by Ash Harlow
“No, you don’t have an appointment. I’m going to make sure you’ve made one with the veterinarian, and I’ll call a cab for you.”
I leave Kate to deal with Mr. Battersby and sneak away to my office.
I’m working through my emails a couple of hours later when Noah slips in carrying two coffees and closes the door. He hands me one, then drops into a chair.
“Apparently I’m getting through my appointments too quickly. For the past seven years virtually every patient I’ve approached was close to tapping out. Margaret says I don’t have to be in quite such a rush. I need to get used to the slower pace of sinus infections and painful hips.”
“We could just double-up your appointments.”
He laughs. “I’ll get used to it. Everyone’s been great, except Mrs. Cipriano who accused me of stealing all the apricots off her tree when I was eleven. Did I do that?”
“Without a doubt. And if you didn’t, you probably knocked on her door and ran off, or jammed a potato in the exhaust pipe of her car.”
“Another mother looked elated when her seven-year-old announced when he grew up he was going to be just like me. ‘A doctor?’ she asked, and he said ‘No, I’m going to have a tattoo’.”
“Great. Life goals right there. You’re an exceptional influence on the children of this town.”
“And what about the single women?” He looks me directly in the eye when he asks this question.
“You’ll have to ask them,” I reply.
Noah leans across my desk, and I hold my position so that only the lid of my laptop comes between us.
“Am I an exceptional influence on you, Steffi?”
“Do you want to be?”
He stands and winks at me. “Don’t make any plans for this evening.”
“I’m going for a bike ride after work, and I’m not canceling.”
“We can do that together if I’m finished in time.”
“You have a bike already?”
He stops at the door. “I will by tonight.”
I suppress the silly idea that there’s some romantic reason Noah wants to join me after work on my bike ride. Like me he probably finds physical activity is the best way to burn off the stress of a day at work. We’re friends, and colleagues. There is nothing more between us than that.
Cam would certainly be weirded out by anything going on between Noah and me, as would my parents. Plus, we work together, so that’s awkward. Plus, after three months filling in here, he’ll probably be desperate to leave Queenstown for the excitement of a big city on the other side of the world. Plus, plus, plus… I don’t have to list the reasons why anything between us is a stupid idea. But, damn, he looks so hot in his suit today. And the jeans yesterday. And I hope he doesn’t wear lycra bike shorts because I don’t need the visual of what I’m missing out on to go with the fantasy.
My day continues in the usual fashion for a busy medical practice. Around midday I manage to grab ten minutes to wolf down a sandwich, and I’m joined by Janice in the break room.
“Noah’s causing quite a stir. Whenever he appears in the reception area it goes quiet. We’ve had a run on appointments for him this week.” She glances around then tips towards me. “All single women. And I think Kate fancies him. She’s become very flirty, and the top button on her blouse has fallen off.”
“I’m sure Noah’s used to handling that sort of thing.”
“Just before lunch there were a couple of young woman waiting to see Margaret. They got one look at Noah and decided if they fainted he’d give them mouth-to-mouth, so they started holding their breath. You should have heard the lecture Margaret gave them.”
Kate saunters into the room.
“There’s a button missing on your blouse, Kate.” I state the obvious because subtlety doesn’t work with Kate. “You’ll find a sewing kit in the stationery cupboard. Make sure you fix it by the end of your break.”
She shrugs. “I’ll fix it when I get home.”
“We have a dress code, and flashing your breasts doesn’t meet it. Replace the button in your break, please.”
Kate rolls her eyes. “You’re worse than Margaret. Is Noah living at your house?”
“Yes. But don’t let that concern you.”
“You’re in the apartment downstairs, right?”
I nod.
“Noah’s living upstairs. Got it.” She gives me a sly wink.
I make a mental note to remind myself to tell Noah to watch out for Kate. She’s not shy about going after what she wants.
