Healing Divides Page 3

  Seconds later, her phone vibrated with an incoming message.

  Great! Can't wait to see you! Always up for shopping, whatcha got in mind?

  Melissa toyed with the phone, reading and rereading the message about a hundred times before she responded.

  I need a new outfit for a date tomorrow evening. Are you free tomorrow?

  The reply was as quick as it was enthusiastic.

  Hell yeah! Just say when and where ;)

  Melissa smiled at the display. Maybe something good would come out of being forced into a date with Jack after all.

  Chapter 5

  The next day, after asking her receptionist to juggle her afternoon appointments a bit, Melissa met up with Elisa, and to her surprise, Penny.

  The tall bombshell greeted her with a hug that was less bouncy than her friend’s but no less genuine. “I couldn't resist when Elisa told me she was going shopping with you. I hope you don't mind.”

  “Of course not. It's a pleasure to see you again. Things are good with you and Eric?”

  Penny grinned. “They're fantastic. We're almost finished planning our Hawaii trip.”

  “Thanksgiving, right?” Melissa asked, searching her mental files.

  “Yup. My mom is a little aggravated by it, but she understands. After the crazy spring and summer we've had, I'm so looking forward to it.”

  “I’m looking forward to planning your wedding when you get back,” Elisa put in, giggling at her friend’s eye roll.

  “Elisa is convinced Eric is going to ask me to marry him in Hawaii,” Penny explained.

  “That would be lovely,” Melissa said, sighing a little at the romantic notion.

  Penny flushed a bit and looked suddenly uncertain. “It would be, but I don't want to get my hopes up.”

  The urge to play therapist rose up in her and was ruthlessly squashed. She was here as a friend. “I'm sure it will be the experience of a lifetime, regardless,” she assured Penny, and was rewarded with one of Penny’s brilliant smiles.

  “That's the truth. So where to first, ladies?” Penny abruptly changed the subject.

  “It's the doc’s big night. Where do you like to shop?” Elisa asked, turning her attention to Melissa.

  “Actually, I asked for your help to break me out of my rut. I want something different. Where would you go if you were shopping for a date?”

  Elisa eyed her speculatively. “Depends. Are you going for nice girl next door? Or do you want to knock him on his ass?”

  She thought about how he'd maneuvered her into the date and decided that it was only fair that she have a little fun at his expense. “Knock him on his ass,” she replied with a firm nod of her head.

  Elisa gave a little whoop and hooked her arm through Melissa’s. “I know just the place. Let's go!”

  Laughing, Melissa allowed herself to be pulled along. Inside the store, Elisa seemed to wander with no real direction, but somehow managed to find exactly what she was looking for. Within twenty minutes, Melissa had no less than a dozen outfits to try on. She felt a bit like she was in the middle of a movie montage as she modeled the clothes Elisa had picked out for her.

  They struck out as far as a date outfit for the evening, but Melissa still somehow left the store with two new jackets, a new skirt, and a funky casual top she never would have picked for herself in a million years.

  They didn't hit gold until the third store. Melissa eyed the skimpy red number Elisa was holding with reservations.

  “I don't know. I've never really worn bright colors like this,” she commented as she fingered the soft material.

  “Which is exactly why you have to try it on. Trust me, with your pale skin and that dark hair? This color is perfect for you,” Elisa insisted. Penny nodded enthusiastically. Outnumbered and outvoted, Melissa caved and carried the dress to the changing room with her. She didn't bother checking the mirror after she had squeezed herself into it, preferring to see her friends’ reactions first.

  The looks on their faces told her Elisa had nailed it. “Mel, I'm as straight as an arrow and I want to fuck you right now,” Elisa said, gaping at her. “You look hot.”

  “He's a cop, right?” Melissa nodded at Penny's odd question. “Ditch the dress, then. I'm pretty sure the penalty for killing a cop is pretty stiff.”

