Chapter 15
15
RHYS
I wail a painful moan into the throw pillow I’m pressing my face into.
My neck and trap muscles are fucking killing me. I should have known not to go lift for lift at the gym with Hudson, the strongest guy on the team. My ego bites me in the ass again.
That was yesterday afternoon. I woke up today sore as shit, then had to go to practice. Now my muscles are howling in pain. The rest of the guys went to Marco’s Pizza to get something to eat after practice while I trudged back home.
First thing I did was strip my shirt off my sweat-drenched torso, since I was too sore to even shower. Second thing I did was lumber to the couch and collapse face down.
Those are the only two things I’ve done for the last half hour. Well, unless you count repeatedly groaning into this pillow.
The front door opens.
“Who is it?” I ask, my question muffled by the pillow. “I can’t turn around.”
“It’s me.” My heart thumps at the sound of Maddie’s soft, musical voice.
I hear her plop onto the other couch in the living room. “Trying to get a tan?” she asks.
I huff a small chuckle into the pillow, but even that tiny motion strains my muscles enough to make me wince in pain. “My neck and back muscles hurt so much that even having a shirt resting on them is too much to bear.”
“Did you take some ibuprofen or anything?” she asks.
“No,” I grunt into the pillow. “Too sore to walk any further than the couch.”
“You’re lucky you have me,” Maddie sighs, pushing to her feet.
She doesn’t know the half of how lucky I am to have her.
Even though this is our last year together …
I push the thought from my head. I’m already dealing with a throbbing pain in my back, neck, and shoulders. I don’t need a stabbing pain in my chest on top of it.
Maddie returns from the kitchen and kneels next to me. “Here, swallow.”
I let out a whiny groan. If it had occurred to me that I’d have to actually turn my head to take the medicine, I’d have told her not to bother.
My neck feels so tight as I turn it to the side, I’m surprised it doesn’t make a creaking sound like an old, rusty door hinge.
“Geeze, Rhys,” Maddie says after I’ve swallowed the pills. “Your neck looks all knotted up.”
“Can I give you some advice, Maddie?”
“Sure,” she answers on a sweet, soft laugh.
“Don’t try to compete against Hudson in who can do the most dumbbell shrugs.”
She laughs louder. “Wow, thanks for the wisdom. I was actually planning on doing just that tomorrow, but now I’ll reconsider.”
I let my gaze quickly flick up and down her to take in what she’s wearing. Faded, roomy blue jeans paired with a more form-fitting white t-shirt. I bet when she stands up, there’s a sliver of smooth, creamy skin exposed between her beltline and the hem of that shirt. Maybe enough of one to spot her cute belly button. My cock twitches at the thought.
Then my cock twitches a lot harder, because Maddie reaches out and gently rests her soft palm right against the muscle that hurts the most, just below my neck to the right.
She presses her fingertips lightly, kneading into the tight knot, and a wave of relief floods through me.
“Fuck,” I groan.
She instantly pulls her hand away. “Sorry, did that hurt?”
“No,” I rasp, missing the soothing pressure of her fingers. “It felt good. Do it again.”
“Like this?” she asks, the pads of her fingers delicately pressing into the thick, corded muscles around my neck.
“Yes.” The word is a satisfied moan rumbling from my chest. “Keep going.”
She uses both hands now, using more strength and pressure as she massages my swollen, stinging muscles. My eyes flutter closed as relief ripples through me. I don’t know how the hell Maddie learned to give a massage like this, all I know is I feel like I’ll die if she stops.
I wince as the pad of her thumb digs into a particularly sensitive muscle, but I know it’s one that needs the attention she’s giving it.
“Should I go softer?” Maddie asks, sensing how I tensed up.
“No,” I answer, my voice still hoarse and thick. “Harder.”
I sigh in relief as the ministrations of her fingertips unknot my muscles. The pain clouding my head starts to break up. Slowly, my sense of relief is replaced by another feeling: the pleasure of feeling her warm, soft hands on me.
My cock swells. My lower abs clench. Fuck does it feel good to have her hands on me.
“You’re so tight here,” she says, her voice sharp with concentration. “Maybe if I …”
My heartbeat pounds like a fucking hammer at the base of my shaft, because Maddie Larsen is hooking her leg over me and mounting me from behind to have a better angle to roll her fingertips into my muscles.
Her legs are straddled over my ass, her body weight resting against me. Heat roars through my bloodstream, desire pounding heavy like a drum between my legs.
It takes every single ounce of self-control I can summon not to rock my hips forward, seeking any friction I can. Now the ache isn’t in my back and shoulders, it’s throbbing mercilessly in my loins.
I should tell Maddie I feel better now; tell her she can stop. But I can’t bring myself to do it.
My self-control frays. I roll my hips forward. The friction as my pelvis pushes into the couch cushion sends white-hot pleasure streaking through me.
“Is this good?” Maddie asks, bending forward to put more of her body weight into the massage.
“So fucking good,” I rasp.
It’s the very last thing I should say in response. Now I can’t stop thinking about being on top of her, rocking my hips forward into the blissful heat between her thighs, moaning those very words into the soft shell of her ear.
What if I spun around right now? Gripped her hips and tipped her over so that I was hovering over her on this couch, face to face. Pressed my hips forward so she could feel how fucking hard she’s making me, so hard that with each beat of my heart, my cock threatens burst through my jeans. Told her everything I’m thinking, everything I want to do to her …
Told her that the other night, after I saw her in my shirt, I was so frenzied with arousal that I pumped my cock with my fist and had to bite my cheek to keep from crying out when I came.
Fuck, I need to snap out of it. This is my best friend’s little sister I’m thinking about. This is Maddie.
I’m summoning up the willpower to thank her for the massage and tell her she can get off me—when we hear the sound of someone at the front door.