Chapter 11
The knock on my front door had all my nerves going insane all over again. He was here! Did I invite him in? Or grab my bag and rush out?
I smoothed my shirt for the hundredth time, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
Colter stood there, looking entirely too good for my fragile self control. A dark blue button-up, sleeves rolled to his elbows, the faintest hint of smile on his face. He had a small wrapped bouquet of greenery in one hand.
A chuckle slipped out when I noticed what it was.
Doctor Daddy bought me a bouquet of mistletoe!
"Hey, buddy," he said softly, his grin turning sheepish at my giggle. He held out the bunch to me. "I went back and got this from the party venue."
My face split into a grin so big that it hurt my cheeks as I took the mistletoe from him. "You shouldn't have!"
He shrugged in response. "I like your shirt. They're one of my favourites."
"Me too!" I exclaimed excitedly. "You look nice, too."
I sounded like a dork.
He looked nice?
What a freaking understatement. He didn't look nice. He looked downright edible.
Colter's grin widened, his amusement coming through clearly. "Nice, huh?"
Before I could say anything in response, Murphy barreled into the scene, tail wagging so hard his entire back wagged with it. He shoved his nose right into Colter's free hand, whining excitedly.
"Well, hello there, Murph." Colter crouched immediately. He ruffled Murphy's ears and got an enthusiastic lick up his neck for his trouble. "Are you looking forward to having the house all to yourselves tonight? I hope you're not planning a big house party without your dad at home?"
Murphy's response was to give Colter's face another lick, which the handsome doctor accepted good naturedly.
"Murphy," I groaned, torn between embarrassment and laughter.
Colter looked up from his crouch, eyes glinting. "Jealous of all the kisses I'm getting?"
My response? Well, my mature, very serious response was to stick my tongue out at him.
And that's when Doctor Daddy rose to his feet, and stepped in close enough that I could almost feel him against me. "You know," he said, his tone deceptively calm. "If you want to be sticking that thing out like that I might come up with something better to do with it."
My cock perked up.
But brats had to be bratting. "Promises, promises."
Colter's eyes darkened, his mouth twitching. Before he could decide if he wanted to scold me or kiss me senseless, I grabbed Murphy's collar and pulled him back before picking up my bag so we could get going.
"Shall we get going?" I asked, and Colter chuckled before reaching for the doorknob.
"Yes, little one, I need to get you fed."
At the sweet endearment, my cheeks heated, my heart warmed and the butterflies in my tummy took flight.
"You know, I do like the way your cheeks look all flushed. But I have a feeling I'll like the flush on another pair of cheeks even more. Tell me, Jericho, do you know how to be a naughty boy?"
Oh. My. Gawd.
"Who? Me?" I quickly recovered. "I don't have a naughty bone in my body. I promise you'll never get a chance to see my ass reddened."
Colter smirked. "Somehow I don't think that's quite as true as you want it to be. In fact, I think deep down, my little boy would like getting his ass paddled by his Daddy."
My knees went weak and my cock went from a semi to an almost instant aching mess.
He claimed I was trouble? Nuh uh. I was in trouble. So very much.
By the time my door was locked and we made it to Colter's truck, my pulse still hadn't slowed down. Colter opened the passenger door, helping me in with a hand at the small of my back that lingered just long enough to have my heart racing again.
Once he was behind the wheel, he turned toward me, eyes glinting with mischief. "Doing okay over there, buddy?"
"Yes, Daddy," I said before I could stop myself.
The silence that followed was thick. His gaze dropped to my mouth, and for a second I was sure we were about to repeat our parking lot performance from last night. Then he exhaled slowly, smiling a slow dangerous smile that made my stomach twist. "Now buckle up, baby."
And with that, he started the engine.
The drive was easy, filled with pockets of laughter as Colter shared about his day and what the animals got up to. Every time Colter's hand brushed mine a small spark zipped up my arm.
I loved that he didn't rush to fill every silence. And then he asked about my pets and work, and about what kind of food I liked. I told him I wasn't picky, and he made this amused hum that told me he didn't believe me for a second.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll figure out what makes my boy's stomach happy and how to get his veggies in there. I'm a doctor after all." And he winked.
Winked!
Fuckity, fuckity, fuck, fuck. I was in so much trouble.
When we got to Colter's house, he jumped out first, circling around to open my door before I could reach for the handle.
"Thank you," I murmured, my voice sounding scratchy.
He didn't say anything, only took my bag and slung it over his shoulder before helping me out and closing the door behind me.
His house was... cute.
It had a small bungalow-type feel to it, and enough yard to give the illusion of privacy, even if there weren't any real walls between his property and those of the people next door to him.
The stone pathway looked like something you'd find in a fairytale, slowly meandering up to the front door, with patches of moss between the dark grey slate. And to top it all off, he had the most quaint window boxes that were filled with brightly coloured seasonal bulbs.
If anyone had asked me to imagine what Colter's house would look like, this would have never been what I pictured. With his love of animals, I'd low-key expected to end up at a small farmhouse or country cottage. Yet... it still worked. And now that I was here, I kind of never wanted to leave.
"If Murphy and Daisy do okay off leash, we should bring them along next time. There's plenty of space for them."
Colter's words had my gaze zeroing in on him, and I realised he'd been staring at me while I took in his home. "Yeah? You wouldn't mind?"
"I'd love it in fact. I miss having a pet around," he told me, his face turning nostalgic.
"Yeah," I said as I squeezed his hand. "Why is that? I'd think, as a vet you'd have a house filled with fur babies."
He turned to the front door to unlock it as he answered. "Used to have a dog, ironically named Spot, but we had to say goodbye to him about six months ago. I guess I just haven't been ready yet."
His heartache was clear in his tone and I ached to give him a cuddle and make it all better.
"Enough of the doom and gloom, little man," he said to me before I could do anything to turn his frown upside down. "Let's get you settled in, so I can feed you."
"Hmmm," I hummed in response. "And what are you planning on feeding me, Daddy?"