Page 48 of Grumpy

“Good to know,” Kelly mused. “Enjoy your naughty doctor time.”

“Oh, I will. The cubs are gone, so it’s Mama Bear and Papa Bear time. Good talking to you, Kelly.”

“You, too, Tessa.”

* * *

It was past ten-thirty by the time they got organized enough to get on the road. They hadn’t set a specific time for departure, but Grumpy was still annoyed that it took him so long to get moving. Even with Kelly’s help, he’d been stiff. He also learned that it was hard to determine the hotel shower’s temperature. At home, he knew where to place the knobs after several trial and errors upon leaving rehab. But in the unfamiliar shower, he’d judged the temperature wrong based on the lack of steam. While too hot was a more severe problem, too cold was also dangerous. He’d felt the effects slowly as the grafts tightened like they were shrinking, and his muscles started to spasm uncontrollably. When Kelly had felt his skin, she’d been shocked at how ice cold it was, whereas Grumpy truly had not felt a difference.

He’d need to have Kelly test the water temperature before his next shower.

While Kelly helped him straighten and fasten his compression wraps, he still insisted on doing most of it himself, which also slowed down their departure. Due to his hands being tense, he’d struggled to put his prosthetic eye back in. It had been so frustrating and had taken so long that he’d nearly called Kelly in to assist, but in the end, he got it.

Their next planned stop was the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was about two hours away, and thanks to Jackson taking the SUV out to top off the tank that morning while Grumpy struggled to get ready, they shouldn’t need to make any other detours. This was the one stop that Grumpy was looking forward to the most.

But since it was two hours away, Grumpy situated himself in the passenger seat so he was tilted towards Kelly. He didn’t want her to be in his blind spot the entire drive. Kelly wasn’t happy about his seatbelt shoulder strap going behind his back. He got it, the whole safety thing, but he figured he’d survived an explosion that should have killed him. If the universe wanted him so badly, they would have taken him then. Kelly was not so keen to agree with his logic, but placing the belt there allowed him to twist in the seat to face her.

Kelly stopped at a red light, her blinker on to indicate her desire to make a left turn. He saw her tap the steering wheel once and then face him. “I want to have sex tonight.”

Shock at her bluntness gripped Grumpy as the light turned green. The asshole behind Jackson honked his horn. Grumpy caught Jackson flipping the driver off in the right side mirror like a good little prospect.

Kelly flushed, her cheeks turning a beautiful shade of pink as she righted herself and hit the gas.

The cage was silent the entire way up the entrance ramp. Grumpy waited for Kelly to say more, and when it was obvious that she wasn’t going to, he decided to break the silence.

“And you said I had bad timing with certain topics while you’re driving.”

Kelly’s cheeks went from pink to flaming red, and he felt bad for embarrassing her. “Yeah, not the greatest timing, I’ll give you that. But I also knew if I didn’t say anything when neither of us could run away, then I wasn’t going to.”

“Not doing much running lately,” he reminded her gently.

She glanced quickly at him. “You could have—I don’t know—locked yourself in the bathroom or something to avoid talking about it.”

“To avoid talking about sex with you?” he challenged despite his sore jaw. “Very unlikely.”

“It’s not like we’ve talked about expectations, Grumpy. I know you’re still healing, and maybe you’re not up to it—which is perfectly fine—but I’d like to try.”

She was rambling again in her anxiousness. It was fucking adorable. Rather than answer her, though, Grumpy reached for her hand. She didn’t fight him as he took it from the steering wheel and placed it over his groin. “Does that feel like I’m not up to it?” He loved how Kelly’s cheeks held their color, but her lips turned up in a saucy smile. But when she made to look, he said, “Eyes on the road, Kells.”

She grimaced, and though she listened, she also removed her hand. Damn.

“You should know I talked to Tessa.” Grumpy’s face twitched as he fought not to raise an eyebrow at her confession. “I wanted to make sure that there wasn’t a risk of hurting you. Just because we want to have sex and you feel up to having sex doesn’t mean, medically, it’s the best thing for you.”

“If she suggested otherwise, I’ll castrate Bear.”

Kelly chuckled. “No. In fact, she was all for it. But she did point out some things for us to take care about, to watch for.”

“Baby, if this is the part where you tell me you need to be on top and have an argument all prepared about why it’s best for my health if you are, then let me stop you right there.” His voice darkened at just the image his words inspired. “I am very okay with you on top.”

“Really?” she sounded far too surprised and relieved by this. “I was so worried. Isn’t it a guy-thing that you want to be on top?”

“Not with me,” he declared. “And when have you ever known me to conform to stereotypes?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Grouchy Mechanic. I completely misjudged you.”

Grumpy snorted humorously, reaching for his water bottle to quench his dry mouth. “Touché.”

“You’re seriously okay with the idea of me being on top? Her other suggestion was side-to-side.”