Not for a Moment: One Moment, Book 3 Read online

  “Come on, Jess. You’ve got more in you than that.” Van pushed the pads at her face, challenging her.

  Well, if that’s what he wanted…

  Jess didn’t need a second invitation. She squared her shoulders and widened her stance. Because her one leg was weak, Jess centered her weight on her stronger right leg.

  She went at it. One. Thwack. Two. Thwack. Three. Thwack. She was winding up for another hit when Van pulled back.

  “Good. But you’ve got more, Jess. Come on. Harder.”

  Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. As she moved sideways, her knee caught, but she changed her stance and compensated by putting the weight to the front of her foot so her calf took the brunt of the stress. As she found the easiest position, Jess’s focus narrowed onto the pads, drawn into a world of her own as she reached deep into the pit of burning anger and let loose one punch after another.

  Sweat rolled down her face, her arms burning with the release of expended energy. She didn’t know how long she kept going, but her punches started to slow until she could barely hold her fists up.

  Van lowered the pads.

  “Is that it?” Jess held her breath in an attempt to stop her panting. “Why don’t you put gloves on too?” She wiped at her brow with the back of her hand. “It’d be more fun if you were fighting back. Unless you’re scared?” The taunt would have sounded more effective if she hadn’t been wheezing like a locomotive.

  “Fighting back comes another day.” Van removed the pads and tucked them under his arm. “For now, I want you to tucker yourself out. It’ll make things easier.”

  “What, so I’ll be more malleable?”

  “Yes.”

  A spark of anger flared in Jess’s gut, only she was too damn tired to do anything about it.

  “Shit.” She dropped her head and rolled her shoulders to ease the ache.

  “Not everything’s for my benefit.” Van grabbed her wrist and undid her gloves. “Don’t you feel better?”

  Too exhausted to do much else, Jess took a moment to examine how she felt.

  “Yeah. I guess.”

  “I could’ve just kept going in the exam room and by this stage you’d be wanting to drive a stake through my heart. This worked better for both of us. This was about both of us getting what we want.”

  “And what do you want?” Jess couldn’t help but be suspicious.

  “I want to see what you can do. I think you have a lot more in you. I want to help you realize that.”

  Jess said nothing. She was confused. On one hand, he said he wanted her on his program. On the other he was having her climb walls and hit him in a sparring gym. The fact he thought she was capable of doing these things meant something to Jess, but she was still waiting for him to pull his therapy shit. For the real treatment—AKA pain—to start.

  “So, now we both know exactly what we’re here for. Shall we get on with it?”

  “Sure. Why don’t you rinse off first.” Van directed her to the showers.

  “Want to come and join me?” Jess threw over her shoulder, not sure if she meant it. Or maybe she did. A bit of fun under the water with Van would hold off reality a little bit longer. And it seemed a shame to waste a perfectly good shower…

  Van looked tempted. He even took a step forward. Then he stopped.

  “Better not,” he said with genuine regret. “It’s not your turn. Yet.”

  Jess took her time rinsing off the sweat sheening her body after the rigorous workout, wondering just what game Van was playing. He seemed to be straight up when spelling out his intentions for her. But it couldn’t be that simple.

  Still, he was right, although Jess hated to admit it. She was a whole lot more relaxed by the time they went back to Van’s apartment and she climbed on the exam table a second time. Van went through his assessment, treating her more like another therapist than a patient. Jess liked that. He talked through all the points of her injury as he found them, good and bad. She didn’t mind it as much as she’d thought she would.

  Jess liked him having his hands on her too. As the examination progressed, his fingers lingered longer on her hips, his thumbs brushing nearer to the vee of her thighs. She allowed her legs to part slightly and let the warm heat of desire sweep over her. Van leaned in, his crotch coming to rest on the edge of the table, not two inches from her hand. She could feel the heat of it, his cock a hard bulge in his pants. A prickle of awareness crept across her shoulders, her pussy growing damp. Hot.

  Jess bit her lip. “When is it my turn?”

