Two Doms for Christmas (6 page)

“Yeah, I was just thinking. I
thought you were going to make me hot chocolate?”

“Does it have to be right this
second?”

“No, but it sounded good.”

“Actually it does, but I would
rather soak for a bit longer. This hot water feels fantastic.”

She agreed completely. What an odd
thing it was that she was sitting naked in a tub with a man she had met the
night before. There was a first time for everything.

With a deep sigh of enjoyment,
Haley leaned her head back against the wall. The delicious smell in the air
reminded her of a tropical paradise. It was a place with palm trees and white
beaches. She could almost hear the birds cawing from the trees. The feel of
Austin’s hands on her legs was relaxing and slightly arousing, but she didn’t
ask him to move them.

* * * *

Her skin was like warm satin, so
silky and smooth. She had obviously just shaved her legs. Was it in preparation
for their date or simply that she wasn’t in the habit of letting her legs go in
the winter? Her eyes were closed, the expression on her face bordering on
dreamy. “What are you thinking about?” He slid his fingers downward to her
well-manicured toes. If she didn’t go out much, then did she do them herself?
Her big toe had a callus on it, indicating that she walked harder to the inside
of her foot.

A soft willowy moan escaped her
lips before she replied. “The warm sun shining down on my face. The water
lapping at my body as seagulls and cockatoos fill the air with their calls. How
I would love to be in that place right now, to be away from the snow and the
cold.”

“To be away from me?”

“No. You are with me, your strong
hands rubbing my feet. That feels really good by the way.”

“It’s good to know you want me with
you in paradise. How did you manage to take me to this place?”

“You are already here. Inhale the
sweet scents of coconut and pineapple. The tube is warm like soft beach sand,
the water swirling around our bodies like massaging waves. You have only to
fill in the rest with your mind. Hear the rustle of palm trees.”

Jake trotted into the bathroom, his
well trimmed nails silent on the long area rug. Austin watched in amusement as
he hopped up on the tub and gave Haley a long lick on the cheek. It startled
her from her illusion, and she opened her eyes, sitting up and splashing water
to the floor. Jake hated to be wet. He hopped back and glared at her as if she
was a devil.

Austin couldn’t help but laugh at
both her expression and the dog’s. With a huff, Jake spun and trotted from the
room. Haley pursed her lips, glaring at him. “Did you know he was gonna do
that?”

“Actually, I didn’t. He is not in
the habit of kissing anyone but me. You should be honored.”

“He freaked me out.”

“I see that. I guess I should get
out and clean up the floor. You made a serious mess.”

He pushed her feet up toward her
body, forcing her to bend her knees. The motion completely exposed her mound,
the curled hair having a slight bald spot in the center. That would need to be
taken care of.

He was glad she didn’t resist as
some women might. Miss Haley Joy was actually quite pliable to his will. That
was a thought to keep in mind as he lifted himself upward and stepped out,
grabbing a towel from the shelf to sop up the floor.

It was good that Jake liked her. He
was the harder of the two to win over. April was easier going. Haley leaned
forward and pulled the plug. He hadn’t actually meant to stay out, but he
guessed the bath was now over. On to bigger and better thing as the saying
went.

Chapter Six

Haley stood with a mixture of
disappointment and self-consciousness. He had said she had a beautiful body,
but it didn’t change how she felt about herself. He surprised her when he
grabbed a drying sheet from the shelf and held it out to wrap her in it. His
actions in the tub had been thrilling, but not exactly sexual. What the hell
was his game? Was he really that self-controlled that sitting with her in a
steaming tub hadn’t aroused him in the least? It had certainly aroused her.

Stepping out, she allowed him to
cloak her in the towel. Austin tucked it in above her breasts and leaned
forward, whispering in her ear, “I want to shave your pussy. I have an issue
with hair. Would you allow me to?”

That made her mind sputter with
surprise. “Um. I don’t know. I have never been shaved before. Why would you
want to do that?”

“Don’t any of your characters have
naked pussies?”

