Chapter 5
HONOVI
I still wasn’t sure what had come over me. It had been three weeks since whatever out-of-body experience had convinced me to drag that man into a hospital room to perform a sex act with me.
Even in college, I’d never done anything so risky and impulsive. I was kind of the king of no fun.
Instead of being “random hookup guy” or “sex in public guy,” I was the guy who had lists of lists. Who had calendars. Plural.
But even three weeks later, I still blushed whenever I thought about Xavier’s hot mouth on my cock.
That can never happen again, I reminded myself for the millionth time as I waited in line for coffee at the cafe near the courthouse. Never. That’s not who I am. I’m an adult. If I want my dick sucked, I can use an app like everyone else.
But to be honest, I didn’t want to use an app. I’d tried it years ago and had quickly learned Hobie was an even smaller town when you used a hookup app. No, thanks. Now, I avoided them unless I was outside of Hobie, which meant I wasn’t having sex regularly.
Which meant I had become obsessed with hooking up with Xavier again, if only for a guaranteed no-strings encounter. Dr. Rhodes clearly wasn’t interested in getting to know me or romancing me, but if he wanted to get to know my dick again, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.
Just maybe not in a public space next time.
“Hot foam?”
I blinked at Sis Thomas, who was glancing at me expectantly with her marker poised over the paper coffee cup. “Uh, yeah. Please. And sugar. Thanks.”
After paying, I stepped aside and pulled out my phone to check the time. I still had ten minutes before I was due in court. It would take me only five to get through security at the courthouse entrance.
The two women in line behind me were wearing scrubs and gossiping. I’d managed not to pay attention to them until I heard one of them say, “Dr. Rhodes,” in the kind of awestruck voice of a sycophant.
Even after taking my coffee from the barista’s hands, I hung around listening.
“Saved that lady’s life,” one of the nurses continued. “Have you ever seen an emergency thoracotomy before? I still can’t believe it.”
“I heard his first week here, he did a stat emergency C-section for a pregnant lady in cardiac arrest. Saved the mom and the baby.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at their blatant hero worship, but it was hard not to be impressed. If these nurses had been impressed, then it must have been something.
When I got to the courthouse, I took the final sips of my coffee and tossed the cup in the bin before going through the metal detector and waiting for my bag to be X-rayed.
On the other side of the security checkpoint, I was shocked to see Xavier.
After hearing about his medical heroics, I felt my face heat.
“Hon,” he said in surprise.
The sound of my name took me by surprise. He’d never called me by the shortened version before. “Dr. Rhodes.”
His lips quirked up as he tilted his head. “Oh, are we…? Okay then, Mr. Baptiste. Good to see you.”
“Why are you here?” I asked. “I didn’t expect your case to go to trial, much less this quickly.”
“No. It’s not. I was here testifying in a different case.”
I must have looked surprised because he laughed. Before I could say anything, he continued.
“Yes, Mr. Baptiste, I wear many vests besides the evil surgeon one. I’m also a mediocre son, but good enough to testify against the man who vandalized my parents’ fence.
Thanks to my testimony, and the video I took of the incident, my parents won recompense in the amount of three hundred and sixty-seven dollars to have it repaired. ”
I looked around behind him. “Are your parents with you?”
He shook his head. “They’re still in with the attorney.
And before you ask why I didn’t just pay for the damned fence to be repaired myself, believe me, I did that the first four times Bill destroyed the fence.
Apparently, my method wasn’t a deterrent.
Neither will this be, by the way, but it’s the best I could do. ”
It sounded like a story I wanted to hear. Unfortunately, I was now borderline late for my hearing. “Shit!” I pulled out my phone to check the time. “Sorry, I’m supposed to… ah…” I nodded toward the door to my assigned courtroom.
He gestured for me to go ahead, but as I passed him, he lowered his voice and said, “Let me know if you ever want to pull me into a patient room again.”
I glanced back over my shoulder at him in shock. “I, uh… I don’t.”
His bark of laughter made me jump. “Okay, well. If you change your mind, I’m at 12 Tuley Street. It’s no patient room, but there is a bed. And a sturdy door, if that’s your preference.”
I continued to the courtroom, doing my best to ignore him.
And the searing heat on my face.
It took me another full week to cave. A week of jacking off in the shower to the memory of Xavier’s mouth on me, the image of his strong forearms on the conference room table, exposed by rolled-up shirtsleeves, and the knowledge that he wanted a repeat as much as I did.
By the time I got up the nerve to knock on his front door, it was late on a weekday night. When I’d seen his car in the driveway, I’d almost chickened out. Maybe part of me had hoped he was stuck at work. Then he wouldn’t be able to judge my clear desperation.
