by R. Phoenix
“You’re welcome, my sweet.” He pulled me even closer, but I glanced at my laptop. I’d lost a lot of time when I’d written the letter and talked to Carter about it. I wanted to just curl up in his arms and relax — hell, I wanted to just get some cuddles and go to sleep.
I wasn’t even after cuddling that would lead to sex, but more comfort cuddling. But I couldn’t do that right now. I needed to get some more work done. Tomorrow was Monday, which meant going into the office, and that meant getting work done so I didn’t start the week being behind.
As the new intern, I got the lovely jobs like fetching coffee and all of that other stupid nonsense they could do themselves. Since I was there, though, they decided I could do it. There were just so many people in the office, and they all wanted something from me. When they didn’t, there were dull meetings to attend and memos to send. On top of that, I had actual work to get in. My boss at least figured that since I was there, I could very well get some practice in, but he didn’t seem to care how much else I had to do.
I didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t even the coffee-fetching, really. It was the never-ending, boring stuff that came with the work itself. It was so loud from constant chatter and phone calls, and it was hard to concentrate. Unlike at the shelter, the noise wasn’t welcome. This wasn’t some sort of chaos I felt comfort in. It was something that made me feel a little hollow inside.
Carter held me tight, but I couldn’t relax into his embrace. I really needed to start working, or this bug wouldn’t be fixed until tomorrow. That would be a nice way to start my fourth week in the office. I just didn’t have time to do all the work my boss gave me around the errands people had me running.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” Carter murmured in my ear.
I looked up at him, seeing the worry lines on his forehead. “Nothing.” I rested my head against his shoulder, but then scooted forward to look at my laptop again.
“You need to work?” He sounded… strange. Why would he mind me working? He knew I was doing my internship.
“Yeah. I’m not done yet, and I need to turn that in by tomorrow.” I opened my file, scanning the screen and trying to find where I’d left off.
“Micah.”
I jerked my head around. If he called me Micah, something wasn’t right. “Yeah?”
“We need to talk.”
Ice settled in my stomach as I looked at him. Oh. My. God. Please no. I stared at him, trying not to panic.
“Not like that. Calm down.” I was still in his lap, but he was holding me at a little bit of a distance.
“I—”
“Please, let me say it.” Carter’s voice was calm.
I couldn’t focus much, so I just nodded even though my heart was racing. This wasn’t good. He was tired of me. He was going to kick me out. He didn’t want me anymore. Every worst case scenario played through my mind, and each one made me feel colder and colder.
“When did we play last?” Carter asked.
I focused on his words, but didn’t even know the answer. “I…” I didn’t have the slightest idea. I couldn’t remember the last time we’d just played.
“Before you started working, baby.” He was still calm.
It couldn’t have been that long, could it? That had been a month. We wouldn’t have gone without playing for a month, would we? “It’s been that long?” I wracked my brain, but I couldn’t figure out when we played… maybe he was right? Damn. “I’m sorry.”
“I know, Micah. And I know you didn’t even realize it. But this is…” He paused and ran a hand through his hair. “This is not working. Not like this.”
My blood rushed into my ears and I couldn’t hear anything over the pounding in them. “I’m sorry. I—” I stopped, swallowed, and tried to fight back the tears. I’d messed up. I’d well and truly messed up.
“No need to be sorry, baby. It’s all right. We just need to talk about it.” He pulled me closer. “Come here.”
I tried to keep my tears under control, but I failed.
“Hey, baby. It’s all right. I’m sorry.” He kissed my head. “I’m sorry I upset you so much. I didn’t mean for it to sound that ominous.” Carter paused, holding me tight. “It’s not about me and you. The two of us are fine.”
The breath rushed back into my lungs, but I was still terrified of what he was going to say. “Then what…”
“This internship is killing you, baby,” he said gently.
This time, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. I’d done my best to keep quiet about how stressed out I’d been, about how miserable I’d been, but I obviously hadn’t been as successful as I’d thought. “It’ll settle down,” I told him, clinging to him. “It’s not for too much longer. Once I’m actually hired on, I won’t have to do so much extra stuff.”
“I don’t want to tell you what to do,” Carter said slowly, “but at the same time, I’m your Daddy, and I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”
“You are taking care of me!” I protested.
“Am I?” he asked. “You’ve lost weight, you always look tired, and I barely get to see you. Even when we’re both off on Sundays, you have to work or you’re too tired to do anything but sleep.”
“I can do better,” I told him desperately, even though I wasn’t even sure how. I was always so damn tired, and I didn’t know how I could possibly change that. I couldn’t stop the tears from trickling down my cheeks. “I’m sorry, Carter.” I couldn’t even bring myself to call him daddy, not when I hadn’t even been much of his boy.
“Hey.” He lifted my chin until I met his eyes. “You don’t need to apologize. But something has to give.”
“I can try to start applying for real jobs again,” I said, even though I’d had zero luck on that. Every place I’d applied wanted experience, which was impossible to get when I didn’t already have experience. I couldn’t even find entry level jobs. The internship had been the best I could do.
“Baby…” He squeezed me lightly. “You know I’ll always take care of you, don’t you?”
