AngelinLeather Page 15

  Rick deepened the kiss, held on to her tight, rubbed his growing erection against her belly. Without being told he elbowed the door shut, relocked it, slipped her coat off her shoulders, unzipped her dress and led her back to the sofa.

  * * * * *

  “Janice,” Rick called out as he walked up the corridor of their medical offices. “I thought I was finished for the day.” Brenna was driving down and they had plans for the evening. He didn’t want to make her wait.

  There was a patient file hanging in the rack beside a closed exam room door. The file held just one piece of paper—a patient intake form.

  Their nurse popped her head into the corridor. “New referral. Asked for you by name.”

  “Huh,” he muttered to himself as he opened the exam room door. “Hi. I’m Dr. Finley. What can we do…” His voice trailed off. Blinking, he looked down at the name on the chart. “Harlan. Rhode.” Swallowing, he forced his face into his professional smile for the impeccably dressed, gray-haired man. “What can we do for you today?” he finished.

  “Hi, Rick.”

  Again no doctor before his name. At work, omitting that courtesy rankled but Rick didn’t let on.

  “I’ve heard good things about you. My doctor’s gearing his practice down for retirement so I’m in the market for a replacement.”

  Another glance at Harlan’s chart showed the referring physician’s name. Dr. Avi Gold was an older GP with a practice downtown and a good reputation.

  Rick grabbed a blood-pressure cuff. “Since we’re here I can record your vitals but I’m not a GP.” He kept his tone light and conversational. “My partners are and I’m sure one of them will be a good match for you.”

  “I’m sure they will be.”

  Okay, so it didn’t surprise Harlan he’d come to a surgeon for a routine checkup. The guy really was all about agendas. Trouble was, Rick wasn’t keen on finding out what…not here and not now.

  “Saw Brenna and you at the club last Saturday. She looked good, as always,”

  Mentally, Rick winced when Harlan started talking louder. He resisted the urge to check that the door was shut.

  “The committee voted to order a new St. Andrew’s Cross. Did you see it?”

  While Harlan rambled on, getting a little louder with each passing minute, about BDSM equipment and his preferences, Rick rushed through listening to the man’s heart, recording his pulse and looking into his ears so fast Harlan could be harboring illegal aliens in there and Rick wouldn’t have noticed.

  After he scribbled the last notation Rick closed the file and put his hand on the doorknob. “Your vitals are normal,” he said with forced brightness. “The practice is pretty full right now so you might not be happy with the wait times for an appointment if you choose us for your primary health-care providers.”

  That was bullshit. Sure, they were busy but not that busy.

  Problem was, Rick had never been a good liar. He saw the sly twist to Harlan’s mouth as clear as he’d seen the haze of a faint and way-too-early to think about addressing cataract in the guy’s right eye. If he’d wanted to throw Harlan off his game, Rick should have engaged in some sort of conversation about the lifestyle.

  Instead he’d listened silently. Stupid. As Harlan stood and reached for his shirt, Rick knew the older sub knew Rick worried about being outed.

  “Thanks for letting me know, Rick.” Harlan’s tone was so satisfied it was creepy. “A guy my age wants to get in to see his doctor when he needs to. Great to hear you’re successful though.” With a nod and a handshake, Harlan left.

  As he sat down on a stool and scrubbed his hand over his face, Rick heard Harlan call out a greeting to Janice, exchange some friendly banter, tease a couple of laughs out of her. What he didn’t hear was Harlan referencing Rick’s proclivities.

  Still, the turkey sandwich Rick had eaten at lunch started churning uncomfortably.

  * * * * *

  “Quick pinch.”

  Brenna breathed slowly and looked away as Rick slid the thin needle into the skin in front of her elbow. Getting stuck with a needle was the only thing guaranteed to unnerve her. That was annoying as hell. “How come I sometimes get a metallic taste in my mouth when somebody draws my blood?” She didn’t really care why, she just didn’t want to think about the fact she was now bleeding into a tube.

  Jeesh, she was such a wuss.

  “Some people do,” he answered. “You aren’t on any medications that would cause that side effect. Some of your old fillings may need to be replaced, but it’s probably just nerves. Getting your blood drawn is nothing to worry about,” he added casually.