“Mr. Baptiste,” he said, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Welcome. Would you like to come… in?”
I rolled my eyes at the innuendo and stepped into the entryway of his large, expensively decorated home, allowing him to close the door behind me.
Unfortunately, the sight of my car in his driveway would be enough to start tongues wagging around here, which was why I’d parked two doors down in front of a house I knew to be owned by a young couple who would be way too exhausted with their newborn twins to be looking out the window this time of night.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked, gesturing for me to follow him further back in the house toward the kitchen.
Xavier was still dressed in suit pants, but he only had on an undershirt with it. His bare feet caught my attention, and I couldn’t look away as I followed him.
For some reason, they made him look real. Less powerful and intimidating… not that he’d intimidated me.
When I finally dragged my eyes up the back of him, I appreciated the round swell of his ass, the narrow dip of his lower back, and the broad stretch of his shoulders.
An errant curl flicked out behind one ear, another sign he was no longer wearing his “Very Important Surgeon” image now that he was at home.
“I have wine, beer, bourbon…?” He glanced over his shoulder at me. “Water? Juice? Antiseptic spray for the frog in your throat?”
“Wine. Thanks,” I said, sounding about as nervous as I felt.
When we entered the kitchen, I was surprised by how warm and inviting it was.
While the fittings were all clearly high-end, there were also personalized touches like framed photos of family and friends, an almost threadbare pillow embroidered with a caduceus and a funny phrase about never giving free medical advice to people except your parents.
I’d seen a similar one in one of my law professors’ offices years ago, but that one had shown the scales of justice.
“You have a nice home,” I said, feeling slightly envious that his house already felt more homey than my place ever had.
Xavier let out a soft laugh. “You wouldn’t have said that if you’d seen it two weeks ago. I finally had a free weekend, and my parents insisted on helping me unpack.”
“They must be happy to have you back.”
He smiled and shrugged before heading to the fridge. “Yeah. I haven’t been back long enough to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
Three dirty mugs sat in the deep sink, all with different sayings and designs on them, and a stack of well-used paperbacks with library labels on the spine sat in a neat pile on the counter nearest the door that probably led to the garage.
“You read medical thrillers?” I asked in surprise.
He paused while pulling out a bottle of white from the fridge. “Uh, yeah? I can’t decide if you’re surprised I read that genre or surprised I read at all.”
“I just… I can’t read legal thrillers. I spend the entire time angry at the author’s ignorance of how the law actually works.”
He laughed and straightened up before reaching up into a nearby cabinet for wineglasses. I couldn’t help but look at the sliver of skin revealed when his T-shirt rode up.
I wanted to lick it. Caress it. Smooth the rest of the shirt up and over his head so I could devour all of that skin.
“I only read the ones who get it right,” he said.
My eyes drank him in as he poured the wine. He peered at me. “You’re being awfully quiet, Mr. Baptiste.”
“Stop calling me that,” I muttered before taking the proffered glass and tasting the selection. The smooth, fruity flavor was refreshing, but not exactly what I wanted in my mouth right now.
“So it’s Hon behind closed doors, then?” he teased. “Duly noted.”
“You caught me by surprise at the courthouse,” I admitted. “I wasn’t expecting to see you there.”
Xavier took a sip of his own wine before stepping closer to me and crooking a finger in the placket of my shirt between two buttons. He tugged me closer. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Counselor. But I can’t say it’s a bad thing.”
“I wanted… I want…” I let out a breath. “You said I could come.”
His grin widened. “And I meant it.”
I groaned and leaned in, resting my forehead on his shoulder. “I’m not good at this. I just want to get laid.”
The rumble of his laughter made its way into my throat and chest as he set his wineglass down and wrapped his arms around me, running strong hands up and down my back.
He smelled so fucking good, like faded cologne but mixed with the faint scent of dried sweat. I wanted to huff his armpits like a drug.
“I can help you with that,” he promised. “But first, I want to know why it took you a full seven days to turn up.”
I stepped even closer to him, enjoying the feel of his strong body and the comforting weight of his hands on my back. “Couldn’t handle the smug look I knew I’d see on your face,” I murmured, turning my face so I could nose the warm skin of his neck.
His hands moved down to my ass. “I do feel smug. But only because you’re going to be in my bed tonight and no one else’s.”
He moved one hand up to cup the back of my head and then turned to meet my lips with his. The kiss was slow and soft at first, exploring. But I wasn’t in the mood for sweet.
I attacked him like a piranha.