The Hardest Wager 17/18
See disclaimers in part one
The Hardest Wager 17/18
This was not going as planned. He realized that the moment he’d stopped them outside the door. Already his mind was replaying the event and seeing all the ways he could have done better. Not that it was a total loss. Yet.
“It may seem like I’ve gone over the deep end.” He held both hands up to ward off, or perhaps dilute, the glare in Donna’s eyes. His heart sank when there was no reaction from her. “God,” he sighed, dropping his head into his hands, “if ever there was a time when I needed you to be in tune with me, it’s now.”
Chester leaned his full weight against Josh’s side and placed his head on the man’s thigh. Either begging attention or possibly offering moral support; Josh couldn’t discern which. Accepting the latter and offering the former, Josh placed his hand on the dog’s head and began rubbing Chester beneath one ear. Chester responded by closing his eyes and giving in to the bliss.
“Okay. Back in the car you said that you were angry with me.”
“No,” Josh corrected. “I said I was angry with me…and then I was angry with you.”
“Explain.”
“When you said you’d be okay with what you said you’d be okay with, I just went with it. I guess because it seemed like the easiest thing to do at the time. Or maybe because I was feeling a lot of pressure and that seemed to alleviate it. Briefly.”
“And that made you angry…why?”
“I let you down, Donna.”
“What?” Donna asked, incredulously, torn between confusion and laughter.
“I remember that night I asked if you were really okay with not having more and you said, ‘I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do.’ If you think about it that really didn’t answer my question.” Josh’s voice trailed off for a moment before he began speaking again. “And the thing is…I was so busy feeling relieved, I never bothered to ask what you needed. What you wanted. That’s when I let you down, Donna.”
“So that’s why you were angry?”
“Part of it…yeah.”
“What’s the other part of it? Why were angry with me?”
“Because you said all that in the first place. You said it because you thought that’s what I needed to hear, not because that’s how you really felt.”
“Why should that make you angry?”
“Here’s the thing…for as long as I’ve known you…you’ve been the most selfless person I’ve ever met. From the moment we met you gave me your all. You put up with crap from me when most people would have given me a well-deserved kick in the ass. And that night you were doing it again. Selflessly throwing yourself on the proverbial sword and - worst of all - I let you.” He took a fortifying breath and then plunged back in. “I don’t want you to make any more sacrifices because you think that’s what I need. I don’t want you to lock away your hopes and dreams because…I don’t know…you think you might lose me or something crazy like that. Because…let’s face it…I need you a hell of lot more than you need me.”
“Josh, I-“
“When we spent that week in Hawaii, I told you that I was going all in. I meant that. I want a life with you, because I still remember what it was like when we were apart and I don’t want a repeat of that…ever. So, if you need something, you want to get married, you want to have a baby, you tell me. You don’t pretend to my face that you’re okay with settling for the alternative.”
“Really?” Donna’s eyes glistened with moisture and Josh stretched his other hand across the table to take hers.
“I love you, Donna, and it’s time I started proving that in ways that have nothing to do with taking off your clothes.”
Donna laughed, the sound of tears clogging her throat. “It’s not that I want to have a baby right now,” she cried.
“It’s not?”
“I admit it’s been hard dealing with the First Lady’s pregnancy. And there were times when I was so…jealous of her.” Donna sniffed and cleared her throat to ease the tightness there. “I was sad that we shut the door on the possibility.”
“Then tell me what you need.”
“I need to leave the door open, Josh.”
Josh smirked, his dimples coming out in full force, as his hand gripped hers more tightly. “Now, see? Was that so hard?”
“A little, yeah.” Donna paused, glancing down at Chester who was still blissed out by Josh’s unconscious attentions. “Josh? None of this explains why you got yourself a dog.”
“Us,” he corrected. “I got *us* a dog.”
“Why was that again?”
“It’s my grand gesture.”
“Your grand gesture.”
“Exactly. I thought about taking you someplace romantic, like the Arboretum. But I can’t think about the Arboretum without remembering the night Zoey was taken. I even thought about buying us a house, but that didn’t turn out so well for Toby.”
