He had to be a glutton for epic beatdowns, because that’s exactly what he’d get if Jax ever found out Reid kissed his sister. He was extremely protective where she was concerned, and with good reason. It didn’t matter that she was only a few years younger than him. She seemed so innocent and naive. Trusting.
So why was it so hard for him to keep his distance around her? Was it because she was the exact opposite of the women he usually dated? Not that he’d “dated” since his injury. When he thought he’d never fight again he’d hit an all-time low, turning down every illicit offer thrown his way. Maybe now that his title shot was within his reach his libido was coming back online finally. Hell, he didn’t know what to think anymore.
“Now that you have an actual date with the guy you need to know how to walk the walk, Luce. You flirted like a champ and hooked him, but if you flake out when it comes time for anything else, you’ll give him mixed signals and he’ll back out.”
She worried her bottom lip as the wheels in her head turned. At last she nodded and the knot in his stomach from the thought of never tasting those lips again unraveled. “Okay. You made your point. Show me what to do.”
“First you need to relax. You’re wound so tight I’m afraid you’ll snap. Turn around.”
Holding her shoulders he turned her until her back was to him, and then began massaging her upper back and shoulders. Instantly she melted into his hands on a moan. “I can’t remember the last time someone gave me a massage. That feels so fantastic.”
“That’s a shame,” he said, studying the curve of her neck as her head fell forward. “Everyone should have someone to rub the day’s stress away.”
“Mmm,” she said in way of agreeing. “Who does that for you?”
A parade of random women who’d been more than happy to give him a thorough rubdown as a prelude to sex marched through his mind. For some reason, being here with Lucie, the whole scene seemed…less enticing. “Like all athletes, we have sports medicine people at the gym who do that for us.”
“Mmm.”
He smiled, loving the simple pleasure he was giving her with his hands. He pushed his thumbs up the centerline of her neck to the base of her skull, then massaged in tiny outward circles. She took in a slow, deep breath and let it out on a breathy moan as her shoulders pulled down in a relaxing stretch.
“Good.” Reid moved his hands to her shoulders and worked on the knots between her shoulder blades. Before he could stop himself he leaned in, placing his face on the side of her head. Her hair tickled his cheek and its flowery scent paired with the anticipation of tasting her again made his mouth water.
He turned his head ever so slightly to speak in her ear. “Keep this feeling of relaxation and carelessness. Stay out of your head, okay?”
She nodded and he turned her around so her back was against the wall once again. With his right arm, he began walking his fingers up the wall for the stretch, bringing him closer to her with every inch he gained. Talk about incentive.
“Right now your focus is on my eyes…”
“Uh-huh…”
“But if you’re looking to get kissed, where should your eyes be?”
Her gaze drifted lower and settled heavily on his mouth. The pale gray of her eyes changed to a molten silver. Her lashes weren’t the impossibly thick and long kind he was used to seeing, but then again, it’d been a long time since he’d seen a girl scrubbed free of makeup, much less without fake eyelashes. He rather liked Lucie’s. They were thick at the lash line, but then gathered together to form triangular spikes that curved up only slightly. Just how he imagined a pixie’s lashes would be.
She swept the tip of her tongue over her lips, making them glisten with moisture. Only a few inches separated them now as his right hand was as high as it could go without causing pain. Now to lean into the stretch.
As he slowly, slowly closed the space between them, he heard her breaths turn to pants and his own heart beat double-time against his ribs. When their lips barely touched, their breaths mingling, he paused, giving her the opportunity to take the lead. To take what she wanted.
She didn’t.
At the end of the ten seconds, he walked his hand back down the wall until he was standing straight again, arm by his side.
Reid studied her for a minute, trying to figure out how to get her to act rather than think. Again he walked his hand up the wall, drawing closer to her as he spoke. “Tell me what you want.”
“I don’t understand.”
“There’s a reason we’re doing this. You want something. Don’t think about the answer. I want you to feel the answer. Now,” he said once he’d gone as far as he could and began to lean toward her, “tell me, what you want.”
She licked her lips. Swallowed hard as his mouth got closer, but stayed just out of reach. “Right now?”
“Right this very instant.”
“I want to kiss you so badly it scares me.”
Her answer shocked the hell out of him—he’d been expecting her to say something along the lines of wanting her doctor—but he was too selfish to give a damn.