Double Take (14 page)

“What?”

“My employers asked me to go. They are calling it a leave of absence, but the truth is, it’s more like probation. I have to keep my nose clean, stay out of the papers, not draw any unpleasant attention that would reflect badly on the center. Maybe then they’ll welcome me back.”

“Assholes,” he said, lying down again to draw her close.

She didn’t say anything for a moment, a little stunned at his reaction. There had been no, “What did you do?” No, “Why?” just an indictment of whoever had done something to hurt her.

Oh, this man was special in so many ways. So loyal and so trustworthy. Which was why she decided to trust him and just reveal everything.

“I work for an extremely conservative practice. Very old school and stodgy. Unfortunately, the media got ahold of some excerpts of my dissertation on female orgasms and made a big joke out of it, putting my name, and the center’s, through the tabloid wringer.”

He shook his head, as if clearing it to understand. “Women’s... Wait, what kind of counselor are you?”

Too late to retreat now
.

“I’m a sex therapist. I specialize in female sexual disorders.”

He shot up again. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he jumped out of the bed, standing naked beside it, gaping down at her. His brows shot up as his eyes rounded. His mouth fell open, snapped shut then opened again, as if he didn’t know what to say. Finally he managed, “You’re joking.”

“No, I’m not.”

He was clearly having a hard time wrapping his mind around it. “You teach people how to have sex?”

“Not exactly. It’s more about helping patients—primarily women—understand their bodies and figure out why they make the choices they do when it comes to their sex lives. That’s why I have all the toys, by the way.”

He nodded slowly. “Like pharmacies giving out free drugs to doctors so they’ll prescribe the drugs to their patients.”

“Exactly!” she exclaimed, glad he’d understood so quickly. “I have definitely recommended vibrators to some of my non-orgasmic patients.”

He swiped a hand through his hair, shaking his head, still a little shell-shocked. She supposed it was a bit much to take in, since he’d viewed her as the small-town teacher she’d been portraying.

“Mike, are you all right?”

She knew what his problem was. It was the same problem all the men she slept with had when they found out what she did. They were intimidated, thinking they were having sex with an “expert,” wondering if they were being judged or evaluated. She understood, which was why, in the past, she rarely told her lovers what she did for a living. Considering her relationships rarely lasted long, and never got to the point of true intimacy, it had never been a problem keeping that detail secret.

Mike, though, had already barreled through those defenses, just as he’d warned her he would. Revealing her profession hadn’t been just about making him understand about the toys. She also wanted him to know her—really know her—the way few people did.

When he didn’t answer, she said, “Are
we
all right?”

She wasn’t sure what “we” meant yet, but she realized she would not be satisfied with just one night with the man. The timing and location were beyond bad; nothing had changed in that regard. The only thing that
had
changed was that they both now knew how worth the effort a hot, secret affair would be.

“We’re fine,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at her. He reached out and brushed her hair back off her cheek, the caress tender and gentle. “But I’m glad you didn’t tell me that before. Having sex with a sex therapist? Talk about something to give a guy performance anxiety!”

She purred. “Baby if that’s your standard performance, you have nothing to be anxious about. Ever.”

A pleased, self-satisfied grin tugged at his lips. “Yeah?”

“Definitely. That was worthy of a standing ovation. I will be demanding an encore.”

He ran his fingers over her belly, gliding them up to caress the under-curve of a breast. “How many curtain calls?”

Growing breathless as his fingers danced across her skin, she murmured, “I believe the number we discussed was ten.”

“After a trip to the pharmacy.” He sighed. “Tomorrow.”

“Or maybe your place tonight? I assume the one you bought came with brothers and sisters in the box?”

He nodded. “But I live right downtown in an apartment over one of the antique stores.”

Oh. Talk about a lack of privacy.

“So I guess we’re just going to have to find something else to do right now,” he said as he traced a line up to her nipple and stroked it with his fingertip.

She gasped, loving the connection. But Mike had already done a lot for her tonight, and she was definitely ahead of him on the orgasm-meter.

