This was only their second appointment together and Nora was still getting to know her patient. Sue had come to Nora out of concern that her preoccupation with sex was interfering with her life. She was also consistently engaging in dangerous behaviors that could compromise her health and well-being. In spite of reaching out for help, it wasn’t uncommon for people to push back, especially when addiction was part of the equation.
“Sex is very enjoyable by design. We’re supposed to like it,” Nora offered evenly, “In fa—“
“So why does everyone think I have a problem then?” Sue spat, interrupting Nora, and throwing her arms up for emphasis.
“Do people think you have a problem?” Nora asked, lowering her voice slightly—a technique she frequently used when her patients became agitated.
“No shit, Sherlock! I get judged all the time. My friends and family won’t even speak to me anymore. It’s fucking bullshit, and none of their damn business anyway!”
Sue’s frustration was obvious.
“Why do you think your friends and family no longer speak to you?” Nora pressed cautiously.
“Let’s see. Because they’re losers and fucking jealous? They have boring, bland, monogamous sex lives and their lazy-ass partners don’t make any effort for them or even care if they cum or not? They hate that they settled? That they’re no longer desired? How the fuck should I know?” Sue snorted, rolling her eyes.
“Is that true?” Nora urged, “Are they jealous?”
“What else could it be?” Sue stammered, throwing herself back in the chair.
“Well, what else could it be, do you think?” Nora pushed gently, taking a sip of her tea.
Sue looked at her blankly, offering no response, some of her bravado fading. Nora waited patiently.
“I’m not sure,” Sue finally replied, after a long pause.
“Have you ever asked them?” Nora queried, gently guiding her patient down a healing path.
“Specifically?”
“Um-hm,” Nora nodded. Sue inhaled thoughtfully, shaking her head.
“Do you want to know?” Nora asked, smiling softly.
Sue responded with a dismissive shrug.
“Hear me out here. What if the reasons you suggested aren’t really the reasons at all? What if it is something different, like they are worried about you? Maybe their value system is different than yours and they aren’t sure how to process it? Maybe they’re uncomfortable with your choices and don’t know how to tell you? Ultimately, these are just assumptions, just like yours. Neither right nor wrong, just assumptions.”
Nora paused for effect, waiting for a signal from Sue, who slowly inclined her head.
“Does it bother you that the people in your circle have distanced themselves?” Nora asked gently.
Sue nodded, but said nothing.
“Is there anything else in your life that has changed that could be a direct result of your choices?” Nora continued.
Sue grinned mischievously.
“You mean aside from the mind blowing sex?”
“Yes. Aside from that… are there things you regret or feel are a loss?” Nora clarified, smiling, but unwilling to let Sue joke her way out of it.
“I lost my boyfriend of six years. He was good to me and I— I cheated on him, several times. I knew the whole time it was a horrible thing to do to him. At the time I had all kinds of ways to justify it, but I really do regret hurting him,” Sue admitted, offering Nora a glimpse of her vulnerability.
Nora nodded slowly, urging her to continue. Sue sighed deeply then offered a slight smile, as she finally put down her guard. This was the cue Nora had been waiting for.
* * *
Nora sat in the L.A. traffic, waiting to make her way home to Pasadena through the usual gridlock. She put her car in park, knowing from past experience that realistically, it could be several minutes before the traffic started moving again. Not one to be impatient, she decided to make the best of it and leaned back, settling comfortably in the leather seat. She inhaled deeply, her mind drifting back over her day. Nora reflected on her time spent with Sue. Specifically recalling the description of the threesome she’d participated in. The girl had been so expressive and detailed, and while Nora had been able to keep it in a professional context at the time, she couldn’t help but be intrigued by the story.
