In the Midnight Hour

by Deborah Cooke

  “Massage isn’t supposed to be work, though. If it’s going to be a job for you, then we don’t need to do this.”

  “But I want to know. I want to help.” She took a deep breath. “That’s why I do what I do. It’s why I’m a nurse. I want to make a difference in patient care.”

  Damon couldn’t help thinking about that picture on the fridge. Had she been unable to help once? Was that what drove her? “There are lots of patients other than my mom.”

  “But she really responds to your massage. It’s amazing. I want to understand that so I can use the technique with other patients. It seems most sensible to start with an example that’s already working.” She swallowed. “That’s why I want to learn from you. You clearly know what you’re doing.”

  She raised her gaze to his, her eyes wide. He wanted to gather her close and reassure her, but knew that move would have the opposite effect. Haley was used to fending for herself.

  Damon really wanted to know why.

  “You want to learn from someone who knows more than you?” he asked.

  “Learn from the best,” she countered. “I’ve never seen results like your mom’s, and I’ve been looking.” She pursed her lips, thinking. “It’s possible that there’s an emotional component, because you’re her son, and that it might not be possible for anyone else to replicate the effect.”

  Damon nodded. “I think you’re right in a way. I’m using more than the physical motions of massage.”

  “Really?” Her eyes were bright with curiosity.

  “Let’s start with what you do know.” Damon turned his back on her. He crossed his arms in front of himself and tugged his T-shirt over his head. He felt her looking and heard her sharp inhalation, but reminded himself that this wasn’t sexual. He didn’t have a sister, but he tried to think of Haley as one.

  It didn’t work. He thought of her hair and wanted to see how it looked when it was free of that ponytail. He wanted to feel it would twine around his fingers. He thought of how curvy she was and how those breasts would feel pressed against him. He could guess how soft her skin was, and he wanted to know just what her lips tasted like.

  Epic fail.

  He thought of his partner, Ty, and how Ty treated his four sisters. Protective. Reliable. Patient. Damon could do that, even with Haley.

  He had to, if he wanted to give her this lesson.

  And he really did.

  Damon turned and surveyed the apartment again, putting his shirt on the back of a chair and avoiding Haley’s gaze. “Probably the floor is best, if you’re okay kneeling,” he said, keeping his tone practical. “Show me what you know first, then we’ll go from there.”

  Together they moved her coffee table so it was against the wall and she got a couple of towels out of the bathroom. The rug was clean, but it wasn’t that thick. Damon spread them on the floor, folding a couple to go under knees and chests, while she got a pump bottle of body lotion.

  “Can we turn down the lights a bit?” he asked. “It’s a bit bright in here, and that won’t help with relaxation.”

  Haley turned out the overhead light and turned on a lamp instead. “I don’t have incense or candles,” she admitted.

  “You must be the only woman in New York who doesn’t,” Damon said, then continued before she could apologize. “It’s refreshing. In practice, you might want some soothing music, too, but let’s concentrate on the nuts and bolts.” He spoke with smooth confidence, slipping easily into the manner he used when teaching at F5. He stretched out on the floor on his belly, lifted his arms to cushion his head on his arms and waited.

  It took a moment, then, he felt Haley kneel beside him at his waist. “Do you have any allergies?” she asked.

  “None.”

  “Any injuries that I should be aware of?”

  “None.” He couldn’t help being amused. She might have been following a punch list of instructions.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I wonder if you ever do anything impulsive.”

  “You’re here,” she noted and he nodded.

  “I guess that counts. Do you always have a checklist?”

  “Yes. It’s like triage. It makes me feel ready for anything.”

  “Isn’t triage for emergencies?”

  “Sure, but it’s useful to prioritize even when the stakes aren’t life or death.” She exhaled. “I call it triage as a lifestyle.”

  Damon bit back a smile. “That’s not all bad.”

  “It’s how I think.”

  The truth was that Damon often thought like that, too. He knew, though, that in his case, it was training. Assess. Prioritize. Act. Repeat.

  He heard the pump and Haley rubbing lotion between her hands. It didn’t have a floral scent, which was also welcome. She placed her hands flat on his back between his shoulder blades and he was relieved that they were warm. He didn’t want to jump and spook her. She moved her hands together in a sweeping motion, driving the heels of her hands into his back and leaning into the gesture.

  “Do you read books?” Damon asked after a few moments. He knew she did, because there was a Kindle on the end table.

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Because what you’re doing here is like jumping right into the middle of a book, instead of starting at the beginning and easing your way into the story.”

  Her hands lifted away from his skin. “I don’t understand.”

  “Well, first you need a plan. What’s yours?” He turned to look at her, bracing himself on one elbow.

  Her gaze lingered on the tribal tattoo on his upper arm and she looked worried. “I guess to massage your shoulders and neck.”

  “That’s a good general plan. Most people carry tension there. It feels like a knot when you’re massaging, but working it out of the muscle can be painful. So, you need to start slowly, warm the skin and relax the patient, then search for the tension spot and work it out.”

  “Beginning, middle and end. That is like a book.”

  “Also, gentle, firmer, then harder. Then you back it out to gentle again.”

