Page 29 of Step Daddy

Kit stuck out his hand to shake, even though Master Reg hadn’t, and Gareth reached across his body to stop the motion. Kit quickly lowered his arm. Right. He’d forgotten about the no touching someone else’s boy rule and he thought he remembered something about submissive behavior when meeting a Dom, but his mind was drawing a blank.

He probably should’ve studied for a few weeks like he was preparing for his finals before insisting they come to the club.

Master Reg chuckled. “He’s adorable, Gareth. I wish you both the best.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Are you getting something from the bar once you go inside, or are you guys doing a scene tonight?”

A strangled sound came out of Gareth that Kit had never heard him make before. A thread of guilt passed through him. Maybe he was being selfish by not taking into consideration how pretending his brother was his lover might make Gareth feel.

“No.” Gareth coughed into his fist before continuing. “A drink would actually be fantastic.” Gareth smacked his forehead. “Shit. Wait.”

Master Reg stopped mid-turn. “What?”

Gareth chuckled shakily. “Actually, I can’t take Kit into the bar area.”

Master Reg’s mouth formed an ‘o’ and Kit wanted to disappear. “I see.” He tugged on his beard again. “I’m actually meeting up with a few of the guys in the lounge. I was going to invite you both to come hang with us, but…”

Gareth shook his head. “No worries. I actually thought it would be nice to show him around a bit, see if there are any good demos going on tonight.”

Master Reg’s features lit up. “Oh, cool. Actually, we decided to meet up for drinks and appetizers in the lounge so we could hit up the figging demo later. There’s a sub I’ve started playing with who responds really well to sensation play, but he’s never tried figging before. I did it once, ages ago, but I could use a brush-up.”

“Uh…I…er…”

Gareth kept raking his fingers through his short-cropped hair while shifting from foot to foot. He simultaneously squeezed Kit’s fingers to varying degrees depending on what Master Reg said. It was like he was trying to communicate to Kit through Morse code. His brother was drowning, and it was Kit’s fault. But maybe he could somehow make this less awkward for him. Most of Gareth’s nervousness had to come from worrying about how Kit would react.

“I’d like to go, Daddy. If that’s okay?”

Gareth regarded him with wide eyes then seemed to snap out of his momentary trance. “Of course, whatever my boy wants.” He glanced between Kit and Master Reg. “What time does it start?”

“Ten.” Master Reg smiled. “It’s taking place in the medical play room after the sounding demo. I’ll meet you guys a few minutes before.”

Gareth’s shoulders relaxed and he was no longer clutching Kit’s fingers as if they were his anchor. “Cool. See you then.”

As soon as Master Reg walked away, Gareth let out a long groan. He scrubbed his face with his free hand before letting Kit’s hand go with the other. Without thinking, Kit snatched at it, trying to lace their fingers again.

Gareth regarded him with concern but gave in to Kit’s unspoken demand. “Hey, did that upset you too much?”

“No. No, it’s not that.” He wasn’t sure what it was. “You warned me.”

“But it’s not the same as experiencing it in the flesh, so to speak.”

Kit moved closer to Gareth as more people filtered into the lobby. “Yeah, but that’s not it either. I just need…” No way could he share the Daddy fantasy tumbling through his mind. “Thank you. Thanks for being so mindful of me. I know this is a huge pain for you and I’m the one to blame for that.”

Gareth clucked his tongue. “Stop it, Kit. Nothing’s your fault. I’m being goofy about the whole thing—I don’t know what my problem is. Anyway, thank you for stepping in when he brought up the figging thing.” He grunted. “I couldn’t get my mouth to move or my brain cells to function.” He gave Kit his lopsided grin. “Anyway, no worries. We can escape before then.”

Kit drew his eyebrows together. “You mean you don’t want to go? To anything?”

Gareth straightened. “Oh. I suppose I hadn’t thought it through. I sort of…” He furrowed his brow. “I’m not very good at this, am I?”

Kit tilted his head. “Good at what?”

“Not compartmentalizing our relationship.” He made a waving gesture, as if he were trying to conjure up the meaning to what he was saying. “It’s like I want to make it one thing, and only that.”

“That we’re brothers, and nothing more.”

Gareth nodded, swallowing hard. “Well, yeah. But it’s not just that. Not anymore.”

Kit scraped his teeth along his bottom lip. Was there more to Gareth’s meaning other than they’d evolved into friends now that they were adults?

“No. Not anymore.” Kit refused to back down, wouldn’t allow himself to hide the way he’d been doing ever since he landed on Gareth’s doorstep.

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