A few hours ago, she’d been consumed by the idea of tasting him—of taking him into her mouth and sucking him into incoherence. Now seemed the perfect time to do exactly that. “Was there something you wanted to tell me?”

His expression said he didn’t understand.

“About what you want me to do?” She caressed his stomach, lowering her fingers to tangle them into the thatch of hair at the base of his sex. Encircling him with her hand, she stroked, up and down, and leaned forward to scrape her tongue across the seam of his lips, silently letting him know where else she’d like to lick him.

She heard his breaths quicken as he caught her meaning. “I’m not sure that’s something any man should ever
tell
a woman to do.”

She kissed her way down his rough jaw, still stroking him, occasionally dropping her hand lower to fondle the tight, vulnerable sacs below his erection.

“Okay, so you won’t order me. So do you want to tell me what you’d
like
me to do?” She squeezed him tighter, rubbing her thumb across the tip of his cock, where a bit of moisture dripped. Lifting her hand to her mouth, she licked it off, her eyes never leaving his.

“Yeah. I’ll tell you.”

She smiled, triumphant, sure of what he would say.

“I’d like for you to sit on my face.”

Her turn to gasp. That was
not
what she’d expected him to say. “But I want to...”

“You can absolutely suck my cock. At the same time.” His tone was as wicked as his expression. “I’m a multitasker.”

“Mmm,” she moaned, understanding what he wanted. Her whole body went warm and weak, moisture flooding her sex as she pictured it. She’d talked about this position with her patients, had taught it, even, but she’d never actually done it. This was the kind of intimacy long-term lovers engaged in, and her relationships usually didn’t last that long. Leave it to Mike to blow all those expectations away and suggest something so deliciously wicked on their very first night together.

Reaching for her jaw, he angled her face toward his and caught her mouth in a hot, hungry kiss. His tongue thrust deeply against hers, exploring her as if he hadn’t just kissed her to within an inch of her life a few hours ago.

Their mouths still joined, he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. Lindsey rubbed against him, loving the feel of that powerful heat between her legs, but wanting it now in her mouth.

When the kiss ended, she didn’t wait for him to make the next move. She turned around, maybe a little unsure, but also very aroused, exploring his hard, muscular body as she went. Mike took hold of her hips, pulling her back until she knelt, her knees on either side of his face.

“God, this is gorgeous,” he muttered before bringing her to his mouth and licking deep.

It was, as before, incredible. He used his tongue and lips to build an inferno inside her, and she was determined to make him just as fiery.

She lay down on top of him, taking his cock into her hand, marveling at its size and silky texture. The first brush of her lips on its tip caused him to flinch, and she smiled, glad she made him as crazy as he was making her. Flicking her tongue out, she tasted him, wetting him, then covered the engorged tip and sucked him into her mouth.

He groaned against her thigh, an unintelligible expression of lust, heat and satisfaction. Knowing he was savoring everything she did, she took more of him, and still more. Every stroke of her tongue was matched by one of his, and she honestly couldn’t say which was more delightful. The intensity overwhelmed her, but she never wanted it to stop.

The whole thing was so incredibly intimate—so erotic—that it was only a few minutes before a climax started rising in her. Not wanting to go there alone, she tightened her grip on the base of his shaft. She stroked him harder while her mouth worked him into a frenzy. He was groaning his pleasure against her sex as he licked and sucked her clit, bringing her ever closer to nirvana.

Finally, when she knew she couldn’t hold out another moment, she felt his body tense and jerk.

“Lindsey, you don’t have to...”

He was giving her the opportunity to pull away.
Fat chance.

Sucking him as deeply as she could, she felt the slick fluid gush into her throat, salty, musky and hot. The carnality of it, combined with the incredible things he was doing to her with his mouth, pushed her right over the top, too.

Afterward, spent and satisfied, she kissed his flaccid penis, licking away the last of his juices, and turned around. She collapsed onto his chest, and Mike immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him for a slow, sultry kiss.

When it ended, she rested her head on his shoulder. Their breathing slowed, their heartbeats normalized—she could feel his against her chest.

