He's Mine Not Hers

by Gianni Holmes

  “Where’s the little boy?” the cop holding Lucas asked.

  “What little boy?” Lucas sounded so bewildered I felt sorry for him. “There’s no little boy here.”

  “It’s me,” I piped up. “I’m the little boy.”

  Two pairs of eyes turned in my direction, raking me up and down from my position against the wall, and I could feel the heat in my face. The sense of nakedness I felt had very little to do with the skimpy two-piece silk shorts and camisole I had worn to bed. I didn’t have any makeup on, the last thing I should be worried about given my future husband may never be able to see how fabulous I looked again.

  “You.” The stockier of the two police officers pointed a finger at me. “Start talking.”

  “I’ll check that everything is clear,” his partner remarked and slinked along the hall, his gun withdrawn.

  “There’s been a horrible mistake,” I replied, and this time the hysterical giggle popped out. “I called 9-1-1 because I heard a noise in the apartment. I didn’t expect Daddy Luke to be here, so I thought he was a burglar.”

  “Right? And how does a little boy being home alone fall into the equation?”

  “I never said I was a little boy,” I protested, demonstrating for him by lowering my voice. “I had to whisper because I didn’t want the intruder to know I had called the cops. My phone battery died, and Miss Puss was in danger, so I grabbed my can of spray, and then you guys busted in here all ready to save me.”

  “Let me get this straight,” the cop remarked. “You forgot your dad lives here?”

  I glanced at Luke, and my face heated even more as I dug my toes into the rough carpet. Before I could respond, the other police officer returned.

  “Why is there a woman passed out in one of the bedrooms? What are you two perverts up to?”

  I groaned. “That would be Becca. Becca’s my mom.”

  The one who had been interrogating me pulled a face I would have found comical if I wasn’t worried at how Lucas wasn’t saying anything. He just had his head bowed and was groaning as if in pain.

  “Your mom’s passed out, so you take that as an invitation to have relations with your dad?”

  “I’m not his father,” Lucas snapped.

  “Right,” I piped up. “Not that kind of father. Umm, you know, like a sugar daddy.”

  Chapter Eight

  Lucas

  Listening to Jason explaining to the cops that I wasn’t an intruder but his sugar daddy was more irritating than whatever the hell he had sprayed into my eyes. Luckily, I’d turned my head, so I had escaped the full brunt of it, but my eyes were still burning, and all I wanted to do was get them washed and head on home away from all this madness. I’d already been in enough trouble tonight what with wrecking the kitchen at the restaurant and being fired with the threat of a lawsuit for damaging property.

  My celebratory drink I’d planned to make of the night with Becca had turned into an angry tirade of how ungrateful and disloyal management of the restaurant was. Becca had been in her own kind of funk, so I hadn’t even been able to enjoy my anger. Once she’d started to drink, I hadn’t bothered to indulge because then we wouldn’t have had a driver to get home.

  The last thing I’d expected when carrying her to her bedroom to sleep off the alcohol was to be attacked by a cat. Becca didn’t have a cat. I’d nearly jumped out of my skin when I’d felt the animal winding its way through my legs in the dark. Not sure what to think, I’d tried to step away but landed on him instead.

  The rest was a catastrophe.

  “Look, Officer,” I intervened because Jason was only making things worse. “There was no intruder. Jason’s mom and I went out for some drinks. She got a bit intoxicated, so I brought her home and to her bedroom. I didn’t want to wake Jason, so I was trying to be quiet. He obviously heard me, thought I was a burglar, and made the false alarm.”

  I tried to open my eyes as the burning receded, but the cops were nothing but a blur of blue.

  “And you’re sure you know this man and he doesn’t mean you any harm?” one of them asked Jason.

  “Yes, I do, and Dad—I mean Luke would never hurt me. I’m sorry I called you for nothing.”

  “Well, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”

  The handcuffs were removed from my wrists, and I rubbed them although they weren’t on long enough to leave any impression behind.

