Daniel

Cameron’s words cut me deep. One minute I was elated over the amazing sex Cameron and I had just had, and him telling me that listening to me talk made him happy. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. And he liked looking at me. At my skinny little body. I couldn’t believe it.

The most amazing thing was the feeling inside me, though. The way it felt to be with him in his arms. The only thing that came close was when I was riding across the bridges at top speed, the wind rushing past me and my insides tingling like crazy. That’s what having Cameron’s arms around me felt like.

Being with him felt like magic.

But then everything came crashing down when he told me that he didn’t want to have any more children. I understood what he was saying. Kind of. But the thing was, there’s enough love for everyone, even every new baby on the planet. Love just seems to keep growing and growing, no matter how many people there are to give it to.

I didn’t know what to say in response to him, though. It took me a long time to fall asleep, and I woke up with nothing but questions the next morning. I couldn’t wrap my mind around not wanting another beautiful baby like Maggie. But he obviously didn’t want to talk about it, so I didn’t bring it up.

Over the next few days, little by little, I could see that things about Cameron were changing. He was spending more and more time with Maggie and me during work hours, and he seemed to be so much more relaxed. I slept in his bed with him every night.

We hadn’t done anything since that night in the living room, even though we’d been sleeping in the same bed. I had to admit, when we didn’t have sex the next night, I was afraid Cameron had changed his mind. That maybe he realized he’d made a mistake and wanted to pretend that none of it had happened.

But that wasn’t the case at all. The way he looked at me and touched me when we were lying next to each other, he treated me like something special … like something he cherished. He would hold me close, pressing his body up against mine. I would feel him get hard off and on, but he wouldn’t let me touch him. He told me he wanted to wait. That it wasn’t just sex he wanted from me.

One night, when we were both reading and talking off and on, Cameron let Maggie crawl in with us. She absolutely loved the fact that we were in bed together. She ran across the room and jumped in the middle of the bed, then scooted down under the covers between us. Then she pulled the covers up to her chin and smiled like nobody’s business, looking back and forth at the two of us. I think she really missed having two daddies, even though she was very small when her omega daddy died.

Maggie was old enough to know what it meant for me and Cameron to be in bed together, and she wasn’t shy about asking questions. The funny part was, they were questions neither one of us had the answer to. Not yet, anyway.

“Is Daniel my new omega daddy?”

“Does Catherine call him Daniel or Daddy now?”

“Is Daniel going to start telling me to eat my broccoli?”

“Is Daniel going to have a baby?”

Most of the questions she asked made us laugh and tell her we’d figure it all out. All of them except that last one. Is Daniel going to have a baby? I wanted to know the answer to that question too, but Cameron was completely silent as it hung in the air.

“Don’t you want to have a baby, Daniel?” Maggie asked.

“I do.”

“Then that means you and Daddy are going to have one, right?”

“I’m not sure about that, Maggie.”

“But you have to,” she said. “Catherine wants a little brother or sister. And so do I.”

I laid my head down next to hers on the pillow and smiled. I knew Cameron was looking down at the two of us, and I also knew if I looked up at him I’d probably start crying. And I didn’t want to do that in front of Maggie. “We’ll see,” was all I said, then kissed her forehead. Then Cameron turned off the light and the three of fell asleep.

That night I dreamt of our little family—me, and Cameron, and Maggie, and another little life that I held in my arms. In my dream, we were all so happy. No one was sad or scared or blamed themselves or anyone else for things that had gone wrong. We all just knew that everything would be okay as long as we were together. I woke up with tears in my eyes thinking about how amazing that dream felt.

Another day went by, and when I glanced at the date on my phone, I realized I’d been living with Cameron and Maggie for almost two weeks. The time had gone by so fast and I hadn’t talked to anyone—not Stephen or Mark or my one friend at the group home, Jason.

I remembered Jason’s number from when I put it into my old phone, so I gave him a call on my new cell phone to see if he wanted to meet for coffee. I figured I could look the clinic number up later and talk to Stephen, because I didn’t remember anyone else’s number off the top of my head.

Jason sort of took me under his wing when I moved into the group home. He was a huge alpha that towered over everyone there, and when the creepy thugs saw me with him, they kept their distance. But he was always super cool with me, almost like he saw me as his little brother.

“So, where’ve you been? You just disappeared into thin air, Daniel. I was worried about you.”

“Yeah, sorry. You were gone when I left, and I haven’t been back, not after what happened to my room. That place is kinda scary.” I took a sip of my coffee and looked around. It was a warm enough day and we were sitting outside a coffee shop near the condo. There were lots of stores in that neighborhood, so people were crowding the sidewalks and there was lots to look at.

