Page 38 of Daddy's Little Chaos Gremlin

Daddy stroked his neatly-trimmed beard and studied me for a moment. “If it’s still something you’re interested in, then we’ll have to see if there is anything available nearby. I can’t promise there’ll be something, but there is an area wrestling promotion that puts on local shows. I attend as frequently as I’m able. Someone there might know of a school, or we might find someone willing to work with you and teach you a few things to get you started.”

“Oh my gosh, seriously?!” I squealed, bouncing on my bottom. “That would be awesome!”

“It wouldn’t be on that level,” Daddy said as he gestured toward one of the women flipping another off the top rope and sending her halfway across the ring, before she proceeded to springboard off the ropes and squash her fallen opponent. “But I can see where it would enhance the skillset you already have. You never know, you might find you like it enough to keep learning and take part in the local events.”

I froze, fingers gripping the pillow beneath me. “Would that really be okay?”

“Oh, sweet boy, seeing you do something that would make your face light up with joy is always going to be okay in my book,” Daddy said. “I don’t see how there are any more risks to what they’re doing than what you already do, and I’ve never believed in clipping my boys’ wings. You were born to fly. I could tell thatfrom the moment you performed for us in the courtyard. I’d be proud to help you find a way to make that dream come true.”

Tears pricked my eyes, and I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle the sob of joy working its way up the back of my throat. Before I’d fully registered that the tears had started falling, Daddy and Tristan had squashed me between them and were hugging me tight. No one had ever offered to help me that way. The one and only time I’d mentioned wanting to learn to wrestle, the news had been met with ridicule, which was why I’d never, ever, ever mentioned it again.

Today had felt right, though. I’d felt safe opening up and revealing that hidden part of myself. Maybe it was because they were both huge fans of the sport and a part of me figured that every fan had thought about what it would be like, at least once. Or maybe it was because I’d finally found my crew. The people who would believe in me, love me, cherish and support me, even if my dream was an unconventional one. That wasn’t something I’d ever even dreamed of when I’d tacked that message to The Lactin Brotherhood’s corkboard about looking for work, but man was I glad now that I’d taken the chance and posted it.

18

TRISTAN

I never fretted this badly over the placement of the blankets and pillows on the ledge, but this was the first time my kitten would be up there on display, and I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible.

When I glanced over to where Daddy sat in his chair with Zephyr curled in his lap, contently suckling away on a nipple, he held out his hand and tugged me close when I took it.

“Everything is perfect, I even added an extra layer of padding,” Daddy murmured as I leaned in and pressed our foreheads together. “Everything is ready and in a moment, I’ll turn Zephyr over to you and return to our guests while you get him ready. Now breathe and relax, you’ve got this.”

Even Zephyr gave me a thumbs up, punctuated with a little grunt and a happy growl in between slurps. His legs dangled over Daddy’s thighs, and I giggled when I spotted him gleefully tapping out a tune with them while he fed. I knew what I’d see when he finally let go and opened his eyes, and sure enough, he looked milk drunk and sated when he sat up and held out his hand to me.

I took it gently and guided him out of Daddy’s lap, then waited for Daddy to lift him and place him on the ledge. We hadn’t brought in the stairs that we usually used, since Daddy hadn’t wanted Zephyr to have to climb them. He scooped Zephyr up and pressed a kiss to his forehead before laying him on blue velvet cloth the color of the ocean.

“Let’s just get these out of the way, shall we?” Daddy said, removing the black boy shorts Zephyr had worn to the room.

Beneath it was the plum purple thong he’d chosen after Daddy and I had explained that while he was going to be a living display piece, we had no interest at all in having him display what was strictly ours. Other models and performance artists who played the part of my muse on nights like tonight had always been given the choice of if they went naked or if they covered up, and how much covering they wanted to do. Zephyr had been perfectly fine with being naked, hell, he ran around the place naked or nearly so most of the time now. Zipping in and out of the pool whenever he wasn’t with one of us had become as much a part of his routine as mealtimes and I loved how he was always just so content, even when there were fourteen people on the other side of the door waiting to admire him. We’d given them the customary glimpse and introduction when we’d brought him down, then we’d whisked him in here to finish getting him ready.

“Now, what are you to do when you need something?” Daddy asked him as he stepped back, holding Zephyr’s shorts.

“Ask you,” Zephyr replied softly, already snuggling against the velvet. It had been the perfect choice for him, and I was glad we’d made the last-minute decision to run to the fabric store yesterday.

“That’s right.”

“Daddy has the emergency scissors, and I have a spare pair,” I explained. “Now what are our hand signals?”

“I give you an okay sign when everything feels nice, I open my hand and rock it back and forth when things are just so-so, and I stick my tongue out at you if something feels yucky.”

“Perfect,” I told him as I ran my fingers along his arms and legs, just petting to keep him relaxed and remind him of what my touch felt like. “Daddy will be able to hear you but not see you unless he looks over at you, but I will be able to see you at all times, and I’ll look often, so you don’t have to worry about a signal being missed.”

“I’m not worried. I trust you both. We’re gonna do fine. Are you ready for me to get into the first position now?”

“Yes, please,” I told him as I lined our ropes up on the edge of the ledge. Each bundle of blue, green, teal and white had been carefully checked and labeled, to make each transition easier for us.

As gracefully as when he sprawled across our bed, he laid his upper body flat, then twisted, so his knees were to the side, with one leg kicked back, where I’d eventually connect it with the bindings on his arm. I didn’t do anything as simple or basic as a hog tie. Using the ropes, I crafted a pair of fishnet stockings for him, forming several waves at the spots where the ropes met. It was intricate work, but my fingers never had to think about it, especially when my subject was as still and malleable as Zephyr was.

I’d told the smart speaker to play The Counting Crows for me. Something about their music, especially songs likeRound Here,Omaha, andRain King, just did good things to my brain. Eachtime I looked at Zephyr’s face, he looked like a fallen angel smiling up at me.

“Thank you for this,” I murmured as I tied him up. “And for coming into our lives the way you did.”

“I love it here,” Zephyr whispered before sipping from the straw I held for him. “I love being with you and Daddy.”

“And we love you,” I told him, not caring that it had only been two weeks since we’d met him. I knew what I felt, and I knew Daddy; he looked at Zephyr the same way he looked at me. With pride and a burning desire to protect and nurture. Screw those people who tried to say you couldn’t love someone until you’d known them for years. We weren’t even promised minutes. We weren’t promised anything in this world so when I felt something for somebody, I told them. No holding back. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity I might never get back.

He beamed up at me, those azure eyes as bright as the sky had been the day we’d met. Trusting, open, and utterly beguiling, even when I had him at my mercy like this. It just sucked that there wasn’t time to play once I finished trussing him up.

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