Healing Touch: Play Doctor, Book 2 (11 page)

“Off.” Her request was garbled by another drugging kiss.

“What?” He paused, as if afraid to move. Attentive to her needs, he appeared to evaluate her request.

“The jacket. The shirt. Off. Now.” She crumpled the ultrasoft fabric of his T-shirt in her fists and waited not so patiently for her demands to sink in. Understanding, she gave him a second to think past the lust fogging their minds.

“You’d have to be at least a millimeter away from me for me to shrug out of this thing.” He laughed at her affronted stare.

“Never mind.” She settled for sliding her hands beneath the cotton and gliding them up his sides. Full yet proportional muscles met her seeking fingers. She traced the bold slashes of them, which angled over his ribs.

“That’s what I thought.” He locked a hand behind her neck and drew her in for another series of bold smooches that nearly distracted her from the swirl of his fingers over her pussy. At least for an instant.

Tension gathered inside her when she realized how gently he coerced her into ecstasy. Though passionate, he invoked an efficient, liquid grace as opposed to the brute force and speed Brad had relied on to get her off…in the rare cases she’d found satisfaction at all.

Everything about this man was different. Beautiful, though she doubted he’d appreciate that thought.

“Stop thinking so much.” His command held no ire, only coaching. “Go with it.”

Taking his advice, she retracted her hands until they landed on his waistband. She popped the top button of his jeans then ripped his fly apart, loving the sound of his zipper unknitting.

Their hands tangled for a moment, until they found the way they fit together best. Before long, she had reached inside his pants, finding him bare beneath. “You rebel.” She grinned.

He bit her bottom lip in a teasing warning.

She hardly noticed with the heft and molten steel of him overfilling her palm.

Until he upped his game, inserting three fingers inside her and massaging her clit with one of his knuckles. Dexterity was a skill he’d obviously mastered.

Brielle’s body clenched around him, inspiring a simultaneous moan.

“You’re close, aren’t you?” He breathed deeply. “I can smell you. I can’t wait to taste you. Soon.”

A shiver racked her. No one had ever offered to do that to her before. Her fingers squeezed him when she tightened. He groaned and thrust his hips, insinuating himself deeper into her hold.

The trust he gave her, to cup him like this, filled her with power. On top of him, with all the say, every decision at her mercy, she sank lower, burying his fingers in her as deep as they could go. Abandoning grace, she rode his hand, maintaining her grip on his cock. As she rose, so did her fist.

Within seconds, they both verged on climax.

“Brielle. Are you with me?”

“Completely.”

He stared into her eyes for a long moment, then sealed their fate by engaging her in a deep, sensual kiss. The combination of the open longing in his eyes, the gentle pressure bestowed by his mouth and the urgent tensing of his body beneath her combined to rocket her into orgasm.

Rapture went on and on as she strangled his hand, hoping he understood how much the exchange meant to her. No one had ever cared so much about her satisfaction. Not in sex. Not in life.

Grateful happiness exploded from her, leaving her sated and replete in the wake of the rush outward.

Between her fingers, he stiffened further. His cock jerked as he joined her, flooding her hands with every bit of the molten desire he claimed to have stored for her alone.

Finally, she got her wish. He nudged her to the side and stripped off his jacket and T-shirt, using the fabric to wipe her clean. First between her legs and then her hands. The sight of his naked chest was enough to inspire several aftershocks.

Neither of them could gather the energy to do much more.

They collapsed in a sweaty heap, still placing gentle kisses wherever they could reach.

A long while later, Luke asked, “Are you okay?”

“Amazing.” She yawned. “Sleepy too.”

“Change of scenery is another tactic for breaking the patterns leading to recurring nightmares.” They stretched out on the couch. He hovered above her, resting on one elbow while he brushed damp strands of hair from her brow. “You could try sleeping here. Any rest is better than none and this seems pretty damn comfortable to me.”

“Great.” Brielle grinned. “Because I don’t think I can move.”

