Dave rested the back of his head on the sofa’s armrest and stretched his six-foot-four body across the couch, letting his feet dangle over the other side. He stared at the closed bathroom door and grumbled under his breath. She’d been in there for a good half hour already, and it took every drop of self-control to not check on her. According to their agreement in couple’s counseling, he needed to give her space whenever she ran and let her come to him when she was ready.
Well, fucking great.
He grabbed the remote control and turned on the television. A newsman with platinum hair popped on the screen, providing commentary about the upcoming presidential elections. That was the last thing he wanted to focus on.
He flipped through channels as his mind drifted to the events which sent her running to the bathroom in the first place. All they were doing was eating their fucking dinner. He’d finished telling her how good the pasta turned out when her eyes glazed over and she left. That was it. Nothing more.
Well, clearly there was more. So he went through their dinner scene by scene in his head. The shirt she wore looked really good on her. She called the shade coral. Whatever name she used, he loved how the color made her tanned skin glow—especially the cleavage peeking out from the top’s V-neck. He also appreciated the way it hugged her body. But he kept those thoughts to himself, instead merely stating that he liked the top on her. Maybe he shouldn’t have complimented her?
Dave shook his head and focused on his channel surfing until the image of two meerkats having sex popped on. He slanted his head, watching them in fascination.
“Lucky bastard,” he muttered before turning it off and tossing the remote back on the table. The digital clock by the television flashed eight thirty. It had been forty-five minutes. He stared at the door for the thousandth time. Fuck this. Dave got to his feet and headed to the bathroom, but instead of banging on it, he paced the living room. Once it hit an hour, all deals were off.
“David?”
He paused mid-pace and stared at the still closed door separating them. “I’m here.”
“Can you grab a stopwatch, set it for five minutes, and sit on the couch please.”
He scrunched his face at the request but didn’t question it. Instead, he did as instructed. He sat his impatient ass on the couch while he fiddled with his cell until he found the stopwatch feature. “Ready.”
“Don’t hit start until I tell you.”
Cell on his bouncing knee, he stared at the door, wondering what the hell she had in mind. “Okay.”
She came out of the bathroom in the same jeans and coral-colored shirt she wore when she ran in. He focused on her face and the way her nose crinkled up. Something either stank or she was concentrating. His bet was on the latter.
Ally slid the remote control to the side and sat on the coffee table in front of him. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Dave’s chest tightened. He hated seeing her like this, and not knowing how to make it better killed him. It used to be he could hug the hell out of her and she’d be good. But now hugging sometimes had the exact opposite effect.
“So I figured out my trigger this time.”
He nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“It was you staring at my breasts.”
He shifted in his seat as his face heated. “I didn’t stare at your breasts.”
She raised her brows and smiled. “It’s okay. You’re my husband and you’re supposed to find me attractive.”
Dave shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, well maybe I might have stared a little.”
Ally nodded and sat up straight. This time he made it a point not to gaze at her chest when she sucked in a breath. “It’s unrealistic of me to ask you to not look at my breasts. And since a big part of intimacy is you admiring all parts of my body, it’s something I need to work on. So, I want you to stare at my breasts.”
Dave laughed. “What?”
She nodded. “For five minutes every day, you’ll stare at my breasts. In a few days, we’ll up the time to six minutes and keep going.”
His mouth had dropped open at some point. He closed it shut only to open it again. “How exactly is this supposed to help?”
“Desensitization. I need to get used to it.”
He nodded at the serious expression on her face. She was clearly in therapist mode, which reminded him. “Shouldn’t you talk to your therapist about this plan first?”
She shrugged. “I know me and what I need. This is what I need now. So when you’re ready, hit start.”
Hell if he was going to argue. Dave hit start on the stopwatch and began the breast desensitization session. He shifted in his seat while he focused on the lovely view of her cleavage. She was right; he had noticed them earlier. How could he not? They were his favorite part of her. Well, those and her ass and those legs. A part of him started to twitch in agreement.
Shit.
Dave cleared his throat. “So this desensitization thing. You realize no matter how long we do this, it won’t desensitize my reaction to your breasts, right? I will get turned on every time.”
When Ally shifted in her seat, her chest did, too. Dave glanced at her hands. They were balled in fists. Any arousal he felt started to deflate as soon as he saw her pale knuckles.
He cleared his throat. “Have I ever told you about the naked lady at the hospital?”
“No.”
He grinned. “Well, it was a little over a year ago. I was charting on some of my post-op patients when this woman walked up to me and asked me how I was doing. I looked up to tell her I was doing great and noticed she was naked.”
Ally giggled, making her lovely parts jiggle. Dave grabbed a pillow, resting it on his lap. Something told him she’d soon be jiggling a lot more. “She was in her late nineties and stood so close to me that I’m pretty sure her breasts were rubbing against the sleeve of my scrubs.”
Again the laugh, and of course the shake. “What did you do?”
He shrugged. “I asked her how her day had been. I figured at some point, they’d come take her away. Just needed to keep her distracted until then. What I’ll never forget, though, is she had this one long, straggly piece of hair growing from her left nipple.”
Dave smiled at the beautiful sound of her laugh. He put his hands out to show her how long the strand was. “I kid you not, the thing measured two to three inches long and stuck straight up. As much as I tried, I couldn’t stop staring at it.”
They almost missed the sound of the timer beeping because of her laughter. Dave slid next to her on the table and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “So at any point will these breast desensitization sessions be with you topless?”
Ally smiled and turned her chocolate brown eyes up at him. “What? Are you wanting to see if I have hair growing out of my nipples?”
He chuckled. “Hadn’t considered the prospect. I should probably keep some tweezers on hand just in case.”
She jabbed his side with her elbow before resting her head on his shoulder. “I love you.”
The act was so natural, so very Ally, the old Ally. Dave’s eyes burned with emotion.