Barefoot Bay: When You Touch Me (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Marilyn Baxter Page B

professional—”
    “Yeah, yeah. I know. A professional massage therapist. So start massaging.” His tone had turned from playful to annoyed. And that was just fine with her. She could deal with his displeasure far better than his advances.
    For the next hour she worked his neck and shoulders, plying the muscles with long, firm strokes. The weightless effect of the water helped minimize discomfort to his joints.
    “I think you deserve a break now,” she said as she lifted his head from the water and let his feet sink to the pool bottom. “Go. Swim.” She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “Have some fun before we start again.”
    Truth be told, Jillian needed a break, too.
     
    Swim? Now? Sam edged toward Jillian with one thought on his mind. He wanted to have fun all right, but not doing cannonballs from the pool deck or playing Marco Polo.
    The past hour had been a mixture of heaven and hell. Floating weightless in the pool, he had let his mind go blank and for the first time in too long, his thoughts didn’t immediately zero in on the bombing.
    Instead he concentrated on the water gently lapping over him as Jillian’s movements in the pool created ripples. With each inhalation, tension left his shoulders and back as she expertly manipulated the muscles and worked out more knots and helped loosen the scar tissue on his back. With each exhalation, he relaxed further into her grasp. A grasp that was far more than physical.
    Sam had been attracted to Jillian from the moment he had first seen her on the beach a week ago. That first attraction had been purely physical, and for the most part still was. But he had seen a vulnerability in her. For all her “I’m a professional” bravado, something lurked underneath that attracted him on an emotional level. She had been responsive to him, too, on the beach. And there had been no mistaking the look on her face when he had answered the door earlier.
    “And what torture do you have planned for the rest of the morning, oh great mistress of the dark?”
    She made a face. “Very funny, oh great whiny pants. We’ll do some stretches for your shoulder. And maybe we’ll go to the beach and I’ll work some more on the scarring with salt water. It’s really much more effective than chlorinated pool water.”
    Sam moved even closer to her, which made her back up – right into the corner of the pool, precisely where he wanted her. “I can take these whiny pants off if you like,” he offered. “And have I told you how that suit really compliments your eyes? And how I like your hair piled up like that instead of braided. It’s….” Sexy. Drives me wild. Makes me want to do you right here. He reached out and slid his finger under the strap of the tankini top. “It’s prettier.”
    She grasped his hand and pulled it away from her shoulder. “Any one of the staff could show up at any time,” she warned him. “Don’t get either of us in trouble.”
    “You and I both know the staff isn’t permitted to enter a villa while the guest is present unless they’re invited in. I haven’t invited any of the staff to visit.”
    “Poppy could stop by with more towels.” Her voice rose as a note of desperation crept in.
    “She left enough towels to last me until I leave.” He reached for her shoulder again and this time pushed the strap off so it dangled against her upper arm. “No one is going to disturb us.”
    Sam closed the gap between them and lowered his mouth to hers. He nibbled at her full bottom lip before moving to her neck and kissing his way to her earlobe. She let out a sigh and her eyelids fluttered shut.
    Sam kissed his way across her shoulder before pushing the other strap out of the way. His fingers traced along the rounded neckline of the wet bathing suit top, then dipped his index finger into her cleavage and pulled the top down to her waist, baring her to him. Jillian crossed her arms over her chest, and Sam eased them out of the way before cupping