HOLLY

　　She blinked back tears as she scrolled through the photos of Jamie, her daughter, on herphone. Three weeks had passed since she had moved to Zürich, leaving Jamie with Jake. The only consolation she received from the terrible, heart-wrenching loneliness was that she got to Skype with them every night. She missed her little girl so much her heartached.

　　Jamie lived with Jake now. The transition had gone smoother than she had expected it to,but he had an amazing support system. Amelia, Gus, and Robin all jumped at the opportunity to help him out with Jamie.

　　At first, both she and her mother had been hesitant about how quickly and smoothly everything had fallen into place with Jamie and Jake. But when they’d actually thought it through, they realized that for Jamie, Jake had always been in her life, just stuck in a rainbow.

　　For Jamie, Jake had come home now, so it was natural for her to settle in as easily as shehad. And she had to admit that from what she’d seen, Jake was a great father.

　　Rodney, one of her best friends and the only male influence Jamie had had in her life forthe past almost six years, also checked in on Jamie from time to time. Not that it was necessary, but he was a part of their family.

　　As for the Peterses, they were giving Jamie whatever her heart desired.

　　She loved that her little girl would finally be able to go to ballet classes and take part in other activities, but she didn’t want her to become spoiled, and that was a big possibility. Jake couldn’t say no to Jamie. None of them could.

　　For once, things in her life seemed to be going well.

　　Even her mother was happy. Jake had offered Jane a position at Downsend, but she’d goneback to Seattle. Holly had a feeling she was going to try to make it work with Frank again—in her opinion, her mother couldn’t have asked for a better man.

　　Jane had had it rough with her father, and her faith in men had died out after him. But Frank was different. He was a fantastic guy, and he deserved another chance.

　　Even though everything seemed to be working out well, there were two things she worried about.

　　The first was Mara. Jake was making it difficult to forgive her.

　　What Mara had done was wrong on all levels, but Holly had learned the hard way that you had to forgive someone for yourself. The human soul wouldn’t survive and truly be happyif bitterness and anger roamed in the heart.

　　She desperately wanted Jake to forgive his mother, but he was stubborn. He had his reasons, and she couldn’t argue with them, but she worried about the animosity he had toward Mara.

　　The other thing she worried about was Kate. She still felt shitty that Jake had left Kate to be with her. They’d hurt Kate badly, and she couldn’t seem to let go.

　　Jake hadn’t been joking when he’d said Kate was like Mara. She didn’t give up easily.She’d phoned him incessantly in the days before Holly came to Zürich, begging, crying, fighting, more begging.

　　Without her there, anything could happen. He’d been on the verge of marrying Kate; his feelings for the woman couldn’t have vanished overnight.

　　What if he decided to go ahead and marry her, anyway? Jake had shown Holly what he was capable of when he’d cheated on Kate with her, and he loved Michael as if that boy were his own.

　　But Jake had promised her that nothing would come between them, not this time. Holly could do nothing but trust and hope that she was enough for him.

　　She smiled at the memory of Jake telling her over and over that she was everything to him, and that he would keep on telling her that until it sank in.

　　But she couldn’t help it. She was still afraid.

　　She figured her fears were rooted in the married woman from his past. He never talked about her, and she was too scared to bring it up. Scared that she would hear things she didn’t want to hear.

　　Amelia had told her that he’d been devastated over the fact that the woman was married.But then he met Holly and all that seemed to disappear.

　　What had happened? Had the woman’s husband found out about their affair? Had she brokenit off because of that? Or, was it something else entirely?

　　None of his family members knew the woman, had never met her, and Holly was scared that apart of him still secretly lusted after her.

　　It was one of the reasons why she still felt marginally insecure with Jake.

　　What if that woman came back into his life and offered herself on a silver platter while Holly was in Zürich? Would she and Jamie be enough for Jake to say no, and would he truly mean it?

　　Life was too short to spend it with the wrong person, and deep down inside she knew therewas a possibility that she could lose Jake, either to Kate, or the mystery woman.

