I sink under and let everything go. The heat is heavenly.
Why did we even go out today? Right. Tour guide duty. Worth it, though. It was amazing to show Yosh the city. Right now I’d rather spend the rest of the night right here in my brothel, as he calls my modest apartment.
Brothel. The audacity.
I’ve got style. Personality. Those hospital white walls in his renovated place don’t say a thing about him. He calls it minimalism, I call it hiding.
I break the surface with a gasp. Lavender hits my nose. “What’s that?”
“I lit a few candles,” Yosh says, the water rippling as he steps in. “To set the mood.”
“Smells divine. Very spa. Not that it was necessary. I’m always in the mood.”
I push myself up, water running from my hair in rivulets as I wring it out. Damp strands fall over my face. I close my eyes, wanting the world to disappear while I float in the comfort of his arms.
His hands settle on my shoulders, thumbs pressing into the soft spots beside my spine. He finds the first knot and goes to work.
“Christ, that one’s been there since the plane.”
“There’s a second one hiding under your shoulder blade.”
Water sloshes against my chest every time he digs in. I grit through the sting and feel the knot slowly loosen. My shoulders drop a fraction, moaning and groaning shamelessly. Fuck this feels good.
“Better?”
“Keep going, or is this where you start charging extra?”
He laughs, but he holds all the power and he knows it. The sharp stab radiating from my shoulder proves it.
I let myself melt into it. The heat of the water, the pressure of his hands—it’s almost like a drug. Dating my alternative healer might be one of the smarter decisions I’ve ever made. Free professional massages.
He catches my wrist, stretching my arm overhead. I look up as his gaze shifts past me to the dance pole. I give it three seconds. Three… two… one.
“So, when are you planning to get rid of that thing?”
“Not happening.”
An annoyed hum says it all.
“I need it. Best workout I’ve got. Don’t pretend you’re not curious.”
“Bullshit, McKenna.”
“Ah, you don’t believe me? I’m slightly disappointed, Yosh. You’re probably picturing me eyes rolled to the ceiling while some girl in lace twirls for me? Wrong fantasy. My pole. My show. I’m the main act.”
I rise from his lap, reaching for one of the towels I’d laid out on the bed. After drying off, I turn back to him.
“Now, you watch me as you wank yourself senseless, and then tell me again my pole needs to go.”
I grab a bottle of magnesium gel from the cupboard and work it into the hollows of my knees, down my legs, over my elbows, inner arms, and hands. Last, the soles of my feet.
There’s a royal blue lace garter I once picked up at SACS, meant for Kimmy.
I slide it up my thigh in a slow glide, thumbs brushing over the lace, making sure he’s watching. And like he can’t help himself, he does, eyes tracking my fingers as they move higher along my thigh. Meanwhile I’m doing my best not to react to the way my own touch burns in very sensitive places, or how the look on his face has me picturing what he’s going to do to me.
“Pay attention. This is educational.”
I swing up with a clean hook, locking one knee around the pole, the other leg reaching out as far as I can. It’s an easy move to get back into the vibe. I haven’t touched this thing in months so I need to test if I’ve still got it.
