“I half expected Thomas to call me demanding I order Victoria away,” he said softly, keeping his voice low, while kneading her muscles.
“He snuck peaks outside while she slowly tortured me. By lunch, she and Ivan won him over. I like her,” Caroline said, slightly moaning.
“Does the pressure feel all right?” he asked.
“Oh, yeahhh,” she hummed. “You have gentle hands. I always pictured them rough and hard.”
“I’m barely touching you,” he chuckled. “You’re moving so stiffly, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Switching to her other shoulder, he started the process again.
“I can lie here while you’re massaging me. It makes me feel weird. Tell me something about yourself,” she pleaded.
Jameson scooped out another portion of the cream and started at her feet. “I’m thirty-five. Blue is my favorite color. I served with Matthew as a Navy SEAL. Tell me something about you,” he said, working his way up her thigh. His hands kneaded the tender spots, and she found herself wishing they moved higher.
“I’m Caroline Ann, named after my great-grandmother. I’m twenty-eight, almost twenty-nine in a few months. My mom used to have a flower garden with Black-Eyed Susans. They became my favorite flower. I’m dying for a real Italian dinner with chicken parmesan and pasta. We used to live close to a family-owned Italian restaurant. I loved visiting it on Thursday nights. The owner always made me Shirley Temples to make me feel like a grown-up while my parents drank their wine.”
“I can eat about anything,” he told her. “I love chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and sawmill gravy.”
“Of course, you do. You’re a guy. It must be embedded in your bloodstream as a baby,” she teased.
Jameson lifted the sheet. “Turn over and let me do your back,” he ordered. “It’s not a guy thing. I made one friend in junior high school, thanks to Phillip. He liked to terrorize everyone, and they assumed I behaved like him. Jason, an outcast like me, took pity on me and befriended me. One night, he asked me over for dinner. They sat around a real table, and his whole family said grace. His mom passed me a plate of chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. I remember thinking it was the best meal I ever ate. It’s most likely the only time I saw how a family acted until Ijoined Matthew and guarded Kassie. She reminded me of what I wanted the most.”
“Do you want kids someday?” she asked, while he rubbed the cream into her shoulders and back.
“Yeah. A couple of rugrats running around the house doesn’t sound half bad. When I lived in Serenity, Emma captured my heart. Then, Melody and LJ joined the crew. I believe the team has tripled in size since I last saw them.”
“Do you like your job here?” she asked sleepily as he moved his hands to her thighs.
“Yes. Garrett has become a good friend. Of course, Matthew and I knew each other already. Julio and I got along while we searched for Rebecca. Delaney always makes my favorite cookies. Mac’s good at giving advice.”
His fingers stopped at a knot in her calf. He used his thumbs to loosen the area.
“What did you think of the ranch?” he asked.
“I hope Rachel, Riley, and Rebecca will remain my friends. I like them,” she admitted. “Thank you for doing this. The cream’s doing its job.”
“Good. Can I ask you something?” he asked, starting on her other leg.
“Hmmm?”
“When I entered the pool area, you kept staring at the water. You mentioned you don’t care for baths. Do you want to talk about it?” Jameson asked, placing his warm hand on her back and making long strokes. Caroline moaned and let out a sigh.
“Shortly after Cain bought me, he punished me by pushing my head under the bathwater. When I got a breath away from drowning, he’d pull me up and make me clean up his mess.”
“Do you know how to swim?”
“No. I went to swim class and learned to tread water. As I got older, it felt embarrassing to admit I didn’t know how to swim,” she said, yawning again.
“It’s nothing to feel bad about. I’m working the night shifts. If you want, I can teach you,” he offered, taking the blanket and pulling it over her shoulders. Jameson replaced the lid on the cream and turned to see her watching him.
“You don’t have to do this, much less teach me to swim,” she said, softly.
Kneeling beside her, Jameson tucked a strand of hair away from her face. “No, I don’t. But I want to. How do you feel about me teaching you?”
“Will it bring my power back like Victoria’s torture session?”
Jameson chuckled. “It’s a lot less painful.”
