I didn’t have to be told three times. Taking a running leap, I jumped on the bed and bounced up and down, giggling like an ass. Motioning with my hand to Trip, I wanted him to join me as I acted like a fool. He shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest, a smile playing on his mouth.
“Come on, Alfred, have a little fun.” I wiggled my finger.
He finally took the bait and I squealed in delight when he launched on the mattress next to me.
We jumped until we were both breathless. Collapsing in a heap of limbs, we sucked in air, still laughing.
“I need water,” I cried out still out of breath.
“I’ll get the water. You get the bed together and get the book ready.”
I nodded and Trip moved out of the room. Scanning the still rumpled bed, I shrugged my shoulders when Trip came back. I guzzled the water in one drink. Trip’s large calloused finger swiped a drop that had escaped in my hurry to hydrate. My heart rocketed to my throat and I stared at his T-shirt covered pec, not wanting to see what face he wore. When his finger moved away I sucked in a deep breath.
Trip pulled on my hand and we climbed under the covers. With shaking limbs, I offered Trip an ear bud, still refusing to look at him.
“Does your shoulder hurt?” Trip asked, bringing me back to reality.
“What?” I asked, pausing the story.
“Your shoulder, you keep moving it around and rubbing it.”
I looked at my hand, and sure enough, I’d been rubbing it without realizing I was doing it.
“It does hurt a little,” I admitted.
“Well, I would think so being that you pitched a badass game today. Lie down and I’ll rub it.”
I swallowed hard as I turned on my stomach and lay flat on the bed. Flutters erupted everywhere, as I held my breath, listening to Trip move around the room. Before I could figure out what he was doing the story poured out of a magical set of speakers.
My teeth sank into my lip, wondering why we hadn’t thought to do that before. Instead of being tethered to each other with shared ear buds, we could have just connected it to speakers and listened comfortably. Sadness crept through me knowing I would never have to sit leaning toward Trip as our book unfolded.
Trip’s hands kneaded my stiff shoulder through my hoodie. My eyes drifted shut as his strong hands worked deep into the muscles. After yanking down the material of my hoodie again, he let out an annoyed breath.
“Take off your sweater, Raine. I can’t get to your knots through it.”
Trip moved away and I sat up in a daze. It was an innocent request but there was nothing innocent about the heat surfacing from his words.
“I think there’s some lotion in the bathroom. I’ll go get it.” He took two steps before saying, “Sports bra off too.”
I was momentarily frozen as I watched his sweatpants covered ass move away. When he disappeared into the bathroom I quickly shed my sweater and bra and pressed my front into the bed. In my head I began reciting all of the muscles in the body, trying not to think about what was happening.
Trip sucked in a breath when he made it to the bed. The skin on my back tingled and I couldn’t help thinking it was from his eyes roaming over it. I rolled my eyes behind my closed lids at the preposterous thought.
For a long time, Trip just sat at the side of the bed while the skin bared to him and some that wasn’t sizzled with energy. My lungs were having a hard time pulling in oxygen at a steady pace. The urge to turn around and bring him down on me was simmering through every nerve ending.
After what seemed like eternity there was a booming click of the lotion bottle being opened. Trip’s hands landed on my back, and I thought I felt them shaking.
His large hands almost spanned my whole back as they made their way up my spine. He must have had X-ray vision, because he was able to locate every knot he passed. When his fingers closed over my shoulder and pushed, I hissed out a breath. The searing pain his fingers brought pulled me out of my momentary loss of sanity.
“Payback, Raine.” Trip’s voice was low and husky.
The pain was burning away my ability to think straight, and I didn’t know if I was imagining what sounded like desire lacing his voice.
“Breathe,” Trip commanded.
The breath whooshed out of me as he continued working my shoulder.
Trip continued to knead the knotted mess that was my back. Each time he hit a sore spot he instructed me to breathe, and I soon found myself in a trance.
