and he’d dropped off Noa and Kit at their house with McDonald’s. They were gonna watch movies while Kit’s Daddies were at work.

I was off today, so I was very happy. I’d already done laundry, picked up groceries, cleaned the pool, prepared lunches for KC, and essentially aired out our entire house.

Spring was in the air, and I wanted to feel it indoors too.

I stirred the soup on the stove, then returned to my to-do list on the counter.

Buy flowers, take down the luggage from the attic, edit the clamp video…

I scratched the side of my head with the pen and decided to edit Noa’s video tonight after dinner. I had a feeling all the Sadists in the community would love it—and in retrospect, I understood Master and Daddy’s reasoning for forcing nipple clamps on Noa the other day. Man, he’d ended up crying so hard. But he’d needed the emotional release.

“Take out the fish,” I mumbled to myself. That was the next item on the list. I headed over to the freezer and pulled out the package with four whole fishies. Sea bream was Master’s absolute favorite fish, and it was very healthy.

It was the best way to get Noa to eat fish too. He liked anything with a face.

Like the time we’d had a romantic date at a seafood restaurant, and Noa had been all, “Look at the eye! It’s so squishy!” Poke, poke with the fork.

I smiled to myself and arranged the fish to defrost in the sink.

Next up, minor vacation preparations. I had to pack the kit that was for all of us, like with the sunscreen and painkillers—in short, our little pharmacy. I wanted that all in one place so I didn’t lose anything.

In the meantime, I called Archie and inserted my earbuds, and I aimed for the downstairs bathroom. We had our largest toiletry kit under the sink.

“Archie’s phone—hi, Cam. It’s Corey!”

Oh. “Hi, Corey. Is Archie around?”

“Sort of…?” He dragged out the response. “He went outside to get more eggs, but he took his Kindle, so lemme check the porch.”

“Okay.” I smiled and dug out the big toiletry kit.

I’d called when I knew Kyla was usually down for her nap, so maybe Archie was taking a breather.

“Archiepants? Are you reading another romance novel?” I heard Corey ask. Then he whispered to me, “He likes to read about butt stuff.”

I snickered, well aware. We read the same books. I wanted low-angst, undying love, and butt stuff. Macklin preferred his butt stuff with heartbreak and second chances. Archie wanted royalty or omegaverse and butt stuff. Tate and Ivy read everything, as long as they got possessive men and butt stuff.

“Who is it?” Archie asked in the background.

“It’s Campants,” Corey replied.

“Oh—gimme! Thank you, love.” A beat later, Archie spoke into the phone. “Did you get Master Kingsley and Tate’s wedding invitation yet?”

I beamed. That’s why I’d called!

* * *

“Cam, are you home?” Master called.

“Upstairs, Sir! I’ll be right there!” I hurried to stow away KC’s shirts before I ran down the stairs.

I stumbled upon Master in the hallway, and he looked so delicious. Sunny spring and no stress worked! He seemed to have found a comfortable happy medium in polo shirts and nice chinos too, so he didn’t have to choose between the fanciest and the…less-so. Also, he was super sexy in shades.

“There you are, darling. I could use some help carrying stuff in from the car.”

“Of course, Owner.” I stuck my feet into my shoes and followed him out and down to the driveway. “What did you buy?”

“Nothing yet, but I brought home countless samples and catalogues.”

Huh?

“By the way,” he said, turning to me. He tucked his shades into the neckline of his shirt. “Speech control will be a fantastic feature right now.” He pinched my mouth shut and smirked. “Understood?”

I nodded dutifully, filled with as much surprise as giddiness. We hadn’t played around with speech restrictions in weeks!

“Good boy. Now…” He opened the back of the SUV, and I felt the surprise growing quickly. What on earth was this? “Help me carry this into the living room. I want everything on the coffee table.”

Um, okay. I stepped closer and eyed the catalogues. Very thick catalogues—with samples, I realized. Tiles, types of wood, mosaic, wallpaper, stone…?

“I want more warmth in our home,” he said. “I headed out to buy a damn pot to plant the tomato seeds Penelope gave me, and then there was a lady asking me if I needed planters, clay pots, or whatever a fucking plug tray is. So I gave up on the spot and turned around—and I saw this showroom terrace, and it made me think about the kitchen, about our living room, and…” A breath gusted out of him. “In short, I want to make changes.”

Could I just propose to him right here and now?

Lucian was home. Physically, mentally, emotionally—he was here, and he wanted to be invested in how our home looked. He wanted warmth.

Holy crap, was I happy.

Wasting no time, I stacked three heavy catalogues in my arms and got started.

Master followed me with a few more catalogues. “By the way, we have a slight scheduling conflict on Friday. KC invited Ash over for dinner, and I invited Ty and Lane, so plan for three extra plates.”

Yes, Master!