“Plus, you know I’d have your balls in a vice if you did that without asking.”
“Yes, the distinct possibility was mentioned.” Josh grimaced at the gut-curling imagery her words evoked. “When you said I wasn’t ready for more you weren’t wrong, but you weren’t entirely correct either.”
“A lot of that seems to be going around.”
“It was just a little too much, too soon. So I thought we could start small. You know, move in together, which we’ve already done. Get a pet. Check. Get married at some point in the not-too-distant future. Buy a house. Start a family somewhere down the line. Baby steps - no pun intended.”
“So…Chester here symbolizes your desire to…move forward?”
“I knew you’d get it.”
“But, Josh? A dog? That’s a huge commitment.” Donna pointed out.
“Not as much as having a child,” he countered.
“Fair point.”
“I thought you liked dogs.”
“I do. I just wish we’d talked about it first.”
“That’s the downside with grand gestures. They’re meant to be a surprise.”
“Mission accomplished.” Donna examined the dog more closely from her sitting position, and then something in her eyes changed. The harsh tension that had been there since she’d seen Chester, dissipated and her expression melted. “He is kind of adorable. You said he’s trained?”
“And housebroken.” It occurred to Josh that there would be no better time to sell her on his decision and launched into his pitch. “I got him through a rescue organization in Maryland that Erin’s sister works for. After my game with Charlie, I called Erin for some advice. She was pissed that I called her on a Sunday though, can you imagine?”
“Yes, I can,” Donna deadpanned.
“She calmed down once she realized I wasn’t asking her to work. When I explained what I wanted she fell all over herself trying to help. Anyway, she got me an appointment to go to the kennel at noon.”
“You did all this today?”
“Yeah, it didn’t take as long as I thought. I looked at a couple of dogs before they showed me Chester. I mentioned that Chester was a great name for a dog and Erin’s sister said that he was actually a registered golden and that Chester was just a shortened version of his name. When she told me his real name that’s when I knew he was the one. It was kismet.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s his real name?”
“Manchester Promise,” Josh revealed. Donna’s smile brimmed with understanding. “So, I said I’d take him. I filled out the paperwork and paid all the fees, and they even gave me a bunch of stuff to go with him.”
“Stuff?”
“Yeah, there’s a crate and a leash and a giant bag of dog food. We have to get him some toys though; otherwise he really will tear up the place. Erin’s sister said that if he has plenty of things to chew on, he’s less likely to chew on other stuff.”
Donna held out a hand and snapped her fingers. Chester’s head swiveled in her direction, then back to Josh, mentally debated which human was most likely to give the best scratch. Donna snapped again, somehow making it known that it was a demand and not a request. Chester lowered his head submissively and left Josh’s side for Donna’s. “Sit. Good boy,” she cooed, when Chester obeyed.
“You’re really good at that.”
“I’ve had years of practice. It’s all about letting them know who the alpha is.”
“Suddenly many things about our relationship make sense.”
“Look who’s finally catching up,” Donna rolled her eyes humorously, while still scratching behind Chester’s ears.
“I want to marry you, Donna.”
Donna’s head snapped up. “What?” she choked.
“Look, I’m no good at this stuff, and at this point there’s no reason to believe I ever will be. I thought of a hundred different scenarios that were all incredibly romantic, but none of them seemed right. None of them were…me.”
“And this is…you?”
“Let me put this as simply as I can. I’m unromantic, and when I try to be I’m no good at pulling it off. I’m always going to be saying the wrong thing, especially when I want it to be right. I want to marry you. I want to have all those things with you that we talked about. I’m not ready for all of it yet, but I promise to try to be. I promise to work on not being so scared. This is me, Donna. For better or for worse. Take it or leave it.” Josh ran out of breath then, and was unable to inhale until Donna gave her answer.
“Oh, I’ll take it.”
*****
Following Josh’s unconventional proposal and her happy acceptance, they talked of their fears in a manner they’d never done before - taking their partnership to what she considered a new level of intimacy. The talk had left them both emotional, and Donna had eventually suggested that Josh take Chester for a walk. He’d hastily agreed, something she might have found suspect had she not known that he was looking for an excuse to be alone, to pull himself together.