  “Okay. Let me try again.”

  “Let’s start with effleurage.”

  “Stroking,” she translated and he knew she had been studying.

  “Yes. Your movements should be fluid and continuous. Start very lightly.”

  She slid her fingertips across his back, just slipping them over his skin, and he nodded. It was like a caress, one that sent his mind straight to the gutter. He could imagine her touching him like this in a much more intimate location and knew it would drive him crazy. He was glad to be lying on his stomach.

  Maybe Haley wouldn’t notice her effect upon him.

  Damon kept talking, so he wouldn’t forget himself and just enjoy. “Now use the flats of your hands, still stroking.”

  She did as he suggested, and he almost purred at the smooth feel of her hands on his skin.

  “It’s spreading the lotion out really well.”

  “Start at my waist, and sweep in to my spine, then up. Make those circles.”

  “Should I let my fingertips touch you?”

  “Let them curl around me. Your hands should shape to my body. Create as much contact as possible.”

  Haley did as he suggested and he closed his eyes with pleasure.

  “Make each circle about three times, and gradually work up to my shoulders.” She found the knot behind his shoulders and Damon exhaled with satisfaction as she pressed gently on it.

  But he was supposed to be teaching, not enjoying. “What’s your posture like?” He turned to steal a glance at Haley. She was kneeling beside him, waiting for suggestions. “When you press harder, the weight should come from your body, not from the strength in your hands. Try it on one knee, lean into it and keep your arms fairly straight.”

  “So I’ll repeat with more force?”

  “Twice more, harder each time.” He smiled at her. “I’ll try not to melt away.”

  “I don’t want to hurt y
ou.”

  “I don’t think you can.”

  “No. Probably not.” She frowned a little, surveying him. “How much do you work out?”

  “A lot.” He could feel more confidence in her hands when she continued and a growing ease between them. Massage was doing what it always did, relaxing both participants and building trust. Haley leaned into her strokes more and found her rhythm so well that Damon had a hard time keeping his thoughts on the lesson.

  He wanted to feel her hands all over him.

  He wanted to put his hands on her.

  He forced himself to remember why he was there.

  He was already wondering whether there was any chance of him coming back.

  “I have a kink in my right shoulder. Can you find it? Keep the circles going as you search. Don’t hurry. The idea is to make it feel as if you have all the time in the world.”

  Haley leaned over Damon as she put more weight upon him and eased her way up to his shoulder. She went over the knot, then returned to it again. “It feels like a walnut under your skin.”

  “You’ve got it,” he murmured. “Lean on it. Rub those circles into it. Come at it again and again, always sweeping outward. Don’t rush.”

  “Like that?”

  “Exactly like that. Now put your energy into it.”

  Her hands froze on his back, the sudden stop as disruptive as every manual said it would be. “What?”

  Damon braced himself on his elbow and looked back at her. “Your energy.”

  She shook her head so that her ponytail bounced. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “There’s a psychic connection between healer and patient. You’re going to have more success in giving relief if you give some of your own energy, if you put your own energy into the equation. That’s what makes the difference with my mom. That’s what my dad taught me to do.”

  Haley sat back, looking so defeated that Damon wanted to gather her up in his arms. “I don’t know how to do that. Maybe I don’t even have energy to share.”

  “Everyone does. We pass it around all the time. Think of when you talk to someone who’s down in the dumps. You let them vent. Afterward, they feel better and you feel worse. They’ve passed their negative energy on to you and taken some of your positive, which helps them.”

  Haley frowned. “I don’t know how to do that on purpose.”

  “I think you do and you don’t realize it.” He sat up. “You’re a natural at this, so let’s take it to the next step. Come here.”

  “What?”

  “Your turn. You’ve shown me what you know, and now I’ll teach you more.” He saw alarm flash in her eyes so spoke soothingly. “It’ll be easier if you take off your shirt, but if don’t want to, that’s fine. We’ll work with it.” He moved out of the way and patted the towels on the floor, acting as if he wasn’t aroused at all.

  * * *

  Damon thought Haley would be afraid to take off her shirt.

  He’d taken off his as if it was no big deal and she’d been glad his back had been turned to her. It gave her a moment to close her mouth and keep herself from salivating. No doubt about it: the photograph of him hadn’t been touched up for the billboard.

  He really was that muscular.

  That perfect.

  He could have been a sculpture of Ultimate Man.

  And the big tattoo was real, not added in a graphics program.

  Touching him had awakened her, made her want, made her burn for him. It was uncharacteristic for Haley to feel such lust. She hadn’t felt it since Aidan.

  But this was just desire. There was no emotional component to it at all. Her body was doing what it had been built to do.

  Haley turned away from Damon, blushing furiously despite her rationalization, and tugged off her top. She kept her back to him as she unfastened her bra, then laid down on the towels without him having any chance to see her breasts. She felt exposed and shy and silly for being so modest at her age.

  It wasn’t as if she’d never been touched.

  It wasn’t as if she didn’t see naked bodies all the time.

  But very, very few of them were as perfect as Damon’s.

