Page 64 of Brody
When I finished with her back, I hesitated, then moved my hands down to her feet beneath the water.“May I?”I asked, needing her explicit permission for this more intimate contact.
She nodded, shifting to give me better access.I lifted one foot from the water, cradling it in my hands.The oil clung to my fingers, transforming the simple touch into something special.I worked from heel to arch to each toe individually, watching as tension melted from her face with each press of my fingers.
“I never would have pegged you for a foot-massage expert,” she said, her voice carrying a hint of teasing that felt like another wall crumbling between us.
“I have multiple talents,” I replied, matching her lighter tone despite the intensity of emotion coursing through me.
When I finished with both feet, she surprised me by reaching for the oil.“Your turn,” she said, her voice soft but determined.
I turned, presenting my back to her.The first touch of her hands against my shoulders nearly undid me, smaller than mine but strong, confident in their movements.The oil between us turned to satin, her fingers finding knots of tension I hadn’t even known I carried.
“You’re carrying the weight of the Ridge on these shoulders,” she observed, working a particularly stubborn knot beneath my left shoulder blade.“All those unmated males depending on you to find a cure.”
I closed my eyes, surrendering to her touch.“Someone has to.”
“No,” she countered, her thumbs pressing into a spot that made me groan with pleasure.“Not someone.You.That’s what makes you who you are, Brody.You don’t just accept responsibility, you seek it out.”
The insight was unexpected.“Is that a compliment or a diagnosis, Doctor?”I attempted humor to mask how deeply her words had reached.
Her hands never stopped their steady work, kneading muscles that had been tense for longer than I could remember.“An observation,” she replied.“Neither good nor bad.Just true.”
We fell silent then, communication shifting to the language of touch.Her hands moved with precision, finding each trouble spot with unerring accuracy.The oil between us seemed to amplify every sensation, making each point of contact feel like a spark of concentrated lightning.
When she finished, we found ourselves facing each other in the water.The intimacy of what we’d just shared, the giving and receiving of care, the admission of vulnerability, the permission to touch, was a tangible thing.
She raised an eyebrow, a knowing look in her eyes as she settled back into the water.“Something on your mind, Thornbern?”
“Many things,” I admitted, deciding honesty was the only approach that had ever worked with Rozi.“All of them are dirty and not professional.”
The corner of her mouth curled upward.“We’re naked in a magical hot spring inside a Fae vacation home.I think we’ve moved beyond being strictly professional.”
Her candor startled a laugh from me.“Fair point.”
Water lapped at her shoulders.“So?What inappropriate thoughts are occupying that mind of yours?”
The directness of her question shouldn’t have surprised me.This was Rozi after all.
“I was thinking,” I said carefully, “about how beautiful you are.”I swallowed hard, the confession feeling like jumping from a cliff.“I was thinking about how perfectly we would fit together.How every curve of your body seems designed specifically to drive me out of my mind.”
The scent of her arousal intensified in the steamy air.
“Smooth talker,” she said, but her words held no bite.Her voice had dropped to that husky register that made my wolf pace restlessly beneath my skin.
“Not smooth,” I corrected.“Just honest.Now you tell me something honest.”I held her gaze across the pool.
She gave me a wicked grin.“I’ve never met a male, human or shifter, who accepted that sometimes I’m dominant in the bedroom.”She tilted her head, examining me.“Don’t get me wrong.I’d love to be dominated in the bedroom…” She bit her bottom lip and locked eyes with me, then continued, “But me trusting a lover with that much control has been elusive.”She bit her plump bottom lip.
“That’s a tragedy.Switching it up could bring the sexual experience to a whole new level.”
“Exactly!”She slapped the water.“It would be exciting and risqué.”
“I’m not turned off or intimidated by what you need in bed,” I replied.I preferred taking control in intimate situations but challenging the social order with Rozi would be fun.
She splashed her leg under the water and watched me move over to the waterfall to douse myself in it.When I finished, I sat across from her with arms draped over the ledge.
“I love dominating in bed.I’ve never submitted to any female, but with you… I’d never reject exploring what turns you on.”
She was silent for so long I feared I’d said too much, pushed too hard.She shifted through the water toward me, not close enough to touch.
