Protecting His Subs Read online

  “I have an idea,” Felix said quickly. “Neither one of you will like it, but I know for a fact that Jackson is made of some sturdy stuff.”

  “What’s that?” Abigail asked as she pulled out IV equipment.

  “Let’s hold off on the IV for right now,” Felix offered. “If we can get Mr. Malone to his feet, we can have him go up the stairs at his own pace. I think it’ll be a bit easier on him than being juggled about on the gurney.”

  “That’s not a good idea, Ramirez. We’d be looking at a lawsuit.” The woman didn’t realize how submissive she was when she spoke to Felix. And, she was cute doing it.

  “After what I’ve been through in my life, going up the stairs is going to be a walk in the park. I swear there will be no lawsuit.” That was all Jackson could give them, but Felix was right. The gurney trip up the stairs was going to be a bitch.

  * * * *

  Nibbling on her bottom lip, as she did whenever she was nervous or thinking hard about something, Abigail thought about what had been said. Her stomach was doing somersaults, for the man before her was looking at her as if he wanted to eat her up.

  Cobalt-blue eyes were watching her intently as if she was the only person in the room causing her nervousness. Of course, the nervousness could be caused by what she had seen when walking through the building upstairs.

  Ramirez had warned her when they had arrived that this was a special club, and anything she saw here was of the utmost secrecy. That the man had a key to the building was a further surprise.

  Wooden equipment like large X’s, and benches made of wood and leather stood scattered around the large expanse. There were ropes and chains hanging from the ceilings. It looked as if torture was conducted within the walls of the building. However, Abigail’s stomach was churning in confusion and fear. She had to wonder what kind of people patronized a club like this.

  Now, kneeling next to the man before her, her panties were getting wet as she looked at Jackson, and if her shirt wasn’t so baggy, he would have been able to see that her nipples were hard as pebbles. She didn’t know why this man was turning her long-silent libido on.

  “Abigail!” She heard Ramirez’s voice filter through her thoughts. She really needed to get herself together since this was the second time that she spaced out in her thoughts.

  “Yes, I’m sorry. Just thinking.”

  There was no open wound on Mr. Malone, so there wasn’t a worry about bleeding. She was more worried about his strength. Would he be able to support himself if he went up the stairs himself?

  By the looks of the muscles Jackson Malone sported under the T-shirt he wore, he could hold himself up. Thick bicep muscles were barely hidden by the cottony material along with wide shoulders. His chest was wide and, from what she could see, most likely hard. He was no stranger to working out, and she hated that her body was betraying her.

  Uncertain about this, she turned to her superior. Ramirez knew this man. He should be the one who made the decision. “I can’t make the call, Ramirez. You’ll have to do it.”

  “Coward,” her partner murmured as he cleared the area of their bags. He sounded amused at her statement, and the man before her smirked as her partner asked, “Would you be able to maneuver up the stairs?”

  Jackson’s gaze never left hers as he answered his friend. “I’m sure I can.”

  “Good,” Ramirez said as he shifted. “This is going to be painful for you, but we’ll get you up the stairs.”

  Abigail looked around the area and spotted the elevator. “Why can’t we use the elevator?”

  “It’s broken. The repairman is supposed to be here next week. Since it’s not used much except to get up to the upper floors, it’s not an emergency,” Jackson explained as he let Ramirez try to let him up. Of course, now, since his apartment was on the upper floor, it had turned urgent. He was going to need it when he got out of the hospital.

  Jackson grabbed hold of the stair rail. The muscles of his arm tightened and lengthened as he pulled himself up on his one good leg with Felix spotting him. Groans amongst some swear words were audible, although Abigail was certain they weren’t supposed to be.

  Gathering up the supplies, she and Ramirez had already removed from their bags, her eyes scanned the floor around her. Heat rose within her as she eyed the dildos lying around. But what are the other things? she had to ask herself. Shifting a bit herself, she moved closer to a package and took an extra-long look at it.

