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As I sat beside him on the bed, he turned to face me. "What are you hiding, Daddy?" he teased with a grin.
I pulled the book from behind my back. The look of shock on his face was worth hunting down the old fairytale collection. My original copy disappeared around the same time Dante did, which I suspected to be either the work of his father or someone else now that I knew what went down.
"I never thought I'd see this again." His voice was whisper soft as his fingers trailed over the cover.
"Which story would you like tonight, precious boy? The sleeping princess? The one with long hair that the prince climbs up? Or maybe the one where she steals their porridge?" I growled the last part to pretend to be like one of the three bears in that particular story.
He shook his head. "None of those. I want the one where she loses her slipper, and the prince has to find her. It's like how you found me."
I tug him to my chest as I pull the book open to the right section. My voice breaks at the first words, the emotions of the day coming back to me.
"Once upon a time, there was a young boy..." I changed the character's gender, just like I always did. My boy much preferred to watch two men falling in love in his bedtime stories, and it was such an easy fix I saw no harm in it. Besides, if it made my boy happy, then I would do it.
We were only halfway through the book when he nodded off. I slipped from the bed to make sure the house was secure. After checking everything out, I returned to bed and rolled him onto my chest. He barely stirred even as I entangled us together. There wasn't a chance of him moving without me waking up.
"I love you, precious boy. I'm so glad you're finally home." With my whispered truths, I finally allowed myself to relax in the bed. Sleep claimed me with ease.
It wasn't hard to believe given I finally had everything I ever wanted. Now I just had to keep him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DANTE
If anyone had askedme if I'd be ok with essentially being kidnapped by my former lover, I'd have told them they were wrong. I'd say that Preacher would never take me in such a way and that they were crazy for suggesting such.
Yet here I was in the exact scenario.
I'd been so tired after the trying events of the day that I had fallen asleep with ease. My only complaint was that I missed the second half of the story. I longed to hear the voices Daddy would make as he'd twist each piece to the way I liked it.
Staring at the man beneath me, I couldn't help the warm, fuzzy feelings I got at the memories he brought forth. Every good thing in my life was connected to him. Without Preacher, without Daddy, there was only bad.
"You sure are quiet and still for someone I expected to try to escape," Daddy rumbled as he squeezed me tight to his chest.
I shook my head as I leaned forward to nuzzle his chest hair. "No escaping. I don't want to leave you again."
"Good."
"But... we do need to formulate a plan. I'm sure Ricardo knows I'm gone by now. He'll likely freak out first, then if I don't show up soon, he'll call my father to admit I've disappeared. I'd really hate for him to lose his life because of this," I told him.
Daddy sighed, his chest rising and falling in such a deep move that it lifted me as well. "I can understand that, however, I don't have a solution for you. I can have someone contact him to say you're alive and away on business. Maybe he could lay low for a bit so it's not noticeable that you two aren't together."
I thought it over for a minute, wondering if it would be something that could work. Surely, we could convince Ricardo that playing along was worth it if it saved his life. I had no doubt my father would see him not watching over me as a failure that deserved death as the sentencing.
"He should agree. He might want to talk to me though. Or maybe we could send a recorded message?"
"Let me talk to my guy, baby, and we'll see. I can't make promises like that without knowing the logistics," he said as he gave me a quick peck on the nose. "You need to eat again, then we've got to make plans. As much as I'd love to live the rest of our lives in this little bubble, we can't."
I understood what he meant. There was an urge inside of me to live out the fantasy here. That same part of me wanted to pretend I wasn't a Romano and to act as if the past never existed.
But there was a bigger part of me that knew what needed to be done. I had to end my father's reign. I had to change things once and for all.
* * *
After breakfast,we sat at the table together as Preacher made a call. I'd wanted to sit in his lap, but he'd told me no because he "wouldn't be able to focus" if I did. It felt good knowing I had that effect on him. Even if he did tell me no.
"You're already calling? Either you need more help or I'm bailing you out of jail. Which is it?" a deep voice boomed over the call.
Preacher laughed as he shook his head. Gone was the softer Daddy who'd been taking care of me. In his place was the man who'd protected me and worked beside me before. He was ready to get what he needed using whatever force he had to.