Reality returned, and with it, sanity.

What had they done? Somehow she had to reestablish her boundaries, create some distance. They both had too much at stake not to.

Clearly not experiencing the same doubts, Mike rubbed a lazy hand down her back. “I’ve got to say, Lindsey, if that was number two, I just can’t wait to find out what three through ten are like.”

8

“T
ELL
ME
ABOUT
this Thinkgasm thing.”

Sitting across from Lindsey at the empty coffee shop at six-thirty one weekday morning, Mike had waited until he was sure the owner was in the kitchen, out of earshot, before asking his question.

That was a good thing, because his lover almost hacked up a lung coughing over the mouthful of coffee she’d just sipped. He leaned across the table and patted her on the back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you choke.”

She got control of herself and quickly scanned the shop. “Are you crazy?”

“There’s nobody else here.” There probably would be in another fifteen or twenty minutes, when the other teachers and high school students started drifting in for their morning charge-ups. But for now they were entirely alone.

Lindsey had been working very hard to get her classes up to speed for their end-of-the-year exams. She’d told him that during the first two weeks of Callie’s surprise maternity leave, the inexperienced sub had done nothing but show movies with vaguely scientific themes—like
Jurassic Park
. So Lindsey always went in to the school superearly to get on top of the day’s work. She might not be a teacher by vocation, but she was dedicated and very serious about her temporary job. Just something else to admire about her.

Usually, she got her coffee to go. Mike knew that, which was why he’d made his own stop here as soon as he’d gotten off his overnight shift. He’d been waiting for her when she walked in, his smile a challenge, his offer to sit down and have coffee with him an invitation she couldn’t refuse. Risky, but since the place was deserted, she had agreed.

“Now, Thinkgasms?”

“You’ve been searching me on Google.”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t?”

She ran the tip of her index finger along the rim of her mug. “Actually, I’m surprised it took you this long. It’s been ten whole days since you found out who I really am.”

Ten days. Was that all? Seemed as if he’d known her—been her lover—far longer than that. She’d become so much a part of his life, he had trouble remembering how he’d spent his spare time on the island before her arrival.

“You do a good job distracting me.” He smiled over his cup, letting her see the warm appreciation in his stare. Damn, he wanted her. They’d only been able to grab an hour together yesterday, between the end of her workday and the start of his work night. That hadn’t nearly been enough, and he was jonesing for her touch the way a junkie did for drugs.

“So, inventor of the Thinkgasm, tell me all about it.”

“Can you put that in the form of a question?”

He raised a brow.

“I guess you didn’t watch the
Jeopardy!
clip.”

“You were a game-show question? That’s some serious fame there, babe.”

“Yeah, uh, my bosses didn’t appreciate that kind of fame.”

“They’re idiots.”

“They especially didn’t appreciate the
Today
show coverage.”

“Dicks.”

“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t crazy about that one, either. They made my work into a big joke—some female guest was trying to Thinkgasm herself on the show. Har, har, let’s make fun of women’s sexuality and go all
When Harry Met Sally
diner-orgasm-scene on live television.”

He reached across the table and took her hand, knowing her well enough to gauge that she was upset. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a sore subject. I really was just curious.”

She squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. I’m the one who’s sorry. I guess I’m still a little touchy about it. I mean, it’s fine if Lady Gaga tells the world she can think herself off, but let a female psychologist do a major study on it and the sky falls in.”

She was right. It
was
unfair, and incredibly sexist. He was a guy, and even he could see it. Fortunately, there were plenty of women in his family—no sisters, but female cousins and aunts, and his very independent mom—who had instilled in Mike, and his brothers, a serious respect for women.

“As for what it is, if you looked it up on Google, I’m sure you already get the basic premise of the Thinkgasm.”

“Uh, yeah. Women always were the more imaginative sex. Can you do it?”

“Nope.”

“Have you tried?”

“Yep.”

