Even with the restrictions my mother set, I had managed to keep myself satisfied. But it was no longer enough.
It barely took the edge off.
The room felt warmer now. The quiet thicker.
Slow footsteps crept down the hallway outside his office.
My insides pulsed to the beat.
Just one touch would set me off like a rocket.
I felt myself defile his couch.
My wet heat tainting his pristine office.
“Stella, what are you doing?”
His voice was tight and controlled, but he betrayed himself. The low, husky words told me all I needed to know.
He wanted me.
I lifted my head and looked straight into his blue eyes.
“I was doing my breathing exercises,” I said innocently, widening my eyes as I blinked several times.
He stood beside his chair, towering over the space between us. His shirt clung to his body, the crisp fabric stretching across his chest as his jaw clenched and unclenched. My notebook barely survived his grip, the leather cover bending slightly beneath the pressure of his fingers.
“I’ll be holding onto this over the weekend,” he muttered.
“Of course, Dr Maddox,” I replied sweetly, watching as his eyes dropped to my open legs.
He couldn’t see what I’d done beneath the fabric. How I’d marked his furniture like a wild animal.
When he finally sat down, the movement was deliberate. He crossed his legs immediately, shielding himself from me, though the gesture only made me more aware of him. Then he placed my notebook on his lap.
“How have you been, Stella?”
“Happy… frustrated. The techniques don’t help anymore,” I began woefully.“On the plus side, my mother hasn’t noticed the missing fruit or vegetables yet.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. My eyes drifted down to the two open buttons at the top of his shirt.
It wasn’t enough.
“I think about sex all the time,” I continued quietly.“At the most inappropriate times. I—I even had to touch myself in the work bathroom. In the disabled stall.”
“Any men?” he asked gruffly.
I shook my head.
He already knew the answer. I didn’t trust anyone. Not after what happened to me at university. Even standing too close to someone on the tube could make my chest tighten if I wasn’t careful.
“I wish I could make it stop,” I whispered.
The admission slipped out before I could stop it.
He leaned back slightly in his chair, his gaze steady, studying me with that same calm intensity that made it impossible to hide anything for long.
“It will take time, Stella,” he said evenly.“It’s natural. You are due your period soon.”
