Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
It was what it had boiled down to. We’d needed to rebrand and offer a more personalized stay in order to bring back a lost demographic. Additionally, thanks to our exchange program between our locations in New York and Los Angeles, we’d discovered that our LA staff was generally better at adjusting their approach depending on the clientele. A seasoned businessman who worked in finance spoke a language different from, say, a younger woman who flew in from Silicon Valley for a tech-related seminar. Something our East Coast employees were more aware of now.
Peyton lifted a bit so I could pull down his briefs too. “It’s in August now. Because I intervened. I told her again that Julia and I wouldn’t be able to go with you once school starts, and then I changed it.”
“Ah.” I smirked faintly as I unbuttoned his shirt. “You’re adorable when you get demanding and huffy, but you can lay off the attitude now.”
It served as a reminder to take him down a peg or two, which I had no issue doing. He thrived on having a lot to do, and he loved organizing and coordinating, but he spiraled if he didn’t get his mental downtime. Time to let go of everything, time to lower his defenses, time to let Daddy take over.
“I’m not giving you attitude.” Peyton frowned. “I’m just saying—”
“Quiet,” I commanded with a hitched brow in warning.
He snapped his mouth shut.
Better.
I removed the rest of his clothes in comfortable silence, then guided him into the bathroom.
“We have the house to ourselves. Let’s enjoy it.” I turned on the water and waited for it to get warm.
We needed this. Most days, he was the wonderful man who’d become the love of my life. A man whose personal journey I was lucky to be part of. A terrific father to Julia. Far better in the kitchen than I was. He’d turned our Boston home into a place I couldn’t wait to get back to at the end of the day. A man who dressed sharply for work, a man who threw off the suit and changed into sweatpants as soon as he got home, a man of intelligence and heart. But between him and me… When it was just the two of us, he would forever be my little boy.
I took my time washing him under the hot spray, hoping I washed away more than the day. For one night, it was only us. “Forget everything else.” I massaged the shampoo into his hair and felt the tension rolling off him. “Julia’s probably forgotten us by now.”
Peyton smiled quickly.
Over the years, his sister had become Julia’s role model. When Anna was home from school in Seattle, Julia demanded to go see Nana and Aunt Anna. She made them visit us in Boston often too, not afraid to show her puppy-dog eyes over FaceTime. Julia’d even convinced both Anna and Carol to visit for her first day of school this fall.
“Did I mention I got new advertisers on the podcast?” Peyton asked.
“You did, and that’s not what I call forgetting everything else.” I dipped down and kissed him chastely. “Don’t make me regret turning our study into a recording studio, pet.”
He grinned impishly. “I don’t think a studio mic and some software qualify as—”
“Hey.” I tugged his hair harder, hard enough for him to wince and take the hint.
“Ow,” he whispered. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, baby. I know you’re excited.” I eased up and grabbed the showerhead. “I’m very proud of you.”
That seemed to do the trick. He sighed contentedly, and he tilted his head back as I washed away the shampoo.
After securing the showerhead in the mount again, I poured body wash into my hand and started rubbing the kinks out of his shoulders. Down his back, over his chest, between his ass cheeks…
He shivered and hummed. “You know when I need a break.”
“It’s one of the best responsibilities a Daddy can have.” A role that had become part of my identity with Peyton. “I love taking care of you.”
He smiled serenely. “I love pleasing you.”
I kissed him softly and soaped up his cock properly. “You always do.”
He proved it every time he tried to insert himself into tasks at work that weren’t his to perform anymore. He demanded perfection for me, down to the coffee I was served and how I received my briefings in the morning. “It has to be done right, Daddy,” he’d complain sometimes. He’d become genuinely distraught when unexpected events threw off my schedule, which happened to everyone. But he hated it with a passion.
Once we were both showered and clean, I turned off the water and patted him dry with a towel.
He regressed further when I reached a ticklish spot, and he let out a giggle.
“There’s my sweet boy.” It was an addictive sight that never failed to flood my senses with possessiveness and lewd ideas. “Go sit on the bed. I’m going to grab a toy for us.”