Page 32 of Wishes and Research

“It’s not that.” Interrupting him was definitely rude, but our conversation wasn’t the issue…neither was anything else we’d done. “I don’t need another anything.”

Well, that was partly true but not in the way he meant.

I didn’t need another guide because there was a problem between us. Our first date might’ve blown my mind but that hadn’t been a bad thing. And he was too good at his job for me to want anyone else. Just from the information I’d given him during our planning session, he’d found the best trail for us to take.

The woods were beautiful but they were also the perfect ecosystem for the beetles. I just had to pay attention long enough to find them and not get lost in my own thoughts. Just because Fraser could always get us through the odd spots without getting turned around didn’t mean I could be a pain in the butt and completely tune out.

Fraser raised an eyebrow as he stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest as we stood in the middle of the trail, woods all around us. “You’re distracted and not paying attention to where you’re putting your feet. And you aren’t looking for insects at all.”

Oh, yeah.

Telling him that I’d forgotten why we were there didn’t seem like the best idea.

“Um, okay. Yes, I am distracted but not in the way you’re thinking.” Ugh. There wasn’t a subtle way to approach my question—because I’d been trying to find one for the past hour—so I charged right in. “Um, you said Daddies make their littles or subs or just the people they’re in charge of breakfast, right?”

Blinking slowly, Fraser eventually nodded. “Yes.”

My question clearly surprised him but he didn’t look startled or like he thought I was being a pain in the butt.

“Then I am claiming Daddy breakfasts. Yes. I’m claiming caretaker responsibility time.” He’d volunteered, so I didn’t have to worry about it. And I couldn’t worry about being rude or clingy when it’d been his idea to begin with.

Cocking his head, Fraser was quiet for a few seconds before he sighed. “What did they do?”

He was very smart and knew the locals just as well as he knew the mountains. It was handy in a lot of ways and made me feel better about being slightly frustrated. “Um, well, they’re excited we’re dating and very enthusiastic, and I don’t like it.”

I thought that was obvious, but I decided to restate it just to make sure he understood. He wanted good communication, so I would give it to him when it wasn’t too stressful.

Or too weird.

This definitely fell under the communication and asking for what I wanted part of the rules from our first date. “That means you have to feed me so I don’t have to drive all the way to the interstate for breakfast. I don’t want to buy a pack of muffins from Walmart. I like fresh ones but that’s not an option anymore, so you have to fix it because you said that was a Daddy’s responsibility.”

Yes, this was his problem to manage…because if he didn’t then I was going to have to start asking more questions and that wasn’t an option.

The locals were just very strange and I wasn’t ready to deal with it yet.

I had a new guy I was dating, and a Daddy, and a submissive side I was evidently supposed to label and categorize. Yep, I had enough on my plate without worrying if the neighbors thought we’d gotten married.

Or something like that.

I needed a nap before we got into the weird discussions that seemed to be waiting right around the corner.

Fraser shifted into Daddy mode and sighed, rolling his eyes before stepping closer to wrap his arms around me. “Alright. You’re going to come over to my place every morning unless we decide to go to breakfast somewhere together. Then you can work in the kitchen or the living room until you’re ready for another hike or you have something else to do.”

“Really?” It was that easy?

Maybe we had gotten married?

No. If we were married, he’d want me sleeping in his bed every night. Fraser wasn’t nuts like everyone else but he was the type to take his caretaker responsibilities very seriously and that’d just get even worse if we were married.

The fact that he’d let me go home last night without pouting or trying to keep me said whatever we were, we weren’t married.

“Yes.” He chuckled and gave me a quick peck. “Really. I like having you around and I like taking care of you.”

Shrugging as he stepped back, he flashed me a wicked grin that was completely at odds with the focused trailblazer he’d been before. “And it feeds my control freak side. I like knowing I’m going to see you every day. I’ll get to make sure you’ve eaten and then quiz you about what you’re going to do.”

Okay.

So he was just as nuts as the rest of them, but on him, it was kind of cute. “That works for me.”

---