Page 61 of What I Like About You

“I don’t think that counts as behaving, sir,” she giggled.

“Probably not,” he replied before slinking back over to the door and sticking his head out. Looking between Clara and Henry, he said, “Give me thirty seconds to drop my shorts and then we’ll be ready for you.”

A moment later he was naked and settled onto his own massage table as the two therapists entered the room. After some basic questions about pressure preferences and if there were any areas they wanted some extra focus on, things got underway. Dalton had not expected the slight pang of jealousy he felt when Zara had opted for Henry after hearing that he specialized in scalp massages. He knew that Henry was a professional and that there was nothing to worry about, and yet the thought of another man’s hands on her made him more than a little antsy. Did Zara feel the same way about Clara’s hands on him?

Doing his best to let go of the jealousy, Dalton took a deep breath and tried to focus on releasing the tension from his muscles. He wanted this day to be perfect for Zara, and he didn’t want to be too wound up, making it so she was unable to relax.

A faint mew came from the table next to him. So much for the worry that she wasn’t relaxing. The sigh that followed was all he needed to let go of it all and enjoy this moment with her. He couldn’t quite figure out why, but there was something about sharing this experience that felt deeply personal. They weren’t talking or touching, yet, being like this, it seemed to communicate a trust between them. Zara had trusted him to strip her down and be present as she relaxed and became vulnerable. Her trust was an honor he would never take for granted.

* * *

This was easilythe best massage Zara had ever experienced.

And that was saying a lot, because she had experienced a lot of massages. There was something different about this one though. She tried to tell herself it was because she was caught up in the magic of the Indigo Royal or that she had built up a bunch of lactic acid from all the swimming yesterday. But she knew that wasn’t it. What it really was, was the hotter than the sun, six-foot-four Greek god on the massage table just a few feet from hers.

Her heart had skipped a beat when she’d heard the door click shut after pulling off her top, thinking the massage therapist had walked in on her undressing. But when she saw it was Dalton, that same heart did a one-eighty and sped up. Then he undressed her, all slow and sweet, making her heart threaten to give out on her altogether. Now, here they were, enjoying this lavish rubdown together. The only thing that could make it better is if it were Dalton’s hands rubbing her down like this.

By the time Henry asked her to flip over onto her back, Zara was in such a trance she barely knew where she was. Yet she still felt Dalton’s presence next to her. She couldn’t find the words to explain it, but it was like they were linked somehow. It was a comforting feeling too, knowing that he wasn’t far as she drifted in and out of the dreamlike state.

“Miss Wellington,” Henry whispered as he gently shook her shoulder. “We’re all done here, but take your time getting dressed.”

“Huh?” she asked as she slowly came to. Blinking her eyes slowly, she realized she must have dozed off during her scalp massage. Man, that had been heavenly. I just hope I didn’t snore…

Propping herself up on her elbows, she paid no attention to the sheet as it slipped down her front, partially exposing her breasts. It would be just her and Dalton in here now, and he’d made it perfectly clear earlier that he liked seeing her naked. A thrill ran down her spine as she thought about that. He liked seeing her naked. She wasn’t sure anyone had ever liked seeing her naked.

“That was incredible,” she said in a low voice, not wanting to scare him. When he didn’t respond, she looked over to his massage table to find that Dalton wasn’t there. In his place, however, was a single red rose and a small note card. Where did he go? She slid off the table and grabbed the note card, more than slightly curious as to what it said.

Had to run to take care of something, but I will pick you up at 7. Until then, I will be thinking of you.

Love, Tripp

PS: your little snores are just as cute as ever ;)

Oh shit, she had snored. Now she was forever going to be the girl who fell asleep during the couple’s massage. She couldn’t believe she had done that. Grabbing the rose, she made quick work of getting dressed and heading out to the common area. The massage was her last treatment of the day, leaving her with a couple of hours of free time before she would need to head back to the room to get ready for Dalton to pick her up. All sorts of ideas flitted through her head about what to do with this time. Lie out by the pool? Sit in the sauna? Oh, there was always that room that overlooked the beach…what had Drea called it? The Almost Paradise, that’s what it was. The one with the hot stone loungers. That sounded perfect right about now. Maybe now she’d finally get to start that Melissa Foster book she’d brought with her.

“Well, don’t you just look like a smitten kitten!” Antwan’s voice carried over to her from across the Relax! room.

“Shhhh!” she scolded him, even though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. She also knew she did indeed have a shit-eating grin on her face, but no part of her wanted to fight it. She was a smitten kitten and she didn’t care who knew. How had she gotten to this point so quickly?

“Had I known it was ‘bring your own hottie day’ at the spa I would have hunted down my Ken doll from last night.”

“I didn't know either. He surprised me,” she said, feeling that smile on her face get impossibly bigger.

“Damn, he’s good.”

“You have no idea,” she said with a wink.

“Now that’s my girl!”

“Hi, you two!” Drea said, walking in from the lobby. “Enjoy your massages?”

“That might have been the best massage I’ve ever had,” Zara told her.

“Oh,” Drea responded, her face paling slightly as her eyes went wide.

“Not for that reason!” Zara responded quickly. “There was none of that. All hands were kept to themselves. Except the professional ones, because you know, it’s a massage and…”

“Sweetie, just stop before you strike oil, would ya?” Antwan said, placing a calming hand on her forearm. “We got it. The integrity of the room remains.”