Chapter 4
Gabriel
“What kind of new-age bullshit did you sign me up for, Rocco? I didn’t misalign my fucking chakras, I pulled a goddamned muscle in my back.”
Screaming at my friend through the phone wasn’t the most productive use of my time. With my luck, there was probably someone outside the door listening or even recording me. But between the pain and my frustration, I needed to vent my anger and my usual outlet wasn’t possible in my current condition. When I woke up this morning the muscles in my lower back felt like they’d frozen solid, then shattered into shards of glass. It had taken every ounce of my willpower to get dressed and leave my room.
Missing my morning workout was bad enough, but discovering the sports massage Rocco had booked for me was in the casino spa instead of a physical therapist’s office was unacceptable. The place had crystals hanging off the walls alongside motivational posters for christ’s sake. Even the soft music they were piping into the room was grating on my nerves. Who the hell relaxes to the sound of an electronic flute?
Theoretically, it was possible someone in this place might know what they were doing, so I’d tried to take things in stride. Taking off my shirt to put on their stupid robe had been a torture I’d gritted my teeth through. I’d kept my calm, if skeptical, mindset until the receptionist who brought me to this room all but outright offered to drop to her knees and blow me as an extra service.
My growled ‘No’ had her running out of the room quicker than a scared rabbit. If the thought of getting dressed and going back to my room didn’t cause a cold sweat to break out on my skin, I would have followed her. So instead of soaking in my room’s hot tub, I was leaning against the table trying to move as little as possible while I yelled at my manager.
“I’ve heard from several people she is the best in the city for therapeutic deep-tissue massage.” The laughter in Rocco’s voice made me want to reach through the phone and punch him.
“I have trouble believing that by the look of this place. I need to be functional.” If I didn’t get this muscle spasm relaxed soon, I was going to end up flat on my back for days which would not only screw up my training schedule, it would utterly destroy my plans for getting to know Alyssa better.
“I’ve never seen you so impatient about missing training. Could this have to do with the sweet girl you cuddled last night?”
“Screw you.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Of course it was a yes. If I didn’t show up at the club tonight, she would think I’d ghosted her. Since I had no other way to contact her, I would be going to the club one way or another.
“Why can’t Phil just work his magic?” Phil was the best physical therapist in the league. If I remembered correctly, he was supposed to be here for this sort of thing.
“Phil is at the event in California and doesn’t fly in till next week. He sent over your info to the spa and approved the woman who will be working on you.”
“Christ, Rocco. Unless this woman is as big as I am there is no way she’s going to be able to break up even half the knots in my back.” It wasn’t my first time dealing with this exact injury. It took painful and serious pressure to relieve the tension before I regained any sort of mobility. “This is a complete waste of time!”
“Blame Phil, not me. I simply booked the session.”
A light knock on the door was the signal I was out of time. “Come in!” I grunted. Lowering my voice and turning, I growled into the phone. “Rocco, I am going to get even with you, I swear.”
“Don’t worry, I promise to go to the club for you tonight and tell your sweet Little her big bad Daddy is too old and out of shape to keep up with her.”
“Fuck you.” I hung up the phone to his laughter.
“I’m sorry, do you want me to come back later?”
The woman’s voice was almost a whisper. Yelling at her wouldn’t be productive and could end up in a tabloid. There was no way someone with that timid of a voice could possibly be what I needed right now.
“It’s fine, I was talking on the phone, not to you.”
I stood slowly so I didn’t set off my back. Was there a polite way to tell someone they were wasting their time? I was about to try, but my breath caught in my chest as I recognized the tiny woman at the door. She looked like a different person. The joy I’d found so entrancing last night was gone and replaced with tension. Her dark hair was pulled up into a bun and her wide eyes looked tired as they widened in shock. The shapeless black scrubs she wore did nothing to highlight her body, and yet without any makeup or fancy clothes she was breathtaking.
“Gabriel?” Her head tilted as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing either.
“Alyssa? What are you doing here?”
