her face. “Hello? You still in there, cupcake?”
She shook herself. “Yes. But why do you need to know where it is?”
My brow furrowed. “How did you think I was going to make your legs feel better?”
“Certainly not by touching me. I don’t like people touching me.”
I raised a brow. “You didn’t mind during lunch,” I said softly.
Her cheeks heated.
She wasn’t immune to me. I could work with that. I knew all kinds of stuff she would probably enjoy. I could get her to dance to my side of the line. No harm, no foul.
“Besides, you can’t move your legs very well. Which is keeping all the cellular debris of the bruising stuck exactly where it is. Lymphatic massage can help not only with the swelling but also help reduce the appearance of the bruising. If done often enough, it can help your blood vessels heal faster as well.”
She narrowed her eyes at me as her gaze flicked back and forth between my eyes. It was nothing but the truth, so I didn’t have anything to hide from her probing gaze.
“No funny business. I need to be able to walk this weekend. I don’t want to call in the cavalry, so I need to be as healed as possible. If I let you touch me, do you swear to keep it platonic?”
Fuck. Fine. I nodded. “I promise.” I held out my hand for her to shake.
She studied me again. Looked between my hand and my eyes several times. Slowly, so slowly it felt like I was watching glacier caps melting, she put her hand in mine and we shook on the promise.
“Good. Now that that’s finally settled, where’s your lotion?” I asked as I straightened.
She pointed to the bathroom. “Cabinet beside the toilet. Upper left corner.”
I nodded. “You going to sleep in your dress?” I asked as I moved to the bathroom.
“No. But I’m not getting naked in front of you either. So you’ll just have to deal with it.”
I laughed softly as I opened the cabinet door. Right where she said it’d be. I grabbed the bottle, headed back out to the bedroom.
“Can you touch your toes?” I asked her.
Her face screwed up in confusion. “Huh?”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Can you touch your toes?” I enunciated each word carefully.
She nodded as she glared at me.
“Fine. Then tell me what you want to wear to bed. I’ll get it for you. You can put it on under your dress. When you’re set, take your dress off. I just need to be able to get to your thighs. Humans have large pockets of lymph nodes in their groins and behind their knees. We’re going to be forcing both into overtime with this massage.”
She didn’t move.
I clapped my hands at her. “Chop, chop, cupcake. I’m not sure you’d like your brothers to see you with my hands all over your legs.”
She jerked and pointed to her closet. “Built-ins just inside the door on the left. Boy shorts in the top drawer. Tank on a hanger. Black, for both.”
I put the lotion down and moved to her closet. Got the items and returned. I got the panties set up for her on the floor so all she had to do was slide her legs into the holes and pull them up. I grabbed the lotion bottle. “I’m going into the kitchen to warm this up. Be ready by the time I get back or I’ll finish helping you.”
Spinning on my heel, I walked out before she could say anything else. My hands were shaking slightly as I got a bowl down from the cabinet. Just friends. Just friends. Just friends. I was finally getting to touch her. Start my slow seduction of her body. Her mind.
I dumped a small bit of lotion into the bowl and placed it in the microwave for thirty seconds. It was the perfect temperature and consistency when I pulled it out. I grabbed a spoon and headed back to the bedroom.
“Ready or not, here I come.”
Chapter 23 – Willow
I scrambled to pull the boyshorts up my legs before he came back in the room. Getting my dress off and my tank on had taken entirely too much of the one minute he’d given me. With a wince, I crashed back onto the bed as I heard his footsteps reach the outside of my doorway.
Holy cannoli that had been close.
“Where are your extra towels?” he asked.
I looked over at him. He was stirring something in a bowl, his