by Christi Snow
“Please, Chris…” Her voice was high and breathy with need.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get there,” he soothed as he massaged the curve of her breast. “I adore your breasts. They’re so fucking perfect.” He rolled his tongue just around the outside edge of her nipple and her breath caught with anticipation.
“Plea—”
He finally latched down and bit her nipple lightly. Her low moan filled the room as she clawed at his hair and pulled his head harder against her chest.
Reaching down, he tested her readiness for him and was gratified to find her folds hot and wet. He released her nipple from his mouth and began the trek down her stomach to paradise. He nipped at the delicate skin of the top of her thighs until she writhed with need. Spreading her legs with his hands, he settled his face between them. Here her scent was even stronger. He would never forget her smell, the smell of home for him. He swallowed against the overwhelming emotion to focus on the woman in front of him.
Spying her moist folds, his spine tingled and his cock jerked where it was pressed into the sheets on the bed. Softly, he blew on her as he whispered reverently, “You’re so damn beautiful, Butterfly.” He traced a single finger along her passage and was rewarded with the sight of her clenching, trying to draw him in. He needed to taste her. Pulling his tongue up the length of her, he was rewarded with the sweetest cream ever. His girl tasted like perfection. Her moans caused tremors to snake down his spine as he worked the tip of his tongue into her. It only took a couple of strokes before her muscles tensed in preparation of an orgasm. He added a finger gently thrusting and that sent her over the edge, splintering apart beneath him.
The clenching slowed, but she wasn’t finished. She clutched at him pulling him up. “Chris, I need you inside me. Now.”
He grinned at her as he slowly crawled up her body, rubbing his hard cock along the inner flesh of her thigh. “Darling, I would never deny you when you’re making such a nice request.” Finally, he was where he needed to be. He paused for a moment poised above her. He gazed into her eyes and as he sunk home, he murmured, “I dreamed of this for so many months, Butterfly.”
Clutching at him, she moaned his name and met his thrusts with abandon. Her inner muscles massaged and clenched the hard length of his cock, driving him to the edge of control.
He wanted this to be good for her, but her movements sent his desire spiraling out of control. He couldn’t stop. His hips snapped against her, going deeper and deeper within.
She began to whimper when he subtly changed his angle and immediately the walls of her core pulsed with undulating pleasure. He stilled, but the sensations were too much. His cock hardened to impossible lengths and a gush of hot cum flooded into her. Groaning into her neck, he pulsed over and over into her heated depths. Unrelenting ecstasy washed over him as his surging shaft released into her.
He collapsed bonelessly on top of her, trying to hold the weight of his torso off her while he caught his breath. She caressed the hot, flushed skin of his back as little flutters of her core continued to grab at him. He didn’t want to change anything about their position, but knew he had to be squishing her. Slowly he pulled out, causing them both to groan at the loss of connection. He turned to his side, pulling her onto his chest as he rolled.
Immediately sleep began to pull him back down, but he smiled when he heard her whisper, “That was perfect.”
* * *
Chris awoke to the mixed aromas of coffee and bacon. His stomach rumbled. Rolling over to look for the clock, he groaned. It was already 1:00 in the afternoon. But then the beginnings of a smile spread across his face. Despite his attack, last night had been one of the best of his life.
Already half hard from a morning woody, his cock sprang to fully erect as memories of Julie and the night before floated through his mind. He rubbed his palm over it. Damn, he’d missed that feeling, but it was even better when he had it pressed against Julie. Thank God, everything seemed to be fully functional again. He needed to find her.
He sat up in the bed and his muscles, both the abused ones and the overused ones, screamed in protest. He gently pulled the covers off his knee to examine it. Swollen again. Yeah it probably hadn’t been a good idea to make love to Julie from the top last night.
There were several new shades of angry purples and blues and those colors had spread out more from where they’d been last night. It looked bad, but as he gently flexed it, he had to admit it didn’t feel as bad as it looked, just tight and sore. It was probably time for some more ice. He slowly rose out of bed, looking around for some clothes before remembering he’d come in wrapped in a blanket last night, so he wrapped that same blanket around his waist and hobbled into the guest room where he could get some basketball shorts and a t-shirt out of his bag.
By the time he was dressed, his muscles were a bit more limber and he wasn’t moving like an eighty-five year old man anymore.
He stopped in the doorframe of the kitchen where he spotted Julie, leaning over the counter so he had a tantalizing glimpse of her bare breast under her silky robe. She worked on a list while chewing on a piece of bacon. She finished one list, ripped it off and immediately started writing on another. Her brow creased in concentration as she scribbled furiously. Rachel had told him to not let Julie make lists.
Glancing around her kitchen, he noticed there seemed to be more pieces of paper than usual stuck everywhere. Rachel had seemed pretty sure that the lists were a bad thing, so maybe he should explore this issue a bit.
He stepped into the room and Julie looked up at him with a smile.
Joining her on the other side of the breakfast bar, he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. “Good morning, Butterfly, even if it is afternoon.” He breathed in the scent of pear and jasmine mixed with hot sex. “Why didn’t you wake me up when you got up?”
