Chapter 7
Finn could feel his will power diminishing a couple of days later. He was leaving town soon, but he couldn’t even pack. He was physically better but thoughts of Elise plagued him. Daisy’s comment, Professional ethics don’t keep you warm at night was foremost in his brain.
He wanted Elise! He tore the covers off the bed at night remembering how they made love and in the light of day he still recalled how her hair smelled and how silky her skin felt.
So go to her.
I shouldn’t.
Christ, now he was talking to himself.
But he was consumed by the same feeling he had in the car that night they’d made love. Fuck it…
Hurrying to his vehicle, he drove too fast to her condo, not even knowing if she’d be there. The guard let him through the gate because she’d put him on the list to be allowed visits. He parked in front of her place, then hustled up to her doorway and rang the bell.
She answered the door barefoot, wearing silky pajama pants and a tank top. No bra, he noticed. His arousal spiked.
But he had to give her a choice. So he leaned against the jamb. “I know I shouldn’t be here after I told you no relationship was possible. I tried not to come.”
“And yet here you are.” Her tone was neutral so he couldn’t read her feelings. Except that her dark eyes sparked. “What do you want?”
He lifted his chin. “You.”
Instead of throwing his request in his face, she said simply, “Take me to bed, then.”
They stumbled inside and he kicked the door shut. “Where’s the bedroom?”
“Down the hall on the left.”
They strode there. He caught a quick glimpse of grass cloth wallpaper, slatted blinds and a big bed. He stripped her fast. Her skin flushed and her breasts pebbled. Thankfully, she wanted this too. Then he tore off his own clothes.
He sat on the mattress and pulled her over him to straddle his lap. The position excited him, as it had last time. He kneaded her breasts first, then his mouth replaced his hands. She shivered and looped her arms around his neck. His hand moved down between her legs. She was wet and ready for him.
He was hard as granite. As slowly as he could—which wasn’t much-he lowered her onto his penis. She bucked when he filled her fully. He waited. When he was sure he wouldn’t go off, he inched back then plunged into her. Again. And again. The spasms came fast and furious as they both erupted.
Afterward, she settled onto his lap and gently nestled into his sweaty neck. Her heart thrummed in her chest. His hands went loosely around her waist.
Finally, she drew away and held his gaze. “What happened to bring this on?” Her voice was husky.
He stared into her eyes. “I got sick of wanting you and not having you. I’m leaving town tomorrow and I won’t see you for a week at least. I don’t know, tonight I kind of lost it. If you need an apology I’ll give you one.”
She met her forehead with his. “No apology.”
“I’m not sure where we go from here, but tonight it didn’t seem to matter.”
She smiled sadly. “Then we’ll take this one day at a time and see if you still feel the same.”
“How do you feel?”
“I just showed you how I feel, love.”
* * *
Two days later, Finn and Oliver walked into the Marquis Marriot in New York City to give a presentation at the Alternative Medicine Conference.
Finn smiled. “It speaks highly of our reputation that the committee sought us out to come here.”
Oliver laughed. “I’m glad you could make it. You’re back to your old self in only six days.”
“Not exactly, but I’m off pain meds and I can function pretty well when I move. I’ll probably need naps, though.”
“What’d Fiona think of you attending?”
“She wasn’t happy. She thinks I’m rushing it.”
“You know yourself. I trust that. And she tends to be overprotective of you like you are of her.”
“You’re a good friend, Oliver.”
“How about Elise?”
“Um, I don’t know.”
“She was all over you when you were hurt.”
“We’ve seen each other a few times, but platonically. Then two nights ago, I lost the battle with my brain and went to her. It was amazing.”
“I hope the relationship works out, Finn.”
“How can it? Even if I get over the ethics of it, we live in two different parts of the country.”
Their turn to register came up. “Oliver Ricardi. I’m presenting tomorrow along with Finn McKenna.”
The woman smiled. “Coming right up.”
She gave them their packets and directions to their rooms.
The two of them had a tasty meal that night, and Finn went back to the room early. Oliver decided to go downstairs to the bar and socialize.
Finn fell asleep alone in the room trying not to think about Elise. She had been all over him when he was injured. She was attentive until he told her she had to stop visiting. Then, he’d hurt her…
Finn woke to noise. A loud buzzing sound. The alarm. He reached over blindly and turned it off.
