“He was a woman in his former life,” Kit teased.
“And I must’ve been a hooker.”
“You’re my hooker,” Kemper said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. “And you can dance on top of me anytime you please.”
“I hope so,” she crooned, crawling over him. “Because I’m having one of those sudden urges to make love again.”
“Are you now?” Kemper asked, biting her bottom lip. “Well, let me see if I can’t help a woman out.”
As Kemper brought her body over his, she rubbed her cunt against his belly, gliding over him like a summer rain, refusing to take his cock and ride him for fear he’d begin to worry like Kit.
She might have been an addict, but couldn’t she get hooked on them rather than on sex itself? As she looked into the adoring eyes of the men who’d promised to stand by her, she found her answer.
For the first time in her life, Holly knew what it felt like to be held by men who loved her. And who couldn’t get hooked? Who wouldn’t want to have sex all day?
It was then when she decided she didn’t have a problem after all. Why of course not. She’d allowed others to tell her she was an addict.
Hell, she’d just bought into that theory. She had an overactive sex drive and nothing more.
As she quickly moved toward another orgasm, she was already contemplating the next one. She mounted Kemper and encouraged him to thrust, tossing her head back as she rode him.
No, she wasn’t an addict. She was just a woman who liked to come at the strike of every new hour. With men like the Keeslings, who could blame her?
Chapter Fourteen
Dr. Zanati handed over her treatment plan the next afternoon. “Are you serious about this?” Holly asked, scanning the recommended therapy.
“It’s only a recommendation,” Dr. Zanati said, studying Kit and Kemper.
“Doctor, if you don’t mind, try to keep your eyes focused on the patient here,” Holly said, scissoring her fingers in front of her own eyes in a polite effort to avert the good doctor’s attention back where it belonged.
Apparently, she was pretty smitten by Holly’s men. It was starting to piss her off.
Dr. Zanati jerked. She quickly left her desk and paced the floor, nervously running her fingers through her short black hair. She looked down at her open blouse and released another button, showing off even more cleavage than she had when she’d been talking to them about her own sex addiction.
Apparently, since she couldn’t remain professional, Holly was going to have to put the woman in her place. “Look, I can respect the fact that you’re my doctor. Kit and Kemper tell me you come highly recommended, but if you don’t mind my saying so, you haven’t taken your eyes off Kit and Kemper since we walked in here.”
“Holly!” Kit snapped. “Dr. Zanati, you’ll have to excuse Holly. She’s been uptight lately.”
“I can see that,” she said, taking a seat again. She stared down the bridge of her nose and made Holly very uncomfortable. Holly shot Kit a stern glare. He smirked.
Damn him. He was eating up the attention. No wonder he chose Dr. Zanati for her program. He was smitten by the woman.
“Holly needs to know we’re here for her. I’m not sure your recommended therapy is the best idea. Won’t she begin to feel alienated?”
Holly snarled. “Don’t talk around me, Kit.” She addressed the psychiatrist again, still concerned with the doctor’s professionalism and not at all interested in her reasons for being there in the first place. “Kit and Kemper are easy on the eyes. That much is obvious. But I can assure you, they aren’t as gentle on a woman’s body. It isn’t easy entertaining two men at one time.”
“I’m sure that’s true,” Dr. Zanati said. Actually, she practically purred. “Well, if that’s the case then the little intimate vacation should do your body some good. If nothing else, you’ll feel like a virgin the next time you have sex and everyone will be well satisfied.”
Holly used her forefingers to rub her eyes. “Are you really suggesting that we go a year without sex?”
Dr. Zanati cleared her throat. “No, you misunderstood. If you’ll read the treatment plan word for word, what I’ve suggested there is very simple. You cannot initiate sex. Your partners will have to make the first move. If you initiate sex, it’s as if you are saying you want to have sex for the sake of having sex.”
“Don’t you think most normal, healthy relationships have a give-and-take there? If we follow this plan…” She shook the paper in front of the doctor’s face and continued, “I’ll be lucky if I have sex twice a day.”
“I was thinking along the lines of once every couple of days given the fact that these men have already admitted they are worn out because of the heavy sexual demands you place on them.”
“Did you say that?” she asked, glaring at Kit and then Kemper.
Kit shrugged. “I may have mentioned that in my private session.”
The doctor smiled. “Yes, he may have.”
“So in other words, you want us to cut back considerably?” Holly asked. She wondered if other doctors would share the same advice. She was beginning to think Dr. Zanati had ideas of her own. She could see where this was headed from a mile away.
Kit and Kemper were so impressed by her credentials they couldn’t see past her awards on the wall. Couldn’t they tell she was coming on to them? Couldn’t they see she was trying to get them away from her so she could move right on in?
“I think it would be healthier for all parties involved if you follow my recommendations step-by-step.”
Holly stood. “I’m ready to go.”
“Holly, honey,” Kit coaxed her. “Sit down. Please, baby.”
Dr. Zanati folded her hands over her day planner. “I’d also like to suggest weekly individual appointments, too. Perhaps Kit and Kemper can come in every week say on Wednesday. You and I can get together every Friday. What do you think?”
