Page 21 of Just a Little Crush
“You’re wound up so tight, Bec.”You have no fucking idea, pal.“Let me help you relax.”
With one of those giant hands, he presses on the tops of my thighs until my legs stretch out in front of me.
“Your ankle OK?” he asks and I nod. He lifts my right arm, draping it gently over his thigh before doing the same on the other side. I’m in a vest top and pyjama shorts, my wrist and my foot still in supports but laying against him like this, I’ve never felt more naked.
“I’m sorry, Renn, this is the least attractive I’ve ever been.”
“Shut your mouth.” His firm tone is unexpected, but it scratches at a spot in my brain that has heat pooling in my belly in an instant. Careful not to press against my neck brace, he adjusts my head so it’s nestled into his shoulder.
“You comfy?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“You in pain?”
“Agony,” I laugh nervously, and I’m grateful that he laughs with me.What the hell are we doing?He slides his hands up my forearms all the way to my shoulders, his thumbs coasting back and forth.
“Shall we take this off?” he reaches for the clasp at the back of my neck brace. “Just for a little while.”
It’s only been a day but I feel exposed without it, like my skin can’t handle the contact with air. With one hand on my forehead, he settles me back against him, then slips his finger underneath the strap of my top and peels it off my shoulder. He reaches for the oil, drizzles a little in his palm and rubs them together right in front of my face. I swear my tongue hangs out of my slack jaw when his fingers slip back and forth between each other. New kink unlocked. I’ll be looking at hand porn for weeks.
Being in Rennie’s arms like this is a full sensory experience, and I notice everything. The featherlight stroke of his fingertips over my shoulder, the goosebumps they leave in their wake. The heat of his breath against my cheek. The scent of him this close, I get the layer beneath the smoke too, the base note of him. The sight of his thick, muscular thighs penning me in. I just wish I could taste him to complete the set. I want to lick him, bite him, swallow him down.
“You have a bruise,” he says softly as he strokes up and down the side of my neck.
“From the seatbelt,” I say, as if he won’t know. He spreads the oil out to my shoulders and back again, sliding a little higher each time.
“Is this pressure OK?”
“Uh huh,” I choke out. It’s more than OK, this is the best thing that’s ever happened in my entire life. It feels so good. Good because it’s hitting a knot I hadn’t realised was there. Good because I’m relaxing more by the second. Good because it’s him and he’s touching me. I float my eyes closed and let him take over, but still I can’t escape my thoughts. I wonder how he’s so good at this, who else he touches.
“Renn,” I whisper. “Are you seeing anyone?” I hadn’t asked him back the other day, and I don’t know why, but it suddenly feels important to know.
“No,” he says with a firm squeeze of my shoulders. “I’m not seeing anyone.”
It makes absolutely no sense to me. “Why are you single?”
“Why are you?”
“I asked first.”
“I guess I haven’t found anyone quite right for me yet.” It feels vulnerable to hear, and I’m glad I can’t see his face, and that he can’t see mine.
“What do you mean? There’s a woman around every corner ready to jump your bones.”
He laughs softly and his breath against my shoulder sends goosebumps in every direction. “None of them are quite... compatible.”
“What does compatible mean?”
He takes a deep breath. “The things I’m looking for would have most women running a mile.”Jesus.Why does he sound like a serial killer, and why is it so hot? I swear romance novels have rewired my brain.
“Like what?” I press. His slow exhale ghosts past my ear, setting my cheek on fire. His mouth is so close to my skin.
“I need someone who’s not afraid to push things a little. To be pushed.”
“In bed?”
“Yeah. I’m not exactly a vanilla guy.”
