by BJ Wane
“Oh shit,” Colin muttered in heartfelt sympathy.
“Yeah, my sentiments exactly. Let’s go whip your brother’s asses in cards.”
“Works for me.”
Chapter Nine
“Oh! No, no, Roxy. Outside!” Hannah picked up the puppy in midstream and carried the bundle of curly, cream colored fur out the back door so she could finish her business outside. “Bad girl, Roxy.” Adorable black eyes stared woefully up at her and for the millionth time since bringing the poodle/lab mix home from Anna‘s veterinary clinic yesterday, Hannah felt herself cave. “I know, baby, you’re trying. But if you don’t try harder, I’m going to lose my business before I even get it started. Now,” she told her as she picked her up again, “time for you to take a nap and me to work.”
Hannah carried the already twenty pound three month old puppy back inside and put her in her crate next to her desk. She hated the crate, but Hannah knew she wouldn’t get anything done today, just like yesterday, if she didn’t keep Roxy contained for an hour or two. Resuming her seat at the computer, her back to the sad look on Roxy’s face, she once again pulled up the pictures she had taken of Melanie last week. Here it was Tuesday already, and she had only managed to edit half of them. Of course, she couldn’t blame all of the delay on getting Roxy. Spending the rainy morning on Saturday baking brownies, followed by spending the rainy afternoon having the best sex of her life, followed by hours of sexual torment that could only be described as frustratingly awesome then accumulating with another bout of mind-blowing sex the next day had to account for some of the blame. She did manage to get started yesterday as well as meet with a new client, but then got distracted by the call from Anna. Was it her fault poor Roxy had been the unwanted runt of a litter as well as unloved because her deformed leg had to be amputated? It was love at first sight, something Anna predicted, but Hannah had never had a puppy before, and she found the last twenty-four hours almost as challenging and rewarding as the hours she spent with Mitch over the weekend.
Getting Roxy had been a much needed diversion from her roiling, conflicting emotions and thoughts about entering into their affair. Unfortunately, the ‘what ifs’ were sneaking their way back into her subconscious and threatening her concentration. When she first approached Mitch for sex, she had done so with the idea it would be a one-time, curiosity filling encounter. But instead that encounter fueled the need for another and then another. Mitch’s ultimatum took all those decisions from her and she had been grateful for the reprieve. She hadn’t realized she would have to deal with the stress of growing feelings for her neighbor. She couldn’t put a name to how she felt about Mitch, she only knew that it was slowly developing into something more than friendship. She worried that soon Mitch would tire of her, especially of her inexperience. She knew she couldn’t hold his interest for long. A man of forty had been around, knew what he liked and wanted, as opposed to someone like her who had absolutely no idea about what she liked or wanted. She felt as if she was on a slow journey of discovery with a seasoned traveler who preferred a faster pace and riskier adventures. What she didn’t know was how long she had before he was ready to move on and or what she could possibly do to keep his interest as long as possible.
Hannah resolutely shoved aside worries she couldn’t deal with right now and clicked on the next row of pictures. These were taken on the walkway spanning between the annual flower beds and the then closed Home Fruit and Nut Tree garden. A flash in the trees interrupted the background of one shot. In the next one the rude couple who had slipped around the barrier could be seen in the shadows behind Melanie. She had no idea what the flash was but would try to edit it and the couple out of the pictures before deleting them. By late afternoon she had twenty really good pictures put up on her website and sent Melanie an e-mail. Shutting off her computer, she pushed back from her desk and looked for Roxy whom she had released from captivity over an hour ago. “Oh, darn,” she muttered when she saw the puppy was nowhere in sight. Well, she sighed in resignation, at least dealing with whatever shenanigans the dog had been up to will keep her mind off the disappointment that was creeping insidiously past her barriers over the fact she hadn’t heard from Mitch in two days. Feelings like that had no place in the relationship she had agreed to, at least that’s what she kept telling herself.
