Page 64 of Holiday Home 4

“Absolutely,” Liam said, not so foolish as to think the odds were good for him today but hopeful that a fluke—just one, that was all he now needed—might occur.

After taking one more sip of her lemonade, his most recently made teacher proceeded to utterly obliterate his ass over the course of the next fifteen matches they played that afternoon. And that was how Liam would soon find himself helping Victoria uproot her winter plants right before they left for Fiji.

Chapter Twenty-Three

One More Skill

When he’d left Tess’s home several hours ago, she’d been teasing him relentlessly. When he arrived back, not much changed. He let her know when he was leaving Victoria’s place, and it was only starting to get dark when he made it back to his driveway. Waiting, as always, for it to appear safe to slip through Tess’s front door, she picked up right where she’d left off once he found her in her kitchen.

“Did you have anamplygood time, Liam?” she asked, wearing a knowing smirk.

He had the decency to feel some heat in his face, though not much. Given that the beautiful brunette standing in front of him was wearing a revealing sports bra, with its zipper pulled down intentionally low, he knew she was looking forward to when he brought his attention toherample assets. However, he underestimated the full scope of her plan.

“I got completely destroyed in every match, and now I owe Victoria an afternoon of helping her in her garden,” Liam said, sighing loudly. “If you’re really that much better than her, then I have my work cut out for me. It’s going to beforeverbefore I can get my reward from you.”

“That just means you have more time to think about what it is you’ll want.”

“I already know what I want,” he said, approaching Tess purposefully.

“I think I know too,” the gorgeous brunette purred. Yet, right when he entered arm’s reach, she reached behind her back, picked something up off the counter, and tossed it into the air.

Blinking rapidly, Liam cupped his hands together and caught the unexpected object. First, he looked at it. Then he looked at the woman who’d put it there.

Tess smiled at him. “Chess is a wonderful game at broadening the mind, and I’m sure we’ll play plenty of cards on our trip, but there is one other thing that’s guaranteed to happen on a tropical beach.”

“Shouldn’t this be sunscreen then, not massage oil?” Liam asked, nodding at the clear bottle of coconut massage oil resting in his grasp.

“If you’re good with one, you’ll be good with the other,” Tess said. “That is, assuming you want to be the one everyone hopes to be rubbed down by each day.”

His heart spoke for him, skipping a beat before transitioning into an outright dash. Wordlessly, he nodded, thriving on the fantasies coming alive within his mind.

Tess’s voice grew huskier with each word, the dark depths of her blue eyes pulling him in. “Everyone already thinks you’re good with your hands—at least, I do. So, here’s your chance to prove it yet again, and in a way I’m sure will begreatlyappreciated.”

“You’re the best,” Liam whispered, a thought made unintentionally manifest.

Tess’s smile widened, and she leaned in to briefly kiss him. “The fact that you think so can beoursecret.” She kissed him again, longer, deeper. “Even if it’s a pretty poorly kept one.”

Nodding again, Liam was more than willing to let Tess take him by the hand. He was more than willing to head up her stairs, then deviate to her guestroom, where he found the covers removed, replaced by a few bath towels. He was more than willing to get involved when Tess asked for his help in undressing herself.

“Do you know anything about massages?” she asked, standing so beautifully naked, exquisite from head to toe, that she needed to ask the question again before he registered it.

“Uh, not too much,” he admitted. “I’m guessing that even pressure, circular motions, and not rushing things are pretty important.”

“Just like good foreplay,” Tess said, smiling as she nodded. “Good massage oil, which is what I’ve bought, really tips the scale, too. Candles for aromatherapy, lighting, and even music can also help, but we won’t worry about those just yet.”

“So, you were a bartender back in school, but you also occasionally moonlighted as a masseuse?” Liam asked.

“No, but I had a close friend who became a masseuse, and I let her practice on me plenty,” Tess said. Before he could reply,she leaned in and set her lips against his ear. “It is my hope that I’ll soon bedatinga great masseuse.”

Stiffening in all the right places, Liam maneuvered his mouth into the crook of Tess’s neck. She leaned into him, letting him kiss her deeply.

“Between beating you at chess, learning this, and keeping up my card skills, I’m not going to have much free time, am I?”

“I think they’ll all have worthy payoffs,” Tess cooed, running her hand over his growing erection. “Can’t you guess what’ll happen after you're done practicing spreading that oil all over my body?”

“I can,” Liam whispered in a voice cracked with lust.

Pulling back, eyes alight with the same emotion, Tess climbed onto towels sitting on the bed. Electing to start on her back, she positioned herself so that the top of her head aligned with the edge of the bed. Crooking one finger, she guided him into place directly above her head. Staring up at him, she smiled anew.

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