Two Doms for Christmas (18 page)

“No, but I love it, too.”

“Good. Make it more often, this is so good.”

“Everything is good,” said Med as he shoved another
piece of meat into his mouth. Austin had to wonder how Med had been with her.
He had a very distinct personality when he was playing Dom in the bedroom.
Outside of it he was more laid back and easygoing. Once the parameters of sex
had been established though, the man could be a bit hardcore. He already knew
Med had stopped to pick her up a tail. It was a fetish preference that Austin
had never found himself interested in, but Med certainly was. At one time he
had a complete collection of animal tails, but he had discarded them with his last
girlfriend. It was not something you used over with a different woman.

He ate the last of his spinach with feta cheese. It
was an odd side dish with the ham, but still tasted really good. Helping Haley
clear the dishes, he noticed the fresher red marks on her ass. Med had gone all
the way with the horse routine, the small squares indicative of a crop. That
was one thing he could no longer introduce Haley to.

He kissed her again, in a mood to be gentle with her.
“Why don’t you go get dressed? We can finish this up.”

She nodded and hurried from the room as Med put a dish
in the sink. “Sorry. I got a bit rambunctious with her ass. It was just turning
such a luscious shade of red.”

“I know that feeling. I guess we share a common
weakness for her pert voluptuous rump.”

“I guess so. That and her tits. They are extremely
vivacious breasts. Her nipples are just perfect. I want to bite them.”

“So do I, and if we don’t stop talking about this we
aren’t going to leave any time soon.”

Med chuckled. “Yeah, no shit. Let’s get these dishes
done.”

* * * *

They pulled up in front of her house a short while
later. Med got out and held his hand out for her to follow. She hopped down and
together they walked around to wait for Austin. He had the key in his pocket
and unlocked the door, letting them in. He stopped Haley and put his hands over
her eyes. Walking her through the house, he stopped in the kitchen doorway.

“Take a look,” he said, removing his hands and
flicking on the light.

Haley’s eyes went wide, her smile broadening by the
second. She spun, the light of happiness seeming to shine on her face. “It’s
gorgeous. This is the floor I have always dreamed of having. I love it. Thank
you so much. Both of you.” She squatted down, rubbing her hand over the tile.

“It is so smooth and cool to the touch. I can’t
believe how beautiful it is.” Standing up, she threw her hands around Austin’s
neck and kissed him.

It was one of those rare occasions Med wished he had
met her first. He was glad she was completely devoted to Austin. His friend
deserved to be happy. It was just that she would always look to Austin as her
primary Dom. She might never indicate him as such, but it was what was
happening. No matter what their future held, he would always be second in
charge. It wasn’t a horrible position to have. She was a sweet, loving, and
expressive woman with a desire to learn new things. That was the perfect
combination for both of them and if his choice was to be second in her life, or
lose her completely, he would accept the role whole heartedly.

Haley gave him an equally vibrant hug and kiss, and
then looked at the box on the table. “My vitamins and shit came in. How long
has this been here?”

“It came today.”

“Wow, they usually ship a lot faster than that. Just
let me open it and put everything away.”

Med nodded as Austin opened the refrigerator. He
pulled out the bottle with three chilled glasses and popped the cork, making
Haley jump. She hadn’t been paying attention to Austin as she unpacked. He
filled each glass with the golden bubbling liquid and then tapped her on the
shoulder, offering her one. Haley accepted and they raised their glasses in
toast.

“I want to mark this day because your floor is
finished and you like it. Also because you have now given your body completely
to both of us. Will you stay with us and nurture the happiness you have brought
into our lives?”

She clinked his glass. “I will. I would love nothing
better.” She then turned and clinked Med’s glass. “With both of you.”

“I’ll second that, or is it thirds?”

Haley shrugged and polished off the contents of the
glass, holding it out for a refill. The woman obviously liked champagne. She
did a good job of finishing off all but their two glasses. By the time they
left her house, she was giggly and not walking well. They barely got her home
and into bed, and she was passed out cold.

Austin sighed. “So much for sharing her body equally.”

They walked into the kitchen and put two ham
sandwiches together, sitting down at the table. “So what did you get her for
Christmas?”

“A few things. I was thinking about picking up more,
but I haven’t yet,” said Austin.

