by Jayne Rylon
“I could see that. I like her.” She recalled how the woman always stopped to chat, not pretending Brielle was invisible like so many others did.
“That’s good. Really good.” A smile spread across Luke’s face, warming it even more and bringing life to his super blue eyes. “I think—”
“What can I get for you today, Dr. Malone?” The girl behind the counter batted her lashes at Luke so hard Brielle thought she could feel the breeze.
“The usual, please.”
“And you?” The server stared down her nose at Brielle as if she didn’t already know she wasn’t a suitable companion for the gleaming man beside her. She tarnished his polish.
So busy talking, she hadn’t bothered to read the menu boards. A glance up revealed too many choices to run through quickly. “What’s the usual?”
Luke laughed. “Grilled ham and cheese with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a side of fries. I admit it, I have the stomach of an eight-year-old.”
“That sounds terrific. I’ll have the same.” She could have done another happy dance when the cashier glared in her direction.
“I’ll bring those right out.”
Luke led her to a booth in the corner. He helped her slide in before taking a spot on the opposite side. When she peeked up, his face was somber.
“Brielle.” He paused.
What had changed in a matter of seconds? Her stomach sank through the floor.
“I can’t be your doctor.”
“What?” All her euphoria fled, deflating her like a sad balloon. It had been too good to be true. Him. His support. The hope of a life unburdened by fear. “Why? It’s too much, isn’t it? There’s no chance I can be normal.”
“Like hell.” He leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table and capturing her hands between his. “You did so well today. I’d say your prognosis is very good. With the right help.”
“Then why?” She hated the disappointment choking her, making her questions ragged.
“Because of this.” He lifted his index finger and wiggled it between them. “I can’t be professional with you. I won’t be unbiased or objective. There’s been something here since the zucchini and it’s going to interfere. I won’t take that chance with your well-being.”
“Oh.” She blinked. He felt it too. “I understand.”
But she hated the thought of starting over with someone new, someone who wouldn’t be Luke.
“Dr. Williams—I mean, Dr. Foster. The new Dr. Foster. Becca,” Luke corrected. “She can be exactly what you need. You said you like her. Trust me. She’s amazing at her job. I wouldn’t hand you off to just anyone. In fact, I hope you’ll let me stay involved. If you want, I’ll go with you. We can work on this together. They often deal with couples’ counseling. I’d team up with you if you wanted.”
“But Becca would be in charge of my case?” She toyed with the edge of her napkin, reveling in the warmth of his hands cocooning hers. Not once did she have the urge to break free of his tender restraint.
“Yes.” He smiled. “She’d take the lead. I know you have a lot of sorting out to do in your life right now, but if you’ll let me, I’d like to be part of it. Would you be okay with that?”
For the second time in one day, Brielle thought she might cry. Until the server dropped a steamy platter of fries and grilled ham and cheese between them with a resounding clank. Apparently she and Luke weren’t the only ones who could detect this crazy bond.
“Thank you.” Brielle reserved her sweetest tone for the jealous cow.
When the girl sashayed away, Luke chuckled. “Sheathe those claws, kitten. You don’t need them. If it makes you feel better, Becca doesn’t get along with Chastity either.”
“That’s her name?” Brielle nearly shot water out her nose.
“Pretty ironic, isn’t it?” He appraised the server’s too-high skirt hem and too-low neckline. Not in a way that hurt Brielle’s feelings. In fact, it highlighted how differently he regarded her—with far more…interest. Or Becca, with more admiration.
Several bites of delicious gooey cheese and fresh bread later, she couldn’t restrain her curiosity any longer. Something had her intuition on high alert. “You talk about Dr. Foster…Becca so fondly. Familiar. Is she—?”
“Go ahead. What would you like to know? I’ll share anything you ask. How can I do any less after you trusted me with the skeletons in your closet?”
She couldn’t suppress a shudder.
“Sorry, no pun intended. You know what I mean.” He swiped a crumb from her lip. “Ask.”
“Has she always been just a friend?”
“No.” He didn’t hesitate or qualify his response. No excuses followed either. “What? You didn’t expect me to be honest?”
“I guess not.” She stared as he spooned up some soup, slurped the broth then cleared the star-shaped noodles from the utensil. “You’re so different.”
“Good or bad?” He licked the last drops from the silver, making her toes curl.
“Not too shabby.” She grinned when he tapped her shin below the table with the toe of his shoe.
“Now you’re heading for complex, Ms. Norris.”
She laughed until she realized he was staring at her, his silverware still suspended above his empty bowl.
“What? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?” She scrubbed at them with her tongue then smiled wide.
“No. Nothing like that.” He attempted to disguise his smirk behind his napkin. “You’re distracting me. Look, I don’t plan to deceive you. Not now, or ever. Kurt and Becca went through a tough time when they were getting together. Kurt did some things I didn’t understand. Made some bad choices. It almost cost him the woman of his dreams. I won’t take a chance with people who matter to me. I will always be honest with you, I swear.”
“Thanks. I can take it. I’m pretty sure.” She smiled ruefully. “So your best friend married your ex-lover. Isn’t that awkward?”
