It probably shouldn’t have made me hard.
I mean, being yelled at wasn’t sexy in itself, but when what seemed to be a thick Scottish accent was combined with a stern-looking older man who looked like he’d just walked off the screen of a BDSM website, I couldn’t help myself.
I also couldn’t help the fact my brain and my dick didn’t work at the same time, or the fact I was a stereotypical American moron and accents were just fucking sexy.
And men in suits with sexy accents were even hotter.
Yep, there was nothing I could’ve done about it.
“What the fuck is going on, Benny? I swear to God, only you could get stranded at the fucking airport in a foreign country during a blizzard.” Before I could point out I was in London, not Timbuctoo, Skyler continued without pause.
Still at a screeching volume, especially for how early it was back in the states. Or maybe it was late?
I’d lost track of what time it was there since I’d been up for years at this point and Skyler had been, too.
But since he wasn’t the one wandering Heathrow Airport during a blizzard, I didn’t feel bad for him.
“You’re looking for a tall Scottish guy who looks like a tall Scottish guy.” Before I could decide if that was racist or country-ist or something, Skyler kept going.
Like he always did.
But since he was great in an emergency, I let him get away with it as interrupting him was a pain in the butt.
“He’s fucking built, and he’s really gruff-looking, but he’s a great Daddy and is hung like a horse from what I was told.” He’d helpfully included that comment at the top of his lungs.
Good gracious.
Shit.
The big, tall Scottish man heard him.
Shit.
I’d just run into a big angry-looking Scottish guy.
Yep, hung like a horse.
Shit.
I’d looked.
Shit.
He’d caught me.
“I think I’m just going to hide somewhere and die.” I must’ve sounded a bit too dramatic because Skyler laughed.
“What did you do?”
“This is not my fault. You distracted me and I ran into, well, I think I just ran into him.” I dropped my voice and tried to whisper, even though it wouldn’t help. “And he heard you.”
Skyler laughed, not fearing for my safety at all. “You looked.”
“You’re an evil monster and I’m going to tell your Daddy on you.” I’d only met his Dom a few times, but he was polite and quiet and—oh dear, the large, frustrated man grinned.
“Are you Benny?” The thick accent had disappeared like magic, but he’d kept the booming voice.
Maybe he hadn’t been yelling at me?
Were accents magic?
God, I was tired.
I nodded as Skyler kept yelling into the phone. “Fucking hell, Benny, answer me.”
What had he asked?
I must’ve looked tired or confused or just ridiculous in general, because the giant chuckled and took the phone out of my hand.
“Stop yelling, it’s unseemly.” The order had Skyler thankfully going quiet for a second at least.
“Oh, that is sexy.” Then somehow Skyler’s voice got even louder. “Benny, is he as sexy as Ken said?”
Skyler’s screech was going to be the death of me.
“The little cutie is nodding yes.”
I was?
Oh god, I was.
I managed to stop myself, but the damage was done.
Dying of humiliation was taking a long time, though.
I’d always assumed when whatever stupid thing I’d done had finally tipped me over the edge, it’d be a quick death. I was slightly disappointed at how wrong I was.
“He seems to be tired.” The sexy man kept talking to Skyler like he knew he was supposed to be in charge and hadn’t questioned it. “How long has he been up?”
Skyler’s sigh came through the phone like he was standing right there beside us. “He left his friend’s house at a ridiculous time this morning to get to a real town and then to a train and then to an airport, and I’m not even sure he’s been to sleep since yesterday, honestly.”
The man I was assuming was Robert shook his head and gave me a very Daddy look that projected disappointment.
My head said that shouldn’t have made me feel bad but it did.
“It wasn’t on purpose.” We’d just gotten distracted and hadn’t realized how late it had gotten and then we realized there was no point in going to bed. “I was supposed to be on a flight already, so I could’ve slept.”
But then snowmaggedon had hit London and now I was stuck at Heathrow Airport, and really, for such a small country, it took forever to get anywhere.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him.” Robert said it like there was no question about it, and since Skyler had melted into a puddle and was just sighing on the phone, the hunky Daddy ended the call and handed the phone back to me.
