Janelle Denison - Born to Be Wilde

She continued the massage, going purely by touch, skill, and years of practice. Her palms and fingers outlined the shape of his back and glided over hard planes and rippling muscle before she pressed her thumbs firmly along each one of his vertebrae, all the way up to his neck. She kneaded and massaged his broad shoulders, then went to work on each of his muscled arms.

With her eyes closed, her other senses came alive, adding to the desire unfurling within her. She could hear Joel's steady breathing and the soft background music, could feel the thickly corded tendons in each of his arms, despite how lax and pliant the rest of his body was. But most of all, every time she inhaled, she not only drew in the fragrance of rosewood, but also the arousing scent of a hot-blooded male.

Undeniably turned on, her own body responded to the onslaught of sensations. Her breasts grew tight, her stomach tumbled, and between her thighs she pulsed with a need she ached to fulfill. Not in a dream or in a fantasy, but for real, with this man sliding deep, deep inside of her…

She heard a moan and snapped her eyes back open, horrified by the possibility that the telltale sound had escaped her lips. But then she heard it again, the tone alternating between a low growl and a soft rumble of pleasure.

"God, that feels good," Joel murmured huskily. "You do have amazing, magical hands."

"Thank you." She felt herself blush, and wasn't sure if it was because of where her thoughts had strayed before he'd interrupted them, or from his compliment. "I'm ready for you to turn over."

He hesitated. "Ummm, so soon?"

"So soon?" She laughed lightly and moved down to the single towel draped over his butt, holding it in place so he could turn over without revealing any private parts. "I just spent forty minutes on your back side."

"I know, but… are you easily shocked?" he asked.

The odd question confused her. "No. Why?"

He lifted up on his forearms and twisted around to glance back at her. He wore an adorably sheepish grin on his face that made him look like a naughty little boy who was about to be caught doing something bad. "I really enjoyed that massage. A whole lot," he said meaningfully. "Especially having your hands all over me, and there was something incredibly sensual about your touch that, well, certain parts of my anatomy couldn't help but react to."

The warmth in her cheeks grew hotter as understanding sunk in. Obviously, the massage had aroused him as much as it had her. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh ." His gaze flickered with laughter, along with something hotter, like lust. "I'm not a shy guy at all. The Marines pretty much stripped me of any modesty, but I just didn't want you to think I'm some kind of pervert. I swear I tried to keep my mind on other things during the massage, but considering how attracted I am to you, nature kind of took its own course."

At least she hadn't been the only one who'd allowed a few touches and caresses to get her all hot and bothered-a first for her, but then again she'd never been so attracted to a client before.

"I promise not to swoon or faint from embarrassment," she said with a grin. "But I do appreciate the warning. Now go ahead and turn over onto your back."

She pinned one end of the towel securely to the table with her hip, then discreetly lifted the other end a few inches so he could shift and move to his back. Once he was done and settled, she re-draped the towel and tucked the ends around his hips and thighs.

Oh, yeah, he was definitely, impressively aroused, and maintaining that professional exterior was going to take effort. Luckily, he closed his eyes and let her do her job. They both remained quiet during the hot stone massage, and she segued right into the actual hands-on massage. When she reached his left thigh, her hands slowed as she caught sight of a jagged line of puckered flesh-the only visible flaw on his otherwise perfect body.

Her fingers grazed over a long, thick scar, at least two inches in length, and beneath that light caress she felt the muscles in his leg tense. His reaction was enough to tell her that having her touch the healed wound made him uncomfortable.

"What happened?" she asked softly, curious to know how he'd hurt himself, and why the scar bothered him so much now.

"A large piece of shrapnel got lodged in my leg," he said gruffly, and didn't expand on the details of the incident.

She glided her thumb one last time over the disfigured skin before moving to his abdomen. "How?" she asked, and glanced up at his face. His eyes were still closed, but there was no mistaking the slight clench of his jaw before he replied.

"A roadside bomb in Iraq," he said, his tone brusque. "An IED, actually."

An improvised explosive device , she thought with a shudder, grateful that he hadn't ended up a casualty.

Her fingers stroked and kneaded over his solid stomach and across his impressive six-pack abs. "What was it like in the service and Iraq?" she asked, curious to know. "Was it really bad?"

His long, sooty lashes slowly lifted, revealing eyes that were carefully guarded. "Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged and glided her hands over his ribs to his chest and solid pecs, bringing her closer to his gorgeous face and his watchful expression. "No matter how many times I asked, Zach wouldn't tell me anything. He refused to talk about the war or his time in the service."

"There was a reason for that, Lora," he said quietly. "There wasn't a whole lot of good stuff to talk about."

And it was clear that Joel didn't want to discuss it, either. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." He closed his eyes again and released a heavy sigh. "I didn't mean to be rude, but our time in the service wasn't a pleasant experience. We saw and did things that no one should ever have to deal with, but we did what we needed to do. What was necessary. For our country, and to protect our own men that we fought side by side with for days on end."

Joel spoke matter-of-factly, but there was an underlying thread of emotion beneath his impassive attitude. Lora had no doubt that Joel and Zach had seen their share of death and heinous attacks, and she respected them both for risking their lives to save others. But at what cost to their own mental state, she wondered?

As much as that question plagued her mind, Lora let it go and finished up their session. She spent a good amount of time on his arms, shoulders, and neck, and felt him relax once again beneath her skilled hands. She worked out any last lingering stress and tension, and when she was finished, she lifted her palms from his body and stepped away from the table.

"You're all set," she said in a low, soothing tone as she recapped the bottle of oil and turned the heat off the stones. "I hope you enjoyed the hot stone massage."

"Ummm, I did." He moved to a sitting position, thankfully remembering to hold on to the towel covering all his manly assets. "Ashley said I'd feel like a new man afterward, and she wasn't kidding. That was beyond anything I could have imagined. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure." More than he would ever know. "Your clothes are behind that screen in the corner, and you can get dressed as soon as I leave the room." She started for the door.

"Wait," he said, stopping her before she reached the exit. "We're not finished yet."

She turned back around and tipped her head, which caused her ponytail to brush across her shoulder. "Did you want another massage session?" She honestly didn't know if she could handle another hour or more of touching that body of his in a platonic manner.

"No. Not another massage, though the thought is very tempting." He winked at her, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "Actually, I want you to go out with me tonight."