Page 65 of Phantom Faceoff
I must make a face, because Julian’s laugh rings throughout the room. When he sobers, he reaches for my hand that I readily give.
“I guess this kind of feels like a game. A sexy game. And it makes me feel … Little.” He scrunches his face. “I’m one hundred percent going to slip and call you Daddy.”
“I don’t mind if you don’t mind,” I say, and his eyes widen. “But we have to talk to Zander about it first. Make sure he’s comfortable.”
Julian nods enthusiastically, pulling me down to the bed beside him and throwing his arms around me. “Thank you, Daddy.”
The two of us chat idly while we wait for Zander to come back out, and the quick-witted words I’d planned die on my tongue when he does.
There is no shortage of attraction with Zander for me. Watching him sweat makes me hot. The lazy smile and forwardness he often exhibits makes me soft for him. His brattiness? That does something extra to my body, makes it hard to keep my hands off him.
So, yes, Zander—with water dripping down his body and a tiny towel tied around his waist—gets my gears churning.
“Are you allergic to underwear?” I ask once the words find their way back to me.
A grin. “We’re going to take our clothes off anyway, right?”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t say I’m mad about getting to take a good look at him unabashed.
“Sit down. We need to have a talk.”
He does, sitting on my other side and mumbling under his breath, “Uh oh. Daddy’s upset.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and breathe out hard—though I’m trying my damnedest not to smile.
“It’s about that, actually.”
“About what?”
“The use of ‘Daddy’ tonight.”
Zander’s face turns a bright red, and Julian giggles beside me.
“Hey. Open and honest, remember? Jules?”
For a minute, Julian sits chewing his lip, the excitement dimming to nervousness, but he finally takes in a breath and grabs my hand for support.
“Without going into extreme detail—because then we’ll never get to the good stuff—” He huffs some hair out of his eyes on a laugh. “Mal is my best friend, and he takes care of me.”
“Uh huh.” Zander starts to smile, and I smack him lightly on the thigh, earning me a heated glare.
“Sometimes I need a little extra care. For me, that looks like calling Mal ‘Daddy’ while I … regress.”
“Oh.” Zander’s eyes open wide, and he grins. “Is this the Daddy origin story?”
Jules nerves seem to be getting the better of him, so I take over.
“When Jules feels safe to be vulnerable, he addresses me as Daddy more often than Mal. If it bothers you, he won’t, but he might be more reserved to keep it from slipping out.”
I know this is important to Julian. What might be fun and sexy for Zander and I is bigger for him, and I want to respect that.
“The fact that he’s willing to include you in that is special.”
Jules’ smile is small, but his eyes shine with appreciation. As if to hammer the message home, he leans into me and says in his small, quiet voice, “thank you, Daddy.”
Zander watches the two of us quietly, then slowly slides closer and holds a hand out to Julian.
“You can be as open as you want with me,” he says when Julian laces their fingers together. “You told me once that Malachi makes you feel protected. He does for me, too.”
