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A SESSION IN THE TUB

Cover design by Devon Rhodes

Edited by Stacey Birkel

A Devon Rhodes publication

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or business
establishments, events or locales is coincidental.

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles
and reviews.

WARNING!

This book contains material that maybe offensive to some, including adult situations. Please
store your books carefully where they cannot be accessed by underage readers.

A Devon Rhodes publication

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

Almost time to go in.

Liam took a deep breath and smoothed his hands down his best silk shirt,

cursing softly as he belatedly wondered just how sweaty his hands had been.

Before he could check for damage, he heard his name being called.

He grabbed his favorite jacket and crossed the waiting room, feeling the

weight of every eye on him as he approached the door to the inner sanctum.

Normally, he would relish the attention and strut his stuff, but here in this
setting, he found it daunting. Pausing for just a moment to delay the

inevitable, he stepped over the threshold into the office.

“Come in, Liam. Close the door, please.”

He complied quickly and fidgeted slightly as he waited for further instruction.

“It’s been a while. Glad to see you’re finally getting out and about.” The tall,

leather desk chair spun slowly to reveal a tall, immaculately dressed blond

man. There was something different about him today, something deep in his

expression Liam couldn’t quite put his finger on. “Why don’t you get

comfortable on the couch?”

He never knew exactly what to do at this point and wished he could

remember how he’d handled it last time, but his memory was just awful when

he was emotional. And it seemed like the only time he ended up here was

while he was in one of his ‘moods’. He contrarily put his jacket back on before

he walked over to the imposing leather lounger. For some reason, it felt

important to keep his jacket close. So he was ready for flight? An extra ‘layer’

of protection? So many hidden meanings to pander to, so little time.

Liam finally settled for simplicity—sitting right in the middle of the damn

thing. Lying down just seemed…strange. He subtly stroked the supple leather;

it felt like his favorite leather pants, the ‘blond’ ones he hardly ever used,

wanting to save them for a special occasion. But no occasion ever seemed

special enough, and they just hung there in his closet…

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

The commanding voice cut into his tangent. “I don’t know how much you

remember from your last visit, Liam, since it has been a while, so let me ask

you first of all if you think this should be a simple session, or something more

intensive.”

Liam’s lips parted on an inhale as the query seemed to hang in the air. Time

stood still. The silence was oppressive as if everyone and everything were

waiting on his answer. The right answer. His respiration picked up as he

frantically tried to recall why exactly he had come and what response would

make this man happy.

“Don’t try to think about what I want you to do, Liam. I can see the wheels

turning. This is the easiest question you will answer for me today, and there is

no wrong answer.”

Why couldn’t he think? Now he could barely remember the choices. He

parroted the least threatening word he could recall.

“S-simple.”

“Fine.” A sincere smile. Relieved he seemed to have gotten it right, Liam began
to imperceptibly relax. “Then let’s get started. Who are you?”

He went still, uncertain. “Uh, Liam?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Liam rolled his eyes at himself. “Liam,” he

repeated firmly.

“Someone left you.”

Tears immediately pricked his eyes despite his best efforts to keep them back.

How did he know about Korry? “Well, yes, but not me specifically. He had a
job…”

“He left you.”

Liam swallowed and forced himself to relax his hands, which he had clenched

into fists.

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

“That’s good. Be aware of your physical responses, Liam. When you can adjust

your physical reactions, you will become more aware of what is causing them.

Tell me about why he left.”

Never one with an even temperament, the prodding was starting to piss Liam

off. “I just told you! He had a job offer. He didn’t leave just me, he left the

fucking state!”

“That’s one. Would you like to keep track or should I?”

Keep track of what? What the fuck did this guy want from him? Tempted to

just get up and walk out, he forced himself to simmer down. He’d come here

for a reason. Why, exactly, escaped him at the moment, but since he’d barely

left the house since Korry pulled up stakes for the Golden State, it must’ve

been important.

Something nagged at him. He finally remembered he needed to give a

response. “I’ll keep track.”