“You’re welcome.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

She buried her face in his light chest hair as she laughed softly.

“Luke,” she whispered, “will you stay?”

“Yeah, you’re stuck with me.” He kissed her gently, scooped his arm beneath her and rotated them both so that he rested on his back and she draped over his chest.

Roaming fingertips, which skimmed across her shoulders, turned her boneless. She allowed herself to go limp, accepting whatever may come.

The nightmares didn’t revisit her.

At least not that night, with him by her side.

Chapter Seven

“Knock-knock.” Becca gave Brielle a verbal heads-up before she peeked around the corner of the cubicle. “You know, someone should really question guests before letting any old hooligan in here.”

“What in the hell is all that?” Satin, silk, lace and tulle erupted from Becca’s grasp.

“Dresses.” The perky psychologist grinned. “I figured you should have a few choices, though, personally, I think the light blue halter mermaid would look fantastic on you. Plus it will complement Luke’s eyes.”

“Are you even speaking English?” Brielle gaped.

“I was never much into clothes either.” She slowed down a bit from Tasmanian-devil-in-a-tiara to simply infomercial intense. “Or I guess I should say I couldn’t really afford to be. Then Kurt started buying all these pretty things for me, and let’s just say he created a monster. Plus, over the past year we’ve had tons of charity events to raise funding for more Dream Machine research. And you know how that goes, can’t be photographed in the same thing twice or people will talk.”

“That sounds horrific.” Brielle shuddered.

“It’s not so bad.” A sublime peacefulness crossed Becca’s face for a fleeting moment. “There’s usually lots of slow dancing. Anyway, I thought maybe you’d like to stop down at lunch and pick one out. You could use my office to change so you don’t have to worry about the bathroom here. Luke said it’s…challenging.”

“That’s a nice way to put it.” Brielle grimaced. “Sorry, Becca, I told Luke I wasn’t going tonight. Congratulations again on your award, though.”

“Oh, I know what you said. Luke spent almost a full hour whining to Kurt this morning, wondering how he screwed up. But unlike my husband and Luke—who is a really horrible pouter by the way—I understand why you turned him down. It had nothing to do with chemistry or rejection. No way would you have let him give you a ride to work this morning on his bike if you weren’t interested. By the way, I hope he didn’t have to stop and pick you up.” A corner of her mouth kicked up.

“I’ll have to remind him to drop me off out back from now on.” Brielle couldn’t help but laugh. “And no, we didn’t sleep together. Er, I mean, we didn’t have sex. Not really. It’s complicated, I guess.”

“Actually, Luke will make things simple for you if you let him. No sneaking required. Look, I realize we’re in a weird place considering Saturday.” Becca hesitated. “I won’t be offended if you tell me to butt out—”

“That’s not what I meant. There’s no reason to be tight-lipped when it’s all going to come out anyway, is there?” Brielle shrugged as she rose and circled her desk. “Please, why don’t you hand me some of those? I’ll help you carry them to your office. I feel bad that you’ve gone to all this trouble.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s fun to have someone to share with. Since I was away from my sister a few years, and now she’s busy with her own college friends on campus most of the time, I haven’t had too many chances to do this sort of thing.” Becca smiled. “
I’m
asking you. Please come tonight. I’d like you to be there, and I’d love to see Luke as happy as Kurt and I.”

Brielle could relate. “I’ve never done something like this. Ever.”

“Wouldn’t you like to? Just wait until you see the trunk of Kurt’s car. It’s full of shoes. You can ride over with us and surprise Luke. I can’t wait to watch his jaw hit the floor.”

Becca seemed so proud of herself, Brielle didn’t have the heart to ruin her fun. Oh yeah, and she would kill to thrill the man who’d held her nightmares at bay through the second half of last night. She fingered the exquisite material of the beautiful blue dress Becca offered. “Okay, I’ll try. I just don’t know, though. I think you’re shorter than me without those crazy heels, thinner too. Bitch.”

