There we go. This was familiar. This was what he would get from Fix. And he’d take it. He’d make it work.
“Yes,” he said, expecting Fix to reach for his cock, his ass.
But Fix sat on the edge of Liam’s bed and scooped him up like he weighed nothing. He wrapped his pink sheet around him like he was the sweetest confectionery and placed him on his lap instead.
He was sitting sideways, legs stretched out on the bed, ass on Fix’s thighs and head pressed against his bare chest, utterly confused. “I thought…”
Fix shushed him, running a hand through his now messy hair. “I can only assume what you thought, and we’ll get to that. But I have a question first.”
Liam held his breath, pulling back and meeting Fix’s eyes.
“Honey,” Fix said, watching his face for the answer, “do you want a daddy?”
Liam swallowed, his mind as unkind to him as always. It forced him to look back on the worst of his experiences. Making him remember how they felt. How small they’d made him feel.
He pushed against it. Squashed it down until all he could see was Fix. Fix, who had been nothing but kind and patient. Fix, who Liam had zeroed in on from the moment they’d met and couldn’t stop thinking about. Fix, who felt like home more than any apartment he’d lived in or any town he’d moved to.
Everything that had happened to Liam seemed to have led to Fix, so why…why would he deny himself a sliver of the fantasy he’d carried around for as long as he could remember?
“Yes,” he whispered.
“Why does that scare you?”
Liam hid his face against Fix’s neck, smelling sandalwood and musk. “Because you’re too good to be true. And so the only thing I can focus on is trying to figure out when I’m gonna ruin it.”
“Honey,” Fix said, and Liam whined against his neck. “I’m certainly not perfect and you won’t ruin anything. Just talk to me.”
“I just…I’ve tried before and it never works out. What do I have to do to make it work? What do I call you? And when? Like…do you want me to call you Daddy just in private or all the time? And what do you call me? I don’t like slurs or insults but if you like that then it ruins things because I don’t. So I don’t…”
He’d sat up straighter during his rant, flapping a hand uselessly, only for it to end up thumping to his lap in frustration.
“You know what I mean?”
Fix chuckled before shaking his head, expression fond. “You ramble.”
“Mm-hmm.” Liam blushed. “When I’m nervous.”
“There’s no need to be nervous,” Fix said, cupping his cheek and stroking his thumb over the arch. “Look, you’ve had a long and eventful day and so have I, so how about we make it a little simpler? I like being called Daddy. When and where, I leave to my boy to decide. The people who matter to me know, so if you want to call me that all the time, feel free. If you want to play it by ear and do it when it feels right, that also works. As for me…I like calling you honey. And I think you like it too?”
Liam’s blush grew, but he nodded because yes, he did like it and he wanted to keep it.
“Are you okay with me calling you that in public? In front of others?” Fix asked and Liam nodded again. “Then that’s it. Slurs and insults don’t appeal to me at all. And when I need to explain our dynamic to someone, I’d like to call you my boy. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes.” Liam’s heart was thumping with hope. “I like that.”
“Okay. That covers that and I think we can leave it there for the night. We both need some food and some fun.” Fix smiled slowly. “So, honey, will you go on a date with me?”
Chapter 14
Fix
Was this what it felt like to hit the jackpot? Because if it came even close to this feeling it was no wonder people got addicted to gambling.
Fix felt like he could conquer the world, holding Liam in his arms, knowing he finally had the right to do it because Liam was his. He hadn’t known his heart could beat that fast without it being a certified medical problem.
“A date?” Liam asked, looking so deliciously unkempt and gorgeous Fix had to stop himself from tumbling him back into bed.
He was still sitting in his lap, slivers of naked skin brushing against his chest through the smooth sheet. It felt right the way few things in his life ever did. His team. Their home. And now his boy.
