Face the Music (39 page)

He chuckled.  It was a deep, throaty sound.  “Close your mouth, Allie.  I’m only going to give you a massage.  Strictly professional.”

“Oh,” I breathed out my relief.  I’d never had a massage before.

“What did you think I was going to do?” 

I flushed under his amused expression.
 
“That’s really sweet of you to offer, but-”

“Are you turning me down?”  He was frow
n
ing.  “You don’t want it?”

“Well
,
yeah, I just don’t
think-
.”  I stopped.  Don’t think what?  That I’d enjoy it?  There
was no doubt
that I would.  Probably very much.  Maybe that was the problem.

He patted the
table
.  “Come on, give me a chance.  If you’re at all uncomfortable, I’ll stop.  You just have to tell me.  I’ll give you a minute to get undressed.”  Not giving me a
chance to object, he went in
the bedroom and closed the door.

I just stood there for several seconds, not knowing quite what to do.  How undressed, exactly?  Bra and panties?  Naked?  Was he really only giving me a
minute?  I kicked off my shoes and wiggled
out
of my jeans and t-shirt, made
a half-assed attempt at folding them, and ran over to the table.

The bed was warm.  There must have been a heater in the cushion. 
And the sheets were velvety
soft.  I squirmed down in between the
m
, pulling the top one up to my chin
.  After a second of hesitation
I sat up, unhooked my bra, and flung it over to my pile of clothes.

His bedroom door cracked open.  “Are you ready?”

Was I ready?  What a
good question
that was
.
  I thought I was ready, but what, exactly, was I ready for?

“Allie?”  The door opened wider, and he poked his head out.

“Yep,” I said, my voice soft.  “
W
henever you are.”

He opened the door the rest of th
e way and
looked at me.  I flushed and tried to wiggle further down the table.  My heels were already at the edge.

“I thought maybe you’d bolted.  Thought I’d scared you off or something
.”

“I don’t scare too easily,” I
said
boldly.

He grinned.  “
Good to know. 
I’m going to use coconut oil. 
It’s
raw and organic, what my sister uses on her clients.”

“What if I’m allergic to coconuts?”

He froze and looked down at me.  “Are you?”

“No.”

His lips twitched into a smile. 
“
Funny girl. 
I’ll start with the back of your neck and shoulders.  Then I’ll work on your arms.”  He reached under the sheet and pulled my left arm out, tucking the sheet back against my side.  He repeated the act on my other side and then returned to the top of the table so that he stood directly above my head.  “Now close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax.”  He slid his warm, greased-up hands
down
between my shoulder blades, dug his fingers into my skin, and pulled upwards, dragging his hands toward my head.  The pleasure was
monumental
.

“I used
to
help my sister when she was in massage therapy school,” he said after a few more long strokes.  “She’d practice a technique on me and then make me repeat it on her so she knew what it felt like.”

“That was nice of you,” I murmured.

I could almost hear his smile against the background music. 
F
lutes and strings
were playing soft
, calming
chords
.

He took my head in his
h
ands
and turned it, ever so slowly
, to the left.  His fingers dug into the
muscles on
right side of my neck.

“Ohhh.”  The sound was involuntary.

“Sore spot?”  He kneaded small circles into my skin.  It hurt but at the same time felt so good.  He pressed down on a tende
r spot.  After a few seconds something
slip
ped
between his thumbs.  He followed it and pressed
down
again.  “Breathe,” he said.

I didn’t realize I had stopped.

That knot slipped
again, and I moaned.

“Too much?” he asked.  I opened my eyes and looked up at him.  His f
ace was just inches from mine. 
“If
it’s
too
much pressure I can go lighter,
”
he said softly.  His eyes were burning. 

“No,
it’s
great,
”
I said, closing my eyes.

He moved down my side, working on my arm.  He then
reached under the sheet and pulled out a leg.  I tensed even though he immediately
tucked the sheet against my hip.
 

“
Interesting,” he said.
 
“
Out of all your clothing you decide to leave on your socks.
”

Whoops.  In my haste to get under the sheets I’d forgotten to take them off.

“Do you care if I remove them?” he asked.

“Be my guest.”

Who knew removing
socks
could be
sexy
? 
He peeled each one off slowly
, wrapping
one
hand around my ankle and pressing his thumb up into
the
sole
of my foot
as he slid the sock
off
.
  I wondered what it would be like to let him remove
the other
article of clothing I was still wearing.

“
Relax.”

“I’m trying.”  How the hell was I supposed to relax with him touching me like this?

“You can’t try
to relax, Allie.  You just do. 
If you’
re trying
,
you
’re not rela
xing.”

I grinned at his logic.

A beautiful p
iano melody started to play, a
slow build of harmonious chords overlapping, building to a climax.

I
concentrated on the music
and enjoyed Chris’s touch as he moved up the other side of my body.  He then told me to turn over so that I was lying on my front.

After going around my body once more, the sheet was smoothed over me. 
“This will rub off some of the extra oil,” he said.  After a gentle pat on my back, he announced he was finished.

I stretched my arms over my head.  “That was...”

“Arousing?” he offered.

I pulled the sheet over my chest and sat up to face him.

He grinned and eyed me darkly.  “
Not the word
you were looking for?”

“Not exactly,” I said, although
it was pretty
darn
a
c
curate
.  “
Why?  D
id you find it arousing?”

He flashed me a
devilish
grin.  “I just spent
the last hour rubbing my hands all over your naked
body
. 
What do you think?
”

I couldn’t believe he
had
just said that.  I couldn’t even look him in the face.  Instead, I stared at a piece of lint on the blanket.

He chuckled again.  “You can put your clothes back on now, Miss Banks.  I’ll be in the bathroom washing up.  Call when you’re done.”

Getting dressed took a lot longer than getting undressed.  I was so relaxed and moved slowly.  “Okay,” I yelled after I buttoned my jeans. 

I eyed him wearily
when he came out
.  “Do you do this a lot?”

“What?”

“Give women massages.”

He ran a hand over his head. 
“I’m not
going to lie about it.  I’ve
given women massages before.”

“Did it always work?”

He cocked an eyebrow.  “Did what always work?  What are you implying?”

“
I thin
k you know exactly what I’m implying.”

He just shook his head even
though
I
had no doubt
that he knew my
meaning.  I spelled it out for him.  “I’m just wondering how well this works for you. 
It
was the ultimate form of seduction.  You must kno
w that
.”

A hint of a smile touched his lips.  “It’s worked.  Quite well, actually, if you must know.”

“Was that your intention wi
th me?  To get me into your bed?
”  My voice was unsteady, little more than a whisper.

His expression fell.  “No.  Is that what you think?”

The disappointment I felt was surprising.  Rejection stung.  “Maybe a little.”

He moved over so that he was
right
next to me on the couch,
the side of
his thigh
pressing
against mine.  “No.  I promise.  I did not b
ring you over for sex tonight.”  He tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear.  “
Don’t get me wrong
, though
.  I sure as hell wouldn’t turn you down.  But that wasn’t my
intention
.”

I stared at my feet. 
“What was your
intention
?”

His weight shifted.  “You’ve been under a lot of stress this past week.  I guess I just thought this would help take your mind off things.”

***

I remember every detail of the day Mom died.  She was at the university and had to stay late.  My sister and I were at home.  Emily was giving Molly a bath, and I was washing the dinner dishes.  We’d rented a movie and were planning to watch it after Molly fell asleep.