She swallowed hard and focused her attention on his knee. This was her office. Her place of work.
Professional. Keep it professional.
Taking her right hand, he slid it farther up his thigh, away from his knee. “You know, it kind of hurts here as well.”
She shot him a look, but proceeded to massage the thick, sexy muscle just inches from his crotch.
Not professional. And just the thought was turning her on. Not professional at all.
What was she doing? He was her patient in that moment. Not her best friend with benefits that she was desperate to climb on top of. She tried to return her hand to the knee, but he held it at his thigh. “That feels good, and it’s taking my mind off of the pain in my knee,” he said, sliding her hand even higher.
She sighed. The point of therapy was to make him feel better, right?
No. Not like this!
Still, with her left hand, she continued to massage the knee, while she allowed him to move her right hand higher and higher, until she could feel his erection beneath it.
She swallowed hard as she slid the hand inside the underwear and around his cock, squeezing slightly. He moaned, closing his eyes as he rested his head back against the pillow. “See…much better,” he said. “I can hardly feel the pain anymore.”
She stroked the length of him slowly, rolling her thumb over the tip, as she continued her therapeutic massage on his knee. “I’m pretty sure I could lose my license for this,” she said, feeling her body tingle with desire for him. Her own aching throb between her legs matched the pulsating throb she felt beneath her hand.
“Only if I file a complaint, which I almost certainly won’t,” Asher said, reaching down to cover her hand with his own, forcing her to apply more pressure and quicken the pace.
Damn, he was far too sexy to be injured and out of commission.
Her patience would be tested as well while he recovered.
She tightened her grip around him, abandoning the knee to move her other hand inside the underwear to cup his balls, applying pressure where she knew he liked it most.
He moaned, opening his eyes and reaching for her. Grabbing her shoulders, he dragged her body down toward him, then, cupping her face between his hands, he brought her mouth to his and kissed her.
She savored the taste of his lips, deepening the kiss as his breathing increased. Both hands working to make him harder, she parted his lips with her tongue and started an exploration of his mouth. She could feel her own ache grow and the need to have him inside of her intensified with each second that passed.
He ran his hands down her body, slipping them down the back of her pants, inside her underwear to cup her ass, his fingers digging into her flesh. Her breath caught as he separated her cheeks and slid his fingers along the folds of her pussy.
“Do you always get this wet while massaging your patients?” he murmured against her lips.
“Just the crazy hot ones,” she teased, rubbing her thumb along the tip of his cock where pre-cum had moistened it.
Removing her hands from inside his underwear, she moved the fabric aside, freeing the hard erection. Then, her gaze locked with his, she lowered her mouth to it, flicking her tongue around the head.
Asher’s grip tightened on her ass as he moaned.
She continued to lick and tease him, sliding her tongue all the way to the base of his cock and back up. Watching him watch her, the desire and need reflected in his icy blue eyes made her body surge with heat.
“Emma, I need to feel your mouth around me,” he said.
“Like this?” she asked, before taking his full length into her mouth, allowing her lips and tongue to connect with every inch. Slowly, in and out. She grabbed the base of his cock and followed the up and down motion with her hand as she went.
He removed his hands from her pants and tangled his fingers in her hair as he guided her head over him. “Fuck, that feels so good. I can’t feel my knee at all anymore,” he said.
She paused, letting him slide slowly out of her mouth. “So, should I stop?”
“Hell, no…Actually, on second thought—yes.” Sitting up, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her effortlessly to set her on top of him.
Her legs on either side, straddling him, she prayed the table could hold their combined weight. “I think maybe me being your therapist is not the best idea.” Though the idea of anyone else touching him, healing him, didn’t appeal. She wanted to be the one taking care of him. The one he needed.
“I think it’s a perfect idea. You are very good at your job. I feel better already,” he said, taking her hands and sliding them up under his shirt. “I want to feel those hands everywhere.”
Oh God, he was impossibly sexy and impossible to say no to…But as she scanned their surroundings, remembering where they were, she put on the brakes. “I can’t do this. This is my therapy room. We can’t do this here.”
“Why not? We’ve done it almost everywhere else.” He removed the shirt and as always the sight of his body sent common sense packing. “Besides, you just had me in your mouth, this can’t be any worse.”
He had a point. But…“If my boss walked in, I would be fired.” And more than likely have her practice license revoked…And she could say goodbye to the PhD program at the University of Florida. The one she’d yet to tell him about. That thought, too, made her hesitate.
“No one’s here. Everyone’s gone for the day. It’s just you and me.” He kissed her neck, sliding his hands under her shirt and around her back, unclasping her bra, making her forget her reservations. “Besides, if you got fired, I’d hire you to be my own personal therapist. Fly you everywhere with me.”
Her breath caught at the thought. Be with him on the road while he traveled with the team. Be with him in New Jersey. Just be with him…They’d never ever talked about anything close, though in recent months, they had been talking about the future. But was he just messing with her again or would he actually like having her with him? And would it be just a therapist and sex partner he’d want, or something more? She had to get answers to that.
Soon.
Later.
