“Have you been writing?” Adrian’s voice knocked me back into our conversation.
“Yes. I’ve been writing.”
“More on the masturbating god?”
I covered my face in embarrassment. “Yes. I added more to the supernatural stroking.”
“Amazing.” He chuckled. “What happens next?”
“There’s no way you really want to know. We have so many other things to discuss.”
“Trust me,” he said. “We have all the time in the world to go over that stuff. Right now, I want to know about the story that my cock inspired.”
“Oh God.”
“So what happens after this powerful god jacks off all over the magical forest?”
I grinned. “His sperm brings life to the forest, and a new race is created, one that may or may not help many people find love.”
“Interesting. That’s beautiful. I love how all of that happens just from some guy jacking off at one moment in time.”
“Yeah, my editor is going to kill me.” Sighing, I lay my head on my desk and considered deleting the whole thing. “Yes, sadly. This all arises from a pervert who stroked himself in my bedroom. This is what you did to me.”
“I love it. Tell me more.”
And so I did, explaining everything from the warlocks to the odd children who would someday rule the world.
When I finished, Adrian said, “There seems to be a lot of us in that story.”
“How?”
“The goddesses are all gone. It reminds me of my dad and me, motherless child and womanless man, stroking our dicks wherever we can just to get some sense of feminine essence. And then you have the warlocks with their inability to love or touch another person. That could point to us too. Men surrounded by money and a hard cold mansion where no one real comes inside.”
“You might be thinking too deeply about this.”
“I’m not.” He laughed. “And you’re the baby girl, birthed from a tree and a god. A tree has always been a widespread symbol for life and enduring strength. They bear fruit too which suggests a nurturing quality.”
“And all this from my story? I should have you write the book’s blurb when I’m done.”
“You should. I love that all this came from a god spilling his seed on a planet.” He chuckled. “I’m pretty proud of myself.”
“Of course you are,” I snorted. “Can we get back to the actual problem at hand?”
“And that is?”
“Us. What are we going to do about us?”
“I’m working on my father. I’ve checked with my own legal team, and they’re researching how I can keep him quiet. I’m also reviewing your contract. My team thinks there are several possible violations if he leaks your secret to the public. However, the biggest problem is that it would be hard to prove that he leaked it.”
“I should’ve never lied.” I shook my head. “I hate when people can use things against me. I hate being blackmailed.”
Adrian’s voice held an edge. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t let my father hurt you.” He paused for a few seconds and then said, “In addition to my father’s mess, I figured I would also give you some time.”
Still laying my head on the desk, I opened my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I’m giving both of us time. That’s the other reason I called today. I wanted to tell you that Dr. Engels said we needed some time.”
“That’s what she said?”
“You assume the therapist is a she?”
“Is she?” I asked.
“Yes, I just thought that was interesting.”
“Women are healers.”
“Yes, they are. Maybe that’s why I’ve been so broken and spent most of my life trying to stay away from them. Not anymore. Not with you.”
The way he said those words tugged at something inside of me. Or maybe that would always be Adrian’s power over my mind. He knew me so well. He’d learned my likes and dislikes, beliefs and even some of my fears. He courted me the whole time, and whether I chose to admit it or not, I passively let him. We had amazing sex later, confirming that when we entered each other’s space, magic happened.
But was that enough?
“I’m giving you time,” he said again. “My therapist thinks that if we start a relationship after all that happened, it would be a bumpy ride.”
“Relationship?”
“Relationship. That’s what I want with you, so I went to Dr. Engles to practically demand she help me out as much as possible.”
“Adrian—”
“I have an idea of what you’re going to say, so let me just interrupt you right here to save us both the time. I want you to be mine in every sense of the word. This is not a dream or wish, hopeful declaration or even prayer. We will be together one day. My therapist says to wait, give you time to be grounded. She thinks I need to continue therapy with her. I told her I would do it for you.”