Page 8 of H & G Restorations

Chapter

Seven

A rmed with a breakfast sandwich and a small cooler with sandwiches and who knew what else, Gretel and Hans set off for their day in a rush to get to the site before their team made it there.

Their clean clothes even smelled fresher than normal.

Magnus just made everything better. He was, however, hard to leave as he waved goodbye in those droopy sleep pants that revealed everything.

“This cuts fifteen minutes off our drive and we get breakfast,” Hans pointed out with a grin.

“I slept well,” Gretel shared. It had been like heaven cuddled between the two men. She’d woken up to sweet caresses from two different sets of hands during the night.

“Me, too. I feel like I can do anything today. I think I’ll investigate the roof. We’ve got some clear days stretching ahead of us. I bet we can get the shingles off. With new gingerbread trim, this house will tempt us to eat it!”

“Ugh, now you are buying into the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale,” Gretel said.

“Maybe it’s true.”

“That story didn’t end well. The witch threw Hans into a cage and tried to fatten him up to eat him,” Gretel pointed out.

“So, he’s a mesmerizing wizard instead of a witch and he did make parts of me grow bigger,” Hansel pointed out with a sly grin.

“And eat could have a whole new secondary meaning,” Gretel pointed out.

“Wow, you think dirty in the morning.”

“Magnus made appointments for us to have some tests done in the next town over. You go today at one. I go at four,” Gretel told him. “He’s going at ten. I sent you an invite with the address of the center and Magnus’s address. We’ll have them send the results there.”

“He’s not messing around, is he?”

“Daddies take care of everything I guess? It’s easier for us to zip out to an appointment and pick up some stuff while we’re away from the site. I know you and I are okay.”

“I can’t wait for us to be together… you know, really together,” Hans stated as he turned into the driveway of the waiting house. “If I get done fast, I’ll stop and get both of us some clothes. No one will say anything today, but if we keep wearing the same jeans and T-shirts, day after day…”

“Every crew we have will eventually notice,” Gretel ended for him.

“Yep. If I don’t have time, you stop on your way back,” he suggested.

“That works. Just bring that stack of clean clothes on my dresser that I never put away. I like all those things.”

“Magnus isn’t going to like your messiness,” Hans predicted. “Maybe he’ll put you in the cage in the basement. He didn’t want to get rid of that, remember?”

A sizzle went through her as she slid out of the car and Gretel forced her mind away from his suggestion.

To give herself time to recover, she chewed the last bite of the delicious food Magnus had sent with her before announcing, “I’m working on the living room floor today.

I’m going to pull up the boards to put in a new subfloor before we add new flooring. ”

“Go, team!” Hans joked as they separated to greet the teams working with them today.

When they pulled up at Magnus’s rental at the end of the night, Gretel was dragging.

She’d taken time off to run to the clinic for the testing Magnus had scheduled after cleaning up the best she could with a bottle of water.

Gretel was always used to working hard but today’s job had challenged even her endurance.

Every muscle in her body was starting to hurt.

Easing herself out of the truck, she noticed Hans moved slowly as well.

“We’re getting old,” she ribbed her partner.

“Definitely. The first days are usually the hardest with all the demolition. Then the fun stuff starts when we get to put it all together,” he reminded her as he wrapped an arm around her waist to help her up the stairs to the door.

“You’re moving slow tonight. Hot bath or shower?” Magnus asked to greet them.

“Shower. I think I have a thousand dead critters in my hair from pulling up the flooring,” Gretel said with a grimace as she stepped out of her shoes in the entryway.

“Good plan,” Magnus said, closing the door behind them. “Dinner can wait for a few minutes while you both get cleaned up. Clothes in the washer. No need to scatter critters around.”

Laughing, he steered them into the laundry room. As he stripped off Gretel’s T-shirt, he observed, “We need to look at those house plans. It would be handy to have the laundry room next to one of the entrances so I can help you shuck off your dirty clothes as you walk in.”

Hans met Gretel’s gaze, and she knew he was thinking the same thing. Magnus planned on keeping them. He was designing the house with them in mind. Not just any two Littles.

“Don’t look so surprised. You hadn’t figured out that I wasn’t letting you escape?” Magnus asked with an indulgent smile.

“You haven’t known us for too long,” Hans said, pulling his shirt over his head.

“Let me help you, little boy,” Magnus reprimanded him gently as he brushed Hans’s hands away from his jeans. “Critters get priority.”

“Thank goodness,” Gretel said as Magnus returned to unfasten her jeans and draw them down to the floor so she could step free.

He remained kneeling on one knee in front of her to strip off her socks.

When his fingers hooked into the sides of her panties, she held her breath.

She loved having all his attention on her.

This felt so intimate to have him remove her clothing.

His hands smoothed over her bare bottom and down her thighs as he removed the scrap of lace.

“Hans, help Gretel with her bra, please,” Magnus requested as he rotated slightly to unfasten Hans’s jeans.

Gretel loved Hans’s eagerness as he traced his hands over her shoulders and down her arms before reaching around her to unhook her bra.

They’d been together for a couple of years.

To her delight, his desire to see and touch her hadn’t dampened.

