He knew she was lonely, but she seemed to have survived the grieving process, although one could never be sure. She had picked up the pieces and went on with her life after the loss of her husband. Apparently they’d had a good marriage, and there would be no reason she couldn’t have another one, right? Now where had that come from, he wondered with a grin. He’d only know her for a few weeks, but already he was thinking about the future, their future. Amazingly he’d managed to dodge that bullet for years and now here he was, painting a great big target on his chest.
So, she was healthy, productive in her profession, not having any financial problems. Apparently she was ready to let a man into her life, even if it was only friendship for now, but when he threatened to spank her, she hadn’t batted an eyelash. That was a pretty intimate indicator that she felt something for him. So what else could it be? What had she whispered? That having me in the house made it worse? Well, hell!
“You’re sexually frustrated,” he said calmly, clearly pleased with himself, as though he had just discovered penicillin.
“Ya think, Sherlock?” she shot back, trying not to be snarky but failing miserably.
“Is sarcasm really necessary?” he scolded.
“No, but it makes me feel better,” she told him shortly. Taking a deep breath she sighed and continued. “I’m sorry Mike, really I am. It’s not your fault or your problem. Usually I’m able to handle it pretty well, but lately it’s just been getting to me. Please accept my apology.”
“Do you masturbate?” he asked in a professional tone.
“What?” she screeched as she turned in her seat to glare at him in the dim light.
“Do you masturbate? It’s a perfectly reasonable question.”
“No,” she replied through gritted teeth. “I do not masturbate and this conversation is over!”
“Why not? Masturbation is actually good for you. It’s good for your heart and has been proven to extend longevity.”
“In my case it’s proven to make me want to put a gun in my mouth and pull the trigger,” she snapped back.
Ah, now we’re getting somewhere, he thought. Mike pulled in the driveway and walked around to her door without comment. Opening it, he pulled her out and into his arms, rocking her gently. She didn’t relax against him as he was hoping, and he kissed the top of her head before taking her hand and leading her into the house.
“It’s been a long day, so I think I’ll head off to bed,” Brandy told him stiffly. “Thank you for dinner and cleaning up.”
“I don’t think so,” Mike said, leading her to the couch and easing her down. “We’re going to talk about this. Is there anything you need?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“So you have coital headaches? When did they start? How old were you?”
“That’s the term they use, yes, although it hardly describes what happens.” Brandy sighed in defeat. He obviously wasn’t going to let this go. “I was in my early thirties,” she continued. “At first it was only once in a while, but as time went on they became much more frequent. By the time my husband passed away, our sex life was about non-existent. Oh, I worked at pleasing him; there was no point in being selfish about it. I mean, after all, it was my problem, not his. I became quite adept at making grocery lists and reciting multiplication tables, while he tried to hurry. It was a very sad situation. We were quite passionate lovers until this happened,” she said softly as she wiped away a tear.
“Were you multi-orgasmic?” he asked gently.
“I was, seriously,” she laughed bitterly. “I guess God is paying me back for being such a greedy little thing in bed.”
Mike let that slide. He needed to get his questions answered while she was still in a frame of mind to do so.
“I take it you’ve had all the tests, CT scan, MRI?”
“Oh yes, I wasn’t willing to go quietly into a platonic relationship. My poor husband walked a tightrope. I needed the physical contact of hugs and kisses, but he had to be careful not to take it too far. The last thing either of us wanted was for me to become so sexually frustrated that I had a meltdown, which I’m sure you can understand,” she told him, wishing she were anywhere but sitting across the couch from this man.
“So for all intents and purposes, you gave up sex?”
“I didn’t exactly give up sex; I just gave up enjoying it. We still had physical intercourse until he passed away. Then I gave up sex entirely.”
“I see,” Mike said calmly. “I’m going to get a glass of water. Do you want anything?” he asked, heading to the kitchen.
“No, thank you,” she replied, starting to rise from the couch.
“Stay,” he ordered gruffly, pointing his finger at her. “I’m not finished.”
“Woof,” she replied before sticking out her tongue.
“Funny,” he replied, “but I’m not amused, and you better be there when I get back.”
Brandy watched him walk away, trying her best not to admire the man. He was so good- looking, it made her mouth water. He was tall, strong, smart, funny, and sexy as hell. Why, oh why, had she suggested he move in here with her instead of helping him find an apartment? Because you’re a masochistic fool, that’s why, her brain replied. He was clearly naturally dominant, a trait that had always appealed to her. What made her think she could spend any amount of time with him and not be physically affected, she’d never know. Now they couldn’t even be friends. He knew how he affected her and being the gentleman he was, would go out of his way to not cause her any pain. He would, in all likelihood, return from the kitchen and tell her he was going to look for his own place. It really would be for the best anyway. She couldn’t spend her nights salivating over him and still function during the day, especially as there was no happy ending possible. Sure he could offer to fuck her, and she would enjoy the physical contact, but she would never be able to climax. He was exactly the type of man who would take great offense if he couldn’t bring his woman to orgasm, so it would be a mercy fuck, not acceptable at all in her opinion. The last thing she wanted from him was pity.
