Chapter Four

 

 

 

“Heath? Are you busy?” Joe knocked on Heath’s office door, then walked straight in.

Heath glanced up from behind a mountain of paperwork. His expression was comical.

“What do you think?” He gestured at the precariously balanced stacks surrounding him.

“I need to go and collect Olly from Bourton. Can I borrow Aiden? I’ll need someone to drive Fifi back.”

Heath snorted. “He’s got you calling that eyesore of a car Fifi? There is no hope left for you. Aiden is buried in the basement, something about the dark web and Becket demanding miracles. It’s his last day today before his holiday, so he’s snowed. I’ll come with you. Anything to get away from this purgatory.” He pushed his chair back.

“Thanks. I don’t know what’s going on but Olly didn’t sound good.”

“Fine. I’ll text Aiden from the car and let him know we’re both going out. We’re not expecting any visitors, but Emile and Georgia are both around if anyone shows up. Aiden can pass on the message to them.”

Joe led the way to one of the company’s four-wheel drives. He got behind the wheel and waited while Heath put on his seatbelt.

“You want me to drive?” Heath asked.

“No. You go ahead and call Aiden.” Joe turned the ignition and put the car into gear. “Damn it, Heath, I don’t want to turn into the kind of Dom who restricts his sub’s freedom. I accept Olly’s need to work but I hate it when he’s out of my sight. Then something happens and I’m not with him when he needs me.” He drove across the causeway slower than he would have liked.

“You can’t take care of him every minute of the day, Joe. However much you might want to.” Heath tapped his fingers on one knee. “If I had my way, Aiden would spend his days chained up in my office. Naked. Instead he’s involved in all kinds of clandestine, dangerous work. But at least he’s in the same building where I can check up on him.”

“And stop him from overdosing on junk food,” Joe said with a laugh. “But Aiden’s different. He’s much more independent than Olly, and less…sensitive.”

“Are you saying my tender young submissive is feisty?”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

Heath snorted. “Just drive, Mr. Dexter. Let’s find out what your brat has been up to.”

 

* * * *

 

Joe pulled up directly in front of the main hospital door. He didn’t have the patience to drive around to the main car park.

“I’ll wait in here in case I need to move the car,” Heath said. “I think you’re illegally parked.”

Joe tossed him the keys. “I won’t be long.”

He jogged up the stone steps and made his way inside. He spotted Olly immediately. He was sitting in a cluster of low chairs around a table loaded with magazines. His knees were drawn up and he seemed smaller somehow. His chin rested on his knees, his face hidden by his tumble of blond curls. As if he sensed Joe’s presence, Olly raised his head.

“Joe!” Olly shot across the reception area and threw himself into Joe’s arms.

Joe submitted to the hug for a while before detaching himself. He held Olly at arm’s length. “You’ve got blood on you! What the hell’s been going on, sweetheart? Is any of it yours?”

“Where, Sir? I washed and changed my shirt, did I miss some?”

“On your scrub trousers, your arm and a bit in your hair.” Joe fingered a sticky curl.

Olly held out his arm to reveal a tidily stitched cut. The skin around it was bruised and swollen. “It’s mine.” He gazed up at Joe with tear-reddened eyes.

The fact that he wasn’t talking at a hundred words a second told Joe that Olly wasn’t himself. He needed to get Olly home where he could take care of him properly.

“Oh my goodness, that’s a nasty wound.” He petted Olly’s hair.

Olly buried his face against Joe’s shoulder and snuffled. “Take me home, Sir? I haven’t had a very good day.”

“Right away.”

Joe steered him toward the exit, then down the steps where Heath was waiting, leaning against the car. Heath took a couple of paces forward when he saw them.

“Olly’s hurt! Who do I need to damage?”

Olly giggled. “No one, you daft caveman. Thank you for coming to my rescue, though.”

“Heath is going to follow us back in Fifi. Give him your keys, love.” Joe kept his voice firm. Olly didn’t need to know how freaked out he was. He was desperate to know the details of what had happened, but that could wait until he had his precious lover home and safe.

Olly gave Heath his key ring, complete with its miniature handcuffs, which had been a birthday gift from Aiden. “Be nice to my car, Heath.”

