The Sex Surrogate (15 page)

“Are
you naked?”

“Yes.”

“So
am I,” he said, his voice deep and low.

So,
yeah. We were really going to do it.

“Chase...”

“Run
your hand down your body,” he instructed and I found myself
immediately following instructions.

“Okay.”

“Are
you wet baby?”

“Yes.”

“Mmm,”
he murmured. “Touch yourself. And I am going to touch myself.
Just relax, let me hear you.”

Oh,
lordy.

Let
him hear me.

I
closed my eyes, straining to hear anything from his side of the
phone. His breathing, anything. But soon, my body came alive under my
hand even without anything to listen to. Because all I needed was to
know he was there, and I was beside myself with need.

“Does
that feel good?” he asked, his voice heavy.

A
groan was my answer, louder than I had expected, but I was beyond
caring.

“Fuck
baby, you sound so sweet when you moan.”

He
sounded so good when he said anything. Literally anything. Everything
out of his mouth sounded sexy.

I
got there fast. To that point of nothingness. That suspension.
“Chase,” I whimpered.

“Let
me hear you come, Ava.”

My
orgasm tore through my quick and insistent, a fast pulsating me that
had me choking out a gasp as I arched off my bed, my body going
tense. As the last waves crashed over me, I made a strange,
gasp/whimper/sob combination as I collapsed back on the bed.

“Fuck,”
Chase growled in my ear and I could hear his breath hitch, then
explode out of his mouth as he came. And damn if I didn't feel
another rush of desire through my tired body.

There
was a shuffling noise, then silence for long enough for me to pull
the phone away to make sure the connection was still made.

“Ava?”

“I'm
here,” I answered immediately. Maybe a bit too eagerly.

“Tomorrow
at seven,” he said. And silence. This time a disconnect.

I
put my phone back on the the nightstand and crawled out of bed, my
limbs feeling heavy. I slipped back into my clothes and got back into
bed.

Tomorrow
at seven.

And,
yet again, I had no idea what the session was about. I was starting
to wonder if he wasn't doing that deliberately. Was he afraid I
wouldn't show up if I knew, exactly, what we would be doing? I had to
admit, that was a valid fear. It was absolutely something I could see
myself doing. Even though the sessions were costing a small fortune.
Even though they were
with
sexy Chase Hunter.

I
was a flight risk.

And
he needed to make sure I showed up.

I
turned in bed, hearing Jake's door slam. Not shut. Slam. Hard. It was
a sound I was very familiar with.

“You
fucking asshole!” the pretty black-haired beauty screamed. Not
said, not called... screamed. Like a goddamn banshee.

“I
never promised you flowers and candy, baby,” Jake said, his
tone completely unaffected.

“You
also never fucking said you would throw me out on my ass at three in
the fucking morning like some goddamn trash!”

Oh,
boy.

I
slowly got up out of bed and made my way to the door. I knew what
would come next. Things would fly. And break. My things. Not Jake's.
Jake didn't have much. It was all mine. And I had needed to replace
so many items over the years.

Besides,
Chase's words were in my head. About pretty women alone on the
streets at night. And Jake's girl was gorgeous.

I
got my feet into slippers and opened my door. “Hey,” I
said, cutting into their raised voices with my low one.

“What?”

“Jake
and I are going to drive you home,” I supplied, looking at the
girl whose face immediately got less tense.

“Like
fucking hell I...”

“Shut
up,” I said, looking at him. “If you are going to insist
she leave in the middle of the night, the very least you can do is
make sure she gets home safe. If you don't want to have to do that,
let her stay until the morning. But, seeing as you screwed up the
chances of her wanting to stay, go get some shoes on and let's go.
I'm tired.”

Jake
walked back to his room, mumbling. “It sounds like you want me
to
do better
,”
he said, using Chase's words against me.

“Yeah,
that's exactly what I want you to do. Better. Because you're better
than this,” I insisted, grabbing my keys.

“Thank
you,” the girl said to me, her eyes truly grateful.

“Don't
mention it,” I said.

Jake
shot daggers at the side of my face as we drove and waited out front
the girl's building to make sure she got in. “Why did I have to
come? You want to be all noble and bring her home? Fine. But don't
make me come.”

“
I'm
here because I care about her well being,” I said easily.
“
You're
here because you care about mine.”

There
was a long silence, Jake's anger deflating under my superior
rationality. “Well, I can't fucking argue with that.”

“Good,
because I'm exhausted.”

Fourth
Session

I
felt good the next day. Yes, there were nerves about the unknown, but
they were taking a back seat to my good mood. I had gotten a good
night of sleep, I had helped a freaked out girl get home whilst
simultaneously putting Jake in his place, I had two orgasms in the
course of a few hours. I was doing pretty darn well.

