Eagle Cove (Thalia Chase: Sex Therapist Book One)

by Darla Baker

  “Where’s your slip? I can meet you over there and help you.”

  “It’s just down this dock about half way on the right. You can’t miss it. It’s the only empty slip in that row at the moment. Are you sure? You look uncomfortably cold in those wet clothes.”

  Suddenly, it occurs to Thalia that her nipples are hard and poking through both her sports bra and rash guard like a couple of headlights. And it’s not from the cold. But thank God for the excuse.

  “I’m sure. I was on my way to the shower. I’m meeting my friends at the bar.”

  “Okay. If you help me, then I insist that you use my shower.”

  A hint of a blush forms on Thalia’s face. “It’s no big deal. I take a shower over by my boat all the time.”

  “Thalia, dear, we can both stand here and argue about this silly matter, or you can just accept my hospitality, and you’ll get warm and dry much faster.”

  Dry, pfft. “You win. I’ll meet you at the slip.”

  With the houseboat secure, Thalia steps into the boat and takes in the luxurious sight. The living room is spacious, and the kitchen beyond is filled with white cabinets. The white sofa and blue chairs of the living room and the red chairs and white table of the dining room give the entire space a patriotic vibe. The lighted trey ceiling and accessories that complete the décor add a nice touch of class.

  Thalia hikes her backpack up onto her shoulder. “Lead the way to the shower.”

  “Follow me. You can use the shower in the master bathroom. It’s bigger.”

  Thalia passes a full-size laundry room and two queen sized cuddy cabins before they reach the master bedroom and bathroom.

  Amara reaches into a cabinet and pulls out a towel and washcloth and lays it on the sink. “Take your time, and if there’s anything you need, just let me know. I’m going to go into the kitchen and open a bottle of wine while you shower. Do you have time to share a glass with me when you’re finished?”

  Considering Amara is a client who she saw for the first time just two days ago, she’s certain she has already crossed a line. However, what Amara presented at their session hardly qualifies for a therapist/client relationship.

  “Yes, I have time.” Thalia surprises herself with her response.

  Thalia closes the bathroom door and turns on the water in the shower to let it get to temperature. She sets her backpack on the floor and retrieves her clean clothes and toiletries. Thalia quickly removes her wet clothing and steps into the hot shower, letting the water warm and cleanse her face and then run down her breasts and between her thighs.

  Thalia turns in the shower to let the water repeat its sensuous journey down her back. She squirts soap onto the washcloth and works it into a lather. As the washcloth touches her skin, she finds her thoughts drifting to Amara, imagining them in the shower together.

  Thalia is running the washcloth across Amara’s neck and into her cleavage. She moves over one nipple and then the other, admiring the way they form firm peaks from the friction of the cloth. She circles over her abdomen and around her hips and then up her back. She squirts some more soap onto the cloth and… Thalia’s thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Thalia.” Amara’s voice is low and husky. “Do you mind me coming in here to chat with you? I was getting lonely out there by myself.”

  Thalia coughs as a small bit of water enters her mouth. “No, I don’t mind. It’s your boat, after all.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that. I know you don’t have a lot of time, and I wanted to update you on the situation with Nikolas.”

  Thalia finishes her scrubbing and proceeds to wash her hair, wondering how long she can stretch out this shower before she has to emerge. She could just ask her to leave, but she’s not one hundred percent certain she wants her to.

  “Okay, sure. Catch me up.”

  “After our session on Monday, I went to see Angelos and Nikolas. I told them I’d been to see a sex therapist about our little problem. Nikolas was pissed. He felt I’d betrayed his confidence.”

  “Yeah, I can see how he would feel that way.”

  “Well, after Angelos and I got him calmed down, I explained to him again there’s no test tube involved, and with all the gays and lesbians having babies these days, a turkey baster is becoming just as traditional as any other method of insemination.”

  Thalia turns off the water, having stretched out her shower as long as she could without appearing weird. She cracks open the door just enough to reach out and grab her towel off the sink and finds Amara standing at the door holding the towel for her.

  “Thanks.”

  “My pleasure. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, turkey baster. So, anyway, we managed to convince Nikolas that the baby would not be permanently scarred if he jerked off in a cup and I took care of business on my own. So it looks like we won’t need your expert sex therapy services after all.”

  Thalia wraps the towel around herself as tightly as she can manage and steps out of the shower. It’s sinking in that Amara is no longer a client, if she ever was one in the first place, and she’s standing in a small space nearly naked with a beautiful woman who is clearly interested. Butterflies are having a party in her stomach.

  This is precisely the sort of situation Thalia lives to orchestrate. She’d seduce Amara. They’d have a couple of hours of wild, passionate sex. She’d be late, as usual, for her meet up with the gang. They’d give her hell but would eventually forgive her. She’d pick up the check and go home satisfied and happy. So then, what’s so different about Amara?

  Thalia shakes off her thoughts and turns her focus back to the present situation.

  “Amara, would you mind stepping out while I finish getting ready?”

  A pout forms on Amara’s lips. She pulls Thalia’s mouth into a soft, gentle kiss and then quickly turns on her heels and exits the room, leaving Thalia grasping at the sink to steady her wobbly legs.

