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J ameson jumped up. “What is it? What happened?”

She snatched her toy from the bed and held him against her. “It’s all right, Ziggy. You’re okay.”

“Bloody hell. I thought I’d sat on something real.” Jameson put a hand on his chest.

“Ziggy is real!”

What did he mean by not real?

Now, she was close to tears. What was wrong with her?

Jameson’s eyes widened with panic. “Of course he is! I apologize. What can I do to help? Is he hurt?”

She gaped at him, not expecting this. Even though Ian had told her that he’d once been a Daddy Dom, she didn’t expect him to . . . to placate her. To show her that part of himself.

“He might be.”

“Would you like me to examine him? I am a doctor, after all.”

“I’m not sure. Are you a very good one? I only want the best for Ziggy.”

“I’ll try my hardest. As long as you promise not to cry.”

She sucked in a shuddery breath. “I . . . I’ll t-try.”

“Be brave. I’m sure that he’s fine.”

“You sat on him, though. And he’s v-very delicate.”

“Hey. No tears. You said you’d be brave.”

“Just please fix him,” she begged.

Jameson took hold of Ziggy carefully. “Let me see. Nothing looks broken.”

“How do you know? Does he need a z-ray?”

“Z-ray? Do you mean X-ray?”

“No. Z for zebra.”

“Ahh, of course. How stupid of me.”

“Are you sure you have a doctoring degree?” she asked suspiciously.

“I do. But to be fair, it’s for humans, not zebras.”

She sniffled, nodding. “That’s true. I guess you might not be able to fix Ziggy.”

“I really think there’s nothing wrong with him that a good cuddle wouldn’t fix.”

“Really? Don’t you need to listen to his heart?”

“I suppose I could do that. Let me get my stethoscope.” He drew it out of his bag and started listening to Ziggy’s heart.

“Well?” she asked breathlessly. “Is he gonna be okay?”

“I am happy to announce that Ziggy is one very healthy zebra. He must have a very good mummy.”

She smiled brightly at him. “Should you take his temperature, though?”

“Definitely.”

And that’s exactly what he was doing as Ian and Jack walked back into the room. Ian was carrying another tray of food. It seemed his solution to her being hurt was to feed her. She was still a tad queasy from all of the snacks she’d eaten that afternoon.

Although she did notice that he’d kept dinner light. Tomato soup and grilled cheese.

Ooh, and he’d cut the crusts off the grilled cheese sandwiches.

“You’re now my favorite,” she told Ian seriously.

“I am?” he asked, looking surprised as he set the tray down.

“No crusts. Genius.”

“Crusts are good for you,” Jameson told her. “You shouldn’t cut them off her food, Ian.”

Ian gave Jameson a bewildered look as though he couldn’t understand what he was saying. Then he turned to her. “You like that? Wait, I wasn’t your favorite before?”

“Of course not. That would be me,” Jack said, moving to the other side of the bed. “Whatcha doing, Doc?”

“I’m doing a check-up on Ziggy, obviously,” Jameson replied.

“Yeah? You changing careers?” Ian asked. “Going into stuffie medical care?”

“Hey!” she said as Jameson sighed, shaking his head. “That could be a growing medical field, you know. I’m sure there are lots of injured stuffies out there that could use Jameson’s doctoring.”

Jameson groaned for some reason. “I sat on him, okay? And I was just checking to see if he was all right. And yes, I’m aware that what I just said sounds ridiculous.”

“I don’t think it’s ridiculous.”

“Have you done what you came here for and checked her hip?” Ian asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Actually, we’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t ethically act as her doctor anymore,” Jameson said stiffly.

Jack sat up straight. “What did you do?”

“What makes you think I did something?” Jameson asked.

“Because you’re acting weird. And you’ve gone all stiff and formal. You do that when you’re trying to hide something. Like a feeling of guilt.”

“See . . . robot Jameson,” she said. “I told him he does that. And don’t make him feel bad. Nothing happened. He just got a bit Dommy on me.”

“Dommy?” Ian asked quietly. “Did he touch you without consent?”

“Of course I didn’t,” Jameson said, standing and looking furious.

“No, he didn’t. Ian, you’re not being very nice.” She shook her head at him.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Jack said.

“You do?” Ian asked.

“Yep. Jameson always feels better when he’s got a sub to dominate. Even if he is a bit stiff right now.” He winked at her as he said the word stiff and she groaned.

“Jack,” Jameson said sharply. “This isn’t happening. And you have no right to comment on my needs.”

“See? He needs to relax,” Jack whispered to her. “He’s wound up so tight that he’s going to explode.” Jack made a noise like a bomb going off. “Wouldn’t want to cop that explosion. If you get my drift.”

She would have smiled if Jameson didn’t look so upset.

“Jack,” Jameson said warningly.

“Yes?” Jack asked innocently.

“I need to speak to you. Outside. Now.”

“Uh-uh, no fisticuffs. You can’t ruin your precious hands, remember? Besides, I’d whip your ass. I’m not a scrawny kid anymore.”

She couldn’t imagine them fighting as young kids.

“If you do fight, don’t hit his face. I like it the way it is,” she whispered to Jack.

“Deal,” Jack whispered.

