Beauty and the Wiener

by Casey Griffin

  “Addison, are you okay?” He eyed her warily. “You’re not claustrophobic, are you?”

  “I—I don’t think so. It’s just,” she breathed, “so hot.” Addison lifted her hair off her neck, hoping that would help.

  After a moment, Felix shifted to kneel next to her. Reaching out, he grabbed a handful of her hair. “Turn around.”

  Lacking the energy or witty comeback to argue, she did as he asked. He settled in behind her and after a moment she felt soft tugs on her hair. Felix Vaughn was French braiding her hair. Addison couldn’t believe it.

  His fingers slid gently along her scalp, combing through her waves. As he expertly wove each lock together, Addison closed her eyes, focusing on each sensation.

  Her body was on alert, feeling each tug on her hair as though it were a limb. It was different than any way he’d touched her so far, like they’d suddenly leapt to an entirely new level of intimacy. Felix’s usual behavior was rough and brusque. This new tenderness was so unexpected that Addison found herself entirely focused on each subtle movement rather than on her panic.

  Curiosity nagged at her about this astonishing skill of his. Felix was the last person on Earth she would have thought could braid hair, far less French braid it. “How do you know how to do this?” she asked.

  “I’m a man of many talents, Addy,” was all he said. She could hear the teasing smile in his voice.

  His own labored breaths caressed the back of her neck. It hit the sweat forming on her skin, sending goose bumps trickling down the length of her arms and back. Finally, he got to the end and tucked the tail in at the nape of her neck to prevent it from unraveling.

  However, despite the rush of air against the damp skin of her neck and shoulders, her relief was only temporary. The heat continued to rise, and Addison could feel herself slipping back into panic mode. She rested her back against the cedar wall. If Felix hadn’t been with her, she would have started stripping right there and then.

  She took a deep breath through her nose and out her mouth. “Felix, say something. Talk about something. Distract me.”

  She closed her eyes again, waiting for his usual nonsense to spill out of his mouth. But a heartbeat later, she felt his soft lips against hers.

  She inhaled sharply, but he didn’t pull away. His lips remained pressed against her. He held them there, still as a statue. When she made no move to push him away, he began to kiss her softly.

  His mouth tasted of peppermint breath mints, his lips as soft as melting ice cream, and just as satisfying. Automatically, her tongue darted out to taste them. The slow, methodical movements of his mouth against hers were reassuring.

  Felix kept the tempo even, never allowing it to heat up. His breathing flowed rhythmically, hypnotizing her, and she soon found that her own chest rose and fell in time with his.

  Felix’s body didn’t touch hers, not an ab or a pec, not even his hands. He hovered as far away as he could, careful not to add to her own body heat or the sensation that the walls were closing in. But she could feel his comforting presence.

  Their last kiss at the bar had overwhelmed her, excited her to the point that she wanted to lose control. But now she let him control her, losing herself in the sweetness of his kisses, sweeter than she’d expected from the barbarian.

  Addison’s eyes fluttered open. Felix had his own eyes closed as he kissed her gently. His body shook with the strain of physically supporting himself in the awkward position. Or was it because he was holding back when he wanted more? Addison couldn’t tell.

  It wasn’t like before where she wanted him to ravage her on a pool table—wham, bam, thank you, ma’am. She thought that if they weren’t under the serious medical threat of dehydration or heat stroke, she’d quite like to stay there with him, just like that. It felt, well, nice.

  Now that was an effective distraction, she realized, closing her eyes again.

  After what could have been a few minutes or twenty, the sound of deep barking echoed outside their hiding place. Felix’s mouth froze. Addison was the first to pull away.

  “Do you think his hounds sniffed us out?” she whispered.

  Felix pushed himself to his feet and staggered slightly as he moved to the window. Addison had been too busy panicking to consider how much the heat had been affecting him.

  Felix braced himself against the doorframe. Wiping away the condensation on the window, he stared out. “They’re getting out of the hot tub.”

