Page 21 of Dear Daddy, Please Want Me

“That’s not a real meal,” Saul heard himself saying.

Levi spun to look at him, eyes sparkling. “No?”

Oh, Levi was going to be a handful.

“I thought maybe I deserved a treat. But I suppose I have to eat dinner first?”

Dammit. It seemed like every word out of his mouth carried a double meaning. Like he was waiting for Saul to deny him the treats now and parcel them out later for being good. Like he wanted Saul to bring him his meals.

Saul tried to convince himself that he was just reading into things. That he was adding context that wasn’t there now that he knew what Levi was into. It was a stretch.

Because Levi was watching him, hands behind his back in either a display of submission or because he was hiding the treats he’d tried to sneak. His expression was just begging for a kiss or a spanking.

It was fascinating how the line between naughty boy and willing sub crossed and wove around itself.

Saul had to admit that it was a rush. He didn’t want to really control every aspect of a partner’s life. But being trusted to take care of someone in small, visible ways? Yeah, he wanted that.

He forced himself not to respond. Not to stride across the kitchen and kiss those impish lips until they were both breathless. “I’ll pull up some menus and meet you in the conference room.”

Then he beat a hasty retreat.

He had his laptop set up and at least appeared to be working by the time Levi came in.

“Hey,” he said without looking up. There was no way that he could concentrate, though, when he could still track Levi in his peripheral vision.

Levi, naturally, took the chair right next to him instead of any of the other four that were available. Saul had settled at the head of the table without thinking much about it beyond having elbow room, and now Levi was sitting just around the corner. He wouldn’t be able to look up without seeing him.

Levi fiddled around with cables for a moment, then sat down.

Their legs brushed. No, more than brushed. Levi sunk down in his chair until one of his long legs was tucked under Saul’s calves, heat flowing between them.

Saul kept his screen open, but Levi had all his attention.

The boy hummed and wriggled in his chair as he typed, like an excited puppy.

There was just something different about him today. Maybe it was just seeing him outside of normal business hours. Or maybe it had started with that sleepy, sexy phone call.

It wasn’t just his flirtatious comments, but the way he moved. His limbs were relaxed, but he vibrated with a sinuous energy. He almost glowed. Like something had been set free inside him. Something a little playful, maybe a little bratty.

It was everything that always set off a spark when Saul was around Levi, but instead of getting it in little glimpses, he was getting the whole bonfire. And the gooey s’mores, too.

Being responsible right now was going to require a whole different level of determination. By orders of magnitude.

He could cut it off, of course. Address it directly, remind Levi that it wasn’t appropriate, and probably never have Levi give him that hopeful, teasing look again.

He argued the other way. They weren’t actually doing anything wrong. And Levi just seemed so… happy. So as long as Saul didn’t encourage him, that was OK, right? Levi could be himself, Saul would make sure they stayed focused on their work, and everything would be fine.

Levi’s stomach rumbled, and Saul suddenly felt bad about chastising him for the snacks.

“Ready to order dinner?” Saul still kept his eyes on the screen and reminded himself that he always ordered dinner for employees working on the weekend.

He opened a new window to pull up the menu for the one Kosher place that delivered to the office. Not that he’d looked that up before or anything.

“Sure. I eat veggie out, and otherwise I’m down for anything.” Levi gave him a beaming smile.

Huh. He hadn’t realized that. Veggie out was the Jewish code word for keeping Kosher at home, but eating restaurant food that wasn’t certified Kosher as long as it was vegetarian. Everyone knew that it had touched utensils and surfaces that had touched meat, which technically wasn’t supposed to happen, but it was kind of the thought that counted.

Levi’s Jewish practice was much more complex than he’d thought. Then again, he hadn’t expected him to work on Shabbat. Of course, Jewish practice wasn’t just one thing. He knew a lot of people who kept Kosher even as they dropped a lot of other traditions. And who was he to judge? He’d grown up eating bacon cheeseburgers.