Page 30 of Absinthe Dreams
I laugh loudly, shaking my head. "So…what I'm hearing is that you're still afraid of little dogs because Aunt Luna's Yorkie was mean to you when you were little."
"Mean to me?" He cocks a brow at me, holding the kitchen door open for me to pass through. "Peter chased me around like he was trying to murder me."
"That's your own fault," I remind him, stepping out onto the porch. "You were the one who used to mess with Arwen all the time. He was protective of her." Aunt Luna's Yorkie was always a savage in a tiny body, especially when it came to Arwen. She and Trystan were always really close…which meant Trystan annoyed the hell out of her just because he could. Peter hated it.
"She started it," he grumbles like a petulant child, pulling the door closed behind him. "She put a fake snake in my bed. And then actual frogs. And then there was that time with the spiders." He shivers like the reminder still gives him the creeps. "It's not my fault that I had to fight fire with fire."
"You loved it," I tease him, which earns me a big grin in response. Trystan has always had a soft spot for Arwen. Honestly, he's always been protective of all his cousins, but he and Arwen were closest.
"Yeah, I did," he says, his expression soft. "She was a little asshole, but she was my favorite little asshole."
I laugh softly, jogging down the steps. Only to roll my eyes when I get to the bottom and see him watching me like a hawk. "See? I'm fine,Daddy."
His eyes darken as he stalks toward me with Thanos at his side. "What'd you just call me?"
"Daddy." I shrug. "If you're going to act like my dad, might as well give you the title, right?"
He stops right in front of me, wrapping one arm around my waist to yank me up against his chest. His breath blows across my cheek before his lips land against my ear. "Call me that next time I'm inside you, fucking you so hard you can't breathe, princess. See what happens."
I moan, my core clenching in a way that should be criminal.
He bites the side of my throat and then steps back with a wicked chuckle, like he knows exactly what he just did to me. Before I can even say anything or regain my equilibrium, he's sauntering toward the front gate.
"You coming?" he calls over his shoulder.
Not yet, I want to say.
"Yep," I mumble instead.
Before he unlatches the gate, he peers toward Ms. Lena's house, looking for Tom. I bite my lip, fighting laughter. Who knew someone his size could be so nervous about upsetting one little Chihuahua? I'm not entirely sure it's fear, either. It's more like he just really doesn't want to ruffle Tom's feathers.
Tom's fluffy white head appears in the front window as soon as Trystan unlatches the gate. He locks eyes with Trystan, his entire body vibrating like he's ready to lose his tiny mind. And then he sees me standing beside him.
"What the fuck?" Trystan mumbles, his tone rife with accusation, when Tom immediately sits down without a single complaint. He looks at me, eyes narrowed. "He takes one look at me and turns into fucking Cujo. But he sees you and suddenly goes from Cujo to kitten?"
"He likes me." I pat him on the chest as I sail past him through the gate. "Don't worry, big guy. I won't let him eat you."
"Fucking Chihuahuas," he grumbles under his breath before latching the gate.
I watch in amusement as we pass Ms. Lena's house, and he keeps one watchful eye on the dog in the window. The dog in the window keeps one watchful eye on him, too. But he doesn't come rushing out or bark.
"Maybe I should bring treats for him," Trystan muses.
"You like him," I accuse softly.
"What? No." He nods at the house. "But surely that's healthier for him and Thanos than him having a damn aneurysm every time he sees me."
"You like him."
Trystan grunts in response, but I see the tiny smile dancing at his lips.
Thanos pads along at his side, stopping occasionally to sniff a tuft of grass or a bed of flowers, but he stays on the sidewalk.
"So, you have a Daddy kink," I murmur when we're halfway there. "What other interesting things don't I know about you?"
"A Daddy kink? What the fuck is that?"
I stop walking to gape at him. "You don't know what a Daddy kink is?"
