then started all over again, losing myself in her body and marveling that I’d not only found a woman capable of keeping up with me, but actually challenging me, and I was more than up for it—for her.
Problem was, I wasn’t just hooked anymore…
I was addicted.
10
Liberty
Nixon’s delicious weight between my thighs.
The rock hardness of his body sliding into mine like we’d been made to fit together.
The way he took care to go slow and steady and drag out the pleasure until we were both a tangled mess of primal need.
I’d never come so many times in my life, let alone so hard—
“Liberty Jones?” the personal assistant for the Breaking Boundaries Raleigh office called from her desk toward the crowded waiting room. The sound jolted me out of the memory on repeat in my mind, and I tried not to leap from my chair.
“Present,” I said, slightly breathless as I made it to her desk. She flashed me a sad smile at my attempt to joke, and I swallowed hard.
“Doctor Bernard will see you now.” She motioned to the office behind her, and I sucked in a sharp breath before entering.
“Ah, Ms. Jones,” Dr. Bernard said as she greeted me. She stood from behind her desk to shake my hand before we both settled into our seats.
“Liberty,” I said. “It’s an honor to meet you, Dr. Bernard.”
She waved me off, leaning back in her winged-back leather chair. “Katherine, please.”
I nodded, but had no intention of addressing her so informally.
Her blue eyes were kind, but I could see the strain in them—she was about to deliver bad news. My stomach dropped like I’d swallowed an anvil. “I didn’t get the internship,” I said, finding no need to beat around the bush.
Her eyebrows raised. “How did you know that?”
I shrugged. “I’m good at reading people,” I said, though that little talent didn’t extend to Nixon, but I was getting better at it. The memory of his hands on my skin sent a ripple of heat over the ice crystalizing my heart.
“It’s not that you aren’t qualified,” she hurried to say. “You are. More than, actually. We just don’t have an open internship in our Brazil office right now.”
Okay, that didn’t sting as much as I thought it would. But why call me in for a personal meeting when this could’ve been relayed in an email?
“What would you say your biggest aspirations are, Liberty?” Dr. Bernard asked as she fiddled with a ballpoint pen on her desk. “Why Breaking Boundaries?”
“Well, my mother worked as a missionary while she raised me, so I’ve always been inside the lifestyle. And as she grew older, she built her own non-profit from the ground up. While it would be an honor to work for her, I’d like to gain experience with another organization before deciding what I’d like to settle on career-wise.” I sighed as Dr. Bernard waited for me to continue.
“My dream?” I said. “I want to bring mental health care to isolated locations who need it most. The program with Breaking Boundaries I applied for would give me the best shot at achieving that dream while also gaining experience from the experts who have paved these roads before me.”
Dr. Bernard nodded, jotting a few things down inside a leather-bound notebook in front of her. “That’s truly wonderful,” she said. “And you're almost done with your doctorate?”
“I will by the end of the school year,” I said and smoothed a hand over my tummy.
A tiny bump was finally starting to show, and I couldn’t wait to start feeling kicks and flips.
“Brilliant,” she said, setting her pen down. “Would you be interested in interning for our sister company here in the city? I know it’s not abroad or fieldwork, but we are desperate for help. It would gain you some experience with clients, too. Supervised, of course.”
My spirits lifted at the prospect of gaining some experience and learning from the best resources around. “Absolutely,” I said, but still couldn’t hide the disappointment that I hadn’t been selected for the abroad internship. That would’ve helped me finish my dissertation.
No room, remember? Not because you aren’t qualified.
I repeated the words a few more times in my head.
“Perfect,” she said, standing to come around her desk. I stood as well, shaking her hand. “I’ll have my assistant send along all the information you need, and we’ll get a schedule set up.”
I nodded. “I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
“Would you like me to place you on the waitlist for the abroad internship?” Her