Page 100 of The Forbidden Trio

Too much.

Yes, it was too much to think about now. Now he simply wanted to fall into her soft, waiting arms, her hot mouth, her lovely body. He’d think about the rest later.

“Max? I need you,” she murmured against his mouth. “Inside me. On me. I need to be under your hands.”

“Right here, baby,” he told her as he laid her back on the pillows and reached into the nightstand for a condom. “I’m right here.”

Always.

He didn’t want to say it out loud—not right now. The truth was more complicated than he could wrap his head around. He’d have to tell her, eventually. But for now, he could sink into her body, and let desire take over. The bigger conversations could wait.

Chapter Eight

Aster stood at her living room window, looking out at the deep green of a Connecticut summer evening. The fireflies were just starting to come out, tiny dashes of light flickering here and there. She’d always loved the fireflies. When she was a little girl, she was convinced they were tiny fairies. She still liked to think so.

She traced a drop of moisture on the window with one finger, trying to calm her racing mind. It had been a little over two weeks since she’d brought up the idea of doing an exposure therapy scene with Max. She’d thought about it carefully, had journaled, done a lot of reading about the process online, especially where it was done in a kink scene. But as much as she wanted to go through with it, she couldn’t get to the point where she was ready. There was still so much fear, and she couldn’t seem to think clearly. And there was only one other person she could talk to about it.

She found her cell phone and called her best friend.

“Hey, Aster. What are you up to?” Cassie greeted her.

“Do you have some time to talk, Cass?”

“Sure. What’s up, doll?”

“I have to talk to you about something kind of… serious.”

“Okay,” Cassie said slowly. “Do you want me to come over?”

“Can you?”

“Of course. I’ll bring some wine.”

“That would be perfect. Thank you.”

“I can be there in less than half an hour.”

Cassie showed up twenty minutes later on the dot, looking glamorous even with her black hair in a tousled bun piled on top of her head and dressed in striped cotton shorts and matching cami.

“Cass! I didn’t realize you were already in your pajamas. This could have waited.”

“No, it obviously couldn’t wait. Anyway, I didn’t think you’d mind, and it’s so damn hot and muggy tonight.”

“Of course I don’t mind.”

Aster gave her a hug, and Cassie hung on for a few moments, sensing her emotional state.

“Come on. Let’s open this wine, then you tell me what’s going on.”

In Aster’s small kitchen, Cassie grabbed the opener from a drawer and uncorked a bottle of Pinot, then poured them each a large glass.

“Want to sit outside?” Cassie asked.

“Yes, sure.”

They carried their glasses out to the screened-in porch in the back of the house, and even with the ceiling fan going, it was still warm and humid, but Aster didn’t mind. There was something about the darkness and the heavy air that made it feel as if they were cocooned, safe, as they settled into a pair of padded Adirondack chairs.

“Okay. Tell me,” Cassie said.

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