Page 13 of Wrecked for the Holidays

“Sorry, love, that might be the worst part of adulting. But you’ll have a nice dinner waiting for you when you come home. I’m off tomorrow, so I can take you and pick you up when you’re done.”

Reed calling his house my home made my tummy do a flip-flop. I felt more at home here than I ever had at my parents’ house.

“Papa, could we decorate it tomorrow night then?”

“I think that could work if you want to do that.”

“Shit, never mind.”

“Language.”

That admonishment had me rolling my eyes.

“Jakob, rolling your eyes isn’t polite.” And then he added, “I’m going to let it go for now, but please don’t think I will forget. And what is the problem with tomorrow night?”

Shit.His raised eyebrow spoke volumes. “That was out loud, wasn’t it?”

He nodded. I sighed.

“I’ve got a late meeting scheduled at the lab so I probably won’t be done until after eight and not back here until at least nine.”

“Home.”

“Huh?”

“You won’t be backhomeuntil nine. If it’s that late, dinner will still be waiting, but we’ll have to put off our tree-trimming until next weekend. I have tomorrow off and then go on a four-night rotation. I’ll still be there to pick you up. Just text me about thirty minutes before you’re ready for pick up.”

“Yes, for the ride to work, but my boss has a habit of changing his mind about when meetings are over at the end of them. I’ll call for an Uber to get home.”

How had this turned out so perfectly? Okay, maybe notperfectly perfectbecause we’d have to wait on the tree decorating, but pretty good. Analyzing it too closely might make it vanish, and that was the last thing I wanted to happen. Papa was everything I’d imagined, and keeping him was paramount. He fussed with the angle of the tree, but a quick clarification was needed despite my earlier resolve to leave it alone. My impulse control required work, but the need for an answer overpowered my own good sense.

“Papa, can I ask you something?”

Reed immediately stopped messing with an ornament, took my hand, placed it on his knee, and covered it with his own.How this man knew I was touch-starved was beyond me.

“It’s not hard to guess, but I know I’m touchy-feely, so if it’s too much, you can and should tell me to back off.”

“I did it again?”

“You did, but I like it. Think of all the time you’re saving me by not having to guess what you’re thinking. It’s efficient.”

“I want to be mysterious, not efficient.”

“Oof. That ship might have sailed, love.”

And then Reed gave me the gift of silence. He allowed me to gather my thoughts without demanding I spit them out so more important tasks could be handled. There was no rush, just seemingly infinite patience. It was further proof I needed to keep him.

“Do you mind that I call you Papa?” I tried to sound assured and confident, but Reed’s indulgent smile wasn’t a great sign that I’d succeeded. “I mean, you haven’t said not to, but maybe you’re just being nice. I like it though.”

“Jakob, do you know what I like best about you?” I wasn’t expecting his question, so I shook my head. “You take up space. When I was twenty-three, there was no way I’d have been able to tell my folks I was living my life for me and thendo it. That takes balls. And if a guy who’s willing to do that wants to call me Papa, there’s no damn way I’m going to tell him no. And I like it. I like it a lot.”

Well, that was it. I couldn’t contain myself any longer and launched myself at Papa. He caught me with a laugh and then carefully rested my injured hand against his shoulder to avoid bumping it. His brown eyes sparkled, and his smile made my blood thrum in my veins.

“Now that you’re up here, what are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna kiss the shit out of you, Papa.”

The sharp smack on my ass made me gasp and hardened my dick.

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