While Josh took Chester for a much needed walk Donna showered and changed into her pajamas before she went about creating a comfortable nook for the their new dog to sleep. The crate she placed in a corner of the living room and inside she layered a few old towels that remained from Josh’s ‘bachelor’ days, as well as an old terry cloth bathrobe she’d replaced but hadn’t gotten around to getting rid of yet.
Paperwork was right. Her task completed, Donna perused the packet of items that came with Chester, including advice on the care and feeding of golden retrievers, medical records, and a brief history of their new pet.
Chester had once belonged to a retired couple of empty nesters who had purchased him in hopes that he would provide companionship and love. From the accounts, Chester had fulfilled their wishes for the first three years of his life. And then, without warning, tragedy struck.
Early one morning, a fire had broken out in the couple’s home. Trapped in his crate in the mudroom, Chester could do nothing but bark and whine. By the time rescue workers had arrived much of the home had been destroyed, and Chester’s beloved owners were dead. The dog was found, unconscious from smoke inhalation, by responding firefighters who provided oxygen to bring him around. He was taken to an emergency veterinarian until his owners’ next of kin could be notified.
The couples’ daughter (name withheld) unable to cope with her parents death had decided to surrender the dog to the rescue in hopes that he would find a new forever home.
Donna’s heart, understandably raw from her earlier talk with Josh, went out to Chester when she read his story and she couldn’t help but wonder if the history she was reading was another reason Josh chose this particular dog. Chester wasn’t the only one in this “family” that had nearly lost everything in a fire.
One of his fears they had discussed had been the fear of loving and then losing a child. He was intimately familiar with the aftermath of such a horror.
Donna was folding the paperwork and returning it to the envelope when she heard Josh and Chester at the door.
Smiling, she soaked in the sight of ‘her boys’. Josh looked a little worse for the wear, while Chester was energized. The dog had the leash clipped to his collar, but his teeth gripped the leash about halfway up and he was embroiled in a one-sided game of tug-of-war with Josh.
“How did it go?” she snickered.
“Great!” Josh answered sarcastically. “Although there could be some debate over who was walking whom.”
“You have to be firm,” she reminded him. “You have to show him who’s boss.” With a sultry tone and bedroom eyes she continued, “I know you know how to do that.”
It amazed her that after weeks of indecision and uneasiness they could slip so easily back into their thing. Their earlier confession session had gone a long way to ease her anxieties and Josh, too, appeared to be more relaxed.
“Donna,” Josh reprimanded with an aroused squeak, “not in front of the child.”
Standing from her seat at the dining table she crossed to Chester and leaned down to unclip his leash. Chester responded by flopping down to the floor with a groan and rolling over on his back, making reaching the clip slightly more of a challenge. Once the mission was accomplished she gave his belly a scratch and patted him on the leg.
Josh’s hands on her hips pulled her to him. Donna turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, placing her head on his shoulder. Josh released his hold on the leash and snaked his arms around her.
She felt much of the tension of the last few months seep out of her as his skilled hands traced up and down her spine.
They’d talked for a while longer after she’d accepted his proposal. An event which she was still struggling to believe was real. It seemed that Josh, whose strategies were brilliant, but whose plans inevitably lacked coherency (or intelligence of any kind), had succinctly presented a plan for their future. Well thought out, but allowing for deviation, the plan included a wedding within the next twelve months. They both agreed that after two years of marriage they would revisit the idea of having a child and that, in the interim, Josh would work a little harder on not finding the concept quite so paralyzing.
Even if it was a plan they couldn’t adhere to completely, she felt infinitely better knowing it was there to fall back on. It also helped knowing Josh had been its author and that he was willing to speak freely about the things that frightened him. Especially those aspects that potentially affected their partnership and the future, which had a nasty tendency to be so damned nebulous.
“You were reading his history when I came in?” Josh’s voice had dropped, and his tone informed her that he too knew about Chester’s first life.
“Uh huh,” she murmured. “It wasn’t just because of his name that you chose him. Was it?”
“I told you,” he answered, soberly. “It was kismet.”