“As for redecorating our home,” he went on. “I was thinking marble and purple velvet.”

I came to a screeching halt and spun around. “What?” I squeaked like a freaking mouse.

His mouth twitched, and his eyes danced with mirth. “Good. I’m not the only one who’s rusty. That’s strike one, little pet.”

Motherf—!

* * *

That evening, I almost felt bad for being so visibly happy, because Noa was anything but. But we had a big plan for dinner, and I knew he was going to love it. We were finally breaking the news about his getting a lizard after our vacation.

“Go have a seat, honey.” I gave Noa a quick squeeze, then reached for the oven mitts.

He scrunched his nose at me. “Did you win the lottery or something?”

I grinned and shook my head. “Nope.”

Poor love, he had so little energy that he merely shrugged and trailed into the dining room.

“Come here, baby. You can sit with Daddy,” I heard KC say.

All right, final touches. The wine, bread, salad, and a Sharpie were already in the dining room. Candles had been lit, flowers had been set at the center… I hauled the asparagus out of the oven; they’d needed a few extra minutes once I’d taken out the fish.

Four plates, four fish, duchess potatoes, roasted asparagus, and last but not least… I squeezed half a lemon over the food, then poured melted butter over the fish. A little less on Master’s plate, but he wouldn’t be able to taste the difference because some secrets were meant to be kept secret.

Oh crap, I’d almost forgotten. He needed to take his ibuprofen and acetaminophen too. The inflammation in his chest—costochondritis or whatever Daddy had called it—was almost gone, and that was because I kept track of his meds.

There, all done. I wiped my forehead and took a deep breath. Everything looked great.

I carried the first two plates in, and I started with Master at the head of the table. Seeing as Daddy was looking through one of the smaller catalogues—the one with wallpaper samples—I left the other plate with Noa.

“This looks amazing, slave,” Master praised me.

“Thank you, Owner.” I dipped down and kissed his cheek.

“Do you see the fishy still has its eyes, freckles?” KC tried to coax some appetite out of Noa.

“Yeah.” Noa sent me a brief smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Fuck. What if the lizard didn’t work? In the grand scheme of things, what the fuck was a pet compared to the support of one’s mother?

I swallowed nervously and promised I’d be right back.

Maybe we could break the ice with fun anecdotes to make him smile? I was sure Master and Daddy had memories from their Mclean past that would brighten Noa’s mood. I mean, with Master Greer, Reese, and Colt in the same community, how could there not be? And I was sure I could dig up stories about my cousin. Parker was just like Noa. We’d gotten into all sorts of trouble growing up.

I grabbed the last two plates and returned to the dining room, and I sat down across from Noa after giving KC his plate.

“Thank you, pet.” KC smiled and dropped the catalogue on the floor before picking up his knife and fork. “Fuck, I’m starving.” He leaned closer to Noa. “I bet I could eat two horse cocks.”

Noa coughed around a giggle, the sweetest fucking sound, and he shook his head and immediately buried his face against KC’s arm. Aww, he wasn’t ready to laugh yet.

“Sweetheart…” KC kissed the top of Noa’s head. “We’re going to keep trying to make you laugh until all the sadness is gone.”

Okay, good, so we had a plan.

“You’re gonna fail,” Noa whined. “Just let me mope.”

We couldn’t. I mean, he’d have so many moments where memories dragged him down in the future; we just wanted him to get a break. That was all. We didn’t demand he “get over it.”

“Noa?” I cleared my throat. “We would never rush your grief. Okay? We just wanna give you reprieves.”

“That’s right,” Daddy murmured. “You need a break.”

Noa pouted to himself and straightened in his seat, and he started picking at his food. “I mean, you can try…”

I glanced at Master. “That’s consent, right?”

Master smiled ruefully and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “If not, I suppose he can safeword.” He reached for the Sharpie. “Chipmunk, give me your arm, please.”

Noa did so silently, disinterested, probably assuming Master was going to begin the event activity where Noa was a human Post-it pad. But it was a little bit more than that.

We were mixing a doodle cocktail. One part humor, one part love.

“You know what never makes me laugh?” Noa muttered. “Notes.”

We’ll see.

I peeled the skin off the fish, glad it was all intact, and started eating.

Fuck. Delicious. Buttery fish, the lemon, perfect texture, soft and creamy potatoes with a slight crispy shell from the oven. The asparagus had the best crunch-chewiness ratio as well. I’d come so far! Much of it was thanks to Archie and Macklin; they’d taught me a lot.

“Jesus, Cam,” KC mumbled around a mouthful of food. He liked it!

I beamed.

In the meantime, Master was scribbling a novella on Noa’s arm.

Noa wrinkled his nose and side-eyed the, to him, upside-down words.

KC leaned closer, and he must’ve been surprised. “Uh, baby, remember you’re going to upload photos of every scribble.”