That earned him the biggest smile yet. “Excellent, Liam.” The guy really

sounded pleased. About what, who knew? All he knew was the praise soothed
him. “That’s wonderful to hear. Now, who are you?”

Back to this? The brief moment of contentment vanished. “Liam.” He barely

kept from sounding like a sullen teenager.

“Why did he leave you?”

Jesus. “To go to California!”

“Wrong. That’s two.”

Liam just gaped at him as heat swept up his chest to his neck. “Wrong? What
the fuck? What do you mean, wrong? I can’t be wrong! I’m the fucking

customer. Client. Patient. Whatthefuckever.” Liam felt his earlier discomfort

take on the more familiar burn of anger. Anger towards this man who was

rubbing his failures in his face.

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

“I’m not rubbing it in. I’m trying to make you search for the truth. Whose loss

do you feel?”

Liam let out a frustrated sound and slammed his hands again and again on his

leather seat, which seemed to have warmed under his touch. All he wanted to

do was jump to his feet and storm out the door, but the couch was so

comfortable. Comforting. Accepting. The thought of leaving its protection was

much worse than answering even the most difficult questions.

“I know they’re difficult, but you need to see. Who left you?”

“Korry.”

“Wrong. Open your mind.”

Liam sagged backwards in defeat, barely hanging onto his composure. His

throat was thick with bitter tears as he confessed, “I don’t know what you

want me to say. Please help me. I can’t do this.” He closed his eyes in

embarrassment and exhaustion.

“Yes, you can, Liam. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t ready. I’m always
here for you. I love you.”

He loves me... Liam opened his eyes and was rewarded with the closest view

yet of that jeweled stare, just a couple feet away now.

“Let’s get through this hard part, and then we can start your session.”

What the fuck? What is this, if not a session? “I don’t underst…”

“Who are you?”

“Liam.” He at least knew that one. He could feel himself settling as tentatively

as a feather into a serene place, buoyed by the breeze of his slight success.

“Why are you alone?”

“He left me.” The answers began to rise as though fed to him by an inner

spring, bubbling upwards effortlessly. Oh thank you. Thank you. I need this.

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

“Who left you?”

It was suddenly as clear as glass. “Everyone.”

“Why did they leave?”

He knew. He had always known. “I wasn’t enough. I was too much.”

“Do you see it can be both?”

“Yes.”

“What does that make the real truth here?”

Everything stopped for a moment. Liam could feel that last big bubble, that

last home truth, the answer rising, coming, if he could just wait a little longer…

“Before you answer that question, Liam, let’s settle up. How many are owed?”

He thought back, fighting through his troublingly opaque memories of the

entire scene thus far. One, two… “Three.”

The blond faced him encouragingly and beckoned with his fingers. Liam was

puzzled until, as if sensing his need for explanation, the blond removed his

jacket, dropping it to the floor. He held his hand out meaningfully once again

and Liam hesitantly removed his own. It hit the ground.

“That’s one.”

Realization bloomed. Ah, a little strip poker, psych-style. Liam took stock of

what remained of his garments. Button-down silk shirt, black slacks, boxer

briefs. Momentarily puzzled by his bare feet, he thrust that niggle aside and

regarded the man in front of him in a new, much more familiar light.

“You said you love me.” Liam took a couple seductive steps forward, leaving

just inches between their similarly clad forms, the blond towering over him by

several inches. “We’ve been together before.” This last could be either a

statement or a question, the barest inflection at the end could be answered or

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

disregarded. A great way to get information, that tiny little lilt. Liam was an

expert at this. In his comfort zone.

“We have,” the blond confirmed with a sultry smile curving his full lips, and

Liam desperately wished he could remember his name, but he’d be damned if

he’d ask at this point. Generic endearments then. He slowly drew the top over

the other man’s head and tossed it aside, then moved his hands to his own

shirt buttons.

The height difference put Liam’s lips right level with the dip of his collarbone.
He followed the ridge with his parted lips, then slowly parted the front of his

own shirt. “It’s been a long time, babe.” Liam shrugged and caught his top in

his fingertips as it came down his back. “Two?”

“Two,” his partner agreed huskily.

