Caroline sighed dramatically. “Honestly, it’s not like I’m needed all that much here. None of my clients have complained because I have left them in very capable hands. And in case you’ve forgotten, young lady, there is going to come a time when you are going to have to run this place without me.”
Not this again. “Yes, yes, yes…you’re going to retire, I’m going to run the place, blah, blah, blah. While I appreciate not getting the extended disco version of how I can make it on my own, until you retire, I would love it if you were here to help me.”
Caroline sat down on the office sofa and contemplated her only child. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but Sawyer has been getting a lot of grief for not making you appear more on the site. By having me there, at least, it is keeping the producer and the network quiet. Now I’m sorry if you don’t like the fact that I’m not helping out here as much but you have to decide which is more important to you – me being here at the spa or you not having to deal with the home renovations.”
Regan rested her head in her hands at her desk and sighed. When had their lives gotten to this point? Things used to be way less complicated and now it seemed like nothing was the way she wanted it to be. “Fine, go to High Point. Pick out bathroom fixtures and whatnot; I’ll handle things here.”
Smiling, Caroline stood and walked over to hug Regan. “That’s my girl.” With a final squeeze she walked toward the door. “I think you’d really like what they’re doing on the house. So far it’s much better than I had even imagined. That Sawyer is very talented.”
You’re telling me. “If you’re happy then I’m happy, Mom.” Just don’t ask me to come over there just yet.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I made an appointment here for Sawyer for tomorrow morning. He hurt his shoulder on his previous job and it’s still giving him trouble. I recommended a deep tissue massage and he was all for it. He’ll be here tomorrow at ten.” And with that her mother was gone.
Regan banged her head on her desk. Break time was over. She was going to be forced to see him and she was certain that he was going to ask her about their last conversation about spending time with one another. Could she go on a date with him? Sure. Could she see herself maybe going out on more than one date with him? Absolutely. Could she see herself having crazy monkey sex with him all over her townhouse?
Oh, yes.
And while, yes, all of that would be fine and well, the ability to separate Sawyer from his job was going to take more than a little effort. Not that it was impossible. Regan always hated it when people just assumed that all there was to her was a spa owner; she was more than that. She was a woman who enjoyed spending time with her friends or reading a good book, going to the movies, or hiking. When someone only wanted to talk to her about her work, it was sort of a turn off. Couldn’t she then take that same attitude with Sawyer and just not talk about his work?
If ever there was a time to find out, she guessed it was going to be tomorrow.
****
“He’s a dude.”
“Yes he is.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”
Regan sighed. “Todd is more than capable of doing this.”
“Your mother said that you were doing the massage,” Sawyer countered mildly.
“Well, being that she hasn’t been here much, she wasn’t aware of my schedule. You need a deep tissue massage and Todd is more than capable of doing that for you. He has the best hands.”
Sawyer clenched his own into fists. “I do not want to be massaged by a guy, Regan,” Sawyer said and then looked directly at Todd. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Todd said, all six-plus feet of him. He then turned to face his boss. “It’s your call, Rae.”
Rae? He has the best hands? What the hell is going on here? Is Regan involved with this guy? Sawyer’s mind was spinning. The thought of Regan being involved with another man had never even crossed his mind! He didn’t relish the thought of breaking her and her boyfriend up but nor was he able to deny how much he wanted her. Crossing his arms across his chest, he stared Regan down. “Do you have another client right now?”
“Well, no,” she said sheepishly. “But I do have other things to do.”
“I can wait until you’re done,” he said, his lips twitching with a smile because he knew that she completely believed him. He would wait all day if he had to if it meant having her be the one to do the massage.
Regan looked from him to Todd and back again. “I’ve got this, Todd,” she said begrudgingly. “Why don’t you get Mr. Bennett set up in room three and I’ll be in shortly. Thanks.” She turned and walked away before Sawyer could see just how uncomfortable she was with this whole situation.
Back in her office, Regan took five minutes to get herself composed. She was a professional; she could totally do this. She’d massaged her fair share of men since she opened her business and this should be no big deal.
Only it was.
Because it was Sawyer.
Ever since she’d first met him and especially since their kiss in the yard, Regan had dreamed of touching him. Of course in her dreams it wasn’t in a professional manner; no, those dreams had them alone at her place or anyplace she could have him and they were wild for one another just as they’d been last week. Just the thought of unleashing that kind of passion and have it not be in a public place sent tingles down her spine.
Then again, unleashing that passion in Sawyer anyplace was enough to send tingles down her spine.
With a sigh and mentally chanting the alphabet backwards, Regan headed into spa room three and found Sawyer face down on the table with a blanket draped over the bottom half of him.
Now that’s a damn shame, she thought and then realized that she needed to get her professional shield back in place. She went through all of the questions she asked all of her clients – was the temperature in the room okay? Did they want an aroma candle to burn? And then finally about why they were here.
“I hurt my shoulder last month on a project and it’s been acting up again,” he said without looking at her. “It’s my right shoulder.” Regan nodded wordlessly and went to work.
It took less than a minute for her to realize that she was in trouble.