  Addison grabbed her leather jacket and Felix’s T-shirt. “Are they coming this way?”

  “No. They’re running through the yard. And you’re right.” He chuckled. “That’s not something I can unsee.”

  Over the hum of the stove in the corner heating the rocks, Addison could hear the barking fade into the distance while Walter and Penny yelled and whistled after it.

  “Come back Mr. Vandermutton!” Walter called. “Come back!”

  Addison snickered, feeling a little delirious. “Mr. Vandermutton?”

  “Did you leave the gate open?” Felix asked.

  Addison paused and forced her foggy brain to think back. “Yeah, I did.”

  “I think one of the dogs got out of the yard. Penny and Walter are heading toward the tree line.” He shifted his position to try and see farther. “I think we should make our break for it.”

  Reaching down, he helped Addison to her feet. The tiny sauna spun, and her vision faded to black around the edges. She swooned slightly, stumbling against him, but he held her up. Wrapping an arm around her, he supported her as he reached for the door handle.

  She grinned up at him, a little dopily. “What happened to not helping a damsel in distress?”

  “It’s in my genetic code. Besides, most damsels aren’t as cute as you.” He squeezed his arm tighter around her. “Ready?”

  She nodded.

  Felix burst through the door. The cold night air shocked her damp skin like a Brazilian wax. Together they stumbled across the grassy lot and out through the open gate.

  Addison could hear Penny and Judge Boyd yelling into the trees, huffing and shrieking at the chill of the night on their hot tub–warmed bodies. But Addison’s own overheated body basked in the relief.

  She let the cool air wash over her, and felt the life flow back into her legs. Energized but still slightly shaky, she let Felix guide them back to the safety of her car. Once she’d regained her focus, they drove to the nearest gas station for two bottles of Gatorade each.

  16

  Chase Tail

  Addison stood back, sizing up the erect form before her. The length, the thickness, the subtle curve. A fine specimen, but still, she frowned at it. It didn’t look quite right.

  “Maybe I should give it a few more strokes,” she said to Melody.

  Her assistant hovered next to her for a closer look. “Do you think that will make it look bigger?”

  “If I rough it up a bit, maybe.” Addison shrugged. “It might make it look thicker. Every inch counts.”

  She dove in, teasing, stroking, tugging furiously until its owner began to wriggle and squirm under her skilled touch. When her wrist began to ache from the effort, she stood back to examine the results.

  “I think that’s the best I can do,” she said.

  “We’re not quite done yet. Let me finish him off.” Melody drew a length of ribbon out of her supplies and wrapped it snug around the shaft, arranging it into an artful bow. When she was finished, it began to wag back and forth in front of their faces.

  Addison nodded in approval. As long as her customers were happy, she thought. And boy, was this one happy.

  He jumped up, planting a wet kiss on her cheek in appreciation.

  Now if only I could get that kind of affection from a man and not Julia Edwards’s cocker spaniel, Precious, she thought.

  Ever since her visit to Judge Boyd’s sauna the night before, she’d been craving the affections of one man in particular: Felix Vaughn. She just couldn’t seem to get him off her
mind. Everything had suddenly become an innuendo to her sex-deprived mind.

  But a few good days spent with Felix couldn’t erase years of bad choices with men, men just like Felix. Her brain was still telling her that Phillip was the right choice. So then why hadn’t she texted him yet?

  “Idiot,” she told herself.

  Precious grumbled in offense. “Not you, Precious. Don’t worry.”

  Addison gave the dog a treat as an apology. She couldn’t afford to offend Precious. It seemed he was her last remaining loyal customer. At least Julia hadn’t been persuaded by all the gossip and conjecture.

  She hoped all the bonus treatments she gave him that day would be an added incentive to keep them coming back. She’d scraped, polished, buffed, combed, shined, and moisturized every square inch of the pooch, and he was wagging his tail like he was a new dog. He was going to be a major contender in the show the next weekend.

