From Ice to Flames

by Hargrove, A. M.

  Her finger made a little doodle around my nipple.

  “If you don’t watch out, we might have to go for round two,” I said.

  “I’d be game for that. Round one was fantastic.”

  I threaded my fingers into her hair and tugged on it until she lifted her head. “I agree.” I lifted her off me. “But I have the wild man here and well …” My voice trailed off because as I watched my cock slide out of her, in our haste to fuck, I never put a condom on. “Oh, fuck.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  My glance flicked between her honest eyes and my glistening cock. I squeezed my lids shut and said, “I forgot the condom.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Milly

  No condom. Jeez, I hope he didn’t have any diseases. So, I asked the first thing that popped into my head. “Are you safe. I mean, that’s to say, you don’t have anything I can catch, do you?”

  He squinted, scratched his head, and then laughed. “You aren’t afraid of getting pregnant?”

  “No. I’m on the pill. But I am afraid of dying.”

  Then he laughed again.

  “It’s not funny.”

  “Yeah, it is. I haven’t had sex with anyone other than you in almost a year. And when I did, I’ve always worn a condom. That’s how Wiley came about. No condom. I can’t even believe I forgot. I can’t chance a repeat of what happened to me before. She trapped me into marriage and I—” He shuddered.

  Rearing back, I said, “You can’t be thinking that I—I …”

  “No! I didn’t mean that at all. I just don’t want any unexpected surprises.”

  “Same here. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  A long breath wheezed out of him. “Good. My ex really did a number on me.”

  “I see.” That whole thing with his ex-wife must weigh heavily on him. “You must have been drunk with lust then.”

  “Must have been? I was thinking with my cock-brain for sure. But it is funny how two people see things in entirely different ways.”

  “True. I haven’t been with anyone other than my ex since I was married. And now that I think of it, maybe I should get tested because of what that rat bastard did. Cheater peter.”

  “You didn’t just say that. That’s like high school.” He chuckled.

  “And your point is?”

  “I don’t have one. But you did mention being on the pill, right?”

  “Yeah, so condoms aren’t really necessary.”

  “You’re positive? Because the last thing either of us needs is a pregnancy.”

  I aimed my gaze at him and tried not to laugh. “I think the medical community agrees that the pill is a very effective form of contraception.” My tongue poked the inside of my cheek.

  “Okay, smart ass.”

  “Well, you acted like it wasn’t.”

  “Point taken,” he said.

  “I’m just going to be blunt. If we’re going to do this neighbors with bennies business, I don’t really want to share your cock with any other women.”

  “Fine. And I’ll be blunt in return. I don’t want to share your pussy with any other men.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “And I’m going to take it a few steps farther. If you come to my place, here’s how it’ll work. I might like to wear my jammies to bed, the ones with little bunnies on them. Or there may be a good chance I’ll steal a pair of your boxers.”

  A half-smile lifted the corner of his lips. “I’m good with bunnies. I’m a vet, you know.”

  “And the boxers?”

  “I’ll give you your own personal supply.”

  We were lying on the floor, still side by side, when we heard the door open and the thumping of tiny feet.

  “Daddy, why are you on the fwoor with Miwwy? And why are you showing her your pirates?” Wiley stood there staring at the two of us. We laid there like two frozen naked and afraid people.

  My head jerked around, hunting for something to cover us with, but I came up blank.

  “Hey dude, why don’t you get back in bed and I’ll be right in?” Hudson calmly said. How could he be so unflustered? I must be the color of a ripe tomato by now.

  “Okay. Did you tell Miwwy I wiked her butt?”

  I started coughing. What the hell was that all about?

  “No, but if you go back to bed, I will.”

  “Okay. Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  He turned and ran out of the room.

  “Oh, my fucking shit. I can’t believe he caught us. And my butt? He likes my butt? He’s only five,” I said, spewing the words out, one right after the other.

  “It’s a long story, and calm down.”

  “Calm down? What are you going to tell him about us being naked?”

  “Hopefully, nothing. He’ll forget about it five minutes from now. I’m just happy he likes your butt. He’s fixated on it, by the way. First, he said it was big and pretty. I told him it wasn’t big, but I don’t think he meant it as in a big butt if that makes sense.”

  It hit me then and I died laughing. Having a five-year-old in love with my butt was hilarious. “Does he get his ass fetish from his dad?”

  “Probably. But I never discuss women’s asses with him.”

  “Jeez, I should hope not. I can hear it now the two of you sitting at Mickey D’s and you sayin’, ‘Hey wild man, check out the junk in the trunk on that one over there.’” I almost snorted.

  Hudson tried not to laugh but didn’t do a very good job. “Shut up. I’ll be right back.” He got dressed and left. I did the same and waited on him. I didn’t want to leave his room because that would be considered a little snoopy in my book. I settled down on his bed and picked up a pillow. Oh, God, his delicious scent was all over the thing. I put it over my nose and inhaled. He smelled so good … so manly. A mixture of spice and wood wafted into my nose. I wanted to take his pillow home with me and smother myself with it.

  “Did you lose your head?” he asked.

