Two Doms for Christmas (11 page)

Her mother was visibly fuming. “I
just don’t understand you, Haley. You let your marriage go to hell. Then you
allowed him to take my granddaughter halfway across the country. Now you are
hanging out with…” She sputtered, unable to come up with a good term to
describe Austin and Med.

“With two men who are resisting an
urge to throw you out on your ass,” Austin said with a snarl. He walked back
over, lifting her bag and holding out his hand. Haley quickly rose to her feet
and went to stand by his side. Med leaned over the center divider, speaking to
the officers. “You have my number if you need us for anything. I will be at
Austin’s for the rest of the day. If you give me a call when you are finished,
I will come back and lock up the house.”

Austin didn’t wait for a reply as
he took her hand and led her past her mother. The woman was furious, but he was
not going to allow her to say anything as he walked Haley toward the truck. “I
need food for Sammie. It’s in the refrigerator. Also his leash, and his jacket
and shit.”

He opened the door for her. “You
stay in the truck. I’ll go back and get it. I don’t want you getting into an
argument with your mother. What I said was bad enough. What is his food in?”

“The glass container with the red
lid. His leash is hanging by the door with his jacket. It’s blue.”

“Anything else you want or need?”

“Yeah, my vitamins. They are in the
small cabinet next to the stove. Just grab all five bottles, and my shampoo.
It’s in the bathroom with my body soap.”

He nodded, giving her a short bow.
“I’ll be right back with your desired list.”

Med got in beside her. “Where’s he
going?”

“There are a few things I need.”

“Oh. We haven’t been properly
introduced.” Med held out his hand. “I am Maruarcus Ethanial Damascus,
otherwise, for pronunciation sake, known as
Med
. It is
my pleasure to meet you, Haley Joy. I just wish it had been under better
conditions.”

“Me, too.” Haley shook his hand and
then he raised it to his lips and kissed her fingers.

“Austin was right.”

“About what?”

“He said you were beautiful. I
agree.”

“Thank you. He said you look like a
lean wolf. I agree.”

“He does have an inclination to
relate people to animals. Is that good or bad?” he asked.

“As long as you aren’t going to get
really furry and dangerous with the next full moon and eat me, it’s good.”

“I would love to eat you.”

She had completely set herself up
for that reply even if she hadn’t meant to.

Austin got into the truck,
laughing. “Lovely. I’m gone for two minutes and he is trying to seduce you.”

She actually wouldn’t mind being
eaten by Med. He was almost as gorgeous as Austin. Of course, she had no intention
of relaying that fact at the moment. She was too tired and too stressed out to
really want sex. Maybe later.

Chapter Ten

 
She lay only in her panties in front of the
fire. Most of the stress was melting away with the warmth of the crackling
flames and the feel of Austin’s hands patiently working the knots from her back
and shoulders. The air was scented with lavender and she inhaled deeply,
sighing in sleepy contentment.

Med was rubbing her feet and lower
legs, and Sammie was curled up at her head. He was resting after he had
introduced himself to April and Jake. The three dogs had gone outside to play
in the snow for a while and had then come back in to crash in the warm room
with their humans.

Austin leaned forward, his naked
chest brushing against her back as he kissed the back of her head. “Want to go
to sleep for a while? You must be tired.”

“I would love to. Didn’t you have
to go to work today?”

“Med and I should try to go in for
a few hours at least. Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Is there anything I
should know about the dogs or the house?”

“Not really. The dogs will let you
sleep, and the house takes care of itself. We will throw some more logs on the
fire before we leave. I will write down the alarm code for you. Make sure you
turn it off if you decide to let the dogs out.”

“What if the vet calls?”

“Then call me and I will come home
and get you. We will pick up your car later.”

“Okay.” The weight of Austin was
gone from her ass. He draped a blanket over her body. Haley was having so much
trouble keeping her eyes open that she no longer had a will to even try. Sleep
was the ultimate escape and she wanted it so badly.

* * * *

Austin sighed as he got into the
truck. “Do you think she is going to be okay, Med?”

“Maybe not today or tomorrow, but
she will be. You were right. She is really something special. She is also
dangerous as hell with a frying pan.”

Austin laughed at his joke. “No
shit. I wouldn’t relay that thought to her.”

“I wasn’t planning on it. Wow, was
that a hairy way to spend a night. The police think that the guy may be the
rapist that has been periodically hitting the homes of single women in this
area. If he is, Haley just did us all a favor.”

“I agree. I’m just glad she didn’t
have to see the body. Did you see her face when the cop said the guy had a gun
in his hand? She played it off, but I’m sure she didn’t see it.”

