Read Online A Broken Man by Brooklyn Wilde - Free Book Online

normalize.
    She had to pry herself off of him to fetch a towel and fish her underwear out of the Jacuzzi. She helped him into his chair and toweled them both off.
    “So, how was that?”
    “Fishing for compliments?” A smirk turned up one corner of his mouth.
    “More like professional curiosity.” She swatted him playfully with the towel.
    He nodded his head seriously. “I don’t know how to describe it. Surreal. Different. Not like it was before, but not in a bad way. Mostly, it’s a relief. I can get hard; I can fuck; I can come. This is the greatest day of my life since the accident.” He meant it, too. She could tell. Though the truth of the matter went so much deeper than the fact that he was able to perform the physical act. What mattered was that all the bullshit fell away. For a little while, they’d both forgotten about the injury and the chair and had just been two people doing what felt good.
    “Had your doctors said anything about what sex would be like?”
    “Just that I shouldn’t get my hopes up.”
    She leaned over and picked up his sweatpants, the same ones he’d been wearing the night before. A red G-string slipped out of the pocket. She looked down at it blankly before snatching it up and waving it in front of his face.
    “Seriously, creep-o? What’s this?”
    “I’m sorry. They were there. Out in the open in the laundry room. I took them. It was an impulse.”
    “They’re underwear, not a stick of gum by the register.” She feigned anger, but couldn’t summon the real thing so soon after two orgasms.
    “Won’t happen again. You know, now that I’ve been in them.”
    She slapped his shoulder with the panties. “It better not. Not if you ever want to get in them again.”
    “That’s a possibility?”
    “I don’t know.” The laughter was gone. “Maybe.”
     

Chapter Ten
     
     
    The next day was a Saturday, but Sarah had to go in to work. She got up and got dressed, plagued by uncertainty over what had happened the night before. They’d both needed something from each other. She’d needed to be fucked, to be reminded she was still a woman and not just a mom. He’d needed to prove to himself that he was still a man. And damn if it wasn’t good. But she didn’t want to let those things confuse the situation. This whole thing was some kind of fucked up, untidy heap of transference and Florence Nightingale effect, not to mention that it was highly unethical for her as a therapist.
    It couldn’t happen again. She finished getting dressed and headed out to find Ethan already up.
    “You going to be okay today?” she asked.
    “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”
    “It’s nothing. I’m nervous about you and Jared spending the day alone together.”
    “We’ll be fine.” He looked down at his chair for effect. “Seriously, how much trouble can we get into?”
    That’d have to do. She was late. She grabbed her keys and walked out the door with a wave.
     
    * * *
     
     
    Truth be told, Ethan was nervous about spending the day alone with Jared, too. He didn’t have much experience being around kids, and he wasn’t sure what they’d talk about. Maybe it’d be better if he just hid in his bedroom all day. As if on cue, Jared came out of his room at that very moment. Too late to hide.
    “Hey,” Jared said.
    “Hey.”
    The two had breakfast in near silence, broken only by the sounds of their crunching. Finally, Ethan ventured a question.
    “So, you like sports?”
    “Not really.”
    There went all hope of Ethan finding some common ground.
    “Hiking? Mountain biking? Any outdoor activities?”
    “Nope. Definitely not.”
    “What do you like?”
    “Video games. Building stuff.”
    Ethan could barely email. “What kind of stuff do you build?”
    “Computers. Electronics. Mechanical stuff.”
    “Oh.” Another strike. He was on fire.
    From over by the French doors leading to the deck, Dame let out a soft whine and scratched at the glass. Jared hopped up and went over to let