Master hummed. “Worth it.”

Now I wanted to know too!

“There.” Master leaned back and capped the Sharpie.

Noa turned and twisted his arm until he could decipher the words, and he flicked an uncertain look between Master and Daddy. He totally wanted to smile a little too, right? It sure looked like he was trying to withhold amusement!

“Are you for realsies?” Noa asked.

Master nodded soberly and grabbed a slice of bread. “It’s tragic, but it’s true.”

“What does it say?” I asked.

Noa’s mouth kept twitching—he was definitely seeing what was funny! “Um, when Daddy and Uncle Lucian met in high school, Daddy tried to make Loosh a nickname.”

KC grinned.

I couldn’t help it. I giggle-laughed, feeling like…like…when you entered a funhouse, and you knew some scary-ass clown was going to terrify you, but it was still hilarious to be there.

“Master Loosh!” I slapped a hand over my mouth.

Master narrowed his eyes and pointed at me with his fork. “That’s not becoming a thing, pet.”

Oh no, I would never.

Noa bit his lip. “Unca Loosh?”

“Not that either.” Master shifted the fork to point at Noa.

It worked a little. Noa was thawing out.

I shoveled a bunch of food into my mouth and went, “My turn!” Then I rounded the table and picked up the pen. Noa didn’t resist this time either, and he let KC feed him fish and potatoes while I scribbled.

I had just the story.

Colt once dyed the syrup for Mr. West’s drink’s sugar rim, and Mr. West didn’t pay attention. That whole night, he walked around with a blue Cheshire grin, and nobody told him.

I scraped my teeth over my bottom lip and handed the marker to Daddy.

Both Master and KC leaned close to read, and then I heard their laughter as I sat down again. They remembered that night.

Noa fought against another grin and shook his head.

We were getting there!

KC shared a story that was so short it required a verbal explanation—and that included me! Seriously? River had once had a green freaking mohawk?!

“But he wouldn’t even let Reese grow a mustache!” Noa exclaimed.

“In River’s defense, it was temporary hair dye, and it’d supposedly been for a work thing,” KC chuckled. “It lasted all of five minutes at Mclean. He basically walked through the house on his way to wash out the dye and run a trimmer over his head.”

Master was highly entertained too. “He kept grumbling, ‘I was fuckin’ undercover, leave me alone.’”

Undercover?

What on earth had he worked as? I’d thought River and Reese had worked in security or something like that.

Oh whatever. Noa let out a snicker, and that was all that mattered. And now he had “River used to have a green mohawk” doodled on his cheek.

“Oh my God, they’re all gonna see this online later,” I laughed.

Thatworked. That right there made Noa grin, and it felt so fucking good that my eyes welled up a little. But our fight wasn’t over. We had to make this last a while longer. I wasn’t asking too much, just…a couple hours?

While we ate, we took turns filling Noa’s arms and parts of his face with doodles. I tried to keep them funny, while Master and Daddy moved into the sweet territory. Best brat ever, darling boy, Uncle Lucian’s chipmunk, FRECKLES AF, and sweetest shit-stirrer graced his arms and neck—and a few funny anecdotes from me. Such as the time Greer ate a bad burrito and spent a breath-play event running between the demo stage and the bathroom, or the time Reese went on a soapbox rant about how superior Sadists were and a bug flew into his mouth.

But then Master changed direction. He finished the last of his food, picked up the marker, and wrote a short list on Noa’s hand.

Lettuce, crickets, strawberries, worms, dandelions

Daddy and I exchanged a grin, whereas Noa only got puzzled. Maybe he’d expected another term of endearment or a funny memory, and instead he got…what he didn’t realize was a grocery list for a lizard.

“Is that supposed to make me laugh?” Noa asked.

“Oh no.” Master shook his head. “This is very serious business.”

KC nodded and added his own doodle. A rectangle, in which he drew the topside view of a bed, two nightstands, and—okay, it had to be their bedroom, and that box thing by the window could be the terrarium?

“What’re you doing, Daddy?” Noa dipped down and tried to figure out the drawing.

“Can’t you see it’s our bedroom?” Daddy asked.

It was Master’s turn again, and he gently gripped Noa’s chin. “This is an important detail, according to two of our newer members.” Ty and Lane, of course. And the word he jotted down on Noa’s nose was “bioactive.”

Which gave me an idea for what to write next. I joined Noa’s side of the table once more and accepted the marker from Master. And then I wrote a handful of words while he used his phone’s selfie mode as a mirror.

“Bioactive? I’m so confuzzled!” Noa cried out.

I smirked to myself. His neck looked almost as tattooed as Kit’s!

Substrate, soil, leaf litter, and springtails.

