Their Boy Beloved [MxMxM] (Taming His Blaze Book 1)

Chapter 2

REUBEN • POV

I traipsed back into the house, humming happily, when the sun was falling from the pretty sky, stomach rumbling with hunger, jeans wet up to my knees from trudging through the overgrown wild grasses of our local park.

Mister Hopper and I had an amazing time visiting his friends and family hiding amongst the brush. He was pretty estranged from them all, so there was some uncomfortable telenovela-type tension in the beginning, especially when one of his uncles threatened to shoot us off his lawn if we didn't leave since it had been so long, Mister Hopper was unrecognisable.

But as always, he was feeling great! He had a hard outer shell, just like me. Impenetrable.

Aside from the vigorous rumbling of my stomach, demanding to be fed, I was also feeling pretty great! Class had been boring today, and I'd needed to move around and find something more interesting to stare at, that wasn't the wispy hairs clinging to the top of my accounting professor's bald shiny head.

Besides, after accidentally-on-purpose snapping my pen in half and dumping ink all over Trya, I'd needed to escape or risk getting mobbed by my other classmates who'd been quick to jump to her defence. There was just something about a crying lady that made the men go into attack mode.

I could fight, but one hundred students versus one, was pretty terrible odds, so I didn't try my luck. I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed but I wasn't entirely stupid.

Instead, I'd run off to my happy place, the park... after stopping at the mall for a blue raspberry slushie... and the dessert shop for brownies... and the stationary store for a new pen... where I'd fallen head over heels in love with a rhinoceros beetle shaped eraser, which I'd also bought.

How could I not?! Rhinoceros beetles were freaking awesome! It was a top-tier purchase! I was so proud of myself!

Opening the front door to our suburban house, with its wrap-around porch, perfectly neat yard and red-brick walls, I skipped inside, Mister Hopper chirping away in his container, which was always safely tucked under my arm. "Honey, I'm home!"

Mister Hopper was delighted to be back at the house. He missed Daddy an awful lot. Spying on him at the sandwich bar just wasn't enough to satisfy my obsession with my handsome Dom. We craved Daddy's undivided attention, especially after long, hard days.

Today was a hard day.

"Reuben! Get that tree out of this house! Leave it outside!" Daddy appeared in the hallway, emerging from the kitchen, with a tea towel slung over one broad shoulder.

He was frowning, olive green eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed as he stared, disapprovingly at the large branch I was dragging behind me. It was a branch, not a tree, just to clarify. Daddy was so dramatic sometimes!

"But it's Mister Hopper's new jungle gym, Daddy! He saw it at the park and he just had to have it!" I explained, showing him the branch and all its cool features, like the multiple holes he could run in and out of and the massive leaves for shade.

There was even a caterpillar friend clinging on to a little branch.... Wait no, I think it's dead. Never mind! No friends! Still, an awesome jungle gym, regardless!

I just brushed it off, hoping no one saw that.

"No, Reu. Absolutely not. Put it outside. You can take Mister Hopper into the garden to play with it, but you're not tracking dirt through this house unless you're willing to clean it up," Daddy said sternly, crossing his arms over his broad chest, expression hard.

I pouted, trying to cross my arms too, but when I almost dropped Mister Hopper and tripped over the tree - I mean branch - I stopped and settled for crossing my toes inside my sneakers. I could get mad too!