“Yeah, me too. I found a really pretty jewel encrusted
dog collar and got her that. I’m going to have to buy her ears and a tail to go
with it.”

“That I want to see. Just so you know, I picked up
that long black coat we saw in the store a few days ago. I can’t help but think
it will look really good on her.”

“I think so also. Want to play cards or something?”

“Sure. Go get a deck.”

He walked down to the hall to get the cards from the
closet, peeking in on Haley. She was still out cold. Med could only hope she
didn’t have a killer headache in the morning. It would put a shadow on the
entire day, and he didn’t want that to happen.

Chapter Seventeen

Tomorrow night was Christmas Eve, but Haley felt as if
it was already Christmas morning. She was up early, had cooked breakfast, and
was ready to go. The men however, were dragging their feet, and she was sitting
at the table impatiently drinking her coffee.

It had been agreed that she and
Austin would go pick Ginger up. Med was going take April and Jake for a ride to
give Ginger a little time to get accustomed to the house and the smell of the
other dogs.

Med strolled out of the back room,
combing his hair. She really hated it when he did that. The kitchen was not a
place to have hair flying around. He grinned. “My, aren’t we bright eyed and
bushy tailed this morning.”

At face value, the comment was
harmless, but could all too easily be related to the pony tail butt plug. “Of
course I am. My baby is coming home and her outcome looks miraculous. Why
wouldn’t I be excited and a bit nervous?”

He sat down at the table. “Why are
you nervous?”

“I can’t help but wonder what
happens if she doesn’t get along with April and Jake. Maybe we should have
gotten a crate or something to put her in. I made a life commitment to them
when I got them from the pound. Now I’ve made one to you and Austin. What if
the two don’t agree?”

“I don’t know. Would you honestly
walk out on us for your dog?”

Her heart fluttered in her chest.
She had read stories where people had dumped their dogs into rescue or at the
pound because they didn’t fit in with a lifestyle change. That’s what this was,
a change in her life that shouldn’t warrant the betrayal to her animals.

Austin strolled in and put his arms
around her neck, kissing the top of her head. “Will you stop worrying?
Everything will be fine. You said Ginger is always great at the dog park.”

She had said that, but she was
still unusually nervous. Nodding, she took a sip of her coffee. “I can’t wait
to bring her home.”

“Are you trying to make us get our asses
in gear?” asked Med.

She did want that, but the comment
had been only to express her joy. “That wasn’t how I meant it.”

“We’re working on it,” said Austin.
“It has been a long week and we are both tired.”

“I know that.” She smiled brightly
and could feel her cheeks bubbling up as she did. “Thank you both again for my
kitchen floor. I can’t get over how wonderful it looks. To see a fifteen year
dream finally happen is amazing.” Of course, she had moved in with them for the
most part and was going to eventually make a decision as to what to do with her
home. It could wait though. She wasn’t going to do anything rash with only two
weeks of history between them. Not even two weeks. Christmas day would mark two
weeks.

Austin lifted her coffee, finishing
the cup and putting it in the sink. “I guess let’s get this show on the road.”

She nodded briskly and got to her
feet. She went into the living room, picking up Sammie and giving him a kiss.
“Your sister is coming home today. I know you are going to be so happy to see
her.”

She put him down as Med and Austin
put the leashes on April and Jake. Poor Sammie was going to be alone, but it
was for a good cause. She could bring him along for the ride, but he hated to
be left in the car. “We’ll be back shortly.”

Austin put his arm around her
shoulder, giving her a squeeze. She returned his gesture with a bright smile.
Haley so loved how warm and safe he made her feel. Whenever he touched her, he
seemed to envelope her in the strength of his personality. He was a wonderful,
fair Dom who was neither too demanding nor too lax. Of course, she only had her
research and Jack to compare him to, but to her he was everything.

* * * *

They were at the vet’s office
fifteen minutes later. The place was a zoo, the seats almost all taken with
people and their animals. The girl at the reception desk looked absolutely
frazzled. She buzzed Haley and Austin in and they walked to the back section.
Ginger was sleeping in her crate, but all the other emergency crates were full
and there were techs everywhere.

She stopped David. “What the hell
is going on?”

