Page 16 of Coming Home

This was far too much introspection in the middle of a sex workshop.Pushing those thoughts away, she settled the small notebook Carmen gave her on her lap.

She scribbled notes in her sloppy doctor’s handwriting. It was like being in medical school again. Only instead of the technical terms, Ms. ChaNUT used a fun mix of half-French/half-English and totally dirty versions to describe human anatomy and sexual positions. She’d never look at hollandaise sauce in the same way.

Shifting on the couch beside her, Noah cleared his throat.

Face tipped toward Noah, her eyes snagged on his gaze, which was locked on her paper. Fat cursive outlined Ms. ChaNUT’s suggested tongue techniques. The cool calm blue of his eyes darkened like a stormy sea.

Nat’s breath hitched. Had his eyes flicked between the words scrawled on her paper to her lips? Did he imagine the slicknessof her tongue trailing down the contours of his body? The heat of her mouth moving lower and lower until…

Like the turn of a crank, tension built between her legs. Breath ragged, she looked back to her paper.

“Now, when you want to pleasure a lady…” Ms. ChaNUT went on.

Don’t look at Noah. Don’t look at Noah.

She looked at him.

It had to be a trick of her crush-logged and sex-deprived brain. Had she imagined the smolder in his eyes? His uneven breaths? The lick of his lips like a wolf ready to devour its first real meal in days? The grip of his hands around his knees as if battling for control? None of that was real. It couldn’t have been.

I’m just Clayton’s sister to him.

As Ms. ChaNUT described dual stimulation of a woman during oral sex, Nat pulled harder at the hem of her skirt. With each detail, Nat could imagine being alone in this room, on this couch with just Noah. His head between her legs, mouth drinking her up, and fingers pushing inside her. A hot flush invaded every inch of her.

“Are you okay?” Noah whispered.

Stupid body! Ice baths all week!Nat pressed her legs tight, trying to fight that throbbing ache. This was ridiculous. Her own form of torture.

“Warm…in…here,” she said, her words came out like a tripping response. It was the same excuse she’d given last night. She hoped he bought it.

“I feel it too.” He shifted. “The heat…it’s sweltering in here,” he sputtered, standing up. “I’m going to turn the air conditioning down a bit. It’s a little warm in here.”

After the sexually titillating workshop ended, the guests lingered, sipping mimosas and mingling. Nat slipped upstairs to take Fitz and Lizzie outside. Frankly, she needed a break. Sittinga breath away from Noah for an hour-long seminar about oral sex had taken a toll on her body. Every muscle was coiled tight. and her core pulsed with an unrequited ache. The fresh Noah-free air soothed the tension rioting within her.

After the quick walk, the dogs padded behind her toward the kitchen cabinet where their treats were kept. Sound filtered up from the basement. In the cacophony of voices, she could make out Noah or, perhaps, it was just the echo of him murmuring in her ear.

Today, he saw her. He supported her. He set her on fire. The way Noah’s gaze flitted between her notes and her body. The pink that kissed his cheeks after he looked away from her. How his hand, which sat inches from her leg, had grazed her bare skin. Likely accidental, but she could always dream the touch had been intentional.

“Only you would plan something like this.” Noah chuckled, emerging from the basement. He glanced over his shoulder as he spoke.

“Youlovedevery minute of it,” Willa teased, following him. “I bet you learned a few things. Care to try them out?”

Noah’s laugh echoed mockingly as they strode into the living room.

It was like a bucket of cold water tossed into the warm bubble bath she’d been mentally luxuriating in since he’d shown up at the Little Red Barn earlier. Nat’s heart sank with each muffled laugh, giggle, and word wafting from the living room with the unwanted stench of truth.

No more.Nat retrieved her rainbow patchwork purse from where she’d left it on one of the kitchen island barstools and pulled out her phone. It was time to give up childish things, including crushes.

Especially crushes.She pulled up Duncan’s message and responded.

Me: Absolutely.

CHAPTER SIX

“Watch and pray, dear, never get tired of trying, and never think it is impossible to conquer your faults.”~Louisa May Alcott,Little Women

The rain tapped against the windowpane in cadence with Nat’s fingers on the laptop keyboard. Rather than heading out for lunch, she took advantage of the quiet of the closed clinic to update patients’ charts. Tuesday was one of the days they closed from noon to three for an extended mid-day break before staying open until seven to see patients. Dad started this when he took over the clinic from Grandpa. Thanks to Dad, the Owens Family Clinic offered evening and Saturday appointments.

The increased availability offered access to care for those who may not have the luxury of taking off work to see a doctor. During Nat’s Emergency Medicine rotation, while completing her residency, she found many people visiting the ER with exacerbated conditions that could have been prevented by regular health checkups. A lack of health insurance and limited healthcare services detoured many from getting needed care.Nat knew that preventive health services not only promoted good health but, in some instances, saved someone’s life.

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