CHAPTER 33
Joanie
My body was a weird mix of alive and exhausted. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck but the truck was full of ecstasy or something. I knew I couldn’t move, though. Still limp on top of Bear, I wasn’t sure my legs would ever work again. I’d come so many times, so hard that the throbbing in my clit wasn’t fading. I’d heard Chase say something but even my ears weren’t working right.
Smith said something back to Chase and Bear grunted but I just let out a heavy sigh as my breathing slowly returned to normal. My face was buried in Bear’s shoulder and the leathery smell of his cologne teased my senses. His beard tickled my neck but I didn’t think I could’ve moved away if he’d paid me to do it.
I felt hands lifting me off of him and then I was in Smith’s arms. My head felt too heavy to lift but I managed to look up at him and saw him grinning at me. I tried to smile back but I wasn’t sure my face muscles were back online just yet. It wasn’t until he put me down in the shower and fussed with the water to get it hot enough for me that I started to come back down to earth.
He started at the top of my head, washing and conditioning my hair, and slowly worked his way down my body. When he ran his soapy hands over my breasts, I felt the tenderness from Bear’s mouth. When he washed my hips and thighs, I felt even more tenderness. It was when he washed between my thighs that I groaned in a weird mix of pleasure and pain. My body had been worked over but it was still responding to his touch. He didn’t linger, though. He dropped to his knees and washed down my legs and even cleaned my feet before standing back up and rinsing me off.
I felt a little like a rag doll as he dried me off and then used his hips to pin me to the bathroom sink so he could help me brush my teeth. I’d never been so taken care of and while I rinsed with mouthwash, I felt my eyes burn with unshed tears. They were humiliating but I was so wiped that I couldn’t fight them.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Smith picked me up and put me down on the cold countertop. Even as he studied me, he found my hairbrush and started gently brushing my hair.
Chase moved into the bathroom and his frown was deep as he cupped my face and turned it towards his own. “Why are you crying? Was this too much?”
Not one to be left out, Bear came in and stood on the other side of Smith. He held my hands and squeezed. “It was too much. Fuck. We should’ve gone slower. I’m sorry, Princess.”
I blubbered out a laugh and shook my head. “No. No, I’m sorry. It wasn’t too much. I just… No one takes care of me. I take care of me.”
Smith paused with my brush caught in my hair. “You’re crying because I’m getting you ready for bed?”
“Don’t look in the bedroom then. Bear and I changed your sheets and remade the bed.” Chase smiled warmly at me. “You’re going to have to get used to being taken care of, sweetheart.”
I looked down at my hands in Bear’s much larger ones and nodded. “I think I won the lottery without meaning to.”
Bear grunted. “You’re not going to lose it, Joanie. Not unless you choose to.”
I lifted my face to his and swallowed. “You think?”
His smile was sweet and full of promise. “I know.”
Taking a deep breath, I sat up straighter and waited for Smith to finish brushing my hair. When he did, I pointed to my moisturizer and let him rub it into my face. Then, they insisted on rubbing in my body lotion. I knew it was a trap but I didn’t care. By the time they were finished, they were all standing at attention again and the throbbing between my legs had grown stronger.
“Ignore them, sweetheart. We put you through enough tonight. Your body needs a break.” Chase picked me up and carried me out to my bed. They’d already turned down the bed and when he put me down, I held his arm in a death grip without realizing it. He smiled and slipped into bed next to me. “We’re not leaving you, Joanie.”
I curled into his arms and glanced over my shoulder when the bed dipped behind me. “How do we all fit?”
Smith grunted unhappily. “One of us isn’t going to until we buy you a bigger bed.”
Bear wrapped an arm over me and sounded pleased with himself as he spoke. “Smith took too long. He gets to sleep on the floor or the couch.”
“No, that’s terrible.” I pouted and looked up at Chase. “I can sleep on your chest and then Smith will have room.”
Smith reached out from where he stood and gently squeezed my leg. “Don’t worry, baby. We’ll buy a bigger bed tomorrow and get it delivered by tomorrow night.”