8 ~ Noah
Life as a general practitioner in a busy medical practice is a complete shift from being an emergency physician in one of the busiest emergency departments imaginable. The pace is different but demanding in a similar way.
The pace of the mountain bike ride, though, is grueling. I called up the bike shop and found I knew the owner from years back. He delivered a bike to the house for me to try out, and it’s useful to have an unfamiliar bike to blame whenever I get in trouble. The Fernhill trail is technical in parts, and I’ve never ridden it before. I pretend it’s my excellent manners when I insist Steffi goes ahead of me, but I soon discover that watching her perfect ass instead of the trail means missing the hazards and taking a fall.
The only bruising is to my ego.
We make it back to town and the place is typically buzzing. There used to be an off-season for tourists, when the town went quiet, but these days with the range of activities beyond skiing and hiking, this place never sleeps.
For dinner, we stop at Fergburger and order two Codfather burgers made with South Coast blue cod, and chunky fries with wasabi mayonnaise. We take them down to the lake edge to eat.
“These burgers are fucking exquisite,” I say.
Steffi laughs. “Worth the wait you were complaining about?”
“How long did that take for our order? Forty minutes? Gotta say they’re the only burgers in the world that can’t be classed as fast food.”
Steffi shivers so I change places to block her from the familiar chilly breeze that ripples across the lake. “Snuggle up and keep warm,” I tell her.
She gives me a coy smile that’s certainly not something familiar to me from our past, but she shuffles along the wall where we’re seated and in seconds I can feel the heat from her body.
In no time we’ve devoured the burgers and there’s one fry left. I use it to scoop up the last of the blistering wasabi mayo and hold it up to Steffi. “Last fry is yours. Open up,” I say.
“If you insist.”
She opens her mouth and I feed her the fry. The hit of the wasabi makes her gasp, in a way that shouldn’t be as sexy as it looks. I push the image of her waiting open mouth from my head because riding home with a hard dick would be excruciating. I pull Steffi to her feet. “Much as I love this view, I’m freezing. Let’s get home.”
The ride is short, but the final hill is steep and we’re both breathless when we pull into the driveway.
“I’m going to shower,” Steffi says.
“Come upstairs for a glass of wine when you’re done.”
Steffi’s back in half an hour smelling faintly of soap, but mostly of Steffi, which is a scent that puts me on edge.
“Did you check your phone?” she asks. “There should be a message from Cam.”
“It’s charging.” The mention of her brother’s name pulls me out of the little fantasy I was having about Steffi’s chestnut-brown ponytail wrapped around my fist. She’s turning me into something akin to a sex-crazed teenager and I need to pull myself back into line.
“There’s a dinner on Friday night out at Harebrook with the investors.”
Cam’s made a fortune and he lives out of town on a couple of thousand acres of high country sheep station. He owns a share of Harebrook with twenty other equally wealthy people who individually have a private piece of land for their house, while the livestock side is taken care of by a manager. A number of the owners are shareholders in t
he new clinic.
“Sounds fun, I think. Are you coming?”
“Yes. I’ll have to be on my best behavior. Some of them are rather stuffy, but they’ll go home early. The non-stuffy ones party like it’s a competitive sport.”
“And you love the challenge of a competitive sport,” I tease.
“Well, I’m still trying to impress these people so I’ll be on my best behavior. You saw my attempt at competitive drinking last night. Tragic.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I thought you were rather cute.”
Steffi sits cross-legged on the sofa and sips her wine. “Women my age don’t want to be thought of as cute.”
“Not even drunk cute?”
“Especially that. So how was your day?”
I don’t want to talk about my day, but it’ll keep my mind off Steffi. “I enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to getting to know the patients and being involved in their continuing care. I’m used to stabilizing them and handing them off to whichever specialist they need. This is the sort of work I always had in mind when I decided I wanted to be a doctor.”
“Oh, good. I figure if we find you a hot girlfriend that’ll help you fall in love with Queenstown all over again.”
