Page 20 of Merry Little Christmas
“That sounds great,” I admitted. Not that Iwantedany space from Cole, but I did need to clear my head, and I couldn’t do that with him within touching distance.
Curling a hand around my throat, Cole redirected my attention to him but before I could ask what he wanted, soft, plush lipspressed against mine. I hummed, losing myself in the rough scratch of his beard and the constriction on my neck.
“Christ, now I have to deal with the two of you making out all the time…” Jesse’s grumbles disappeared with him as he left the room.
“Get back here and I’ll show you other things couples do!” Cole called after him, immediately spearing his tongue into my mouth.
“Be careful,” I whispered when I came up for air. I licked my lips, trying to savor every taste of him that I could.
“I will. Why don’t I run you a bath before I leave?”
At that, Little Peyton perked up. My pacifier still sat tucked beneath Cole’s pillow. The edges of my consciousness blurred, my brain dying to let go. “Can Daddy do that for me tonight?” I whispered. Jesse’s resulting groan meant that he’d hopefully learned his lesson about eavesdropping.
Cole smiled against my mouth, stubble grazing my skin in the way I loved. “Of course he can.”
Another passionate kiss, one long enough to kick my libido into gear, and Cole slipped from behind me. Relieved that things had gone better than I expected, I settled on the couch and cued upThe Polar Expressfor the hundredth time.
I must have dozedoff because when I woke up, my legs were in Cole’s lap and Netflix was asking me if I was still watching. “Hey sleepyhead,” he cooed.
“Wasn’t sleep,” I mumbled, scrubbing my eyes.
“Oh? That snoring must have been the monster in the walls then.”
I nudged him in the stomach. “How bad is it?”
“We don’t have to talk about that right now. If I remember right, I promised you a bath.”
There went that fuzzy feeling again. Comfortable, and trusting Cole with my whole heart, I leaned into it this time. “With bubbles?”
Cole balked, as if that was the most ridiculous question he’d ever heard. “Of course there are bubbles! What kind of Daddy would I be if I didn’t give you bubbles?” I giggled, and Cole tapped my legs to make me move.
Happily, I allowed Cole to take my hand and lead me to his bathroom.
Chapter Fourteen
Cole
Peyton madean easy transition into their Little space, proving to me how comfortable they were in my home—in my heart.
I helped them undo their pants, sliding them and their underwear off their legs. While they used the bathroom, I ran the water in the tub, making sure to be generous with the bottle of their favorite lavender bubble bath.
They happily let me remove their shirt when prompted, but then I paused. Their binder was a delicate situation, one that we hadn’t entirely addressed yet. Sure, they let me touch them during sex, but this was different. Though, while I was drumming up a delicate way to approach the situation, they raised their arms and—without being asked—muttered, “Green.”
I searched their features for any sign of discomfort. I didn’t find one, outside of the slight shiver from the cold. There was only one emotion painted across those sparkling brown eyes: trust. “Okay, then,” I said with a smile. With some help from them, I peeled off the constricting garment and tossed it aside with the rest of their clothes.
“Ready?”
Peyton nodded, and let me help them into the tub. As they settled into the steaming water, I reached for the secret weapon I had under the sink: bath toys. “You want some of these?”
Peyton nodded emphatically, making grabby hands at the basket. “Thank you, Daddy.”
The toys fell into the water with an aggressive splash, and I pretended to have done it on purpose. Hearing Peyton call me Daddy during sex was one thing, but hearing them use it in Little space was a connection that I didn’t know I needed. Trying to hide how much it affected me, I lowered myself to the floor to watch while they played.
The list of things to do before we went home for Christmas was piling up, but all of it faded away as I watched my Little splash around in the bath like they didn’t have a care in the world.
MyLittle—I liked the sound of that.
I wasn’t even bothered once water began to cover the floor. Peyton looked so happy that I’d let them trash the whole house if they asked. “How did you manage to make a mess so fast?” I asked, returning a toy boat that had crashed over the side—the morbid little shit had called it a shipwreck.
