"Did you have a good day with my brothers and the Gnomes?"
Archer smiled too wide, bobbing his head. "I did. It was the best. Learning about Gnome history was fun. And there's this energy when I'm with Eden and Hadrian. I love it so much." Archer's eyes twinkled when he looked back up at Romilly. "But sometimes I think it might be wrong."
"That what might be wrong, little one?" Romilly asked.
"That it might be wrong that I feel so Little and that sometimes..."
Romilly gently took Archer's hands. "Let me guess, little one. Sometimes you like me being in charge. Is that right?"
Archer gave him another nod.
"And sometimes you like being so Little that I take care of everything."
"Yeah, but that's… that's being needy and dependent and I shouldn't?—"
Romilly put a finger over Archer's lips. "Shouldn't is not the word we would use here. If it makes you happy and it makes me happy, then that is what matters. Personally, I would love to take care of you all the time. Give me your heart, soul, and body, and I will cherish it forever."
Moisture gathered in Archer's eyes. His boy was overwhelmed. The dragon inside him wanted to prove just how much Archer meant to them. He wanted to explain the mate bond and how Archer could never be too greedy for him. Before he could say anything, Archer blew Romilly's mind with one sentence.
"Is it bad that sometimes I want to call you Daddy too?"
CHAPTER 15
Archer
Archer regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.
What had he been thinking?
There was something wrong with him. Something fundamentally off that made him think it was completely okay to ask this person who hadn’t only saved his life but brought him into his home so easily, if he wanted to be his Daddy.
Archer's limited knowledge of the kink community was rooted in what he'd heard from friends and some not-so-innocent internet searches in the past. He'd gone to a club once but never actually made it inside. His nerves were too great.
Yet now he'd boldly asked this man,this powerful dragon shifter, if he could be his Daddy.
Archer wanted to hide. He wanted to bury himself beneath piles and piles of anything he could get his hands on, so long as he wasn't having to face Romilly. The big man stood before him, his expression shocked.
"Say that again, little one," he demanded, voice gruff.
It didn't scare Archer. More like it sent a shiver of need through him. He could imagine other ways Romilly might use that voice. Other demands that might be made.
Archer was getting ahead of himself. He could admit to that much.
It was just so hard. Everything about Romilly teased at him. It made him long for more physicality with the dragon. More connection. And now that he was healed, his mind was no longer on pain or figuring out what had happened to him. He instead wanted a different kind of feeling.
His cock throbbed in his pants as fire licked up his spine. Romilly's eyes glowed and his nose tilted in the air. He grumbled, his chest a loud rumble that Archer couldn't ignore.
"Oh shit," he breathed, remembering what Hadrian had said about dragon senses.
Did that mean that Romilly could sense his desire?
That he could tell how much Archer wanted him?
In a flash of movement, Archer got his answer. Because Romilly lifted him into his arms, making sure to wrap the boy's legs around his waist.
"Mine," he demanded. "All mine, little one."
Archer nodded quickly, not wanting to distract from the amazing situation he'd stumbled into. There would be time for talking later. Time for more of whatever Romilly had wanted to say.
