Little Pleasures

Little Pleasures PADDLE CREEK COLLEGE BOOK THREE HJ WELCH Little Pleasures Paddle Creek College Book Three Copyright © 2023 by HJ Welch Cover Design by Cate Ashwood This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Contents Also Available Author’s Note 1. Xander 2. Ruben 3. Xander 4. Ruben 5. Xander 6. Ruben 7. Xander 8. Ruben 9. Xander 10. Ruben 11. Xander 12. Ruben 13. Xander 14. Ruben 15. Xander 16. Ruben 17. Xander 18. Ruben 19. Xander 20. Ruben 21. Xander 22. Ruben 23. Xander 24. Ruben Epilogue Also Available Also Available Also Available Also Available Also Available About the Author Also Available BY HJ WELCH Paddle Creek College (Daddies and kink) #1 Heaven Sent #2 Yes, Sir Pine Cove (Small town) Complete Box Set Homecoming Hearts (Former boy band) Complete Box Set Bears-4-U (Daddies and bears multi author shared universe) Keep Me BY HELEN JULIET Contemporary Fairy Tale Adaptations The Fairy Tale Collection (Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Rapunzel) Daddy’s Fairy Tales (Daddies and kink – Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, Puss in Boots) Author’s Note This isn’t so much a trigger warning as it is an assurance. The dog is absolutely fine. I pinkie promise. CHAPTER 1 Xander “You’ve certainly got a lot of stuff, haven’t you?” My stepmother’s tone might be cheery, but her smile doesn’t meet her eyes. I look at the suitcase beside me and the few boxes still in the trunk of my car. Between that and the backpack I’m wearing, I’m not sure I’d consider that ‘a lot.’ Then Sunny pulls on her leash, and I realize what Felicia actually means. “She won’t be any trouble, I promise,” I say, trying not to let my anxiety get the better of me as I pick up my fluffy best friend and hug her to my chest. She’s only small. No one’s really sure what breed she is. Maybe a little Yorkshire Terrier among other things? All I know is she’s got big dark eyes, slightly crooked teeth, a tail like a feather duster, and that I love her more that I ever thought it was possible to love anything in this world. I rescued her this summer before I started the final year of my college degree, and I didn’t think she’d be a problem to have in my apartment. But then my greedy landlord decided to change his mind. Hence why I’m moving back to this house I swore I’d never live in again. However, I’d do anything for Sunny. We might not have known each other long, but I’d sleep on a damned park bench if it meant keeping her, so that’s that. Hopefully, Felicia won’t be too unpleasant about the whole thing. It’ll just be until I finally finish school and get on my feet. Believe me, I don’t want to be living with her any more than she wants to be living with me. This makes the most sense financially, though, and the local college agreed to transfer me just for the last semester. I need to remember how lucky I am. “Oof, it’s freezing!” my half-brother, Joe, cries as he comes jogging out the front door into the snow. Unlike our stepmother, he’s genuinely smiling, and he runs over to me with open arms. “Hey, dude. So glad you’re here in time for Christmas. Aww, look at this cutie.” Sunny wriggles in my arms as she wags her tail and tries to lick every inch of Joe’s hand. Joe is Dad’s son from his first marriage to his high school sweetheart. When that failed, he married my mom and had me. He was already having an affair with Felicia when Mom was going through chemo, and I’m kind of glad she passed before she ever found out. Unfortunately for me and Joe, she’s the one who’s hung around. As always, she’s smiling at us both like she’s trying not to let it show that she just sucked on a lemon. “Well, let’s get in out of the cold, shall we?” she says. “I have people coming over in an hour, and it would be rude to be cluttering up the entrance hall when they arrive.” Great. I haven’t even set foot in the house and I’m already getting hints that I’ll need to make myself scarce. Well, fine by me. I’ll hide in my old room all evening if I can. Maybe Joe might want to play video games or something. “Hey there!” a cheerful voice calls out from the door, and I turn around to see who’s spoken. Oh. Oh no. My jaw drops. Of course in my moment of humiliation, the biggest crush I’ve ever had in my life comes back to bite me in the ass. Ruben Ward looks as gorgeous as ever as he trots out toward my crappy car and grabs a box. It’s so like him to help without even having to be asked and with a smile and everything. I could almost hate him if I hadn’t always loved him. “H-hey,” I manage to stutter to Joe’s best friend. They met in high school and were always way nicer than they should have been about letting little me tag along with whatever they were doing, even when they grew up and went to college. Now I’m the one in college, and this is the first time I’ve seen Ruben in years. He’s still got those broad shoulders I used to ride on as a kid and then imagined clinging to as a teenager while he did unspeakable things to me. His neat auburn beard looks so