Leaning into her, he tipped her chin and brushed his lips with hers. “Is this enough?”
She reveled in his closeness. “No, I want more.”
He slid arms around her and drew her to him. He was all muscle and sinew and his embrace was strong, but not aggressive. He lowered his head and deepened the kiss. Her hand went to his neck and she kissed him back. Still the contact was soft and gentle.
He pulled back first. “That’s enough for now. We have to get to know each other better before we do…more.” He opened her car door. “Go ahead and get inside. Since you came to me this time, I’ll call about another get together.”
She slid into her front seat. “Thanks, Oliver. Tonight was very special.”
“Indeed it was, pretty lady.”
* * *
Scarlet Smith drew her patient out of the trance gently. When the woman, Cora Bracken, opened her eyes she sighed. “I feel better.”
“You talked a lot.”
“I had no idea I was stuffing all that conflict.”
“Can you verbalize what you learned about yourself?”
“That I resent my ex, a lot. That I’m worried about my son Eric. And that I don’t give myself a break. Ever.”
“I’d say that’s quite a bit to learn about yourself. Shall we discuss one of those issues and see if I can help with it?”
“Absolutely.”
At the end of the session, Cora left a happier person. This was Scarlet’s last appointment of the day, and she could hear other practitioners gathered in the break room. She walked out.
“Hey, Scarlet. How’d your last appointment go?” Finn, always solicitous about everyone.
“We made a lot of progress. Did you all wait for me?”
Daisy and Heath said they’d just finished. Finn added, “Yep, Oliver and I waited. We agreed no one should come to work or stay here alone.”
“How long do you think this thing hanging over our heads will last?”
“I don’t know,” Oliver answered. “It’s heavy.”
“Yeah,” Daisy put in. “But it’s necessary to stick together.”
“Not for everyone to stay, though. Let’s make an agreement only one extra person should be here at a time.”
“Nope, two,” Heath put in. “When one of us is practicing, it’s like the other is alone. Even the guard has a partner now.” Because the former guard had been killed on the premises. It still made Scarlet shiver.
“Agreed.” Daisy shook her head. “But I hate this.”
Juliet said, “Me, too.” They both felt things deeply.
It took a while to coordinate their schedules for the next week. They’d just finished when the fire alarm blared.
“Damn it,” Finn exclaimed. “Not again.”
“Do we have to go out?” This from Scarlet. “Isn’t there a way to turn it off?”
“Not when 911 gets an alert. Besides, we don’t know what this is.” Oliver stood. “Let’s go.”
They all headed outside into the July sunlight. A few minutes later, a truck drove in. Firefighters hopped off and one came up to them.