Bossy Baby by Athena Steller

Four

Hayley

Hayley woke up feeling better than he had when he’d gone to sleep. There were no moments of confusion. He knew exactly where he was. In Mac’s home. In one of Mac’s guest rooms. At least Hayley didn’t think this was Mac’s bedroom. There was nothing in the bedroom that spoke of it being used.

He sat up, peering around. No, he couldn’t see the big man going to sleep in there every night. Not that it wasn’t a nice room—Hayley loved the bright yellow walls and décor. Even the comforter he’d been lying under was a beautiful yellow. Not what Hayley had expected.

Swinging his legs to the side of the bed, he stifled a giggle. His feet didn’t come close to touching the floor. It was a really big bed. Tall and wide. Mac was a big guy but since Hayley barely topped off at five foot six, there was a huge difference in their heights.

Carefully climbing down, he looked around, thankfully spotting the bathroom easily.

In only his tiny briefs, the house was cool, and Hayley shivered. He really didn’t want to try to wrestle his jeans back on, though. Actually, he couldn’t believe he’d let Mac take them off. How embarrassing. The entire day really. Hayley had finally gotten his date with Mac and then screwed everything up.

Although he did end up in Mac’s bed. Even if he was all alone. And Mac had seen the small undies Hayley liked. Even though Mac hadn’t touched him.

Progress, though. Mac was interested in him. Hopefully Hayley hadn’t screwed everything up.

He’d taken a big chance, demanding a date. But Hayley knew what he wanted. He’d tried to be patient. Mac still hadn’t been ready to make the first step, so Hayley had done it himself. Mac hadn’t seemed to mind, either. Most dominant men would have written off Hayley at that point. Mac was different. Wonderful.

Now Hayley just had to figure out how to keep the big guy around. His little side was never far from the surface, so maybe Hayley could ease Mac into becoming his Daddy.

Was that fair though? Getting into a relationship without Mac knowing the full truth?

Dang it, now Hayley’s head was beginning to ache.

He needed to stop thinking and find Mac. But first peeing. He really needed to pee.

Pulling his briefs down was easy enough. He even managed to pee on his own. Getting his briefs back up had him struggling and sweating. They were a little crooked, but it was the best he could do. Hayley flushed the toilet before looking at the sink. Could he just wash one hand? Well, he had to try. He ran the water in the basin before dunking his un-casted arm.

Since he couldn’t rub his hands together, he dropped the bar of soap into the sink and used that with his one hand. Jeez, more difficult then he thought. He had no idea how he was going to run his shop.

Hayley couldn’t afford to close up.

He had some money in the bank, a small rainy-day fund. But it wasn’t much. Organic stock was expensive, and his costs were high.

Hayley did not want to have to go home, or call his parents for money. They wouldn’t mind, but he was an adult. He should be able to handle his own problems. Maybe he could ask one of his brothers to come up here instead. Yeah, that was preferable.

Would it be weird to ask Mac his advice?

Probably. But Hayley wanted to do it anyway.

Turning off the water, he left the bar of soap in the sink for next time before haphazardly drying his hand.

Going back into the room, he saw a blanket on the back of the chair in the corner. He couldn’t walk around in his undies. Wrapping the blanket around his waist, Hayley held it closed with one hand.

He peeked out of the bedroom door but didn’t hear anything. Stepping into the hall, Hayley peered into the room across from his. It was empty. But that was obviously Mac’s room. There were books on the nightstand. Keys on a dresser. Clothes on the floor. Yeah, that was more like it.

The bed looked super comfortable, but Hayley resisted climbing on it.

Instead, he started down the hall. He took the stairs carefully. The blanket dragged along the hardwood floors and he didn’t want to trip. Hayley really would be useless with two broken arms.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a television and wandered in that direction.

Mac sat on the couch, television low, as he read a book.

It was the glasses perched on his nose that made Hayley gasp. He was absolutely the hottest guy Hayley had ever seen.

Obviously hearing him, Mac slammed the book closed and stood. He quickly removed the glasses as well. Ah, sad face. Hayley liked the glasses. “Are you okay? Are you in pain? I had your prescriptions filled at the hospital. You might not remember that.”

It was all a little fuzzy. Hayley shrugged his good shoulder.

Mac stepped closer. “What do you need?”

Hayley closed the remaining distance. He pressed his forehead against Mac’s wide chest and closed his eyes. He really didn’t need anything. Comfort maybe? He didn’t even know.

