Chloe shook her head to try to clear it. Her hands quivered as she placed her fingers on the top of his thigh and began rubbing downward. Her gaze kept straying back to the erection pulsing in his shorts. She wanted to reach out and touch him, run her fingers along his thick length.

He moaned again, and Chloe began to wonder why she wasn’t doing something about it. She had no doubt that if she leaned forward and splayed her body atop his, he would clasp her in his arms and take her to a whole other reality.

“Well, looks like therapy is tough business.”

Chloe froze, her hands midway down Nick’s thigh. Her fingers tightened, and a low rumble escaped Nick’s throat again before both of them turned toward the doorway where a woman was standing.

“Dakota?” Chloe shook her head, trying to clear the fog. Was that her best friend leaning in the doorway with a smug grin on her face?

“The one and only. I called your cell phone, and knocked on the door several times to no answer. Now I understand why,” she said.

“How did you get in here?” Chloe couldn’t focus, which was making this conversation very difficult.

“Nick should have better security. His front door was unlocked, and when I didn’t get an answer, I came inside to make sure you weren’t being mauled by a grizzly bear. Someone apparently is getting mauled, but it doesn’t appear that any pain is being inflicted,” Dakota said.

Nick was silent through the entire exchange, and that’s when Chloe realized she was still gripping his thigh. As if her hands were on fire, she wrenched her fingers away and leaned back. Nick grinned at first her, and then at Dakota. He sat up as her best friend stepped closer.

“I’m Dakota, nice to meet you,” her confident friend said as she joined them and gracefully sat down on the floor.

Nick reached out his hand. “Nick Armstrong. You have terrible timing,” he said with a grin.

“I’m known for that,” she said with a wink. “Want me to leave so you can continue?”

“Sure,” Nick said with a wolfish grin.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I was just giving Nick a massage. It’s part of his therapy,” Chloe said with a scowl directed at both of them. “We were just finishing up anyway.”

“I wasn’t finished,” Nick muttered. But his grin quickly came back. “Apparently I need a cold shower, though . . . to get the oil off.”

“Don’t you need a hot shower for that?” Dakota pointed out.

“Cold will be much better in my condition,” he said with a wink.

Chloe’s cheeks burned as she glanced down at his still hard body. At least it wasn’t as obvious while he was sitting. She knew, though, that there was no way Dakota hadn’t seen it. The man was magnificent.

“Why don’t you go take care of yourself while Chloe and I have a drink,” Dakota said as she jumped to her feet and held out a hand to Chloe.

“I have oil on my hands,” Chloe said as she pushed herself off the ground. She knew better than to help Nick get up. He was stubborn and prideful, and even though he had no problem taking a massage from her, he didn’t like to accept help.

“Have fun, ladies,” Nick said as he pushed himself off the ground. This time, Chloe averted her eyes. She was already hot and bothered and didn’t want to look at his thickness again and think about running her fingers and tongue over him.

He left the room, and Chloe felt her muscles shaking. That had been one hell of a massage. She and Dakota left the gym and moved through Nick’s large house to the kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” Chloe asked.

“That’s not a greeting,” Dakota told her with a chuckle.

“I’m thrilled to see you, but you didn’t say you were coming,” Chloe told her as she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine.

“I’ve been worried about you. I thought I would come and check on things, especially since I haven’t heard from you in a few days,” Dakota said.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry I’ve been so freakish with my calls to you. There’s just been a lot to process in the last few weeks,” Chloe admitted.

“Don’t you dare apologize to me or I’ll be forced to knock you over the head with the biggest stick I can find,” Dakota told her. “We don’t have much time before Adonis comes in here, so spill your guts.”

Chloe smiled. “Yeah, he’s pretty damn good-looking,” Chloe admitted.

“Something you failed to point out. That man is fine,” Dakota said, drawing out the word.

“I’m supposed to hate him,” Chloe said.

“You know better than to listen to your piece-of-shit father. Remember what we’ve always agreed to?” Dakota said.

“Yeah, yeah, we form our own opinions no matter what other people say.”

“Exactly!” Dakota exclaimed. “You are smart, Chloe, much smarter than you ever give yourself credit for. And beyond that, you’re beautiful, kind, and one hell of a therapist. You don’t need your father and you don’t need his hateful words filtering through that gorgeous head of yours. If everything inside of you is telling you he’s wrong, you need to listen to that. Besides,” she added with a leer, “it seemed there were some major sparks in that room during your . . . massage,” she added with an evil grin.

“It’s just my job,” Chloe defended.