  Thalia joins Amara in the living room once she is dressed. Amara hands her a glass of white wine and then sits down beside her on the sofa. She moves with such grace. Those long fingers leave Thalia mesmerized as she watches her run them down through her hair and flick it over her shoulders. The wetness is pooling between her legs.

  Thalia takes a sip of wine, grateful for the distraction.

  “I’m sure you and Angelos are both very pleased Nikolas has come to his senses.”

  “Yes, we are. I must say I’m surprised by you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, for a therapist, a sex therapist no less, you certainly seem good at avoiding a discussion about us.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing is going on between us. We saw each other once at the raft-up but didn’t even speak to each other. You came to my office for a session on behalf of Nikolas. I ran into you here at the dock, and you let me use your shower in exchange for docking assistance. I’ve had more interaction with my auto mechanic.” That came out much harsher than Thalia intended.

  “Oh really? Well, I hope your auto mechanic is a woman because I don’t see you kissing a man the way we kissed just minutes ago.”

  “For the record, you kissed me. And it was barely more than a platonic peck on the lips.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Then why was your hand shaking when I gave you the wine glass?”

  Thalia sets the wine glass on the coffee table.

  “I’ll make this easy for you, Thalia. Do you want to kiss me again?”

  Thalia pauses for a moment, letting the question sink in. Amara is beautiful, and she’s extremely attracted to her. They are clearly romantically interested in each other.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  The pain of rejection is clearly visible on Amara’s face.

  Thalia stands up, gathers her backpack, and heads for the door. “Thanks for letting me use your shower. I
’m glad to hear things are working out with the baby.”

  “You’re welcome. And Thalia, if you change your mind about that kiss, you know where to find me.”

  “Thanks.”

  THALIA IS THE first one to arrive at the bar, and the hostess takes her to their usual table. The waitress delivers her lemon drop martini with a smile and a wink, and Thalia orders some catfish bites to munch on while she waits for the rest of her friends.

  She spots Annie coming through the door. She stands up to give her a hug and then motions the waitress to bring over a bud light draft.

  “You’re here early. Losing your mojo?”

  Thalia smirks and gives Annie a playful tap on the knee. “You’re just disappointed I don’t have any new stats for your research project.”

  “You have me all wrong. Just let me know if I need to find another friend to quench my appetite for stories about the wild sex life of a single lesbian in rural Kentucky.”

  “Very funny. I’m sure Janice can carry the burden. What about you? I never hear you talk about your life. How are things with you and Jason?”

  “Are you doing research on heterosexual bed death?”

  “No, I’m just making small talk.”

  “Only a sex therapist would consider a question about a married couple’s intimacy ‘small talk’. Things are fine with us. He works insane hours, and we have to fit our lovemaking into very short windows. There’s not much room for creativity.”

  “Who said I was talking about sex. You’re the one that assumed I was referring to sex. And I don’t know. I think there’s always room for creativity. Perhaps I should write a blog post on that topic.”

  “If you write it, I’ll be the first to read it. I’ll gladly take the pointers.”

  “Pointers for what?” Janice had snuck in through the door without either of them noticing.

  “Thalia here is going to write a blog post about creative lovemaking under a time constraint.”

  “Oh, interesting. Let me know if you need any help. I’ve had to take care of business in a hurry more times than I care to count.”

  “Speaking of taking care of business, what happened at the raft-up? Did you find your true love or just your true lust?” Annie laughs loudly at her joke.

  Janice gives her a scowl. “I met Kelly in the hot tub. She works at a horse farm. As I said on Saturday, she topped me, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Surprised the hell out of me. We were under the houseboat, and she had me on a float. I’m telling you guys, being on that float was like being restrained. If I moved too much, I would either take in water or fall off and break the connection. It was a lot of fun.”

  “I took on a new client this week. And when she showed up for her appointment, I got quite a surprise. First, I had already met her on top of the houseboat when I was there looking for you. The Achilles Heal is her boat by the way. Well, her family’s boat, but whatever. Anyway, I found out Amara’s family owns the horse farm where Kelly works. I must say I was a little embarrassed over the situation.”

  “Why? Kelly is an adult. Just because she works for your client doesn’t mean her employer is in charge of her love life.”

  “Like Annie pointed out, I don’t think love was involved here. But you’re right. She just mentioned it at the beginning of the session, and I got the feeling there was more to the story. She’s not my client anymore either.”

  Annie grabs a catfish bite and pops it into her mouth. “Really? What on earth caused such an early parting?”

  “It’s a long story and confidentiality being what it is, I can’t go into it. But essentially, she was there on behalf of someone else, and the matter resolved itself.”

  Janice scrunches her face into a puzzled look. “What’s her name?”

  “Amara Liakos. Why?”

  “I met her.”

  “You did? On the houseboat?”

  Thalia is holding her breath, praying that neither Janice nor Amara made a pass at the other.

  “Yeah. I was soaking in the hot tub and just after you left, she leaned over and asked about you. I know that look, Thalia. You’ve got a thing for her. Are you going to pursue her?”

