Page 15 of Elf Shot

"How is this supposed to help?" he asked.

"It's a pressure point. Ciara does it for me. Give it a second." She held on, Arne watching on curiously. She tried not to notice how nice his hands were shaped, or how sharp his cheekbones. The small points of his ears peaked out from his dark hair, and she had the urge to touch them.

"You like my ears?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I do," she replied because she had been busted looking. She released the pressure points. "There."

"I don't feel…ohhh," Arne breathed. "That is amazing. Thank you. What other tricks do you know?"

Layla's mouth went dry. "Permission to touch your face?"

"Always," he replied, and heat streaked up her spine.

Keeping her professional face on, she used her thumbs to slowly massage the point where his jaw met his ears. Arne's eyes rolled back in his head.

"Good, right?" Layla said, adding more pressure. "No wonder you have a headache. You got massive knots from clenching your jaw too much."

"I call one 'Layla' and the other one 'Ironwood,'" Arne replied with a teasing smile.

"Very funny. In future, maybe you should just apologize when you're being a dick, instead of dragging it out like a ridiculous male." Layla moved her fingers to the back of his skull.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just don't stop doing that," he groaned. His legs on either side of her closed a little to trap her where she was.

Layla's cheeks were burning, but she didn't stop. She hoped he couldn't hear how fast her heart was racing.

"You must get a lot of migraines to be so good at this," he said drowsily.

"Well, I have a stressful work environment, and I don't always sleep great, so it happens," she replied. She marveled that they had moved from arguments to massages so quickly.

Just me being professional. So, so professional.

"I don't sleep well either," Arne admitted.

"Good to know. I might need an insomnia buddy on this trip. I'm kind of nervous."

"Don't be. I wouldn't have pushed so hard for you to come if I thought you couldn't handle it." Arne opened his eyes. "Thank you for the head rub. It really is helping."

"It's okay. You can do my feet one night and make up for it," she said, her mouth running away on her again.

Arne laughed softly, and her insides went squishy. "It's a deal. You can touch my ears if you want."

"It feels like a trap. Is it a weird elf taboo I'm not aware of?" she asked skeptically.

"No. It was an offer to satisfy your curiosity." He was smiling when he said it in a way that made her think it probably was taboo. "Scared?"

"No, but you better not crack an awkward boner or anything. We aren't that friendly," Layla replied, and his laugh deepened.

"Too late for that."

Layla looked down, and he laughed even harder. "Who knew elves were so sassy under their grumpy exteriors?"

"What can I say, you bring out the best in me."

"You're only saying that because I'm helping your migraine."

Arne hummed. "Maybe." She smiled and ran her thumbs behind his ears, and his eyes fluttered closed. He had long inky lashes that made her feel a little envious. "Fuck, that feels amazing."

Layla's fingers moved of their own accord and caressed the silky points of his ears.

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