Nora had completed her Doctorate in Psychology well over a year ago and was always a consummate professional. She knew how to separate professional observations from her personal opinions. She very intentionally maintained clear and appropriate boundaries and easily kept her business and personal affairs separate. It helped that she didn’t actually have much of a personal life, but that was beside the point. She knew it was perfectly acceptable, even normal, to have a healthy imagination and to fantasize about sex, and Sue’s story that day had awakened her own desires.
It had been a very long time since Nora had been with a man, maybe too long. She had thrown herself first into her studies, and then into building her career, perhaps purposely avoiding the dating thing. Men were a distraction, and after the whole Devon fiasco, she had learned her lesson.
Admittedly, she had turned her attention to her education and then her work—to avoid dealing with her anger and grief. It was an effective strategy, and she’d been able to complete her doctorate in record time. Unfortunately, it did nothing for her social life, and at 29 she was well on her way to becoming a reluctant spinster.
Nora chuckled at the word ‘spinster.’ Who the hell even used that word anymore, she thought scornfully, gently chiding herself. Christ, when was the last time she felt desired? She couldn’t even remember. When had she allowed herself to be playful and sexy? Had she ever?
She and Devon had been so young, and honestly, neither of them ever had much confidence in the bedroom, even after years of intimacy. People had such romantic notions of marrying their high school sweetheart, but in reality it was difficult to expand and evolve in a relationship like that, because you fell in love when you were no more than children. At least it had been that way for them, and neither of them had ever grown beyond their shyness around each other. Actually, it had proved disastrous for their relationship, and their marriage had ended before it ever really began.
Nora had remained single ever since. She’d been on a few dates here and there, but it wasn’t that easy to meet men in her scholarly circle. The guys she had dated were smart, decent and successful, but there just hadn’t been any sparks… not a one. Maybe it was a hopelessly romantic notion, but she wanted to be swept off her feet.
A blaring horn forced Nora out of her daydream. She looked up to see that the traffic had moved forward 15 feet while she’d had her head in the clouds. She offered a short wave to the car behind her as she crept up the minimal distance, shaking her head in annoyance.
“Happy?” She said out loud to no one in particular.
She looked into her rearview mirror to have another look. Yup, he was definitely grumpy. She caught her reflection before looking away. In spite of appearing temporarily frazzled, she was not an unattractive woman. She had never considered herself good looking, although she had been told on more than one occasion that she was a natural beauty. She didn’t fuss over her appearance and never wore much make-up. She always wore her long, dark hair in a pony-tail, rarely letting it loose or styling it, finding anything else too much of a bother.
Nora was a self-proclaimed ‘Plain Jane,’ generally low maintenance, except when it came to her wardrobe. She had an appreciation for nice clothes and didn’t mind spending her money on pretty things, even though she didn’t have much cause to wear them. She also had a shoe fetish that was not altogether healthy—she liked sexy shoes. But screw it, she could afford them. She just needed more reasons to take her things out of the closet and actually wear them. Now that she was through with school and her career was well-established, she had the time to date, just not a very large pool of potential choices. She didn’t have a lar
ge circle of friends, and her contacts were all professional.
It wasn’t easy for her to meet men and the thought of online dating didn’t appeal to her in the least. She had actually looked through a dating site once, casually scrolling through pages of profiles seeking promising matches, as though it was a cyber catalogue—the Sears Wish Book for lonely singles. She found herself quickly dissecting their attributes, analyzing their creativity and potential, then clicking through their images one by one, trying to picture them fitting into her life, or her slipping into theirs. It all seemed so impersonal and sterile, it made her feel completely disassociated and not particularly interested.
It wasn’t just about appearance was it? Attraction was a fickle thing. Sometimes it was a sexy chuckle that would turn a woman’s head, or a deep sultry voice, a crooked smile, a gleam in his eyes. Sometimes it was as simple as a gentle touch to the small of her back as she passed through the door ahead of him... these things didn’t show up in a one dimensional image on a website. How could she be sure that she didn’t dismiss someone that could have been her perfect match, her soul mate, only because his grainy photo failed to catch her eye?
