I blink several times, totally caught off-guard. “Huh?”
“You were the one that wanted to play Go Fish,” he says, his lips tilting upward. Did he just do that on purpose? Did GI Asshole just read my building need like a book, and thenplay me?I take in the smirk on his face, and a resoundingyeschimes in my head. This alpha dick knowsexactlyhow much I’m dying to play with his .44 Magnum, and judging by the look on his face, teasing me and making my body respond to him is exactly what he’s trying to do.
My eyes flick down to my cards and I groan. “You motherfucker.”
He laughs, and it’s the first time I’ve heard him do it. I swear, the noise makes my clit put on a skimpy dress and go clubbing, pulsing with the beat and begging to be grinded on. I puff out my cheeks and then blow out a breath as I pass him over all three of my aces, feeling both sexually frustrated and competitively frustrated, because now I’m losing, dammit.
Madix asks Theo for threes, and then sets the last remaining cards in his hands on the ground and declares himself the winner. Gah, he’s even hot when he’s smug.
We all groan in protest, and Brant starts to collect the cards and reshuffle them. Theo repositions himself on the log that Brant dragged over, but I can tell he’s uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure it’s his leg, since he keeps rubbing at his left thigh, and I want to ask if he’s okay, but I don’t want to be a prick and shove my nose in business that he clearly doesn’t want to share, or embarrass him in any way.
Brant and Madix both give him a concerned once-over, but their lips stay sealed, and it’s obvious that they’re feeling exactly like I am. Once again, Theo’s hand snakes down, and he rubs at his thigh. Fuck it. I was never one for pussy footing around anything.
“Is your leg bothering you?” I ask, and Theo’s eyes shoot up to my face.
He looks at me for a minute, and then narrows his eyes at Madix and then Brant. I shake my head at his assumption. “They didn’t tell me anything. I put two and two together when your tracks in the mud weren’t the same depth, which meant the weight distribution was slightly different. And at home, Coon tried to give your leg a proper humping under the table, and you didn't feel it.”
Theo chuckles nervously, shooting a glare at the pet carrier that’s sitting on the other side of the fire. He rubs the back of his neck with his palm, and I can feel the debate going on inside of him. “Oh, what the hell,” he announces, and then pulls up the leg of his pants. I watch as he presses a button on the side of the prosthetic, and it disconnects from a strap that looks like it’s still attached to his leg. I’ve never seen a prosthetic before, and I’m curious about how it works, but I don’t know if it will make him feel more awkward if I ask questions. My curiosity must be written all over my face, because Theo starts to explain things.
“This is the socket. It’s where my residual limb or stump connects.” He pulls off a white covering on his leg. “This is a sock that adds volume to my leg, so that the socket fits better. And this is a liner that has a strip glued to it that attaches to the socket and kind of keeps it all together so that it doesn’t come off.” Theo slides the liner down his leg, and it rolls off until it’s inside out. He sets everything on the tarp, and I run my gaze over his injury. He has about four or five inches of leg below his knee, and a lot of scarring at the stump, as well as on his knee and the part of his thigh that I can see.
The sight sends a twinge of sympathy through me. I can’t even imagine how difficult it would be to go through whatever caused his injury, and then have to recover from it. Theo catches my inspection, and his eyes run over my face, looking for something.
“Shrapnel shredded my leg. They couldn’t save the bottom part.”
“Does it still hurt?” I ask, holding his green eyed gaze.
“Sometimes it swells and shrinks, which effects the fit of the socket, and that can make things uncomfortable. I haven’t been this active since my injury, so I’m sore, but I think I just need to rest and let my limb breathe, which I haven’t been doing as much as I should lately.”
“Why not?” I question.
Theo hesitates for a second and his eyes flit briefly to Brant and Madix. “I didn’t want to draw attention to it.”
I nod my head and then get up to move and plop down directly in front of him. “When my feet are sore, I like it when someone rubs them. Would that help at all?”
He leans away from me just slightly, and I can tell he’s not sure what to do or say, so I stay quiet and give him time to process and decide what he wants to do. He looks to Madix, like he’ll find direction there, but I don’t take my eyes from Theo’s to see what Madix silently communicates. Theo looks at me again, and for the second time, I get the impression that he’s looking for something in my face—some kind of reaction, but I don’t know if he finds it or not in my calm features.
“Umm, I guess...but you don’t have to, if you don’t want to,” he adds quickly, and I can hear the uncertainty in his voice that’s matched by the vulnerability I see in his face.
“Oh, you’re not getting off scot-free. I fully expect the foot rub to be reciprocated. I mean, don’t be selfish,” I tease him, placing my hands on his leg.
I push up his cargo pants and start on his thigh, which seems to surprise him for some reason, but it’s what he’s been rubbing at all night, so I figure it’s as good a place as any to start. I massage the muscles slowly, and run my hands up and down in the direction they run. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I do have a body, and I know what feels good to me, so I just go with it.
I rub up and down his thigh, ignoring the tenting that starts in his pants when I move up higher. I roam over his knee and then gently rub at the bottom of his residual limb. I pay attention to his body, focusing on areas that make him flinch, and try to work out the soreness with a mixture of steady pressure and gentle motion.
Slowly, I feel him relax under my hands, and when I feel like I’ve done all I can, I move to his other leg, untie his boots, and then rub his foot, calf, and lower thigh. This seems to surprise him, too, but he doesn’t say anything as I work. Oddly enough, no one does. Brant and Madix are quietly watching me, but the silence doesn’t feel awkward or pressing. It feels relaxed and peaceful. I don’t know how long I’ve been at it, but my hands are sore by the time I finish my awesome rub down. I lean back with a satisfied smile. When I look up again, I see Theo staring at me, an astonished look on his face.
“What?” I ask, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
He shakes his head like he’s trying to clear it. “Nothing.”
When I look back at the other guys, they’re watching me with the same look of astonishment that’s on Theo’s face. The moment suddenly feels heavy with meaning, and I’m not sure what to make of it. Things feel entirely too serious right now, so I do what I do best and go for a laugh to lighten things up. I start to lift my foot up into Theo’s lap so that I can claim that it’s my turn, but a weird sound comes from the pet carrier, interrupting me. It’s a very weird kind of chirping that I’ve never heard before, so I immediately crawl over to peek inside.
I gasp and my brows shoot up in surprise. I quickly cover my eyes and spin around with a squeak. Brant gives me a quizzical one, and he moves towards me.
“Don’t look!” I warn him, my voice a higher pitch than it normally is. “I’ve read the situationverywrong. They’re not her kids. They’re her mates!” I blurt out.
The guys look at me, and I shake my head, peeking at them from between my fingers.
