by A. R. Moler
***
"Mmm, cozy little cabin in the middle of nowhere, hot lover in my bed, this definitely beats last Christmas eve," murmured Cam as he snuggled tightly against Mason's warm body. The electric blanket had imparted a soft heat to the bed.
"Last Christmas you were deployed…"
"Yeah, me and five thousand of my closest friends in the middle of the Med'."
Mason's hand stroked down Cam's side, stopping on his hip, thumb caressing the skin. "Does it seem like a lifetime ago?"
"Sometimes. I don't think I ever thought I'd fall in love… or that it would be with a man."
"Regrets?"
"None." Cam pulled Mason into a heated kiss. I love you so much, he whispered inside Mason's head. They were pressed together from hip to shoulder, all skin on skin, legs tangled. The presence of Mason in Cam's mind was fiery glow and that little electric tingle from Mason's healing Talent crawled through his body.
I would be lost without you. Mason's mouth sucked gently at the pulse point under Cam's jaw.
The longer they were together the more intense the connection between them. In the early days the things they shared psychically tended toward emotions, but lately, thoughts clear enough to be words were becoming more common.
"You're turned on," Cam murmured, feeling the buzz of Mason's healing talent concentrate more in his legs.
"Uh-huh… otherwise you're going to be hellishly sore in the morning." Mason replied, brushing his lips across Cam's collarbone. "Not exactly a good way to spend Christmas morning." He scooted a little further down the bed, making it easier for his hands to rub Cam's thighs.
Cam chuckled. "I seem to remember a promise to kiss any part of my anatomy that needed it if I wiped out too many times."
"Mmm… working on it." Mason's mouth skimmed across one of Cam's nipples and the warm swipe of a tongue sent threads of arousal straight to Cam's already half hard cock.
Cam moaned a little and cupped a hand against the back of Mason's head, weaving his fingers through his lover's short, thick hair. He could feel the scrape of Mason's teeth and the rasp of stubble on his chest. Mason's fingers curled around Cam's cock, stroking him, thumb dragging across the tip. The damp warmth of kisses was descending down the center on Cam's chest as Mason vanished the rest of the way beneath the blankets. A lick and a kiss across his right hip bone were a magnificent prelude to soft lips kissing the tip of his prick. The next action was even better. Mason began sucking. Oh Jesus. The wet heat, the swirl of Mason's tongue and the fingers fondling his balls made him buck up into Mason's mouth. He sensed a quick spike of discomfort and realized he'd caught Mason off guard.
"Sorry," he said. He hadn't meant to gag his lover.
There was a snicker of laughter under the covers. "I'll make you pay." Mason's voice was muffled. Cam flinched slightly as teeth closed lightly across the length of his cock. Mason shook his head a little and for a moment Cam had the disconcerting impression that one of his favorite body parts was being used as a chew toy. Holy fuck, he wasn't sure if that was scary or ungodly hot. Mason's teeth eased away, then the slight pressure resurged, this time around the head of his prick as Mason's tongue probed the slit delicately.
Aw hell, Cam blew his load, pumping into Mason's mouth as hot pleasure tightened his fingers and curled his toes.
Mason crawled back up toward Cam's head, wiped his mouth on the sheet and kissed Cam with fervor. "Mmm, I think you like the hint of danger, Mr. Adrenaline Junkie."
"I think I like anything that involves your mouth and my prick." He could feel Mason's own erection rubbing on the front of his leg. "You want me to suck you off?"
"I think I want your hands, in me, on me, however it works." Mason voice was a low husky murmur.
"I can do that," Cam whispered, and groped for the lube.
Mason rolled over, presenting his back to Cam, one leg pulled up. Cam kissed the nape of Mason's neck, down his spine to between his shoulder blades as he rubbed a couple of well slicked fingers across the tight wrinkle of Mason's opening. Mason squirmed, rocking his hips and pressing harder against Cam's touch. Cam pushed his fingers inside. Mason groaned faintly and canted his hips back further to deepen the penetration. Cam could sense his lover's arousal jump another notch. He pulled his hand back a couple of inches and pushed in again, sliding the other hand under Mason's body for a better grip. Mason made another low sound of pleasure and rocked back again, internal muscles tensing momentarily then relaxing wide open.
