Geomancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 5)

“Chivalrous? That’s a first,” he mumbled, but he nevertheless obeyed, lying face down on her bed.

She knelt next to him, making sure her knees didn’t touch his body. She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. Laying her hands on the base of his spine, she smoothed up gently to prepare his body. A shiver ran over his skin as she brushed her palms over his shoulders. As she imagined, his muscles were tightly woven and tough, like those of someone who did hard manual labor. She opted for a firm massage, starting with his neck and working her way down to his lower back.

After a while, his tightly wound body relaxed under her touch. He groaned and shifted his weight when she pressed on the pressure points above his ass. For the first time in her career, she had unprofessional thoughts about a client. Technically, he wasn’t paying, so he wasn’t a client. He wasn’t on her massage table, but in her bed, so she cut herself some slack for how good his warm, strong body felt under her hands. Still, it was best to cut things short before her imagination ran wild. A last tickle of her fingers down his spine indicated that the session was over.

“There,” she said, patting him on the shoulder. “You’re all better.”

“Ah, lass,” he said, groaning into the pillow, “you have golden hands.”

“That’s what all my clients say,” she said with a smile.

He gave her a sideways glance. “I hope not.”

“What?” She uttered a confused laugh. “Why not?”

Turning over, he met her gaze as he said without a trace of humor, “Because that’ll mean you make all your clients hard.”

She looked down. An erection strained in his jeans, his cock thick and long under the dark fabric. She tore her gaze away quickly only to find him studying her with a heated expression.

“This wasn’t my intention,” she said, waving a hand at his groin. “This isn’t the norm. Think of patients and doctors. You’re like a patient. I don’t—”

“You don’t have to explain.” He reached up and traced the line of her collarbone through the cotton of her T-shirt. “I can’t help my reaction, but I like it.”

Awareness of his proximity heated her belly. This was so inappropriate, not at all her intention. She got up quickly. “Good night, then.”

“You mean you don’t want to…” He motioned at his crotch with a glint in his eyes.

“Absolutely not.”

“It could be fun to try and change your mind.”

“You’ve got me figured all wrong,” she said, making her voice stern.

He rolled from the bed and got to his feet. “I’ll have a shower then. Lucky for me it’s cold.” He smiled at her from over his shoulder as he made his way across the room. “I’ll try to be quiet.”

Had he just…? He hadn’t just insinuated that he was going to have a hand job in the shower.

He stopped at the door. “This spa of yours…” All the bantering was gone from his tone. “There’s something I’ve got to tell you.”

She waited while he seemed to be searching for words. With his back turned to her, she couldn’t read his expression, but she could sense his hesitation.

When the silence stretched on, she asked, “What is it?”

“Nothing.” His voice was clipped. “Just trust me when I say it’s going to be mine.”

The bathroom door closed on the image of Sean’s muscled back, tense all over again. Unsettled and not a little worried about her reaction to him, she got back into bed and pulled the sheet over her body. She was still staring at the wall when the water in the shower turned off, but when the door opened, she closed her eyes and tried to breathe like a sleeping person would.

He didn’t make a sound crossing the floor. The only clue that he’d gotten into bed was the creaking of the bedsprings as he made himself comfortable on the mattress. Much louder was the thumping of her heart. She didn’t know if it was the effect Sean had on her libido or his arrogant assumption that she’d already lost the game. Maybe it was a bit of both. Undeniably unfortunate, she was attracted to him. That might be so, but she was going to win this stupid bet all the same.

Chapter 3

The sun was barely up when Asia’s cell phone alarm woke her, but shutters kept the room dark. Undisturbed by the alarm, Sean slept soundly. She paused for a moment, studying his quiet form as she tried to process everything that had happened last night, but she couldn’t dwell on it for long. She only had a few minutes before she was due at the spa.

After dressing quietly in the bathroom, she slipped outside and made her way to the restaurant. With only four hours of sleep, she needed caffeine. The dining room was empty, but freshly brewed coffee and a cold breakfast buffet had already been set out for the staff in the kitchen. She had a quick cup of coffee, fruit salad, and yoghurt before taking the path toward the spa.