The hot water jets massaged and soothed her muscles, bringing her fully awake. “I’m so not a morning person,” Cherry muttered to herself as she slapped a hand against the tile wall of the shower to keep herself upright.
As the heat continued to do its job, Cherry grabbed her pink puff and spurted some bath gel onto it. She ran the sponge over her arms and shoulders, down her ribcage, then dipped it between her thighs. The instant the soft sponge touched her clit an image sprang to mind.
Dante Ricci. The man who haunted her dreams and drove her crazy with his intense blue eyes and dark good looks. They’d never shared more than a few hellos and yet she always had the impression he saw right through her, as if reading her thoughts. He was a dangerous man to any woman, but that didn’t stop her from wanting him. Craving him. His sculpted body, square jaw and sensual mouth were pure sin. Fantasy material for certain. And she’d had plenty of fantasies over the last four months since moving to Zanesville, Ohio.
Cherry dropped the sponge and grabbed the removable showerhead from the hook on the wall, then ran it over her body. She closed her eyes and let her mind conjure up an image of Dante, nude, kneeling in front of her, taking her clit between his teeth, licking and suckling her pussy.
She drifted the pounding streams over her breasts, increasing her pleasure, then down to the juncture of her thighs. She gasped and flung her head back when the water hit her throbbing center. Each nerve ending came alive. She imagined Dante’s fingers plunging deep inside her aching hot core as she stroked and petted her glistening pussy, her body convulsing. She laid her head back against the shower wall and lifted her foot to the ledge, exposing her flesh, then dipped two fingers deep as the water teased her clit.
Cherry trembled with anticipation, her entire body alive with sensation. She squirmed against the onslaught, as she envisioned Dante’s mesmerizing gaze, dark, tousled hair and powerful body. Her lower body started a sweet rhythm that drew a whimper out of her. Cherry pulled her fingers free and cupped her left breast, squeezing and massaging with the sort of force she imagined Dante using. She pinched her own nipple, torturing herself further. As she slid the water jets over the inside of her thigh, coaxing a moan from deep inside Cherry’s chest, her soft, wet pussy throbbing and aching for release, then back to her clit again. The swollen mass of nerve endings pulsed as wicked images of Dante fondling her, licking her to completion, drove her over the edge. She slammed her palm against the wall and rode out the climax, shouting Dante’s name as she came.
Cherry placed the shower head back on the hook and took a moment to catch her breath, legs shaking, her body still pulsing with little aftershocks. It wasn’t the first time she’d started her day this way, and it wouldn’t be the last. She wished she had the nerve to approach the sexy owner of the business next to her massage therapy center. One of these days maybe it really would be him in this shower with her.
“Yeah, and I’ll suddenly sprout wings and fly.” Whom was she kidding? She was too damn shy to approach a man like Ricci! Thanks to her jerk of an ex-husband, she was just way too unsure of her own appeal.
She finished washing and turned the water off, then forced herself to forget about things that could never be, and concentrated on the task at hand, which was making Serene Comfort a success. She had clients coming in who needed her to be in top form and she refused to let them down. Word of mouth was a powerful promotional tool and Cherry hoped the more people who left her center happy, the more business she’d have. She wouldn’t let anyone derail her from making her business a success.
***
“There, that’s the last box. Now it’s official.”
“You’ve been doing business for two months and now it’s official?”
Cherry laughed. “Wade, it’s never official until the last box is unpacked. Surely you knew that.”
Wade picked up another donut and took a large bite, then mumbled, “By your way of thinking I’ve yet to be moved into my apartment and I’ve been there for three years.”
“You just don’t understand the female mind.”
“And no man ever will, baby.”
Cherry stopped and stared at her friend. He’d been there for her through it all. The divorce, the tears, and the worry of what she was going to do with the rest of her life. He’d never once complained. Heck, she still wouldn’t have the shop if it weren’t for him. He’d been the one to show her the empty space, then he’d helped her set up the loan at the bank. She owed him so much. Tears welled in her eyes. “I can never repay you for everything you’ve done for me these last four month.”
Wade’s head shot up. It was always like that with him. He picked up on the slightest hint of sadness. She’d never quite understood how he could read her so well.