Was it impossible to meet someone the old fashioned way?
Nora slowly eased her car forward as the traffic began to open up. She didn’t have a long commute, but she almost always hit rush hour traffic, and in LA, rush hour was pretty much every hour. Once she got moving, she was able to pull into the parking lot of her apartment complex in no time.
After a quick bite to eat, Nora worked for a couple hours catching up on some reading she’d been behind on. Rewarding herself, she moved to a comfy chair and picked up a novel for some lighter reading, determined to prove she was not a workaholic with no life, but a busy professional who enjoyed literature.
Finally, she was ready for bed. Clinical psychology articles and then the mystery best seller she was halfway through had kept her mind occupied, but once she was in bed, fantasies slowly edged their way back in, teasing her need, and painfully reminding her that there was a large empty space beside her in the big bed. She had been sleeping alone for a long time now and quite frankly, it was starting to suck.
Nora had always been pretty discerning when it came to sexual activity. It wasn’t that she was a prude at all, she had a very healthy imagination. In her fantasies, she was always adventurous and playful, even a little dirty and unconventional, but she had been raised by Catholic parents who drilled it into her head from a very young age that unmarried women shouldn’t have sex. It was one of the reasons she had married so young, and that had turned out to be a holy disaster. As an adult, she was no longer religious, but for some reason she still felt uncomfortable with casual sex. She was still a little timid and found it difficult to initiate sex, even when she was horny as hell.
You can take the girl out of the Catholic Church but it was much harder to take the Catholic Church out of the girl, Nora mused. The truth was, she was attracted to confident men, and often fantasized about being with a strong man who would take charge in the bedroom, maybe even dominate her a little and bring her out of her shell; someone who would coax out her naughty side. But the men in her circle tended to be quite reserved, at least the ones she had dated, and they sorely lacked confidence.
Appearing to be reserved herself, was it at all surprising that she attracted a similar type of man? And even then, those dates had been few and far between.
She hadn’t even found one man to ravish her, now here was her patient Sue, enjoying two at one time! She wondered what it would be like to be with two men at the same time. It sounded downright delicious, if she were being honest. She pictured herself leaning back into the arms of one man, his hands caressing her breasts, his mouth nibbling the flesh of her neck, while another man spread open her legs and lapped at her pussy. The thought of it made her warm with desire, and caused her to squirm under her sheets. She needed release.
Reaching into her bedside table, Nora pulled out her vibrator, a delicate little purple wand with a powerful hum. She turned it on and rubbed it gently over her panties, putting exquisite pressure against her clit. She felt her body respond, her warm wetness quickly icing her silky underwear. She moaned softly as she imagined her men playing with her, kissing her body from head to toe, taking turns fingering her, sucking her tender nipples, teasing their tongues over her sensitive flesh.
Her body arched with pleasure, wanting more stimulation. She slipped her panties down her long legs, kicking them aside, then allowing the toy to tease her moist lips, gently sliding it between her folds and slowing moving it back and forth. She imagined it was her lover’s tongue, greedily lapping her juices and felt her desire surging in waves, her excitement building. She slowly slipped the shaft into her opening, barely at first, then gradually inserting it deeper and deeper while she used her fingers to stimulate her clit. She imagined that one of her lovers was fucking her, while the other was beside her, pressing his hard cock against her, whispering naughty, enticing words in her ear. She adored dirty talk, and imagining what he might say.
It didn’t take long for her excitement to peak, and she felt her orgasm surging in her center. She held the toy against her clit and rode the wave as it rolled through her body, deliciously making her toes curl. She cried out as her body trembled with pleasure, drawing it out as long as she could. When her orgasm finally released her, she let out a deep, satisfied moan as she held on to her fantasy for just a moment longer. Turning off her vibrator she set it on the bedside table before curling up into her pillow. The warm afterglow of her pleasure was better than any sleeping pill, and quickly coaxed her into a deep and satisfied sleep.