  That made her aware of what she considered to be her own imperfections. She wasn’t tall and sleek, that was for sure. He might think she was fat. She wasn’t, but she wasn’t fighting trim, either. And she was curvy.

  She closed her eyes, sure he’d be amused by the way she was blushing.

  But he didn’t laugh or even chuckle. He put a towel over her back and she felt immediately better. “We’ve both seen a lot of naked bodies, I’m sure,” he said lightly, echoing her own thoughts. “Relax. I’m not going to try anything.”

  Was it foolish to believe him?

  Or more foolish to wish he would try something?

  He clearly wasn’t going to.

  Seduction must have been the last thought in his mind.

  That was depressing.

  “We’ll start at the beginning again, because I want to teach you some more high pressure moves.”

  “You could just direct me,” Haley said, even as his fingers slid across her back. She sighed without meaning to and heard him chuckle.

  “I think you’ll be too gentle.”

  His hands spread across her back, so warm and large that Haley felt delicate. His fingers curved around her body, cradling her, and the motion of his hands was rhythmic. She felt the contrast and understood that she’d been too tentative. The motion soothed her and she heard her breathing slow.

  “It’s almost meditative,” she whispered.

  “It’s supposed to be,” he replied in a low murmur. His hands were moving up her back for the second time, pushing the tension out of her body and warming her skin. She was tingling—and it wasn’t just her back that was heating up. She felt her lips part as she imagined what it would be like...

  When his hands reached her neck, Haley exhaled with contentment, liking the feel of his fingers upon her. So strong and yet so gentle. He unfastened the clip in her hair and pushed her hair aside, the warmth of his fingers brushing across her nape and sending new tingles over her flesh. Her mouth went dry. His fingers speared into her hair, kneading her scalp lightly, making her feel treasured.

  “And once more,” he whispered, his hands sweeping down to the small of her back again. This time, there was more pressure and Haley felt the healing power of his touch. His power was flowing into her, not just awakening her but making her feel stronger. How did he do that? She hoped he wouldn’t stop. “Let’s talk about chakras.”

  Haley nodded.

  “The chakras are usually shown on the front of the body, but they’re inside, so we can review them this way, too.” Damon’s tone was matter-of-fact, as if she was attending a lecture. “Chakras are power points in the body, linked to specific areas of wellness. Depending who you ask, there are three, five, seven or nine of them, but we’ll talk about nine.”

  Haley nodded. She’d read some of this, but hadn’t given it much credit.

  “When they’re blocked, massage can help.” Damon’s palm landed on the base of her spine. He began to trace circles there, and Haley could feel the heat of his hand even though her clothes. “The first chakra is the root chakra, below the pubic bone. It’s about survival and basic needs.”

  His hand swirled upward a little. “The sacral chakra is next, just below the belly button. It governs relationships with others, of all levels of intimacy, as well as sexual desire.”

  Haley’s spine was tight there, as it always was, and she closed her eyes when Damon applied more pressure. The warmth of his touch spread through her, helping that area to relax.

  It felt divine.

  In fact, Haley was pretty sure her panties were wet.

  “A little knot there,” he murmured. “We’ll come back to it.” His left hand moved up her spine, the right staying put. “The solar plexus chakra is under the diaphragm. It governs our notion of self-worth and how we c
onduct ourselves in the world.” His palms awakened a heat under her skin as he moved higher. “The heart chakra is right where you’d expect it to be.”

  “I’ll guess it governs feelings,” Haley said.

  “Empathy, too.” Damon’s hands moved higher, circling and soothing, mesmerizing. “The thymus chakra is at the larynx, governing our notions of responsibility and our convictions. It doesn’t always make the list of chakras, but it’s an important one.”

  His hands slid over the back of Haley’s neck again, bracketing it this time, the intimacy of his touch awakened a need so raw it made her shiver. “The throat chakra is about communication and expression.” His fingers pushed into her hair again and Haley’s body sent her a clear message about arousal and desire. His touch felt possessive and sexy. She blushed but hoped Damon wouldn’t notice. “The nose chakra is another one that’s often ignored. It’s in the very tip of the nose and is about intuition. The brow chakra is also called the third eye.”

  “The pineal gland,” Haley provided.

  “Exactly. It’s about imagination, second sight, and following our course.” His hands cupped the top of her head, his fingers moving steadily, tracing circles that made Haley feel on fire. “And finally, there’s the crown chakra, at the top of the head, which is about dreams and inspiration.”

  He ran his hands over her again, making circles with his fingertips. Haley wanted to shiver in delight. “All these places are focal points for growth and learning and the pursuit of balance. When there is creation and growth, the chakras turn clockwise.” His fingertips turned in that direction. “When there is destruction, the chakras turn the other way. In Sanskrit, chakra means wheel, and the chakras should always be in motion.”

  “But shouldn’t they always be turning clockwise?”

  “No one can always be improving or building. Sometimes things have to be taken apart or re-examined to allow for growth.”

  Haley smiled. “Like knitting.”

  “How so?”

  “I tear back my knitting to start it again when there’s something wrong. I might have cast on the wrong size, or not have my tension right or have messed up the pattern stitch.”