Chapter 9

Paxton

If Daddies took care of their littles…or subs or their people. Yes, if Daddies took care of their people, then—

Oops.

Fraser was amazingly fast for someone who was so built.

He frowned quickly too because by the time he had me steady again, his expression was bouncing between concerned and frustrated. "Alright, is there something we need to talk about? You are incredibly distracted and are going to end up killing yourself, not finding bugs."

I was doing my best to find a very reasonable response and not explain that beetles weren't bugs when he kept going. "If we went too far last night or if our conversation was this upsetting to you, then we're going to need to find another—"

Shoot.

"It's not that." Interrupting him was definitely rude, but our conversation wasn't the issue…neither was anything else we'd done. "I don't need another anything."

Well, that was partly true but not in the way he meant.

I didn't need another guide because there was a problem between us. Our first date might've blown my mind but that hadn't been a bad thing. And he was too good at his job for me to want anyone else. Just from the information I'd given him during our planning session, he'd found the best trail for us to take.

The woods were beautiful but they were also the perfect ecosystem for the beetles. I just had to pay attention long enough to find them and not get lost in my own thoughts. Just because Fraser could always get us through the odd spots without getting turned around didn't mean I could be a pain in the butt and completely tune out.

Fraser raised an eyebrow as he stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest as we stood in the middle of the trail, woods all around us. "You're distracted and not paying attention to where you're putting your feet. And you aren't looking for insects at all."

Oh, yeah.

Telling him that I'd forgotten why we were there didn't seem like the best idea.

"Um, okay. Yes, I am distracted but not in the way you're thinking." Ugh. There wasn't a subtle way to approach my question—because I'd been trying to find one for the past hour—so I charged right in. "Um, you said Daddies make their littles or subs or just the people they're in charge of breakfast, right?"

Blinking slowly, Fraser eventually nodded. "Yes."

My question clearly surprised him but he didn't look startled or like he thought I was being a pain in the butt.

"Then I am claiming Daddy breakfasts. Yes. I'm claiming caretaker responsibility time." He'd volunteered, so I didn't have to worry about it. And I couldn't worry about being rude or clingy when it'd been his idea to begin with.

Cocking his head, Fraser was quiet for a few seconds before he sighed. "What did they do?"

He was very smart and knew the locals just as well as he knew the mountains. It was handy in a lot of ways and made me feel better about being slightly frustrated. "Um, well, they're excited we're dating and very enthusiastic, and I don't like it."

I thought that was obvious, but I decided to restate it just to make sure he understood. He wanted good communication, so I would give it to him when it wasn't too stressful.

Or too weird.

This definitely fell under the communication and asking for what I wanted part of the rules from our first date. "That means you have to feed me so I don't have to drive all the way to the interstate for breakfast. I don't want to buy a pack of muffins from Walmart. I like fresh ones but that's not an option anymore, so you have to fix it because you said that was a Daddy's responsibility."

Yes, this was his problem to manage…because if he didn't then I was going to have to start asking more questions and that wasn't an option.

The locals were just very strange and I wasn't ready to deal with it yet.

I had a new guy I was dating, and a Daddy, and a submissive side I was evidently supposed to label and categorize. Yep, I had enough on my plate without worrying if the neighbors thought we'd gotten married.

Or something like that.

I needed a nap before we got into the weird discussions that seemed to be waiting right around the corner.

Fraser shifted into Daddy mode and sighed, rolling his eyes before stepping closer to wrap his arms around me. "Alright. You're going to come over to my place every morning unless we decide to go to breakfast somewhere together. Then you can work in the kitchen or the living room until you're ready for another hike or you have something else to do."

"Really?" It was that easy?

Maybe we had gotten married?

No. If we were married, he'd want me sleeping in his bed every night. Fraser wasn't nuts like everyone else but he was the type to take his caretaker responsibilities very seriously and that'd just get even worse if we were married.

The fact that he'd let me go home last night without pouting or trying to keep me said whatever we were, we weren't married.

"Yes." He chuckled and gave me a quick peck. "Really. I like having you around and I like taking care of you."

Shrugging as he stepped back, he flashed me a wicked grin that was completely at odds with the focused trailblazer he'd been before. "And it feeds my control freak side. I like knowing I'm going to see you every day. I'll get to make sure you've eaten and then quiz you about what you're going to do."

Okay.

So he was just as nuts as the rest of them, but on him, it was kind of cute. "That works for me."

"Really?" It was his turn to look at me suspiciously. "You're supposed to tell me I can't control you or be annoying."

"I'm pretty sure that was in the original definition of a Daddy, so how could I complain about that?" Besides, I kind of liked the idea of getting so much of his attention.

It wasn't even my idea, so he couldn't call me a needy pain in the butt or tell me I was smothering him because I wanted to see him twice in one week.

"Then we have a plan." Fraser looked very pleased with the whole situation for about five seconds, then the frowning and slightly worried Daddy came back. "Are you sure we don't need to talk about whatever happened at the bakery this morning?"

"No." Because I wasn't sure how to explain it in a way that left me sounding sane. "I'm not worried or mad or even frustrated."