* * *
Nora woke in a panic, disoriented and confused. She sat up, her heart beating wildly in her chest, trying to place the noise that had jolted her out of a deep sleep. It was an alarm, but one she had not heard before. It took her another second or two to realize it must be the fire alarm for the building. She scrambled out of bed and fumbled towards the bedroom door, grabbing her bathrobe off the hook as she went by. She hastily slipped on her robe and made her way to the front door of her apartment, listening carefully before opening the door. She could hear voices and people walking out in the hallway, and quickly made the decision to investigate further.
Opening the door, she stepped into the hallway, and immediately had the sensation of being hit by a Mack truck. Her feet left the ground, and seconds later she was flat on her back on the floor. As she lay on the ground trying to catch her breath, she could see nothing but the ceiling lights above her. What the hell just happened, she thought wearily.
“Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to knock you down.”
She tried to place the strong male voice that addressed her.
“Are you ok?”
It took her another second to locate him above her. He knelt down beside her and offered her his hand.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his eyes showing concern.
Nora regarded him a little more closely, still a little dazed and trying to sort out what happened. He was dressed in a yellow coat, a uniform perhaps? His helmet was also yellow with a PFD insignia on it. A firefighter? The alarm. Nora suddenly remembered why she’d been in such a hurry. She must have stepped out of her door just as he was rushing past, causing a collision.
“Is the building on fire?” she asked, not recognizing the sound of her own voice. She must have been hit pretty hard. He shook his head and smiled.
“No ma’am, you’re not in any danger. At least you weren’t until I plowed into you. There was a small fire in the utility room, but it’s already been contained. We’re just checking out every floor, part of our standard investigation, making sure there are no other problems,” he offered gently.
Nora looked up at him and sat up, noticing that he quickly averted his eyes. He suddenly seemed modestly embarrassed. She looked down and realized that her robe had shifted in the fall, completely exposing her naked body underneat
h.
“Damn,” she blurted out, quickly pulling the robe closed, “I’m so sorry, you didn’t need to see all that.”
“No need to be embarrassed. Let me help you up,” he chuckled softly. He took her hand in one of his and slipped the other around her shoulder. He easily lifted her off the ground, then placed his hands gently on her shoulders. His touch was solid and confident and Nora involuntarily reacted to it.
“Are you ok?” he asked, his warm brown eyes regarding her intently.
Nora nodded and smiled weakly, a blush rising in her cheeks. He was drop dead gorgeous, as far as she could tell, which only served to make her feel more awkward.
“Ma’am?” he asked again.
“It’s Nora,” she blurted out awkwardly. “I’m ok. Just uh humiliated. I’ll be going back inside now. You’re sure the building isn’t on fire? It seems awfully hot in here.”
He dropped his hands from her shoulders and chuckled again. Nora was certain he knew the effect he was having on her, and may have been enjoying it.
“I’m pretty sure,” he offered with a grin, just as the alarm was finally turned off. For a moment the silence was deafening.
“Sorry for knocking you down, and I hope you’re okay. Go on inside, Ma— Nora. We have everything under control,” he offered kindly, opening her door for her. “Have a good night.”
Nora nodded and slipped back inside, closing the door behind her. She leaned against it and sighed deeply, adrenaline still coursing through her body. What a strange turn the night had taken, Nora thought. And more importantly, who the hell was that?
CHAPTER 2
LEO
“Good morning, sir. This is Lieutenant Leo Moretti with the Pasadena Fire Department, Station 31. How are you doing this morning?”
Leo spoke professionally into his cell phone, in spite of the fact that he was pacing through the kitchen in his boxer shorts, his disheveled dark hair indicating a night of restless sleep.
“I’m fine. Still a little rattled from last night, but no one got hurt and that is all that matters. Is there a problem, Lieutenant?” the man on the other end asked apprehensively.
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