Healing Touch: Play Doctor, Book 2 (26 page)

“A fundamental part of you still craves that experience. My gut says some of the desire is because you really need someone you can trust that completely, especially after a lifetime of disappointment in the people who should have protected you. Those deficits shaped you into the person I’ve gotten to know. Part of it is more basic. It’s in your nature. Your instinct has always been to seek comfort through focusing internally. Bondage and, to a greater extent, sadism facilitates that process for a lot of people. Becca is like that. It’s not my story to share. Ask her. She’ll tell you why she loves to be tied down more than most anything else we do together.”

“Oh. O-okay,” she stuttered, wondering to what extent her new friends dabbled in the forbidden desires she’d tried desperately to erase from her list of cravings. Unsuccessfully.

Why hadn’t she had someone like him or Luke to help her understand instead of Brad’s manipulative attacks?

An enormous
bang
rattled the wall that separated them from the laboratory. A
clatter
of what sounded like metal instruments bouncing off the tile floor followed. The noise had Brielle jumping in Kurt’s hold.

“I hope that wasn’t anything irreplaceable.” He shook his head. “Our boy Luke hardly ever loses his temper. But when he does…look out. It’ll blow over quick, though. Just remember, he’s not mad at you. And he would
never
hurt you. I wouldn’t have sent my wife in there with him if I had any doubt about that. He’s not like the men you’ve known before.”

“He’s not mad at me.” Maybe if she repeated it a few hundred times, she might believe it.

The door between the two rooms flew open, banging into the wall. Becca cried out in the background. “Calm down, Luke. She’s already pumped full of adrenaline. Don’t scare her again.”

His chest heaved as he looked directly into her eyes. He didn’t shout, or even raise his voice. The deadly cold chilled her more than if he had. “Where is that motherfucker? I want him in jail. Or dead.”

“I have no idea.” She shrugged. “I’m sorry I fibbed to you about him kicking me out. I just wasn’t ready… After that night, when he trapped me in the closet, I knew we’d crossed a line. When I finally got up the nerve to leave it was too late for anything like calling the police. I didn’t want to give him a chance to change my mind or twist things around…or worse. I waited until he was out with his new girlfriend, the one he said he started cheating on me with when he realized how fucked up I really am. You know, for wanting to be restrained. I packed my suitcase with some clothes and a couple books and I took off.

“I never looked back. At least not for a few months. And when I finally decided the shelter was right, I should report what had happened—what if he does the same, or worse, to the new girl—our house was empty. I think he must have moved in with her. I know he was behind on bills. He abandoned the place, just like my dad.”

“Let it go, Luke.” Kurt held her tighter when his friend staggered near. “Only one of those two people has any place in your future. Do right by her. She’s who’s important.”

“He hurt you.” All the golden warmth drained from his face, leaving his tan skin a ghastly shade of gray. “I saw what he did. How he manhandled you. How you injured yourself trying to escape. You broke your hand.”

“I didn’t go to the doctor. It might have been nothing.” She tried not to flex the knuckles that still ached when she lifted something heavy.

The stormy blue of his eyes misted over. “And you’re wearing bruises again tonight. I should have protected you better. We have to find him before he finds you.”

She shivered. “I assumed he was out of my life.”

“He is,” Kurt cut in, stopping Luke from frightening her with the what-ifs of his overprotective nature. He spit out the rest of his words. “And you aren’t responsible for Wexford. If anyone should take blame for him, it’s me. I left the door unlocked the night he broke into the lab. I started it all.”

“And if you hadn’t, none of us would be standing here today.” Becca maintained her professionalism best of all three of the doctors. “This is a difficult case. We’re all involved, no matter how much we think we’re not. Everyone’s emotions are in play. I think we should call it a night. We can regroup in the morning to discuss the dream sequences and what our next steps will be. I think this has been a huge unlock for Brielle. It will only get easier from here.”

