Page 208 of Trouble from Abroad
“No, I don’t mind it at all.”
His masterful hands start kneading my shoulders and I melt. Then moan. It’s amazing and embarrassing. “Damn, Preston. Oh God.” My head falls back. “No way I was this good when I had my hands on you.”
He chuckles and lowers his hands, working around my spine next. “Believe me, Mia. It felt pretty damn good to me. But I’m happy to teach youeverythingI know.”
“Oh, really? So you want to get massages only from me and also become my teacher?”
“That is, in fact, exactly what I want.”
That makes no sense, but my bones have turned to liquid and I can’t quite formulate questions at the moment.
After who knows how long, enough for me to reach some kind of nirvana and learn nothing about massages, Preston asks, “Relaxed enough?”
“More than I’ve ever been. You have magic hands, Doctor,” I say, so relaxed I sound I little groggy.
“Good. I have a confession to make and I need you to keep calm while you hear me out.”
“Oh, no. All tensed up again.” I turn my head to him. “What happened? What did you do?”
“Mia, breathe for me.”
I don’t know why, but I do.
“On your first day here?—”
I cut him off. “You saw me naked. I knew it. Just don’t. We agreed to never talk about it aga?—”
He cuts me off right back. “I heard what you and Callie were discussing when you got home that night.”
“What are you talking abou—” It takes a beat for the unwanted memory to surface. “Noooooooooo.” I face away from him, horrified.
His fingers press deeper into my shoulders and still. He asks, “May I?”
I consent with a nod, hoping he’ll concentrate on that and not talking. His hands work harder on the hundreds of new knots of his own creation.
When my shoulders drop a notch, he tries to soothe me. “It’s okay, Mia.”
“Dr. Preston… I…”
“Let me stop you right there. There’s more.”
“Oh, no.Please, God.No.”
“But first, answer me this. Have you hired an escort?”
“What? No, and Jesus, fine, we crossed a few lines by rubbing oil all over each other, but there are still some boundaries. This is none of your business, sir.”
“Iwantto make it my business, Mia.”
My head snaps back to check if he’s there. He is. He really said that.
“I’m sorry, I don’t see how. Can we please add that moment to the fast-growing pile of things we pretend never happened? I don’t see how I’ll ever face you again if you don’t drop this subject now.”
He presses his thumbs at the nape of my neck, lettinghis fingers slide onto my chest. It rises and falls so fast it’s embarrassing. “Tell me if you want me to stop,” he says.
A staggered breath rips through me. I tell him nothing.
I try to control my breathing with a deep inhale. It’s no good. But when Preston brings his lips to my ear and orders, “Mia, breathe for me,” I follow without hesitation.
