Luckily, they got me back in an exam room quick instead of making me wait. I was sure it pissed off the people who were there before me, but I wasn’t there for a cough or sniffle. I was fucking dying and needed help, dammit. Josh and I left my parents in the waiting room with strict instructions to guard the babies from the icky germs floating around.
I saw a physician’s assistant first who injected something amazing into my body. The relief was immediate as a drug-induced fog invaded my brain. “Sweet relieeeef,” I slurred.
“The doctor will be in to see you in a minute,” the physician’s assistant said.
“S-s-sounds gooood.” I tried giving him a thumbs-up, but my hand felt too heavy to lift. “Heeeey, babe, I wonder if this doctor has seen you nekkid too?”
Men with lesser egos would be horrified that I made them sound like a lab coat banger. Not my Josh. “It’s not likely since the doctor on call is a woman,” he replied.
“You’ve never seen any lady bits? You weren’t curious at all if maybe you like the pussy too?” Like the pussy too? Fuck, I was high.
“Noooo,” Josh said, “but clearly you did.”
“I couldn’t keep an erection and the poor girl was horrified. We both were,” I amended.
“Um, hello. Mr. Roman-Wyatt?” a hesitant voice asked from the doorway. I hadn’t even heard her knock because Josh was laughing too loud.
“I like cocks and I cannot lie.”
“Okay, Savage,” Josh said patiently. “You’re going to be traumatized in the morning if you remember this conversation.” Josh turned to the young doctor who stood looking back and forth between us. “Hello, I’m—”
“Josh Roman-Wyatt,” she said, cutting him off. “I recognize you from Channel Eleven. I love your series.” Then as if she remembered where we were, she extended her hand to Josh and then me. “I’m Doctor Tomlinson. What happened tonight, Mr. Roman-Wyatt?”
“I tried to be a sexy lumberjack, a lumber sensual, or whatever they call it.”
“Lumbersexual, dear, and you pulled it off spectacularly until you threw your back out.”
“I feel”—yawn—“much better”—yawn—“now.”
“I can see that,” Dr. Tomlinson said. “I’m going to write you a prescription for muscle relaxers. Would you like pain pills also?”
“No,” I said adamantly. I hated taking anything stronger than Advil, but muscle relaxers were a must.
“Okay,” Dr. Tomlinson said, “I’m going to recommend you see a chiropractor right away. If they’re not able to help you, they’ll refer you to an orthopedic doctor. Often, chiropractic care combined with massage therapy will correct the problem.”
“My husband gives the best massages,” I said dreamily. “He has magic hands.”
“That should go a long way to help you feel better,” Dr. Tomlinson said. I could tell she was doing her best to remain professional and not burst into laughter. “I hope your weekend gets better.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said to her. “Take me home, Sunshine. I’m ready to finish trimming the tree so we can decorate it.”
“I think we’ll have to save that for tomorrow,” Josh replied, tucking close to my side and supporting my weight the best he could.
“I’m totally good to go all night long. You know that about me, Sunshine.”
“Sure thing, tiger,” Josh said. I could tell he was mocking me, but I would show him. I’d have the most perfectly trimmed tree in its stand in no time and rock his world. Probably all before dinner!
“Okay, I might need a little nap first.”
Next thing I knew, I was waking up in our bed next to Josh. He was lounging on his back reading a book while wearing my flannel shirt that he left open to reveal a skimpy pair of black bikini briefs. I, on the other hand, was completely naked. My brain wasn’t the only thing waking up either.
Josh turned his head and smiled at me. “Feel better? I got you in to see Dr. Minske in the morning. He’ll crack you back into place.”
“How’d you know I was awake? I didn’t move or say anything.”
“I could hear the blood rushing to your dick.” As if to test his theory, he reached beneath the blanket and wrapped his hand around my dick. “Yep, I knew it.”
“I’m alive, naked, and you’re practically naked too. I’d be more concerned if I didn’t have a hard-on. Come over here.”
