Cassie tensed again. Could she do this? Before she could worry too much, he elicited a moan from her as he rubbed the ball of her foot.
“That’s my girl.”
“That feels heavenly.” The man definitely knew how to give a great full-body massage.
“Happy to hear my lady is pleased.”
His lady. Her cowboy.
She let the romantic image envelop her. She did believe in romance now.
Luke seemed in no hurry to move to a new area, and she relaxed farther into the mattress as her muscles melted like butter. He massaged her calf before crawling onto the bed beside her and removing the sheet. He focused on the back of her knee and thigh.
When had she unclenched her thighs? She started to close them again, but fought back the urge.
Be brave.
Instead, she forced her body to remain relaxed. Mind over matter.
Wait! Did she just open her legs a little bit wider? Why? What would happen if he touched her there? Would she shut down, run away—or enjoy it?
Perhaps she was inviting him to do more. Her sex tingled, aching to be touched. What was he doing to her? Her heart pounded. Arousal, not fear. She trusted him, so why was her body trying to rebel at his touch? How could she clamp down on her excitement?
Dirty.
“Relax, Sweet Pea. You’re tensing up again. Stop worrying about what’s coming next. Just enjoy the moment.”
“How did you know I was worrying?”
He chuckled, and she heard him rubbing more oil into his hands. “It’s my job to pay attention to your body and read the signs, especially when you won’t come right out and tell me what you want or need.”
Ah. Body language. He had paid attention to her pulse point the time she had told him about the rape. Very observant, indeed. Good, because asking for what she wanted was impossible.
She smiled and loosened up again as his hands surrounded her left thigh, working the oil into her skin. She spread her legs wider to allow him access to her full thigh.
Touch me.
As if he had heard her thoughts, the side of his hand brushed against her sex, and she gasped in surprise but did not close her thighs. It must have been accidental.
Then he touched her there again.
Her sex throbbed, but he pulled away again. Did she just groan in frustration? One minute she was afraid he would touch her more intimately and the next she regretted he did not.
“Like that, baby girl?”
“Oh, yes.”
She liked being his baby girl, too, but by tonight she wanted to become Luke’s woman in every sense.
He played her body like an instrument, eliciting responses she never expected as he caressed her other thigh before applying more pressure. This time when he came into contact with the juncture of her legs, she lifted her hips seeking more.
“I think we’d better stop now before things go too far. I love touching your body like this, though. We’ll have to do it again tonight.” His hands stopped moving and left her body.
No! He was stopping? Now?
“Please, Luke.”
“What, darlin’?”
“Please…keep doing what you’re doing. It feels so good.” There, she had spoken the words. Had asked for what she wanted. No, needed. Her heart pounded as she waited for him to respond.
“That’s my good girl.”
He chuckled. Had he been testing her? He warmed more oil in his hands, and she expelled the breath she had been holding. Where would his magic hands roam next?
Anticipation caused her to hold her breath again, and she gasped in surprise when they came down with one hand high on each thigh, his thumbs so close. Without being asked, she opened her legs wider for him, inviting him to explore farther.
His hands kneaded the back of her thigh. Strong, firm motions left her inner thighs tingling at his touch.
“Mmmm.” She could not form a coherent sentence now if he commanded her to, but simply gave in to the feel of his hands. Her sex pulsed as though her heart was beating there. The ache to be touched became a raging need.
“Please. More.”
Cassie’s frustration increased when his hands ignored her and moved lower on her thigh again. She spread her legs even wider, but his hands left her again altogether. She growled. Why did he not take the hint?
Oil. Rubbing his hands. At least he wasn’t finished! Where would he touch her next?
Anticipation engulfed her.
Facing away from her as best she could tell from the position of his hands, he straddled her lower back, rocking the mattress.
Pressure. Fearing the images from the cantina would bombard her again, Cassie twisted to her side and threw him onto the bed. “Stop! Pickle!”
She gasped for air as Luke stretched out beside her and met her gaze, his hand stroking her face. “Shhh. You’re safe. It’s Luke. Tell me what’s going on.”
Her face flamed with embarrassment. “I am sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Let’s just figure out what triggered you so I won’t do it again.”
“I am not sure it was really a trigger, but when you pressed your body against my lower back, it felt like…” She sucked air into her chest. “I did not really experience a flashback. It was more like the panic that I might, if that makes sense.”
“Sounds like you’re saying you were anticipating a trigger because you thought there should be one.”
“Perhaps. I think the pressure is what scared me.”
“Would you like me to try again but from another position?”
“No.”
The disappointment in his eyes was evident. “It’s okay. We don’t have to. We can cuddle and talk instead.”
“No!”
Clearly, she was not expressing herself well. “What I mean is that I do not want to stop. I do not want you to try another position. I do want to try and control my body from reacting like this.” Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, Luke, I want to do this. To please you. I just want to be normal!”
Luke grinned. “Well, that would make one normal person in this bed, then. Hell, I don’t even know what the standard is for normal. All I know is that whatever we do or want to do is normal for us today, and if tomorrow we redefine what we want, then that will be our new normal.”