“No doubt. But where are you? You’re not back squatting in one of those warehouses, are you? I told you, you could crash in my room for as long as you needed to.”

Jason looked kind of uncomfortable. When I’d asked him to meet me, I didn’t think about the fact that he didn’t ever come over to this part of town. He usually just hung out on the streets near the group home.

I kind of wished he’d get out of there. Jason was a really cool guy and I was always afraid he was going to get mixed up with the druggies and the guys who sold stolen stuff—like the phone that someone took out of my room.

“No, I’m staying with someone. It’s not far from here, actually.”

“Where? This neighborhood is pretty swanky.”

“It’s one of those tower buildings,” I said, pointing at the condos that were visible above the shops that surrounded us. “It’s called The Marguerite.”

“Dude, how the hell are you living in a place like that? What are you, some rich dude’s sugar baby now?” Jason laughed but I could see a worried look in his eyes.

“No, it’s not like that. He has a daughter and I do stuff with her.”

“What, like you’re her manny?”

“Not really,” I said, laughing. “I play with her and hang out with her.”

“That’s it?”

“Well … no.” I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to tell him, but I didn’t have anyone else to talk to, really. I mean, I had Cameron, but I couldn’t exactly tell him how cool it was to have sex with him. “Okay, but don’t tell anyone, all right?”

“Who the hell would I tell?” Jason said, emphasizing what he said with his hands.

“I don’t know. Just, anyone. So, yeah, me and this guy … we’re …”

“Doing it?” he asked, all excited. “I freaking knew it! And I bet he’s paying you, right? He probably says it’s for his daughter, but it’s really just cause he’s lonely. He must be some big time alpha with that kind of money to throw around. How old is this guy?”

Everything Jason said hit me like a ton of bricks. Cameron was paying me. He said it was for Maggie before we were … intimate, and he told me he didn’t just want me for sex. But now that we’d fooled around, I realized I felt even weirder taking his money. “I don’t know. He’s not that old.”

“Damn! I can’t believe you, Daniel. You got it made in the shade!”

“Look, it’s not like that. I like him, and he likes me. And we haven’t even …”

“What? He hasn’t knotted you yet?”

“No.”

“Think he’s gonna?” Jason said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I don’t know. He says he doesn’t want any more kids.”

“Well, that’s not so bad. You can live with him for a while and get some money, then when it gets boring you can leave.”

“It’s not like that at all, Jason. I’m not even taking his money. And, to be honest, I can’t imagine it getting boring. I really like it there.”

“So you think you love this guy?”

“I don’t know,” I said. But I knew the answer. I felt it the second I laid eyes on Cameron.

“That’s cool. I’d pretty much kill to find a situation like that.”

“So you’re still at the home?” I asked.

“Yeah. My cousin has some stuff he wants me to do with him, so hopefully that’ll bring some money.”

“Like what?” I asked. Jason’s cousin had a really bad reputation on the streets and I always stayed far away from him.

“I don’t know. He never really tells me before it goes down.”

“Well, be careful, Jason.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. He’s family. And I owe him. He’s helped me out of some jams in the past.”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to do anything dangerous for him.”

“All right, all right. I’ll be careful,” Jason said with a big grin. “Listen, Daniel, I’m really happy for you. You’re a good kid. I hope this guy is giving you a million bucks, cause that’s what you deserve.”

“Thanks,” I said as Jason slapped my back. It was a friendly gesture, but I laughed because I almost dropped my coffee. “Okay, well, I should be heading back. Maggie will be getting home soon.”

“Sure, well, don’t be a stranger.”

“You too,” I said as I stood up. “You’ve got my number now.”

“Yeah,” he said. “But next time let’s meet in a more chill neighborhood. This place kinda gives me the creeps.”

“Sure thing,” I said. “See ya, Jason.”

On my way home, I couldn’t help but smile as I listened to music and passed the other people on the streets. I couldn’t believe this was my life now. That I lived here in this neighborhood and in the fabulous building I walked into. I didn’t want to think about the money or babies or anything like that. I just wanted to feel this amazing feeling of not having a care in the world. Of having an incredibly hot, sexy alpha who wanted to be with me and take care of me.

When I passed the person at the front desk, they actually smiled and called me Mr. Jacobs.

Me.

I was so happy when I walked into the condo that I didn’t take out my earbuds. I just kept on listening to music and dancing around. The living room was huge and there was tons of space to just let go.