  “She’s my client.”

  “Not anymore. You said so yourself. And the way you describe it, sounds like she never was your client.”

  “True. I don’t know, Janice. Something about her bothers me.”

  “What? Her long, slender legs? Her perfectly round ass? Her beautiful skin? Her gorgeous brown eyes with those adorable flecks of gold? What could possibly bother you about her?”

  “I see you were paying attention.” The frustration in Thalia’s voice surprises her.

  “I have a healthy libido. What can I say?”

  “All right, you two. Enough of the pissing contest. Let’s order some food. Will Sammy be joining us?”

  “No, she was in Lexington with her new therapist. She called earlier and said the session went well but left her drained, so she was going to go home and get some rest.”

  Annie let out a breath and frowned. “Poor girl. I’m glad she’s getting professional help. I’ve been her gynecologist for several years so I knew she couldn’t have children. But I didn’t know the full story at all.”

  “It was a surprise to me as well. Hell, she’s my best friend, and I didn’t even know she couldn’t have children. I just thought she didn’t want children. That’s a position I can wholeheartedly embrace.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THALIA’S NEXT THERAPY session is going to be intense. Robin has persuaded Charley to come in.

  René sends Thalia a chat message to let her know they’ve arrived. Thalia gets up from her desk and heads out into the lobby. When she takes in the scene on the sofa, her chest tightens. Robin and Charley are giving off a vibe that is almost painfully antagonistic. Thalia decides to head to the kitchenette and fill her water bottle before getting started. She needs the momentary distraction to gather her energy.

  “I’m going to get some more water. Can I get either of you anything?”

  Robin responds, her words short and clipped. “René already asked us. We’re good.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back, and we can get started.”

  Thalia settles into her chair with Robin and Charley positioned across from her on the sofa, as far apart from each other as they can manage.

  “So, what’s been happening since our last session?”

  Robin begins. “As you can see, Charley has agreed to participate.” Charley drops her head, folds her arms, and crosses her legs.

  Thalia takes in the scene and thinks to herself, I’m not sure I’d characterize that pose as participation.

  “Yes. Thank you, Charley, for agreeing to come in with Robin. I know it means a great deal to her, and I think your presence will allow us to make better progress.”

  Charley’s face scrunches into a scowl, but she doesn’t make a sound. Thalia takes a moment to observe Robin during this brief exchange. She can see the tears already forming in her eyes. She’s slumped down on the sofa and looks utterly defeated. Thalia reaches for the box of tissues and offers it to Robin, who pulls a few tissues from the box and dabs her eyes. Charley shows no signs of empathy or even concern for the obvious emotional suffering her wife is experiencing. In fact, Thalia would have to say she looks disgusted.

  “Charley, Robin is clearly experiencing emotional pain. What are you feeling?”

  “I don’t want to be here.”

  “Yes, I can tell from your posture that you don’t want to participate. But look over at Robin and at the tears streaming down her face and say what you are feeling.”

  Charley turns her head to look at Robin. “I just don’t want to have sex. What’s the big deal?”

  Thalia does her best to swallow her frustration at Charley’s unwillingness to talk about what she’s feeling. She’s beginning to understand Robin’s frustration. They’ve been together for ten years. It couldn't have been like this
for the entire ten years. Could it?

  “So if I understand correctly, you interpret Robin’s tears as coming from her unsatisfied desire for sex. When did you last feel the desire to make love with Robin?”

  “I don’t want to have sex. If she wants to initiate, that’s fine. I tell her that every time she brings it up. All she wants to do is talk about sex.”

  Robin’s tears are flowing more liberally now. “Thalia, you might as well stop trying to get her to talk about her feelings. It’s not going to happen. And as for me only wanting to talk about sex, let me give you my perspective. If Charley and I were in a situation where we couldn’t find food or water to sustain us, then food and water would be the primary topic of conversation. Food and water are more basic needs than sex. But sex is still a basic human need.”

  Charley huffs. “I don’t have a need for sex, Robin. The more you talk about it, the less I even want to allow you to use me to satisfy your need.”

  “Use you! Use you? What the hell are you talking about? We’re married, Charley. You’re not some whore I have my way with and then drop some money on the nightstand on my way out. You’re my wife! I love you. I want to make love to you. I want you to make love to me. Do you even love me?”

  Robin is crying hysterically. Charley is fuming. Thalia needs to assert some control over this session. “Okay, let’s take a minute here and calm down. Robin, take a deep breath and then count to ten as you let it out.” Robin does as Thalia suggests. “Excellent. Let’s do a few more of those. Charley, I’d like you to stand up for me.”

  Charley shoots Thalia a dirty look as she stands up. “Now what?”

  Thalia stands up along with Charley. “Go ahead and stretch your arms above your head and lean your head back. Let out some of the tension that’s been building up in your body since the session began.” Thalia performs the stretch along with Charley.

  “Go ahead and take a seat in my chair, and I’m going to sit on the sofa. I’d like for you and Robin to be facing each other.” Thalia catches Charley rolling her eyes as she sits down to face Robin.