“I had the same feeling. Was she
really that focused on her dog that she didn’t see a gun as she knocked the guy
to hell?”

Austin shrugged. “I get the feeling
her dogs are all she has. I wanted to choke her mother.”

Austin wasn’t the only one. “You
should have seen her before you got there. She was a ranting lunatic. She was
mad because Haley wasn’t there. She was mad because her daughter had killed the
guy. She had no clue why Haley thought that a
stupid dog
was more
important than her house. I guess Haley ran out and didn’t even shut the front
door.”

“I can picture her doing that. In
her eyes, it was her daughter lying on the floor with blood dripping from her
mouth. I told you she was damaged.”

That might be the case, but Med
loved animals as much as Haley and Austin did. He had never had a child, so he
had no real idea what that would feel like. He tried to imagine it was his
little brother who he loved dearly. Mitchell was autistic. What would he feel
like if someone broke into the house and did that to Mitchell? Would he care if
the front door was open as he ran out into the snow in only his boxers and
sneakers? Probably not. Would he kill for Mitchell, even if it were unintended?
Definitely. “I don’t know if this proves she is damaged. If anything, it proves
how intensely she has the capability to love.”

“I’ve thought of that also. It
makes it that much harder to imagine how much it hurt her when her husband took
their daughter. Her family certainly isn’t helping by blaming it on her.”

“How did he get the kid?”

“Haley did some stuff when she was
younger. I guess the court frowned on the fact that she was a stripper and that
she had been arrest for drugs.”

“Really? Drugs?”

“She said she was at a party and
she was only drinking alcohol. There was coke and ecstasy. I guess someone
slipped something into her drink. When the police showed up she was stoned to
shit and had no idea how she got that way. I believe her.”

Med was usually the more skeptical
of the two, but from what little he knew about Haley, he couldn’t envision her
doing drugs. Maybe smoking pot, but nothing more. “I do too. That really sucks.
She was younger and probably much less responsible. Why didn’t a judge see
that?”

“I don’t know. She said she had a
feeling her husband influenced the judge. She thought that the thought was
paranoid, but maybe she was right. Since her husband got custody, she said her
daughter, Jane, wants nothing to do with her. I wonder what Jane was like when
she lived with her mother? I didn’t think to ask her.”

After seeing how upset she was
about her dog, he could only imagine what she was like as a mother. “I’m
picturing a woman who is protective and very into her daughter’s life. Like a
soccer mom on steroids.”

Austin turned to him laughing. It
was a good tension breaker as they pulled into the condo complex. They needed
to get their minds off Haley and on what they were doing. They still had to go
over and board up her back door and lock up her house.

Med smiled. “I like her. I see why
you have fallen head over heels for her. I also see why you want so badly to
protect her. She needs someone strong in her life. You can almost feel the
cravings for contact oozing from her pores.”

“Okay. I thought I was the only one
feeling that. She has a very lost personality and the more I get to know her,
the more I know we need to rescue her. I already promised her I was with her
and only her until we figure out how our relationship is going to work out.”

Med groaned at him. “That isn’t
hard. You haven’t been with anyone anyway. Not since that nut almost burned
your house down.”

“Yeah, no shit. Hopefully it will
still be standing when we get home.”

* * * *

Haley heard her phone ring and was
instantly awake. She skimmed her finger over the screen to answer it. The fire
had burned down and the room was slightly chilled. “Hello?”

“Haley, this is doctor Shay. I just
wanted to give you an update. Ginger woke up briefly a little while ago. She
was in a lot of pain, so we gave her some medication to make her more
comfortable. There’s no sense in coming down because she has already fallen
back to sleep. The good news is that from a routine assessment, she shows no
indication of injury to her brain. I think it was just the trauma of what
happened. We won’t know anything for sure until she is feeling a bit better. We
removed some blood from her lung, but after re-inflating it, it’s holding well
and doesn’t appear to need surgery. So far so good.”

That was wonderful news. “Oh, thank
you so much for calling. I would like to see her as soon as she wakes up again
if you can have someone call me.”

“It may be a few days until her
pain eases up enough for her to stay awake for any time. She is better off
sleeping and being out of pain, Haley. You can still come see her if you want,
but the main thing now is observation and pain control. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“How are you doing? I ran into your
boyfriend in the parking lot, and he told me what happened. I can’t even
imagine how horrible that was for you.”

Haley got up and looked out the
front window. Her car was in the driveway. “Yeah. It was terrible.”

“At least your boyfriend seems
really nice. Hang on to him.”