“Hey, I’m a caring guy. I’ll look after her.” He handed Joe the keys for the four-wheel drive, then strolled off toward the staff car park. “At least I’ll have no trouble spotting her.” He threw the comment back at them before disappearing around the corner of the building.

Joe escorted Olly to the passenger side of the car, then held the door open for him. He made sure Olly’s seatbelt was securely fastened, then returned to the driver’s side. They were a couple of miles down the road when Olly spoke.

“I feel like such an idiot. It’s just a cut.” His lower lip jutted just a little.

“Whatever happened was obviously a big shock,” Joe soothed him. “You can tell me the whole story when we get back. Heath and Aiden will want to hear everything too, so wait until then. No point in having to go through it all twice.”

Olly settled back in his seat, some of the tension leaving his slender frame. He was pale and supported his injured arm carefully.

“Have you taken anything for the pain?” Joe asked.

“Just some paracetamol about half an hour ago,” Olly replied. “It doesn’t hurt that much, I just don’t want to jog it around.”

Joe glanced in the rear-view mirror. Heath was right behind them, hunched over Fifi’s steering wheel with a grimace fixed on his face. He’d clearly had some difficulty fitting into the miniature car. Joe couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m going to owe Heath so many favors. Check behind us.”

Olly swiveled in his seat. “Oh. My. God. What does he look like! I wish I could get a picture for Aiden.”

“I don’t think Heath would appreciate photographic evidence of his current predicament. Anyway, you should be grateful, not plotting to take advantage of the situation.”

“Yes, Sir.” Olly ruined the appropriate response with a giggle. He rotated back to face the front. “I appreciate you both dropping everything to come and get me. I should have driven myself home, really.”

“You absolutely should not. You did the right thing, Olly. I would not have been happy if you’d shown up back at home injured without calling me first. That would have meant several hours of you kneeling in a corner.”

The pout was fully formed now. Joe schooled his expression into sternness and kept his eyes on the road. They were almost home. He crossed the causeway and pulled into The Edge. Aiden was standing at the front door, arms folded across his chest.

“Uh-oh. Someone’s not happy he was left out of the rescue mission,” Olly muttered.

“I think you’re right,” Joe agreed. He didn’t envy Heath having to deal with the fallout.

Aiden ran down the steps, then yanked open Olly’s door. “What have you done to yourself?”

“Aiden, if you could help Olly out of the car and save your questions for when we’re all inside, please.” Joe shook his head.

Aiden was almost as protective of Olly as he was. Aiden scowled, but did as he’d been told. Olly gave him a chaste thank-you kiss on the cheek.

“If you want to see something funny, check out Heath,” Olly said.

Aiden swiveled around to watch Fifi being maneuvered into a parking space. Heath turned off the ignition. He opened the door then half fell from the car.

“Bloody hell! My spine is now pretzel-shaped. One sign of a laugh from you, Aiden, and you’ll be spending the night in chastity.”

“Nothing new there then.” Aiden fell about laughing. “You and Fifi could be a circus act.”

Heath growled. He grabbed a handful of Aiden’s hair and pulled him into a kiss that verged on violence. Aiden melted against him, unresisting.

“Wow, it’s like having our own personal porn channel,” Olly commented.

“Inside, brat.” Joe took Olly’s elbow and steered him through the front door even though Olly kept trying to peek back over his shoulder. “Mugs of tea all round, then you can give us the details of today’s adventures.”

“Will there be cookies?”

Joe didn’t even bother to respond. He couldn’t decide whether Olly was experiencing a delayed adrenaline rush or whether it was some weird symptoms of shock. His mood swings in the last hour had been extreme, even for him. He got Olly settled at a table in the staff restaurant, then went to rustle up some drinks. With no courses taking place for the next two weeks during renovations, there was only a skeleton catering staff on site. Emile, The Edge’s irascible French chef, was staying on with a couple of junior chefs to cater for the work crews. It was a long trip to the nearest store so they couldn’t be expected to leave the island for meals.