He immediately checked what I’d written, and I believed this would do it. Think, baby. You know what this means. He’d loved pet-sitting for Ty’s lizard over New Year’s. Noa had gone over to Ty’s house every day, even though it hadn’t been necessary for a reptile that didn’t eat every day. Tank, Ty’s lizard, ate four times a week, I’d learned. Because Noa had told me, and he’d filled his e-reader with articles and books about blue-tongued skinks.

We didn’t know for sure if that was the type of lizard Noa wanted, but it was the one Ty and Lane recommended for Noa’s level of dedication.

“He doesn’t strike me as a gecko person,” Ty had chuckled. “Get him a bluey. They’re wonderful—and they have character.”

Noa swallowed and shifted in his seat, and he wouldn’t look away from the screen of his phone that showed my scribbles.

“Um…”

“By the way, Ty and Lane are coming over for dinner on Friday,” KC mentioned.

Noa went rigid and widened his eyes at Daddy. “Really?”

I bent down and kissed the top of his head. “You know what’s happening here, right?”

He let out a breath and nodded jerkily, and I worried we’d gone too far. I didn’t want him upset again!

Master gathered Noa’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “Daddy, Cam, and I were talking, and we think it’s time you finally get that lizard.”

Noa bit down on his lip, and his eyes welled up so fast. His chin wrinkled a little too, and I had to hug him. Even if they were a better brand of tears, I didn’t like it.

“Do you mean it?” he whimpered.

“We mean it, freckles,” KC murmured. “You’ve more than proven that you can take care of a pet.”

“Oh.” Noa sniffled and buried his face against my chest. Within seconds, his shoulders shook with silent cries, and Master and Daddy came over to squish him—and me—in a tight hug.

Master cleared his throat. “Just to be sure, these are happy tears, yes?”

“Yeah,” Noa sobbed. “I’m gonna name him Fluffernutter. Nut for short.”

I choked on emotion and amusement and pressed my lips to his hair. Fitting name, after his favorite breakfast that Daddy and Master could make him without burning down the kitchen.

“Excellent name,” Daddy chuckled thickly. “As long as you don’t eat him.”

That made our boy laugh through his heart-wrenching sobs. “I wouldn’t do that, Daddy. I’m gonna l-love him a healthy, non-cannibalistic amount.”

I exhaled a laugh and sniffled.

My heart clenched with worries and hope—a bit of relief. Because we were one step closer, right? He was gonna be okay. He had to be. No matter how long it took.

* * *

The following Friday, I worked from home and completed my tasks as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I couldn’t postpone my Zoom meeting with a few coworkers at two PM, but I got a lot done before then. I went to the grocery store, mostly to say hi to Noa, because even though his spirits had lifted significantly since the other day, we were expecting dips. But he seemed pretty cheerful in the cereal aisle, where he was restocking shelves, so I breathed a sigh of relief and texted KC and Master a Noa update.

He’s rambling about how he’s going to decorate his terrarium. Good sign! Kisses.

When I came home again, I had steaks and chicken for our first barbecue of the season—and a new text from KC. Apparently, Ash was stopping by earlier and couldn’t stay long. “Kid emergency” was the reason for the change of plans, which I’d gotten used to. I’d grown so close to Archie that I was learning all sorts of things about their kids—how plans always changed—and why I never, ever wanted children of my own.

Nothing against the kids in my life, whether we were family or I was a friend of a parent; that level of responsibility just wasn’t for me. I had a Master, a Daddy, and a Noa to take care of. And they didn’t smell weird. Kids sometimes did, for no reason at all. Plus, they always had fluids seeping out of them one way or another.

Assuming that Ash was no longer having dinner with us, I made a quick plan for snacks for his visit instead. Archie’s garlic knots, vegetable sticks and dip… Hmm. I tapped my pen against my lips. Oh, we had charcuterie and cheese. Easy enough but tasty.

It was going to be nice to see Ash again. He was fun. I didn’t know him well on a personal level, but I’d been to enough events when he’d been a member to have him sort of pegged. He’d been jokingly referred to as River and Reese’s big brother, primarily because he was a few years older than the twins and gave off Reese vibes in his sadism and primal play. Though, that was about it when it came to similarities.

I’d found him more similar to Greer, to be honest. Ash was a Daddy-like primal player, and he loved kids. He had to, ’cause he had four of them, all adopted, with his ex-husband Nathan.

It was sad that they’d split up, I thought. They’d reminded me a lot of Colt and Mr. West in a time I’d still been trying to figure out who everyone was. Ash was the rough-around-the-edges blue-collar guy who ran his own scaffolding and construction business with his brother—except, there was a part of their story I didn’t know, because KC had mentioned they came from money. And Nathan was the book-smart psychologist specializing in grief and trauma.

