Surviving Doctor Vincent: The Good Doctor Trilogy Book 2

by Renea Mason

  Only a few feet away, he stood and undressed. His shirt was easily discarded and his socks, shoes, and jeans were fast work. The roaring of the water filled the tub, drowning out the raindrops that splattered on the window behind the oversize bath.

  “Get in.” His muscles flexed as he stepped toward me, extending me his hand. When I accepted his invitation, he maneuvered me over the high side of the tub and into the steaming bath.

  The water warmed my skin from the chill of the damp mountain air, causing goose bumps to pepper my skin. Xavier slid in, facing me, and arranged my legs on either side of him so we sat embraced, sex against sex. He twisted and shut off the water.

  The tapping of rain, soothing slosh of water, and his low, breathy groan when I shifted, rubbing his cock against my thigh, relaxed my anxiety-ridden muscles.

  His hands gripped my hips and urged me to rise. “Take me inside you. Please...” His hungry gaze pleaded with me.

  I did as he asked. Bracing my arms on the sides of the tub, I lifted. He grasped his cock and placed the head at my entrance. Easing down his length, I rested my hands on his shoulders and smiled. When he was fully seated within me, he let out a small gasp.

  We sat joined, savoring each other. Our connection.

  “Do you feel that?”

  I tried not to giggle, but only partially succeeded. “How could I not?”

  “Not my cock, you silly woman. The peace. The perfection. The love is amplified when I’m inside you, beside you, anytime I think of you. Right now, in this moment, I’ve never been more myself. Loved. Accepted. Sex with a stranger will never give me that. The love in your eyes that knows all my weaknesses, yet fills me with nothing but strength. That’s what I’m addicted to.” He brushed his full lips over mine. His breathy words were warm against my mouth. “What I feel for you, Elaine, is not lust, but unmistakable love. And if there’s one thing I’ve proven in my life, it’s that I am foolishly loyal.” His mouth closed over mine and with tender nudges of his tongue he coaxed my participation. “What happened? What has drained your confidence? The Elaine I remember, quite literally, brought me to my knees.” His kiss was a more than gentle reminder.

  I sniffled, trying not to cry at his words. “I think it was the not knowing. Until I needed you, I didn’t realize how alone I had been. After learning about my father, I went numb, but you taught me to feel. Unfortunately, when I started to feel again, the rediscovered emotions overwhelmed me.”

  “That’s good. Feeling strong emotions means you’re healing. Just like with a wound. Many think pain is the result of trauma. But the second the knife strikes there is an instant of nothingness and then healing begins. Pain is productive. The agony spurs one to take action. Nothingness is deadly.” He tugged on my hips, urging me to slide up and down his shaft. “I want you to feel deeply.” He sheathed himself inside me and smiled. “I don’t mean physically, even though this...is wonderful.” Pressing his hips snug against me, he bit his lip, a growl escaping. “Oh, Elaine, you make it hard to concentrate. You feel so good.” His lips sucked on the base of my throat. He kissed up my neck until he stopped at the sensitive spot behind my ear. His arms tightened around me, and he whispered, “Don’t fight it. You don’t have to hide from me. If you want to cry, to scream, let the pain out. Share your frustration with me. God knows you’ve felt my pain. You’re not alone.”

  He held me tight against him as he flexed his hips, lifting me slightly to give just enough room to set a rhythm.

  “Elaine, you’ve loved me. Let me love you.”

  Tears of joy, sorrow, fear, and hope spilled from my eyes as I clutched him tighter. The way I felt frightened me. I needed him too much. The soul-crushing ache wasn’t want, but something much deeper. Love was such a fickle thing; the desire could be absent one moment and all consuming the next.

  Water splashed over the sides of the tub with each thrust of his hips.

  I clutched his shoulders tighter. “I’m not sure if I know how, Xavier.”