Finally he roused. He texted Oliver about breakfast and didn’t get an answer back. He got up, put on sweats and a T-shirt and crossed to Oliver’s room. He knocked softly so as not to disturb the others on the floor. No answer. Again, he knocked.
When he turned around, he saw Oliver coming down the hall, dressed in the same clothes as last night with scruff on his face and tousled hair. “Is this the walk of shame?” Finn asked dryly.
Oliver burst out laughing. “You betcha, buddy.”
* * *
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce Mr. Oliver Ricardi and Mr. Finn McKenna. They have successful practices in what they call Harmony Healing Collective.”
Oliver and Finn sat on stools in front of the group.
There were a hundred seats in the room, all of which were filled and with some SRO in the back.
Oliver said into his mic, “Good morning everybody. We’ll save our bona fides for later in the talk.
But we thought we’d give you a demonstration for each of our areas.
First, we’d like a volunteer for a short session in Massage Therapy. ”
Several hands went up. He picked a man intentionally. “You sir, in the back row. Come on up.”
When he did, Oliver asked, “What’s your name?”
“Carter.”
“Hi, Carter. Would you like to keep your shirt on or off?”
A few people yelled, “Off, Carter.”
The guy was fit and tanned. Shirtless, he laid down on the padded table provided and put his face in the pocket at the head.
“Since time is limited, I’m going to concentrate on Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, or PNF.
This is a technique to improve flexibility and range of motion.
First, I’ll do some passive stretching…” He walked to the head of the of the table, picked up the man’s leg and gently pushed it forward.
Then he instructed the guy to turn over and bend his knee.
Oliver put a towel around his foot and pulled up his leg.
“These are passive because something else—a person or a device stretches the patient.”
“Now, I’ll contract and relax muscles while they’re being stretched like this.” He demonstrated. “It helps increase the muscles’ ability to lengthen and enhances overall flexibility of the joint.”
Finn enjoyed every minute of Oliver’s presentation. When he finished, Finn turned on his mic and quipped, “Wow. When can I book a session, Oliver?”
The group clapped.
After a reiki chair was rolled out, Finn grinned and addressed the audience. “Just for my enlightenment, how many of you are reiki masters?”
Only four people raised their hands.
“Then since this conference is only for professionals, I assume the rest of you have an interest in learning to be reiki practitioners.”
More than half of the people raised their hands.
“A good number. Are the rest of you here for another type of practice but want information on reiki, too?”
The rest raised their hands.
“Who would like to be my subject?”
Several volunteers. He picked a woman.
When she was in the chair provided, he said, “What I’m going to do is move along your imbalances without even touching you.”
He began the treatment.
* * *
“All right, Elise, this is the climax of the movie. You sure you don’t want your double to stand in?”
“All I have to do is jump off a boat, John. How hard can that be? Besides, you know I practiced doing it.”
“The boat wasn’t going as fast then but it will be today. This is the first time we’ll film it.”
Elise got irritated. “Damn it, John, listen to me. You know these scenes are better with the lead in the show, not the double.”
He mumbled under his breath. Hell, she wasn’t mad at him, but at Finn for going to a conference after only recuperating for a week. And after lovemaking that knocked her socks off. She sighed. “Sorry, John. I don’t know what’s gotten in to me.”
“Don’t worry about it. We all have bad days.”
The golf cart arrived; she rode it back to the starting point and got in the boat. The camera crew was already in the canal on a separate one.
She let her hair flow behind her when the boat started up.
The loud noise of the motor would be filtered out and the lines dubbed in.
They went fast, faster, fastest. When she got the signal from John, she stepped up on the ledge and before she went over the side, she said, “This is for you, Eric Madison. Just for you.”
She jumped. Oh. The water was cold when she went under. The last thing she heard was John yelling, “Cut.”
Having gone down a ways Elise started to kick her way to surface, but something caught on her foot. She struggled to get it free. Gulped in some water. By the time she maneuvered out of the weeds, she was breathless. But she crawled her way to the surface.
She heard a splash and saw Max surface. “Elise, are you hurt?”
“No.” She swam to the side of the canal with him. “Why are you in the water?”
“You didn’t come right up. I thought something was wrong.”
John stood behind a grip who assisted her out. Somebody handed her a towel. Max needed a hand, too. “Something went wrong,” Elise blurted out. “I got caught in some seaweed.”
Max said, “There isn’t any seaweed in canals, only in salt water.”
“Something’s down there.”