“Oliver? Why did you call me kitten?” Sebastian asked again and I slowly rubbed his back with my fingertips.
“It’s what you remind me of. Whenever I feed you or give you attention you practically purr. My sweet, sassy, little kitten.”
“I love it… but there’s something else we need to discuss.”
“Go ahead.”
“I don’t plan to have any more surgery. I have an IUD so I can't get pregnant but I want you to be aware of this. It is important you know, okay?”
“Of course. Whatever ya need to feel authentically you, Sebastian. I always support that. But why no other surgery? If you’re comfortable tellin’ me.”
“I want to be a père at some point and would like to carry my children myself. That is all.”
“That makes sense. I can understand,” smiling, I leaned up and slowly kissed him, “Are ya sure ya want to be with me? I can barely walk. I have anger issues and I will be overprotective of you. Always. I don’t want people lookin’ at ya when we’re at work. I see the way they do and I hate it.”
“I am yours,” he whispered, “do not get mad at people who look at me. If they ask, I will tell them that I have a wonderful partner who adores me for the man I am. They are out of luck. Many look at you the same way and I dislike it. I was jealous. You… are choosing me over the person at the company you were explaining about all those months ago.”
“Dear God Bas,” I groaned, “I was talkin’ about you. I was smitten the night we met. I didn’t do anythin’ or say anythin’ sooner because there… Sebastian, there are a lot of things ya do that are very similar to Skylar and I had a hard time separatin’ the two of you until recently. I would see him in you and it upset me. But… you are so different that I only see you in your quirks now. The chewin’ on your clothes, food aversions, how you sit in my lap, the way ya organize your room and desk. It was the exact same and it was peakin’ my anxiety to levels I was havin’ a hard time managing. Because I thought you would be like him. Use me and then when ya decided I had nothin’ to offer ya you’d throw me aside. But I see now… it’s not my money ya want. Not the luxury of livin’ in penthouse apartments or nice houses. Gettin’ a brand new car which we still have yet to buy and probably should. You… simply want me. As I came to ya. As you met me.”
“Well of course I do,” he smiled, “I am so stupid for not realizing you meant me that entire time. I told you, I have never been in a relationship before. I was naive to your feelings toward me and assumed that you wanted to mess around. Which I would never have been against. But as we grew closer and I got to know the real Oliver, not Monsieur Hope, owner of Parallel, my heart started to be strange. It fluttered around you. I realized I was gaining feelings I never have once had and I was useless to stop them. I did not want to. But then I thought you could do so much better than me. I am a former prostitute… camera model… all that. I thought you would find me disgusting…”
“Nope. Never. I care for you no matter who ya were before I met ya. It’s your heart, Sebastian and you have the most beautiful soul of anyone I have ever met. I will never hurt you. Just stay with me.”
“I believe you. I will never hurt or leave you, Oliver.”
“I trust you.”
Sebastian smiled and slowly started kissing me again, his fingers tangled in my hair and I groaned, licking softly at his bottom lip.
“Open for me,” I panted quietly and Sebastian let out a soft mew, opening his mouth to give me access, my tongue swirling around his as I gripped his rear, “such a good boy. Ya listen so well…”
“D… daddy…” Sebastian whined and I groaned, “You are… I can feel you pressing against my leg.”
“We aren’t doin’ anythin’ okay kitten?”
“B… but…”
“No,” I spanked him lightly and his eyes rolled back just a bit, “not here. I promise when we get to Denver, I will give ya what ya need. But I want it to be special. Please. It is so fuckin’ important to me.”
“Of course. I am sorry. I have been thinking of you for months and I got excited. That is all. Should we calm down and go to breakfast?”
“Yes,” I panted, closing my eyes and Sebastian cuddled down on top of me, his forehead pressed to my jawline, “I want to say this now. I’m sorry if I constantly ask if you’re sure ya want to be with me. I get scared. I don’t always feel worthy of love.”
“You can ask me every day and the answer will always be the same. You are the only person on the planet I want to be with, Oliver. I promise.”
“I believe you.”
We lay there for a long time before someone banged on the bedroom door, startling both of us.
“Hey, lazy ass. Get up. Gray made breakfast and you’re the only one who ain’t eat,” Hunter yelled.
“We were talkin’ about somethin’ important. We’ll be right there,” I called back with a laugh, “kitten ya gotta move.”
“But you are so comfy,” Sebastian grumbled and I tilted his chin up to kiss him slowly, “okay. That will always make me get up.”
“Good to know. Let’s get dressed and have breakfast then tell the family and find somethin’ to do today.”
“How is your leg?” Sebastian climbed out of bed and dug through his bag, getting dressed as I struggled to do the same, my leg killing me.
