8. Zane

Chapter 8

Zane

After delivering the first real spanking of his life, Zane was feeling the kind of contentment that was rare for him. Suddenly it felt like everything was right in the world. Of course, Zane knew that this couldn't possibly be the case in real terms, but he was happy enough to go along with the illusion as he strolled down the Eagle Ridge strip with Marshall by his side…

‘So… that was new,' Zane laughed, touching his fingers up against Marshall's delicate hand as they walked.

‘And new is good?' Marshall replied, arching his eyebrow as he looked up to Zane with his crystal clear blue eyes.

‘Yup, it sure is,' Zane answered.

Before Zane knew it, the pair of them were walking hand in hand and it felt just right. Zane had never been one for big public displays of affection, and that was even before his time in finance and then prison had hardened his spirit further. But somehow with Marshall it just felt natural .

Zane and Marshall stopped walking for a moment to look through the window at Beau's Books. The bookstore was closed for the night, but Zane could never resist checking out a bookstore's window display.

‘Books are your thing, aren't they?' Marshall asked. ‘I like books too. I go to a book club here with my friends. Although to be honest, we spend a lot of the time drinking hot chocolate and playing with our stuffies.'

‘I can imagine,' Zane smiled, his eyes zoning in on a new action thriller he'd been wanting to pick up since its release. ‘Reading's always been a release for me. For as long as I can remember I've found that it's the best way for me to escape whatever the hell is going on in my life.'

Zane was going to continue and talk about how reading books from the prison library kept him sane during his long hours in lockup. But the fact remained that him and Marshall barely knew one another, and he wasn't sure that the young man wanted to hear him open up and talk about his dark times.

‘It's okay, you can keep talking,' Marshall smiled, clearly sensing that Zane hadn't quite said everything he wanted to.

‘No, I'm good,' Zane answered. ‘But thanks for the offer.'

‘ Argh . Typical Daddy behavior,' Marshall said, blowing a raspberry at the end of his sentence. ‘You don't need to be all gruff and macho the whole time, you know? You can talk to me. I know we're not like an official couple or anything. And I know that the whole Daddy thing is totally new and probably still super-unusual for you too. But that doesn't mean we can't be pals. And pals share! '

Zane nodded.

He's got more substance than I thought.

Cute, mischievous, and sensitive too.

I think I might be in trouble…

‘I'll remember that,' Zane said, still determined to keep himself in check and not let his guard down too quickly. ‘But…'

‘Yeah?' Marshall said, hope in his voice.

‘If you do want us to be pals, I'm all up for that,' Zane said, his heart thumping in his chest as he finally allowed himself a little emotional leeway. ‘And with this whole Tag Rackvill thing, plus what just happened back at the diner…'

‘You're thinking that maybe we should just give this Daddy and Little thing a little test run?' Marshall said, his eyes wide and a wickedly cute grin on his face.

‘Well…'

‘It's a yes,' Marshall said, excitedly dancing from foot to foot. ‘No commitment, no strings, it's all totally cool. We both know it's not for real. Not quite a Fake Daddy thing, more like a Daddy Tryout for you.'

‘I guess that's right,' Zane said, bowled over by Marshall's enthusiasm and just about able to go along with it. ‘But only if you're sure?'

‘Sure? It was practically my idea!' Marshall squealed, playfully punching Zane in the arm. ‘Now for your first task, you can walk me around the park and then back home. Does that sound good… Daddy? '

Zane rolled his eyes but couldn't resist breaking out into a big smile. There was no doubting the fact that Marshall was utterly adorable when he wanted to be. And the whole Daddy Tryout idea might work for both of them too. It would certainly keep Tag Rackvill off Marshall's back, while it would allow Zane to find out whether he might be more into the Daddy life than he'd previously imagined.

Life in Eagle Ridge had been a welcome return to the real world for Zane up until now. But things were about to change, and Zane could only hope that the change was for the better…

The following morning and Zane was up nice and early for his morning workout. He might have spent the night replaying the spanking of Marshall's most delicious butt over and over in his head, but that wasn't going to get in the way of Zane's sunrise sweat…

‘Damn. That was intense,' Zane exclaimed, crouching down and attempting to get some air into his lungs after a brutal push up and burpee combination to give his workout a heart racing climax. ‘Maybe I'm getting too old for this.'

Zane stood up and walked over to his water bottle, ready to quench his thirst. However just as he arrived, Zane was met by the increasingly familiar sight of his new puppy friend…

‘Hey there,' Zane said, a happy smile on his face. ‘I was wondering where you'd got to this morning. But I'm guessing you're still hungry for your breakfast, right? '

The joyful pup barked his approval and wagged his tail in the most puppy-tastic way. Zane took a quick glug of water before reaching under his outdoor chair and pulling out a plastic tub filled with off cuts of meat.

‘Here you go,' Zane chuckled, opening the tub and tipping the contents onto a metal plate. ‘A growing dog needs his food!'

Zane sat down on the old wooden rocking chair and watched with pleasure as the pup wolfed down his morning meal. But as much as Zane enjoyed having the young canine for company, there was something gnawing away at the back of his mind…

‘So… I need to find out whether there's a worried human looking for you,' Zane said, feeling a little deflated at the realization that the puppy might already have a home but knowing that he needed to find out – even if that meant an end to their burgeoning friendship.