  “Just stop resisting your emotions. Like now...feel how much I want you. Need you.” His hand rested on my breast, cupping the mound. “You’re not the only one who’s afraid. You make me feel things I never thought possible. I thought I knew what love was, but I was a fool. With everything that has happened in my life, you’re the only thing with the power to destroy me.” His stare was intense. Our gazes locked, our bodies entwined.

  “Never,” was all I could say before he crushed his mouth against mine, and grasped the back of my head, forcing me against him. He increased his pace and more water crashed onto the floor. His other hand squeezed my breast, while teasing the taut peak with his thumb.

  He fisted my hair and drove up into me harder. He yanked my head back, releasing my lips, and moved to my throat, kissing, licking, and nipping the sensitive skin as his frenzy crescendoed.

  His name left my lips on a pant, “Oh, Xavier...”

  “Yes... That’s it. Come for me.” He hissed through gritted teeth as my body responded to him. His movements quickened.

  My back arched, and the sensation built; I was close.

  “Tell me...”

  The words, he needed to hear them. “I love you.”

  He moved his hand to my hips and gripped, pushing down, as he buried himself as deep as possible. “Oh, Elaine... I’m coming. I love you. Oh, God...” His back muscles spasmed under my touch, and he exposed his throat to me.

  In the end, the words were all I needed too. I tightened around him, my body shuddering with pleasure. He leaned forward and sucked my nipple into his mouth, teasing the tip with his tongue. I quaked in his arms. The warmth inside me from his release radiated through me.

  He withdrew, eased me onto the surface of the tub, and rose to his knees. “Stand up.”

  I did as he asked.

  He placed his hands on my leg and widened my stance.

  I smiled a bewildered smile at him. “What are you doing?”

  “Let me see.” With one finger he found my clit, his eyes focused between my legs.

  “Xavier?”

  “I want to see me drip out of you. I want you to show me the evidence, that I’m part of you, that I possessed you.”

  He circled the already tender spot, applying friction.

  My body shivered in the cool air. My nipples stood out painfully hard. I welcomed his inspection. I moaned when he slid his fingers between my folds, slickened with the first drops of his orgasm, as he sped up. He groaned. “Oh, Elaine...touch your breasts. Let me see you touch yourself.”

  His scrutiny was exhilarating. Every cell in my body glowed, alive.

  His fingers teased my entrance, but he didn’t enter me, instead tempting the swollen flesh that longed for his invasion.

  “Oh...look.” My body tightened under his intensity. “Your pussy is still hungry for me. Give me what I want to see, and I’ll fuck you with my fingers. I’ll make you come again.” He flicked my clit with his thumb and increased the pressure between my legs. “But first, you have something I want.” He kissed the inside of my thigh and his hair tickled the soft skin.

  Even though we were alone, he was still the director.

  He circled my entrance with the tip of his finger, a promise of things to come. My body clenched, and the warmth spilled forth, dripping down my thigh.

  “Yes,” he hissed. “Such a good girl.”

  He entered me with one finger. Sliding in and out slowly.

  With the other hand, he smoothed his release over the inside of my thigh.

  “I can never get enough of you.” He thrust harder and deeper, keeping the pulse on my clit with his thumb. “Suck your fingers into your mouth. Wet your nipples. Show me.”

  Xavier loved to take the lead, assuming command during sex. His impromptu script required my surrender of decision, question, and control. I was powerless to deny him in those moments.

  Seductively slow, I sucked one digit into my mouth, staring at him on his knees with his hand buried between
my legs.

  I sucked, then withdrew my finger and layered the hot liquid over the tight nub.

  His ministrations grew to a rapid pace. “You’re my Goddess, Elaine. Like Pandora, only better. You’re mine. Hope fulfilled.”

  His words brought to mind the statue in Lydia’s gallery. How the men knelt at Pandora’s feet with their hands between her thighs. I remembered how he told me he gave Pandora credit for finding the cure for my sister’s cancer.

  I let go of my breasts and clenched my fists at my side as the sensations and emotions threatened to overcome me.

  His adoration, his touch, and his love were evident in his caress. His fingers dove deeper, encouraging my release. “I’ve got you. Let go.”