“Are they always like this?” Jameson asked Ian.

But Ian wasn’t paying any attention to them. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was frowning at Jameson. “You can’t leave without checking on her.”

“I’ll have another doctor look at her hip.”

“At this time of night?” Ian asked.

“No. Tomorrow.”

Ian shook his head. “You’re here. Do it now.”

Jameson let out a sigh. “You have to ask for her consent, Ian.”

“Did you ask her consent before going all Dommy on her?” Jack asked.

Jameson’s face turned red. Uh-oh.

“I wanted him to touch me,” she blurted out.

Both Ian and Jack stared at her while Jameson groaned.

“How exactly did he touch you, baby?” Jack asked.

“Um . . . all he did was touch my lip and my, uh, tongue. With his finger. That’s it.”

Ian grunted. “Doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Yeah, not like you ate out her pussy,” Jack added.

“Jack!” everyone yelled.

“What?” Jack asked with fake-innocence.

Jameson shot them both hard looks. If he’d stared at her like that, she’d be on her knees, begging for forgiveness. The two of them appeared contrite.

Well, Ian did.

Jack just smiled.

“If anyone is trouble around here, it’s you,” she told Jack.

“Why, baby girl. That’s not very nice. I might be wounded.”

“You’re not,” she replied dryly.

“Check her hip, Jameson,” Ian said tiredly. “She needs to eat and sleep.”

“She needs some healthy protein and greens,” Jameson lectured. “Don’t think I didn’t notice all the junk food wrappers in the bin.”

Ian rolled his eyes as Jack huffed out a breath.

“Maggie, is it all right with you if I take a look at your hip?”

“Sure,” she replied. Even though having him touch her might be more than she could handle right now.

Lying back, she drew up Ian’s oversized T-shirt. She thought she heard Jameson suck in a sharp breath, but she had to have imagined that.

Right?

He poked and prodded at her.

Think unsexy thoughts.

Pigs in tutus.

Nope. Not working. Sexy Doctor was touching her with the same finger that she’d sucked on.

Urgh.

Monkeys flinging poop.

She bit back a flinch as he touched a particularly sore part of her hip. And still, she was turned on.

Her mum and dad riding the bony express.

And there it was. She was officially turned off.

“I was hoping it would be less tender. The swelling is still there as well. Can I see you walk on it?”

“S-sure.”

Ian helped her off the bed, then she walked slowly back and forth across the room.

“Would you mind, uh, raising the T-shirt while you walk? I promise, this is for medical reasons only.”

“Oh. Yep. It’s okay. I don’t mind if you see my knickers. They’re just knickers. Nothing weird about my knickers. Can someone please stop me from saying the word knickers?” she asked desperately.

All of them were just staring at her until Jack started laughing. Which set off her giggles. Ian smiled and even Jameson’s lips twitched.

“All right, sweetheart. Please raise your shirt so I can see your knickers . . . hip! I meant hip.”

She had to admit that her hip was sorer than expected, considering she’d been doing nothing all day. But it wasn’t that bad.

“How is the pain on a scale of one to five?” Jameson asked, coming over and kneeling in front of her. His face was right in front of her stomach. If he just dropped it a tad lower, it would be over her pussy.

He could lick her. Suck on her clit.

Oh God, did he realize how turned on she was right now?

She took a step back, but he reached out to grab her hips. “Don’t move, please. Pain number?”

“Um. A two.”

He looked up at her, an eyebrow raised.

“All right, maybe a two and three-quarters.” This all seemed like overkill to her. What doctor did house calls? And twice in one day for a minor injury?

It was unheard of.

“More like a four, I’d say. I think you need to come in for an ultrasound.” He stood.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Again, who has the medical degree?” Jameson asked.

“You’re always boasting about that.”

“Back on the bed, Shortcake. Eat your dinner. Rest. Tomorrow, you’re coming into the hospital for some tests.”

She groaned.

Great.

“I hate tests. And hospitals.”

“Tough,” Ian told her. “You’re doing what Jameson says. And he said you need to eat better. No more junk food.”

“Jameson is a dickfly,” she muttered.

“Excuse me?” The man in question sent her ‘the look.’

The look made her clit throb while she also, kind of, wanted to pee herself.

Yep. All that with one look. He was dangerous for her health.

“What?” she repeated. “What did you say?”

When in trouble, deflect, deflect, deflect.

“Smooth move,” Jack muttered.

“I thought so.”

“All this sugar won’t help her heal. Especially when she’s already run down,” Jameson told Ian.

Unfortunately, Ian looked like he was memorizing every word.

That didn’t bode well for her.

“Come on, I’ll walk you out,” Ian said to Jameson. They headed out to Jameson’s car. Ian had known Jameson a long time and he was knew the other man had something to say.

“The three of you are getting close,” Jameson finally said.

“We both like her. A lot.”

Jameson frowned. “She seems very sweet. And kind.”

“That’s because she is. It’s not a pretense. This is who Maggie is. Not all women are liars.”

Jameson stared at him in surprise. “I know that.”

“Good. Because she’s nothing like Elizabeth.”

“I wasn’t saying that she was. Just . . . I’m, uh, glad for you all.” He climbed into his car and took off without another word.

Hmm. That was interesting.