“Here, I brought you one anyway,” he told her, entering the room and handing her bottled water. “It’s always good to stay hydrated.”
“Yes, Doctor Mike,” she quipped with a smirk. “Apparently you know best.”
“Damn straight,” he said. “Now tell me about your headaches. I want you to describe them for me, in detail,” he ordered, crossing one long leg over the other and resting his ankle on his knee.
“Why, I’d love to. You don’t know how much pleasure it will give me to tell you all about the agony I experience at the height of…”
“Still sassy, I see,” he grinned. “I like that, I really do, Honey, but right now I’d like just the facts mam,” he said in his best TV detective voice.
Brandy smiled and relaxed into the couch cushions. “Okay, here it is to the best of my ability. There is no pain throughout the entire process…”
“Process?” he asked. “Sex is a procedure to you?”
“Just shut up and let me finish,” she ordered, throwing a small pillow at him. “No, sex is not a procedure. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s all good until about a nanosecond before I climax. When the pain comes, it wipes every ounce of pleasure away and then my head explodes. It’s excruciating, and I mean excruciating. I may end up on the floor on my knees holding my head and screaming. At times I’ve even lost my vision for a few minutes. I was sure I had a stroke the first time it happened. I thought I was going to die, that maybe I had an aneurism or something.”
“How long does the pain last?”
“It depends. The physical pain can go away in a few minutes or last several hours. The emotional pain is limitless,” she sighed before taking a sip of her water.
“Oh baby, I sure it is, and I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this. Have your doctors been able to give you any advice at all?”
“Yeah, t
ake two aspirin and call me in the morning,” she shot back with an eye roll. “If there were anything I could have done, don’t you think I would have done it?”
“Absolutely, if you knew about it, but there are things that can be done. I’ve had patients with this condition before, and I have been able to advise them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It just depends on how much work the couple is willing to put in and whether they can control their bodies during sex or they let their bodies control them. Achieving orgasm without these headaches is not a sprint; it’s a marathon.”
“Oh, marathon sex, how original,” she drawled sarcastically, clearly not believing there was a treatment. “Just how is this marathon sex accomplished without orgasm?”
“Oh, there will be an orgasm,” he promised her. “Possibly multiple orgasms. As to how it’s accomplished, there are a few options but the best, in my opinion, involves relaxation training, mental imagery and a patient man with a slow hand.”
His soft voice was almost hypnotizing, and before she knew it, he had reached across the couch and pulled her onto his lap. “Trust me, Brandy,” he growled into her ear and nuzzled her neck. “I will not let you run willy-nilly, crashing into an orgasm that will bring you nothing but pain. Instead I will control your pleasure and you will glide effortlessly into ecstasy like a leaf drifting gently on the breeze.”
Holy shit, she thought as her panties became instantly wet. Could he be right? Was it possible? Tipping her head back, she looked into his eyes, and for the first time, she felt hope. Hope that a part of her life she missed so desperately could be restored to her. Hope that this confident man knew what he was talking about. She felt his large hands slip into her hair, dislodging the pins that were holding it in place. He gently massaged her scalp, and when she sighed, his lips claimed hers. There was no rushing, no grasping, just a subtle coaching for her to open her mouth for his tongue. It felt like falling, and she relaxed into his arms and let him lead her. Finally after what seemed like hours of incredibly blissful pleasure drifting slowly through her, he sat her up and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She had only one word for him.
“When?”
The smile that broke over his face was like someone turning on the sun, and he pulled her close to his chest, her ear above his heart.
“A week from Friday there will be a cocktail party at the office and I would like you to attend with me. I think it’s important for the new clients to know that my interest lies elsewhere,” he said in a deep, no nonsense voice.
“And where does your interest lie, Mike?” she asked breathlessly.
“I think you already know the answer to that, but on the chance that I’m assuming too much, I will tell you,” he said, sitting her up and looking deeply into her eyes. “Physically I’m incredibly attracted to you, Brandy, but more than that, I’m quickly becoming unable to get through the day without thinking about you. I look forward to my coffee in the morning, because I will see your smiling face. I can’t wait to get home in the evening and talk about our days. I could tell you that I haven’t felt this way about a woman in a long time, Honey, but the truth is I’ve never felt this way about a woman. Does that answer your question?”
“Perfectly,” she replied, her face flushed with pleasure. “So, getting back to my question, when?”
“After the cocktail party we will come home, and for the rest of the evening, you will obey me and follow my instructions. I promise that it will be a night you will never forget and you will never doubt me again.”
Brandy nodded and pressed her lips to his. Although he kissed her back, he refused to allow her to entice him further. He had some reading to do and plans to make.
“Off to bed little brat, and the next time I ask you what’s bothering you, I expect an answer and not an hour of trying to draw it out of you,” he told her, setting her on her feet with a swat to her butt. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night,” Brandy murmured, still in a daze. God she hoped he knew what he was doing.