He felt better than she’d imagined and as soon as she saw her hands on Sawyer’s back all thoughts of professionalism went out the window. It was too easy to imagine her hands on him in a more intimate way and when he let out a low growl, Regan had to scramble for a way to clear her mind. Unfortunately her mind wouldn’t cooperate.
When she tried to think of her mother’s house, she saw the two of them kissing in the yard. When she tried to get angry at what he was doing at her mother’s house, she could hear his kind words as he whispered to her. She couldn’t remember the damn alphabet – backwards or forward – to save her own life. How was she supposed to get through the next…55 minutes! Had time simply stopped?
Staring at the clock, Regan worked on Sawyer’s shoulder until her fingers started to go numb and that’s when she heard it. Her hands stilled for a moment and then she went back to massaging him and she heard it again.
“No sex noises,” she hissed.
Sawyer raised his head and sleepily looked at her. “Excuse me?”
“You were just making sex noises. Stop that. It’s not allowed.”
He flashed her a wicked grin. “Regan, you have no idea what kind of noises I make during sex but I’m glad to see where your mind is heading.”
She stepped away from the table and stared at him. “That is not the way my mind is heading! I was working on your shoulder and you started…you know…moaning.”
“What can I say? You hit the sweet spot.”
“The sweet spot?” she croaked and prayed that he wouldn’t raise himself up anymore. As it was he was braced on his elbows and now she had a fine view of his chest and yes, it was mouthwateringly good.
Making a tsking sound he shook his head. “Regan, certainly
you are aware of sweet spots,” he said with a voice that melted over her like butter.
Oh, she was aware of them all right. As a matter of fact he had several of hers tingling with just the sound of his voice. This is bad, she thought. Bad, bad, bad! “That’s neither here nor there; the fact is that if a massage seems to be getting a client…aroused, then we stop.”
“The only one that thinks I’m aroused is you,” he said sweetly and placed his face back in the pillow. “But if it makes you feel better, I promise not to make a sound.”
Regan watched as he got back into position and then cursed herself. She should have never agreed to this; it was totally unfair she had to touch him like this and he seemingly was unaffected by it while she was practically standing in a puddle of her own drool.
Charming.
With a good mental scolding, she went back to the task. Fifteen minutes later she needed him to roll over so she would work on the shoulder from the front and then it was her turn to let out a small sound.
“Excuse me?” Sawyer asked, not opening his eyes. “What was that noise?”
“I don’t know…I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Regan lied and went right to work on his shoulder hoping to distract him.
“Now, I’m no expert in the noises you make during sex but I’m pretty sure that sounded like a sex noise.”
Regan instantly removed her hands from him and stepped back. “I think we’re done here.”
Slowly, Sawyer sat up and looked at her and then at the clock. “I believe I still have another thirty minutes scheduled.”
“Well, if you want to use them, I’ll send Todd in to finish,” she said tartly. Why was this happening to her? She never made purring or sex noises outside of the bedroom and why did it have to be here and now with Sawyer?
“Okay, okay,” he said, sensing her discomfort. “That was out of line of me and I’m sorry. I was just kidding with you. It was a little too quiet in here and I just thought I’d say something to break the tension. It was in poor taste and I’m sorry that I offended you.”
“I just don’t think…”
“What you’re doing is really helping,” he said, grasping at straws to keep her in the room. “Please, Regan. I won’t utter another word until you’re done. Scouts honor.” He held up his hand and gave her his most innocent smile and was relieved when she smiled back at him.
“How do I even know you were a scout?”
“You can ask my dad; he’ll tell you. I went from Cub to Eagle and he’ll be more than happy to share with you some of the adventures that we had.” Then, remembering his promise to stop talking, he lay back down and pretended to zip his lip. The sound of Regan’s chuckle made him feel good.
The feel of her hands back on him had him feeling more than that. As a matter of fact, it suddenly hit him that this position left him rather…vulnerable. If he didn’t do something to distract himself, he wouldn’t have to worry about the sex noises, but the tenting of the blanket. His mind scrambled with what to do and he was relieved when Regan chose to speak.
“Actually, speaking of your father, I was wondering why he needed my mother to go with him to High Point today.”
“What are you talking about?”
Regan continued to work on Sawyer’s shoulder and then his neck and up to his temples as she spoke. “Mom said that she wasn’t coming in today because Max had invited her to go to High Point with him to look at bathroom fixtures.” Sawyer frowned and Regan removed her hands. “I’m sorry; was that too much pressure?”
“What? No, it’s just that…well, Caroline called off the crew today because she said she had a migraine. She called late last night and asked if we could take the day off.” He opened his eyes and looked at the confused look on Regan’s face. “Does she normally get migraines?”
She nodded. “They don’t happen very often and it’s been a while since she’s had one so I guess it’s possible but it just seems weird that she would have made the call last night. Normally if one hits at night, she’s fine the next morning.”
“Maybe she just needed a day of no noise in the house just in case,” he suggested but could tell that Regan wasn’t totally convinced. “Do you think she’s lying?”
