Mafia Daddy by Aster Rae

6

Rowan

One week later

"You did what?!"

I take a sip of my chocolate ice cream coffee and settle into my favorite swivel chair with my friends.

I'm hanging out at Christian's ice cream parlor Dino Tracks with Riley and Karter.

Christian's hard at work serving customers.

Luckily, my other two friends from the Lil’ Man Discord server that Christian introduced me to last month after we both discovered we were littles are ready to chat.

And Lord, do I need my squad right now or what.

Ever since my meeting with Igor last week, my nerves have been a jumbled mess of anxiety.

"I already told you," I groan, taking a sip of the ice cream coffee that Christian whipped up for me, savoring the caffeinated deliciousness that doesn't exactly calm my nerves. "I met with Nikolai's brother Igor in his penthouse. He wants me to be his full-time housekeeper. He wants me to live in his apartment. I don't know what to do."

Riley brushes a strand of blond hair from his forehead. "Igor sounds so romantic. He clearly wants to be your Daddy. It sounds like a dream come true."

Karter lets out a snort. "Hell no. It sounds problematic AF."

"Why?" I query.

"Igor is stacked with cash," Karter explains. "He's also a Russian oligarch. It's a power imbalance of epic proportions."

"Thanks," I grumble. "I may work in an ice cream parlor, but I'm capable of standing up for myself."

Leave it to my friends to think that I'm totally incapable of fending for myself in the real world.

I might look eighteen, but life has given me the fighting spirit of a man of at least twenty-five.

The bad things that happened in my past have made me a survivor.

Riley nods. "Igor is a lot to handle. But if the way you treated him at your first meeting is true, you're more than up to the task."

"What did you do again?" Karter queries.

"I told Igor he couldn't boss me around," I say. "He wanted me to start that same day. But I told him I needed seven days to think about it. Then I bonked him on the nose and left."

Riley snorts. "Sounds like a fantastic way to meet your new employer."

"He was being controlling," I counter. "I needed to put him in his place."

God.

What's wrong with showing a controlling alphahole who’s boss?

"This is a man with billions of dollars at his disposal and luxurious estates across the country," Riley says. He's referencing an earlier conversation we had on Discord in which I bragged about the size of Igor's wealth. "He could hire a hitman to take you out and dump your body in the sea. He's not the type of man you should sass."

I let out a sigh. "I had to let him know who he's dealing with. Igor's had housekeepers before. I'm replacing his last one. He has a high rate of employee turnover for this position. But I refuse to let him treat me like the others. I refuse to be bossed around."

Something fissures in my chest.

When I was in the interview, I got the vibe that Igor’s housekeeping position wasn't just about cleaning up dust bunnies.

I got the vibe that Igor has had flings with his past housekeepers, and that there are dirty little secrets he’s keeping for me.

Igor clearly runs through housekeepers faster than a Category Seven tropical storm.

But Igor needs to take me seriously.

He can't steamroll over me like he’s done with housekeepers in the past.

"He needed to know he can't boss me around," I say with a shrug.

Karter pulls out his phone. "You have to see this."

I peek at the screen when he slides his phone across the table to me.

It’s a meme from a DDLB thread on Reddit.

It’s a picture of a teddy bear holding a sign that says: My Daddy is the Best Daddy — Change My Mind.

Something warm and fuzzy festers in my gut.

"Hilarious," I drawl, sliding the phone back across the table, taking another sip of my coffee drink.

I sound sassy as hell, but the truth is I’m bubbly inside.

When Igor shot his dark eyes at me on the leather sofa in his beautiful apartment, I nearly melted into a great puddle of chocolate.

My cock was rigid, but what was really crazy were the feelings in my heart.

Igor was stern with me, but I wanted nothing more than to crawl across the coffee table and bury myself in his arms.

I wanted to snuggle up against him and listen to his heartbeat while he called me his precious baby boy.

"I knew you were special when I saw you in Christian’s ice cream parlor, Rowan. I'm a dark man but you can change me. I had to invite you into my world. I couldn't let you get away."

"You mean it, Daddy?"

"Hell yes. I created this housekeeping position just for you. I couldn't bear the thought of you living on this Earth without me."

My body turns into a human-sized container of Jell-O as my fantasy swells to mammoth proportions in my mind.

Something presses against my thigh, and when I glance down, sure enough, the outline of my cock is visible through my tan khakis.

"Igor," I groan, shifting in my seat to cover up my arousal.

It hits me that there's a second reason I was sassy with Igor.

I wanted him.

My attitude was a ploy to distract from the fact that I was melting in his presence.

If I bonked him on the nose, he’d never suspect that all I really wanted to do was crawl into his lap and call him Daddy.

Christian saunters over from behind the ice cream counter.

"Looking good today, boys," Christian jokes.

"We’re telling Rowan he needs to be careful around your fiancé's brother," Karter says. "He's saying naughty things to Igor that he shouldn't and he's going to wind up in a ditch."

Riley nods. "Rowan's making stupid mistakes. He smacked Igor when Igor tried to put restrictive conditions on his employment. Igor said he wanted Rowan to start right away, but Rowan said No way in hell. The next time Rowan shows up, Igor will crush him in his fist.”

Christian slides into the seat next to me. "You finally called him?"

My cheeks flush. "Yes," I murmur. "We met at his penthouse by Central Park. He offered me a housekeeping position."

"How much will he pay?" Christian asks.

"Enough to cover my tuition for the next four years," I mumble. "And enough to help my grandmother stay alive while I'm gone."

"How much is that?"

"Fifty-thousand-dollars," I say. "And an extra ten to help Grams."

Karter's jaw falls to the floor. "You've got to be kidding."

I shake my head. "I'm telling the truth. He wants me to accept the position."

Christian shrugs. "I think Rowan should do it."

"Why?" Riley queries.

"No one negotiates with Igor. He's a ferocious beast of a man who crushes his enemies in his fist. If Rowan negotiated with him, he's more than capable of standing up to him."

"But Rowan is so young,” Riley points out. "Igor has a shitload of money to use against Rowan if he wants to. It's a walking court case."

Christian shakes his head. "Rowan will be fine. Rowan's safe as long as he doesn't do anything stupid."

I let out a groan.

Does bonking him on the nose count?

"So you think I should accept the deal?" I ask, refraining from spitting out every thought whirling through my mind.

"Yes." Christian issues me a curt nod. "But you must stipulate that this is only a housekeeping arrangement. You can't fall into the trap of becoming a high-paid escort. You're way too innocent for that."

Well, no worries there.

I’m way too young for Igor to want anything serious with me.

I drain the last of my ice cream coffee concoction. "Don't worry about it," I drawl. “Despite what he says, Igor's used to supermodels and beautiful men with six packs and great asses. There's not a single reason he’d want a boy like me."

Christian stares me dead in the eyes. "Don't do it, Rowan."

I roll my eyes.

I’m an eighteen-year-old boy who sleeps with stuffed animals and wears socks with tiny embroidered duckies on the sides.

What the hell would a grown-ass man want with me?