By Thursday evening, Hannah was a physical and emotional wreck. Her little furry bundle from hell had chewed the left shoe of both pairs of her sneakers, chewed a hole in her bedspread, gnawed on Aunt Mary’s antique dining table legs, piddled and pooped in every room in the house, most of the time just after coming in from outside and managed to jump up onto a kitchen chair with only one hind leg and eat half of an applesauce spice cake. An hour later, the little darling had thrown up the entire wad and she had rushed her to Anna’s clinic in tears, worried she was deathly ill. Thankfully, Anna had laughed away her concerns, shoved a pill down poor Roxy’s throat to settle her stomach and promised Hannah the puppy stage didn’t last long. Her advice for the sleepless nights was to crate her at night, but Hannah still couldn’t bring herself to do that despite how tired she was.
She did crate her when she went on another photo shoot with her first engaged couple, but it bothered her so much thinking of her in that cage that she had vowed to get her some training so she could bring her to work with her. Anna had given her information on puppy classes and they start next week.
Between work and puppy turmoil, Hannah still managed to think about sex and Mitch, Mitch and sex about every other minute. His silence since last Sunday hadn’t put a damper on her fantasies, fantasies that kept alive the constant, lustful need Mitch had inspired since their first meeting. An aching need that hadn’t been dented by the multiple orgasms she enjoyed four days ago. Her emotions were all over the place concerning his silence. One minute she was grateful that he was keeping their encounters to weekend dalliances with no other involvement and the next she found herself missing him, wishing he would pop over on any pretext just so she could see him and reconfirm her reaction to him. It was that second thought that was making her irritable this evening.
Well, that and the fact she couldn’t find Roxy anywhere. Again. She had followed Hannah into Aunt Mary’s bedroom, but when she emerged from the closet after spending thirty minutes struggling to find a pair of jeans that fit her, it was to discover the little minx had disappeared, and that meant trouble. “Roxy!” she called for the tenth time as she looked behind furniture and in every corner to no avail. This was her fault, she admitted as she checked the bathtub. If she hadn’t been thinking of Mitch, hadn’t decided that the next time she saw him she wanted to be wearing something other than her skirt and blouse, then her baby wouldn’t be missing, getting into God knows what mischief. The sound of the doorbell was an unwelcome distraction but, since she was right there, she answered it with the intention of getting rid of whoever it was quickly. That decision died an instant death when she opened the door to see Mitch on her front porch.
To avoid berating himself for his weakness where Hannah was concerned, Mitch had been praising himself for the last ten minutes for being able to hold out for over four days before seeking her out again. When she opened the door looking flushed, irritated and frustrated, her hair coming loose from its braid, bare foot and wearing a snug pair of jeans, he felt a strange tightness in his chest and knew his plan to keep this affair a temporary fling had just been blown to hell. “Having a bad day sweetheart?” he asked thinking how fond he was becoming of that disheveled look.
“I can’t find Roxy.” Ignoring the heat pooling low in her stomach at the sight of him as well as the elation sweeping through her at seeing him again, Hannah turned and called out for Roxy again.
“Who’s Roxy?” Mitch closed the door behind him as he followed her, trying to ignore the way her tight jeans showcased her world class ass. He didn’t know she owned anything but her plain skirts and blouses, but his fantasies had been spot on. She looked fantastic in tight deni
m.
“The spawn of Satan, otherwise called a Labradoodle.”
Mitch heard the worry and the threat of tears in her voice and knew she had grown fond of the dog even though she couldn’t have had her more than a few days and he sensed it had been a stressful few days. He spotted a Housetraining for Dummies book on one end table and Puppies for Dummies on another as he pitched in, calling for the dog then pushing her sofa out when she tried to look behind it. “What color is the little spawn?”
“Cream. She’s curly, and soft, and has big black eyes. Thanks,” she told him when he moved the sofa for her. It was nice of him to help her, she thought even as she was wondering what brought him over in the middle of the week. Not that she wasn’t happy to see him, just curious as well as hopeful that he was ready to deliver on another night of sexual surprises.
Mitch smiled at her description. “Sounds cute. Where haven’t you looked?”