Given the number of kids they had, Ash wasn’t one of those kinksters who’d showed up at Mclean every weekend. Far from it. But I could admit they’d left an impression. It was actually Nathan who’d opened my eyes to bondage. I’d eventually discovered it wasn’t a big kink of mine, but when done right, it was so beautiful. I loved to watch rope sessions, and Nathan was one of the best riggers ever.

“Cam!” Master called.

“Yes, Owner!” I responded.

“I’m bored!”

I gigglesnorted and poured him a cup of decaf.

Safe to say, Lucian did not always know how to relax. This week alone, he’d started and given up on four projects. Planting tomatoes was not happening. Neither were crossword puzzles, gardening, or washing our cars. And he was irritated because he couldn’t get cracking on home renovations. We’d picked out colors and materials for a revamped kitchen, dining room, and living room, and he’d booked meetings with contractors, painters, and whatnot. But we were leaving for our vacation in a week, so everything had to wait till after we got home.

I found him in the living room and noticed he’d opened up the pool area to let some sun in.

He sighed and tossed his book onto the coffee table. “I’m restless.”

“I figured.” I handed him his coffee, doing my best not to laugh. He was just so…slumped. In KC’s chair, to boot. A very comfortable chair that you sort of sank into, and you needed the mechanical shove to get out of it. “Anything I can do, Sir?”

He hummed and eyed the remote that was out of his reach. “When did you have your Zoom thing?”

I checked the clock in the entertainment center. “In twenty minutes. Do you want me to make you a snack?”

Was he…was he pouting to himself?

Don’t laugh, don’t laugh.

“No, thank you,” he muttered. Then he reached for my hand. “Cuddle with me?”

Always.

I set his mug on Daddy’s side table, and then I sank down on Lucian’s lap and propped my legs over the armrest.

One might think he’d indulge in sweats and tees around the house, but something had happened the other day when he’d decided to buy a polo shirt. Now it was all he wore if he didn’t put on a suit.

My man could be endearingly strange sometimes.

“Why aren’t you in comfier clothes, Sir?”

He peered down at his polo. “Compared to a suit, this is flannel pajamas in a mountain cabin in front of a fire. With cocoa and marshmallows.”

I grinned.

His own smile was a bit chagrined. “Sweatpants are too addictive, and I’ve come to realize it’s a slippery slope for me. One second, I’m just walking around the house—no harm, no foul—but the next, I’m driving across town to wage war on Noa’s mother.”

I snickered and brushed my knuckles over his stubbly jaw. I really liked the stubble.

He let out a sigh and leaned back some more. “Is this my life now?”

I shook my head in amusement. “No, Master. It’s phase one in your recovery—and please let it last a month or four.”

“What’s phase two?”

I shrugged slightly. “Maybe finding something new to do that doesn’t put you in the hospital?” I suggested. “A part-time job?”

He hummed. “It has to be a new field. You can’t work part time in finance.”

Understandable. He’d always been so busy staying up-to-date with what was going on in the world. Talk about a field in which you had to know the ripple effect. A tsunami in Asia, an Ebola epidemic in Africa, war—everything left a mark on the economy. And it didn’t have to be natural disasters, of course. Master had seemingly known about every political bailout, every major bank merger, and every shifty Wall Street guy.

“Unless I become a lowly day trader…” he muttered to himself.

I wrinkled my nose. “My big, awesome, snobby Master, the last thing you need is to spend your day at the computer looking at stocks going up and down.”

He made a face, which came off as super derisive. “I’m not a snob.”

I grinned. “Okay.”

He was a total snob, but I had my kryptonite. Businessmen were the alpha to my omega. Sue me. I loved that Master had his expensive tastes and walked around with an air of I own the world. And maybe I loved it because I knew Master better than that. He didn’t actually think that way or look down on anyone else—except possibly day traders…?

I kept my mirth to myself and combed my fingers through his hair. “You’ll find something, love. And in the meantime, go through a million hobbies and try to find a way to relax—and enjoy it.”

He covered my hand with his and kissed my palm. “Just promise me you’ll have me admitted if I become even slightly interested in reptiles.”

I laughed.

“I mean it,” he said. “I watched KC and Noa look at terrariums online last night, and before I knew it, I was browsing for different kinds of substrate. I had to compensate by suggesting we simply throw sawdust in there. You should’ve seen the look on Noa’s face.”

I laughed even harder but suddenly had an idea. It wasn’t a part-time job, but the comments from the photos we’d uploaded of Noa as a Post-it pad yesterday should entertain Master for at least an hour. It would almost be enough for me to get my Zoom meeting out of the way.

“I know what you can do during my meeting.” I picked up his phone from the side table and punched in the six-digit code. “Have you seen the comment section in the photo album yet?”

“No, I was saving that for my next bathroom break.”

I snorted and logged in to his account. “I think lesson one in finding inner peace is not to multitask. Comments first, poop second.”

