HUNTER
SinceImethim, I had seen too many sides of Cosmo. I’d seen him sad and fearful. I’d seen him grateful. Then the scene I’d witnessed in the bathroom that just about blew my mind: Cosmo standing under the shower, eyes closed, hair plastered to his head while he jacked off. Cosmo, who I’d felt ashamed about jerking off to earlier. Cosmo, who was clearly not a kid but a twenty-year-old young adult. His age meant nothing to our investigation—he was too young to be our killer—but at the same time, it meant everything to our interactions.
At least my guilt had nothing to do with his undetermined age anymore and everything to do with how improperly I behaved around him. No one thought anything of it. I was acting, assuming a role to get us answers. But when he was dressed, looking all fresh and cute in the pajamas my son had packed in the bag… when he walked back into his room and laughed giddily as he lay down on his clean sheets, when he spotted the toys and books I’d brought with me… something inside me clenched.
And then he dropped to the floor, wrapped his arms around my legs, and hugged me. He then crawled on hands and knees to the toys and played with them. He cuddled a worn teddy bear, keeping it close to him wherever he went. He darted from one toy to another, and I let him until his meal arrived.
“Cosmo, it’s time to eat.”
“Five more minutes.”
He’d become more talkative as he played with the toys, creeping over to me to show me one thing, then another. I tried. God, did I try to stay neutral, unaffected, but he was… adorable. The way his eyes shone in happiness and his lips curved in a perpetual smile. A sad Cosmo had touched me, but the happiness of the boy was magical. Everything about him, and I cataloged a lot, was a part of the magnetic force I was fighting against. The way his damp hair lay limp against his head, so he couldn’t hide behind it. The sharp symmetry of his face, that long thin nose, those beautiful blue eyes. I was in so much trouble, even if I didn’t understand all of it.
Cosmo was a boy. His body was slender, with skin stretching over angular pelvic bones. His cock was average, but it was a cock nonetheless he’d been stroking in the shower. I’d seen him come, a look of wonder on his face like he’d just discovered something new.
I liked women. I liked the curve of a generous hip, ample breasts I could fuck between. A round, voluptuous ass I could slide into when I wanted to change things up a bit. I liked my women with meat on their bones, a sturdy woman who could handle the pounding I loved to give. With the stress of the job, I didn’t always have it in me to be careful.
Cosmo was so small a powerful gust of wind could blow him away.
I rubbed my temple and inhaled deeply. The boy was pretty, but this was utterly ridiculous.
I checked my watch and frowned. Because of my distraction, he already had fifteen minutes extra when he only asked for five.
“Cosmo, your five minutes are up.”
“Five more minutes.” He glanced up at me, his big blue eyes pleading. Yes was on the tip of my lips, but then the conversation with my son drifted through my mind.
“Some littles, even the well-behaving ones, can be a brat.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’ll act out, not do what they’re supposed to, and won’t listen to a word you say.”
“What do you do, then?”
“When that happens, a firm but loving hand is needed. Sometimes literally, but that needs to be negotiated first… whether they care for impact play as punishment.”
As I stared at Cosmo, the image of him over my lap, ass bare, tightened my throat. I’d gotten a side view of him from the shower, but it’d been enough to see his ass—round and perky. My hands itched, so I clenched them into fists.
“Put away the toys, or I’ll have to take them away.”
He looked up at me, bottom lip pushed out as he gathered as many of the toys as he could in his arms. “Please don’t take away my toys. I love them.”
“And you can play with them later, but you must be hungry. Come on, hop up.”
He picked up the brown bear with the one ear and brandished it for me. “Can I keep him?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
The breath flew out of my lungs. I should be exhilarated that our plan was working, but all I wanted to do was bolt out of that room.
He raised his arms. “Pick me up, Daddy.”
Why had I agreed to this again? My wife. This boy probably knew information that could lead me to her remains.
I picked him up off the floor and settled him on the bed. He weighed next to nothing, but my arms felt strangely empty when he was no longer in them. I brought over the meal and sat across from him on the chair Knight had left in the room.