Cam picked up the pace a little, plunging his two fingers in and out of Mason's body as Mason writhed and rocked, fucking himself on Cam's hand every bit as much as Cam was doing him.
"Unh… more… close…" Mason begged, breathing hard.
Cam added a third finger, and worried for a moment when Mason made a small whine. Then Mason arched his back, pushing Cam's fingers deep, and his whole body shuddered and spasmed with an orgasm that splattered come up his belly and left him gasping.
"Oh Cam…" Mason mumbled, still breathing hard. "I think my brain cells are fused."
***
The cabin had a full kitchen. Mason sat at the table, drinking coffee and watching Cam cook breakfast. They hadn't managed to spend very many slow leisurely mornings together, so the few mornings they had while on this mini-vacation were to be savored. The way the sweatpants clung to Cam's hips, hinting at the very delectable ass under the fabric, was definitely holding Mason's attention. He also knew damn well Cam had nothing on underneath. When Cam had crawled out of the warm bed this morning, he'd immediately grabbed for the sweats and a hoodie, proclaiming that the cabin was awfully chilly.
Mason stood up and crossed the kitchen, slipping an arm around Cam's waist. He nibbled at the back of Cam's neck.
"If you distract me too much, you might get burnt eggs," said Cam.
"Mmm, then I'll confine my actions to feeling you up." Mason skimmed a hand down Cam's stomach, and continued southward for a light grope of Cam's crotch.
"Not helping."
Mason laughed and settled his arm back around Cam's waist, simply snuggling up to the warmth of Cam's body.
Cam served up breakfast and the two of them sat down to eat.
"I'm beginning to think that this little holiday jaunt was the best idea you've had in a quite a while. I don't think that I've ever seen you this relaxed," said Cam.
"Are you implying I'm uptight?"
"Maybe I should say… very focused most of the time, which is probably good when you're in the OR but maybe not so much when we're kicking it back at home.
"I like hearing you say that."
"What, that you're focused?"
Mason kicked him under the table. "No you fool, the part about home."
Cam gave him a thoughtful more sober look. "Living with you is what makes it home."
Mason thought he was going to melt.
***
The wrapping wouldn't win any awards. Cam had never quite gotten the hang of the deal about folding the corners. He handed a pair of boxes to Mason, one large and flat and one small.
"So, open 'em," prompted Cam.
Mason gently tore the paper off the larger one, and lifted the box open. Inside was a pale blue V-neck cashmere sweater. Mason looked surprised.
"You said you couldn't envision me buying you clothes, so I took it as a challenge," confessed Cam. He wasn't going to admit he'd wandered around the mall for three hours agonizing about what to pick out.
"This is gorgeous!" said Mason, a smile lighting his face.
"Do the other one." Cam was kind of holding his breath on this one since he knew nothing about wood working.
Mason opened that one to reveal a pair of mortise chisels.
"I bought you a big one and a little one, and if they're the wrong size, I was really punting."
Mason just grinned. "They're great. That's really cool. I've been kind of faking it with ones I have that aren't really designed for mortise and tennon work." He leaned forward and curl
ed a hand around Cam's neck, pulling him into a kiss. "Your turn."
The box Mason handed to Cam was a really big cube, and made Cam wonder if it contained a basketball, although he didn't know why. Shredding the paper, the picture on the box said it contained a Shoei Syncrotec motorcycle helmet.
"Oh man, I've been eyeballing modular ones for months. This looks amazing!" Cam said.
"I will confess that I picked that one because it had one of the best safety ratings."
"I love you."
"You may or may not love the other gift," Mason said.
