“Absolutely.” He felt guilty for not telling me sooner. Now she was probably tense.
“Come here,” he said, sitting down at the foot of the bed and patting the comforter beside him.
She looked at where he patted, then back up at him suspiciously. “Why?”
“Because I’m guessing your neck and shoulders are tight after that, and since I’m responsible, I’d like to help. Sit down and I’ll give you a massage.”
Her eyes flared wide. “You really don’t need to?—”
“I insist.” For years, he’d longed desperate to touch Harper; he was so close now.
Her chest rose and fell twice before she came toward him like a deer sizing up a potential predator. Chase waited patiently, keeping his face open, until she finally sat down next to him and turned her body away.
He set his hands gently on her shoulders, already feeling the tightness before he’d even applied any pressure. Allowing his thumbs to slide to the base of her neck, he used gentle strokes, slowly sliding upward as he pressed lightly into her muscles, trying not to think about how her silky skin felt underneath his fingers and suddenly thankful for the ridiculous pants.
After he’d worked up to the base of her skull, easing tension all along the way, he dragged his thumbs back down and began to massage her shoulders, employing the techniques the team physical therapists used on him when necessary. Harper was beginning to lean into his touch as her entire upper body relaxed, and he smiled in smug satisfaction.
When she quietly moaned, all smugness fled. He bit his lip against the groan that wanted to escape him and continued to massage his way down her back, reveling both in touching her and in her response.
Just when he was fighting the urge to lean in and kiss the tempting expanse of skin on the side of her neck, she sat up straight. “Okay, well, thank you! I feel much better.”
She hopped up and glanced at him sideways. “I should check the laundry.”
With that, she left the room, and Chase was left to wonder what he’d done wrong.
Why didshe keep running from rooms this evening? Harper wasn’t normally a coward, but something about Chase seemed to turn her into one.
She checked and found Chase’s clothes were dry and warm, and she carried the bundle to the bedroom, laying it across the bed to warm it up. She wondered if it might be wiser for her to sleep on the couch. But the couch was just a couch, not a sleeper sofa, and the leather would be a cold place to sleep tonight.
Looked like she would be sharing the bed with Chase, who was just coming out of the bathroom. “I’m done in there. There are some extra toothbrushes and toothpaste, if you need them,” he said, gesturing with his thumb behind him.
“Ah, good. And your clothes are done,” she said, waving at the clothing like a game show hostess before hastily putting her arm down. “Guess I should get ready for bed.”
Chase’s eyes quickly dragged down her body and back up, and she wondered what he saw. A bedraggled woman who sat in a vehicle for five hours before tramping through the snowy woods?
That was what she’d been seeing in the mirror this evening. She looked tired, too, and couldn’t imagine how fatigued Chase must be.
Professional athlete or not, he’d carried her through knee-deep snow and must be exhausted. She was so relieved that the shower was all he’d needed to revive.
After she went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, she splashed her face with water. It might be nice to shower before bed. She cracked the bathroom door, peering through it to find Chase asleep. Creeping quietly through the room, she grabbedher overnight bag and brought it into the bathroom, digging out the change of clothes she’d fortuitously put in there.
Harper turned the water on and stripped, tucking her hair into a shower cap and hurrying underneath the steady hot spray. She didn’t know if she’d ever been as thankful for a shower as she was tonight.
Well, perhaps after that mud run she’d done a few years ago after signing up in a fit of temporary insanity.
Never. Again.
She stood under the pulse of hot water as it continued to relax the muscles Chase had massaged. Then she washed with the citrusy shower gel in the pump on the wall, rinsed off, and dressed in panties, her leggings, and a fresh T-shirt.
The bra could stay off until tomorrow. It’s not like Chase would see her before she had a chance to put it on, anyway.
Turning off the light, she eased open the door to the bedroom and slowly crossed to the bed, its bulk a dim shape in the darkness. She stubbed her toe on one of the supports underneath, biting her lip to keep from expressing her displeasure in a loud string of creative curses.
Breathing deliberately in and out through her nose, she waited until the pain faded to dull soreness before sliding under the covers, fully aware of the giant of a man already sleeping there. Chase had stretched out on his back. He wasn’t taking up any more space than necessary, but he was so broad that her arm brushed against his when she mirrored his pose. The electric shiver that accompanied the contact stole her breath.
Rolling to her side, facing away from Chase, Harper squeezed her eyes shut and prayed she’d fall asleep quickly so that this interminable night could end. Things would be easier tomorrow, when they could get back to normal.
CHAPTER 7
