Page 21 of Love Unlimited

They let their eyes drift closed, feeling secure and loved, as he gently wiped it over their lids. He followed it with a warm washcloth, scrubbing carefully across their face, then down to their neck and behind their ears.

Do you need to use the toilet?

Yep. Just give me a minute. That was beyond the level of comfort they’d established. Ash wasn’t quite sure how Zhong felt about it, but they really preferred to pee alone. It was awkward enough already without being observed.

Daddy gave them another kiss on the forehead. Come out when you’re ready.

Ash peed and washed their hands again, unsurprised to find Daddy waiting for them by the side of the bed. He’d already pulled back the covers and had a puzzle magazine waiting for them with a mechanical pencil. No tablet here, he explained.

Though he kept crossword puzzles here, or at least knew where they were.

Ash crawled in and picked up the magazine. Daddy adjusted a few pillows behind them so they could sit up, and then popped their pacifier into their mouth.

They smiled up at him around it, feeling absolutely adored. No matter where they went in the world, Daddy would take care of them.

As Daddy went off to take his shower, they were already thinking about what they could do to take care of him, too.

Chapter 5

Zhong

Zhong pushed the bar upward, muscles pleasantly straining. Carefully, he eased the bar back down, bent arms parallel to his shoulders where he lay on the weight bench. After another handful of presses, his arms were starting to tremble, so on the next one he let the bar settle downward until he felt the thunk of the weights hitting the machine.

Now on to legs. He stood up and moved the pin to the next setting that he wanted. He checked the number, but the little hole that the pin slid into was already scratched and marked from use, even though it had been over a year since he’d done a workout at Dustin’s house. He settled onto the chair and pushed his legs into the first press.

The first time he and Ash had slept over, they’d had to wake up early to take Ash to work. This time, Ash’s nursing schedule had the whole day free. So, even though Dustin was working and Landon had some teacher thing, Zhong asked if Ash didn’t mind sticking around. They were delighted to explore the house in the daytime, and Zhong was just happy to be there.

It was nice to be back in the sunny room. It smelled like summertime and clean wood, not the antiseptic and faint mildew of the weight room in the basement of his apartment building.

The best part, though, was watching Ash while he worked out. They were signing animatedly with their mother over the phone. They’d propped the phone up in one of the bay windows where they were curled up on the cushioned bench that ran the length of the little nook.

They wore a glittery blue shirt today which clung to their lithe arms and torso, constantly drawing Zhong’s eyes. It was paired with some artistically paint-splattered jean shorts, leaving their slender legs and bare feet exposed.

Zhong still didn’t feel any sexual attraction, but the desire to touch, to be close, was definitely there. Especially since he’d been the one lucky enough to dress them this morning.

The way that the sun caught their dark curly hair and the impish turn of their nose made him imagine that he’d caught some sort of fairy or sprite. Something wild and free, but so happily tamed with a bit of food and a sunny window.

Zhong couldn’t help but feel like Ash belonged here, with him in this room. Not, of course, that this was Zhong’s house anymore. It was just a really important part of his world.

That left Zhong thinking about the backyard and, well, the thing he needed to figure out.

He hadn’t even realized he was putting off the puppy play until Ash brought it up. He had a plan for it actually, all recorded in his notebook. He was going to test things out at Escape first. He’d done a lot more reading. His notebook had a list of questions he wanted to ask some other Handlers, and another list of things that he wanted to carefully observe.

He also figured that all the stuff he needed, like the mats on the floor, were already at the club. All set up. Ash would have a good time with all of their puppy friends, and he could be there to give them treats.

But the first month Ash had taken on an extra shift at work, and the second they’d come down with a little cold and had to reschedule their whole week. Zhong had snuggled them up at home and made them soup, but he’d been disappointed.

It was the kinkiest thing that they shared, at least hopefully, and he was pretty eager to do it again.

There was something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on that made him hesitate, though. It was this strange tightness in his belly, an underlying pull to wait just a little longer and not disrupt anything.

He went through his list, trying to make sense of the disequilibrium. Waiting for the mosh seemed pretty automatic, since puppy play needed more space than Zhong could manage in his apartment.

But he’d told Ash two months ago that Dustin’s place would be perfect for it, with its high fence and smooth grass. Puppy Ash needed to jump and frolic and race across the lawn.

Now would be the perfect time for it, actually. It was warm, but not too hot. Dustin was home, but busy. And Ash was right here with him, being adorable and sweet just by existing.

But Zhong’s brain and his body were saying different things. And usually his body knew what it was talking about before he did.