The bathroom door opened.He looked up as McKenna peeked her head around it.A towel was wrapped around the top of her head, another around her body.Her shower had been lightning fast—did she fear having him close?Or had he not left her enough hot water?
She clutched the towel at her breasts.Her face had a light sheen to it, and droplets of water dotted her arms and shoulders.
“Go ahead and take your shirt off and get comfortable on the table.I’ll be ready in a minute.”
Well, shit.
He pulled the shirt over his head then tossed it on the chair and lay on the massage table, which was covered with a green blanket.The fireplace crackled, and he stared at the ceiling listening to what should have conjured soothing camping memories.Instead, images of getting McKenna naked bombarded his mind.His nipples puckered in anticipation and his cock grew to a painful length in his pants.
“Thanks for waiting.”She padded into the living room.This time she wore a lilac-colored sweater and gray yoga pants with thick, knitted socks that reached halfway up her calves.She stopped at the side of the table and smiled.And hell if her eyes didn’t twinkle impishly.“How are you doing?”
He bit back a comment about his aching dick and shrugged.“Wound hurts.Chest isn’t too bad.I took a couple more doses of that stuff.”
“Good.Let’s start with the attack.”
He frowned.“Do you need me to turn onto my stomach?”She wouldn’t be able to reach the wound while he was on his back—not that he wanted her sticking needles in the fucking gashes anyway.
Her gaze drifted over his chest to his abdomen and then lingered on the tent of his jeans.A deep blush overtook her cheeks and her throat moved on a swallow.“No, I’m going to focus on the trauma.We’ll get to the wound later.”Plastic crinkled.“Do needles make you nervous?”
He snorted.“Nope.Not unless a mountain lion is holding them.”
A light laugh tripped off her tongue, and he glanced up to see an unguarded expression on her face.Her teeth gleamed in the pale light coming through the windows, and her wet hair hung in a tussled array around her shoulders.She brought her fingertip to the space between his eyes and kneaded the skin there before swiping it with a wet cotton pad.The scent of alcohol tickled his nostrils.“This might smart a bit,” she said.The tip of the needle poked his forehead.
“What’s that for?”
“It’s grounding.Helps with stress and calms the mind.”
“How many needles do you use?”
She shrugged.Her brow dipped in concentration as she swiped the cool, damp cotton pad over his chest, arms, ribs, and legs.After setting the pad aside, she pushed on the crook of his elbow with her index finger.“It depends,” she finally replied.“Men can usually take a lot.I try to use as few as possible but with the best chance at getting results.Since I’m unfamiliar with your medical history, it’ll be a little difficult to determine what will work best for you.”She paused then caught his chin between her thumb and forefinger.“Let me see your tongue.”
A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.“My tongue?Why?”
She rolled her eyes.“It’s a good diagnostic tool.”
He sucked back the moisture in his mouth, swallowed, and then stuck out his tongue.“This is weird,” he said, the muscle hanging from his lips.
She chuckled and swatted his shoulder.“Hold still.”Her gaze raked over his tongue and then she nodded.“You’ve got a lot of trapped heat.There’s some congestion in the lungs and small intestine, which coincides with whatever virus you have.”
She pulled another needle from the open package.“The overall color is good though.Better than I expected.”
He grimaced.“What’s that supposed to mean?”He wasn’t vegetarian, nor did he keep track of his sugar intake.But he exercised daily and ate a healthy diet by his standards.
She met his stare and her eyes softened.“I often see a lot of heat and stagnation issues—your system seems to do a good job of moving things along.I’m sure you’ll kick this cold in no time.”
“How does this help?”
She stuck a needle in one pectoral muscle, and then one in the other.“There are channels that run through your body called meridians.They move our energy and distribute it where needed.Along the meridians are points that connect to organs and various functions of the body.”She removed another needle and, with her free hand, felt around the left side of his ribs.
He squirmed as her fingers prodded his skin—her slippery touch tickled.She dug her fingertip deeper and he tensed.
“Tender there?”
“Yeah.That’s weird.It’s never hurt there before.”
Another needle pierced his skin.This time his flesh burned and snapped with pain.“Ah, what the hell?”
She winced.“Sorry.That’s a liver point for stress.A strong reaction like that is a good sign, though.It means we’re on the right track.”
