Page 30 of Daddy's Little Chaos Gremlin

“That’s what you meant by being a display piece,” I said as I turned to Tristan.

“Yup, you won’t have to talk or interact, and no one is allowed to touch you,” Tristan explained. “That’s why the ledge is designed that way. We cover it with blankets and pillows, too, and I only tie you up right before Daddy is ready to bring our guests into the room. We’ll practice beforehand to make sure the position is comfortable for you.”

“And I’ll be right there if you need to get down before the meal is through,” Daddy explained.

“Do I get to nurse from you before I get up there?” I asked, loving the setup the longer I studied it.

“Of course,” Daddy said. “You are welcome to nurse any time of the day or night, even if it’s just for comfort and not because you’re hungry.”

“Really?”

“Until you joined us, I’d been ending each day uncomfortable and engorged, having to pump just to be able to fall asleep. Some mornings I’ve had to pump, too, when I woke up too early to be able to wait for Tristan. I hate waking him because once he’s up, he’s up, no matter how early it is, and he always rebels against taking a nap, even when he needs one, which is why bedtime is strictly enforced.”

Tristan gave a sheepish little shrug, and I felt for him. I never wanted to take naps, either. I hated missing any part of the day, or evening, so I never slept more than six hours anyway. I’d noticed that even in the hotel, lights out had been at midnight and it had been non-negotiable, no matter what we were watching or doing at the time. It meant I’d been awake at six and fidgeting when Daddy had woken up not long after. Recalling how eager he’d been for me to latch right on, I now knew I’d have that kind of feast to look forward to every morning. Talk about starting the day out right.

“I’m sure that there will even be times when I seek you out to have you nurse, just because things are getting uncomfortable for me, or because I have a long video call to be on, or a tedious morning ahead. I want you cozy and latched on, where I can stroke your hair and nuzzle you while you nurse as I deal with whatever tedious thing already has my blood pressure spiking before I’ve gotten started.”

Now that made me feel super good. I’d still been worried about what I’d be able to contribute when I wasn’t being Tristan’s muse, now it was clear just how much they both needed me and in very distinct and specific ways. I’d always longed to be a companion, hell, I’d always longed to have a patron who let me create performance routines of my own to entertain his friends with. Now I had that and so much more. I had an actual purpose. I couldn’t wait to see what a full day here would be like and the routine they followed, so I could find my place within it.

“Up here is where we eat our regular meals,” Daddy said, as we went up three short steps, into a cozy little nook with a huge bay window and a picnic table in front of it. It reminded me of the one at the apartment, only this one had seating for six and a bouquet of fresh cut flowers in a vase at the center of it.

“We might as well sit down,” Daddy said as he pulled a chair out for me. “Theo will have lunch on the table momentarily. The rest of the tour can wait until after we’ve had the chance to eat.”

As if on cue, my tummy rumbled and I sat beside Tristan, where I could look out the window at the pool and the rings the inflatable rafts hung off of. The one in the front looked like a giant slice of pepperoni pizza.

“I love to float and draw,” Tristan explained. “I can spend the whole afternoon that way.”

“Ohh I bet. I can spend all day floating, too.”

“Then we’ll all head out after the tour,” Daddy declared. “A bit of floating and some music are exactly what we need after the delay at the airport and the long flight we had.”

Daddy still wasn’t happy about having to conduct a last-minute meeting at the airport last night, but he’d said that flying out without sitting down with Sebastian first and hearing what he had to say would just have led to him having to turn around and fly right back in less than a week, something he wasn’t in the mood to deal with. I couldn’t blame him. The flight had been long and even bundled in my hoodie and an extra blanket Daddy had tucked around me, I’d been restless and cold. Daddy had kept a steady stream of movies playing and sometimes Tristan woke up and watched a little bit with us, but mostly, he’d slept the whole way back, while I’d nursed from Daddy and watched all theHow to Train Your Dragonmovies.

It would be so cool if dragons were real, I’d love to ride on the back of one, even if it meant that I risked getting eaten trying to train one first. It would be so worth it. I wondered if they made dragon floaties for the pool. If I couldn’t have a real one, thatwould be close enough. Or even one of those dragon bean bag chairs, that would be cool to watch movies in. Tristan said he had a huge one that looked like a cat’s paw and that Daddy would get me one, too, if I wanted. I didn’t want a kitty’s paw, but I’d love one of the dragon ones I’d seen on social media. They did look kinda big, though. There might not be room in their den for one that size.

A pang of worry rippled through me when a large, imposing man stepped out of the kitchen with tribal tattoos running down his arms. His long midnight hair was pulled back in a thick braid, and he had a black and silver bandana tied around his forehead. His apron matched. The front was covered with the image of a shiny silver knife that looked like it had been forged out of lightning bolts. Beneath it was the wordsizzling.

The little dish of bacon bits and caramelized onions he set beside my bowl crackled, and I glanced over at Tristan, to see him carefully pour them over the contents of his bowl, which was a whole size bigger than mine. He even knew my portions. I wouldn’t have any trouble at all finishing what he’d served me.

“Thank you,” I said, flooded with gratitude while I smiled up at Theo.

Daddy hadn’t been embellishing the degree to which he’d relayed my food preferences. Instead of sparkling lemonade, like Tristan was given, I received a smoothie that smelled like lemons and strawberries. I could taste both and coconut water when I took a sip.

“Oh my gosh, that’s so good.”

“There are three containers in the fridge that already contain the correct fruit portions,” Theo explained. “Whenever you needanother smoothie, just add lemonade from the pitcher and attach the blades. Have you ever used a bullet blender before?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ohh, now don’t you go sir-ing me,” he replied with a chuckle. “It took me long enough to break Tristan of that mess. While I appreciate the show of respect, we’re family here. You just call me Theo, but don’t call me on my day off.”

Daddy and Tristan chimed in with him at the end of his statement, the three of them laughing together as Theo brought his food and Daddy’s and joined us at the table.

“So, what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” Theo asked.

“How about you hook us up with a fruit salad and a caprese tonight, and I’ll put some steaks on the grill,” Daddy said. “We can eat poolside and break out the floating flamingo ring toss game, and that inflatable cornhole set we picked up a few weeks back. It hasn’t even made it out of the box yet.”

“Now that we have enough for teams, it should,” Theo declared as he dug into the meal. “As long as the chaos gremlin doesn’t decimate the strawberry margarita cupcakes I made for lunch, we’ll have plenty for supper. Zephyr, I made mini cupcakes for you, so you wouldn’t have to worry about cutting a big one in half. You will never offend me by having to do that, just so you know. I don’t want you to feel like you’re going to hurt my feel-bads if you can’t finish what I give you, either. It might take me a little while to get your portions just right.”

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