Natural Hormone Therapy 5 (Taboo Erotica) (NHT) Page 4

“Ben,” said Alina. “How could you…?”

  “I don’t know!” Ben felt his emotions flare, and swung a hand through the air angrily, causing Alina to flinch back. “Alina, I honestly don’t fucking know. I didn’t want this either, for you to be Juliette, for both of us to be… under the sheets like that.”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. She was right. There was no coming back from what they’d done. All of the time in the world wouldn’t change it. The two of them might go on to marry other people and start families of their own, but they’d never forget about what happened between them, brother and sister, breaking through sacred boundaries.

  “What are we supposed to do?” asked Alina. “I can’t… I can’t go back out on stage.”

  Ben slammed his hand against the wall, struggling to reel in his anger and shame.

  “We can’t quit now, Alina,” he said. “What was the point of our… performance, if we do?”

  “That’s a good question, Ben!” snapped Alina. “What’s been the point of any of this? We’ve only been wasting our time! Wallowing in shame, doing things that will leave stains on us for the rest of our lives.”

  Ben set his expression and knelt down in front of her, meeting her gaze.

  “I don’t believe that,” he said, quietly. “I don’t think it’s that simple.”

  Alina glared at him, but there was a glimmer of something hopeful deep within her eyes.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

  Ben reached out to take her hand. Alina pulled back for a second, but then resigned herself to it, letting him take her palm against his fingers.

  “I think it’s up to us to decide what this means,” said Ben. “We could decide that this was a stupid accident. We could choose to say that it was the biggest mistake we ever made, and lean into the shame. Or…”

  He shrugged. Alina was silent, waiting for him to continue.

  “Or we could just say that we love each other,” he said. “Maybe more than we should. But it’s still love. I still love you Alina, and I’m not going to be ashamed of that just because of how much I have.”

  Alina glared at him. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes, and she smiled just enough for her dimples to pop into existence.

  “You know, it’s pretty easy to see why Luciana cast you as Romeo,” she said. “You’re a total sap.”

  She squeezed his hand and Ben let out laugh. He pulled her into a hug, being careful to avoid smudging her makeup any more than it already was.

  “Now,” he said. “Let’s try to see this through, okay?”

  Alina nodded.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I… I love you, Ben.”

  He grinned at her.

  “I know,” he said.

  CHAPTER 8

  Ben stepped back out on stage, leading off the first scene after the end of intermission. He spoke his lines in a clear voice, feeling his confidence slowly welling up again.

  The fight scene with James took place at the top of the second half and went smoothly, much better than it had in rehearsal. Ben pressed his pistol into the other teenager’s chest and pulled the trigger as a sound effect rumbled through the auditorium over the speakers.

  The pace of the play was fast and fluid. Ben fell into his role, forgetting about everything else. It was fun for him, much more fun than he’d expected it to be. He savored each moment of it, feeling the satisfaction that only comes from seeing hard work come to fruition.

  Finally, Alina came back out as Juliette, and Ben watched from backstage as she went through the steps of buying the poison, a recreational research drug in their modern adaptation, and faked her death. Ben was back out on stage shortly after, standing over her fallen form in the brothel.

  Alina looked beautiful and vulnerable, so different from the older sister he’d known all his life, and yet still so genuine. Ben spoke his lines as he caressed her cheek. There was a symmetry between that moment in the play and the moment they’d shared backstage. They were pushing forward to the play’s tragic ending, but the love shared by the characters was still pure, and real.

  He leaned forward, gently giving Juliette, Alina, the last kiss. He wondered if it would be the last kiss to the lips that he’d ever give her, if after the end of the performance, it might all fade into something dreamlike and surreal. Her lips didn’t move against his this time, and again, the similarity to the emotions in the background bit into Ben’s awareness like a stinging wasp.

  “And with a kiss, I die,” he said, holding the gun against his chest. The sound effect went off again, and he collapsed onto the bed next to Alina.