He tossed the garment atop the growing pile on the rug then worked the

blonde’s belt buckle, unhooking his pants then running his fingers down the

inside of his pants, following the path of the zipper down protectively.

Commando. His mouth watered at the unexpected discovery, while part of him

was a bit annoyed by the lack of symmetry in the comparative number of
garments to shed. Barefooted as well, his host was going to be naked well

before him. Oh, who cared? Seriously, what a time to go OCD.

Shunting that line of thought away, Liam’s confidence again grew as he

dropped to his knees. With a playful shimmy that took Liam by surprise, the

man sent his slacks sliding to the floor and stepped out, leaving him bare and

proudly displayed to his guest.

Liam kissed and nibbled that erotic little spot he loved on a man’s body, the

place where leg and torso and hipbone all come together in one concave dish

just begging to be licked. He purposely dipped under the erect shaft bobbing,
eager for his attention, taking the time to relearn the texture of the ever-

tightening sacs below, drawing first one orb then the other into his mouth for

a loving wash.

Time was immaterial as he licked his way through the blond nest at the thick

base of the erection before him. Finally tonguing his way from base to tip,

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

Liam flicked his gaze upward to make eye contact, and the loving expression

that met him literally took his breath away. Unable to breathe anyway, Liam

decided to forgo the foreplay, and took the cock in one smooth slide to the

back of his throat. With barely a thought, he opened and accepted the full

length, swallowing when he heard a groan and mentally grinning as the

involuntary sound increased in volume.

He drew backwards to almost the head of the shaft, dancingly lightly around

the ridge with his tongue, then descended once again, setting a rhythm as he

braced himself with both hands on those sleekly muscled thighs. Liam’s only
thought was to give this beautiful creature, this man who loved him, a

measure of love in return. In the best way he knew how.

The only way.

“Liam, not the only way.” The voice was breathless. “Love cannot touch this.

This is a separate, precious gift I accept.” Then he felt the pulse and flex, just

before the earthy taste of seed flooded his mouth, going on for heartbeats.

Those caring eyes still pinned him in place, and the echo of amazing words

and the laden looks were almost too much to bear.

Gentle hands were easing him backwards onto the leather couch, and oh, the

wanting. Liam reached for his pants, each exhale almost an exclamation, and

met frustration as his hands were restrained somehow.

“Please, oh, so hard.” Liam need contact, any contact. “Take them, my pants,

they’re yours. Three.” And suddenly they were gone and only the briefs

remained between him and freedom.

“Who are you?”

Ah fuck. No, no, no. No time. “Please!”

“You’re almost there. Who are you?”

“Liam.”

“Why are you alone?”

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

I’m not alone. “I have you.”

“Why did they leave you?”

“Not enough, too much. Not right.”

“What’s the truth?”

Finally Liam could accept it. “I wasn’t what they needed. It just wasn’t right.

The right one will stay. He’ll stay.”

Agreement. Validation. “The right one will stay, and he’ll be here soon. We’re

starting, and finishing, our last session.”

Liam looked down and he was naked and jutting upwards and the blond

smiled sadly but before Liam could ask why, he was being slowly engulfed in

the warmest, hottest mouth imaginable. Perfect. So close. He bucked upwards

and like that, it was over. Everything around him disappeared, and his whole

existence narrowed down to the eruption of pleasure streaming through him

to burst wildly outward, coming with a wordless yell, his body arching and

writhing out of control. Slowly easing back to earth, to ground, the leather
beneath him still warm, the blond gently nursed him to the last then embraced

Liam about his hips, his head tucked against his side.

“Bath time.”

Yes, bath next. The voice intruded into his sleep, and Liam was floating. No.

Being carried, in strong arms, effortlessly. They eased into the water, the same

warmth as the couch, as his mouth, all perfect.

Bits of the previous started intruding into Liam’s relaxed mind, stray thoughts

coalescing into questions. He finally opened his eyes, and they were in his
bathroom, in Liam’s condo, in his garden tub. He could see their reflection in

the dressing mirror on the back of the door.

