“I know.” I take a step closer and reach for the hem of my dress. “But I’m not scared.”
He watches me in silence as I pull the dress off. I’m standing there in my underwear, just like I was after the fountain, and I meet his gaze defiantly.
“We’re finishing this,” I tell him.
He turns his back to me, jaw still working. I unclip my bra and toss it away before sliding in beneath the towel on the table. I keep my fresh thong on.
Colette thinks she’s left a happily married couple in here who’ve seen each other naked a million times. If only she knew.
I breathe in the freshly laundered scent of the towel and try to relax.
“Ready?” he asks. I nod against the bench.
He calls Colette back in, and they talk in murmured voices about the first steps. She starts working on my back and then lets him take over. His large hands come to rest on my shoulder blades.
Oh.
I tense, but then he runs a hand down the length of my spine in a barely-there touch, and a shiver runs through me. I don’t know how long it’s been since someone touched me like that. I’ve had a few hookups in the two years since my last relationship, but it’s been months since the last one.
His hands splay out on my lower back, brushing over the flare of my hips, before he moves back up to my shoulders. He pushes my hair gently to the side and massages my neck. His pressure is light, like he doesn’t want to hurt me.
Unlike me.
Goosebumps ripple up my arms. This wasn’t meant to feel thisgood. Every press of his palms sends heat rushing through me, settling low in my belly. And he’s only touchingmy back.
It’s been too long since I was touched. That’s all it is.
It’s nothim.It’s just the fact that he’s showing kindness,even if it’s forced, after more than a week of arguing. Tension melts from me with the heat of his touch.
His hands soothe down the outside of my torso, fingers brushing lightly against the sides of my breasts. He digs into the muscles of my low back, and I can’t help it. A sigh escapes me.
His hands freeze. And then he’s not touching me anymore. “One moment,” he tells Colette, and I hear the sound of footsteps.
The door closes a moment later.
There’s perfect silence in the room, and with it, my own embarrassment.
“Sorry about that,” I tell her and try to laugh. “He’s a workaholic.”
“I noticed he had difficulty relaxing during his massage,” Colette says. Her hands take over where Rafe’s were, competent and professional. “I think that means he needs it the most.”
“Oh, I couldn’t agree more,” I say.
I close my eyes and try to steady my breathing. It shouldn’t matter if Rafe doesn’t want to touch me. I didn’t want to be in this position either. It’s not like Iaskedfor this. Or for the way my body responded to his.
I do my very best to relax for the remaining minutes and chat with Colette to do damage control.We’re still in love, trust me. Him running out of here five minutes into my massage meansnothing.
Rafe doesn’t return. He was so bothered by the simple act of touching me that he left the room entirely.
CHAPTER 23
RAFE
Fuck.
I leave the guest room with Paige’s naked body behind and take the steps upstairs in two. It’s too early in the day for one of the cage fights and too late in the day to call off the whole thing.
I’m so fucking hard.
