by Melody Anne
“I think we need to get back before your siblings send out a search party,” she told him.
He backed her into a tree and gripped her leg, opening her thighs and pushing into her as one hand cupped her face and one squeezed her butt.
“Okay, we’ll go back. And I promise you this,” he said before leaning down and kissing her softly. He was surprised he was able to do so with his hormones raging out of control. He kissed her again, and she sighed against his mouth as he pushed against her.
“What?” she gasped when he moved his lips.
It took him a moment to remember what he’d been saying. “This will be the last time I initiate it, Chloe. The next time is all on you. Just know that every single time you walk into the room with me, I’m going to be hard and ready for you. All you have to do is say the word, and I will make both of us fly.”
He ground against her one more time, wanting so badly to remove their clothes and plunge inside her, but knowing she had to come to the decision on her own. If he did it now, she’d just put the wall back up the moment it was over. That didn’t help either one of them.
When he pulled back, he could see the worry in her eyes. He could also see that she didn’t trust him to keep his word. With a throbbing body, and already regretting his promise to her, he released her and took a few steps back.
He shifted on his feet, trying to find a comfortable way to stand with the aching erection straining against his pants. There was nothing making it better. He untucked his shirt, and hoped the material would cover him enough so his family wouldn’t have to see the pathetic condition he was in.
He then turned and walked away, the shocked gasp that came from Chloe’s mouth music to his ears. Nick knew he could seduce her, and that was enough to keep his sanity somewhat in place while he waited for her to come to him. He was sure she would. They wanted each other far too badly for her not to.
Nick just prayed he survived the wait.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Chloe’s arms were shaking as she pushed down on Nick, her fingers digging into his flesh, a moan escaping his parted lips. She wanted to wipe the moisture from her forehead, but her hands were occupied.
“Yes, Chloe, just like that,” he groaned.
Her stomach tightened as her core clenched and heat flooded her entire body. Nick was so firm, so perfectly put together, that touching him was both ecstasy and the ultimate torture.
Chloe’s oiled fingers slid down Nick’s spine, which elicited another moan. She reached the curve of his well-defined ass and felt the need to pull his shorts down. Her breathing became more erratic, but she held herself together.
“Push there,” he said.
Chloe couldn’t help but smile as she leaned down, her mouth entirely too close to his ear. “I’m the one in charge here. I know what I’m doing,” she said, feeling an odd sense of triumph when a shiver racked his form.
“You can do whatever you want to my body, doc,” he said on a long sigh.
Chloe moved down to his leg, and her fingers kneaded the flesh of his thighs. He twitched under her touch, and she used gentle pressure to continue the massage. His moans filled the room, which was growing hotter by the second.
“How does this feel, Nick?” she asked as she rubbed the back of his knee.
“Like heaven,” he said.
She wasn’t going to last a heck of a lot longer. This was affecting her more and more each time she ran her fingers over his burning flesh. Never before had she rubbed down a client and found herself in total erotic bliss.
“Turn over,” she said as she sat back.
Nick didn’t hesitate for even a second. Using his good leg, he flipped himself over, and Chloe inhaled sharply when she couldn’t help but notice the massive erection he was sporting. Her eyes shot up and looked at him, and the fire burning in his eyes nearly made her come while kneeling at his feet.
“Anything you want,” he promised.
Chloe shook her head to try to clear it. Her hands quivered as she placed her fingers on the top of his thigh and began rubbing downward. Her gaze kept straying back to the erection pulsing in his shorts. She wanted to reach out and touch him, run her fingers along his thick length.
He moaned again, and Chloe began to wonder why she wasn’t doing something about it. She had no doubt that if she leaned forward and splayed her body atop his, he would clasp her in his arms and take her to a whole other reality.
“Well, looks like therapy is tough business.”
Chloe froze, her hands midway down Nick’s thigh. Her fingers tightened, and a low rumble escaped Nick’s throat again before both of them turned toward the doorway where a woman was standing.
“Dakota?” Chloe shook her head, trying to clear the fog. Was that her best friend leaning in the doorway with a smug grin on her face?
“The one and only. I called your cell phone, and knocked on the door several times to no answer. Now I understand why,” she said.
“How did you get in here?” Chloe couldn’t focus, which was making this conversation very difficult.
“Nick should have better security. His front door was unlocked, and when I didn’t get an answer, I came inside to make sure you weren’t being mauled by a grizzly bear. Someone apparently is getting mauled, but it doesn’t appear that any pain is being inflicted,” Dakota said.
Nick was silent through the entire exchange, and that’s when Chloe realized she was still gripping his thigh. As if her hands were on fire, she wrenched her fingers away and leaned back. Nick grinned at first her, and then at Dakota. He sat up as her best friend stepped closer.
“I’m Dakota, nice to meet you,” her confident friend said as she joined them and gracefully sat down on the floor.
Nick reached out his hand. “Nick Armstrong. You have terrible timing,” he said with a grin.
“I’m known for that,” she said with a wink. “Want me to leave so you can continue?”
