“I won’t. I won’t. You better?”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
“Did your father punish you by putting you in the dark?”
“Yes! No! Please. Don’t ask me about him.”
“Okay, babe. I’ve got you. Nothing will happen to you here.”
“Will you kiss me?”
She did. She started out slow. Finding his lips and brushing hers across them, back and forth, gently tasting them, she tried to drive away his fear. She nibbled on his upper lip and then his lower one, right before she sucked it into her mouth. Their tongues twisted around each other’s as they kissed and his arms clasped her tightly to him.
“You know how you always tell me how beautiful I am?” she asked.
“Yeah, because you are.”
“You’re beautiful too. I’ve just never told you before. So now it’s your turn to kiss me.”
She felt his lips curve into a smile as he kissed her and her heart smiled right along with him. His panic was blissfully forgotten, at least for the moment, as they lost themselves in their kiss.
He surprised her when he sat up and shifted so he could slide his length into her. But their mouths and tongues kept on with the kissing. Their moans were swallowed by each other, as were their climaxes. And when he lay back down, still deep within her, he fell asleep. He forgot about his need for light because she still had her arms around him, just as she had promised.
She leaned over, blew out the candle, and fell asleep too.
# # #
Day two of waking up in glaring sun was not Gabby’s favorite. This was brutal on the eyes. His bedroom faced the east and it was like being under a mega spotlight. But now she understood why. Then it registered that she was alone in the bed. Stretching, she felt pleasantly sore in a particular area and smiled. She recalled last night. His panic attack. His fear of the dark. She puzzled over it until her mind ventured to the sex they had before the storm and what he’d done to her, where he had put his finger, and she felt her face burn.
Her crazy mind strayed to how often he’d done that in the past with other women, but then she chastised herself. Did it really matter? Pushing those toxic thoughts aside, she got out of bed and went in search of Kolson. Not finding him, she took a shower.
Once finished bathing, she headed to the kitchen for coffee. A most appealing sight greeted her—Kolson in front of the counter, guzzling a bottle of water, sweaty from a workout. Her heart picked up its rhythm while her hand reached for her chest as she imagined how he would feel against her skin, dripping with sweat, or how he would taste if she licked him now. He hadn’t noticed her yet, and when he lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe the perspiration from his face, she felt herself grow damp with need. She broke out in a sweat herself simply watching him. He must’ve caught sight of her because he turned slightly and zeroed in on her. But he didn’t say a word; he only stared. The room charged, as did her body.
Then he approached, grasped her hand, walked her into the bedroom and pushed her backward on to the bed.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t you dare move.”
She heard the shower turn on and in a few minutes, shut off. Then he rejoined her, naked and all sexed up. His piercings caught the light and the head of his cock glistened, telling her what was about to happen. Desire uncoiled from within her depths. There was only one thing she wanted right now, and she couldn’t wait for it. She sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed, hooked her finger, and motioned for him to come closer.
She looped her arms around his thighs, feeling his heated damp skin, and took his cock into her mouth, licking off the bead of moisture as she went. He tasted good, so good. Clean, salty, and musky, just like she’d imagined.
“Oh, kea, yes.”
Taking him in as far as she could, she felt the silver balls of his piercing hit the back of her throat, but it only spurred her on. She sucked, licked, and swirled her tongue about his thickness. When he groaned deep in the back of his throat, she knew it was what he wanted. There wasn’t anything hotter to her than that sound, so she opened her eyes to take a look at him and found him watching her every move. He grabbed her hand and moved it to his heavy sac, enclosing it around its weight. His breathing became heavier then, and Gabby didn’t want to stop looking at him.
“Your mouth on my dick is one sexy sight,” he said, his voice hoarse with lust. “Take it in deep, as deep as you can.”
The silver balls tickled her tongue and the roof of her mouth as she slid his cock in and out. Every time she’d flick him and work her tongue around them, he’d hiss air through his teeth. She’d take him in deep and the sounds he made when she sucked him hard, spurred her own desire.
“Ahhh, I’m so close. I need for you to stop. I want to fuck you now. I want you to wrap your tight pussy around me.”
When she released him, he untied her robe and tore it off her. Then he sucked her nipples hard and teased them with his teeth, scraping them until they were nearly raw and she writhed beneath him. “As much as I’d like this to be slow, I’m too impatient right now. I want to take you hard and fast.”
He lifted her legs onto his shoulders and plunged into her, stretching her with ruthless strength. And she loved every single inch of him. Begged him for more. Her nails dug into his arms as she drew blood and screamed out his name, but he paid no heed. He only thrust harder, chasing his release and hers. His hand found her clit, rubbed her to ecstasy and soon after he pulled out. She watched as his cum burst across her chest in a series of sexy spurts. Then he massaged it all over her chest, nipples, and pussy.
Kneeling, he looked at her and said, “I think I love you best covered in this. What a gorgeous sight you are. Damn, I wish we didn’t have to go to work.”
After a moment, he went to the bathroom and came back with a towel. He cleaned her up everywhere … except her nipples and pussy. “Don’t you dare wash this off. I want to know, while I work today, that my cum is still on your nipples and your pussy. And Gabriella, if you wash it off, I’ll find a way to punish you. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” She wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but she had a notion to test him.