  Slowly, Juliette began to stir. Alina acted out her part with raw emotion, clearly pulling from the chaos of performance and her feelings for her brother. She kissed him, pulling back with tears streaming down her face.

  “His lips are still warm,” she said. Her next line was lost in a ragged sob, improvised and perfect for the play’s end. Ben wondered if she was crying for the performance, or over the subtext behind it. Their love was tragic in its own way, and perhaps it was right for it to end with the production.

  The sound effect went off again and Alina fell next to him. Her hand fell on top of his, hidden from the crowd by their piled bodies. She gave it a squeeze, and Ben squeezed back.

  Another cast member came out on stage and offered an epilogue to the events, and then the curtains closed to roaring applause from the crowd. Ben and Alina took up their place in line with the rest of cast. They waited silently until the very end, coming out to take their final bow to a standing ovation from the audience.

  The two of them walked back to the dressing room, hand in hand. The rest of the cast was too jubilant to pay them much mind, all of them celebrating a performance pulled off without a hitch. Alina led Ben into her dressing room, and no sooner than she’d closed the door were they against each other, kissing passionately and tearing at each other’s clothes.

  “I don’t care,” whispered Alina. “And I don’t want it to end here. It wouldn’t be fair.”

  “Alina…” whispered Ben. His cock was hard, despite how much action it had already seen in the past few hours. He kissed her roughly and pushed against her, practically trying to tear a hole through their clothes with his erection.

  And then, the door opened, and Alexa Murdock stepped into the dressing room. She stared blankly at them for a second, and then slammed the door, leaning back against it as though to hold it closed and keep anyone outside from seeing what was going on.

  “You…” she said, her voice shocked. “The two of you really did it, didn’t you?”

  “Mom!” Ben pulled away from Alina, scratching his head. “We were just, uh, rehearsing.”

  “The play is over, Ben,” said Alexa. “That line won’t work on me, this time.”

  Nobody said anything. Alexa set her hand on her hips and stared at the ceiling, still reeling from the strange discovery. Alina had her hands over her mouth, looking as though she’d had enough of the roller coaster of emotions that night was proving to be.

  “You’re brother and sister,” said Alexa. “I just… I can’t believe it.”

  “Mom,” said Ben. “We just… love each other. And the fact that we were put in the leading roles, well, it pulled that love out of us. It’s nothing for us to be ashamed-“

  His mother’s hand lashed out, slapping him across the face. The blow wasn’t hard, but the emotional pain was far more compelling than the physical. Ben stared at her, feeling tired, guilty, but overall, resolved. He’d made the choice to accept what he and Alina were doing, and didn’t regret it.

  “You’re coming with me, Benjamin Murdock,” she said. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Tonight.”

  “Mom,” said Ben. “Please. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  Alexa stared at him as though he’d just claimed to be hearing voices, or pulled on a tinfoil hat. She took a deep breath, her body shuddering from her emotions, and shook he
r head.

  “Dr. Kim will be the judge of that,” she said. “Alina, I’ll speak with you later tonight. You aren’t off the hook, either.”

  Alina didn’t look at her mom, apparently less eager to fight her discipline than Ben. Alexa turned to head out the door, and after a moment’s hesitation, Ben followed after her. He stopped at the door to look back in, catching Alina’s eye.

  “Hang in there, sis,” he said. “It will be okay.”

  Alina smiled.

  CHAPTER 9

  Ben and his mom passed by most of the rest of their cast on the way out of the theater. Ben declined a half dozen invitations to the cast party, making an excuse about not feeling well and holding a hand over his stomach.

  Luciana stood at the door of the auditorium, looking as though she’d finally crashed out of her manic state. She smiled at Alexa and winked at Ben.

  “Fantastic acting, young man,” she said. “Can I count on you for the next summer production?”

  Ben opened his mouth to answer, but Alexa beat him to it.

  “No, you cannot,” she said, fiercely. “And don’t expect to be casting my daughter in anything, either.”

