Page 193 of The Stalker

“Yeah, that won’t be hard,” Hayden grinned at her.

Tatiana went with Hayden to his therapist appointment once they’d had breakfast. After having their pictures taken by paparazzi hanging around the parking garage, she drove his Sián to a building with lots of different medical practitioners. They parked downstairs and made it to his therapist’s office with no interference.

Brendan was in his late thirties, dressed in a three-piece suit, with a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, and Tatiana wondered if he dressed like a stereotypical therapist to put his patients at ease or because he liked the style.

“Hayden, it’s good to see you, and you must be Tatiana?”

She nodded as she shook his hand before they took seats on a sofa across from Brendan’s armchair.

“Congratulations on the engagement,” Brendan said with a smile.

Hayden linked his hand with Tatiana’s and said, “Thanks.” He glanced down at her before looking back at Brendan. “Tatiana is the one good thing that’s come out of this entire experience.”

“It’s nice that there are some bright sparks amidst it all. So tell me how you’re feeling, Hayden?”

“Not great.” He swallowed heavily and said, “Part of why I wanted Tatiana to come today is because we, um, did some stuff in bed last night, but I couldn’t do any more.”

“I see. Can you tell me more about that?” Brendan began writing some notes on a pad of paper as he finished talking.

“Yes. When Tatiana touched my crotch, I just remembered everything with the stalker. It just hit me all at once, and I couldn’t stand it. Is that normal?”

Brendan looked up and said, “I don’t like to use words like ‘normal’ because everyone is different, but it is certainly not an unusual response to an experience such as yours.”

Hayden squeezed Tatiana’s hand tightly and asked, “How do I get past it?”

“The brain is a funny thing, and the answer will be different for everybody. Some people are affected by trauma in different ways than others. No two experiences are likely to be the exact same. We can work on mindfulness and other calming or grounding techniques to help you. Having a partner who is willing to be patient and supportive definitely helps.” He turned his gaze to Tatiana.

“Of course. Hayden shouldn’t feel pressured at all to do anything he’s not ready for. All I care about is that he feels okay with whatever we do or don’t do. I had no problems stopping last night.” She looked up at Hayden to give him an encouraging smile.

“Thank you,” he murmured before swallowing heavily.

The session continued, and Hayden talked with Brendan about his experience, but not in great depth. Tatiana could see that the therapist was being gentle with him and not pushing him to talk too deeply about things that were clearly upsetting him. She was confident that, in time, he would be able to help Hayden get through this.

* * *

“So,we really need to get some food in this place,” Hayden said as he stared into the almost empty refrigerator after they returned from his appointment.

“Good point. Should we go do a grocery order?”

He nodded and then led the way to his study, where he turned on his computer. They talked and laughed as they planned out their meals for the next week, and Hayden began checking out. She looked over at him and thought about how incredibly lucky she was. He was so down to earth, and she was glad that she got to do everything with him now. Even something as simple as grocery shopping. It felt as though this one act was the start of their real life together.

He looked over at her as the order confirmation showed up on the screen and raised an eyebrow at her. “You look pretty serious. What’s up?”

“Oh, I was just thinking that this is such a normal couple thing to do.”

He grinned at her and spun his chair to face her before leaning over to pull her chair closer to his. His knees were on the outside of hers and her knees were pressed against the front of his chair as she looked up into his chocolate brown eyes.

“It is a normal couple thing to do. Because we are a normal couple. I sent your final payment through this morning, so I believe our professional relationship is over and you belong to me now.”

A thrill of excitement ran through her at the knowledge that she was Hayden Vega’s, and a thousand dirty thoughts ran through her mind. She would be letting him take the lead in regard to anything sexual, but she had no guilt about reaching her face up to kiss him.

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