Gilbert by Bailey Bradford Page A

need that matched Gilbert’s own. “I need for you to be inside me.” His voice cracked on the last two words, and his cheeks went darker as his embarrassment battled with his need. “I want, Gilbert. I want everything you can give me, everything you can teach me. I want it enough to beg, if I have to.”
    “You don’t have to,” Gilbert uttered as he tucked a finger under Jihu’s chin to tip his head up for a kiss. Keeping his body back enough not to press against Daniel, Gilbert lowered his mouth to Jihu’s. He found him open, waiting, and eager.
    Gilbert slipped his tongue into Jihu’s mouth and placed his hands on Jihu’s narrow hips. He kissed Jihu tenderly, a thousand promises of pleasure in each stroke of his tongue. He’d do everything he could to make Jihu float on ecstasy, to wipe out the memories of a forced breeding that had traumatised him. And somehow, Gilbert would find a way to ensure Jihu and Daniel would never be endangered by any lepe seeking to take them from him.
     
    Jihu broke the kiss before he begged Gilbert to take him. He was holding his son, for Heaven’s sake. Now was hardly the time. As if in agreement, Daniel began to fuss. “Diaper and bottle,” Jihu guessed. He smiled at Gilbert then at Daniel. “And maybe some kisses, too.” Jihu raised Daniel up and kissed one plump cheek then the other. He inhaled the scent of warm baby and sighed. “He smells so good, despite the whole dirty diaper stuff.”
    Gilbert chuckled and leaned over to kiss Jihu’s cheek. “Babies do, as far as I know. My sister’s kids always smelt delicious when they were babies. Now they smell like holy terrors.”
    Jihu surprised himself with a short bark of laughter. He hoped he didn’t look as shocked by it as he felt. “Holy terrors?”
    Gilbert nodded. “Yup. The youngest, Jill, is three and into everything. Then there are her two brothers, Solomon and Raul. They’re nine and eleven, and I swear those boys roll in dirt.”
    He said it so fondly, Jihu knew he was exaggerating. Jihu wondered what those children’s lives were like. Happy, he’d bet.
    “You’ll have to meet them, once we get everything settled. You’ll actually have to meet everyone,” Gilbert said. “Let me get the diaper bag from the living room. I think I’ll have to run to the store. I don’t have any of that water for baby formula.”
    “That needs special water?” Jihu asked, feeling over his head suddenly with the parenting things he didn’t know. “I can’t just use tap water?”
    “Nope,” Gilbert called out from the other room. “And not bottled water like we drink, because that’s spring water. There’s water just for babies, you buy it in gallon jugs. I’ll show you when I get some.” Gilbert went back into the kitchen and plopped the diaper bag on the counter. “Yup, there’s only two bottles left in here. I need to make a list.” He mixed up the formula and after shaking it, handed it to Jihu. “I was thinking, and it seems best for you and Daniel to come with me to the store. If anyone figures out to look for you here, Abbie and Zeus won’t be much protection.” Gilbert’s eyes widened comically. “Shit!” He spun and ran to the back door, pulling it open and hollering, “Abbie! Zeus! Aw, damn it!”
    Jihu came over and peered past Gilbert to see the two puppies digging away at the ground. In fact, there seemed to be more holes than not outside. “Wow. That’s a mess.”
    Gilbert grunted and called the pups inside again before muttering a curse and going outside to get them. After a short but entertaining—for Jihu, anyways—game of chase between Gilbert, Abbie and Zeus, the pups were brought in.
    “If I’d have known how much work they’d be, I might have said no when Isaiah asked me to puppy-sit.” Gilbert poured food into their bowls and gave them fresh water. Then he strode over to Jihu and plucked the empty bottle from his hand. “Daniel needs to be burped. Forgot about that