“You’re two peas in a pod.”
She caressed his cheek with one hand before turning his head and taking his lips with her own. After a leisurely kiss that kindled a fire within both of them she pulled back, a groan from Josh demonstrating his disappointment. Donna met his warm brown eyes with hers and quietly announced, “We’re going to be okay.”
“We are,” he agreed. “We’re going to be better than okay. Why shoot for mediocrity?”
“Why, indeed.” She placed an open-mouthed kiss on his neck that sent a shiver through him. “Remember what you said earlier about it being time you proved your love in ways that had nothing to do with taking my clothes off?”
“Mmmmm. I do.”
“I just wanted to let you know I still like that you can prove your love in ways that do involve taking my clothes off.”
“Good to know,” he smirked. “I should point out that one of the men in this household has been neutered, and you’ll be happy to know it wasn’t me.”
Pressing her hips more snugly to his she pointedly purred, “I think I knew that already.”
“What do you say you take me to bed and show me who’s boss.”
Donna couldn’t control the giggle that bubbled up from within. “Oh,” she laughed, “so it’s my turn tonight?”
“What can I say? It gets me hot when you’re the alpha.”
Donna untangled herself from Josh’s arms and led Chester across the room. “Chester,” she demanded firmly, pointing to the open door of his kennel. “Crate.”
His tail still wagging, Chester entered the crate, turned around and sat down. He stared up at Donna with a look in his eyes that could only be described as hero-worship. Donna rewarded him with a treat and scratch behind the ears before closing the kennel door. “If only you’d been that easy to train,” she lamented to Josh.
“I’m easy now,” he chuckled.
She pulled her tank top over her head as she walked toward the bedroom, tossing it over her shoulder with a come hither glance towards her new fiancé. “Come along, Josh.”
Josh easily caught the fluttering fabric in mid-flight. “Yes, dear,” he grinned, following behind her, his line of sight glued to her delicious backside.
TBC - There are two versions of Chapter 18. One is rated PG-13 and one is NC-17. Please pay attention to the ratings when choosing the final chapter (they end the same way).
The Hardest Wager 17/18
This was not going as planned. He realized that the moment he’d stopped them outside the door. Already his mind was replaying the event and seeing all the ways he could have done better. Not that it was a total loss. Yet.
“It may seem like I’ve gone over the deep end.” He held both hands up to ward off, or perhaps dilute, the glare in Donna’s eyes. His heart sank when there was no reaction from her. “God,” he sighed, dropping his head into his hands, “if ever there was a time when I needed you to be in tune with me, it’s now.”
Chester leaned his full weight against Josh’s side and placed his head on the man’s thigh. Either begging attention or possibly offering moral support; Josh couldn’t discern which. Accepting the latter and offering the former, Josh placed his hand on the dog’s head and began rubbing Chester beneath one ear. Chester responded by closing his eyes and giving in to the bliss.
“Okay. Back in the car you said that you were angry with me.”
“No,” Josh corrected. “I said I was angry with me…and then I was angry with you.”
“Explain.”
“When you said you’d be okay with what you said you’d be okay with, I just went with it. I guess because it seemed like the easiest thing to do at the time. Or maybe because I was feeling a lot of pressure and that seemed to alleviate it. Briefly.”
“And that made you angry…why?”
“I let you down, Donna.”
“What?” Donna asked, incredulously, torn between confusion and laughter.
“I remember that night I asked if you were really okay with not having more and you said, ‘I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do.’ If you think about it that really didn’t answer my question.” Josh’s voice trailed off for a moment before he began speaking again. “And the thing is…I was so busy feeling relieved, I never bothered to ask what you needed. What you wanted. That’s when I let you down, Donna.”
“So that’s why you were angry?”
“Part of it…yeah.”
“What’s the other part of it? Why were angry with me?”
“Because you said all that in the first place. You said it because you thought that’s what I needed to hear, not because that’s how you really felt.”
“Why should that make you angry?”
