Therapeutic Relations (4 page)

The last of his patience began to ebb away. He gave his office a swift visual sweep and noted to his mounting dislike, the absence of Tanya’s clothes.

Relax. She could’ve dressed to go to the restroom. Tanya’s self-conscious enough to not want to stroll around in the nude. Heavens knew why with a body like hers
–
it could stop traffic and most men’s hearts.

He glanced at the spot beside the divan. Her purse was gone too. He scowled.

She may have needed it too. Cosmetics, a comb, and any of the other femine items and menageries a woman kept in her purse.

His face relaxed into a smile. His woman. The sound of it made his lips spread wider and his heart expand until it pressed against this ribs. Seeing Tanya this morning was like the sun appearing after a week-long downpour.

And so he waited.

Pulling on his boxers slowly, Tak’s gut rumbled in warning. Moments melded into minutes and before long ten had inched by.

What is she doing in there? Frozen to the spot in front of the mirror contemplating her decision? Afraid to face me?

Their coupling had shattered all perceived notions and pretense of remaining only friends. Surely Tanya understood she belonged to him, now, body and soul. Deep inside his mind confessed his secret fear. Tanya had fled from the raw intensity of his love and from her own fear. Fear that she mattered and deserved every drop of his affection and devotion until death parted them.

Hell, she’d best get over that little phobia. “Damn.”

Tak yanked on his slacks, leaving the belt unbuckled.

Relax, Tak. There’s a reasonable explanation. Tanya gave every inch of herself last night. Our souls joined and now we remain as one.

She felt it.
He’d
felt her experience it – each orgasmic quake, every audible cry, each pleasure-filled plea they’d shared. He headed toward the women’s restroom. Making a left and then a right at the corner, he arrived in the plush, leather-draped lobby. The hunk of hope hung heavy in his throat.

If she’s not here…

He shuddered as if someone had placed ice on his naked back. Pushing through the numbing chill, Tak shouted into the restroom. “Tanya! You in here?”

No response. “Tanya?” Nothing.

Now, where had she gone?

The thread of hesitation – no, worry, reverberated against the vacant stalls. He opened his mouth to call once again, but the heat of his rising annoyance burned his worry to emotional cinders. In its wake, like a phoenix, Tak’s determination was reborn. He would convince her. If it took the rest of his life, he would convince Tanya she was
his
.

Stomping back down the carpeted hallway to his office, Tak’s mind settled into devising a plan, a course of action. He’d been rash last night, led by his long-held desire for her. He couldn’t afford to be so with her again. Not with her. Sometimes he hated being right. Like now.

Tanya had bolted from him, his love, and his unconditional acceptance. As he’d known she would.

He had to stop her, to talk to her. He meant every word he confessed to her, but he knew her. Disbelief and doubt wouldn’t let his words through to her heart. If his actions failed to convey his feelings, what more could he do?

Something. Everything. They’d known each other for far too long to end it like this. So engrained in his life, Tak couldn’t be without her.

Bare chest and feet, Tak grabbed his cell phone from his desk’s gleaming cherry-finished top. He hastily scrolled through the Ts until he found her name.

“Come on. Come on,” he pleaded to the phone’s continuous ringing. “Pick up. Come on, baby, don’t shut me out. Not now.”

It seemed an eternity crept by before Tanya’s soft husky voice met his ear and announced that she was unable – more like unwilling – to take his call at this time.

Beep.

“Tanya. Tak. Listen baby, I understand why you left. I do. I’m not mad, but I wish you would talk to me. Trust me, Tanya. It’s me. Tak. Call me. I love you. You. All of you.

Every inch and every piece of you. The funny thing you do with your eyebrow when you have an unspoken question. Yes. The fact you like ice cream and French fries. Yes. I’ve always loved everything about you. Talk to me. Call me back.”

He pressed the scarlet
end
button and prayed to all that was holy and good she listened to the message and not delete it the second she heard his voice. Impulsive and head strong, his Tanya made him smile.

Tak finished dressing, his movements sluggish and unhurried. Why hurry? The love of his life was halfway across the city, out of his physical reach. For now. She needed space to sort out the traffic jam of emotions flooding her usually sensible mind.