  “Soon.” His voice was low and husky, sliding across her body like a caress. “There’s one more thing I want to do.”

  “Will it hurt?” Jess’s tongue touched her lip.

  “Oh no.” The heat of Van’s gaze blazed over her, burning into her. “But I think you’ll like it.”

  Chapter Ten

  Jess twisted on the exam table in Van’s spare room, looking out the door after him as he disappeared into his bedroom. Her body screamed confusion and she was about to burst into flames with wanting him.

  What was he up to? Van never did what Jess expected, and that alone kept her waiting. Her lips tweaked upward into a frustrated smile.

  This wasn’t like any therapy session Jess had been to. Hell, she’d be the first one lining up at the clinic if they ran programs like this.

  Correction. If it was Van running them. Jess doubted very much that any other physiotherapist she knew had the power to do this to her—wind her up until her body throbbed with the need to obey his every command. It was a scary thought.

  She tried to relax. Lying back against the pillow, Jess clasped her hands together in a tight knot on her belly. She took a deep breath.

  “Ready for your next exercise?” Van startled Jess out of her false calm.

  She rolled her head to the side and opened one eye. He was framed in the doorway, something thin and black wrapped around his hand. Van unrolled the fabric slowly, letting Jess see.

  “A tie?”

  “A blindfold, actually.”

  Van stepped into the room and Jess’s heart stuttered in a quick double thud. She wasn’t sure whether it was from Van’s presence, or the sight of him curling the tie back around his hand and slowly unraveling it again. Either way, it was a turn-on.

  Her mouth went dry. “Hardly inventive, is it?”

  “I’m improvising.”

  He came to stand beside her, trailing the pointed end of the tie down her arm. It tickled, her skin super-sensitive. A quiver of heat shot through her belly, dampening her crotch.

  He chuckled at her reaction.

  “You want to use it?” Jess rubbed her hands across her thighs, her palms clammy.

  “Is that all right?”

  Van slipped the fabric between his fingers, smoothing them all the way down until the end snapped free. Her eyelids flickered but Jess couldn’t stop staring.

  “Is this your idea of teasing?” She swallowed, trying to salvage what little bravado she had left. “Talking me to death? Because I have to say, it isn’t really working.”

  Van’s laughter slid across her senses like a sexy caress, kicking her awareness up a couple of notches.

  “Oh, I’m going to enjoy training with you,” he murmured.

  The sound of the word training didn’t usually trigger her hormones the way Van was doing right now. Her body tightened with anticipation, heat gathering in a knot in her belly. She shifted on the table. Restless.

  “Shut up and get on with it!”

  Van held still. “So, we agree what I do next is part of my side of the deal?”

  Jess frowned. “I guess so.” She was finding it hard to concentrate when her body was on the verge of combusting. She bit at her lip. Something told her he wasn’t playing fair, but there would be time enough after his little experiment to pay him ba
ck double for anything he did to her.

  Van hadn’t so much as twitched until he had Jess’s agreement. “I want to check on your sensory reactions,” he went on to explain in his best bedside manner, all damn innocent, like he really was doing this as part of her therapy program.

  It was the look in his eye that said different. As did the sizeable erection pushing out the fabric of his pants.

  “Well, if it’s part of my treatment…” Jess gave in to temptation and lay back. Yeah. She wanted this as much as Van did. More, probably.

  His smile was enough to assure her that what he did next would be to her benefit. Leaning in, he fastened the tie around her head, tying it tightly so it sat across her eyes.

  “Can you see anything?”

  “No.” Her answer was little more than a croak of sound.

  Jess fought the urge to reach up and touch the covering. Her world had shrunk to one of complete darkness. A surge of panic tingled cold fingers down her spine. She squirmed on the table.

  Being deprived of sight made her uneasy, but she liked it. The edge of danger, of not knowing what Van had in store for her. She felt alive. Her senses were heightened, her body coiled tight, half scared, half eager for what might happen next. All she could hear was the rasp of her own breath. She sucked air deep into her lungs. Held it until she recognized silence, then let go. Better.