  “Well, I think that’s it for today,” Addison said to Melody. “We don’t have any bookings for the rest of the day, so why don’t you take off early?”

  “Are you sure? I could tidy up the back.”

  Addison sighed. “The back has been tidied and retidied a dozen times in the last week. I’ve had nothing else to do. I’m sure it’s okay.”

  “Okay. Well if you’re sure.” Melody hung her apron in the cupboard and grabbed her purse. “I’ll see you later?”

  “You bet. Enjoy your afternoon.”

  Addison watched her leave, happy to have her company back. After the cocktail mixer, she’d given Melody a few days off to recuperate emotionally. However, since she’d been playing spies with Felix, her shop had to be closed with no one to watch it. With the evidence they found at the Regency Center, she’d felt confident enough in Melody’s innocence to let her come back. However, there still wasn’t enough business to keep them both busy, even with the odd walk-in.

  Addison finished cleaning up and took Precious into the back where he could relax in the lounge. Being the only customer, he had free rein of the various play areas: the toy box, the puppy palace, the lapdog lounge, the pillow pit.

  Once she’d settled him in the back, bribing his patronage with another treat, she was left with nothing to do but think, and wonder, and worry, and pace.

  Princess’s curious brown eyes roved back and forth across the spa from her miniature velvet settee, following Addison’s anxious path. Addison was wearing a trail into the black-and-white checkered flooring with her ballet flats. She gnawed on a sunset pink gel nail while eyeing up her phone on the counter.

  “It’s already been like twenty minutes. I can look again, right?” she asked Princess.

  The doxie made a throaty, exasperated growl and laid her head back down on her paws.

  “Okay maybe only twelve.” She glared at her phone, her annoyingly silent phone, like it had personally insulted her.

  The date of her fashion show was drawing near, and the RSVP list still amounted to a big fat zero. Not to mention, there’d been no calls, no emails, no texts, or tweets, or chimes of any sort. Not from customers, not from Phillip, not even from Felix. Not that she cared about the last. At least, that’s what she was trying to convince herself. But he said he was following up on a couple of leads that afternoon. Shouldn’t he be giving her moment-by-moment updates? They were supposed to be in this together, whatever that meant.

  Her phone rang. Finally.

  Addison practically sprinted across the spa and flung herself over the hot pink shabby chic desk.

  She hit the accept button. “Hello? Hello?” she panted into the phone.

  “Congratulations,” a recorded voice said. “You’ve been selected to—”

  Groaning, she hung up. But she clung to the bedazzled phone like it was a discounted angora sweater.

  “It couldn’t hurt to check,” she told Princess. “Someone might have RSVP’d by now. It is the weekend. People are off work, catching up on emails,” she reasoned.

  She opened an app to view the reservations for her fashion show. Determined that this time there would be good news, that by the sheer strength of her positivity she could change the numbers on the screen, she held her breath and hit the icon.

  And frowned.

  There must have been something wrong with her positive mojo. The RSVP list hadn’t changed. It was still that big, lonely, empty-looking zero. Slumping across the desk, she tossed her phone aside just as another chime rang out. This time from the front door.

  She looked up at the newcomer walking through the front door. “It’s you,” she said. “Thank God.”

  Felix beamed down at her. “Couldn’t stand being without me. I totally understand.”

  She felt herself blush a little at the comment, unable to meet his eyes. “You wish.”

  Ever since the night before, she’d found herself imagining Felix in different ways. Not as the single-minded, womanizing bartender she first thought he was, but a guy who maybe she’d misjudged. A guy who could actually be pretty sweet once you got to know him.

  “Why haven’t you called?” she asked. “What did you find out today? Have you got a lead? Do we need another stakeout?”

  “Eager for a repeat of last night?”

  “I’m eager to end it.”

  He leaned on the desk, batting his eyelashes at her. “Not all of it, I hope.”

  She gave him a coy smile, trying not to give anything away. “I’m talking about solving the crime.”

