by Lynn LaFleur
“I think there’s a good chance of that,” Rye said. “It looks pretty bad.”
“It’s only four years old.”
Emma gave her a quick hug. “Lainy and I will go with you to shop for a new one.”
“Thanks, Emma.” She spotted her purse on the end of the counter. “I’d better call my agent. Be right back.”
She’d just finished leaving a message on her agent’s voice mail when Alaina and Emma walked into the guest room. Emma shut the door behind them. That alerted Kelcey that her friends planned to have a serious talk with her.
“What is it?”
Instead of answering her question, Alaina and Emma gave her a fierce hug. “We were so worried about you,” Alaina said. “Don’t ever get in another car accident.”
A lump formed in Kelcey’s throat at the obvious love of her friends. She’d had a few close friends in her life, but none of them as special as these two ladies. She was so lucky to have them in her life. “I’ll do my best.”
Emma released her, wiped a tear from her cheek. “Okay, end of serious stuff. What happened with Dax?”
“What makes you think anything happened with him?”
“He had that rumpled, just-had-a-great-night-of-sex look. And so do you, even though you took the time to get dressed and start coffee so none of us would suspect you came from his bed.”
Kelcey started to automatically deny anything happened between her and Dax. What they’d shared should be between them. Then she realized she didn’t want to lie to her friends. The memory of the previous night caused her lips to tilt up in a pleased smile. “It was amazing.”
Emma flashed a grin at Alaina and punched her upper arm. “I told you so! I knew they’d have sex.”
“You were okay?” Alaina asked. “No freaking out or nightmares?”
Kelcey shook her head. “I thought about what you said, Emma, about me being in control. Dax let me do that. He didn’t even touch me until I told him he could. After that…” She fanned her face. “Wow.”
Emma grinned again. “Sounds like all the Coleman triplets have impressive tools.”
“I don’t know about Rye and Griff—nor do I want to—but Dax certainly isn’t lacking in the tool department.”
Alaina giggled along with Kelcey. “You realize they’d shoot us if they knew we were comparing notes about their…assets.”
“Men have talked about our tits and asses for years,” Emma said. “It’s our turn to have fun.”
The teasing look disappeared from Emma’s eyes as she touched Kelcey’s face. “I’m happy you were with Dax last night. What your uncles did to you was beyond horrible. I would gladly cut off their dicks if I could.”
“Don’t think I haven’t thought about that too.”
Alaina gave Kelcey a one-armed hug. “You’re safe now and no one will ever hurt you again. We’ll all make sure of that.”
Chapter Ten
Thanks to the flat land of North Texas, he could see the sprawling Metroplex long before he got close to it. He rarely left California so he’d never been here, yet he couldn’t take the time for any sightseeing. He had to find Kelcey before he did anything else.
Then he would settle up with her once and for all.
* * * * *
Kelcey rotated her neck and winced. It had become tighter as the day progressed. She blamed the achy shoulders and stiff neck on too much time on the computer, yet she suspected she hurt because of another reason—a touch of whiplash from her accident.
She’d promised Dax she’d see a doctor if she started hurting. He’d probably write a prescription for pain pills or muscle relaxers and send her on her way. She didn’t want to pop a bunch of pills that would make her sleepy. She had way too much work to do to have pain medication hamper her ability to think.
Hooking her hands behind her neck, Kelcey leaned her head back to try to loosen the stiff muscles. A massage would be so welcome now. Perhaps Alaina and Emma had found a massage therapist here in Lanville who would be willing to see her on short notice.
“You okay?” Dax asked from behind her.
Kelcey started to turn her head toward his voice, but quickly changed her mind when pain shot down into her mid back. She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips.
Dax moved into her line of vision, a scowl on his face. “Your neck is hurting, isn’t it?”
“A little.”
He gently pulled her hands away and ran his fingers up and down her neck. “From as tight as these muscles are, I’d say you’re hurting more than just a little.”
Alaina came into the office, carrying today’s mail. One look at Dax’s hand on Kelcey’s neck and she frowned. “What’s up?”
“Kelcey’s neck is hurting.”
Kelcey didn’t want anyone making a fuss over her. “It’s not that bad. I think a massage is all I need. Do you know a massage therapist, Lainy?”
“Yeah.” Alaina laid the mail on Kelcey’s desk. “He has his hand on your neck right now.”
If Alaina had said a truck full of gold pulled up outside, Kelcey wouldn’t have been more surprised. She swiveled her chair so she could see Dax’s face. “You’re a massage therapist?”
“Not officially. I took the classes and I do have a license, but I don’t see clients. I only work on family and friends.”
“He told me he works for sex or food,” Alaina said.
Dax shrugged. “I had to pick something else besides sex. Can’t ask for that from my future sister-in-law.”
“You can ask, but you ain’t getting any.”
“Man, I’m so abused.” He pressed a spot in Kelcey’s shoulder with his thumb. She snagged her bottom lip with her teeth to keep from gasping. “I’d like to help you.”
“Kelcey, go. Right now. I don’t want you here if you’re hurting. I promise Dax will make every ache and pain disappear.” She reached into the top desk drawer and drew out a ring of keys. “Take my car. Then go home and rest. I’ll get a ride with Rye.”
