Fuck that, Ilovedit.
But how much of that was because I was already half-infatuated with my scene partner?
“Would you do it again?” he asks.
I have a ready answer for this question, having thought those very same words over and over again at least three times a day since we filmed it. But to give Dmitri my answer out loud is scary, because it’s going to give away more than I think he’s ready to hear.
“Miles?” he prods gently. “It’s okay if you—”
“Only with you.”
Jesus. Is it the pain meds making me lose control of my mouth today?
Dmitri’s arm tenses around me and I have to close my eyes against the rejection I know is coming.
“Precious, look at me.”
Trying to hide how rapidly my heart is racing, I focus on keeping my breathing calm as I turn to face him, barely able to look him in the eye.
“Can you tell me why you’d only do it again with me?” I can’t read his tone properly, but am I imagining the hint of hope in it?
At this point, I don’t have anything left to lose by being honest. My dignity and sense of self-preservation have already disappeared. Besides, Christmas is coming up, after all, and if I had just one wish? It would be to make our Santa Daddy fantasy real for life.
So, I take a deep breath and tell him, “Because I only want you to be my Daddy, Dmitri. At the club, on screen, at home…I only want it to be you.” And there it is. I can’t make my feelings any plainer.Oh. Except for one more thing. “And I know that filming is your job, and I’m not asking you to stop working with other actors for me. But…I kind of want to be the only Boy who calls you Daddy.”
There’s barely a moment for me to worry that I might have said too much, or crossed a line in asking such a thing of him, before he’s holding my face between his big, tattooed hands and pressing his lips to mine with a sense of urgency that I can feel deep in my own bones.
My lips part for him, letting him in, breathing in the spicy scent of his beard-oil and cologne. His kiss is just as perfect as I remember, only now it feels like so much more. There’s no audience, unless you count the dog. No cameras. Nothing demanding this of us. It’s natural, organic, andreal.
“I want all of that, too, Miles,” he whispers when the kiss draws to an end, but he doesn’t pull away. His breath washes over me, just as minty as he tasted, warm and strangely comforting. “I’ve been kicking myself since I let you drive away without asking for your number. We barely know each other, but that scene with you…we clicked in a way I’ve never experienced before. I want to be your Daddy. On screen, at the club, at home. Every way you’ll have me. It’s too early to know what the future holds, but…” he presses his forehead to mine and stares into my eyes, making my stomach swoop, “I have a good feeling about it.”
“Yeah,” I manage to rasp out, finding his smile and optimism contagious, “me, too.”
Epilogue
“Holy shit, Big D,” Jake chortles down the line, “youhave gotto see the comments rolling in onMiracle.”
I put my phone on speaker and smile widely at Miles, where he pauses, crouched over the box of Christmas decorations I’d pulled down from the attic at his begging.
“Well, I’ve got Miles here with me,” I tell Jake, “and you’re on speaker. Go nuts.”
“Oh,do you?” The teasing lilt in my old friend’s voice has me rolling my eyes. “I knew you two had chemistry. Would you consider letting me and the boys come and shoot some additional scenes at your place?”
“I’mupfor it,” Miles leers at me, and I snort.
“Behave, precious. You know what happens when you tease Daddy.”
“Uh, guys, I’m still here.” Jake laughs. “But, seriously, peopleloveyou. They’re begging for an encore.Oh, maybe we could do a Valentine’s themed follow-up?”
“I’mnotdressing as sexy cupid,” I warn him.
“But I might,” Miles says. “Tighty-whities and a bow and arrow? I could rock it.”
“Sold!” Jake cries before I can nix the idea, kind of wanting to keep that level of sexiness all to myself. “Start thinking up Valentine’s puns, guys. The comedy with the sex and the heart…it’spure gold.”
Giving me a cheeky smirk, Miles taps his plump lower lip with his index finger as he improvises, “Hmmm…Roses are red, violets are blue, I’ll get on my knees ’cos I know what to do.”
Jake sounds beyond impressed. “Yes! Save that energy for the cameras.”