  He gripped my hip with his other hand, steadying me. With a final stroke of his thumb, my legs grew rigid, the muscles in my stomach tightened, and I gave in to the climax.

  He slowed until I was no longer delirious with desire, and then grabbed my hand, urging me back into the water. He retrieved the soap and smoothed the slippery bar over my chest.

  “You are so beautiful. I can’t believe you are real. Mine.”

  Still trying to steady my breathing, I smiled. “I know exactly what you mean.”

  He retrieved a washcloth from a stand beside the tub, wet and lathered it with soap.

  He sighed. “You know I have to leave tomorrow for a few days. But don’t worry, I promise to call every night. I even got you a secure cell phone.”

  I put my hand over my face. “God... I feel so needy.”

  “No, you’re in love and need me to show you in a way familiar to you that I love you too. You won’t know how I feel if I don’t learn to show you. I’m sorry for ever making you doubt my devotion.”

  I smiled, but it was disrupted by a yawn.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up and go to bed. It’s been a long day.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Reunion

  The next morning the chirping birds served as my alarm clock. I rose up on one elbow and watched Xavier, who stood in a beam of sunlight, latching the buckle on his belt. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  He walked to the bed, leaned in and placed a soft, quick kiss on my lips. “I should be back on Thursday.”

  “Thursday? Any suggestions on how I should fill the time?”

  “Have Sebastian take you on a hike. He’s had some serious survivalist training; he could teach you a few things that might come in handy some day.”

  “Survivalist? Like a Y2K, underground-bunker-dwelling nutcase?”

  He laughed. “No. Ask him about his time serving his government. I’m sure he’d be happy to tell you all about the French Military.”

  “French Military? He’s a doctor.”

  “Yes, a military trained doctor. He retired when Miriam fell ill.” He straightened his shirt and adjusted his tie.

  “All of you are so full of secrets. What are you going to tell me next? That Marco was a rock star?”

  He chuckled. “No, but he did want to be an underwear model.”

  I sat up, wrapping the sheet around me. “He told me that.”

  “He tells everyone.” He bent again, pressed his lips against my forehead. “Besides, they’re not secrets, they’re discoveries.” Another quick kiss. “I’m going to miss you, but it will be good for you and Sebastian to have some time alone.” He walked over, reached into his bag, pulled out a cell phone, and handed the device to me. “Here, use this one when you call me. My number is already in the contacts. The Society can’t trace a prepaid phone.”

  “Thank you.” I smiled at him.

  He leaned down, placed his palms on the bed on either side of me, and stared into my eyes. “I’m trying, but I’ll screw up again. I don’t know if I can change the essence of who I am, but know I never meant to hurt you. I hope you can love me in spite of my idiosyncrasies.”

  “Well, knowing that you weren’t intentionally blowing me off helps.”

  He pulled me to the edge of the bed and enveloped me in his arms. “So you’re aware, I received word this morning. Monica is my sister.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “Can I ask where you’re going?”

  “I have some things at Western to clean up, and I have an appointment with a counselor at Ellington House.”

  “A counselor?”

  “Yes, a mentor for the Society.”

  “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

  He kissed my forehead. “For you, anything.”

  * * *

  Xavier talked me into getting more rest before he left. By the time I woke, the clock read eleven-fifty-two. Nearly noon, I showered and readied myself for the day.

  As I descended the stairs, trepidation overcame me. Sebastian. I was comforted by Xavier’s absolute trust of the man, but knew little of him myself. His reaction to me the night before had been stronger than I’d expected, the lingering embrace...almost too familiar for our relationship. Even though we’d had sex, Sebastian had been distant, and of the three men, he’d participated in the least intimate activities during our week together. I suspected his limited engagement had to do with his marriage to Miriam, but with her death, where did that leave him?

  I rounded the corner leading into the great room. There was a clear view into the kitchen where Sebastian stood shirtless, staring into the open refrigerator. He turned and grabbed his shirt from the counter and pulled the cotton over his head. “Elaine...sorry. Excuse me. I didn’t expect you so soon.” He fumbled over his words.

