Page 16 of Babe

I snorted. “Sure, sweet boy.” I didn’t give a fuck who heard us as long as he didn’t. I lightly tapped his ass before backing him up. Opening the back door of my truck, I reached in and grabbed my duffel bag, hefting it onto my shoulder before I grabbed Ace’s hand in mine, stroking my thumb over his soft knuckles. “Come on. Show me your room so I can get settled in.”

The main part of the clubhouse was empty when we walked inside. Ace led me to the stairs off to the right. We climbed up them with Ace in front of me, coming out into a long hallway. Ace led me to the second to the last door and grabbed a key out of his pocket, unlocking it before walking inside. I followed, a smile tilting my lips as I took in his space.

It was a fucking mess.

He had clothes on the floor and on the bed with only enough space cleared for him to sleep. Nail polish and numerous opened and unopened boxes of hair dye littered a vanity stained with random colors. The mirror was cracked in the bottom right corner. An overflowing makeup bag had been shoved into an open drawer, clearly too full to close. His shoes were in a pile by the door.

This whole place was so… him. But I couldn’t live like this. Even now, it felt like my skin was crawling. Everything was too cluttered.

“We’re going to need to set some rules,” I told him as I nudged the door shut behind me with my boot.

He huffed. “Rules suck.”

I dropped my duffel bag by the dresser before turning to him, crossing my arms over my chest. His eyes tracked the movement, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. Finally, he looked up, meeting my eyes, a pout settling on his pink lips. Fuck, I wanted to kiss him. But we needed to have a serious discussion over his room. This was… frankly, this mess was… I had no goddamn words. Five-year-olds had cleaner rooms than this catastrophe.

“Ace baby, I can’t live in this mess,” I told him as gently as I could. I knew how he could get when he felt cornered, and my intention was never to corner him. I was his safe space. “I’m going to clean up and organize all this,” I gestured around before crossing my arms again, “but from now on, you’ll be putting up everything as you use it, and you’ll be folding and putting away your laundry as soon as it comes out of the dryer. Understand?”

He huffed and scuffed his boot along the carpet. “I like everything where it is.”

I sighed. “Ace…” He stomped his foot, scowling at me. I gripped his arm and yanked him against me, arching a brow at his bratty expression. “I will bend you over that bed and spank your little ass so red, you won’t sit comfortably for the rest of the day.”

His fight immediately died out of him. He was still pouting, but I knew he was giving in. Reaching up with my other hand, I cupped his cheek, stroking my thumb over his soft skin. He leaned into me and rested his forehead on my chest. “Fiiine,” he groaned, giving in. “But I’m going to complain every time I have to put something up.”

I chuckled and dropped a kiss to the top of his head. “That’s fine, sweet boy. My hand is always ready to paddle your bottom when you do.”

Before he could say anything, a knock sounded on the door. Ace groaned and stepped back from me before going to open it, glowering at Cameron. “What?” my boy griped.

“Need you at the table,” Cameron told him before he spun on his heel and headed up the hallway. Ace glowered at his back before turning to me.

“Go,” I told him, jerking my chin in the direction of the hall. “I’ll clean up in here and then take a shower.”

He sighed. “I don’t wanna leave yet.”

A soft smile tilted my lips. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll be right here. Just upstairs. And you can come to me whenever, remember?”

He nodded. “Okay.” With that, he slipped from the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Heaving a tired breath, I planted my hands on my hips and turned to survey the absolute disaster that was Ace’s room. I was pretty sure there was a couch over by the far wall, but I couldn’t see it beneath the pile of clothes and shoes he had on it. Clearly, my boy loved to shop; I’d never seen someone with so many clothes and shoes. And clearly, he had zero organizational skills.

But that was okay. He had me now. This was one of my duties as his Papa, and I was more than happy to ease him into being a more organized adult.

Ace was right. The clubhouse was loud. Voices easily trailed up from the main room, and someone was banging around in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure how I was going to cope. I’d become so used to solitude and peace. This was going to be a major transition… if I could even manage it. My temples were pounding, and I’d already had a minor flashback when someone dropped a pot down in the kitchen and the sound drifted up to me, jerking me out of the little bit of peace I’d found.

I was still trying to quell the nausea from it. It’d been years since I’d been in the desert. Since I’d heard an IED explode. Since I’d watched three of my men get blown to smithereens, just pieces of them lying around for us to gather and take back to base to be cremated and shipped home to their families.

But when that pot dropped, it felt like I’d been right back there. In that heat. In the billowing dust. Choking on sand. Struggling to see enough to protect the rest of us that were still alive.

The shower curtain opened, and I swiped my hand down my face, watching as Ace stepped into the shower. His slim, naked body was on full display, and I eyed his pierced cock with a hungry gaze before I trailed my eyes over the nest of blonde curls at the base of his cock, up his flat stomach, finally landing on his pierced nipples.

“You okay?” Ace asked.

I blinked, frowning at him. Reaching up, I slicked my hair back. “Yeah, baby.”

He scowled at me. “That’s the first time you lied to me, Papa.”

I sighed and leaned back against the tiled shower wall. “You were right,” I told him. “It is loud here. I just… had a rough moment a little while ago.”

“A rough moment?” Ace asked. He stepped closer, reaching for me, but then, he paused, his hand in midair. “Is it okay to touch you?”

Jesus fucking Christ, this boy.

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