Page 37 of His Curvy Temptation

“You can go a little lower if you’d like,” the man says.

His voice feels vaguely familiar, but I can’t place it. And in any case, I can’t seem to get my head out of what happened at Elijah’s place this morning. So I can’t tell whether this guy is giving me weird vibes, or if I’m just in a weird space myself right now.

“Hip pain?” I ask, prodding the towel down his hips a couple of inches. “Or, lower back?”

“Like I said,” he says in that same awkward, slow voice. “I think you can figure out what to do once you get started. Would it be better if I turned over? Or will you let me know when it’s time?”

I frown.

“I don’t see how I can work on your lower back and hips if you turn over,” I reply.

“Oh, come on,” the man says, impatience in his voice.

I back up as he sits up on the table, turning to me and dropping the towel to the ground so that he’s completely nude.

Fuck. Of course. I knew I recognized that stupid, creepy voice.

“What do I have to do to get the Elijah Stone special?” Dan asks, his weak chin jutting stubbornly in my direction. “Whatever he was paying you, I’ll match it. Come on, baby, show me what you canreallydo to relax me.”

“Ugh!” I back away from him, my arm reaching for the door behind me. He stands, approaching me with his sausage-like fingers outstretched towards me eerily, like some sort of ruddy-skinned zombie.

“Come on,” he repeats. “I don’t think your boss would like to hear that you’re discriminating against customers. I just want the same treatment you gave Elijah. Now, what’ll it be? You on your knees, or on your back?”

“Fuck you!” I snap. I open the door and dart out of the spa room as quickly as I can, running for the back room. When I get there I slam the door closed behind me, my heart hammering in my chest as adrenaline surges through my veins. I fly across the room and open my locker, taking my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder. Then I leave out of the back door, the one that opens to the alleyway, so I don’t have to risk crossing paths with Dan again on my way out.

I don’t stop running until I reach the subway station. For the rest of the trip home, I try to catch my breath, counting in my head slowly from one to ten over and over again in an effort to calm down. But it doesn’t work and by the time I reach the apartment I share with Deepti, I’m still just as worked up as before. Maybe even more.

“Deepti!” I scream as I wrench the door open. “Deepti!”

She comes running from the dining room to the right, eyes wide.

“What?” She asks frantically. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“No,” I say shakily. “Just…ugh! I’ve had the worst day. My date was a disaster and then he ditched me the next morning after sleeping with me. Then I go into work and Dan is there and — ”

“Who’s Dan?” Deepti frowns. “Slow down!”

“Dan is the creep from the other night,” I explain. “You know, the one that Elijah supposedly fired? Well, I’m starting to wonder if he was even telling me truth about that. He came to Angel Spa, asked for an appointment with me, and then made a pass at me in the spa room. Basically asked for a happy ending — and seems to think I gave Elijah a happy ending too.”

“THat’s disgusting,” Deepti says, her face contorting.

“Did he touch you?”

We both look to the right where Elijah is emerging from the dining room, his face cold and stony.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“He’s here to talk to you,” Deepti says. “I told him to just give you a call and that you were at work but he insisted on staying here until you got—”

“Did he touch you?” Elijah repeats, cutting across Deepti and coming to me. His hands reach for me and before I can step away he’s gripping me by the shoulders, those dark eyes holding an expression I’ve never seen before.

He’s…scary looking in this moment. Frightening.

“No,” I say.

“But he tried to,” Elijah says, the vein in his neck bulging as he clenches his jaw.

“Yeah, but — ”

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