I hesitated, unsure of whether that would still be the case when we didn’t even get to see each other anymore, but then I nodded. “I know.”
“Really? Do you trust me not to leave you, baby?”
What was that about? I nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“You didn’t a few moments ago.”
I tried to chuckle, but it came out as more of a sob. “Because in every movie, they break up if they say we need to talk.”
“You’re going to be only allowed cartoons from now on.” Carter dug his fingers into my ribs, but before I could react to the teasing, he was serious again. “I know you’re not happy, and I… I can’t take care of you like this.”
I nodded. We’d just covered this topic, after all.
“So, um… Would you consider quitting your job? Go back to working at the shelter, or do something different? I promise to take care of you always, so you’ll never have to worry about not having enough money. But it’s killing me to see you this unhappy.”
I needed a moment to process his words, to figure out what he really wanted.
Then I flung myself at him, hugging him tight. “I don’t know what to say! I want… you would really let me go back to working at the shelter?”
Could I really even do that? My parents had spent so much money putting me through school, and IT paid so much more than the shelter ever could. It wasn’t like I had student loans I had to repay, and… If I was going to be honest with myself, I had to admit that this had never been my dream. This had been my parents’ suggestion, and since they’d been willing to pay my way through, it had seemed like a foregone conclusion.
But the idea of going back to the shelter…
“I’m offering for you to quit your job and you are only thinking about the animals you can drag here, right?”
I snorted. “Well… No, actually, I thought about my parents, and how disappointed they might be, but then about my dreams, and what
I wanted.”
“Care to share with me?” He sounded way too confident, like he knew what I’d decide.
“Like you have to ask. I’d take the shelter and more time with you over IT in a heartbeat.” I kissed him. The only question was whether I could really take him up on that. I could easily get my job back at the shelter, but it wasn’t like I’d be able to offer up much. But if he meant it — and I had no reason to think he didn’t — then how could I possibly say no when it would make me so happy? “Thank you so much, Daddy.”
“Don’t thank me, baby. It’s just what partners do.” He gently released me then stood. What was he going to do now? It wasn’t like him to leave in the middle of a conversation.
Carter kneeled down in front of me, one hand in his trouser pocket. I stared at him, still trying to figure out what he was up to. The last thirty minutes brought so many changes and revelations, I wasn’t even—
“You know how much I love you, baby. After Nic died, I never thought I would find love again. But I did, and it was every bit as wonderful as the first time. I’ve been given the perfect boy, someone to brighten my life. I never expected it, but our relationship completes me. You just told me you trust me to take care of you… and I want to show you I can.” Carter paused, and this time, it looked like he was fighting tears. “I promise to love you forever, baby boy. Will you marry me, Micah? My baby?”
He raised his hand, showing me the ring he held in there, nestled into a small, pink box.
I was going to pass out. My hand was in front of my mouth, tears ran over my cheeks, and I stared at him with disbelief. He couldn’t really mean it, could he? We hadn’t been together that long, considering, and we’d had a rough month of it. Why would he do this?
But I wasn’t going to say no. I could never say no to him.
The answer would never be anything but yes.
Words were beyond me, but I nodded and pulled him into a kiss that hopefully showed my answer without a doubt. “I love you,” I finally whispered against his lips, the words barely more than a breath. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Carter
I kissed Micah back, pouring all my love for him into the kiss. My heart was close to bursting, the love so much that I couldn't even grasp it. He'd said yes. He'd agreed to stop working so much. He was going to be mine, truly mine.
Micah tugged at my shoulders, trying to pull me up, and I stood. I took him into my arms again, pulling his body close to mine. My fiancé’s body… my future husband's body.
He was panting already, his lips full and red and swollen from my kisses. I took them again, kissing him deeply, while his hands roamed over my back, my ass.
When we broke apart, Micah murmured, "Make love to me, Daddy. I need you."
"Always, baby. Whatever you want." I pulled at his t-shirt and he wriggled out of it, exposing that lean, slender chest I loved so much.
"You too, Daddy." His lower lip came out in something like a pout and I chuckled.
"Patience, baby. We're getting there." I sat up, though, stripping myself quickly and leaving our clothes on a pile near the couch.
"God, I love you so much, baby."
Micah's hands started exploring me again, moving over my back to my ass. "I love you so much, too, Daddy. And I want you so much."
"You'll have me, my baby. My perfect, perfect baby." I kissed him again, my fingers teasing his nipples and his flat, pale chest. I loved him so much, loved seeing and touching him so much. Micah moaned as I caressed him some more, playing with his nipples. Then I moved down to his hard cock, which was already ready for me.
I helped him wriggle out of those sinfully tight jeans he'd grown used to, then he was naked before me. I couldn’t help myself. I got back down on my knees in front of him, my hands cupping his ass cheeks. When I wrapped my lips around his cock, I earned another moan, and his fingers clutched in my hair.
My own cock was trapped in my trousers, but I didn't care as long I could hear more of those sounds. My fingers started playing with his balls, cupping them, caressing them, then I moved deeper to his tight hole.