Since that was true, I didn't feel the need to point out that I was slightly confused. It didn't seem like the most pressing thing at the moment, so I'd worry about it later.

Or sooner if a ring randomly showed up on my hand.

"Do you understand why I'm slightly suspicious and I think you're leaving important details out?" Fraser was very Daddy as he stared at me, waiting for a reply and looking like he wanted to sigh. He wasn't going anywhere, so I answered him without dawdling since that wouldn't help.

"Yes. Because I am." He wasn't stupid. "I'm not ready to talk about it, though, and you said that was fine."

Frown.

Smile.

Frown.

Sigh.

"You're right. I did." He settled on sighing again. "I hate it when I end up punishing myself with logical rules."

Since it looked like I wouldn't have to come across as nuts and he was really cute, I stepped closer and kissed his cheek. One of the old men had told me that was the best way to get out of trouble. Evidently, Kenzie said so and Lorne had agreed.

I still wasn't sure who either of them were, but Daddy certainly agreed with the advice. He smiled and shook his head, pretending to glare at me. "Who said being cute would get you out of trouble?"

"The old man at the bakery this morning and he said that Kenzie and Lorne told him that." It was like playing a dirty game of telephone…and on one hand, I liked the help, but on the other, they were driving me nuts.

Daddy laughed and his eyes went that sparkly, shiny way that said he was very happy. "I'm beginning to see why you don't want to go to the bakery any longer."

That was just the start of it, but I nodded and refused to try to figure out how the sun made his eyes do that with all the trees shading us. "Thank you for taking care of me."

Yes, that was the part I needed to focus on.

That whole caretaking thing was going to come in handy as long as it didn't get out of control. So far it was fine, though, and just got me a quick peck from Daddy. "You're welcome. But there will be consequences if you don't keep your focus where it belongs."

Hmm.

That was just a bit too vague for me to decide if it was a scary threat or an interesting one.

"A spanking kind of consequence?" I had a feeling Lorne and Kenzie would approve of spankings, so I wasn't surprised when Daddy laughed again and shook his head.

"No. You don't get rewarded for being distracted and almost getting hurt." He looked like naughty Daddy as he moved closer again and wrapped his arms around me, threading his hands under my backpack. "But if you're a good boy and do your work without getting hurt, I'll let you have an orgasm when we're done. Then later I'll explain why you might like spankings."

That sounded suspiciously like he was going to control my orgasms going forward, so I was careful not to ask about that part. "When do I get to come?"

How long did I have to wait?

Daddy's chest jerked but he didn't laugh out loud. "Do you want to wait until we get home or do you want to come as soon as we're all done with work?"

"Both. Yes." I'd been ready for more special time with Daddy since I'd woken up and it was taking forever and ever to get to that part of the day. "Sooner. Not waiting."

Daddy grinned but he tried to look serious as he nodded. "We'll see what we can do about that. But before you get to come, you have to get some work done and not hurt yourself."

Daddy was fast so he'd probably catch me, but I knew I had to nod. "I'll be good."

Yes, he liked that.

His hands tightened and he almost moaned. "You are very tempting."

Hmm.

"Because I'm your good boy?" Oh, he liked that. He was trying to be professional, but I knew I'd made him hard. "Good boys get rewards, don't they, Daddy?"

No laughing.

No smiles.

No giggles.

Daddy groaned. "You're fucking with me, cutie."

Maybe.

I was smart, though, and kissed his cheek. "I'm your good boy. Don't be silly, Daddy."

The instructions I'd been given from another helpful old man to just smile and look sweet were starting to make sense.

Daddy's face scrunched up and he sighed. "No more bakery trips without me. I don't like what they've been teaching you."

I managed not to giggle but it was difficult.

"Work time." Daddy was still looking dramatic as he stepped back and shook his head again. "Nosy old farts."

Yep.

But sometimes they were helpful.

And sometimes they seemed slightly insane.

"You're going to save me from them, Daddy, so don't worry." Yes, he liked that. "I'm paying attention."

He liked that too.

He liked it even better when we started walking again and I didn't get distracted and scare him.

It made him so much happier that Daddy receded and Fraser came back. He started pointing out features again and giving me his all about the mountains tour that he knew so well I had a feeling he'd given it more times than he could count.

Most of it was familiar from research I'd already done, but I liked hearing his voice and something about his tone made it come more alive than it had when the stories had just been words on a page. "You're going to have to tell me if I'm wrong, but from what you've described, I think we're coming up on an area that has the right environment."

His words were very neutral as he veered us off the marked trail and led us deeper into the woods, but something about the way he kept glancing back at me made me question it. "They have good natural camouflage, right? That's what you said."

Well, that was the best explanation I had.

"Yes." I'd practiced looking innocent in the mirror, so I hoped it helped. "A lot of insects have specialized camouflage."

I wasn't lying about that, so I was hoping that made the whole situation more believable but Fraser rolled his eyes. "Alright."

Shoot.

Thankfully he didn't make me explain what kind of camouflage they had but that was kind of telling too. He should've had more questions about my disappearing beetles. He had lots of questions and liked talking, so not at least poking at the story a bit was troubling.

Was I actually going to have to explain that I was pretty sure the beetles I'd found could teleport?