Page 125 of Rather: The Therapist

Taken by my response, she released a deep breath.

“Priest.”

“I’m listening.”

Instead of responding, she rolled those eyes of hers, bringing joy to my world. She didn’t have shit to say.

“I could probably never repay you for what you’ve restored in here,” I told her, pointing at my chest. “But, I’ll keep trying until I figure it out.”

“You owe me nothing.”

With her forehead pressed against my chest, she shared.

“I owe you everything, Rather. Princeton’s improvement– maybe it seems small but it’s a big fucking deal. You did that. No one did that but you.”

“It’s not, Priest. But, it’s my job. He repays me in full every time he opens his mouth. Your father never has to wire me another dime and nothing between us will change. Tuesdays. Two o’clock. One hour. A world of possibilities.”

“Thank you.”

She paused, looking up at me.

“I have a client waiting. Make yourself comfortable since you insist on staying. But, please don’t interfere or get in our way. This isn’t our time. It belongs to Princeton.”

With her palms expanded, Rather pushed me backward. The softness she’d succumbed to was quickly hardening. She was asserting her dominance. She was regaining her power. She was becoming the woman her brother had kept hidden in plain sight this whole fucking time.

“Fine,” I agreed with both hands in the air.

The last thing I wanted was to be kicked out on my ass.

“Hard boundary, Priest. Hard.”

She made herself clear.

“Understood.”

She turned, heading toward the direction Princeton had run off in. Before she was out of arm’s reach, I smacked her largest curve.

Whack! It sounded in the openness of her foyer.

When her eyes met mine and her hand went for her thigh, I wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her back into me. I grabbed her right hand, stopping all movement.

Laughing, I asked, “You were going to shoot me?”

“No, but the bullet would’ve grazed you,” she assured me.

“You’re that good, huh?”

“Let me go so you can find out.”

“No. Not until you calm down.”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she inhaled and exhaled dramatically. Five times she repeated the exercise. Her body relaxed against mine.

“Better now?”

She nodded.

I didn’t trust her. Not one bit. I walked her down the hallway with gapped legs and both of her hands under my control.

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