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He slid his hand from my chin and rested it like a necklace at the base of my neck. His fingers twitched. “Does this scare you?”
“No, of course not.” I almost laughed at the absurdity of it but didn’t want to offend him. Maybe he had a choking fetish. Was that why he was seeing Mae?
The psychiatrist in me suddenly got very curious. Was he repressing his sexual desires? Or did he want to learn to control them? I shook the thought from my mind. Whatever therapy he was seeking was none of my business.
I gently pushed his arm away. “This isn’t the right time for this type of exploration.”
“Exploration?” His brow furrowed. “What the hell are you talking about? You never cease to amaze me, Kitten. I don’t know what you were imagining. But I’m guessing you think I have a kink or something. But you’re so wrong.”
“Then why wrap your hand around my throat?”
“I was testing a theory. I’ve been testing the same goddamn theory since the first time I came here, and I keep getting consistent results, but I can never allow myself to believe them. So, I keep testing you.”
“Testing me or the theory?”
“You are the theory. Do you have a good poker face?”
That was a weird question. “No. Terrible, actually. Even my Nana wins against me when we play Texas Hold’em.”
“As a therapist then, you must be skilled at hiding your true emotions from your clients. Never letting them see fea—I mean, feelings.”
“Not really. But, luckily for me, I have a lot of empathy, so my clients will see me look at them with genuine compassion. I don’t have anything to hide.”
“Must be nice,” he said softly, as if to himself. “My whole life is about hiding who I really am.”
And for a brief moment, he let his mask down. The harshness of his eyes disappeared, the anger gone. As his features softened, they showed sadness and vulnerability. The same expression I’d seen at the kennel when he thought Rambo was gone.
I slid my hand over his chest. “You don’t have to hide from me.” His strong heart beat steadily, the rhythm pulsing under my palm. There was nothing sexual about the touch, but somehow it felt far more intimate than moments ago when his tongue pleasured me.
And just like that, before I could say anything else, his mask was back on. “I have to go.”
He charged out, leaving me in a whirlwind of confusion.
