Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
It took him a few more seconds of carefully coloring, mitt-covered fist wrapped around the green crayon, before he leaned into me, though. I took that as a good sign and kissed his head. “That looks beautiful.”
The first bits he’d done were almost grown-up perfect, everything in the lines and careful, but as he’d continued, it was less structured and felt more carefree. “I like the trees over here and that lion in the back looks lazy.”
He snickered and made a soft roar around the binkie. “I think you’d be a lazy lion too.”
Pretending to get offended, he huffed and wiggled, trying to square his shoulders and look tough. It just looked adorable, but I pretended to shiver. “Scary lion.”
That got a giggle out of him before he blinked, probably realizing he’d shifted a bit too far away from being the grown-up he claimed to be. “My happy lion too.”
Ignoring his second-guessing seemed to be the best decision, so I nodded toward the coloring book. “How about we finish this after dinner when we watch some cartoons? I want to cuddle with you now.”
It wasn’t exactly an order, but I was a softy when it came to him. He knew it too. One whine and some puppy dog eyes and he could’ve changed my mind, but he was still for a moment before he shrugged, trying to look like it didn’t matter what we did.
I was in charge after all.
“Good boy.” One more peck, that time on his nose, and I stood, taking his hand and the bottle. “I think couch cuddles.”
He’d have room to stretch out, depending on how he wanted to snuggle up for his bottle. At the moment, he just seemed to be doing his best to ignore the bottle. It wouldn’t make it disappear, but if it made him feel better that was okay with me.
It wouldn’t change anything because it wasn’t anywhere close to a safeword.
He even curled into me easily as I sat down and pulled him onto my lap. “There we go.”
Moving him into a more inclined position, I braced him with my arm and one of the pillows against the arm of the couch and brought the bottle to his lips. My exaggerated frown got a snicker from him. “This won’t work.”
Sighing, I glared at the binkie. “You can’t talk even if I take it out. No cheating.”
Part of him wanted to take that as a challenge, but a quick switch popping out the binkie and in the bottle kept him from having to decide if he wanted to be a pain in the ass or not. “Good boy.”
I wasn’t sure if his good behavior was because he didn’t know what he’d say or if he actually liked cuddling up and getting his bottle, but he closed his eyes and relaxed as he sucked down his milk. “I’m so glad you’re trying to make me happy. I’m glad I get to reward you later.”
He gave a tiny wiggle, snuggling tighter against me and sucking faster to show me what a good boy he was. It was clearly a bid for more information, so I played along. “I can’t tell you too much or you’ll guess my first reward. But you’re going to like it.”
Even with the mitts on where I had to feed him.
“That’s the reward you’ve already earned from being such a good boy.” Kissing the top of his head, I nuzzled against him as he continued to suck on his bottle. “You made me so happy when you were coloring, but I’m sure you already saw how happy I was.”
Maybe…he’d been very focused on his picture.
“And you made me very happy by looking so cute.” He really did look adorable and we were definitely getting a few more onesies. Ashton didn’t seem to mind them and I thought the way they pushed the diaper tighter against his body gave him a fun reason to wiggle. “Lots of happies for me, so lots of rewards for you.”
Yep, I wasn’t going to let him forget the direct connection between relaxing into the little headspace and getting rewards.
It wasn’t a bribe if it was for his own good.
“The more happies…the more rewards.” Ashton’s little wiggle said he loved that logic even if the grown-up part of him knew I was manipulating him. “Silly rewards. Yummy rewards. Tickly rewards.”
His blush said he was imagining some adult kinds of silly things, or maybe just how our first tickling scene had ended, and he made me wonder what was going through his head. “There are lots of ways I can have special fun with my boy.”
And he had an open-minded caretaker Dom who didn’t have too many preconceived notions about how little time should look.
If Ashton never fully got into that headspace, it would be understandable. But whatever he was thinking was happy and relaxed and he was having fun being so helpless. All that indicated a scene we could do again, especially if I reinforced it with positive associations.