Blind Her With Bliss

by Nina Pierce

Nervousness skittered along her skin like a centipede. Julie worked hard not to wriggle in the leather chair of Dr. Maura Wells’ waiting room. Without the tape, they had nothing to go on, except a bottle of lithium prescribed to Jason by this doctor.

  They’d learned from Elvis that Dr. Maura Wells was a psychiatrist specializing in sexual disorders. But Julie had no idea how someone could believe homosexuality was a disorder. That thought just pissed her off. But Elvis said Jason had been her patient for a decade because he was gay. That would have made him eighteen or nineteen when he started seeing the doctor. Jason had never mentioned to Julie that he was seeing a therapist. Then again, he’d never mentioned he slept with men either.

  Julie had no idea how she and Damon were going to pull this off. No one, least of all a professional, was going to believe Damon was a gay man dating a woman. Testosterone emanated from his pores like the intoxicating aroma off fresh flowers. Even in his tight designer jeans and leather vest exposing the bronzed skin of his muscular chest, he didn’t look any less heterosexual. Or perhaps, the whole Demon persona just got her revved up for more of what she’d had every night for the last week and a half. The magic he worked on her flesh hadn’t been performed by any gay man.

  Damon winked at her. Heat crawled up her chest and colored her cheeks. The man had only known her three weeks, yet he could read her better than her family.

  “Jewel and Demon?” The woman who opened the door was petite, just over five feet tall, but her presence sucked all the air from the waiting room. Her blueberry eyes swept the length of Damon, sizing him up like a cobra waiting to strike. “It’s a pleasure to meet one of Bangor’s infamous celebrities. I’ve followed your meteoric rise to fame.” She held out a firm wrist.

  Instead of shaking her hand, Damon scooped her fingers into his and lifted them to his lips.

  “I must say, Demon, your call surprised me, “ the doctor said. “You have quite a reputation as a lady’s man.”

  “Up until now it’s all been a ruse for ratings, I assure you. But I’m interested in finding out if it can become a reality.”

  “Well, you’ve come to the right place.” Maura put her arm around Damon, ushering him into the inner sanctum, ignoring Julie all together. “Let’s talk in my office.”

  “The fact is I never slept with a woman until Jewel. Some multiple partner stuff with a couple of bi-friends, sure, but never a woman by herself,” Damon said as he walked with the doctor into her office.

  Feeling like an unwelcomed guest, Julie followed behind.

  Maura led Damon to the couch and sat in the chair next to him, her knee brushing his. “I’d like you to tell me more about yourself. This first session will just be chatting to find out what you like, what you don’t.” She patted his leg. Another inch higher and the gesture would have been considered foreplay. “Just relax, Demon.”

  Dropping her purse at Damon’s feet, Julie thumped down on the couch next to him. The hand she placed possessively on Damon’s thigh wasn’t part of her act, but when he lifted it with a flourish and set it back in her lap, she had to remind herself—it was part of his.

  “See. This is what I put up with,” Julie whined. “He says he wants this relationship, but won’t even let me touch him.”

  “No PDAs. I’ve told you that.” Damon sat back in a huff, crossing his legs away from the good doctor.

  Maura pulled the pencil from behind her ear, tendrils of blond hair falling coquettishly around her face. She rubbed the length of the pencil along her upper lip before flicking her tongue on the lead. Her long lashes winked. “PDAs, Damon?”

  Julie couldn’t believe this woman was for real. The man was gay for goodness’ sake, and yet the good doctor flirted openly in front of his girlfriend. It certainly was an interesting counseling method.

  “Public displays of affection.” Damon tapped his fingers at the base of his throat. “She wants me to prove I want this relationship every minute of every day, no matter who’s around.”

  “And do you?”

  “Well, that’s a loaded question. I thought that was your job to help me figure that out.”

  “Let me make one thing perfectly clear, Demon; being gay is not a disease. It’s not something you should be ashamed of if it’s the lifestyle you choose. I have many friends who are homosexuals, and they’re extremely happy, well-adjusted people.” Leaning forward, Maura came close to Damon.

  Julie watched the woman’s nostrils flare as if she were scenting Damon.

  “But sometimes, it just doesn’t seem to fit,” Maura said in a sultry whisper. “Some people fall into the lifestyle without truly desiring that kind of relationship. I believe environmental factors can influence the sexual being. By enlightening clients on cause and effect, I’ve been able to,” she paused, “re-wire, shall we say for lack of a better word, the desires for sexual intimacy.”

  Julie couldn’t believe her ears. Deirdre grew up in the same house, same parents, same everything, yet her desire to be with Brianna had nothing to do with that. Anger twisted around her gut, and she swallowed hard, willing herself not to vomit.

  “Sexuality is a personal choice,” Maura continued. “If you truly want to leave the gay lifestyle behind and become completely heterosexual, I’m willing to help you.”