Once dressed, Tak gave the office one final glance before tossing his car keys in the air.

Dejected, he wrestled the urge to storm over to her loft, tear open the door, and force a confrontation.

Mentally weighing the pros and cons of such action, Tak made his way to his sleek BMW. Pausing, Tak blew out a heavy sigh. On the one hand, he was glad she revealed that she

wanted him, too. One the other, his assumption she’d flee from it only served to annoy him. Not that he didn’t understand it. He
did.

Tak, long her friend and confidante, knew that Tanya really feared the new label on him – lover. New, unsettling at how right, how connected they were together sent her whirling.

Let me steady you, baby.

He unlocked the car with a keyless
beep beep
and sat his briefcase onto the passenger side. Removing his suit jacket, he hung it carefully on the back seat’s hook. All this he performed in habit. He unclipped his BlackBerry and ready to turn it off—another part of the routine.

What if she called back?

The BlackBerry returned to its clip.

Dubbed his sanctuary, the vehicle lured his stress away with its smooth ride, soft heated bucket seats, and dark reflective tint cradled him, a womb on wheels.

Silence as he drove home helped quiet the storm. But not today.

The hushed interior seemed only to intensify his thoughts. Gritting his teeth, he cruised out of his spot, his heart beating wildly at the thought of Tanya. She’d been everything he’d ever jacked off to and more. A bundle of passion released, Tanya simply rocked his galaxy, placed his heart in orbit around her.

I’m going to get you to see your worth and your place at my side.

Chapter Eight

Monday arrived too fast for Tanya’s tastes. Saturday swept by in an agonizing numbness and frustration, tears and tantrums. Fatigued, Tanya dressed carefully in her bedroom’s huge walk-in closet. Her loft laid out each area of living space with artful screens segregating the huge space into chunks. She moved sluggishly, because despite the peace and quiet, she’d been unable to rest. Sleep refused to claim her and as she artfully decorated her eyes to hide the deep bluish circles, she sighed.

Going to face down Tak today. Must be ready to be cool, professional. It happened but we don’t have to relive it.

Though at the very thought of his name, her stomach tightened and her damp permeated her panties. Again. It’d been like this all weekend. Her body craved his touch, his mouth, his lips, and his cock in her, on her, pressed hard and fast against her.

Stop it. Concentrate. Got to get a grip. Sex like that wasn’t ever going to happen to me ever again. It’s a lingering taste of something yummy I know I’ll never consume again.

Dressed, hair snatched back into a bun, conservative earrings and necklace on, Tanya gave herself a once over in the mirror. Ready.

She retrieved her purse and her cell phone from the mahogany coffee table. Her heart began to gallop as she clutched her cell phone in her palm so tightly the short antenna burrowed into her flesh. Tak’s message weighed heavy against her heart. Hot flashes warmed her and she couldn’t believe Tak’s words. A ring of sentiment swept across each hoarsely whispered word, and she knew he wouldn’t lie to her – not Tak. The words found refuge in her heart. Blinking back tears, Tanya slowly put the cell into her purse.

Dazed, she stumbled into the sofa, sinking into the soft Italian leather with confusion, and struggling to control the tide of feelings Tak set crashing over her.
Come on. Get it together, girl. Let’s show him.

Holding her breath, she rushed out of the closed in space and down the flat metal stairs to the garage. In minutes, she zipped out of the still rising door. A decision hovered on the seesaw of indecision. Oh, she loved Tak – truly, madly, deeply. The two days of soul searching and meditation bore that out. Yes. He meant so much to her.

But how could she tell him what she believed inside? As he knew her, she knew him too.

The type of woman he required bore no resemblance to her at all. Traditional Japanese Americans, Tak’s parents would never accept her as anything more than a close acquaintance. And they’d done that with trepidation. Her presence as his lover would mar his reputation in the community and dishonor his family’s name. All this he’d confessed one late study night while they were undergraduates. Back then his honor, his family’s good name and standing meant more than anything – everything.

She couldn’t do that to him. No woman was worth shunning and exclusion from a culture.