“Sure,” Nick said with a wolfish grin.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I was just giving Nick a massage. It’s part of his therapy,” Chloe said with a scowl directed at both of them. “We were just finishing up anyway.”
“I wasn’t finished,” Nick muttered. But his grin quickly came back. “Apparently I need a cold shower, though . . . to get the oil off.”
“Don’t you need a hot shower for that?” Dakota pointed out.
“Cold will be much better in my condition,” he said with a wink.
Chloe’s cheeks burned as she glanced down at his still hard body. At least it wasn’t as obvious while he was sitting. She knew, though, that there was no way Dakota hadn’t seen it. The man was magnificent.
“Why don’t you go take care of yourself while Chloe and I have a drink,” Dakota said as she jumped to her feet and held out a hand to Chloe.
“I have oil on my hands,” Chloe said as she pushed herself off the ground. She knew better than to help Nick get up. He was stubborn and prideful, and even though he had no problem taking a massage from her, he didn’t like to accept help.
“Have fun, ladies,” Nick said as he pushed himself off the ground. This time, Chloe averted her eyes. She was already hot and bothered and didn’t want to look at his thickness again and think about running her fingers and tongue over him.
He left the room, and Chloe felt her muscles shaking. That had been one hell of a massage. She and Dakota left the gym and moved through Nick’s large house to the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?” Chloe asked.
“That’s not a greeting,” Dakota told her with a chuckle.
“I’m thrilled to see you, but you didn’t say you were coming,” Chloe told her as she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine.
“I’ve been worried about you. I thought I would come and check on things, especially since I haven’t heard from you in a few days,” Dakota said.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry I’ve been so freakish with my calls to you. There’s just bee
n a lot to process in the last few weeks,” Chloe admitted.
“Don’t you dare apologize to me or I’ll be forced to knock you over the head with the biggest stick I can find,” Dakota told her. “We don’t have much time before Adonis comes in here, so spill your guts.”
Chloe smiled. “Yeah, he’s pretty damn good-looking,” Chloe admitted.
“Something you failed to point out. That man is fine,” Dakota said, drawing out the word.
“I’m supposed to hate him,” Chloe said.
“You know better than to listen to your piece-of-shit father. Remember what we’ve always agreed to?” Dakota said.
“Yeah, yeah, we form our own opinions no matter what other people say.”
“Exactly!” Dakota exclaimed. “You are smart, Chloe, much smarter than you ever give yourself credit for. And beyond that, you’re beautiful, kind, and one hell of a therapist. You don’t need your father and you don’t need his hateful words filtering through that gorgeous head of yours. If everything inside of you is telling you he’s wrong, you need to listen to that. Besides,” she added with a leer, “it seemed there were some major sparks in that room during your . . . massage,” she added with an evil grin.
“It’s just my job,” Chloe defended.
“Honey, I want your job,” Dakota said before busting up laughing.
“I’m glad you find yourself amusing,” Chloe said.
The girls heard footsteps and turned to see a freshly showered Nick strolling into the room. Chloe was relieved to see him covered up in a T-shirt and long pants. His feet were bare, though, and she had to admit she found even his toes sexy. She had serious problems.
“Chloe hasn’t told me about you, Dakota,” Nick said as he joined them at the breakfast bar and grabbed his own glass of wine.
“That’s because she likes to keep me her dirty little secret,” Dakota said with a wink.
“I can see why,” Nick told her. The two of them smiled at each other, and Chloe felt a rare moment of jealousy.
Dakota was so damn beautiful, and she charmed men without even trying. Chloe assured herself she didn’t want a relationship with Nick, but at the same time, she knew it would absolutely kill her to see Dakota and Nick together.
“Dakota can’t stay long. We have a long day ahead of us,” Chloe suddenly said.
Both of them turned to look at her. Dakota smirked in a knowing way, and Chloe felt like a terrible person. What was she doing?
“I wouldn’t want to stop therapy. It looks like a great time,” Dakota said before she looked back at Nick.
“It isn’t always fun. Chloe likes to push me hard,” he told her. That had Dakota laughing again.
“Don’t be afraid to push her right back,” her traitorous best friend said.
“Yeah, time to go,” Chloe told her.
“I can take a hint,” Dakota said. She left the rest of her wine unfinished as she stood. “I have an appointment anyway.” She turned to Nick. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
He held out his hand and the two shook. Some sort of message flashed between them, but Chloe had no idea what it was. Nick was grinning like a loon. Chloe walked her best friend to the door, wanting her to go away before things got out of hand and knowing she’d be missing her the minute Dakota left.
“I’m going to take Saturday off. Can we get together then?” Chloe asked.
“For sure. I found a new hike I want to do,” Dakota said. “And then you’re going to fill me in on all things Nick Armstrong,” she finished.
“Of course I will,” Chloe assured her.
The two hugged and Dakota slipped out as quickly as she’d rolled in. When Chloe turned, she found Nick standing there looking at her with an unreadable expression.
“I like your friend,” he said.
That tinge of jealousy sparked again. “Everyone likes Dakota. She’s amazing,” Chloe told him.
“I’m glad to see you have good people around you.”