He spread his legs more, giving me access, and I grabbed blindly for the lube we had stashed somewhere in the drawer of the living room table. When I found it, I opened it, poured some on my fingers, and went back to his hole to get him ready. Micah moaned louder, his fingers pulling at my hair. I needed to slow down, otherwise it'd be over way too soon, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I wanted to taste him, have him come in my mouth, but then I probably wouldn't get to fuck him, which was what my cock wanted.
"Daddy!" Micah's voice was hoarse. "Daddy, stop."
I pulled back, releasing his cock and pulling back my fingers. "What's wrong, baby?"
He looked at me, a lazy half-smile on his red and swollen lips and his eyes half closed. "I want you inside of me, Daddy. Make love to me."
I grinned. "Well, since you asked so nicely…" I stood back up, jerked down my annoying trousers, then I nudged him onto his back on the couch. As soon as he was settled, I was between his legs. He spread them, making room for me, and I slid inside of him. He opened up perfectly for me, allowing me to go deep.
His eyes rolled back in his head as I completely buried myself in his tight body, and I had to kiss those lips before I could even move.
We took our time, even though I wanted nothing more than to thrust deep and come deep inside of him. I would take my time, make love to him, and show him what he meant to me.
Micah ended up being the one who sped things up, making me fuck him deeper, faster, until his breath came in gasps and he clutched my shoulders. "I'm—" He didn't get to say anything more, because he came, spurting into the tight space between us.
I stole another quick kiss, then followed him, my whole body going tight as I came deep inside of him.
I made sure not to collapse on top of him, even though my arms and legs didn't even feel like they could carry my weight, and rolled both of us to the side of the large couch. That meant I slipped out of him, but I couldn't change that. Better than to crush my sweet baby.
I closed my eyes and held him tight. We should get cleaned up, but that could wait a moment. I just needed to hold him, keep him with me.
Despite him saying yes to my proposal, there was something on my mind, something I needed to address before it came back and bit us in the ass. It might not have been the best moment, but I also didn't want to draw it out. My silly boy thought I would split up with him… and I wouldn't even let him think about that.
"You know I would never leave you, baby? Except if you tell me one day you don't love me anymore?" I murmured into his ear.
Micah moved, but he didn't open his eyes. "I know… I thought I knew. But then you started with your we have to talk stuff, and I know I haven't been spending much time with you, and…" He trailed off.
"I know. But, no matter what happens, you need to remember this. If I say we need to talk, it means something isn’t the way it is supposed to be. Not that I'm going to break up with you." I kissed him, now an even lazier kiss than before. "But it will never mean I don't want you anymore."
He snorted. "Well, I kind of figured that, since you asked me to marry you. I just got scared when you said those words."
"Never worry about that again, please." I held him tightly to my body, even though it was getting even messier between us. A shower was in order, and, if I had any luck, he would allow me to bathe him.
"What do you say, want me to run you a bath and get you clean again?"
Micah giggled then pressed his cock, completely with all the mess, against me. "I guess you'll have to do that, Daddy."
"Brat." I tickled him, but as I realized how much that was spreading the mess, I stopped. "I’m going to give you a bath, and then you're going to put on an onesie and have some playtime. That’s something you desperately need after the last few weeks. Or do you think a nap would be a better option?”
<
br /> Micah started wriggling around. “I think I need a bath, a lot of lotion, a diaper and then some sleep. In about that order. Afterward, I’d love if you could feed me some kind of dinner, if it's necessary even something healthy, and then I need some more daddy cuddles.”
“I think we can do that, if you're sure about everything?” I looked at him, trying to read his expression.
Micah nodded. “I’ve never been more sure about things. And, if I'm completely honest, I think I just freaked out. I didn’t believe you were really going to break up with me, not deep inside my heart. It knows I'm yours, just as you’re mine.”
“That's good to know, baby. I have no intentions of ever letting you go, but I think I'm repeating myself.” I winked at him. I might have said it a bit too often.
My little brat laughed. “That might be because of your age, Daddy. I heard some people have trouble with their memory at a certain age.”
I stared at him, not sure I heard him right.
“What did you just say?”
Micah looked at me, his eyes huge. “Nothing?” He bit his bottom lip, looking absolutely innocent, but I wasn't fooled even a second. I might be older than him, but it wasn't that bad. And I definitely didn't have any issues with my hearing.
“I think someone is trying to get another spanking, baby.”
“Maybe. But first I need a nap, and then we can see what else we’ll be up to.”
Just the thought of not having to go back to work was enough for him to find back into his playful mood. That was the man I’d fallen in love with, and the man I would spend the rest of my life with. “Then upstairs you go, and pick out a onesie you’d like to wear for sleep. I’ll draw you a bath in the meantime.”
It had taken me a couple of days to find the courage to actually send off Micah’s letter. I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing. It also rubbed me the wrong way that my partner had to reach out to them and explain something they shouldn’t have seen to begin with.
But I couldn’t help myself. I was proud of Micah for taking the time to actually write the letter when he’d been so busy with work, and for having the courage to not only show me but try to get them back into my — our — lives. They were important to me, he knew that, but I would pick my baby over them every time. So I’d have left things where they were, until the day they came back and apologized. Then we could find a way to get over it.