“I never fell out of love with Queenstown. I was always coming back here, but if you’ve got someone hot in mind, don’t hold back on the introductions.” Even as the words come out of my mouth I know I don’t mean them, and when I see the flash of something that looks like disappointment cross Steffi’s face, I could kick myself.
“Well, I’ve got a couple of friends I can introduce—”
“I don’t mean it, Steffi. Besides, I think you should use your free time finding yourself a boyfriend rather than looking for a partner for me.” If Steffi had a boyfriend then I could forget about her.
“I don’t want a boyfriend. It leads to sex, which leads to a feeling of inadequacy on my part and that makes me feel like shit. Honestly, Noah, I’ve been out with most of the eligible guys in this town and it’s just not working for me.”
I think about the chat I had with Zer-O last night about how she’s found some guy who turns her on. For a moment I consider telling Steffi about Zer-O’s good fortune, so she doesn’t give up hope of ever having a successful sexual relationship. “Let’s talk about that.”
“Let’s watch television,” she says, jumping up to grab the remote.
I snatch it from her and tuck it behind me. “You’re missing out, and that’s not fair. Have you spoken to a doctor?”
“Yes, actually. When I was away at college I found myself a female doctor at student health. She told me there was nothing physically wrong with me and that I was stressed about exams.”
“That’s fair, I guess. Have you ever actually had an orgasm?”
“Do we have to talk about this?”
“Yes, we do.”
She gives me a semi-glare. It’s a look she perfected as a kid, where she’s ready to switch to happiness or full-on scowl. It means she’s feeling uncertain and her mind is willing to be changed from its current setting.
“What makes you such an expert on the female orgasm?”
I laugh. “Good question. And you’re wise to do your research and make sure the person you’re talking to knows their subject. I’m an expert, because I’m particularly adept at making women climax. I understand anatomy, I understand body language, I know how that particular part of the machine works, and I know how to tinker with it to make sure it performs better than hoped for.”
Steffi throws her hands over her face. “I cannot believe I’m having this conversation with you.”
I can’t either, but I want to continue.
“We’re not having that conversation, yet. So far, you’re skirting around the subject and trying to watch the television.”
Her shoulders are shaking. She’s laughing. “And I can’t believe, in all seriousness, you claim to be particularly adept at making women come! I’m going to get you some business cards: Doctor Noah Osbourne. Family Medical Practitioner — Orgasmicly Talented.”
She’s got a pillow over her face, and she’s rolling on the sofa, laughing so hard I think she’s going to bust something. Finally she stops and wipes her eyes. “Want to put your money where your mouth is and show me these mad skills of yours?”
“Yeah,” I say in all seriousness, “I do.” She’s flushed from all that laughing but her cheeks color even more.
“Really. When?”
“Now is a good time.” I try to tell myself I’m only doing this out of concern for Steffi, but that’s a fucking great lie. I really want to show her that orgasms are easy if you do it right, and I don’t want to spend the next three months just talking about it.
“How? What are you planning to do?”
“Whatever gets you off.”
“Nothing gets me off, Noah. I don’t think you’re hearing that,” she says, fixing me with a deliberate gaze. “And, you know, I’ve kind of beaten myself up about this, and I don’t think I can stand the humiliation of another failure.”
“Come here,” I say, pulling her into my arms. She fits against my body like she belongs there. “This isn’t about humiliation, or some sort of crazy challenge, even though it would rock my ego to be the first guy to get you off. This is about you, and some little switch that seems to have been overlooked. Do you masturbate? I mean, tell me you get off when you play with yourself.”
“Noah.” She says my name in a way that’s packed with solemn determination. “I’m not talking about the frustration of not getting off with my boyfriends. I’ve never had an orgasm.”
Some people call it a poker face, I call it my consulting face. I’ve perfected the art of showing neither surprise nor emotion when a patient tells me something astounding.
“Cool, let’s fix that,” I say.
