Page 71 of Broken Wheels
Yeah, that was not helping.
Josh cleared his throat. “I was hoping we could talk. I have a question I’d like to ask.”
Dixon shrugged into his shirt, and Josh lamented losing sight of that beautiful body.
“Sure, let me shower quick and?—”
“No!” The word came out a lot louder than Josh had intended, and he noted a few people glanced in their direction. “I mean, you can shower in your room, right?”
Dixon’s soft chuckle told Josh he was busted. “Sure, let’s do that. Keep in mind, though, my muscles are sore, so you might need to wash my back.”
Yup, definitely busted.
They made it to the room without Josh dropping to his knees in the elevator, which he thought was pretty damned impressive. Inside the enclosed space, Dixon’s musky smell filled Josh’s nostrils, and far from the odor grossing him out, he found himself perpetually hard.
The hard wants what the hard wants.
He grinned over the joke.
As soon as they entered, Dixon went and grabbed a towel. He scrubbed it over his head, then took his shirt off and mopped up a little more perspiration.
“Need a shower,” he announced, heading into the bathroom. Josh followed, and Dixon glanced at him over his shoulder. “Coming to scrub my back, Doc?”
“If you want.”
Dixon chuckled. “Nah, I’m okay. Go sit down and I’ll be out in a minute.”
Josh got out of there before Dixon could spot his pout.
When Dixon came out, his skin all bright and pink, he dropped onto the couch and blew out a breath. “I think I pushed myself a bit too much today. I did a double set of reps because I was so pissed. Need to keep in mind I’m not that young anymore.”
Josh snorted. “That’s crap. The two guys you left up here said you routinely impress the others with your workout and they’re all like five years younger than you.”
Dixon laughed. “Five years? Doc, do you know how old I am? Next birthday I’m going to be thirty-eight. Hardly a spring chicken, as my mama used to say.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “What did you want to talk about?”
Josh’s mind raced, trying to come up with a topic.
“Can you tell me how you came to work at CrossBow?” Dixon winced, and Josh worried he’d overstepped. “Hey, never mind.”
Dixon smiled. “No, it’s fine. It’s just that my history isn’t common knowledge, mostly because I don’t talk about it. Gary and Michael know, of course.” He sat back. “I’d been in the army for about five years, working my way up the ranks, with a boatload of medals and citations to show for it. Then came the day I was delivering a parcel to the infirmary we used off base.”
He paused, and Josh’s skin prickled.
“I heard a small voice saying ‘no.’ Then they repeated it, only louder, and finally they called out ‘Mama.’ I stepped into the doctor’s office, and what I saw had me seeing red.” Dixon’s face reddened. “The doctor had his zipper open, his cock pointing straight out—at a little girl. He tried to move her hand to it, and she screamed. He slapped her, and she dropped to the floor.” He grimaced. “Everything seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.”
“What did you do?”
Dixon stilled. “It was like I wasn’t me anymore. I watched myself grab the kid and push her out the door before locking it.”
Oh, crap. “You didn’t kill him, did you?”
He winced. “No, but I really wanted to. I did beat the crap out of him, however. When I reported the incident to my superiors, they were of the opinion that I should have just called the police and not used my fists. I asked, ‘What about the kid?’ They expected me to hear her crying for her mommy after that fucker put hands on her, and just walk away?”
“What happened after?”
Dixon gave a rueful smile. “A whole clusterfuck of things. The doctor went to the emergency room, and I got arrested. Then his trial came up. They gave him a lawyer because he was a civilian. Fortunately, the prosecution had taken photographic evidence from his computer of him with this kid and at least a dozen others. There was no way he’d walk. Then it was my turn. The brass pulled me aside and said I had a choice. Based on the evidence, the prosecution would most likely prove me guilty of excessive force and attacking a civilian, even if the latter was with provocation. So they offered me a plea deal. I could fight it, but if I lost, there would be a dishonorable discharge and the record that went with it. Or I could resign, and the records would be sealed.”
Josh had a feeling he knew which way Dixon had gone. “You resigned?”