“Here’s the thing…for as long as I’ve known you…you’ve been the most selfless person I’ve ever met. From the moment we met you gave me your all. You put up with crap from me when most people would have given me a well-deserved kick in the ass. And that night you were doing it again. Selflessly throwing yourself on the proverbial sword and - worst of all - I let you.” He took a fortifying breath and then plunged back in. “I don’t want you to make any more sacrifices because you think that’s what I need. I don’t want you to lock away your hopes and dreams because…I don’t know…you think you might lose me or something crazy like that. Because…let’s face it…I need you a hell of lot more than you need me.”
“Josh, I-“
“When we spent that week in Hawaii, I told you that I was going all in. I meant that. I want a life with you, because I still remember what it was like when we were apart and I don’t want a repeat of that…ever. So, if you need something, you want to get married, you want to have a baby, you tell me. You don’t pretend to my face that you’re okay with settling for the alternative.”
“Really?” Donna’s eyes glistened with moisture and Josh stretched his other hand across the table to take hers.
“I love you, Donna, and it’s time I started proving that in ways that have nothing to do with taking off your clothes.”
Donna laughed, the sound of tears clogging her throat. “It’s not that I want to have a baby right now,” she cried.
“It’s not?”
“I admit it’s been hard dealing with the First Lady’s pregnancy. And there were times when I was so…jealous of her.” Donna sniffed and cleared her throat to ease the tightness there. “I was sad that we shut the door on the possibility.”
“Then tell me what you need.”
“I need to leave the door open, Josh.”
Josh smirked, his dimples coming out in full force, as his hand gripped hers more tightly. “Now, see? Was that so hard?”
“A little, yeah.” Donna paused, glancing down at Chester who was still blissed out by Josh’s unconscious attentions. “Josh? None of this explains why you got yourself a dog.”
“Us,” he corrected. “I got *us* a dog.”
“Why was that again?”
“It’s my grand gesture.”
“Your grand gesture.”
“Exactly. I thought about taking you someplace romantic, like the Arboretum. But I can’t think about the Arboretum without remembering the night Zoey was taken. I even thought about buying us a house, but that didn’t turn out so well for Toby.”
“Plus, you know I’d have your balls in a vice if you did that without asking.”
“Yes, the distinct possibility was mentioned.” Josh grimaced at the gut-curling imagery her words evoked. “When you said I wasn’t ready for more you weren’t wrong, but you weren’t entirely correct either.”
“A lot of that seems to be going around.”
“It was just a little too much, too soon. So I thought we could start small. You know, move in together, which we’ve already done. Get a pet. Check. Get married at some point in the not-too-distant future. Buy a house. Start a family somewhere down the line. Baby steps - no pun intended.”
“So…Chester here symbolizes your desire to…move forward?”
“I knew you’d get it.”
“But, Josh? A dog? That’s a huge commitment.” Donna pointed out.
“Not as much as having a child,” he countered.
“Fair point.”
“I thought you liked dogs.”
“I do. I just wish we’d talked about it first.”
“That’s the downside with grand gestures. They’re meant to be a surprise.”
“Mission accomplished.” Donna examined the dog more closely from her sitting position, and then something in her eyes changed. The harsh tension that had been there since she’d seen Chester, dissipated and her expression melted. “He is kind of adorable. You said he’s trained?”
“And housebroken.” It occurred to Josh that there would be no better time to sell her on his decision and launched into his pitch. “I got him through a rescue organization in Maryland that Erin’s sister works for. After my game with Charlie, I called Erin for some advice. She was pissed that I called her on a Sunday though, can you imagine?”
“Yes, I can,” Donna deadpanned.
“She calmed down once she realized I wasn’t asking her to work. When I explained what I wanted she fell all over herself trying to help. Anyway, she got me an appointment to go to the kennel at noon.”
“You did all this today?”
“Yeah, it didn’t take as long as I thought. I looked at a couple of dogs before they showed me Chester. I mentioned that Chester was a great name for a dog and Erin’s sister said that he was actually a registered golden and that Chester was just a shortened version of his name. When she told me his real name that’s when I knew he was the one. It was kismet.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s his real name?”
“Manchester Promise,” Josh revealed. Donna’s smile brimmed with understanding. “So, I said I’d take him. I filled out the paperwork and paid all the fees, and they even gave me a bunch of stuff to go with him.”