　　She shook her head. It was no use dwelling on thoughts like that while she was close to 4000 miles away. It only made her worry more.

　　Swiping through her album, she smiled at the photo of her and Bernie with Jamie and Layla, Bernie’s little one.

　　She’d eventually phoned Bernie, who had been short with her answers. She couldn’t blame her friend. She’d completely shut her out, and hadn’t bothered to give Bernie a chance to be a part of hers and Jamie’s life.

　　But the day after Holly had phoned her, Bernie and Leo had rocked up at the cabin. She hadn’t been ready for the ambush, but Bernie being Bernie, hadn’t given a crap about that.

　　When Bernie saw Jamie, it was an emotional moment, and even more when Holly introduced her and she discovered that Jamie’s middle name was Bernice.

　　Bernie had glared at Holly, who had desperately been trying to hide her tears.

　　Sam was almost seven, and he hadn’t recognized Holly at all, but then he’d been a toddler when she’d left them all behind.

　　She was surprised to learn that Bernie was pregnant again—although barely showing—and that she had a little girl, a year or so younger than Jamie.

　　Jake and Leo had taken everyone out on a boat trip, so she and Bernice could talk.

　　Bernice was her best friend, and had been since childhood. In the end, she hadn’t left Jake, she’d left Bernie, too.

　　They’d needed to sort things out.

　　She remembered that day so well.

　　“You just left!” Bernie yelled.

　　Holly looked down and picked at the comforter on the bed. “I know.”

　　“No, you don’t. Do have any idea what you put Jake through?”

　　Holly lifted her head to look at her. “He told me.”

　　Bernie barked out a hollow laugh. “I guess he gave you the subtle version. He was fucked up, Holly. Not even Leo could get him to snap out of it. The punches my husband had to endure…” Bernie closed her eyes and shook her head as she wiped away a tear. “Idon’t even want to think about it to paint you the picture, Holly. He looked everywherefor you, and I was no use. I never once thought you would go crawling to your father. You never spoke about him or mentioned his name, so I had no clue where you were. For someonewho had claimed to be so in love, you sure as shit ran away as fast as your feet could take you.”

　　“I heard him saying—”

　　“It wasn’t him. I told you his mother was a psycho. Didn’t you think to phone Gus whenyou knew you could die? Or when you discovered you were pregnant with twins? I missed all of it. I was your best friend, and you shut me out of your life!” Tears streamed down Bernie’s cheeks.

　　“I’m sorry.”

　　She ignored Holly’s apology. “You didn’t even phone me. Did I mean that little to you? Holly, I stayed with you after Jamie’s death, I was there when fuckface broke yourheart. Why couldn’t you just have phoned me? Did I mean that little to you?” Bernie broke down and sobbed. She slid down to the floor and covered her face with her hands.

　　“No.” She climbed off the bed and crawled over to her friend. She touched Bernie’s arm. She needed to repair their friendship, and could only hope that her friend would forgive her for treating her like shit. “I didn’t want Jake to lose his friendship with Leo, so I gave up ours, okay.”

　　Bernie looked over at Holly, wiping her hands across her cheeks. “He wouldn’t have lost his friendship, because I would’ve fucking asked you where the hell you were. Jakewas insane with worry.”

　　“I know that now, but I didn’t that day. You weren’t there, Bern. You didn’t hear her. I didn’t want to believe it, but then she begged me to phone him, so I did. And he confirmed it. It was enough for me to know that he didn’t want us anymore, so I made a choice. It was a stupid one, I know that now.”

　　Bernie shook her head, but being her stubborn self, they continued to argue. When everything was out in the open and off their chests, Holly apologized again.

　　Bernie finally stopped fighting. “Just promise me one thing, Holly. Never, ever do that to me, or Jake again.”

　　Holly nodded, and they hugged for a long time.

　　“I missed you,” Bernie said brokenly.

　　“Ditto. So much, sister.”

