Page 44 of Snowbound with the Santas

She tucks her head into the crook of her elbow and shifts under my touch, flinching when the pain gets too much and relaxing when I work a knot loose.

I take extra care with her injured thigh, carefully working the muscles under my hands and caressing her leg as firmly as I dare.

We don’t speak, and when I move up to her lower back, I adjust the pressure of my hands. Rayne shifts underneath me with a gasp and finally lifts her head.

“You weren’t kidding,” she murmurs. “You’re good with your hands.”

“In the barracks, we’d learn to quickly work out muscle tension when we had five minutes. Here, I have some time to give care,” I say. It’s therapeutic in a strange way. Like in my past when a trusted soldier would lie before me and let me take their pain away. Doing it for Rayne has the added benefit of soaking up her warmth and her touch. She’s soft and gentle, fitting right into my hands. Her back shifts and weaves as I massage her deeply, and her soft, pained groans fade away to silent breaths.

Until I reach her shoulders. Rayne’s skin flushes hot underneath my palms, and as I work at her left shoulder, she wiggles back and forth on the bed. Then, suddenly, she tries to shift away from me, and I withdraw my hands from her immediately.

Rayne curls around herself with a loud moan, and a full-body blush sweeps down across her torso, followed by a mumbled apology. She trembles and quivers, trying to cover herself with the blankets, but it’s too late. It clicks in my mind a moment later and I bite back a smile.

“Did you just… orgasm?”

“Don’t,” Rayne gasps. “Please, leave. I’m so sorry, I don’t even—please, get out.”

“Rayne—”

“Please!” She lifts her head, tears sparkling in her eyes. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I say softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “You’d be surprised how common something like this is when it comes to deep tissue. I’m not upset.”

“I am!” Rayne bundles herself into a blanket and hides her face in her hands. “I don’t know what happened or what came over me. I was just…”

“I have magic hands.”

“Please don’t make fun of me.”

“Rayne. I’m not.” Taking a deep breath, I muster up a small smile for her. “This isn’t a bad thing.”

“It is,” she whines.

“Why, do you have someone waiting for you back at the lodge?”

Rayne’s head snaps up. “Of course not. I wouldn’t have slept with Frankie if that were the case, but I just… I don’t know. It’s been such a long time since I was so intimate with someone, and that’s why I was so excited by Frankie’s interest.”

Her words catch me by surprise. She’s a stunning, gentle woman. It’s hard to believe there isn’t someone out there waiting for her. At the same time, I’m a little relieved. She’s single, which means my interest isn’t a bad thing.

“Then what’s the problem?” I ask softly. “You’re single. There’s no shame in this.”

“I feel…” Slowly, her hands fall and she draws her knees up to her chest. “I feel embarrassed because you trusted me and I just…”

“You had a reaction. I take it as a compliment,” I assure her. “And if you have no one waiting for you, there’s no harm in pursuing something or allowing yourself to enjoy something.”

“You’re not disgusted?”

My brow shoots up. “No, of course not. Rayne… I came in here because I wanted to help you, not make you feel worse. And this? Did it feel good?”

“Yeah…” Rayne nods slowly. “Unexpectedly so.”

“Then there’s nothing wrong with this.”

There’s still uncertainty in those crystal blue eyes of hers, and a strange tightness grips my heart.

“Do you want me to…?” Rayne’s eyes drop down my body, and I realize her assumption.

“Rayne, there’s nothing I require in return.”

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