“I know what you’re thinking. And you won’t like my methods. At all.”
Then he gave her a long, slow, sexy kiss and got up. “And don’t do a thing to your hair, either. You look perfect in that freshly fucked look.”
“But, I have bed head. It’s all tangled,” she protested.
“Damn straight. And it’s hot as hell. Don’t you dare touch it.”
“You’re weird. There’s no way I can go to work like this. My patients will think I’m nuts.”
He laughed. “No, they’ll think you’re beautiful. But I’ll let you get away with it this time.” He stopped her with another kiss. “Your lips are perfect too, all puffy from kissing and sucking my dick.” Then he smiled when he looked at his arm. “And I’ll wear this with honor.” He held it up for her to see. There were three long, blood-red scratches.
“I did that? Holy shit!”
With a sly grin, he nodded. “You’d better get a move on or we’ll both be late,” he said, smirking. “Oh, and kea, thank you for rescuing me last night. It meant the world to me.”
That was it. That was all he said about his panic episode. Gabby knew it was pure avoidance, but something dark and disturbing unsettled her. What had happened to him to cause this kind of reaction? Had his father locked him inside a dark room? She was determined not to pry, but she also knew how unhealthy it was to keep it bottled up. Then she rolled her eyes at herself. Pot, meet Kettle. And boy, had she ever.
Chapter Twenty
All day long, Gabby had only one thing on her mind: her mini sexathon with Kolson. Several times she caught herself absently rubbing her tender nipples. It was a good thing she was alone when that happened.
With all the phone calls and texts she’d been fielding, she could’ve used a secretary. Sky, Cara, Ryder and Case were all checkin
g up on her. It was nice, but maybe they needed to set up some kind of phone chain. Midday, when her phone rang, she answered it and was more than pleased to hear Kolson’s voice.
“Do you have time for lunch today?”
“I only have forty-five minutes.”
“And when would that be?”
“After one thirty.”
“Perfect,” he said. “Any food aversions?”
“Uh, no. Why?”
“I’m bringing lunch in to you. See you then.”
“But …” He’d already ended the call.
At one thirty sharp, his large frame filled her doorway. His presence thickened the air around her, and her heart galloped behind her ribs. He eyed her and did that thing with his lips, scraping his teeth across them. She felt herself respond right where it mattered most—between her thighs. Her hand moved to her throat, as if that would ease the pressure she felt against her chest. But it didn’t. Not one bit.
In his hands he toted a large bag and a tray with two tall drinks. “Am I going to have to stand here and hold this for the next forty-five minutes, or are you going to show me where we’re going to eat lunch?”
She cleared her throat and said, “How rude of me. This way.” She rose and he followed her into a tiny room with a small refrigerator and sink. It also held a small round table and two chairs. “Please, sit.”
Kolson pulled a chair out for her and she sat while he set the bag and drinks down. Then he shocked her when he brought his head down to her chest. His fingers unbuttoned her blouse and he reached into her bra and released one of her breasts. Bending his head, he inhaled and then gently sucked on her still sensitive nipple. She hissed as he said, “I’m glad you followed my directions, Gabriella. You still smell and taste of me.”
She tried to swallow around the cotton that had been crammed down her throat, but it was futile. The man turned her body into a sex-craved demon.
Replacing her bra and buttoning her blouse, he took a seat across from her. “You must be famished. You didn’t eat breakfast this morning. Did you?”
“N-no.”
“Didn’t think so. Well, I hope you like Thai. I know a great place and I took the liberty of ordering a bit of an array for us.” He pulled out the little white square boxes while he spoke and then grabbed another plastic container. Handing her chopsticks and a spoon, he said, “Dig in. Oh, I hope you don’t mind. We’ll have to share this. I ordered a large Tom Kha Gai for the two of us.”
Gabby’s eyes bulged as she looked at all the food. He must’ve thought another four people were joining them.
He was chewing a potsticker when he asked, “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“Yes. And thank you.” She took a bite of a spring roll and sighed. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate Thai food. And this was divine. But the quantity. My God!
“Were you expecting someone else to join us?” she asked.
“No, why?”
“Do you always eat this much?”
“I was hungry and couldn’t decide what to get. The choices were endless.” He flashed her a boyish grin.
He watched her as he ate, and she couldn’t tell if he was hungry for food or for her. He looked like he was going to devour her, right along with his potstickers.
“Tell me about your practice. So this is your first year?”
“Yeah. I’m just finishing it. July will mark my first anniversary.”
“How do you like it?”
She beamed. “Other than my financial struggles, I love it. I love helping others. There are so many people out there who don’t know which way to turn and I enjoy helping them find their way. You know?”
“Gabriella, are you a fixer?”
“Of course I am. That’s what my profession does.” She chuckled.
“But do you look for people who need fixing?”
“I’m not following you.”
“Your friends for instance. Sky and Cara.”
“What about them?”