Hans still looked at her with that same hungry expression she’d seen their first time together.

“Okay, little ones. Time to get clean,” Magnus announced, standing up between them. “Showers now.”

He ushered them naked through the quiet house and into the main bathroom.

Gretel looked longingly toward the tub but forced herself to head into the walk-in shower.

To her delight, she found the large space contained two shower heads.

They wouldn’t have to share. After testing the water temperature of one with her hand, Gretel stepped under the warm deluge, dipping her head under the spray to claim it as hers.

“In you go,” Magnus urged Hans into the large shower space as well. When he took his place under the other cascade of water, Magnus warned, “No play without Daddy. Get all the yuckies of the day washed away and come to the table. I’ll set robes out for you.”

As Gretel washed her hair, she caught glimpses of Magnus bustling around the bathroom. She sighed in relief as the suds washed down the drain. A tomboy through and through, Gretel loved her work, but getting stuff in her hair was over the line for her.

Peeking at Han’s body, she appreciated his powerful form. He worked hard every day, and those chiseled muscles were honestly earned. She reached out to smooth a finger over a blooming bruise on his upper thigh. “That had to hurt.”

“I was just glad I had time to move before the board came down to whack me in a much more sensitive spot.” Hans replayed his moves and she could anticipate where he could have gotten hit.

“A bruise there wouldn’t have been fun,” she agreed.

“Look at all of these.” Gretel pointed to deep scratches on her upper arm.

“I bet that hurt, too,” Hans commiserated.

“Finish up, little ones. I want to treat your booboos before dinner,” Magnus said from the open doorway.

“Just a minute,” Gretel called. She quickly finished cleaning her skin and rinsing the conditioner out of her hair.

She squeezed the excess moisture from her tresses before stepping forward into the bright blue, fuzzy robe that Magnus held open for her.

The soft fabric felt amazing on her skin and she rubbed her cheek on the fuzzy material covering her shoulder.

Looking up, she spotted Hans wearing an emerald-green robe that made his deep blue eyes look more like the ocean. It was the perfect color choice for the handsome blond. How could he have known what their favorite colors were?

Magnus pushed up her sleeve to examine the scratches on her arm. “Hmmm, little girl. You need to be more careful.”

“I was wearing gloves. Things just shifted and got me.”

“Accidents happen. That’s why they’re called accidents and not on purposes. Just be sure to tell me and we’ll treat them, okay?” he asked, looking deep into her eyes.

“Okay.” Gretel liked him taking care of her. She could have done it all herself but having him smooth on antibacterial ointment and a wrap of gauze for the evening felt nice. “I could get used to this.”

“That’s the plan,” Magnus said with a wink.

“I’m starving!” Hans said from the doorway where he’d been watching.

“Let’s go.”

Tonight’s dinner was a creamy cheese and potato soup.

It was absolutely delicious and so easy to eat, even though they were almost falling asleep at the table.

Magnus gently pulled the spoon out of Hans’s hand and lifted a portion of the thick mixture to his lips when the younger hand propped his cheek on his hand to stay seated upright at the table.

To Gretel’s amazement, Hans let their Daddy feed him.

He even leaned against the older man’s powerful frame for support as he struggled to stay awake.

When the bowl was empty, Magnus instructed them to prepare for bed. “You’re both asleep on your feet.”

“It’s way too early. We wanted to look at the floor plans. Any changes need to be made soon,” Hans mumbled.

“Tomorrow morning will be soon enough. You need to be in bed, little boy.”

Hans rubbed his hand over his face and nodded. “Sorry. I’m not being a very exciting Little for you. I just eat and sleep.”

“And let me take care of you. I understand you are busy and I’ll insist you take some time to relax and restore your energy. For tonight, it’s bedtime,” Magnus pronounced. He stood and tugged Hans to his feet.

“And you, little girl. You’re just as tired. Are you sleeping next to Daddy tonight?”

“It’s Hans’s turn,” she mumbled reluctantly.

“And then yours tomorrow,” Magnus reminded her. He ushered them into the bathroom to brush their teeth and then to bed.

“I’m not that tired,” Gretel tried to convince him. The gigantic yawn that followed her assertion proved her to be a liar.

“In bed, little girl. Tomorrow, we’ll spend more time together,” Magnus promised.

She was almost asleep before he tucked the covers delicately under her chin and tightly around their bodies. “I’m a Gretel burrito,” she mumbled as she wiggled to find the perfect spot.

His chuckle rumbled over her, making the corners of Gretel’s mouth tilt upward in amusement. She felt his lips brush tenderly over her lips and then at that sensitive spot behind her ear. Gretel sighed in contentment.

“Sleep now, sweetness. Tomorrow is another day together,” Magnus promised.

“ Manana ,” Hans corrected. He must feel like a burrito, too.

The bed dipped under Magnus’s weight as he sat on the empty space. “Let me read you a bedtime story. I have an entire book of different fairy tales.”

He began reading and Gretel tried to concentrate on his words. Soon, his beautiful voice faded away as her dreams took over. She crashed into sleep, automatically curving into the warm, familiar form next to her. Hans pulled her close with one arm, anchoring her against him.