“I can stop that ache in your neck, you know.”
He barely gave her a glance. “Can you?”
There it was again. More than anyone, Beth could understand his frustration. But right now he didn’t need empathy—he needed stress relief. She ticked off the telltale signs one by one and knew she couldn’t ignore his discomfort any longer.
She stood, reached over and firmly removed his hand from his nape. “Let me help you.”
The sudden heat flaring in his eyes disappeared as quickly as it started, yet despite that, it still had the power to warm her belly.
“It’s my job,” she clarified. “You’re no good to anyone burned-out, and I can help you relax.”
“You don’t need to—”
“Yes, I do. Let me do this, Luke. Please.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds before Luke glanced away with a shrug. “Okay.”
And, dammit, her pulse began to pick up the pace.
“Go into the living room,” she said in a too-thick voice. “I’ll get my things.”
She hurried up to the spare room, determined to outrun the doubt dogging her footsteps. Right now was not the time to take a close look at her reasons for offering her help. She was a professional and she could do this, no matter that the body she was about to lay her hands on was six foot four inches of hard, warm male.
Beth returned with her oils and pulled the curtains closed, casting the room in half shadows, then pulled out a massage table from under the stairs and unfolded it.
He watched it all in silence.
“So I take it you’ve never had a therapeutic massage,” Beth said.
“Once, ages ago. Now I don’t have the time.”
“You should make time.”
“Before or after I solve world hunger?”
Her mouth tilted. “Take off your shirt and lie facedown.”
He did as he was told, settling his face into the cutout oval of the padded table. Now that his body was within her grasp, she would get to feel every contour, every crevice. A deep breath was needed.
Maybe another.
Pouring some oil onto her palms, she rubbed them together and began.
Her thumbs started gently at his lower back and Luke nearly leaped off the table. “What the hell …?”
He twisted, but Beth placed a restraining hand on his back. “Lie still.” She stifled a smile.
“But it hurts!”
“Stop being a baby.” She pushed him down and tried again, this time easing back on the pressure.
“You’re doing this on purpose!” he accused.
“I’m trying to get the tension out, so yes, I am.”
She went as softly as she could, warming up his muscles. She had to hand it to him, he managed to bite his tongue even though a few grunts made their way through his tight control.
“Do you get migraines?” she asked.
“No.”
“Panic attacks?”
“You think I get—”
“Performance problems?”
“No.”
She bit her lip, swallowing a chuckle at his indignant reply. “Lucky. They’re all symptoms of a high-stress environment.”
Luke stifled another groan. She was good. In fact, if they gave Oscars for massage, she’d win hands down. She had handfuls of his muscle and used pressure from thumbs, palms and all fingers.
“So how is it,” she began, digging deep into his back, “that some lucky woman hasn’t already snapped you up?”
A slice of memory twinged, but he thrust it back. “A demanding career and relationships don’t mix.”
“That’s a bit of a broad statement. Maybe you just haven’t met the right woman.”
“Trust me, I know.” He grunted, swallowing a groan as she shifted her hands. “And I meet plenty of women.”
“I see.”
She continued in silence, and pride demanded he keep it that way, but when she caught a particularly tight spot, a hiss escaped his clenched teeth. And through the somewhat painful movements, he could feel himself getting aroused.
It was the thought of her standing over him, touching him with her firm, skilled hands that stirred his blood.
Then she reached his shoulders and silence flew out the window with a ragged gasp.
“You’re pretty tight up here,” she said, concern threading her voice.
Luke muttered something and tried to shake off the pleasant fantasy of Beth naked and massaging him all over. She shifted to stand at the head of the table, her body bent forward over his shoulders while her palms stretched and rubbed down his left arm. Her toes came into view—long, elegant digits with nails painted a soft coral, strapped into well-worn sandals. He also noticed that her second toes were longer than her big ones and the one on the left bore a silver ring with a green stone in the center.
Sucking on those toes would be …
He squeezed his eyes shut as she dug around for such long, agonizing seconds that he wondered if his circulation would cut out. Finally, she took pity on him, easing off until he relaxed with barely disguised relief.
“You should do this more often. It’ll hurt less.” She gently squeezed his trapezius and was rewarded with a sharp hiss. “See what I mean?”
He grunted.
Beth patted his shoulder. “Don’t try to talk. I know it’s a big effort holding all that groaning in.”
“I’m trying to maintain a dignified silence.”
She chuckled, bending close to his ear. “You don’t have to. Let it all out.”
Her whispery breath sent a shock of heat to his groin. Now all he could think of were their sweaty bodies, Beth groaning beneath him. And above him. All he could feel was the soft brush of her cotton shirt against his hair. And her hands touching every part of him. He itched to reach out and grab a handful of her luscious, rounded butt.
She was driving him crazy, as if punishing him for something.
He felt punished. It was retribution for letting the past weeks build up, for not seeking professional help sooner, just like Beth said.
She walked around the table, returning to his lower back, fingers trailing across his skin. Lust tensed him up. She must have felt it because she said, “No, no. Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Tighten your lower back. Here.” Her hands began to knead the troubled spot. Luke groaned. It was a different kind of pain this time. His tight groin pressed unbearably against the unyielding table while his mind ran riot. And he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
“You finished yet?” He finally got out.
“Hang on, I’ve still got to—”
“Thanks. That’s okay.” He pulled himself up, grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head.
After a moment’s fumbling with the lower buttons, he took a breath, then another, before he got his body under control. And now with his untucked shirt hiding any lingering evidence, he turned back to face her. She looked