What does that mean?
“Thank you. For letting me talk to you about it. I know it isn’t your job.”
He looks up at the ceiling and sighs. “What if I don’t give a damn about what my job is or isn’t this weekend?” His words are hard, almost angry.
“I… don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry, baby boy.” He brings my hand to his lap. “I didn’t mean to get emotional, okay?”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind if you get emotional.”
He shakes his head and gives me a sad smile. “A hired knot isn’t supposed to get emotional.”
I don’t know what to say. I wish I could ask him to be more than my hired knot, but I’m too afraid of what he might say.
“Hey, would you mind if we got out of here?” he asks.
We both look at the rest of my uneaten ice cream.
“You can eat it on the way,” he says.
I nod. “Okay.”
10
Timber
I touch Andrew all the way back to the hotel. I hold his hand on the sidewalk, run my fingers through his hair while we’re in the taxi, and rest my arm around his waist in the elevator.
This weekend was supposed to be an opportunity to get to know him, to make him more comfortable with me. But I wasn’t prepared for my own reactions to him. The way he jumped up and down in the ice cream shop like he didn’t have a care in the world made me long to see that side of him more often. It was so surprising coming from a man with a past like his. And the way he opened up to me about his alpha father’s drinking… It was everything I could do to not take him in my arms and promise to take care of him.
But I don’t get to be his Daddy full-time. I’m nothing but a hired knot. And I know that I shouldn’t ask to be more right now. The connection between us is escalating at a speed that is unhealthy. I need to slow everything down and be the responsible one in this situation.
I’m just having a hard time convincing my heart that Andrew isn’t the man I’ve waited for my entire life.
When we reach the top floor, the elevator doors slide open, and I lead Andrew out into the hall. That’s when I notice the man standing by our door. He’s an alpha and bigger than Andrew in every respect. He’s also older with streaks of silver in his hair. But the shape of his nose and the curve of his jaw are exactly like Andrew’s. Despite their differences, the resemblance between them is uncanny.
Andrew stops suddenly, his whole body tensing.
I tighten my grip around his waist. Whoever this man is, Andrew clearly isn’t happy to see him.
“Good afternoon, Andrew,” the man says, taking slow, deliberate steps toward us. “Will you introduce me to your… What is it… scene partner? Hired knot? Daddy?” He sneers the last word.
Andrew takes in a shaky breath. “What are you doing here?”
The man ignores Andrew and holds out his hand to me. “Mitch Sullivan. Andrew’s father and adult legal guardian.”
Adult legal guardian? What is he talking about?
Mitch lowers his hand when it becomes clear I’m not going to shake it. “You didn’t think the Monroes would let an omega with a bond ache control their enormous estate, did you? When his bond ache was diagnosed five years ago, he was assigned a legal guardian to make sure he didn’t make any bad decisions.”
It makes a horrible kind of sense. When I found out about Andrew’s predicament, I also worried that someone would take advantage of him. I guess the courts tried to protect him.
If only they knew how much his father had taken advantage of him already.
Andrew’s gaze drops to the floor. “You haven’t contacted me in years. Why now? You promised me that if I gave you a stipend, you’d leave me alone.”
“No. I said I’d leave you alone if you paid me for being your guardian and kept out of trouble. I don’t think having sex in public with a porn star is staying out of trouble, do you?”
That was my fault. Andrew had exhibitionism on his list, and he seemed excited about the prospect of having sex on the roof. I never stopped to consider how his inheritance might impact the consequences of exploring that particular kink. I was so caught up in how good it felt to be with him, I didn’t take care of him the way I should have.
Andrew lifts his chin and looks his father in the eye. “This is what I want.”
Mitch laughs bitterly. “Do you honestly think the Monroes will let you keep your money if you continue on like this? My PI got a video of you having sex out in the open for everyone to see.”
It was probably the person who’d opened the door when we were on the roof. Andrew asked me to keep going, so I did. I even praised him for suggesting it because I found it exciting. He trusted me to keep him safe, and I’d put him at risk for my own selfish desires.
“You had a PI follow me?” Andrew asks with an edge in his voice.
“Yes, I did. And I can guarantee the Monroes have hired someone to follow you as well. All they need is the right ammunition, and they can declare me an insufficient guardian. Do you honestly want one of them to be your guardian instead? They could send you to an institution.”
I wish I could disagree with Mitch, but he’s right. If the courts have deemed Andrew in need of a legal guardian, he’s in a horribly vulnerable position, and I just made it worse.
“You have been so reckless. We could lose everything,” Mitch says in a steely voice. As he speaks, his right cheek shifts to a bright blue. In place of human skin, there are now scales. His breath puffs out like fog in front of his lips. I can feel the cold from here.
Andrew shivers.
A primal anger rises inside me. Andrew hasn’t deferred to me once in this conversation. This is his fight, and I shouldn’t be an alphahole and intervene unless it’s something he wants. But the way Mitch just prioritized money over his son’s happiness makes me want to throw something.
“You can’t expect him to be alone forever,” I say in almost a growl.
Mitch looks directly at me and smiles. Half his teeth are thin and pointed like a dragon’s.
Andrew plasters himself to my chest, wrapping his arms around me. “Dad, don’t!”
“This man is using you for your money,” Mitch says.
I open my mouth to argue with him, but Andrew whispers, “I know.”
“Andrew, no.” He may be paying me for sex, but things have become far more complicated than that.
Andrew spins around to face his father. “Everyone uses me for my money. Even you.”
My heart breaks at that. At what point did Andrew start believing that the only value anyone could see in him was his fortune?
“I can’t let you do this,” Mitch says. “If you want sexual partners, I will arrange them for you, and there will be rules. Your bond ache makes you vulnerable. I can’t leave you at the mercy of men like him who could ruin your life.”
“Dad, please. Can’t we just pay Timber? He’s the one I want. It doesn’t matter that he’s doing it for the money. As long as we draw up contracts to protect me, it will be fine.”
Mitch shakes his head. “You may finish out this vacation with him, then I will find you someone else. Someone more… discreet. For Ice’s sake. He’s a muzzled stud from the breeding pits. You couldn’t possibly choose anyone more embarrassing.” Mitch shoulders past me to the elevator. “You’re an heir, Andrew. A Blue Blood. Have a little more self-respect.”