Chapter 14 #2
“Are you talking specifically about me?” he asked.
I parted my lips to respond but the growly vibration from his throat stopped me from speaking.
Pressing deeper into the area that caused his reaction elicited another moan, the guttural sound squeezing the air from my lungs.
“That feels so fucking good.” Jackson dropped his head, his breathing coming out in long exhales.
Satisfied exhales. And I couldn’t help but wonder if he made similar sounds when he had sex. “Your hands are magic.”
“I’ve been told that before,” I joked, reeling back my banter when he peeked at me sideways. His glare was hard at first but quickly morphed into a softness I wasn’t used to seeing on him.
“I’m sure you have.” His muttered response teetered between an insult and a compliment.
Another grunt of satisfaction barreled out of his mouth, and I decided I couldn’t continue for much longer. I feared I’d throw myself on him and demand he make those elicit sounds for me. And since that would be the worst decision I could make, I rose to my feet.
Tapping his arm, I said, “Come on. I want to show you a few stretches you can do that’ll help. Some of them I’m sure Trevor has done with you, but just in case he hasn’t, we’ll try them.”
After retrieving a folding chair from the far corner, I placed the seat to his left.
“Sit.” He didn’t move at first. “Please.” After a moment, he finally complied. I had no idea why he hesitated, but I wasn’t going to waste my breath asking, since I doubted he’d answer.
“Do you want me to take my shirt off?” He glanced up at me when he asked the question, a gleam of something torrid dancing behind his eyes. Or perhaps I misread the look altogether.
I wanted to shout, “Fuck yes!” but settled on, “Not necessary.” Moving to stand beside him, I gently lifted his left arm.
“Relax your shoulders.” Once he complied, I positioned his limb as far across his chest as possible, cognizant of the tenderness in his shoulder.
“Use your other hand to hold your arm up. Don’t pull or put any pressure on your elbow.
” He responded to my instruction without argument.
Not that I thought he’d have much of one as I tried to help him.
“Good. Now hold that stretch for thirty seconds.” As I silently counted, I couldn’t help but stare at him.
He faced forward, so he didn’t notice how my gaze drifted over him, appreciating his thick, dark waves, his strong jawline, his broad shoulders.
“Should I do the other arm now?”
I hadn’t noticed he’d finished, scolding myself for becoming lost in the sight of him.
“Yes.” He crossed his other arm across his chest. “You’ll do two sets of this stretch before you work out and two after. Every day.”
“Trevor has me do this one daily, but not for as long.”
“The extra time and repetition will help.” After he finished, I asked him to stand, guiding him to the table against the nearest wall.
“Put your left hand on the table. Now lean forward a bit and let your right arm dangle at your side.” I positioned myself right next to him, unable to escape the desire blooming between my legs.
“Gently swing your arm back and forth.” I allowed thirty seconds to pass before giving my next directive, stepping behind him.
“Now do it side to side. Slower.” Another thirty seconds passed, and the entire time, I stared at his sculpted physique, my eyes lingering on his ass as he stretched.
Luckily, he didn’t catch me ogling him. “Now in a circular motion.” I retreated farther to give him more room. “Perfect.”
“Other arm now?”
“Yes. And you’ll do this particular stretch in two sets of ten, before and after your workout.”
As I stood off to the side, watching him complete the stretches, Lance walked back into the room, glancing from me to Jackson and back again. He extended his arm toward me, my cell resting in his palm.
“It keeps going off.”
I had an idea who was responsible for the bombardment of phone calls but didn’t say anything in front of either of them.
“Sorry about that.” I retrieved it from him. “Thanks.”
He no longer looked at me but at Jackson. “We need to talk.”
“You told me that before.”
“It can’t wait any longer.”
With a grunt of frustration, Jackson pushed off the table and turned toward his friend, the glare he shot his way making me uncomfortable.
“Fine.”
“Will you excuse us, Sophie?” Lance asked.
Lance smiled at me, a gesture I didn’t think anything of until Jackson turned to look at me, then back at his buddy. His hands clenched into fists, and his shoulders rose to his ears.
“Of course,” I quickly replied. Before I walked out, my gaze landed back on Jackson. “I can show you a few more stretches later on if you like.”
He didn’t respond. In fact, he wouldn’t look at me, his sole focus on the other man in the room. Tension coiled between them as I hightailed it out of there.
I considered our impromptu session a win. Maybe now that he knew I could help him, he’d reconsider hiring me for the job I initially applied for.
Either way, Jackson was slowly becoming more comfortable around me, and that in itself was a good thing.