by V. K. Sykes
Soft music floated down from overhead speakers. She recognized Enya’s Orinoco Flow. Seconds later, she heard a light tap on the door and then it opened.
“Ready, Ms. Bligh?” Nick’s deep voice made her want to wriggle under the sheets.
“Ready for what, Sheriff?” She couldn’t help teasing him.
“Ready for your relaxation massage,” he purred as he crossed to the table.
Sadie turned onto her side and propped herself up on one elbow to watch him as he prepared. She caught her breath, her already warm skin flushing hot at the sight of him. The leather jacket, tee shirt, and boots had all disappeared. The only clothing he hadn’t stripped off—that she could see, anyway—were his jeans, now beltless and slung low on his lean hips. He’d undone the snap and lowered the zipper an inch or so, just enough to let her glimpse the tantalizing arrow of black hair that headed south from his navel. The outline of his thick cock, bulging against the soft denim, drew her gaze for several moments, until she forced her eyes higher up.
She bit her lip. That view was just as good. Nick had a warrior’s chest, broad and deep, the hard muscles clearly defined. Small, brown nipples almost blended with his deep tan. She finally understood what Cassie had been talking about when she referred to six-pack abs. The man must work out like a bodybuilder to achieve muscles that looked like they were carved from granite.
Suddenly, anxiety loomed, threatening to douse her growing arousal. Though Nick had been fully naked last night, her hotel room had been so dimly lit that she’d seen him more in shaded outline than in Technicolor detail. Tonight, he stood before her in full glory, more man than she’d ever dreamed about, much less seen, in gorgeous, bronzed flesh. To say he was above her pay grade was the understatement of the year.
She clenched her teeth, reminding herself that Nick had sought her out. Maybe she didn’t have Cassie’s kind of body, but she was smart and funny and Nick had shown every indication of liking both her mind and her physical assets. It was time to start being that woman. Time to start doing what she wanted to do.
Propping her head on her hand, she gave him a thorough inspection. “At the risk of seeming tendentious, Sheriff, I have to say that in light of your appearance, your point about naked masseurs can only be classified as hair-splitting.”
Nick’s eyes laughed back at her, but he kept a straight face. Obviously, he wanted to play out his little fantasy. “You talk funny. And sometimes too much.”
“Sorry.” She made a pouting face. “I’ve always been a multi-tasker.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed. Now how about you get that pretty face back into that cradle and not say another word. As taxing as that’ll be for you.”
She huffed at him and flopped back onto her stomach. He actually had the nerve to mock her, although she had to admit he did kind of have her pegged.
“You’ll enjoy it more if you pay full attention to your body’s sensations instead of drowning me in a verbal tidal wave,” he added helpfully. Even with her face back in the ring, she could tell he was trying hard not to laugh.
“Fine,” she grumbled. “I’ll try to restrain myself—except of course, for a few ladylike expressions of pleasure. Those are allowed, aren’t they, Sheriff?”
“Expressions of pleasure are always welcome, ma’am.” Nick peeled the sheet down slowly as if to tease her, tucking it low beneath her hips. Though the room was warm, Sadie shivered as he exposed her naked back. A moment of silence passed, and then she heard him squeeze oil out of one of the bottles and rub his hands together. Even that gesture sounded liquid and erotic, heightening her own excitement, making her hotter and wetter. She already felt ready for him. Not just for his hands, but for what had been promised but not realized last night. Tonight she wanted all of it. All of him, inside her.
She startled when he touched her, the first contact of his oiled hands both unnerving and electric. He murmured something soothing under his breath, then stroked smoothly up the right side of her back from hip to shoulder. The pressure was firm and sure, the oil quickly heating to a glide of hot silk across her skin, giving her a frisson of pure pleasure. Scents of vanilla, lavender, and a hint of something spicy teased her nose in a heady mixture of fragrances that made her inhale deeply then let out an extended sigh. And all the while, Nick’s fingers, slightly calloused yet smooth from the oil, kneaded and stroked the muscles of her back and shoulders, luring her into a sensual haze.