“Oh.” He set his empty plate aside and leaned back. “I guess that’s what most people would assume. It wasn’t like that at all. Becca has always been Kurt’s first.”
“You two cheated on him?” Brielle couldn’t imagine Luke would do something like that. Had she read him all wrong? People were capable of unthinkable things in the right, or wrong, circumstances. She knew all about that.
“Definitely not.” A grimace twisted his lips. “I wouldn’t normally disclose personal information about a doctor to their patient, but considering how intimate this could get and the relationship between us all, I think you have a right to know before you sign on. Kurt and Becca are unorthodox therapists anyway. In their personal life they like to experiment. Sexually. They’ve asked me to join them or watch on occasion. I’ve been the third in ménages with the couple on and off for the last year. Off for over a month now.”
Ah, so that’s why he’d been staying away from State Street.
Part of her gaped, wondering how two people in love could want…that. But then she questioned why having three people share positive affection would be any less gratifying than a couple exchanging respect and desire. In fact, the more the merrier she imagined.
“Why? I mean, why stop now?” She elaborated before he could explain the allure of a threesome. That part she’d have to think about some more. Later. When she was alone.
“My heart hasn’t been in it. Physical pleasure wasn’t enough anymore. Things degraded to the point where I couldn’t…perform.”
“Wow. You weren’t kidding earlier about everyone having their moments.” Brielle whistled.
“Rub it in, why don’t you?” He faked a pout before a wicked gleam darkened his eyes. “Somehow I don’t think that’s a moment I’ll be having again anytime soon.”
Sort of the opposite of overcompensating with an enormous chromed Hummer in the middle of the city, Luke’s easy admission made her sure sexual prowess wasn’t something he worried about. What would it be like to sleep with a man like him? Someone
unselfish, fun and caring?
The stuff fantasies were made of, she imagined.
“It would be great if you could say something right now.” Luke’s fingers twisted his straw wrapper into a knot.
“You think I’d judge you after all we’ve shared this afternoon? Hardly. Thank you for telling me that. I would have felt weird talking to Becca about, you know, everything, and wondering. Or finding out later. I would have felt foolish.”
“Does that mean you’ll do it? You’ll meet with her and see if she’s a good fit for your counseling?” Luke seemed to hold his breath.
“Yes.” With him by her side, she thought just maybe she could do it.
“One more thing.”
“Uh-oh, I don’t like the sound of that.” She finished her lunch, wiped her mouth and tossed her crumpled napkin on top of the wreckage of their plates, unable to remember the last time she’d devoured her food with such gusto.
“I mentioned Kurt and Becca’s uniqueness earlier. I think you should also be aware that they are known for utilizing unusual, but highly effective, methodologies in their practice. They’re not conventional in any sense of the word.”
“I got that from the threesome discussion.” She grinned. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not very by-the-book myself. What about my life has been ordinary?”
“Right. So now that you’re not my patient anymore…” He smirked. “Can I pay for your lunch? We could call this our first date.”
A what? A real-live-boy-and-girl-go-out-to-dinner-and-get-to-know-each-other thing. She’d gone on one and not even realized it. With him, everything seemed organic, completely natural.
“What the hell? Sure.” She grinned like an idiot when he plucked her check off the scratched hardwood and pumped his fist.
“Since I’m on a roll, will you let me drive you home? Mrs. Allerton saw you get off the bus. It’ll be packed, and can’t be comfortable in this heat. On my motorcycle, you won’t be closed in.”
Why would she say no? She couldn’t drum up a single reason. Except that her whole world had turned on its axis in one afternoon.
Still, the idea of clinging to him while they raced through the wide-open air—irresistible. “Okay, but on one condition.”
His raised eyebrows had her amused again. “Bold, Ms. Norris. Let’s hear it.”
“Take the long way.”
“You got it.” He tugged her from the booth, leaving a few crisp bills in their wake without bothering to ask for change.
Luke winced when he rolled up in front of the shabby apartment building Brielle pointed to over his shoulder. The motion pressed her soft breasts into his back completely. He could all too easily imagine what it’d be like if she were riding him instead of his bike.
He’d driven them around the entire city, through some of his favorite scenic routes. The ten-minute commute had turned into almost an hour of sweet torture. Yet he didn’t relish the thought of letting her go. Not when he’d finally found someone who held his attention for longer than the couple of minutes it took to attend to baser needs.
He braced them on the pavement, groaning softly when Brielle peeled herself off him. He missed her light weight and the clutch of her arms around his waist. The plan he’d formulated on their journey came pouring out. “I’ll call Becca when I get home and see what her schedule looks like this week. What time do you usually work until?”
“Six. And I have an hour lunch break.” She glanced away. “But I’m not sure I can handle going back to my job after, you know?”
“Of course.” He reached for her hand, brushing her knuckles with his thumb. “It’ll be emotionally draining, I’m sure.”
“I’m a little worried about people from work noticing me going to Becca’s office too.” A flush deepened the effect of the wind on her cheeks.
