Addicted (Eden's Garden, #1) / Eden's Garden (ePub)

Eden is a successful sex therapist trying to counsel Sabina out of a bad break up.

Their session doesn't go quite the way she planned . . . or does it?

Here, you be the judge:

"Rob looked kind of surprised at my invite, and he was so nice and sweet when he said, 'There's nothing better for me to do than hang out with you,' just like that. He asked if I'd eaten dinner yet, I hadn't, so he ordered out some Chinese and thankfully Bob had a six pack of brew in the fridge so we were good to go.

"We finished eating, finished our beers and talked a little bit, mainly about his brother Bob, then Rob got up to excuse himself, saying it was time to go. 'What about this card game you guys were going to play? What's that all about?' I asked Rob. He told me it was a game called Blackjack, and that the object was to get as close to 21 as possible without going over, and that the house or dealer had to hit - by that I mean take another card - if it had 15 or less, whereas a normal player could hold or stand on 15, hoping that the house would go over 21 and go bust.

"I told him it sounded easy enough and asked him if he would teach me how to play. He took his coat off, sat back down and pulled the deck of cards that he brought from his pocket. I grabbed the last two beers from the refrigerator and sat next to him on the sofa. Rob volunteered to be the house since, he told me, that would make the odds in my favor. And sure enough I won five hands in a row: The first on 16, the second on 20, and then three Blackjacks - that's 21s - in a row! I told him I thought he was letting me win on purpose and he grinned, so I knew I was right.

"I pretended to be pissed, but I was smiling all the time so he would know I was joking and told him I didn't need his help to win, and that maybe we should make the game a little more interesting. He asked me what I had in mind and I told him that 'Strip Blackjack' sounded like fun but right away he held up his hands in protest, saying that I was his brother's woman and that he definitely wasn't going to play 'strip' anything with me. First off, I told him, I'm not anybody's woman, secondly, his brother was off on some business trip to Iowa and thirdly, it's not like we're going to have sex or anything. I just want to make the game more interesting."

"Really?" I say, one eyebrow raised with more than just intellectual curiosity. By now I've gotten a feel for Sabina's moves and figured there was more to this story.

"Yeah, well honestly, when I said the last part, about not having sex, I had my fingers crossed behind my back. Just in case."

"Just in case?"

"Just in case I wanted to have sex with him."

"And did you?"

Sabina purses her lips together in a little pout, exhales and nods 'Yes'.

"Really?"

"It's not like I actually planned it that way or anything. It just kind of happened. I told him that to make things even more fair that I would be the house this time, so that if I had 16 or less I had to hit. No sooner had we started playing again and the tide turned, and next thing I know I'm down to my underwear and Rob's still fully clothed. Rob figures we've played enough and that while I was still relatively decent he'd better go, but I of course insisted we play one more hand. Rob got a Blackjack, a 21, to my 17. I wanted to make it clear to him that I was a lady of my word, so before he could try to excuse himself again I asked him if he wanted my top or bottoms off. . . .