Overdose: A British Bad Boy Romance

by Raven St. Pierre

  Vanessa pursed her red-stained lips together. She’d have to get used to his candor. “Okay… tell me about it.”

  “The sex?” A husky laugh puffed from Zander’s lips when he teased.

  “Not in detail. Just how many times, your mood before the encounters… things of that nature,” she clarified.

  Zander sat back and recapped. “Let’s see. I came here Wednesday of last week. That night, I chose to pleasure myself. It seemed like too much trouble to call someone, wait for her to arrive, go through the whole foreplay bit, and so on and so forth.” He rolled his eyes at the thought of all the rigmarole. “It seemed much more appealing to… take matters into my own hands,” he added as a slow smile spread across his face. “No pun intended.”

  Vanessa swallowed hard.

  “Then, Thursday, I met a friend at a bar and the waitress and I had our… dessert, if you will, in the ladies room. Friday, I worked late so I had to forfeit any sort of physicality. Saturday is a bit of a blur, actually—thanks to a few very well-aged bottles of wine. But judging by the state of my bed when I awoke, I’d say I left quite the impression on the three young ladies I found there in the morning,” he said casually. “Sunday, one of my regulars paid me a visit in the middle of the night. Monday, I revisited Thursday’s bar and the waitress… and the ladies room, which brings us to last night, Tuesday, and I chose to masturbate again.”

  Vanessa was quiet and Zander tried to read her.

  “With so many partners, do you practice safe sex, Dr. Hale?” She’d seen several patients with his habits who held such little regard for their health and safety that they never gave condoms a second thought. She wasn’t sure if that was the case here or not, so she asked.

  Zander stared at her incredulously, as if the question caused him offense. “I’m not a barbarian, Dr. Ferris. Condoms are a must and I make it a point to have health screenings more frequently than the average person as well. One can never be too careful.” He smiled at her again now that they had an understanding. “I’m as clean as can be.”

  Well, she supposed that answered her question, so she moved on. “Is there a reason you choose to pleasure yourself certain days instead of seeking out that ‘body heat’ you seem to crave?”

  He smiled when she quoted him. His words sounded good leaving her mouth. “I hadn’t thought about it really, but perhaps.”

  Vanessa jotted down a note. “Is this much activity pretty standard for you in a week?”

  “More or less.”

  She nodded. “You mentioned last time that reaching orgasm ‘centers’ you. Afterward, how long does that feeling last?”

  He sighed and concentrated on her question. “Minutes, I suppose? Five, maybe ten.”

  “And after that? How do you feel once those five or ten minutes have passed?”

  He closed his eyes and tried to recall. “Empty. Like… I lost more than I gained from the experience.” When his lids opened again, Vanessa was staring his way.

  “Is it possible that you’re chasing this feeling? That’s why you crave sex the way you do? Aside from those short-lived moments immediately following an encounter, life feels out of balance to you?”

  Zander clenched his jaw. “Isn’t everyone’s life out of balance to some degree?”

  Vanessa sat back and shrugged. “True, but not for the same reasons.”

  He stared at her silently.

  “Now that we may have figured out what you’re seeking, we need to determine why.”

  “So, you believe all of this comes down to this need to feel balanced?” he asked. To him, that seemed too rudimentary an explanation for an issue that’d been such a nuisance all these years. Vanessa detected the irritation in his tone.

  “Yes, actually, I do. There may be many layers to that, but at the core, you’re looking for the same thing everyone else is. Sex is just your way of going about finding it.”

  “Couldn’t it just be that I like it? Sex, I mean?” he asked in a point blank manner. “Would that be so strange?”

  “Strange, no. But, Zander, there’re plenty of men and women who like sex. However, most of them don’t let it interfere with their daily lives like you’ve expressed. Therein lies the difference. You came to me for a reason.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “So back to the question of why; I’d like to understand why sex equals balance for you.”