He rumbled a chuckle and pinched my nipple. “Damn brat.”

I was not a brat!

“Here.” I leaned against him and scooted down a bit so we could watch the screen together. Seven photos of Sharpie doodles, and three of the pictures showed Noa’s teary eyes and wide grin. A combination that was cuter than words and made me wanna bake him all the goodies he loved.

I scrolled past the photos and showed Master the beginning of the comments.

First up, Mr. West!

@MrWest: Oh, I remember that night. I vowed to myself to never let Colt mix me another drink! (Lovely photos, Noa. Thank you for sharing.)

@TheirBoyKit: LMAO I love this! I need all these memories in its own album. But what does bioactive mean? Also, MASTER LOOSH NEEDS TO BE A THING.

@NoraOfTheNorth: Uh-oh, someone is getting a new pet! So exciting! Awesome pics! Ping @Untamed and @DaddyOfTerra

“That’s Lane’s friend from the Old Town community, isn’t it?” Master asked.

“Nora?” I nodded. “Yeah, he recruited her. She has a big crush on Mistress Penelope.”

“Does she, now?” Master appeared very interested in that tidbit. “Untamed—that’s Lane, correct?”

“Yes, and Ty has a little dog named Terra,” I explained.

Next in the comments was Corey, our farm frog.

@Farmfrog: GREEN MOHAWK, @BeQuiet? GREEN MOHAWK? BAHAHAHAHAHA I love it, Noa! #TeamRiverInAMohawk #TeamMasterLoosh

@BeQuiet: Leave me alone.

@Texan: I should rename myself TheTexanBartender. @MrWest, you ask me for drinks every weekend, darlin lush. #ButImOnBoardWithTeamMasterLoosh

Master chuckled. “Okay, this was highly amusing. Master Loosh nonsense, notwithstanding.”

And he had plenty more comments to read.

I kissed his cheek. “I gotta work for a moment, Sir.”

He nodded absently and took the phone to respond to someone.

* * *

“Daddy’s home!” I hollered. Then I hurried back to the kitchen to take the dip out of the fridge and the garlic knots out of the oven. I’d just wanted to make sure it wasn’t Ash who’d shown up yet.

“What time will Ty and Lane be here?” Noa yelled from upstairs.

“At seven!” I called back. Another hour and a half. “Can you come help Daddy?” Everyone was hungry, but we’d have to make sure not to fill up on snacks.

KC opened the front door as Noa pummeled down the stairs, and one glance out into the hallway let me know Daddy was tired. Friday was his day of meetings, and he stubbornly insisted on standing up for as long as he could.

“Hi, Daddy! Noa’s on his way.” The last word had barely left my mouth before Noa stormed out to greet him.

“Hi, my babies.” KC chuckled tiredly at Noa’s hug assault. “Could you get me my chair, freckles? I’m beat.”

“Yes, Sir!” Noa ran off again.

“Ash just pulled in, by the way,” Daddy told me.

“Got it. Everything’s done here.” Or almost. I only had to brush melted butter over the garlic knots. “Master’s decided that his new passion in life is working the grill.”

Daddy snorted in amusement. “Give it twenty minutes, and he’ll find something new.”

Right?!

Noa soon returned with Daddy’s indoor chair, and I ran out quickly to assist. I grabbed the mail and Daddy’s briefcase, and he could finally relax after his long day. Oh, and I got a smooch too! And by then, Ash rang the doorbell, so Daddy and Noa took care of that while I went back to the kitchen.

The butter was almost melted.

I poured in the seasoning mix and went through the mail—and this time, I didn’t have to go through a bunch of bills!

“Colt and Mr. West’s invitation is here!” I called out excitedly. Fancy metallic black envelope. I liked.

Daddy was busy introducing Ash to Noa, so I went ahead and opened the envelope.

The elegant font drew me in right away. It had all our names at the top—Master, Daddy, Noa, and me.

You’re invited for an evening of festivities and a ceremony to celebrate the wedding between Colt and Lucas Carter, and it’s no marriage without the little love of their lives, Kit Damien.

“Eeep!” I grinned so widely and kept reading, and I couldn’t freaking wait for the big surprise Kit was planning. Colt and Lucas had no idea that Kit was in the process of changing his last name to Carter too. Gah!

Only Corey and I knew. I was helping Kit with the paperwork, and Corey had designed a fancy cake topper and some other stuff for the triad.

“Cam, sweetheart? You gonna say hi to Ash?”

Oh crap, I’d been distracted.

I hurriedly stuck the invitation on the fridge, right next to Tate and Master Kingsley’s invite, and then I met up with Daddy, Ash, and Noa in the doorway.

Yup, still ruggedly hot, Mr. Ash! I mean, Mr. Riley. With the dirty blond and brown hair, some silver too, and deep blue eyes. And…nails with purple polish that was peeling off. He must’ve just come straight from work, because he had on his utility pants with the suspenders and everything.