Mike was thinking the same thing.
Chapter Eleven
Sam slowly rocked the big recliner, Johanna asleep in his arms. The tears that streaked her cheeks had long since dried, leaving the barest of traces. All that was left of her mascara was now on the cuffs of her silk blouse, deposited there when she scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. Even though she was partially turned on her side, nestled against his chest, he could still feel the heat radiating from her bare little bottom, and he didn’t feel a bit bad about it. The way she behaved in Mike’s office had been atrocious as far as he was concerned, and in fact, his ears still rang from her screams. Thankfully there hadn’t been a client in the building or they would have run for the hills in terror. Sam tried to understand her fear of doctors, but she’d behaved worse getting the stitches out than she had when Dr. Mike put them in. Granted, there had been another woman present then. Apparently her pride prevented her from throwing a tantrum in front of another female, but that had not been the case this afternoon.
After picking her up from work, he drove directly to the office, arriving just as the last staff member was leaving for the day. Dr. Mike was still in his office and greeted Johanna with warmth and affection. He knew how Sam felt about her, and he was determined to calm her fears and make the procedure as painless as possible. It was Jo herself who had prevented that, going immediately into panic mode and behaving worse that any two year old. No amount of cajoling or soothing could make her compliant, and things quickly deteriorated from there. Twenty minutes later, the stitches were gone, replaced by a Band-Aid, and Jo was back-peddling as fast as she could, thanking Dr. Mike and sucking up ad nauseam. But the damage was done. Sam informed her there wouldn’t be a big enough Band-Aid in the world to make her bottom feel better when he got done with her. He promptly flipped her over his shoulder, bid goodnight to Mike and carted Johanna up the back stairway into his apartment.
The spanking commenced immediately with Sam removing her skirt and panties; her heels were somewhere in Mike’s office, having flown off her feet during the skirmish. Sam had no inclination for a warm-up, sitting quickly on the leather sofa and pulling the struggling miscreant over his knees in one smooth motion. There was no point in lecturing, as Jo knew exactly what had brought about this licking, so he began to slap her ass with gusto, completely unmoved by her squeals and cries. Sam warned her, before they even entered the building, that he expected her to be on her best behavior. The stitches needed to come out, and there was to be no discussion about it. Keeping them in too long was just as dangerous as not getting stitched at all, and she already put if off twice with flimsy excuses. It annoyed him to no end, that he had actually trusted her to be good. What the hell was he thinking?
Spank after spank rained down on her ass until he had covered the entire surface and the back of her thighs. Her flesh was deep pink and hot, so he paused for a moment. He was angry and frustrated and he didn’t want to overdo it even though she’d earned every stinging smack. Sobbing softly, her hair a complete mess, he felt his heart softening. Maybe she’d learned her lesson about defying him. Reaching over, he pulled her hair away from her face, almost ready to let her up. Suddenly she turned and looked at him, her eyes flashing.
“If you don’t let me up, right this minute, I swear by all that’s holy, I will scream this house down,” she promised, hissing like a scalded cat.
“I can see we’re not done here,” Sam said, amused by her vehemence. “In case you hadn’t noticed sweetheart, I am in control here and you are the one half naked and over my lap getting your fanny roasted. I suggest you think about how you could have behaved differently this afternoon because you are a long way from getting up.”
“Sam, this isn’t fair,” she wheedled. “You know how I feel about doctors and yet you expect me to just let…”
“I expect you to occasionally behave like a grown woman instead of a child, and although that doe
s have its appeal at times, this wasn’t one of them. You embarrassed me, and I should have taken advantage of one of the many implements in Mike’s office to straighten out your attitude on the spot.”
“Sam, I promise you I will never act like that again,” Jo pleaded prettily. “I’ll listen to you and do whatever you say, if you’ll just stop spanking me and let me go.”
“Oh, the things a woman will promise when she’s bare bottomed over a man’s knee,” he said, actually laughing. “It’s amazing how compliant you sound and if I didn’t know you so well, I might believe you. However, I do know you, Sweetie, and you are - pardon my honesty - a little liar. A beautiful liar, but a liar just the same. I fully anticipate this scenario being played out over and over again in what I hope will be a long future for us.”
“Well, you’re wrong,” she sputtered, “because your future will only last until I get up and find something to brain you with. Now let me up, and I might decide to forgive you for your high-handed ways.” Jo tried to wiggle out of his firm grasp, even though she knew it was useless. “I mean it, Sam. If you know what’s good for you, you will stop this immediately!”
“Not only do I know what’s good for me, more to the point, I know what’s good for you. You need a good spanking and that’s exactly what you’re going to get. I’m willing to let some behavior slide that I don’t exactly agree with, and I recognize that you have your own way of doing things. I don’t expect you to always agree with me, but when I specifically tell you what I expect, you damn well better listen, especially if it has to do with your health and safety. Do I make myself clear?”
A Sweet and Sassy Match Page 10