Aegis 01 - First Exposure (12 page)

“Do you think he might have had something to do with Melody’s disappearance?”

“I don’t know.” Cade’s jaw clenched again, and unable to read his eyes behind those shades, she couldn’t decipher what he was thinking. “Maybe. I’ll do some asking around. I want you to keep your mouth shut.”

Avery drew up short again, but this time not from shock. “Excuse me?”

Cade sighed and turned to face her. “Too many people asking questions is going to attract too much attention, remember?”

“I didn’t attract attention last night.”

He tugged his sunglasses down his nose and pinned her with a look. “I beg to differ. Luis and I-don’t-know-how-many other guys had their eyes locked on you, not the show on stage.”

Avery’s face flamed, and she crossed her arms. “That’s not what I meant. You know I don’t even remember that.”

“But I do.”

His eyes changed. Heated. And the low, sexy tone of his voice was like a flare going off, causing her entire body to warm from the inside out.

He pushed his sunglasses up, grasped her hand before she could find that withering control, and pulled her along the path behind him again. The short cotton dress she’d chosen to wear flitted around her thighs, only reminding her how sensitive her skin had become. “Just let me take the lead on this today, okay? I promise you we’re going to find out what happened to her. I just need you to work
with
me instead of against me.”

That was easier said than done, especially when all she could suddenly think about doing was jumping his bones.

L
ike everything else at this resort, the spa was top-notch. Marble pillars, trickling fountains, open-air waiting areas with pillowy furnishings, and soft, relaxing music.

They checked in at the front desk and were led away from the main spa along a curved path that climbed toward a large gazebo on a bluff overlooking the bay. A U-shaped Mediterranean building was set back from the bluff. Several koi ponds filled the courtyard, separated by foliage and waterfalls, and to the right, soaking pools perched between rocks overlooking the beaches.

Cade glanced from the water to the four massage tables lined up under the gazebo and drew a deep breath. Four couples. There was going to be little time to pick the instructor’s mind.

Speakers in the ceiling filtered instrumental music, and an attractive woman with dark hair pulled back in a stylish tail, dressed in slim white capris and a white button-down shirt, turned from whatever she’d been doing at the table on the far side of the gazebo and greeted them with a smile.

“Welcome to the Indulgence spa. I’m Hannah.”

They both said hello and shook her hand. A nervous look crossed Avery’s face as she glanced around. “Are we early?”

“No,” Hannah said. “Right on time. You’re my only clients today. You get a one-on-one lesson.”

Relief spiraled through Cade. Avery tossed him a
what the hell?
look, but he only smiled. He hadn’t planned this, but it would make things a whole lot easier, for a variety of reasons.

“So first thing,” Hannah announced, “I’ll need to know which of you is going to be the client and which the masseuse.”

“He’s the client,” Avery said quickly. “I’ll be doing the massage.”

When Hannah looked his way for confirmation, Cade shrugged. “Whatever the lady wants, right?”

Hannah smiled again, stepped past them, and gestured toward the building. “Then come this way and I’ll show you where you can change. And while you’re gone, I’ll go over a few things with Ava.”

Avery smiled, but Cade sensed the tension radiating from her. She was still rattled by what had happened last night. While their morning had been easy, he’d seen her nerves hovering just below the surface. He needed to get through to her somehow today. Hopefully, they’d both glean information about Melody from this class, and it would be a good step toward rekindling their relationship.

He moved into the changing area, slipped off his clothes, and tied the towel around his waist as Hannah had instructed. When he stepped out, he noticed Avery was no longer wearing the flirty summer dress she’d had on earlier. She was decked out in the skimpiest, strapless black bikini he’d ever seen.

Heat rushed into his abdomen and surged to his groin, waking up his cock with one look. He gripped the towel at his waist so it wouldn’t fall off and stepped up next to her.

“Don’t say a word,” she ground out under her breath. “It was either this or be naked. I’m not getting naked in front of this woman.”