Joe ventured cautiously into the kitchen, wary of disturbing Emile if he was experimenting with a new recipe. Emile had been known to throw kitchen implements when annoyed. The fact that Joe was his boss wouldn’t make the slightest crumb of difference. The coast was clear. Joe turned the kettle on then fetched a tray and four mugs. He stood, staring at them for a moment, all kinds of horrors running through his mind. Olly might need him, but he also needed Olly. He couldn’t bear the thought that his lover might have been taken away from him and he had no idea what Olly had been through that morning or how much worse things could have been.

“I’ve been sent to help.”

Joe found Aiden at his side, his hand rested lightly on top of Joe’s. His lips were kiss swollen, his face reddened by the graze of Heath’s stubble.

“That would be great, Aiden. Thank you. I think I spaced out there for a moment or two.”

“I’m not surprised. Olly has us all worried.”

Aiden began to bustle around, making the tea, finding milk to add. None of them took sugar, so he didn’t need that. He fetched a tin from the pantry and put a heap of Emile’s home-baked oatmeal and raisin cookies on a plate.

“Not completely healthy, I know.” He gave Joe a wry glance.

“I think something sweet would do us all good.” Joe was content to indulge Olly’s sweet tooth if it helped ground him. “You bring the cookies, I’ll carry the tray. Let’s find out what’s been happening at the hospital.”

They returned to the table where Heath had joined Olly. He sat with his long legs stretched out and was rubbing his back.

“Fifi is very comfortable, it’s not my fault you’re freakishly tall,” Olly said.

“That car is a sardine can on wheels,” Heath growled. “I swear my knees were next to my ears the entire journey.”

“That’s one of my favorite positions,” Olly sniped back.

Behind Joe, Aiden snorted with laughter. Heath’s glare could have frozen molten lava. Aiden sat next to Heath and put the cookies on the table. Heath immediately placed a hand on his sub’s thigh.

“Olly, behave. Your injury does not excuse a lack of respect.” Joe put the tray down.

“Sorry, Heath.” Olly lowered his gaze to the table, nibbling on his lip. “Wow, are those my favorite cookies? Can I have one? Or maybe two—I think I need two—after the blood loss, you know. They’d count as medicinal, wouldn’t they?”

“It’s good to know your remorse is so long-lived,” Heath muttered, pulling the cookie plate toward him protectively.

Joe sat down, shaking his head at his friend’s antics. “There are plenty for everyone.” He distributed the tea. “Yes you may have two, Olly. But first, how about you tell us what happened today?”

Olly gazed longingly at the cookies.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let Heath eat them all.” Joe squeezed Olly’s shoulder. “Come on, talking about it will help.”

After a couple of sips of tea, Olly recounted the events of the afternoon, from the time the soldiers arrived at his ward to the noise of the jets flying past and the chaos following Rocky’s unexpected reaction.

“It wasn’t his fault, of course. He was defending his friend and he lashed out. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and it’s not that bad a cut.” Olly rested his arm on the table, displaying his stitches. “The blood’s never going to come out of my top, though, and I really liked it.”

“You must have been terrified,” Aiden said. “Surely the hospital should be more careful about assessing patients before they arrive.”

“To be honest, it all happened so fast I didn’t have time to be scared. It was only afterwards, while Dr. Sharma was stitching me up, that all the ‘what ifs’ hit me.”

Joe took a deep breath. The outcome could have been so much worse. He held Olly’s hand, brushing Olly’s palm with his thumb. “Post-traumatic stress is unpredictable. If this was the first time Rocky has displayed any symptoms, nobody could have been expected to diagnose the problem. I imagine Bourton already had psychiatric assessments lined up for all three of the new patients.”

“Absolutely.” Olly eyed the rapidly diminishing pile of cookies. He gave Joe a look of mute appeal.

Joe gave a brief nod, then watched as Olly inhaled his first treat.

“There are two positives from this incident,” Joe said. “The first is that Rocky’s condition has been exposed and he can get the treatment he needs. The second is that Olly has an extra week off.”

“So do I,” Aiden exclaimed. “Becket let me go earlier so I’m done for the next two weeks as well.”

“Oh, God.” Heath put his head in his hands. “The two of them, together, for a whole fortnight. Someone call out the National Guard.”

