Chapter Twenty-Five #2
“She’ll sleep at home, next to you. Besides, in case you didn’t know, you have the family reputation for being the hard ass, even more than Liam does.
He just seems to intimidate but you’re the real McCoy.
If Cheyenne can stand you down, Liam isn’t going to be able to do it.
” Josh looked over at his friend and saw the smile.
“Yeah, I thought you would enjoy knowing that. Now I’m going back to your house to get the group’s plan to show you before I go home tomorrow.
I need to get back now that you’re better.
Carter is going back this afternoon as he has patients in the morning, and Susan is getting restless in the house alone.
Amazing how that woman is a powerhouse at work and a total brat sometimes at home. ”
Quinn grinned. “She’s trying to sit on top because it’s what she knows in the rest of her world. She misses you guys and when did she move in?”
“Finally got her to agree a month ago. I get what she’s doing but why?
And how is it that she can express her concerns dramatically in her professional world but in her private sanctuary, where all we want is to make her happy, she clams up and then brats when it builds up too much to hold onto it and she has to let it out? ”
“Cheyenne used to do that. She kept so many things inside and then I would leave on a training, loan out to Forest Service or when I came here for some reason, she would brat big time and forced me to show her I cared. When I called her on it, the behavior all but disappeared. Now, she asks for most of what she needs. I think she likes the naughty girl persona sometimes. But then, so do I.”
Both men laughed and Quinn finished by saying, “And if it doesn’t work to call her on it, then I would not give her what she’s asking for when she brats.
I would ignore the bratting and not reward her with a spanking, flogger or whatever it is you’re going to do.
When she does it the right way, I would give her all she needs intensely until she brats again, and then withdraw the attention. ”
Cheyenne walked in the door and added, “And if that doesn’t work, be real with her.
All this playing around isn’t worth it when your relationship is on the line.
And both of you talk, not just one of you.
Take her out to a nice dinner or have one at home, set it up, and be real about not knowing what it is she’s looking for, but you would give her what it was if you knew.
Then just talk. I think sometimes you macho-mania men just don’t get it.
We want to talk and be real just like every other couple. ”
Josh reached down and planted a noisy kiss on her cheek. “That’s what I needed, a woman’s perspective. Thanks, sweetheart.”
“Hey, that’s my woman, go home to yours.”
Josh laughed. “I’m trying to but this friend of mine took forever to wake up from his long nap. Be back soon.”
Later that afternoon, when Cheyenne went home for clean clothes for herself and going home clothes for Quinn, she heard noises in the private basement, the reason they were in the hospital now.
She actually had moments when she hated everything about that lifestyle while waiting for her lover to wake up.
Carefully heading down the stairs, she recognized the voices and found Josh, Liam, Parker, and Ciarán putting the St. Andrew’s Cross together and securing it to the base Parker had brought from his workshop at his family ranch.
“Um, what are you guys doing?” asked Cheyenne hesitantly.
She felt embarrassed about the equipment they were assembling.
She was terrified they were in her basement doing what they were doing with equipment Quinn had gotten hurt trying to hide.
They said they were not bothered by it, but she still wondered.
The O’Connor duo stood stock-still at her question. Parker laughed and said, “We are setting up your torture chamber.”
“What?” Cheyenne’s eyes grew big.
“Or your naughty room,” Josh said with a laugh.
“Oh, my playroom,” she said. The twinkle in her eye drew further laughter.
“Hey, man, Cheyenne is now my sister,” protested Liam, “and that’s definitely too much information. I mean, we all knew Quinn was into power play, but to know it and talk about it especially in front of my sister, surrounded by the evidence is just not right.”
“Yeah, Josh, cool it. I mean you hang out with them, but we don’t want to think about it.” Ciarán shook his head. “Really.”
“Mas—, umm Josh, could we all agree to not talk about this again?” Cheyenne found it difficult to be the director in a room with a club master surrounded by all of this equipment.
“I mean all of it. The reason Quinn fell, that you all are down here and that you even know. Well,” she looked shyly at Josh, “not you, Sir, but in public and this is close to being public. Quinn is going to kill me for letting you in, and kill all of you for doing it.” Cheyenne sighed in consternation.
“Yes, Cheyenne, I’ll stop filling them in with details.” Josh laughed when all the others said, “thank you.”
“Yeah, so I guess talking about my ménage à trois is too much, huh?” he continued.
“You have two women?” Parker asked in awe.
“Nope, one woman between two men and before you ask, we only concentrate on her. We don’t cross swords, if you get my meaning.
” The room grew quiet. “Okay, enough true confessions. Also, before you wonder and wish you had asked, Quinn and Cheyenne are exclusive and would never go outside of that monogamous relationship.”
“Okay, enough. Just hurry and get out.” Cheyenne left to go up the stairs.
Just before she rounded the doorway into her bedroom two flights up, she heard Parker ask, “You mean your girlfriend is okay with that?”
“She requested it.”
“Damn.”
Cheyenne smiled.
Walking into her bedroom the next afternoon, her heart almost exploded with the fullness of her feelings to see Quinn home safe and sound. She couldn’t contain her joy. He called her over to him.
“Cheyenne, Josh has something that we have been talking about for a little while and now it seems there’s enough interest and enough capital to make it happen. You know that Carter accepted the head of internal medicine at that huge medical group in Bozeman, right?”