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"Oh no." Wesley lets out a laugh as he reaches for my puppy. "Bad girl. You'll break the dishes."
Pickles rushes to the left and avoids Wesley's arms. She prances toward me and swipes a slice of bacon from my plate.
"You're such a naughty dog." I haul my ass out of my chair, then move toward Pickles. "You know you can't eat bacon. The doctor said it hurts your heart."
This is a bald-faced lie. Her veterinarian expressed concern about the amount of junk food she ate, mostly treats I gave her here and there, but her heart functions perfectly fine. The rest of her body works well, too, but she still shouldn’t consume so much people food. That's what the professionals say.
Pickles dazzles me with a pair of puppy dog eyes as she scarfs down the bacon. She wags her tail, then scoots back as if daring us to pursue her.
Heaving himself up, Wesley leaps onto the center island. "I'm coming for you, girl. You'd better run."
Pickles yelps and spins in a circle. Clearly, she thinks this is a game. It's not, because she always throws up after she munches on bacon. She runs to Wesley's plate, which he’s no longer guarding, and takes a piece of Texas toast.
"Pickles." My voice is firm and in control. "No toast. That's not for you to eat."
Wesley crawls forward and snatches Pickles. "I got you, doggy." He shoots me an impish grin. "You only get dog food from now on."
Wesley leans forward a little too much and loses his balance. He lets out a yelp as he teeters on the edge of the kitchen island, ready to crash to the floor.
I scoop him into my arms in the nick of time. "You're safe with me." Securing his bum in my grip, I hold him against my chest. "You shouldn't crawl on the island chasing the dog. She's smaller, so if she topples off, it won't hurt her as much."
Wesley blows out a breath as he stares into my eyes. "You caught me." He rubs his cheek against my chest. "I almost hurt myself but you saved me. Just like you did in the alley."
I let out a groan as I run my thumb across Wesley's cheek. "You can't say these things." I dig my feet into the ground. "You make… men react a certain way around you. You put me in a precarious position."
Wesley widens his eyes. His breath hitches as he leans toward me. I stare at his lips, which are even redder than I recalled, and feel my insides twist into knots.
Electricity crackles in the air and a humming fills my ears. I dip my mouth down, ready to taste his precious mouth. He’s been through hell but I can be the Daddy he needs. I’m so fucking close.So close—
“No.” I set Wesley on his chair. “This can’t happen.”
Wesley sniffles. “I did a lot worse than this in the warehouse.”
“It doesn’t matter, boy.” Spinning around, I exit the room. “I’m keeping watch over you until I reunite you with your family. Until then, we need to keep our hands to ourselves.”
13
UNNAMED BOY
Three days later
"Soooo." Arlo nudges my rib cage. "How are things going with Benedetto?"
Uhhhm. The truth?
They’renot.
I sit cross-legged on the floor and pull Ernie out of my backpack. A bunch of Littles are at Arlo's penthouse overlooking Central Park including Rusty and other boys from the city. Their names are Christian, Rowan, Karter, Riley, Lucas, Macon, Bentley, Preston, and Santiago.We’re having a Little sleepover.
Arlo and Rusty met them recently because their Daddies do business together. They’ve only known each other for a little bit, but they’ve become close friends.
They also brought a ton of awesome treats I can’t wait to dive into. I see a package of something I’ve never laid eyes on before—Zebra cakes. My tummy rumbles looking at it.
"Who's Benedetto?" Christian's face lights up. "Spill the tea, sis."
Christian is the founding member of the large friend group. He's a young business owner in his early twenties who runs a successful dairy-free ice cream chain in New York City calledDino Tracks. I've never heard of it, mostly because I've been locked away my entire life, but apparently it's a big deal.
It’s delicious as hell, too. Christian and his Daddy Nikolai brought cartons of ice cream for us to enjoy. I picked strawberry shortcake, of course, because it sounded like the best flavor in the world. I didn't know what shortcake was, but it's like I'm biting into a damn cloud.
