Blue Bunny

by Viva Gold

  As the water drained away, Elvis coughed and spluttered, gasping for air. Bubbles flew about everywhere as he heaved and shuddered before bursting into hysterical giggles. The sound was infectious and I chuckled along with him until we were both fighting for air from laughing so much. We ended up lying on the floor of the empty bath wrapped around one another.

  “Oh my God,” Elvis snorted. “That was the least romantic thing ever, but absolutely hilarious!” He let out a yawn. “I think I need to go to bed, Joe, it’s been quite the day.” I lifted my tired prince from his watery lair and wrapped him up in a huge towel until only his head poked out of the top. “This is totally divine,” he drawled, hugging the soft cloth around him.

  “I see you’re no longer dissing my towels,” I teased him. He looked cute and sleepy. His long, wet lashes clumped together. I’d slicked his hair backwards off his face to admire the high cut of his cheek bones, along with those baby blue eyes I adored. “I love you, Elvis. I couldn’t live without you, you know.”

  “I know, Joe.” He smiled indulgently at me. “And you never will, I promise. As painful as this lesson has been, I feel like we’ve learned a lot and taken our relationship to the next level.”

  I nodded in agreement. I was the luckiest son of a bitch alive.

  6

  ELVIS

  Jonah lay flat on his back snoring his head off in our bed. We’d flown back from New York the previous day having explored all the major stores and the nearby outlet malls. We’d traipsed around SoHo, then returned to Brooklyn to the newly gentrified DUMBO area where we’d gotten plenty of ideas for our own retail outlet. The Kent Mall in Oxford was going to be the only shopping experience worth having this Easter, I was going to make certain of it.

  “Anyone home?” Nico’s voice rang out from downstairs. He had a set of our house keys as an emergency key holder, however, boundaries weren’t really Nico’s concern and he pretty much appeared whenever he fancied. I didn’t mind, he was an amazing friend to me as well as being an indispensable executive PA to Jonah. “I brought delicious carby nutrition!”

  “Yay!” I threw off the bed covers, slid a turquoise silk kimono over my naked body and skipped off to search out the treats Nico had brought for breakfast.

  “Whoa!” Nico slapped a hand over his eyes as I breezed into the kitchen. “Some boxers might be a good idea under that flimsy thing.”

  I tutted and rolled my eyes. “Nothing you haven’t seen before. Now, what have you brought me?” I pulled out a chair from the kitchen table. We’d replaced Jonah’s clinical black and chrome furniture for a heavy wooden set instead. It was far homelier.

  “Almond croissants still warm from the bakery.” Nico placed the paper bag on the table then fetched some plates. “And some coffees.” There were huge disposable cups in a cardboard tray. I lifted off the lids to find my latte. “There are some fresh rolls and other pastries too.”

  “You’re killing me. Thank you.” I beckoned Nico over for a kiss. He popped his lips over mine and we smooched.

  “Hey! Leave off — he’s mine!” Jonah strutted into the kitchen all mussed from sleep but still looking like an Adonis. We both sighed at his broad shoulders, abs for days, and thick pecs and biceps.

  “Put a fucking t-shirt on!” Nico grumbled.

  “It’s too hot. Elvis likes the central heating turned up to twenty-five degrees. It’s like a bloody furnace.”

  “Excuse me,” I interjected rather pointedly. “You’re the one who thought living in a converted barn was a good idea.”

  “It was a good idea,” Jonah pouted. I rolled my eyes again as he reached for a pain au chocolat.

  “I thought you were watching your weight.” I smirked at the look of sheer mortification on my husband’s scruffy handsome face. Nico snorted. There wasn’t an ounce of excess fat on Jonah Kent. His fitness regime was as rigid as it was demanding. I wasn’t complaining. Jonah stared at me for a few seconds before shoving the entire pastry into his mouth. “Pig,” I cried. He merely helped himself to his coffee and another croissant. “Don’t come crying to me when you hit forty and your waistline disappears beneath your muffin top.”

  “Enough!” Nico laughed. “We have work to do.”