Haley smiled. “I’m gonna try.”

“I’ll make sure you are notified if
anything changes. Try to have a good night. Ginger’s doing fine.”

“Thank you so much for calling.
Either way, I’ll probably stop by tomorrow to see her.”

“You are welcome to do so at any time.
Try to take it easy tonight and relax. She is in good hands.”

“I will.”

The doctor hung up and Haley threw
some more wood on the fire. She sat down, dialing Austin and hoping she wasn’t
bothering him. He answered on the first ring. “Everything okay?”

“I think so. Doctor Shay just
called to say Ginger is holding her own.”

“I know. I talked to her a little
while ago. Med and I took a break and went to get your car.”

“I saw it in the driveway. Thank
you for everything.”

“Don’t go anywhere. We will be home
in about an hour. Did you just wake up?”

“Ah, yeah. I slept the whole day
away. Can I take a shower and shit?”

He chuckled. “Sure. There’s spray
in the bathroom if it stinks.”

She had to laugh. “I didn’t
literally mean shit.”

“I know, but it’s nice to hear you
laugh. If you’re ambitious, there’s stuff in the fridge to cook with. Otherwise
we can order something when we get home. The dogs might want to go out, turn
the alarm off first please.”

“I will.” She didn’t want to hang
up.

“I have to get this done so we can
get home. We’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay, bye.”

She reluctantly clicked off the
phone. All three dogs were lying on the sofa looking at her. “What? I need to
go take a shower and put some clothing on. Then we will discuss other things.”
She got up, folding the blanket and grabbing her bag as she walked into the
bathroom.

She didn’t want to think. There
were too many bad things to dwell on, and as soon as she finished her shower
and brushed her teeth, Haley intended to make Austin and Med a dinner they
would never forget.

Chapter Eleven

Austin and Med walked in the house
still talking about how bad Haley’s floor was. The blood was embedded in the
older style linoleum and the easiest thing to do might just be to replace it.
The floor was in horrible condition anyway. It was as clean as Haley had been
able to get it, but the slices and pits were numerous.

Med sniffed. “Oh, it smells like
heaven in here.”

“Yeah, it does. Where the hell are
the dogs and Haley?”

He walked into the kitchen and
peeked into the oven. “Yum, that looks good. Roasted potatoes and some kind of
green soufflé.” Heading to the back door, he stopped and chuckled. “Holy shit.
She is outside.”

Med walked up beside him. “What is
she doing?”

“I think she is cooking the steaks
we picked up the other day.”

Austin went back to grab his coat
off the hook and then walked outside. He tugged the blanket off Haley’s
shoulders, knowing he was sending her into a deep freeze for a moment before he
wrapped it around himself and put his arms around her to seal her into a cocoon
with his body heat. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I wanted grilled steaks. I figured
I could let the dogs out to play and I could cook. I’ve tried to call them back
in a few times, but they aren’t ready yet.”

Austin looked out into the yard.
All three dogs were cloaked in their sweaters and they were still playing in
the snow. They would be okay for a few more minutes while he talked with her.
He kissed the crease of her neck, making her shiver. “I wanted to talk to you a
bit in private. Firstly, we stopped by your house and boarded up the back door
and locked the house up. Med spoke with the officer in charge and you are off
the hook. The man you hit had a small apartment in a slumlord complex downtown.
They raided his apartment and found a bunch of trinkets from the homes of the
other women. It was concrete evidence that this guy was the serial rapist.”

“I still feel horrible for killing
him. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know, just remember that you did
the world a favor with your accident. He can’t hurt anyone else. Did you see
the gun?”

“No. All I saw was him kick Ginger,
then everything kind of became blurry survival. I just picked up the pan and
hit him. I don’t think I even looked at him after that. I put the pan down and
ran to Ginger. I’ve run this over a hundred times in my mind and that’s it.
There was no big revelation after the fact. That’s all I remember.”

She was a
very
focused individual, so what she said made sense. Her entire mind was attuned to
her dog and nothing else mattered. “I just don’t want you stressing over this.
It happened. As it turned out, it was actually a good thing. Well…not good that
he broke in or hurt Ginger. Just good that he can’t hurt anyone else. He didn’t
physically hurt you. If he had, I would have found a way to track him down and
I would have killed him myself.”

Haley opened the grill to check the
steaks. They were perfectly seared on the topside and looked absolutely
delicious. “How rare do you like your steaks?”

“Rare.”

“Then they are done.” She went to
remove them from the flames and he stopped her.

He wanted to finish what was on his
mind. Reaching around her, he shut the grill off and closed the lid. Haley
turned in his arms. “They’re going to get cold fast.”