“Stuff?”
“Yeah, there’s a crate and a leash and a giant bag of dog food. We have to get him some toys though; otherwise he really will tear up the place. Erin’s sister said that if he has plenty of things to chew on, he’s less likely to chew on other stuff.”
Donna held out a hand and snapped her fingers. Chester’s head swiveled in her direction, then back to Josh, mentally debated which human was most likely to give the best scratch. Donna snapped again, somehow making it known that it was a demand and not a request. Chester lowered his head submissively and left Josh’s side for Donna’s. “Sit. Good boy,” she cooed, when Chester obeyed.
“You’re really good at that.”
“I’ve had years of practice. It’s all about letting them know who the alpha is.”
“Suddenly many things about our relationship make sense.”
“Look who’s finally catching up,” Donna rolled her eyes humorously, while still scratching behind Chester’s ears.
“I want to marry you, Donna.”
Donna’s head snapped up. “What?” she choked.
“Look, I’m no good at this stuff, and at this point there’s no reason to believe I ever will be. I thought of a hundred different scenarios that were all incredibly romantic, but none of them seemed right. None of them were…me.”
“And this is…you?”
“Let me put this as simply as I can. I’m unromantic, and when I try to be I’m no good at pulling it off. I’m always going to be saying the wrong thing, especially when I want it to be right. I want to marry you. I want to have all those things with you that we talked about. I’m not ready for all of it yet, but I promise to try to be. I promise to work on not being so scared. This is me, Donna. For better or for worse. Take it or leave it.” Josh ran out of breath then, and was unable to inhale until Donna gave her answer.
“Oh, I’ll take it.”
*****
Following Josh’s unconventional proposal and her happy acceptance, they talked of their fears in a manner they’d never done before - taking their partnership to what she considered a new level of intimacy. The talk had left them both emotional, and Donna had eventually suggested that Josh take Chester for a walk. He’d hastily agreed, something she might have found suspect had she not known that he was looking for an excuse to be alone, to pull himself together.
While Josh took Chester for a much needed walk Donna showered and changed into her pajamas before she went about creating a comfortable nook for the their new dog to sleep. The crate she placed in a corner of the living room and inside she layered a few old towels that remained from Josh’s ‘bachelor’ days, as well as an old terry cloth bathrobe she’d replaced but hadn’t gotten around to getting rid of yet.
Paperwork was right. Her task completed, Donna perused the packet of items that came with Chester, including advice on the care and feeding of golden retrievers, medical records, and a brief history of their new pet.
Chester had once belonged to a retired couple of empty nesters who had purchased him in hopes that he would provide companionship and love. From the accounts, Chester had fulfilled their wishes for the first three years of his life. And then, without warning, tragedy struck.
Early one morning, a fire had broken out in the couple’s home. Trapped in his crate in the mudroom, Chester could do nothing but bark and whine. By the time rescue workers had arrived much of the home had been destroyed, and Chester’s beloved owners were dead. The dog was found, unconscious from smoke inhalation, by responding firefighters who provided oxygen to bring him around. He was taken to an emergency veterinarian until his owners’ next of kin could be notified.
The couples’ daughter (name withheld) unable to cope with her parents death had decided to surrender the dog to the rescue in hopes that he would find a new forever home.
Donna’s heart, understandably raw from her earlier talk with Josh, went out to Chester when she read his story and she couldn’t help but wonder if the history she was reading was another reason Josh chose this particular dog. Chester wasn’t the only one in this “family” that had nearly lost everything in a fire.
One of his fears they had discussed had been the fear of loving and then losing a child. He was intimately familiar with the aftermath of such a horror.
Donna was folding the paperwork and returning it to the envelope when she heard Josh and Chester at the door.
Smiling, she soaked in the sight of ‘her boys’. Josh looked a little worse for the wear, while Chester was energized. The dog had the leash clipped to his collar, but his teeth gripped the leash about halfway up and he was embroiled in a one-sided game of tug-of-war with Josh.
“How did it go?” she snickered.
