Page 75 of Possess

“Good.” Grabbing one of the towels, he wiped off his hands, then used the other one to rub over her back and shoulders. Then he refastened her halter-top. “Lay there until you feel like moving.”

“That could be never.”

Zeke laughed softly. “I’ll be right here.” He cleaned up everything and motioned Harper over.

“Harper, if you would please put the oil back and put these towels in the basket.”

“Of course, Sir.”

He turned to see Allyson on her side, watching him. He grinned. After grabbing the blanket, he helped Allyson sit up on the massage table and placed the blanket over her shoulders.

“I don’t think I need it,” she said.

“Keep it on for a few minutes. And here.” He handed her the bottle of water after twisting off the cap. “Drink, you need to hydrate.”

She took several swallows. “That was absolutely wonderful. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “Next time, tell me if you’re not feeling well.”

“Yes, Sir. I didn’t want to ruin our night.”

“The only thing that would do that is you not being open with me.”

Allyson looked down at the floor, but Zeke didn’t want her to hide. “Look at me, please.” Her gaze met his. “I understand how you don’t like to rely on others. Your independence is one of the reasons I’m attracted to you. I wouldn’t have canceled us coming here tonight, but at least I would have known you had a headache and could have helped stave it off.”

“That’s true. I’ll make sure next time to tell you, Sir.”

“You better.” He helped her off the table and down into the aftercare area. “Sit there, finish up your water, and relax. I’ll be right back.”

Zeke cleaned off the massage table with sterile wipes and returned to Allyson. She’d finished her bottle of water. Good. He sat down beside her and pulled her to his side. “Want to tell me about the tension headache?”

She tilted her head. “How did…”

“The tension in your muscles. Also, the minute I touched your neck, it was like I’d hit a nerve, and you sighed.”

“That felt so good.”

“I bet it did. So what caused it? In all the time we’ve known each other, I’ve never seen you that tense.”

She sighed. “Rudy was fired today.”

Zeke jerked in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to talk about work and ruin our night.”

“But it gave you a headache?”

“Sort of. It was dramatic, to say the least. I was pulled into a private meeting with my boss and the head of HR.”

This didn’t sound good. “Are you in trouble?”

“No. Good news is I have all your jobs back.”

“Thank god for small favors. But won’t that mean you’ll get all of Starr Construction jobs as well?”

“Not at the moment. I can’t say any more than that.”

“I get it.” He hugged her close to his side. “Want to watch a scene? I’ve got about forty-five minutes before my next shift.”

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