I just shoved it in my backpack because I really wasn’t sure what else to do and waited.
“I’m Robert, little one. It seems we’re stuck here for a while.” He gave me a grin and glanced around the loud, crowded airport. “I want to help you figure things out if you need it, but first, can you give me your safewords?”
Oh, he really was a Dom.
Wow.
Skyler really was a magical asshole.
“I… um…” I had a quick question flash through my head, and I wondered if I really did want help. But then reality came crashing down on me as someone bumped into me. As he seemed to curse me out in a language I didn’t recognize, more cancelations came over the loudspeakers.
Shit.
As Robert caught me and glared at the idiot behind me who suddenly decided I wasn’t worth venting at, I sighed. “I would like to use stoplight colors for my safewords. Green. Yellow. Red.”
My drama got another flash of his sexy grin before he looked serious again. “Then let’s find somewhere to chat for a bit.”
My brain was tired, my body was exhausted, and he was nice.
It was almost too much, but I nodded and tried to stand straighter so I wouldn’t look quite so short against his gigantic frame. “Thank you. That sounds like a good idea.”
At least it couldn’t make things worse, and I’d hopefully get to sit. I’d been pacing Terminal Two for what seemed like hours, trying to figure out what to do and wishing for help.
And it looked like my wish had come true.
I just hoped it stayed a wish and didn’t become a nightmare.
—-
“From what I understand, you were heading to Italy when this lovely weather blew in?” He’d somehow managed to find us seats near a small shop that sold coffee and sandwiches, and to me, that was magic enough to have me ready to tell him anything he wanted to know.
“Yes, I’m supposed to be meeting a cousin to go on a cruise.” Looking through the terminal at the snow that was still blowing out the window, I sighed. “I don’t think that’s happening now, though.”
He shook his head, looking frustrated for me. “No, even if this clears up by tomorrow, it’s going to be days before the flights are back on track.”
And since my cruise was leaving tomorrow, that meant I was out of luck.
I knew I shouldn’t have taken one of the last flights out. It’d looked so perfect, but it’d been delayed twice by mechanical issues and then the weather had gone to hell.
I should’ve been well-napped and walking around Italy, but instead, I was getting shoved around in Heathrow.
But at least I had Robert?
Hopefully?
Feeling a bit more centered now that I had someone to talk things out with who was in the same boat, I nodded. “I guess the first thing I’m going to do is at least text my cousin again, and then I’m going to call the cruise company?”
I hadn’t meant it to come out like a question, but it did anyway, and I was glad when he nodded without thinking it was odd to be helping a stranger make plans. I’d already texted Andy that my flight was delayed, but it seemed like he’d been halfway to drunk as a skunk at the hotel bar because his reply had been cheerful and useless.
So maybe texting him again should wait until the morning?
“I think that’s a good decision.” He paused, taking a sip of his coffee, and I could see his brain whirling. “Are you going to try to meet up with the cruise later or change your plans altogether? That decision is going to affect what you do with the airline.”
“Ugh.” My groan had his lips quirking, and I knew he was trying not to laugh. “So far the airline just told me to be patient, but if I’m not going to Italy, that changes things I guess.”
“You’ve got options.”
His calm tone had me relaxing back into my seat as I nodded.
“Once you understand what your options are with the cruise company, then you can decide what your plan is next.”
“Yes.” Taking a deep breath, I sipped the hot chocolate I’d ordered—well, Robert had ordered for me—and thought about the situation. “Where were you going? If you don’t mind my asking.”
If Skyler had told me, I couldn’t remember. When I’d called him panicking about the storm and just being stuck in general, he’d said to sit tight, he’d find me help.
Since help turned out to be a Daddy stuck in the same airport, I was assuming he had demons or sorcerers on some kind of phone tree, but I wasn’t going to second-guess it.