  “I’m sorry again,” Jason apologized, and I glimpsed him walking the cops to the door.

  “Sorry about your door too. We heard the commotion from outside and thought someone was being hurt.”

  Using the inside of my shirt, I wiped what I could of the spray from my eyes just in time to see Jason kissing one of the cops on his chin. “Thanks for coming. I do feel safe knowing such capable officers are quick to come to my aid.”

  A fierce possessiveness overcame me as I caught the officer taking in the way Jason’s ridiculously cute top rode up to show his flat tummy as he placed an equally sweet kiss on the other cop’s cheek. I wanted to slam the door shut and keep him hidden. It was already bad enough that I’d gone apeshit crazy at work earlier tonight and had to be escorted from the premises.

  Jason closed the door behind the cops, but it was obvious that it was broken. He turned back to me, wringing his hands.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said on a whisper. “You startled me.”

  I nodded, because how could I be mad at him? He could hardly be blamed for me sneaking into his house at two in the morning to put his mother to bed.

  “Just point me in the way of the kitchen so I can wash my eyes,” I grumbled.

  “Oh, please let me do it. I was the one who sprayed you.”

  “What the hell did you spray me with? Insect repellant?”

  He took me by the arm, and I followed his slender body in the direction of the kitchen.

  “Ugh, that stuff smells nasty,” he replied. “That was my extra-firm hair spray.”

  I groaned. “Extra firm? I’ll be lucky if my eyes aren’t glued shut.”

  He walked me over to the sink. “Come on. Get under the tap and turn your head to the side so we can flush them. I don’t think hair spray damages the eyes.”

  “I seriously doubt that.”

  I complied and carefully stuck my head under the tap in the kitchen. At least there were no dishes which had to be Jason’s doing because Becca usually only got to kitchen duty after there was a pileup. He turned on the spray, and I jerked away. “Too hot!”

  “Ohmygod, I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “I should have checked the temperature first.”

  I couldn’t blame him for not thinking when I clearly wasn’t thinking either except for the way his body clothed in silk rubbed against me with each movement.

  “I’ve got it,” I told him, adjusting the temperature of the water before sticking my head beneath. The warm water washed over my closed eyes at first before I gradually opened them to completely irrigate the areas.

  “I’ll be back in a minute. Keep washing it out.”

  I heard his footsteps as he hurried away, and I sighed, allowing my body to slump against the sink. I’d completely ruined my career tonight. Instead of walking away, I’d let my anger get the best of me. No one would want to hire me after this. Someone had videotaped me going berserk in the kitchen, and it had gone viral.

  Crazy chef meltdown: This is how your meals are prepared.

  They’d already made memes of me for fuck’s sake. It was all good with the fun and games except that I’d built my reputation as a chef all these years for it to end in a crazy rant the public saw but would never get to understand the reason behind it.

  Tonight, Lawrence had broken my dreams, and I’d further smashed it into irreparable pieces.

  “Good news,” Jason remarked, reentering the kitchen. “I checked on Google and hair spray isn’t harmful to your eyes. Just continue flushing for another minute, and then let me put some of my ointment on them to help with the redness.”
/>
  “Yes, definitely good news.” I couldn’t help the sarcasm.

  “Lucas, I said I’m sorry. I was scared being here on my own, okay?”

  I sighed. “I’m not mad at you, Jace.”

  “Well, you seem awfully upset for someone who’s not mad.”

  “I didn’t say I wasn’t mad. Just not at you. As hard as it is to believe, this isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to me tonight.”

  I turned off the faucet, and he pulled out a chair. “Have a seat.”

  I took the chair he offered me gratefully, and he straddled my lap. “Jason, this isn’t a good idea.”

  “I’m just making you feel better.” My cock jerked at his words, and there was no hiding the swell of it against his bottom. He chuckled. “Ooh, at least somebody’s happy to see me. I had begun to wonder.”

  “Jason, you know why—”

  “Shh. I was talking about helping you with your eyes, which are slightly swollen,” he replied. “Not the other swollen problem you have.”

