Page 67 of Happily Ever After… Again and Again

He can solve this problem himself. Surely, it can’t be hard enough that he can’t chisel it off his dick. Even if the mere thought of it makes that feeling in his belly swoop with nausea.

Rowan is not what anyone would considerhandy,and coupled with the image of a chisel and hammer wielded by his inexperienced hands, at this awkward angle—well, Rowan lets that idea go as quickly as it had come.

Maybe if he breaks the glass of the vase, he can use his sheer animal strength to rip—nope, nope, nope. He can’t think about the pulling pain the yanking would entail. He’s not even hard anymore, and still, the cement is holding firm. Maybe he’d deflated a bit after he’d fallen asleep.

Which sends an immediate reminder that he cannot get hard while encased in cement.

He looks at the phone again while Tsuki just stares at him. Probably marveling at his stupidity, yet again. It’s fucking humbling to be judged by your dog.

“Fine. But who?”

Finn is on call overnight. He couldn’t leave the hospital without calling in someone else, so Finn is a last resort because the fewer people who know about this, the better. Grayson and Nix are off-grid, and while Nix had said hecouldcall the cabin’s phone, Rowan wants to respect their time away. He’ll have his baby-moon with Nix, too, and does not want to give Grayson excuses to tag along.

Besides, that number is on the white board in the kitchen, and unless Tsuki has learned to read and write, that’s of no help.

So that leaves the New York contingent. Luca would help him—he’s a creative thinker and has no hard feelings of revenge about the intestinal infection—but Rowan worries that whatever the beta would come up with would get him into hotter water. And besides, Luca couldn’t hideanything fromMom and Dadworth a damn. Rowan does not need disappointed and concerned looks over a video call. Or ever, really.

Shit. Leo it is, then.

Rowan dials Leo, and it doesn’t go more than two rings before Leo answers. Only the front of his suit is visible, so he waits. “Excuse me for a moment?” It’s only a minute or two before Leo’s handsome face fills his view. “Ro, hey—you’re naked? Fuck. Did you call me for phone sex? We’re out for dinner with—”

“Tempting though that is,” Rowan whispers because it is tempting, and again, Rowan reminds his dick they are encased in cement because Leo looks devastatingly handsome in his navy blue suit and stark white shirt, “I am in a bit of a rough spot.”

“Are you okay?” Leo frowns. “You’re naked at home.” He must be able to tell Rowan is in the living room, not in the wine cellar or locked outside. No, he hasn’t had either of those things happen—this week.

How is he going to explain this to Leo, or anyone? Tsuki huffs again and lies down beside him with her cold nose pressed reassuringly against his ankle. It gives him a burst of courage. “I’m stuck.”

“Not in the wine cellar again? The code is—”

“Not the wine cellar, and not fucking outside. My dick is stuck in a vase filled with cement, and I can’t get it out.” There. Nice and simple and straight (ha!) to the point.

Leo’s mouth opens and closes before he gives his head a shake. “Rowan. I thought you just said your beautiful, awe-inspiringdick,” he whispers the last part, “is stuck in a vase filled with cement.”

“Yes, and I can’t get it out. What should I do?’

“Yourdickis stuck in avasefilled withcement,and you can’t get it out,” Leo repeats for the second time, and it’s not any easier to hear.

“What’s wrong with you? That’s what I said. Are you glitching?” Rowan asks. He’s surprised his normally quick-minded mate hasn’t already solved the problem for him. “Are you drunk?”

“AmIdrunk? Me?” Leo snorts. “Show me.” He raises his eyebrows and looks a bit skeptical. When Rowan hesitates, Leo adds, “You’re not serious.Is this a trick to show me your dick again? You know I always want to see—”

“Leo!” Rowan shouts, raising his voice to get Leo back on track. Maybe this was the wrong choice. Luca’s crazy ideas had to be better than this. “Look!”

It’s hard to get the camera angle right without the heavy weight of the cement pulling on his now-very-sorry dick, but he must manage because Leo yells, “Holy shit! You’re not joking.”

“No, I am not fucking joking. Now what are you going to do to get me out!” Because if Leo didn’t have any ideas, then Rowan would be in the worst kind of trouble.

“Holy shit. What did you do? How is this even possible—” His voice cuts off, and much to Rowan’s horror, Jay’s beautiful face appears over Leo’s shoulder.Oh no.

“Ro? Are you okay?” he asks, brows furrowed.

“No, he’s not fucking okay. He’s Medusa-ed his dick.”

“What does that mean?” Jay asks, but his genius brain is already ten steps ahead. “What did you do?”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”It is. It is a big fucking deal. Dammit.

“He’s cast his dick in cement. I assume it’s by accident?” Leo asks.