They both cracked up.

“We’re not that different, you’ll see. It’ll work. You have a great figure. A bunch of these are stretchy and some I hemmed myself so we can undo the no-sew tape really easily.”

Brielle relented. “All right. I’ll come down at lunchtime if you really don’t mind.”

“Fantastic.” She leaned in for a one-armed hug, squashing some of the dresses between them.

Sunset painted the city an array of pretty colors. Glass buildings reflected streaks of citrus hues from orange to yellow with a few pinks splashed about. Bright lights dotted the skyscape, mixing natural light with fluorescents.

Brielle should know. She concentrated on the twinkling to distract herself from the tiny car they flew through the streets in. Focusing on the outside calmed the anxiety that built inside her despite the relaxing soft jazz, which floated from the speaker hidden in a door or the back of her seat somewhere.

“Becca, would you mind cracking your window a little?” She tapped the other woman on her shoulder.

“Are you too warm? Kurt usually freezes me with the air conditioning, so I have it set on something less than arctic.”

“You ladies have no idea how good you have it in those almost-nothing dresses. Try wearing a full suit and jacket in the middle of summer,” he grumbled, still with a smile. No doubt he approved of the tangle of crisscross straps and delicate yet tasteful strips of emerald silk that tied his wife up like a Christmas present he probably couldn’t wait to unwrap.

Brielle fanned her face. “Sorry, no. The temperature is fine. Although if you’re uncomfortable, Kurt, I could live with it cooler. I’m just having a hard time catching my breath back here.”

“Honey, you should have said something.” Kurt glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “I forget sometimes how small this car can seem. Luke’s always bitching because his long damn legs fold up to his chin when he rides in it. Says he loses all his cool points, grunting and groaning as he tries to get out with some semblance of grace.”

Now that she knew him, she could imagine him saying it. How he would sound, the bold smile he’d have on his face and the way his eyes would crinkle a tiny bit at the corners as he made himself the butt of a cosmic joke.

“Next time you can sit up front.” Becca pushed a few buttons. The covering on the sunroof slid back and then the glass lifted. The extra pane helped Brielle see more of the clouds and the breeze was enough to splash her cheeks without disrupting the stylish half-up, half-down curly hairdo Becca had crafted.

“I’m sure Luke won’t let her out of his sight next time. Good luck riding on his bike in a dress like that, though.” Kurt smiled at his wife. “Maybe he’ll be forced to give up that ridiculous thing after all.”

“How can you guys be so confident this is a good idea? Are you sure he’s not going to mind me showing up unannounced?” Acid churned in her stomach. She folded her hands over the gurgling in an attempt to still the nervous reaction.

“I’ve known the guy since we thought girls were icky.” Kurt shifted smoothly as he wove between traffic and zipped through a yellow light. “He’s had about a hundred and forty-seven crushes since then. Never once did I believe it was the real deal. Hell, I didn’t used to think there
was
such a thing. Maybe partially because I’d see him ‘fall in love’ over and over, only to change his mind once the infatuation wore off.”

“You’re not making me feel a heck of lot better.” Closing her eyes didn’t help the dizziness starting to spin her world around. “I don’t do
this
. I’ve only ever been with one man, for Christ’s sake. I’m way out of my league. Maybe you could pull over and let me out. I just saw the Red Line bus. I can take that straight home.”

“Way to go, Kurt.” Becca slapped his thigh lightly. “I think what my misguided husband is trying to say is that Luke is different with you. He’s cautious. Taking things slow.”

“We’ve only really known each other for half a week and already he spent the night. You think that’s slow?” Brielle’s voice rose an octave.

“It’s more like, he’s giving you space. Usually, he’d be flirting and weaseling his way into your good graces.” Kurt paused as if considering how to explain himself. “He’s afraid of messing up and more concerned about doing the right thing for you than he is about getting what he wants in the short term. I couldn’t believe he backed off so easily on convincing you to join us tonight. It’s very…not his style.”