“I know. I just wanted to tell you
something. Med is going to hang around. We only have this moment alone. I
didn’t figure you would still want to go up to Hartford for the lights.”

“Can we go next weekend? I don’t
want to be that far away if anything changes with Ginger.”

“Of course. That’s what I figured.
It’s not exactly what I wanted to talk to you about though.”

She shivered, her skin seeming to
pale slightly. What direction was her mind taking to what he had just said?
Austin tightened the blanket around her back. “What are you thinking?”

“I can’t go home right now. Please
let me stay for another day or two?”

He smiled, kissing her on the
forehead. “The last thing on my mind is sending you home. You will have to face
your house sooner or later, but you are definitely not ready now.” She
physically relaxed in his arms.

“What I wanted to talk to you about
was sex. This needs to be established beforehand so as not to cause you any
added stress about the subject. I find you amazingly attractive and you will be
sleeping with me in my bed. Med will join us if you want him to, but that’s up
to you right now.

“I also do not feel this is an
opportune time to begin exploring our sex life. I will not be having sex with
you. I do not want you having sex with Med either, although I can’t guarantee
he won’t try anything. You are welcome to display or request as much affection
as your heart desires, but anything beyond foreplay is expressly forbidden. For
all intents and purposes from this moment on, you have a chastity belt on. If
you think that is too difficult without the actual device, I will go buy you
one.”

Her expression was difficult to
read. He had yet to learn the nuances of her face and her reactions to things.
“I do expect you to talk to me. I want to know what you have done. I want to
know your limits and your fantasies. We will talk for a while each night before
we go to sleep. You are a writer, so I expect your stories to be expressive and
filled with detail. I want to know how things make you feel.” She was looking
up at him with her face slightly downcast. He had a feeling it was actually
extremely hard for her to discuss sexual matters. He would broach that subject
tonight to see if there was a reason. “Well?”

“I guess I’m a bit disappointed,
but I have trusted you with my care and as such, I have to trust you to know
what’s best.”

That was the perfect answer, but it
didn’t ring true to her personality. “I think you are full of shit, but the
steaks are getting cold, and I really want to get the dogs inside. Give me a
kiss and then let’s eat.”

She stood up on her tiptoes,
kissing him with her hands tucked behind her back. That was another thing that
needed to change. It was a kiss lacking in physical connection and not the way
he wanted things done. It would, however, do for now.

Austin leaned back, suddenly filled
with an urge to tell her he loved her. It was a truth that surged through his
brain like a lightning bolt. It came as a complete shock, but it was a truth he
was not ready to allow his lips to speak. It was simply too soon to express
such emotion.

He turned her back toward the
grill, giving her a sharp slap on the ass before heading to the door. He left
her shivering as she scooped the steaks from the grill and put them on a plate.

Austin called the dogs into the house,
opening the door to let them inside. Their coats were coated with snow, and
Sammie with his short legs was having trouble maneuvering with the snowballs
that had formed on the underside of his jacket. Austin bent and lifted him up
the single stair, pulling the Velcro strip on the bottom of his jacket to
release him.

He was still laughing as Haley
hurried by him and put the plate on the table.

She silently dished out the meal as
he and Med dried off the dogs and hung their coats above the radiator to dry.
Austin made note of the beautiful table she had arranged. The plates were lined
with the proper silverware and a carefully folded napkin beside each one. She
had gone out into the yard and clipped small pieces of pine, placing them in a
dish with a candle he had received as a gift from one of his customers on some
past Christmas.

Austin found some matches in a
drawer and lit the candle before sitting down. Haley set the two baking pans on
potholders on the table, adding a serving spoon to each. “I feel like it’s
already Christmas. This is really festive, thank you.”

“I agree,” said Med. “Your meal
looks delicious and the table is beautifully arranged. Nice touches like this
should always be acknowledged and complimented.”

She smiled, the expression wiping
the slightly sullen one off her face. “Thank you. As I told Austin, I used to
like to cook. A meal is time for sharing the day’s events.”

“That is a very nice sentiment,” said
Austin with a praising smile. “Unfortunately, the events of our day involve
tearing down wet sheetrock to assess the damage underneath it. Did you enjoy
your shower and shit?”

Haley giggled, rolling her eyes
dramatically. “If you must know, I took a short, pleasant, hot shower and then
came out here to see what I could put together for dinner.”

“No shit, huh?”

“No.”

“You look like you are feeling
better. It was good news that Ginger woke up.”