Josh tossed his book aside and rolled over into my open arms. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I still feel a little groggy and there’s a dull ache in my lower back, but thank fuck those evil spasms have subsided.”
“Roll over onto your stomach. Let me see if I can do something about the dull ache.”
I slid his hand down to my junk. “Baby, I guarantee you can cure all that ails me.”
“We’ll get to that after I try to work some of the kinks out of your back. Go on, roll over.”
Like I would refuse my husband’s hands on my body. I tucked my arms beneath my pillows and got comfortable while Josh straddled my thighs and rubbed oil into his hands. “That smells good. What is it?”
“It’s a mixture of chamomile, marjoram, rosemary, and thyme. The chamomile helps reduce inflammation, the marjoram helps with aches, pains, and muscular cramping, rosemary helps ease the soreness, and thyme fights the fatigue in your body.” Josh pressed his hands to my lower back then leaned forward to press his lips to my ear. “Close your eyes and relax, love.”
Relax? How about melt into a puddle of goo on his fancy sheets. “Mmmmm.” Josh expertly dug his thumbs into my back with the perfect amount of pressure. He worked the tight muscles to loosen them up then expanded out and up until the only thing not relaxed was my cock.
“How’s that feel?” he asked.
“Hurts,” I whined.
“Still? Where?”
I lightly bucked my legs and Josh moved his knees, allowing me to have a little more freedom. I spread my legs wider, giving him a view of my cock and balls. “Make it better.”
Josh reached his slick hands between my legs and pulled my sac with firm, delicious pressure. “You like that?”
“You know I do.”
He continued to massage my sac with one hand while teasing my crack with the other. My pucker pulsed with anticipation when Josh circled it with a finger, but instead of pushing in like I wanted, he went back to trailing his finger from my taint to the top of my crack.
“Stop being mean; I’m injured.”
“I’m not being mean; I’m drawing out your pleasure.” Josh removed his hands from my body and I heard him open the cap to his oil bottle. I closed my eyes and imagined him drizzling the oil over his fingers to coat them well. My eyes jerked open when Josh drizzled the oil along my crack instead.
“I want to feel you inside me. That’s what will make me feel better.”
Josh drew out my torture slash pleasure by leisurely stretching me open for what seemed like eternity. “You’ll have to tell me if this gets uncomfortable.” He pulled his fingers out of my ass, and I felt the pressure of his cock at my entrance. With one quick thrust, he pushed in all the way to his root.
“Mmmmmm,” was all I could manage. I loved the burn of penetration and knowing that Josh was as close to me as a person could get. It had been a while since he’d fucked me, and I needed a minute to adjust. Josh remained still until my breathing evened out then he moved like only he could. Slow, smooth and as naturally as when he danced for me. His hips circled and he stroked in and out, in and out, driving me out of my mind.
“You feel so good, Gabe. I’m about to embarrass myself.”
“Never,” I mumbled into my pillow. I loved knowing my body brought him so much pleasure. There had been times that I came before him, but I still took care of him. Just as I knew he would do the same for me.
Josh’s hips snapped forward faster as he chased his orgasm and it was my name on his lips when he spilled inside me. “God, I need to do that more often.” I grinned at his
love-drunk confession.
Josh surprised me by rolling me to my back. I wanted him to spear himself on my cock, but he didn’t want to put pressure on my back. Instead, he fisted my slick cock and jacked me. His hooded eyes stayed locked on mine while he worked my cock until my body trembled hard and I came all over my stomach and his hand.
“C’mere,” I said groggily.
“Let me go get a warm washcloth for you,” Josh said, trying to avoid my grasp.
“A little oil never hurt someone.” My eyelids felt like one of those dolls my cousin Sheila had. When you laid the doll down, its eyes automatically close. Sit the doll up, her creepy eyes opened. No matter how we tried, we could never get the doll to do the opposite of what it was designed to do. No amount of prying was going to keep my lids open either.