He laughed at her disgruntled expression, but it quickly segued into a smile. Her eyes were twinkling now, her good humor returning, so he asked, “Now, be honest, have you tried since you and I have been involved? Because, seriously, I could probably Thinkgasm all over myself just remembering what we did Thursday night.”

She licked her lips, obviously remembering, too. There was so much to remember. The sex had been wild. Amazing. He’d done things with her he’d only ever fantasized about doing. While they hadn’t tried every one of her naughty toys, they’d definitely put a dent in that box full of sin.

“I’m going to plead the fifth on the grounds that my answer may incriminate me.”

Oh, yeah. Some of the things they did would definitely be cause for scandal. They’d pushed limits, tested boundaries, explored just how far they could go. The answer was, pretty far. Lindsey didn’t always want to play the submissive game, but whenever they did, she climaxed so many times she was nearly incoherent.

Although Mike would have liked to spend entire nights in her bed and wake up with her every bright, sunny morning, the population of Wild Boar Island made it utterly impossible. Not only was he often on duty overnight, since his was a four-man police department, there was also the fact that his apartment was right over a shop owned by a gossipy busybody. She lived in another apartment across the hall from him, and he’d swear the woman had the hearing of a bat. Since she’d been one of the ones to bring him cakes and pies when he’d first arrived, she was often on the lookout for his return home so she could rush out with something she’d whipped up. When those return-homes occurred late at night, and he wasn’t in uniform, she asked intrusive questions about where he’d been.

He and Lindsey had resigned themselves to stolen hours on his evenings off. They were always at her place, and he always left at around four in the morning so he could sneak back home like a kid who’d climbed out the window to go to a kegger. He was dying to stay longer so she could wake up in the morning in his arms. She’d once commented that she’d never actually fallen asleep with a man and was shocked to find she liked it.

He liked it, too. As a matter of fact, he liked everything about her. And as the days had passed, he began to suspect what he was feeling was more than liking.

He just had no idea if she felt the same. Lindsey might have opened up to him a lot—physically and emotionally—but she still kept some mysteries close, and some vulnerabilities closer. She might say she enjoyed falling asleep with him, but she was also the one who always woke him up at 3:00 a.m. and sent him on his way.

He knew she was just protecting him because of his job. Yet, sometimes he caught a haunted look on her face that said spending an entire night with him would require knocking down another of those barriers she kept around herself. And she wasn’t quite ready to do it.

“Where did you go?” she murmured.

“Just thinking about you.”

“Why do you have to think about me when I’m sitting right across from you?”

He dropped his gaze, looking over the soft, pretty blouse that hid the amazing body to which he was fast becoming addicted. “Lately, I think about you all the time.”

She dropped her eyes, staring into her cup and stirring it. “We’re not being very discreet.”

“Fuck discretion.”

A sweet laugh fell from her lips. She quickly quieted, glancing around the café again. “We both know we have to be careful. I can’t take any more scandal, and neither can you. Or Callie.” As if reminding herself of that, she pulled her hand free of his, fisting it on the table.

“You’re sure that’s all it is?”

“What do you mean?”

He hadn’t intended to bring this up now, and certainly not here. He felt compelled, though, to start trying to batter at those last remaining walls. “I just get the sense there are things you haven’t told me.”

She didn’t pretend to misunderstand, or to hide the truth. “There
are
things I haven’t told you.”

He waited.

“And I don’t intend to.”

More bothered by that than he cared to admit, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Care to explain?”

“Look, we’re having a great time. A fantastic time,” she said, leaning over the table and keeping her voice low. Swallowing visibly, she added, “Let’s not make more of it than it is.”

Well, shit. That sounded like it should be his line, it was such a guy attitude. He’d always been aware that Lindsey was not a typical woman. She wasn’t overly emotional and certainly not clingy. Her independence was attractive, but, to be honest, also a little intimidating.

And if he believed she absolutely meant it, that there was nothing else holding her back, he might take her at her word and write this off as a fling. But he didn’t quite believe it. She might not be ready to call it anything more, but that vulnerability in her face, the catch in her voice, revealed that something deep inside her wanted to. He just had to be patient and see if she could ever let herself admit it.

