without that. It took an effort to smile and thank them for the compliments that announcement prompted. She didn't meet their gazes. Instead, feeling sick to her stomach and horribly embarrassed, she waited until everyone had started eating and cleared her throat uncomfortably. “I don't suppose you have anything for a headache?” she asked Julie hopefully.
"Upstairs in the medicine cabinet—my bathroom. I'll get it."
"No, no! I'll get it,” Shilo said, scooting her chair back and getting up.
She felt curiously close to tears by the time she reached Julie's bathroom. She didn't know why. It was stupid, really. Did it really matter that the meatloaf was dry? Half the fried squash burned? The mashed potatoes lumpy? The gravy scorched? In the scheme of things, just how important was that, anyway?
It wasn't as if, if everything had turned out just right, they would've looked at her any differently than they already did—it was just a meal, not a mating ritual. She didn't even know why she'd let herself get roped in to the idea to start with. Impressing a man with domestic skills was only useful if both parties were thinking in terms of permanency, and she wasn't going to be around long enough for them to consider that even if she could consider it.
She was not going back downstairs red eyed from weeping like an idiot! Dragging in a shaky breath, she turned the cold water on and splashed it over her overheated face until she'd mastered the urge to weep. Shutting the tap off, she grabbed the towel next to the lavatory and patted her face dry.
A jolt went through her when she finally lowered the towel and looked up at her reflection in the mirror. Dante was standing in the bathroom doorway, which she realized belatedly that she hadn't closed.
"Did you find something for your headache?” he asked after a moment.
"I hadn't actually looked yet,” Shilo replied, averting her gaze.
She tensed as he moved up behind her and she felt his hands settle lightly on her shoulders.
Chapter Nine
"You're tense."
Big surprise, Shilo thought wryly. If she hadn't been tense before she certainly was the moment she felt his touch. He shifted closer, kneading the tension in her shoulders, and she let out a sharp hiss.
He eased his grip instantly. “Too hard?"
She thought about it a moment. “No. It felt good."
Accepting that as consent, he went back to kneading her shoulders, working his way slowly inward toward her neck and finally splaying his thumbs and working them in tight circles along the bones of her spine from just below her shoulders upward. A rippling cascade of goose bumps washed over her as he closed a hand around her neck and worked upward to the base of her skull.
She closed her eyes, allowing her head to drop forward to give him better access. If she'd been a cat, she thought with an inward smile, she would've been purring. It felt that good, but he was producing almost as much tension of a different kind as he was easing the other. The heat of his body behind her sent another flood of goose bumps along her skin, made her throat tighten with an unswallowable mass of need. The cologne he was wearing, heated by his skin, intoxicated her ... Or maybe it was just him?
Who was she kidding? He hadn't been wearing cologne before and he'd had the same effect on her.
She tried not to think about what those hands would feel like moving over the rest of her body. If they felt even half that good....
She felt the heat of his breath against the hollow at the base of her skull a split second before the brush of his lips. She sucked in a breath and held it, gripping the lavatory frantically as it sent another heady wave of need through her. The muscles along the walls of her sex contracted almost painfully, squeezing heated moisture along the channel. A shiver worked its way along her spine.
"Mom wanted to know if you'd found the aspirin?” a munchkin voice
"Upstairs in the medicine cabinet—my bathroom. I'll get it."
"No, no! I'll get it,” Shilo said, scooting her chair back and getting up.
She felt curiously close to tears by the time she reached Julie's bathroom. She didn't know why. It was stupid, really. Did it really matter that the meatloaf was dry? Half the fried squash burned? The mashed potatoes lumpy? The gravy scorched? In the scheme of things, just how important was that, anyway?
It wasn't as if, if everything had turned out just right, they would've looked at her any differently than they already did—it was just a meal, not a mating ritual. She didn't even know why she'd let herself get roped in to the idea to start with. Impressing a man with domestic skills was only useful if both parties were thinking in terms of permanency, and she wasn't going to be around long enough for them to consider that even if she could consider it.
She was not going back downstairs red eyed from weeping like an idiot! Dragging in a shaky breath, she turned the cold water on and splashed it over her overheated face until she'd mastered the urge to weep. Shutting the tap off, she grabbed the towel next to the lavatory and patted her face dry.
A jolt went through her when she finally lowered the towel and looked up at her reflection in the mirror. Dante was standing in the bathroom doorway, which she realized belatedly that she hadn't closed.
"Did you find something for your headache?” he asked after a moment.
"I hadn't actually looked yet,” Shilo replied, averting her gaze.
She tensed as he moved up behind her and she felt his hands settle lightly on her shoulders.
Erotica/Romance. 74621 words long.
Chapter Nine
"You're tense."
Big surprise, Shilo thought wryly. If she hadn't been tense before she certainly was the moment she felt his touch. He shifted closer, kneading the tension in her shoulders, and she let out a sharp hiss.
He eased his grip instantly. “Too hard?"
She thought about it a moment. “No. It felt good."
Accepting that as consent, he went back to kneading her shoulders, working his way slowly inward toward her neck and finally splaying his thumbs and working them in tight circles along the bones of her spine from just below her shoulders upward. A rippling cascade of goose bumps washed over her as he closed a hand around her neck and worked upward to the base of her skull.
She closed her eyes, allowing her head to drop forward to give him better access. If she'd been a cat, she thought with an inward smile, she would've been purring. It felt that good, but he was producing almost as much tension of a different kind as he was easing the other. The heat of his body behind her sent another flood of goose bumps along her skin, made her throat tighten with an unswallowable mass of need. The cologne he was wearing, heated by his skin, intoxicated her ... Or maybe it was just him?
Who was she kidding? He hadn't been wearing cologne before and he'd had the same effect on her.
She tried not to think about what those hands would feel like moving over the rest of her body. If they felt even half that good....
She felt the heat of his breath against the hollow at the base of her skull a split second before the brush of his lips. She sucked in a breath and held it, gripping the lavatory frantically as it sent another heady wave of need through her. The muscles along the walls of her sex contracted almost painfully, squeezing heated moisture along the channel. A shiver worked its way along her spine.
"Mom wanted to know if you'd found the aspirin?” a munchkin voice
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