Deep Focus by Erin McCarthy Page A

I.” If they hadn’t been in public he might have tested the waters.
    But now they were blissfully in private, and Melanie had lost her shirt somewhere along the way. He wondered what was happening down south. “Roll over. I’ll massage you again.” Pushing back, he stood up and went back to the bathroom.
    “Where are you going?”
    She sounded upset that he was leaving, which was satisfying. “To get some lotion.”
    “Oh.”
    As he came back, squirting the scented lotion into his hand, he saw she had done as he’d told her to and rolled onto her stomach. She was resting her head on her hands and watching him with a small smile. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
    “Uh, yes, I do.” He climbed back onto the bed. “This isn’t a duty or charity on my part. I don’t have to get my oil changed every three thousand miles. I don’t have to show up at my friend Brent’s annual clambake. This? I have to do this. For both of us.” No one was going to sleep until there was at least one round of orgasms.
    “No, I meant the massage. I sort of strong-armed you into it.”
    The woman needed to be spanked. She spent far too much time telling him what he shouldn’t do for her. “You did not strong-arm me into it. You didn’t even ask. Can I suggest something?” He started at her shoulders, enjoying the sigh of contentment she gave.
    “What’s that?”
    “Zip it and let people do shit for you. Embrace your inner diva.”
    “I don’t think I have one,” she said so sincerely that he had to laugh.
    “Well, let’s go looking.” Hunter settled himself over her, one knee on either side of her thighs. Her butt was still covered with the sheet, and he perched over her, their bodies just brushing occasionally as he kneaded the knots under her skin. Leaning forward, he kissed behind her ear, kissed her neck, kissed the side of her mouth that was available to him. “Are we close?”
    “I don’t think so,” she murmured. Her eyes were closed, and he could feel her relaxing beneath him.
    He moved on down her body, running his thumbs on either side of her spine. Her body was already familiar to him from his earlier massage, though now he had the luxury of moving farther and farther to either side until he was touching the swell of her breasts. She had a great chest that he was very much looking forward to enjoying thoroughly.
    “Well, then, let’s attack this from a different angle.” He moved off her and slipped his hands lower, taking the sheet down with him. She was still wearing panties, which didn’t surprise him. It had been daring enough of her to take her shirt off.
    But he didn’t hesitate to peel the panties down and off her ankles, exposing the curve of her backside to him. She sucked in her breath.
    “Please don’t massage me...there,” she said.
    “Why not?”
    “It’s weird.”
    Completely defying her, he cupped her cheeks with both hands and gently massaged her. It was a total turn-on, touching her while studying her body laid out for him. She looked so sexy, her lips swollen from his kisses, her hair wild and damp—but a little anxious.
    She groaned even as she repeated, “This is weird.”
    “What’s weird about it?” Hunter wiped his hands on the sheet to make sure there was no lotion remaining and lay down on his side next to her, feathering his palm across her backside.
    “I don’t know,” she whispered, staring at him with limpid eyes. “No one has ever touched my butt before.”
    “You can’t be serious.” He stroked her flesh with a feathery touch, up and down, hoping she would relax. “If you try to tell me you’re a virgin, I’m going to call you out on it because I don’t believe you.”
    She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not a virgin. What does that have to do with anything?”
    “There is no possible way you can have sex without your butt being touched at some point.” He kissed her before she could respond, teasing his tongue inside her mouth.
    Melanie