Free Connections by Emilia Winters Page B

work, I’ll give you a massage.”
    Alex shook his head.   “I don’t understand.”
    “What’s there not to understand?” Olivia asked, raising a brow as she took another sip of her wine.
    He seemed momentarily distracted by the way her throat worked as she swallowed.   His eyes unfocused and his tongue flicked out to lick his bottom lip.   He shook his head, resurfacing.   “Massages lead to sex—,” she cut him off.
    “So you admit it!”
    He shot her a look and continued, “And since we’re not having sex at the moment, it could be very dangerous, don’t you think?”
    Heat pooled between her thighs and she shifted, draining the last of her wine before replacing it on the coffee table coaster.   “Take off your shirt, Alex.”
    “I—um, are you sure?” he asked, completely at a loss for words.   Olivia had never seem him like this…flustered.   He was always in control.   He was always confident.   She thought his confusion was charming and she was infinitely pleased with herself that she could catch him off guard.   It only made her want him more.
    “You should take off your shirt before I change my mind,” she informed him, the edges of her lips curling up.   She felt flushed and light from the wine and she watched as his fingers immediately came to the buttons of his shirt.
    “Well, if you insist,” he said, without hesitation.   She grinned inwardly.   That hadn’t taken long.
    But the smile on her lips slowly faded when he shrugged off his button up shirt to reveal his tanned and muscular chest.
    Oh my.
    The fire light danced on his golden skin, languidly licking his defined chest and broad shoulders.   She swallowed thickly and snatched back her hand when she realized she’d reached out with the intention of touching his rock hard abdomen.   She wanted to get reacquainted with where that dark trail of crisp hair led.   When she looked up at his face, she saw his smirk.
    Clearing her throat, she directed him to sit on the floor in front of her, so that he faced the fire and the TV that was mounted on the wall above it.   He curled his long legs under the coffee table and arranged himself so that he was comfortably settled between her thighs.   She gasped when he pressed his muscled back against her very core and squirmed around until he was satisfied.   The heated, almost daring look he shot her over his shoulder confirmed that he’d done it on purpose.
    She narrowed her eyes.   Two could play at this game.
    To start off, she lightly skimmed her fingers from the base of his spine to his shoulders, feeling his smooth, warm skin.   He tensed at the sensation, clearly not expecting it, but he relaxed a moment later when she dug her thumbs into his shoulder blades.   Olivia was enthralled with the way his muscles danced and rippled under her touch.
    She’d always been good at giving massages.   Her family members complimented her good thumbs and growing up, her mother frequently asked her for a massage after a long day at work.   Olivia supposed she’d had a lot of practice kneading dough with her grandfather and it was really no different…massages just required a little bit more pressure.
    Alex groaned and Olivia bit her lip at the deep, delicious sound.   She wanted to clench her thighs around him, but she thought her desire would be too obvious.
    Olivia found a knot to the right of his spine and she worked it over until she felt the tension release.   She searched for another and did the same.   He was impossibly hot…but maybe that was just her.   The heat in the room had sky rocketed in the last couple minutes.
    Suddenly, his strong hand found her left calf.   He gripped it, gently yet firmly, kneading the flesh with his fingers.   At the same time, he pressed himself more forcefully into her hands.   “Mmm, darling.   That feels so good,” he grunted, sounding relaxed and oh so sexy.
    Olivia almost gasped at the effect his words had on her.   Her hands