  “You know what’s a crime? That we’re all alone and you’re still fully dressed.” His hair was messier than usual, windblown like he’d walked all the way there from the pub. She found her fingers itching to reach up and pat it down.

  “I’m serious.” She pushed him away playfully. “What did you discover from your leads?”

  “Nothing.”

  She pouted. “Nothing?”

  “Zilch, nada, zero. I checked in on Jayden, our new hire at the pub. He really did have food poisoning. No way was he busy stealing a bunch of dogs while he was making sweet love to a toilet bowl.” He pulled a face.

  “Well, we still have to look into Julia Edwards. Her dog is here right now, actually.” Addison nodded her head toward the general area of the back room. “She told me earlier that she’s going to be leaving for the rest of the weekend. We could always case her house tonight.”

  He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Sorry. I’ve actually got plans tonight.”

  “Okay.” His reaction seemed strangely apologetic.

  She was tempted to ask what those plans entailed, but she told herself it was none of her business.

  He held up a finger, interrupting her jealous train of thought. “But I have a problem you can help me solve.”

  “Like I need any more problems.”

  “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  Felix ducked out of the spa, and when the door chimed again, Addison turned to see a mangy furball on four legs. The dog was so mixed breed, she couldn’t begin to guess its family heritage. His gray wiry fur stuck up in tangled tufts, his ears pressed back against his head as if ashamed of his appearance.

  Big brown eyes turned to look up at her, as though asking her, Help me.

  “This is Oliver,” Felix said. “He’s not exactly at his best today. I tried a few DIY tricks at home to groom him, but they didn’t work.”

  Princess padded over from her settee, the little bells on her ballerina dress tinkling. She gave Oliver the once-over, sniffing in distaste at his mangy state.

  “I didn’t know you had a dog,” Addison said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. All you have to do is ask.” Felix hopped onto one of the bright pink Queen Anne chairs, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

  Addison rounded her desk and knelt down in front of the dog. “Well hello, Oliver. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out a hand, and he automatically raised his paw for her to shake.

  “He’s quite
the gentleman,” she said.

  “So am I.” Felix locked his hands behind his head like it was a relaxing Saturday afternoon on the beach. “When I want to be.”

  “So, that would be never?” She gave him her brightest smile and he returned it.

  “So what seems to be the problem?” Addison reached out to pet Oliver, assessing him at the same time with her practiced eye, looking for matted hair or dry skin patches. She quickly discovered the problem on his wagging tail. The long fur had been painfully matted with what could only be described as pink goo.

  “What happened here?”

  “There was a bubble-gum incident,” Felix said.

  “How did it get so matted in there?”

  “Oh, that was my attempt to fix it.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

  She stood up and headed over to her cabinet full of various oils, tinctures, potions, and lotions. The bottles clinked as she rummaged through them to find the right antidote.

  “I wouldn’t have taken you for a bubble-gum guy,” she called back.

  “What kind of guy do you take me for?” She heard him come up behind her.

  Now there was a loaded question. “Spearmint, maybe. Spicy cinnamon?”

  He ran a slow finger down her back where her floral dress dipped low. “Sounds hot.”

  Addison shivered, but slapped his hand away and continued to search the cupboard for the cure. “I’m going to have to use the big guns.”

  “Big guns?”

  “Peanut butter. Works like a charm,” she said. “And makes a great snack.”

  “Mmmm.” He brought his lips down to her exposed neck, and moaned against it. “I know I could use a bite.” His teeth grazed her as he playfully began nibbling her skin.

  “Hey!” She laughed. “I’m a professional here. I have a job to do. Maybe we should take care of your little problem first.”

  “Seems you’ve created a whole new problem.” His eyes dropped down as a hint. She followed his gaze to his jeans, which had a curious bulge she didn’t think belonged to his phone.

  “You can go take care of that,” she said. “In the meantime, I’ll be taking a look at this tail.” She bent down to assess Oliver’s mess again.