  I lowered the pillow. “You smell so good.” His eyes widened. Maybe I should’ve kept that thought to myself. “So, did you put the little guy back to sleep?”

  “Yeah, and he wanted me to tell you that he likes you and hopes Dick gets better fast.”

  “Aww, that’s so sweet.”

  “Which reminds me.” He pulled out his phone to check the camera. I watched as his expression altered from playful to serious.

  “What is it?”

  It was close to midnight and he said, “I have to go.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Dick. His respiration is off. Something’s not right. Shit.”

  He looked around.

  “Go,” I said.

  “Wiley?”

  “I’ll stay.”

  He kissed me, grabbed his wallet off the counter, along with his keys, and left. And all I could do was pace the floors. I wanted more than anything to call, but I was afraid … afraid of getting bad news. I also didn’t want to disturb him. The way I figured was he’d call as soon as he knew something.

  Minutes turned into hours and my phone finally rang close to three in the morning.

  “Hey, I think we’re in the clear. His blood pressure has stabilized and he’s resting now. I’m on my way home.”

  “What happened?”

  “I’ll explain when I get there.”

  When he walked through the door, he didn’t exactly look happy. The purple shadows beneath his eyes told me more than I wanted. I told myself it was because he’d been up almost a full twenty-four hours.

  “He started bleeding again. I had to put an external compression bandage on him, but I think it worked.”

  That really didn’t mean much to me. “Oh, no. How long before he’s in the clear?”

  “Several days at least. The liver has two sources of blood so that’s why the bleeding is so risky.”

  “He could still die then, right?”

  His manner was grave, so I knew the answer
. “Milly, he’s critical. I won’t lie about that. But he’s also young and otherwise healthy. He has a fighting chance. If the bleeding stops, he’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah, okay.” But my stomach was sick with the possibilities of what might happen. My poor, sweet, Dick. The gentle giant who was always so happy. My heart ached for the big guy who didn’t really know what was going on. “Hudson, is he in pain?”

  “No, he’s sedated, and I’ll be sure to keep him comfortable.”

  “If anything … you know … I don’t want for him to hurt. The thought of that …” I shuddered. Animals in pain were the worst things imaginable to me.

  “I understand, and I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that.”

  “This is my fault, you know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I was distracted, not paying attention texting you, when he saw another dog and went for it. He caught me off guard and I thought my arm was a goner, so I let go of his leash. That’s when it happened.” I broke down and wept. Hudson and his big broad chest were there for me to collapse on.

  His soft words came to me. “Milly, it wasn’t your fault. You could’ve been in the line of that van, too, if you hadn’t released him. Think about it. If you hadn’t let him go, it could’ve been the two of you critically injured. I’m glad it was only the dog.”

  Maybe he was right. I only knew this crushing ache in my heart was so severe and that if something happened to Dick, I didn’t know how I’d forgive myself.

  Chapter Twenty

  Hudson

  What I hadn’t told her was I didn’t know if Dick could hang on. I had done all I could. If he survived, it would be a miracle. His liver was in awful shape and the bleeding … I could only do so much. I thought the surgery had repaired it, but with these injuries, one never knew.

  I carried her to bed and she cried herself to sleep. Animals were my life, so my heart ached for her. I questioned myself all night long. Should I have been more honest with her? Should I have told her the truth about his odds? But what if he pulled through? There was always a chance after all.

  The room turned gray with the rising sun, so I slipped out of bed to shower. It would be a long day since I’d literally gotten no sleep. When I was finished, I woke Milly up.

  “Hey, I didn’t know if you’d want to shower before heading to the clinic. I have to get Wiley moving.”

  She stretched and then said, “Thanks. I’ll go home. When do you need to leave?”

  After checking the time, I said, “In forty minutes.”

  “I’ll be back.”

  As she was walking away, I stopped her. “Milly. I, uh …”

  “Hudson, it’s okay. You’ve done so much already. You don’t have to say anything.”

  “He looks fairly good this morning. I thought you’d be pleased to hear that. He still has a ways to go, though.”

  She smiled. I watched her go and felt a deep sense of sadness. I’d become attached to that dog, so I knew what she was going through.

  The nanny came, and I handed the rest of my Wiley duties over to her. When Milly returned, Wiley ran up to her and said, “Miwwy, give Big Dick a hug from me and teww him I wove him.” Then he hugged her. She put her fist to her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Okay, buddy, we’ll do that for you.” I cupped his cheeks and kissed him like I did every day and then ushered Milly out. We quickly walked to the clinic. I prayed we’d find Dick better off than I’d left him last night. The cameras had shown me he was holding his own, but maybe he’d improved.

  The dimly lit room was silent as we entered. Milly ran to Dick’s cage and he opened his eyes. They were glassy, which meant he was fine, considering the drugs he was on.

  “The pain meds have him loopy. Don’t worry about him not lifting his head.”

  I checked his bandage and it was still compressing. I took his blood pressure and it was okay. I would’ve liked to have seen it a little higher, but it would do.

  “Well?”

  “He’s hanging in here.”

  “Listen up, Dick. You need to fight. Do you hear me?” Then she put her head next to his and scratched his ears. “Is he warm enough?” she asked.

