“I am more than okay with it,” Mr. Dorian replied. “Just as long as you know that you never have to feel obligated to help just because I start leaking or anything like that.”
“You’d be giving us a treat,” I admitted. “We don’t get down there as often as we’d like, and we are both very, very fond of milk.”
I flicked my tongue out when I said it, while Raleigh licked his lips. That seemed to erase any lingering hesitation Mr. Dorian had, because he quickly punched in the order before tugging off his t-shirt. I loved the wide chairs he had in the space. They were really more like two-seaters, so he had a place for his timer and art supplies to rest. Now he widened his legs and patted his knees, offering us each a place to sit and get comfortable.
I could smell the milk before my tongue touched his nipple, lapping to stimulate the flow, while Raleigh just let out a low groan and rubbed his cheek against the opposite nipple before latching on. Mr. Dorian groaned, a warm, strong arm wrapped around my body, holding me tight to him. I knew he was doing the same with Raleigh on the other side of him, and I’m sure Raleigh was happily suckling away, the same as I was.
At one point, Raleigh shifted forward, just enough to rub noses with me, and my eyes popped open to see him grinning across Mr. Dorian’s chest, a tiny drop of milk at the corner of his lips that I leaned in to lick away. When we latched back on, Mr. Dorian moaned, and his hand slid up my back so he could stroke my hair. I’d have been lying if I ever tried to claim that I hadn’t hoped for this after being in his lap at the club. Raleigh and I had missed getting the chance to pop into the Brotherhood’s club and help the members on a regular basis. Once, a few years back, we’d thought we’d found a Daddy, but work took him to Vancouver before we’d worked out whether we were in a relationship or not, and after a while, the texts and video chat invitations had stopped coming.
Could this be our second chance?
As I drew in another warm pull of milk, I was hit with a sudden realization.
I hoped it was.
7
DADDY DORIAN
You’d think, after so many years of walking runways, that I wouldn’t be nervous as hell when it was time for my clothing to appear on one. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. I was beyond nervous, despite this being just a small, intimate show for my clients. The boys looked amazing in their duck and swan outfits, and Phoenix had, somewhat begrudgingly, agreed to walk them down the runway on their leashes. I think he was secretly pleased that I’d asked and had crafted an amazing pair of leather pants and a matching harness for him to wear as he acted as their handler.
He’d left his hair down and flowing, while Murry’s and Raleigh’s were slicked back beneath their cowls. They’d each undergo three changes of gear before we were finished and the real work began.
Mingling with all our guests and the pets they’d brought with them.
Now, I could work a room, wander with a drink in my hand that I barely sipped, and make polite conversations, but there wasa reason Aspen was in charge of sales and marketing while I remained the face of the brand. The man seriously possessed the gift of gab in a way that I never would, but he was an amazing listener too and had a way of getting people to open up to him about exactly what it was they were looking for. More than once, he’d brought me new gear ideas following events like this, as pets saw what was possible, and their handlers ordered specially commissioned pieces just for them.
Okay, deep breath.
The music hit, and the lights dipped low, leaving the runway as the only space well lit. Gasps were always a good sign, and I heard several, along with "oohs," "ahhs," "yips," "chips," and "mews" as Phoenix, Raleigh, and Murry made their way down the runway.
Holy shit, they were rocking out those outfits with fluid grace and a waddling attitude. Murry carried one of the balls they often played with. When they reached the wide, square end, they slid gracefully to their knees and rolled the ball back and forth between them with their beaks and wing tips, wiggling their butts to show off their tails, honking, hissing, and quacking up a storm as they played, moving from rolling to tossing the ball to one another. Raleigh even managed to bounce it off his beak and back in Murry’s direction, where he wiggled and crawled under it so he could bounce it off his beak too.
Then Phoenix opened the can of pickup sticks I’d given him and spilled it on the ground between them so they could demonstrate how well their wing tips worked. They picked them up and actually stacked them like they were trying to make a nest, Murry going for a neat, log cabin-style square, while Raleigh crisscrossed them like a star all over the square base, resulting in a great deal of hissing and quacking, until Murry smackedthe whole thing apart and honked at Raleigh like he was highly offended.
These two, holy shit, they were hilarious, and the best part was that the crowd ate it up, laughing at their antics as Phoenix pointed at the mess and then held out the can, instructing them to clean it all up, which they did, heads bowed, appearing contrite as they plucked each one off the stage and put it in the can. When they finished, they collected their ball and showed how easily they could stand without assistance before waddle-walking all the way to the back.
I jumped into action behind the stage, ready with the next sets of gear, while Aspen took to the stage to talk about the outfits, including how many were available in the shop and the materials they were constructed out of, while a video package played in the background, showing Raleigh and Murry at play wearing the prototype suits.
“You guys, that was amazing; that was exactly the kind of energy I was hoping to see from you,” I praised as I helped them out of their gear.
Their smiles were like sunshine as they preened, clearly pleased with themselves. I’d learned over the last four weeks of working with them that they fed off praise and positive reinforcement.
One by one, they did their thing, showing off ferret and fox gear next, then a fierce koala and an adorable hedgehog. For the finale, I had the two of them in fantasy gear I’d constructed. One a dragon, the other a unicorn. One pet got so excited she bounded forward, hands on the stage, practically dancing in her unicorn footie pajamas as she stared up at them in wonder. The unicorn suit Murry wore was sleek and colorful and showed off his body and long, flowing tail. The horn on the full-face maskhe wore was as sparkling as the shiny fabric woven through the mane and tail. I’d used a template for a pony play costume for this one but added all the whimsy of a unicorn, including shimmery iridescent material in the bodysuit, which flashed different colors when the lights struck it.
The applause at the end, as I walked down the runway arm in arm with them, erased the last of the butterflies in my belly. They’d done a phenomenal job, which I’d told them at each costume change. Watching Murry prance down the runway as a unicorn, while Raleigh stomped, glowered, and did his level best to look like a menacing beast of a dragon, waving his wings as his spiky tail trailed behind him, was mind-blowing. Then they started dancing with one another and jaws hit the floor. They’d truly gotten into the headspace of each of the creatures they’d embodied, and I couldn’t have been prouder of them. They’d truly given it their all.
Backstage, I helped Raleigh change back into the fox costume he’d worn while leaving Murry in the unicorn one, given how much interest I’d seen on the faces of the clients in the room. Those two outfits had been the biggest stars of the event, so that was what they were going to mingle and play with the other pets in.
It just sucked that I wasn’t going to be able to feed them, pet them, pamper them, and brush out their hair after the hard work they’d put in, but unfortunately, that would have to wait until after the event had concluded and all our guests had taken their leave. I was impatient to get to that point, though, they deserved all my attention and way more compliments than the ones I’d already been able to give them.
“I want to play with the unicorn,” a voice squealed the moment Raleigh and Murry strode from the back with me and into the play space we’d set up. “Please, Mama, can I?”
“Of course you may,” a mama I knew well told her little unicorn, the same one who’d peered up so excitedly when Murry had been up on the stage.
“You knocked it out of the park this time,” she said, once her girl had bounded away to play with Murry. “I didn’t know how you were going to top the last show, but you nailed it. You know what I’m going to ask, right?”
“I have an idea, and before you do, I asked Aspen to hold two back for your girl in case you were able to make it tonight. One in iridescent white, the other in shades of pink.”
