Cougar Christmas Read online

  Things were changing between them, changing in ways Drew had never dreamed would be possible.

  He found himself hoping they would change even more.

  Chapter Five

  “Well, you appear to have made some progress last night.” Phillips was sitting on a chair in his office to one side of a large flat screen TV. Drew and Genevieve were sitting on a loveseat together, watching the recording of the night before play out.

  “We did our best,” Gen said stiffly. Drew could tell she felt intensely uncomfortable and he didn’t blame her. It wasn’t easy to watch yourself having sex. Or simulating sex, anyway.

  “No, I don’t think you did.” Phillips sounded critical as he frowned and rubbed his long hands together, making that weird sandpapery sound.

  “What do you mean?” Drew demanded, frowning. “We did the exercises exactly as the instructions stipulated. And then we made love, exactly like we’re supposed to every night.”

  “Yes, but you did so fully clothed.” Phillips frowned. “It’s almost as though you two are afraid to expose your bodies to each other. Or else you don’t want to see each other naked?”

  “Of course we do,” Drew protested. “I love Gen’s body. She’s absolutely gorgeous naked.” From the corner of his eye he could see his boss blushing at this but he didn’t care. She was beautiful and he had no problem admitting it.

  “Then you should let her know you find her beautiful in a more intimate fashion,” Phillips responded. “In fact, tonight I want you to do the sensual soaking bubble bath for two intimacy exercise. You should take your time and wash each other everywhere.”

  “What?” Genevieve looked panicked. “But…but I thought you said we got to choose which exercises we did each night!”

  “And you will—you can choose the second one.” Phillips nodded as though the matter was decided. Before either Drew or Genevieve could say anything else, he added, “At least it’s obvious you weren’t faking your orgasm, Genevieve. That’s a good sign you’re on the right track.”

  “What?” Gen’s big brown eyes got even wider. “Why…I mean, how could you possibly tell that?”

  “I know, it’s supposed to be impossible for a man to tell if a woman is pretending to reach the peak.” Phillips laughed, as though it was a great joke. “But for a trained therapist like myself, it’s not difficult.”

  Genevieve shook her head.

  “I still don’t see—”

  “Look here—see how your pupils are dilated? And there’s a redness on your chest, right above your breasts. That’s a sexual flush—a tell-tale sign of arousal. And then here—” Phillips ran the recording back and froze it at a certain spot. “Your fingers and toes are curled in a spasm of pleasure and your back is arched, as though you’re trying to allow Drew here the deepest penetration possible. That’s a physiological response to orgasm—an evolutionary reaction that allows the male’s seed the best possible chance to fertilize a waiting ovum.” He frowned. “Tell me, Genevieve, are the two of you trying to conceive? Sometimes that can put a strain on a relationship, especially if you’ve been unsuccessful in the past.”

  “I…I…” Genevieve was clearly speechless—speechless and mortified, Drew saw. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she couldn’t seem to get any words out.

  “No, we’re not trying for a baby right now,” he said smoothly, trying to cover for her. “But we were thinking about it in the next few years. Look, is this session almost over? It’s nearly lunchtime and I am starving.”

  Phillips frowned at them.

  “Well, I suppose we can call a halt to the session for now. But I want you two to do better tonight. Take off your clothes and really look at each other—explore each other’s bodies. Enjoy each other. Am I clear?”

  “Crystal,” Drew said quickly, rising. Genevieve was already up and headed for the door. Clearly she was still really upset.

  “I’ll see the two of you later,” Dr. Phillips called.

  Drew gritted his teeth. I’m sure you will, you perverted old bastard!

  Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it—they were stuck in this situation. Quickly, he followed Genevieve out the door, hoping to speak to her about it.

  But by the time he got out of the therapist’s office, she was already gone.

  * * * * *

  Oh God, he knows—he knows I wasn’t faking! Genevieve paced around the luxurious bedroom, running her hands through her hair. Damn that idiot Phillips for telling on me that way and giving it away!

  “Gen? You in here?”

  Drew’s voice came floating in and she knew she was caught.

  After the therapy session that morning she’d been so mortified she had run out of the therapist’s office as fast as she could. She’d skipped lunch—she couldn’t eat when her stomach was tied in knots anyway—and Drew had gone without her, obviously sensing she needed time alone. But now he was back and she would have to face him and look him in the eyes knowing that he knew.

  I’m supposed to be his boss, she told herself for the umpteenth time. How can we possibly go back to our regular relationship at work now that he knows how much he turns me on? Knows that he made me come? Even after he gets that promotion we’ll still be working in the same space—I’ll still have to see him every day and remember what happened between us…

  “Gen?” he said again, coming in to the bedroom. “There you are. Are you feeling any better?”

  “Some.” Genevieve forced a tight smile. She hoped like hell that Drew wasn’t going to ask why she’d run out of the therapist’s office so quickly. “Uh, what did I miss for lunch?”

  Drew shrugged. “Well, it wasn’t nearly as fancy as dinner. There wasn’t a bowl of caviar or a platter of pâté as far as the eye could see.” He made an indignant face. “I was going to complain but then I decided I would just have to make do with the duck a l’orange and steak au poivre with black truffle mousse instead.”

  Against her will, his words drew a more natural smile to her face. How did he always know how to lighten her mood? She’d always known he was kind of a smartass at the office but now she was seeing a whole new side of his humor—a side that made her like him more and more.

  “Drew…”

  “Come on.” He held out a hand to her, smiling encouragingly. “We’re going to be late for group therapy. And I don’t like to think what Phillips will do to us if we miss. Or make us do to each other,” he added darkly.

  “You’re right.” Genevieve made herself square her shoulders. “Who knows what other, uh, homework he might assign. I mean…” She felt another miserable blush rising to her cheeks. God, how had she just blurted that out? She really didn’t need to remind herself and Drew of the incredibly intimate scene they would be facing after dinner that night. Especially when she still wasn’t over the embarrassment of knowing that he knew her orgasm of the night before hadn’t been faked.

  Drew seemed to guess what was going through her mind.

  “Don’t think about tonight,” he said quickly. “Let’s just take one thing at a time, okay, Gen? Right now we have to get through this group therapy session. And after that, we get to try and find new ‘couple friends’ to eat dinner with. Unless you want to sit with Myron and Mitzie again?”

  “Ugh, no!” Genevieve made a face. “I swear if I have to hear about his ‘pump’ anymore while I’m trying to eat—”

  “I don’t know—I thought that was the interesting part of the conversation.” Drew grinned. “Although the mental image of Mitzie pumping him up and going to town on him was a little hard to get over.” He cocked his head to one side as though considering. “You think she uses a bicycle pump on him or what? And how does she know if he’s getting over-inflated? I mean, you know how when you’re pumping up a tire—you don’t want it to pop, so…”

  He trailed off because Genevieve was giggling. The idea of the redheaded Mitzie standing over the rotund, balding Myron and pumping industriously while his equipment go