“Oooh. My God, that feels so good,” she moaned.
Her toes curled against the table as his hand glided up her left side to brush along the edge of her breast, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Even on her stomach, with her breasts pressed mostly underneath her, she could feel the tingling in her nipples and a luxurious ache building between her thighs. She let her legs relax, falling open a bit as tension flowed from her extremities to settle low and deep in her body. But it was a welcome tension, slow-building and sure, waiting for him to release it.
Nick worked silently, his fingers magical. He seemed to know exactly where to find her residual tension. His palms smoothed the long muscles of her back over and over, until they felt loose and supple. But deep inside, everything slowly drew into a knot, arousing her until she found it difficult to keep from squirming under his hands. He brushed down the sides of her breasts again, and she had to swallow a tortured moan. She didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to play along with his fantasy. If he wasn’t careful, she just might haul him onto the table and have her wicked way with him.
Sadie took a deep breath, trying to distract herself. “For an amateur, you certainly seem to have mastered considerable technique,” she managed.
He didn’t answer as he shifted his position to the top of the table. Suddenly, his palms stroked down her back, moving in a firm, long stroke all the way from her shoulders to her bottom, where they stopped and briefly cupped her cheeks. She gasped as he held her in his big hands. With his fingers so close to her damp sex, another shudder traveled the length of her body.
Just a little farther down hits the sweet spot.
“Are you cold?” he asked. “I can boost the heat.”
“No, no—it’s fine. I’m rather warm already,” she choked out. “In fact, if I got any warmer, I might dissolve into a puddle.”
He chuckled as he began another long stroke that again ended with her bottom in his hands. She shifted as the pressure from his kneading fingers intensified the pulse of arousal in her sex. God, she did feel like she was melting—from the inside out.
“As for knowing what I’m doing,” he finally answered, “not really. I picked up some technique from a girlfriend who was in massage therapy school at the time. Plus, I got a lot of massages after I was wounded in Iraq.”
Sadie jerked her head up out of the cradle and craned her neck to look up into his face. “You were wounded?”
“You’re supposed to be relaxing,” he said, gently pushing her head back down. “It wasn’t a life-threatening injury. A blast of shrapnel nailed me in the shoulder. It trashed some muscle and ripped up a few blood vessels. But it’s pretty much okay now.”
Sadie shivered again, this time from the image of what lay behind his words. Though she’d seen news clips of the fighting over there hundreds of times and witnessed dozens of small protests on her campus, hearing about it from someone who’d been there—someone she was starting to care about—made it frighteningly real.
She winced as Nick worked on a knot between her shoulder blades. “Where did that just come from?” he growled in a mock angry tone. “Don’t make me do this over again, Ms. Bligh, or you’ll be sorry. And stop worrying. I’m fine.”
“I’m glad. I’d hate it if you weren’t,” she said, trying not to sound too emotional.
He dropped a lingering kiss between her shoulder blades before returning to his work. Her heart gave an extra thump, and she had to fight a sudden and ridiculous urge to cry.
A few minutes later, Nick finished with her bli
ssfully happy back, pulling the sheet up to her neck. She heard him move down to the bottom of the table and felt the sheet rise over her left leg. He carefully draped the material back until her leg was fully exposed, along with just a bit of her butt. She heard another squeeze from the massage oil bottle and then both his hands grasped her leg at the knee and stroked upward to the top of her thigh. His fingers swept higher, so close to her damp folds and her aching clitoris that she sucked in an agonized breath. He did it again and again, each time coming a bit closer, but never touching her sex.
The tension in her body came roaring back, now all focused on the bundle of nerve endings and slick flesh between her thighs. She silently willed him to touch her, to spread her legs wide and stroke her, but he seemed determined to play out the fantasy to the end. As he worked on her calf and foot, and then moved on to her right leg, her mind alternated between singing for joy and crying in frustration. Much more and she would have an orgasm on the table. That would certainly be another first for her.
