Chapter Twenty Four: What He Wants

Devon slid her hair pins in place, smoothed down her apron and armed herself with her pink carry-mug. She'd taken a quick break mid-morning in her office to read over and tweak the business proposal plans for her discussion with Jon later that night. She caught herself smiling even as she thought about him and their plans for the night. The buzz outside her salon was at fever pitch as her girls worked their magic with scissor-clips, splashes of colours and curling irons. Kelly ran a pretty tight ship on a Saturday and they utilized their space and hired it to casual hairdressers which made Saturdays one of the most productive and profitable days of her working week.

Jonathan had even chipped in today taking a few extra jobs from the girls and they shared any walk-ins between them. Although she wasn't really running the show she liked being here hearing the compliments to her stylists on the wonderful styles they were doing and the glowing skin they had when they walked out. 

"Knock Knock." Jonathan stuck his head in the door.

"Hey what's up?" She fluffed her hair and then dusted her hands ready to get back into it. 

"Just got a skin-consult walk and they asked for a guy."

Jonathan wiggled his eyebrows. She usually took the skincare walk-ins and Jonathan took the hair but this case was obviously different. "Sure. Anything exciting?"

"No I don’t think so, just that he'd prefer to see a guy. After this I'm going for a bagel run, want something?"

"Ohh yes please." Soho had the most amazing bagel shops near the salon and of course with the amount of cream cheese Jonathan always got on the bagel she'd have to spend thirty minutes on the treadmill that night but it was too good to refuse. Or maybe she wouldn’t have to, sex was a good workout right? She snickered to herself before she realized Jonathan was still in the room.

"Care to share?" He asked amused "No, I was just-"

"Oh I bet you were honey." He ducked the screwed up piece of paper she threw in his direction.

"Just go would you." She slid back into her chair and chuckled. There was no hope for her now. She read through the week's takings and updated her spread sheets on her laptop. Business really was going better than she could have hoped for and the new idea that Jon had helped her come up with was set to really blow the place apart. She'd be able to pay back the money to her stash and think about those expansions quicker than she realized.

About ten minutes later Jonathan popped his head back in. "Ok, I need some advice."

"Oh yeah? For the guy?" She asked as Jonathan pushed his designer wire-framed glasses back up his nose. Jonathan didn't need glasses but from time to time he wore them as fashion accessories.

"Yeah he's got a reaction on his skin. Like a burn but it's not. I was going to recommend some Aloe-Vera based serum we use for sun-burned problems."

 She frowned. "Is it a real burn? They should be seeing a doctor if it is Jonathan." She didn’t want to get sued if she made the issue only worse, you had to be damn careful about those things in this country. 

"Oh-no, it's not I've seen it before. Very common. I just wanted your opinion."

"Well you know best, you don’t need me.” He was acting awfully strange. “How did they get it, did he say?”

Jonathan paused thoughtfully then cupped his mouth and whispered. "I don't think they want to say... domestic violence case I think, the wife was being rough."

"Oh wow? Really? Right. I get it. Um yeah well, Aloe Vera would be the best thing. Just make sure they don't have any allergies as that product can be pretty strong."

"Gotcha. Ok thanks." Jonathan slammed shut the door and Devon stood and folded her arms. It bugged her that he seemed so weird about something so simple but maybe he was nervous about the domestic violence issue. But Jonathan would know how to deal with all this so why the hell wouldn't he be treating this any different? Jesus.

She stood and straightened her apron and walked back out onto the floor. The hum of hairdryers, splashes of water in the basins were a comforting sound as she peered around, everything was going as she expected. She drifted out the back to the skin-consult rooms and could hear Jonathan's loud laugh from the consult room he was in. What the hell? Maybe he’d softened up the client a little. She breathed a small sigh of relief but frowned when an all too familiar male laugh floated out to her. She gasped when she spied Jon sitting in the chair with his wrists on the table wrapped in an aloe treatment mask.

"Oh my god!" Her face flushed deep crimson. Holy fucking hell, she wanted to die.

Jonathan laughed. "Here she is now, the boyfriend beater." "Jon, what on earth- you're wrists!" She slapped her forehead. “Oh god, I’m so sorry.”

She took one look at the smug looks on both of their faces and stopped. "You both suck. That wasn't nice! You knew I'd come in here. And you could have just called me about this." She pointed at Jon whose grin was wider than a Cheshire cats.

"Now what fun would that have been? I just got my ass handed to me by Richie when he noticed so I thought it was only fair."

She moved Jonathan out of the way and looked at his wrists. "Before I kill you, are they really sore? God I'm so sorry honey."

"A little raw but I figure this can't hurt and help the healing process." She slapped his shoulder. "You're so going down for this."

"Will you be wearing those red shoes when I do?" He asked hopefully with a smirk.

Jonathan held his hands up. "Whoa ok-I'm gone no need for me to hear about this--even though you'll tell me later, right Dev?" He winked as he slipped out the room.

She slid onto Jon's lap while he let his wrists rest on the table. "You are a very bad man and I'm going to kill you for this. Jonathan will tease the holy hell out of me for eternity.”

