Hold Close (Biker Daddy Bodyguards #2) - Sue Brown Page 0,20

had run away to the other side of the world, leaving Louis in pieces.

Louis shook his head. "She said she wasn't a baker so I asked Daddy Martin's boy if he would make me a small cake."

"Louis nearly had a heart attack when a six-tier cake came out," Ian confided. “It was almost as tall as me.”

"You all knew about it." Louis gave him a mock glare, and Ian giggled.

"Of course we did."

"And no one told me."

Ian looked at him as if he were mad. "Of course not. Where would be the fun in that?"

Louis grumbled, they all laughed, and he saw some of the tension ease in Craig.

Graham wanted to know a bit more about how Louis was physically, and Louis patiently answered his questions as he ate a small amount of cake. Craig took the plate away when Louis couldn’t eat any more. Graham and Ian gave him worried glances.

Louis put a hand to his jaw. “It hurts to eat,” he admitted.

“I’m sorry, boy,” Graham rumbled, his expression easing when he understood.

They stayed for a couple of hours, until it became obvious Louis was flagging again. He tried to hide it, but Craig knew him only too well and brought the visit to an end with a polite suggestion of another when Louis felt better.

Once they had gone, Craig insisted Louis rest on the couch while he made dinner.

"I'm not a child," Louis insisted. "I don't need more naps."

Craig gave him a steady look, and Louis flushed.

While Louis wasn't a little, he had occasionally asked for little play, and taking a nap in Craig's arms had been one of the things he had craved. In truth, he would have loved to ask for Craig to put his arms around him and let him fall asleep, but Craig was here as his bodyguard, not as his daddy.

"I should work for a couple of hours," Louis said.

Craig shook his head, steering Louis to the couch in the den. "It's still early. Nap now, and then once you've eaten dinner, you can call the club."

Louis sat down on the couch and looked up at him. "I need to go to the club tomorrow."

"I'll come with you. If you can give me a list of your appointments for the next week, I can clear them with CDR."

Louis gave a wry smile. "You'll have to talk to Jamie. I haven't got a clue what my plans are after the next week. He refused to discuss them with me until I came back to work. I think he runs the club better than I do."

Craig gave him a speculative look. "And how would you feel about that?"

"About him running the club?" At Craig’s nod, Louis sighed. "Before this happened, I would have said the club was mine, but a near death experience has a way of putting things in perspective. I love my club, but it’s a 24/7 business along with all my other interests. Maybe I need some balance in my life." He lay down, yawned, and closed his eyes. "It's something to think about, anyway."

Louis felt Craig brush his forehead with his lips.

"It is certainly something to think about." Craig agreed.

Louis watched Craig leave the room, keeping the door ajar so he could hear if Louis cried out.

Would Craig have stayed with him if Louis had been more flexible before? Louis had insisted his businesses were in Seattle and he couldn't move. Craig had insisted he was a bodyguard, and he couldn't do anything different. Maybe they should have both been more compromising, and they could have found a way to stay together. He closed his eyes again. It was too much to think about now.

“Hey there, time to wake up.”

Louis grumbled and buried his face in the cushion.

“Come on, time for dinner,” Craig said.

“Don’ wanna,” Louis muttered. He was comfortable and content and didn’t want to move, ever.

“Wake up now, boy.”

Louis opened his eyes at the snap in Craig’s voice, to find Craig staring down at him, his arms folded. It had been a long time since he’d heard that particular tone, and Craig going full-on Daddy had the same effect it always did on his cock.

Telling his dick to calm down, Louis sat up, scowling at Craig. “I’m not hungry. I had cake.”

“You will eat something,” Craig said brusquely.

Despite Louis’s protests, he helped Louis off the couch and into the kitchen.

“I’m not hungry,” Louis insisted.

Craig ignored him and went to pour out a bowl of soup. Louis fumed, but Craig