Kolson stopped eating for a second and said, “You know I have everyone investigated. It’s something my legal team recommends. And since they’re associated with you, they came up as red flags. I trust you; therefore I’m not worried about them. I know what they do for a living so that’s why I asked you that question. It seems all your friends have issues which begged that question to be asked.”
Gabby was surprised at first but then when she gave it some thought, she truly wasn’t. “I should be angry with you, but I’m not. I met Ryder through Case. He was going to NA. Ryder started seeing Sky who had issues with her mom, who was an addict. Her mom has since passed. And of course Cara and Sky work together. I have to be honest here. There’s a huge part of me that wants them to quit the life of prostitution. I think Sky will and soon. Cara, I’m not so sure about and that saddens me. I don’t think I want to fix them per se. I do want them to be safe. Neither of them uses drugs. They rarely drink unless we go out for a girl’s night out, which is once every three or four months. I think I bonded with Sky because she was raped into prostitution and I could relate to the rape part. We both had shitty family lives. I guess that was a terribly long answer to your question. And I spoke out of turn. Broke confidences. I trust you to keep that to yourself.”
He smiled. ‘You haven’t shared anything with me about them I didn’t already know. I’m more interested in your connection to them. Curious, is the more appropriate term, I suppose. It isn’t often that a medical professional is a friend of a prostitute’s. That’s why I guessed you were a fixer. But, kea, you know there are those who need to be fixed, but don’t want to be.”
“I don’t put myself above being anyone’s friend. But, Kolson, everyone needs to be fixed to a degree. No one is perfectly tuned. It’s a matter of how fucked up we truly are. Can we function in society without doing ourselves or anyone else any harm? And are we happy going about doing it? That’s the question one must ask oneself.”
“So, Dr. Martinelli, are you happy?”
Gabby didn’t quite know how to answer him. The answer to that was very complicated.
“I believe you’ve just given me your answer.”
“That’s quite an assumption. Weren’t you the one who told me not to make assumptions about things I knew nothing about?”
“Touché, Gabriella. Indeed I did say that. And you were paying attention.”
She grinned as she took a taste of the soup. “Mmm. This is excellent. And you’re terribly astute.”
He nodded. “I earn my living by being astute. So, aside from your driving need to help people, any other reasons for psychiatry?”
“Yes. Psychiatrists are the underdogs of the medical profession. People don’t look at us as physicians. They only see us as counselors or sitting in rooms with patients as they lay on couches and tell us their problems.”
“Well, isn’t that what they do?”
“In a manner of speaking, but there is so much more. Psychiatry involves more than just talking to the patient. Many conditions and diseases require medications and monitoring, much like diabetes and other illnesses. Were you aware that many homeless people suffer from schizoid personality disorder and refuse treatment because they hate the side effects of the drugs?”
“No, I haven’t studied schizoid personality disorder,” he said with a grin.
“I have.”
“Of that, I’m sure. I know the biggest reason for you going into your field is your past. And after seeing you in action, there is nothing else I can imagine you doing.”
“That’s true. Once I started studying psychiatry, my fascination with it grew. The human brain is amazing and the things that can go wrong are … well, you can imagine. The possibilities are endless and if we aren’t taught how to cope or if our neurotransmitters aren’t at the appropriate levels, things can go haywire. Genetics and environment have so much to do with it too. Some people are just born lucky.”
As she spoke, Kolson’s lips formed a thin white
line.
“My advantage with my patients is I wasn’t born lucky, so I can relate to many of them. And I believe it helps me connect, particularly with the abuse victims.”
Kolson’s demeanor altered. A veil descended over him and his tone turned severe.
“Good for you. How about we finish our lunch? I need to be back at the office and I thought you had patients coming in.”
The wind left her sails and her body slumped into her chair. She thought he’d be excited for her as she talked about what she did, but not only was he disinterested, he was downright short with her. The fascination he’d shown when he’d accompanied her to the hospital and to the women’s shelter had vanished, and it wounded Gabby. However, if she had put her psychiatrist’s hat on, she would’ve realized her comments hit too close to home. And if Kolson had opened his eyes, he would’ve noticed how hurtful his words had been to her. But neither of them did. They focused on their food, Kolson finishing his and Gabby staring at hers.
A few minutes later, his chair scraped the floor as he stood, and he said, “I’ll be heading out now.”
It was terribly awkward. She looked up at him and saw a stranger before her. Gone was the warm, passionate man from this morning and in his place was some insensitive male she didn’t recognize.
“Thanks for the lunch.”
“It was nothing,” he said curtly. “I’ll see myself out.”
Gabby tried to analyze what had just passed between them but was so shaken, her mind couldn’t think straight. Her next appointment was due in a few minutes so she needed to get her head clear.
And then, like lightning, it hit her.
Born lucky. That’s it.
She didn’t have the time to dwell on it, because her two o’clock would arrive any second, but that had to be why he’d changed.
Later, after her patient left, she tried to call Kolson, but his phone went directly to voicemail. She left him a message and text asking him to call her. By five thirty, when it was time to leave, she still hadn’t received a response and Ovaltine was waiting to drive her back to Kolson’s apartment.
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