The Reluctant Psychic

If you are new to my Reluctant Psychic series, please consider starting from the beginning. The story, characters and events in this chapter will make more sense when given context from the preceding chapters. If you're returning, welcome back and I hope you enjoy the story.

* * *

I woke up covered in sweat, with only a vague impression that I had slept. There was a hot, equally sweaty body lying in front of me and apparently we had just finished having sex, since I was still hard and buried inside of her.

This wasn't the first time I had woken up to find myself in this situation, but generally I'm with the same girl I fell asleep with. The short honey blonde hair clinging to my stubbled chin was the first indication I wasn't still with Samantha, unless she'd cut her hair while I slept. I allowed my hands to explore and felt a tiny waist under my fingertips that flared to nice round hips. Finally, I nestled my nose into the fine hair and took a deep breath: Pineapples.

"Linda, did you have fun?" I whispered in the ear peeking out from under the short blonde hair.

"Phooey," she said.

"I told you he'd know!" I heard a cheerful voice say as the bed began to shake beneath me. I looked toward the foot of the bed and saw Dinah bouncing up and down. If it hadn't been for the smell of pineapples, I might have guessed it was Dinah who'd snuck in bed with me. They were close to the same build and hair style. At least, close enough that lying in bed, from behind, and with dim lighting it was a challenge to tell them apart.

The bouncing dislodged my cock from inside of Linda, causing her to gasp. But she recovered quickly and took advantage of not being engaged belly to back to turn over and face me. She gave me a soft kiss on the cheek and said, "Of course I had fun. I always have fun, but I didn't mean to wake you."

Dinah bounced a few more times until she was lying behind me. She propped her chin on my shoulder and looked down at Linda. "That was really cool to watch. It almost felt like I was having sex with him. Since we kind of look alike, it was so easy to imagine it was me he was fucking, and I was having an out of body experience."

"I felt the same way when you did it last night," she got a mysterious grin on her face and added, "Well, I don't suppose it was quite the same."

"Alright, next time I'll let you go first," Dinah answered.

"Next time!?" I exclaimed. Then I sputtered out, "Wait, what do you mean when you did it last night?" It was one thing to wake up and realize I'd had sex while asleep, but to realize it'd happened twice was a bit disturbing. I looked back and forth between the two of them and began to grow uneasy.

"Oh, relax," they both said, giving me kisses on my nose and cheek. They both started laughing and kissing random places on my face. It was a rather ticklish feel, and I soon smiling and laughing as well. My uneasiness had suddenly vanished.

The face kissing soon turned into a tickle fight. It wasn't long before we were all red in the face, with the blankets kicked onto the floor. Suddenly Linda exclaimed, "Stop, or I'll pee myself!" And just like that the tickle fight ended. We lay together in a tangled heap, panting from the exertion.

Eventually Linda looked over at the bedside table to check the time. "We only have half an hour to get cleaned up and dressed for breakfast."

"Dressed for breakfast?" Dinah and I said in harmony.

"Have you forgotten about Katia so soon? We all promised Magda we would introduce her to everything slowly, so as not to scare her away." Linda looked at Dinah and nodded her head as if trying to make an unspoken point.

Dinah nodded and said, "Yeah, we did promise Magda. Besides, aren't you supposed to go in to work today? You might as well wear your suit to breakfast, maybe it will impress Katia. I know it makes the rest of us all gooey for you."

Whether I agreed or not, Dinah and Linda were soon pulling me towards the bathroom.

* * *

Dinah and Linda were surprisingly professional about getting me clean. I barely had time to rinse the sleep from my face before they attacked me with soap, shampoo and a loofah. I drew the line when they pulled out the razor and tried to shave me. It was a bit tricky to shave with two women scrubbing my body, but I managed.

I rinsed off our combined efforts and was out of the shower in record time. The girls lingered in the shower and began cleaning each other. I could tell by the giggles they were being a bit less professional with each other than they had been with me.

I toweled myself off and headed back to my room, wondering what I should wear. I shouldn't have been surprised to find Magda sitting on my bed next to a suit, a shirt and a selection of ties, but I was. I didn't have long to be surprised before Magda was tearing my towel off. She tsked at me and complained that I never learned how to dry myself off properly. Once I was dry, to her satisfaction, she grabbed the underwear off the bed and tried to lift my leg.