“I’m sorry, Sir. It’s very good to see you again.”

Ash slanted a crooked smile and ruffled my hair. “Back atcha, kiddo.”

Okay, that was less awesome. Mind the hair, dude. I wasn’t Noa. I ran a hand through it as Daddy moved toward the doorway to the living room.

“I wasn’t too surprised to hear Lucian snatched you up,” he said. “You were always makin’ eyes at each other.”

I smiled politely. “I’m not sure it’s considered snatching if I stood there with a big neon sign that said please take me.”

Ash chuckled, and so did Daddy and Noa.

As far as I knew, Master hadn’t seen Ash since he’d left the community, but KC had lunch with him every now and then in town.

“Master’s on the terrace,” I let Daddy know. “I’ll bring out the snacks.”

“Perfect.” Daddy nodded and took the lead, and I heard him telling Ash that we had remodeling plans for after our vacation.

Meanwhile, I gathered everything on a big tray and finished the garlic knots last so they stayed warm. After work today, I had gotten the pool area ready for summer, and Master had opened up a bunch of windows in the glass alcove. It’d been the plan all along, to turn the indoor pool into an outdoor area when the weather allowed it.

“If it ain’t Master Loosh! Hot damn, you actually cookin’? Maybe it’s a good thing I’m not staying.”

A laugh burst out of me at Ash’s greeting, and to no one’s surprise, Noa cracked up too.

“I like him, Daddy!”

“Ah, our long-lost shit-stirring primal brat,” Master responded with dry mirth. “Good to see you again, my friend.”

Not wanting to miss anything, I hurried to join them, and I got there just in time to see Master and Ash meet halfway around the pool for a handshake and a hug.

So far, the lemon tree next to the grill hadn’t burned down, but maybe I should move it. I’d bought it in a pot for that reason. Everything around the grill was in the fire zone.

Master and Daddy swore they could work a grill.

We’d see.

“Snacks are ready!” I set the tray on the table at the corner of the pool. I’d requested a round table so we could squeeze in more seats for when we had guests.

“Wonderful, little pet. You know what that means,” Master replied.

I nodded once and pretended to zip my mouth shut.

Silence!

I made quick work of positioning the plates, and then I went over to Master’s chair where my Squish waited on the floor. It was the most perfect stuffie in the world because it protected my knees, and also, it was the cutest and had my name.

As soon as my knees hit the pillowy cutie, Ash spotted it and grinned lazily.

“Your Squishmallow house ain’t like mine,” he chuckled.

I smashed my lips together to refrain from asking⁠—

“You know about Squishies, Sir?” Noa asked my question as he sat down next to Daddy.

“You kiddin’? I have four kids. I know the latest toys long before I know current events.” Ash sat down too, a smile on his face, and I remembered that about him. He was always in a good mood. “Our youngest picked out two for Nate and me too.”

It didn’t take more than that for Noa to light up like a Christmas tree.

“Then you gotta join our new group online! Corey started it the other week—it’s called House McSquish,” he rambled. “He made a header for us and everything, and we’re listing all our Squishies. I have fourteen on my wish list. Just so you know, Daddy.”

Daddy grinned to himself and opened a beer. “Good to know.”

Ash let out a laugh. “I reckon I draw the line there. I can humor my daughter when she shoves a pink cat in my face and says it looks just like me, but I think I’ll stick to Greer’s fan club group and the primal play.”

I almost let out a giggle, and we couldn’t have that!

Master was amused too, but he was focused on filling his plate with snacks.

Sadly, the fun talk ended there. Master wanted to catch up with Ash, and that meant asking about work and boring stuff. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, very interesting. Oh, construction stuff? Scaffolding stuff? How fascinating! Work was good? Great! Moving on, please.

“Eat, love.” Master held a garlic knot for me, and I opened my mouth.

Yum. Archie had the best recipes sometimes.

“Fuck me, these are next level.” Ash was a fan of the bread too. “Speaking of, I heard you leveled up to retirement, Lucian.”

“Oh, I’d rather not use that word,” Master said. “I don’t need to feel older.”

“That’s right,” Noa agreed. “Forty-four is already incredibly, extremely ancient.”

Christ. Always the brat.

“I guess you don’t want anything on your wish list,” Daddy noted.

“I don’t know, I can think of a few things,” Ash chuckled. “Your Daddy told me you love restraints, boy.”

Master laughed. “He loves them. Isn’t that right, chipmunk?”

Noa glared.

Snicker, snicker.

Also, I knew someone who actually loved restraints. Ash’s ex-husband!

I tapped Master’s leg, a silent request to speak.

He peered down at me as he chewed on a cracker with cheese. “It depends what it’s about,” he said. “Does it have anything to do with Nathan?”

