Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Rebel

Now the expression in her eyes was less confident than a moment before. “You want me to stop? Back up? We going too fast, or too far?”

She swallowed hard. “You’re just so. Damn. Big. Kinda blows my mind.”

“You need to eat more and get bigger yourself.”

Vicki leaned forward to grab the cream jar. “Nothing doing. I’m not getting any taller, and I don’t want to get wider, so what you see is what you get.”

Which was totally fine by him. What he saw, he liked plenty. Joel was more and more confident this deal between the two of them was going to work out well.

Especially when she rose, walked behind him and put her hot little hands on his back.

She had to hide behind him, because if she’d stayed in front for any longer she was sure he’d know every damn one of her secrets. Those blue eyes of his looked straight through her, and there wasn’t much she could do in defense.

Except hide, which is why she now faced the daunting task of giving her first massage, and holy hell, all she wanted to do was strip down to nothing and rub the cream on his body with her own.

Perhaps later.

For now, she tried to imitate what he’d done. Smoothing a layer of the thick cream over his shoulders before steadily rubbing it in.

“That’s nice. Use your thumbs more. There you go. Yeah . Here, start here.” Joel reached up and caught her fingers, dragging them to the back of his neck. “Push down with your fingertips—you feel that muscle?”

She squeezed lightly, but she could see the damn muscle without touching. “Yeah?”

“Drag your fingers out and follow it. If there’re any knots you’ll find them and, fuck— there . That feels great.”

Hmm, this wasn’t as tough as she’d thought it would be. “You’ve got a ball under the muscle. Is it supposed to be like that?”

“No, so work it out. Dig in with your fingers.”

“Dig in? What if I hurt you?”

He twisted his head to the side. “Trust me, it would take a lot to cause me any damage. Just add pressure, and if it gets too hard, I’ll warn you.”

She was so into what she was doing the sexual innuendo of the comment skipped over her head as she followed his directions. It was only after she’d pulled a hell yeah from his lips it registered. “Does everything you say have two meanings? Like a regular one and sexual one?”

“I’m a guy. Remember earlier about the all sex, all the time comment?”

She laughed, but kept rubbing. The broad expanse before her was heavenly to touch, and she was getting turned on. It wasn’t enough to make her call things off, but damn, touching Joel wasn’t a hardship.

Or having him touch her.

“You know this would be easier if you were lying down.”

He nodded. “We’ll do that later. Any time you want to give me a massage you just offer, darling. You have wonderful hands.”

Vicki screwed up her courage and stepped back in front of him. “You want me to do your arms?”

He held out a hand. “All yours.”

She knelt on the hay bale. He rested his hand on his thigh, but the positioning was awkward. “I can’t get at you easily. Everything is in the way.”

He settled his fingers on her hip, and they both paused.

It was like an elaborate dance. One set of touching, retreat. Another caress, then a move away from each other. Only the longer they touched, the longer she stroked those muscles in his biceps, and the more she traced her fingertips over the dusting of golden hair on his tanned arms, the more the ache between her legs grew.

His fingers on her hip tightened briefly before he tugged her tank top free from her jeans.

“Joel? What—?”

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m not gonna rush you. Just want to touch skin.”

He slipped his fingers under the fabric and held on, and holy fuck, she wanted him to rush. If he’d sent electrical charges flipping through her yesterday when he’d held her hand, this was like being in direct contact with a power plant.

She forced herself to finish the massage. To imitate all the careful caresses he’d given her, but it wasn’t about working kinks out of muscles anymore.

It was about touch. About skin. About the new awareness between them that had nothing to do with horses and everything to do with her wanting to taste the half-naked body in front of her.

She lifted her gaze to meet his. The blue of his eyes had faded to a thin ribbon as his pupils dilated, centers darkened with…desire?

“Am I doing this right?” she breathed quietly.

His fingers stroked her hip. A minute motion that had blood pulsing through her hard. “You’re doing everything perfectly.”

Go slow. Go slow. The words repeated themselves in her head, but her brain wasn’t listening. She wanted something more than what they were doing even though she wasn’t quite sure what. “Joel?”

“Yeah?” The word escaped him nearly as breathless sounding as hers had.

“Can I…?” Damn it. Asking seemed stupid, so she interrupted herself and knelt upright, bringing herself right between his legs. “I’m going to touch you.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay.”

She rested her hands on his shoulders, like she’d done at the start of the massage. This time it wasn’t about copying anymore, but exploring. She stroked one hand down his chest, the heat under his skin warming her fingers. The fine curls on his chest tickled her, the bulk of muscles giving her lots of lovely terrain to tease.

She took her time, smoothing over shoulders, down his sides. His ragged breaths gusted past her cheek as she stared mesmerized by his body.

When she touched his abdomen he sucked in a quick gasp, wrapping his fingers around her wrist and trapping her in position. “I think that’s enough touching for today.”

Damn. “But I wasn’t done,” she complained.

“Trust me, you’re done.”

The husky tone of his voice made her lift her eyes, staring from under her lashes. They gazed at each other for a moment, and all of it hit real hard.

They were going to have sex. Not that minute, but sometime. And she was okay with the idea. Like, oh-so ready for the experience.

“Damn it, Vicki.”

“What?”

He cupped his hand around the back of her head and pulled her forward, holding her in place when she would have lifted her head and brought their lips together. He stopped them inches apart to lean his forehead against hers. “Damn it that I’m not doing this right. I was going to wait. Go slow, but hell if I can stop from wanting a taste of you.”

“I’m okay with it. Really.”

He smiled, wicked lips curling at the corners. “You are so fucking sexy, you have no idea.”

“Does that mean you’re gonna kiss—?”

It seemed it did. Because he did. Kiss her, that is. Soft, brief. Pressed his lips to hers and retreated before she’d gotten to wallow in the sensation.

This horrid noise escaped her. Most people would have called it a whimper. She just knew she wanted more. She slid her hands back up to his shoulders and held on tight as he came in for another pass. This time he stroked her lips with his tongue causing an instant shiver.

“Oh…”

The moment she opened her mouth, he slipped his tongue inside. Teasing. Fleeting. Soft and careful, yet sending every one of her nerves to high alert. She couldn’t press closer. His hand at the back of her head held her in one spot. She couldn’t rub against him. His hand at her hip locked her the precise distance away so there was only their mouths. Only the soft, sweet, intoxicating sensation of the kiss.

She pulled in her courage and met him halfway, darting her tongue out to make contact with his before retreating. He hummed approvingly and kissed her again, open lips closing as he worked his way to the corner of her mouth, planting tiny kisses as he moved.