  The item in the package was a silicone cone-shaped item with a wider, flatter part under a thinner piece that connected the two. The cone-shaped item was ribbed. A gasp escaped her when she read the product name. Ribbed butt plug.

  Again, the heat that had touched her face before was now sweeping through her body. What kind of club was this that tortured people with butt plugs?

  The groans had stopped coming from the stairs. Looking up at the two men, who were about halfway up, she found they were both looking down at her, amused expressions on their faces.

  Flabbergasted, Abigail hurriedly put away their supplies and picked up one of the bags. She would return for the other two once she had the first one at the top of the stairs. This was too much for her.

  Chapter One

  “Damn, this winter has turned out to be a bitch!” Tinker said as he stormed through Abigail’s front door. He closed it a bit too hard, causing him to flinch as he toed off his boots. “Sorry.”

  Abigail was sitting in front of the fireplace on the floor, her back to him. When she didn’t turn around at his approach, he knew she was absorbed in one of her audiobooks.

  Ever since she responded to a call six weeks ago, she had been listening to them a lot. When he’d ask why, she would just laugh it off, telling him that he was being silly.

  He had seen her Kindle app one day and saw some of the titles she had been ordering. Shock had overtaken him, that the straight-laced Abigail Winters he knew was listening to, and reading, erotica.

  It had been about three years ago that they had met when Tinker was moving in. It had been a rainy day in Denver when he and some friends were trying to get his belongings into his new apartment without too much getting wet. They were coming up the stairs to the second floor with his canvas-covered couch as she was getting ready to go down.

  A cute shriek had emanated from the woman, and she backed up the stairs to give them room. Abigail immediately went back to her apartment and returned about a minute later with a blue tarp and was offering it to them.

  “Here, use this to keep everything dry.” As she handed it to Tinker, their hands brushed, and electricity sparked between them.

  Looking up at the woman, he found a golden blonde halo of hair around her face. Her hair was long, hanging down her back and over her shoulders. It looked like there was a natural curl to it for it seemed to be going all over the place. Pale blue eyes sparkled as she smiled. Her skin was pale, like milk, and Tinker had to wonder what she looked like without her clothes on.

  Jeans that were a bit tight for her body type yet showed off her magnificent ass, and a loose sweatshirt that had him wondering again what she looked like under it. She looked as if she had some meat on her bones, the kind of woman he liked.

  He liked his women with meat on them, and he liked his men tall, muscular, handsome, and dominant. When he was in high school, his parents couldn’t understand why Tinker couldn’t come home with a sweet young lady that he could date and then one day marry. Tinker had sat them down and informed his parents that he liked boys.

  His father was an instructor at the Air Force Academy, and he was confused on how his son turned out gay. After a comment like that, Tinker didn’t want to rock the boat and tell them that he liked boys and girls. If he ever did find a woman he could fall in love with, he would make his parents happy.

  The woman before him could very well meet that criteria.

  A throat being cleared behind him brought his attention back to reality. “Uh, sorry,” he said quickly as he accep
ted the tarp. He smiled at her. “Thank you. I’ll get it back to you once I get it dry.”

  She giggled slightly as she reached out and pulled him aside on the second-story walkway. His friends continued up the steps carrying his couch and then passed them, making their way to his new apartment.

  “Don’t worry about it. I don’t need it back anytime soon.” Her voice was heavenly as it seemed to call to his cock.

  Awkward! Damn, I don’t need this happening right now! Tinker knew he would never hear the end of it if his friends saw him with a hard-on. He had fooled around with all of them at one time or another, but nothing serious came about. They knew that he had played with each of them, so there was no jealousy there. They would just laugh at him for having a boner in public.

  Flustered, he extended his hand to her. “I’m Tinker, your new neighbor.”

  The lady looked at him, one golden brow raised. She was amused, as most people were when they found out his nickname. “Tinker?”