  Easy for him to say. He liked pain.

  Concentrating on her breathing and the French carnival poster on the wall in front of her, she forced herself to relax when he loosened the length of rubber tubing around her upper arm. They’d been dating for almost two months now and this was the first time she’d seen Rick in full doctor mode. Actually, he looked hot in a George Clooney sort of way with his khakis and Lacoste polo shirt.

  “Press on this.”

  Brenna looked at him in astonishment before she realized he wanted her to hold a little cotton ball soaked in disinfectant over her little puncture site. He was finished and she hadn’t even felt the needle come out. Picking up the two labeled vials of her blood, he buzzed a kiss to her forehead.

  “Thank you for not kicking me in the shin.” Grinning, he put the vials in a small basket, along with a lab requisition form.

  “Do patients actually do that? I barely felt anything.”

  “Kids do sometimes. Mostly the redheaded ones. Weird but true,” he assured her. “You learn to stand beside and not in front. Although I prefer being kicked to being hurled on, and not just because I’m a sub,” he added with a quiet chuckle and kissed her.

  “Rick, do you have time to look over Mrs. Gordon’s MRI before…oh. Sorry. I didn’t know you were with someone.” A woman in her mid-fifties stuck her head into the room then blinked when they stepped back from each other.

  Rick looked up nervously, like a kid caught doing something he shouldn’t be. That was ridiculous. Then Brenna remembered Rick mentioned he was scared about being outed and had been talking about being a sub. He swallowed visibly and composed his features.

  “Hanna, this is Brenna. Brenna Darling, Dr. Hanna West. She’s one of my partners here in the practice.”

  The shorter woman stepped into the room and held out her hand. “Oh my gosh. You’re Oh My Darling. Rick’s mentioned you. I’m crazy about your lavender-honey soap. Use it in every bathroom at home.”

  Brenna smiled broadly as she shook the woman’s hand. Hanna had warm brown eyes, chin-length blonde hair and the kind of cut and dye job that screamed upscale salon. Her grip was firm. “I’m always glad to meet a customer. That scent comes in a body powder too. In fact…” Her voice trailed off as she reached for her oversized bag. “We’re launching new products this summer. This is a sampler kit I had made up for one of the new fragrances. Pomegranate and white cranberry. There’s liquid soap—you’re familiar with that—but there’s also a hand cream, body powder, spray-on body mist and a body wash.”

  “You’re making hand creams?” Hanna sighed and ran her fingers over the see-through, zippered travel pouch that displayed the tester-sized bottles. “Rick, don’t you dare even think about breaking up with this woman.”

  “My mother made me promise the same thing, only she’s addicted to the lemon grass.” He turned to Brenna and said with mock seriousness, “You put crack in that stuff?”

  “Hmmph. Men,” Hanna huffed dismissively. “This is terrific, Brenna. I can’t wait to get home and try these out. Cranberry, hmm? Did you think about making it the same color as regular cranberries and selling it around Christmas?”

  “If this medical thing doesn’t work out for you, you should come work for me. You’ve got an eye for marketing.”

  Hanna grinned and opened the pouch so she could sniff the cont
ents.

  “Actually,” Brenna said, “you wouldn’t like it if we made the soap a deep red. There would be so much dye in the formula you wouldn’t get enough lather. And the product would stain your clothes.”

  Hanna nodded sagely. “Didn’t think of that.” She sniffed the body mist and sighed happily.

  “Try that as a room freshener too,” Brenna suggested. “I didn’t design the product for that but the scents are subtle enough they make great purse-size spritzers.”

  “I will. Only I don’t know how I’m going to be able to hide this stuff from my daughter.”

  “You mentioned Mrs. Gordon’s MRI?” Rick prompted gently.

  “Hmm? Oh. Yes, her latest tests are back. You’re operating on her next week?”

  “Tuesday. Brenna’s my last patient of the day. I’ll review those results before I leave for the weekend.”

