“He’s sleeping with the wolf, that sweet boy,” Daddy laughed softly. “I do enjoy mental sadism a great deal—and it’s something we’ll explore together too—but Lucian is far more cruel, as you kindly put it, than I am.”
“That’s Cameron’s issue to deal with.” I waggled my eyebrows. “My issue is that I wanna see my Daddy rapefuck my boyfriend at some point in the near future, and for that to happen, you two need to find common ground. He won’t take the first step.”
“You and that filthy mouth of yours.” He shook his head, as if he wasn’t amused and definitely down to fuck. “Cam enjoys mild humiliation and has some minor Little tendencies, I remember. I’m sure I can think of something.”
Oh, but—! “Don’t make it too hot,” I said quickly. “Save that for when I can watch. Okay?”
“Are you giving me an order, son?”
Oh shit. “No, Sir.” I widened my eyes and packed as much innocence as I could in there. “But please feel free to call me son again.”
He snorted in amusement and jerked his chin toward the cabins. “Lucian’s ready. Don’t forget to eat something. Do you need money—never mind. Lucian!”
I whipped my head around and spotted Lucian coming toward us, dressed sharply in a charcoal suit. I couldn’t flippin’ imagine. It was seventy-five degrees out.
“Do you have any cash on you?” Daddy asked him. “I’d like to make sure Noa eats something other than a pizza slice.”
“I have money, Daddy,” I interjected. “I was gonna get two slices.”
Lucian was as impressed by that as Daddy was. “I’ll take care of it.” He addressed me next. “You can go to the car. I just need a word with your Daddy.”
More secrets! They were dummies.
I wanted to know all the secrets. But sensing I was already on thin ice with Daddy, I kept my mouth shut and crossed the patio. I’d spotted more people walking alongside the house than straight through it, so I did that too.
On my way to the carport, I checked my messages and saw I had one from Mom and one from Santiago. He was happy I’d finally been reunited with my Daddy, and he let me know he’d be joining us in Mclean for a while soon. I thought that was great! He and Daddy would get along.
Mom was wondering if I wanted to bring Cameron over for dinner tomorrow.
I grimaced and typed out a fast response.
Sry, we’re busy, another time, i promise.
When I reached the carport, I scratched the side of my head and wondered where Lucian’s SUV was. I only spotted four cars. Daddy’s own SUV, a sweet old American classic, a truck, and a sleek sports car. A dark-green Jaguar with tan leather seats. The type of car that would become a stamp if it crashed with a normal-size car.
It was Lucian’s car, wasn’t it?
It wouldn’t surprise me if he had more than one set of wheels, and that Jag suited his personality. Besides, he hadn’t driven Daddy here yesterday, so it would give him a reason to leave the bigger car at home.
How did Lucian even fit in there? He’d have to fold himself in half or something.
Just as I heard Lucian behind me, my phone rang, and I saw my boss’s name on the display.
“I’m on my way, sir,” I said, answering the call. “I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”
“All good, kid. I called to ask if you remember if we tried to add harmonies to the second to last chorus.”
“We did—you said it got messy,” I replied. I mouthed sorry to Lucian as he reached me, and he waved it off and unlocked the car. Sure enough, the sporty Jag.
“Oh, right.” Shawn remembered. “She was comparing the song with MJ’s ‘Earth Song,’ right? She wanted the same oomph at the end too.”
“She would have to redo that bit, wouldn’t she?” I tried not to be too pushy, but I knew I was right. “She puts emphasis on the wrong words in the lyrics for an explosive finish. And she was talking about a choir—and I still haven’t gotten over that she was bringing up Michael Jackson, of all people. It’s not even the same genre.”
Shawn laughed at that, to my relief. “You and me both, kid. Slow your roll, hon. Let’s get you on the charts first, and then you can compare yourself with whoever you want.”
I grinned to myself and slid into the passenger’s seat.
“I think we need to strip the song.” Shawn got back on track. “If she wants an explosion at the 2:41 mark, we gotta create a buildup first. It’s too upbeat.”
I agreed with him but struggled to express myself when Lucian started the engine. Holy fuck, I felt that shit everywhere. Was the engine directly under my seat?
“Maybe suggest hitting the punch line in the chorus later too,” I said absently, buckling my seat belt. “I could be wrong, but the explosion should highlight the message, right? To really drive it home?”