“Great!” Josh answered sarcastically. “Although there could be some debate over who was walking whom.”
“You have to be firm,” she reminded him. “You have to show him who’s boss.” With a sultry tone and bedroom eyes she continued, “I know you know how to do that.”
It amazed her that after weeks of indecision and uneasiness they could slip so easily back into their thing. Their earlier confession session had gone a long way to ease her anxieties and Josh, too, appeared to be more relaxed.
“Donna,” Josh reprimanded with an aroused squeak, “not in front of the child.”
Standing from her seat at the dining table she crossed to Chester and leaned down to unclip his leash. Chester responded by flopping down to the floor with a groan and rolling over on his back, making reaching the clip slightly more of a challenge. Once the mission was accomplished she gave his belly a scratch and patted him on the leg.
Josh’s hands on her hips pulled her to him. Donna turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, placing her head on his shoulder. Josh released his hold on the leash and snaked his arms around her.
She felt much of the tension of the last few months seep out of her as his skilled hands traced up and down her spine.
They’d talked for a while longer after she’d accepted his proposal. An event which she was still struggling to believe was real. It seemed that Josh, whose strategies were brilliant, but whose plans inevitably lacked coherency (or intelligence of any kind), had succinctly presented a plan for their future. Well thought out, but allowing for deviation, the plan included a wedding within the next twelve months. They both agreed that after two years of marriage they would revisit the idea of having a child and that, in the interim, Josh would work a little harder on not finding the concept quite so paralyzing.
Even if it was a plan they couldn’t adhere to completely, she felt infinitely better knowing it was there to fall back on. It also helped knowing Josh had been its author and that he was willing to speak freely about the things that frightened him. Especially those aspects that potentially affected their partnership and the future, which had a nasty tendency to be so damned nebulous.
“You were reading his history when I came in?” Josh’s voice had dropped, and his tone informed her that he too knew about Chester’s first life.
“Uh huh,” she murmured. “It wasn’t just because of his name that you chose him. Was it?”
“I told you,” he answered, soberly. “It was kismet.”
“You’re two peas in a pod.”
She caressed his cheek with one hand before turning his head and taking his lips with her own. After a leisurely kiss that kindled a fire within both of them she pulled back, a groan from Josh demonstrating his disappointment. Donna met his warm brown eyes with hers and quietly announced, “We’re going to be okay.”
“We are,” he agreed. “We’re going to be better than okay. Why shoot for mediocrity?”
“Why, indeed.” She placed an open-mouthed kiss on his neck that sent a shiver through him. “Remember what you said earlier about it being time you proved your love in ways that had nothing to do with taking my clothes off?”
“Mmmmm. I do.”
“I just wanted to let you know I still like that you can prove your love in ways that do involve taking my clothes off.”
“Good to know,” he smirked. “I should point out that one of the men in this household has been neutered, and you’ll be happy to know it wasn’t me.”
Pressing her hips more snugly to his she pointedly purred, “I think I knew that already.”
“What do you say you take me to bed and show me who’s boss.”
Donna couldn’t control the giggle that bubbled up from within. “Oh,” she laughed, “so it’s my turn tonight?”
“What can I say? It gets me hot when you’re the alpha.”
Donna untangled herself from Josh’s arms and led Chester across the room. “Chester,” she demanded firmly, pointing to the open door of his kennel. “Crate.”
His tail still wagging, Chester entered the crate, turned around and sat down. He stared up at Donna with a look in his eyes that could only be described as hero-worship. Donna rewarded him with a treat and scratch behind the ears before closing the kennel door. “If only you’d been that easy to train,” she lamented to Josh.
“I’m easy now,” he chuckled.
She pulled her tank top over her head as she walked toward the bedroom, tossing it over her shoulder with a come hither glance towards her new fiancé. “Come along, Josh.”
Josh easily caught the fluttering fabric in mid-flight. “Yes, dear,” he grinned, following behind her, his line of sight glued to her delicious backside.
TBC - There are two versions of Chapter 18. One is rated PG-13 and one is NC-17. Please pay attention to the ratings when choosing the final chapter (they end the same way).