Page 26 of Healing Hazel
“Thank you for dinner,” Hazel said, holding her hand out to Wes who totally ignored it.
“Friends don’t shake,” he said, pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her. “It’s been such a pleasure seeing you again, Hazel.”
“You mean not as yet another patient,” she tried but he instantly shut her down.
“I mean exactly what I say. How we met doesn’t matter…”
When Hazel’s mouth opened, his eyebrow shot skyward. “What matters, young lady, is that you are no longer that patient or that woman. And don’t even bother saying otherwise. I saw the proof of that the moment I opened the door to the lounge?—”
“I told you he saw!” Hazel said, cutting him off and turning to swat at me.
I easily captured her hand and drew her out of Wes’ arms and into mine. “And as I told you, he doesn’t care. Naked or clothed, you’re a friend.”
“Listen to your Dom, Hazel. And once a friend, always a friend,” Wes said.
Mira laughed and shook her head, pulling Hazel from my arms and into hers. “Don’t pay them any attention. Sometimes men just have no manners, especially kinky men. That’s why we love them so, right?”
“Hmmmm…”
“Hey,” I said, sticking my bottom lip out in a pout.
Hazel laughed. “Let’s just say they do have a tendency to wiggle their way into one’s heart.”
“That’s good enough for now,” Mira said. “Don’t forget, lunch next week, and don’t even bother to try to make excuses. I’mwell aware of how one tends to forget to eat, especially when cramming for finals, but you need the fuel.”
And the ear…
She didn’t say those words, but the look the two women exchanged said it for them both.
“I won’t forget, and again, thanks for tonight. I had a great time.”
“You sure you don’t wanna stay the night?” Wes asked. “I can hang a sign on that lounge door.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, but Hazel even turned down a night there,” I said, nodding toward the hotel behind us. “She’s determined not to miss any classes or work, even though I told her we were covered.”
“Beautiful, smart, and dedicated,” Wes said with a smile. “We sure can’t ask more than that, can we?”
“Nope, that pretty much covers it all,” I agreed. With a final round of hugs and kissed cheeks, we left them and hailed a cab to take us back to the hospital parking lot. I wasn’t thrilled with the fact that we weren’t driving back to Rawhide together, but logically I knew it was necessary as we’d both driven to Butte in our own vehicles.
“I’ll follow you and, young lady, if I see you speeding, you can expect a round of swats for every mile over the speed limit.”
She laughed. “Are you telling me you’ve got some sort of radar gun in your truck. Dr. Berringer?”
“Nope, I’m telling you that Master Nigel has the ability to know when his submissive is testing her limits. Speed if you want to try my radar out, but just know you’ll be sleeping on your tummy because your arse will be on fire. Understood?”
Her eyes widened, but her lips curled and I was sure that if I slipped a hand into her jeans, I’d find her panties damp.
“Fine, I’ll drive like a grannie.”
“Oh hell no, you won’t! My gran has gotten so many speeding tickets she could paper her parlor. And it’s ‘yes, Sir,’ not ‘fine,’ got it?”
“Yes, Sir,” she said, her eyes shining.
“Good girl,” I said, bending to kiss her after she’d slid into her car and buckled her seat belt. “And no texting or calling or…”
“Good grief, I’m twenty-four, not sixteen and I managed to drive here all by myself without a bunch of blah-blah-blah?—”
“That’s one round.”
