JR (29 page)

He fumbled inside the material until she wondered if he’d lost focus while speaking. Then his fingers found a spot in the seam of the skirt and tugged. The material rode up her thighs as it gathered on either side of her hips like obscene mini-blinds. He’d planned this! Never breaking his monotonous lecture, as though something other than her most personal desires were on display, he distracted her by manipulating her moist flesh through the lacy thong panties he’d given her to wear beneath the sexy suit.

Embarrassment hovered on the edge of her arousal but her attention shifted to his manipulations while she viewed the close-up shots of them having sex. She couldn’t look away from his thick cock as it had first pressed inside her on his desk, then the rhythmic clench and release of his muscles as he pumped into her.

In the dark room, she indulged herself in reliving the memories while Kurt’s hand grew bolder in the caresses it bestowed. By the time the video had progressed to the suspension sequence, his fingers had delved under the elastic in the crease of her thigh. He tapped his fingers against her clit.

She fought against the need to come right there in the boardroom while more than a dozen people watched the influential doctor fuck her in wicked ways. When she slipped near the edge, his hand retracted, leaving her disappointed. In her peripheral vision, she watched him reach into his pocket before returning his fist to her lap.

But she never expected what came next.

Shock raced through her system when he tucked something thin and short into her pussy. She clenched her teeth against a scream when he flicked the base and it puffed up, locking inside her.

While Luke observed both the amazing drama unfolding on the screen, as well as the reactions of those around the room, his erection chafed against the rough zipper of his trousers. Many of the scientists’ hands had ventured out of sight. He could hardly blame them. Who wouldn’t be moved by the perfect balance of his friend’s domination and his young protégé’s submission?

Today he loved his job.

His eagle eye picked up the signs of Kurt distracting Becca by arousing her beneath the table. Luke only noticed his friend’s skillful multitasking because he would’ve done the same thing in Kurt’s position.

Plus, the lucky bastard had filled him in on all of her REM stages. In addition to those the council had witnessed when Dr. Wexford had barged into their last meeting with accusations of scandal then revealed some of her most private longings before they had halted him.

When would she realize this was her fantasy?

On the personal monitor embedded in the tabletop in front of him, which allowed him to view presentations given on the screen behind him, he selected a different input. One moment, the picture flickering on-screen depicted Becca’s glorious display in the suspension harness while Kurt prepared her for the ultimate surrender.

The next, it switched to the view from the camera currently mounted on the underside of the table a few feet in front of her lap.

While the other doctors scrutinized the first three REM stage reenactments, Luke had a private viewing of the fourth. Her thighs glistened with arousal, proving she responded not only to fantasies she could recall but also to those she’d not yet admitted to herself. She couldn’t hide from Kurt’s invention.

His friend had been right about her blazing sensual nature.

How had he not seen it himself?

Rebecca bit her lip to keep from crying out as ecstasy suffocated her inhibitions. She came against Kurt’s hand. As a disassociated observer, she watched the woman on-screen bend to his will, the look of rapture on his face as he thrust inside her clenching ass and the entranced expressions of her colleagues. The sights wrung pleasure from her in wave after wave.

Recovering, she squeezed Kurt’s hand—which dried her with his handkerchief under the table—thanking him for the relief and an outlet for her nerves. He popped the instrument from her pulsing slit, wrapped it in the damp cloth then returned it to his pocket. No sign of acknowledgement crossed his face while he finished his clinical explanations to the board.

Seeing things from a new angle, she devoured the blissful expressions on Kurt’s face that had been inaccessible to her during the experiment. She never expected she could move him on a higher plane than physical satisfaction. Finally, she understood he needed her gift as much as she desired to give it.

As the clip ended and the lights returned to their normal brightness, she blinked to clear the cobwebs before raising her eyes—afraid to see if today’s events had destroyed the professional reputation she’d worked so hard for. Instead, as the faces ringing the table became illuminated, they contained a mixture of responses ranging from appreciation to reverence to hunger.

After all, these were sexual therapy experts. The exclusive leaders of their field understood the healthiness of expressed desires. Relieved, in more way than one, Rebecca sagged against the tall chair-back.

Dr. Foster cleared the pregnant silence, “As you saw, the experiment procedures met all applicable standards. The results are legitimate. We request your sanction to finish our research. Then, I’ll ask you to grant your approval to manufacture the Dream Machine for use by licensed doctors.”

Dr. Malone scanned the room as the board members spoke amongst themselves in huddles of two or three.

“The board needs to make this decision in private. Becca, please wait outside until we come to agreement.”

She rose then made her way to the door on shaky legs. Each doctor she passed nodded at her or reached out to shake her hand. Their overwhelming support and admiration touched her. By the time she collapsed onto a modern sofa in the waiting room, tears stung her eyes.

Thank God, she’d done Kurt proud.

After she’d recovered somewhat from the shock, she realized how beneficial this experience was for her career. A few, short days ago she would have focused on her goals to the exclusion of everything else except, maybe, the resolution of her sister’s financial worries.

Lost in thought, it seemed like no time had passed before the doors reopened. Kurt escorted her back inside.

He seated her at the table looking somewhat fierce. She began to worry things hadn’t gone as well as she’d thought.

Dr. Malone assumed his official role for the pronouncement of their decision. “Becca, first we’d like to express our gratitude to you for undertaking this experiment. While the whole process is somewhat unorthodox, this board believes the potential benefits are worth the deviation from standard practices. Please be assured the raw beauty we witnessed today increased our esteem for you and your future as a brilliant addition to our community. Unfortunately, there are still some lingering concerns regarding the authenticity of the experiment.