“Bad. Can’t bend it today.”
“Here,” Sebastian slowly helped me slide my pants up.
“I don’t like that I always look this weak in front of you. That was another reason I never mentioned how I felt for ya. I can’t protect ya like this.”
“Stop that,” he smacked my forehead softly and I forced him to straddle my leg, spanking him.
“Don’t do that. Remember when ya did it a while back and I told ya you couldn’t because it triggered my anger issues?”
“Of course.”
“It was a lie. When you bully me like this, I want nothin’ more than to bend ya over my leg and spank you until you apologize. Then make up for it.”
“You spanked me just now. What do I get for saying sorry?”
“Nothin’ because ya never said sorry.”
“I’m sorry for smacking you, daddy,” he whispered, his lips inches from mine and I laced my fingers in his hair, pulling his head back to gently suck on his neck, Sebastian gasping loudly and digging his nails into my shoulders, “you are going to leave a mark I am so pale.”
“Mhm,” I murmured, never stopping.
“Oliver oh…”
I pulled away with a loud popping sound and slowly traced the cherry red mark I had left behind, “it’s perfect.”
“But now everyone will see it.”
“I know. That was the point. I want everyone to know ya belong to someone.”
“So possessive,” he giggled, hugging me tightly.
“Can’t control that. Come on. I got hungry.”
“Okay.”
We left the bedroom together, Sebastian walking ahead of me as I was struggling on the crutches and Grayson glared from the kitchen as we sat at the island.
“I made your favorite breakfast and you have the audacity to wake up an hour later than everyone,” Grayson huffed, his hands on his hips.
“We were talkin’ about somethin’ really important,” I shrugged, taking a plate of food and handing it to Sebastian before getting my own.
“What could be more important than breakfast?”
“Sebastian is my boyfriend now,” I smiled, “so I think that’s a bit more important.”
“Huh!” He shouted, looking over at Hunter who smiled brightly, “dammit Oliver I told you I was going to do something nice for you!”
“He could not wait,” Sebastian giggled, leaning against my arm, “we have been tiptoeing around our emotions for months. I never noticed is all. He finally told me. Or rather showed me. Oliver, you owe me a better kiss than the bedroom.”
“Bas,” I groaned, my cheeks warm, “you’re right. I know.”
“Oh! Perfect. Sebastian, you can drive right?” Grayson wiggled happily when Sebastian nodded, “Great. Ollie, direct him to the ranch. Then head to my favorite spot.”
“Why?” I narrowed my eyes and he smacked me with a wooden spoon softly, “Fine fine. After breakfast. But I can’t walk that far right now and it’s not safe on crutches.”
“It is now,” Hunter took a sip of coffee, pulling Grayson over to him by the waist, “I built a concrete path so Gray and I can still walk out there when we go to the ranch. Looks better now too.”
“Oh… okay. Yeah. Bas, eat and get ready to head out for a few hours.”
“Oui,” Sebastian smiled, eating quickly before kissing my cheek and running down the hallway.
“Where’s Aldo?” I looked around confused before catching sight of my dog running around the backyard, Winifred and Sidney sitting on a blanket with Mylo as Aldo continued to come over and sniff the baby before shooting off again, “Alright. Gotta buy a house here soon. Aldo is so happy runnin’ around a big yard.”
“I think he’s happy being around a baby,” Grayson laughed, “is he used to kids?”
“Mhm. When I go out to the camp, I bring him with and he acts as a mascot, lettin’ all the littles use him for comfort since it’s usually the first time they’ve been away from their parents and they're scared. But havin’ Aldo around seems to help.”
“You should get him a little sibling,” Sebastian suddenly wrapped his arms around me from behind, his chin on my shoulder, “a puppy.”
“I can't, that wouldn’t be fair. Not in the penthouse,” I turned my head and kissed his temple, “Hey… you smell different.”
“Cologne.”
“Ah. Hm. I like it.”
“Merci,” he giggled, kissing my shoulder, “Oh! Monsieur… um, Grayson.”
“Yes?” Grayson smiled, fully leaning into Hunter.
“May I have some café? It has been a long time since I have. My head hurts. Caffeine will help.”
“Of course! Come here,” Grayson led Sebastian to the coffee bar and Hunter took Sebastian’s seat.
“So. Ya kissed him in bed?” Hunter whispered with a laugh.
“Mhm. Couldn’t stop myself,” I snorted, “oh. Man, I want coffee. I don’t wanna ask Bas to bring it though.”
“I don’t think ya needed to ask.”
“Miel?” Sebastian suddenly pushed a cup of coffee to me, “It is how you like.”
