Chapter 56 Royal
ROYAL
YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT
I plop down on the ‘bed,’ which is an old military-style cot that’s not exactly comfortable in the house’s tech room. The stacks of boxes filled with computers and technology that I’ve spent the last two days rummaging through and working on aren’t disappearing.
I started with the coding projects. Getting the computers ready to accept all the hardware and setting up a server to run it all through. It’s the bulk of the work that only I can do because any idiot can install cameras and sensors.
My phone rings, and the three daily calls from Steffano have me gritting my teeth, bracing myself to hear his next ridiculous request. But one glance at the screen and my shoulders relax. Leticia’s name glows, and the reminder of home soothes me.
“Hello, gorgeous,” I answer, bringing the phone to my ear. I wait for her reply while opening the clamshell case to get my earbuds out.
“Hey, handsome.” She sounds perfect, safe, and happy.
“Everything going okay at the house?” I switch from the phone against my head to earbuds before pushing up on the cot and moving to my personal laptop. I bring up the house feeds, and it takes me just a few seconds to find her in my — our — bedroom.
“Yeah, your mom and dad have been great. I think Betty really likes me. Class has been challenging with one arm, but my teachers are all super understanding and accommodating.” Leticia wanders around my room, nearly pacing.
“That’s good. I’m glad to hear it.” I reach for my water bottle, left near the wrapper from the protein bar I had for dinner, and take a sip.
“Sooo.” Leticia pauses nervously. “At what point in a relationship do girls get dick pics from guys?”
I shouldn’t have taken that sip of water. I cough, holding it back in my mouth to avoid spitting it out over the thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment in front of me. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Yeah, that was a stupid question. Never mind.” Leticia berates herself, and I hate it.
Why is she so hard on herself? My wolf feels equally offended that she seemingly wouldn’t trust us with this.
“Not stupid. I just —” I sigh and wipe up the little water I didn’t keep contained in my mouth using my sleeve. “I just forget how lucky you are to never have gone through the awkward teens and early twenties with dick pics and all the drama that goes with it.”
“Ahhh, I’ll add that to the column of things I missed out on.” She doesn’t sound happy about missing that phase in life. “Unless . . . you’d send me one. You know, to be another one of my firsts?”
“You don’t want a dick pic, gorgeous.” I shake my head and look over at the phone.
My heart aches knowing she’s at home, standing awkwardly in our bedroom, not sure what to do with herself, and I’m stuck halfway around the world, practically a prisoner, unable to take care of her.
“How am I supposed to know that?” She lets out a tiny, agitated sound that’s kind of like a growl. “I’ve never gotten one. Maybe I’d like one.”
You’ve made her so mad she’s growling. Give her what she wants, my wolf growls at me, the implication that I’m stupid going without saying.
Great, now I’ve got two of them growling at me. I’m smiling, though, because her growl is nearly playful in sound, even if it’s from frustration.
“No, Leticia. No one likes dick pics. It won’t satisfy you in the way you’re looking for.” I close my eyes as my cock throbs when I think of exactly how I’ve satisfied her before.
“Fine,” she huffs, frustrated, her tone taking that sharp, cutting edge.
Mate is pissed. You should give her what she wants. My wolf, unhelpfully, advises.
I watch on the monitor as she walks over to my bed before plopping down on it.
She lies looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t understand it, then, why do guys send them and girls talk about them if no one wants them?”
“Leticia.” I draw her attention away from the rant. “Do you really want a dick pic?”
“No,” she huffs. “You told me I wouldn’t want one.”
“You don’t. You don’t want a dick pic because it’s a flat image of something.
You’re more complex than that.” I pause and then just lean into it.
I let the distance be a buffer for the awkward.
I embrace the way we’ve already done virtual exploration once before.
This isn’t new. It’s just a different step.
“You don’t want a dick pic because you crave more. ”
“So what you’re saying is there’s something better than a dick pic, and that’s what I want?” She groans, and I hear the swoosh of my blankets being pulled back on my bed. Then I watch on-screen as she climbs under the covers.
Quit being such a coward. You know she wants us. Don’t let the distance win. Give our mate what she wants. My wolf urges me.
“Get cozy. I’ll hang up with you and show you why you don’t want a dick pic.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, looking again at my phone sitting on the bed.
I still have hours of coding to get through, but it’s not like I can focus if I’m rock hard in my pants anyway. I stand up and stretch out, trying not to get ahead of myself. She could still say no.
“You don’t have to hang up to send a picture.” Leticia yawns. “I’m sure you’ve got one saved or something you can send me.”
“One, no. I don’t.” I turn off the auxiliary monitor on the makeshift desk and pull my T-shirt off, dropping it over the webcam on the laptop Steffano insisted on.
“Two. You’re right. I don’t need to hang up.
But if you want to get the full effect of getting a dick pic from a guy, then you deserve the whole experience. ”
“Three?” I hear her settling in, fabric shuffling and the gentle creaking of the bed.
I look at my personal laptop, seeing Leticia reach for the remote to turn off the lights in the room.
“Three, you’ll have to forgive me, but I don’t have the best equipment here for this sort of thing. It’ll be basic, but at least it’ll show you the difference.” I unbutton my jeans and feel the sweet relief of the easing pressure.
“I didn’t talk you into something you didn’t want to do, right?” Leticia’s voice is small and hesitant.
I debate turning the night vision on for the camera in my room, but instead, I embrace going lower tech, back to a time when there weren’t cameras everywhere, and you couldn’t just watch the person you’re infatuated with.
“My wife asked me to get hard for her and show her.” I simplify to the lowest rational line of thought. “She didn’t realize I’m half hard every time I see her name come up on my phone. Hang up with me, gorgeous. Let me show you the difference between a dick pic and what you really want.”