“I think we can do better than that,” Joe said. “Carey has been plaguing me for an age to come and check out his new project. This could be the opportune time for the four of us to take a short trip.”

“Ooh, a mini-break. Yes, please!” Olly crammed the remains of his second cookie into his mouth.

“Sounds great,” Heath said. “But what about all the renovation work that will be starting tomorrow? Don’t you want to be here to supervise?”

“Everything’s scheduled. The plans are all agreed. I imagine the contractors will be pleased if we stay out of their hair while they get started. We won’t be away long, and there’s always the phone if they need to get hold of us. These guys did great work at The Underground and Emile will be here to keep an eye on them. They’ll behave for him because he’ll stop feeding them if they don’t.”

“That would work.” Heath grinned. “Sounds like we have a plan then.”

“Am I the only one here who doesn’t know what this project is that you’re talking about? What have Carey and Alistair been doing?” Aiden asked.

“I don’t know either,” Olly piped up. “But I don’t care—I want to go on holiday.”

Joe pushed his seat back, then patted his lap. Olly immediately clambered onto him. Joe wrapped his arms around Olly’s waist, pulling him back against his chest. He wanted him as close as possible.

“Carey inherited a property recently, from an old friend. From what I understand, it’s a Georgian mansion. A huge place buried in the New Forest,” Joe said.

“It must be worth an absolute fortune,” Aiden said. “That’s prime real estate.”

“Indeed. His friend was a wealthy man and he left Carey his entire estate. Carey decided to turn the house into a new business. He’s called it The Retreat.”

“Oh, God, it’s not one of these New Age spas where they dangle crystals over you and chant, is it?” Aiden asked.

“Ooh, I like spas. Naked saunas, oily massages, men grappling with each other all slick and…” Olly licked his lips.

Joe slipped his hand down the front of Olly’s scrub pants. He grasped his dick and gave it a warning squeeze.

Olly squeaked, then wriggled his ass, grinding against Joe’s half-hard cock. Olly was still plugged. He’d be nicely stretched for the fucking Joe intended to give him at the earliest possible opportunity.

“Oily grappling?” Aiden gave him a quizzical glance. “Have you been binge watching Spartacus again?”

Olly blinked. “Maybe.”

Joe squeezed a bit harder.

“It’s not a spa at all. If you two would keep quiet and listen for two seconds, I’ll tell you.” Joe took a gulp of tea, exasperated and more than a little frustrated. “It’s going to be a BDSM retreat. A hotel of sorts, but much more intimate. The entire place will be rented out to one person, or group, at a time. Each client will be able to specify what they want down to the tiniest detail—the staff, what they wear and do, the equipment. There will be a private chef and team in the kitchens. Everyone, even the ground staff, will be trained in the lifestyle.”

“Sounds expensive,” Aiden said. “But fantastic.”

“Carey has the client base to support it,” Heath commented. “Some of the members at The Underground are incredibly wealthy. He also has an extensive network of contacts in the BDSM community around the world.”

“The Retreat opens in a month,” Joe said. “It’s fully booked for the next two years, with a long waiting list. Carey has been pestering me to visit and take a look at the place, so I think we’ll take him up on his offer.”

Olly bounced in his lap. “Can we go now, right this minute, Sir?”

“No, Olly, we can’t.”

“But why not?”

“Because you are completely scattered and need grounding. You’re wearing bloodstained clothes and are in dire need of a bath. I also need to call Carey and check when we can arrive. Our visit has to work for him, too.”

Heath stood up. “Shall we reconvene for breakfast? Aiden’s well overdue some discipline. We’ll eat in our apartment this evening so I can give him the attention he deserves.”

Aiden glared at him but got to his feet as well.

“Then it’s decided,” Joe agreed. “We’ll meet back here for breakfast in the morning. Nine o’ clock.”

Heath grabbed Aiden’s wrist and pulled him away. Olly gave his friend a small wave. Olly’s squirming had taken Joe’s cock from mildly interested to utterly focused and rock hard.

“Let’s head home, sweetheart. Time to help you forget the day.” Careful not to bang Olly’s arm, Joe hoisted him over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. He gave his plugged ass a firm pat.

Olly yelped, then giggled. “Yes please, Sir.”