  I grunted instead of answering. Had he tricked me into revealing that I found him to be hotter than a dog on a hot plate? It sure felt like it, and the way he was moving in my lap, my cock was fixing to burst out of my pants. His slender body fit so well against me. It would take very little to pull down his shorts, unzip myself, and settle him onto my cock. He wouldn’t protest.

  But I couldn’t. He was off-limits.

  He placed a heated pad over my eyes, oblivious to the turmoil inside me. “Keep this on for just a minute while I clean the claw marks on your arms.”

  “When did y’all get a cat?”

  “I found her. I assumed she was a stray because she didn’t have a collar, and she was hungry.”

  Fuck. As if losing my job and losing my head over my best friend’s son weren’t bad enough. Now I was about to lose my life to some rabid cat’s scratches and bites.

  “Please tell me she had her shots.”

  “She did. That’s the only way Becca allowed me to keep her.”

  “Good. Maybe I won’t die from rabies, then.”

  He stopped dabbing at my arm. “I don’t think you can get rabies from cats. Isn’t that dogs?”

  “Pretty sure cats can be carriers too.”

  “The vet said she’s fine.” Jason removed the warm towel from my eyes, and I had to admit it did reduce the intensity of the irritation. There was only a lingering feeling of unpleasantness. He clutched my chin and turned my head to inspect my eyes. “They’ll be good as new when you wake up in the morning. Let me rub some of my cream around it to help.”

  “What is that cream?”

  “It hydrates, moisturizes, and restores the skin’s barrier. It should help with inflammation and the overall discomfort. This stuff is the best eleven pounds I spent back in London.”

  When he was finished, he eased back in my lap, and I automatically reached out to brace my arms around him in the event he fell. He noticed the move and smiled but didn’t say anything. I was failing miserably at showing him how little I cared for him. The truth was that I cared way too much. That was the reason I had sent him money in London to ensure he didn’t need anything while there.

  No wonder he thought I was his sugar daddy when I’d only been helping out. I’d made more than Becca, and she didn’t always have the means to provide for Jason. She tried as best as she could, but her job paid shitty for her hours.

  “How does it feel now?” he asked.

  I blinked my eyes repeatedly before answering. “They do feel better.”

  He kissed my cheek and slid off my lap. “Good. I can give you the name if you want. You don’t have to be hair-sprayed to use it.”

  “I’m good, plus I should get going. It’s really late.” The whole makeup and skincare were great for Jason. He enjoyed it, and it looked good on him, but all I wanted was to prepare meals, and I couldn’t even do that anymore for a living.

  “Okay.”

  He walked me out of the kitchen, but once we were in the hall, I groaned, staring at the door. How could I leave them here alone, knowing the door was busted and any creep could walk in on them while they were sleeping? Becca was so out of it, she hadn’t even heard the commotion with the cops. Jason had attacked me with a can of hair spray. A criminal who really wanted to hurt him wouldn’t be deterred by hair spray and a cat I still wasn’t convinced didn’t have rabies.

  “I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Jason stated, but I heard the tremor in his voice.

  “We’ll try to prop the door up as best as we can, and I’ll stay until morning,” I told him to his delight. “I can’t leave you alone.”

  “Oh thank you, Daddy Luke.” He clapped his hands together like an eager child. “You can sleep in my room. There’s more than enough space to accommodate you.”

  “Nice try.” I walked over to the door and slid it back into place, but the lock wasn’t working. “I’ll sleep on the couch. Why don’t you make yourself useful and bring me a blanket or something?”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in my bed? It’s comfy and comes with a human heat warmer.”

  Despite the misery of tonight, I chuckled. “When are you just going to give up?”

  He walked up to me and placed a hand in the center of my chest. My heart skipped a beat, then made up for it by pounding the next one I hoped he didn’t feel.

  “When I wasn’t sure about entering that makeup competition, you told me I can do whatever I set my mind to,” he said softly. “And I won. You mean more to me than a makeup competition, Daddy, and I know I’ll win you too.”