“No, it’s not that, I’m just concerned. Normally when she’s not feeling well, she calls me. When she was here yesterday, she was pretty excited about looking at bathroom fixtures. With her not feeling well, I just thought that she would have called and let me know that she wasn’t going.”
“She knows that you’re busy, Regan. Maybe she just didn’t want to bother you.”
A laugh escaped before she could stop it. “Clearly you don’t know my mother very well. She keeps me up to date with everything going on in her life whether I want to know about it or not. Did your father mention taking her with him to High Point?”
Sawyer thought for a moment and then he looked at her. “No; actually, he never mentioned going to High Point because we have all of the fixtures ordered. It would be a pointless trip.” The look of worry on Regan’s face had him sitting up and adjusting the blanket around him. “I don’t think you have anything to get upset about, Regan. Dad didn’t mention anything to me but maybe Caroline misunderstood where he was taking her?”
“Why is he taking her anywhere? You have everything ordered. Technically, all the work is done and she’s not supposed to be involved anymore. Something’s not right.”
“Okay, okay, let’s just say that something’s not right. What exactly are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that your father is hitting on my mother!”
Now it was Sawyer’s turn to laugh. “Are you kidding me? If anything, Caroline has been flirting with Max! And even if they are flirting or whatever, why is it such a big deal?”
“Have you talked to your father today?” she asked rather than answer his question. Regan wasn’t sure why it was a big deal but it just was.
“No. After he called me last night to say that Caroline wasn’t feeling well, he said that he was going to take the day to get caught up on paperwork. He knew I was coming here and so there was no reason to talk this morning.”
“I don’t like it.”
Sawyer raked a hand through his hair and sighed. “Look, if it makes you feel better, I’ll take a rain check on the rest of the massage and you can go and check on Caroline.”
Regan didn’t want a rain check; she didn’t want to have to struggle through another massage with him again – unless it was someplace more private and on a more intimate level. But that was a thought for another time. Right now she needed to figure out just what was going on with her mother.
“Fine,” she said begrudgingly. “Rain check. I recommend you go back to your hotel and soak in a Jacuzzi if they have one. That will help with the muscles. Drink a lot of water and take it easy for the rest of the day. We’ll figure out later when to reschedule.” She was speaking fast and was about to spin out of the room when Sawyer reached out and grabbed her hand and gently pulled her toward him.
“Hey,” he said quietly, seriously. “I’m sure that everything is fine. You need to relax, okay? I don’t like the thought of you driving when you’re upset.” He gently tugged her hand and she stepped into the space between his blanket-covered thighs. “Do you want me to go with you?”
The sincerity of his words and the silk of his voice was nearly hypnotic and for a moment Regan forgot what they were even talking about. The heat coming off of his body combined with the clean masculine scent of him had her reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder – and not for medicinal purposes. He whispered her name as he reached up and cupped the back of her head and brought her lips down to his.
There was no hesitation this time; they had been here before and it was everything that Regan remembered and more. She stepped in as close as she could get to him and loved the way it felt when his free arm banded around her waist to keep her there. This time she did purr and she didn’t care if he he
ard it or what he thought it was because she was feeling needy and turned on and was hoping that he felt the same way.
A quick wiggle of her hips told her that he did.
Her hands raked up into his hair and it felt glorious. Sawyer wore it a little longer than conventional style but it was silky and wonderful and made him look all the more rugged. His name was a breathless sigh as he moved his mouth from hers and traveled the expanse of her throat. The hand at her back began to work its way under her shirt and the feel of his hands on her skin made her knees buckle.
“You never answered my question the other day,” he said between kisses.
Question? He could think about questions right now? “Refresh my memory.”
He chuckled deep in his throat and continued to torment her with his mouth and his tongue. “Time together. You. Me.” He gently bit down on her earlobe and felt her body shiver.
“Oh, that,” she said, angling her head back to capture his lips with hers again. It didn’t take long for the conversation to come to a halt while they feasted on one another. Sawyer lifted her so that she straddled his lap on the massage table; his hand settling on her bottom and gently squeezing.
“I want you,” he murmured.
“This is crazy,” she whispered back. “I barely know you.”
“There’s a solution to that.” He pulled his head back and did his best to put a little distance between them. “I’m serious, Regan. I can’t believe how much I want you but I want us to spend some time together; to get to know each other.”
She looked at him as if he was speaking a different language. Here she was trying to think of a way to lock the door and have her way with him without her staff hearing her and he was talking about general spending time together. Couldn’t they go for the two birds, one stone option? “I kind of like the time we’re spending right now,” she said in her best sexy tone and was rewarded when Sawyer pulled her back in for a kiss.
“Damn, Regan, you know that I do, too, but I really don’t want our first time to be here in one of your massage rooms with your staff on the other side of the door.” He saw the look of disappointment on her face and could have kicked himself. Who knew she had such a wild side? Then inspiration struck. “Come back to the hotel with me. It’s not far from here.” He leaned in and licked a trail down the side of her neck to her collar bone where he gently sucked. “We can be there in ten minutes. It’s a Holiday Inn. We’ll even check in with Max and see what’s going on later.” Regan stiffened in his arms.
A Touch of Heaven Page 5