  He knew what she thought. Everyone did. It had nothing to do with a certain Disney character dressed in green.

  “I like to tinker around tools. I am a journeyman for the power company, but in my off time, I like to make furniture, and other things.” The other things were making dildos and butt plugs out of wood, but since they had just met, he wasn’t going to open that can of worms.

  She reached out and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Tinker. I’m Abigail. Welcome to the building.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, too, Abigail. And,” he added, “thank you.”

  Holding her hand in his had his heart racing and his breathing increasing. He had never had a spark fly as much as it had with Abigail. In that moment, he knew he was in love.

  It was in that moment that his current boyfriend walked up the stairs. “Hey there, lover,” the newly arrived man said with emotion. The man reached up and turned Tinker’s face to him and gave him a searing kiss on the lips.

  Tinker could have pushed his friend and current lover down those stairs in that moment. They were together to be together, not because of love, and here his friend had stamped his claim on Tinker. Disappointment slammed into him, and he knew he would never have the relationship with Abigail that he wanted. He broke up with the guy the next day.

  He opted to be her friend. Over time, they would meet here and there on the stairs, or in the laundry room. After a while, they would have dinner together, or go to the movies together. They would spend snowy days in her living room playing board games or cards in front of the fireplace. They were best friends, even though he wanted more.

  Tinker touched Abigail’s shoulder, hoping she wasn’t going to freak out. She did before she looked up at him.

  “Jeez, Tinker! Don’t do that!” Abigail took her earbuds out of her ears as she spoke. She turned her back to the fire. She looked him over. “Snow must be coming down pretty hard,” she observed.

  Snow stuck to his coat, and he knew there were most likely flakes stuck in his hair. He removed his coat, pulled one of the chairs from the dining area into the kitchen, and then slung the garment over the back of the chair.

  “Yeah, it’s really coming down out there.” He grabbed a beer from the fridge—they were only there for him—and went over to settle himself next to her in front of the fire.

  Abigail wrapped her earbuds around her tablet and set it aside. “I shouldn’t have procrastinated and went shopping long before now,” she said sadly. “I’m pretty much out of everything.”

  “I saw that. I’ve got some stuff we can put together.” Tinker took a swig. “Besides, we can always call in for something.”

  He loved when she snorted. It was so unladylike, and she would be the first to admit she wasn’t like that.

  “I wouldn’t want anyone to be out in this weather because of me. I’ve worked too many storms like this and seen too much. We’ll see what we can put together.” She was right, and Tinker knew it.

  Tired of pretending he wasn’t aware of her new hobby, Tinker finally had to ask, “All right, Abi. You’ve been reading erotica for a month and a half now. What’s changed? What got you interested?”

  If Abigail had been sitting closer to the fire, Tinker would have thought the redness that consumed her face and neck was from the heat. It was from internal heat, and he liked that he had put it there in some way.

  Although she was sitting in front of the fire, Abigail wore a sweater of bright yellow. Navy-blue sweatpants was what else she wore besides a pair of booties with thick blue socks. Her hair was up in a ponytail, as usual, and no makeup marred her face. To Tinker, she looked so beautiful when she was carefree like this.

  She shrugged. “There are things I can’t tell you about, like where we were because of privacy. But we answered a call for a man down with a broken leg. While we were trying to get him out of there, I saw some things that…” If Tinker wasn’t mistaken, Abigail turned redder. “Well…”

  This must be something good if she’s this flustered! He was amused by how she was acting.

  “I noticed there was this…stuff that people used for…”

  * * * *

  Damn Tinker! He would have to ask her about why she was readying her new stories. How was she supposed to explain this to him without outing the patient or Felix? Tinker and Felix had met up on many occasions, such as when Felix picked her up for work, or when Abigail would take Tinker to barbecues at Felix’s house.

  A heavy knock on the door saved Abigail from answering Tinker’s question, but brought up another question. Who could be at the door during this weather? Of course, it could be a neighbor who needed something, and if she had it, she was always willing to share.