“Okay, I guess you’ve made things pretty clear.”

A frown creased her brow. “Don’t you agree?”

“That this is fun but going nowhere?”

She nodded slowly. He looked into her green eyes, seeing uncertainty, as if she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted him to say. He suspected part of her wanted him to agree. That would be the easy way out. Neither of them would have to think about it, or examine it, they could just keep doing what they were doing, and hopefully nobody would get hurt. That was the Lindsay who still hadn’t lowered some of those walls, who still needed to control everything, including relationships that could end up hurting her.

Another part, though...well, he wasn’t so sure.

“It is what it is,” he finally said with a shrug that feigned a disinterest he didn’t feel. Such a cop-out of an answer, but it was the best he could do right now.

She glanced away, her mouth tightening. He watched her, reading her reaction, knowing she was feeling a disappointment she hadn’t expected to feel. Interesting.

“Very well,” she said. “We’ll just go on as we have been?”

He didn’t push it, as she had to leave for work in a minute. “Sure.” Wagging his brows, he added, “We still have half a box to get through. Wasn’t that little porpoise thing next?”

She sucked in a shocked breath, not meeting his eye. Color rose in her cheeks.

A blush? From Lindsey? How freakin’ adorable.

How on earth the woman could possibly be embarrassed around him he had no idea. It had to be because it was so early in the morning and she didn’t have her armor completely in place.

Before either of them could say anything else, the front door opened with a ring of the bell. Lindsey jerked back in her chair. A group of students walked in, and she immediately reached for her purse and stood up. “I’ve got to go.”

He didn’t try to argue, understanding. Thinking about the sex toys one minute and having a bunch of her students walk in the next had to be a little jarring.

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

She started to walk away, but paused before she’d gone three steps. The teens were at the counter, walking like zombies, not filled with chatter and excitement the way they would be after school. That was probably why Lindsey didn’t just walk out. Instead, she dropped a hand on his shoulder and murmured, “I imagine you’ll be waiting for me in my bed when I get home at four? With the porpoise?”

He grinned. “Yes, ma’am, I think I will.”

She winked at him then walked out, speaking to her students as she exited. They replied easily. No heads came together whispering about who she’d been sitting with. He’d bet they hadn’t even noticed.

The kids seemed to like her. Not surprising—she was smart, young and new. He wondered what on earth they’d think if they found out how famous she really was, and he prayed none of her students ever had reason to do a thorough internet search on her.

Intending to go home and sleep for a few hours in preparation for what he hoped would be a hell of a sensual night, Mike got up to leave. Unfortunately, he hadn’t even reached the door when someone else came in. Someone who he also prayed never had reason to do research on Lindsey.

“Chief, there you are! I stopped by the station and was told you’d gone off duty and that I might be able to find you here.”

He nodded, wondering how early the president of the town council had to get up in the morning to put that much shellac in her hair and that much makeup on her face by 6:30 a.m. “Morning, Mrs. Franklin.”

The woman cast a stern, disapproving glance at the students. They put their heads together, whispering and giggling, and her frown grew so deep her eyes almost disappeared under her brows. “Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” she asked querulously.

The teens clutched their coffees and headed for the door. One of them snapped off a salute before exiting, and Mike bit the inside of his cheek to prevent a laugh.

“In my day, children that age wouldn’t be allowed to drink coffee,” she said, aiming the comment at Alice, the shop owner. “Do you require proof of age before you sell it to them?”

Alice snorted. “I’m not selling cigarettes here, Ida. If you’re worried about that, why don’t you take a look at the sales of
your
store?”

Flustered, the older woman harrumphed, then leaned in to Mike. “I want an update on the progress you’ve made on the case.”

“Case?” he said, playing dumb, though he knew exactly what she meant. She’d come in to talk to him about that stupid book four times in the past ten days. The fact that she hadn’t been able to stir up anybody else into an outraged posse seemed to have made her even more determined to go it alone.

“The pornographer. Ollie informs me you’ve not assigned a task force to investigate.”