I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up saying, "Magda, I know how to dress myself."

"I know," she said, her accent sounding especially thick today. She put the underwear and my hand and went to the bed to grab my shirt. I pulled on my underwear as she continued, "I just want you to look extra nice." She handed me my shirt and turned away. As I began doing the buttons, she rushed to give me a hug and said, "I just want her to love you as much as I do."

She began sniffling and getting tears on my shirt. I held her head gently against my chest and let her cry. Why was she so upset now? She'd seemed so happy and confident last night. I tried to look into her thoughts, but remembered that Linda and I had just had sex. I would get my powers back in time for work, but I wouldn't have them in time for breakfast with Katia.

"You don't need your powers to know why she's nervous and upset," I felt Anna say. I wondered yet again whether she was always listening to my thoughts, or just peeked on occasions like this.

"Well, maybe it's obvious to you, but not to someone born..." I thought back, but she cut me off before I could finish with, "a man."

"With testicles and faulty tear ducts?" she retorted.

The last bit stung. If anyone else in the world had said that to me, I probably would have laughed and agreed, but I spilled more tears over Anna than I could count. As someone who seemed to live inside my mind, she damn well knew it.

I felt her sigh blow through my mind like a dry wind. "You don't always have to use your powers to know why people do things. You studied psychology, before." For once she was tactful enough not to say before I put her into a coma and then went on a gambling bender.

I tried to think about what was going on, why Magda was crying. It just didn't make any sense. All the girls seemed to love Katia, and she seemed to like them. Apparently everyone got along well enough that they invited her to live with us, and she accepted. So where was the problem?

"What if Katia doesn't like you?"

"But all the girls like me," I said. To be honest, I added, "It's kind of inevitable." I liked to think the girls would love me if my powers didn't keep seeping into their minds reinforcing their attachment to me, but I was never sure.

"You have more control now," she reminded me. There was a long pause while I tried to unravel the latest hint. Finally, exasperated Anna said, "does Magda know it's inevitable?"

I looked down at the golden head pressed against my chest and finally understood. Magda didn't know that Katia would be caught in my powers' snare. Perhaps Anna was right, maybe I did have enough control that I wouldn't ensnare her accidentally. So Magda could only hope that her sister would feel the same way as she did. If not, she would almost have to choose between us. Magda had been with me for so long, that I knew she couldn't leave me, my lack of control had seen to that.

I patted her head and murmured soft meaningless words. As I tried to console her, I wondered why it started now, instead of last night. "Do you have an answer to that one?"

"Endorphins, excitement, hope. Everything was beautiful last night and there was so much going on, but this is the cold reality of morning. All her doubts had the whole night to blossom."

"I think I understand."

I didn't hear the door to the bathroom open, so I was startled when I heard Dinah say, "Why aren't you dressed yet?" and Linda ask, "Who were you talking to?"

Magda must have been startled too, because she jerked away from me suddenly, wiping her face. She saw the dark splotches on my shirt where her tears had soaked through and nearly started crying again. Luckily, Dinah and Linda were quickly and deftly in control of the situation. Dinah hugged Magda and whispered soothing words to her and Linda quickly dashed into my closet and found another shirt. By the time Linda was done helping me dress, Dinah had Magda laughing. Magda's face was still a bit splotchy, but she seemed more confident.

Magda looked me over as I stood there in my suit. She tsked at me again. She told Dinah something and then pushed me back so I was sitting on the bed. She stood in front of me and straightened my tie. She turned my head slightly, and tsked again, just as Dinah was returning from the bathroom holding my razor and a comb.

"You never get your sideburns straight," she chided. She held my chin and with a deft touch corrected my sloppiness. She put the razor down and began combing my hair. It started hurting, but I was afraid of saying something that might set her off.

Dinah came to my rescue saying, "If you keep it up, he'll be bald." Magda sighed, said something like, "It'll have to do," and put the comb down.

"So are we ready for breakfast," Linda chipped in. "I'm hungry!"

