“Yes. God, yes. That’s why I invited her here. I need to spend time with her outside that treatment room. I want to get to know her.”

“Shit or get off the pot, buddy,” were his parting words before joining the girls on the dance floor.

He was right. I needed to get out of my own way, pull her somewhere quiet, and explain myself.

So that was what I did. I marched right up behind Alexa on the dance floor, wrapped my arm around her slender waist, and drew her to me. Her body stiffened, her hands dropped to her sides, and my insides cringed. I never wanted her to feel uneasy with my touch or me.

I whispered in her ear, practically begging. “Come talk to me, please. I need to explain some things.”

She gave me a slight nod, so I slowly moved my hand from her flat stomach, caressed a path to her curvy hip, and when I reached her soft delicate hand, I interlaced our fingers. Loving the way something so simple felt so right, I walked her toward the function room behind the bar area, which thankfully was not in use.

Once we crossed the threshold, she released my hand, and crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive stance. The loss of her touch was like a slap in the face.

“I need you to listen to me. What I said in there…”

“There’s nothing to explain, Luke. We’re all good. I’m just a client. No need to go into it.” Her stiff posture, shaky voice, and frown proved otherwise.

“Yes, there is. Theresa is… How do I put this nicely? A slut. And even if she wasn’t, I wouldn’t want to date her. Not because she’s a client, but because I’m interested in someone else.” I took a deep breath and continued. “I do have a rule about dating clients. Danny and I both do. We promised one another when we first opened The Rub Down that we would never do it.”

Alexa just stood there, speechless, watching me with her soul searching, blue eyes.

As the saying goes, go big or go home, I laid it all out there for her. “But, for the first time ever, I want to date a client. I want to spend time with YOU outside that treatment room. I want to be able to touch you anytime I want, even when you are clothed.” That seriously sounded so wrong, the complete opposite of what every guy in the world would say.

“You do?” The smallest, most adorable smile graced her blushing face.

“Yes, I do. But I won’t give up being your therapist either.” Enough time had passed without her touch, so I reached for her hand. “I can’t even think of some of the other guys touching your flawless body. I’d have to fire them all, and then where would The Rub Down be?” I ran my free hand over my head. “I trust Danny with you, but I just don’t think I could handle the images in my head for the hour.”

“I would love to spend more time with you, too. The times we’ve been together have been so much fun. Even the fifteen mile runs.”

Her words were music to my ears. I had hoped she felt the same way I did, but hearing the actual words made me happier than I had been in a long time.

“So where do we go from here? Do I stop coming in? Do we wait it out until the marathon is over?” Her questions were all valid, the same ones running through my head for weeks now.

“Like I said, you keep coming in. But we will just be discreet about our feelings.” I moved closer to her. “I have talked to Danny, and he understands how I feel about you. He just asks that we keep a low profile until after the race, and you won’t need treatments any longer. And if you do, we’ll figure it out then.” I took another step, my body being pulled toward her.

When we were within inches of each other, I felt her breath hitch as she looked up at my lips. I wanted to claim hers, needed to… so, I did. I captured her soft mouth with my own. She tasted like the Cosmo she’d sipped earlier. My tongue teased the seam of her mouth, begging for entrance. Thankfully, she obliged. Loving the feel of her body pressed against me, and her tongue dancing with mine, I let out a moan. With one hand sliding around to the back of her neck, and the other cupping her cheek, I deepened the kiss.

After what felt like seconds, our lips parted, but not our bodies.

“I need to be able to do that to you whenever I see you. It’s been killing me not to be able to these past few weeks.” I bent down and gave her a quick peck. I was coming on strong, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “Now that that's settled, I want to kidnap you, and bring you to my place where I can touch and smooch you as much as I want without a bunch of gossipmongers watching.”

Chapter Fourteen

Alexa

Hearing Luke say he didn’t date clients hurt more than I ever imagined it could. Over the weeks spent on his table, feeling his touch all over my body, running with him, getting to know him, feelings for him had developed. I wanted to at least have the option to explore things with him outside of the spa, but with one sentence, my hope of that happening was crushed. He didn’t date clients, so my yearning to feel his hand holding mine, his body pressed against my own, and his lips on mine would remain just that… a yearning.

I avoided him the rest of the night, and enjoyed my time with his sisters and Addison. We were having a blast dancing to the band, and giggling as Elle did the lawn mower, the sprinkler, and then the Q-tip. I loved letting loose, but in the back of my head, Luke’s words kept replaying over and over. “I don’t date my clients. I don’t date my clients.”

All of a sudden, a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist. Recognizing his cologne, I knew they belonged to Luke, but that wasn’t why I froze. His actions sent mixed signals. I didn’t want him to flirt and dance with me when, at the end of the day, I was a client and nothing more. But I would be lying if I said his arms around me didn’t make me long for more, so when he pleaded with me to talk to him, of course, I went.

I tried not to care about what he had to say, but when he told me he wanted me, little fireworks exploded in my stomach. And then, his mouth met mine. Oh, sweet baby Jesus, did he kiss me. His lips were firm but soft. The way he held me made me feel cherished, like if I moved an inch away from him, it was too far. Cradled so close to his muscular chest, wrapped in his arms, felt better than I dreamed. I had had his hands on me before, but this was so much different.

After the mind-altering lip lock, we returned to the main bar, hand in hand, and moved toward his family and friends. The thought of him kidnapping me sounded perfect. I hoped our excuse to get out of here wasn’t too obvious.

Danny noticed us first. He just shook his head at us, and a proud smile spread across his face. I hadn’t spent much time with him, but he seemed like a great guy and a good friend to Luke. Addison and Elle were right next to him, eyes glued to our laced fingers. Addison nudged Jessica and pointed to us. So much for a smooth, inconspicuous exit.

After everyone but I enjoyed another cocktail, some conversation, and a few raised eyebrows and smiles, Luke declared we were leaving. There was nothing subtle about it. I could only imagine the conversation everyone was going to have after we left.

“We’re leaving, and I’m taking Alexa home with me.” He stood up and grabbed me off my stool. “You ladies parked in the garage across the street?” He directed the question to his sisters.

When they nodded and smirked, he turned and addressed Danny. “Hey, guy, can you take Addison home?” Luke was taking care of my best friend for me, knowing I wouldn’t want her to ride in a cab alone. I also think he was trying to hook his buddy up, which was fine with me.

Danny nodded and sent a wink my way.

“Wow, brother, you’re smooth.” Jess’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

Luke shot her a look. The tension between them had been palpable all night, and I had no idea why. I thought Jessica liked me.