Page 13 of Siren's Blood
The pink flush that swept over her face after seeing my naked body branded itself behind my closed eyelids, and I grinned against the massage table’s face cushion. My amusement of her innocent reactions stirred the dragon within me awake, and my interest in her doubled as Jou’s curiosity mixed with mine.
The distinct sound of slick oil rubbing between hands drifted closer as Marissa moved to stand at the head of the table. Her once white sneakers were covered in a layer of filth and?—
Fuck me.
I sucked in a breath as her palms touched my shoulders, and a surge of cool energy caressed my skin. Since our kind ran hot, my dragon rumbled his appreciation.
Her hands stilled. “Is everything okay?”
Fearing she’d remove her hands, I nodded and cleared my throat. “Just cooler than I expected.”
That was quite an understatement.
“Sorry,” she said quietly. “It’ll warm up as I go.”
As she resumed the massage and pressed the heel of her palms into my muscles, her touch sent wave after wave of ocean breezes and deep waters over my skin. The more she touched me, the more I drowned in the sensations, and my eyelids fluttered shut.
I had loved the ocean as a child and begged my father to take me to the Delaware beaches every summer. The waves there were as familiar to me as the man’s face—one I made sure to never forget—and this woman’s touch brought those memories rushing toward the surface with sparkling clarity.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Marissa’s soft voice slipped between the cracks of my consciousness, “why choose someone from a massage school? Considering your obvious success in life, I mean. You can afford the best.”
With great difficulty, I pried my eyes open and focused on the lines of the floor. “That’s quite the assumption.”
Her hands paused on my arm. “Okay, but it’s an accurate assumption.”
I chuckled. Sassy, and I liked it. “Despite what you see, I know what it’s like to start at the bottom. Someone helped me, and now I like to pay the favor forward.”
While it was true that Ichiro Sato had taken me in after my father’s death, that didn’t mean my grandfather had made it easy. Even though the old man owned most of the city’s underground dealings, I had to work for what I had just like anyone else.
Well, maybe not just like anyone else. Most people didn’t have to break bones and spill blood to succeed in life. Not literally, anyway.
Satisfied with my answer, the pressure of her touch resumed. “Huh.”
That certainly wasn’t what I’d expected a woman in her shoes to say. Generous, maybe. Altruistic. Even chivalrous. “Huh?”
“It’s just interesting.”
That was more like it. “How’s that?”
“Not many in your position would do the same.”
“I presume most in my current position are too relaxed to think clearly,” I said with a teasing note. “Your touch is remarkable.”
Once again, her hands stilled, the pressure lightening. “You know what I mean.”
Not even a bashful thanks for the compliment? I must have been losing my touch. “Many wealthy people in this city didn’t start at the bottom like you and me. It’s hard to appreciate the climb if you’ve never had to make it.”
She didn’t respond, but thankfully, she didn’t remove her hands either. Her cool touch continued to ease the tenseness in my muscles and mind, and Jou soon drifted back to sleep, rumbling softly.
Once again, I floated in and out of memories, contentment seeping into every pore as I lost myself in her touch. The sensations pulsed through me like gentle waves, continuing between my legs, where I felt myself stiffening.
This wasn’t the only time I’d grown hard during a massage, but it took me a few moments of focus to realize she wasn’t doing a very good job at the massage part. Not even for a student.
“How long have you been training to become a masseuse?” I asked as she moved down my arm.
“A few months.”
So, either she was a terrible student or lying about how long she’d been training. Not that it mattered at this point.