Tak had dated outside his ethnicity many times before, but somehow his parents had accepted the Caucasian ones with a little more ease than the darker skinned ones. She marveled at their pickiness when it came to skin tone, being a minority as much as she, Tanya failed to comprehend their racist attitudes.

Before she knew it, the glass high rise appeared before her, scraping the overcast sky.

Tanya maneuvered her Lexus down into the underground parking garage and into her designated spot.

Tak’s messages had been cautious, only contacting her via cell phone, leaving brief bouts of lust and love on the line. She took in a breath and let it out in a slow, steady stream.

What should I say to Tak? What would I do when our eyes meet?

Already her clit hardened and throbbed for his whirling tongue, his soft lips, and regal

nose.

Keep it professional and aim above his belt.

Yes. That’s what she’d do. Easier said than done, but her determination grew longer

roots.

*****

Tak fidgeted against the warm streams of heated air. His office door remained cracked just a bit. He wanted to hear Tanya’s husky voice greet the staff. The moment she stepped into the office, he had to know. A taut wire ready to snap, Tak had paced a nice line between his desk and his door most of the morning. Unable to sleep most of the weekend, he did sit-ups, Tae Kwon Do and meditation, but none of it repelled the tension winding around his neck, his heart, his cock.

“You have a good weekend, Dr. Morris?” came the coarse rasp of Debbie, the one-hundred year old receptionist. “Mine was too quick as usual.”

His breath caught in his chest and refused to move out or in until he heard her voice. “It was an interesting weekend,” Tanya replied. “And yes, they do tend to go rather

quickly.”

Tak frowned. His weekend seemed to stretch on forever and three years. But then it was all about perspective. He refocused his thoughts and reminded himself to breathe. Concentrate. The biggest day of his life arrived prepackaged today and it was up to him to assemble it.

It began with black, velvet-draped box with the diamond ring inside on his desk.

“Dr. Morris, uh, hang on a minute,” Anne, the administrative assistant called as Tanya’s shadow hurried by his door. “There’s a message here from Dr. Nakamura. He wants a meeting today at 3 p.m.”

Tak fought to suppress the smile itching to explode onto his face. He knew her schedule and no one was penciled in after 2:30 p.m. Neither of them saw patients after that time. They would discuss business issues and address other concerns found in running a business. Truth be told, he only nodded and agreed at those intimate four person meetings. His head, both the one on his shoulders and the one stirring awake in his pants, paid more attention to the swerve of her hips and the smooth long legs than any of the numbers.

“…as it’s Monday. That’s our typical business meeting day, but not today, Anna,” Tanya was saying, sobering Tak’s dreamy attention at once. “I have other appointments after 2:30.”

What? No, she doesn’t.

“Would you like for me to add those times in as busy, Dr. Morris?” Anne asked, and Tak

smiled.

Great idea!

“No, I think I can handle it. Don’t schedule anything after 2:30 as usual,” Tanya replied coolly, not even a hint of anxiousness seeping in her tone.

How can she pretend like it never happened? She hadn’t even asked Anne if I was in yet?

Did she see the car? Did she see my light on?

He rushed back to his desk as quickly as possible and picked up his Monte Blanc pen and pretended to take notes on his legal pad. Any minute she’d come waltzing into the office and pretend that their sensual joining never occurred. As if under a spell, Tanya would act as though

it had been a dream. She’d deny his bite mark bruising her shoulder, the still sore, stinging hurt of her nipples where his lips had pinched them hard, and the deep, resonating ache inside her.

But he had the disarming spell right there.

He picked up the box and hastily shoved it into the top drawer.

No sooner had he done this, than the door to his office creaked opened wider and in walked…

Anne.

His disappointment spilled over his face.

“Oh, good morning, Anne,” he said, adjusting the notepad on his desk. “Any cancellations this morning?”

Anne’s thick braids shook in their high ponytail as she said, “No. This time of year brings out all kinds of blues.”

Tak gave her grin that felt both tight and temporary on his face. As if it didn’t belong to him. He realized to his dismay he was using his placating patients-only smile.

“Ready, Dr. Nakamura, for the 9 o’clock appointment?” Anne peered at him over her square goldenrod frames. “You feeling okay?”