Looking at her cute toes nestled against his thigh he wondered how she walked around as long as she did in those damn heels. It was surprising her feet weren’t more blistered or raw.
“How are these puppies feeling today?” He picked up her left foot.
“They’re not barking like on work days,” she quipped. “But they’re not in prime shape either. I swear when this is over, I will never wear high heels again.”
“I might be able to help a little.” He began to rub along the sole of her foot, kneading the skin. She dropped back on the springy arm cushion closing her eyes in ecstasy. He ran his fingers over her heel, toes, and everywhere in between massaging away the stress.
As her moans of appreciation grew so did the tension in him. She was enjoying the foot rub but her response made him think of other pleasures he could be giving her. The whimpers coming from her mouth were driving him crazy. Images of the two of them tangled in satin sheets flashed past his eyes. His pants became tight, his breathing growing deeper.
He gently placed her foot back next to his thigh hoping he could focus on the movie and remove the thoughts from his head.
She thrust her right foot into his lap. “Oh, no you don’t. You can’t do one without the other. I’ll walk lopsided and spill all my drinks at work. If you’re going to start something you need to finish it.”
Chris almost groaned. Rubbing her foot was not how he envisioned finishing it. He picked up her right foot repeating the procedure. This time he watched her face as well. No doubt he was a glutton for punishment. The sight of her enraptured face filled him with longing he knew he couldn’t satisfy. An urge he had no right to satisfy. This woman had a more passionate reaction to his massaging her feet than some of the women he’d had sex with. What would she be like if they actually…oh, no, don’t even go there, Shaunessy.
She looked so damn innocent with her eyes closed, face relaxed, he couldn’t tear his gaze away. When this was all over, some guy would be very lucky.
Both her feet rested in his lap now and he caressed them gently as he turned his eyes back to the movie. Not that he saw any of it. His thoughts were about Meg being with some other guy. Living with him, sleeping with him, sharing her life with him. Emotion roared to life deep inside and he pushed it back. Far behind the wall he’d meticulously constructed years ago. If he’d taken a look at it before shoving it there, he would have realized what it was…jealousy.
Chapter 11
“Chris, you still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
Meg looked through the rental car window at the last rays of the sun as they dipped below the horizon. The earlier gloom had vanished and the sun had come out making everything brighter, kind of like her mood after she and Chris had baked the cake. They’d settled in to watch a few movies and much of her anxiety had simply washed away.
Of course his massaging her feet had helped. The poor appendages never fully recovered after spending hours in the torture devices she wore every night. They got one night a week off, like her. Tonight. And Chris had spent it with her instead of going to the club.
The routine of hanging out and watching TV had seemed perfect, normal. She hadn’t wanted it to end. But then he’d gotten a phone call. He’d come back in from the balcony, his face set in stone. Throwing her a forced smile he said they needed to run an errand.
“I told you, Ft. Lauderdale.” His words brought her back to the present.
She frowned. “Yeah, but why? Something happened, didn’t it?”
“It’s nothing you need to worry about at the moment.”
“Right, that’s why you got all grumpy and uneasy. Tell me.”
He signaled and exited the highway, looking at his GPS for directions. When he’d headed the right way, he glanced at her.
“They found your phone. When they ran the number through the database and got your name, a flag went up and my office was contacted.”
“So, Moreno never had it.” Relief surged through her knowing he couldn’t trace it back to her family. If only she’d known when this first started….
“Why would anyone take the time to run some random lost phone through a database?”
He maneuvered through traffic and stopped at a light. “It was found at the scene of a crime.”
Her heart began racing. “But you told them I lost it, I’ve been in Miami for ages, right? I couldn’t have done whatever it was.”
He reached over and patted her thigh, lingering longer than was proper. She wanted the contact to last even longer.
“They don’t suspect you, no.”
He turned the car into the parking lot of the Ft. Lauderdale Hospital. Her heart beat faster. “Someone was hurt? How did they get my phone?”
“I don’t have all the details. We’re meeting a local police officer inside.”
He parked, turned off the car then held her hand while they walked inside. Why was he being so solicitous? Was she in trouble? Forget butterflies. A flock of birds migrated inside her stomach.
