I look over my shoulder and bat my green eyes at him. “You think that’s a threat?”
His smile grows, and I think he wants to eat me. “You really do like being Daddy’s whore. Don’t worry, Baby Bird. I’ll give you what you want.”
The only warning I get is the sound of his zipper and the feel of my underwear being yanked to the side before he slams deep inside of me. The force of his thrust makes the edge of my desk bite against my hips. The sting somehow heightens the experience.
That’s a benefit of being with the same person for years. He knows what I want, and when I want something different. He knew by my body language that I was already wet. We don’t have the time for the extended torture session he considers foreplay when he likes to edge me over and over until he finally releases the tension.
My desk squeaks against the floor with the force of his thrusts. He told me I needed to be quiet, then he scoots thefurniture across the room. Of course, he knows exactly how to touch me, and while he might not be holding me back from pleasure, he proves that providing it can be just as daunting.
He drives me so hard and fast toward climax, my body isn’t completely sure if this is agony or ecstasy. He doesn’t let up, though.
My fingers turn white from how hard I’m holding onto the edge of the desk. I can feel a scream building in my chest, and I’m fighting to hold it in. Charlie will be in any minute, and it’s possible they can hear us in the café if we’re too loud. Of course, that only turns him on more, but then again, he’s a bit of an exhibitionist.
Griffin fists his hand in my hair and pulls my head up off the desk enough so he can kiss me. Now I’m completely consumed by him, and the feeling takes me to the edge. It’s what I needed him to do, and he knew that. It sends me over into the abyss of pleasure.
For a moment, my world is an explosion of color. There’s a whimpering scream that I realize is me. Griffin greedily swallows every sound I make like they’re feeding his soul.
Everything isn’t fixed, but the tape will hold the cracks together for a while. Long enough for us to finally get the help we’ve been needing for a while.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Griffin - Present
A receptionist showsus into Dr. Manning’s office. “She will be with you in just a moment,” she says before going back to the reception area.
Things have been better between Wren and me for the last couple of weeks. Better, but not great. We’re talking, and she has come back to our bed, but we’re both walking on eggshells, trying not to fracture this fragile truce.
Liam hasn’t stopped by the house. He’s gone so far as to avoid the side of his yard that borders ours. I know he’s not avoiding me, but I haven’t reached out to him either. I understand that he’s going through a lot right now. I have no idea what is going on with him and Claudia, but I can’t save him if I’m also drowning. He’s going to have to figure this out on his own for now.
Dr. Manning’s office is comfortable. Almost too comfortable if there is such a thing. There is the proverbial couch, a couple of upholstered chairs, and then, what I assume is the Doctor’s chair. I think I was expecting an imposing desk and some kind of uncomfortable leather couch. It’s odd that the presence of more comfortable furniture makes me feel somehow less comfortable.
Wren doesn’t hesitate to take one of the two chairs. I waffle back and forth between the couch and the chair. I’m still in the middle of my indecision loop when the doctor comes in.
She makes a sweeping gesture between the available seats. “Please take a seat. I’m Dr. Manning. My job is to help the two of you speak to each other. I won’t be telling you what to do, and it isn’t my place to judge you. We can start wherever you need to.”
I wait until she’s seated, which somehow feels like the only way not to make it weird that I’m still standing here staring at the chair as if its existence is one of the world’s greatest mysteries.
“Let’s see if you can hang on to that promise of not judging,” I begin. Over the next twenty minutes, I give her the most condensed version I can of my efforts to drive Wren away, finding Liam cheating on her, learning about his embezzlement and addictions, and finally giving in to my feelings for her.
Dr. Manning sits speechless for a very long moment, clicks her pen closed, and sets it down. She laughs a little. “That is a lot. Still not judging, but you sound at ease with most of that. I can hear there’s still some self-blaming over the things your son has done, and we can talk about that, but I am sensing that isn’t what is bringing the two of you in here today.”
Wren shakes her head. “No, the problems started recently. Liam relapsed, his wife has taken the kids and gone to her parents’ house, and?—”
She stops talking, but thanks to Scott’s advice from the other day, I don’t try to supply the answers for her. Not that I could,because I don’t really know what the issue is. I know that it has to do with how I often jump to help Liam. That can’t be the only reason, though, because she was already having issues with him without me even having to be involved.
Dr. Manning clicks her pen again and this time scribbles down some notes. When she stops, she focuses back on Wren. “If you are comfortable talking about your marriage to Liam in front of Griffin, I’d like to hear what you experienced.”
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat and casts a side glance at me. “If you need me to step out, I will,” I offer her.
Wren shakes her head. “How do you condense five years into a few words?”
Dr. Manning gives her an understanding look. “Who said it has to be a few words?”
Wren swallows. “I have actually been thinking a lot about those years lately.”
I squeeze the arms of my chair, but try my best to keep my face blank. This is news to me, but it’s probably why I was feeling like she had lingering feelings for him. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from interrupting her. I feel the weight of this moment, and sense that what I’m about to hear will change everything.
Wren hasn’t looked back at me, so she continues without knowing that I’m fighting against myself to stay in the moment. “I started seeing the signs of Liam’s relapse. I’m not sure about Claudia, we’re not super close. I wasn’t surprised when she left. I’d been seeing him come back home later.”
