Page 51 of Trouble from Abroad
When my shoulders drop a notch, he tries to soothe me. “It’s okay, Mia.”
“Dr. Preston… I…”
“Let me stop you right there. There’s more.”
“Oh, no.Please, God.No.”
“But first, answer me this. Have you hired an escort?”
“What? No, and Jesus, fine, we crossed a few lines by rubbing oil all over each other, but there are still some boundaries. This is none of your business, sir.”
“Iwantto make it my business, Mia.”
My head snaps back to check if he’s there. He is. He really said that.
“I’m sorry, I don’t see how. Can we please add that moment to the fast-growing pile of things we pretend never happened? I don’t see how I’ll ever face you again if you don’t drop this subject now.”
He presses his thumbs at the nape of my neck, lettinghis fingers slide onto my chest. It rises and falls so fast it’s embarrassing. “Tell me if you want me to stop,” he says.
A staggered breath rips through me. I tell him nothing.
I try to control my breathing with a deep inhale. It’s no good. But when Preston brings his lips to my ear and orders, “Mia, breathe for me,” I follow without hesitation.
“I want to be your tutor, Miss Thorne.” He pauses to let it sink. “Don’t hire a stranger. Pick me instead. Let me show you how good I can make you feel. Make me another color-coded spreadsheet, better yet, a list, this one with everything you want to learn. I’ll be the best sex instructor you’ll ever find.”
What is happening right now?“This is crazy,” I pant.
“Yes, you are. And you’ve made me, too.”
“Why? I don’t get it.” I shake my head, as if the pieces will fall into place and I’ll make sense of it all. “Have you seen yourself? Have you seenme? Don’t—don’t answer that. We know the truth.”
“The truth is that I’ve been dependent on a blue pill for the last several years of my marriage. And since my ex left, my dick hasn’t hardened once. That was, until you stepped through that door. And I can’t get the fucking thing down since I saw you, naked and dripping wet.”
“This can’t be happening… I’m—” I can’t sit still anymore. “Damn it, Preston. This was supposed to be, at most, a harmless, forbidden flirtation. I’m only human. I can dream.”
His hands are firm on me, and God help me, I love the feel of them. “Mia, you don’t have to answer me now.”
“I don’t think I canface younow.”
“Alexa, lower the lights.”
“Oh, Doc, that was smooth.” My head swims, then tilts forward.
I hear him chuckle.
But then he takes his hands off my body, and any doubts I had vanish into thin air. My decision is made. I’m ready to beg when his smooth voice issues another command. “Stand up for me, Mia.”
I do, and he follows.
Not facing him makes it easy to ask the hard questions. “I don’t understand. What’s in it for you?”
The straight white man with no self-esteem issues laughs. One second, I’m pissed. The next, he steps closer and presses his body into mine.
“Oh God,” I whimper. He’s hard, huge, and it feels so good. I take no responsibility for the full-body shiver that washes over me.
“I know this is wrong. I know I’m too old for you.”
I lean back, closer, letting my head lie on his shoulder.