  Luciana frowned but didn’t say anything else. The look Alexa gave Ben was unreadable, and she took him by the hand and forcibly pulled him out the door and into the parking lot.

  “Mom,” said Ben. “You’re overreacting.”

  “I am not overreacting!” snapped Alexa. “Now, get in the car!”

  Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The play was over, and he felt as though he deserved a chance to go to the cast party and bask in the feeling of fulfillment. But there was no way his mother would let him do that, not after what she’d seen.

  “Fine, whatever,” he said, frustration building.

  Alexa climbed into the driver’s seat of the sedan and started it up.

  “Dr. Kim isn’t even going to be in her office,” he said. “This is pointless.”

  “I happen to know that she works late on Friday nights,” said Alexa. “She’ll be there.”

  Ben shook his head.

  “She works late on Friday nights?” he asked.

  “Yes,” said his mom, with a nod.

  “That makes no sense whatsoever,” he said. “She’s a psychologist. Why would-“

  “It doesn’t matter!” Alexa pulled the car out onto the street with an aggressive turn. “It only matters that she’s available, and we can take advantage of her.”

  She drove in silence for a moment. It wasn’t far to Dr. Kim’s office, and Ben felt as though he had to keep fighting her on it.

  “How is what Alina and I were doing any different from my intimacy therapy?” he asked.

  His mom scowled at him.

  “It… It just is,” she said. “What you and your sister were doing was… not for medical reasons.”

  She blushed and shook her head.

  “It’s nothing like what you and I do, sweetie,” said Alexa. “And that’s what I want Dr. Kim to talk to you about.”

  She took a corner and turned onto the street where Dr. Kim’s office was. Ahead of them, Ben could see one, two cop cars parked on the street just outside. It was unusual for that many to be in a single place in a small town like theirs.

  Alexa parked the car on the street behind them and the two of them got out. They’d walked maybe half the distance toward Dr. Kim’s office when heavy footsteps came from the building.

  Two police officers walked out, carrying a familiar face in between them. Dr. Kim was in handcuffs and scowled at the ground as they dragged her forward. Alexa hesitated when she saw her, blinking in disbelief.

  “That’s… Dr. Kim,” said Ben.

  “No…” Alexa shook her head and grabbed her son’s hand. “It can’t be…”

  Dr. Kim wasn’t looking in their direction, and the cops pushed her into the back of one of their cruisers before anyone had time to say anything. Ben watched as they pulled onto the road and drove off, and then turned his attention back to his mother.

  “Mom…” he said. “Are you okay?”

  “This… must be some misunderstanding on our part,” said Alexa. “I’m sure they just need to have a talk with her, probably get her advice about a case they’re working on.”

  “Mom…” said Ben.

  “We’ll come back tomorrow and get some advice from her then,” said Alexa. “Until then, we can stay at a hotel, so that you and your sister aren’t under the same roof.”

  “Mom, are you serious?” Ben stared at her, trying to read her expression. “We just saw her get arrested.”

  “Get in the car, honey,” said his mother.

  CHAPTER 10

  They drove in silence for what must have been ten minutes straight. There was a small motel within Pinecross, but Alexa drove past it, apparently interested in going to the nicer hotel out by the Pinecross Ski Resort. Ben tried to think of what, if anything, he could say to her, but there was no mental playbook for him to consult. He was in a situation without a straightforward solution.

  “Look, mom,” he said. “We need to talk.”

  “We’ll talk once we’ve checked into the hotel,” said Alexa. “There isn’t much to say right now.”

  “Mom, we just saw our therapist get arrested,” said Ben. “That seems worth-“

  “It was clearly a mistake,” snapped Alexa. “Either on our part for coming to that conclusion, or on the behalf of the police. We’ll get the full story from Dr. Kim’s lips tomorrow.”

