“You do realize that you don’t have to lock me away to have me as your Daddy.”
“I know. I guess. I think.” Instinctively I leaned forward towards him. Caden rewarded me with another kiss on my forehead, and I smiled at him. “But I do live here. I bought the warehouse after I sold the rights for Bloody Tears. I remodeled the upper floor into an apartment and built a garden on the roof.”
“That sounds great.” Caden glanced out of the front window before he turned to me again. “Would you like to show me?”
“You want to come up with me?” Instead of answering, Caden just raised an eyebrow. Right. Yes. Stupid question. Eager to get out of the car, I reached for my seat belt and got slapped on my hand. Damn it. I looked up and moaned when Caden simply stared at me.
“First of all, you stay where you are and wait for Daddy to unbuckle you, and second, yes, I would like to come up with you. We still need to talk about our weekend plans, right?”
Oh, yes, our weekend. Eagerly I nodded and put my hands in my lap. Caden smiled at me, then got out and came to my side of the car, where he opened the door and grinned. “Thank you for being a good Boy and waiting for Daddy to get you out of the car.”
“You would just slap my hand again.”
“Well, I have to be creative with you, because you are a special Boy.”
Special. Not damaged. Not broken. Special. My heart melted. “Thank you, Daddy.” With a smile, Caden leaned over me and unbuckled my seatbelt. When he stood back up, I signed, “Are you allergic to cats?” Caden shook his head. “Because I have one. Charlie. But I must warn you. He doesn’t like people.”
“Thanks for the heads up. Come on. Let’s get you into your apartment, sweet Boy.”
Chapter 4
Caden
Ten minutes after we arrived at Henry’s building, I found myself in a staring contest with a beautiful, long-haired cat. Henry had rushed off to clean himself up. I offered to help him, but Henry told me to sit, then disappeared behind a door. At first, I didn’t see a cat. Then, out of nowhere, he was on the other end of the sofa staring at me.
“You have a nice home,” I said after a couple of seconds, glancing around the apartment. Henry had done a fantastic job remodeling the factory’s top floor. The elevator came right into the apartment. It was a completely open floor plan with the kitchen, dining area, living area, and his workspace all in one room, and then four doors that probably lead to a playroom maybe, a guest room, his bedroom, and the bathroom. The original brick walls had been exposed and gave the space a homey feel. Beautiful floor to ceiling windows let natural light shine into the room. Between two of the windows was a huge cat tree. Well, it was more of a forest than a single cat tree. It went up across the wall and to the ceiling. It was impressive, and it showed how much Henry loved his cat.
“Your Daddy created a nice place for you over there.” Looking back to where the cat had been, I blinked. He wasn’t there. Henry must have trained him as a little kitty ninja because the cat snuck up and was sitting right beside me, still staring. Now that he was closer, I could see that his white fur was well-groomed, and he wore a blue ribbon instead of a collar. After Henry’s earlier warning about this handsome fellow not liking people, I expected him to attack me at any minute. Warily I leaned back, swallowed, and admonished myself, Damn, Caden. It’s just a fluffy cat.
“Ok, buddy. Your Little Daddy told me that you don’t like people, and that’s ok. Most of the time, I don’t like some people, either. But I’m one of the good guys, and I’m going to be your Daddy’s, um, Daddy, which sounds weird now saying it out loud. So you can trust me, ok, buddy?”
To my surprise, Charlie put his paw on my leg, as if he was testing me, and when I didn’t react, he climbed onto my lap. “Ok. That’s your Daddy's place, but you’re his cat, so I guess this is ok.”
“Meow.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right, he wouldn’t mind.” Charlie lay down on my lap, closed his eyes, and started to purr. A startled gasp drew my attention. Henry stood in front of me with his hand over his mouth. He had changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt with a character from How to Train Your Dragon on it.
Henry used his shaking hands to sign, “Charlie has never done this before. Ever. Not even with my aunt.”
“I guess he thinks I’m special, too.”
“I got him from the shelter. He was abandoned as a kitten and was so scared when I first saw him. He doesn’t trust people.” Henry looked at his cat, and then he looked at me and smiled. “But he trusts you.”
“I’m glad he does, and I hope that means that you trust me, too.”
“I do.” Henry exaggerated the signs for I and do and nodded his head hard.
“I’m glad because I like you and your cat,” I said, looking down at the ball of fluff on my lap. Henry giggled. Then he came over and sat down beside us. He scratched Charlie behind his ears, before sitting up again so he could sign.
“I like you, too. But I guess you already figured that because I’m so needy.”
“You’re a smart cookie, Henry.” Henry blushed, shrugged, and tried to look away. Nope, there would be none of that. I grasped his chin and raised his head, so he was looking at me again. “You are. You’ll figure out that all Littles are needy in their unique ways. Why would