　　Bernie laughed through snot and tears and they broke the hug.

　　“Tell me about Romy,” Bernie asked, rubbing her hands over her face.

　　Holly took a deep breath and told her everything about Romy’s short life, her voice thick with emotion.

　　“That bitch! I didn’t want to believe her, because I knew she was insane when it came to Jake. I was convinced she was behind it, but like you said, Mara finds a way to make you doubt everything you believe in. When you never called me, I believed her, Holly. I fucking believed her, while you were in some fucking hospital fighting for your life andyour babies.”

　　“It’s in the past.”

　　“No!” Bernie yelled. “Don’t you dare give that woman the easy way out. She deserves every fucking thing that comes her way. She lied. Do you know how Gus felt when she told him that the shake hadn’t worked? He spent years, decades, on that formula, and then she destroyed it all. That lie broke him, made him think he’d wasted all his time, all that effort. Not to mention what she did to Jake and Amelia.”

　　“Amelia?”

　　“Amelia hated you. That walk against abortion, the one in high heels? Do you think she would have done that if it wasn’t a cause dear to her heart? And she spent all these years resenting you for getting an abortion, because that’s what Mara made her believe. Not to mention her drinking problem.” Bern sniffed. “She couldn’t handle any of it, so she took to drinking. It was bad. She’s sober now, or so Jake says.”

　　Bernie let out an exasperated sigh.

　　“That night, after we discovered you were gone, I told Mara she was insane. And she had the audacity to start crying. That woman never cries. Jake was in turmoil; he didn’t know what to believe. She chased me out of her house, but only because I knew the bitch had something to do with your disappearance. I knew you would never get an abortion. AndI told Jake that. He was really disappointed that you just left without speaking to him.

　　“Never in a million years did I think Mara was tech-savvy enough to make you think you were speaking to Jake. That woman is pure evil. When I managed to convince Jake that you’d never get an abortion, he decided to look for you. He hired a private investigator, who tracked your car to a bus stop in Atlanta. From there, we tried to pinpoint a location.

　　“Jake was callous and stressed out. He didn’t even care about his residency. He just wanted to find you. We phoned every damn hospital in the country. Gus ran through with us what we needed to say, what your symptoms would be, and then we just waited. But Mara probably had Seattle Memorial on her list of hospitals to phone, and she never made any of the calls.”

　　“You can’t say that, Bernie.”

　　Bernie merely looked at her. “She told you he didn’t want the baby, or you, for that matter. She told you to get an abortion. She wanted you out of his life. She didn’t makea single damn phone call. I’m certain of that, because Seattle would’ve phoned Gus themoment you were admitted, Holly.”

　　She tried to imagine what those months after she had left had been like for them all. Between what Jake, Amelia, and now Bernie had told her, she had a pretty good picture.

　　“The leads went dry after the bus stop. The cameras only recorded three days’ worth offootage. Jake was livid, and threatened to sue them. Of course, he didn’t sue them, buthe did leave. He picked a direction and went with it. For two months, he was radio silent—at least with me and Leo. And then he rocked up at our house out of the blue.” Bernie shuddered visibly.

　　“What happened?”

　　“Mara dragged him back. He was obviously upset with me and Leo, and that was when I really started to think that maybe, just maybe, you had gone through with the abortion.”

　　She nodded, completely understanding why Bernie had believed that. She hadn’t phoned her, just upped and vanished.

　　She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

　　“Do you understand why I’m so upset, Holly? You gave Jamie my name, but you couldn’t find it in you to even phone me.”

　　“I know. How many times do I have to apologize?”

　　“Yeah, it’s in the past now. I’m just…it’s going to take time to get to where we used to be.”

　　Holly bit down on her lip. “You really still want to be my friend?”

　　She cupped Holly’s face, then tucked a curl behind her ear as tears rolled down her cheeks.