  “Surgeons,” Hanna muttered and tucked the pouch into her lab coat pocket. “They don’t have to do a general office rotation on weekends.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Hanna glanced down at the vials of blood Rick had drawn. “STD tests?”

  Brenna felt her cheeks color, which was odd. She wasn’t a bashful person but Hanna’s straight-to-the-point comment caught her off guard.

  “Smart couple,” Hanna continued. “Too many people today get a few months into a relationship and because they’re monogamous, stop using condoms without getting tested. Who’s drawing your blood, Rick?”

  “Um…”

  Hanna exhaled with obvious impatience. “It’s a blessing you’re a damn good surgeon. You’d suck at event planning. Hold out your arm,” she said and snapped on a pair of sterile gloves.

  She had Rick’s blood drawn in half the time he’d taken Brenna’s, mostly because she wasn’t nearly as gentle with him. And she talked all the way through the procedure. “Janice says we got a letter from Kingston Medical Associates today.”

  “Really?” Rick looked intrigued then he turned to Brenna. “They’re a medical-practice umbrella group. They buy into small offices like ours and pump cash into them for on-site equipment we can’t afford. Things like EKG machines and portable X-rays.” He sat up a little straighter. “From what I’ve heard, they only pick offices with top-notch personnel.”

  “Done,” Hanna pronounced. She rolled off her gloves and dropped them in a medical waste container. “If they do buy into our group, it’ll mean a bigger bottom line for us partners.” Straightening, she turned to Brenna. “It was a great pleasure meeting you, Brenna. Rick—you take good care of this woman, and not just because I’ll be expecting a gift sampler from you this Christmas.” She squeezed his shoulder, waved goodbye to Brenna and hustled out of the room faster than someone that short should be able to.

  “Huh,” Rick said as he took the cotton ball from Brenna and taped a bandage over her puncture, which he then kissed. “Kingston Medical only buys up three or four practices in Canada a year. You know what this might mean? My girlfriend might be a tycoon but your boyfriend’s going to be one rich dude.”

  With a growing expression of contentment, he watched her put a bandage on his puncture. “Speaking of which, how about we plan a trip together this winter? Maybe the Bahamas for a week?”

  She smiled up at him. “I’d like that. And speaking of vacations, if you’re not working this Victoria Day weekend, how about you come up to my place?”

  “I’d love to, but wouldn’t you like to go to a resort? Something like the Deerhurst Inn?”

  “Deerhurst is great and I love their prime rib, but my place is on a lake too. I’ve got a Jet Ski and a fishing boat…and a little dungeon I’ve been putting together over the past year. I haven’t been serious enough about anybody before now to invite someone to share.”

  Rick’s face lit up with unmistakable excitement. “Baby, I’m so your man.” He picked up the specimen baskets. “And how come you never told me you lived on a lake?” he blurted out as he held the door for her.

  “It never came up.” Brenna shrugged. “I like coming to the city during the winter, and not just because we can get breakfast delivered.” She winked, shot him a provocative look, then headed for his office to wait while he finished up work for the day.

  * * * * *

  “So we’re still going to the club tomorrow night, right?” Malcolm was having dinner with them at Morton’s.

  Brenna liked hanging out with them. Their friendship was old and established and it was fun being included in that. The three of them had sex that once, and that history, instead of being uncomfortable, had added depth to their times together. It was a little weird but it worked.

  Malcolm forked a bite of his butternut squash and asiago ravioli appetizer into his mouth. “I mean, I know you two are dating so I assumed I wouldn’t be invited back to your place after.” He glanced around the restaurant and kept his voice quiet. “Can she still Domme me?”

  Malcolm had posed the question directly to Rick.

  Rick toyed with his sweet-potato poutine as if he was thinking through his answer. He also scanned the room anxiously, confirming no one was close enough to overhear. “Haven’t you been scening with Sonia?”

  Sonia was Brenna’s friend from the club.

  “Yes. She’s a great lady and everything but we’re, I don’t know, there’s no romantic spark there. Don’t get me wrong. I love scening with her but it’s just that. She takes care of me as well as Brenna but we talked about it and we’re not going to be exclusive. I guess I don’t want to take up all her time. She should be able to meet other subs. You know—maybe meet the one.” He forked up more of his appetizer and waved it in the air in Rick’s direction. “You’re a lucky bastard, you know that?”