  “Jace—”

  “I’ll go for the blanket,” he stated, spinning on his heels and sauntering off to his bedroom. The shorts of his nightwear framed his ass perfectly. I should look away, avoid the temptation, but looking never hurt anyone before, did it? I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

  I knew if I followed him to his bedroom, he would welcome me inside. I could go after him right now and distract myself from tonight’s happenings by sinking my cock inside his compact little body. He’d go wild when I was inside him. I just knew it. Such a wildfire couldn’t help but explode when near the fuel that got him going.

  But no, I couldn’t. Jason deserved more than me fucking him for comfort after losing my job and ruining my life. Now more than ever I refused to touch him. I’d hate to hurt him too. Ruining my life was enough, and he was so vibrant and cheerful I’d hate to see him any other way.

  When he entered the living room, I was seated on the lumpy couch thinking about the hellish hours of sleep I wasn’t going to get on this thing. If I believed I could sleep in Jason’s bed without touching him, I’d take up his offer. He was a clinger though, and I could just imagine how he’d be all over me in bed. I couldn’t ruin my friendship with Becca because I couldn’t resist her son.

  “I got you my favorite blanket,” he remarked, handing me a light folded blanket with a lipstick design all over it. I wished I could say I was surprised, but I really wasn’t.

  It was so Jason.

  “Thank you.”

  I expected him to go back to bed, but he sat beside me on the couch, folding his feet Indian-style.

  “Will you tell me why you’re so upset?” he asked, leaning his head sideways on the back of the couch and exposing the beautiful cream column of the side of his neck.

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about,” I answered.

  “Come on. Tell me. I know I talk a lot, but I can listen too. Try me.”

  What did it hurt? Maybe if he knew how I ruined my life, he would realize that I was nobody’s definition of daddy.

  “I got fired from my job tonight.”

  He didn’t hide his shock well. Jason’s face was an art piece that didn’t take a lot to interpret.

  “What? That can’t be. You love that restaurant.”

  I snorted. “But apparently it doesn’t love me back.”

  “What happened?”

  I spilled all the
sordid detail to him, leaving nothing out. Talking about it for the second time had everything sinking in. I’d fucked up tonight. I’d possibly lose everything after paying back for all the damage I’d cost. I’d broken and trashed expensive equipment, and I’d insulted Lawrence. Hell, that was one part I wouldn’t take back. Or maybe I would. The thought of that asshole sucking my dick had more of an effect than a cold shower in the heart of an ice storm.

  “Wow, you told your boss to suck your dick?” Jason snorted.

  “Yup, and my balls.”

  “Hmm, I don’t think he deserve you or your dick,” he stated, placing a hand on my arm to squeeze. “I’ve been around you long enough to know you love that place. That position should have been yours.”

  “Yes, but I don’t own the fucking place. I should have just accepted it would never be and resign. I could have found another restaurant to hire me in a heartbeat, but now, my career’s as good as over.”

  “You don’t know that.” He rose to his knees and shuffled closer on the couch, resting both hands on my cheeks. “I don’t believe that at all. I’m sorry you lost your job, but I firmly believe it will be okay. Someone will hire you, and if they don’t, you just start your own restaurant.”

  I chuckled and couldn’t resist taking his wrists and turning my face to kiss his palms. “That’s not how it works, sweet boy. There’s a lot of investment needed to start a restaurant. After I pay for the damage of what I did to the restaurant tonight, I’ll be lucky if I don’t lose the house.”

  “You can move into my room. It will be good for you, and I know several ways I can cheer you up when you get down.”

  I don’t doubt that at all. I stared at his lips, wanting to kiss him. His solutions didn’t make any sense, but it was enough that he was trying to help. Not even Becca had tried coming up with solutions. She’d just joined my pity party of how our lives sucked.

  “I’m kidding about the house,” I told him on a groan. “I might have just washed all my savings down the toilet though.”

  “I’ll take care of you. Hope you like ramen noodles ’cause that’s all my salary can afford.”