Right now, his hands were moving upward over her ribs, higher to cover her breasts. He squeezed, massaging gently at first, then harder, his thumbs rolling over her hardened nipples.
Fuck, it felt so good. Almost worth kissing her career goodbye. Almost. “Asher, we have to stop…” What if someone came back? What if Jane forgot something or Dr. Masey had a late client booked? Though the weather outside suggested no one was venturing back to the clinic that day.
Asher ignored her anyway, lifting her shirt over her head and tossing it along with the bra onto the floor. His head fell into her chest, and he took a deep breath before letting his lips drag across her skin, over to her right breast. He licked her nipple, before taking it into his mouth to suck hard.
She gasped as his teeth brushed over it and he bit gently.
She clung to his shoulders, feeling his erection pressing into her leg.
Moving to the other nipple, he repeated the lick, suck, and bite—harder this time. The mix of pleasure and pain sent shock waves through her core and she felt her panties get wetter between her legs.
“Take your pants off,” he whispered against her ear.
She hesitated slightly. They were really going to do this? Here?
Could she really take that risk? She glanced toward the door…They’d hear someone coming in…
“I want you, Emma,” Ash whispered, sliding his tongue along her neck.
Screw it.
Climbing off of him, she quickly removed her pants and underwear, then, naked, she climbed back onto the table to straddle him once more. “You’re the worst-behaved patient I’ve ever had.” She pressed her pelvis against his straining erection and rocked her hips back and forth, allowing her wet folds to moisten every inch of his cock.
“I’ll settle for the best sex you’ve ever had,” he said.
T
here was no competition there.
He gripped her waist, his hands holding her firmly in place as he lay back against the pillow. Then his fingers trailed the length of her thighs and back up over her stomach and ribs and breasts. The sensation caused ripples of pleasure to dance down her spine. The tickling torture of the soft touch making her body come alive.
One hand slid between her legs and his fingers found the wetness there. He grinned. “Okay, so I wasn’t the only one turned on by that massage?” he asked, pushing his body up so his gaze met hers.
She swallowed hard as his fingers traveled along her folds and one slipped inside.
“So wet,” he said, his voice hoarse as she slid her body up and down over his finger, clenching tight, needing to feel him fill her completely.
“Asher, I want you inside of me,” she said, lowering her body to his. Now that she’d made up her mind to break every one of the rules of her code of ethics, she was desperate to have him.
He needed little prompting. Sliding the finger out, he immediately replaced it with his cock. The feel of him entering her nearly brought her over the edge and she pressed her mouth to his. She loved kissing him while he was inside of her. It made the physical connection between them feel that much stronger. Having sex with him was one of the best sensations she could ever wish for, but kissing him filled her heart with the foolish hope that maybe it was more than just sex. And she needed that foolish hope. She clung to it, just as she clung to him now as he pushed deeper into her body.
Moving faster, desperate for release, Emma rocked her hips back and forth, feeling him slide out all the way to the tip, then plunging back in before he could leave her completely.
He broke the kiss, burying his head into her shoulder as he grabbed her ass and pumped her harder. “Jesus, Emma…it gets better every time.”
Closing her eyes, she arched her back to bring her breasts against his chest, rubbing her nipples against his pecs, her mouth watering over the intense sensations happening everywhere all at once.
“I’m coming.” Asher’s warning was right on time as she felt her own orgasm topple over the brink of pleasure, creating waves of release and a feeling so good, she tried to hold on as long as possible, before collapsing against him on the therapy table.
“Damn,” he muttered, gripping her shoulders. His eyes rolled back slightly and she frowned.
“You okay?” she asked, immediately shifting her weight off of him, remembering her patient’s leg.
He nodded, grabbing her hands and pulling her back into him. Kissing one palm, then the other, his gaze never leaving hers, he said, “You’re the best drug I’ve ever found.”
Chapter 8
Eleven days and six therapy sessions later, Asher was already making progress. Emma hadn’t been lying when she said she was a fantastic therapist. She knew when to push him and when to ease off, and she was letting his body dictate the treatment. At the end of all of this, he would owe her.
She was locking the clinic door as his phone chimed with a text message from Becky.
His heart fell to the floor as he read, Emergency. Get over here, quick!
“What’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost,” Emma said, turning to face him.
“Something’s going on at Becky’s house. Can you drive me there?”
“Of course,” she said, as they hurried to her car.
Less than six minutes later, they pulled into his sister’s cul-de-sac right behind Jackson’s truck.
“Anyone know what this is about?” Jackson asked as he jumped out, just as Emma and Ash reached Becky’s front door first.
Behind Jackson, Abby and her daughter, Dani, wore similar worried expressions.
“No. Just got the text and we got here as quick as we could.” Asher tried the door handle, his heart still pounding in his chest.
The sound of loud music blaring reached them before Ben’s minivan appeared in the otherwise quiet neighborhood. His brother had sold his flashy Hummer that summer, but he drove the minivan like it was the coolest vehicle on earth.
Asher knocked on the door and Jackson hit the doorbell twice.