Mac seemed to understand. His arms came around Hayley gently as Mac embraced him. “It’s okay, boy. Everything is going to be okay.”

God, Hayley hoped so. Leaning on Mac like this made him feel like everything was okay, even though that was far from the truth. There was so much he should be doing. He shuffled his feet so he was flatter against Mac.

Mac moved back but didn’t release Hayley. Slowly, Mac drew him down to the couch. He sat, pulling Hayley down onto his lap.

Hayley immediately cuddled closer.

Mac rubbed his hand up and down his back.

Hayley didn’t cry. Didn’t have the need. Even the pain was tolerable. But being held was wonderful. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so safe with someone.

“Okay?” Mac asked softly.

“If I say no, will you still hold me?”

“How about if you tell me the truth and no matter what the answer is, I continue to hold you?” Mac responded.

“I’m feeling okay,” Hayley answered. “A lot on my mind. I have no idea how I’m going to work. But it doesn’t seem like such a big deal when I’m being cuddled in your lap.”

“Don’t worry about your shop. We’ll figure things out. Just as long as you’re feeling okay.”

“Thanks.” Hayley left his head on Mac’s chest but opened his eyes to peer around the room.

All the furniture was big and expensive. What he remembered about the house screamed that Mac had money.

“What do you do for work? I can’t believe I never asked.” Although now that he thought back, Hayley was pretty sure that he had asked. Several times.

“I’m retired from the government,” Mac said.

That could mean so much.

“Are you hungry?”

And there Mac was back to changing the subject. Did he just not like talking about himself or was it something else?

“I made soup. It’s an organic vegetable soup I found the recipe for online. It should also help if the pain meds upset your stomach.”

Hayley’s mouth dropped open. “You cooked for me?”

“I made soup. It wasn’t really that difficult. I just had to follow the directions.”

“I thought you didn’t have any groceries?”

“Well…I…”

Was that another blush? “Mac?”

“I ordered from the organic grocery store we have. I had the groceries delivered while you were resting.”

Hayley knew what store Mac was talking about. While he preferred to eat organic—it was how he’d been raised—Hayley could rarely afford that grocery store. But Mac had not only bought groceries but had also cooked for him. How sweet was that?

Now that Mac mentioned food, Hayley could smell the soup. “It smells good.”

“I wasn’t sure if you were a vegetarian or vegan,” Mac said. “I figured the vegetable soup would be good for you though.”

“I eat meat,” Hayley told him. “Oh.” He immediately flushed. Crap. “I mean—”

Mac chuckled and shook his head. “I know what you mean, boy.”

He loved being called boy by Mac. It would be better to be called Mac’s boy.

“What time is it?” Hayley was pretty rested so days could have passed for all he knew.

“Late.”

“Oh.” That didn’t tell him much.

“So soup or more cuddles?”

Hayley hummed. Both sounded good. “Cuddles, then soup, then more cuddles?” he asked. He even batted his eyelashes. That wasn’t too demanding, was it?

“That’s a great idea.” Mac relaxed back onto the couch.

“What were you reading?”

“It’s actually a pretty interesting book. There is a ranch in Utah that has some interesting activities going on. There was an investigation. Supernatural or aliens—there are a lot of theories.”

“Aliens?” Was Mac a geek?

“It’s possible. There’s a big universe out there.”

“Please tell me you own all the Star Wars movies,” Hayley teased. Mac was totally a geek.

Mac cleared his throat.

“Oh my God! You do! Can we watch them?”

There was a long pause. “You really want to watch them or are you just being mean?”

Hayley peered up. Mac had his head turned, though. “I really want to watch them. I am a total Star Wars geek. Hell, I love Star Trek just as much. Don’t tell my brother Jayme, though. He thinks you can only be part of one or the other fandom.”

Mac nodded seriously. “I’ll keep your secret. For a price.”

“What price?” Hayley questioned.

“You have to watch the Star Wars movies in the order I want to watch them.”

Hayley was totally going to fall in love with Mac. It was going to happen. Mac was perfect. “Deal.”

Mac reached over and grabbed the remote.

Hayley still had the blanket wrapped around his waist. He tried to pull it up higher, but he was sitting on it. He huffed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m trying to get comfortable,” Hayley said. He squirmed around.

Mac groaned.

Hayley froze and looked at him.

“Sorry.” Mac blushed again.

So sexy!Then Hayley figured out the issue. Mac was hard. And Hayley was sitting on his lap. “Do you want me to move?”

