An Intimate Life Read Online Free Page A

walked to the top of the bed and started down the sliver of the left side of his back that was exposed. I traced my fingers over the shoulder blade and then down the arm. I returned to his back and lightly brought my hand down it and around his left buttock.
    Then I returned to bed. “Can you tell me what parts of your body felt the most sensual?” I asked.
    “It felt great when you touched my shins and my face, but to be honest, most of it felt sexual to me.” I wasn’t surprised to hear this. When people have been starved for touch and their sexuality hasn’t been recognized, their bodies can become acutely sensitive and any touch anywhere can feel arousing. My sense was that as touch became less foreign to Mark his body would respond to it in more complex and nuanced ways.
    Mark asked if he could kiss my breasts. I lay on my side and softly brought my left breast to his mouth.
    “Now, the other side,” I said in a tone of pretend seriousness.
    I tipped my body over so that Mark could kiss my right breast.
    Then he made the gulping motion that I’d come to realize meant he needed air. I hoisted myself up on my elbows and slid the breathing tube into his mouth. He drew a few breaths, smiling as he took in the air.

    Three weeks later at our next session, the first thing I noticed about Mark was that his hair hung a little longer. “I didn’t get it cut because of what you said the last time,” he said. I remembered that I had commented on how silky his hair felt. I ran my hand over his head and said, “It feels just as wonderful as it did then.”
    The bedroom window overlooked a bed of daffodils that spring had just started to pry open and I felt a bit sorry when I unrolled the shade and blocked them out.
    Mark seemed calmer this time, and, frankly, I was too. The goals that we were striving for and the issues we would address were now much clearer to me than they had been in our first session. I would try to help Mark lose his virginity and also help prepare him for a happy sex life if he found a partner. I still wasn’t convinced that a long-term relationship was in Mark’s future, but I could help him feel more confident if it was.
    We chatted a bit about our last session. Mark said it was a little like going to college in that he could think of a hundred reasons why he couldn’t do it, but he did it anyway and he was happy he did. He also told me that he was at work on an autobiography and he planned to write about our time together. Then he announced that he wanted to try something new this session.
    “I want to do something to pleasure you.”
    “Well, I won’t argue with that.”
    It’s not unusual for clients to want to give me pleasure. It’s a natural impulse. Most people don’t want to simply be passive recipients. They want to give as well as receive pleasure. As a general rule, unless it is something that doesn’t feel good to me or is something I think would interfere with the goals of the work, I allow clients to touch me when they ask. If a client has difficulty communicating with a partner about what she likes, it can be a perfect opportunity to model a conversation about her preferences.
    Even before I undressed Mark I could see that he was fully erect. When I slid off his pants they caught at his stiffened penis and I had to stretch out the elastic waistband to move them past his groin. I undressed myself, and just as I was about to climb into bed Mark cried out, “Oh God, oh God, oh God,” and came.
    Mark’s face turned so red that it looked like poppies had exploded under his cheeks. “It’s okay, Mark. Really.” I lay down and wrapped my arms around him for a few minutes. I could feel the rapid thump-thump-thump of his heart. “Do you remember the breathing exercise we did the last time?” We closed our eyes for a few moments and concentrated on our breath. I felt his pulse slow a bit.
    I ran my hand down Mark’s arm.
    “You said something about pleasuring me,” I