  Laughing at Penny's description, Melissa finally turned to study her reflection. She stopped dead when she saw herself in the three-way mirror. The dress left one shoulder bare, and covered the other with a wisp of fabric that was somehow more alluring than her bare skin. The fabric molded itself to her curves, accentuating them in a way she usually avoided. It was just long enough to be legal, but stopped several inches short of decent. And Elisa had been right about the color. Her skin practically glowed, and her eyes absolutely popped in contrast to the siren red.

  “It's perfect,” she declared.

  After purchasing the dress—with more than a little shock at the damage to her bank account—the trio headed to one of the many restaurants housed in the mall for a late lunch.

  “So, tell us all about Detective Jack Meyers,” Elisa demanded as soon as they'd placed their orders. “We know what he looks like, so you can skip that part. Until you see him naked. Then we'll need details.”

  Penny punched her friend in the arm, hard enough to cause Elisa to wince and rub the assaulted area. “Ignore her. Tell us what he's like. He seems like the take charge type, from what I remember.”

  Melissa stirred the drink that had just been placed in front of her and wondered how much to tell them. “He is definitely the take charge type,” she confirmed.

  “Think he's going to spank you? Ow! Dammit, Penny, you're like a freaking Amazon!” Elisa glared at her friend and rubbed her arm again.

  “Stop being intrusive, then,” Penny said primly.

  Elisa rolled her eyes. “You want to know just as much as I do, you're just too polite to ask.”

  “Well yes, because our mothers managed to drill some manners into my head,” Penny teased.

  Melissa watched the exchange with a certain detached amusement. While she enjoyed the playful banter, she realized she'd always be an outsider looking in, unless she gave as good as she got. These women had shared bits of their lives with her. In Penny's case, she'd shared the best and the worst parts of her life. If Melissa wanted a real connection, she would have to reciprocate.

  “He offered,” she heard herself saying. Elisa and Penny both turned to look at her, mouths open.

  “He did?” Elisa squealed. “Spill,” she demanded, tapping the table in front of them.

  “Well, last weekend I took an impromptu trip to Knoxville and ended up completely sloshed at a bar downtown.” She told them every gory detail: Jack showing up at the bar and their hypothetical discussion about him spanking her if she tried to drive home. Jack cutting her off and then threatening to spank her anyway when she argued. How humiliated she'd been the next morning and how that embarrassment had manifested in a level of rudeness she’d felt compelled to apologize for.

  “And that basically brings us to where we are today,” she finished.

  “So, is that what the dress search is for? Because your ass definitely looks spankable in that dress,” Elisa said, mischief sparkling in her eyes.

  Melissa shook her head. “The dress is for payback. I don't appreciate being backed into a corner.” She glanced up in time to see the look that passed between the two women sitting opposite her. “What?”

  “It's just, well, sometimes you get what you ask for, even if you don't realize you're asking for it,” Elisa replied cryptically.

  Melissa frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “She means that maybe you do want him to spank you tonight,” Penny said helpfully.

  “I don’t.” She blew out a breath. She'd always impressed on her patients the importance of being honest with yourself. “Okay, that’s not true. Of course, I want him to spank me. I've wanted it my entire life.”

  “T
hen why are you trying to deny yourself?” Penny pressed quietly.

  To her dismay, Melissa could feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “What if he realizes he doesn’t want me?”

  “Oh, sweetie.” Elisa scooted around the table and slid into the booth next to her, wrapping her arms around Melissa's shoulders. “If he doesn’t want you, he's an idiot. But what would you say to you if you were your own client?”

  She didn't even need to think about it. Of course, she would encourage a client to take a chance on a relationship she felt drawn to. “Well. I guess the dress has a new purpose,” she declared with a shaky laugh.

  “Yes!” Elisa bounced in her seat. “We will, of course, need all the details as soon as possible,” she informed Melissa.

  “You will?”

  “Duh. That's what girlfriends are for.”

  Of course.

