Yawning, Kai noticed he’d missed a call from his mom. She was probably curious how his first day had gone. It was too early in her time zone to call her back. He would just have to call her after work. As he rubbed the sore, healing spots on his back, he wondered what he’d tell her. He didn’t have very many positive things about his first day that he could share. The strange Louis, the horny Missy, the damn bees, and his oddly distant boss.
Frowning as his thoughts turned to Mason Thomas, Kai got out of bed. For someone who was connected with his parents in some way, the man had sure been strange to him. As Kai had gone about his day, helping Mason with various projects, learning the ropes, the man had alternated between being curious, reluctant, kind, and standoffish. Kai had tried not to take it personally. It couldn’t be because of him. Aside from silently suffering from multiple bee stings, Kai hadn’t done anything wrong or inappropriate. He’d tried to be as friendly and helpful as he could, without seeming like an overeager suck-up. And he thought he’d pulled it off well, but his boss had still seemed uneasy around him.
Sighing as he shuffled to the bathroom, Kai shook his head. Maybe Mason was just trying to not show favoritism toward Kai to the rest of the team, since he was sort of a family friend. Yes, maybe he just didn’t want to appear like he was doing Kai any special favors. Stepping into the shower, he turned the water on and twisted the knob to scalding hot. No, Mason was definitely not treating him like he was special. Kai hoped today would be smoother.
He also hoped the hot water didn’t aggravate his tender spots. Quickly undressing, he gritted his teeth and stepped into the stream. He flinched as the hot water entered the slight pricks in his skin, then he sighed as the water relaxed him. The steamy shower was nearly as soothing as Jessie’s miraculous fingers. Smiling, he remembered the wondrous feeling of her hands running over his skin. Scrubbing a bar of soap over his body, he closed his eyes and visualized her soft fingers trailing over him. It had felt amazing, and he swore, for a moment there…it had been so much more than just a massage. For a second, a single thought had entered both of their minds, he was sure. A thought that involved bare bodies, tangled limbs, slippery oils…and a spacious bed.
As his mind took over, and his fantasies took flight, Kai started pretending that his hands were hers. The act of cleaning himself forgotten, he started tracing the distinct lines of his muscles. His body instantly reacted; warmth, blood, and a growing ache in his groin. Biting his lip, he knew he should stop this, knew he shouldn’t let himself think about her that way. Putting the soap back on the shelf, he rested his head against the shower wall. He’d gotten carried away, and his body was completely hard now, ready for a woman who wasn’t even around. A woman he couldn’t ever have again. Another sad sigh escaped him.
Ignoring the ache, Kai washed his hair. He kept his hands away from his waist and forcibly shifted his thoughts. His mind drifted to Jessie’s generous box of decorations that she’d brought over yesterday. The stupid but charming camel, the waterfall photo that painfully stoked memories of home, a few candles to help mask the scent of “bachelor,” and that one amazing picture of a red-rocked river. Kai liked that one the best. He had a special connection to water, and the photo impossibly and perfectly captured the flowing movement of a rushing stream. By the warm glow in Jessie’s eyes, he’d known that the picture meant something to her, but she’d given it to him anyway. She was so sweet and so good to him. In two days, she’d seen everything that he’d been missing, and without asking, she’d stepped in and taken care of it for him. He was blown away by her.
Thinking of her warm heart and generous nature did nothing to drain the need surging through his body. By the time he was rinsing off, his situation below hadn’t improved any. Looking down at himself, he shook his head and muttered, “You’re not helping anything, you know. We can’t have her.”
Amused that he was actually having a conversation with his throbbing manhood, he smiled…and considered. He was alone. He could satisfy the ache that was only growing stronger the longer he thought about it. He could close his eyes and let himself believe he was with her, let himself believe they were nothing more than strangers, that he could have her, over and over again, as often as he wanted.
His hand drifted down, his fingers barely brushing the stiff shaft. His body twitched at the contact, and his breath increased. God, what was he doing? Not sure, but knowing he needed more, he slowly curled his fingers around the thick, hardness. A low groan escaped him as he ran his thumb over the sensitive tip. Yes, he could do this. He could satisfy his own needs, moaning her name as he came. It would be clean, neat, efficient, and no one would have to know that he was pleasuring himself to the image of his cousin.