Page 67 of Thorns That Bloom
Sam hums vaguely, shrugging. “It’s hard. Harder than, um…than I thought. I want a meaningful name. A unique name, like I told you. But then I start thinking about the fact that she’ll be an adult at some point, with her own life, walking around the world with that name, and I start worrying about choosing the right one for her. A part of me fears I won’t know for sure until I hold her in my arms,” he says, glancing down at his stomach with the sort of endearing smile that makes me all warm and tingly.
I wish I could kiss him. Hug him and tell him it’s going to be alright.
“That’s fair. I mean, some people decide only after leaving the hospital.”
Sam glances at me, seeming pleased with that answer. He nods and goes to take another bite before he twitches slightly and lets out a low groan, rolling back his shoulders.
“Are you feeling okay?”
He shakes his head as if it’s nothing. “Just the aches and pains that are my life now. Only—ugh—this one is a little annoying. Think I slept wrong. Woke up with this uncomfortable ache running down the back of my neck and into my shoulder. Probably a pinched nerve or something. I’m sure it’ll go away.” Discomfort still flashes across his face, even as he tries to wiggle and settle into some semblance of comfort.
I know that I’m on thin ice right now, after what happened, but I can’t help myself from… “I could try to massage it out. My pop used to be a massage therapist before he changed jobs. It was wreaking havoc on his hands and his joints, apparently. Kind of ironic, I know,” I say with a chuckle, realizing that I’m just going on about nonsense again, “He’s, um, shown me a thing or two. Only the basics.”
Sam’s reserved expression tightens, and his eyes dart toward me.
“Only if you want, of course,” I add firmly.
He lowers his gaze. “I guess you could try. It’s pretty uncomfortable. Especially sitting in an office chair looking at the screen all day,” he says, and before I can even blink, he’s put his food down next to him and is taking off his warm jacket.
I part my lips with a sharp inhale, watching him turn hisback to me, his long, lean neck exposed above the collar now that he only has a dress shirt and a woolen vest on.
With desperation, I briefly close my eyes and urge my body to relax. There are still some residual hormones floating around me at a higher level than they usually would. And an omega presenting the back of their neck to an alpha is considered incredibly sensual and intimate by some. But I’m not an animal, and I most definitely don’t want to hurt Sam, only help him.
I raise my hands slowly. “I’ll touch your shoulders and work up toward the neck, feeling for knots, okay?” I wait for Sam’s nod before continuing. “Try to relax.”
Sam exhales, his shoulders drooping.
I’m no professional, but I try to remember what Pop taught me. I warm him up with slow, broad strokes first. As I glide over his trapezius muscle, I feel the tension beneath his skin. “Tell me if the pressure is too much and I’ll stop.” Without meaning to, my voice keeps dropping lower and lower.
“Okay,” Sam says, also nearly whispering.
He flinches slightly in a certain spot, and I draw my brows together and focus on it. Pop said people like hearing what’s happening. Makes them more at ease. “I can feel a small knot in your muscles right here. I’ll try to work it out.”
Sam just nods again, and I use my thumbs, digging in gently to make slow, deliberate circles. I’m not sure if I’m actually helping that much until Sam’s head jerks back. He lets out a low, controlled moan.
“Good?” I ask, feeling the blood rushing to my cheeks in response. I’m glad he can’t see me.
Another nod.
“Sitting and staring at the monitor all day obviously isn’t the best. My pop always says that a desk job is the worst thing in the world. He’d put under-desk treadmills and exercise balls into every office if he could,” I say, letting out my anxiety with a faint chuckle.
After a moment’s resistance, the muscle finally relaxes, so I go in a little deeper, stretching out the knot.
Sam makes a…not exactly a yelp, more of a hiss. “Does it hurt?” I blurt out.
“Mhm. No. It’s…I think it’s helping,” he murmurs.
His shiny, thick hair is in my face, and so is his scent. Blackcurrant, sweeter than ever before, with an afternote of sage that’s like balm on my soul. Determined to make him feel even better, I knead around the surrounding muscles, trying to release the tension by working it outward. ‘No problem in the body is about one isolated spot,’ I remember Pop saying while he massaged my back in a similar way. ‘Every problem, sore area, a knot—they spread like a web through the nearby areas of the body.’
Sam keeps tensing up. I hope it’s for the right reason.
“Take a deep breath,” I encourage him.
He does. He inhales, and when he breathes out, the knuckles of my thumbs sink deeper into the tissue where the knot was, breaking up the remaining tension that lingered there. I feel the muscles flex and then loosen under my touch.
With a little shudder, Sam releases more than just the discomfort. His pheromones flood my nostrils, making me shiver in a different way. I flex my muscles and give his shoulders a few lighter strokes to ease him out of the massage.
He smells so damn good. I just want to bury myface in his hair and press myself into him…
