Page 10 of Babe

“You’ve had a lot happen in the past twenty-four hours, Ace,” he said calmly, always so fucking patient with me. My brothers had never been this patient, and it made my chest all tight and fuzzy and it made me want to fucking cry. And I wasn’t a crier. “You’re overwhelmed, and that’s understandable.” He looked at my hands, which had begun to play with his shirt absentmindedly. It was like now that I could touch him—touch someone—without wanting to shred my skin, I couldn’t stop. “You even said touching me, being able to touch anyone, was something new for you, right?” I nodded. He smiled softly at me. “Then, trust me when I say you need rest. You need time for your mind to settle again.”

“I don’t like being put on the spot,” I muttered. “You put me on the spot.”

“I was clarifying what you wanted, giving you the chance to change your mind in case you’d said what you did without meaning to.” My shoulders rose to my ears, and finally, I dropped my gaze, staring at my hands, which had stilled. I felt stupid now. “Look at me.” I slowly lifted my gaze. “I want nothing more than to cuddle you and hold you while you sleep, Ace.”

Everything inside of me relaxed and turned to goo at his words. “Then will you lay with me, Papa?” I asked, testing the term on my tongue. It felt… right.

Gunner’s eyes brightened, and something possessive anchored itself in his gaze. He tightened his hold on me, drawing me closer. I shivered, sinking into him. “I’ll lay with you, baby. All night until you wake up, if you want me to.”

I nodded. “I do,” I said softly. I leaned into him, not wanting to move. He bound his arms around me as I rested my head on his shoulder. My cheeks were warm as I tentatively asked, testing the name out again, “Will you carry me to bed, Papa?”

His warm, low chuckle was music to my ears as he scooted to the edge of the couch. I wound my arms and legs around him. “Yes, sweet boy. I’ll carry you to bed.”

Tucking my face into the curve of his neck, I smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. My brothers were going to have a fit over how quickly I’d become so wrapped up in Gunner, but I didn’t give a fuck. They could all kiss my ass.

Gunner was mine—my Papa—and I was never letting him go.

CHAPTER FOUR

Gunner

Ace was still passed out in my arms as the sun rose the next morning. I’d been awake for about an hour, just watching him sleep. It’d taken me a while to fall asleep last night, though he’d passed out not long after we slid into bed and I wrapped my arms around him, cuddling him to me. He’d clearly had a flashback or a nightmare the evening before. There was no mistaking the haunted look in his eyes when I’d come to check on him—a look that now haunted me.

He hadn’t wanted to talk about it. I understood that better than he thought I did. I’d gone through my own horrors during my time in the military that still affected me years later. But Ace was still very young, whereas I was thirty-seven. Whatever he’d gone through probably hadn’t been that long ago.

But he seemed to be sleeping peacefully now. Hadn’t budged the entire night, content to lay exactly as he’d fallen asleep. But now that the sun was up, I needed to make coffee, check on the plants in my greenhouse, and make breakfast so food would be ready when he woke up. He was so tiny compared to my much bigger size; I was at least three times bigger than him. My boy needed to eat. Besides, eating would help him recover much faster, too.

I eased my arms from around him. He groaned but otherwise made no sound, nor did he move. I slowly made my way off the bed, being extra careful not to disturb him. Once I was safely off the mattress, I sucked in a deep breath, then tucked the comforter in around him so he still felt cocooned and safe.

I couldn’t believe how quickly this precious boy had attached himself to me. Just about as damn quickly as I’d latched onto him. It’d only been a little over twenty-four hours since I’d found him, and already, I knew if someone tried to take him from me, I’d make them disappear.

Ace was mine.

I grabbed some clothes out of my dresser, then headed downstairs to the other bathroom to shower. I had the basic stuff I needed to get clean there. After Ace woke up and I had him settled with breakfast, I’d go upstairs and finish my morning routine.

The shower was quick, and within no time, I’d checked my plants, watered them, and was standing in front of the stove, cooking bacon and eggs. Ace emerged down the stairs a few minutes after I’d turned the eyes on the stove off. I smiled at him, but he just frowned at me, clearly grumpy and not a morning person.

I found it endearing as fuck.

“Good morning, baby,” I greeted as I set his plate on the counter so I could wrap my arms around him. He sank into me as soon as I opened my arms, and my heart clenched in my chest. “Did you sleep well?”

“You left me,” he mumbled, sounding pissy. I winced. “You promised you would stay until I woke up.”

I scraped my nails along his scalp, hoping to settle him. “I needed to tend to my greenhouse, sweet boy. And I needed to make you breakfast.”

He huffed and pulled back from me, clearly not willing to be consoled. “You broke your promise.”

I reached out to cup his cheek, but he pulled away, crossing his arms over his chest. I bit back a wince. Okay, that fucking hurt, but I understood. I had promised him I’d stay in bed. But taking care of him like this was important, too.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “It won’t happen again. I swear.”

He scowled and rolled his eyes. “Like your word means anything,” he muttered, spinning on his heel and stomping toward the stairs.

“Ace,” I warned, my voice dropping a couple of degrees. His shoulders hiked up to his ears, and he stopped. He didn’t like disappointing me; I could work with that. “Do not give me your back when we’re talking. You’re an adult. And while I know I hurt you, that doesn’t mean you get to act like a child.”

“Fuck you,” he bit out, stomping toward the stairs again.

I sighed. “Ace!” I barked. He froze, flinching. I wanted to wrap him in my arms and apologize profusely, but he also needed to learn to speak to me like an adult. If he was regressing, I could understand the tantrum, but he wasn’t. He was acting out because he was hurt, and clearly, no one had shown him how to work through his emotions.