Page 53 of His Stepdad Wears Leather

Brody snatched the iPad from his hands. “If you don’t tell me your size, I’m going to have to guess. Either way, I’m buying them.”

Chris shook his head. “Brody. It’s too much. You just bought me clothes. No more. I’ll buy something after I get paid a time or two. I promise.”

“Nope,” Brody replied. “The garter belt only comes in medium and extra large, so I guess medium?” He eyed Chris. “Though you are a bit more muscular than the model in the picture. Should I go a size up?”

Chris sighed with exasperation. He held out his palm. “Let me look again.”

Brody grinned widely as he held it back. “Both sets… panties, garters, and stockings.” He lifted his coffee cup, but another thought came to mind before he drank. “Oh, and I saw some bodysuits and corsets on there. We need to check those, too.”

“Brody… stop. It’s too much.”

Brody wondered if he was pushing Chris past some line in the sand he didn’t recognize. “Do you not like wearing things like this? I assumed you did.”

Chris’ face flushed. “I do.”

“Do you not want to wear these for me? Is that it?”

“Of course Iwantto wear them for you.”

Brody frowned. “Then I don’t understand.”

Chris sighed. “I don’t want to be …indebtedto you. No more than I already do.”

Brody lifted Chris’ chin with a finger. “You are not indebted to me in any way, shape, or form. What makes you think you are?”

“You’ve given me a place to stay. A job. Bought me clothes. Now you want to buy me lingerie. I’ve given you nothing.” He handed over the iPad.

“Nothing?” Brody asked with a deepening frown. “I’ve quite enjoyed your company.” That wasn’t a lie. For someone who’d lived alone for many years, it was almost shocking how comfortable it was to have Chris there with him.

“My company is free. You don’t have to keep buying me things to get it. I want to learn how to take care of me. I’ve never been given the chance to.”

“And I want you to learn how to do that, too. You’re working now—and you’ll have money of your own. Which reminds me—we need to do paperwork so you can get paid.” He perused the cart and saw one set of the lingerie was in there, picked by Chris. Using the sizes there, he went to search for the other things he wanted to buy.

“Paperwork?”

Brody nodded. “I grasp that you ran from your ex, but hopefully you’ve got your social and IDs for the W-2. If not, I can hold it for a little while, but you’ll need to get everything together ASAP.”

“What happens if I don’t have everything?”

“Do you have a copy of your birth certificate?”

“No.”

He quickly clicked on the Apple Pay button and paid for the order before Chris could refuse him. “Well, that’s likely the first place you need to start. You can order one online, in most cases. I can help you, if you want… I’ve had to navigate this while helping a few employees in the past.”

Chris stiffened beside him. “I’m sure I can manage.”

“Well, you might need money to order some of the stuff—I can help you out.”

“I’ll manage,”Chris spat.

Brody eyed him, Lex’s warning whispering through his mind again. “I only offered to help, Chris. Youhaveto fill out tax paperwork and prove you are who you say you are, regardless if you work for me or anyone else. I should’ve taken care of this days ago, but we kind of jumped in with both feet.”

Chris sighed. “I appreciate that you only wanted to help. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

Is there something you don’t want to tell me?The question was on the tip of his tongue, but he was almost too afraid to ask. The answer could destroy the illusion they were living in.

Uncomfortable silence fell between them for a moment before Chris turned and pressed his lips to Brody’s. Pushing the laptop aside, Chris assailed him—hunger-driven. He straddled Brody’s lap, still naked from their earlier sexcapades. A little voice whispered that Chris was trying to distract him from the awkwardness, but his body was more than happy to be distracted.

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