“You can’t buy me a bed.” I yawned. “Just squeeze.”
Chase kissed my forehead. “We can do whatever we want. Now go to sleep.”
I started to argue but my eyes were heavy and my body tingled with the closeness of sleep. I couldn’t fight it. I promised myself I’d argue when I woke up.
In the middle of the night, I heard a commotion but Chase held me tighter and I fell back to sleep right away. When I woke up in the morning, I realized that the commotion had been Smith stealing Bear’s spot when Bear got up to use the bathroom. I found Bear on the couch in the living room when I unwound myself from Chase and Smith. His big body was hanging off the couch in every direction.
I was used to getting up early and staying up for work but when Bear opened his eyes and spotted me, he pulled me down on top of him and his warmth lulled me back to sleep.
The next time I woke up, it was to the sound of Chase and Smith complaining in hushed whispers at Bear, thinking he’d stolen me. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. With the way I was on top of Bear, I ended up straddling him, but he seemed to like it.
“He didn’t steal me.” I stretched and then groaned when my body protested in a series of little aches all over. “Ouch.”
Bear rested his hands on my thighs. “Sore? You need to come over and soak in one of the bigger baths. It’ll help.”
I looked at his watch and shook my head. “If no one showed up to help Charlie and Aaron, Charlie will need me.”
“My little brother can handle himself.” Chase sat across from us. “Have you noticed anything going on between him and Aaron?”
My face went perfectly blank as I shook my head. No matter what I thought, I wasn’t going to out Charlie if Chase didn’t know he was into Aaron. I didn’t even know if he really was. I just had my suspicions. “No.”
“Wow. You’re not a good liar.” He laughed. “I don’t care if Charlie is gay, sweetheart. God knows someone as focused as Aaron would be good for him.”
My chest filled with butterflies. “I don’t know, honestly. They would be so cute together if it is something they both want.”
Smith stretched and yawned. “I saw something, but it’s not for me to say. Ask him yourself, Chase.”
“He gets all awkward when I do.” Shrugging, Chase held up his hands. “I don’t need to know. It doesn’t change anything. I just hope he’s happy here. If I’m going to be putting down roots here, I’d like him to stick around, too.”
My eyes widened. “Putting down roots?”
He laughed. “Feeling panicked?”
Bear patted my thighs. “Who isn’t? Shit is scary at times. We’re not running, though, are we?”
The feeling of warm sunshine shining over me filled me from the inside out and I smiled down at Bear. “No. We’re not.”
We spent the next hour in an odd state of peace while we made and ate breakfast. I got dressed while they ran back over to Bear and Smith’s house to shower and change. I barely had time to finish my hair when they got back. Clean and looking handsome, they watched me slip on my shoes with so much focus I fumbled around with shaking hands.
“Are we making you nervous? Chase smiled, loving that they could affect me so.
I straightened and put my hands on my hips. “We need some ground rules.”
“Nah.” Smith laughed at my shocked expression. “What? I don’t think we do.”
“We do. I don’t act like this in town… I don’t cuddle and smile like an idiot and float around like a fucking fairy princess. I have a business to run and I don’t want people thinking I’ve lost my touch.” I blew out a big breath and crossed my arms under my chest. “So, while at the diner, you three keep your hands to yourself and don’t do sweet things for me. Okay?”
Chase rolled his eyes. “Heaven forbid someone saw you so happy.”
“Yeah. Heaven forbid. I’m not an open book like I was back in the city. If we’re doing something like this, I want it to be private. I don’t like my life being a topic of conversation anymore.” I looked down. “Maybe it won’t be like that always. Not that I’m suggesting there’s an always here. I just…”
Bear cupped my cheek and smiled. “We can play along. I want to be careful in how I bring this to the girls, too. They’ve already been demanding I make you their mother. I don’t know if putting gas on their fire would be safe for any of us.”
I swallowed. “They want me as their mother? Are they crazy? I call them creepy and openly fight with them. They could do so much better.”
Bear’s secretive smile and the way he looked away made me think he might have other ideas. “Whatever you say, Princess.”