  Zander let his head fall against the back of the couch and he stared at the ceiling. His interest in this conversation was beginning to wane.

  “This is rather boring, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Vanessa watched him, noting how he deflected that question. “Trying to find the root cause of this impulse bores you? I’m sorry, but I thought that was why you came to see me.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Forgive me if I’m not in the mood to talk about myself this morning. I’m still waiting to hear more about you.”

  “I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen,” Vanessa countered.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I didn’t make an appointment at your office.”

  Her sassiness made him smile again. “Feeling a bit testy this morning, are we?”

  Vanessa looked down and realized she was tapping her pen on the notebook. She stopped and took a deep breath.

  “What’s got your feathers ruffled?” Zander asked, leaning into her space like he so loved to do.

  “I’m fine.”

  Lies.

  Vanessa didn’t realize it, but responding to Zander instead of avoiding him let him slip his foot inside the door. Granted, she wasn’t telling the truth—he could clearly see she was not fine—but she’d taken the time to answer his question as opposed to ignoring it like she’d done before. He had her precisely where he wanted her.

  “You’re fine,” he repeated, confusing Vanessa with the satisfaction in his tone. She had no idea what she’d just done.

  “Let’s get back on topic.”

  “Or… you could tell me about your week. I’ve shared all my dirty little secrets. It’s only fitting that you tell me at least one of yours.”

  Vanessa didn’t say anything.

  Zander’s eyes shifted to the nameplate on her desk and a thought occurred to him, remembering the sign he’d seen on his way inside the building.

  “Who might the other ‘Ferris’ be of ‘Ferris & Ferris’, Doctor?” He stared through her as his eyes seemed to blaze the color of true gold while Vanessa watched him. “Do you own your practice with a parent? Or… perhaps a spouse?” There was definitely a hint of condescension buried deep within the question and it wasn’t lost on Vanessa. He looked for a wedding ring the week before, but the fact that she didn’t wear one meant nothing. He’d known several doctors who didn’t because they preferred to keep every aspect of their private lives hidden from their patients. Maybe that was the case here, too.

  He forced a smile again to hide his true thoughts, waiting for an answer.

  “That’s none of your business,” Vanessa countered, deflecting as usual.

  When she didn’t answer what seemed like such a simple question, Zander reached his own conclusion.

  “Well, if I had to guess how your time was spent,” he said, going back to his original thought concerning the week prior, “I’d say you probably did the exact same thing this week that you did the week before, and the week before that, and the week before that.” He cocked his head to the side. “Tell me, Dr. Ferris, don’t you ever get tired of the mundane?”

  Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “What makes you think my life’s mundane?”

  The cynicism returned as he glanced down at her empty ring finger, still assuming she was married. “Just a hunch.”

  On cue, Vanessa crossed her legs. Unknowingly, she’d just given Zander every single detail he needed.

  Both looked up when someone knocked.

  “Excuse me,” she said politely to Zander before standing to answer. His eyes wandered over her frame as she
sauntered to the door. His head slowly tilted to the side to take her in from another angle, one he found just as pleasing as every other he’d watched her from.

  “Yes?” Vanessa said quietly when she opened up and let Simon take a step in. His eyes shifted to her patient who was already watching him. Simon’s words caught in his throat momentarily and then he nodded a hello to Zander.

  “Sorry to interrupt. I tried to call a few minutes ago.”

  “The ringer’s off because I’m with a patient,” she said in a clipped tone, gesturing toward Zander. “Is something wrong?”

  Zander silently studied the man who’d intruded upon his session.

  “Not totally sure yet,” Simon answered. “I have a patient who was just admitted to the hospital. I have to get over there.”

  Vanessa folded her arms over her chest, putting aside her issues with Simon just long enough to think of the people with appointments scheduled for today. “Do you need me to see any of your patients? I’m sure I could squeeze in a few if—”

  “No, I already had Greta reschedule everyone. Unless someone doesn’t get the message and shows up anyway, everything should be taken care of.”

