Off Limits (Off 2)

"Well," Emily says as she hands me her wine glass. "I really need to get going. Thanks for the glass of wine and the talk, Nix. Linc...I'll see you around."

I walk Emily to the door and Linc says goodbye before heading back to his bedroom. As she steps out into the hallway, I walk out with her.

"I'll walk you down to your car," I offer.

"No need. I'm good. I'll see you after school on Monday."

She starts to walk away and I don't like this cool, nonchalant, "I can easily walk away from you after a mind-blowing orgasm", Emily. I reach out and grab her wrist. She stops and looks at me, her head slightly tilted at an inquiring angle.

"Are you okay?" I don't know what makes me ask this, or why I'm even worried about it.

She gives me a soft smile. "I'm good. And...we're cool, Nix. No worries."

Now, what the fuck does that mean?

I release her wrist and watch her walk to the elevator. She stands there staring at the doors, tapping her toe. The smile is still on her face and I wonder if she's thinking about what just happened when we were in the kitchen.

That memory is certainly going to stick with me.

The elevator opens and she steps in. I start to turn away, but she calls my name. I look back, and her head is peeking out the doors at me. She looks like a cat ready to pounce when she says, "Next time...I get to reciprocate." She gives me a little wave then disappears behind the doors.

I walk back into Linc's apartment, shaking my head. The thoughts of her reciprocating are almost too much for me to bear knowing that she's not within arm's length of me.

Heading into the kitchen, I can't help but wonder what would have happened tonight if Linc had not shown up. At the moment he walked in the door, I was dead set on losing myself inside of Emily. But I also wonder if I would have talked myself out of it. I mean, it's one thing to pleasure the hell out of her which was oddly and incredibly gratifying to me as well. But if we had sex, the ballgame would change completely. Would it be worth potential complications that would arise down the road? I'm betting it would be.

I grab the beer I had been drinking and take a long swallow. When I raise the bottle to my mouth, I can smell Emily's sweet scent on my hand and my dick starts twitching again. It doesn't need much encouragement after Emily's last words.

"What the fuck are you doing with Ryan Burnham's baby sister?"

I spin around and see Linc walk into the kitchen. He grabs a beer out of the fridge and pops it open. His words aren't menacing...more disbelieving if anything.

"I'm not doing anything with her. She came by to talk and she had a glass of wine."

"Talk my ass," Linc says. "You were sporting a major woody when you came into the living room and there's no way you got that just by 'talking'. So fess up."

Shit! He saw that, huh?

Well, I'm not going to lie about it further. "Mind your own business. We're two consenting adults."

I haven't admitted details but by telling him to keep his nose out of my affairs pretty much admits that something is going on.

"So, that whole story about her hitting you and working the debt off is fake?"

I smile at him. "Nope. That's true. She almost killed me and now she paints my house as well as a variety of other menial tasks."

"Menial tasks? Please don't tell me she's working it off in the bedroom, Nix! Please, please tell me I'm wrong to be thinking that."

"You're a damned pervert, Linc. Of course she's not paying her debt off that way. She's doing secretarial stuff for my business...and...well, yeah, one day I had her paint my living room but that was just to keep her out of my hair for the day."

Linc doesn't say anything and takes another sip of his beer. His voice is serious when he says, "Don't hurt her, Nix."

My blood immediately flares then boils over. "Why? Do you have a thing for her?" There is no way Linc is having Emily!

"No, I don't have a thing for her. I mean, I would have a thing for her if she gave me the time of day but she never has." He pauses, trying to find the right words. "It's just...if you hurt her, it's probably going to ruin my relationship with Ryan. Which, I hate to say, could jeopardize our playing together. Just be considerate of others is all I'm saying."

Wow. I didn't consider that there could be further reaching implications than what I had originally imagined. But I shake it off. "We're good, Linc."

He looks at me with continued worry.

I try to reassure him, and myself. "Emily and I have an understanding. No worries."

