Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74652 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74652 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
The rocking motion got another gentle sound from him and his hand came up so he could slide his thumb in his mouth. For comfort? Because he was tired? Subspace? I couldn’t decide if I should read into it or not, so I just waited and cuddled and rocked.
After a few minutes, he rubbed his head against my chest and curled nearly in half to press himself tighter against me. That seemed to be a not-so-subtle hint for a firmer hug, so I obeyed the unspoken request and wrapped my arms more tightly around him as I kissed his head.
“Such a good boy.” Reinforcing my feelings about the scene seemed like the best plan if he was sliding toward his little headspace, but I tried to keep the praise appropriate. “You were so brave for showing me your grown-up sub side…and you were so cuddly…and you give the best kisses.”
That was reasonable to say no matter what headspace he was in, right?
Fuck.
I should’ve asked more questions in that stupid presentation…or at least to Austin.
“I’m so proud of you.” I gave him another kiss as he let out a long breath and the last bits of stress seemed to ease out of him. “And now you have to make sure Austin knows he can’t kill me.”
That got a giggle out of Charlie, but he nodded, realizing the importance of keeping his Daddy alive.
“And if you want to tell him I give the greatest cuddles ever and tell him I have all kinds of fun things to kiss, well, I’d be fine with that too.” His devious snicker said he was going to love teasing his insane guardian angel about my tattoos.
Still happy and quiet, he shifted his face closer to the dragon and traced over the head with his pinkie. “Curious?”
All I got was a nod, but that was enough to make it clear what he wanted. “My family is…let’s say rigid. They have very clear ideas of what’s acceptable and were nearly obsessive about education and societal roles and things like that.”
His huff said what he thought of that idea, but when no other words followed, I kept going.
“Yeah, they didn’t even approve of fantasy books. Some teenagers have to hide a…let’s call it a collection of grown-up magazines?” That got a naughty giggle out of the cutie. “Yeah, I had to hide fantasy books and epic novels about dragons and mysterious creatures.”
Looking back as an adult, I could see how stupid it was, but as a kid, I’d just felt weird and trapped.
“I’d have probably collected naughtier things, but I hadn’t known those kinds of books existed at that point.” It’d taken entirely too long for me to realize I was not the only alpha with the craziest things running around in my head.
“So when I finally got out from under their thumb, the first thing I did was get a tattoo.” It’d been the most rebellious thing I could think of but I had no regrets. “It’s grown over the years, but it was the first way I started exploring the things in my head that made me feel different from everyone else.”
“Pretty.” The tender word was slightly muffled around his thumb, but his support was clear.
“Thank you, sweetie.” Kissing the top of his head as he slowly traced the designs and sucked his thumb, I kept up the rambling history that seemed important to share with him. “So when I got stressed or started feeling confused, I’d plan out the next part. Sometimes it was tiny things like the little flowers that join the bigger pieces together and sometimes it was the big stuff.”
Turning his head, he shifted so his finger could trace over the phoenix.
“That one, huh?” He was so smart. “That was when I finally came out to myself that I was a Dom and would never want the kind of relationship everyone kept trying to shove on me. I’d just broken up with an omega my family thought was perfect.”
Fuck. That arranged nightmare had been terrible from start to finish…I just hadn’t realized that until I’d gotten out. “He’d found some grown-up sites on my computer that he thought were terrible and we broke up after he screamed at me that I was…well, he said some not-nice things.”
That got a hug from my tenderhearted boy and he even took his thumb out of his mouth long enough to give the phoenix a kiss.
“Thank you.” I gave him another tight hug before shifting my hold so I could rub his back. “It wasn’t until then that I realized I was not a bad alpha for wanting someone special like you, sweet boy.”
Being screamed at like that by someone who’d said they loved me had been an eye-opening experience. No matter what Clancy had thought about the sites I was studying—and it’d been research, not weird porn—hearing what he thought about alphas like that had killed any remaining feelings I’d had for him.