I danced my way through a string of rooms, finally winding up in the TV room. It had an entertainment center and a huge couch for lounging on. I kicked off my shoes and socks and jumped up onto the couch and started singing to the song blasting through my headphones, while I moved my hips to the beat. When it got to my favorite part, I opened my eyes and started to belt it out, but then I saw Cameron. He was standing in a doorway, leaning up against the wall, and he was staring at me.

At first, I thought he was mad. I jumped down off the couch, pulled the buds out, and stood there, waiting to be reprimanded. When I was a kid if I’d ever done anything like that—anything that disturbed my father at all—he would go crazy. It was one of the reasons I always tried to be invisible. So that he wouldn’t see me and get mad.

But Cameron didn’t look mad at all. In fact, he was smiling.

He walked over to where I was standing, and he took the earbuds out of my hand and put one in his ear. “Taylor Swift,” he said with a grin.

I could feel my face get hot as he continued to stare at me and listen to the song that was playing on my phone. “Yeah, I guess it’s kinda cheesy.”

“Not at all,” he said, handing the earbud back to me. “You know you can play anything you want on the stereo.” He gestured to a component system against one wall that I hadn’t seen turned on since I’d been there.

“I didn’t want to bother anyone.”

Cameron grabbed my hips and pulled them to his. “Daniel, there is nothing you could do that would bother me.”

“Nothing?” I asked, not sure I believed him.

“Absolutely nothing.” Cameron brought his lips to mine and turned my body into a pool of liquid with one kiss. When he pulled away, he still held onto my hips and I could feel his cock growing hard between us. My breath caught in my throat as he looked down at me. It was exactly the same as when he watched me touch myself.

And when I touched Cameron, it sent shockwaves straight through me. I loved the feel of his skin against mine, and I wanted him inside me. I craved him, and I wasn’t even in heat yet.

I started to worry what was going to happen when the next one came. I quickly figured in my head, based on my last heat in his office. If it came at a normal four-week interval, I still had a couple weeks left. But my heats had always been a bit unpredictable. They could happen in three weeks, or even seven. I never knew exactly when they were going to come. And if Cameron had no intention of ever knotting inside me, I didn’t know what I was going to do.

Just then we heard Maggie’s voice as she walked in the front door of the condo with her governess, and we both pulled away from each other. I hoped that we would get back in that exact position later, though. After Maggie went to bed.

“Daddy and Daniel!” Maggie yelled as she ran into the room.

“Hi, sweetie. How was your gymnastics class?”

“It was really good! I learned to do a cartwheel! Wanna see it!”

“It’s probably not a good idea to do it in here, Maggie. Maybe when we go to the park.”

“Daniel said he might take me today. Can we all go together?”

Cameron pulled his phone out and swiped a few times, then put it to his ear. “Janine? Can you cancel my three o’clock with the Farmington Group? Yes, just reschedule it for their next available slot. Thank you.” He looked down at his daughter, who had her hands folded together under her chin like she was making a wish. “We can.”

“All of us?” she yelled.

“Yes, all of us.”

Maggie looked over at me with concern in her eyes. “But do you have a special seat for Daddy too?” she asked.

“I don’t think your daddy would fit on my bike with the two of us, Maggie?” I said, laughing at the image of the two of them hanging off the back of my bike.

“Then how is Daddy going to get to the park?”

"What kind of seat?" Cameron asked.

“Oh, it’s something I picked up at the bike shop. It's a special attachment for kids who are growing, so we don’t have to worry about Maggie getting to big for it,” I said as a ruffled Maggie’s hair. “Not in the next couple years, anyway.”

Cameron was quiet for a moment and I wasn’t sure but I thought I saw a flash of something in his eyes that said he wasn’t too happy. “Why don’t I have Nelson bring a car around? We can have him drive us.”

“I wanted to ride on the back of Daniel’s bike,” Maggie said, the sadness in her eyes clearly having an effect on Cameron.

“Well, I do have my own bike.”

"You do?” we both asked at the same time.

Cameron laughed. "Yes, it’s been packed away in the storage space for years, along with some clothes and things I used to wear when your omega daddy was still alive."

"Why is it all down there?” Maggie asked, her eyes growing serious.

“Well, I haven’t really felt like riding a bike in a few years. I guess I was too sad.”

“I understand, Daddy,” Maggie said as she wrapped her arms around his leg. “But now you have Daniel to ride a bike with. He makes you less sad, doesn’t he?”

I was shocked to see a glaze of tears in Cameron’s eyes. But he swallowed hard and cleared his throat and they were gone. “Yes, Maggie, Daniel makes me less sad. Look, why don’t the two of you get ready and I’ll meet you in the living room.”

