Page 14 of Rather: The Therapist

Laughter. Her laughter.

I swallowed the nothingness in my throat and cleared it right after.

“Uhh mhm.”

I dipped my index finger between my neck and the collar of my shirt, then ran it along the edge. Suddenly, it had grown tighter and the room had gotten smaller. That finger, my trigger finger, had begun itching and it was better I tuck it away than scratch it with the steel of my Beretta.

Her eyes, still on me, stirred something within me. The challenge she was posing wasn’t one she wanted to see come to fruition. The switch she was toying with wasn’t one she wanted to flip. But, the beckoning of her raised brows and daunting gaze led me to believe she wasn’t bluffing and would be disappointed if she was able to call mine.

I waited, wondering just how far she’d take things, just how far she was willing to push until she received the response I knew she craved. At the table of the man who was oblivious to her true interests and where her mind truly was, she sat.

Oh, I scoffed. She has no idea she’s barking up the wrong tree or she simply doesn’t give a fuck.

Though I would’ve loved to give her the benefit of the doubt, I read her like a book in a few seconds. Her arousal was loud. Her choice was clear. Her stance was coherent.

If you want me, come and get me.

Blood filled my mouth as I came to the realization I’d bitten into my bottom lip. I freed it from between my top and bottom row of teeth. A tilt of my head in her direction said all that needed to be said.

Challenge accepted, my dear.

Her wish was my command.

The fact that she was a stranger and could command anything from me should’ve had me running the other way but it had me running toward her. Ready for whatever. Ready for whoever. Including her.

Vexed, I trudged forward, stopping for nothing and no one until I reached my destination for the night. Until I reached her.

“Come with me.”

Short and straight to the point, I commanded of her as she’d been commanding me since she walked in the fucking room.

“Hello,” she greeted me, unbothered and unmoving.

Stretching my body across the table, I drew closer to her ear.

“I don’t know you and you don’t know me, yet, but if you’d like to find out about me quicker than I’d recommend, then keep sitting your fine ass next to a motherfucker that isn’t me. You’ll let everyone in this bitch know the firearm rule doesn’t apply to me.”

I pulled back and found her lips curved upward. She kissed the skin of her teeth as she maneuvered in her chair, still seated. A nod of approval from that perfectly shaped head with perfect features to match meant nothing.

“Movement,” I explained, “That’s all I want to see, dear.”

Without haste, she slid the chair back slightly, making me regret being so far away. She deserved assistance. I didn’t give a fuck if she didn’t need it.

“Your audacity,” she chuckled, “Enamoring. Comical. Alluring enough.”

Though I didn’t respond, I’d heard every word.

“Excuse me,” the chump sitting next to her finally spoke.

Turning, I placed my eyes on him, hoping he understood what was at stake without a word spoken.

“I was talking to her, man. Sweetie, have a seat.”

This time, it was his side I leaned into, “I don’t like causing a scene but if you don’t shut the fuck up, I will break your neck in front of everyone in this fine establishment, walk away, and still end up with my dick inside the woman you’re yapping about before the night ends. Save another one. She’s taken, homie.”

Two pats on the back and I was upright, again. I extended an arm to take the woman of the night into my hand and lead her to my suite. Unfortunately, she’d vanished. Slightly frustrated with her ability to penetrate my thoughts so quickly, I began counting down from five. By the time I reached zero, my head whipped in three different directions. It was the final one where I found her. She was waiting at the staircase, clutch in hand and eyes on me.

I reached the stairs in an embarrassingly desperate amount of time, showcasing my internal and external desires for the woman in waiting.

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