  “I’m going to check his temperature in a minute.” I wanted to examine his belly first, so I unwrapped the bandage to check his drain. Everything looked good, so I rewrapped it to keep the compression up. Then I checked his temperature. His respiration was good too, so his chest tube could come out soon.

  “His temperature is good. He doesn’t have an infection, which is encouraging.”

  Her hopeful eyes made me smile. “Does that mean …?”

  “That means he’s doing as best as he can. We are going to continue this and keep our fingers crossed.”

  “Hudson, if this doesn’t work, that compression thing, what next?”

  I had to tell her the truth. Shaking my head, I said, “I’m sorry, Milly, there isn’t a next.”

  My heart cracked when her body shuddered with the silent sobs. I pulled her close to try and comfort her, but I knew there were no words that could ease the ache.

  “Milly, he’s still here, still fighting. Go and hug him. He knows you. Knows your scent. Let him know you’re here.”

  And that’s what she did. She stayed until mid-morning. I told the staff to let her come and go as she pleased.

  After she was gone, Cindy asked, “What happened? I thought he was stable after I left.”

  “He was, but then he started bleeding again. There’s not much more I can do.”

  “I was afraid of that when you opened him up, but afterward I had high hopes.”

  “So did I, but now, I’m not so sure.”

  She said, “And you did everything you could.”

  If the day wasn’t bad enough, I got a call right after lunch from Wiley’s school that he was sick and would need to be picked up. I called his nanny, but she wasn’t answering.

  “Shit.”

  The office manager overheard me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Wiley is throwing up at school and I can’t get a hold of his nanny.”

  “Want me to go get him?”

  It was only one-thirty. I had another surgery. And then there was Dick. If she went to pick him up, she would have to bring him here.

  “Let me call my mom.”

  “Okay, but just let me know.”

  Mom or Dad didn’t answer. What the hell was going on today? I even tried Marin and she wasn’t answering either.

  It was now two o’clock. I tried the nanny again. No answer. And then Milly walked in, looking haggard as hell.

  One look at me and she said, “Dick?”

  “He’s still hanging on.”

  “Then?”

  “Wiley’s sick and the nanny isn’t answering, neither is Mom, Dad, or Marin.”

  She put her hand on my arm. “I can go get him.”

  “What about your work?” I asked.

  Before she could answer, my phone rang. It was Wiley’s school.

  “Dr. West, are you coming to pick up your son? He’s asking for you.”

  “Actually, a friend of mine, Milly Fremont, is coming. She should be there soon.”

  They asked for her information since she wasn’t on the list so they could verify it when she arrived.

  I ended the call and asked Milly, “You’re sure about this?”

  “Absolutely. Just let me hug Dick first and I’ll be on the way.”

  I gave her directions to the school and she left.

  Cindy alerted me that my patient was ready. I went into surgery, thankful it was only a minor procedure.

  The remainder of the day was hectic since I was so behind from the morning and weary from such little sleep. I knew it would be another night of no sleep too since I’d had to be on the lookout for Dick and any type of emergency that might develop.

  The nanny had finally called, and I practically jumped through the phone, yelling at her.


  “But, Dr. West, I told you I had a doctor’s appointment today and that I would be unavailable for a few hours this afternoon. I’m sorry this happened, but I won’t stand for you yelling at me.”

  A heavy breath left me. “I’m so sorry. You’re right. It’s been a terrible two days and I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Is Wiley okay?”

  “My friend, Milly, picked him up and I’m under water here so I’m sure he is. If something were really wrong, she would’ve called.”

  “I’m on my way over there now.”

  “Thank you, Carly. And again, I’m sorry. It’s been a very stressful day.”

  “I’ll see you tonight.” Her terse tone told me she was not pleased and I couldn’t blame her. I hope she didn’t quit on us. It had taken me months to find her and Wiley adored her.

  My shoulders were so tense they burned. Cindy came in, followed by Dottie, the office manager.

  “Everything okay?” Dottie asked.

  “No. I just jumped all over my nanny and I’d forgotten she had a doctor’s appointment today.”

  “Ooh. Not good,” Dottie said.

  “I know, and you remember how long it took for me to find her.”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  Cindy asked, “Is there anything we can do to help?”

  “No, Milly stepped in. She picked Wiley up at school since no one was answering their phones.”

  “Hudson, why didn’t you just tell me. I could’ve brought him here,” Dottie said.

  “A couple of reasons. I didn’t want him to spread whatever it is he has. And my brain is malfunctioning right now.”

  “That’s what I figured,” she said.

  Then Cindy said, “It’s been a hectic day here with Dick and everything.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I rolled my shoulders, trying to ease the tension.

  “At least the day’s almost over,” Cindy said.

  “True, but I’m worried about Dick. He’s stable now but will it last?”

  “We can only hope,” Cindy said.

  Then Dottie added, “You’ve done all you can and even more.”

  “I know, but when it’s a friend, you know how it is.”

  They did and loved animals as much as me. I was in my office closing out for the day and had laid my head back for a second with my eyes closed when I felt two hands on my shoulders.