Chapter Twenty-Two
LATER THAT EVENING, Max sat with her legs stretched across Treat’s lap in front of a roaring fire as he massaged her feet, pressing his thumbs deeply into the arch of her foot.
“You can’t even begin to understand how good that feels.” She closed her eyes, enjoying his touch.
“Oh, I think I can.”
She opened her eyes. “Yeah?”
“It’s touch, and touch is good,” he said in a husky voice.
Why does your voice turn my entire body on? She pulled her feet from his lap and sat up, tucking them beneath her.
“Let me do you,” she said.
“Why, Max, what kind of man do you think I am?”
She playfully swatted his chest. “Not like that. Let me rub you and make you feel good.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “You naughty girl.”
“Seriously, let me give you a massage.”
“If you insist.” He kissed her, then pushed to his feet and went to a closet by the stairs. He withdrew a comforter, then spread it out on the floor in front of the fireplace. When he pulled his shirt over his head, her breath rushed from her lungs. She’d seen his perfectly sculpted physique enough times that she shouldn’t still react to it like that, but her love for him continued to grow, and she had a feeling her reactions to him would, too. Her grandmother once told her that she would know she was in love because she’d be able to imagine loving the person no matter what they looked like. As Treat stripped off his pants, she imagined him gray and potbellied, and her heart still adored him. She took that further, imagining an even harder thing to think about. What if he was hurt in an accident? If he lost a limb or was disfigured? As he lowered himself to the blanket wearing only his boxer briefs, she knew her love for him was soul deep, and nothing could change that.
He patted the space beside him. “Sit with me.”
“This might be more dangerous than I had anticipated.” She was only half teasing. Did he really expect her to touch him without wanting to devour him?
He opened his hand, revealing a small bottle of oil.
“You just happen to keep this in the secret closet with the blanket? How much do you pay your friends to say that you don’t bring women up here?”
He tickled her ribs, causing her to squeal. “I don’t lie, sweetness.”
“I was kidding!”
“Good, because I want to be sure you know you can trust me on every level. I’ve never had anyone but Savannah here with me, and I slept on the couch, which is why the blanket is down here. She left the oil here.”
Kneeling by his side, she couldn’t help teasing him. “I’m supposed to buy the old only my sister routine?”
In the next second, Treat was on his feet and heading for the kitchen, where he retrieved his phone. He pushed a button and, a few seconds later, said, “Hey, Vanny. Hold on a sec.”
Max jumped up. “Oh my gosh. No! You know I was kidding!” Mortified didn’t begin to describe the embarrassment she felt.
He lowered his voice and said, “I’ll never have anything to hide from you, and I want you to know it and believe it.”
“I know I can. I was teasing!” she said in a loud whisper.
He put Savannah on speakerphone and said, “Vanny, say hi to Max. I’ve got you on speakerphone.”
“Hey, girl! I had no idea you were going to the Cape!”
Max was surprised by Savannah’s enthusiasm. “I wanted to surprise Treat.”
“Aw, that’s so romantic,” Savannah said happily.
“Hey, Vanny, I found your Apricot Kernel Oil.” Treat grinned, twisting the bottle between his index finger and thumb.
Max covered her face. This cannot really be happening.
“Oh, good. It’s great for aromatherapy. You guys should use it. It’s awesome, and it won’t leave your skin oily.”
“Thanks, Savannah.” Treat blew a kiss to Max and said, “I’m sure we’ll put it to good use.” He took Max’s hand, leading her back to the blanket, and lowered himself to the floor with another victorious smile.
“Was that all you needed?” Savannah asked. “I gotta run. I’m with Connor.”
“I just wanted you to know I had it.” Treat ended the call as Max tried to dodge the mortification bullet. He set his phone aside and said, “You can ask me anything, Max. I’ll always give you an honest answer, and I’ll never blame you for not believing me, because I know people lie and you’ve been hurt.”
“I was honestly only teasing you. You didn’t have to call her.”
“I knew you were teasing, but I also know you’ve been cheated on and lied to. I’m not taking any chances.” He kissed her tenderly. Then he flipped onto his stomach and stretched out. “Now that that’s out of the way, I believe you wanted to do me?”
“You believe that, do you?” She dripped oil onto his back and began kneading it into his muscles.
“How do you know I didn’t have this preplanned with Savannah?”
Max’s hands stopped moving as she considered his tease. She cracked a smile and said, “Because she’d never go along with it. She likes me.”
“How about because I like you, and I’d never go along with it?”
Swoon! She bent down and kissed his cheek. “That works, too.”
Max used both hands, massaging along either side of his spine, working the tension outward, urged on by his appreciative moans. Treat’s eyes were closed, and a small smile lifted his lips. She loved knowing she was bringing him pleasure as she followed the lines of his body, kneading in a slow and steady rhythm over the curve of his biceps and across his shoulders. She slid her hands over the crest of his lats and slid her fingers forward, pushing deeper along his pecs.
The scent of apricot hung in the air. Massaging his slick, hot skin felt erotic, and his sexy noises of appreciation heightened her arousal.
She moved lower, oiling up his hamstrings and kneading the tension there.
“Your touch is magical,” he said in a guttural voice.
“Mm-hmm.” She tried to ignore the pulsing sensation thrumming through her as he spread his legs wider. She moved between them so she could work each leg with both hands.
She pushed at the cotton at the top of his hamstrings, sliding her fingers beneath, taunting them both. Every press of her fingers into his flesh brought another wave of desire, until she was desperate for more. He lifted his hips, shifting his weight, and she knew he was aroused, too.
She silently removed her clothes. The fire warmed her skin as she lay down beside him, her body grazing his slippery flesh.
“Sweetness,” he whispered as he turned to face her.
“Shh. Lie on your back.” She trailed kisses over his neck and shoulder, along his cheek, and pressed a kiss at the soft spot just beneath his ear.
He groaned, and the sound rumbled through her. She moved lower and began massaging his legs again, using both hands to knead the tension from his calves, ankles, and eventually, his feet, which were just as gorgeous as the rest of him.
He reached for her, but she was enjoying giving him pleasure, making him want her the way she wanted him.
“Uh-uh,” she whispered, peeling his hands away. “Let me touch you.”
He made a guttural sound of frustration, and she stretched out beside him, tracing the lines of his abs with her finger and pressing kisses to his pecs. Treat’s hungry groan mixed with her quiet moan as she kissed his lower lip. This time when he reached for her, she didn’t stop him, enjoying his raw, needful kisses, the scratch of his whiskers, and the press of his hard body against hers as he pulled her against him.
“You’re driving me crazy.”
“All touch is good, remember?” she teased.
The need in his eyes was tangible as he took her cheeks between his hands and kissed her urgently, then eased to a softer, decadent kiss that made her writhe with desire.
“Max, I couldn’t love you more.”
“That’s a shame. I was sort of counting on you loving me more each day.”