She smiled and leaned toward him to press her lips against his before pulling back again. “Thank you for not making me feel like a freak.”
He brushed the hair away from her eyes. “Darlin’, I’m telling you, based on thirty-three years of experience, even freaks set their own normal.”
“I love you, Luke.”
“Love you, too, baby girl.” He leaned up and propped his head in the palm of his hand as he traced a finger down her arm. “Tell me what you want me to do next.”
Tell him. Speak the words.
Gathering her hair in one hand, she resumed the position. “Touch me the way you were touching me before.”
He bent over her and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for using your safeword, Sweet Pea. Helps me relax knowing you will if you need to.”
She did not realize he was nervous, too. He seemed so self-assured and in control.
He straddled her again, facing away from her head, but she noticed he did not put his weight on her right away. Heat from his feet and legs warmed the sides of her breasts. His hands focused first on her upper thighs and then her bottom. She remained in the moment and allowed no more worries from the past to interfere with her enjoyment of this time with her husband.
She had enjoyed his massages before, but none had made her feel so alive. He awakened parts of her body long dormant. Using indirect touches, he made her genitals tingle in anticipation of more. Would he ever shift his focus there more directly?
Goddess, I hope so.
Cassie felt something stiff pressing between her butt cheeks and it took a moment before she realized he was erect again. The prospect of Luke making love to her tonight became very real, very fast. She smiled
.
I can do this.
Abruptly again, he stopped and crawled off her. She heard the cap snap closed on the bottle of oil. “Why don’t we cuddle awhile?” Her smile faded. That was it? He intended to stop with only the massage?
No! That is not what I want!
She rolled onto her back and covered herself with the sheet. Underneath, her nipples bunched. If he would only touch her there, he could see how excited she was without her saying a word.
Becoming aroused in front of a man once scared her to death, but this was Luke. She loved and trusted him. She wanted to please him with her body.
Do it!
She drew the sheet down as he placed the bottle of oil on the nightstand. When he turned to look at her, he zeroed in on her breasts.
Yes, look at what you have done to me, Luke.
Instead of appearing to be excited, a pained expression flashed across his face. Slowly, he met her gaze. He swallowed hard. “Maybe we can take a nap before we get to our chores later on?”
“Nap?” Luke never slept in the middle of the day. He slept only a few hours each night. How could he expect her to sleep when her body was on fire?
He removed the towel that had been around his waist and she saw his own state of arousal. How could he just ignore that, as well? He helped maneuver her body lengthwise on the mattress, stretched out, and placed the sheet over them. He did not spoon her as he did at night. Did not allow his erection to touch her as it had moments ago. She wanted to beg him to touch her there. The man had cast some kind of spell over her.
And now he wanted to nap?
Luke draped his hand over her, and it came to rest on her side. She tilted her body toward him until his fingers brushed her breast, but he pulled away. Did he not realize she wanted him to touch her breasts?
She ached to be stroked, touched, put out of her state of misery. Parts of her anatomy she did not know existed burned now. Literally burned.
For Luke.
Kitty said he was a take-charge man. Why did he not take charge of her now? She wanted him to release this unbearable tension from her body. She wanted to have him give her what she needed…without making her ask for it.
Putas ask for it.
No! This is right. This is my husband. He loves me, honors me, cherishes me. He would never do anything to make me feel dirty and used.
Why could she not just tell him what she wanted…no, needed?
How could he bring her to the brink and stop abruptly?
Had her body turned him off? Was she too unresponsive for him?
Well, she had certainly sent him enough messages these past few months about how touching her sexually was off limits. How could she expect him to know that now she welcomed more intimacy?
“Luke?” she whispered.
“Is there something you need, Sweet Pea?”
Yes, you.
But asking him to make love to her was out of the question. If he could not tell she was ready…
“Never mind.” She rolled to her side, losing contact with his hand, and clenched her thighs together as she drew them up. But that movement only created friction in the very place she was trying to ignore. She groaned.
“What did you want to ask me?”
“Nothing.”
His body shook as if he tried to smother a laugh. If only he knew the seriousness of the predicament she was in.
Chapter Thirty-Two
His little lady was horny—and he’d made her that way.
Hot damn!
Even though he knew what she needed, he planned to wait for her to ask him. Yeah, he was testing her limits a little, but he didn’t want her to regret anything he did with her. He’d waited this long. She wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer before she begged him for more.
She wasn’t the only sexually frustrated one in this bed.
“Naptime, darlin’.” He placed a kiss between her shoulder blades and she pressed against his lips, rather than move away. That’s my girl. “Now, curl up against me.” He placed his arm around her again, hoping his aim was right so he could brush the side of her breast again. Damn. When he drew her toward him, though, she resisted.
“I am fine over here.”
Don’t run from me now, darlin’. “We’re just going to snuggle.”
