Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Before I could open my mouth or dig out my phone, Santos waved his finger in my direction. “If glitter drums show up at my house I’ll forget how to spank.”
As Harley snickered and hid his face against the table, Santos waved his arms around. “Oh no. I’ve forgotten how to spank. I guess I’ll never learn how to do it again.”
“You’re old but you’re not senile yet.” Shaking my head, I sighed. “But if he’s forgotten that part, it might’ve already set in.”
As Harley giggled, I reached over and patted his shoulder. “Don’t tell him, but first the brain goes and then the dick follows. But it’s okay. We’ll take care of him.”
Sitting up, Harley swallowed back more laughter. “We’re…we’re good helpers, Daddy.”
And the giggles escaped.
Santos’s eyes rolled to follow the laughter and he shook his head. “Your Daddy is a terrible influence.”
Terribly smart…but it was a curse sometimes.
“We’re going to ignore that now, though.” Walking around the table, Santos took Harley’s hand. “I have surprises so that takes precedence over brats needing attention.”
“Surprises?” More than one? “What else did you get him?”
At what point was I supposed to ask about shopping addictions?
“More surprises?” Perking up again, Harley forgot how funny everything had been. “I’m a good boy, Papa.”
So that clearly meant it was okay to buy him lots of surprises.
“I know you are.” Santos looked very pleased with himself as he nodded toward the living room. “Let’s go see what I got for my guys.”
Me?
“Oh, Daddy too?” Reaching for my hand, Harley dragged us both to the living room at a breakneck speed I hadn’t expected from him. Giants were usually slightly lumbering at the very least but he must not have gotten the memo on that. “Hurry, Daddy. Papa got us presents.”
Hopefully.
Harley was going to be very upset if he’d misunderstood Santos’s teasing.
“I think it’s just—”
Dangerous.
It was dangerous to get Harley so excited.
But luckily for me, Harley had wonderful reflexes. “Oops.”
As he helped me stay upright, he frowned. “No booboos, Daddy.”
Did he think nearly crashing into the coffee table was my fault?
“You’re right.” No booboos. “But—”
“Booboos do not get special presents.” Santos sounded remarkably serious saying the ridiculous sentence. “Sit down nicely and I’ll get them.”
Them?
Eek.
“Thud.” Harley didn’t seem worried about us going thud as we landed on the floor in a heap of limbs. “Good boys, Papa. Hurry.”
Santos chuckled as I caught my breath. “Yes, you’re both very good boys.”
I was not a good boy and I was going to thoroughly remind him of that fact, but he cheated again.
The fucker just had to keep doing it left and right.
Every time I turned around he had to cheat.
Matching blankets.
Not only had the drama queen bought both of us pajamas…Harley animal ones and me plaid ones…he’d bought us matching blankets.
We were going to turn out like those weird Stepford families that all matched.
Fucking hell.
Harley sighed.
The bastard cheated by smiling.
Ugh.
He’d Stepforded us and there was nothing I could do but look adorable.
20
HARLEY
Just frown and stare him down.
Air in.
Air out.
Deepen your frown.
You can do it.
They always break.
“Fine. I wasn’t sick, but—”
“But your favorite band was in town.” Interrupting was rude but I’d heard the same story once a month from him, so I didn’t feel too bad about it. “And you just had to go.”
Larry beamed at me, forgetting he’d been pretending to be stoic and full of bullshit just seconds before. “I knew you’d get it, man. You’re mean but fair. I knew you’d—”
“Fire your ass.” Santos wouldn’t put up with anyone being sick on a weekly basis or coming down with the flu three times in one month, so I didn’t have to either. “I’m done.”
Short sentences.
Badass men don’t explain themselves.
I wasn’t a nice Dom or a Daddy.
I was an asshole Dom from a romance novel that no one should actually date in real life.
“Fuck.” Deflating, Larry pouted.
He was nowhere near a Dom from a romance novel.
“My mom is going to kill me.”
He wasn’t even the villain in a romance novel but he knew how to piss off everyone around him.
Including me because I was going to have to cover his shift.
“Fuck.”
Yep. Larry was right about that.
What he was wrong about was how long I’d put up with his flaky behavior and terrible lies.
Even with all the extra paperwork firing him generated, I didn’t feel bad about it because he was the worst liar I’d ever seen. Even Daddy would’ve made up more believable stories and Papa said his imagination was questionable.
Part of me wondered if I’d made the right call halfway into my extra-long shift when I was bouncing between doing Larry’s job at the bar and fitting in the paperwork I was supposed to have been doing. It made what should’ve been an easy shift on a quiet night last until late and I was running on empty after tossing out a regular who’d gotten too mouthy with damned near everyone.