Holly choked back curse words. “Sure. Why not?”
“Very well then. I’ll have my receptionist call you next week.”
“Thank you, Dr. Zanati,” Kit said, shaking her hand. Kemper followed suit. Holly waited by the door.
“It’s been my pleasure. I’ll look forward to seeing you men—and you, too, Holly—next week.”
* * * *
“That was a complete waste of time!” Holly bellowed as she entered the house thirty minutes later. She’d remained quiet in the car, trying to pull her thoughts together. “That woman admitted she was a sex addict. She has her own issues and you’re trying to get her to help me! She doesn’t want to help me. She’s an addict herself. Didn’t you hear that?”
“Yes, she is, Holly. I think that speaks highly of her. She disclosed everything she thought her patients would want to know. That’s commendable.”
“Commendable, my ass!” she screamed, waving her hands around her head like a wild woman. “She wants to fuck you!”
“I see you took her to see Dr. Zanati,” Morgan said, descending from the top floor.
Holly took a deep breath and bit her lip. Why did these two have to discuss everything with Morgan? Did they really think Morgan told them everything? Probably not!
“Holly, Dr. Zanati is very good,” Morgan assured her. “She’s actually who I saw when I first moved home.”
“For sex addiction?”
Morgan looked at Kit and then Kemper. Holly slapped her hands over her face. “Oh God, you didn’t tell her!”
“No,” Kit said. “But you just did.”
Holly grunted. “This has turned into a nightmare.”
Morgan raised her brows. “Um, do you two mind if Holly and I talk alone?”
Kit shrugged. “That’s really not up to us.”
“I don’t mind if Holly doesn’t,” Kemper said.
“Holly?” Morgan looped her arm through hers before she had the opportunity to answer her. “Come on, let’s take a walk.”
Once they were outside on the porch
, Morgan sat on the swing. Holly took a seat on the rocking chair across from her. They remained silent for a few minutes. Finally, Morgan said, “I love my brothers, but they can be blind when it comes to women.”
Oh boy, Holly thought. Here it was. The moment she’d always dreaded. The little sister was going to tell her to back the hell off and get out of her brothers’ lives. Naturally, she wouldn’t want her big brothers messing around with a crazy woman who admittedly had a sex addiction.
What had she been thinking? She should’ve just tried to handle her own issues privately. Then, she wouldn’t have met Dr. Zanati. Then, her fellows wouldn’t have been impressed with a woman who had more awards on her walls than brains in her head. Then, by God, Dr. Zanati wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet her men!
“The fact is, Blake and Grant were the same way. They wanted to help me, but at the same time, they wanted me to help myself, and at first, they were hell-bent on me seeing someone. This news came after I’d been clean about three months. One day, just out of the blue, Grant asked me if I still craved meth. I told him the truth and off I went seeing one former addict after another.
“That’s the sad thing about addiction, no one understands it unless they’ve had an addiction problem and the doctors you see are typically those who are still battling their own demons. That’s not to say they aren’t the appropriate people to talk to, but in your case? Dr. Zanati isn’t going to help you. Only you can help you.”
Holly started to say something, and Morgan held up her hand. “Can I make a suggestion?”
“As long as you aren’t going to tell me to go back to Dr. Zanati, sure.”
Morgan grinned. “Do you want to know what helped me most? Staying busy. My mother used to say an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, and she was right. A busy mind is often an exhausted one but it’s better than obsessing about the things that can get you in trouble.”
“True.”
“I volunteer. I stay busy here on the farm, too. I’m enrolled in an art class, and of course, I’ve gotten very involved in the lifestyle. Grant and Blake want me to open an alternative living bar, something we may do soon. You could help, too. I’ve already told them I’d like to get to know you.”
“Why? I didn’t think you liked me.”
“Oh come on, Holly. I don’t know you. How could I dislike you? That’s the addiction talking there. We addicts have that in common. We believe the world is against us after spending months or years tearing ourselves down with our hang-ups of choice, we believe everyone else can’t wait to take their best shot, too.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I know I am,” Morgan said. “Tell ya what. Let’s work on getting to know one another by being a support system for each other. If you feel like you’re getting sucked into your sex addiction, come talk to me. If I’m thinking about meth too much, I’ll come find you.”
“But I don’t know anything about meth.”
“No, but you’re a compassionate woman who can bend an ear for a friend, right?”
“I guess,” Holly replied.
“And don’t worry about talking to me about sex. I know everything there is to know about my brothers. They just think I don’t. Besides, you don’t have to give me the torrid details about your life. You can just lean on me when you need a friend.” She pushed away from the swing and started back inside.
“Morgan?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
“That’s what’s sisters are for.” A beat later, she winked. “But don’t tell them I told you that. They’re so whipped I know we’ll soon be family.”
Epilogue
One year later
Cowboy Addiction was in full swing. The club was hopping, and Kit couldn’t remember a time when Holly looked happier. She scurried around the room, greeting their guests as Morgan tended to the behind the scenes, making sure the bar was stocked and giving their guests a good bang for their buck—delicious nonalcoholic beverages and the best food in the South.
“What do you think?” Kemper asked, joining him at the bar. “Place handles a crowd, huh?”
