Chapter 24 #3
“All his life from childhood to the priesthood, he’s always come in second place. And he feels that me loving Isabella is like a competition.”
I visualized Mamma shaking her head furiously when she said, “That’s not right. You don’t love a partner less with a child. And oftentimes, the bond between parents is strengthened.”
“That’s where my plan comes in, Mamma. I suggested to Jude that since you have Isabella starting tomorrow and Gabby won’t be staying there…”
“You want Jude to spend time with Isabella in a home setting,” Mamma filled in for me. “And”—she continued and I just knew that her brain was working overtime— “just maybe I’ll need help with bottle feeding when I’m cooking or having to run a quick errand.”
“I knew you’d catch on. But would it be too much trouble having Isabella and a houseguest?”
“Not in the least, figlio. May I ask why he took off?”
“For the same reason I explained before. He told me that when Gabby handed the baby over to me and he saw the instant love on my face, he couldn’t bear hearing me telling Gabby that I would adopt her, knowing that he didn’t want a family.
As an aside Mamma, Gabby needs to stop railroading me.
She sent a text to Jude attempting to explain, but it was weak. ”
“I know, I know,” Mamma agreed. “Psychologically, bearing a child and raising one is not for her. She’s been a different person ever since she got pregnant. I wish I’d have seen Jude leave but we were so engrossed with the baby.”
“Mamma, I need your opinion on something. I’m the first man that Jude’s ever been with.
I’m worried that part of him running away is he could find another man who’ll fall in love with him and make him top priority in their world.
When I asked him, he denied wanting anyone else.
But I thought maybe you could bring the subject up to him.
You don’t have to tell me anything, but I would rather him leave me and Isabella now than a year from now.
Plus, the fact that I’ll be living in Italy for six months and can’t even think about that now. ”
“Figlio, tackle one thing at a time, si?”
“Si, Mamma. All right; I have to get back to Jude. I came down to my truck to talk. You’re sure about him staying?”
“Si, and I’ll text when Gabby has left. She’s experiencing postpartum depression and she’s not in a good mood.”
“That works. Grazie, Mamma.”
“Ciao, Ethan.”
When I returned to Jude’s room, I smiled when I saw him sitting on the bed with his hand on the strap to his duffle bag, ready to go.
“Are you in a rush to get out of this room or to be rimmed for an hour before I fuck you?”
I pulled him up, chest to chest, our cocks gliding against each other under the fabric of our jeans. “Where are we staying?” I asked, our mouths so close we shared warm, breathy pants.
“The SpringHill Suites, four stars with a king-sized bed, no jacuzzi in the room but a rooftop pool overlooking the ocean, with a spa.”
“I can work with all of the above,” I said and palmed his ass cheeks with both hands.
“Is everything good at work?”
“Yeah,” I answered dismissively, massaging the round globes, the motion not giving me the satisfaction I needed with the clothes a barrier between my hands and his skin. “Can we get out of here now?”
I grabbed Jude’s duffle and hand in hand, our fingers entwined, we walked to his car.
I tossed his bag in the back seat, then captured his mouth in a messy kiss, a hint of what was coming.
Regrettably pulling my lips from his, I glanced across the highway and saw the sprawling SpringHill hotel. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
“Okay,” he said.
My truck happened to be parked only three cars away.
I got in, started the engine, and drove out of the parking lot behind Jude.
I was curious why he hadn’t called me Daddy yet.
He said in his text yesterday that he didn’t think he was deserving, but I thought now that we’d made up, he would’ve gone back to the endearment automatically.
Unless he found it weird, since Isabella would be calling me papa, which was close enough in meaning to a daddy.
I intended to bring it up in case his reluctance was a by-product of another issue.
In the parking lot of our new accommodations, we found spaces next to each other. “Jude,” I asked, “do you need me to take anything out of the trunk?”
“No, I’m good with what’s in the duffle but how about you? I can pull out a pair of sweats from my luggage for tomorrow.”
“Nah, I’m good.” I closed the trunk and taking his hand again, we strode inside to the reservation desk, probably looking like any other loving couple.
The woman at the desk glanced between us as Jude took care of checking us in.
I assumed she was assessing wrongly that we were a biracial couple.