“It’s none of their business what you do on your own time.” He sighed. “I understand though. I can join you at their office in the evenings. Unless I’m already over there for meetings, it would be hard to find time during the day. I don’t want to rush you either. Or possibly Becca would consider the weekends so she can lead some in-depth sessions.”
“I’m already being difficult. You’re calling in favors for me. Inconveniencing her isn’t my goal.”
“You don’t understand. This is what we do. It’ll give her a great deal of satisfaction to work with you. And, my guess is—if anything—you two will have trouble not breaking the no-friend rule too. I think you’ll get along really well.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.” He stared into her rich chocolate eyes.
“I guess I should go inside now.” She extracted her hand from his gentle hold.
“Brielle…” Her name rolled off his tongue. Nothing else would come, despite the snarl of emotions making him feel alive for the first time in months.
Terrified too.
When he struggled to find the right thing, she let him off the hook.
“Thank God. I don’t know what to say either, Luke.” Walking backward, she took a step and then another until the magnetic field bonding them seemed to lessen a bit.
“Wait a minute.” He stood, digging in his back pocket for his wallet. Fishing around, he located a card then held it out to her. “My number. Call me if you need…anything, really.”
“Thank you. For everything.” The thick paper earned his envy when she clutched it to her chest. “Mmm. It’s warm, like you.”
“Screw this.” He reached down and placed his hands on either side of her face. His fingerless gloves prevented him, somewhat, from touching her supple skin, but the leather didn’t seem to bother her in the least. Her lips parted and she held still as he descended. The featherlight brush of his lips across hers did nothing to ease the hunger gnawing at his guts.
He’d imagined this since the day their paths had crossed, regretting that he hadn’t slipped his card to her along with the candy that afternoon.
Time to make up for that mistake.
Once, twice, he kissed her before sealing their mouths in a deeper exchange.
Music blared from someone’s open window. Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” instantly became Luke’s favorite song. Brielle tasted so honeyed. Her lips moved in time to his, meeting him halfway on every motion, as if she could project where he’d venture next. No awkwardness stole the perfection of the moment. They met and matched as though they’d been made for each other.
A simple kiss from Brielle affected him more strongly than the raunchiest club sex he’d ever indulged in. With any partner. Even the ones he’d convinced himself he loved.
Infatuation, maybe.
He’d been there, done that enough times to know that this was something else entirely.
Lost in the heat, he advanced their kiss from a chaste exchange to something resembling a claiming. When Brielle nipped his lip, he came to his senses and backed off. Breathing hard, he chastised himself for pressuring her. She didn’t need him adding to the confusion today would certainly bring. It seemed impossible they’d only been introduced hours ago.
She touched the tip of her index finger to her lips, smiled and began her retreat once more. This time, he let her go with his contact info laid against her heart, where her hand pressed it to her chest.
“When I left this morning, I never expected this. It’s…a lot. I have to go now.”
“I know.” He nodded. “Take some time to reflect. I can wait.”
She seemed as torn as he was between needing distance to deliberate and craving more of the drugging, if simple, pleasures they’d shared. “Luke, you’re turning out to be very…complex.”
He gawked at her for a second then burst out laughing. “My friends are going to adore you. And for the record, so do I.”
A wave and a smile later, she disappeared behind a bed of wildflowers.
Luke’s smile still hadn’t faded as he drove away, glancing in his mirror at least a dozen times before rounding a bend in the st
reet.
Chapter Five
“Get in the closet, Brielle.”
It was Brad, not her father, who ordered her this time.
“No!” She thrashed in his iron hold as he dragged her across the floor of their bedroom by one arm. Her shoulder burned as she writhed. The hardwood afforded her no purchase. “Don’t put me in there. I swear. I’ll clean the bathroom better.”
“Damn straight you will.” He swung her around like a rag doll.
Her ribs connected with the edge of the molding that surrounded the door, stealing her breath. He jammed her inside, kicking her when she tried to scramble out despite the lightning scorching her side.
“Don’t act like you hate it. You chose this. Asked for more. You did this to yourself.” He glared at her when he swung the door shut. “You’re so fucked up. I can’t believe you actually want this.”
Her leg shot out, preventing the closet from closing. “I don’t! Brad!”
“Bitch, if you crack the wood, you’ll pay for that too.” He became quiet and cold. She knew better than to challenge him when he got so dangerous. “You said it yourself, Brielle. You’re curious about being held down. About why you liked shutting yourself in the closet in the first place. Now you’re going to get your wish, you freak.”
“I take it back. I didn’t mean it. This isn’t what I pictured. Brad! Don’t leave me in here. Please, Brad. Please. I’ll do anything.” When her begging fell on deaf ears, she resorted to action.
Her survival instinct kicked in. She smashed into the door. The sturdy construction of the old plaster and solid panel didn’t budge. That fact didn’t keep her from trying. She banged on every surface until her hands and feet were bruised and throbbing, maybe broken. Lying on the ground, she could see a shard of the outside world. Enough to calm her a bit.
That’s when she realized Brad still lectured her. “You causing all this drama isn’t making me want to stay, Brielle. Maybe it would do you good to have some time alone to think about how messed up you are and how lucky you are that I know what you really like.”
