“You can teach me.” He nods toward the bed. “Lie down.”
My dress isn’t exactly massage friendly, but I do as Cort asks, swiping my hair to one side as I place my cheek on his pillow. Instantly, I’m surrounded by his scent. Balsam fir and a twinge of asphalt. I want to press my nose further into the fragrance but resist.
“May I?” His fingers touch the zipper pull, mid-back, on my dress.
I nod and blow out a deep breath. He’s taking this rather seriously, so I try to relax. Unfortunately, the slow unzipping of my dress is like butterfly kisses against my skin, triggering flutters in my lower belly.
Cort spreads the two sides of my dress apart and unclasps my strapless bra with a quick snap. With my back fullyexposed, and my head on the pillow, I hear Cort open the jar of honey balm. He rubs his hands together and then places them on my back the way I initially touch him.
“This is kind of an odd angle.”
“Sit on my legs.” The invitation comes out sultry and rich, and the second he straddles my thighs, I’m in trouble. The river outside his window doesn’t compare to the wetness that pools at my center.
Cort does as I suggest but doesn’t put his full weight on me somehow. Then he rubs his hands up and down my spine, digging his thumbs into my upper back and stroking up my neck.
Damn, that feels good.
He continues kneading his thumbs into my muscles, working one side to the other along my upper back before moving downward, along my spine, and eventually digging into my lower back. My dress only spreads so far near my backside, above my hips, so Cort slips his hands beneath the material, squeezing at my lower lats.
I flinch and giggle.
He stills. “Ticklish?”
“Maybe.” As I told him once, a girl can’t give away all her secrets.
Cort softens his touch but still works on muscles I didn’t know were aching. I stand on my feet most of the day but wear comfortable, supportive shoes for the task. Still, my body isn’t as young as it used to be, though I work at keeping it strong.
Eventually, Cort removes his hands from the inside of my dress, and I think the massage is complete but then his palms settle on my ass. He squeezes over the silky material of my dress, and I tense my legs.
“No-go zone,” he questions, instantly lifting his hands.
“I’m good.” I’m more than good. I’m melting into this bed.
Cort massages the globes of my ass but then shifts his bodylower, cupping underneath the swells and moving on to my thighs. Starting at the back of my knees, he shimmies my dress upward to where the curve of my backside meets my legs and wedges himself between my spread legs. He digs in once again, kneading the back of my thighs, working down to my calves and stroking over my bare feet.
With my eyes closed, Cort’s scent on his pillow filling my nose, and his hands laid gently on me, I could fall asleep, if I wasn’t also turned on.
“Feel good, Vale?”
I purr in response.
Cort slowly slides his hands up my legs, humming to himself as he strokes featherlight over my flesh.
“I’ve got another way to make you feel good, sweetness, but there’s no pressure.”
I’m in a vulnerable position here. Belly down on his bed. Legs spread around his knees. Hands beneath his pillow.
“I didn’t bring a toy,” I admit, recalling he never actually touched me the other night and there’s nothing I want more.
I blow out a breath, trying to settle my apprehension.
Cort climbs over me, presses a kiss to my exposed shoulder, and whispers at my ear. “Let me touch you.” He kisses my shoulder blade next. “We’ll go at your pace. I just want to make you feel good. Take care of you.”
He means right now. Tonight. And tears prickle my eyes, but I nod, giving him permission to play.
Sliding his hands over my hips, he hooks his finger into my panties and drags them down my legs. He rubs his hands back up my calves and thighs and then dips between them.
In this position, I feel both exposed but exhilarated. And when Cort swipes up my seam, I bend my knees a little bit, chasing his finger.