“My office and the basement.” Hannah hated going down into the unfinished basement and never ventured there unless it was time to do laundry. Taking her office first, she led the way, hoping Mitch didn’t comment on the mess.
There was a small crate, dog toys strewn on the floor and a water bowl as well as three more books for Dummies; Photoshop, photography and digital photography. “Hannah, sweetheart, is there a Dummies book you don’t have?”
“I don’t think so,” she mumbled absently, completely missing the humor in his tone. “She’s not here. That leaves the basement.”
A small yip echoing up the stairs as they started down sent her flying the rest of the way. “Roxy!”
“Hold on, Hannah,” Mitch said as he followed her into the laundry room and they heard a pitiful cry coming from behind the dryer. Shoving the machine out, he bent and picked up the furry, squirming bundle. A wet tongue swiping his face was his thanks before Hannah snatched her out of his hands.
“Bad dog, Roxy. Bad, bad girl,” Hannah scolded her as she rained kisses on her nose, returning her affection. “Thank you, Mitch. I’m sorry; I didn’t ask what you needed. I assume you came over for a reason.”
Mitch slung his arm around Hannah and led her back upstairs into the kitchen. He didn’t know how much Anna told her about the puppy’s lineage, but he didn’t have the heart right now to tell Hannah she was going to need a bigger crate. One look at that dog’s paws and he knew Hannah wasn’t going to be carrying her around for long. There was a large pot still steaming hotly sitting on the stove, the smell making his stomach growl loudly, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since lunch. “I wanted to ask you out to dinner Saturday night. I figure I owe you after all the times you’ve fed me, and maybe,” he added as he walked over and saw it was beef stew on the stove, “get a bowl of this?”
Hannah closed the door to the cellar, replying, “Of course, help yourself,” as she pondered his invitation. She was thrilled he wanted to take her out even though she knew she was risking heartbreak. After the way she had been pining to see him again these past few days, she had a feeling their relationship, and her feelings, were going to go there whether she was ready for them to or not. Before she could think it to death, she quickly gave him her answer. “And I’d love to go to dinner with you Saturday.”
They talked about everything but their date while he ate, the puppy at their feet gnawing quietly on a chew toy. It was a cozy, domestic scene, one Mitch enjoyed almost too much. He didn’t come over here for this, he reminded himself as he took his dish to the sink, but that didn’t seem to matter. His feelings for Hannah had already surpassed the friends with benefits line, probably had before that line was drawn. Now the only question remaining was just how deeply did he want them to develop before knowing whether or not she would fit in at the club?
By the time he was heading to the front door and Hannah asked him what time on Saturday, he had decided their dinner out was going to be another challenge for Hannah, another step she’ll either agree to take in his direction or she won’t, ending this before either of them became more emotionally invested.
“I work Saturdays, so I can’t pick you up until seven.” Ignoring the way Roxy was standing on her one back leg, her front paws clinging to his calf, Mitch caged Hannah in against the wall. “I didn’t tell you how much I like you in those jeans, Hannah.”
“They’re Aunt Mary’s and a little tight, but they were the loosest ones I could find,” she answered breathlessly, her body warming just from being so close to him. One touch and she felt as if she could explode.
“I’ll buy her another pair so you can keep those. As good as you look, I want you to wear a skirt to dinner. And no panties covering your bare pussy.” He watched her closely for her reaction and was rewarded with her face turning beet red and that small frown appearing between her eyes.
“You want me to shave…there and go out in public without underwear?! Mitch, I don’t think…”
Mitch stepped back from her even though it was difficult. Frowning, he asked coolly, point blank, “There is called a pussy and yes, I want you to remove your pubic hair, however you want and go out in public sans panties. Unless you want to go back to being friendly neighbors?”
Oh, God, she silently moaned, he had that implacable, I’m the boss look on his face, the one that always made her core dampen and her palms sweat. His deep, hard tone was responsible for curling her toes and tightening her nipples. It took her only seconds to weigh the pros and cons of either agreeing to his instructions or ending their affair. As it has been since their first meeting, her body overruled her moral objections as well as her common sense. She figured she would have plenty of time when he tired of her to deal with those two things. “Okay, no panties.”
