Shattered Hearts ePub by Pen Name Page B

mean, if you want I can give you one,” he offered, seeming almost shy.
    Though my first instinct was to refuse, it sounded too good to pass up.  Silently, I nodded.  Nate motioned for me to go into the living room and once we were in there, gestured for me to get on the couch.  Gingerly, I lowered myself onto its cushions, hissing in discomfort as my body screamed in protest.
    Nate got down on his knees beside me and his hand hovered uncertainly over the bottom of my skirt.  “Can I –?” he asked, seeming uncharacteristically flustered.  I nodded.  Either he’d gotten too much sun the previous day or else he was blushing.
    And when he tentatively lifted my skirt up, my face started burning too.
    “You’re bruised,” he murmured, lightly tracing his finger over the discolored flesh of my outer thigh.  “I hate seeing you hurt.”  He touched me like he thought I might break.  I couldn’t remember anyone treating me with such tenderness before, and it left me feeling unbalanced.
    “It’s nothing,” I reassured him.  “Go ahead – you can press down harder than that.”  Part of me wanted to feel the pain.  Maybe it was twisted, but I was still angry with myself for being such a bitch to Nate and I wanted to hurt.  I felt like I deserved it.  Sometimes the lasting effects of years of abuse are hard to shake, you know?
    But the massage that Nate gave me wasn’t torturous.  It was anything but.  His strong fingers caressed my banged up body carefully, slowly and methodically assessing every inch of bruised skin before determining where to press down.  Somehow he seemed to sense which spots were most tender without me even having to tell him. 
    He studied my face intently the entire time, watching for any indication that he should stop or back off.  He looked at me as though my wellbeing was the single most important thing in the world.  Almost instinctually, it was as though he knew exactly how to touch me and how much pressure to apply.  He was so in tune with my body it felt almost like we were of one mind. 
    Nate left me tingling, lightheaded and on edge.  I could feel my muscles relaxing, but my body was also responding in other ways.  It was only a simple massage.  There was nothing sexual about it, and yet I couldn’t help but wonder what other miracles those skilful fingers were capable of performing.
    I could feel my body responding as I got lost in a fantasy of writhing bodies and impassioned moans.  Shutting my eyes, I felt my breathing quicken as I pictured me and Nate rolling around in my bed naked, our bodies covered in sweat and our limbs entangled.  His hands were all over my bare skin, arousing and exciting me.  His lips were pressed against mine, kissing a slow, steady trail down to my neck, across my collarbone and over my breasts –
    “Are you okay?”
    My eyes flew open.  Nate was looking at me curiously and it was then that I realized I was panting with desire.  What was wrong with me?!  Swallowing hard, I tried to come up with an excuse, but all I could do was stutter.  “I – I...”
    “Am I hurting you?” he asked, clearly concerned.
    I shook my head, relieved that he’d mistaken my lust for something else entirely.  “It feels good,” I told him earnestly.  “You have very talented fingers.”  No sooner than the words were out of my mouth, I inwardly cringed.  I was sure my face was positively burning now. 
    Moving as casually as I could, I crossed my arms so Nate wouldn’t see how hard my nipples had become in response to his innocent massage.  I was embarrassed to admit it even to myself, but I was incredibly turned on.  In fact, it was taking every ounce of willpower I had not to squirm with desire.  I didn’t know what had come over me.  All I knew was that Nate – and those magical fingers of his – brought something out in me that I couldn’t ignore. 
    “It was good, what you did with Penny,” Nate announced abruptly, as