She’d ridden to work with Alaina, so had no way to leave unless she took her friend’s car. “I still have accounts to set up—”
“It’s already after three. There’s nothing you have to do that can’t wait a day. Go!”
Dax gently squeezed her neck. “I’ll follow you.”
With two people working on her, she didn’t have a choice. Kelcey gathered up her purse and sweater and walked out to Alaina’s car, Dax right behind her.
The drive to Dax’s house gave Kelcey the chance to think. His hands on her during a massage would be completely different than when he touched her while making love. There wouldn’t be anything intimate about it. Dax hadn’t given her any indication that he wanted a repeat of what happened between them last night. While it had been life-changing for her, it had probably been just another evening of sex with a willing female for him.
She wouldn’t mention last night, wouldn’t ask him for a repeat. She refused to be a needy, clingy female when she knew Dax didn’t want that.
She parked in front of his house. He pulled onto the pad in front of his garage. By the time she climbed from the car, she could barely move her neck. The pain must have been evident on her face for concern filled his eyes as he held out his hand to her. Taking it, she let him lead her to the back room of his house. He took a key off a hook on the wall and unlocked the door.
“I have to keep the door locked or Walker will go in and sleep on the table.”
He pushed down on the door lever and stood aside so she could enter the room. A massage table sat in the middle of the room, already made up with fresh sheets. Dark curtains covered the windows to keep out sunlight. Several candleholders sat on the chest of drawers against the wall and on small accent tables.
“I keep the room ready in case someone comes over.” Walking to one of the tables, he picked up a lighter and touched the wicks of three tall pillar candles. “Emma picked out these candles for me. They’re a mix of lavender, jasmine and vanilla.”
“Do you burn candles when you work on men too?”
“Men enjoy fragrances just like women do.” A press of a button on a stereo in the corner and New Age instrumental music filled the room. “I’ll give you time to get undressed and between the sheets.”
Undressed? Kelcey hadn’t realized taking off her clothes would be part of the deal. “Why do I have to get undressed if you’re working on my neck?”
“Because I won’t be working only on your neck. This will be a full-body massage, Kelcey…about two hours worth, if you’re as tight as I suspect you are.”
Two hours of muted light, soft music, and Dax’s hands on her skin. That could be a potent combination.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Lie on your stomach.” He opened the door, pushed Walker back before the dog could go in the room, and closed the door behind him.
This is medical, Kelcey. As long as you remember that, you’ll be fine.
With that thought, she looked around the room again and noticed the hooks on the wall over a padded chair. That must be the place for her clothes. She’d had a full-body massage several times and knew that meant everything off, including underwear. That had never bothered her since she’d always had a female massage therapist and a female doctor. A man had never touched her nude body since she became an adult, until last night.
The pain shooting through her neck and shoulders stopped her hesitation. Kelcey quickly removed all her clothes and slipped between the sheets.
A soft knock on the door announced Dax had returned. Kelcey lifted her face from the headrest and called out, “Come in.”
She noticed he’d changed clothes while out of the room. No longer wearing his paint-spattered jeans and shirt, he now wore dark green sweatpants and a loose camouflage T-shirt. He’d also removed his shoes and now wore only socks on his feet.
She didn’t understand why that seemed so sexy.
Dax opened a two-door cabinet close to her head. “I have several different scents of massage oil. Do you have a preference?”
“Something flowery.”
He looked at her over his shoulder and grinned. “I figured that since you’re a girl.” He chose a bottle and closed the cabinet. “I think you’ll like this one.”
She watched him slip on a loose canvas belt and slide the pump-top bottle into a loop on the side. Expecting him to start on her neck, Kelcey lowered her face to the headrest. He surprised her yet again by uncovering her left foot and taking it in his oil-slick hands.
“You aren’t working on my neck?”
“I’ll get there. Eventually.”
Kelcey had tensed when Dax first touched her foot. The smooth glide of his fingers across her skin soon helped her relax. He caressed every part of her foot, including each toe. He found sore spots on the bottom of her foot she didn’t realize she had.
“Have you ever had a massage?” he asked.
“Yes, but it’s been a while.”
“Everyone has a different level of pressure they can take. Let me know if I go too deep. I want to go as deep as I can, but don’t want to hurt you.”
“Okay.”
A whiff of flowers from the massage oil reached her nose. Kelcey closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The scent made her think of the first flowers of spring. The soothing fragrance mixed with the soft music had her contemplating a nap.
The thought of a nap flew out of her head when Dax uncovered her left leg and buttock. She barely caught the groan before it escaped when his hands slid all the way up her leg and cheek. There was nothing sexual about his touch, nothing to compare it to the way he’d touched her last night. Yet memories flooded her mind of his kisses, his caresses, his cock moving in and out of her channel. Her clit throbbed when she thought of his tongue on her intimate flesh.
Talking would help get her mind off sex and back to medical stuff. “You, uh, do this a lot?”
“Depends on what you mean by a lot. I give at least one massage a week. There have been weeks when I’ve done one every night.”