“No,” Mac barked. “But if you can stop squirming, that would be helpful.”

Hayley blinked. Squirmed. Smiled.

Mac narrowed his eyes. “I knew you were trouble the first time I saw you.”

“Who, me?”

Chuckling, Mac nodded.

“But it’s not my fault.” Wiggle. Wiggle. “I’m just trying to get comfortable.”

“Fuc…” Mac trailed off. “Just stand up and we’ll fix your blanket.”

“But you’re so comfy.” He squirmed closer.

Mac’s mouth opened and closed several times. Teasing him was going to be so much fun.

“I’m just trying to pull up my blanket,” Hayley lied as he wiggled more.

“Nope.” Mac lifted Hayley off his lap. He set Hayley on his feet and tugged the blanket from his waist.

And stared at Hayley’s tiny green briefs.

The fact that Hayley was half hard probably didn’t hurt grabbing Mac’s attention. But it was cold without his blanket. He shivered.

“Shit.” Mac stretched out the blanket. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” Hayley put his good hand on Mac’s shoulder before climbing back onto the big guy’s lap.

He stretched his legs out as Mac laid the blanket over him.

The perfect position for watching his favorite movies. “Start the movie! Start the movie!” He would have clapped his hands but yeah, only one good arm, at the moment. Little Hayley was close to the surface. Between the pain, stress, and Mac treating him so well, Hayley was going to have to watch himself. He didn’t want to scare Mac off before he had a chance to explain what being little meant to him.

Mac was grinning as he selected the movie and pressed Play.

Hayley laid his head back down. Mac smelt clean. He’d probably showered. Hayley probably smelled like some mixture of blood and hospital. Not attractive. But if Mac didn’t mind, then Hayley wasn’t going to mention it. He’d have to worry about that along with everything else later.

It was time to get lost in another world while sitting on a sexy man’s lap. Yeah, the first date might not have gone as well as Hayley would have liked, but things could be worse.

Mac tightened his arm around Hayley’s shoulder. Things could definitely be worse.

Mac

Mac wasn’t surprised when Hayley started to drift off while the first movie still played. But Hayley needed to eat so he could take more pain meds. Mac paused the movie before he kissed the top of Hayley’s head.

“Hmm?” Hayley muttered, peering up sweetly at Mac.

“I’m going to slide you off my lap. Get you some soup and the pain meds.”

Hayley opened his eyes. “Movie?”

“We’ll continue the movie while you eat,” Mac promised.

“K.” Hayley let out a big yawn.

There was no way that Hayley was going to make it through the entire movie. That was okay, though. Something to look forward to. One day soon maybe they’d have time to watch all of his favorite movies. Binge watching, it was called.

This was all new to Mac. He’d never had the opportunity to just relax and be normal. Normal, what was normal anyway? He hadn’t even been normal before he’d been trained to kill. Even as a child, Mac had been different.

No, he wasn’t going to think about those days. Being alone and afraid all the time. Only happiness was allowed in the same space as Hayley. Mac just needed to focus on Hayley. Focusing on his boy would keep Mac’s demons at bay.

Mac lifted Hayley up before sliding out from under him.

Hayley was trying to wake up, so Mac left to give him a few minutes. The soup was still warming in the crockpot. Mac pulled down a bowl from his cabinet next to the sink. He had a special bowl for Hayley but chose a plain normal bowl this time. He’d have to bring up becoming Hayley’s Daddy eventually. Fuck, he wanted to show Hayley the special room. It was the only room in the house that Mac had done on his own. No one but him had even set foot inside.

Mac spooned soup into the bowl before going to the fridge to grab two bottles of water. He also picked up Hayley’s meds from the counter where he’d put them earlier. It took some juggling to carry everything. He needed a tray or something. Mac really hadn’t been prepared for Hayley so soon. He was happy that he didn’t have to wait, but there was so much more he needed to properly care for his boy.

Walking back in the living room, Mac almost tripped over his own feet.

That was just what they needed. Both of them with a broken arm. He averted his gaze so he wasn’t distracted by all the sexy skin on display.

Hayley standing next to the couch with his arms over his head, cast and all, was just too much temptation.

He cleared his throat. “I brought you some soup,” Mac told him.

“It smells so good,” Hayley praised. He reached back down to the couch and grabbed the blanket before he wrapped it around his waist once again.

Now that Hayley’s sexy tiny briefs were hidden, Mac continued walking to the couch. He set everything on the coffee table before motioning for Hayley to sit. But something else had grabbed Hayley’s attention.