“Today was the local Christmas
doggie gathering at the park. Some idiot decided it would be funny to release a
dozen or so squirrels in the middle of the parade. Bedlam ensued and this is
the result. From what I’ve heard seventeen people ended up in the emergency
room with bites, sprains, and lacerations. We got all the animals.”

Haley knew how Ginger and Sammie
reacted if a squirrel dared to run across the top of their fence. She could
only imagine the mass chaos with a bunch of dogs that didn’t know each other
all trying to get the squirrels. “That’s horrible. Did they catch the person
who did it?”

“Luckily yes. He won’t be doing
that again.”

“People can be complete morons.
Where the hell do they come up with this stuff?” asked Austin.

“I have no clue,” said David with a
weary sigh. “Did doctor Shay give you instructions for her medications and
stuff?”

Haley nodded. “They were going to
write it down for me.”

“David, we just got another one, a
mix with severe lacerations to the face and throat. We really need to get some
more help to do triage,” said one of the nurses.

“I’m right on it,” he said as he
turned back to Haley. “Everything is in the bag. I have to make some calls and
see who I can get to come in and help. I already hung everything on Ginger’s
crate. You can just take her, okay?”

She nodded, and he headed back
around the desk to make the calls. Doctor Shay had given her only a brief
breakdown of precautions. She was giving Haley a new painkiller to take home
that was supposed to be quite effective.

She grimaced, hating to bother
David while he was busy. “Sorry. Do you know if they gave Ginger the new
medication yet?”

He held the phone between his ear
and shoulder as he pulled the chart out of its cubby and leafed through it.
“Yeah, about an hour ago. They gave her a bit extra because they knew she would
be moving around a lot. You can give her more in four hours if she seems like
she’s in a lot of pain.”

“Thank you.”

Austin had taken the various bags
off Ginger’s crate and was just opening the door when she turned around. Ginger
looked extremely sleepy, but thumped her tail when Haley leaned down to get
her. She slid her arms under the edges of the bed and lifted bed and dog into
her arms. “New meds making you a bit dopey, my sweet?” That might be a good
thing. She would be less active and less likely to hurt herself.

Austin grabbed her blanket from
inside the crate and with a nod to David they headed to the car. Ginger seemed
to wake up more and more during the ride home, but she still seemed a bit off
to Haley. She wasn’t as snuggly and alert as she had been during Haley’s
visits, her eyes seeming slightly unfocused.

She hooked the leash to the little
dog’s collar as they pulled into the driveway and Haley put her on the ground
to allow her to go pee. The last thing she wanted was an accident in Austin’s
house. Ginger took her sweet time about sniffing around and doing her business,
but she slowly seemed to be gaining more energy. Haley figured it was the fresh
air and the new surroundings. When they finally headed inside, she removed
Ginger’s leash and set her free to explore the house.

Sammie trotted up to them, his
small body a mass of wiggles. He ran up to Ginger, licking her face in happy
welcome.

Ginger growled at him and he
immediately backed off. Haley was stunned. She had never heard Ginger growl at
Sammie before. “What the hell was that about?”

She reached down, intending to clip
her leash back on when Ginger took off across the room after Sammie. She was on
him a moment later, pinning him to the floor as she snarled viciously. Haley
was too stunned to immediately react, but Austin was not. He ran across the
room, lifting Ginger slightly into the air to get her away from Sammie. Ginger
spun with lightning speed and clamped her jaws around his wrist.

“Fuck.” Austin howled as Sammie
scrambled away to hide behind the Christmas tree. Haley was stunned as Austin
dropped Ginger to the floor, the small dog howling in pain. Then Ginger walked
back over to Haley and stood docile by her feet. Haley lifted her carefully and
Ginger snuggled in her arms. She walked over to Austin, and Ginger immediately
started to growl at him.

“Oh god, how badly are you hurt?”

“Get her out of here. I can’t have
her going after April and Jake. Med should be home any minute with them.”

“But you’re hurt.” Ginger continued
to growl and Haley snapped at her. “Shut the hell up.” She was losing her mind
and the stark fury on Austin’s face was stunning. Of course she couldn’t blame
him. He was cradling his arm to his chest, and she could see darkening of his
black shirtsleeve from blood. “I’ll just stick her in the car.”

