The Bare Bones

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The Bare Bones Page 21

by Layla Wolfe


  It was no longer necessary.

  I had freed myself from those perceptions of men, and I no longer had to paint all of them with the same brush. I was finally living my best, pure life.

  Tanner knew he had to stop stroking me just as I knew I had to stop massaging his prick. We slid apart about the same time. Tanner landed on his back, one arm flung manfully above his head, but I fell onto all fours. Then I laughed.

  “That’s not the Queen of Heaven position!”

  I could tell Tanner didn’t expect that reaction. He looked genuinely perplexed. “It isn’t?”

  “No! You don’t think I can google? The Queen of Heaven position is regular old missionary style.” I guffawed some more.

  He looked abashed. “Is it? I must’ve had it mixed up all this time . . . “

  I fell down next to him. “You knew! You know all that stuff. You just wanted to do it dogstyle.”

  He shrugged adorably. “Can’t fault me for that.”

  I clambered on top of him and kissed him deeply. He’d talked briefly about marriage, but I’d always blown him off, not ready to think about it. For the first time, I felt ready. How could I get him to bring it up again? Maybe I would have to myself.

  That thought made me laugh too, so I slid off him and dashed to the tiny bathroom with the folding door. Halfway through peeing, a ruckus came from the bedroom.

  What the fuck? I tensed, but soon perceived the ruckus was friendly. Tanner made growling noises. He must’ve been wrestling a dog on the bed. Wolf’s moronic but friendly voice soon answered all my questions.

  “I want that egghead out bad!”

  Tanner growled some more, then asked lightly, “Which egghead? I heard it’s not that easy to get someone out bad.”

  I gathered “out bad” meant the brother was kicked out of the club permanently, in bad standing. Who did Wolf hate in the club?

  “You know which colossal asswad! Tobiah Weingarten, that’s which epic asshat!”

  The wrestling calmed down, and Tanner sounded more serious now. “Well, Tobiah’s not a brother. How can we kick him out? He’s CFO of Leaves of Grass. And by the way, I thought you were having a threesome with him and Tracy.”

  “Not anymore! Guess what I fucking found? Not three but two tickets to Leather and Bear Week in Puerta Vallarta!”

  “Ouch,” said Tanner. “That must hurt. But I’m just a fucking Prospect, Wolf. Have you bitched to Lytton?”

  I wanted to see Beetle, but the only clothing in the tiny room was a Paws-n-Gauze T-shirt of Tanner’s. I yanked that down over my head and entered the bedroom. Bouncing on the mattress, Beetle attacked me, leaving Tanner free to talk. I rubbed my face against his silken cheek.

  “Yeah! He said he’s not about to fire the best CFO he’s ever had. He said since I live with him, and Tobiah and Tracy live at Leaves of Grass, there should be no problem with unwanted interactions.”

  From outside the trailer, someone bellowed, “What about the time you and Tracy went to the Southwest Leather Conference without me?”

  Wolf darted to the front doorway, which was only about three feet from the bedroom doorway. Tanner and I shared amused glances, and he started gathering up his clothes.

  “You’re not exactly a bear!” Wolf shrieked. “You’re more like a twink!”

  “Oh yeah? Well you’re not even a fucking otter, you assclown!”

  I frowned as I stepped into my panties. “Aren’t those gay terms?”

  “Learn something new every day,” said Tanner.

  Lytton must have approached the trailer then. He yelled, “I already told you two fucktards! There’s no reason for you to interact with each other. Wolf, just let Tobiah have Tracy. All’s fair in love and war.”

  Wolf yelled, “He has an office in your home! I have to see that jackoff every day!”

  “I can warn you when he’s coming!” shouted Lytton. “Eventually the pain will go away.”

  “Kiss my piss!” yelled Wolf. “Not you, Lytton—Tobiah!”

  Tanner beat me to the front door, buckling his belt. He bellowed, “You two guys need to suck it up. Tobiah, I’d recommend you leave the property. Wolf is justifiably tweaked.”

  By the time I joined them at the door, a woman had entered the fracas. Gudrun was Roman’s fiancée, and she studied to be a nurse, too. Lots of nurses in the Bare Bones old ladies’ club. I’d gathered over the months that she and her friend Tracy had been rescued from some traffickers in Tucson, rescued by Roman and Wolf, no less. I guessed Tracy’s gratitude toward Wolf had not lasted if she’d gone off to Mexico with Tobiah on a bondage vacation.

  “Listen, this whole thing in a moot point!” Gudrun yelled. “Tracy just texted me that she’s gone back to Tucson.”

  There was a brief silence during which everyone stared at each other openmouthed. I figured this was a good time to lure Tanner back to the barbecue, as it looked like Wild Man and Bobo were serving their wares. My stomach growled. Paddington was up by the grill, putting on his cutest face for freebies. Several other dogs were there too, as the Bare Bones were a dog-loving club. Slushy stood on a big rock waving his scissors around, about to cut the ribbon, but I couldn’t hear his speech.

  I said, “Tanner, I think I’m ready to talk about—“

  A burst of shouting like machine gun fire erupted behind us. We glanced back over our shoulders. God damnit. I wanted to talk to Tanner about marriage, and those two nerds had to go bitch-slapping each other. Maybe they were perfect for a ménage. Maybe they could just find another woman. Ford, Maddy, and June were there now, trying to break up the fight.

  “Ready to talk about?” Tanner prompted me, steering me farther from the trailer.

  I shrugged casually. “Oh, I don’t know. Marriage.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You’re ready?”

  I sighed, letting the tension out. “I’m ready.”

  And I was. I married Tanner Principato the opening day of our new ranch a few months from that day. And as it turned out, I could get pregnant. We named our son Lazarus—but now I’m getting ahead of myself.

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