Cam could sense of hint of cautious amusement from his partner as Cam opened the flat little box. Under a layer of tissue paper, there was a somewhat narrow bunched piece of black fabric. Cam raised an eyebrow as he lifted it out. It was a silky black thong.
"You …uh… bought me butt floss?" Cam asked, not entirely sure if he was supposed to laugh.
Mason smiled. "Anything to get you out of those boxer briefs. I expect you to model that for me at least once before you decide to burn it."
"You get me out of my boxer briefs on a pretty regular basis."
Chapter 7
Interview number one was with the female orthopedist. She looked good on paper, but as Sandra Galloway sat across the desk from Mason, he had a bad feeling. He asked her the usual questions about background and experience. Nothing stuck out as stellar or awful.
On an odd gut hunch, Mason picked up the top patient file from the stack on his desk. The files were ones he hadn't quite finished adding notes to. He pulled out the pages with his diagnostic thoughts and treatment plan and handed her the part with just the new patient information.
"Have a read through that and let me know what you think of the case," he said.
Galloway sat there for a couple minutes reading the file before she answered. "The woman is over forty, fat, and has fairly severe arthritis in her right knee. She's going to have to have a TKR at some point. At the moment, the only option that might help is a Hylagan injection."
Mason was caught between annoyed and disgusted. "And?" he prompted.
Galloway gave him a questioning look. "And… I'm not sure what else you're looking for."
"Other options maybe?"
"No. If she loses fifty pounds it'll help prolong what's left of her knee, since she's really not in the right age bracket for the replacement yet."
"Did you happen to notice her four page drug allergy list? Injectables usually aren't the first choice for a patient like that."
"That's all just BS. Lots of people think they have allergies if they so much as have heartburn from an NSAID. If she's really wound up about the idea, let her bring an epi-pen with her."
Mason just about dropped the ink pen in his hand. The idea of knowingly risking having a patient go into anaphylactic shock in the office floored him.
"Did you even glance at the rest of the history? The woman is a biochemistry professor at one of the local colleges. I think she probably knows if she has drug allergies. Also did you read the MRI report or notice her three separate injuries to that knee?"
"An MRI doesn't always tell you everything," Galloway replied.
From the change in the expression on her face, Mason could tell it was slowly dawning on her that she had tanked the interview. "No, but they can point you in logical directions. You'll be notified of our decision within thirty days."
She gave him a weak smile and shook his hand before she left.
Mason sat back down. Jesus Christ, there were days when the blasé attitude of Steve Villetti got on his nerves because the guy had an iffy beside manner on the best of days, but this woman… Mason wrote her off as a malpractice suit waiting to happen. At least Mason trusted Steve's competence. This woman… no, just no. At least there was another candidate who looked good. After this, though, Mason was reserving judgment until he met the guy.
***
Candidate number two looked like he belonged in high school, or so Mason thought. Graham Chin was in the last wind down phase of his residency and actively job hunting. Mason had been there and done that. He had ended up working for a practice with twenty-three other orthopedists for a couple of years before the sheer get'em in and get'em out mentality drove him up a tree. That had led to the formation of the practice he now shared with Steve and Kyle.
Short, slender, dark haired, wearing wire frame glasses, the man was dressed in a suit and a conservative tie. Mason sensed a thread of nervousness and found himself slightly cheered by the idea that the young doctor wasn't so full of himself that he expected to ace the interview.
"We're a small group, I'm sure you noticed," said Mason. "So it's important that anyone who joins us is willing to have a certain amount of flexibility regarding scheduling and patient load. We also want to find a good fit in meshing all our different personalities together." Mason picked up the same file he'd given to Galloway. "Have a look through this and give me your opinion on a treatment plan."
Chin spent several minutes longer than Galloway had, perusing the file. "She's not an easy case," he began. "I see there are three injuries spread over… wow, I initially misread one of those dates, spread over three decades. She doesn't appear to have had a lot of success with the arthroscopy that was done. Is she doing physical therapy?"