  His effort to hide his skin was all kinds of silly. As if him without a shirt was something new. I had seen all of him. Tasted parts of him and communed with the most impressive part. “It’s after noon. I’m not exactly the early bird.”

  He had shaved and looked better rested than the night before, but there was still sadness in his eyes. He smiled, showcasing his straight white teeth. “No, but the way Xavier talked before he left, he thought you might sleep most of the day.”

  “I’m more resilient than the dear doctor gives me credit for.”

  He handed me a bottle of water, and unscrewed the cap on his before swallowing a large gulp.

  “He should never doubt you.”

  After removing the top from my own, I took a sip, uncertain what to do next. Sebastian wasn’t here to entertain me. Perhaps if there was a computer, I could look for a new job, check out the news, or try my hand at researching the Society.

  “Is there a computer here, where I can read the news...ah...or pass the time?”

  He walked to stand beside me. “No. I’m afraid not. The only entertainment you have is me.” He grinned.

  “What’s on the agenda then? Xavier said something about a hike and you being a survivalist.”

  He laughed. “X talks too much. But sure, I’d be happy to be your tour guide. Let me grab some provisions to take with us.” He pointed to the open-toe sandals on my feet. “Go put on some more appropriate shoes and then we can head out. From the looks of it, the weather should cooperate.” He turned and left the room.

  I walked to the large picturesque window, eyeing the breathtaking view. Staggered rows of deciduous trees changed to pines on the steep mountainsides that flanked the lake. I sighed, embracing the scene’s tranquility, allowing it to ease my nervousness, before turning to head upstairs in preparation for our hike.

  Sebastian, with a backpack on his back and a jacket draped over his arm, returned to the living room the same moment I descended the stairs.

  “Here, take this. The deeper parts of forest can get chilly. I don’t want you getting cold.”

  I smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you.” I threaded my arms through the sleeves of the jacket.

  “Let’s go.”

  An hour later, one thing was abundantly clear: I was seriously out of shape compared to Sebastian. He pointed out plants to avoid and ones that could provide nourishment in a pinch, steadied me by the elbo
w when the terrain turned rocky, but never mentioned the reason for his haggard appearance the night before.

  Eventually, we rested on a stone outcropping that overlooked the lake.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Yes... I found this place last week. The best view I’ve discovered since I’ve been here.”

  “How long have you been here?”

  He paused for a moment and sighed. “Ahhh... I arrived a few weeks after the funeral. When Xavier came back to the States, I flew with him.”

  He sat the backpack on the ground, opened the zipper and reached in. He pulled out a granola bar and offered it to me.

  I smiled. “No thanks. I’m good. So, you’ve been here alone for a while.”

  He dropped the snack back into the bag and retrieved a water. He handed it to me and took a seat on the rock beside me. “Yeah, I guess it has been...what, a month? Maybe more. I stopped keeping track.”

  “Have you had company at all to occupy you?”

  He unscrewed the cap on the water and chuckled. “No. I came here to get away from people.” He stared straight ahead, with a distant look in his eye.

  “I’m sorry. I could have stayed someplace else.” I lowered my head. Had Xavier forced me on him? A tense anxiety filled my chest.

  He scooted over the rough edges of the rock and faced me. “No. Not you. I think here is the best place for you.”

  “Perhaps, but the last thing I want to do is bother you.”

  He grabbed my hand and raised it to his lips. “Impossible. Besides, I wanted to ask you a few questions.” He didn’t release my hand. “I was there when Miriam gave you the key, did she tell you anything else? Call you? Say anything that morning she visited you at Xavier’s?” He searched my eyes for answers I didn’t have.

  “No. You witnessed the exchange in the hall at the event. When she came to Xavier’s it was simply to meet me and give me her permission to...” I cleared my throat. “To sleep with you.” The pain I saw in his eyes the night before returned. I made an attempt to comfort him. “From what little I knew, she seemed like a wonderful woman.”