Page 19 of Daddy's Little Chaos Gremlin

“Uh-huh,” Zephyr replied, nodding despite still looking terrified of the plane waiting for us on the tarmac.

He licked his lips and took a big breath, turned those azure eyes on me and nodded. “I-I can do that.”

“I know you can, sweet boy,” Daddy said. “So, hop to it.”

He scrambled to do as he was told while I sat there feeling guilty for being disobedient and not being able to hold his hand when he was trembling. Only after Zephyr had closed the door and was several feet away from the car did Daddy get out, dragging the bags off the passenger seat with him, so he could open my door, unbuckle me, and drag me back out and over his shoulder likea flour sack. This time he’d thrown our bags over the shoulder first, pinning them in place with my body, which unfortunately left his other hand free to swat my bottom all the way to the plane.

They weren’t nice swats either. They stung even through the blankets. I’d feel those when I was sitting in my seat, and I knew he knew it, too.

Evil Daddy.

The only time he stopped swatting was as we headed up the stairs, so he could hold me steady, but once he’d set me back on my feet, he delivered three more swats, each one harder than the one before.

Talk about ouchie.

Tears sprang to my eyes and ran down my cheeks as he turned me around to face him.

“Now, what are you going to do the next time I tell you to get your ass up and get packed?” he asked, face still stern and furious as he glared down at me.

“Do it, Daddy,” I murmured.

“You’re damn right. You will do it and without kicking the back of my chair the whole way here. That’s what those last three swats were for in case you were wondering. Now, are you ready to put some clothes on and behave?”

“Yes, Daddy,” I said, eager to rub my sore behind.

“Good. That’s what I was hoping to hear out of you.”

The only problem was that I was still all wrapped up too snugly to free myself with the way Daddy had tucked the ends of theblankets beneath other layers so they wouldn’t unravel. I had to stand still and wait, backside warm and stinging as he opened my bag and took out the sleep pants and t-shirt he’d left on top. He unwrapped me in a swirl of material that distracted me from my aching backside, for about a second, until he delivered the hardest crack yet, right on my naked behind. Now that one was gonna leave a handprint. I yelped and covered my butt with both hands, backing away a half step when Daddy held my clothes out to me.

“That was the last one,” Daddy said, so I accepted the clothes and scurried away before I did something to earn another swat.

I was done being bad, though. Not being able to hold Zephyr’s hand when he’d been scared and near tears had reminded me that part of being a good big brother was setting a good example and I hadn’t done that with the way I’d acted. Time to do better and be the good big brother I’d promised to be.

I quickly slipped into my outfit and hurried to get buckled in before takeoff. Daddy had closed the windows beside our seats as well as the ones across the aisle for us and tucked one of the blankets around Zephyr. The other he tucked around me the moment I sat down. He kissed my forehead and buckled me in the way he always did, and I knew everything was forgiven. The moment we started moving Zephyr laced his fingers with mine and pulled the blanket tighter around him, the large, thickly padded leather seats nothing like the ones you’d find on a commercial airline unless you had a first-class ticket. We had plenty of legroom, wide armrests, and movie screens that pulled down from above like the visors in a vehicle.

“You can start your scary movie marathon now, if you’d like,” Daddy offered, while Zephyr yawned beside me, curled on his side and rested his head against the plush leather. “Or not.”

“We can wait, Daddy,” I said, feeling contrite about earlier and extremely tired myself. “It’s sleepy time now.”

“In that case, I’ll say goodnight,” Daddy said.

“Night, night, Daddy,” I said, while Zephyr gave a little wave before burrowing his face in the blankets.

“Dream well, little ones.”

I smiled at that and snuggled down to go back to sleep, secure in the knowledge that Daddy still loved me, even when I was being chaotic evil, like the characters I loved to play in ourDungeons and Dragonsgames, which made it so much easier to want to do better. I’d find a way to make it up to him, too, I always did. Sometimes I was just too stubborn for my own good. Change always seemed to trigger me to dig my heels in, but I’d been doing better about not giving in to the temptation. Until tonight. When he’d needed me to be on my best behavior and do what Zephyr had done. Yawning, I grimaced at the crusty feel of my skin as I twisted in my seat. Guess I hadn’t wiped off well enough in the bathroom. I should have jumped in the shower with Zephyr. No. Bad idea. That would have gotten both of our butts smacked when one or both of us gave in to the temptation to go to our knees and give the other suckies. Okay, to be fair, it would have totally been me initiating it. I’d seen the look on Zephyr’s face when Daddy had started getting pissed with me. My little brother wasn’t the sort to poke the bear, or in this case, the Daddy the way I had done and I shouldn’t have been disrespectful and done it when it wasn’t okay. Especially when Daddy was stressed. Closing my eyes, I vowed to wake up in a better mood with a much better attitude, as well as a plan for how I was gonna say sorry with more than words.

10

ROWAN

I’d hated checking in and immediately having to abandon my boys, but the mess I’d been faced with had only grown during the time I was in the air. The fury I’d felt at learning what had taken place still hadn’t cooled by the time I’d fired the idiot that caused it and demoted the fool who’d recommended him to the team in the first place. This wasn’t how we did business, something that I’d had to reassure my client’s management team of more than once over the past few hours. It was only my willingness to substantially reduce our fee that had allowed us to retain them, something I’d informed my ex-employee that he’d be helping me recoup the cost of, in the form of the forfeiture of his final paycheck. He might not have been happy, but when faced with the option of blacklisting him throughout the industry, he’d agreed to walk away without it or references of any kind. I’d advised him not to even bother listing my firm as a former employer, because I wouldn’t lie about what had taken place if I heard from anyone. In the conversation we’d had, I’d strongly urged him to seek a career change immediately, before he truly put someone’s life at risk.

I could only hope he listened.

Now that the unpleasantness was over, I could turn my focus back to the two young men waiting for me at the hotel. I needed to plan something fun for them so the trip across the pond wasn’t a complete waste. Putting them back on the plane for an immediate trip back wasn’t even on the table, not after Tristan’s little bout of defiance. I knew what had caused it. Relocating to the apartment had already upset the apple cart, especially when he’d been forced to leave his safe space and all his materials behind. When I’d told him to get on the plane, I’d expected a full-blown tantrum. What I’d gotten was considerably milder, and I appreciated that, though what I would have appreciated more was his full and immediate compliance.

I just hoped my cranky chaos orb was in a better mood now that he’d gotten some much needed rest. I was well aware that I hadn’t been available to enforce bedtime or any of our evening rituals, something else that had been simmering in my mind when I’d lit into Ryan and Kelly. Honestly, it was Kelly I’d been the most pissed off with. Ryan wouldn’t even have been on my hiring radar if it hadn’t been for him. I’d told him in no uncertain terms that he’d find himself kicked to the unemployment line if he ever recommended anyone to me again. I didn’t care if they were fresh from guarding the god damned president, I didn’t want anything to do with anyone he spoke highly of.

---