Josh let out a resigned sigh. I heard the lamp click off and felt the bed shift as he cuddled up next to me. The warmth of his body acted as another catalyst to lull me to sleep, sort of like pouring gasoline on a fire.
“What’s on your to-do list tomorrow, Clark?” he asked smartly. It took my sluggish brain a minute to figure out who Clark was. He was referring to the movie Christmas Vacation.
“Rigging up the lights.”
“Christ.”
“Well, it is his season,” I smartly said just before sleep claimed me.
I crazy loved my job, that was never in doubt, but I couldn’t remember a time when I was happier to get back to work than the Tuesday after my Thanksgiving break. Hell, I had been tempted to go in on Monday to see if any walk-ins stopped by.
“Wow, your dad and Gabe did a fantastic job on the Christmas lights here and at your house,” Mere said when she arrived at the salon. Like usual, we were the first to show up.
My father decorated my childhood home every year as far back as I could recall, and I didn’t realize how much I missed his handiwork until I took over the duty. Of course, I decorated the salon for all major holidays and the four seasons, but I never had my dad’s knack for outdoor lighting. Luckily, he taught Gabe, who we all know has the patience of a saint. Gabe recovered quickly after his trip to the chiropractor and was a fast learner, which was the reason he could handle me so easily. In fact, he was usually one or two steps ahead of me. It took some time for me to get used to it, because I liked being in control and always know what lay in wait around the next corner.
Learning to trust Gabe, allowed me to love him. Loving him gave me the confidence to let go of my ironclad control and have faith in him—us. I still occasionally fell back on my old routines when yoga, jogging, a spin on my pole, or Gabe’s, wasn’t enough to quash the anxiety building inside me. After the weekend I had, you could say that my anxiety was high alert level.
Mere sat on the floor beside me in the stockroom. “You okay, baby?”
“I will be, Mere. How about you? Are you feeling okay?” I blamed the excitement of the holiday, our parents’ big announcement, my arrest, and Gabe’s injury for the reason it took me so long to realize why she was keeping her news a secret. She was scared out of her mind. She’d once told me that Mama Richmond had several miscarriages before she delivered Mere and a few more afterward when she tried giving Mere a little brother or sister. When I had that aha moment at four o’clock in the morning, it took everything I had not to call her. Her need for sleep was the thing that finally stopped me from dialing her number.
“So far, so good.” It was the closest thing to a confession as I would get out of her, but that was okay. I didn’t need to hear the words.
I laced our fingers together and lifted her hand to my mouth for a kiss. “I bought you some whole milk. I read that it’s good for you.” I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I read an article on what expectant moms need the first trimester. It had been a while since Meredith complained about “shark week” with other women on the staff or clients, but I was pretty sure she hadn’t hit that twelfth week mark yet.
“Thank you so much.” Meredith burst into grateful tears like I’d presented her with the hope diamond.
“Anything for you. We’re going to get through this together like we do everything.”
“I love you,” she said through sniffles.
“I love you too.”
In the old days, Chaz would be the one to find us hanging out in the stockroom, but he was at home creating fictional worlds. I sure hoped he was joking about creating a series about a hair stylist. Who the hell would read that? Dare was the one who found us leaning against one another. My arm was around Mere’s shoulder and her head was pressed against my chest. Dare might have been a newer employee, but he knew my habits well.
“Am I the reason you’re freaking out?” he asked me, his eyes pleading with me not to be angry. As if.
“Not even close,” I told him. “Besides, the situation with Trent wasn’t your fault.”
“Who’s Trent?” a deep voice asked just out of sight.
Dare’s eyes rounded in surprise before he schooled his features into a neutral mask and looked over his shoulder. “It’s no one for you to worry about, Wren.”
I didn’t have to see Wren’s face to know he was giving Dare his patented squinty-eyed glare. I expected to hear the music from High Noon playing as the two men squared off. It was funny to me that Dare was the only one who didn’t see how he tied Wren up in knots. I’m not talking a pretty little bow either, I’m talking a knot so complicated it would take months, if not longer, to untangle.
