The afternoon light was stunning, and the situation glorious. The soothing lap of the water against the hull of the boat was sinfully relaxing and they were the only boat in the bay. One of the advantages of the narrow entry into Connell Cove was that many boaters missed it completely while out on the lake. They ate for a while in companionable silence. Erin refused Sam’s offer to top up her wine. She really wanted her wits about her for what she had planned for the balance of their day together.
Sam shifted in his seat and she couldn’t miss the swiftly masked expression of pain that crossed his features.
“How’s your leg holding out on the boat?”
“Okay,” he said, but she could see he was hurting.
“Does massage help?”
“Sometimes,” he admitted.
“How about I give you a massage? Have you had enough to eat?”
She raised her eyes to his again, and saw an answering flare in his. There was no question he was hungry, but that hunger had nothing to do with food.
“Here,” she said, holding out her hand. “Come into the cabin and I’ll see what I can do to make you more comfortable.”
She led him down the four steps into the boat’s interior and toward the large V-shaped berth in the forward section.
“Now, let’s get you more comfortable,” she said with a suggestive smile.
“Whatever the lady wants,” Sam replied in kind and shucked off his sweater over his head then kicked off his shoes before dropping his jeans to the floor. “Will this do?”
Erin ran a hand down his chest, across his abdomen and lower, skimming the growing hardness in his boxer briefs. “For now,” she said.
She raised her hand to his chest and gave him a playful shove toward the berth, its wide expanse not unlike the California king-size beds she had in the guest rooms at the lodge. Once he was lying down, she stripped down to her underwear, thankful that she still had a matching set that was both sexy and managed to fit her. She climbed onto the bed next to him.
“Very nice,” Sam commented as she rose to her knees on the bed and took the massage oil from the built-in shelving where she’d stowed it earlier.
He reached for her, his hands skimming her waist and up her rib cage, sending tiny shimmers of electricity across her skin. She grabbed his hands and drew them away from her body. She wanted today to be all about him and how she felt about him.
“Just relax,” she whispered as she placed his hands on either side of his body. “Let me do all the work this time.”
He lowered his eyelids, gazing at her with a deep and dark sensual look that sent a thrill of excitement through her. One thing she’d noted about his lovemaking in the past week was that he was a giver, not a taker. He liked to be in control, to pace their activity, to ensure that she was left fully satisfied in every way. It had been incredible. She’d never known anything, or anyone, like that before. Someone so generous and unselfish. He more than deserved the same in kind.
Erin twisted the cap off the bottle of massage oil, and poured a little into her hand before tucking the bottle safely back into the shelving unit. The essential-oil-infused liquid warmed quickly in her hands and she smoothed it over Sam’s injured leg in long, smooth strokes.
“Tell me if that pressure is too much.”
He merely grunted as she deepened the pressure, using all the skills she’d read about while preparing for today. Mindful not to do more harm than good, she poured a little more oil in her hands and worked on his other leg as well, before moving higher on his torso.
Her hands were tingling with the sensation of the smooth oil coasting over his warm skin and she was aware of his growing arousal as she hovered over his body. His growing arousal and her own. She stroked her hands over his shoulders, relishing the strength beneath her touch, before massaging down each of his arms and finishing with his hands.
“All good?” she asked, trying for a sexy drawl.
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured, still watching her from beneath those half-lidded eyes.
“It’s about to get better,” she promised, skimming her hands back down over his body and to the waistband of his briefs. “Lift your hips a little,” she commanded.
As he did she eased his briefs over his hips, and down his long legs. She tossed them to the floor and ran her fingers up the insides of his legs.
“Now for the fun part,” she whispered, and bent down to blow warm air over his straining flesh.
She caught his erection in one hand, loving the silk-on-steel feel of his skin. Her hands were still slick from the massage oil and she slid them from base to tip and down again, squeezing gently as she did so. He groaned beneath her touch, a flush of heat suffusing his chest and throat.