Page 50 of Melting His Grumpy Heart
“What?” Jake let the curtain fall closed and turned around, a frown etching his brow.
“Manipulation. Finding the pressure points. Therapeutic massage. I used to work at Madam Coco’s House of Sensuous Thai Massage.”
“You… What? You…”
Ru laughed, releasing his own tension. “God, your face. I took some intensive courses at a very respectable and well known school of complementary therapies a few years ago. Much more effective than popping pills.”
Jake hesitated, indecision flickering in his eyes. Ru waited, not pushing, allowing Jake to choose. Jake gave a short, brief nod, the sign he’d made a decision.
“Have you got any oils? Or talc? Makes it easier for the therapist. As in me.” Ru swallowed. God, was this really a good idea?
“I’ve got olive oil in the kitchen, but that’s for cook?—”
“That’s perfect. Go and get it then come and sit on the floor, in front of me.”
Jake headed off. Ru rubbed a hand down his face. Whether it was a good idea or not, there was no going back.
Jake handed over the bottle and lowered himself to the rug between Ru’s knees, back straight, shoulders rigid. Ru set his hands lightly on Jake’s shoulders, feeling the tension beneath his palms.
“Erm, you’ll need to take your shirt off.”
Jake pulled it off, exposing the broad expanse of his muscled back. Ru bit down hard on his lip as he unscrewed the bottle top.It’s just a massage. You’ve done it hundreds of times before. It doesn’t have to mean anything. It just muscle relief…Oh, fuck. This was either the best or the worst idea he’d ever had.
Concentrate.
Ru poured a little oil into his palm, rubbing his hands together to warm it up. He took a deep breath and counted in his head,one, two, three,before he spoke.
“I’m just going to work out some of these knots.”
He began with gentle pressure, thumbs finding the tight muscles at the base of Jake’s neck, working in small circles.
“It’ll help, both you and me, if you try to relax.”This is just therapy, just releasing tired and sore muscles, that’s all it is, it’s nothing else…
Jake was as stiff as a board, and Ru’s fingers weren’t much better, but as Jake began to yield and soften, so did Ru.
Jake sucked in a sharp breath as Ru pressed hard at a particularly tight spot.
“Sorry, I know this can sometimes be uncomfortable.”
Jake grunted as his head flopped forward.
The minutes ticked by in silence. Ru applied more oil, working down Jake’s back, circling up to the shoulders, squeezing and kneading, setting a firm, steady rhythm. Beneath his palms, Jake’s skin was slick and warm.
“Fuck, Ru, that’s?—”
“Good?”
Jake nodded, not speaking, his breathing deepening as Ru’s fingers found another knot and worked it loose. The firelight played across Jake’s profile, highlighting the strong line of his jaw, the slight parting of his lips.
Ru’s hands moved up to Jake’s neck, fingers threading into the short hair at his nape. Jake leaned into the touch, as though on instinct, the small movement of surrender sending a wave of heat through Ru’s body. He allowed his thumbs to trace the sensitive skin behind Jake’s ears, the touch no longer purely therapeutic, the massage evolving into something more instinctive, more intimate.
Jake went very still beneath his hands. Tension of a different sort rolled through him. Ru’s hands came to a stop as all around him the room seemed to hold its breath. Jake turned, kneelingon the floor between Ru’s legs. “This is a bad idea.” Jake’s gaze dropped to Ru’s mouth, as he leant in close.
Ru reached out, to trace the line of Jake’s jaw with his fingertips. “An appallingly bad idea.” He drifted his thumb across Jake’s lips, feeling the ghost of a smile.
Jake caught his wrist and met his gaze. Desire, longing, and want warring with caution and uncertainty in his dark green eyes.
“I don’t know what happens after.” Jake’s voice was rough, unsteady, his usual firm confidence replaced by doubt and worry. “When the snow melts. When you go back to London.”