Becca stepped behind Luke. She ran her hands down his arms and unfisted his hands, finger by finger. “She needs you to love her, not fight her.”

Maybe he wasn’t interested. Did some of his anger stem from disappointment? Brielle might not be what he was looking for. He said himself he wasn’t interested in his old pursuits these days. This could be a part of his life he was hoping to leave behind. And here she was, bringing it into play. Because Kurt was right. It was time to admit some of these yearnings she had for bondage—he’d called it—were ingrained.

If Luke couldn’t help her, she’d find someone who could. No matter how badly that hurt. She’d spent enough time in the shadows, hiding.

Damn Becca. A perceptive woman, and maybe one who’d shared Brielle’s concerns at some point, it was as if she’d read Brielle’s mind like an open book. “Dig beneath the rage, Luke. Tell her what the rest of her dream did to you. She needs to hear that you’re turned on by it.”

“What sick fuck would get hot looking at any part of that nightmare?” His question was tormented.

“Obviously, you.” Becca shifted her hands lower and toward the center of his body. When she cupped his crotch, his breath caught. “And her. I saw the readings from the probe, Brielle. I can understand how conflicted you must be when you want something similar and yet a galaxy away from what your ex did to you. You need someone to show you the difference between safe, sane and consensual and…that.”

She had everyone’s attention now.

“I stand by what I said.” Becca took her hands from Luke and strode a few feet deeper into the space until she could look at each one of them in turn. “We’re done for tonight. There’s a lot to digest. But in the morning, I’d like to suggest a demonstration.”

Kurt’s whole body went rigid beneath Brielle. Including his cock. She shifted away, a little embarrassed.

“Sorry, honey.” He chuckled. “I think I see where my wife is going with this. She’s pure mastermind. Nothing makes me hornier than a smart woman.”

Luke staggered to the bed and collapsed on the other end. He held out his arms to her. “Come here, Cookie. If you want to.”

Brielle didn’t hesitate a single second. She kissed Kurt’s cheek, whispered, “Thank you,” then launched herself at Luke.

He caught her easily, bundling her to his chest. “I’m so sorry you had to go through any of that, never mind all of it.”

“I’m just glad I have you on my side now.” She glanced away from his eyes to Becca and Kurt. “All of you.”

Becca nodded. “You do. And that’s why I’m going to propose something outrageous.”

Brielle held her breath.

“I want you and Luke to watch Kurt and me together.” If she blushed a tiny bit, no one called her on it.

Kurt stalked to his wife, his entire bearing different in an instant. He stood straighter, taller. When he lifted her chin up, he demanded her attention. She gladly gave it. “You’d like to have a formal session? In my laboratory? With your patient observing?”

“Yes, Doctor.” The dynamic between them had completely transformed.

Brielle’s jaw hung open when Becca went to her knees, bowed her head and folded her arms behind her back. “Will you dominate me tomorrow, first thing?”

“Maybe all day if you’re lucky.” Kurt nudged her jaw until she peered into his eyes. “I love you, Becca. For being willing to help, however you can. Even if it’s deeply personal and makes you vulnerable. A year ago you wouldn’t have been able to expose yourself like this. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” She nuzzled Kurt’s hand. “It’s all because of you. You’ve earned my trust. Just like Luke will with Brielle.”

Kurt shocked them all when he joined his wife on his knees on the floor of the room where it had all begun. “You’re everything to me, Becca.”

Brielle leaned forward when the two doctors kissed. She caught hints of tongue mixed in with the tender locking of their lips. When Becca tried to tug her husband closer, he captured her wrists, broke their exchange and
tsked
. “Don’t get carried away, baby. It’s only a couple hours until dawn.”

“You plan to get up early, right?” Becca looked to Luke and Brielle with wide eyes.

“It’s your call.” Luke chuckled at her earnest entreaty. “How does eight sound?”

