Chapter 16
What the fuck was I supposed to do now?
I had a fresh bandage wrapped around my thigh, a decent payday coming thanks to the asshole currently cooling his heels in a jail cell, and an even bigger bonus because Alfie had somehow managed to incapacitate two kidnappers with nothing but spite, determination, and what I strongly suspected had been an overwhelming need to find a bathroom.
I'd tried to give him a cut of the reward money.
He'd refused.
Apparently because, and I quote, "My Daddy handles the money in this relationship."
Which brought me to the bigger problem.
The relationship I was apparently in.
Because despite my repeated objections, my attempts to leave, my emotional constipation, and what could only be described as an impressive commitment to self-sabotage, one very stubborn hitchhiker seemed to have decided the matter was settled.
Said hitchhiker was currently backing my truck into a parking space outside a mid-range motel while I sat in the passenger seat questioning every life choice I'd ever made.
He'd confiscated my keys after the emergency room visit.
Confiscated.
Apparently all it took was one nurse casually mentioning that I probably shouldn't be driving with a fresh gunshot wound for Alfie to appoint himself my full-time caretaker.
The truck rocked slightly as he threw it into park.
Then he turned toward me with entirely too much satisfaction. "Well, come on, Daddy."
I immediately knew I wasn't going to like whatever came next.
"You're gonna have to get that sexy ass of yours into the motel room under your own power, because there is absolutely no way I'm carrying you." He paused thoughtfully. "Which is honestly tragic."
I closed my eyes.
“No hear me out,” he rushed to say before I could even think of uttering a single word. “My superhero fantasies have always involved me being dramatically rescued and lovingly cared for. Not the other way around.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I wondered if kissing him would shut him up? Or would that only encourage him?
“So if you could heal up quickly, that would be great. Otherwise, I might get confused about my role in this relationship.”
My eyes opened slowly. There it was. That word again. And every time he said it, it sounded less ridiculous.
I turned to look at him, ready for another smug or salacious comment. Instead, I found him biting his lip and pretending not to watch me from the corner of his eye as he focused on the steering wheel in front of him.
Oh.
The boy wasn’t as confident as he liked to pretend. And that… that right there was exactly the damn straw that broke the stubborn asshole’s heart.
“I’ll do my best, baby,” I grunted before reaching for the door handle so I could slip out the seat. Before I could even put a foot out the door I had two arms wrapped tight around my neck and a sniffing hitchhiker hiding his face.
“You’re gonna stop fighting me?” he mumbled after a while. “Really?”
"I have a feeling that if I didn’t, I might end up tied to a bed until I succumbed to some kind of Stockholm syndrome situation.”
Alfie burst out laughing at my response and pulled away from me. “Again. I think you have our roles confused. If anyone is getting tied up, it’s gonna be me.”
My cock instantly hardened at the thought of Alfie’s sexy, naked body, displayed on the bed for me, with his arms and legs tied. My sexy brat at my mercy. “That can be arranged,” I grunted.
His smile lit up the cab of the truck as he gave me a nudge out the door. “Room. Now. You might not be able to tie me up and do wicked things to me with that hole in your leg, but I have a different kind of hole that you can fill, and we can do that just fine with me riding you.”
Fucking hell.
How did he expect me to get anything done if I had no blood going to my brain?
Alfie was already halfway to the room by the time I managed to get myself out of the truck and hobble after him.
The brat glanced back once, tossing me a wink as he juggled my duffel and a crumpled bag of takeout in his arms. The walk from the lot to our assigned door felt longer than it was, pain radiating down my whole leg, but nothing I couldn’t power through.
Especially not with the way Alfie glanced over his shoulder every few seconds, as if making sure I hadn’t disappeared.
He shoved the door open, scampered in ahead of me, and did a dramatic spread-eagle collapse on the lone king bed that took up most of the room.
“Oh my gosh, I could marry this mattress,” he groaned into the comforter, then twisted around to face me, still lying flat.
His feet kicked in the air as he hungrily watched me limp inside.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him, all kinds of pictures running through my head.
“Oh, Daddy,” Alfie purred as he ran his hand down his chest before beginning to pull the hem up oh-so-slowly, letting me get a tempting glimpse.
“If you keep staring at me like that, I’ll never get into the shower before I ride you like a mechanical bull.
And we both want me to have a shower first. There’s no knowing what kind of germs I picked up in that disgusting warehouse. ”
He jumped up off the bed and, after giving me a quick peck on the cheek, ran into the bathroom.
Thoughts of a naked, wet, soaped-up Alfie did not help with the erection in my pants.
Then again… I could probably use a shower too.
Before I took another step toward the bathroom so I could join my brat he popped his head out of the bathroom. “Nope. Don’t even think about it. No showers with that bandage. I’ll give you a sponge bath if you’re really good and wait for me on the bed like a good Daddy.”
Fucking hell.