Page 21 of Slippery When Wet

Ellery didn’t immediately respond, and Calvin’s gut clenched. Perhaps he’d gone too far. Ellery’s openness their first day together and his inquisitiveness during their conversations that week had encouraged Calvin to go all out.

Calvin regarded the revamp he’d done to the room, the first of any changes he’d made since Tony left. He’d wanted to rid the space of any trace of his former boy, but not out of spite. His only intention was to make the room into a place tailored for Ellery and no one else, a room that allowed Ellery to be free to express his Little side.

Ellery turned to him, his mouth agape. “For me? You did this forme?”

The tension drained from Calvin’s body, and he let out a long sigh. “Yes, baby boy. For youonly.”

Ellery rushed into Calvin’s arms, grasping him around his waist as if he’d never let go. “Thank you, Daddy. Thank you so much.” Ellery looked up at him, his eyes filled with tears. “This…I don’t how to describe it.” He glanced over his shoulder then returned his attention to Calvin. “It’s like you crawled inside my head and picked out all the stuff I love the best.”

Calvin’s heart soared. “I’m so glad, baby boy. Can you tell me what you’re the most drawn to? I want to learn all I can about your favorite things.”

Ellery let go of Calvin’s waist, grabbing his hand instead. “I don’t know where to start, but um…” He tugged Calvin over to the bed with a wooden boat as a frame and hand painted waves lapping at the bottom with colorful fish leaping above the water. “I’ve never seen anything as awesome as this one, but I always wanted a cool bed like this when I was a kid.” Ellery patted the deep blue down comforter that boasted an underwater scene. “And this…” He gazed up at Calvin in wonder. “I don’t know what to say.”

Before Calvin could comment, Ellery pulled him to the ten-by-ten cushioned mat on the opposite side of the room that was the layout of an entire town. Roadways, train tracks and even a river cut through the imaginary village. Lined up along the wall at the far end of the mat were toy boxes and shelves filled with handcrafted wooden cars, trains, trees, animals, houses, shops, townspeople and everything a little boy needed to create his own make-believe town.

Nothing was too good for his boy.

“This…” Ellery shook his head as if in disbelief. ”My parents were really good to us, and they did everything they could to give us a nice childhood. But we always lived in small places, so my brother and I had to share a room. We weren’t allowed to have our cars or my trains in the living room and…”

Ellery blinked and several drops fell onto his cheeks. He inhaled on a shuddering breath, sweeping his hand in the air as he gestured to the mat. “This is like a dream come true that I hadn’t thought was possible.” He nodded then turned back to Calvin. “I think I’m getting what the fuss is all about.”

“Fuss?”

Ellery sniffed then broke into a smile. “Age play. It makes so much sense to me now. I’ve always forced myself to stuff down any urges I thought stood in the way of me being that responsible adult my dad always encouraged me and Sam to be. I guess I’ve been comparing myself to Sam, because he’s already finished college and has a pretty sweet job as a paralegal. He’s engaged, and saving to someday buy a place out in Jersey, or maybe even Connecticut.

Ellery shook his head. “That’s not me at all. But I feel as if I’m failing somehow because I enjoy fashion and art and pretty things and…” He scraped his teeth along his bottom lip. “I love my bunny, but I’ddieif anyone found out I sleep with him sometimes. And playing with my trains? Are you kidding?” He grunted. “I tell myself they’re just sentimental objects, nothing more. And as I told you before, there was no way I was going to purchase cutesy kid’s cups or anything like that, because responsible adults would never do such a thing.

Ellery slapped a hand to his eyes. “Gah. It explains so much.”

Calvin rubbed his palm over Ellery’s back. “What does it explain, sweetheart?”

Ellery let out a shaky sigh. “All the tension inside me. I’ve been strung so fuck—” He cleared his throat. “So freakin’tightever since I left home.” He chuckled with no humor. “You know? I think I’ve had an epiphany.” Ellery lifted his eyes and met Calvin’s. “I bet that’s why I started getting into BDSM, but I went about it wrong. I’d heard so much about subspace and thought, wow. That’s for me! Whip me until I bliss out and let go of all my troubles.” He rolled his eyes. “So much forthatbrilliant idea.”

Calvin placed an arm around Ellery’s shoulders and gently pulled him to his side. He pressed a kiss to his temple.

“That’s okay, sweetheart. Not all kink works the way we want it to. But perhaps now you’ve found something thatwillwork for you. From a selfish standpoint, I hope age play is the answer to discovering the release you need.” Calvin stroked Ellery’s back some more. “If not, that’s okay, too. I’ll be here for you as long as you need me.”

Ellery turned to face Calvin. “What if I never stop needing you?”

Calvin swallowed past a lump in his throat. “That would be heaven, baby. Pure heaven.”

With Ellery staring up at him with pleading eyes, his lips slightly parted and loose strands of hair draped across his brow, Calvin couldn’t resist. He had to taste his boy.

The moment their lips met, Ellery opened up for him, seemingly as eager as Calvin was to share their first kiss. Calvin delved deeper with each swipe of his tongue through his boy’s sweet mouth. He’d commit this moment to memory, his deepest wish being that there be many more.

At last, they broke the connection, both breathless as they remained close, their foreheads touching. Calvin rubbed their noses together.

“Beautiful, precious boy.”

Ellery clutched Calvin’s arms. “I’ve never felt so kissed before.”

Calvin held in a chuckle. He knew Ellery wasn’t being funny, he was being vulnerable—and that deserved Calvin’s respect.

“You deserve all the kisses, baby. If you’ll let me, I’ll kiss you every chance I get.”

Ellery nuzzled Calvin’s neck. “Oh, I’ll let you. You can count on that.”

Calvin wrapped his arms around Ellery and rested his cheek on Ellery’s head.

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