　　“You’re stuck with me, whether you want it or not.” Bernie threw her arms around Holly, and rested her head on her shoulder. “I knew you wouldn’t do it,” she mumbled,pulling back to look at Holly.

　　“Bern.”

　　“No.” She sniffed. “In the end, I believed her, because you couldn’t fucking pick upa phone to tell me where the hell you were, or if you were okay. It hurts, Holly, knowing that we could’ve done something to help you during that horrible time.”

　　“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want Leo—”

　　“Fuck other people, Holly. For once in your life, think about yourself. You deserve so much more out of this fucked-up life, but you don’t think you do. I love you so fucking much, but I am still so fucking livid with you. What if he married Kate? What then?”

　　“I know.”

　　“No, you don’t. She’s a bitch, I hate that fucking cow.”

　　“Oh, c’mon, she’s not that bad.”

　　Bernie looked at her. “You know the woman?”

　　She looked down at the floor. Bernie didn’t know she’d been back in Boston all this time. She sighed.

　　“How do you know her?”

　　“I was a resident at Downsend.”

　　Bernie glared at her. “You were in Boston all this fucking time and didn’t call me? You became a nurse?”

　　Smiling, she shook her head. “I wasn’t in Boston all the time. Just this past year. And I’m not a nurse.”

　　Bernie gasped. “A doctor?”

　　“Yep. Still working hard toward my goal of becoming a brilliant one.” She laughed. “Seattle lost its teaching status and now that I think of it, I wasn’t really safe there, either. Our paths, mine and Jake’s, would’ve crossed eventually, because my mom kinda had a thing going with his godfather.”

　　“What?” Bernie chuckled.

　　“Talk about a small world, right? When the status was gone, we immediately got the onlyoptions that still had openings in their programs. P&E was one, and Downsend the other. So I went to Downsend, and one of my friends went to P&E. Everything that could go wrong,went wrong. For five months, I managed not to bump into Jake—serendipitous, in my case—but as fate would have it, it brought us an impossible case that only he would be able to take on. I was so careful, but in the end, I bumped into him.”

　　“You bumped into him?” Bernie’s eyes were huge at this revelation.

　　She nodded.

　　“Why didn’t he tell us?”

　　“I don’t know.” She shrugged.

　　“Why didn’t you say something?”

　　“I couldn’t. I was afraid he’d take Jamie away. I didn’t want to lose her. You don’t want to know what my bank account looks like, so I kept my mouth shut.”

　　“How did he find out?”

　　“I tried, Bernie. I really did.” She shoved her hands under her butt as guilt spread across her face.

　　“Tried what?”

　　“To hate him, to stay away. I knew he was engaged, but he was still my weakness.”

　　Bernie closed her eyes. “Tell me you didn’t.”

　　“Can’t do that. Sorry, but I’m a slut when it comes to Jake Peters.”

　　Against her better judgement, Bernie chuckled. “How long did this ‘affair’ go on for?”

　　“About three months, then Rodney found out.”

　　“Who’s Rodney?”

　　“My friend, the one who took the spot at P&E? He sort of became Jake’s intern, assisting him on all of his cases. He discovered Jake was Jamie’s father during one of our phone conversations.” She chuckled at the memory. “He’d always said that Jake could’ve been Jamie’s father, they looked so alike, but I lied and told him her father’s name was Steve. Stupid lie, I know.”

　　“Yeah, I noticed the resemblance, too. You’re gonna need to buy a gun or something.”

　　Holly laughed. “I know. She’s so beautiful. Anyway, it all went wrong from there. I couldn’t tell Jake, but Rodney made it unbearable. He told me Jake was only messing with me, and that he was still going to marry Kate. So, I asked Jake to choose—I wasn’tthe one he chose.”

　　Bernie huffed. “Because he couldn’t put his family through that again. It was the onlyreason he couldn’t choose you. You should’ve told him about Jamie. How did he even find out about her?”

　　“Destiny…call it what you will. We did this all wrong. Nothing good can come from doing bad things, Bernie.”