“You mean we’re really going out? All of us together?” Maggie looked so excited and I could see how happy that made Cameron.

“Yes, all of us together. But Daddy has to change.”

“Into jeans and a T-shirt?” I asked, unable to hide my own excitement.

“Yes,” he said. “Into jeans and a T-shirt.”

That night, after we ate dinner and Maggie had a bath and was asleep in her own bed, Cameron and I sat in silence in the living room. We’d had an amazing time when we biked up to a park that overlooked the entire city. We relaxed in the grass while Maggie showed us her cartwheels, then the three of us walked along some paths. We cruised back home just as the sun was setting.

Even though the day felt perfect to me, I had a strange feeling that Cameron wasn’t happy about something. Finally, after we were alone, he brought up what was bothering him.

"How did you pay for it?” he asked.

“How did I pay for what?” I thought back about what he might be referring to and all I could think of was the coffee I’d had with Jason earlier in the day.

“The bike seat. The one you got for Maggie.”

“Oh, that. Well, I … I paid for it myself. It's perfectly safe. The guy at the store showed me all the safety features. It’s the best one on the market. I got her the helmet too.” I wasn’t sure why, but Cameron didn’t look very pleased.

"I'm not worried about that. I trust your judgment. I’m just curious about how you paid for it. I looked at the account I set up for you and nothing has been taken out.”

“Well, I … I really don’t feel comfortable taking your money, Cameron. I like playing with Maggie. Besides, it just feels wrong."

“Wrong? But I want you to have it. I want you to have money to spend on things that you like and need. Daniel, I want you to have everything."

“But I already do. You give me everything I need. I have a place to live and food to eat. I don’t have any bills to pay or any expenses at all. You even pay for my phone and you bought me these clothes I’m wearing. There really isn’t anything I need at all. And besides, if I took your money, it would feel like …”

“Like what?” Cameron asked, his voice sounding even more serious.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath because I didn't want to say the words out loud. The words that Jason had put in my head. “If I took your money, I would feel like you were paying me to be with you. That’s not what this is, is it?” I couldn’t even look Cameron in the eyes when I asked that question. I felt terrible saying the words, and even though I was sure there was no way it could be the case, I was terrified that they might be true.

Cameron moved across the couch so fast it made my head spin. He grabbed my face in both of his hands and held it there. “Daniel, look at me.”

I moved my eyes up so that they met his. I was expecting to see him frowning again, but he wasn’t. His eyes were kind and even had a bit of a smile in them. “Absolutely not. I told you that money means nothing to me. I have more than I could ever hope to spend, and I want to share my good fortune with you. I want to treat you like a king.” Cameron paused for a moment and his eyes seemed to deepen. “Besides, I’m not the kind of person who pays for love."

"Love?” I asked, my lips quivering along with my voice. I hadn’t expected to hear him say that word and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"Yes," he said, his smile growing wider. “I know it’s soon, but I also know how I feel. I love you, Daniel. And I want the world for you. I want to take care of you. I want to make sure you’re comfortable, and feel secure, and have everything you could possibly ever want. Not because you’re playing with Maggie and not because we’re having sex. I want the world for you because I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you.”

I couldn’t speak for a long time. I just stared at Cameron with tears streaming down my cheeks. He brushed them away, but they just kept coming, so he kissed every inch of my face until I couldn’t help but smile. I threw my arms around him. "I love you too,” I whispered into his ear. “I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe you feel the same way I do.”

“Believe it,” he said, looking down at me. “How would you feel about making it official?"

"What do you mean?” I asked, brushing more tears away.

“What I’m asking,” he said with a grin, “is … Daniel Jacobs …will you marry me?"

"Seriously?" I stared at him with wide eyes without saying anything else for entirely too long.

"I don’t understand. Is that a yes?”

“Yes!” I practically yelled, wrapping my arms around Cameron again. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Good,” Cameron said, narrowing his eyes on mine again. “Now will you please spend my goddamned money?”

I laughed and nodded my head. “Yes,” I said in mock exasperation. “I’ll spend your goddamned money.”

“If I would have known that’s all it took, I would have married you the minute you walked in the door,” Cameron said with a wink.

Once again, I had no words to say. I could never have imagined when I walked into Cameron Styles penthouse office, that within two weeks he’d be asking me to marry him. But one thought brought me down and Cameron knew exactly what I was thinking.

“The answer to that question is yes.”

“Yes, what?” I asked.

“Yes, I’ve changed my mind. I think you would make an amazing omega daddy, and I want us to have a baby together.”