Zane decided to make some posters to pin up around town. If someone had indeed lost their puppy, then Eagle Ridge was precisely the kind of place where word of a lost dog would travel quickly.

‘I'll keep looking after you until your owner shows up,' Zane said, leaning down and ruffling the puppy's fluffy ears. ‘Don't worry about for that one second. But I need to do the right thing and try and find out who you belong to. Deal?'

The dog wasn't paying any attention to Zane at this stage, the final juicy bone on his plate was far more interesting. In fact, it wasn't even close. Before Zane could say anything else, the puppy had picked up the bone in his mouth and wandered off to the tall grass to the side of the barn to do some serious chewing and gnawing.

‘Talk about gratitude,' Zane muttered, shaking his head. ‘Who am I kidding? I can't be mad. He's cute as hell and he knows it.'

With his exposed chest and abs dripping with sweat and his puppy pal busy with his bone, Zane's mind switched back to thoughts of Marshall. And seeing as they were now doing the whole Daddy Tryout thing, Zane suddenly had an idea.

Zane picked up his cell phone and began to type.

ZANE: I've got a puppy that needs an extra playmate – and some posters that need drawing and coloring too. This sounds like a combination that might appeal to a Little. Know of anyone who might want to help a Daddy out?

Zane smiled and hit send on the message. It still felt a little bit strange to refer to himself as a Daddy, but given the agreement between him and Marshall it felt like there was way less pressure on the whole thing than he might have expected.

It wasn't long before Marshall replied either, and it was clear from his response that he didn't need much persuasion to come on over…

MARSHALL: Oh, Daddy – that sounds like a lot of fun! Yes, yes, yes! Once I've opened up the diner for the other staff, I'm off for the rest of the day. I'll bring my coloring pencils, felt-tip pens, and lots of paper. I'm guessing you don't have any of that stuff at the barn LOL! See you soon, your new Little XoXo.

Zane felt his heart skip a beat when he read the message. And again when he read it a second time. While he was under no illusions about the deal that he and Marshall had struck, Zane was very quickly beginning to see that sticking to the agreement in the long run might be a whole lot harder than he'd first thought…

‘ Hehe , this is so much fun!' Marshall giggled as he chased around the outside of the barn with the happy puppy in hot pursuit. ‘I think you need to keep him.'

‘Well, I don't know about that,' Zane said, knowing full well that deep down he would absolutely love to have a dog to keep him company. ‘But we'll see.'

Zane watched as Marshall jumped and squealed with delight as he and the pup played with one another. Marshall had arrived wearing a cute t-shirt with red apple stencils on it and a matching pair of shorts. There was no denying that Marshall looked as sweet as an apple either.

Despite initially feeling like he wasn't sure about the whole play aspect of being a Little, Zane was now seeing that it was simply a case of Marshall being himself and letting go of his inhibitions. Zane could tell that he was regressing a little in his mind, but it wasn't uncomfortable for him in the slightest. In fact, Zane kind of liked it…

‘Room for a Daddy to join the fun?' Zane asked, getting up from his chair and making his way toward Marshall.

‘Yay! Daddy!' Marshall hollered in delight.

Zane couldn't help but notice Marshall's slender but athletic physique underneath his t-shirt. Zane's mind immediately thought back to how hard Marshall's dick had gotten before and then after the spanking. He might have been a Little, but he was all man too when it came to that side of things. But this didn't take away from the wholesome nature of the play though – and as Marshall explained, it was okay to feel a little sexy during playtime too.

‘If you're big Daddy dick is getting bigger, that's cool,' Marshall said, blushing as his eyes zoned in on Zane's crotch. ‘Everything's okay as long as we both feel safe.'

‘That's reassuring to hear,' Zane replied. ‘How about a game of chase?'

‘Yes!' Marshall chirruped. ‘You chase me! You chase me and puppy!'

With that, Zane began to run around after Marshall and the dog, taking great pleasure in how he was helping Marshall enjoy himself and let go of all his inhibitions.

‘Faster! Faster! You can't catch me!' Marshall squealed, zigging and zagging through the tall grass until he was abruptly caught out by a bump in the ground and came crashing down. ‘ Owwwwwwwww ! '

‘Marshall, are you okay, darling?' Zane asked, catching up with his fallen boy.

‘Want lift! Daddy lift me!' Marshall pleaded, looking up at Zane and holding his hands out. ‘Lift me! Cuddle!'

Zane smiled and duly picked Marshall up and wrapped his arms around him.

‘Come on, I think we've had enough games of chase for now,' Zane said. ‘How about I make you a nice warm milk. I've got a little portable stove in the barn that will do the job. Then maybe you can have a nice nap afterward? How about that?'

‘Yes please, Daddy,' Marshall replied, his bottom lip still wobbling from the shock of the fall but his eyes full of hope. ‘You're the best.'

Zane smiled and planted a soft kiss on Marshall's forehead.

While being a Daddy was very much a step into the unknown, Zane was ready to embrace whatever came his way. And right now, he had one hurt Little who needed his Daddy to serve up some milk and the biggest, warmest snuggle known to mankind.

This might have been Zane's first Daddy and baby boy playdate, but he knew from the bottom of his heart that it wasn't going to be his last…