sister, Mia, got engaged to Cameron, who is my cousin Steve's business partner. He's a P.I."
Finished using the therapy stones, she removed them from his backside so she could begin the second part of Joel's treatment. "Ahh, one of the perks you were talking about earlier?"
"Definitely," he murmured. "Being a security agent, there are times when certain things need to be investigated or looked into, and Steve and Cameron are two of the best in the biz, with some great connections."
She poured massage oil into her palm and rubbed her hands together to warm the slick substance as she moved back down to the end of the table, to his feet. Wanting to know more about his sister, and the lone female in his family, she kept the conversation going. "Where does your sister, Mia, work?"
"She used to work for the family tile business, as do both of my brothers, but she quit so she could concentrate on the stained glass designs she's been creating for some time now." His toes curled as she kneaded the balls of his feet and pushed her thumbs along the arch. "She's getting ready to open her own gallery here very soon."
She heard the pride in his voice and smiled as she went to work on his other foot, then began kneading the firm muscles in his calves with her palms and fingers.
"Good for her," she said, wishing she had the same kind of support from her own brother when it came to her life and dreams.
"We're all really happy for Mia. She's been through a lot, so it's really nice to see her settled down and satisfied with the direction her life is taking." There was no mistaking the affection and caring he felt toward his youngest sibling. "Now, with everyone pretty much married or heading toward the altar very soon, lots of babies are following. It's kind of cool watching the next generation of Wilde kids grow up."
The thought of Joel being an uncle to a bunch of adorable nieces and nephews, playing with them, warmed her deep inside. Yet, despite his siblings' and cousins' committed relationships and the families they were starting, he didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he was still single and unattached.
She glided her hands along the back of his knee and up to his hard, muscular thigh. Using her thumbs, she rubbed the taut tendons along his hamstring, all the way up to his buttock, with firm, deep strokes. "So, I take it you're the token confirmed bachelor of the family?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he said, and grunted when she dug deep into a knot of muscle to work out the tension. "I've pretty much resigned myself to being a bachelor. It suits me and my lifestyle, so I can't complain."
She switched to his other leg, telling herself that she ought to take his open and honest admission about his permanent single status at face value and proceed with caution, But the awareness between them was strong and sexual… and undeniable. And the temptation of physical pleasure beckoned to that part of her that had been without a man's touch and attention for so long.
A comfortable silence fell between them as she finished the lower portion of his body. As her hands slid beneath the towel to massage his toned buttocks, she realized that Joel's breathing had grown shallow and even, and his body lax and pliant. He was either in a deep state of contentment, or he'd fallen asleep.
Either way, she wasn't going to bother him with more conversation. She oiled up her hands again and went to work on his upper back. Placing both hands at the base of his spine, she slowly, gradually, made her way up all that hard, sleek flesh and contoured muscle, kneading out a variety of knots she encountered along the way and massaging the oil deep into tense muscles and his smooth skin.
The man had a body to die for. Amazingly well built, toned to perfection, and made for sex, sin, and all kinds of wicked delights. It had been forever, if ever, that she'd touched a body so incredibly
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