Hannah was busy gathering lotions and oils. Cade moved behind Avery, then slipped his arm around her waist while they waited. At her ear, he whispered, “Were you wearing this under your dress?”

“Just in case. I know all your moves,
Black
.”

He nipped at her earlobe and smiled. “Princess, I have all new moves. And every single one can be yours. You just have to say when.”

Hannah turned back to face them. “Okay, let’s get started. Cade, go ahead and get on the table. Ava, you remember what we talked about?”

Avery’s cheeks turned pink, and beneath his hand, he felt her body temperature tick up. More blood rushed to Cade’s cock, forcing him to hold the towel even tighter so it didn’t dislodge.

He climbed onto the table and lay down on his stomach, wincing at the pain in his groin. While Avery moved around behind him doing he-didn’t-know-what, he folded his arms under his chin and tried to remember why they were here. “This doesn’t seem like a very popular class.”

“Oh, it’s quite popular,” Hannah answered. “The afternoon classes are busiest. Mornings tend to be a little slower. I think there’s a scuba class going on now, which is also a popular activity here.”

Naked scuba
. Cade remembered the classes Avery had read off to him yesterday. Yeah, he could suddenly see the appeal of that.

Cool oil drizzled over Cade’s back, and he jumped. Behind him, Avery muttered, “Oh, sorry. Was that cold?”

He smiled, knowing she’d done that on purpose.

Her hands moved over his back, and as the oil warmed, Cade relaxed into the table and closed his eyes. Damn, that felt good. Her, touching him, any way she wanted.

“That’s right,” Hannah said to Avery. “Work the muscles one by one until you feel him relax. That’s perfect.

Avery’s hands rubbed at his shoulders and moved down his back. When they reached his lower spine and brushed the edge of the towel, a shudder ran through him and shot heat all through his hips.

He drew in a deep breath and tried to relax as she worked her way down his leg and across the hamstring. They hadn’t even gotten to the erotic part of the massage yet and he was already so hard he was in pain.

To keep from focusing on his dick, he said, “Ever get anyone famous at this resort?”

“Well,” Hannah answered somewhere to his right. “I thought your wife was Avery Scott until I took a closer look. Then I realized the eyes were different. The resemblance is amazing, though.”

“Yeah,” Cade said as Avery’s hands moved down his calf, “I guess they look a little alike, but my wife’s way hotter. Though I wouldn’t mind taking the actress for a test drive to compare models.”

Avery pinched his ankle, and he yelped at the quick shot of pain, then laughed.

Since they were at a swingers resort, Hannah didn’t seem to find anything wrong with what he’d said. “That’s right. Now move down his feet. The feet, and especially the hands, are erogenous zones. Many general massage therapists don’t like to massage male clients’ hands because it can cause strong arousal. We’ll work back up to the hands in a minute. How are you feeling, Mr. Black?”

It was all Cade could do not to moan as Avery’s thumbs pressed into the arch of his foot. He couldn’t wait to see what happened when she got to his hands. “Good. So, um”—
oh man, that feels awesome
—“no, ah, other famous people besides my gorgeous wife who’s way hotter than any actress?”

Hannah chuckled. “No, although a few weeks ago an assistant to someone in Hollywood was here.”

Avery’s hands paused against Cade’s right foot, and he felt her muscles tense. She covered it quickly, though, and went back to rubbing, but a little of the sexual haze pulling Cade under cleared.

“Really?” he asked, trying not to sound too interested.

“Yes, pretty little brunette. She took my class with her boyfriend. I’m afraid it didn’t go so well, though. They were already arguing, I guess, and when I had the couples switch partners, he didn’t like it and stormed out halfway through the session.”

Switch partners? Cade was suddenly completely relieved they were the only ones in class today. “I imagine that would kill the relaxing mood. A couple fighting.”

“Yes,” Hannah said. “The resort takes care of that pretty quickly. Kills every mood when jealousy gets in the way. Okay, Ava, I think you’ve got your man thoroughly relaxed. Let’s try a few new things. Come around up here. Mr. Black, I want you to roll over onto your back.”