He seemed so genuine while saying that it took the jealousy away as swiftly as it had come. She had been petty and stupid. For one thing, Nick wasn’t hers, and for another, even if he were interested in Dakota, her friend would never do something like that to her. All the messy feelings were her problem and no one else’s.
“I’ve been glad to have her from the first day we met,” Chloe said.
Silence surrounded them as he looked at her. making her feel like she was being analyzed—and maybe even coming up short. It was a feeling she was used to, but not one that she liked. Messy feelings. She hated messy feelings.
“I will figure you out,” he promised, though it sounded like a threat.
“Good luck with that,” she told him. He smiled, and she decided it was a good time to make her exit. “I’ll see you in three hours.”
Chloe left without another word. She had to have her afternoon breaks from him. It was either that, or she was going to mount the guy. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Chloe stood outside the door to the pool calming her breathing. She knew he was inside . . . half naked . . . completely delicious. She’d told him she didn’t want a relationship. And she didn’t, she assured herself. But he was a great-looking man who made her laugh as much as he made her grind her teeth. He’d also taken her to the heights of pleasure less than a week earlier. It had been rough working with him since then.
She was 90 percent sure he’d done nothing to cause her brother’s death. There was that small inkling of doubt, but it was only because her dad had poisoned her with his toxic words. It had been programed inside her, the seed had been planted, and she was afraid to pull out the roots―afraid of what her life would become knowing that everything in her life was a lie.
But that all led back to how she was feeling about Nick and how much she desired him.
He’d kept his promise, though, about not approaching her again romantically. She told herself this was exactly what she wanted. He’d definitely been hands on during their training sessions, playing on her sympathies for his injury, but he hadn’t attempted to kiss her, hadn’t touched her inappropriately. And every night when she went to bed, she suffered. There was an ache in her body she’d never before experienced, and it was almost suffocating her.
Chloe had no idea what to do to make it stop. She could quit her job, just take the pay she’d earned so far and walk away, but she was over halfway finished. If she could stick it through, then she would get a very nice bonus―one that she needed desperately to reduce the massive debt her school loans had caused her.
It wasn’t as if her mother or father were going to help her. She’d learned a long time ago she was on her own. She’d had her brother, but now she didn’t even have him. Her resolve strengthened, she opened the door to the pool, finding him at one end doing his stretches.
There were plusses and minuses to pool work. She couldn’t see his body as well underneath the water, but there was a lot of close contact with them both wearing next to nothing. She really wasn’t sure which was worse.
At least she had her sturdy one-piece bathing suit on. It didn’t come off even remotely as easily as a bikini, which helped remove thoughts of her stripping her clothes away so he could take her against the wall of the warm pool.
“Good afternoon, Nick,” she said, making sure her voice was calm and professional.
He looked up and gave her the look that seemed to say he was humoring her. The thing was she loved his crooked smile. He brushed his fingers through his hair, water droplets falling down his toned chest, and she practically panted.
Quickly submerging herself in the water, she went down to her neck so he wouldn’t notice her hardened nipples. In a little while, she could blame them on her feeling cold in the pool. Though they’d both know she’d be lying. The room was eighty degrees with the water right about the same. If anything, she normally began sweating by the end of their sessions―whether that was the temperature or the close proximit
y to Nick, she wasn’t 100 percent sure.
“You’re running late, doc,” he told her as she drew near.
“Sorry, I got caught up in my notes and lost track of time,” she told him. The truth was she had been taking notes, but then her mind had wandered as it did quite often these days, and she’d been thinking about him for the past hour and what she’d like him to do to her. She certainly wasn’t going to tell him any of that.
“Is all your stretching done?” she asked, stopping three feet from him.
“Yep, I went extra deep this time,” he told her. His tone was normal, but the twinkle in his eyes assured her he was baiting her. She decided to ignore him.
“Good, then let’s get you on the treadmill. You’re strong enough that I think we can put it at four,” she said, a wicked smile lighting her lips.
Nick didn’t say a word as he moved to the underwater treadmill. There were bars on the side of it that he could hold on to for balance, but he never chose to use them. Nick enjoyed pushing it to the maximum when she allowed him to.
“If you feel any pain whatsoever, I need for you to tell me. The water protects you, but you can still get injured,” she warned him.
He rolled his eyes, wondering how such a simple task could cause an injury. Sometimes she wanted to smack the man for his ridiculous bravado.
“You might think I’m overreacting, but it’s my license on the line if you get injured while I’m treating you. If you want to get back in that helicopter and fly again, then you would do well to listen to me,” she said, her voice stern, her eyes serious.
“Okay, okay,” he said with a laugh as he stood on the machine. “Let’s get started before my skin looks more like raisins.”
She moved over to the control and turned the machine up to two. He looked at her with a brow raised as he began jogging through the water. She slowly increased the speed. When she got to three, she took a breath and went under water, pressing her hand against his knee.
She often had to touch him, and at first that had led to a lot of sexual comments. Those had lightened in the past week, but the look in his eyes when she would meet them told her more than any words he chose to say.