  “I just want you to fix him. The sex is great. I just think he should—”

  “Jewel.” Maura’s smile held no mirth. “We’re not talking about you now, are we?”

  “But he—”

  “Stop.” If malice were bullets, Julie would have been nothing but a white chalk outline. “Jewel,” Maura continued. “You are here today as an observer only. I don’t have time for your histrionics. This is about Demon and what he desires.” The doctor’s hand found its way to Damon’s biceps. “Demon, in order for this to work, you will need to be open about your sex life, past…” She glared at Julie. “And present. However unpleasant that may be.”

  “Talk about my partners?” he asked.

  “See, I’ve begged him to talk to me, but—”

  Maura jumped to her feet. “Really, Jewel. One more outburst and I will have to ask you to leave.”

  Julie sat back in a huff. Even for playacting, this is not how she thought this counseling session would play out. Is this what Jason had endured? Manipulation and seduction seemed to be the woman’s only means of so-called therapy.

  Maura stood and walked behind Damon, her hands resting on his shoulders. “Relax, Demon. You’re safe here.” Working her fingers into the muscles, she bent close to his ear. “How’s that? Feeling relaxed?”

  “Hmm, you have strong hands.”

  “Close your eyes and focus on my voice.” Her hands moved over his shoulders. “Tell me why you’re here, Demon.”

  “When this,” Damon flicked his head toward Julie, “relationship seemed to be something she wanted to pursue, I knew I needed help. And Elvis said you were the best.”

  For a moment so brief Julie thought she imagined it, Maura froze.

  “Elvis? Elvis Castonguay?” Maura asked, her fingers digging into Damon’s shoulders.

  “Owner of Starry Knights,” Julie replied enthusiastically.

  Maura pushed away. “That’s it. I can’t do this.” Her hands waved them away as she stalked to her desk. “Demon, I don’t think this is going to work.”

  Damon jumped up from the couch, shaking his fingers in Julie’s face. “But she doesn’t have to come if that’s the problem.”

  “No, she’s not the problem, Demon. You are.”

  “But I really want this.”

  “Want what, Demon? To pretend you’re gay or to find out about my connection to Elvis?”

  “You know Elvis?” Damon asked, feigning innocence.

  “Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know him or me. Demon. You have the same tattoo as Elvis.” She stared at him, but Damon didn’t flinch. “You didn’t even try to hide the ink on your shoulder. I suspected you wanted me to see it. Which begs the question, are
you frat brothers, lovers, or both?”

  Damon crossed his arms over his chest. “Frat brothers only.”

  “And I suppose you’re not gay and in need of counseling?” Maura asked.

  “No, on both accounts,” Damon said.

  “So why did that lovely partner of mine send you here? A little spying to see how lucrative my other business is?” Her words sliced through the air. “Just because he’s overextended doesn’t mean I need to put more money into his loosing company.” She stopped her pacing. “Or is he looking to take me down with his sinking ship?”

  “We’re not here for business, Maura.” Damon’s voice was soft. “We’re here about Jason McCarty.”

  “He was one of your patients,” Julie added hopefully.

  “And how the hell did you know him?” Maura’s eyes narrowed, her gaze snapping from Damon to Julie and back again.

  Damon stepped between Maura and Julie. “They were nothing but friends. But I suspect there was more to your relationship with him than would be appropriate for a doctor.”

  Julie’s stomach tensed. Damon certainly knew how to cut through the bullshit. “We’re just wondering what you might know about Jason’s suicide—”

  “You mean murder?” Maura’s hands fisted on her hips.

  Julie jumped from the couch. Her female instincts had been right all along. “You know something about his death the police don’t?”

  “I told the police everything I know. I know Jase is dead from a gunshot wound.” Maura began to cry. “I’m not the one who held the gun,” her face fell into her hands and her strong demeanor crumbled, “but I killed him just the same.”

  “That’s a confession if ever I heard one.” Elvis burst through the door holding a cell phone in his hand. “Nice going with the phone in your purse, Julie. I heard it all and recorded it. Now we just have to give it to the police, and the murderer will pay!”

  “I thought I told you to stay in the car.” Damon stepped toward Elvis. “Julie and I can handle this.”

  “No, Damon. I’ll handle this.” Elvis lifted the gun he held in the other hand. “Just like I’ve had to handle everything else where Jase was concerned.”

  Julie fought the vise-grip of terror clenching her stomach, making her nauseous. Now was not the time to fall apart.

  Elvis waved the gun at Damon. “Move over there with that pretty girlfriend of yours.”

  “What the hell are you doing, Elvis?” Maura’s voice quivered.

  “Shut up, Maura. Shut the fuck up!” Elvis glared at her. “I think you’ve ruined enough lives, don’t you? First Jase’s, now mine.”

  “Elvis, you never understood my relationship with Jason,” Maura pleaded.

  “Damn right, I never understood. You and my Jase? How could you, Maura? You and I were partners. You tried to take the one thing from me that I couldn’t live without.”