***

Emily has been gone a few hours and I'm lying in my bed, trying to go to sleep. Fat chance of that, seeing as how I can't stop replaying those few minutes we had together in the kitchen. She was so free, so accepting of everything I gave her. I half expected her to be strung a little tight. Like when I pulled her dress off of her...I expected her to be shy, or nervous, or even slightly distressed we were in the middle of the kitchen. But Emily...she was the opposite. She reveled in her sexual nature.

I have no clue what her level of experience is, and frankly, I don't give a shit. I've already breached that wall of worry and there's no going back now. I tried--very hard--to keep my distance from her. Every logical argument as to why I should stay away from Emily Burnham has played through my head and I've decided to reject them all.

It's like I told Linc. We're both consenting adults. There is nothing standing in our way from exploring our sexual attraction to each other. Hell, those were Emily's very arguments she made to me.

Still...there is that small part of me that wonders if Emily can truly handle a no-strings relationship. I know I won't be able to handle it if she wants to pin me down in any way. Just the thought has me feeling boxed in and anger surges through my veins. My heart rate picks up.

I take a few deep, calming breaths. Just the way Dr. Antoniak taught me. I really need to pay her a visit, and probably soon. My talk with Paul the other day has me spiraling a bit. I'll make sure to call her tomorrow morning and make an appointment.

As if sensing my need for him, Harley gets up from the bottom of my bed and moves his body next to mine. He places his warm head on my chest and just stares at me with those chocolate eyes. I reach up and lazily scratch his head, running my fingertips behind his ears. I concentrate on the softness of his fur.

As I continue to rub Harley's head, my heart rate starts decreasing and after a few minutes, I'm not only calm but feeling drowsy. My thoughts drift back to Emily and the image of her breaking apart under my hand is the last thing I remember thinking about before I fall asleep.

CHAPTER 18

Nix

I call first thing Monday morning and luckily, I am able to get an appointment with Dr. Antoniak for the following day due to a cancellation she had. I fire off a text to Emily that I will be gone out of state for a few days and just to come in to work on Wednesday.

My text doesn't say anything else and I actually struggled for a few minutes over whether I should say more. Part of me wanted to ask how the rest of her weekend went, and how she was doing, and was she thinking of me the same way I was thinking

of her. Then I scoffed at myself and put my phone back in my pocket.

Any such actions on my part will give Emily the wrong idea. It will push whatever this is between us into a different realm. I decide I'm going to treat Emily the way I would have treated someone like Lyla, for example.

I ask myself, Would I have asked Lyla how her weekend went?

The answer is easy. No, I would not.

Therefore, I will not ask Emily.

And it doesn't matter at all that I actually want to know what she did all day Sunday. I never gave a rat's ass what Lyla did once she left my bedroom, but I do think a lot about what Emily is doing.

It's just another source of tension I'll need to deal with, thus making the trip to see Dr. Antoniak even more relevant.

The better part of Monday is spent working on some sketches of a custom metal arbor I've been commissioned to make. Then I pack an overnight bag and Harley and I hit the open road around mid-afternoon.

It takes us about three and a half hours to make the drive from Hoboken to Bethesda and my timing is nothing short of impeccable. I arrive right in the middle of rush hour traffic.

Finally, I pull into a hotel that is conveniently located near Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Harley and I settle in for the night and I think about all of the things I need to talk about in the precious hour that I have with the good doctor.

***

The next morning, Harley and I head over to Walter Reed. I graciously pull through McDonald's first to get us each a sausage biscuit. We contentedly eat our breakfast in the parking lot, and when we are finished, I walk to the passenger door.

Harley always sits in the front seat when he rides with me. I clip his leash on and he hops out. I put him in a "sit" and then reach into my pack. I pull out his Service Dog vest and fasten it on him. The damn dog's chest actually puffs with pride when his uniform is on, I swear it.

Harley and I navigate the hallways until we make it to the Neuroscience Department. There was a day when I hated coming here...despised it beyond all measure. Now, it sort of feels like an old glove.

I haven't been to see Dr. Antoniak in a few months. I was officially released from her care over a year ago, but I've made trips back every so often.