Page 48 of In the Name of the Father

This is ridiculous.

It struck him that his anxiety wasn’t related to any of his past trauma and wasn’t due to him being scared over what he and Daddy were doing. No, his worry had surfaced because Daddy had left the room.

Beyond ridiculous.

They couldn’t stay joined at the hip for the rest of their lives. Maybehewouldn’t have a problem with such an arrangement, but he doubted Daddy wanted to spend every minute of every day coddling him.

Seth straightened the moment Daddy returned, tiny flutters in his stomach reinforcing how attached he already was to the older man. He noted that Daddy had brought a notepad and pen with him in addition to Seth’s coffee. Seth also tried not to stare at Daddy’s half-hard cock. Having never had the opportunity to truly check out another man, he wasn’t sure if most guys had dicks that large.

Or beautiful.

Perhaps his father had already guessed his horrible secret when Seth had begun middle school. He’d wondered about the note his father insisted he give to the gym teacher his first day of school. Then, from that moment on until he’d been dragged off to camp, he’d never been allowed to shower with the other boys.

“There you go.” Daddy handed him the full mug. “It’s fresh, so you might want to set it on the coaster until it cools off a bit.”

“Okay, Daddy. Thank you.”

Daddy’s smile widened as Seth accepted the cup. If he could put that same grin on Daddy’s face every day, he would.

Once he’d gotten resettled in bed, Seth gasped when Daddy pulled him onto his lap. Daddy arranged him so he was sideways across his legs, then he wrapped one arm around Seth’s frame to hold him there.

“Are you comfortable?”

Seth realized he was wound as tight as a drum. He took in a few deep breaths, then let the last one out slowly. “Yeah. I am. As long as I’m not too heavy for you, I’d like to stay here.”

Daddy jostled him. “Good. I probably can’t keep you in my lap for hours, but I think it would be nice while we begin.”

Seth let out a satisfied sigh then lay his head against Daddy’s. “I think so too.”

Daddy had left the notepad on the covers and wrote ‘Daily Routine’ at the top. Then he’d written ‘Safeword’ below that. A myriad of questions were already forming in his mind, but the last thing Daddy had written down left him the most perplexed.

He’d never felt safer in his entire life than he did with Daddy. So why would he need a special word?

Chapter Thirteen

Malcolm was filled with a contentment he hadn’t known for many years. Holding Seth in his lap, hearing his boy call him Daddy, Seth’s clear enjoyment of being fed—he couldn’t have planned a better start to their new relationship. His biggest personal challenge would be to keep himself from smothering Seth with affection. He nuzzled Seth’s temple before returning his attention to the other matters at hand.

“I brought in the pad so I can take some notes on what we agree on.”

Seth had laid his palm on Malcolm’s chest the moment Malcolm had gathered him close. He began to absent-mindedly play with the hairs.

“But wouldn’t you be the one to decide everything?”

“No, sweetheart. I’m not going to arbitrarily draw up a list of rules without your input. Some rules will involve common sense, such as picking up after yourself, so rather than discussing something like that, we can both acknowledge it’s a given. But here’s where things get tricky.” Malcolm needed to rein in his giddiness over how he was finally living his true self again. “What’s common sense to you might not be the same for me and vice-versa. This is a great way for us to learn more about each other.”

“That sounds cool. Itisa good idea.” Seth pointed to the spot on the paper where he’d written ‘Safeword’. “What does this mean?”

He’d been waiting for that, given how sheltered from everything Seth had been. Malcolm had needed to temper his shock at how stunned and excited Seth had been the first time he’d let him loose on the Internet.

“This is a word that’s said when you can’t handle what’s happening, and you need everything to stop so you can feel safe again.”

“Seriously? How would that work? Do we both have one? Or do you say it? Wait. Do I?”

Malcolm loved it when Seth got so amped up about new information that he couldn’t seem to control himself. He imagined Seth had been holding in lots of questions for a very long time and was now reveling in the simple freedom of asking, and not being reprimanded for his curiosity.

“This is for you, Seth. For your reassurance and peace of mind. I know of some Doms and Daddies who use one too, but I’m not one of them. Primarily because my expression of control revolves around nurturing, rather than extreme physical or psychological exchanges.”

“That’s the flogging and whipping stuff, right?”

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