  “He. Loved. Me.” Maura collapsed into the chair at her desk, sobs shaking her shoulders. “But you brainwashed him. He wasn’t gay. Bisexual, maybe, but not gay!”

  “Me? Brainwash Jase?” Elvis laughed, a hard rasping sound that clawed down Julie’s spine. “You and his father fucked him up. He loved me until you both screwed with his head, Maura.”

  “He wanted to quit that lifestyle.” Maura spoke into her hands. “I was only helping him.”

  “He tried to tell me the same thing when I went to his house to beg him not to leave me.” Tears filled Elvis’ eyes. “I loved him more than you could ever know. I recorded us together to show him how much I loved him. He made this to use against me.” He put the phone in his pocket and pulled the missing cassette from the back waist of his jeans. “But he wanted you, Maura. I couldn’t let that happen. I begged him to stay with me.”

  “You stole that from my house.” Julie pointed a shaky finger at Elvis.

  Elvis laughed again. “No breaking and entering for me, Julie. Happy Mrs. Tilling let me into your house when I told her I was a mutual friend of yours picking up something you had of Jason’s.”

  “But why steal the recording he made?” Julie asked. “You already had a recording of your tryst.”

  “I didn’t want you to use it against me. You were supposed to think Jason was fucking Damon. I mean the tattoo…the long hair. It was supposed to be him, Julie. I didn’t expect a smart woman like you to let him wrap you around his pinky like every other woman. At least you were fucking smart enough to catch the connection to Maura when I planted the prescription bottle.” Pain and anger sparked in Elvis’ eyes. “It just wouldn’t do for the police to come sniffing around me. I’ve lost enough already.” Tears overflowed, and he swiped at them with the back of his hand. “Now, Maura will pay for Jase’s life.” He shrugged as if their deaths were a foregone conclusion. “And you two will pay for being so fucking stupid.”

  “Elvis, did you kill Jason?” She wasn’t sure where the courage had come to ask the question. But somehow, Julie already knew the answer.

  “I didn’t kill him!” Elvis yelled, then shrank into himself. “Not on purpose, at least.”

  Julie saw Damon’s foot inch toward the door. She hoped she could hold Elvis’ attention and keep him lost in his memories, enough for Damon to save them all.

  “I did bring the gun to his house.” Elvis stared at her, lost in his pain, willing to confess everything to three people who were going to die. “I didn’t intend for anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to scare him a little. We argued over the tape, over Maura.” He looked up at Maura with a face contorted into a grotesque mask of rage.

  “I put the gun to my head, threatened to end it all—for him. I wanted him to realize how much he loved me and to save me. But you know what? He just laughed.” Elvis’ features morphed, and bitterness glazed his eyes and clenched his teeth. “He laughed at me. He didn’t care if I made the tape public. He didn’t care if I killed myself. He’d just buy my share of Starry Knights like he’d wanted all along. He and Maura would run my business together.”

  Damon continued a slow progression toward Elvis. Julie knew what he intended. She just needed to keep Elvis talking. “Why give me all that stuff in the box then?”

  “I had no idea he’d made the tape. I just wanted Maura to pay for Jason’s death. Jase told me a long time ago about his friends, the Tilling sisters. How sweet and innocent you all were. Before I called the police, I grabbed a bunch of stuff from his place the night he died. I intended to deliver the evidence to your house, but you came to me instead. Even better. It didn’t make me look so desperate to frame her.” Elvis swiped a hand at his tears. “I wanted the bitch to pay for taking Jase from me. The bullet may have come from my gun, but she forced my hand when she made him try to be something he wasn’t. We were good together, Jase and me. The real killer is Maura. She as much as admitted it.”

  His words shocked Maura out of her malaise. “Me? Kill him?” She stood and stepped toward Elvis. “He was my first true success story. He didn’t want the gay lifestyle. My counseling had worked! He fell in love with me!”

  “Maura don’t go any closer,” Julie pleaded. “Elvis isn’t worth your life, too.”

  “Listen to her.” Elvis cackled, a dry hacking sound that shook the tension hanging in the air. “It’s the only smart thing she’s pieced together.” His wild eyes betrayed his frame of mine. “I planted things in that box to point to Maura. You were supposed to take it to the police, not come here on your own, Julie. Now you’ll pay. You all will pay for making me live without Jase. He didn’t love anyone but me.”

  Maura took another step closer to the deadly weapon, anger and betrayal mapping deep roads on her face. “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, Elvis. He didn’t want you. He wanted your business. The one you wouldn’t let him help run. He was sick of living his father’s dream. He had plans and trust me when I say, you didn’t fit in his new world, Elvis. It was Jason who came up with the idea of the Internet sites. Jason who talked to me about remodeling the second floor into private rooms t
o make more money. And while I was implementing his ideas we were falling in love. He wanted your business and he wanted me. Starry Knights is successful because of what I did with Jason.” Fury propelled her toward Elvis.