When he placed the chocolate iced donut back in the container and strode across the room, she knew what was coming and welcomed it. His big strong arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her against him in a tight embrace. “You don’t worry about repaying me. I’m just glad we found this building so cheap. It worked out perfectly.”
“Yes. It was the first good thing to happen since Brody decided I was in the way of his happiness.”
“Brody is a bastard. He’s out of your life and if you ask me you’re better off.”
“Thanks, Wade. It’s odd, but I do feel like there’s been a weight lifted. It’s scary to think I could spend three years with a man and not really know him for the snake he is.”
“Just remember, not all men are like Brody. There’s a gem out there for you, I know it.”
“My white knight,” she murmured.
“Damn straight.”
The bells on the door chimed and she stepped out of Wade’s arms to see who it could be, she didn’t have another appointment for an hour. When Cherry saw the man filling the doorway, she cringed. Dante Ricci from the financial consulting business next door and if the scrunched brows were any indication, he wasn’t any happier to see her than she was him. Her morning foray in the shower sprung to mind and her cheeks heated. Dante’s mouth curved, as if he knew her naughty little secret. Damn annoying man.
She stiffened her spine. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to schedule an appointment.”
Her eyes shot wide. “You are?”
He stepped forward. “Got a problem with that, Ms. Dubois?”
She had to step back. It was pure suicide to stand so close to a man like Dante. He exuded power and masculinity. Cherry wanted nothing to do with either. At least that’s what she kept chanting to overactive libido.
“I’m booked up today.”
“I’m free tomorrow,” he countered.
On shaky legs, she walked around the counter and grabbed her appointment book from the shelf underneath.
When she flipped it open and realized she had a slot open at the end of the day the following evening she winced.
“I can fit you in at five, does that work?”
“Great. See you then.”
He started to leave and for a moment she was distracted by the way his black suit pants stretched over his tight buttocks. My god he was delicious to look at! The bells on the door brought her out of her lustful musings.
Wait! I need to know how long you want. I offer a half hour, forty-five minute and one hour massage.”
His gaze moved south, had Cherry not been watching him so closely she would have missed the quick peek at her cleavage. “Definitely an hour,” he growled, then he walked out.
“Wow,” she breathed.
Wade snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Earth to Cherry.”
“He’s really...something.”
“He wants you. Bad.”
Cherry’s cheeks heated, again she thought of her little masturbation session that morning. “He wants a massage bad, not me.”
Wade tapped her nose and murmured, “No, babe, he wants you. The massage is a ruse.”
She frowned. “In that case, maybe I should cancel the appointment. It’s not appropriate.”
“Listen to yourself. Not appropriate? You aren’t married anymore and you did nothing wrong by giving him an appointment. If things get hot and heavy, you’ll handle it.”
“You have more confidence in me than I do, Wade, because I’m not sure that man can even be handled.”
Wade laughed and grabbed his bottle of apple juice. “Trust me, with a body like yours, you’ll handle Dante Ricci just fine.”
“Are you flirting with me, Mr. Harrison?”
“Hell no! That’s like flirting with my sister.” he gave a mock-shudder. “Gross.”
Cherry shook her head. “Gee, thanks.”
Wade took one last swallow of his apple juice then handed her the empty bottle. “Thanks for breakfast, Cherry darlin’, but I need to scoot.”
She took the bottle and rose on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. “It was the least I could do considering all the work you put into this place. I still wish you’d let me pay you for the wallpaper you hung.”
“No. and if you dare bring up payment again, I’ll spank your ass.”
“Ooh, kinky,” she teased.
He leaned down and whispered into her ear, “You have no idea, baby, no idea.”
As he turned and left, Cherry could only stare. In all the years they’d been friends, Wade had never once said anything sexual to her. It must have been the August heat getting to him. And while he was a handsome devil, it wasn’t his voice and mesmerizing eyes she’d been dreaming about for the last few weeks. No, that dubious honor went to Dante Ricci. The dark haired Italian with the brooding good looks and dangerous aura, who just happened to own the business to her right. And now he wanted a massage. She’d have his flesh beneath her fingertips, his big, hard body on her massage table. The thought sent a shiver of awareness to her core.
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