“Time to turn over,” he said quietly. He pulled the sheet up and out until it formed a barrier between them while she flipped onto her back and wriggled down so her head was fully on the table. He let the sheet drop on her, and she took a moment to appreciate the picture he made—his broad shoulders and chest, naked, tanned, and with light sheen of perspiration highlighting his muscles. His eyes were smoky and hot, and he looked ready to eat her alive.
She blushed, dropping her gaze, and then gasped out loud. His jeans had edged down even lower around his hips and the tip his erection—broad and flushed—pushed up over the top of the fabric. He was huge and hard, and the thought of taking him inside her was both unsettling and intensely exciting.
“Close your eyes, Sadie,” Nick murmured. “We’re not finished yet.”
When she’d settled in, he tucked the sheet around her and moved down to massage the front of her legs, using the same technique he’d used on the back. But this time, with each upward, sliding stroke, his fingers grazed her moisture-drenched folds until she thought she’d lose her mind. She breathed in short, panting breaths, clenching her teeth to keep from begging him to go farther, to thrust those fingers deep into her sex, to rub that fragrant oil onto the slick bud that cried out for his touch.
“God, Sheriff,” she finally whimpered.
“You like that?” he asked, a hint of dark laughter in his voice.
He knew damn well how much. “Stop being such a jerk,” she murmured, clenching her fingers into the sheet.
“One more area to massage,” he said, and this time he pulled the sheet right off her.
She waited with her eyes squeezed shut, suddenly rigid with nerves and anticipation. After a few moments, she forced herself to open them.
He gazed down at her body, his features so hard they looked cast in stone. “Fuck, Sadie.” He made it sound like a prayer. “You’re so beautiful. I hope you know that.”
He stared at her breasts, and she felt the tips grow harder, desperate for the wet heat of his mouth. She’d never thought of herself as beautiful, and who knew how Nick would have reacted if he had met the old Sadie first. But she didn’t care about that. Not anymore, because now she felt beautiful and all woman. And she needed him with a fierce desire that left her breathless.
Instinctively, she arched her back, thrusting her chest up toward him. His hands, slick with the scented oil, cupped her breasts. Holding one in each hand, Nick circled her nipples with his thumbs, flicking the stiff peaks until they throbbed. Sadie moaned as more moisture pooled between her thighs. She couldn’t lie still any more. Almost involuntarily, her legs drew up and apart in silent invitation.
“Nick, please,” she whispered in a soft moan.
He answered her by flicking his tongue across her left nipple, then sucking it deeply into his mouth. As he teased and nipped, driving her insane, he slipped his right hand down across the flat of her belly and through her drenched curls until his middle finger slipped smoothly inside her. Sadie groaned as he massaged her sheath while sucking her breast deep into his mouth.
She sobbed out a breath as she spread her legs wide, dying to feel his cock inside her. Just one long, deep stroke and she figured she’d be gone.
But Nick clearly had other ideas. To her surprise, he pulled away. Before she could protest, he tugged her hips until he’d shifted her bottom almost to the end of the massage table. He dropped to his knees and draped her legs over his shoulders. It all happened so quickly, and she was too dazed with passion to do anything but let him arrange her body as he pleased. He made a deep, satisfied noise in his throat as his fingers spread her wide, exposing her to his gaze.
“God,” he murmured. “I love looking at you, and I love the way you tasted last night. You’re so damn hot.”
Sadie almost fainted. Sheldon had rarely talked when they made love, and he’d certainly never said anything like that!
A second later, Nick’s mouth was on her aching bud, sucking her gently. She gripped the sheet as the pressure built in wave after decadent wave. He dragged the flat of his tongue over her clit, then he started licking her in a relentless, maddening rhythm that drove her wild.
Sadie flung her arms wide, crying out with the intensity of her approaching climax. Nick had made the massage all about her. He hadn’t massaged her into never-never land for himself—just so he could take his own pleasure inside her.
But, mercy! She couldn’t wait until he did.
