Page 23 of Her Defiant Warrior

She smiled. “I get that a lot.” She tapped his shoulder. “Now get moving, chop, chop. I have another client in thirty minutes.”

Jase got up and easily followed her, even though she was rushing to get to the back room where everything was calm and relaxed and they had the shampoo bowls for their clients.

“Bonnie,” Shannon called out before she opened the door to the back room. “You know that Mrs. Lyles is always late. You can take your time. God knows I would.”

Jase’s chuckle from behind her tickled her senses. She opened the door and ushered him in. The lighting was low, and they had Gregorian chants playing softly in the background.

“Here we are. Let me put a towel around your neck, over your cape, so water doesn’t drip and your collar gets wet.”

“Uhm, Bonnie, I’m wearing a T-shirt and jeans. I don’t think my collar getting wet is going to matter.”

Bonnie thumped her fists on her hips and shook her head. “Even where you normally get your hair cut they must put a towel around you so when they cut your hair, you’re not covered in clippings.”

Jase held up his hands in surrender. “You’re right. This is your area of expertise. I won’t second-guess you again.”

“Yes, you will,” Bonnie muttered under her breath. “Now, it’s time for you to relax,” she said louder, in her most professional tone. Normally, she talked in a soothing and relaxing tone, but it was going to take more than a minute for her to be able to do that. Maybe when the warm water started flowing and she could smell the herb-scented shampoo, then she could relax.

Jase sat down in the chair.

“Do you want me to put your feet up?” She pointed to the lever on the side of the chair that would raise the footrest.

“I think we can skip that,” he chuckled. “Is there always new age music playing in this room?”

“Yes. This is an area where we like our clients to relax and enjoy their experience before we take them back onto the main floor.”

“That’s where you get me to spill my guts, right?”

“You’ve got it. Think of me as your bartender slash therapist.”

Jase chuckled a little longer this time.

His laugh got to her. It had when she’d been at Farah and Malik’s house, too. It was a genuine laugh, and it tasted like caramel, and it hit her solar plexus like a gong. It reverberated throughout her body.

Snap out of it.

She grabbed two heated towels and rolled them up and put them under his neck. “How does this feel?” She purposely lowered her voice so that he could relax. “Are you comfortable, or are the two towels too much, or not enough?”

“You did it just right, Bonnie.”

She smiled at his praise.

She walked behind the shampoo bowl and turned the nozzle, then tested the water on her wrist until she got it to a pleasing heat level.

“When I start, let me know if it gets too hot or too cold.”

“Right now, you’re putting off just the right amount of heat,” he rumbled.

God, give me strength.

Bonnie took the nozzle and started at his hairline. She used her free hand to massage water into the top of his scalp. She knew he liked the heat level because she watched his shoulders relax just a little.

Let’s see how much further I can get him to relax.

She continued to wet his thick hair, careful not to get any water into his ears. Finally, she reached the nape of his neck, and she used a stronger pressure to ensure every strand of his hair was soaked, and that she could feel his rock-tight muscles relax just a smidgeon. That was when he closed his eyes.

Bonnie turned off the water and went to the shelf with an array of different shampoos. She chose the one with earthy tones of cypress, leather, and bergamot. It wasn’t too overpowering, but it was a scent she rarely used. It was a scent she associated with strength, and most men who she worked on just didn’t have the aura of strength that Jase did.

She opened the bottle and breathed it in.