Chapter 30
An Indecent Proposal
Theo
It’s the next day, and after putting out various—metaphorical—fires throughout Haven, we still haven’t had a concrete update from the doc about Andy’s condition. It’s hitting Ollie hard, to the point she’s barely eating or sleeping as we wait for any news.
I’m operating on the assumption that no news is good news, especially with an infection like the one Andy’s battling.
But, as shitty as it sounds, I wish we’d have a definitive answer so Ollie can finally mourn and move on.
I’m pretty sure Tamsin feels the same from the grim worry on her face whenever she looks at a listless Rachel.
Sitting at the table in the dining hall, watching as Ollie moves the food around her plate with no sign of her eating it, I know this can’t go on any longer. She needs a distraction.
And I know the perfect man for the job.
“You should eat something, princess,” Rhys says, frowning at Ollie.
“Not hungry.” She doesn’t even look up as she shoves the now-cold scrambled eggs to the side of her plate.
The muscle in Rhys’s jaw jumps in irritation. I can only imagine how hard his inner Dom is riding him right now. The guy might act like a massive hard-ass, but there’s a softer side to him that demands he looks after those he cares about. Ollie is definitely in that category.
“Sweetheart, you know what the doctor said,” Alex says with a sigh as he brushes a big hand down the back of her head. “His health hasn’t deteriorated at all since he’s been in quarantine.”
Ollie’s face tightens. “He also said that it could be because of the small injection site and that he won’t start turning for at least another day or two.”
Rhys tries to get her to eat again. “Sure, but right now he’s not in immediate danger, and you need your strength.”
“For now,” is Ollie’s bitter reply. Her hand tightens on her fork for a moment before loosening with a sigh. She finally looks up for the first time, a tortured expression on her face as she glances between the three of us. “Am I a bad person if I wish that I already knew if he was going to turn?”
I immediately shake my head. “No, baby. You aren’t. The waiting is probably the worst part of this. At least if we knew he was turning, you could grieve and say your goodbyes instead of being stuck in this limbo.”
Alex leans down and presses a kiss to the top of her head. “You could never be a bad person, sweetheart. You don’t have a bad bone in your body.”
Surprisingly, her lips twitch as she glances up at him. “You can’t use my words against me.”
He chuckles. “I can and will.”
The mood lightens enough for Ollie to force down a couple of bites of food.
It’s not much, but it’s more than she’s eaten in the past day.
I shoot Alex a grateful look. Rhys watches her like a hawk, and I can tell he’s having to hold himself back from demanding she eat more as she picks up the half-full plate and offers it to Harlow.
“I’m going to check on Bean and the ponies,” she says once Harlow finishes cleaning the plate. The chair scrapes against the floor as she stands.
“I’ll come find you later,” I tell her. This has only cemented my determination to distract her from her guilt and worries, at least for a little while. I just need to get Rhys on board and then I’ll be killing two birds with one stone.
Ollie offers us a small smile before making her way out of the dining hall, Harlow following. It’s only once she’s disappeared from view that I turn to my two best friends.
“I have a plan.”
Rhys cocks an eyebrow while Alex just frowns.
“What kind of plan?” Rhys asks.
“We all know that Ollie can’t keep going on like she is.
You’ve seen the bags under her eyes and the little food she eats.
She needs a distraction; a way to shut up that beautiful brain of hers.
” I turn to Rhys. “That’s where you come in.
” If there’s one thing a Dom is good at, it’s shutting off a sub’s brain.
His eyes flare as understanding dawned on his face. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Theo.”
“Why not?”
He huffs. “Because I can’t just spring that kind of thing on her out of the blue. I need to know her boundaries and limits, establish safe words, and understand how much experience she has with this sort of thing.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not expecting you to tie her down and spank her until she’s crying, Rhys.” He can be so dramatic sometimes. “I just want you to shut her mind off a little; nothing hardcore.”
His jaw clenches. “Theo, it’s not that simple.”
“It can be. You’re just scared and making excuses.
I get it, being vulnerable with someone can be terrifying, but remember what I said yesterday; she needs us.
All of us, and right now, she needs you, Rhys.
Not me or Alex. You. So you’re going to put on your big boy trousers, establish a quick safe word or whatever, and then dominate the fuck out of her so she doesn’t have a chance to worry. ”
Alex bites back a laugh, having watched the argument between the two of us with quiet amusement. “He has a point,” he says, nudging Rhys with his foot.
