Page 20 of Their Pup to Tame

“Damn…it’s like that, huh?”

“You know it.”

“Game on then, pup. We’ll see who’s squealing for mercy in the end,” I shot back.

“If you last that long.”

“Did I hear yet another challenge issued by the rogue of the hour?” Aspen asked when he returned with the can.

“You did,” Phoenix replied. “He can’t seem to stop stirring up shit tonight. Maybe it’s time to rethink that whole proposal you made earlier, about a gag.”

Had he just…

That smirk matched the one on Aspen’s face when he paused to stare at me, whipped cream in one hand, the other stroking his chin.

“I do have a small purple one shaped like a thumb,” Aspen offered. “Still in the package. It’s all yours if you want it.”

Yup. Phoenix had just tossed me under the bus, and I was about to ask Aspen to throw it in reverse and back over me.

“Grab it,” I growled.

It was like we were playing truth or dare without the questions, upping the ante with every challenge. Speaking of which…

“If you’ve got clamps, grab those too. I’ll wear them if no one else wants to.”

“Fuck that, those are mine!” Phoenix growled.

“Demanding pup,” I said while I still had the chance to talk to him.

“You’re damn skippy,” he replied. “Besides, the longer that can sits there, the warmer it’s gonna get, so I’m down for whatever he wants to hunt up in there.”

“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?” I said and picked up the can.

I took it back to the kitchen and stuck it in the freezer, making sure to rattle the ice tub around so he’d know where I put it. Sure enough, he was glaring at the doorway when I came through it.

“Now that was uncalled for!” he declared, pouting.

He’d shed his t-shirt while I was gone and lay with the blanket half over him, one leg sticking out. I hoped it wasn’t becausehe was trying to hide his scars; there was no need for that, not around me. I loved getting to be in the same room as him, laughing and giving one another shit. Whatever marks had been left on him by his attacker were just proof of what had molded him into the viciously protective man I knew him to be.

No one was hurting the people he cared about, especially not when he could do something to prevent it. I got why he felt like he was obligated to work there. He was driven by a need to see that what had happened to him didn’t happen to anybody else.

Aspen returned before I could say anything, which was probably for the best, before I blurted something that inadvertently killed the mood. While I hated to see Phoenix get hurt, I knew from my own stubborn past that harping on the same point over and over just led to the other person digging their heels in and maybe even getting hurt worse in the process.

“For contestant number one, we have a neon-purple thumb gag with adjustable straps,” Aspen declared as he unwrapped it and then held it up like he was showing off a prize onThe Price Is Right, hand gestures and everything.

“Let’s see how it fits, shall we?” he asked as he stepped in front of me. “Still good?”

“Still as green as lime skittles,” I replied, before parting my lips and allowing him to fit the gag in my mouth.

He took his time adjusting the straps, occasionally moving my hair out of the way until he was certain it wouldn’t get caught on anything.

“And for contestant number two, we have these pear-shaped, weighted clamps guaranteed to provide a bit of pain with your pleasure, especially when you’re on all fours.”

“Yes, please,” Phoenix replied.

Aspen made sure the pear-shaped weights hung to the side once he’d positioned them. He licked the tip of each nipple, making Phoenix groan and raise his hips.

“Oh, we’ll get to that in a minute,” Aspen promised, pinning his hips to the couch as he straightened up.