Page 21 of Denim & Diamonds

February

“Hey, Trinity.” I popped my head into my therapist’s office a few days later. “Do you have a minute?”

She smiled. “Of course. Come on in.”

“Is it too late to add names to the guest list for tomorrow? For family day?”

Trinity shook her head. “Not at all. How many people would you like to add?”

I nibbled on my lip. “One. But I’m not even sure he’ll come.”

“That’s not an issue. The guest list is just for security purposes, so reception knows who they should let in. Who do you want to add?”

I took a deep breath. If saying his name freaked me out this much, maybe it wasn’t a great idea to invite him after all. “You know what, I think I changed my mind.”

Trinity smiled warmly. “The purpose of the one-on-one counseling sessions we do during family day is to help you mend relationships before you go back home. If you’re struggling to decide whether you should even invite someone, a session might do some good. ”

I blew out two cheeks full of air. “It’s my dad. We’ve been estranged for a long time.”

“Well, the decision is obviously yours. But letting out pent-up emotions and clearing the air can be cathartic. You and I have talked a lot about the different work stresses that contributed to you coming to Sierra Wellness Center, and that makes sense because those are the issues you’ve dealt with recently.

But sometimes the things we don’t deal with on a day-to-day basis can weigh just as heavily on our mental health. ”

I sighed and nodded. “Okay. Can we add Joseph Shaw to the guest list?”

“Of course.”

I filled out a form before leaving Trinity’s office and then headed to one of the small telephone-lounge rooms. Since we weren’t allowed to have cell phones, there were several places we could go to make phone calls in private.

They all had comfy chairs and couches. I’d only used the rooms for work calls so far, so I hadn’t noticed the box of tissues on the end table.

Might need those for what I’m about to do.

I hadn’t seen my dad in more than a decade.

And it wasn’t because he was a great distance away.

As far as I knew, he still rented a house in Queens, a twenty-minute train ride from me in Manhattan.

I stared down at the phone, thinking how much I’d changed recently.

Three weeks ago, I would’ve never imagined that this place might actually help me.

I’d only come to Sierra because my board of directors had forced my hand.

When they’d suggested I might be having a nervous breakdown, I’d laughed at them.

These days, though, I wasn’t so sure they were wrong.

Maybe it was the pregnancy scare, or maybe it was the hormones—I’d finally gotten my period this morning—but I felt like I should keep pushing myself to find peace.

And that meant it was time to fix things with my father.

I picked up the phone and dialed. If I didn’t call right this moment, I might chicken out. I wasn’t even sure if his home number was still the same one I knew. Heck, he might not even have a house phone anymore—most people didn’t these days.

My heart raced as the phone connected.

One ring. Thump-thump .

Two rings. Thump-thump-thump!

By the time the third ring started, my chest was pounding so hard I thought I might go into cardiac arrest. I considered hanging up, but at the last second someone answered.

“Hello?”

My dad.

I didn’t say anything.

“Hello?” he repeated in a sterner voice. “Is someone there?”

I sat up stick straight and cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah. Hi, Dad.”

A pause. “February? Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

His tone softened. “How are you, honey?”

My eyes filled with tears. “Not so good, actually.”

“Where are you? Are you hurt?”

I smiled sadly. “No, no. It’s nothing like that. I’m fine, at least physically anyway. But…” I gnawed on my lip. “I’m at a wellness facility.”

“A what?”

“It’s a place people go when they need a mental-health timeout. I was working a lot and under a lot of stress and… Well, let’s just say I’m here, and it’s helping.”

My dad was quiet for a beat. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”

“Actually, there is. That’s why I’m calling. Tomorrow is family day. They have these counseling sessions and stuff and…”

I’d made it over the biggest hurdle— making the call —yet I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to come, to ask him to do anything for me.

Long seconds ticked by in silence, and eventually it was my dad who spoke.

“What time should I be there?”

***

“Hey.” I held the old phone up for a better angle and smiled at Brock’s naked chest. “Boy, I called at the right time. Are you naked?”

He chuckled. “Just came upstairs for a minute to change my shirt. Tossed out a drunk who was starting trouble, and the jackass spilled his beer all over me.”

“How about you set the phone down on the counter so I can get the full view from a distance?”

“You can have the full view, live and in person, anytime you want it, sweetheart. Just say the word, and my clothes will come off.”

“Is that a promise?”

“One you can take to the bank, Red.” He finished putting on a T-shirt and brought the phone closer to his face.

The abs had been nice, but this view wasn’t so bad either. “Sorry I couldn’t sneak out tonight to visit you. The maintenance guy was sick today.” I yawned. “Excuse me. That came out of nowhere.”

“Tired?”

“I think it’s more mental exhaustion than anything physical.”

“Oh yeah? Everything okay?”

I lay back on my bed and held the phone up to my face. “Ask me that at this time tomorrow, and I’ll let you know.”

“What’s going on?”

“I invited my dad for family day tomorrow. It was a last-minute decision. I called him this afternoon.”

“You haven’t really talked about your father. Do you not get along?”

I shook my head. “He screwed over my mom when I was pretty young, and I’ve never really forgiven him or gotten over it.”

“And now you feel like you’re ready to do that?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I think my relationship with him and my relationship with my ex have had far more of an effect on me than I allowed myself to accept before coming here. I think it contributed to my not wanting to get close to men or open up to anyone.”

Brock smiled. “I’m proud of you, you know that?”

Warmth spread through my chest. “Thank you.”

“I’ll have the truck gassed up and ready to go if you need to talk after you see him tomorrow.”

“I appreciate that.”

“So do you have anything you need to do for the rest of the night? Any counseling or stuff?”

