Page 30 of Unfettered

I know what he means. If I want to fall to my knees and let him take everything off my shoulders, he will. If I ask him to hold me as I sleep, he’ll do that too. But the way he stares at me, his gray eyes so bright and full of a love I never expected, even when we became family, bonding over our love of Cole… I see a depth and wealth of understanding in them. He’ll follow my lead, be whatever I need him to be. Friend, lover, dominant…because that’s who he is and what he does… But…will he go for this?

Will he and Marcus accept the confusing, terrifying need rising in me, especially when I don’t understand it myself.

“S…” I try again, only my voice fails me. Tears slip down my cheeks and I close my eyes as I whisper, “Please…Daddy…please, hold me. Love me. Just…don’t let me go.”

“Never.” Keegan presses a kiss to my trembling lips. “I have you, my good Boy. It’s okay. I have you.”

I clutch at him, feeling as if I’m going to fall apart at the seams, but also…freer than I have been in a very long time—if ever. “Please, Daddy.”

“Shhh. On the bed.”

Shakily, I do as instructed, happy to fall back into Keegan—Daddy’s embrace as he follows me. “I… Please…just love me.”

“I do. I love you so fucking much, Carter.” He kisses me again, soft but with enough bite that I can feel he really means it. “You’re such a good Boy. Thank you for trusting me.”

My eyes get heavy, as exhaustion and the riot of emotions swirling through me finally catches up to me. “Thank you for being here…”

“Always, Love. Always.”

He tightens his arms around me, and I give in to the sleep that's pulling at me. Hoping, praying, trusting this isn’t all just a dream, and I really have found someone—a Daddy—who can hold and love me and let me surrender myself to him.

Please let this be real…

Isit up at the sound of the door opening, my eyes widening at the sight of Daddy carrying Roman. I swing my legs to the side, intent on getting to him, but Daddy gestures for me to wait. Impatiently, I bite down on my lower lip, needing Roman next to me, needing to know that he’s alright.

“I’m not tired, though,” Roman drawls sluggishly as Tennant settles him next to me.

Daddy just gives him a look, even though Roman’s eyes are partially closed. “Then you can lay here and snuggle with Lio. I promise, you will be alerted if anything happens with Cristian. But you need to take a break.”

Before Roman can argue further, I pipe up. “It’ll be okay, Roman. I promise, I’ll make sure you don’t sleep through anything. But maybe you could cuddle me for a bit? I’m still a little queasy from that sedative.”

“Of course, I can, Amore Mio,” Roman says, his voice more alert, but he stops fighting Tennant.

He curls up next to me as I lay down again, putting his head on my shoulder. I maneuver my arm so I can wrap it around him, even though I know it’ll go numb eventually. At least this way I can hold him closer and know that he’s safe—and behaving.

Daddy gives me a wink as he pulls the covers over us. For a moment, he just stares before shaking his head ruefully. He brushes a kiss on the tops of both Roman’s and my heads with a wry smile.

“Alright, you two behave. Leashes are not ruled out in the future if you don’t.”

I giggle, my Littlespace close to the surface, but I manage to resist it. I'm too worried about Roman to let my inner submissive take over. As soon as Daddy leaves, I start running my fingers through Roman’s soft hair. He hums and snuggles in closer.

I’m not sure how long we stay like that, but eventually, he breaks the silence. “I’m scared.”

“I know, Love. It’s alright to be scared.”

Taking a deep breath, I nudge him until he’s on his back, and I can prop myself up and look down at him. I flex my hand to get circulation back in the arm he put to sleep, which makes him smile sheepishly. I merely roll my eyes at the expression.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, but I shake my head and resume running my fingers through his hair, unable to resist.

“You don’t need to apologize. I do have a question though…” He tilts his head slightly, waiting me out. “What do you see when you look at the future?”

His sharp inhale pierces my heart, and his panicked look almost does me in. With a shaky voice, he whispers, “I don’t know.”

“Hmm. Close your eyes for me. Let’s try something.”

“Something sexy?” he banters back, and I chuckle quietly.

Dipping down, I capture his mouth, kissing him with everything I have. Pouring out my love, worries, and frustrations. It’s odd, he lures out a side of me I didn’t know I had. The need to protect, and yet the need to challenge, to…fuck, dominate? What. The. Fuck?