Page 56 of The Royal in Room 3

I shook my head. “I feel embarrassed enough for jumping to conclusions. I’d prefer if he didn’t know I came at all.”

“Ah, Jude, what’s really going on?”

“Fuck if I know. He sent me a message earlier that he’d screwed up, and I came so I could fix it because that’s what I’ve always done for him. Fix stuff. But when I got here, I saw him with Martin and I-I⁠—”

“You got jealous.”

“Yeah. I’ve never been jealous of any sub before, Phoenix.”

“You’ve never slept with any of them either. It’s safe to say your excellent Daddy judgment is being clouded by your feelings for Soren.”

“Maybe.”

“Not maybe, Jude. The Daddy that you are would not have rushed over to fix everything because a sub made a mistake, since that would defeat the purpose of teaching them how to handle themselves in a crisis.”

By God, he was right. I hadn’t once stopped to think about how the mess Soren had created would be a teachable moment for him. I’d just wanted to make things easier for him.

“Fuck. Maybe I’m not the right Daddy for him after all.”

And that hurt to admit.

“But he’s the right boy for you,” Phoenix said with a mischievous smile. “It’s not inherently a bad thing that you want to take care of your boy, Jude. You obviously care about him a lot. But what it means is that the contract you usually put together for your subs may no longer apply to Soren to the same degree. You’re not just caring for him with the intention of letting him go, are you? You want to keep him.”

“It doesn’t matter if I want to keep him. He will ultimately decide if he stays.”

I left Club Halo without talking to Soren and with a promise from Phoenix that he wouldn’t mention my appearance to my boy. Instead, I got back into my car, then drove home and returned to the movie I’d been watching before the text message. And I might have missed half the plot, but when a key stirred inside the keyhole of the front door and I went to greet Soren, there was nothing of the jealousy I’d felt earlier as he walked right into my arms and climbed me, legs wrapped around my waist and arms around my neck.

“Oh, Daddy, please hold me. I had a horrible night.”

Over his shoulder, Phoenix waved to me as he hurried back to his car. I rubbed Soren’s back, made sure Phoenix got back into his car okay and drove away, then closed the door.

“Was it that bad?” I asked.

“Hmm. I met the most horrible guy ever, and he almost got me fired, but I don’t want to talk about it. I’m so tired.”

“Do you want to take a shower and then go to bed?”

“I don’t know if I have the energy.”

“Don’t worry. Daddy will do it for you.”

I brought him into the en suite bathroom and wrestled him out of his clothes and me out of mine. In the shower, he leaned against me as I quickly washed his body. He nuzzled into my neck and yawned.

“That feels so good on my body. I love the way you touch me.”

Chuckling, I rinsed him off. “Come on. We need to get you into bed ASAP.”

But not before brushing his teeth, and by then, he declared he had no energy left, so I picked him up and brought him to bed. Before I could move away to find us clothes, he dragged me down beside him and circled me with his limbs like an octopus. He gave a satisfied little hum and pressed his lips to my neck.

“I wish I didn’t have to work. I missed you all night.”

“Actually, you—” I bit off the irresponsible words of telling him he didn’t have to work before they came out. Fuck. Phoenix was right. My feelings for Soren were clouding my judgment.

“Working helps us to be productive and contribute to a larger goal.” I kissed the side of his head. “I promise you that it’ll get better.”

“Hmm. I trust you because Daddy knows best.”

He was silent for so long that I thought he had fallen asleep, but then he raised his head slightly.