I looked at her, and then at Dinah and said, "I thought we were all going to get dressed for breakfast." Apparently, it was only then that they both realized they hadn't put on any clothes after getting out of the shower.

"We'll meet you downstairs," they said as they ran from the room giggling.

I stood up, offered my arm, and Magda and I made a slightly more dignified exit.

* * *

Apparently it was Magda's turn to sit with me, although how her turn came so quickly, I'll never understand. Sometimes I think they switch things around to keep me confused. Betsy was seated next to me, and sitting on Magda's side I was not surprised to see Katia.

Most of the girls were sitting around chatting, wearing their pajamas. It was a strange sight, since even at the occasional pajama party the girls would throw, they usually only wore the top halves, or only the bottom halves. To see them all fully dressed was remarkable, and made me happy in an odd sort of way. There was a sense of innocence about the table that I hadn't seen in a long time.

Claire and her assistants du jour didn't leave us waiting long before bringing out platters full of food. All the usual breakfast favorites were there, from toast to Eggs Benedict, bacon to cantaloupe balls. The food was passed around without a break in the conversation.

When the platters came to Betsy, she passed them on without taking any. With everything going on, I had nearly forgotten that her father had just passed away. As I looked around the table, I didn't need my powers to tell that the girls were worried for Betsy. But unlike Betsy, few of them had fathers who loved them, or whom they loved. Except for Magda and Katia, none of the ones who loved their fathers knew what it was like to lose them.

I took the platter from Betsy, and rather than filling my own plate, I added a few sausage links to her plate, and a couple of pieces of toast. I said, "Have some sausage, I know they're your favorite."

"Actually bacon's my favorite," she said. There was a hint of sauciness in her voice, but mostly it was hollow.

"Chocolate's your favorite, but you can't have any chocolate until you finish what's on your plate."

"You're just trying to make me big and fat," she said. Betsy was never the pouting kind, so I was thrown for a bit of a loop. Aside from that, Betsy was the type of girl who would probably never see a hundred pounds soaking wet, no matter how much she ate.

I almost told her to do what I said because I was her father, but a swift mental kick from Anna warned me before anything came out. Instead I put my hand on hers until she looked up from her plate. "Betsy, I don't need you to grow big and fat, you're beautiful the way you are. But if you did grow a big belly, I'd still love you."

Something I said must have been funny, since I heard one or two quickly muffled snickers. Even Betsy seemed to find something amusing, although not funny enough to break her melancholy. But even though her mood lifted, she still wasn't eating. "Betsy, I know how hard it is to lose your father. Nothing I can say will make you feel better, but don't punish yourself. Please eat something."

"It's not just my father, I'm--" she started. Her eyes opened suddenly and she looked to Magda and Katia. I looked over at the two of them, and it seemed like Katia was about to say something. Magda put her hand on her sister's arm and said something in Czech. Katia looked at her sister with surprise clear on her face.

Katia and Magda exchanged a few more words in Czech, and I once again cursed myself for being too lazy to learn the language. Sure I usually had my powers, so I could understand what was being said without understanding the words, but recently I've seemed to be without my powers when interesting things were being said in languages I could have known. Finally Magda said, "Betsy was a bit sick last night from eating too much chocolate."

A number of the other girls quickly concurred. As I looked around the table, I found a surprising number of the girls were having smaller breakfasts than normal, and there was a lot more toast. I suppose it was understandable since they each probably had a pound of chocolate the night before. Actually, they probably had two.

I reached up and gently stroked Betsy's cheek. She smiled slightly and leaned into the contact. "You don't have to eat the sausage, but at least eat the toast. Oh, and you still don't get any chocolate until you're feeling better."

"Yes daddy," Betsy said, sticking her tongue out. She flinched when she realized what she said. But after a few moments she turned to me, looking directly in my eyes and smiled. In that moment, she seemed to change in a way I couldn't describe. She seemed happier, so I smiled back, and gave her cheek another caress.

We all soon settled into eating breakfast. I was so worried about Betsy, that I didn't have much of a chance to talk to Katia. I really did want to get to know her better, but it was awkward. I felt especially awkward when I looked over at her after talking to Betsy. She had been watching me, but quickly turned away. That she didn't immediately turn to her sister was reassuring though.

