Page 141 of Monster Daddies
“You like being taken care of and I like taking care of you. That’s perfectly normal. You need help with making gooddecisions on things like schedules and bedtimes and I will be happy to help. That’s normal too. Most couples have one impulsive person and one planner. We’re very normal.”
He had an interesting definition of normal but I wasn’t going to question it because I wanted my coffee more than I wanted to argue with my sweet Bigfoot about how normal changing my diaper was.
It was kind of funny, though.
He wouldn’t see it that way so I kept my warped sense of humor to myself.
“Sorry.” Focusing on him, I pushed back my own nervousness. “I’m feeling awkward and I didn’t mean it.”
Mostly.
Malik kept petting my neck as he made a soft understanding sound, so I wasn’t surprised when his frustration with me seemed to fade. “I know. But we’re not going to talk like that.”
I managed not to ask him what the consequences would be of disobeying that order, but it was difficult. I didn’t think it was the point to make a spanking joke and I was a bit worried that he’d come up with a creative punishment if I wasn’t careful.
I was never careful but occasionally I made good decisions.
This was one of those points where I needed to make a good decision.
Pushing off the pillows, I rolled over and aimed wide eyes at my frowning Daddy. “Good morning.”
Yes, it was time to ignore awkward and fix the situation.
“Good morning.” A faint smile brushed his lips before he went back to his serious expression. “Looking cute isn’t going to get you out of a lecture and a long discussion.”
It really should because I was adorable when I did it.
“I forgot to give you the grown-up kisses I promised you last night.” He’d been human-looking. Weird. But he was back tolooking normal. Hmm. “Do I need to apologize for not letting you kiss me and the stranger comment?”
That had the smile finally coming back in full force and he shook his head. “No. It was a genuine reaction from you and something you were upset about, so you don’t ever have to apologize for that. A bit of an explanation would be helpful, though.”
Malik shifted so he was resting his head in his hand as he looked down at me, naked chest tempting me even if he seemed to be wearing sleep pants of some sort. “It had something to do with my outside not matching my aura any longer?”
Okay, so he’d figured that out.
“Yes.” Taking a deep breath, I ignored the soggy diaper and focused on Malik. “I don’t have the right vocabulary to explain it because I’ve never run into it before, but basically it was like your aura was being shoved into the wrong container and it was… I just couldn’t make it feel right.”
Nodding slowly, Malik took a moment to think. “When you meet shifters does the same thing happen?”
“No.” Good question, though. “I think that was part of what surprised me? It’s not a shifter thing.”
Depending on the type of shifter there could be differences but whatever Malik had done wasn’t a true shift. “You said it’s some kind of evolutionary thing? That’s amazing but maybe a warning next time something like that comes up?”
Looking sheepish, Malik kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry about that. I thought it would be a silly surprise. I didn’t think about matching or how it could come across.”
“It’s okay.” Giving him a quick peck made him smile again. “Should I count that as your grown-up kiss?”
Pretending to growl at me, he leaned down so his forehead was resting on mine. “What do you think?”
That he was sexy.
“That I’m glad you’re the beast and not the prince?” The silly answer made him laugh so hard he flopped back on the bed. “It wasn’t that funny.”
Shaking his head, he got himself under control. “That was just literally what I was thinking last night. The look on your face was like Belle’s in the movie when she realized it was a magic bait and switch and she had the human guy.”
Okay, maybe it had been that funny.
“I wouldn’t have said it out loud if you’d been stuck that way.” The prince guy couldn’t help getting uglier in the end. “But I’m glad you’re not stuck.”