“Hayley?”

“Uh, Mac.”

“What’s wrong?” Mac reached around to the back of his waistband before mentally cursing. Of course he didn’t have his gun on him. They were supposed to be safe in his house.

“Mac!”

He was by Hayley’s side in a few strides. Mac placed his hand on Hayley’s shoulder. “What is it?”

“We’re being stared at,” Hayley whispered.

That was impossible. All the blinds had been pulled down. There was no way that someone had gotten inside without him knowing either.

“And it’s the cutest thing ever!” Hayley dropped to his knees as he squealed.

“What the f—” Mac caught himself. “What?”

Ignoring him, Hayley crawled awkwardly across the carpet, the blanket around his waist forgotten and falling off. Well, damn, Mac hadn’t thought about how Hayley’s arm would affect every aspect of his life. Even crawling seemed difficult.

“Oh! There’s another one!”

Shaking his head, Mac sat back on the couch. Now that he knew what Hayley had found, he settled in to watch. Hayley already had both the calico kitten and the small gray-striped kitten on his lap. There was no sign of the littlest one, which didn’t Mac. Socks, his black-and-white kitten, didn’t like when they had visitors. The workers he’d hired for remodeling and the decorating team had been the only other ones in his house. However, Socks hadn’t been a fan.

“You didn’t tell me about these two little sweeties,” Hayley accused.

“Three.”

“Three?” Hayley asked.

“Three little sweeties. The calico’s name is Cookie, because he steals the kitten cookies from the others. The grey one is Tyson after one of my best buddies from the service.” Mac paused. He didn’t want to explain Tyson to Hayley yet. “And the baby that’s hiding is Socks.”

“Socks?” Hayley grinned. “You named one of your kittens Socks?”

Mac grunted. It was a fitting name. He’d never had to name pets before. “She’s all black with white only on her paws. Like socks.”

Struggling to stand while still holding on to the cats, Hayley nodded. “That makes perfect sense.”

“What?” Mac narrowed his eyes. Hayley was teasing him? Only Mitch ever teased him.

“Nothing.” Hayley stumbled over to the couch. “It’s cute.”

“You need to eat.” And stop thinking that Mac was cute. Mac was scary. Dangerous. He wasn’t cute.

“But I want to play with the kittens,” Hayley whined. Which was adorable.

“After you eat, I’ll let you feed them some treats. That’ll bring out Socks.”

“Fine.” Hayley gave him a pout before he kissed both kittens’ heads. He set the animals down gently before walking the rest of the way.

“Come here, boy,” Mac said. “You have to be hungry.” Hayley hadn’t gotten his sandwich from the deli earlier—their lunch had been forgotten on the ground. And Hayley had slept through dinner.

“There’s no way that I’ll be able to eat without making a mess.” Hayley held up his cast.

“It’s a good thing that I’m here to take care of you, then.”

Hayley bit his lip as he dropped his head.

“Hey.” Mac grasped Hayley’s sides, urging him forward. “Talk to me.”

“You’ll get tired of taking care of me.”

“I won’t,” Mac assured him.

“You don’t know that. I’ve never had a broken bone in my life. I have no idea how much trouble this is going to cause.”

“I’ve broken a few. Been around others that have. I’ll help you. That’s what I want to do.”

“Why?”

Mac rubbed the back of his head. It was time to be honest. But how much should he say? “Did you know we have mutual friends?”

“We do?”

“Yes, it was how I heard about your shop. I’d been at Caleb’s house. Pet sitting. Taking care of his babies. He used one of your products.” That wasn’t the entire truth though. Mac had seen Hayley long before he’d ever spoken to Caleb or Grant. He just used Caleb as an excuse if ever asked.

“You pets sit for Caleb?” Hayley bounced. “And you know…Avery?”

It was telling that Hayley would bring up Avery. The little of the group. “Avery and Mitch, Jace, Grant, and Byron. Although I’m closest to Mitch probably.”

“I like Mitch,” Hayley said. “He’s really nice to me.”

Mac nodded. “Avery’s Daddy is a tad protective of him, so we’re not super close. But I respect both of them.”

“You know.” Hayley’s voice was filled with awe. “About Jace being Avery’s Daddy?”

“I do. I know about all of them having their Daddy or being boys.”

“And that’s okay with you?”

Truth time. Mac was going to put it out there. “That’s what drew me to them, I think. Their unique relationships. What drew me to you.”