　　“No, I don’t believe that anything bad will happen with the two of you. Destiny…it was meant to be. You came back just as he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.”

　　“Yeah, but that didn’t mean I had to screw his brains out.”

　　Bernie snorted.

　　“I really wanted him to choose me, but he didn’t and my life was a mess for two months. I thought he didn’t want me. Listening to the wedding arrangements, him moving it to Hawaii…it clawed at my heart. That was why I let my mother bring Jamie. I missed her so much, and he was going to Hawaii. He was supposed to be on a flight when my mother arrived at the hospital. I didn’t know he’d gotten called in for an emergency.”

　　“I’m glad you’ve made peace with your mom. I need to apologize to her for being so rude when I saw her earlier.”

　　Holly touched her knee. “She understands, Bernie. She wasn’t there for me when my sister died, but I get it now. And I don’t blame her at all. It’s not easy. Every day isa struggle, especially having to look at your surviving daughter and only being able to see the daughter you lost. Without my mother…” She inhaled deeply. “She’s my rock, Bern. Yes, she flew off the handle all those years ago, but from the moment my daughters were born, she’s been there. She’s helped me through the toughest of times. There weredays where I couldn’t bear look at Jamie, couldn’t stand being around her, and my mother was there. Not only to help me out of the dark hole I’d fallen into, but also to take care of Jamie when my heartache was just too much to handle.”

　　“I’m happy for you. I’m glad you had someone with you. You would have had me if you hadn’t been so damn stubborn.”

　　“I know. But these years with my mother…they have been crucial to our relationship. Mydad is still an ass—some people will never change. Anyway, Jake must have seen her whenI came out of surgery. I was assisting one of his cousins, and Jamie announced her happiness to the entire hospital when she saw me. I guess he put two and two together when he saw she looked nothing like me. I was terrified when he cornered me, wanting to know who she was. So we fought and he backed off. I didn’t see confusion in him, just guilt. I wanted to get away from everything, as far as I could, but my mother refused to let me leave. She told me we needed to sort it out, and now here we are.”

　　“Just like that?”

　　She knew what Bernie was really asking.

　　“No, I asked him to stay…and he did. He broke it off with Kate, and the horrible truth finally came out.”

　　“Holly.” One of the residents tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of her journey down memory lane. “The heart transplant is starting.”

　　She smiled up at him. “Thank you, Lukas.”

　　She got up from the table and mulled over her memories as she walked. She was so glad she and Bernie had managed to patch things up and were friends again, because if truth be told, she hadn’t thought Bernie would ever forgive her.

　　They’d made a pact that if Jake fucked up, then Leo could go screw himself, because Bernie didn’t want to lose Holly’s friendship again. Not like that. And Holly promised she’d phone her, no matter what.

　　She took a seat in the gallery to watch the heart transplant, but her mind was still far away.

　　Bernie’s daughter’s name was Layla, and she was a little spitfire. She looked like Leo, but everything else about her was all Bernie.

　　Jamie and Layla became friends almost instantly, just like her sister and Bernice had become friends so long ago. She’d always felt like the outsider, like she was going to lose her sister to Bernie, but then she got pulled in and the three of them had become inseparable.

　　Bernie just had that way about her with people. She’d immediately hit it off with Rod, too, and that had put a smile on Holly’s face. It made her happy that her two best friends liked each other.

　　Rod still worked at P&E, but Jake was transferring him to Downsend. He wanted him back under his wing. Jake thought Rodney had what it took to follow in his footsteps. And the world needed more surgeons who were willing to take chances.

　　Rod had been so ecstatic about the praise Jake had bestowed on him, he’d accepted the transfer without hesitation. She was glad, because Rod really had the potential to be the best.

　　She blinked back tears, trying to concentrate on the heart transplant taking place, but for some reason her thoughts refused to stay in the present.

　　She missed everyone too much. They’d had such a fantastic couple of days at the cabin before she left for Zürich. She had been truly happy during that time. It had made coming to Zürich even harder than she’d thought it would be.