  Vanessa nodded and gave Simon the usual cold shoulder while Zander sat, enjoying the entire show. If this was the husband… there was definitely trouble in paradise, he observed.

  Simon looked at Zander again from the corner of his eye, noting how the young man—younger than him, at least—had seemingly slipped into a daze staring at his wife. Well, ex-wife… or whatever she considered herself to be, but either way, he didn’t like it. Regardless of what Vanessa or anyone else thought about it, he still felt possessive over her.

  “I’ll send you a message when I return.” Simon smiled a little, looked at the stranger once more, and then headed out to go see about his patient.

  Vanessa adjusted her dress at the waist after shutting the door, inciting a generous dose of lust to take over Zander’s thoughts with just that one, simple motion. As she walked back to her chair, he watched, speaking one word when she sat: “Interesting.”

  Vanessa heard him, but chose to ignore the comment. “Now where were we?” She looked down at her notes to recall where they’d left off.

  “Just how old is he, if you don’t mind me asking?” Zander inquired out the blue, cutting Vanessa off just as she was about to speak.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Your husband. You’re, what… late twenties? Early thirties? He’s practically old enough to be your father.”

  The inquisitive way Zander spoke left Vanessa feeling confused. She couldn’t tell if he was trying to upset her or if he was genuinely curious. Either way, she wasn’t going to let him pry into her life.

  “That’s no more your business than my relationship status is.”

  “Let me guess,” he added, ignoring her attempt at deflection. “You’ve got some serious mommy issues, haven’t you? Probably haven’t spoken to the woman in years. Am I right?”

  Now she was irritated. “We’re not—”

  “Classic Electra complex,” he went on. “Mommy didn’t love you, which made Daddy’s love so much more important,” he said teasingly. His lip turned up into a snarl when he locked eyes with Vanessa. “Couldn’t cling to Daddy forever, so you did the next best thing—you went out and married a man twice your age and now you can shag poppa whenever you please.” A laugh bellowed from his throat when his hands clasped together amidst this eureka moment. “It’s all quite interesting, really, when you think of how the mind works. It’s all subconscious, of course, but—”

  “That’s enough!” Vanessa slammed her notebook down on the coffee table.

  “Tell me, Dr. Ferris, do you fantasize about women like others with your condition tend to do? The Electra complex, I mean. Make my day and tell me I’m right.”

  “Get out!” She stood to open the door to her office while Zander sat laughing.

  “Oh, come now, Doctor. It’s unprofessional to yell at a patient. Especially one so obviously disturbed.” There were clear hints of mockery in his tone and Vanessa didn’t miss it.

  “You’re not disturbed. You’re cruel,” she hissed.

  His eyes glowed with excitement at the sound of those words. She—the lovely, delicate specimen before him—figured it out; saw him for who he really was, and that thrilled him to the core.

  She wasn’t like the others, Zander observed. Most tiptoed around what they really saw in him—darkness. They’d recite all the niceties and clinical terminology, but not her; she was different.

  He grinned, contrasting Vanessa’s rage. It sparked something in him seeing her respond to his abrasiveness exactly the way everyone else wanted to, but never had the nerve to express—especially not someone who’d lose money if he did, in fact, take their advice and walked out. Her cheeks blazed and he loved every second of it.

  “Well looky here… I do believe we just had ourselves a breakthrough, Doctor.”

  Vanessa stood at the door, seething with anger as she repeated herself. “Get out.”

  Zander took a breath and made an attempt to calm her. “You’re right; I’ve overstepped my boundaries. Please… come back and sit with me,” he beckoned. “It won’t happen again.”

  Vanessa stared at him, finding it hard to believe he’d spoken to her that way and now expected her to bend to his will. Was that how the world he lived in worked?

  “Absolutely not,” she asserted. “You can leave my office like I just asked you to. And if… I decide that we can continue this, I’ll have Greta contact you to make another appointment.”