Jude and I were a stark contrast of light and dark and the only clues that I wasn’t Black were my eye color and my hair, which was soft and wavy.
When it came time to pay for the room, I blocked Jude’s hand from using his credit card. “My treat,” I insisted and hovered my card over the tap-to-pay machine until the green lights came on.
“Why are you paying when it’s because of me you had to drive down here?” Jude’s voice was sullen and flooded with guilt.
Walking to the elevator, I said, “I was actually thinking that in one year, I never took you anywhere. We went for day trips and that was it. So, I’d like to fix my negligence starting now. Consider my treat an early Valentine’s Day gift.”
Jude giggled and kissed my hand. “That’s right, it’s tomorrow, isn’t it? That was Gabby’s original due date.”
In the elevator, I pressed for our floor and dropped his duffle. Backing him up to the wall, I asked, “Did you think you’d be gone and wouldn’t celebrate?”
His eyes fluttered closed for a moment. “I think I did.”
“Is that why you won’t call me Daddy? Or did you decide you didn’t like it anymore?”
“I wasn’t sure if I should wait until we see how I react to Isabella,” he confessed.
I outlined his full lips, running my tongue back and forth, then dragging it across his chin and down his neck making his eyes grow heavy-lidded. He gasped, begging for more. “Say it, baby.”
“I-I…” Jude stammered.
Rolling my hips over his cock, I ordered him, my tone signaling my mood change from casual to dominant.
“Whether you stay with me or not, I will always consider myself your Dom and your Daddy. And until the day you call an end to our relationship in a respectful manner, which does not include running away and worrying the fuck out of everyone, you are still my submissive. Is that correct?”
He nodded, the stubborn brat still not referring to me as Daddy.
The elevator thudded to a halt and I immediately pressed the button to keep the doors closed. With my free hand, I twisted his nipple hard enough to make him jerk under the pressure. I growled, “Say it. Now.”
“Daddy.”
I twisted his nipple again and his body jerked, needing more.
“What do you tell Daddy for Valentine’s Day?”
“I love you, Daddy.”
My voice soft, I whispered against his mouth. “I love you with all my heart, baby. And if you stay, I’ll make sure you know every fucking day what you mean to me.”
I pressed the button to open the doors, only to find an older couple with curious looks on their faces. “There seemed to be a glitch,” I explained.
Jude picked up his duffle. “I wonder if he ever twisted her nipple in an elevator?”
“He missed out if he never did,” I said, smirking.
Jude checked the room numbers, and we turned a corner. “The end of the hall.”
Before he opened the door, I needed him to know. “Seriously Jude, not calling me Daddy will not change our dynamic. I just wanted to remind you what you are to me. You can choose something else.”
“No, Daddy, I’m just freaking that Isabella is here. And I’m not sure what to do with that yet.”
Plucking the key card from his hand, I unlocked the door and pushed it open for him. Following, I walked up behind him while he gazed out over the ocean and snaked my arms around his waist. “Nice view,” I said. “But I slept like shit last night with half my bed cold.”
Jude pivoted around slowly within the circle of my embrace and when he parted his mouth to speak, I had the feeling he was going to apologize again.
I pressed two fingers against his lips. “I didn’t bring it up for an apology.
What I should’ve said is, I’m horny, baby.
And all I want is to put everything on hold for a few hours. ”
“What do you need from me, Daddy?”
“Everything you have to give, baby. Start by undressing for me.”
He began unbuckling his belt and I backed up to the wing chair and dropped down. I watched intently, observing his long fingers unfastening it and then pulling the leather through the loops in slow motion.
At the same time, I unbuckled my belt, unsnapped the button on my jeans, and dragged down my zipper. My cock was hard watching Jude reveal his creamy skin. I tugged the stiff length from the opening in my briefs and gave it a pull for every time Jude tossed another piece of clothing aside.
He toed off his Vans and shimmied out of his slim jeans. The black jeans were my favorite the way they hugged his tight ass and showed off his long legs. When he was naked, he took a standing submissive pose. “Look at me, baby. Let me see your soulful eyes.”
When he lifted his face, he took my breath away—his long lashes, the subtle hint of insecurity in the pools of brown. I held my cock at the root with one hand and swiped the pre-cum from my slit with the other. “Come here tesoro and kneel between my legs.”