Page 30 of Doctor Clause

Her body stiffened, preparing for a large release. Euphoric contractions were followed by tingly sensations, similar to that produced by the shower gel, all over the surface of her skin. Legs shook involuntarily. She had no idea if either of her partners climaxed at the same time. All of her was too numb to tell.

“Oh well,” Kyle said, climbing off. “It looks like six was all she wrote.” He gently rolled her body off his friend, the two men disappearing into the bathroom together.

She was more wearisome than exhausted. None of her muscles would move, but sleep hadn’t come for her.

“He’s gone,” Stephen said, crawling into the bed, and tossing one arm over her. “I saw him out.”

“Oh,” she said. Just like that, Kyle was a stranger again.

“I thought you’d be in la-la land by now,” he replied. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she answered softly. “I was just wondering, is this going to be a regular thing now? I mean, will Kyle be joining us often?”

“Often?” he echoed. “No. Too much of a good thing can become boring. I was thinking of keeping Kyle’s visits a treat.” He placed a small red box on the bed directly in front of her face. “Happy birthday.”

She turned enough to meet his gaze. “You knew? But how?”

“Mmm.” He nodded. “Tommy told me. Go on. Open it.”

The lid popped open, revealing a set of diamond stud earrings. “They’re beautiful,” she said. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” he replied, rolling to his usual position on his back, hands behind his head. “Next year,” he said, nodding. “It was too soon this year, but next year, I’ll buy you a ring.”

She popped up. “You’re serious?”

“Mm-hmm.” He reached up, gently stroking her face. “We are a good match. You seem surprised though.”

“I thought you might be mad about... you know?”

His brow arched. “About what?”

“The bathroom,” she muttered meekly. “I had sex with Kyle in there.”

“You had sex with Kyle all night,” Stephen mused. “I invited him, remember?”

“Yeah, but you weren’t there.” She shrugged. “And I know I didn’t have to, but I did. I wanted to. Isn’t that wrong?”

“Not at all,” Stephen replied. “I created a safe environment for you to explore those feelings. I made it possible for you. Now, if you were to go behind my back and screw a bunch of random guys, I’d be upset.”

“So this was all for me?” she asked.

“Well,” Stephen replied, “I enjoyed myself as well. Watching you go from cold to hot then climax is the best sort of stimulation for me. You could say I get off on watching you find pleasure. Like I said though, I don’t want this feeling to become normal. I want it to be special. That’s why I’ll let you have Kyle on special occasions or celebrations... the honeymoon excluded.”

She turned fully over, cuddling into his chest. “I’m glad I found you, Stephen Clause.”

“I’m glad you did too.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

One year later...

Ding. Dong.

She rushed to the door to let their guest in. The life of firsts with Stephen kept on giving. This was her first guest, at her first holiday party, in the first home of their own.

“Pina!” Her arms tossed around her sister’s neck.

“Uh.” She struggled to carry bags of gifts and the weight of her sister through the threshold. “Mind if I come in first? It’s snowing.”

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