Page 35 of The Therapist

I bite my lip. I drop the pen.

His smirk deepens.

I force myself to stand, needing distance, needing air. “This conversation is over.”

He doesn’t move. Doesn’t argue. Just watches me, eyes smoldering with something dangerous. Something addictive.

I should end this cleanly before it’s too late.

But Cooper doesn’t let me go that easily.

He rises slowly, deliberately, and suddenly he’s there—so close I can feel the heat radiating off him, smell the faint trace of cologne mixed with something inherently him.

I step back. He follows.

My breath catches. “You need a new therapist.”

He reaches out, fingers grazing my wrist—a featherlight touch that sends a shiver straight through me.

Everything seems to crumble inside me at once. Tears spill down my cheeks which are hot with embarrassment. He pulls me flush against him. Wraps his arms around me. He is strong and solid.

His embrace is warm and comforting, a safe harbor in the storm. I feel my body relax against his, the tension and uncertainty melting away. He doesn’t say a word, just holds me as I let the emotions flow.

After a few moments, I pull back slightly to look up at him. His eyes are full of understanding and kindness, with no judgment at all. He reaches up and gently brushes a tear from my cheek.

His head dips toward mine. I bite my lip. His thumb pulls it from between my teeth and then his lips are on mine. This time,it is all so different. The world parts, cracks wide, and swallows us whole. I tremble in his arms. Unable to break the kiss.

Cooper’s teeth pierce the soft flesh of my lip, making me cry out. I kiss him back harder, completely caught up in the moment. The flush on my skin spreads like wildfire, my cheeks stained with a rosy hue. My eyes are hazy, clouded with desire and need.

The taste of passion lingers on my tongue, a mix of salty sweat and sweet kisses, igniting my senses and sending me into a frenzy. My heart pounds in my ears, the rhythm matching the pulsing thrum of his heartbeat. Every breath is a sigh, every gasp a moan as his hands pull me closer and closer.

He grabs me by the hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of my waist. My breasts squish against his chest, and the slick heat between my legs makes me squirm. He pushes me back against the wall, the impact knocking the air out of my lungs. His body presses into mine.

He doesn’t waste a second. His hands are on me, everywhere at once, demanding. One hand becomes a fist in my hair, pulling my head back so he can trail hot, biting kisses down my throat. The other tears at my blouse.

His mouth closes over one nipple, making me moan. He pulls back just long enough to hike my skirt up to my waist, his fingers shoving my soaked panties aside.

“I’ve fantasized about this,” he says, his voice low.

“Cooper…”

Before I can say more, his fingers are sliding inside of me. I cry out, my head falling against the wall as his thumb circles my clit with just enough pressure to make me see stars. My chest heaves in ecstasy.

Cooper stares at me in awe as I come apart for him. My body tense, my mouth open in a silent moan.

Seventeen

Present

Before I head to NEL to run another group therapy session, I let Flash outside to do his business and allow myself to read another page of Cooper’s letter.

You were so satisfied with our arrangement. It was written plainly in the creases of your smiling eyes, the way you stood a little taller, the glint in your eyes. We made love, hard and soft and often. You did as I asked. You were eager to please. Yet all I could think of was dragging you down into the depths of my universe.

Under the guise of our weekly therapy appointments, I planted seeds of thought in your head. I warmed you to the ideas that served me.

I wanted to watch you again but not with me.

I didn’t anticipate you taking my hand and so easily walking down the dark path with me. I thought I’d need to half-drag you down my rabbit hole. I would have. I wanted it that badly. But you asked a question.

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