The other man scowls at me but he doesn’t argue. Mostly because I called him out on his bullshit and he can’t say shit because I’m right. And he knows it. A smug smirk spreads across my lips, which only pisses him off more.
“Why the fuck am I friends with you?” he grumbles before slumping into his chair with a sigh. “I still don’t think this is a good idea. She might not even be in the right mindset for this, not with everything going on.” He shoots me a hard look.
I wave him off. “It’ll be fine. I’ll have her ready for you.”
“Theo…” Rhys’s face tightens with trepidation.
I pat his shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry.
We all know that the moment Ollie says she doesn’t want this, you’ll stop.
Just like Alex and I will if she tells us to.
The aim here is to help her, not harm her, and I trust all of us to keep that in mind.
” If I thought this could hurt her, I would never have suggested it.
Her welfare and happiness are my top priority.
Rhys sighs heavily. “Alright. When and where am I doing this?” He shakes his head as if he can’t believe he’s agreeing to this.
I’m not surprised. It’s obvious to everyone that he’s falling for Ollie, so I know he’ll do anything for her. Just like me and Alex.
It’s perfect.
I grin at him as the pieces of my plan fall into place. “At the gun range. You’ll teach our princess how to shoot a gun and blow someone’s brains out, and then you’ll blow her mind.”
After finishing breakfast and attending a meeting with Rhys and Anthony, it’s time to enact phase two of my plan. Which means hunting down Ollie.
She’s easy enough to track down. Standing in the muddy field, with ponies and Harlow surrounding her and a chirping Ketchup on her shoulder, it’s the most relaxed I’ve seen her while fully clothed in a while.
There’s a small smile on her lips as she hands out various treats to the animals surrounding her, but I can see the slight tremble in her limbs and the paleness of her cheeks. She’s struggling.
Which is the entire reason I’m here.
Hopping over the fence, I squelch through mud as I walk towards her. “Hey, baby.”
She turns to me, her smile widening momentarily before dimming as if she’s suddenly remembering everything that’s happened. “Hey, Theo. What are you doing out here?” She cocks her head to the side, and I have to hold back laughter when Harlow copies her.
“I told you at breakfast that I’d come find you,” I say as I wrap my arms around her, jostling Ketchup enough that the magpie squawks in indignation before fluttering off. Neither of us pay her any mind. “I have a proposal for you.”
She relaxes into me. “Oh? What kind of proposal?”
“An indecent one.” I waggle my eyebrows at her, and I’m rewarded with a weak laugh.
She shoves at my chest but doesn’t move away. “Be serious.”
“I am.” I brush a strand of hair from her face and cup her cheek. “You’ve been dealing with a lot of shit in the past day, so I figure you need a distraction.”
“A distraction? I’m not sure that’ll help, not with how I’m feeling.” The spark of amusement in her eyes fades, replaced with the guilt and grief she’s been wearing like a second skin.
Seeing that only makes me more certain that she needs what I’m offering.
“Okay, but what if the distracter is experienced in this kind of thing?”
Her brow furrows and her lips pull down. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying that you should put your body and trust in Rhys’s hands for a bit. Let him call the shots so all you had to do is follow his orders and not think for a bit.”
She blinks at me, surprised. “You… you’re talking sexually, aren’t you?”
“I am. I think it’ll be good for you—for both of you—just to shut off the outside world and exist for a bit.”
A myriad of emotions flash across her face—confusion, excitement, guilt, worry—as she chews on her bottom lip. “Does Rhys know about this?”
“He does and he’s agreed to it. Although he had his underwear in a twist about it because he wanted to do a bunch of boring talks about it before doing anything.” I roll my eyes, and Ollie lets out a small, amused huff.
“That sounds like him.” She looks down as her hands come up to fiddle with the zipper on my jacket. “I don’t know…” She sounds unsure, but I can hear a note of excitement in her voice. She wants this; she just isn’t convinced that she deserves it.
I move my hand to her chin, pinching it between my thumb and fingers and force her to look up at me.
“You’re allowed to experience other emotions than guilt and grief, baby, and you need to let this big, beautiful brain of yours turn off for a bit.
Rhys will help you with that. Plus, it’ll finally stop you two doing this stupid friend-zone dance that should have ended weeks ago. ”
She rolls her eyes. “It wasn’t stupid. Rhys set a boundary, and we both abided by it.”