TV, but his body was stiff as his fingers clenched the pillow in his lap. Wondering what I’d done wrong, my gaze slipped to Snowball resting right beside him. I’d forgotten about the soft white teddy bear with his classic, silky red bow. Snowball had been a gift from a Daddy Dom that I’d mentored, and ever since I’d had him, he’d lived on my couch.
Miller looked at him for a split second before returning his gaze to the television. It was so quick that I’d almost missed it. The naked longing in his eyes was almost more than I could take. I thought about pushing Snowball toward Miller in some fake ploy for space, but after a short debate with myself, I decided to leave the two of them to their own devices. I couldn’t force Miller into wanting to be a little again; that was something he had to decide on his own.
During the next commercial break, I picked up the remote to fast forward through them when I saw it. Miller’s hand was resting on the couch cushion halfway between his leg and Snowball’s.
He glanced at me, and just as quickly, I looked away. I watched him covertly as his hand slowly inched closer to his prize. A long ten minutes later, his hand was resting on Snowball’s leg. Smiling, I grabbed the remote and started the next episode without a word.
Lost in the antics of the characters on the screen, I instinctively looked at Miller when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. He froze. His eyes were big and his shoulders were tense as he stared at me staring at the teddy bear in his lap.
I smiled at the bear, trying to play off my mistake. “His name’s Snowball, and he’s the best couch buddy.”
We watched a few more episodes as the night slowly passed. After another hour, I checked my watch and internally cursed. I was sure Lee had found himself in some kind of predicament and had utterly forgotten about Miller. Turning to offer him a ride home, I stopped, my heart leaping at the sight before me.
Sometime during our mini-marathon, Miller had curled up on the couch with his arms wrapped tightly around Snowball’s body and had fallen asleep. His face was buried in the fur of Snowball’s stomach as he used the teddy bear as a pillow.
Turning the volume down slowly so I wouldn’t wake him when I shut it off, I stood slowly, watching his face for any signs of disturbance. I grabbed the throw blanket I kept folded on the love seat and shook it out. Moving to his side, I gently laid the blanket over him. He made a little face as the edge of the blanket tickled his cheek, but was still asleep when he grabbed the fabric and pulled the blanket up around his face.
On impulse, I walked down the hallway and entered my private playroom. I ignored the princess bed even as every fiber of my being wanted to get Miller and place him in it. Instead, I reached for the pink, gummy bear nightlight. Unplugging it from the wall, I left the room and closed the door behind me. Returning to the living room, I plugged the nightlight into the socket closest to Miller. Making the rounds, I turned off the rest of the lights leaving the room with a lovely pink glow.
Retreating to my bedroom, I picked up my phone and dialed Kyle’s number.
“What’s up, boss?” he yelled over the sound of the music in the club.
“Have you seen Leland?” I asked, stepping into my bathroom and turning on the shower.
“Yeah, I’m looking at him right now. He and Law are celebrating something. They’ve been hammering them down and dancing all night.”
With a sigh, I stripped out of my clothing. “Watch them. When they’re done, bring him and Law up to my apartment and dump them on the empty loveseats. They don’t deserve the guest bedroom. And be quiet about it. I have a guest sleeping on my couch, and I don’t want him disturbed.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Hanging up on him, I stepped into the shower and made quick work of it. Although the hot water did do wonders for the last remaining aches I felt from sitting on the floor with Miller. Drying off, I walked through my bedroom into my closet and grabbed a pair of loose, flannel pajama pants. I wasn’t one to wear clothes to bed but