Surrender to a Sex Therapist by Anita Lawless Page B

easy enough, but the thought of being naked in front of those glowing eyes made me shiver.
    The tiny bell above my shop door rang. Coincidence raised goose bumps on my arms as Ville walked in. I rubbed my skin to hide the raised flesh.
    “ I was just thinking about you.”
    “ I know.” He wore a wolfish smile.
    I laughed. “You do not. That’s impossible.”
    He shook his head. Pulled a book from the case he’d been browsing. “Silly Emily. Always doubting, but still you like to dance on the edge of the unknown.”
    His eyes met mine. If I believed in a devil, I would’ve sworn Ville was his son. Even without contacts, his stare bore right through a person. As if he saw every stain, secret, and insecurity your mind held.
    While I stocked esoteric literature, it had been years since I really believed in any of that stuff. I called myself an agnostic pagan. I had my armchair theories about intent and energies, but they were only wild ramblings at best. Ville, though admittedly out of practice, could talk occult circles around me and all of his band mates.
    Shrugging, I looked away, hating myself for losing another stare down with him. My feeble lack of a comeback also annoyed me. But then my humor, always my failsafe, left Ville unfazed. I’d never heard him laugh or take offense to any of my sarcastic barbs. He’d just give that smug smile. Not condescending, but confident and breathtaking. Distracting him from an uncomfortable topic was impossible.
    “ Denying it won’t make it go away.” He now read the book, but glided an inch closer to the counter.
    “ Denying what?” My voice squeaked.
    “ Your thirst for knowledge.” He snapped the book shut, and our noses were inches apart. “Sexual knowledge in particular.”
    I jumped at the loud thwack the heavy tome made.
    “ For as long as I’ve known you,” he said, “you like to keep the occult close to you, but you’re too afraid to really immerse yourself in it.”
    “ Bullshit.” I sighed, tried to sound aloof, walked to the other edge of the counter. “It’s just nostalgia for me these days. I have no real desire to peek into the unknown anymore.”
    “ I think you lie.” He stood in front of me before I even noticed him move. I let out a shrill squeal that only added to my embarrassment.        
    “ I’m not in the mood for this today.” Rarely did I snap at him, but perhaps the growing heat in my pussy made me cranky.
    Why not be bold? I thought. Proposition him right now to sex on the counter. Flip the sign to closed and lock the door. But the sting of an old encounter made me hold back. A lover I thought I trusted, who tricked and betrayed me. Could I be so sure Ville wouldn’t do the same?
    “ I think you are in the mood.” His long-fingered, pale hand coiled about my wrist. “That’s the problem. Been a while, hasn’t it? Denial, denial, and more denial.”
    His forehead touched mine. Our noses brushed over one another. I tried to breathe normal and glare. Tried to be angry at his endless challenges. But when I glanced up into that face, I felt as if I faked courage to keep the wolf from pouncing.
    “ My sex life has nothing to do with the occult,” I whispered, because I didn’t have the air to manage more than that.
    “ In some ways it does. We’ve talked about sex magic, sexual psychodrama, but why do we only talk, Emily? I think you deny yourself pleasure, release, also.”
    Backed into a corner, I summoned the courage, the words, to return his challenge. “I think this is all about you.” I poked a finger into his sinewy bicep. “More of your mind games. Play them with other people. Not with me.” Turning, I walked to the other edge of the counter to give myself some space.
    “ I’d never toy with you.” Moments later, his breath tickled my ear with these words. “You’re one of the few people in this town who hasn’t shunned me and the others. That’s appreciated. Not that I care what those little-minded