  “We do?” Jonah looked confused. “I thought we weren’t going back until Monday. It’s only Friday.”

  I patted Jonah on the back of his hand. “Yes, dear, but Easter is nearly upon us and I want to make sure my ideas have time to come to fruition.” I took a breath. “You’re input is not required, but thank you for offering.” He hadn’t actually, but I wanted to take the sting out of the rejection I knew he’d be feeling.

  Surprisingly, Jonah paused before grinning. “No worries, I actually have to pop to London today anyway. I’ll get out of your way.”

  London? He hadn’t told me anything about an appointment in London. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he refused to take the bait. Whether his trip was pre-planned or not, I’d never get past his poker face. I huffed dramatically watching as Jonah massacred a couple more pastries, washing them down with longs chugs of coffee. He could be such a bloke sometimes. I loved his different personas; he was totally unpredictable, but when he was relaxed like this, letting his inner lad emerge, I fancied the pants off of him. Well, I would if he was wearing any.

  “Right, gotta go,” he announced, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “Some clothes may be a good idea,” Nico scoffed.

  “Bit chilly on the bike otherwise,” Jonah quipped back.

  I swooned at the vision of Jonah naked on his bike save for a tight pair of jeans and some heavy boots. God, it was a wet dream come to life. He quirked an eyebrow at me making me grin widely at him. He so knew where my mind just went. Winking at me, he trotted his half-naked exquisite body out of the kitchen to go get ready for his trip.

  “I don’t know how you cope,” Nico said.

  “It’s a hard life…” I quipped. We both chuckled.

  The roar of a bike signalled Jonah’s departure leaving Nico and me to begin plotting in peace. We had big plans for Easter that would definitely have not met with Jonah’s approval had he been with us in our strategy meeting. I relayed the Bo Peep scenario to Nico who simply stared at me as if I had two heads.

  “Sometimes,” he responded, “I think you are magnificently brilliant in your innovative ideas for the Kent Outlet Mall. You’ve made some extremely beneficial improvements.” I preened at the praise. “Other times, however, you come out with some epically idiotic ideas.” My mouth fell open at the accusation. “Jonah dressed as Bo Peep? Really, Elvis?” I was about to answer when he stopped me. “No, love, it’s not going to happen. He’d be arrested going out in public like that around young children.” Nico shuddered.

  “But the sheep?” I wailed, fearing my big plan was about to be thwarted.

  “Ah, yes, the sheep.” Nico wagged his finger at me. “Now that is an excellent notion.”

  I was so relieved to hear Nico was on board with it. We discussed how to go about making the presence of the woolly creatures a thing and then we came up with an entire prospect for an Easter Spring Fayre on Bank Holiday weekend. There would be an area where the local petting farm would have baby lambs and other cute animals for the children to meet. We would encourage visitors to dress up and hold a parade with a prize for the best dressed. A daily treasure hunt would take place to find strategically placed chocolate eggs. We wouldn’t have a Farmer’s Market as that would be unfair to the food outlets, but lots of treats would be available to buy hot cross buns, candy floss, and ice cream. I could vividly imagine the spring-like feel to the place and predicted it would encourage plenty of visitors to the mall over the weekend. In the past, we’d opened as usual on Easter Sunday permitting the stores to remain closed if that was their policy, however, this year, I was going to propose to Jonah to keep the entire mall closed. We’d speak to the retailers and judge their reaction accordingly, but I felt we should make it our policy g
oing forward in line with most other retail malls. And that way, I’d get Jonah all to myself for a whole day.

  Nico and I lounged about the house for the rest of the morning enjoying the sauna and indoor pool. We swam and chatted like the best of friends we were fast becoming. He opened up a bit about the man he was seeing, Jonah’s friend and ex, Mateo Garcia. Mateo was my old boss at Zapato where I had worked at Kent Outlet Mall. I hadn’t known for a while that he and Jonah shared a close relationship, however, when the older man had first laid eyes on Jonah’s green-eyed Korean PA, it was insta love, leaving me with no worries that Mateo would try and woo Jonah away from me. We were now good friends, the four of us.

