Page 54 of Born Daddy

“Did you forget something? I can turn around.”

“You don’t need to turn around, but I did forget something.”

“What?”

Tate winced. “My morning check-in.”

“Well, that doesn’t bother me.” Rogan reached over and laid his hand on Tate’s arm. “Are you worried Master Zane will be upset you spent the night?”

Rogan’s going to take me back to my apartment. He couldn’t believe he was being so damn needy, but now his eyes were burning at the thought of not being able to stay with Rogan.

“Yeah.” He turned to Rogan, fighting to keep his voice from wobbling. “But please don’t change your mind about having me over. If I have to, I can get up extra early and take the bus or a cab back to my place to do the check-in.”

“You would still have to tell him the truth, Tate. We need to do this right.”

“I know, I will.”

‘Daddy’ had almost slipped out, but he managed to clamp his lips together in time.

“Good. Next question. What time is your check-in?”

“Nine.”

“Hmm. Okay.” Rogan stared ahead intently, his eyes narrowed as if in deep thought. “Let’s see, my first class isn’t until eleven tomorrow. I’d planned to get into my office by ten, but that wasn’t set in stone.” Rogan gave him a quick glance before returning his eyes to the road. “How would you feel about me speaking with Master Zane, to introduce myself after you’ve had the chance to speak with him privately? Then, I could drive you home before heading to work.”

“That would be so amazing.”

He’d forgotten to add ‘blurting’ to the previous list of troublesome tendencies he’d shared with Rogan.

Rogan chuckled. “Good. Then it’s a plan.” He squeezed Tate’s arm. “Better now?”

Tate grinned. “Much better.”

He’d had an easier time holding in the ‘Daddy’ that time. Instead of feeling pleased that his self-control was improving, it made him sad. Once Rogan said it was okay, he’d be blurting out ‘Daddy’ every chance he got.

* * * *

Rogan lay on the couch, staring up at the ceiling with one arm folded behind his head. He peeked at the digital display on the microwave and almost groaned out loud. Two o’clock and he was nowhere close to being sleepy. The ass-dragging at work would be real.

So, I guess we’re doing this.

His see-sawing emotions included elation, terror, satisfaction and excitement. But the most interesting one was how a way of life that had never crossed his mind before could feel so right. Being a Daddy to Tate made so much fucking sense, he still couldn’t wrap his brain around it.

One of his biggest questions to this Master guy would be if it was unusual to take such a big left turn from vanilla to kink at this stage in life. Yet, one of the things Tate said to him had stuck, his casual observation resonating with Rogan and somehow making all the puzzle pieces snap into place.

Born Daddy.

Rogan imagined plenty of men, and women, went through their entire lives not understanding their true nature, denying their own needs because exploring them was too frightening, too dangerous. Hell, coming out spoke to that in a huge way. He himself hadn’t accepted his orientation immediately. He’d tried to force himself into a het reality almost all the way through high school until he’d come to terms with the truth.

But what would’ve happened had he been exposed to the kink world early on, the way Tate had been? What if a friend of Rogan’s had taken him to a club, and he’d discovered as a young man that being a Daddy would explain everything about his true nature? Would he have fought that desire the same way he’d fought the knowledge he was gay?

His mind drifted to his confrontation with Mitch. Back in high school, that was the reaction he’d expected when he’d come out to his straight friends. Mitch hadn’t exactly jumped up and down and begun waving rainbow flags on Rogan’s behalf, but he’d at least said he didn’t care as long as…

Rogan frowned as he recalled more details of what happened that day.

“I don’t care as long as you don’t put the moves on me or start acting gay all the time.”

They’d shared a laugh, but in his youth and with the insecurity that coming to terms with his sexuality had caused, he’d shrugged it off as not meaning anything. After all, he’d overcome a huge hurdle. He’d told his friends, and neither of them had beaten the shit out of him or declared their friendship dead.

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