"Yes, she's been going for a couple of weeks now."
"Hmm, it's probably too soon to tell what help that is, given her history. I see that she had a really bad reaction to dexamethasone, so steroids shots are probably not a good idea. I might do another scope, but not until I see what six to eight sessions of PT do for her. There's also Synivisc or maybe PRP. The grade IV chondromalacia might respond well to the PRP. I would definitely go conservative first, since it appears she's still able to walk with only some pain."
Mason was pleased. Chin's approach was similar to his own, minus the healing Talent of course. Someone who actually considered patient history and whose first thoughts for treatment didn't involve a scalpel for a long term and complicated injury was a real plus.
"I find your ideas very sound." Mason asked Chin several more general questions about his back ground and preferences. All of the answers sounded sane and reasonable. "Would you be available either tomorrow or the next day to talk with Kyle Marin and Steve Villetti? I'm sure they will have some questions for you."
"Tomorrow would fine."
***
It was three days until New Year's and Cam wasn't exactly looking forward to facing Mason when he got home. The carrier was going out for two weeks, leaving on January second. It could be worse. It was a pretty short assignment, but Cam was only just getting used to the calm bliss of coming home to Mason every night. Telling Mason that he was going to be gone for a couple of weeks was destined to be an unhappy moment.
Cam pulled his motorcycle into the driveway, feeling half frozen despite a decent winter riding jacket and electric gloves. He'd spent all of last winter deployed, so hadn't had to cope with the frigid east coast weather. Riding in this kind of cold brought him one step closer to buying a second hand car just so he didn't have to freeze his ass off riding to and from work in the winter.
The Mustang wasn't in the driveway, so Mason must still be at work. Cam hurried inside to shed his gear and try to thaw out.
Half an hour passed before he heard the front door open. Cam looked up from the computer in his lap.
"I think I have a winner," Mason said.
"Winner of what?"
"Our orthopod position. I talked to both candidates this afternoon. The first one was a not just a 'no", she was a 'hell no.' The second one is named Graham Chin. He just finished his residency, which makes him a little green, but he seems to be really level headed and pretty bright."
"You gonna hire him?"
"As long as Kyle and Steve agree, yes I think so."
"Cool, that will take some of the stress off you, especially when you get yanked by Division P."
Mason flopped down on the sofa beside Cam
and pulled him into a kiss.
"Oh, and on the topic of work people, Tyra and Ross are throwing a New Year's Eve party and expect us to at least put in an appearance," Mason said. It was almost a mumble against Cam's lips.
"Oh, um okay," Cam responded.
"That didn't sound very enthusiastic." Mason pulled back a bit to look at Cam's face.
"I have to leave on a short work-up cruise on the second."
Mason sighed a little. "It's not like we didn't know something like that was coming our way eventually."
"It's only for about two weeks."
"I'm glad it's not the six month version."
"Yeah, me too." Cam set the computer on the coffee table and leaned back across the cushions of the sofa, pulling Mason down on top of him.
"How long until we have to face that issue?"
"Eight or nine months."
He felt Mason heave a sigh, as Mason lay spread on top of him. "I'm not looking forward to that." Their foreheads were pressed together.
"Me neither. I've never had somebody waiting for me at home before."
Chapter 8
Tyra's house was filled with people talking and laughing and eating. Mason leaned against the wall of the kitchen, beer in hand, talking to their newly hired orthopedic surgeon, Graham Chin. Graham was discussing his impending move from Cincinnati to Virginia Beach.
"I signed a six month lease on a condo over near town center. It's seems like a pretty decent area," said Graham.
"There's a fair bit of new construction going on over there. It'll put you near the mall."
"Did you say you live down at the beach?" Graham asked.
"Yeah, I'm about three blocks from the ocean. I like running on the beach."
"In the summer you mean."
"Anytime," Mason replied.
"Even now? It must be below freezing with the wind chill factored in."
"Two words -- Under Armour."
Graham grinned a little. "You're crazy."