  Chapter 6

  Jack jogged up the walk to Melissa's front door, mentally cursing the weather. He'd been out of the car all of five seconds and he felt like he was drenched in sweat. But when Melissa opened the door at his knock, his mind went completely blank. Several seconds ticked by as he simply stared at her.

  He'd known she was a knockout under that stuffy shrink suit she normally wore, but damn. Though she was on the short side for his tastes, she had curves just where a man wanted them. He could see the curve of her high, full breasts where the dress dipped low in the front. The silky material hugged her curves, accentuating the way her waist nipped in and the flare of her hips.

  And oh man, those legs. Between the mile-high heels and the two-inches-short-of-illegal dress, her pale, toned legs practically begged him to bury his face between her thighs. When his gaze finally returned to her face, she was studying him with an innocent smile that he didn't buy for a second. The woman knew exactly what she was about.

  “If we didn't have reservations, you wouldn't be going anywhere in that dress. You look fucking amazing.”

  The innocent smile slowly deepened into one of pure female satisfaction. “I'm glad you approve.” She stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind her. Ever responsible, she turned to check that the door was locked, and he had to bite back a groan at the view of her firm, round backside. When she turned back to him, Jack offered his arm and led the way to his car. He opened the passenger side door for her and closed it behind her, before jogging over to his side.

  “Seatbelt,” he said automatically as he slid in the car. But of course, he didn't need to remind her, as she was already sliding the buckle into place.

  She raised a single perfect eyebrow. “You once told me I was bossy. Pot, meet kettle,” she teased with a low, sultry laugh.

  The laugh did him in. Leaning over, he slid a hand behind her neck and yanked her to him. He crushed his lips to hers, and when she whimpered and opened for him, he felt like a Viking conquering an unknown land. He shifted the angle of the kiss to capture her completely, claiming her. The sudden, irresistible thought that she was his, that she belonged to him, branded itself in his mind.

  When they finally surfaced from the kiss, they were both breathing heavily, watching each other warily. He felt no small measure of satisfaction at the wild look in her eyes. Then the cool, contained doctor was back as she smoothed her dress and calmly fixed her lipstick in the mirror. The dichotomy between the two extremes had him ready to drag her back into the house to have his way with her.

  “So where are we going for dinner?” she asked when he finally pulled away from the curb. Her voice was admirably even, with no trace of the heat and the passion they'd shared just moments before.

  “It's a surprise,” he told her, glancing sideways. She frowned and he couldn't help the laugh that escaped. “Relax, doc. Surprises are fun.”

  “I suppose,” she replied, and he could hear the nerves in her voice. He lifted her hand and pressed a reassuring kiss to the smooth, silky skin of her knuckles. Persuading her to let go of that control she always had such a tight grip on was going to be more difficult than he'd thought, but Jack Meyers never backed down from a challenge.

  “Tell me about your day,” he said, linking his fingers with hers as he drove.

  The suggestion had the desired effect. She relaxed and told him about shopping with Penny and Elisa.

  “How's Penny doing?” he asked. He was genuinely interested, seeing as how he'd helped hunt down her bastard ex-boyfriend when the man had kidnapped her a few months back.

  “She's great, actually. She’s handled the whole situation much better than most would have. I think having Eric there helped. He's a great support system.” She went quiet and he looked over to see her staring out the window. He gently squeezed her hand.

  “What's up, doc?” he asked in a miserable impersonation of the cartoons he'd grown up with.

  When she turned her head, her smile was back in place, but it was strained around the edges. “Just thinking. It's a hazard of the job, I'm afraid.”

  Part of him wanted to push, which surprised him. He wasn't exactly the type to want to sit around talking about feelings. But with her, he found that he wanted her to open up, to share with him. And he wanted to do anything he could to help ease whatever it was that was bothering her. The idea was slightly unsettling, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

  “So doc, do you always ask strange men in bars to spank you?” he asked, hoping to ease the tense atmosphere that had suddenly filled the car.

