The Dark Under Light (Book #2 Masters of the Dark Series)

Mr. Thorn

Emily had spent the last twenty minutes discussing with Mr. Thorn how overrated and overpaid the Erotica books were. It was something that she could not deny, however Emily could not include comments that were not neutral because she was trying to read him by the way he expressed himself, moved his hands and sighed. During all that time she let him talk and talk incessantly. If she weren't his doctor, she would have found herself discussing the latest book she bought and finished two days ago. The strange conversation had started when she asked him if he read. He said yes. She thought that a man as elegant as him might read the newspaper while drinking his coffee every morning, specifically the finance section. Richard Thorn surprised Emily by revealing his particular addiction to erotic books. Well, well. It was not strange for a patient to admit to reading erotica, the strange thing was to see a man like this reading erotica. It was completely unprofessional of her part, but Emily found herself asking a scandalous question- Does Mr. Thorn masturbate while reading a book? Suddenly a vision began to take shape in the mind of Dr. Emily Vargas; Richard threw his head back as he moaned, his hand tightly clenching his c**k until semen dripped down his bare stomach.

She was frustrated at being interrupted before she could choose her poison. That was the problem, otherwise she wouldn't be fantasizing about riding him right now. The worst of all was that they still had an hour and a half more in session! Why had Richard Thorn scheduled two hours with her? Oh! That reminded her of the last thing he said before starting to discuss the books. He admitted not keeping promises. Why? Emily cleared her throat and smiled at her talkative patient. "Mr. Thorn, a few moments ago you mentioned not keeping promises."

Richard's eyes grew cold and distant. It wasn't strange to have patients who didn't want to talk about something at first, and that was fine. Eventually Emily managed to break through those barriers created by them and together they went beyond the border of their minds. "I don't know, Doctor." Emily noticed sarcasm dripping from his mouth. "Why is it that I choose not to keep my promises?"

“You choose not to keep them, or you choose to forget about them? There’s a difference there.”

He frowned, as if this hadn't occurred to him before.

She relaxed in her seat even though she was dying to shove a hand between her legs. For now, she tried to keep her arousal in check by crossing her legs every now and then. To her dismay such action caught Richard’s attention. “Which one is it?”

“In that case, I have a question for you.” She raised her brows in a way of encouragement. “Are you flustered?”

“Flustered?”

"Yes." He licked his lips. There was something in which he screamed s*x with every word that came out of his mouth. "The way you cross your legs and then squeeze your thighs hard to ease the ache you feel." Emily was forced to remain completely silent. She could still save herself from the humiliation and use this to talk more about him than invite him to focus on her problems. "I am not a clueless man, Dr. Vargas. I can read you very easily while you ... cannot see beyond what I allow you to see."

She merely smiled. This man had completely underestimated her. “What make you think that?”

He shrugged noncommittal.

“I see.”

He scowled at her. Who was the frustrated one now, huh? “That’s all I get?”

“What were you expecting to happen, Mr. Thorn?”

“I didn’t expect for you to remain so… calm. Most people would have peed on the floor or run the other way. I’m used to it.”

“You want a reaction from people who interact with you. Is it that you enjoy provoking them during a conversation you’re not in control of?” She saw him tense. Gotcha. “When things do not go your way, you seek for an opportunity. You spot the tiniest detail and exploit it to your advantage. Why do you do that?”

“You’re the expert.” He gritted out.

“Indeed I am. However, I would like to hear it out from you.” He was cold and silent under her scrutiny. "If you are not able to answer, then there would be two questions that remain unknown to both of us. And that is fine, do you know why?" He shrugged once more. "Together we will discover the answer to those questions and understand anything else that causes you conflict."

“I want to understand something about myself, Dr.” he admitted. Fascinating. She was more than intrigued now. "I recently let go of something important to me. After wanting it for so long, I had it and let it run away. I didn't finish breaking it."

Breaking it? "Are we talking about an object or a person? Objects do not slip out of our hands or we let them go. They simply cease to exist for us when we no longer need them."

After a pause he said, “A person.”

"Why do you think of people as objects? Why did you let this person go if your intention, from what you tell me, was to break them?"

"Many times, I ask myself that question and I never find an answer as such. The only thing I know is that in doing so, considering people as objects, I feel ... alive. I don't think of all people in that way… " then he stood up and turned his back on her. "I only do it if I have some kind of interest in them."

“What kind of interest?” she leaned forward in awe.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he gave her a devious grin over his shoulder.

“I would.”

"I'm afraid it won't be possible for you to be considered a breakable object to me, Dr. Vargas ... unless ..." There was something in the air. As palpable as the arms of her chair. As her hair. As everything in this room. “we make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” She was playing a dangerous game here. Have the tables turned without her noticing?

"You cannot deny that you are frustrated right now. Let me see you succumb to your own touch and only then will you understand why I view certain people as objects."