Crap.

I smiled sheepishly and nodded.

Of course, we had Ash’s attention now.

Master shook his head. “Then no. It’s not our business, pet. And you can tell Tate, Macklin, and Archie that too.”

Uh-oh.

“Am I missing somethin’?” Ash asked.

I felt a traitorous blush creeping forward, and I dropped my gaze to the floor. Dammit, Master knew me too well—well, actually… Having him home all day meant he could freaking eavesdrop on my conversations!

In my defense, we were only curious and wanted what was best for them. Macklin was 100% certain that Ash and Nathan belonged together. Same with Tate.

“Not at all,” Master assured. “You know Macklin and Tate. Cam isn’t all that different when there’s a relationship they want to fix.”

How was that a bad thing?

God, I wanted to huff in his face or something.

“You’ll meet Greer’s new partners on the cruise,” Daddy said. “Archie’s a chip off the old subbie gossip block.”

I snuck a glimpse up at Ash and found him smirking faintly at me.

“Is that right,” he murmured. “That’s sweet. They’re not the only ones who wanna fix my marriage. But that’s a plan I sure as hell won’t share with someone who’s remotely like Macklin.”

I wanted to huff in his face too. Macklin was awesome.

Freaking Sadists.

* * *

Master picked the perfect moment to crank up our TPE routine, because I had zero interest in discussing lizards at dinner. Ty and Lane were very nice, not that I knew them well, and they were happy to answer any of Noa’s questions.

While the dining room flooded with questions about lizard food, disgusting isopods, worms, and all the things I didn’t want in my home, my sole focus was on Master. I kneeled next to his chair at the head of the table, wearing only a pair of my slave briefs, and my posture had to be flawless.

He hadn’t made any mention of my posture since long before he ended up in the hospital, and now I was realizing how much I’d missed it. Not necessarily the discomfort of kneeling just so, but the…the ritual of it.

Master had even blindfolded me, and I had zero complaints. All I had to do was make sure my back was straight, knees in line with my shoulders, no slumping, hands clasped behind my back—and I had to open my mouth when Master brushed the fork to my lips.

The meat was admittedly delicious. I guessed I was wrong. They actually could work a grill.

“So have you decided on a name yet?” Lane asked.

“Heck yeah!” Noa answered. “He’s gonna be my Nut. But his full Christian name will be Fluffernutter Chauncefordton Hayles.”

Chauncefordton?

“Uh…why Chauncefordton, freckles?” KC asked.

“Because it’s fancy, obviously,” Noa replied frankly. “Fluffernutter is a goofy name, so I took Chauncy and couldn’t decide if I wanted to end it with ton or ford, you know like all old English names, and here we are. Chauncefordton.”

Ty chuckled. “I like it. Sound logic to my ears.”

I felt my mouth twitch.

“It’ll be a unique name, that’s for sure,” Master added in his Uncle Lucian tone.

“Yup! Do you like it also, Daddy?” Noa asked.

“How can I not? It’s a great name,” Daddy lied smoothly.

Master brought me my next bite to eat, and I opened my mouth. It beat grinning like a loon. Noa was so cute. And what was wrong with goofy? He was goofy personified. We didn’t want him fancy.

Except at Tate and Master Kingsley’s wedding!

“I take it the gender’s important?” Ty inquired. “They can be tricky to sex, but it’s obviously not impossible.”

There was a pause before Noa responded. “Do you sex Tank, Sir?”

Oh God.

I chewed and cleared my throat to keep from laughing.

Lane didn’t hold back.

“Well, I only did it the one time,” Ty said, definitely amused. “If you want, Lane and I can come with you when you pick up the lizard.”

“Don’t fall for the pro-tips from places like Petco,” Lane added. “They’ll give a spiel about the width of a male’s throat and the thickness of a female’s tail, but you kinda need to wait for the hemipenes to be everted if you wanna be sure.”

“The hemiwhat?” Noa blurted out.

I coughed and screwed my eyes shut behind the silky blindfold. Get your act together!

“Lizard dick,” Lane translated bluntly.

At that, both Master and KC laughed. Presumably at Noa’s expression, because I could just picture it.

“I reckon it’s best we tag along,” Ty chuckled. “Maybe we can convince you to adopt from a shelter instead too.”

KC was quick to speak up. “We actually wanted to talk to you about that. We’d obviously prefer to adopt, but the places I called didn’t have any skinks.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ty said. “I can make a few calls.”

It was settled. Could they move on to a more interesting topic now? And not work! Master and Ash had wasted our entire snack time on shop talk, and leave it to my Owner to practically get a job way too soon. Okay, not a job, but he’d promised Ash to take a look at a few things at his company. Because Master was a money guy!

On the other hand, he definitely needed something to do. As long as it didn’t cause any stress.