  A rustle of fabric sounded at her left, loud against the velvet darkness. Pitch black. Her eyelashes fluttered against the material and Jess tilted her head to follow the sound.

  He was right beside her.

  Awareness prickled, a sweet, sharp stab of expectation. Jess jumped when he touched her shoulder.

  “Let me undress you,” he whispered, his breath fluttering across her cheek.

  Jess smiled, growing surer despite the darkness surrounding her. She didn’t need to see Van to hear the heat of desire in his voice. The slight tremble.

  “You first,” she invited. The thought of being naked and unable to see his reaction didn’t scare her anymore. But she didn’t want to be the only one at a disadvantage. She needed Van to understand he wasn’t in control.

  The soft rasp and swish of sound told Jess he was complying. She waited until silence stretched out once again, imagining him standing beside her, naked. Desire bloomed in her belly, wet heat slickening her sex.

  “I want to feel you.” Jess reached toward the sound of him undressing until her fingers brushed against him.

  He guided her hand to the hard warmth of his chest. Everything felt different—more—in the darkness. Fine hairs danced smoothly under her fingertips, while the hand that held hers captive was rough and dry. Van shuddered under her touch.

  Jess furthered her exploration, sweeping across the firm nub of his nipple, trailing down to find the ridge of muscles under his ribs, the smattering of hairs around his navel. She dipped lower, enjoying the feel of his silky skin, consumed with her task.

  When skin stopped and Jess reached the barrier of his waistband, she frowned.

  “These too.”

  Van tensed beneath her touch. “I thought I was supposed to doing this for you?”

  Jess heard the hesitation in his voice.

  “Yes. Look. I can feel myself getting better already.”

  “Oh, I’m looking.” He let out a low chuckle.

  There was a soft thud as his pants hit the floor then Van guided her hand to his thigh. Her fingers scraped across short, crisp hairs and contoured muscle. He moved into her touch as she slid her hand down one knee, then up the other to toy with the crease at his hip. The skin was so soft. Almost fragile. She could feel a rash of goosebumps rising, the slight tremble under her fingertips, his quickening breath.

  Spurred on by the obvious signs of Van’s desire, Jess moved farther, allowing the back of her hand to brush his cock. Again. A light nudge and his legs shifted apart so she could cup his balls.

  She felt his sharp intake of breath. Jess turned toward him, releasing his balls to grip his shaft. She tugged gently until he’d moved up, thick and hard and level with her mouth. Jess licked her lips.

  A shudder racked through him. She could smell the sweet musk of his desire as he guided himself to her mouth. She ran her tongue around the bulb of his head, flicking it over the ridge of skin, at the same time squeezing her hand around his cock, pulling him closer.

  Hands gripped her hair. Jess wasn’t sure whether Van was trying to hold her back, or encouraging her. She didn’t care. She wanted to do this.

  She ran her tongue up his length, then pulled him into her mouth, pushing forward until her lips touched her hand at the base. She eased her mouth back to lavish the head with long licks of her tongue. Then pulled him back toward her. She curled her free hand around his hips to grip his buttocks, kneading at them. He rocked into her, keeping up with the steady rhythm as she pumped his cock in and out of her mouth, creating a slippery friction.

  “Fuck. Jess. Stop.”

  The first salty taste of precome nipped at her tongue. Van twisted away and the next moment the examination table disappeared from beneath Jess as he lifted her in his arms.

  “Hey—”

  He cut short her protest by taking control of her mouth. She barely registered the fact they were moving through the apartment.

  The kiss was all about possession. His mouth parted hers, his tongue delving into the depths to stroke and coax. Van’s excitement fed Jess’s desire until it rose in a wave, clamoring for attention. Her nipples were aching, her panties wet with need. The knowledge he was totally naked and at her disposal…and yet she was at his mercy.

  “Where are you taking me?” She finally found the will to pull away. Only just.

  “My bed.” His voice was no more than a growl of sound, thick with need.

