Page 88 of Wrestling with Daddy
Sadly, Ken was forced to reconcile himself with that fact. The talk with Lee was still too recent, and Ken was losing every argument against the idea the man had put into his head: that brat taming was one of his core kinks, always had been. Lee joked that he didn’t understand how, but brats were what did it for Ken.
With Nathan before him, smiling victoriously—as if he’d actually won anything—Ken couldn’t lie to himself. There was an appeal in that bravado, in the fun games and the teasing and the wrestling for power. In having a boy keep him on his toes.
“Maybe I do.”
“Only maybe?”
“Brat,” Ken chuckled, pinching the skin above his hip. “Now, I’m not going to ask again. What do you want?”
Nathan’s breath shortened, pupils dilating slightly. “Have you had time to think about what you said?”
“What would that be, brat?”
Ken was certain he knew what Nathan was talking about, but there was nothing wrong with making him sweat it out a bit.
“About the rules or things so we… worked out?” He chewed on his lip before Ken was on the receiving end of the biggest puppy eyes in written history. “I really want that, you know? I don’t know that I deserve it. and I’m struggling with that but I’m… letting you know. Where I stand and all that.”
Ken’s eyes closed.
He knew that must’ve been a big deal for the boy. He could’ve done without the self-deprecation in the middle, but it was still a far cry from the pulling away and lashing out from earlier.
“I have.” He nodded. He’d had time for lots of things while the pups had been playing as if nothing else existed in the office. “Do you want to talk about it now?”
“Please, D-S-Sir.”
“First things first…” Ken inhaled. The boy didn’t know it, but he’d given him the perfect opening as he finished getting him naked, eyes assessing the cock at half mast in front of him. “When we were starting and feeling each other out, I didn’t mind you alternating between honorifics, but from now on, I’m only Daddy. Even if I’m more stern or I’m making you cry with a flogger, I want you to always carry the comfort Daddy provides with you.”
“O-okay.” Nathan nodded, arms wrapped around the knees he’d pulled to his chest. “Thank you, Daddy.”
The honorific made Ken sigh with relief. It felt… right to have his boy’s trust, the responsibility to do good by and take care of him.
“I want you to have scheduled check-in times with me,” Ken continued. The idea had been forming ever since he’d started to see how much the boy bottled up. “I want to give you chances to get things off your chest before you blow up. And yes, you can have fun with it so long as you are checking in.”
Nathan scrunched up his nose, eyes darting to the side. It took a few seconds until he deflated and nodded. “What if I annoy you too much because I’m being silly?”
“We’ll reconsider, then.” Ken didn’t think that would happen, though. One thing he’d gotten to see—through Nathan’s words and, more importantly, actions, was that unlike other unnamed brats, for as much as he liked pushing the lines and teasing boundaries, he thrived on being good and pleasing his Dom. “But I trust you’ll be taking it seriously.”
“I’ll try, Daddy.”
“I know you will, baby boy.” Ken ran a hand through his cheek as he spoke, peppering a few kisses along his nose. “I don’t want you engaging in any kinky group activities without me, either.”
“What?”
His hackles up again, Ken grabbed both wrists quickly, pushing him until Nathan was lying on his back, arms above his head.
“It would be temporary, but you didn’t tell me when you were in over your head, and you’ve already seen how not doing that can hurt others. This time it was Ash and Lee, but what if it had been someone just as scared of playing in public, and they have no one to reassure them they did nothing wrong?”
A frown marred Nathan’s face. Ken had been counting on it, but him not accepting this, not showing responsibility for his misgivings, was going to be a dealbreaker.
“What about when I’m in Sacramento?” He swallowed. “I can’t go to the club then?”
Ken gave him a pointed look. “You mean the club where you’ve dropped and not told the Dom in charge of you? The one where you’ve been dismissed and hurt by Doms who didn’t like pups in their midst? Or the one where you don’t get along with the other brats?”
Nathan groaned. “It’s still a cool place.”
“I don’t disagree.” Ken pressed his wrists deeper into the mattress. “But if we’re moving forward with this, I’m your Daddy, and you become my responsibility. That means, I’m responsible for you both not getting hurt and not hurting others, brat.”
Those seemed to be the magic words. Nathan’s eyes pooled with tears he blinked away just as quickly. “No one’s said that to me before.”
