COHEN

“Oh, God, your hands are amazing!”

Annie’s moans have me so turned on I can’t even perch on her back to massage her shoulders. I have to sit off to the side, or we’d both be uncomfortable. She doesn’t need a hockey stick poking her in the back while I’m trying to rub knots out of her shoulders—that would be distracting.

Just like the sounds she’s whimpering into her pillow.

“You’re going to have to stop that,” I say, a little cross. “Otherwise, I’m going to spin you around and kiss you until you change your mind.”

“Change my mind about sex?”

“Yep,” I grit through clenched teeth. “It’s not on my mind at all.”

“Right.” She peeks at me with a sideways glance from the pillow. “Yeah, I can see that.”

I never knew a woman’s back could be so damn sexy. I’d lent Annie a robe, and she had thrown it over a set of lingerie, leaving only a thin layer of cloth between us. It was more intensely erotic than anything I’d ever known.

To make matters worse, she’d climbed onto my bed—a huge king with a thick white comforter— and face-planted there with gusto. Then, she’d morphed into Moaning Myrtle which did crazy things to my imagination.

Around three minutes into the massage, she’d ditched the robe. Five minutes in, she’d wordlessly unhooked her bra. I’m praying the panties come off next, but I’m not getting my hopes up. I’ve almost died from excitement twice already.

She’s relaxed now, I can see it in the way she’s breathing. Soft puffs of air against my pillow, her hair damp from the shower. She smells fresh, clean, and as my fingers knead into her tense muscles, that familiar scent washes over me again.

“Why are you so tense?” I ask, working on a knot just above her right shoulder. I let one hand stray, dragging my fingers down past her ribs to the curve of her lower back. I groan as my thumb brushes the lace lining of her panties. “Something on your mind?”

“You,” she says. “Your hands are inching a little low there, buddy.”

Reluctantly, I make my fingers obey my brain and inch them back to her shoulders. “Swimming lessons stressing you out?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m here in your bed. Bribing you for a passing grade.”

“You know I don’t accept bribes, Miss Plymouth.”

“Bullshit. You put the offer on the table.”

“And you counter-offered with... textbooks?”

“I’m poor!”

“You won’t be forever. Lawyers make good money—that’s the goal, isn’t it?”

“That’s the goal,” she repeats. “But it’s a long road ahead of me, so we’ll see if it pans out.”

“Of course it will.”

“What?”

“I said of course it will.”

She rolls onto her side then, not fully, but just enough so I get a massive peek of side-boob. I’m a goner.

By the time I manage to drag my eyes away from the tender curve there, she’s speaking to me. Again, and again, and I’m oblivious. Because side-boob.

“Hey, earth to Cohen!” She snaps her fingers and waves. “I’m talking to you.”

“They’re nice.”

“What are nice?”

“Your... breasts?” I feel like the word boobs doesn’t suit Annie. I also feel like an idiot saying breasts. The word tits is out of the question for her, so really, I’m screwed any way I look at it.

“You can see my boobs?!”

Noted, I think. Boobs it is.

“A little.” I let one of my fingers trickle down the side of her body and brush against the softness of her chest. “Just a taster.”

“That’s like, one inch of it!” She opens her mouth wide in shock. “What happens if I show you the real thing?! You can’t even concentrate with a peek of it showing.”

“Good question. We should try it and see.”

“You may continue the massage.” She flops back down on the bed and tucks herself away. “Please and thank you.”

I don’t mind continuing. I’d love to continue the massage. Anything to keep my hands on her bare skin.

“What did you mean about becoming a lawyer?” she asks again.

“Lawyer?” I’m still thinking about her boobs. But now I’m thinking she’d make for one hot lawyer. I can picture it now, her dressed in a pencil skirt, sky-high heels, and... shit. She’s talking again, and I missed half of it.

“It would be much better for my focus if we just had sex,” I say. “I’m having a hard time concentrating on the law knowing you’re undressed. In my bed. While I’m right here.”

“I’m not undressed,” she says, “I’m wearing underwear.”

“I can fix that... so fast. I’m like lightning.”

“I’m sure,” she says dryly. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?”

She expels a sigh of frustration. “How are you so sure I can become a lawyer?”

“Uh, well... doubt never even crossed my mind.”

“But it’s hard, and I might not get into law school, and even if I do, I have to pay for it and study for classes and work while in school, and—”

“You’re exhausting me.” I brush a hand over the nape of her neck, and she sinks deeper into the pillow. “You can do it, Annie. I know that for a fact. You have more willpower than anyone on this earth.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you are lying in bed here and resisting all my charms. Goddammit, Annie, you don’t kiss like a woman who is waiting for marriage. If you can restrain your normal human urges like that, you can pass your damn boards.”

She freezes, and then laughs. “I think that might be a compliment?”

“Sure, if you want it to be. I was just stating facts.”

“Could you ever see yourself dating a lawyer?”

“I don’t spend time thinking about that sort of thing. I know what I like when I see it. Then, I go after it. I happen to have a penchant for incredibly beautiful, very smart women, and they’re rarer than you’d think.”

“You are really trying to get me to bed with you, aren’t you?”

“I already got you to bed.”

“I’m sorry, Cohen,” she says, speaking softly. “I don’t think I should have come here. It’s mean, doing this. I should go.”

“No, no, you were up front. The massage was all my idea. I wanted to do it, and you deserve the pampering.” A long pause follows and, though it hurts my heart, my stomach, every inch of my body, I re-fasten her bra. “What do you say I order pizza?”

“You’re not upset?”

“I’m the opposite of upset. I’m begging you to stay for dinner.”

“Well, then...” she rolls over, and I barely glance at her chest. “Give me a kiss, and then you can order.”