“No. I don’t believe that I have
ever specified if they were naked or covered with hair before.”

“Well,” he said in an overly sexual
whisper. “Maybe you should. Think about and get back to me.”

He walked across the hall and came
out, tugging on clean jeans. Taking the clothing on the sink, he threw it down
through a hatch in the floor. Austin walked from the bathroom, leaving her
standing in a towel with nothing to put on. Tightening the towel, she walked
out into the kitchen. “What did you do with my clothing?”

“I threw it down the laundry chute.”

“I can’t stay, Austin. I have to go
home to feed the dogs and let them out. They are not used to being alone this
long.”

Flexing his lips, he nodded slowly.
“True. Are we going to finish the food?”

“Are you not going to take me
home?”

“Why? You want to go home right
this second? I figured we could eat first. Then I will go down and get your
clothing. Why are you getting upset? I just wasn’t thinking. My clothing was
all sweaty and I prefer to put clean things on.”

It was a very good question. The
towel was warm and cuddly, the house pleasant. It was only two in the afternoon
and she had a few more hours before she should get stressed about going home.
Was it simply that he had thrown her clothing down the chute with his own? He
had given her no reason to distrust him. If anything, he had been too much of a
gentleman. “I guess it just unnerved me to be prancing around in a towel on our
second date.” Haley instantly realized it was a ridiculous thing to say
considering she had taken a bath with him. At least now she wasn’t naked.

He obviously had the same thought
as he chuckled. “Seriously? That’s what unnerved you? It wasn’t stripping in
front of me, lying in front of me in your birthday suit, or me asking to shave
you on our second date?”

Was he trying to be funny? She
certainly wasn’t amused by him pointing that out. What the hell was his game?
“Okay, it upset me because you took away my clothing. I guess it also bothered
me that you didn’t try anything sexual.” Shit! Why had she said that? Again her
mouth was running faster than her brain.

Austin strode across the kitchen,
dragging her into his arms. His fingers laced through the back of her wet hair
as he tilted her head back and kissed her hard. His tongue was like a
well-trained reptile, slithering within her lips. It encased her tongue, moving
and caressing it with demanding urgency. His lips were sealed to hers, his grip
on her hair tight and allowing no room for release.

Just as quickly, he let her go and
turned, going to the refrigerator. Haley stood stock still, her mouth hanging
open. He had set her cunt on fire and she was more confused than ever. Should
she say something? “What was that about?”

Austin poured milk into a pan and
then turned to put the container away. “You wanted something sexual. I gave it
to you.” He took out the sour cream and handed it to her. “What do you need?”

She stared somewhat foggy brained
at the container in her hand. What she needed had nothing to do with sour
cream. Pulling herself back to the moment, she forced herself to reply. “Um, I
guess a bowl and a slotted spoon. Do you care which pan I used?”

“Not at all. Take your pick.”
Austin turned and got her what she needed before removing the cocoa from the
shelf. It was the really good kind she usually purchased for herself. He
dropped a few spoonfuls into the milk.

She wanted to ask him a question,
but had clue how to phrase it without embarrassing herself further. “Why did
you do that?”

He leaned back on the stove front
as she spooned the meat and vegetables from the crockpot. “Do what? Kiss you?
Probably because I have been dying to do that since the moment we met. My lack
of sexual expression is not by desire, but simply a matter of not wanting to
put you off by trying anything inappropriate. I actually enjoyed taking a bath
with you. Didn’t you enjoy it?”

“Of course I enjoyed it.” She
shrugged. “I don’t know.”

He chuckled. “So I’m trying to be
polite, and you wanted me to make a move and I didn’t. I guess I’m sorry for
that in more ways than one.” He turned to stir the hot chocolate. “I guess I
can always make it up to you later while we are doing the laundry.”

Later? They were doing the laundry
tonight and he was staying at her house? That was a new one on her. Of course
she had suggested it. Haley turned her attention back to the meal, pouring the
contents of the pot into the pan. She filled the crockpot with water and then
went back to the stove. Measuring the sour cream, she mixed in some flour from
the canister on the counter and then stirred it into the liquid to thicken it.
She turned to Austin with a shrug. “That’s it. Now I dish it out and put the
gravy one top and we eat.”

