Page 99 of Courting Danger

Ocean carefully studied the way she was stacking them, blue ones on one side, purple ones on the other, exactly like her hair. Her bows matched too, though the purple bow was on the blue side and the blue on the purple, with sparkles all over them.

“So is yours,” Roan said.

“I’m Daisy Quinn today!”

“I love her!”

“Same.”

Oh yeah, no worries about Roan not making any friends; he’d landed the queen of the room and already found something in common. With the two of them joining her building efforts, they soon had her side just as tall and straight as the other two. The front they’d left open so they could fit inside the castle, which was so wide two would easily sit side by side. They even had a soft, fluffy pillow and blanket with storybooks set up inside. A reading space, then, and a super cool one. Once they were even, the littles and Ocean hurried over to the corner where a large castle topper stood with turrets on each corner and a high tower in the middle.

“This is so cool,” Roan said as they worked together to get it into place.

It hung slightly over the bricks, settling perfectly over them with enough weight to hold the whole structure in place.

“Want to help me read the first story?” Daisy asked Roan. “It’s Harley Quinn. We’re all gonna take turns sitting in the castle reading to everyone.”

“Yes, please,” Roan said, the two settling inside the castle, while the rest of the littles flocked around Ocean, who happily lay down for them to pet him while they listened.

Stroking his leather-covered body made it easy for them to sit still. Unlike his other set of gear, which was mostly just a hood, paws, and harness, this one covered him from neck to knee, with buckles along his sides and thighs, all edged with beautiful wave hues. He wore his harness over it, the colors matching the trim, his stubby tail sticking out behind him, wagging whenever he wiggled his rear.

One little rested his hands on Ocean’s arms, drawing circles with his fingertips that Ocean knew was stemming and likely one of the many things that kept him from being wiggly. Not only was it helping the little, but the motion helped keep Ocean in his pup space, grounding him as he listened to Daisy read one page and Roan read the other, smiling at one another each time they switched.

The littles clapped when they finished, then Daisy and Roan crawled over so they could pet him too, while the next two littles took their turn inside the castle. Ocean was dimly aware of the door opening as another little entered the room and crawled over to join the horseshoe they’d formed in front of the castle. Bodies shifted, making room for him to pet the pup while Ocean lay there basking in their attention, his mind drifting as the tale unfolded.

Tranquil, fun, and an absolutely perfect diversion.

At the end of the second story, he nudged Roan’s arm and let out a little whine before nuzzling his backpack, a reminder that they should take a moment to have something to drink and eat. Roan dutifully removed it and began taking out their snacks, prompting Daisy to rush for her backpack, resting against the wall so she could do the same.

Giggling, they exchanged half a sandwich, since Daisy had peanut butter and fluff while Roan and Ocean had peanut butter and jelly; they shared their cookies too, Daisy and Roan breaking off pieces and feeding them to Ocean, who was content to let them while he lazily lay there, accepting treats from other littles too, occasionally slurping from the straw Roan held to his lips while they listened to the next pair read.

By the time Pope and Danger returned, every little had taken at least one turn in the castle, while Daisy and Roan had been in twice. Despite all the competitions he’d won, he’d never felt prouder than when the room monitor delivered his report.

“They’ve been amazing,” he told them. “Sharing treats, joining in the castle building, and your pup has helped all the littles stay settled and focused on the stories as they were being read. Even comforted one little one who got scared when he opened a page in a pop-up book and a spider was the featured creature. For being relatively new to the scene, they displayed impeccable manners and behavior tonight.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” Pope said as Ocean carefully wiggled away from the littles, but only after allowing them to get their final pets in.

Roan rushed into Danger’s arms, excitedly trying to tell him about all the stories and how much fun they’d had, and especially about the marshmallow fluff, which they’d both fallen in love with.

“Well then, we’ll have to see about ordering some of that fluff,” Pope said as Danger cuddled Roan and listened to his excited chatter.

“She called it a fluffernutter sandwich, and it was awesome, Papa,” Roan explained. “Fluffernutters and milk would be the perfect snack.”

“I just bet it would,” Pope declared. “Sounds downright tasty. I’m glad you guys remember to eat and hydrate. Let’s go get you some special treats before we head to the silver room.”

“Yay, more treats!” Roan said, skipping for the door with Ocean’s paw held tightly in his hand.

He didn’t open it, though; he waited off to the side and held still while Pope removed Ocean’s leash from his backpack and clipped it to the harness before leading them out into a space far noisier than the room they’d left.

It smelled of sex and leather as well as promises of the amazing evening still to come.