Doll Parts (The Game 4)

“But I wanna be helpful,” Noa whined. He shifted on my lap and pulled out his tail from underneath him. “I wanna dig out the mush-mash.”

My eyebrows lifted.

“The what?” Lucian asked.

Before Noa could answer, Cameron appeared in the doorway with a heavy sigh. “I’m making potato skins for dinner, and he always wants to scoop them out—and they always break!”

“Nobody cares how they look, Cameron!” Noa argued. Christ, it was a good thing we were all but alone out here. I hadn’t spotted anyone on the patio since we arrived.

“I care,” Cam snapped. “But if I wanna serve a pile of shit for dinner, I’ll—”

“Hey!” Lucian and I interrupted. “That’s enough from both of you,” I said. “Noa, you will respect that cooking is Cam’s area of expertise. There are plenty of things you can help out with. And Cam—” I turned to him and squeezed his hand. “Take it down a notch, okay? You’ve treated us to so many amazing meals already. They don’t all have to be fit for a Michelin restaurant.”

“Perhaps you can teach Noa a thing or two?” Lucian suggested. “If he promises to pay attention and follow your lead, maybe he’ll make an excellent assistant.”

Cam blew out a breath and glanced into the cabin, only to cringe and fold his arms over his chest. “He can help me kill that moth over there. It’s not the brightest idea to leave the door open when it’s dark out.”

But then Lucian and I wouldn’t be able to listen to our bickering boys.

“You’re not killing it,” Noa huffed and climbed off my lap. “I’ll release it. Daddy, Uncle Lucian, please inform this jerk he can’t run around and murder cute bugs.”

I coughed in an attempt to hide my laugh. Some things hadn’t changed… Bless. I remembered when he collected various critters in his room and scared his mother half to death.

Lucian shook his head in amusement. “I fear we’re going to allow the murder of moths and spiders, dear.”

Noa glared at us all. “I will report you all to the Geneva Convention!” Then he stormed back inside.

“For chrissakes,” Lucian laughed.

I grinned and tugged on Cam’s hand. “Come here, sweetheart.” He slumped down on my lap with less resistance than Noa had. “Tell me what’s bothering you. Why are you so insistent on making every meal perfect?”

He started biting his thumbnail, the only indication I needed. We’d been here before. The day he’d made Lucian a fantastic birthday dinner, I’d seen Cam’s insecurity shine through.

“You know what it is,” he mumbled.

I nodded slightly and slipped a hand under his tee. He relaxed a little as I rubbed his back. “And what did I tell you last time?”

“What am I missing?” Lucian frowned.

I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Cam’s shoulder. “You should talk to your Master, honey. If he doesn’t know what’s wrong, he can’t fix it.”

This wouldn’t require a lot of work either. I understood Cam’s fear so well; I felt it sometimes too. That now we finally had everything we’d barely dared to dream of, and…so we had everything to lose. And the fear was manifesting itself in Cam’s chores. If he didn’t reach perfection, he knocked himself down.

“Come on, darling.” Lucian stood up and held out his hand. “We can talk inside.”

“Fine,” Cam mumbled and stood up.

I winced and rubbed my right leg. I should go for a short walk. I’d been sitting down every minute since we got here.

A couple days later, we were back after spending last night apart. Lucian tagged along for my walk after dinner, and I had to say something.

“Right now, we have these two amazing boys watching cartoons in their pajamas in our cabin. Why the fuck aren’t we making that permanent?”

I didn’t buy the pace-ourselves reason anymore. This month had turned my world upside down in the best way possible. Actually, it had turned my world to its correct position again. I woke up in the morning, when I had Noa next to me, feeling more alive than ever.

Lucian furrowed his brow at the grass as we passed the main house in the darkness. “I’ve been asking myself that lately too. But it is soon, KC. You can’t deny that.”

I leaned heavier on my cane and blew out a breath, detesting how quickly I got tired in the evenings. “I’m not denying it. I’m just seeing the circumstances. We didn’t just meet these young men a few weeks ago. We know them so well. We love them. We’re not interested in a future without them.”

“It’s the only reason I’m trying to be patient,” he argued quietly. “Even positive changes require processing. My God, Noa truly is a chip off the old block.”

I let out a chuckle.

Once we reached the front of the house, Lucian made sure we were alone before he pulled out his biggest secret. A pack of smokes. He lit one up and took a deep drag from it before he exhaled toward the night sky.