He pulled two plates down and
handed them to her before putting the hot chocolate in two cups. She dished out
the meal and they sat down at the table. He dug in and then licked his lips to
remove a stray smear of gravy from them. “This is completely delicious.”

Haley enjoyed compliments. It had
been many years since she heard one. Austin had given her quite a few of them
since she met him. “Thank you. I used to like cooking.” She tasted her hot
chocolate and toasted him with the cup. “This is my favorite. I will eat it out
of the can with a spoon or make a quick pudding out of it with milk.”

“I’ve been known to do that. The
stuff is just so damned expensive.”

“I guess it’s a case of getting
what you pay for.”

“That’s for sure. There are many
things in life like that.”

“I guess. You really can’t buy the
most important things though. Money may help, but…”

He nodded thoughtfully. “So true.
What would you buy if you had the money or maybe what would you buy that money
can’t?”

“Happiness. I want to be happy
again.”

“Agreed. So what would your
happiness entail?”

“I would love to have my daughter
back in my life. If she prefers to stay with her father I wouldn’t mind. I’m
hoping she has built a life there with him. I’m hoping she is happy and has
friends and such.” That was all she could think of. To be in contact with her
child again would mean everything to her. “Maybe to be with someone who brings
happiness into my
life.
I used to enjoy things.”

“What did you enjoy then?”

She could barely remember anymore.
It hadn’t really been that long that she should have forgotten. “Movies, going
to craft and art show. I liked carnivals and circuses. We used to go hiking. I
liked to be in nature. I don’t know.”

“I used to like to go up to the big
Christmas displays with my parents. I wanted to take my sons some day. Will you
go with me this weekend? We can do one each night and see the street shows on
the way.”

“I didn’t know Connecticut had that
many.”

“There is one in Meriden, one in
New Haven, and One in Hartford. I would like to do that. Maybe if you wouldn’t
mind, we could invite Med to go with us. He just recently broke up with his
latest girlfriend. It really sucks because he was thinking of asking her to
marry him and she pulled the plug.”

He was right, that would suck. “Did
she at least give him a reason?”

His smile was slow forming and
filled with guilt.

“What? Did you have something to do
with it?”

“No, well I suppose kind of. It’s
in with that thing I didn’t want to discuss earlier.”

Raising her eyebrows, she tilted
her chin down to look at him skeptically. He was being so vague. “Will you tell
me now?”

He opened his mouth, inhaling
sharply as if going to spill it, and then shook his head. “No.”

“Why? You keep giving me cryptic
little hints and then refusing to tell me. What can be so horrible?”

“I didn’t say it was horrible. It
is a matter of personal taste and curiosity. I don’t know if I’m ready to tell
you, and I have yet to establish if you want to hear it.”

“How do you establish that?”

“By getting to know you better.”

She was extremely intrigued. What
was the big secret between him and Med? Would she meet Med? Did he have to be
around for Austin to talk? He was going to kill her with curiosity. Staring at
him suspiciously, and almost hoping that maybe she could read something in his
expression, Haley went back to eating her meal.

He did the same, watching her
thoughtfully as she watched him back. He really did have the sweetest, most
caring eyes. They had lost some of their sadness as if being with her had
brightened his entire personality. Was it really possible that she could build
a relationship with a man who was thirteen years younger than her? If nothing
else, they were from two different decades. Did they really have enough in
common to stay together?

He scraped the last from his plate,
and then got up to get a second helping. “Do you want more?”

She wanted more, but food was not
the primary issue. “No, thank you.”

Haley wanted more information and
she wanted more of him. The kiss had been completely stunning, but it had
brought old, neglected feelings and sensations back to life. Maybe he was
right. Together they could put the pain of their pasts into a distant place in
their minds and start over. “I know what would make me happy. To feel alive
again.”