  Van laid her down and her head hit the softness of a pillow. Jess stretched back, aware of how every limb moved. But not how she looked. Usually she’d check to ensure her leg was hidden, but this time it didn’t matter. It was freeing. The blindfold. She couldn’t see his expression. She didn’t even know where he was.

  A shiver rippled across her skin. Heated energy. Charged need. Jess steadied her breath, listening for the telltale signs to give away his position. The bed shifted, depressed to the right as his weight settled. Her breath held as the world went still. Then the slightest brush of fingers trailed down her arm.

  Van drew her clothes off, slowly, one piece at a time, helping her to raise her head to shed her T-shirt, lifting her buttocks to draw her pants down over her hips. Jess experienced a touch of claustrophobia when her shirt became tangled in her hands. Bound and blindfolded. Helpless. Her heart pounded, blood thudding through her veins.

  She breathed through it, determined not to let it get the better of her. Jess could hear his breath, the shallow intake of air right before he told her how beautiful she was. His voice was full of awe, worshipping her, calming her fears.

  “Roll over.” Van moved Jess onto her stomach.

  He trickled fingers over her back and a shudder rippled through her. He wasn’t touching anything erogenous, but moisture slickened her sex, her nipples a delicious ache. Jess wriggled against the bedsheets to ease the sting.

  “Shh.” His breath puffed close to her ear and she jumped.

  He placed his palms against her back until she quietened. Then the bed shifted again and Jess felt his weight above her as he straddled her thighs. He didn’t sit on her, but she could feel the press of hard muscle against the outsides of her legs, the heat of his cock brushing her ass as he settled.

  Jess let out a moan and for a moment forgot she could talk as the sensory deprivation on top of sensual stimulation robbed her of thought.

  She managed to find her voice. “What are you doing?”

  He stopped moving. “Do you want to know, or shall I surprise you?”
r />   “I hate surprises.”

  Her response elicited a low chuckle from Van. “How did I know you were going to say that? All right. Here’s what I’m going to do.” He leaned in close until Jess could feel the heat of his chest against her spine. “I’m going to tease you. I am going to tame you. And then…” His voice grew softer and Jess strained to hear the words. “I’m going to fuck you.”

  Behind the blindfold Jess squeezed her eyes tight. Desire curled like a drug through her veins, spreading out until every limb was tingling with awareness. Super-sensitive. Her back arched beneath him.

  “And this is all part of the treatment?” Her voice came out shaky. Wanton and wanting.

  “When you come, all of your muscles tighten. And release. I want to feel you come. With my mouth. With my fingers. Around my cock.” His breath picked up, the hard spear of his erection rubbing a slick circle of dampness against her ass.

  His weight shifted again as he drew back. She heard the drawer open beside her head and imagined him searching for a condom. She listened for the rustle of the foil packaging.

  There was a dull metallic click, followed by a buzz of sound. Something nudged at her spine, halfway down her back. It pulsed across her skin.

  Jess nearly choked. “Is that…is that a vibrator?”

  Van’s laughter spilt out, warm and throaty. “Close. A massager.” He paused and his voice dropped. “But we can use it for anything you like.” He slowly dragged it down her back. Drawing a wide circle around her buttocks.

  It clicked off and the silence was deafening.

  “Or I can use my hands,” he said.

  Jess’s throat went dry. The rest of her was hot. And wet. Right now Jess didn’t care what he used, so long as something was touching her.

  Hands landed on her shoulders, gently pressing as he worked his way down her back. It wasn’t a massage. The stroke of his fingers was far too sensual for that. Slowly, Jess felt her muscles relax under his ministrations, while the heat low across her hips intensified with each caress.

  He traced his fingers over the mounds of her ass, trickling down her thighs like drops of water running down a windowpane. He reached the curve of her knees and stopped. Shifted his weight back up again. Something else touched her back, high between her shoulder blades. It was wet and soft. His mouth. The rough rasp of his tongue as it licked at a spot.