Robert shook his head, smiling. “I was heading to Dublin after a meeting in London, but the meeting was cut short due to the weather, and now my meeting in Dublin has been canceled.”
Shrugging, he set his cup down and leaned back in the seat that seemed far too small for his large frame. “But now I’m waiting for the weather to clear so I can decide what to do. Even the trains aren’t running, so I’m stuck for the moment.”
Well, we might be stuck but I was glad we were stuck together.
Just because I didn’t want to be alone, of course.
“I’m sorry your meeting got canceled. Are you close to home?” I wasn’t stupid enough to assume a Scottish accent meant a Scottish address, so I was curious when he shrugged.
“In the scheme of things not far. Just outside Edinburgh.” He chuckled, and the deep tone had me fighting the urge to melt at his feet. “But that’s basically a million miles in this weather.”
As he smiled, he studied me. “What about you? Where is home for you?”
“Virginia. But at this point, it’s a million miles away too.” And not where I wanted to be, but I smiled and tried to shrug it off. “Okay, so phone calls and then I can talk to the airline again.”
Just thinking about it had my stress levels rising.
“Do you really think it’ll take days to get the flights on track again?” I hadn’t thought about this in terms of days.
Could you legally sleep in the airport?
“Yes.” Robert looked toward the dark windows where we could just see a bit of snow swirling outside. “Hopefully not longer than that, but no one was expecting this kind of weather in April.”
Me neither.
“Yeah.” Wanting another sip of my hot chocolate, I had to wait while I yawned.
Robert just chuckled and waited until I set the cup back down. “Now, you have a few options. I like some better than others, but I want you to think about all of them.”
I found myself nodding and watching his lips as he spoke.
Fuck, I was tired.
“Yes. Um, will you tell me which ones you like best?” I heard Skyler in the back of my head snorting and reminding me a Dom wouldn’t bother hiding what he thought was best, but I felt better when Robert smiled, clearly approving.
“Yes, little one. But you’re not my sub, so I need you to remember I’m offering suggestions, not telling you what you have to do.” Wincing, he sighed dramatically. “As painful is that is to say.”
Giggling, I nodded. “It’ll be painful, but you can do it.”
He chuckled at my cheeky response but went right back to being a serious Dom as he talked about my plans. “My least favorite is that you hang out in the airport while you figure out what you’re going to do.”
That made me wince. “That’s my least favorite option too, and honestly, Skyler might kill me.”
Robert chuckled softly. “If we can get you into one of the airport lounges, it wouldn’t be too bad. They have hot meals and comfy seats, and I think if I’m remembering correctly, one terminal over has small pod-type bedrooms you can rent for a few hours.”
“That would be easier.” Looking down at the backpack by my feet, I frowned. “I think my credit card comes with access to something like that? I’ve never used it before, though.”
I’d never traveled outside the US before, so this was going to be a lot of firsts.
Nodding, Robert looked a bit more comfortable. “I can help you with that, but they’ll fill up fast, so if you decide to go that route, we need to start looking right away.”
“That makes sense.” It sounded stressful, though.
“Another option is going to be coming with me.” His wording confused me, but it was his worried look that had me really questioning what he meant. “Please don’t take this the wrong way.”
He actually sighed and grumbled something that sounded like a curse word under his breath. “It sounds like I’m propositioning you, but I managed to get one of the last hotel rooms at the Hilton that connects to the terminal.”
Looking slightly sheepish and sweet, he shrugged. “It’s supposed to have a bed and a pull-out couch, but we would be sharing a room for potentially a few days.”
Oh.
I had a feeling it was my expression that made him chuckle and gave him the teasing glint in his eyes. “What do you say? Should we call back your loud friend and tell him that you’ve got a Daddy for the weekend?”
One of these days I was going to kill that oversharing drama queen, but this wasn’t going to be the day.
“Yes, please.” I was realistic enough to know no one fell in love stranded at the airport, but he seemed sweet and funny and even if it was just temporary, I had a Daddy to watch out for me.
I might not be going on a cruise, but it looked like my weekend was definitely looking up.