“I thought you needed your sleep.” She kissed the corner of his mouth and then turned his face so she could examine the bruises in the light, wincing as she did so. “How sore are you?”
He shrugged. “It’s not as bad as I expected and definitely better than the alternative. I’m just happy to be alive and kicking still. Really, really happy.” He slid a hand into the gaping neckline of her robe and palmed her breast. The nipple immediately hardened under the palm of his hand and her eyes darkened, but she slipped out of his grasp.
“Nuh uh, first of all,” she pointed her finger at him, “you need food to keep this up. And second of all,” she sat down on her haunches in front of him and gently smoothed her fingers over the tight skin of his knee, “we need to get some more ice on this to get the swelling down. It also would probably be a good idea to get a call in to your orthopedist so he can x-ray it and make sure nothing was damaged.”
He knew she was right, but he just wanted to stay in bed with her all day. Was that so wrong? “Tell you what, let’s eat, then we can take a look at the knee and see what needs to be done. It actually feels okay. The odds are that I’m not even going to be able to get into my doc’s office this late in the day anyway. I think if we can get the swelling to recede again, it’ll be fine.”
She twisted her mouth as she studied him through her dark lashes. “Okay,” she relented. “If we can get the swelling down, I’ll let you put off the doctor until tomorrow. But I do want to sit down with it and examine it thoroughly myself.”
“Aw, Butterfly,” he wrapped her back up into his arms, “you’re welcome to examine any part of me that you’d like.”
She swatted at his chest with a laugh. “Sit down and I’ll make you a plate of food.” She moved back into the kitchen, dished up his food, and sat it in front of him.
As he ate, he gestured toward the slips of post-it notes spread throughout the kitchen. “So, what are you working on?”
“Um,” her gaze skittered away from his, “just some lists. Nothing important.”
“Really?” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You seemed to be working pretty hard on that list when I got he
re for something not that important.”
Suddenly Julie shot out of her chair and began to gather the various scraps of paper. “Nope, just busy work.”
His gut twisted. This was what Rachel was talking about. This wasn’t the Julie he’d known that Valentine’s Day weekend, stressed and strung out over something. She didn’t have multiple lists and scraps of paper then and she’d been working to change her life. What did it all mean? He wasn’t sure, but he planned to puzzle it all out. He just prayed that something wasn’t him. If it was, that didn’t bode well for the two of them.
Losing his appetite, he stood and carried his plate to the sink before turning around to Julie, who stood there nervously holding scraps of paper. He pulled her into his embrace. “Relax, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to push.” He kissed the top of her head and tugged her back toward her bedroom. “Now, can I interest you in a shower?”
She tugged back, shaking her head. “No hot showers for you today. Ice. Knee. Couch.”
He groaned and maybe pouted, too. Just a little.
Chapter 33Julie wiped her damp palms against the fabric of her jeans covering her thighs. She examined the office building shining in the bright sunlight. She could do this. She would be better for it. She knew that. A bead of sweat trickled down her spine and she turned tail to climb back into her car, scrambling for a piece of paper and pen.
Reasons she needed to go talk to this doctor.
“Mainly because you’re becoming certifiable. Stop it, Julie,” she muttered and forced herself to set the paper down. She sat and clenched her hands into fists, knowing that she needed to get out of the car without her emergency list paper in her hands.
When she had called Rachel, she’d asked her to check out the therapist Pete had recommended to her. Rachel checked him out, talked to him and then called Julie back to let her know that her appointment was set up. Now, Julie just had to get inside the doors without puking in the bushes.
As she entered the reception area of the office, she glanced around at the modernly decorated space. The walls were white with huge canvases of photographed flowers in pinks, yellows, and purples. The odd thing was that all the flowers were photographed from below so the sun shone through the backside of the iridescent petals. The soft tones of the colorful pictures along with the unique perspective created a surprisingly peaceful effect. She instantly felt better, which she supposed was a good thing for a therapist’s office.
An older lady sat at a reception desk and she flashed a kind smile to Julie as she met her eyes. “Are you Julie Hyatt?”
Julie nodded, trying to swallow against the sudden dryness of her mouth.
“Good, we’ve been expecting you. Dr. Eckert will be available in just a moment. In the meantime, can I get you something to drink? We have various colas, coffee, tea, and water.”
Damn, no alcohol. She really could have used a shot or two of some liquid courage right about now, but she guessed that would be bad form for a therapist’s office to offer alcoholic beverages, even if it would make this whole thing easier.
Instead, she just shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Thank you, though.” She sat down in one of the plush armchairs and pulled her e-reader out of her purse, although thinking she could concentrate on a book right now was ludicrous. Her fingers itched for a pen and paper so she could make a list. She balled her hands into fists to resist the temptation. Control, she could do this.
Sweat rolled down her back as she looked around the reception area again. She was the only one here, so why did she feel like she had a great big neon sign over her head which said, ‘Crazy Lady Sitting Here’ with an arrow pointed down at her?