“Oh… thank you,” I cleared my throat, “what does Miel mean?”
“It means honey,” he giggled, taking his own sip of coffee and I reached over the counter to poke his nose.
“You’re so cute.”
Sebastian giggled again, his hair falling into his eyes as he turned to look at the ground.
He’s precious.
Do I honestly deserve to love you?
Yes.
I never made Skylar leave.
He cheated on me.
We finished having coffee with my parents before going out to my grandparent's ranch, Serenity and Garett sitting on the porch and waving to us before returning to their conversation. My grandparents poked their heads out of the backdoor as we walked past, Sebastian never looking in one direction for long as we headed down the new path that Hunter had created.
“This place… is incredible,” Sebastian whispered, “I love how much land there is.”
“It’s been in the family for over 100 years,” I smiled, “I wanted to live here but I talked with my grandparents a few years ago. They’re gonna leave the place to Silas. He’s always loved the ranch. Feels at home here. This is where my parents lived before we were all born. Then they bought a different house because they wanted to live in town so Dad could start his business. There was room for me and Winnie because they didn’t plan to adopt Si and Nita. But as soon as they did, my grandparents surprised them with the house they live in now. Makin’ sure there was room for all of us and the shop. Never regretted it either.”
“That's beautiful,” Sebastian smiled as we reached a weather-eaten gazebo, “oh… wow!”
“My parent's first date was here on the ranch,” I smiled, climbing into the gazebo and sitting on one of the benches, Sebastian joining me, “Gray was still healing from his injuries and couldn’t really go anywhere. So Hunter brought him here to see the deer that drink from the pond in the evenin’. They told me all about it because I was nosy.”
“What gave Grayson all those scars?”
“He was nearly murdered by teenagers. He was homeless. Livin’ on the streets. Got picked up and attacked. Hunter found him. Saved his life. Took him in and they fell for each other pretty quickly. Been married for… 31 years now. Basically, as long as I’ve been alive. So their dates were always home. But I love that about them,” smiling, I took his hand slowly, “I love that my parents never needed fancy places or things to be happy. Just each other. And I… Sebastian, I think… I found that in you.”
“Really?” he leaned against my arm.
“Absolutely. You make me happy. Ya have been since I met you. Even if ya complain all the time about how much I work.”
“Well, I never see you,” Sebastian pouted.
“We share an office. Ya see me all day,” I snorted, kissing the top of his head.
“But it is not the same. That is work Oliver. I have to call you Monsieur Hope. I do not like it. I like working for you, going to the meetings, running the finance department but I do not like calling you Monsieur Hope in front of others. I do not like being berated by other employees trying to get personal information on you. It bothers me.”
“Oh… fuck I just realized somethin’.”
“What is it?”
“We’re a couple now… right?”
“Oui,” he leaned back, looking at me confused.
“I have to send a notice out to the employees that we’re together. Due to that fact you’re my assistant. Shit…”
“You seem upset.”
“A little. It could be a conflict of interest. I didn’t… fuck.”
“Oliver… Oliver, it is okay. We… do not need to do this. I would understand. Your business is so important,” Sebastian moved away from me, getting to his feet slowly, “I would never want to come in between you and Parallel.”
“What if I fire you?”
“Huh?” he whipped around, a look of fear and hurt flashing across his face, “have I not been doing my job well? I know I am a slow learner but I…”
“Sebastian,” I grabbed his hand and pulled him to stand between my legs, “I want to fire you so that we can be together without me worryin’ about how investors and employees would see it. They would think terribly of ya. Or of me. That I hired you because you are my partner. I don’t want to hear that you’re gettin’ shit from people, that they’re gosspin’ about you because suddenly you’re the partner of the CEO. That ain’t okay with me but people talk and I can’t stop ‘em. But I can fire you. Then just have ya be at my side. Take care of ya. You could always keep doin’ the job I originally hired ya for. But… if ya want to keep workin’ at Parallel, I can’t have you be the CFO anymore. Well now… hang on,” I thought for a moment before smacking my own forehead with a groan, “if you’re the CFO then we… We have the same rank and that ain’t a conflict. Fuck I am so stupid. Just… so much has happened and I’m all over the place. I am so sorry I scared ya just now.”
“Why does what anyone says about us matter?” he gently rubbed my cheek, “I do not care. If they were true investors, true employees who cared about Parallel, they would like to know that the CEO is happy. That is how I see it. Can you manage both the good of Parallel and the life we wish to have together?”
“I can.”
“Then do not worry,” he kissed me softly, “there is nothing anyone can say that will make me leave you or Parallel.”
“I believe you.”
“Good.”
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