“Whose Master am I?” I asked him. My mouth was just inches from his.
“Mine,” Josh murmured.
The warmth of his breath blanketed my lips as I moved closer. His mouth drew me closer like a magnet. Our kiss was almost manic, and once my mouth connected with his, I couldn’t get enough. Hearing Brandon’s voice in the kitchen reminded me that we weren’t at home where I could allow myself to get lost in Josh. I pulled my mouth off of Josh’s and winked at him.
“To be continued later,” I promised.
Josh smiled and went back to his grilling task. Throughout the evening, I hung back and watched Ali and Josh. They got along well with everyone, and it was good to see that Salem was here and interacting with others. Though she shared a trauma with Brandon, Salem was young enough that I was almost certain that with some professional help, Garrett would be able to pull her around.
Ali playfully teased Josh a little during the night. It wasn’t anything that would embarrass Josh, but it was noticeable that she continued to antagonize him. She had been teasing him for so long that it was just part of their relationship and what they did. It started out subtly at the party, but by the time we left, nearly everything out of Ali’s mouth was some sort of backhanded cutdown toward Josh.
“Brandon was so happy. Did you guys see his face light up when James called him over and he saw the collar?” Ali asked once we got in my car.
“The puppy tag was perfect. Brandon loves belonging to James. Whenever Andrew and I take Brandon out for dinner, we can tell by the way he talks about James that he loves being his,” Josh added.
“James feels equally attached to Brandon,” I confirmed.
I’d had plenty of conversations with James about Brandon. Ever since that first night in the hospital, I knew James would devote himself to helping Brandon. I didn’t think James had planned on falling in love with him, but love happened when you least expected it. I looked in the rearview mirror at Ali and Josh and saw that he had leaned close to put his arm across the top of the seat behind Ali. I smiled because I loved seeing Josh in such a protective, caring role with Ali.
“Are you tired?” Josh asked Ali. “You can lean on my shoulder if you want,” he kindly offered.
“Did you fart, Josh?” Ali asked as she shoved at his chest and scooted away from him.
“No.”
“I think you must have tried to do a sly fart before you got in the car. Except you failed to keep it outside, and it followed you in,” Ali replied.
“Remember, we were outside and practically fifty yards away from the ocean. And I was behind the grill most of the night.”
“Right, sure, whatever. Don’t try to blame the fresh ocean air on your colon’s stench,” Ali continued to verbally push at him.
“I didn’t fart. Believe me, if I fart, I will proudly own up to it. You’re just tired.”
“Yes, I am tired, but I’m not some flower that is going to wilt and needs some brute of a guy offering his shoulder to me to rest my weary head on before I pass out,” she snapped.
“Ali,” I warned and made eye contact with her in the rearview mirror.
“I’m sorry. I just like taking care of you and making sure you’re comfortable,” Josh admitted.
“Ugh! I don’t need that! No wonder your sister ran away. You probably smothered her to death.”
“Ali!” I shouted, hoping to halt her from saying anything more to embarrass herself and drive the searing knife further into Josh.
When the SUV was stopped at a stoplight, and it was safe for me to do so, I glared in the rearview mirror at her. I knew what had happened to Josh’s sister, but he told me that anyone else only knew that she'd ran away when she was younger. They didn’t know she'd taken her own life and that Josh had found her. Judging by Ali’s reaction in the mirror, she knew she’d crossed a line, and it would be best for her to stop talking right now. I glanced at Josh after I was sure Ali was done talking. His mouth was closed, and he was staring out the window. I was sure he was retracing his steps home that day and walking into his broken home to find his sister dead. I didn’t want to draw attention to him and put him on the spot because I could see he was trying to keep it all to himself.
The rest of our drive home was quiet. I tried to think of how to punish Ali for her verbal attack that was completely uncalled for. She needed to learn.
“Both of you go upstairs to our room, undress, and don’t talk to one another,” I instructed as I held the door open for them.
I followed Josh and Ali up the stairs and while they began to undress, I went into the closet to get a few neck ties. With the ties in my hands, I returned to the bedroom.
“Ali, kneel in front of the dresser and face the bed. Josh, sit on the foot of the bed, facing Ali.”
Once Ali knelt, I crouched next to her and pushed down on her shoulders so she’d sit back on her heels.
“Hands behind your back, Ali.” I wrapped her forearms and wrists in the tie, binding them together. “Since you felt you needed to jab and cut down Josh, you can sit here and watch me give Josh some attention.” I traced my fingertip along her bottom lip. “Remember, I don’t reward bad behavior.”
I removed my clothes and climbed on the bed. I knelt behind Josh, took some of his hair in my hand, and tilted his head backward. Our mouths collided, picking up where we’d left off while at James’ house. I slowly rubbed and massaged Josh’s chest and tight abs, making sure Ali saw the attention that Josh was getting. I forced a slow pace of our kiss. Kissing Josh had become one of my favorite things to do. His kisses were always sensual and passionate. Ali’s could be too, but Josh’s always were.