“A lifetime away.” She groaned as she and Kurt climbed to their feet, hands still linked. “I think we’d better leave you two to rest up. There’ll be no more Dream Machine tonight. Can you sleep here? The couch in Kurt’s office is plenty big enough for us both. I mean, not that I would know.”

Kurt smacked his wife on the ass. “Liars get spanked, don’t they?”

“Promise?” A grin developed at the edges of her smile and worked its way inward. “My husband has a small penis. He never pleases me in bed…”

“Oh, you’re in trouble now.” Kurt dragged her toward the door.

Their playful interaction was night-and-day different from how Brad had treated her. Yes, Brielle would love to watch them have sex. Even if it made her a freak.

“If you need us, we’ll be right down the hall.” Becca looked over her shoulder before crossing the threshold.

“I’ll be fine, thanks.” Brielle spoke to Becca, but stared into Luke’s eyes. Compassion emanated from them.

“I’ll make sure of it.” He hugged her again, chafing warmth into her cool skin. “Can you lie down and close your eyes? Or is it like a hangover when you wake up from a dream like that?”

“Usually I can’t go to sleep again right away.” She slid beneath the covers when he pulled them back.

Luke tucked in beside her, gathering her to his chest. “I don’t know how you survived that so long. I swear that’s not how things are supposed to be. We’ll show you what it can be like. If you want, you and I could try it sometime.”

“It’s not weird that I still think about those things, even after…everything?” Luke’s heart skipped a beat beneath her cheek.

“No.” His hands roamed over her back and into her hair, massaging her scalp. “Not at all. How much pleasure did it bring you last night when I held your waist?”

“A lot.” She groaned, rubbing against him involuntarily.

“That’s all that counts. If it makes you feel good, do more of it. If it doesn’t, do less. Or tell me to.” Though his erection pressed into her thigh, he didn’t attempt to coax her into relieving that need.

Brielle reached for him. He took her hand and wove their fingers together. “I don’t think I can right now, Cookie.”

“You’re really hard,” she whispered, thinking of the moisture pooling between her thighs as well. Something about having him hold her, safe, in the aftermath of all that awfulness, called out to her.

“It’ll go away.” He didn’t sound so sure. “I’m still angry, Brielle. At your ex. Your father too. Fate for putting someone as innocent as you in that position. I won’t touch you like this, when I’m on the verge of losing control.”

His restraint, even in the face of his own discomfort, proved to her again that he was the perfect man to walk beside her on this journey. Emotions welled up inside her and she felt a glad tear roll over the bridge of her nose and drop onto his chest. Then another and another.

Silently, she cried.

It didn’t take him long to notice or smother her in affection. The sweet care he lavished on her only opened the floodgate further. She couldn’t say how long she vented her misery while he protected her from the rest of the world. But by the time she finished, not a drop of moisture left within her, sleepiness had replaced panic. Hope had filled in the gaps left by the draining of all her dread.

Brielle yawned between the tiny sniffles lingering.

“Doze if you can.” He sounded like he might be close to relaxing too. “It’s going to be another intense day tomorrow.”

“’Kay” was all she could manage.

“You’re incredible, Cookie.” He trailed his fingers back and forth over her shoulder then started singing softly again.

“I Got You Babe” instantly became her favorite song. She drifted off with a smile on her face and evaporating tears on her cheeks.

Chapter Seventeen

“Good morning, sleepyheads.”

A light knock stirred Brielle from peaceful slumber. Awareness crept in gradually. The mixture of hardness beneath softness made her realize she had been kneading Luke’s chest like a kitten for some undetermined amount of time.

“You don’t have to stop,” he practically purred. “I like that you’re groping me even in your sleep.”

Brielle shot upright and grabbed a pillow, which she used to whack him over the head.

He laughed and returned the favor.

Like a sunny morning after a storm, all their clouds had lifted.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Kurt peeked over his wife’s head at the chaos ensuing. “That’s not exactly the kind of mattress gymnastics I thought we might be butting in on.”