Riley Rose had never done anything like this before.
The spa was quiet--too quiet--as she stepped through the frosted glass doors, her heels clicking softly against polished marble. She told herself it was just a massage. Just an innocent, overdue indulgence after weeks of stress. But part of her was nervous at the idea of strange hands on her. Only two pair had danced over her peach tanned skin so far. Paid or not. It felt incorrect. She texted one of the hands, saved in her phone as Cowboy. A contact picture of a shirtless man eating candy in a hotel bed grinning at the camera. The full photo showed a reflection in the mirror. Her, taking the picture of him, pure nude covered in a thin layer of sweat.
The receptionist smiled knowingly and handed her a robe, yanking her from the text to Logan. "He'll be with you shortly," she said, as if that meant something more than it did.
Riley slipped into the changing room, her fingers trembling slightly as she shed her clothes. The robe slid over her bare skin like a secret, soft and weightless, leaving too much of her exposed. She caught her reflection in the mirror--a nervous flush on her cheeks, lips slightly parted--and looked away.
When she stepped into the dimly lit massage room, the scent of sandalwood and something darker, muskier, wrapped around her like a lover's breath. And then she saw him.
The masseur.
Tall. Quiet. Intense. With eyes that lingered a little too long, and hands that looked like they could undo a woman with a single touch. He was older. Which just meant 'experience'. His smirk took the wind out of her.
"Riley?" he asked, his voice low, warm, dangerous.
She nodded.
"Lie down. Face first."
Damn. Whatever you say boss.
And when his hands touched her back--firm, slow, confident--she felt her breath catch in her throat.
This was no ordinary massage.
And Riley Rose? She was about to discover just how deeply pleasure could press into pain... and how desire could come from the heat of a stranger's hands.
Riley eased herself onto the massage table, the silky robe slipping off her shoulders. The sheet was warm beneath her, the room dim but intimate. She tried to steady her breathing, but anticipation curled in her belly like smoke. She'd told herself this was just about relaxing. Nothing more. But the moment his hands touched her, that lie unraveled.
He started at her shoulders--firm, methodical strokes melting the tension she didn't realize she carried. His thumbs pressed in deep, just beneath her neck, making her sigh involuntarily.
"You're wound tight," he murmured.