Therefore, it has been decided to allow you to proceed to the final stages with a physical witness as a safeguard.”

As the implication of their ruling sank in, Rebecca spun in her chair to examine Kurt’s face for his reaction.

He patted her hand then nodded. She could barely force out the words accepting their terms but she managed.

Then it was over. Colleagues rose, shaking Kurt’s hand, congratulating them both before exiting, until the only person left besides her and Kurt was Luke.

He slapped Kurt on the back then bussed her cheek while shaking her hand. A smile spread across his handsome face as he said, “Good job, both of you. I’ll see you tomorrow for stage two.”

With a wink, he sauntered from the room.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing here, Kurt?” The familiar drawl travelled across his desk from the wingback Luke now occupied.

Anyone else would have overlooked the underlying tension in his friend’s relaxed pose. He’d arrived early this morning and sequestered himself in Kurt’s office to discuss their strategy for the day’s research.

Before he could answer, Luke continued, “I admit it’s been a while since I’ve had time in my schedule to get some real work done at my practice instead of dealing with the board’s administrative bullshit popping up everyday…”

“You excel at bullshit.”

“Thanks, asshole. Maybe I’m rusty, but I think you’re getting in too deep. Are you sure Rebecca can handle this?”

At the mention of her name, Kurt sighed. She’d slept peacefully when he extricated himself from her tantalizing embrace to confer with Luke. Even after he rose, he’d stood transfixed by the sight of her bundled in his bed, getting some rest, until the door buzzer had sounded again, jarring him from his trance. It was no wonder her body soaked up this time to relax. She had worked so hard for so long, it took time to catch up once she gave in to exhaustion.

Already she looked better. The shadowed circles under her eyes had faded and her skin glowed with a rose-hued vibrancy. Then again, Kurt’s ego suggested, all the phenomenal sex with him may have had something to do with the improvements. She thrived on their carnal adventures.

“Yes. She’s ready.”

“And you? Are you taking this all in stride, too?” Luke’s penetrating stare made lying futile.

“Hell, no. What if I’ve fucked everything up? I don’t have a choice now. I’ve set the course and I need to see it to the finish but…” Frustration rose inside him. He shoved back from his desk harder than he intended.

He couldn’t sit here without remembering the first time he’d taken Becca.

“Shit!” He smacked a palm against the bookcase behind him, rattling the contents. His head hung low for the span of several ragged breaths before he righted the hardback reference of Freudian studies Becca had given him last Christmas. He aligned it with careful precision, allowing his fingers to stroke the binding before he stepped away.

“I don’t understand, Luke. Everything is going well. The experiment is a raging success, Becca’s agreed to be my partner and I guarantee the board will approve the final product. But it seems like I’m hanging on to everything by the skin of my teeth. Maybe it’s too good to be true.” Dragging his fingers through his hair only caused it to stand more on end.

Luke didn’t respond. Instead, he rocked the heavy chair back on two legs, grinning like a Cheshire cat until Kurt snapped at him. “Quit that would you? This is serious.”

“I’m sorry. But after all the times I’ve made a fool of myself over a woman, it’s nice to see your icy guts in a knot for once.” Luke’s apology didn’t conceal the lingering ghost of his smile. “Damn, though, I give you credit for picking her out of the crowd. You always swore she’d be hot.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Kurt groaned. “I knew she’d make an excellent partner for the firm from the moment she approached me after our first class to question a flaw no one else caught, not even you, in my latest journal article. Not like one of those smartass punks who argues to prove how smart they are, but because her mind is designed to solve problems. Because she wanted to improve the research. Right then, I wanted her.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell her before James…”

“Tell her what? That I was dying to fuck her? That I’ve had a perpetual hard-on for her for the past six years?” Kurt cursed, “Probably not the best way to entice your gun-shy intern to team up with you in a professional venture. She would have discounted her talents and assumed all I cared about was getting in her pants.”

He clenched his fists but gritted his teeth against the need to pound something. It wouldn’t eradicate his shame. “When you told me about the board’s decision, part of me cheered. The experiment provided the perfect outlet to expend my lust before it could ruin our work. Hell, then I even started hoping she might want to keep up the smoking hot sex after we finished here. We’re perfect partners, in and out of bed. And she did need to learn to trust herself before she could reach her full potential. You saw her yesterday, she’s ready now.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Luke wondered. “You got what you wanted. She’s your partner and she’s burning up your sheets.”

“You’re right. I don’t know what the hell’s wrong with me. I just can’t stand the idea she might find out I haven’t been completely honest with her.”

“Because she’d leave your sorry ass?”

He winced at the thought. “Not just that. I’d hate to see her revert back to the way she was before.”

Luke stared him straight in the eye, “Are you in love with her?”

“What! No. Of course not. You know I don’t believe in sentimental bullshit.” He laughed but the strained sound held no humor. The concept was preposterous. Science didn’t permit him to be swayed by the idea of love.

“Sometimes you have to take things on faith.”

“Faith is what people rely on when they want to believe something evidence doesn’t support.”

“We don’t have to do this, Kurt.” His friend employed the understanding, cautious tone characteristic of his attempts to coax a patient down from the ledge. Literal or proverbial. “The board would have approved the final stages of the Dream Machine study without my involvement. Without the striking videos. It was only your request that swayed them to let me witness the proceedings. Your woman has busted through more than one mental blockade in the past few days. What if she remembers everything? I can call this off right now before we make things worse.”

He was torn. He knew what Becca’s final two REM stages contained. Damn it, she lounged in his bed dreaming them right now during the hour before she woke. The idea simultaneously fired his blood and chilled it. Selfish urges begged him to end this nonsense. But she craved the fantasy.