  “Where is Mateo today?” I asked, sipping on a sickly sweet Daiquiri straight from the can. Hey, no one ever accused me of being classy! Nico dipped his head, which was strange.

  “Umm, London, I think.”

  “London!” I shrieked causing Nico to wince. “There’s a bloody coincidence.”

  “Stop scowling, little one. It’s a big place.” Nico swirled the wine in his glass before drinking. “I’m sure Jonah and Mateo have entirely separate reasons for being there.”

  I scowled at him. “Liar!”

  “I’m not lying. I really have no clue what Mateo is up to. He’s my boyfriend not my employer.”

  “But Jonah is.”

  Nico sighed. “Come here, Elvis.” I slid off my poolside chair padding over to where he lay on a massive round day bed. I climbed on and he pulled me in for a cuddle. “Stop worrying so much. Jonah is so in love with you, that even if he is plotting something mysterious, it will only be for your pleasure, I promise.”

  I relaxed. I don’t know why I was feeling insecure as we’d both been declaring our love for one another a lot these past few days following our rocky trip to New York. It’s just, I look at Jonah in all his glorious magnificence and can’t help wondering what he sees in me when he could have literally anyone.

  The doorbell rang. I wasn’t expecting anyone. Picking up my phone, I clicked on the video app to see who was at the door.

  “Oh my God, yay!” I turned the phone around to show Nico.

  “Fuck, yes!” He breathed. “Get him to join us in the pool please, little one.” Nico ran his hand through his hair as he sat up. He stood to adjust his tight fitting lycra speedos and I admired how the red fabric hugged his high taut bum, while cupping his junk delectably. The contrast of the siren shade against his dark skin was perfect. I looked down at my own scrawny pale legs sticking out of my purple boy shorts and sighed.

  The doorbell rang again, nudging me out of my reverent appreciation.

  “Hang on, Adam,” I spoke huskily into my phone as I slipped on my silk kimono. “I’m just coming.” Nico snorted at me just before he dived elegantly into the pool.

  “Hey you,” I cried as I threw myself into Adam’s arms. He was another very close friend whom I adored with all my heart. A huge man, standing at nearly six and a half feet tall and as beefy as they come, he had the gentlest of hearts. Married to Izzy Woolf, Adam was off limits as his master Dom of a husband had him under strict control. However, the sexy man was extremely tactile which we all took great advantage of. Jonah and I had yet to play with others. We had discussed it many times but it never seemed to happen. Izzy and Adam would definitely be our first choice. In the meantime, I enjoyed having Adam in my life as my ‘go to’ for all sorts of good advice. He had a wicked sense of humour and was great fun to be around.

  “What are you doing in Oxford?” I asked him. He frowned at me.

  “Weren’t you expecting me?” He popped me back on my feet as I led him to the pool house.

  “No,” I said confused. “Did I forget we had a play date?”

  Adam chuckled. “No, Elvis, but as Jonah and Izzy are meeting today, I had assumed your husband would have told you he’d arranged for me to visit.”

  I stopped dead causing Adam to bump into me. He grabbed my shoulder preventing me from tumbling. “Jonah is with Izzy?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “What for?”

  “Umm, advice?”

  I slapped my forehead. “Oh my God, what kind of advice is he getting from Izzy Woolf, for fuck’s sake?” My mind was all over the place. “Wait, Nico might know.” I grabbed Adam’s hand pulling him on.

  “Nico is here?” Adam sounded way too excited for my liking. He must have noticed the expression on my face. “What? I’m allowed to look. Granted that’s all I’m allowed to do, but hey, Nico is fit, man.”

  “What about me?” I squeaked, puffing out my chest. Adam looked at me before laughing merrily.

  “You, my little imp, are entirely too gorgeous for words. But Jonah I’m scared of; Mateo not so much.”

  I chuckled at his reply. It was ludicrous to think this hulk of a man was scared of anyone, but Jonah did have a natural dominance about him, albeit far from Izzy’s practised ability. Both men were formidably powerful in their own ways. The thought of what they may be getting up to together made me shudder in all the best ways.

