“Yeah, Daddy?”
“Shouldn’t the kids be in school? Surely Thanksgiving break is over.” Willem tried to keep his cool. He was the Daddy and he should’ve remembered that the world didn’t stop spinning just because something horrible had happened. He was pretty sure that they could get an exemption due to the fact that Reed and Audra had passed but…
“At eight thirty in the evening?” Eli raised a brow at him. “I’m not a slave driver like you, Will.”
He almost began to hyperventilate. “I’m not joking around, boy. Your mother could use the kids being out of school against us and…”
“Shhh, relax, Daddy.” Eli squeezed his thigh hard, breaking through Willem’s rising panic. How could he have fucked up this bad? Education was as important as a roof over their heads, clothing on their backs, and food in their bellies. He tried to calm himself down. It’d only been two weeks. He could defend that. After all the kids had lost their parents.
“Daddy.” Eli gave him a pinch.
He caught his boy’s fingers in his. “Ouch. That hurt.”
“It was meant to.” He gave Willem a look. “Quit playing worst scenario in your head.” Eli whispered.
Willem glared down at him. “Excuse me? Does someone need to be reminded who’s in charge…”
“Shhh…” Eli nodded toward the kids. “Look, I emailed the home-school that Raelynn belongs to last week to explain the situation. The director of the school called back while you were in town at the doctors on Tuesday. I totally forgot to mention it to you. He’s granting her a special exemption, and as long as we add a few hours a week of education-based activities this summer, she’ll be good.” He looked up at Willem and smiled. “I was thinking that maybe we could take her to the sapphire mine when it’s open to the public.”
Willem exhaled loudly and gave his boy a squeeze. “Thank you. I panicked there for a second. I can’t believe I spaced off on something as simple as schooling and…”
“…and you’re human, Willem William. We all make mistakes.” He snuggled closer. “Like I forgot to mention it to you after I spoke to the director.” He pressed a kiss to the side of Willem’s neck. “I call it an even draw and we both deserve rewards tonight…in bed.”
Willem wanted to growl as heat lanced through him. The last time they’d called something a draw, and had settled for ‘rewards’ in bed, they’d had a slow sensual sixty-nine that had him coming so hard, he’d had a permanent smile on his face for days afterwards. “Tease.”
“It’s only a tease if I don’t follow through…” Eli wiggled his brows at him, then lifted up a bit to kiss Willem’s chin. Or rather he tried. Willem dipped his head and their lips met. He muffled Eli’s gasp of surprise, as he cradled his boy’s head against him and kissed him for all he was worth. The kiss deepened and the need that was barely ever checked surged to the forefront. He forgot all about the tv show and the kids watching a spunky reindeer save Christmas. All he knew was he needed more. Evidently, so did his boy, he thought as Eli threaded his fingers through his hair, anchoring Willem in place, as he thrust his tongue deep inside Willem’s mouth to tangle with his.
Fuck!
Keeping the kiss going, he shifted Eli a bit, wanting nothing more than to pull the boy further onto his lap and give him a few sound swats before palming the hard cock he knew he’d find in…
“Ew…no kissy-face!” Raelynn’s sweet voice broke through the haze of passion clouding Willem’s head, with only the disgust a seven-year-old girl could muster up when catching her favorite uncle kissing his boy-friend. “That’s so gross.”
“Come on, Unca!” Jeremy appeared next to his sister. “You promised we could have a cookie after the movie.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Eli sounded as gruff and frustrated as Willem felt.
Being cock-blocked by a pair of munchkins sucked, Willem decided. How did married couples do this? He’d have to ask his dad about it next time they talked. Or at Christmas? They’d planned to return to the homestead to share the holidays with their son, their daughters and their spouses, or in Eli’s case a significant other.
“It’s over already?” Willem glanced at the screen. The credits were indeed rolling.
Eli slowly pulled away, taking the blanket with him. Willem caught the trailing edge of the quilt. The last thing he wanted to do was scar these kids with his erection. “I think I’ll hang on to that for a bit longer, boy.” He gave Eli a pointed look, before hauling him back down on his lap.
Eli’s eyes narrowed, as he spoke to the kids. “Why don’t you kids head into the kitchen, and Daddy Will and I will be there shortly.”
“Raelynn, why don’t you get the cookie jar down.” Willem added. “Be careful not to drop it.” Willem gave the order with a strained smile, as Eli squirmed in his lap. He caught Eli’s hips in his hands, stilling the boy.
“What about me?” Jeremy looked at Eli. “What can I do?”
“Grab the milk from the fridge.” Eli, the brat, clenched his butt, using the move to rub against Willem’s dick, since Willem refused to let the boy rock shamelessly against him.
“Okay.” Raelynn smiled, then grabbed her brother’s hand. “Come on, Jeremy.”
“But what about Unca and Willem?” The boy wanted to know as his sister led him from the room.
“They’ll be in, in a minute…” The girl tugged her brother behind.
“Why not now?” The boy seemed impatient.
Willem made a sound that was a cross between a groan and chuckle when he heard the girl’s response.
“Cause Daddy Will and Eli need a few minutes to do adult things like kiss. It takes proper time to kiss your boy-friend right.” The girl sounded almost wise beyond her years, even though she was only seven and supposedly had no clue about kissing or anything of the sort. “At least seven minutes…”
“But that’s so long. I want a cookie now, not at bed-time, Sissy…”
“Heaven help us,” Eli groaned low in his throat, his head tipping back to meet Willem’s gaze as the kid’s voices faded away. “She’s going to be dating someday.”
“Not ‘til she’s thirty.” Willem shot back. “Maybe not even then. Forty…yeah, forty is a good number.”
Eli, the brat, actually laughed at him. “Good luck with that, Daddy.”