  She continued to stand by the door, refusing to look into Zander’s smug face. She knew he’d be delighted to have gotten under her skin and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing it.

  “Well… my apologies once again,” he said as he approached Vanessa at the door, clutching his helmet. He stepped a little closer and was nearly in her face when he whispered a few parting words. “But be a dear and have Greta make that appointment for Wednesday evening next time. Would you, love?”

  He stared down on her a moment longer, knowing good and well she wasn’t done with him. Women like her didn’t back down from challenges and, if Dr. Zander Hale was anything, he was a challenge. This spell would pass and she’d inevitably be sitting here with him again next week.

  Holding to that theory, Zander smirked and passed by Vanessa as he exited.

  Chapter Four

  She couldn’t wait to slam the door behind Zander. It took everything in her to withhold the growl that threatened to burst from her lungs.

  Who the hell did he think he was?

  If he’d been just any old patient, she wouldn’t have let him get to her, but Zander was not only a patient; he was supposed to be a fellow physician. Mind games and manipulation should’ve been beneath him.

  It took longer than she liked to calm down after Zander departed. She sipped from her bottle of water and sat back in her chair. ‘Electra complex’, she thought to herself. Where did he get off analyzing her? It irritated the hell out of her that he thought he could just speak to her however he wanted. Seeing him again didn’t seem like the best idea. Perhaps she should’ve let him end this when he threatened to the week before.

  Her next patient entered and Vanessa tried to let the stress of the morning pass. Cliff Asher took his seat and folded his hands in his lap.

  “How are you, Cliff? Is your week going well so far?” Vanessa asked.

  He nodded nervously. “Fine. Thank you.”

  “That’s good to hear. And your fiancée?”

  “She’s doing well.”

  Vanessa turned the page in her notepad and clicked her pin. “Last week, I gave you a few suggestions to try out. How’d that work for you?”

  Cliff shrugged. “Better. I only had two incidents this week.”

  That was definitely an improvement. Cliff was a unique case. He had a tendency to fully ejaculate in his sleep, an embarrassing con
dition he hoped to curtail before his wedding in a few months. He managed to keep the issue a secret from his fiancée thus far, but he knew once they shared a bed on a consistent basis, there was no way she wouldn’t discover his secret. Vanessa’s latest advice was for Cliff to masturbate right before bed and again in the morning. Cutting down from four or five incidents a week to two was a good sign.

  “Is there any chance I can put an end to the problem for good?” he asked.

  Vanessa smiled. “One step at a time. We’re making progress, though.”

  “So what next?”

  “Well… in the event that the issue isn’t resolved in the three months until the wedding, have you considered just being honest with your fiancée?”

  Cliff looked at her like she was crazy. “Sure… tell her I fire off a load in my pants every night. That’ll go over real well.”

  Vanessa pretended to scratch her nose to keep from laughing at his choice of words. “You’d be surprised what exceptions a wife will make for her husband.”

  “She’ll think it’s disgusting.”

  Vanessa made a face. “Let me ask you this: you and your fiancée are intimate, aren’t you?”

  Cliff nodded.

  “Then, clearly, she doesn’t think your semen is disgusting. When and where you release will probably not be an issue for her. It may be difficult to understand why this happens to you, but that’s why I think you should consider explaining it to her.”

  Cliff wasn’t buying it.

  “Would it be easier for you to have this discussion if you brought the conversation here to my office? She could come with you to your next session.”

  “Doc, she doesn’t even know I’m seeing a shrink. I’d rather not drop both of those bombs in the same day if it can be avoided.”

  Vanessa sighed and stared at Cliff wordlessly, feeling less than effective today altogether.

  “Well, where would you like to go from here?” she asked when she ran out of suggestions.

  Cliff shrugged. “Aren’t there some pills you can prescribe for me?”

  Vanessa sighed, but didn’t answer. Being honest, she was still flustered after her encounter with Zander.