She was right. My swing was sloppy on the last curve ball. I was frustrated as fuck that I missed the pitch before that I should have knocked clean out of the park.
I craned my neck to see her. “This is your idea of pillow talk?”
“Sort of,” she chuckled. “Besides, I’m going to be the one trying to ease that knot your holding now.” Just the mention of the knot had my shoulder tense. April sighed. “Turn over.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” She pushed me onto my side and nearly off the edge of the bed.
“What are you doing?” I tried to push back against her. She reached over and started to work the knot on the nape of my neck. “April, stop. You’re not at work.”
“Would you just relax?” she demanded as she shifted her weight so that she was practically on me. Her fingers tightened around the muscles, applying pressure until I winced. Fuck, it felt good. She was phenomenal. The more she dug into the muscles, the less I fought it. “I can’t get the right angle,” she groaned.
“Seems fine to me,” I garbled as I was being smothered into the pillow.
She pushed me onto my stomach before straddling me and sitting on my ass. She brought her chest down as her elbow found its way into my shoulder blade. Her palms worked the muscle, the further she leaned into me, the more her tits softly pressed against me, making my dick twitch, which hurt like a bitch since he was firmly pressed into the mattress.
Maybe this wasn't a good idea, I wanted to say, but my voice was strangled into silence while she kneaded my knots into mush. Her body rocked against me while she did whatever she did to ease my weary muscles. The more she moved, the more I wanted to flip her over and fuck her, over and over, until she screamed my name. Her tits brushed gently against my back. I was damn near at my breaking point. Finally, she eased off, gave me a quick slap on the back as she rolled off me and back over to her side of the mattress. Holy fuck, I felt like I damn near came.
“Better?”
“Uh-huh.” It was all I could muster, feeling like a giant puddle. Damn, I needed that. I took my time before I composed myself, so she wouldn’t see the effect she had on me. My dick could tent the blankets right then and I was tempted to tug on it to feelsomerelief, but I held my restraint. I tucked my arm under my pillow and sleepily said, “You didn’t need to do that.”
“Perk of helping me out. Besides, it helps me out also.”
“Do I dare ask how?”
“Something about the movements help me fall asleep.”
“Wait, you massage people to help you fall asleep?”
“Mhmm,” she yawned. “Thanks for helping me.”
The sight of her drifting off to sleep next to me was sexy. Flashes came of the one time I’d gotten a small taste of her and how badly I screwed up. Worse, I thought about how much I have ignored her since. That had me feeling like a giant asshole. Her eyes closed, her breaths grew longer, and I stayed watching her. She was beautiful with her red hair fanned out across my white pillows. And for a fleeting moment, I wished I could change how things went with us.
“No problem.”
My eyes felt heavy. The sound of her soft breathing had me following along with her. It had been a long time since I had a woman in my bed strictly to sleep. In fact, it was rare that I had a woman in my place. One stalker incident after a weekend fling taught me to be careful who I let know where I lived. April was different. She was a colleague having a bad night and I was simply trying to help. Or so I told myself, but April and I had been a bit more than that, even if we pretended we weren’t. I sighed, knowing that I wanted something I couldn’t have. Unless, maybe I could? Could I use the bet as a way back in? Were the guys, right?
She let out a long sigh and turned; her back now against me and I suddenly wanted to return the favor. When was the last time someone massaged her? Took care of her? The image of her ex popped into my head, he sure as fuck didn’t seem like the type to think of anyone other than himself. The thought pissed me off. I reached over and gently rubbed her back. I was no expert, but I was sure I could handle a little gentle pressure.
She moaned. I did my best to ignore how soft and cool her skin was against my calloused hands. I inched closer for a better angle, her scent was a mixture of us and damn, thatwas going to be ingrained in my senses now. After only a few minutes, she was sound asleep. Jesus, that was fast.
Careful not to nudge her, I shifted onto my right side, facing away from her. The scent of her wafting toward me had me trying to shut down any other possibilities, because whatever it was she wore, was like fucking catnip to my dick. I shifted further until I was damn near falling off the bed, the last thing I wanted to do was make her uneasy.Fine. It wasmewho was uneasy, because every thought I had of her right now was so much more than work friends.
CHAPTER 9
APRIL
My phone buzzed at four in the morning. It was Nora telling me she was home. I glanced at Josh, only being able to see him through the shadows. He was lying flat on his back, softly snoring. Last night was surprising. Had I taken it too far, massaging his back? Probably. The issue was when I got nervous, I needed to find something to do with my hands while plenty of options crept up lying next to him. None of them were appropriate for friends, let alone co-workers. And seeing as I needed some form of outlet, they found themselves with an incredible urge to dig into his skin. Self-torture, I know. And yet, there I was, all over him.
His skin was silky under my fingers and his muscles were tight as fuck. He needed to unwind and maybe it was the alcohol or being stood up, but I liked watching him squirm. For a split second, it reminded me of the night at Ribfest. The surprise kiss that made me forget everything, including that he was Josh, a man with a reputation of being a heartbreaker. It was enough to pull me out of our spell. I used work as an excuse, even though it was a lie. So close, and yet, never crossed that line, although both of us wanted to.
The friction rubbing against his tight ass had me wanting to strip off my pants and ride him like I was starring in a bull-riding contest.What the hell was wrong with me? You cannot have these thoughts. He was a friend. Okay, maybe not a friend, but in that category.
Maybe it was a good idea to leave, before I did yet another stupid or embarrassing thing. Yet, the thought was crushing. There was something about the way he was sprawled out next to me that made me want to stay right here in this cozy little space that I didn't want to admit felt nice. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stayed over at someone’s place. I snuggled back in and edged slightly closer to him. My cheeks flushed at my own braveness. But before I knew it, I had drifted back off.
Fingers digging into my thigh woke me up.What the—?When I gazed behind me, Josh was there with his head snuggled into my back, rough hands gripping my thigh. It was clear that he was dead asleep. The way the sliver of light streaming through his curtain shadowed over his face, hardening his square jawline, made him sexier looking. He shifted ever so slightly, his morning wood brushed my ass, making my stomach drop. My body had a mind of its own as my ass pushed against him. Josh gripped me tighter and I didn’t mind one bit. In fact, I liked how he gripped me, like I was his.