“Am I dreaming?”

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

His voice was a shock in the room, and he waited for the man to disappear, but

the body behind his remained solid.

“No, not really. But this is the only way I can help you. The only time you see

me.”

Liam tried to remember all his questions, but they were fading away.

“Are you my guardian angel?”

A chuckle. “Would you like me to be?”

Liam shifted impatiently. “Okay, let me ask this; who are you?”

“Someone who loves you. I’ve been with you for a long time, but we’re almost

finished.”

A synapse connection flashed. “The accident. When I was a kid.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been with me that long? I can’t think. Why don’t I remember?”

“Dreams fade.” A shrug. “But what we accomplish with our sessions remains.

What did we accomplish today?”

Liam remained silent, at first afraid to answer incorrectly. Time slid by, and

the water felt so warm, so good. A moment of clarity.

“The right one will stay.”

“And he will be here soon.”

“I’m not alone.”

“Never. I’m always with you.”

The last burning questions in Liam’s mind tore at everything that was just

beginning to heal. “Why are you sad? Why do you say we’re almost done?”

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

The arms around him tightened. Liam settled more comfortably against his

protector, wishing the bath could go on forever.

“Not forever. You need a real love, a real man in your life. And when he

comes—and he will—” A squeeze. “—he will fill your mind and soul. You

won’t see me, because you won’t have a place for me. And I’m sad because I’ll

miss you. And, Liam? This is the way it is meant to be.”

“Are you sure I won’t see you again?”

The blond turned his head and met Liam’s eyes in the mirror with a

mischievous grin. “Not for a session anyway. Maybe just in a dream.”

~*~

The ringtone was loud in the enclosed space and Liam jolted in the cooling

water, sending a wave of water up over the edge of the tub. Shit. Fell asleep

again. He was going to drown himself one of these days.

He debated about letting it go to voicemail like usual, but it was his best

friend’s ringtone, and a sudden, unusual yearning for company had him
scrambling to answer as he stood dripping on the mat.

“Hey, Baz.”

“Liam? Wow, it’s great to hear you, man. Uh, didn’t think you were going to

answer.”

“Sorry. I can hang up,” Liam replied sarcastically as he put his best friend on

speaker so he could dry off.

“No! Oh no, I’ve missed you. Mike and I both have. We wanted to check in—see

if you felt like doing something, maybe dinner out tonight?” Hope warred with
resignation in his voice.

For the first time since Korry left last month, Liam was actually tempted and

made himself answer before he could think about it too much. “Sure, that

sounds fun.” Utter silence greeted this. “Baz, did I lose ya?”

A SESSION IN THE TUB

Devon Rhodes

www.devonrhodes.com

“No, yeah, great!”

Liam grinned as he interpreted Baz’s garbled response. Probably shocked the

shit of out him by actually saying yes. That only proved that he needed to start

getting out more.

“Hey, man, I just got out of the tub. Let me call you back in a minute.” They

said goodbye and Liam hung up.

He finished toweling off and was looking absently into the mirror, thinking

about what to wear, when a flash of a dream suddenly hit him. He never

remembered his dreams, but the image of him in his tub cuddling with a tall,

sexy blond man made him smile.

A dream that left him with a warm, fuzzy feeling, coupled with the desire to

rejoin the human race?

Best he’d felt in forever.

Liam strode into his walk-in closet with the first chuckle his apartment had

heard in a long time.

It’s like I’ve always said…a nice, long session in the tub can work wonders.

~END~

www.devonrhodes.com

The Author…

Devon started reading and writing at an early age and never looked back. After a
creatively-sapping career in the business world, she gratefully took some time off to be
at home. At 39 and holding, Devon finally figured out the best way to channel her midlife
crisis was to morph from mild-mannered stay-at-home mom to erotic romance writer.
She lives in Oregon with her husband and two girls, who are (mostly) understanding of
all the time she spends on her laptop, aka the black hole.

Contact me at my email:

devonrhodes@hotmail.com

Visit me at my website:

www.devonrhodes.com

Keep up with my latest at my blog: My Turn to Write,