  “Do you want to join us for a swim, babe?” I asked Adam, hoping with all my heart he said yes. “Jonah has a range of swimwear in the changing room. I’m sure you’ll find something to fit.” Adam arched an eyebrow at me knowing it was unlikely. I couldn’t wait to see what he came out in. As he disappeared to investigate, I hurried to the kitchen for more drinks and snacks, returning just in time to settle onto the day bed for a good view. Nico hung on the side of the pool kicking his legs in the water as we both tried to guess what Adam would be wearing.

  “Board shorts, knowing our luck.” Nico sounded sad. He hauled himself out of the water to sit at the edge of the pool, feet dangling. He was practically vibrating with anticipation.

  “I don’t think so,” I replied, trying to remember if there were any in the swimwear cupboard in the bathroom come changing room.

  “Holy fuck!” Nico swore, and I had to agree. The view was more than worthy of his expletive. Adam sauntered to the poolside. His impressive manhood was crammed into a tiny pair of white speedos. I say tiny, but they probably only looked that way on his massive frame. Nico and I both gulped. Adam chuckled, well aware of the effect he was having on us. “Fucking tease,” Nico mumbled under his breath. “Why would he wear those?”

  “For exactly the impact it’s having,” I snorted. “He’s a very naughty boy under that sweet personality.”

  “I’m beginning to realise,” Nico replied with wonder. “Oh God, he’s going to be wet.” Adam padded to the side of the pool. He reached up to re-tie his long hair in a top knot and we watched the bunch of his biceps as he worked to contain his silky tresses. Then he dove into the water. He was a strong swimmer and lapped the pool with ease. We watched, spell bound, as his powerful arms and legs took him from one end of the Olympic sized pool to the other. Finally, he stopped by Nico’s legs. He stood up letting the water cascade off his body, before placing his wet hands on Nico’s knees. Leaning forward he pecked the man on the lips.

  “Long time, no see,” Adam said to Nico. Nico gulped and nodded. “How’s Mateo?”

  “Not here?” Nico rasped making both Adam and I laugh. It was funny to see Nico, normally as cool as a cucumber, get all hot under the collar around Adam. “I mean, fine, he’s in London too.”

  “Hmm,” Adam mused. “What could our three doms be up to?”

  “Doms!” Nico blurted, blushing from head to toe. “Mateo is not my dom.”

  “And neither is Jonah mine,” I piped up. Adam merely looked at us with mirth written all over his handsome wet face. Drops of water hung off his full beard.

  “Anyway,” he continued, “regardless of labels and your interpretation of them, our controlling other halves are almost certainly collaborating on something.”

  “I bet Izzy sent you here knowing it would stir us up.” I opened a bottle of champagne and poured three glasses. I passed one each to Adam and Nico before grabbing my own and joining them at t
he pool’s edge. I sat next to Nico facing Adam. “I think the only thing to be done is to indulge ourselves at Jonah’s expense and await the return of our three knights in shining armour.” I clinked my flute to theirs in a mutual toast. There was a minute’s silence as we drank down our bubbles. Adam drank his too fast letting out a loud burp at the end. I giggled. Nico grinned. We finished the bottle straight off; so I went to get another couple.

  “Elvis,” Adam said from the pool, “you do know this is the expensive stuff, don’t you?”

  I looked at the bottle. Jonah had tried to educate me on wines, but I was still totally ignorant. Who cared? “You mean this isn’t Lidl’s £3.99 special?”

  Nico choked. “Darling,” he drawled. “I don’t think they sell Dom Perignon at Lidl.”

  “Is that a good make?” I knew I’d heard Jonah mention the name, and I had to agree it tasted divine, but I was no connoisseur.

  “Yes, Elvis, it’s the good stuff.”

  “Oh goody — he has loads of it, we’re good to go.”

  Adam guffawed with laughter. “We are so going to pay for this later, but until then, got any food?” Adam had a hefty appetite befitting a man his size. He set his crystal flute on the side before wading over to the pool steps. I watched Nico watching Adam. His eyes went wide as Adam placed one large foot on the bottom rung of the metal ladder steps and proceeded to heave his mass out of the water.