That’s my ego talking because I’m so fucking attracted to her, and what guy wouldn’t leap at the chance to show off their perceived sexual prowess? But I’m also fighting to hide my astonishment. I can’t believe she’s not totally connected to her sexuality the way she is to every other part of her body.
Steffi’s movements are fluid and graceful, always. Her mouth is quick to smile, her eyes lively. She is strong and vibrant in every way, like this power pack of great energy that people around her feed off. There’s no way I’m going to let her down.
She’s warm in my arms, but a little tense. “First thing I want you to know is that you’re safe. I want you to communicate. If I do something you don’t like, please tell me. Likewise if there’s something you’re really enjoying. Remember, Steffi, the largest sexual organ in our body is our brain. It all starts there.”
“You’ve just given me the most erotic and inaccurate visual of what my brain looks like.”
“If you think it’s hot, stick with it. Otherwise, empty all the thoughts from your head, unless there’s some guy who turns you on, then you can pretend it’s him touching you instead of me.”
“I don’t have to pretend,” she says softly.
I swallow hard. “Good,” I say, rolling away from her and standing. I reach for her hand and she takes mine without hesitation. “We’re going to your apartment. I’m going to blow your mind, and leave you boneless, satisfied, and wanting only sleep.”
9 ~ Steffi
Noah leads me into my apartment and straight through to my bedroom. He releases my hand, tells me to stand in the middle of the room while he closes the curtains and pulls back the comforter on my bed. The lamp on the side table throws a creamy light across the room.
“What now? Should I undress?” I’m nervous, excited and hoping with all my might that this won’t become another flop. We’re risking a lot here. We’re friends, colleagues, and no matter which way this goes, we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other on an almost daily basis.
“Stay just like that. I don’t want you to do anything beyond taking long, deep breaths.”
“Noah, I’m having second th
oughts,” I blurt out. He nods, watching me, cerulean blue eyes steady, not leaving my face. “What if this fails?” I add.
“What if it doesn’t?”
“Yeah, well, that would be awesome … I think.”
“Me too.”
He steps behind me and I’m surprised when he takes my ponytail in his hand. There’s a subtle tightening on my scalp. His mouth is by my ear. “Let’s warm you up,” he says, tipping my head to the side. With his free hand he reaches in front of me to undo a couple of buttons on my shirt, tugging it down until my shoulder is bare. He trails soft kisses and licks from my ear, down my neck, across my shoulder, and back up again. It’s better than anything I’ve dreamed of. His mouth continues along the top of my spine, and back across my shoulder. The press of his lips grows harder, punctuated with grazes of his teeth and sharp nips.
In no time my body is alive with the sensations Noah creates with his mouth, and the way he controls my head, tilting it one way, holding it still, shifting it back so that my throat’s exposed. I feel trapped and adored at the same time.
His hand slides from my waist and cups the underneath of my breast. I expect a squeeze or a pinch, but there’s nothing beyond his firm hold. My nipples ache for his touch, but the big thing I can’t believe is what’s going on between my legs. I’m wet. I feel it when I squeeze my thighs together.
Noah’s hand releases my breast and slides down my stomach. With a simple flick, the button on my jeans is open and the zipper is lowered. He pushes my jeans below my hips and his hand covers my mound. Together, we groan. Noah adds pressure, squeezing, and my knees buckle. I didn’t think that happened in real life.
“This is a lovely, hot, wet pussy, Steffi. Making you come is barely even a challenge for me.” His voice is rough in my ear. Suddenly, he releases my ponytail and removes his hand from between my thighs, turning me in a swift move.
“Why did you stop?” I gasp.
“I haven’t started yet. That was a warm-up, remember?”
He’s unbuttoning my shirt, and he’s fast. Before I can get my mind straight, my shirt and bra are off, and he’s dragging my jeans and panties down my thighs. He taps my foot, telling me to step out, and just like that, I’m completely naked. His eyes sweep up and down my body, and he gives me the most delicious grin.