Eventually we did manage some small talk, but with a dozen girls in easy conversational distance, it was very small talk. She did explain, with a lot of help from the other girls, how she had actually moved in on Monday. The dinner had been postponed for one night because of Betsy's father. That was why all the girls had gone missing all day Tuesday, because they had to scramble to rearrange everything.

But, just as I started getting really comfortable talking with Katia, I saw Bambi walking towards me from where she'd been sitting during breakfast. "Ready to do a little work?" she asked. I thought for a minute about taking another day off, with all the strange things that had been happening lately.

"Oh, I should be going too. It might be my practice, thanks to you, but I'm still the junior doctor. I don't want anyone to think I got the job by sleeping with the owner." She flushed and said, "Not, that I'd object to sleeping with you, but," she finished with something in Czech that made Magda laugh. Actually most of the girls were giggling.

I was smiling a little myself. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one feeling awkward about the whole situation.

* * *

Sometime between leaving the house and getting to the courthouse my powers finally returned. Thinking back, it had been an unusually long time. Something had come over the girls recently, and they were even having sex with me while I was sleeping. I realized I hadn't had my powers since Stefani had dropped me off the previous afternoon.

I didn't have too long to dwell on the subject, since Bambi got us to the courthouse in near record time. The courthouse meant juries, and juries meant a long day. Bambi pulled into our reserved spot across from the courthouse, gave me a kiss on the cheek and hopped out of the car. I might have made peace on an intellectual level with Bambi's driving, but it still took a minute for my hand to unclench from the armrest.

I got out of the car and Bambi was there waiting for me. I was feeling rather unprofessional today, so rather than crossing the street with enough distance to indicate we were colleagues, I offered her my arm. She put her hand on my arm and I lead us across the street.

"You are positively shameless with these public displays of affection," she joked.

"Are you kidding? Who's going to notice me? All they'll see is a gorgeous woman whose blouse is too tight."

Surprisingly, considering her previous job as a stripper, she blushed. "I didn't think you'd notice."

She was right, I normally wouldn't have noticed. The only reason I did notice was because she was worried about it and I'd picked up on it subconsciously. I suppose I wasn't as in control of my powers as I'd hoped.

"Maybe you noticed because she kept trying to pull her jacket closed on the drive here?" Anna spoke into my thoughts.

"Aren't you the one who's always saying I need to control my powers better?" I thought to the voice in my head.

"I want you to have better control, but if you doubt that you can do it, then you'll never manage." I was about to snap something back when I noticed that Bambi was adjusting her suit jacket.

Finally, I said to her, "Bambi, quit fussing. You'll only draw attention to yourself." Attention had already been drawn. Of course, with Bambi's long red hair, drop-dead figure and keen fashion sense, attention was inevitable. But her nervousness was attracting more notice than usual.

Eventually we got to the correct courthouse, and Bambi managed to stop adjusting her clothing. I was particularly grateful, because I didn't want to show up in front of the DA with an erection. We sat down behind the DA's table and waited for the rest of the court to arrive. It turned out it wasn't the DA who was handling the case, but a new ADA, a blond bombshell of a new ADA.

I felt a sharp elbow in my ribs and Bambi hissed, "The house is full enough already." She and the ADA exchanged professional poisonous smiles. Bambi usually wasn't the jealous type, but something about the ADA put her on edge.

"You must be the jury consultant, and his assistant. I'm Christina Phelps," she said as she held her hand out to me. Her fingers were long, smooth and cool, but her handshake was firm. When I released her hand she didn't offer it to Bambi.

"Actually, Ms. Phelps, Dr. McIntyre is my partner," I said while motioning to Bambi. "She is the legal brains of the outfit. I'm just very good at reading people."

Ms. Phelps didn't believe a word of it. Even though her face was calm, she was quite angry. She had told the DA that she didn't need a jury consultant. It was an open and shut case, three solid witnesses, DNA evidence and a thug with a rap sheet a mile long. She thought the DA doubted her credentials and that she had gotten the job because of her looks. But she was honest enough to recognize her own potential hypocrisy at assuming Bambi was arm candy. However, since she didn't believe me, it was only potential hypocrisy.