  Ben swore underneath his breath and gave up for the moment. A few more minutes went by. He couldn’t help but think about Alina, and the cast party he was currently missing. Things had been going well enough, off the rails, sure, but in a direction that he was happy with. He’d been confused by what he and his sister felt for each other, but that was something for them to work out, something personal.

  “Here we are,” said Alexa. “The parking lot is pretty empty. I’m sure we’ll be able to get a room.”

  She parked and immediately got out of the car, walking far enough ahead of Ben toward the entrance to keep him just out of earshot. By the time he caught up, she was already speaking to a tired looking hotel manager sitting behind a desk.

  “Just a small room, for us,” said Alexa.

  The hotel manager flashed a knowing smile.

  “Our love suite is available,” he said. “I’ll give it to you for the regular price, since it’s been so slow tonight. Trust me, you and your young friend will love it.”

  Alexa flinched back, mouth falling open in surprise. Her cheeks went bright red and she cleared her throat.

  “Mmm, he’s actually my-“

  “We’ll take it,” said Ben, putting a hand around his mom’s shoulder. “It sounds perfect, especially if we’re getting it at a discount.”

  His mom looked supremely irritated, but she didn’t say anything else, passing the manager her credit card and taking the electronic door key from him. The manager led them into the elevator and then out onto the fifth floor and to the end of the hall.

  “It’s his one right here,” said the manager. “The rest of the floor is empty so, uh, you guys can be as loud as you want.”

  Alexa’s face turned even redder, but Ben grinned, getting a strange sense of joy out of her reaction.

  “Perfect,” said Ben. “Trust me, we’ll have a nice night.”

  The manager opened the door for them and then disappeared back into the elevator. Ben walked into the suite. It was a large single room, with a large bed with clean sheets, a wine cabinet and bar along one wall, and a massive hot tub in the bathroom. Ben walked around it with a grin on his face, only stopping when he saw the look in his mother’s eyes.

  “What the hell was that?” she shouted. “You let him think that we were, that we…”

  She blushed again and sat down on the bed.

  “He wouldn’t have let us have this room if I hadn’t,” said Ben. “No harm, no foul.”

&n
bsp; “Ben, you’re my son!” snapped Alexa. “And this is a small town.”

  Ben folded his arms and looked at her squarely.

  “You’re right,” he said. “It is a small town. A place where sometimes, we just take people at their word. A place where somebody might, say, give medical advice that isn’t in good faith.”

  His mother’s frown deepened and she shook her head.

  “No,” she said. “Look, even if they really were arresting Dr. Kim, it could have been for a dozen different reasons, totally unrelated to us in any way.”

  “Mom, I’ve googled the intimacy therapy,” said Ben. “Nothing comes up except for a few erotic stories and a weird, new age website. There’s no medical research behind it, no nothing.”

  “Well… maybe she is a pioneer in her field!” said Alexa.

  “She kept telling us to film it!” shouted Ben, feeling suddenly sure of his conclusion. “Why would she do that? What reason would she have for that beyond her own personal, sick, enjoyment?”

  “I… it’s…” Alexa shook her head and planted a hand on her forehead. “No… It can’t be.”

  Ben sat down next to her on the bed and pulled her into a hug.

  “Mom,” he said. “I think it is.”

  “Sweetie, we were doing a medical treatment,” she said, the protest still in her voice.

  “Mom,” said Ben. “We might not have been. It might just have been…”

  He couldn’t finish the sentence. Strangely, he felt his cock growing hard in his jeans, and his mom’s warmth and softness against him was suddenly intense and compelling. He cupped her cheek in one hand and gave her a soft kiss on the head.

  His hand slid downward, lingering on his mother’s breast. Alexa let out a soft gasp and shook her head, taking his hand in hers and moving it away.

  “If you need your treatment, sweetie,” she whispered. “I don’t mind doing it for you. But anything more than that…”

  “Mom…” Ben shook his head. “There is no treatment. There’s just us, mother and son.”

  “Don’t say that!” said Alexa.