“No, this is about you.”
My body acts on impulse, and I follow through without another word. Face up, I stare at him, the sun behind his head, his long muscular legs and that delicious V that starts at the top of his shorts. He shakes his head at me.
“This is about us,” I say.
A guttural sound bursts from him. It’s quick. His eyes twinkle at me. “Take your swim shorts off and roll over. I get pleasure from making you fall apart. Now roll.”
I bite my lip and wiggle out of my shorts, but I don’t roll over. I can’t stop staring at him.
His eyes crinkle, and in a flash, he grabs me by my ankles and flips me over. “You need to follow directions, Haley.” There’s gravel in his voice. He pulls the tie on my bikini, and the straps fall away.
I’m panting. I should know by now that I like it when they do things like that. Maybe I like a little red flag. “Yes, Captain.” I move the towel under my neck. I place my hands over my head. I’m half expecting him to tap my butt and tell me, “Ass in the air.” But that doesn’t happen.
There’s a warm drizzle of the coconut oil that Dante’s been making on my shoulders. Then Sam lightly straddles my hips,his large hands skimming lightly over the back of my shoulder blades. He works the oil into my skin, applying more and more pressure as I melt into the mat.
“Oh, that’s good. Right there.”
“You have big knots in your shoulders.” He moves from them to my neck. “And your neck is tight too.”
It’s from weaving. I hunch over the fronds. The darn things cut up my fingers too. But I like it, and it’s useful. I open my mouth to say all of that, but only a soft moan comes out.
“Right there?”
I moan again.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He works his fingers perfectly on the pressure points of my back.
I’ve had more than a few massages in my life. I had one owner who insisted I get a massage before she did to make sure the masseuse was good enough. And she wanted a massage in every port. That was a good season. But Sam... he’s amazing. Those fingers know how to do lots of things.
“Oh, you’re really good at this.”
“Thank you. I . . .”
My eyes roll back in my head. There’s drool running out of my mouth. “I’m turning into a limp poodle. So good.”
He laughs.
“Noodle... I mean noodle.” I’m not letting my brain go off wondering how he’s this good at it. Nope. That isn’t happening. Focus.
Sam’s touch changes. He shifts positions, scooting down my body. His focus moves to my lower back. His touch is lighter. “Hey, Sugar. Don’t tense up on me.”
“I’m...” I let out a cleansing breath, a yoga breath.
“That’s right, just like that.” He moves down to my butt cheeks, and honestly, I’ve never been a fan of someonemassaging my ass. But then I’ve never had Sam working his magic until now.
I’ve lost the ability to tell time. “Am I purring?”
“No, that’s Pepper.” Sam laughs. She’s helping. That’s when I feel her little paws on my back. “She’s kneading biscuits.”
I cock my head to the side and wiggle my fingers. Pepper rubs up against my hand for a few minutes before trotting away.
“Where’d she go?”
“Over to the supervisors.”
I turn my head the other way. The rest of the guys are sitting on the big rock, watching. Their hair is wet like they’ve been for a swim. I let out another breath and cock my head up at Sam.
“Time to flip.” He taps my hip and lifts himself off me.