  Rick nodded, picked up Brenna’s hand and kissed it. The expression on his face melted her heart. If he kept on being this wonderful, she just might fall for the guy.

  If she hadn’t already.

  “Yes I am…very lucky indeed,” Rick answered with quiet surety. “Actually, Brenna and I talked about you.” He lowered his voice even more and they’d had to lean in to hear him. “I asked her if she’d consider scening with the two of us. Sometimes.” That titillated grin of his made her keenly aware of the lushness of her pussy, the moisture dewing her outer lips. “Like she pointed out, I’m a visual creature. As much as I love feeling what she does to me, I like the suspense of watching her dole the same punishment out to you.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t like watching her do that to any other guy though. Same as she’s drawn a line about bringing another woman into our relationship. You were there at the beginning with us, same as you and I learned about BDSM together. I guess what I’m trying to say is I feel safe including you in our scenes.” He leaned in closer and whispered, “It makes it even hotter.” Then he grew serious. “Despite that, I want her to myself most of the time. Can you accept joining us sometimes only?”

  Malcolm took a sip of his wine, then another before setting the glass down. “Sometimes works for me. That’s a privilege, Mistress. Thank you.” There was a pause then Malcolm turned to Rick. “Heard through the grapevine your practice was going to be picked up by Kingston Medical Associates.”

  “Nothing’s concrete yet but they did approach us to talk details.”

  Lifting his glass, Malcolm said, “Congratulations, buddy. You’ve made it into the big leagues. If they ask, tell them you know about another great practice your best friend just happens to be a partner in.”

  “Consider it done,” Rick assured him.

  * * * * *

  With her heels hitting the hardwood floor with sharp authority, Brenna circled the private play room. She loved to make her subs squirm with anticipation.

  Rick and Malcolm were spread out equally. On their backs, with their wrists cuffed above their heads and their ankles cuffed below, they were laid side by side on raised benches, but lying in opposite directions so, by turning their heads, each would be able to see what she was doing to the other. Rick
might be her number one squeeze but he got off on scening beside Malcolm so much, they remained a more than happy duo in the dungeon. So to speak.

  Tonight it was to be bastinado. Foot torture. Malcolm had suggested it. Rick had agreed. Malcolm was the more adventurous of the two and Rick openly admitted his appreciation for his friend’s creativity. Left to his own devices, Rick would probably settle into a regular pinch and tickle pattern, with nothing novel to challenge or heighten his experiences. It wasn’t that Rick was unimaginative. He just spent more time focusing on work, and now Brenna.

  Without saying anything, she’d decided to make a project of introducing him to new and interesting scenarios. The creative side of her thrilled to the challenge.

  Brenna walked slowly between the two raised benches, ran her fingers across their bodies as she moved. Her subs were so beautiful, stretched out, naked and waiting with an anticipation she could taste on her lips. Rick’s chest swelled when she got close, as if he was breathing in the scent of the leather she was wearing, her skin. Leaning down, she wove her fingers into his hair, held on hard and kissed his mouth.

  His torso surged off the bench, as if he was aching to get closer to her. His tongue stroked hers boldly and he grumbled with frustration when she pulled away. When she turned to Malcolm, when she positioned her body so Rick could have an unimpeded view, he stared, openly mesmerized as she lapped Malcolm’s nipple, drew it between her teeth and worried it until Malcolm shook and gasped with pleasure. With her gaze solidly on Rick, she traced the hard contours of Malcolm’s smooth chest and bit his abdomen until drops of precum wept from the head of his cock.

  She picked up a small cane, slapped it against her palm so her subs could hear its sting. The cane was light and short and as she circled her subs again, in her mind she ran over the structure of the human foot. Caressing Rick’s toes, she pictured the tiny, vulnerable bones, the places where nerves and blood vessels sat near the surface of his skin. He’d helped her that afternoon by showing her diagrams from his medical school texts. Bastinado was nothing new to her but she didn’t do it often, and there were many points on the foot that could be damaged.