A Game of Hearts

Excerpt From: A Game of Hearts

"Okay, seriously? This is so not what I signed up for." He was complaining. River even knew he was complaining. He didn’t much care, though. The last thing he’d even considered when he and his sister, Moon, had decided to test with the Farmingdale Gentleman’s Club was that he might end up where he was—butt-naked and ass up on a cold table while some nameless guy slathered slickness on his ass. Why was he doing this again?

"You can stop whining any time," the man said, hands still moving, still getting the job done. "Besides, you’ll be thanking me soon. You know what I’m about to do. It’ll hurt without the goop."

River grunted and pushed his hips against the table, trying to get away from the careful but still firm touches. "It doesn’t exactly feel good, even with it."

A snort. "Lord, you guys are all the same. You act tough, but the minute something gets a little bit uncomfortable, you start bitching and moaning. Now, hold still. This won’t take long if you’ll just shut up and let me do it. Then you can go cry about how abused you are."

The guy chuckled and River seriously considered stopping him. Except he was right. It didn’t hurt as much as it had when they’d started. In fact, it was starting to feel almost good. "Fine," River grumbled, pillowing his head on his arms. "Go ahead. Do it. It’s not like I have all day."

"You sure you’re ready?" More of the cool, slick substance touched his bottom and River sighed as the careful spreading made it warmer. "I really don’t want to hurt you any more than I have to."

"I know, okay? Just...get it done, since you’re so damned insistent." He winced at the first sharp pressure, felt the burn. "Don’t stop. Just...fuck, man. Go for it."

The guy made a sound then, but River couldn’t tell if it was annoyed or amused. "Don’t rush me." Okay, amused, River decided. "I’m actually really good at this, or so I’ve been told. So just lie still and let me take care of you, got it?"

More sharp burning, and River closed his eyes and just breathed through it, slow and steady, body held tense and tight, though he knew it wasn’t helping.

"Okay. I’m done." Fuck. Finally. "Let me get you cleaned up and you can be on your way." Soft, damp cloth and a slight citrus scent, soothing his sore ass, and that was actually nice. "Okay. You can get up now."

River grunted and rolled carefully on to his side, then flipped his long blond braid back over his shoulder. "My pants are kind of messed up. Any chance of some scrubs or something?"

The nurse chuckled and tossed thin, folded fabric at him from across the room. "I still can’t figure out how you managed to land ass-first in a fireplace, but at least we got the blisters lanced before they went fully septic. The antibiotic ointment should keep them from coming back, but you’ll need to apply it three times a day for the next week. Also, you want to let the affected area get as much air as possible. And keep it clean."

River sighed and climbed gingerly from the examination table, making a face when the paper stuck to his skin. "Yeah, yeah. Keep my ass covered in gel and let it all hang out. Got it, man." He pulled on the scrub pants, easing them carefully over his burned rear. "That’ll be a big hit up on the Ranch, huh?"

"We’ll all try to restrain ourselves," he heard from behind him and River couldn’t help grinning when he turned to the door. "Now, come on. You’ve got debriefing."

River laughed. "I think I’m about as debriefed as a guy can get, man. And this dude just told me I’m supposed to stay naked as much as possible, so briefs? Not so much."

The too-pretty man in the doorway shook his head even as his laugh joined River’s. "Bad puns must mean you’re feeling better. Come on, River. Report, then you can head on up. I’m sure your usual room is ready and waiting."

"Good," River muttered, relieved. "I’m telling you, Marcus. I could use a little downtime. This last Game." He shook his head at the man he’d got to know fairly well over the last year or so. "Maybe I’ll tell you tonight. Unless you and Tanner have plans, dude."

They might, River figured. Marcus and Tanner were both busy guys; they had to find alone-time when they could. The last thing River would ever do was get in the way of that. Well, unless they asked him to, he thought with a grin as he followed Marcus from the room, moving slowly out of deference to his poor, burned ass.

Marcus glanced back and River figured the guy must have seen his wince because Marcus slowed down to walk beside him. "No special plans, Riv. Why don’t you come to dinner at the house? Cook’s making steak." He smirked. "Or he is since they called up to say you were on-site and injured. We’ll even let you eat on the couch so you can lie on your side."

Right, River reminded himself as he and Marcus made their way to the elevators outside Med. That was why he did it. The sense of family. Like he wasn’t just another Gentleman, but a friend, too. It pretty much made it all worthwhile.