"What? Don't your staff know that you're a hellcat in the sack?" He bit his lip as he tried not to laugh. "I hate you." "No you don't, you love-well like me."

Devon paused and ran her fingers up his jaw and over his ear threading them into his hair. "I do like you. A lot. You're lucky." His eyes fell to her lips and back to her eyes.

"How lucky?" She leaned in and let her lips lightly brush his.

"Not that lucky, I'm the boss remember?"

"Not today you aren't."

She groaned as his tongue snuck under her upper lip. She bowed her head back as his lips slid down the line of her neck. It would be so easy to let go and let him have her right here in the chair but she wasn't about to risk it here at work and Jonathan would have already told Kelly about Jon's wrist. It was how they rolled. Especially since until now, Devon’s private life had been non-existent so this was like fodder. Fresh vibrant fodder.

"Jon." She pushed herself up off him and then rinsed away the aloe masks on his wrists.

"Yikes, they are pretty red. How didn't I notice this earlier?" "I could tell you how." She rolled her eyes and bathed his wrists cleaning the mask off them.

"God, I'm so sorry." He chuckled. "Stop saying that. It's fine baby, I'm just teasing you. What's a little redness for an explosive blowjob?"

Her cheeks burned as she managed a small smile. "Well I'm glad you feel that way." She squirted some moisturizer into her hands and took his hand and massaged it down his wrists gently. "This will help it heal without-well scarring." She was embarrassed but the level of intimacy came easy with Jon and this was holy-hell knock your socks-off intimate.

He snorted. "Good, I really don't think I fancy making up stories how I got them to the kids." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh shit-that would be awful."

He kissed her nose. "Terrible but thankfully I'll see them just once and they'll be away on holiday with-" His eyes fell flat as he paused. She stroked his wrist with her thumb.

"Still not happy about that huh?" He shrugged. "No not really, but I have to be and besides I'm counting on you to distract me for the week."

She grinned. "Oh yea? What did you have in mind?"

Jon paused. "Can you get a couple of days off?"

 "When?"

 "Say next Thursday, Friday and Saturday?"

"Jeeze, I’ve never..." She gnawed at her bottom lip.

"Please don't tell me you've never been away from your work that long, that's sadder than me."

She laughed. "Well it's true. I told you, I don't really get out that much. I've been saving and working hard."

"Right so time to take a break. We're going away for a few days."

"We are? Where? I don't know if I can do that Jon."

"Do you want me to ask Jonathan, as I don't believe as the boss that you can't get a few days off."

She frowned and heart raced in her chest. "No and that's not your place. I can't just up and leave with short notice Jon. I have appointments to keep." She snapped more than she intended to but the nervousness had crept back inside of her. What he was offering was lovely, sweet and generous and god--he was being everything any girl wanted and more.

He took her hands in his. "Devon, that's not what I mean. I just want to spend some time with you."

She sighed. "You want a distraction from knowing your kids are with your wife's boyfriend."

"Well yes I do. I won't lie but I want you. I mean it."

"I know you do and of course I want you. I just - we've only known each other a week it's just-" God she was going to use "too soon" excuse now? She was fumbling and making a right dogs breakfast out of this.

"It's only a vacation. A small one. You, me and some water and privacy. I'm not asking you to move in with me."

The doubt was back too. What did he see in her? Why did he make her second guess everything she'd built in her new life? "I don't know Jon, I'll have to check with the girls if they can take my work and talk to Jonathan, he'll have to take over while I'm away."

"That's what you pay them for babe."

"You're not going to take no for an answer are you?"

"You know me too well already." He teased as he got up from the chair and drew her in. His lips brushed against her forehead and his fingers drifted up her sides. "Just think about it." Her toes tingled and she closed her eyes as his warm breath tickled her ear lobe.

"I'll think about it." He tipped her chin and pressed his mouth against hers. "I want you Devon, all of you. And the sooner you realize that. The easier this will be. I don’t take this lightly and I push because I know I can get it.”

She shuddered as the kiss went deep and his words resounded in her head. Jon was exactly what she had always wanted, what she thought Jared would be but wasn't. In her former life this would be a dream come true and she'd have leaped in with two feet, a bottle of wine in one hand and a glass in the other. If there was a way she really could have this, then she craved it from the bottom of her heart. The reality was she didn't want to risk it all and end up hurting Jon in the end. Loyalty and trust were two things he took very seriously and she’d learned that in the quick space she'd known him. Maybe this was moving on? Letting go and hoping for the best? There was always the chance that this would work out and no one would be any wiser to what she walked away from.

Could she really believe that? Because if she could, this could just be the best thing that had ever happened to her. Her fingers wound around his neck as he moaned as she slid her tongue into his mouth and then broke the kiss. "I want you too."

"Then come with me." Her heart pounded in her chest and she nodded as their gazes locked.

"Ok, I'll make it happen." Their teeth clicked as he smiled into a quick kiss.

"You won't regret it." She sighed as he pulled away and picked up his coat.

"So I'll see you tonight?"

"Yup you're picking me up at seven." "Bye babe." He winked and paused. "Don't forget the shoes."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Get out of here." She smiled as she clicked the door closed behind him and took a few moments to recompose herself.

 He'd rail-roaded her again. Dammit.