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that,” Wren returned with a bite in his voice. “Was it that doctor who stopped in here last week to see you?” Oh yeah, he wanted to do some biting all right.
“He was here to book an appointment for a haircut last week, not see me.” I heard the eyeroll in Dare’s voice and wished I could see his face. I also wished for some popcorn.
“Who’d you schedule him with?” Wren wanted to know.
Oh shit! Please don’t tell him…
“You,” Dare said sassily.
“Well, won’t that be fun?”
I jumped to my feet then. I couldn’t allow my salon to become a casualty to their stupidity. “Guys—”
“You wouldn’t dare—”
“Oh, I dare to do a lot of things—”
“Guys!” They had no intention of listening to me. I held out my hand and helped Meredith off the cold, hard floor.
“Like what, Wren?”
“Plenty of things,” Wren said stubbornly, but I could tell he was running out of steam. “None of them are your business.” Oh, but he wants them to be.
Of course, Dare didn’t say what he was really thinking or feeling either. He went with, “You’re such an asshole, Wren.”
“Yes, I am. It’s best you remember it too.”
“Like you’d let me forget it,” Dare dramatically replied before he stomped out of the little room.
Wren poked his head around the corner. The expression in his dark eyes could only be described as defeat. “Sorry, boss.”
“It’s not a problem. Don’t worry about Trent, I’ll—”
“I’ll cut the fucker’s hair,” Mere said, interrupting me. Then she looked at me and waved her finger back and forth. “Remember your promise to Gabe.” I wasn’t sure that Mere would be any kinder to Trent, but he at least had a fighting chance with her.
“Thanks,” Wren said, smiling wryly. “I owe you one.”
“Was I this clueless when it came to Gabe?” I asked Mere once we were alone.
She giggled and poked my rib with her finger. “Worse.”
Nothing filled my shop to capacity quicker than murder or mayhem. The visitors that day wanted to chat about my arrest. I was horrified when a video of me arguing with that woman went viral, but glad it showed me in the best light possible. She was the one who looked like a complete nutter throwing herself to the ground and yelling like I had pushed her down.
“Josh, I loved the way you defended your mama from that evil woman,” Mrs. Handerneski
said. She was the first client in my chair that morning and she spent three hundred dollars on salon gift certificates. “The perfect stocking stuffer.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Your hair stayed perfectly styled the entire time you played tug of war over that toy,” Mrs. Randolph said while I put foils in her hair. “It was amazing.” Of course, I had to show her what held up so well during my brawl over a talking, dancing, stuffed bear. I might’ve gotten thrown in jail, but my mama came away with that motherfucking toy.
“I’ll take two,” she told me.
Gabe stopped by with lunch, and I knew he was still trying to atone for the weekend. It wasn’t his fault that I was arrested, and had the situation been reversed I might’ve freaked out a little too. Yeah, he got a little overzealous with the ax at the tree farm, but we still ended up with a beautiful tree and I got me some lumbersexual sexy times after he felt better. I shivered because I was pretty sure I had finger marks on my ass from him gripping me so hard. Not to mention that our home and business looked amazingly festive.
So, yeah, our crowded house and hectic weekend had me feeling out of sync, but that wasn’t his burden to shoulder. Realizing that, was the bucket of ice water I needed to get over myself. “Hey, you wanna sneak into the mixing room like old times?”
“It’s occupied,” Gabe said with a smug smile and a playful wink. “I think Wren is finally done fighting his feelings for Dare.”
I thought back to the back and forth sniping that morning. “I don’t think so, Gabe.” No sooner had the words left my mouth, a dazed and stunned Dare stumbled out the door and walked in a trance-like state back to man his desk at the front of the salon. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
Wren came out of the room next looking like he couldn’t believe what had happened. He briefly touched his hand to his mouth and watched Dare’s sassy walk. Wren’s eyes met mine and his face turned a bright shade of red.
“Been there, done that,” I told him, hoping to ease his embarrassment.
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