She nodded. She was glad when he let go of her arm, but then he reached for a sock-covered foot. Her voice returned when he whipped off the sock and pushed up her jeans to her knees.
“No, Alex!” she protested as she yanked at her captive foot. He scowled and firmed his hold on her before he began chafing her foot and leg briskly. She sat up on her elbows, trying desperately to recall if she’d shaved her legs. A small measure of relief penetrated her anxiety at having his big, warm hands moving rapidly over her skin. The frictionless glide of flesh against flesh reassured her that she was stubble-free.
She’d shaved this morning because she’d prepared for sharing a bed tonight with Mitchell.
The thought made her sit up further and pull back on her leg.
“Sit still.”
She froze at the sound of his low command. She held her tongue for the next few minutes while he rubbed her leg and foot.
“I don’t see why you’re so pissed off at me. I’m the one who is half-frozen,” she muttered peevishly after he tossed off her other sock and lifted her foot into his hands.
He just threw her a dark glance before he began chafing her calf. Just like it had for her other limbs, her leg tingled and prickled uncomfortably as normal blood flow resumed.
“Ow,” she mumbled when he turned his attention exclusively to her foot. It felt like it was being stabbed by tiny little darts.
“You deserve it. Stubborn, that’s what you are.”
“I didn’t ask your opinion,” she told him between clenched teeth as he surrounded her foot with both of his large hands. He abruptly pulled her closer to the fire, making her yelp in surprise as she slid across the sleeping bag. Once he’d gotten her nearer to the flames, however, he changed his method, rhythmically massaging the captive foot instead of trying to rub her skin off. Heat penetrated and the tingling slowly faded. She became hyper-focused on his hands working her muscles with firm, yet gentle strokes.
It felt wonderful.
“That’s enough,” she declared gruffly.
He held her when she tried once again to pull her foot free. “I’ll say when it’s enough.”
Angeline opened her mouth to protest, but either his fierce glare or his continued ministrations on her foot stilled her tongue.
Thankfully, he looked away after a tense moment, directing his gaze back to her foot. She sagged on her elbows as heat and a delicious heaviness weighted her muscles.
And her eyelids.
A moment later, her head fell on the soft sleeping bag. She lost track of time as Alex’s hands continued to move over her hypnotically. She existed inside a globe of sensual heat.
“You were nearly frostbitten.”
Angeline’s eyelids blinked open heavily. He massaged her calf muscle once again. One hand completely surrounded her ankle, making her aware of how small she was in comparison to him. It was nice. She could feel slight calluses running over her smooth skin, the contrast in their textures making her shiver slightly…and not with cold.
She brought her eyes into focus when she realized he stared down at her, his facial muscles rigid.
“You should stop now,” she said feebly. Her lips felt as rubbery and ineffective as the rest of her muscles. He palmed her calf and massaged it with slow, circular movements that made her want to close her thighs to alleviate the sudden ache at the juncture.
“You’re sure you don’t want me to rub the rest of your muscles?”
“Uh…no. I think I’m fine.”
Her mouth fell open when she realized that his fire-lit eyes were on her breasts and his lips were curved in amusement. He’d been teasing her, and she’d been so enraptured by his touch, she hadn’t even noticed.
She sat up abruptly. Her foot thumped to the carpet. She scooted back to the sleeping bag like a frightened crab, regretting the loss of heat as she distanced herself from the fire.
Regretting the lack of his touch.
She shoved her now toasty feet into the sleeping bag and threw the insulated cover over her body.
How long had she lain there and let him touch her so intimately? It stunned her. She’d literally lost track of time.
She’d never experienced anything like it in her life.