Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Dr. Avery’s office,” a perky voice says.
“This is Braden Black,” I say. “Does the doc have any time this morning?”
“I’m afraid not. He can see you over lunch.”
“I have a lunch meeting. Are you sure he can’t squeeze me in?”
Tapping of computer keys comes through the phone.
“I don’t see any cancellation— Wait, yes. One just came in. Can you be here at ten?”
“That’s perfect. I’ll see you soon.”
…
“Braden, good to see you.” Dr. Bennett Avery waves me into his office. “This is unexpected.”
“Yeah, Doc. I was in town and thought I could use some…guidance.”
“I’m always here. Have a seat.”
I sit in the leather recliner while Dr. Avery faces me on his wingback chair. He’s very casual, and we’re on a first name basis, though I just call him Doc.
Doc leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers over his stomach. He’s grown the beginnings of a beard since I last saw him—salt-and-pepper gray. “What kind of guidance can I give you?”
I hesitate for a moment. The leather of the recliner is cool beneath my hands. Then I draw in a breath.
“I’ve gone and fallen in love.”
Doc raises his eyebrows. “And you need guidance with that?” He gives me a smirk.
“You know me, Doc. I’m not wired for relationships, but this woman—Skye is her name—makes me want things I have no business wanting.”
Doc’s smirk fades into a thoughtful gaze. He scratches his growing beard. “Well, Braden, love doesn’t concern itself with business or reason. It just happens.”
I shift in the recliner. “That’s the problem, Doc. I’ve spent so much time focusing on my business empire that I don’t know how to be part of someone else’s life without messing it up. I’m sure it has something to do with losing my mother so young. With feeling responsible for her death.”
“You weren’t responsible for your mother’s death, Braden.”
I sigh. Doc and I have been through that particular subject ad nauseum, and I don’t want to rehash it now.
“You know I’m a Dominant. And Skye… She’s a control freak, but she’s a sub at heart. I knew it the first time I laid eyes on her.”
“What did you notice first about her?”
“Honestly? Her mouth. She has the sexiest mouth I’ve ever seen. And she’s beautiful, of course. But after I got over the physical attraction, it was her strength that drew me in. Her strength and her independence. Her facade of control. She’s fiercely protective of her space, of her world.”
Doc nods slowly, crossing his legs, a thoughtful frown shaping his face. “And this scares you?”
“Hell, Doc.” I chuckle and run a hand through my hair. “Nothing scares me. But what’s perplexing is that I’m more comfortable staring down corporate sharks than figuring out how to navigate a relationship with Skye.”
“Yet you are here.” Doc smiles.
“Yeah, I am.” I glance at the familiar book-laden shelves that line Doc’s office, the walls bearing his degrees and certificates.
“Braden, love isn’t about dominating or controlling. It’s about understanding and compromise.”
“But I’m a Dominant,” I say. “I want to control her. It’s sexually satisfying for both of us.”
“That’s not what I mean. You say she’s a submissive.”
“I’ve never encountered a more natural submissive,” I say. “She’s amazing. And so smart and driven. But she has a need I can’t fulfill.”
“And what is that?”
“She wants me to choke her, Doc.” I shake my head. “And you know that’s my hard limit.”
Doc nods. “I see. And she ended the relationship because you wouldn’t engage in breath play?”
I inhale. “That’s just it,” I say. “She didn’t end it. I did.”
He raises his eyebrows.
“For some reason, she wants the ultimate penance. She wants me to punish her for something that she can’t put into words. And that’s not what the lifestyle is about for me. When I punish my sub, it’s because she’s disobeyed me, not because of something in her past.”
“Have you tried talking to her about this?” Doc asks.
“We’ve had discussions, but it’s like she’s holding back something. Like there’s a part of her past that she can’t face, that she wants to punish herself for.”
“And you don’t want to be the instrument of that punishment.”
“No,” I say. “That’s not me. That’s not us. I care about her too much to be part of that self-destruction.”
Doc leans back in his chair, stroking his beard pensively. He stares at me for a moment and then at the ceiling.
“Have you considered bringing her to therapy with you?” he suggests.
I shake my head. “This is for me. I won’t share it with anyone. I’ve told you things I’ve never told anyone.”
He nods. “Yes, but if you love her as you say you do, you can’t keep her in the dark.”
I pause a moment. Then, “She told me she had a therapy session yesterday. While she was in her hometown in Kansas.”
“So she wants to work through this.”