“You don’t charge for them?”
“No.”
“That’s very generous.”
“I believe in karma. Be good to people and they’ll be good to you. I would never charge my family, of course, or Alaina and Emma. Other people give me things to thank me, even though I don’t ask for anything. Brad gave me Mavericks tickets after I worked on him a couple of times. My last two oil changes have been free ‘cause I worked on my mechanic’s back. I get lots of food, which I appreciate since I’m not the best cook.”
Kelcey chuckled.
“It isn’t funny. I’d starve if my mom didn’t send over care packages.”
“Emma would never let you starve.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” He covered her left leg, moved around the table and uncovered her right. “She and Alaina have become like sisters to me.”
Kelcey noticed he didn’t include her in that sister category. She couldn’t expect him to. Despite their sleeping together last night, they didn’t know each other very well. Although the more she learned about Dax, the more she liked him. The fact that he wanted to help his friends and did not expect anything in return said a lot for his character.
He was so much more than the womanizer she’d believed him to be.
She jerked when he pressed a sore spot in her cheek. He immediately let up on the pressure. “You have a bad hip?”
“It hurts sometimes when I stand too long.”
“I can show you some stretches that will help it.” He covered her leg with the sheet. “Tell me if you get cold and I’ll add a blanket with the sheet.”
She didn’t see how she could possibly get cold, not with Dax touching her.
He drew the sheet down her back and folded it across the top of her thighs. His oil-slick hands glided across her shoulders and down her back to just above her buttocks. He pressed a bit firmer on his return journey to her shoulders. “I should have asked if you want a towel for between your breasts.”
“Why would I want a towel?”
“Some women need a towel to keep from smashing their breasts against the table.”
“I’m not Alaina. Mine aren’t big enough to worry about that.”
His touch paused in the middle of her back. “Your breasts are beautiful, Kelcey.”
The husky tone of his voice sent warmth skittering through her body. She considered rolling over, drawing him down to the table with her. The press of his thumbs on either side of her spine stopped that thought. She had to remind herself again that this was medical, not personal.
She couldn’t help wondering if any of his massages on women turned personal. All that skin, shiny and slippery from the oil, would be difficult for a man to resist, especially a man who’d had his hands all over her body.
Too embarrassed to ask such a personal question, Kelcey took a breath and blew it out slowly, ordering her body to relax.
“That’s good,” he said. “Breathe nice and even.”
The soothing glide of Dax’s hands helped her relax. Sometimes he touched a sore spot, but he worked on it until it no longer hurt. She’d had massages in the past, yet no one had taken as much care as Dax to make sure he’d completely relaxed a muscle before he moved to the next one.
Professional. That’s how she had to describe him.
She had no idea how much time had passed when he lifted the sheet off her body. “Roll over to your back.”
Kelcey looked at Dax, but he held the sheet in front of his face so she couldn’t see him…or he see her. Following his instruction, she carefully rolled to her back. “Okay.”
He let the sheet drift back over her body, covering her from neck to feet. “Do you need a tissue or drink of water?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Blanket?”
Now that he asked, she realized she’d grown cool during the massage. “Yes, please.”
He returned to the cabinet by her head and removed a thermal blanket. After draping it ove
r her, he knelt by the side of the table. Kelcey heard a soft click.
“I’m turning on a heating pad. You should feel it on your back in just a bit.”
“You turn on a heating pad, you’ll put me to sleep.”
Dax stood and smiled at her. “If I put you to sleep, that’s the best compliment you can give me.”
The warmth from the pad began to seep into her back. Kelcey closed her eyes and sighed. She could get used to this kind of treatment.
“I assume that pleased little smile means you’re comfortable.”
She heard the teasing in his voice, but decided she didn’t want to go to the effort of opening her eyes. “Very.”
He uncovered her left foot and leg, all the way to her groin. She moaned when he began to massage her foot. “Can you do that for about three hours?”
His chuckle sounded deep and a little bit wicked. “Like the foot massage, huh?”
“It’s very nice.”
“If this relaxes you, you will go to sleep when I massage your scalp.”
“You do that too?”
“Full-body, remember? Well, except for the good parts.”
Kelcey opened her eyes, lifted her head. The silly grin on Dax’s lips made her laugh. She decided to play along with him. “No touching the good parts?”
“Not unless I want to get hit.”
“Rye and Griff probably wouldn’t appreciate your hands on any part of Alaina and Emma that isn’t neutral territory.”
“That’s for sure.” He bent her knee, pushed it toward the center of her body. “I wouldn’t want to touch them anyway. I mean, they’re both gorgeous and sexy, but I don’t feel any lust for them.”
“You did for Emma before she got involved with Griff.”
“I flirted with her a little and she flirted back, but it didn’t last long. She fell for Griff pretty fast.”
“That didn’t bother you?”
“Nah.” He covered her leg, moved to the other side of the table and uncovered her right one. “I’m happy Emma and Griff found each other. Griff really needed someone in his life after Jana died. Emma makes him a better person. I think they were made for each other.”
“That sounds pretty romantic coming from a guy who plans to be an eternal bachelor. That’s what Alaina told me.”