“Leave. Take her back to your
house. I will not have her here endangering April and Jake.”

He was furious and she felt like
complete shit. What the hell had happened to Ginger that she would go after Sammie
or bite Austin? She had never bitten anyone before. “But…”

“Go, Haley.” He ordered in a
brutally cold voice.

She nodded, trying to hold back her
tears as she hurried out the door. She put Ginger in the passenger’s seat,
tears streaming down her face. What about Sammie? She couldn’t possibly take
him if Ginger wanted to kill him. Should she take Ginger back to the vet’s?
With all that was going on there, she would be sitting there all day and no
other vet would be open on the Sunday before Christmas. She would call them
when she got home.

Shoving the keys into the ignition,
she started the car and spun it around. She could drop Ginger off and then go
back to check on Austin. What if Ginger had been re-injured during the tussle?
She could die because Haley wouldn’t be home to observe her. Med would be home
any minute and he could take care of Austin. She would give him a call in a
little while and see how he was. They could work this out, couldn’t they? Was
it really possible that she would have to make a choice between Ginger and
Austin? It was her biggest fear, and it had now a stark reality. This couldn’t
be happening to her. Things were finally going good and now they were
completely falling apart.

She looked over at Ginger, the
small dog sitting happily on the seat looking out the window. She appeared to
be okay, but Haley was suddenly afraid to leave her alone. She would call the
vet and see if anyone had a second to speak with her.

She pulled in the driveway and got
Ginger and her stuff into the house. The little dog seemed completely happy to
be home and headed to her bed by the radiator. There seemed to be no ill
effects other than the single yelp of added pain, but she still wasn’t
convinced of that. Ginger still seemed a bit off to her, but she couldn’t quite
put her finger on why.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw
the phone was on the table. She picked it up, but it was stone dead. “Fuck,”
she muttered going back to get her purse. Haley opened it and then frowned. She
had left her phone in the bedroom on the charger at Austin’s house. “Great. I
have no way to call Austin or to contact the vet.”

Sitting down at the table, she
wilted into a fog of indecision. Should she go back and get her phone? Should
she take Ginger to the vet again? Should she go back to Austin’s and leave
Ginger alone? She was so worried he had been really hurt by Ginger’s bite.
Ginger would probably be okay for a little while if she drove back quick,
checked on Austin, and grabbed her phone. Haley glanced through the opening
between the living room and dining room. Ginger was sleeping peacefully. She
got up, going to squat down in front of the dog. She petted her cautiously,
trying to assess if there was any new or worsening pain. Ginger opened her eyes
slightly. They still looked kind of disoriented and far away, but she wagged
her furry tail happily and Haley had to think she was okay.

“I’m going to run back over and get
my phone, girl. Mommy will be back in a little while. You finish your nap and
then I will get you something to eat, okay?”

Ginger looked at her and this time
her gaze seemed a bit better as she focused on Haley’s face and wagged her tail
again. It made Haley feel remotely better, and she pulled her coat back on,
grabbing her keys.

She drove quickly but cautiously
back over to Austin’s house. The last thing she needed was to get into an
accident. Austin’s truck was gone and Med’s car was in the driveway. She got
out, going to the door to dig for her key. It wasn’t there. “Shit.” They had
taken her key away when she was drunk the night before to assure she didn’t go
out. It was strictly a move to torment her, but they had forgotten to give it
back. She knocked on the door. The dogs barked from inside, but no one came to
answer it. Walking over to the front window, she stood on her tiptoes and
peered inside. She saw April, Jake, and Sammie, but there was no sign of Austin
or Med.

On the coffee table was a white
towel and it was stained by dark smears of what looked like blood. Had Ginger
really bitten Austin that hard that he had been profusely bleeding? It hadn’t
appeared that bad through the sleeve of his shirt. Of course the fabric had
been torn slightly.

Haley was suddenly terrified that
Austin had been severely injured. Had he passed out somewhere in the house? No.
Med had come home and taken him to the doctor or maybe the emergency room. Of
course with all the new medical walk-in centers in the area, he could be at one
of maybe ten places. It could take her all day to track him down and with no
phone she was kind of stuck. All she could do was to go back to her house and
wait for them to call her. She had put the phone back on the hook and it should
charge enough for her to make a short call within an hour or two.