　　The goodbye at the airport had been the hardest. She’d been unable to hold her tears back in front of Jamie, but Jake had promised her she would see them soon.

　　When she realized there was no way her attention would be on the surgery—the surgeon’sdroning voice bored her; nothing like the way Jake taught while he was operating—she put her earphones in.

　　Perhaps she’d be able to concentrate on the German she was trying to learn. It wasn’t easy living in a country where you didn’t understand the language. Sure, they spoke English here, but it wasn’t the same.

　　Of course, Jake spoke the language fluently. She hated that he could do almost everything with such ease. She was a little jealous, because she had to work her ass off at everything.

　　And now, she was thousands of miles away from him.

　　She really missed him, ached for him. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other in the days before she left, sneaking off for quickies whenever someone kept Jamie entertained, and spending their nights after Jamie had gone to bed entangled in each other’s arms, their skin slick with sweat, their breath mingling together.

　　He was insatiable.

　　She missed everything about him.

　　But for now, they sated themselves with phone sex and sexy Skype dates, but she wanted him here.

　　Three more weeks.

　　She was sure she could hold on until then.

　　Jake was struggling to get Jamie’s passport, what with her out of the country, it was close to impossible to get it, since Jamie wasn’t registered in Jake’s surname. But he’d said everything would be sorted out in time for their visit, and she couldn’t wait to see them both.

　　She was counting off the days.

　　The things she was going to do to him when he got here… Her stomach dipped as she thought about their sexting the previous day. She squeezed her thighs together as the video he’d sent her replayed in her mind. He’d started off talking dirty to her, then he’d jerked off, grunting and groaning her name. It had made her want him so badly, and she needed to show him what torture he was putting her through.

　　So, she sent him a video back, teasing him with the Ben Wa balls she’d bought to experiment with during their phone sex.

　　A voice note awaited her when she’d woken up this morning.

　　I can’t believe you just did that. The things I’m going to do to you…be warned, you won’t be able to sit for days.

　　It had made her laugh and blush at the same time.

　　The images his voice ignited in her mind of what he would do to her, did nothing to dampen the lust swirling in her core. But as she went about her day, that lust had morphed into something more; sad desperation.

　　She needed Jake more than what he needed her.

　　He had everything back home—his family, his daughter, friends. She had nobody.

　　She never should have taken this year abroad.

　　She was miserable without them. Just ten more months, and she would go home. Ten more months.

　　JAKE

　　He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Kate, please.”

　　“I told you before. I’m not going to keep you from seeing Michael, Jake, but she can’t be there.”

　　“She’s my daughter, Kate.”

　　“He wouldn’t understand it.”

　　“He’s fucking two years old. Jamie won’t understand it, either, but I’m willing to let her meet him and accept him as part of my life. You’re being unreasonable.”

　　“I’m unreasonable?” Hollow laugher reached his ears through the phone. “You cheating on me was unreasonable, Jake. If she thinks that you are—”

　　“Damn it, Kate. I told you I was sorry, but I couldn’t lie anymore. I couldn’t live that lie anymore. I cheated on you because of who she is, not because of the fact that she’s a fucking strawberry blond. I’ve given you all my reasons, one of them being that I can’t live without her. I felt like a dog, but I’m no longer going to feel like one. My daughter stays. If you can’t find it in your heart to give her a chance, I’m sorry. But she’s not going anywhere just to soothe your insecurities. Can I please pickup Michael tonight?”

　　“No.”

　　The line went dead, and Jake swore under his breath.

　　He wanted to scream.

　　Michael was only two, and Jake was the only father he knew. He’d changed his diapers, sat with him while he was sick, loved him like he was his own. Kate was being a total bitch. And the more he dealt with her, the less shitty he felt about the affair he’d hadwith Holly while they were still together.

　　A message popped up and he swiped across the screen, hoping it was Holly.