When her panting moans told him she was perched on the edge, he slipped two fingers back into her, filling her, stretching her. With two more quick flicks of his deft tongue, her orgasm rolled up and over her. When the spasms of the most shattering climax she had ever experienced subsided, Sadie felt a little like the warm, smooth oil that glistened on her skin.
* * *
Sadie turned and came up onto one elbow, looking dazed and sexy as hell in the aftermath of her orgasm. “I think a girl could get quite accustomed to a regular massage,” she said on a sigh. Her languid, satisfied smile told Nick he’d been more than successful in attending to her needs.
He helped her down from the table, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight against him, just to make sure she wasn’t as wobbly as she appeared. “You okay?”
She cleared her throat. “Umm, I’m trying to come up with some word far stronger than bliss. I don’t usually have to search for words like this. Give me a second, though, and I’ll have it.”
He laughed and kissed her pretty mouth, thinking of all the things he’d like to do to those lush lips. For now, kissing was enough.
She melted against him for a second, then pushed back, her expression brightening. “I’ve got it. Rapture—that’s the word.”
He laughed again. “Whatever you say, Ms. Bligh. I didn’t really expect you to do a Google word search. Then again, I’ve never met anybody quite like you.”
She gave his shoulder a little punch. “Jerk. But I’m prepared to forgive you because that massage was about the closest thing to nirvana that I can imagine. You are a truly generous lover, Nick Saxon.”
“I’m glad you’ve ditched the sheriff thing.”
“Who says I’ve ditched it?” she answered absently. Her attention had drifted downward to the gap in his open jeans. As Nick followed her gaze, he saw his cock pointing north.
Hell, he’d had a massive hard-on since the minute he walked into the room, but he hadn’t noticed that he was actually coming out of his clothes. Not surprising, he supposed. Giving Sadie that massage had been about the sexiest thing he’d ever done, and they hadn’t even fucked yet. He was having a hard time imagining how good that was going to feel.
She surprised him by running her thumb lightly across the tip of his straining erection, sending a shudder through his body.
“I think we’d better take care of this soon,” she whispered, her breath soft on his chest.
He swallowed hard, practically shaking with the effort to hold himself back.
“A sauna’s next on the menu. If you’re up for it.”
She studied him, as if analyzing the question. “I wonder about the advisability of that. My core temperature has already climbed into the red zone once this evening.” Then she gave him a wicked grin as she ran her palm up and down his shaft through the jeans. He gritted his teeth, resisting the temptation to push her up against the table and do her right there.
“Still, why not?” She continued the slow stroking motion and he thought the top of his skull was going to explode. Or his cock, if he didn’t get it into her soon.
“You know, you could always pull my jeans right off,” he rasped. “Or would you rather keep torturing me through them?”
Sadie didn’t need a second invitation. She dipped her hands inside the jeans at his hips and pushed them down to his ankles. Then she did the same for his briefs, sucking in a breath as her eyes fixed on his now-freed erection. Nick stepped out of the pool of clothes at his feet, lifted her up in his arms, and carried her out to the hall. She was a warm, tempting bundle of generous curves, with skin as soft and smooth as white satin. At this rate, it might be a miracle if he lasted another thirty seconds.
“Steam sauna or infrared? Mac has them both.”
She laughed. “Infrared makes me think of an oven. Let’s get wet.”
He swallowed hard. “Yeah, let’s get steamy.” Nick flicked a light switch and pushed the door of the sauna wide open with his foot. Humid air immediately enveloped their bodies. He perched her on one of the low wooden benches and ladled water onto the hot volcanic rocks, sending steam billowing into the air.
“Mmm, the bench isn’t as hot as I’d expected.” Sadie stretched out languorously, propping a wooden neck rest behind her. Her legs fell open, giving him a beautiful view of her slick, pink lips.
“The benches are made of aspen because it doesn’t conduct heat very well,” he managed to reply. He found it hard to talk while his dick was hard enough to pound nails.