A spark of the playfulness she’d been filled with last night entered her eyes as she raised an eyebrow and gestured to her outfit. “I work here.” A blush flushed her cheeks as she looked down at the clipboard she clutched in her hands. “You”re the Destroyer? A professional fighter?”
For the first time in my life, I hesitated answering that question. I wasn’t ashamed of what I did for a living, but it wasn’t the part of me I wanted her to know. When she’d asked me last night if I was a god, there had been wonder and delight in her face. Knowing more about me hopefully wouldn’t tarnish those feelings. “Yes. It’s not a very creative name, but it’s easy for marketing.”
Her quiet giggle gave me hope. “I guess it is. It says here you hurt your back training yesterday.” Her scowl as she looked up at me was adorable. “If you hurt your back yesterday, you shouldn’t have been at the club. You definitely shouldn’t have been picking clumsy women up off the floor.”
I held back a laugh at the huffy tone in her voice. “I didn’t realize it was this bad till after I slept. And you better not be insulting yourself, little girl. I might not be able to spank you at the moment, but there is always tomorrow.”
Her gasp made me laugh. Pain tore through me as my back clenched. I leaned over gripping the table trying to breathe. I didn’t bother to fight her when she guided me to lay face down over it and gently slipped the robe off my shoulders. Under other circumstances, I might have enjoyed the softness of her hands as they brushed over my skin but at the moment I was having trouble biting back a scream.
Holding back the curses on the tip of my tongue was hard but I didn’t want to frighten her away. There was nothing this tiny slip of a woman could do to help my back, but I wasn’t going to throw away a single minute of the two hours Rocco had me booked with her.
Intense heat seared my lower back and I hissed. It took a minute to realize she was laying damp towels across my skin. They were scorching hot, as if they’d just been pulled out of boiling water. It took long minutes before the muscles finally stopped their painful twitching. My moan was probably a little too sexual but the relief after so long was intense.
“Better?”
I could hear laughter in her voice, and it settled something inside me. “Yes, thank you.”
“Maybe this won’t be a complete waste of your time?” Her tone was light, but I could hear echoes of hurt.
“You heard that?”
“I did.”
Damn me and my temper. I turned my head so I could see her. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”
Alyssa’s shrug was dismissive. I could only imagine how often she had to put up with assholes belittling her work. How was I going to explain without making things worse?
“It’s fine.”
Wanting to be honest and attempt to soothe the hurt I caused, I continued. “Princess, the kind of massage I need, you don’t have the muscle to deliver. Even an Amazonian warrior would have to struggle to break through the tension. Why don’t we talk for a bit and get to know each other, then I’ll hit the jacuzzi or sauna and pray it helps.”
“Hmph.” The amount of indignation in the simple sound was impressive. Was she considering leaving? I should’ve kept my mouth shut. The spark of challenge in her eyes was sexy as hell. “You’re sure about that?”
“About what?” I would not laugh at her no matter how adorable she looked when pissed.
“That I couldn’t possibly be strong enough to give you the massage you need.”
Her body was lean and fit. I scanned over every inch trying to commit it to memory. For her size she was probably stronger than most, but I wouldn’t lie to her. “Positive.”
“Wanna bet?”
She was so fucking adorable. Having her hands on me would be wonderful even if it didn’t help my back so I would play along. “What are we betting?”
Alyssa tapped her chin as if thinking. “I bet that I can give you a massage that will not only loosen your back, but make you feel like a new man.”
My thoughts immediately sprung to so many dirty places that lying face down was now uncomfortable for reasons other than my back. “And what do you want if you win?”
Her hesitation was so short I almost missed it. “You take me out to dinner anywhere I want.”
What had been her first thought? I would have to get her to confess it later.
Since I would happily take her out anywhere she wanted it was a no-lose situation. “Deal. But if I win you agree to be my Little.”
“Forever?”
Her surprise made me chuckle. What would she say if I answered yes?
“How about we say… you”ll be my Little for as long as I’m staying at the casino. You’ll stay in my suite and let me spoil you as much as I want.”
“I’m not a sugar baby or a pay-to-play. If that’s what you are looking for, you have the wrong Little.” Fire sparked in her eyes, and she placed her hands on her hips in challenge.
