‘Yeah, there will be officers out to talk to you tomorrow. They’ll increase patrols and video surveillance in your area and we’ll install an alarm and panic button for you.’
‘We,’ she said, tipping up her chin and closing in on him, touching his abs.
‘I can install it for you.’
‘But if the police are following up then I don’t need to employ your services anymore.’
‘I guess you don’t. I wouldn’t want to step on the cops’ toes.’
‘No, so I guess you’re fired,’ she murmured. ‘Which means…’
‘You’re not a client anymore,’ he said. Before she could speak, his eyes narrowed and he took hold of her hips. With an abrupt shove, he pinned her back to the wall.
‘I guess this changes things for you,’ she said not containing her smile, but he remained as intent.
‘I guess it does,’ he said. His fingertips met her cheekbone; they arced down to her jaw and returned on the same path until her hair fell down her back. He stooped to settle his lips on her neck beneath her chin. ‘Let’s get one thing straight upfront, doc. You might have started the engine, but I’m the driver.’
‘Do you always make your intentions clear up front?’ she asked, luxuriating in the sizzle of stimulation left in the wake of his travelling lips.
‘I like to show my lady a good time, and I know how to make sure I have one too.’
‘So it’s a failing of your trust in me?’
‘Stop thinking and deconstructing, doc. Consider all rules rescinded… except number two.’
Doing as she was told, that was rule number two. The simmer within her began to pop and boil, splashing desire throughout her senses and her focus narrowed to the contact of his lips on her flesh. The gentle contact continued down, round toward her ear and upward.
‘I like that,’ she exhaled.
‘Yeah?’ His hands came to her waist then lifted her arms up to guide them around his neck.
‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Your mouth is warm. You’re respectful, but you want me. There’s urgency in your touch that says you want all of me.’
‘Oh, yeah.’
‘I want you too,’ she said. Her eyes closed and she noted as many details as she could. The pulse of the bass of the music coming through the wall from the main floor. The mist of feminine perfume that scented this place and mingled with that of stage make-up. The breadth and stability of Colt’s wide shoulders.
Sliding her body up the wall, he captured her weight and wrapped her legs around him, causing her skirt to bunch around her hips. ‘Untie—‘
Anticipating his request, she untied the neck of her halter top and peeled it down to expose her breasts. Grinding her hips forward, she pushed her shoulders back to give him a full view of her bare bosom.
‘Nice,’ he muttered and levered her up to bring her chest in line with his face. He sucked one nipple then shifted to the other; he kissed circles around the tingling mound of flesh until he sampled the sensitive peak.
‘Firm and sure,’ she said, each breathy whisper was for her own benefit. ‘Makes me hot, oh I want more. Colt, keep going.’
Crushing her centre to his, she undulated to moisten her own core in preparation for the penetration she wanted from him.
‘You’re hard,’ she said. ‘So hard.’
‘You’re soft,’ he said, burying his head between her breasts. ‘I’m going all the way right now, honey. You’ve teased me long enough. Are you going to give me problems or give it up to your man like a good girl should?’
‘How quickly can you open your fly?’
‘All the way?’ he asked, kissing her quickly.
‘All the way, babe. I’ve never been aroused like this. I’m slick and hot, my body craves a union with yours and I don’t ignore my hormonal drives. Our bodies tell us what they need by flooding our brains with chemical endorphins—‘
‘All that lingo is hot talk for an orgasm, right? You want me to get you off? Is that what you want?’
‘Well translated,’ she smiled.
Locking her mouth over his, she forced her tongue between his lips. His pleasure was as important as hers and she recalled what he’d said in her office. She wouldn’t let him marginalise his own gratification in favour of hers. Trusting him to keep her weight, she released him from his jeans and began to squeeze his length through her palms, one after the other, causing him to groan.
‘If you want to get me off,’ she said, ‘you’ll have to let me feel you deep. You’re long and thick, so big that you’ll fill me up. It might be a tight squeeze for you.’