Cade did as the woman asked, trying to fix the towel over his lap in a way that didn’t make his erection look totally obvious. When he realized there was no way to make that happen, he blew out a long breath, closed his eyes, and tried to think about the assignment, about Melody, about everything Ryder had passed on to him last night.

“Ava,” Hannah started, “we’re going to use what’s called the California massage technique. Stand here by your husband’s head. You’re going to start with your hands flat against his upper chest and move downward, pushing the skin as you go until you reach his groin. Go ahead and try.”

Just the use of the word groin amped Cade’s adrenaline. Then Ava’s oiled hands landed against Cade’s upper chest, warm and slick, and it was all he could do not to groan at the sublime feeling. She rubbed the skin in a light circle, then slowly began moving downward. “Like this?”

“Perfect,” Hanna told her. “Now slide all the way down, careful to avoid the groin, massage around the thigh, then come back, this time pulling the skin and stimulating blood flow as you move.”

Her soft fingers moved down his abdomen, over his belly, then split apart, hitting each hip bone and rolling to the outsides of his thighs over the towel. She kneaded the muscle there, pulled her hand around to his inner thigh, then slowly worked her way back up. But that wasn’t even the best part. The best part was from her position near his head, she had to lean way over Cade to reach his thighs. Her hair fell on each side of her face, hanging down to tickle his chest, and the movement forced her barely clad breasts to hover right over his mouth.

He drew in a deep breath of her sweet scent and angled his face so the tip of her right breast brushed his chin. More than anything, he wanted to reach back, unhook the strapless top she was wearing, and draw those soft nipples into his mouth, but he doubted she’d go for that with an audience. Then again, last night…

“Good,” Hannah said from somewhere over his shoulder. He didn’t even care where. “Now on this pass, move closer to his groin.”

Avery’s hands slid back down his chest, across his hipbones, and when they reached his groin, they moved closer to his already aching cock. He drew in another breath, reached a hand back, and found her bare hamstring. She didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. Her deep breaths made him wonder if she was as turned on as him. She slid her fingers down his inner thigh, massaged the muscles until he wanted to groan, then began her slow trek back upward.

Her breaths grew shallow. Her breasts rose and fell close to his mouth. He lifted his face so they brushed his lips. Felt her sharp intake of breath when he did it again and slowly inched his fingers up the back of her leg.

Soft instrumental music floated somewhere close. Below the bluff, the crash of waves against rock echoed through the warm air. But all Cade could see and feel was Avery. Everything he’d been missing for way too long.

“Good,” Hannah said in a low voice. “Now this time, even closer.”

Avery’s hands moved across his hips, and when she passed, her thumbs hooked his cock at the base on each side. She paused, squeezed—not a stroke through the thin towel, but enough to make him suck in a breath. Then she moved down to his inner thighs, past the edge of the terry cloth, and back up bare skin.

Her fingers brushed the base of his balls, already tight and aching. He sucked in a deep breath as her hands moved down again, across his inner thighs, then over the towel and back up his hips.

God almighty, the woman was teasing him. He gripped the back of her leg and squeezed. A small shudder racked her body, then she leaned even closer, as if purposely bringing her breasts to his mouth.

What little blood was left in his limbs shot straight to his groin. Beneath the towel, his cock throbbed, and he ground his teeth to keep from moaning. He wasn’t going to be able to take much more of this. He was supposed to be thinking about Avery’s friend so he could keep his head in the game, but if she came that close to his shaft again…

“Very good, Avery,” Hannah announced. “Now I want you to climb up on the table and straddle Mr. Black. We’ll work the chest muscles from the other direction.”

“Um, okay.” Avery’s voice was thick, unreadable. She lifted her hands from his skin, then moved around the side of the table. The leather dipped at the edges as she awkwardly climbed up, threw a leg over him, and pressed her knees on both sides of his hips.