Page 8 of Love Me, Daddy
Helping Nathan into the low seats was not easy, but they managed without too many problems. Shutting the door, Loren hustled around to the other side and got in. He reached across Nathan to grab the seatbelt and buckled him in, aware of the scrutiny his new roommate gave him. After Loren buckled his own, he repeated his address to the driver, not because the driver didn’t know where they were going, but because it gave his address to Nathan without fanfare in case he wanted to let anyone know where he was.
Speaking of, “Do you need to let anyone know where you are?” Loren eyed Nathan, watching him swallow and move his gaze to the passing scenery.
“No,” he answered softly.
“What about your friends?”
“There’s no way to contact them without going to see them.”
“Nathan.” He waited until Nathan peered at him. “Do you want to go and tell your friends where you are going to be?”
The only noise in the taxi was the sound of the radio playing softly from the front and the noise of the car on the road. Loren roamed his gaze across Nathan’s face as he waited for his answer.
“No.”
Loren nodded once and turned to his window, fighting to keep his hands where they were instead of reaching for Nathan.
They arrived at Loren’s house quickly; he didn’t live far from where he’d found Nathan. Loren paid for the taxi and helped Nathan down the path to his front door, opening it one-handed and holding tight to him as they crossed the threshold. He kicked the door closed behind them and guided Nathan to the stairs, switching lights on as they went.
“Let’s take this slow. I don’t want your head to hurt more. We’ll get you situated in the spare room, and then we’ll sort out your head.”
Nathan made an acknowledging noise in the back of his throat as he stared at the floor, and Loren concentrated on their destination instead of the red tinges he saw twining through Nathan’s strands of lighter-than-expected hair as it fell across his face.
Loren opened the bedroom door, flicking the light and helped Nathan across to the armchair. “Right. Sit here for a few minutes while I get some things sorted.” He watched as Nathan rested back, his head naturally falling to one side with his eyes closed. “No falling asleep on me, Nathan,” he said sternly.
Nathan’s eyes flew open, his gaze finding Loren’s immediately. An expression crossed his face, which Loren couldn’t decipher, but he sat more upright in the chair. Loren nodded and exited the bedroom for the main bathroom, where he kept a first aid kit and pain relief. Grabbing both, he stalked back to the spare room, finding Nathan in the same position as he left him.Good boy.
Loren cleared his throat at the thought and busied himself with sorting through the kit, finding the items he needed to clean the cut. He turned to the young man and, after a brief hesitation, kneeled at his feet, watching as Nathan’s eyes flared wide and a flush crept back into his cheeks.
“I need to clean the cut,” Loren whispered, not wanting to break the haze of…whatever this was.
Nathan nodded but didn’t move.
Taking the nod as agreement, Loren lifted his hand to grip Nathan’s chin between his thumb and finger. The first proper feel of Nathan’s skin under Loren’s fingertips had his breath catching; it was soft and cool, although beginning to warm now that they were inside. He dabbed at the cut, apologising when Nathan hissed and pulled away, but cleaned it out properly. It wasn’t as deep as he first thought, but the developing bruise was not going to look pretty on such an unblemished face.
“There you go. It’s not as deep as I first thought, but it’s going to hurt like hell in the morning, I reckon.” Loren stood and reached for the paracetamol, passing over a cup of water he’d also retrieved.
Watching as Nathan took the pain relief, Loren’s heart swelled with the unexpected submission.
“Thank you.” Nathan’s voice was quiet, and Loren hoped he was not having second thoughts.
“You’re welcome. I haven’t put a bandage on it yet because I wondered if you’d want to wash up a bit before we get your settled into bed?” Loren busied himself with clearing up the contents of the first aid kit, not wanting to hover, even though it went against his instincts.
“Yes, please. I don’t…” Nathan stopped, which had Loren glancing at him, eyebrows raised.
When he didn’t continue, Loren asked, “You don’t, what?” Loren watched as Nathan fiddled with his jacket, studying the floor. “Nathan.” Brown eyes flicked up to his immediately, and Loren felt a sense of satisfaction flow through him. He waited.
Nathan swallowed. “I don’t have any other clothes,” he muttered.
Possessiveness went through Loren. “You get yourself cleaned up, and I’ll grab you something to wear. Take a shower if you want one. There is a seat in there you can take into the shower with you.” Loren headed to the door, indicating Nathan should follow, although keeping an eye on him to ensure he was steady.
Nathan nodded, feet shuffling towards him. Loren showed him the bathroom and left him to it. He strode to his bedroom and picked out some joggers, boxers and a t-shirt. He took some time and sat on his bed to get his thoughts in order.
Loren rubbed both hands over his face, resting his elbows on his thighs, before dropping his hands. He would admit he was attracted to Nathan. He ticked all the boxes of what Loren wanted from a boy, but there was no way Loren would ever approach him about it. He’d told Nathan he wouldn’t expect benefits from this arrangement, and he would stick to it, regardless of how much he wanted to take Nathan down to the mattress and show him exactly what Daddy could do for him.
Pressing against his semi-hard shaft, trying to calm it, Loren took a few breaths. Once he was less aroused, he picked up the clothes and wandered down the hallway. He heard the shower running and left the clothes on a stool outside the door and headed to the kitchen to make something to eat.
Chapter 5