“Nope. I think I’m going to take a nice, warm bath. I haven’t fully taken advantage of this ritzy place’s spa products and the big, beautiful tub in my bathroom. ”

Brock was quiet for a minute. “What I wouldn’t give to be there while you’re naked in that bath.”

I smirked. “That might be able to be arranged.”

His eyes grew wide. “Oh yeah?”

I laughed. “Don’t get too excited. I didn’t mean in person—at least not tonight. But how about a little FaceTime fun? Do you think you can get someone to cover the bar in maybe a half hour?”

“I’ll shut the fucking thing down if I have to.”

***

I’d just set the phone up on a shelf in the bathroom and stepped back to see how I looked when a feeling of panic washed over me.

Maybe I’d taken this too far. I should probably change.

.. But as I reached for the phone, it rang.

I lifted it close to my face as I answered to avoid showing what I had on.

“Hi.”

Brock’s face fell. “Did you change your mind?”

“No, I just…” I looked over at the tub full of bubbles then down at the teddy I wore.

It was black and lacy with a thong. It made me feel insanely sexy.

Fuck it. I’m doing this . “Let me set the phone up.” I positioned the cell back on the shelf and took a deep breath before stepping into the camera’s view.

“Holy fuck,” Brock grumbled. “You look incredible. Do you sleep in that type of thing every night?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “No. I borrowed it from my friend Morgan. She does some risqué selfies for her social media.”

“Turn around for me.” His voice turned husky. And here I’d been worried my lumberjack might not be comfortable with a little FaceTime fooling around .

I did a slow pivot, stopping when my back faced the camera.

“Bend over, beautiful. Show me that ass.”

A shiver ran through me. I loved the way he took control right from the get-go. Somehow I knew that’s how things would be with him in bed, too.

I put two hands on the tub, bent at the waist, and gyrated my hips around playfully.

“Always hated FaceTime,” Brock said. “But now I get it.”

I chuckled and gazed over my shoulder. “Are you done looking?”

“Not by a damn mile. But turn back around.” Brock stayed quiet for a long time, just looking. When he spoke again, his voice was low. “Take it off. Slowly.”

I slipped the thin straps from my shoulders and took my time peeling the lacy material down my body. My eyes stayed glued to the phone screen, watching Brock’s face. He ran his tongue along his bottom lip as I shimmied the teddy to the floor.

“Fuck me…” He groaned. “You’re bare.”

“Do you like women like that?”

“I don’t like women , Red. I like you . And I’ll take you any way you come. But, yeah, I think bare is sexy as shit. I can’t wait to lick that beautiful pussy.”

Oh my. Yes, please!

“Just give me another minute to look at you, and then we’ll get started. I promise.”

And here I thought we’d already started . My engine was definitely revving.

After a while, Brock lifted his chin. “Thank you. Climb into the tub, babe. ”

I slipped into the bath. The top had a few inches of bubbles so I was no longer exposed.

“You good?” he asked.

I nodded. “It feels incredible. Maybe you should take a bath, too.”

“Another time. Right now, I want to focus on you. I’m not even going to touch myself. I just want to tell you all the things I want to do to you and watch you come. Is that okay?”

I smiled. “That sounds pretty perfect to me.”

“Good. Now close your eyes. Slide your hand into that warm water and find that swollen bud of yours.”

I closed my eyes and did as he instructed.

Orgasm wasn’t generally easy for me—not with a man and not alone.

It happened maybe fifty percent of the time.

But the electric bolt that shot through my body as I spread my legs and touched my clit told me tonight was going to fall on the winning side of that ratio.

“Rub a small circle.” Brock groaned. “God, you’re so damn sexy. I can’t wait to put your legs over my shoulders and bury my face between them. I’m going to make your body tremble until you come on my tongue and then drink every last drop of your sweetness.”

I rubbed faster and harder, imagining exactly what he’d said.

“Slip your finger inside, sweetheart. Only one.”

I parted my flesh and began to finger myself. It felt good, but I needed more. I was tempted to add a finger or two. The bubbles were blocking the view, so Brock wouldn’t know. Yet I controlled myself and pumped in and out with only one finger.

“I wish I was there with you right now. I’d straddle your face while you touched yourself. Grab a fistful of your hair in my hand, and fuck your mouth and throat until I heard you gag.”

“ Oh God .”

“You like that?”

I nodded. “I need more, Brock…”

“Slip another finger in, then another. Fill it up, just like I’m going to do with that tight pussy.”

My fingers pumped faster, and my breaths barely kept up.

“Gorgeous. My cock’s inside you, and you’re so tight, so fucking wet. I’m about to explode. I can feel you swelling all around me, gripping me like a fist.”

I felt the orgasm building with every word Brock spoke. My mind focused on nothing but the ferocious need to break free. The building could’ve burned down around me, and I wouldn’t have been able to stop.

“Come, sweetheart. Let it all go.”

I climaxed nearly violently, my body shaking and twitching through every pulse-pounding wave. It was the most intense orgasm of my life, and the man who gave it to me hadn’t even touched me yet. My chest heaved up and down as I struggled to catch my breath. “Brock…”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, Red?”

My eyes fluttered open, and I felt a lazy smile creep over my face. I looked at the phone for the first time since we’d started. “That was crazy good.”

He smiled. “I’m glad. Stay in the bath and relax for a while now, yeah?”

“I think I’ll do that.”

He winked. “’Night, beautiful.”

“’Night, Lumberjack.”

“Call me tomorrow after family day ends. Okay? ”

“I will.”

After we disconnected, I expected the reminder of what tomorrow would bring to tense me back up. But not even that could wake my sated body. I was too consumed with what I’d just done. If video sex was that good, I can’t wait to experience the real thing with this man.