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“It’ll take you thirty seconds to retrieve it,” Uriel growled. “Get the package, or I’ll charm your clothes so they feel like ants crawling on your skin.”

“You know that your competence is hot, right?”

Before Uriel could do much more than frown, he was being moved onto the floor. Bruiser went to the front door and retrieved the package.

All of a sudden, Uriel felt a little uneasy.

He placed Cassie in her playpen and made sure she was comfortable. Then he headed to the kitchen, where Bruiser was tearing open the padded envelope.

Three tissue-wrapped packages slid out. Bruiser’s was obvious—the eye-searing neon pink was visible even through the tissue wrapping. He pushed it at the alpha. “Open that.”

Bruiser did. His thong could barely be called clothing; it was made of narrow strips of lace with huge lace butterflies attached to them. When Bruiser stretched it out between his fingers, Uriel laughed.

“That pair makes this whole experience worth it,” Uriel said between gasps. “I’m just trying to imagine you wearing that.”

Bruiser watched him intently. “If it makes you laugh, I’ll do more shit like this.”

“Sponge cake,” Uriel corrected. “If it makes me laugh, you’ll do more sponge cake like this.”

Bruiser snorted. “So, when do you want me to put this on?”

Uriel glanced at Cassie. “When she’s asleep.”

“What’s the fastest way to do that?”

“By tiring her out,” Uriel admitted. “For her afternoon nap.”

“How?”

“High energy games. Bouncing on the bed. Playing with toys in the tub. Lots of squealing, giggling, and moving around.”

“Hmm.” Bruiser looked contemplative, then determined. “Let’s do it. Bounce City first.”

Uriel swept Cassie into his arms so she squealed and kicked her legs. “You love that, don’t you?” he said, and swung her into the air again. When he caught Bruiser watching, he explained, “It gets tiring after a while. It’s a lot of arm workout.”

“I’ll take over whenever you want.” Bruiser pulled on some clothes, then carefully wrapped his hands around Cassie and swept her up high. Cassie shrieked and giggled; Bruiser’s entire face lit up.

Fuck, Uriel could almost feel his ovaries swelling, eager to make Bruiser a baby or three.

As though he could hear Uriel’s thoughts, Bruiser turned, meeting his eyes. Uriel quickly looked away, his cheeks growing hot.

Bruiser rumbled. When Uriel peeked, the alpha was wearing a satisfied smile. He swallowed dryly.

“I’ll just—get the toys for her bath,” Uriel croaked.

Between swinging Cassie into the air, they bounced on the bed. Cassie couldn’t stand by herself yet, but with some help, she managed to bounce when Uriel and Bruiser did. Little by little, they wore her down, taking turns so they didn’t tire themselves out.

“I feel old,” Uriel groaned anyway when they were both sitting next to the tub, Cassie splashing with her colorful bath toys. “It’s like I wore out myself, trying to wear her out.”

“Sounds to me like you need some practice,” Bruiser murmured. “Being worn out.”

“Oh gods,” Uriel groaned. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

The thought of spending so much time with Bruiser that he became used to him... The thought of Bruiser wanting that... It was still hard to believe. “Convince me that you want it.”

Bruiser smiled and reached over, taking Uriel’s hand in his. Uriel’s heart skipped. Bruiser’s smile grew; he’d heard Uriel’s reaction.