Janelle Denison - Born to Be Wilde

Lora had no idea, and was intrigued by that bit of information. "Are you serious?"

"Yep." He exhaled a seductive sigh as she set a pile of hot stones on his lower back to warm the muscles there. "So far, most of my connections are among my brothers' and cousins' spouses. That means lots of perks for me."

She heard the lilting humor in his voice and wondered just how large his family was. But instead of asking, she answered with a soft, soothing, "Ummm," and let the moment segue into a comfortable silence.

"Ummm?" He murmured back to her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled to herself and placed more of the therapeutic stones on his wide shoulders, around the nape of his neck, and down along the slope of his spine. "I'm trying to be quiet so you can relax and enjoy the experience."

"I'm enjoying it very much," he assured her in a sexy, rumbling voice that had the same effect as if he were stroking his fingers along her bare breasts and belly.

"Good. Now be quiet." She returned to his left leg, grateful that Joel's eyes were, closed, because her nipples had tightened against her bra, and her body's reaction to him showed through her white work blouse. God, if the man's voice alone could elicit such a searing response, she could only imagine what a kiss, or a slow, deliberate caress of those big hands along her body, could do to her. Make her melt and unravel, she was sure.

"So, what if I want to talk and relax at the same time?" he asked, and groaned as she began massaging his calf and thigh with the warmed stones in firm, upward strokes. "Does that cost extra?"

His humor got the best of her, and she laughed. "No, but most clients would rather take in the music, along with the scent of the aromatherapy candle, and just destress." She moved around to his right leg, and gave it the same massage treatment with the stones.

"Well, I can do all that and talk, too," he assured her. "I'm multitalented that way."

Lora just bet he was. His tone was infused with pure male confidence, hinting at other, more provocative, talents he possessed, as well. "Pleasing the client is my job," she said, and before he could turn that innocent statement into something more suggestive, she added quickly, "What would you like to talk about?"

"You name it. I'm an open book."

And she had to admit that she was way too interested in, and fascinated with, Joel. Picking up two larger, newly warmed basalt stones, she glided them up the sides of his muscled back, all the way up to his neck, then repeated the process again.

"Okay, Mr. Open Book," she said, smiling, "tell me, just how big is your family, anyway? I'm curious about all those perks you get to take advantage of."

"In my family, there are four of us. I have two older brothers, Scott and Alex, and a sister, Mia." He groaned deep in his throat when she hit a particularly tense set of muscles along his neck, then added just the right amount of pressure to ease the taut group of muscles. "Mia is the only girl and the youngest in the family, including my three male cousins, Steve, Eric, and Adrian."

"So, there's seven of you in all," she mused, thinking that there must have been a helluva lot of male testosterone running rampant in the Wilde family, considering six of them had been boys. "Is everyone married or single?"

"The funny thing is, we all were single until a few years ago. And then one by one, my cousins got married and settled down, then my two brothers." His voice was as relaxed as his body, a lazy, deep-timbered sound that told her the massage was doing its job. "Just recently, my sister, Mia, got engaged to Cameron, who is my cousin Steve's business partner. He's a P.I."

Finished using the therapy stones, she removed them from his backside so she could begin the second part of Joel's treatment. "Ahh, one of the perks you were talking about earlier?"

"Definitely," he murmured. "Being a security agent, there are times when certain things need to be investigated or looked into, and Steve and Cameron are two of the best in the biz, with some great connections."

She poured massage oil into her palm and rubbed her hands together to warm the slick substance as she moved back down to the end of the table, to his feet. Wanting to know more about his sister, and the lone female in his family, she kept the conversation going. "Where does your sister, Mia, work?"

"She used to work for the family tile business, as do both of my brothers, but she quit so she could concentrate on the stained glass designs she's been creating for some time now." His toes curled as she kneaded the balls of his feet and pushed her thumbs along the arch. "She's getting ready to open her own gallery here very soon."

She heard the pride in his voice and smiled as she went to work on his other foot, then began kneading the firm muscles in his calves with her palms and fingers.

"Good for her," she said, wishing she had the same kind of support from her own brother when it came to her life and dreams.

"We're all really happy for Mia. She's been through a lot, so it's really nice to see her settled down and satisfied with the direction her life is taking." There was no mistaking the affection and caring he felt toward his youngest sibling. "Now, with everyone pretty much married or heading toward the altar very soon, lots of babies are following. It's kind of cool watching the next generation of Wilde kids grow up."

The thought of Joel being an uncle to a bunch of adorable nieces and nephews, playing with them, warmed her deep inside. Yet, despite his siblings' and cousins' committed relationships and the families they were starting, he didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he was still single and unattached.

She glided her hands along the back of his knee and up to his hard, muscular thigh. Using her thumbs, she rubbed the taut tendons along his hamstring, all the way up to his buttock, with firm, deep strokes. "So, I take it you're the token confirmed bachelor of the family?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he said, and grunted when she dug deep into a knot of muscle to work out the tension. "I've pretty much resigned myself to being a bachelor. It suits me and my lifestyle, so I can't complain."

She switched to his other leg, telling herself that she ought to take his open and honest admission about his permanent single status at face value and proceed with caution, But the awareness between them was strong and sexual… and undeniable. And the temptation of physical pleasure beckoned to that part of her that had been without a man's touch and attention for so long.

A comfortable silence fell between them as she finished the lower portion of his body. As her hands slid beneath the towel to massage his toned buttocks, she realized that Joel's breathing had grown shallow and even, and his body lax and pliant. He was either in a deep state of contentment, or he'd fallen asleep.

Either way, she wasn't going to bother him with more conversation. She oiled up her hands again and went to work on his upper back. Placing both hands at the base of his spine, she slowly, gradually, made her way up all that hard, sleek flesh and contoured muscle, kneading out a variety of knots she encountered along the way and massaging the oil deep into tense muscles and his smooth skin.

The man had a body to die for. Amazingly well built, toned to perfection, and made for sex, sin, and all kinds of wicked delights. It had been forever, if ever , that she'd touched a body so incredibly strong and powerful, and because she had Joel in such a relaxed state, she did something she'd never, ever done before during a professional massage. Something forbidden and decadent and just for her. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in the sheer, sensual pleasure of stroking his warm, golden skin, and just let herself feel and enjoy.