  It worked. She turned a delicious shade of red and shook her head. “Hardly. And you weren't a stranger, anyway,” she reminded him.

  He wanted to ask more in-depth questions, but they were pulling into the parking lot of the restaurant. Melissa let out a moan when she saw their destination.

  “I've been dying to try this place. I've heard incredible things about their steaks,” she said.

  “Ditto. A buddy from work recommended it. Actually, he won't stop talking about it. I'm pretty sure he's ready to marry the chef, regardless of gender,” he added with a chuckle.

  Within minutes, they were seated at a booth tucked away in a far corner of the room. The restaurant had made a name for itself partially based on the private, romantic atmosphere it provided. Jack ordered a bottle of wine, thankful for the research he’d done earlier that evening, and they studied their menus.

  “God, everything looks amazing,” Melissa commented. “I can't decide.”

  “I can see why Dave practically lives here,” Jack agreed.

  They eventually made their selections and placed their orders. Jack studied her as she sipped the wine, closing her eyes in appreciation. He wondered how she would look under him, as he pleasured her. Would she have that same quiet enjoyment or would she go wild with need? He hoped it was the latter, and the zipper of his slacks was suddenly incredibly uncomfortable as he imagined different scenarios.

  He needed something to take his mind off the images he couldn't seem to stop conjuring. Taking a sip of his wine, he finally asked her about the one thing he'd been obsessing over since he found her at that bar in Knoxville.

  “So, doc. How's this whole spanking thing work anyway?”

  Chapter 7

  Melissa nearly choked on her wine. Setting the glass down with a decisive click, she glanced around to see if anyone had heard him. But between the privacy of their booth and the low rumble of his voice, she doubted anyone but her had heard a word he'd said.

  It wasn't her preferred venue, but she supposed they had to discuss it at some point. And besides, discussing the theories and different options available for discipline was right up her alley. Actually engaging in a relationship was a different story, but she wasn’t going to dwell on that.

  “What do you mean?” she eventually asked, hoping she pulled off calm and confident. The amused look in his eyes told her she'd probably fallen short of that goal.

  “I've done some research, so I have a basic idea,” he replied, managing the calm and confident tone she'd been aiming for.

/>   She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you saying you've never,” she gestured helplessly, letting the question hang in the air between them.

  “Spanked a woman?”

  His lips curved up into that predatory smile he'd given her the morning after finding her in the bar. Damn her body for responding to it.

  “Plenty. I enjoy a little rough play. And I'm really hoping you don't object to being tied up because I've been dreaming about it since that day in my car.”

  Melissa forced her features to remain impassive, valiantly ignoring the heat between her thighs. “But for play only?” she pressed.

  Jack shrugged. “Yeah. I've never really thought about spanking a woman for something she's done wrong. But after the conversation we had at the bar, it seems to be all I can think about. Tell me, doc,” he leaned forward and dropped his voice to just above a whisper, “what kind of things do you deserve to be punished for?”

  Punished. The single word nearly unraveled years’ worth of training and hard-won self-control. She smiled weakly. “I'm afraid I'm rather boring in that arena. I'm responsible and level headed. I rarely lose my temper. I've always been the good, obedient one.” She hated herself a little for the hint of bitterness in her voice.

  Jack leaned back and studied her, his expression suddenly serious. “Doc, there are a lot of words I'd use to describe you. Boring ain't one of them. And,” his expression hardened from serious to stern, “you didn't answer my question, young lady.”

  It was hard to believe he’d never disciplined anyone before. He had everything down. The voice, the look in his eye. She suddenly wanted to be alone with him, confessing everything she'd ever done that could warrant a punishment. “Um, well, I was pretty rude to you the other day,” she replied quietly, suddenly unable to look him in the eye.

  “Yes, you were. What—” He was interrupted by the arrival of their food. After the waiter left, he turned his attention back to her. “What do you think I should do about your rude behavior?”