It wasn’t the only thing that was stiff tonight. Josh nodded. “My neck and back were already bothering me this morning. All the time in the car didn’t help.”
Setting aside her water, she moved onto her knees. “Take off your shirt and turn around. I’ll give you a back rub. It might help.”
If she put her hands on him, he could kiss any chance of sleeping tonight goodbye, so the smart thing to do would be to politely decline. Unlike Courtney, who’d graduated both high school and college early, he wasn’t smart. Grabbing the bottom of his shirt, Josh pulled it over his head.
Energy sizzled and cracked across his skin when her palms came down on his shoulders. Slowly, she kneaded and massaged the tight muscles in his upper back. He’d had plenty of massages in his life, especially when he was prepping for a role and spent countless hours in the gym. None had ever affected him the way this one was. While Courtney was working out the knots almost as well as any professional, her touch was acting like gasoline to a fire. With each movement of her hands, his body tightened and his internal temperature inched higher.
She kneaded a particularly tight spot, and he moaned.
“I’ll assume you’re enjoying the massage,” she said as audience laughter erupted from the television.
Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to enjoy the feel of her skin against his for the first time after so many weeks.
She shifted her position, her body rubbing against his, and he felt her pebbled nipples against his back as she trailed her fingers up and over his shoulders. Her touch was more of a caress than a massage now. Gradually her hands slipped lower, and he held his breath as they passed his clavicle and stopped.
Moist lips touched the back of his neck. Before he could react, Courtney’s hands moved lower, and he dug down deep for the control necessary not to turn and take over. A second kiss joined the first, and her palms caressed his skin as they moved back toward his shoulders. Then just like that, they disappeared, as did the weight of her body leaning against him. Prepared to ask what was wrong, Josh turned, expecting to find Courtney back in a sitting position. Instead, he found her still kneeling and pulling her top off.
Erect nipples taunted him, begging him to touch them. Despite his efforts, his self-control started to slip. He placed his hands on her sides mere inches below her breasts, because if he touched them he was a goner. “Courtney.” His voice came out strangled.
She met and held his gaze while her fingers undid the button on his jeans and tugged the zipper down. Her hand closed around him as he took possession of her mouth.
“Any better?” Her voice broke through the vivid daydream playing out in his head.
“Much.” Although it’d been all in his head, he could almost feel her hand wrapped around him.
“Do you want me to keep going?”
If she kept going, the little self-control he had left would be long gone. “No. I’m good. Thanks.”
Her hands disappeared from his body, and she sat down again. After pulling his shirt back on, Josh reached for his plate, glad Courtney’s attention was on the television and not him, because if she took one look at him, she’d know exactly what was on his mind.
Eight
When Courtney offered to give Josh a back rub Wednesday night, she’d done so because she wanted to help, not because she wanted to touch him. Well, it had been mostly because she wanted to help. Either way, it hadn’t taken long for her to realize what a gigantic mistake it was. Once she touched his skin, memories of his hands moving across her body forced their way front and center, as did memories of her pleasuring him. Abruptly stopping the massage would have seemed strange, so she’d gritted her teeth and suffered through it. Alone in bed later, she’d wondered what the hell was wrong with her. They were both adults and physically attracted to each other. Denying herself the pleasure she knew full well Josh could give her because there was a miniscule chance she might let her guard down and get emotionally attached was plain stupid. She was an intelligent woman. If she didn’t want to let her emotions into play, she wouldn’t.
Simple.
She’d had the same argument with herself on Thursday and then again last night after climbing into bed very much alone while Josh retreated to his bedroom down the hall. Much to his credit, Josh had been a perfect gentleman since he moved in. Although he still appeared in the kitchen without a shirt in the morning, he always kept his hands and his lips to himself, despite the clear evidence he wanted more than a companion to eat meals with while they watched reruns of old black-and-white sitcoms.
Would she be having the same talk with herself tonight? As much as she’d like to say no, she knew more than likely she’d be alone in the big bed again when they came back from her parents’. While she’d somehow managed it in Hawaii by inviting Josh back to her room, she wasn’t comfortable making the first move. But if she wanted them to return to the intimate relationship they’d had, she’d need to do just that, since Josh seemed intent on leaving the status of their relationship in her corner.
The knock on her door put her current thoughts on hold.
Although they’d shared breakfast every morning since he moved in, she was the first one in the kitchen. Josh always joined her before she finished pouring her first cup of coffee. She didn’t know if he set his alarm so he was up before she left or if he was simply a morning person who liked to get up early. Whichever it was, she enjoyed having the company.
“Courtney.” Josh’s voice traveled through the closed door.
Thus far this week, their bedrooms had remained off-limits, so if he was outside the door now, there must be a good reason. “I’m up. Come on in.” She set aside the book she’d been reading—well, trying to read. She was still on the same page as when she’d picked it up twenty minutes ago.
She held her breath as the door opened. Considering where her thoughts were before he interrupted, she didn’t know if she could handle a shirtless Josh in her bedroom this morning.
A fully dressed Josh appeared in the doorway, but he didn’t step into the room. “I made breakfast for us.”
Unless you counted picking up takeout, in the past four days, he’d exhibited no culinary skills whatsoever. Something along the lines of “you cooked?” almost slipped out, but she stopped herself just in time. No matter what was waiting for
her in the kitchen, it was the thought that counted.
“Great. I’m hungry.” She tossed aside the throw blanket she’d been using since she sat down in the chair and gave the bed a wide berth as she headed for the door.