When finally the door to the doctor’s office opened, she jumped in surprise. A friendly-looking, middle-aged man stood there in a nicely cut suit. He had glasses, stood about six foot tall, and was balding. She’d estimate his age to be around fifty-five. He smiled as he strode to her and reached out his hand. “Ms. Hyatt?”
She nodded and shook his hand.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Eckert. Why don’t you come on in? Did Valerie offer you something to drink?”
“Yes, but I’m fine right now.” They entered his office.
“Okay. Good, then let’s get started.” He sat down behind his desk and pulled out a notepad.
Julie glanced around the office. Like the reception area, it had a peaceful feel, but here the effect was created with soft green wall color and a plethora of live plants throughout the room. There were two upholstered arm chairs and a couch for her to choose from. She picked one of the chairs and was surprised by how extremely comfortable it was when she sat down. She glanced back at it and said, “This would be a perfect reading chair.”
Dr. Eckert smiled and nodded. “It is. I use it often for reading novels when I don’t have any patients in the office, but don’t tell my secretary. She thinks I’m working on my paperwork during those hours.” He covered his mouth, but she could still see his lips twitching with amusement.
Suddenly Julie felt more at ease.
“Your sister told me a little bit about your background, but I’d like to hear it from you. What do you see as your main issue? Why are you here to see me today?”
Julie took a deep breath and then began. “Rachel tells me I have OCD.”
“Do you disagree with that?”
“No.” Julie shook her head. “I make lists. I have to make lists.”
“What happens if you don’t make your lists?”
“Then I lose control of the situation and I can’t allow that to happen. My lists help me keep control.”
He hummed while watching her. “I see. Do you know how long you’ve done this?”
Her stomach seized up and she balled her fists so that her fingernails pressed into her palms. “It started when I was eleven. I was always really organized as a kid, but the overwhelming need to make the lists began then.”
“Was there a significant event that happened in your life then to start this?”
“Yes,” Julie swallowed against the lump in her throat, “I was attacked.”
“Okay, your sister mentioned that. She was there, too, right?”
“Yes, it was her boyfriend who attacked me.”
“So, why do you think you started making lists then?”
“I was young and trying to deal with this awful assault while also trying to hide it from my parents. I was only able to do all that with my lists to keep track of all the lies and details.”
“Did it work? Did they ever find out about the attack?”
“Not that I know of. We’ve always managed to keep it hidden.”
He wrote for a moment in his notebook. “Does that bother you?”
Julie thought for a moment. She’d never really considered the lie to her parents. In her life, it just was a fact that this awful thing happened and they couldn’t know about it. She shook her head. “No, I don’t think it does. That lie has been a part of my life for so long; I can’t imagine telling them about it now. And what would that do besides make them feel guilty for not realizing it happened at the time? No, I don’t think it does bother me.” She watched him write for a moment. “Shouldn’t it bother me though? Lying is bad.”
“Julie, I’m not here to judge you. You did what you had to do to survive then. You were very young and dealing with an incredibly traumatic event. From what little I know so far, I would say you’ve adjusted remarkably and developed your own methods for coping. What we’re trying to do here is find even healthier methods for you to learn to cope, now that you’re older and have stronger mental facilities.”
She nodded. “Okay, that sounds good.” She took another deep breath.
“Your sister also mentioned that she had worked with you recently to overcome your OCD and you weren’t happy with the results. Would you like to talk about that?”
“Not really.” She bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. She glanced around his office, avoiding his gaze. “You have a lot of plan
ts. I’ve taken up gardening recently. What kinds are they?”
Silence. She tucked the fingers of her hands under her thighs to keep from fidgeting, but finally she couldn’t stand it anymore and looked up at him. He had a kind, soft smile on his face and a very patient look in his eyes. He was just going to sit there and wait for her to answer, wasn’t he?
“I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about your plants, huh?”
“Not during your session, no, but if you’d like to talk about them afterwards, I’d be happy to share my plant knowledge with you. I just don’t think giving you a list of plant names right now would best serve your needs.” Busted. He gave her another soft smile. “Now, why don’t you tell me what happened before.”
“Rachel called it behavior modification. I worked to become a different person, a stronger version of me. She said that by behaving completely different from my norm that it could change my habits. I wasn’t allowed to make lists.”
“Did it work for you?”
She gave a sharp nod of her head and swallowed. “It did, for a while.”
“Then what happened?” he gently prodded.
“I lost control,” she whispered. That ever-present panic swamped her. She wanted a pen and paper in her hand.
“What exactly did you lose control of?”
“Everything in my life.”
“What exactly was everything?”
She swallowed against the tears welling in her eyes. “I met a guy.” Her voice broke and the tears spilled over her cheeks.
“Most people think that’s a good thing. Why don’t you?”
“He was a soldier, an Air Force pilot, who had to deploy. I didn’t know it when he left, but I was pregnant. I was so happy at first, but we’d kept our relationship a secret so I couldn’t tell anyone, but then the baby died and his plane crashed. I lost everything.”
He handed her a box of tissues. “I’m sorry for your loss, Julie, but I need you to answer a few more questions for me.”