　　To his delight, it was a video from her. He had a sneaky feeling what it would be, and decided to wait until he was alone. If the video was anything like the kinky photos she’d sent him—her breasts, covered in lace, bare; her stomach, with her handS splayed out on her abdomen; her ass, clad in briefs or a thong—he was in for something explicitly sexy.

　　And he was almost certain she was reciprocating after the video he’d sent her of him jacking off. He couldn’t help it—her sexy photos had made him hard as rock.

　　She’d cussed at him and told him that he shouldn’t mess with her like that. That had led to full-blown sobbing, and he had struggled to get a handle on the situation.

　　She missed all of them so much, which made the thought that she was utterly miserable unbearable for him.

　　So, he did the only thing he could think of. He booked a flight to Zürich, and was basically just counting off the hours now. He’d hoped to see Michael before he left, but Kate was impossible.

　　Exhaling, he went to his office and took out his phone. Making sure he wouldn’t be disturbed, he hit play on the video Holly sent him, and a goofy grin played on his lips. She was in a naughty mood.

　　Fuck, she looked hot. Her shoulder-length curls bounced as she moved her head, and for that added touch, she’d applied sultry, smoky makeup. With the barely-there red dress,she looked every inch the seductress.

　　He took in a shaky breath. Even from thousands of miles away, she managed to knock the breath out of him.

　　“If you think I forgot about that sexy and oh-so-hot movie you sent me, you’re in for arude awakening, Dr. Peters.” Then she winked at him, her hands running up and then downher body, sensual and excruciatingly slow.

　　His breath caught in his throat as his eyes followed her hand, locking on her fingers as they slipped deftly under her skimpy dress to slip her panties down her legs.

　　What are you doing, woman?

　　With a come-hither look, she crawled on hands and knees across the bed and lied down, grinning slyly at the camera. Then slowly, teasingly, slid her legs open.

　　Jake’s breath hitched, nearly making him choke on his spit when Holly’s bare pussy graced his vision with all its gloriousness.

　　With a shaking hand, he stopped the video—it wasn’t the time or place to watch it—andput his phone back in his pocket.

　　Taking a couple of deep breaths, he willed the images from his mind. As he had other consultations to get to, it wouldn’t be very professional of him if all he could think of were dirty thoughts while dealing with patients.

　　He willed the hours away, desperate to reach for the phone that felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket. All he wanted to do was watch the rest of that video.

　　Finally, the end of the day had arrived. He dropped Jamie and her myriad of belongings off at Amelia’s house—she’d be staying there while he was in Zürich, and he had to catch an early flight to New York in the morning—and gave her a million kisses, before heading back home.

　　Settling himself on his bed, he eagerly took out his phone, scrolled to the video and hit play, continuing where he’d paused it. He watched with lust as Holly’s open glory taunted him.

　　His eyes locked on her fingers once more, watching them slide through her slick folds asshe moaned his name.

　　He felt himself growing hard, and chuckled as Holly’s moans grew louder, her breaths coming out in pants

　　Fuck, he wanted to be there right now, wanted to feast on her. The hours until he saw her needed to go by faster.

　　You little minx.

　　“Jake, I’m going to come,” she moaned.

　　“Holly…” he groaned, gripping his erection in his sweaty hand. Her moaning and breathy sighs were tearing him apart.

　　He’d never wanted anyone as much as he wanted her. The weeks without her were even harder than the five years they’d spent apart.

　　His eyes widened as she pulled at a string he hadn’t noticed before; a Ben Wa ball popped out as she cried her orgasm.

　　The pace of his strokes increased as he gripped his cock like a vice when she pulled out the next Ben Wa ball, a scream of pleasure tearing through her body.

　　Quickly, he replayed the scene, and when Holly reached yet another orgasm, Jake was right there with her.

　　When his breath had evened out, he sent her a voice note. “I can’t believe you just didthat. But, be warned, because what I plan to do to you will most definitely prevent you from sitting for days.”

　　Laughing, he hit send.