“I really want to go see her, but
the doctor said it was better right now to just let her sleep. If
it’s
okay, I’m gonna take a ride over there tomorrow.”

Had her husband made her ask
permission to do small personal errands like that? Now was as good a time as
any to ask. Med really liked her and wanted to be involved. The only time
restraint they had set up between the two of them was that while Med watched
his hour long, nightly game show, Austin would take Haley to bed to talk.
“Neither of us requires you to ask permission. This is your house, too. You can
come and go as you please within reason. Would you like us to get your computer
and bring it over, or don’t you feel like working?”

The question brought about a look
of complete surprise. “I would really like that, but I don’t want to impose for
too long. I’m just not ready to face my empty house yet.”

Austin reached over and took her hand
firmly. “You are not imposing. You are staying until further notice unless you
really want to leave. Obviously you aren’t a prisoner here, but let us decide
when and if you go home, okay? Even then, we will discuss it with you
beforehand, not throw you out on your ass.”

Tears formed in her eyes as she
nodded and then smiled. “Okay. Then I would like to get my computer and some
more clothing if that’s okay.”

Sighing heavily, he raised his
eyebrows. Had she been this questioning about everything before the burglary or
was this simply stress? Austin suddenly realized anything concerning her house
would be a major question. She didn’t want to go there alone or more aptly at
all, which left it up to him or Med to go get her things. “It’s no problem.
We’ll stop on the way home after work tomorrow night. Anything in particular
you want for clothing?”

“There is a suitcase in the
basement. My jeans are in the middle of the closet and whatever you can grab
from the right side is fine. I try to keep only those things that fit me
hanging up and the left side is all short sleeve shirts. I, of course, need
underwear and socks. I have a warmer coat in the closet by the front door and
maybe my black boots.”

Nodding, he decided to tease her a
bit. He didn’t want to upset her, but simply find out how well she would react
to Med’s presence. “Where are your costumes?”

The silly grimacing smile formed on
her lips and he chuckled. She was lightly blushing again. Obviously she was not
accustomed to talking about sex during dinner.

He sliced off a slab of steak and
stuck it in his mouth. It was slightly cool, but otherwise it was perfectly
seasoned and cooked.

“They are in a plastic container in
the basement. It has a big C on the outside of it.”

“We’ll have to make sure we grab that
one. I want to see you put on a fashion show.”

Med chewed thoughtfully on a chunk
of potato. “Did you mention sleeping arrangements to her?”

“I did.”

“So what do you think, Haley? Do I
get to sleep in the bed where it’s nice and warm, or are you banning me to sofa
until you get to know me better?”

* * * *

Haley had no idea how to answer
him. She didn’t want to hurt Austin’s feelings by saying yes, but the idea of
sleeping between the two of them was especially appealing right now. She looked
at Austin and sighed. He smiled back at her.

“I do believe the lady feels
obliged to say no. I have no problem with Med joining us. Med and I have no
physical interaction, but we are very good friends and enjoy sharing a woman’s
affection. We are like-minded Doms who agree on the principles of how to treat
a woman and a Sub. We would both like to share you, but the final decision is
yours. Do not let it be influenced by concerns about stepping on my toes.”

He had already said there would be
no sex. The no sex rule was slightly depressing, but he was probably right. She
was distracted with worry over Ginger and hadn’t gotten to know them well
enough to feel completely comfortable yet. “Okay. Then yes, I think it would be
nice and would make me feel
very
protected. I want
that right now.”

“Good. Then that’s how it will be.”

Both men dug heartily into their
plates, eating with moans of enjoyment. It made her feel good to see them
enjoying the meal she had cooked for them. She had frozen her ass off making
the steaks, but had a craving for the unique flavor of the outdoor grill. From
what she had seen, there was enough food around for her to make quite a few
delicious and well-rounded meals. Austin was, however, lacking in her favorite
spices.

“Can you grab me a few bottles of
spices while you are at the house?”

“Sure, which ones?”

“Dill, Tarragon, and chives from
the cabinet beside the stove. They are in a white pull out tray. Over the stove
is allspice and cloves. Also in the same cabinet, grab me some herb tea. I get
tired of constantly drinking coffee and like to switch off.”

“Sure, make a list of what you want
and we will get it. While we are on the subject, Med and I were talking. We
thought it might be better to completely redo your
very
worn kitchen floor. Twelve-inch tiles are fairly easy to install and would give
the entire kitchen an updated look. It will have a good chance to set up
because no one is walking on it. We have a winter crew we use and they have
been working on the condos, but I’m sure they would appreciate a little
overtime this close to Christmas. What do you think?”