Kit smiled and nodded.
“But you don’t think it will make it past the first year, do you?”
“I don’t know,” Kit replied. “It’s hard to tell. The girls have worked hard on the place. Between hosting group support efforts and a booked entertainment schedule, they may do all right.”
“Then why don’t you sound so sure?” Kemper asked, raising his voice so he could be heard over the music in the background.
“I’m just worried about Holly. That’s all.”
“Why?” Kemper asked, searching her out in the crowd.
“She hasn’t looked well. Her face is an ashen color and her eyes are weak. I don’t know, but I get the feeling she isn’t telling me something.”
Kemper shrugged. “You’re on your own there. She whispers sweet nothings in my ear all the time.”
“Remind me to catch her alone and spank her ass raw.”
“I will,” Kemper said, slapping him on the back. “Hey, is that Dr. Zanati over there?”
Kit glared across the room at the woman who’d made separate plays for him and Kemper. She hadn’t even waited a full week to do it. Soon after they’d met, she’d called them in to discuss something bothersome about Holly, and like a gullible man would, they’d each gone to their individual appointments and had to fight her off like they were in the last battle for their lives. They would’ve been if Holly had ever found out about it.
“Wonder what she’s doing here?” Kit asked, narrowing his gaze on Holly when she excitedly went to greet her.
“I don’t know, but Holly wouldn’t be so friendly with the doctor if she knew where the woman tried to put her hands.”
Holly embraced Dr. Zanati like they were best friends. Then, she waved, blew them a kiss, and took center stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?” She tapped the microphone. “I want to thank you all for coming out tonight. I’m Holly Hamlin, one of the club owners. My friend, Morgan Keesling, had a dream, a dream that you’re seeing materialize right before your very eyes.
“She wanted to bring this community a club they could be proud of, a center that offered folks from all walks of life somewhere to hang out and mingle with old friends while opening up their arms to new ones.
“Tonight, we’re proud to open up Cowboy Addiction. We’ll be here every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from noon until midnight. We’ll offer the best Southern meals this side of the Wyoming.”
“Mississippi!”
“That, too,” Holly said, grinning wider. “And we’re also proud to announce that some very big names in entertainment will be dropping in on us later this year. Always check the community center at the back of the club for details about those play dates.
“Additionally, since Cowboy Addiction was founded on the belief that no addiction is too strong to overcome, we’re pleased to announce that support groups have been formed and a posted meeting schedule is located on every exit and your bar napkin,” she said, holding up one of the blue-and-white samples.
“Finally, I have an announcement to make.”
“Oh Lord, I hope this isn’t one of those times when she decides to embarrass us all.”
“I am a sex addict…”
“Nay, she’s just gonna tell her life story to strangers,” Kemper said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m also in love.”
Everyone clapped.
“And I’m pregnant.” The crowd went wild, clapping and cheering again.
“What’d she say?” Kemper asked, nearly choking on his drink.
“I think she said she’s pregnant,” Kit said, processing.
“Best of all, I don’t know who the daddy is,” she said. An astonished crowd immediately going silent.
“I’m gonna kill her,” Kit said. “If she cheated on us and…”
/>
She swung her arm behind her back and pointed toward them. “But I can tell you, this pretty little boy or girl will certainly have the last name Keesling! Put your hands together folks and congratulate my men and your neighbors, Kit and Kemper Keesling!”
“I’m still gonna kill her,” Kit said, clapping wildly, too.
“Me, too,” Kemper said. “After I marry her.”
“You’ll have to wait your turn.”
“Dream on, brother,” Kemper said, his expression softening as he studied Holly.
“I’m marrying her first,” Kit stated flatly.
“We’ll see about that,” Kemper remarked dryly. “I’m just glad the little vixen took time out of her day to propose.”
“Come to think of it, she did just propose marriage, didn’t she?” Kit asked, a wider smile tugging at his lips.
“She never does anything by the book.”
“That’s for sure,” Kit agreed.
They shared a laugh until Holly cleared her voice. They gave her their full attention.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I also want to add one other tidbit,” Holly said, her voice dropping a dramatic octave.
Kit stared straight ahead and caught a glimpse of Dr. Zanati. She was making eyes at them, fluttering her eyelashes and all that nonsense.
“I was told by a very reputable doctor in town that in order to beat my sex addiction, I needed to follow her treatment plan which apparently included her ability to hit on my men while I stayed out of their beds. But hey, I don’t hold a grudge. Part of her program included waiting for my partners to initiate sex.
“As any sex addict will tell you, that’s a surefire way to failure. We want sex all the time. If I had to wait for someone to come to me for a good bootie call, well, I won’t embarrass my guys by telling you where they might find me. Anyway, after I thought about the treatment plan Dr. Zanati proposed, I put one together myself, one designed to help me and my situation.
“What I came up with was pretty simple. Love the ones you’re with, the ones who’ve chosen to love you in return. Put your faith in yourself, not in other people. And just because you fail at something today, doesn’t mean you won’t find greatness tomorrow.”
Acres, Natalie - Sex Addict [Cowboy Addiction 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 12