Shay
kept looking at me sideways all day at work. Then, finally, grabbing
her purse at the end of the day, she sat down on my desk.

“You
get laid?”

I
laughed, rolling my eyes. “No, Shay.”

“You
sure?”

“I
think I would remember that,” I smiled.

“You
seem different.”

“I
don't know. I got a good night of sleep, I guess.”

“Girl
that ain't no good sleep putting that look on your face,” she
objected. “Good dick is what puts that look on a woman's face.”

I
snorted, but suddenly wanted to tell her. Shay had done everything
possible to keep a foot in my life, no matter how much I pushed her
away, no matter how many times I refused to go out with her. She had
actively, I realized, been trying to forge a friendship with me. And
I had always been to wrapped up in my own shit that I didn't see it.

“Look,
I know you have like some issues with guys or somethin'...”

“I'm
seeing someone.”

“Girl,
I knew it. Spill.”

“He's
a doctor.”

“That's
right. You set your sights high. Fine someone who fucking wants to
take care of you.”

“No,
Shay. He's a shrink. But he's a special kind of shrink.”

“What
kind of shrink?” she asked, brows drawing together.

“The
kind to help me overcome my issues with sex.”

To
my surprise, she didn't look confused, she just nodded. Like it was
the most normal thing in the world. “Please tell me he's at
least yummy to look at.”

“Oh,
my god, Shay...”

“Damn.
That good? You'll be right back on that hobby horse in no time. And
then I need dick descriptions,” she said, standing.

“I
promise.”

“Hey,”
she said, going toward the door.

“Yeah?”

“Let's
go out Friday night.”

“Absolutely.”

The
smile on her face made me realize how much I let other people suffer
because of my issues. “I'll meet you at your place so we can
share a cab and get schnockered.”

“Sounds
great,” I said, because,well... it did.

I
left work a while later, going back to the apartment.

“What?”
I asked Jake who had been following me around the apartment like a
little lost puppy since I got home.

“What's
up with you?”

“Nothing.”

“You're
making food,” he accused.

“Yeah,
I'm hungry. I need food to survive. I'm not an automaton, you know.”

“You
have a session tonight.”

“Yeah,”
I said, turning, raising a brow.

“And
you're eating.”

“Okay,
Jake. Spit it out. I'm short on time today.”

“You've
been smiling since you walked in the door. And now you're eating
before a session,” he mused to himself. “Shit, woman.”

“What?”
I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich.

“You
have a crush on your sex doctor.”

“What?
No!”

But
then it came through with blinding clarity.

He
was right.

I
liked Chase.

Not
just as someone who was helping me immeasurably.

I
just liked him.

As
a person.

Especially,
as a man.

Oh,
good god.

I
turned, spitting my mouthful into the garbage and tossing the rest of
the sandwich. I brought a hand to my forehead. Because, well... shit
shit shit.

“Why
are you freaking out?”

“I
can't have a fucking
crush
on Chase!”

“Well,
that sucks... because you do.”

“Oh.
My. God,” I groaned.

“Dude,
it was bound to happen,” Jake said casually. “He says
nice things to you. He touches you. You don't have enough experience
with men to be able to not let that bother you.” He watched me
for a minute, shaking my head, staring out the window. “Look,
I'm sure he's used to it. I mean, in his profession. It has to happen
all the time. Actually, don't they even have a word for it when a
patient think they have a thing for their shrinks?”

“Transference,”
I supplied.

“Yeah.
So you got transference. No big deal.”

But
it was a big deal. Because it changed things. And being aware of it
would really change things.

“Stop
freaking out. Go take your shower. Calm down. Get pretty. Go to your
session. You need to stop analyzing things so much.”

“Easier
said than done,” I said, but made my way to the bathroom
anyway.

I
had less than an hour and I was having to go show up there, fully
aware that I had feelings for him. Not just interest. But actual
feelings. And then we were going to do things. And I was going to
feel even closer to him.

I
dressed in simple jeans and a long sleeved purple t-shirt then
started on my way there before I decided to call and completely
cancel the rest of my sessions.

“Hey,
babe,” Chase said, waiting for me outside his office door. “You
look nice.”

Compliments
were part of the process
, I reminded myself,
they didn't mean
anything more than that.

“What's
with the look?”

“Nothing,”
I said automatically, shaking my head, wondering how I had been
looking at him.

His
brows lowered, but he reached out for me. I walked toward him,
feeling tense. “Want a drink?”

Or
Ten. Or Twenty. Enough to knock me out.

“Sure.”

I
went to the stereo and picked out an blues play list that fit my
mood. Chase turned to me, holding out a martini. “Want to talk
about it?”