Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Alton
“Is Little Roo hiding as a game or is big Alton nervous?” The whispered, very Daddy question had me burrowing deeper under the pillows on Malik’s bed.
His very big bed.
I remembered him explaining that he had a big bed but it could’ve probably held an entire family with room for them all to stretch out.
“I’m never big.” I was sometimes a grown-up and sometimes an adult. “I’m fine.”
I was just wondering what I’d been thinking when I’d basically demanded to sleep in his bed.
In my jammies and my diaper.
My wet diaper.
Yep, I was fine even though I’d used it before my brain had woken up enough to realize that might not have been a great plan.
“You’re never going to be tall, but I like that, so I’m not using big in that context.” My sigh had him trying to cover laughter. “But thank you for answering my question.”
He was entirely too happy first thing in the morning.
“Your good mood means I didn’t stomp all over your boundaries, right?” I was hoping that was what it meant. “Do you need an apology? I remember being… bossy.”
That had him coughing in a terrible attempt to hide his delight.
Ugh.
“No.” When he finally got control of himself, he eased a pillow off my head, but that was okay because I had at least two more.
Daddy liked pillows.
“You were bossy but it was cute, and I was very glad you made what you wanted clear.” One large hand slipped under the pillow mountain I was trying to keep in place and he ran a finger around my ear. “I didn’t want to accidentally read the situation wrong and influence you.”
“I could probably be bribed with dessert but not influenced outside of that.” Dessert was hard to resist. “So we’re good.”
I was just slightly embarrassed.
It’d been a very long time since I’d woken up with a Daddy and in a diaper… and even longer where he didn’t seem to be chasing me out of his apartment before I’d even had coffee.
“Can you be bribed with coffee or tea?” Malik was clearly a mind reader and chuckled when I groaned. “I think that’s a yes. Are you going to surprise me by drinking it black and strong, or are you going to prove my guess right and ask me what kind of flavored creamers and syrups I have?”
Syrups?
“Do you have peppermint?” That’d help me to function. “And chocolate?”
“Chocolate peppermint, huh?” The thick pads of his fingers gently trailed down my neck, getting a shiver from me. He pretended not to notice, though. “You’re in luck. I can do that.”
As thoughts of coffee hit me, he decided to continue fucking with me. “I can do a lot of things for you.”
“I think I found your only flaw… you’re a morning person.” That was a terrible red flag but I was glad I’d finally found it. “How long have you been up?”
His bark of laughter made me want to grab my third pillow again. “An hour. You were exhausted last night and needed a bit more sleep to catch up.”
I was definitely feeling more awake, but I wasn’t sure telling him that would be a good decision. He’d get ideas about bedtimes and sleep schedules if I wasn’t careful. “Can I have whipped cream on my coffee?”
His groan said I was going to have to work on that one. “No.”
It was a good try.
“But for kisses I’ll get you cleaned up and then make you a chocolate peppermint coffee. I might even be talked into bringing it back to the bed if you still need to hide.” His cheerful tone said he was one of those weird morning people I’d always heard about but had never met.
“So we’re just going to pretend the cleaning me up thing is normal and move on from there? And the fact that I invited myself to sleep in your bed? Oh, and that I made you tuck Bouncy into the other bed last night?” I probably could’ve kept going but his frustrated grunt stopped me.
The in-no-way human sound was kind of sexy but I didn’t like what came after it.
“No.” Before I could start to worry, though, he continued with a stern tone I hadn’t heard from him before. “It’s not pretending to be normal, it is normal.”
I wasn’t sure what response to give to make things better but the silence didn’t help because it pushed him to keep lecturing.
“You like being taken care of and I like taking care of you. That’s perfectly normal. You need help with making good decisions 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 to looking 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.”
I’d get used to it but it was wrong.
Still snickering, Malik rolled back over, wrapping me up against his fuzzy chest. When I couldn’t resist snuggling against him, he chuckled again. “I’m very glad you don’t mind the hair.”
“I love the hair.” It made him warm and soft and almost tickled. “I’ve never been attracted to guys that look like me, so don’t ever think I’m settling for you.”
I just hadn’t thought to go looking for someone like him… and running into him in a city was a one in a billion chance.
Fuck… running into him in the woods probably had the same odds.
“Don’t ever think I’m settling for you either.” Malik kissed my head again before easing back and pushing the covers down. “Not when I’m giving you a bath or changing your diaper or spanking that cute bottom like I think you want.”
Out of everything, that was what had my face heating up and he chuckled again. “Yes, we need to go over your limits list today.”
That was probably a good idea.
“Yours too.” He hadn’t mentioned anything that’d surprised me… well, outside of the looking like he was human… but there were going to be things we had to compromise on. “I want to know what you like.”
He raised one eyebrow as he eased down my jammie pants. “Taking care of you.”
Duh.
That wasn’t always easy, unfortunately, so I might’ve covered my face as he started taking off my diaper. “I’m going to try to accept that but I’m going to get squirmy when I’m a grown-up doing some stuff.”
Malik made an understanding hum and I heard him reach over to the nightstand for something. “But my Little Roo doesn’t seem to have any reservations about things like that. He’s very… practical.”
“And opinionated.” We’d already gone over that but it made him chuckle again. “But yeah, that side of me doesn’t get embarrassed over diapers or anything like that. I don’t know why.”
Maybe a tiny bit concerned to begin with but that was it.
“He’s your confident side that isn’t worried about saying what he thinks or asking for what he wants, whether that’s attention, more cookies, or to go to the bathroom.
” Malik’s matter-of-fact tone had some of my nervousness fading, but the air that suddenly rushed over my dick and the cold wipe that touched me fixed the rest.
He laughed as I squeaked and wiggled, embarrassed that time because of the cold shrinkage issue. “My poor baby.”
Bad Dom.
Naughty.
But before I could decide how dramatic I was going to be, the diaper was gone and I was naked from the waist down.
Hmm.
Maybe the shrinkage issue wouldn’t be a problem for long.
“Can I say you’re my sexy boy without you getting more embarrassed again?” His teasing tone made me groan and I pulled a pillow over my head again.
“Yes.” I was dramatic but I wanted him to like me. “You could’ve told me I was cute or had a nice penis last night and I wouldn’t have been upset. I’d have probably thanked you and kissed your cheek and then moved on to bubbles or something silly.”
Little me wasn’t interested in sexy times, but I liked knowing my Daddy liked me no matter what way he showed it.
“That’s good to know.” Malik patted the pillow like it was my head. “You are very cute and very sexy.”
I liked the compliments.
My dick liked the compliments.
But it made Malik sigh. “But you’re sending me mixed signals, naughty boy. I don’t know if I can touch you or if I need to back off and put clothes on you or back off and let you get dressed.”
Being a good grown-up was hard.
“I don’t even have your list yet or an understanding of your limits so I know when I can take over in situations like this.” That bit of truth got frustrated huffs from both of us. “So?”
So I was going to have to be functional and I didn’t appreciate it.
“Um, you can touch me if you want to? I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to, though.” That would be bad. “And… and I use stoplight colors and I will use them if I need to. But you… you can push me when I’m dramatic just not when I’m angry. You’ll see the difference.”
I wasn’t really subtle when it came to most things.
“That’s a good start.” It was a good enough start that one hand stroked over my chest, getting a shiver from me. “Let’s think about what other information would be good to know.”
Ugh.
He really was entirely too awake in the morning.