  Tinker jumped to his feet and rushed over to the door. He opened it and lost hold of it when the wind blew it inward, slamming it against the wall.

  “Damn it!” Tinker exclaimed as he grabbed hold of the door. “Hey, Felix.” Tinker sounded less than happy to see the man.

  Felix must have taken the open door and Tinker’s acknowledgment as an invitation to enter, for he did just that. However, he wasn’t alone. “Hello, Tinker,” Felix responded as he passed him

  Abigail groaned out her frustration as Jackson Malone followed Felix inside. In Jackson’s hands was a large basket wrapped in pink cellophane with a large purple bow holding it all together.

  “Hello, Abigail,” Felix said as he made a beeline for her.

  Thankfully she was on her feet by the time he reached her, a slight limp in his gait, for he still was a good six inches taller than her. With him as muscular as he was, she felt dwarfed by him. Now that Jackson was in her house, and he was a couple inches taller than Felix, she felt petite.

  “Hey there, Felix. What brings you guys by in this weather?” she asked as she smoothed down the front of her sweater.

  With the weather the way it was, Abigail had decided to stay in and just veg all day. The fire had been blazing since she had gotten up this morning, so she didn’t have to run the heater. Tinker and his friends had stocked her balcony with firewood over the past weekend in anticipation of the incoming storm, and she was thankful they had.

  Dressing in sweats and a sweater, she felt frumpy in front of Felix and his friend.

  Felix came to stand next to Abigail and turned to gesture toward his guest. “Abigail, you remember Jackson Malone?”

  “Yes!” she exclaimed, and then kicked herself for sounding like a giddy schoolgirl. Clearing her throat, she told herself to settle down as she looked the man up and down. Nodding at Jackson, she replied, “Yes. I see you have recovered.”

  Jackson stepped into her comfort zone, causing her to have to look up at the man. His smile was dazzling with straight white teeth behind full lips that looked oh so kissable.

  “Yes, I have.” He held the basket out to her. “I wanted to bring this to you to show my thanks. I know the situation wasn’t the best, but you came through.”

  Heat rose internally from Abigail’s chest, up thr
ough her neck, and into her face. Every time she thought about Jackson Malone, and she thought about him a lot, she would blush. She didn’t know why, but the man got her hot and bothered.

  If Jackson noticed her current state, he was kind enough not to say anything. He was still holding the basket, looking at her with that damn smile that could get a nun to masturbate.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” she reprimanded as she accepted it. “A simple thank you would suffice.”

  “Nonsense. You are not a simple lady, therefore, you deserve something special.”

  His words were nearly a chastisement, but also a compliment. For a moment, she thought perhaps he was flirting with her. Needing to not offend, she placed it on the coffee table next to her.

  “Thank you,” she said, her eyes lowering.

  Tinker was back at her side now that he had fought the door and closed it. For the first time, Abigail felt territorial and wanted Tinker to leave, for it almost seemed as if he was trying to lay claim to her with the new man in the house.

  There was an awkward pause, and when Abigail looked up to see what was going on, she found Jackson and Tinker looking at each other. At first, she thought it was because pleasantries weren’t presented yet, but she also felt a thread of sexual tension between them.

  Had she been wrong that Jackson had looked at her that night with the eye of a tiger, wanting to eat her up? He was looking at Tinker as if he could get on his knees and give the man a blow job.

  The air suddenly took on a sexual air, and Abigail felt uncomfortable. Glancing up at Felix, she hoped she didn’t give him an evil eye. She wanted to see if he noticed what was going on.

  “Jackson, this is Tinker. He lives here in the building and has been friends with Abigail for about three years now. Tinker, this is Jackson Malone. He’s a gentleman we had to attend to a while back. The situation was a bit tricky because the electricity had gone out and he was in the basement.” Felix was rambling a bit, as if the situation was a bit abnormal and uncomfortable for him.