In work with patients it wasn’t her place to talk, or to describe her sexual experiences. But in the fog of thumping hormones here, she was losing control of her sanity. When this strong, capable man began again to devour her mouth, her hands moved faster and squeeze tighter. A sure finger slipped past her panties and into her. Her own cry of ecstasy stalled her hands because his stimulating hand brought her to the brink of release with a few deft manoeuvres.
‘You make quite a picture, Miss. Lys. I think my dick is in bliss.’
‘Not yet,’ she panted, elevating her hips to bring the head of his penis to her opening.
His finger slipped out giving room for him to progress with aching leisure and begin to edge inside her passage.
‘Faster,’ she pleaded, but he only smiled when she made eye contact.
‘You’re not driving this session. I need to be in control.’
That grumble made a quiver go through her and from the way he froze inside her he’d experienced her internal reaction to his voice.
‘Then do with me what you will.’
Snatching her wrists, he thrust them against the wall at the sides of her head and propelled his shaft into her, surging forward until there was no more of him to give her. ‘No going back,’ he said.
Struggling to remain still, she squirmed against this steel rod occupying her. ‘No, not a chance,’ she whimpered and he began to move in and out.
The slow pace picked up until he was hammering into her, each pound made her squeeze him tighter until like a vice she clamped around him. Climax made her dig her teeth into her lip to hold back a scream. Without time to recover, he lurched forth and finished, plugging her body to fill her with his seed.
Her chest tightened with every aftershock that vibrated through her. It took him at least a minute to shift back enough to look at her.
‘I wasn’t planning that,’ he panted and exhaled a smile. He smoothed her damp hair from her temple.
‘The best moments in life are often spontaneous,’ she said, kissing him once, then he kissed her. ‘I have a shift to finish.’
He took another look at her body then put her on her feet. Lyssa fixed her skirt and tied her top. ‘I should check on my brothers.’
‘You should,’ she said.
Colt came toward her, and Lyssa thought he might kiss her again, which could maybe lead to more intimacy. At that moment, the locker room door opened and a naked Crystal came in with a couple of other girls. They were chattering and laughing and paid no heed to her or Colt.
Blithe adrenaline bubbled up in her and she pressed a hand to his arm. ‘Go and check on your brothers.’
He nodded and a twitching smile came and went so repeatedly that she felt he had the same excitement in him that she was experiencing. This was a new bonding experience. Their connection was strengthening and she wanted to explore it further.
‘Ok,’ he said and she wished he’d kiss her again. Instead, he did as she said and left the locker room.
Taking herself into the restroom, she cleaned up, all the while smiling and giggling like an idiot because this had the potential to be something real.
Lyssa didn’t finish her shift. She only served two tables and then Blaser told her she could head home. As much as he was preoccupied with his own issues she could tell that her boss felt guilt over what she and Destiny were subjected to by Marshall and Zeke, not t
hat there was much of a trauma.
Destiny had been due to go on stage, but Blaser had given her a free pass and another girl took her place, leaving Destiny free to go home as well.
Lyssa wasn’t going to draw attention to herself by protesting his invitation to leave early and skip cleaning up. Others would jump at the chance to bunk off, and she wouldn’t raise suspicions by refusing to do so. After agreeing to leave, she went through her usual routine of showering and changing her clothes before she went home. She tried to tell herself that she wasn’t procrastinating, but she was – in hope of seeing Colt.
But she didn’t come across him and she wasn’t going up to his office to find him. She was wise to what adding pressure to a man in the early stages of a courtship could do. She didn’t want to scare him off by appearing too clingy. Many women made the mistake of believing they had to rush to make a mark on a man, but Lyssa wanted to savour this burgeoning stage of what she hoped would be a lasting relationship.
So she had bid goodnight to Blaser. If Colt wanted to follow her home he could and she would gratefully receive him.
