After I left Aiden’s office, I drove home, my hands clutching the steering wheel tight, as I thought about his request. His final touch and last words sent me over the edge. He tests all my limits. Breaks all my rules. Together, we have no boundaries.

Being around Aiden again is proving to be too much for me to bear. I should end our treatment and put myself out of misery. What we are doing to each other is destructive. He will never heal himself as long as I follow his orders.

Will he hold up his end of the bargain?

Horny and mentally tormented by the ideas Aiden planted inside my head, I pull into my apartment complex and get out of the car. Once I’m inside, I drop my purse on the entryway table and lock the door behind me. My hands are shaking from the need that surges through my body like a drug that just hit my bloodstream. Now, I can see why Aiden is so out of control. I do the same thing to him.

All it took was twenty minutes with Aiden for me to want him just as much as he wants me. No matter how much I try to deny them, the feelings are still there. Maybe time was all we needed.

He seems open to the possibility of getting better, though we have a long road ahead of us. He wants to break me. I wonder what had possessed him to say that to me. Anger? Fear? All addicts are the same. They act out when someone confronts them about their habits.

I don’t blame him. Who would want to admit to their colleague that they have a life-ruining problem? It doesn’t help that he has feelings for me, too, or at the very least wants to use me for my body.

Judging by the looks of it, Mark hasn’t been home since this morning. His clothes are still in the same pile on the floor, and his work clothes are nowhere in sight. I’m sure he will be out late again.

Now that Aiden is back in my life, I no longer care about my failed relationship. All I can think about is Aiden and how he makes me feel like a teenager again. He lives in the city, not far from our offices. Even though I wish he were here with me, I’m happy to have some distance between us. If our houses were as close as our offices, I would be driving to meet him instead of walking into my bedroom.

My entire body aches, especially my pussy, as I imagine Aiden’s wicked smirk, deep blue eyes, and the sound of his husky voice. Tonight, I will grant him this one request. He can own my body along with my orgasm. I should be ashamed of what I am about to do. Aiden is my patient. I could lose my license for getting involved with a patient.

But it feels good to let go for once. Aiden and I have control in common. We both live very structured lives, despite the differences in our habits. Now, I’m turning into…

What am I turning into?

I let Aiden talk me into doing something I knew was wrong, and I enjoyed every second of it. He wanted me to show him my pussy. It took every ounce of control I had not to peel my panties to the side.

As I grab my vibrator from the nightstand drawer, my body comes alive from the pleasure this task has given me. I might be helping Aiden, but maybe he’s doing the same for me.

I have zero self-control around Aiden. From the moment his hand caressed my skin, I could not formulate a single thought. My will to fight him diminished the second he told me to touch myself for him.

For the past few days, I have gotten wet just thinking about Aiden. The anticipation of having him inside me, filling up every inch of me, is fucking painful. I get on the bed, lean back against the headboard, and spread my legs. As I push up my skirt, I run my fingers along the inseam of my thigh and imagine Aiden’s hands peeling back my panties and his thumb rolling over my clit.

How does Aiden do this to me?

I don’t care, but I need more. Desperate to find some form of release, I glide the vibrator along my folds to test my slickness. As I click the button, it hums to life, causing my body to tremble once I shove it inside me. At first, I move slow and picture Aiden’s dark hair between my legs so that I can grab hold of him. I bet he would torture me until I begged him to come, which gives me even more pleasure.

Imagining his strong shoulders and arms, I picture what I know are perfectly sculpted abs and his thick cock. I don’t have to see him naked to know how good he looks. Aiden has the body of an athlete with the face of a model. I bite down hard on my lip, quickening my pace.

You did this to me, I whisper, wishing Aiden was here to see me complete his task.

I’m so close as I envision Aiden telling me to come for him with that sexy half-smile he gives me. My world shifts, my core throbs from the building pressure, and my mind goes blank, shutting down yet so alive. The adrenaline rushes through me, making my heart race as it practically claws its way out of my chest.

Out of breath, I stifle my moans by biting down on my bottom lip. I finish with one last whimper and Aiden’s name on my lips, yelling it as if he can hear my performance.

He will ruin me. Aiden hasn’t touched me yet, and I know I will let him do whatever he wants.

Unable to function, I withdraw the vibrator from my throbbing pussy, still surprised that I listened to him but glad that I did. Before Aiden waltzed back into my life, I never would have allowed a man to control me. I hate myself for it, but I can’t deny how good it felt to get off to one of the sexiest men I have ever met. If only I can keep my emotions in check.

I am powerless around Aiden. How did I find the strength five years ago?

* * *

A few hours later, well past midnight, Mark comes home, making his usual banging in the kitchen, before he stumbles into my bedroom. More like our old bedroom that I have since commandeered. We haven’t spoken much since our breakup, only a few goodbyes in passing. Somehow, we have managed to make this work.

Mark reeks of booze and perfume again, stinking up the room. How am I supposed to sleep?

“Scarlett, are you up?” He flicks on the lamp next to the bed, casting a dim light on his face.

“I am now. What do you want, Mark?”

He sinks onto the mattress next to me, sitting at the edge of the bed. “I have to tell you something.”

“You stink. Would you mind taking a shower?”

“It won’t take me long to say this.”

“Okay, well then spit it out. I have to get up at five for work.”

“I lied when I said I never cheated on you.”

My heart plunges into my chest from his betrayal. Even though I have been doing dirty deeds with Aiden, I broke up with Mark before anything had happened between us.

“I don’t want to know, Mark. We’re not together anymore, so unless you are doing this to hurt me, you can spare me the details.”

“I started seeing her about a month before we decided to call it quits.”

“You fucking bastard, get out of here.” I sit up to smack him in the arm, doing my best to push him off the bed. “I don’t want you to finish your next thought.”

He doesn’t budge. “I want her to move in here with me. I thought you should know that so you can find another place to live.”

“Why? Because it finally dawned on you that you can’t afford the rent by yourself? You make me sick, Mark. Just get the fuck out of my bedroom and my life.”

“If you can be out of the apartment by the end of the month, that would work for us.”

I take a pillow and bash it into the side of his head. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.” I hit him one last time, the pillow falling in the space between us. “Now!”

“Stop acting so crazy.” He gets up from the bed and turns off the light. “I just thought you should know.”

“Tomorrow morning would have been a better time, asshole.”

“I never see you in the morning. Late at night is the only time we have anymore.”

“Because you stay out all night with your whore. Goodbye, Mark. Get out and get away from me.”

He doesn’t say another word, as he drags his feet along the hardwood and exits the room.

For ten minutes after he’s gone, I sob into my pillow, wondering how much longer I can deal with my life. I have Aiden on the brain and all the complications that come along with him. Mark wants to move his new girlfriend into the apartment I picked out, complete with all of my decorations.

I moved on from Mark with Aiden, but I need more from him. In the past, Aiden wasn’t willing to give me what I need. This time, I have to demand more from him.