How had I gotten so lucky as to find her not once, but twice? I was going to enjoy every minute she let me share with her.
“No princess. I’m not looking to be a Sugar Daddy, but I do want to spoil you, in every way.”
The look of disbelief in her eyes hurt my heart. Had no one ever shown this beautiful woman how precious she was?
“It’s not like you are going to win anyway, so fine. It’s a deal.”
She pulled the cooling towels off my back and slowly rubbed heated oil into the exposed skin. Her touch was so gentle it barely even moved the skin as she glided her fingers across me.
“Have you always been a fighter?” Her question was more complicated than she probably realized.
“Pretty much. I joined the SEALs straight out of high school and stayed with them for ten years. I didn’t want to do mercenary or security work, but I also couldn’t see myself pushing a desk. I’d served in the same unit as Rocco on my first tour and we reconnected when I got out. He was the one who suggested I give MMA a shot. We both worked the circuit for a few years until a shoulder injury took him out. He’s been my manager ever since.”
“Do you enjoy it?” The hot stones she placed down my spine felt pleasant but even their intense heat did little to loosen the muscles.
“I like pushing myself physically and going up against the best fighters out there. But this is going to be my last professional fight. I’m getting too old to keep up.”
My smile was teasing, and she giggled as she started moving the stones slowly along the path of my muscles.
“What will you do then? Play shuffleboard?” She bit her lip and I wondered how sweet her mouth would be. “Ohh! I know, you could go on bus trips with the Senior Center.”
“Imp!” I chuckled. “I’m not that old. No, Rocco and I own a few training gyms. I’ll focus on them. I”m ready to put down roots and enjoy the money I worked so hard for. How about you? Do you like what you do?”
Her smile fell and she shrugged as she worked another layer of hot oil into my skin with her gentle touch. “Some days are better than others.”
“Why did you go into massage therapy?”
“I wanted to make people feel good.” She sighed and the light of laughter left her eyes. If working here wasn’t making her happy then she needed not to be doing this anymore. Alyssa didn’t realize it yet, but I was going to find a way to make her dreams come true. Whatever they were.
“If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?”
“As a job or as an adventure?”
Interesting that she separated the two. “Both.”
“Well, I’ve always wanted to swim with dolphins.” The image of her laughing and playing in the water wasn’t hard to conjure.
“And for a job?”
“Someday I want to be a full-time author.” She spoke softly, like she was afraid to tell me.
“That’s amazing! Have you ever published anything?”
“I have.” She wiped her hands off on a towel and stepped up onto a set of stairs I hadn’t noticed near the head of the table. “Ok I think we’re ready to start.”
Start? Why were their stairs leading up to the table? “What are you doing?”
“You booked an Ashiatsu massage.” Her smile was so big it was contagious. “Do you even know what that is?” She kicked off her slip-on shoes revealing gorgeous toes decorated with bright pink polish.
“Rocco booked it, not me.” Why was she taking off her shoes?
“Have you heard of Shiatsu massage?”
“Sure, that”s the deep-tissue massage the PT gives me for sore muscles.”
“Well, atsu means pressure and Shi means fingers.” She wiggled her hands as if I needed a demonstration.
“Okay....” I dragged the word out, still confused.
“Ashi means foot.” She stood and I could see her out of the corner of my eye as she gripped something over her head.
Her foot slid down my spine in a motion that was both slow and graceful. It felt so amazing I was rendered speechless. For ninety minutes the only sounds I could make were those of pleasure as she used the full weight of her body to slowly unlock every ache and knot in my back.
It was a sensual but not sexual experience. At times I could tell she was being playful as she alternated pressure in an almost-choreographed dance along my back. The release of the pain was like a drug filling my body with happy endorphins and by the time she walked back down the wooden steps I was so relaxed I could have slept.
“What do you think?” Her voice was tired, but her smile was genuine. She leaned down and toweled the oil off her feet before sliding back into her shoes that I could now tell were a type of slipper.
I sat up and stretched. My back was still sore but nothing like it had been when I walked in. I let her see the gratitude in my gaze. “I think I owe you dinner.”