“Or bra.” He held back a smile when she swallowed audibly.
“Or bra,” she reluctantly agreed.
Mitch cupped her face, pulled her up against him and kissed her long enough, hard enough and deeply enough to let her know how pleased he was with her. By the stunned look in her rounded eyes, he knew he had been successful. Bending down, he lifted Roxy, holding her out in front of him at eye level. “Be good and I’ll bring you a treat next time. Bad and I’ll build you a dog house.” Handing her to Hannah, he tapped both of them on the nose and left, resigning himself to a hand job if he hoped to get any sleep tonight.
Hannah sat in the First Watch Café the next day, waiting for Anna and her sister-in-law, Olivia, to join her. She had been looking forward to meeting Olivia until Mitch gave her her instructions for their date. Now, she desperately wanted to get Anna’s opinion and advice, but she didn’t feel comfortable bringing up such matters in front of a stranger. She was once again running on fumes after spending a restless, sleepless night, only this time she couldn’t lay the blame entirely on Roxy.
Even though Roxy had tried repeatedly to get her to play by jumping on her, pulling at the covers and licking her face, it had been the image of her lower body without the camouflage of hair that had kept her awake long after the puppy gave up tormenting her. She couldn’t find anything wrong with ridding herself of hair, but parading around in public without anything covering up her privates seemed positively indecent. Worse, she didn’t know if it was the sheer indecency involved that had her body fired up and eager for tomorrow night or simply knowing she was going to see Mitch again. She had a feeling she would be more than ready to be with him again even if he had instructed her to wear a burlap sack.
She saw Anna hop out of a large truck in front of the restaurant, wave at the good looking man behind the wheel then head toward their table. Happy that she had arrived before Olivia, she greeted her with a relieved smile. “I hate to be rude, but can I get your advice on something before Olivia joins us?”
“Sure. She got tied up at the hospital so she’s running a little late. What’d Mitch do to put that look on your face?” Anna was surprised to see Hannah in jeans and flip flops, the plain white blouse the only thing she recognized from her wardrobe. She didn’t comment on the change though beca
use, from the way she was worrying her napkin and fiddling with her silver ware, poor Hannah was battling another inner battle.
“He asked me out, you know, on a date.”
“And?”
Hannah blew out a frustrated breath. Of course there had to be more. “I’m thrilled, don’t get me wrong, but he wants me to shave…my privates then go out without underwear. In. A. Skirt,” she emphasized, surprised she wasn’t turning beet red. Maybe it was the way Anna’s eyes lit with humor and her lips quirked up in a small smile instead of looking at her in shock that set her at ease.
“A shaved pussy can be highly erotic, Hannah. Trust me, I know. I finally had mine waxed because I got tired of shaving every day. We’re even thinking about having ours lasered off permanently. You’ll love how much more you can feel without hair, how sensitive your labia actually are.”
“We?” That was the only part of her advice she could comment on at the moment. When Anna mentioned how sensitive her bare skin could be, she felt her sheath moisten, which completely threw her for a loop. Her happy place had no business getting damp in the middle of the day, and especially if Mitch wasn’t anywhere around.
“Me, Olivia and Kayla, my other sister-in-law. Our husbands all prefer us bare, and once you feel the added pleasure of being touched without that barrier, especially orally, you’ll never want to let it grow back. Relax, Hannah, there’s nothing wrong with ridding yourself of some unwanted hair.”
“Actually, that was what I was just thinking. But how about parading in public practically naked?”
“Mitch is like Donovan, he has a possessive streak a mile wide,” Anna reassured her. “I’m sure you’ll be decently covered while in the restaurant. Only you and he will know what’s not under your clothes, which that in itself is a turn on.”
“It must be nice, being so comfortable with your sexuality, both in private and public,” Hannah replied wistfully.