“What the hell is going on?” Ben asked, sprinting across the driveway, as Olivia climbed out of the passenger side.
“Don’t know,” Emma told him.
Becky opened the door, a surprised expression on her face. Wearing a snowman apron covered in flour and Ugg boot-type slippers, she didn’t look injured…just frazzled, like usual at this time of year. “You all came?” she asked in disbelief.
Jackson immediately moved her aside, rushing into the house as the others followed. “What’s wrong? Is Taylor okay? The baby?” He looked around frantically.
Becky held up a hand as Emma and Abby approached, checking her for signs of injury. “I’m fine, everything’s fine.” She laughed. “Can’t believe you’re all here.”
Asher held up his phone. “Emergency. Get over here.” He should have known this was a setup. He felt his heart rate finally returning to normal.
“We were on the highway heading back to Denver, I nearly went off the road taking the exit. What’s going on, Becky?” Ben asked, his own annoyance evident as he, too, realized his sister’s “emergency” probably wasn’t as life-threatening as she’d made it sound.
Becky looked sheepish as she grinned. “Sorry to get all of you worked up. But, actually, it’s probably good that you all did show…Follow me.” She led the way to her kitchen.
Emma glanced at him and her expression was clear—they’d given up going back to her place where they could be naked for this?
“As soon as we find out what this is about, we are out of here,” he whispered as he followed her down the hall. They hadn’t had sex in a few days, and he was craving her.
“I offered to make the Christmas candy for Taylor’s class,” Becky told the group. “I followed the recipe, and Kim Marshall mentioned there was a lot of stirring involved…” She shook her head, motioning them all over to a large pot on the stove where the smell of peppermint escaped on the steam.
They all glanced inside and saw the hardening liquid, the metal spoon she’d been stirring with stuck, standing straight up in the thickening goo.
Unbelievable. They needed to give their sister a list of things that constituted an emergency text.
“My arm is dead and this shit’s not even close to being ready,” Becky said, yanking out the spoon and handing it to Jackson. “You’re up first. Switch off once you lose circulation in your arm,” she said.
Jackson shot her a look, but started stirring. “I can’t believe this.” He struggled to move the spoon in a circle. “This is like tar.”
“Right?” Becky said.
“Well, since it was nothing even close to an emergency, we’re going to go,” Asher said.
“No way, if anyone’s leaving, it’s us.” Ben blocked his exit from the kitchen. “We need to be back in Denver…I have a game to play.”
His hands clenched at his sides as he met his taller brother’s staredown. “Against Arizona, right? Didn’t they beat you guys twice this season already?”
Ben’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he grinned. “Yeah, our record against them is almost as bad as the Devils’. What was that last game score? Five to nothing, Coyotes win?”
Asher took a step closer, and Ben answered with a step closer of his own. His nose was almost touching Ben’s chin.
“You two are not doing this in my kitchen,” Becky said, moving between the two men. Turning to Ben, she motioned toward the door. “You’re free to go.”
“Yeah, let the real men handle this,” Asher called after him.
Ben swung back, unzipping his winter coat. “Jackson, give me the spoon.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Emma and Olivia exchange looks.
“Ben, we need to go. You’re playing in three hours,” Olivia said.
“I’ll make it,” he said, rolling the sleeve of his sweater as he started to stir.
Ben shook his head no, but within seconds, his pace slowed and beads of sweat were visible on his forehead.
“Give it to me,” Asher said, taking the spoon next and pushing Ben aside. Damn, this shit was like tar. His arm burned from his shoulder to his wrist within minutes, but he refused to show any sign of discomfort. The strong scent of peppermint wafting from the pot made his eyes water. What the hell was this supposed to be, anyway? His sister said it was candy, but how this lump of goo was getting transformed into anything other than a big chunk of white and red rock, he didn’t even want to know. He wiped his forehead against the sleeve of his sweater as he continued to stir. It must be eighty degrees in the kitchen.
“Want me to take over?” Jackson asked.
“Nope, I got this.”
“You’re injured, baby brother,” Ben said.
“I said I got this,” he said through clenched teeth. He could kill Becky. At that moment, he was supposed to be taking Emma’s clothes off at her place, not competing in this macho man competition with his brothers.
The sound of the baby crying down the hall had the women making a beeline out of the kitchen. Becky, Olivia, Abby, Dani, and Emma disappeared, leaving the three brothers alone.
“Why do we fall for this still?” Asher asked, finally handing the spoon over to Jackson. Emma wasn’t watching anymore. He grabbed a gingerbread cookie from a tray on the stove and bit the head off. One thing about his sister’s place—there were always delicious homemade treats to eat. Though his lack of exercise these past two weeks was already taking its toll, he still put the rest of the cookie into his mouth.
“Because Neil’s overseas until next month, and if there was a real emergency we’d never forgive ourselves for not being here,” Jackson said, continuing to stir, his forearms straining. “Shit, this stuff keeps getting thicker.”
Ben rolled his eyes. “Move aside,” he said, taking the spoon. But his eyes widened as the thing almost refused to budge. “Jesus.”
Maybe This Christmas Page 8