Except he didn’t come to her that night.
The police came at midday on the Friday. She gave them a full statement and answered all of their questions. Since starting work at Risqué Lyssa had stopped seeing patients on a Friday, switching her schedule to allow her to sleep in later. Then during the day, she worked on compiling her notes and writing her book.
At lunchtime, which was later for her on a Friday, she picked up the phone to call Suzette. With all that had happened at the club last night, and in her relationship with Colt, Lyssa hadn’t realised how long it had been she’d spoken to Suzette. But she hadn’t heard a peep from Suzette since the night of the window incident.
The phone rang and rang, which was unusual because Suzette usually answered on the second or third ring. By the seventh ring, Suzette picked up.
‘Hello?’
‘Hey,’ Lyssa said, noting immediately by Suzie’s tone that something wasn’t right with her friend. ‘It’s lunchtime, are you busy?’
‘Actually, yeah, I am.’
She could understand that because Suzette worked full time while maintaining a relationship and planning a wedding.
‘Sorry,’ Lyssa said, usually Suzette was never too busy for her. For the chance of a chat Suzette would put other tasks aside. ‘Should I call later?’
‘No,’ Suzette sighed. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a bitch. Pete and I had a fight.’
‘Another fight?’
‘Several actually, we’ve been fighting since we left your place.’
‘About what happened?’
‘He doesn’t want me coming to your place anymore,’ Suzette said. ‘He’s not wild about us hanging out while a madman is watching you – those were his words.’
‘Wow,’ Lyssa said, leaving the kitchen she sat on the couch. ‘He doesn’t want you to associate with someone who could put you in danger.’
‘Trust you to react with that damn, calm doctor voice. You should be pissed. I’m pissed. He has no right to tell me who I can spend time with.’
‘Not explicitly,’ Lyssa said. ‘But he has a right to voice concern and you should listen to that concern and appreciate that he cares for you so deeply.’
‘Maybe he’s just being a jerk and trying to exert dominance. If I let him away with that now, what will it be like when we’re married?’
‘You have to show that you won’t be bullied, but you also have to be open to compromise. You’re merging your life with another person’s. Both of you will have to make sacrifices.’
‘You’re ok with this? You want to throw away our friendship because some guy’s throwing his weight around?’
‘We’re not talking about throwing our friendship away. I’ve voiced my own concerns about your safety during this, so maybe Pete is right. We can talk on the phone whenever you want, but I have a feeling this will be over soon, the police are taking things more seriously now.’
‘Will that last? What if they don’t find him quickly?’
‘Then we’ll revisit,’ she said, mustering a smile. ‘You’ll never guess who I missed a call from this morning.’
‘Who?’ Suzette asked.
Her friend’s need for gossip outweighed her melancholy. ‘Archie.’
‘No way,’ Suzette gasped. ‘Your ex-husband, Archie?’
‘Yes. I was busy—’ with the cops ‘when I missed the call on my cell.’
‘Are you going to call him back?’
‘No,’ Lyssa said. ‘I haven’t heard from him in two years. If it’s that important he’ll call back.’
‘What do you think he wants?’
‘With Archie, who knows? He’ll be boasting about something. He’ll be starting a new business, or marrying a new model, or something.’
‘He’d phone you for that? Does he think you’ll be jealous? Maybe he’s experiencing some issues that he needs your professional services for.’
Suzette had relaxed enough now to laugh and because it was at the possible misfortune of Lyssa’s ex-husband she had to smile at the solidarity.
Archie was seventeen years her senior, but he’d never had regular sexual dysfunction issues that she knew about. Treating him would broach on the unethical, though they hadn’t had a personal relationship for years. Anyway, she wasn’t sure she’d want to coach him through issues like that.
‘If he does then he’s on his own,’ Lyssa said. ‘He can afford the best in the business.’
‘And that’s you,’ Suzette said.