“But I…” Apparently unable to explain her wants or needs or to tell him why spooning naked against him was a problem for her, she had no recourse but to scoot toward him and curl her back against his chest and thighs. This time he let her feel his hard-on. She clenched her ass cheeks and pulled away to keep from touching him, but he held her more tightly. Her body had to be screaming for more, even though her mind cautioned that she needed to maintain her distance.
He moved her hair aside and placed a kiss on the top of her shoulder this time. Soft. Sweet smelling. “Nice dreams, darlin’.”
With all the willpower he could muster, he closed his eyes and feigned sleep. Her body remained rigid as she fought sleep and sexual longing, no doubt. How long would it take her to break down and ask him to touch her where she wanted to be touched?
No, needed to be touched.
However long it took, he’d be here when she was ready…
Luke awakened with a start. What the… Damn, he never fell asleep in the daytime. Between the trip to Peru and burning the midnight oil while he prepared to surprise the hell out of Cassie, he must be behind on his sleep.
He glanced at the window. Still daylight. The clock on the nightstand indicated they had hours before they needed to take care of the animals.
Good.
The weight of Cassie’s head on his chest and her leg sandwiched between his thighs made chores the last thing he wanted to think about.
Stubborn girl.
She hadn’t begged him for more as he’d hoped, but she had sought to get even closer to his body in her sleep. All hope wasn’t lost. He stroked her back lightly, wanting her to know he was there but hoped she wouldn’t fully awaken. She moaned, which was all the encouragement he needed. His cock grew hard as his hand trailed down her back to the curve of her ass. When he touched her there, she ground her pelvis against his leg as if seeking relief. Yeah, he could give her that.
But he wouldn’t.
Not yet.
He continued to explore her satiny-soft skin, drawing closer to the cleft between her ass cheeks. When his finger slid lightly over her butt crack, he elicited another moan from her.
Cassie rolled onto her back. “Do not stop.”
Her eyes remained closed. Was she still sleeping? Did she know what she was asking?
“Please, Luke. Touch me.”
He grinned. Yeah, she knew. Her breasts beckoned but first he wanted to tease her a little more. He took the tip of his index finger and skimmed it lightly across one collarbone, then the other before trailing it down between her breasts. She moaned as her chest rose. Her skin broke out in goose bumps.
That’s not all that rose. Besides his cock, he watched her nipples swell, leaving him wanting so badly to take one into his mouth.
Not yet.
Anticipation would be good for both of them. And sheer torture.
When his finger continued its exploration down to her belly button, she giggled.
“Ticklish?”
“A little. But do not stop. I like it when you touch me.”
Progress. He wondered why she kept her eyes closed, but she knew who was with her. Maybe it helped her in some way, so he wouldn’t insist on her opening them—yet. So, should he head farther south, or come back up and tease her breasts a little more? She hadn’t placed any limits on where he could touch this time.
“Use your safeword again if you need to.”
“I will.”
He’d still listen for a “no” or “stop,” too, in case she panicked.
His hand reached for her right breast and cupped it, avoiding the nipple. God, she had the most beautiful bare breasts he’d never touched. Before
she’d always had clothes on as a barrier.
High. Firm. Her dusty-rose areolas just begged to be kissed.
Testing the waters first, he grazed her nipple with his knuckles and her chest heaved upward again.
“Yes! There!”
He smiled. “You sure about this, darlin’?”
“Mm-hmmm. Touch me, Luke.”
She was getting better at asking.
“Love to.”
He took the nipple between thumb and index finger and squeezed lightly at first. With a little tug, he watched it double in size. A frown came over her face. Too much—or too little. He lifted himself and leaned on one elbow before bending down to take her left nipple into his mouth.
“Oh, yes, Luke!”
He sucked, gently at first, but when her pelvis tilted upward, he knew she was ready for more. Drawing her engorged peak into his mouth, he suckled harder. When he pulled his head away, he didn’t release her nipple.
“Oh, Goddess! That feels so good. More!”
He sure as hell hoped she knew her goddess wasn’t responsible for what she was feeling. Just to be sure, his hand roamed down to stroke her thigh. She opened to him.
He let her nipple go with a plop. “Tell me what you need, Cassie.”
Her brows furrowed. She blinked her eyes open, but closed them again quickly.
“Please…”
“Look at me and tell me what you need.”
She groaned but opened her eyes. “Why do you make me speak the words? You know what I want.”
He traced a finger down her nose. “No, darlin’. I know what I want. I’m not a mind reader. I don’t want you upset because I misinterpreted what I thought you meant. Until you’re more comfortable with intimacy, I need for you to put into words what you want. What you need from me.”
While he waited for her response, he rolled her nipple lightly between his fingers, as if twirling a dandelion stem.
“I need…you…to touch me. There.”
“Where specifically?”
“Luke, why are you torturing me like this? You know what I want! Must you force me to speak the words aloud?”
“Yes. Tell me.”
She grabbed his hand. He expected her to fling it aside and escape from the bed. Instead she stared at him before coming to some kind of decision. “I need you to touch me here!” Without hesitation, she moved his hand lower until he cupped her mound.
Nobody's Dream (Rescue Me Saga #6) Page 63