“To me?” Hayley moving even closer.

Mac tried to keep his hold on Hayley’s hips light. “The moment that I saw you, I wanted to wrap you up in my arms and protect you. So that you always smiled. Never got hurt.”

Hayley laid his uninjured hand on Mac’s shoulder. “Like a Daddy.” His thumb caressed Mac’s shoulder.

“I want nothing more than to hear you call me Daddy one day. To know that you trust me that much. To protect and care for you. I also want to take you on dates. To binge watch movies. There’s so much I want that I’m afraid it’ll scare you away.”

Hayley slid into his lap, his barely covered bottom right over Mac’s cock. God, Mac really was going to Hell. He was such a bad, bad man. “I don’t think it’d be possible to scare me away.”

Was that a challenge? “I bought this house for you. I wanted you in a safe neighborhood. To be able to step away from the shop that you put everything into. It had to have a pool, of course. Only the best for my boy.”

“Your boy,” Hayley repeated. “So…you want to be my Daddy”

Was that hope in his voice?

“I don’t know if that’s something you’d be interested in,” Mac confessed. “Obviously you accept the lifestyle since you’re friends with Mitch, Caleb, and Avery, but it might not be something you want?” Mac let his question hang out there.

Hayley blinked at him. “Am I still dreaming?”

“I don’t think so,” Mac said, amused. “Or that would mean that I’m dreaming too.”

“You want to be my Daddy,” Hayley whispered.

“There is one thing that I should probably confess before you decide,” Mac told him.

“What?” Hayley asked sharply. “You already have another boy?”

Mac growled. Why did Hayley keep thinking he was with someone else?

“No. And you’re the only boy that I’m interested in.”

“So…”

“I’ve never been a Daddy before. Never thought about it until I met you,” Mac said. “I’m probably going to fuck up.”

Hayley was shaking his head before Mac even finished his sentence. “I think you’ll make the best Daddy. You already are.”

Mac smiled. “Really”

“Yes. I don’t have much experience either. I mean, I know what I like. But I’ve never had a Daddy. Ever.”

Why did that make Mac feel so unbelievably relieved? “I was going to wait to talk to you about all this. About becoming my boy.”

“Your boy,” Hayley said. “I want you to say that again, I think.”

“I will.” Mac nodded. “I’ll say it as much as you want.”

“It’s…buying a house for me… I don’t know what to do with that information.”

“It weird,” Mac admitted. “I don’t always know what to do. Or more importantly what not to do.”

“Did buying the house make you happy?”

Mac nodded. Being able to provide for Hayley. Yes, that made him happy.

“Then we don’t need to worry about. There is just one thing you need to promise me.”

Wait? Hayley wasn’t creeped out? “What is the one thing?” Mac asked with apprehension.

“Don’t ever do anything just for me if it makes you unhappy.”

“What do you mean?” Mac would do anything for Hayley.

“I know you. Or at least I think I do.” Hayley squirmed around until he was straddling Mac.

That was not helping with Mac’s already hard dick, either. He was trying to be good here! Why was Hayley tempting him?

“You know me?” Is that what Hayley had said? Mac was losing his train of thought. He didn’t know where to put his hands. Mac knew where he wanted to put them, but it was too soon. Right? He shook his head.

“Put your hands on me,” Hayley demanded. He even grabbed Mac’s hands and placed them on his own ass.

Oh God. Mac was finally getting to touch Hayley’s tight round butt.

“That’s better.” Hayley patted Mac’s chest. “And to answer your question, yes, I think I know you. Or enough about you that I feel comfortable in saying that you would put my needs before your own. You’d do something to make me happy even if it made you miserable. I don’t want that. In fact, you promise me right here and right now that you won’t do that.”

Had he mentioned his boy was bossy? Very bossy.

“Mac.” Hayley even gave him a cute little growl. It sounded like Socks when the babykitten pounced on her play mouse.

“I will try my best to always do what will make us both happy,” Mac said instead of outright promising. He didn’t want to lie to his boy. This was his second chance at a life. He might be choosy with what information he did share, but Mac hoped to not lie.

“I’ll accept that answer for now,” Hayley responded. “Now feed me before my soup gets cold.”

“I can warm it up,” Mac offered. Maybe some distance would be good. His mind was whirling.

“Let’s try what you brought me first.” Hayley wiggled around so his back was against the arm of the couch and his legs were stretched out.

“Okay.” Mac reached for the bowl. This should be interesting.