‘You’re biased,’ Lyssa said. ‘But thank you for saying so.’
‘I wish we could make plans to get together. But I don’t want to get into another fight with Pete. Thank you for being so understanding. Maybe you’re right. Maybe if we lay low for a week or two he’ll start thinking about something else.’
‘I’m always here to talk, call if you need me.’
Saying goodbye felt solemn, like it was final, though she knew it wasn’t. Things would get back to normal between them as soon as the stalking stopped. Then she could reveal to Suzette all that they hadn’t discussed: the study at Risqué, her work with her book so far, and Colt. Lyssa couldn’t wait until that day, when everything could be out in the open.
Chapter Nine
‘It makes no sense why I feel so anxious about this,’ Lyssa said to Ruger who’d been propped at the bar since she arrived an hour ago.
‘Because your best friend’s fiancé is trying to push you out.’
‘He’s not,’ Lyssa said. ‘It’s reassuring that he cares so deeply for Suze. I wouldn’t want her marrying someone who didn’t.’
‘Just because something makes sense doesn’t mean it’s easy to take.’
‘That’s logical.’
‘Not everything is rational,’ Ruger said. ‘You feel marginalised.’
‘You’re good at this,’ she said. A hand on her waist made her turn and she saw Colt at her back then Blaser shouted from behind the bar.
‘Cherry,’ Blaser called. ‘Stop moping and clear your tables.’
‘Moping,’ Colt said. ‘Why are you moping?’
‘She got dumped,’ Ruger said, bringing his beer bottle to his mouth.
‘Ha, ha,’ she sneered sarcastically and slipped past Colt to clear the tables in her section that Blaser had indicated. She was in a routine with the other waitresses and they had a roster as to who worked each section each night, which changed at each new shift.
‘Put that down,’ Colt said, sweeping up beside her and taking the empty glasses from her hands. He linked their fingers and led her through the room to backstage and up to his office. ‘Sit down.’
He took off his jacket and pitched it to the loveseat, then sank onto the couch beside her.
‘Have you got something to say?’ Lyssa asked.
‘First off, I didn’t dump you.’
Though it wasn’t his intention he managed to ma
ke her feel better. ‘Ruger wasn’t talking about you.’
The apology on his face snapped to a frown. ‘How many other dudes are you seeing?’
‘He was talking about Suzette. Pete doesn’t want her to come over to my place anymore.’
‘Suzette dumped you?’
‘Yes,’ she said, picking his hands up by his wrists she slithered in close to lie against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. ‘All Ruger can do is talk to make me feel better. You can do this.’
‘I can get physical?’ he asked, leaning forward to scoop her legs over his lap and with one arm still around her he removed her shoes and tossed them to the floor.
‘Probably not a good idea to do that while I’m on shift,’ she said as he began to massage her toes. ‘I might ask you to massage other places too.’
‘Why did you run off last night?’
‘Blaser said I could go home early.’
‘I could’ve come home with you… I thought we started something in here last night.’
‘We did,’ she said, bringing his arm back around her torso. ‘I wasn’t going to pressure you. I’m going to ease you into falling for me.’
‘I’m not good at casual sex,’ he admitted. ‘I had a fling after I was divorced, it lasted about three months. I like to know I’m the only guy with access to the goods, if you get me.’
‘I get you and you’re the only one with access to my goods,’ she said, tipping her chin up so that she could look at him. ‘And this doesn’t have to be casual.’
‘Then you better start letting me spend the night,’ he said, broadening his smile, which he brought down to kiss hers.
‘Tonight?’ He nodded. ‘You’re not worried about being seen coming in and out of mine?’
‘He doesn’t watch the house,’ Colt said. ‘I don’t know how he does it. But I’ve seen no evidence that he monitors your doors.’
‘Or we could stay at yours… where do you live?’
‘A couple of streets away from here, in an apartment building that my cousin owns, Blaser manages it.’
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