Patience
. . .
Ellie
When I woke up this morning, did I think I’d end up lying naked on a table and basically begging for Cade to touch me?
No.
… But I wasn’t unhappy with the turn of events.
Cade’s hands must’ve been dusted with fairy magic, because everywhere he touched, my skin prickled with heat. What’d been a normal massage turned into a toe-curling, back-arching production in a matter of minutes.
I wanted more—needed his hands to move higher up my thighs.
But Cade didn’t seem in any rush. Instead of going where I needed him, he slowly worked his hands back down my thighs. I was completely naked under this sheet, my nipples had hardened against the table, and he was taking his time?
“What are you waiting for?” I scowled, spreading my legs another inch apart and hoping he took the hint.
He exhaled a laugh. “Patience, Ellie.”
“Patience?” I echoed with a huff. “That’s easy for you to say. You got me all worked up, and now you’re just teasing me—”
My own squeak cut me off as Cade reached underneath the sheet and grabbed my butt.
“Is this better?” he asked, deceivingly innocent as he rubbed the oil firmly into both cheeks.
I gaped at the table, not even sure how to answer. I’d never gotten my butt massaged before. It was way more erotic than I ever could’ve imagined. Cade’s hands glided like butter while he kneaded and squeezed.
He’d shoved the sheet away, so he could see everything down there, and cool air rushed between my thighs—making me bite my lip.
I swallowed, then opened and closed my mouth twice before I could speak. “A little, but still not quite what I had in mind.”
A low hum rumbled from Cade’s chest, and he eased my cheeks apart until he could get the oil everywhere.
My eyelids fluttered against the table, my mind unable to focus on anything except how good it felt.
“How about this?” His free hand pressed on my lower back, while the other slid over my backside. With each pass, he got closer and closer to where I wanted him, and it got more and more difficult to breathe.
I spread my legs further apart, urging him on. He inched closer, then backed off again.
I wanted to scream.
On his next pass, I gripped the sheet with white knuckles and held my breath as he just barely brushed two fingers over where I was wet and very, very ready for him.
The touch unlocked something.
“Cade,” I gasped, arching my back to get closer to him.
He rewarded me with a bit more pressure—more like a tease—and my hips rotated against his hand in reflex just as—
The door swung open without warning, and a scream caught in my throat as I snapped my legs shut.
“One thing I forgot to—Oh!” Dr. Lovejoy slapped a hand over her eyes, knocking off her glasses before spinning around, putting her back to us. The pressure of Cade’s fingers disappeared right before he covered my butt with a sheet. “I deeply apologize for interrupting!”
“What the hell are you doing?” Cade snapped with enough bite in his tone that even I winced. “Get out.”
But instead of leaving, Dr. Lovejoy hovered in the doorway with her back to us.
“Well—I—I came to pass on a message. But since I’m here, we actually have an incredible opportunity.
With my experience in sex therapy, I can walk you through this wondrous bonding moment.
It’s not about the destination, but the journey.
Too many couples get overwhelmed by the pressure of achieving orgasm and forget—”
“That’s enough, Bliss,” Cade practically growled. He pulled on the sheet to cover more of my legs, while I flattened myself to the table. “What’s the message?”
“Ah, forgive me for getting distracted. I came on behalf of your mother. She’s requesting your presence—both of you—at dinner this evening, and she wanted to let you know as soon as possible,” she recited while still facing the other way.
She paused before adding softly as an afterthought, “It’s a good thing she sent me instead of coming herself. ”
I bit back a groan. Cade’s mom had summoned us to dinner?
I risked a peek up at Cade, who was even less thrilled about it by the way his jaw tightened.
When neither of us spoke, Dr. Lovejoy cleared her throat. “So, would you like me to stay and coach you through—”
“Get out,” was all Cade said, and I threw my arm back to whack him.
“Be nice,” I hissed.
Dr. Lovejoy chuckled and took a big step into the hallway. “No, no, I understand. This is a private moment. Just please remember to enjoy the journey!”
She blindly shut the door behind herself—crushing her glasses in the process—and I cringed with embarrassment.
“Sorry, Dr. Lovejoy!” I yelled after her.
“Don’t ever apologize for your sexuality, Ellie,” she called through the door. “Exploring your desires with your partner is not only highly encouraged, but celebrated! I’m so happy for you both. May many life-altering orgasms be in both your futures. And don’t forget about group yoga!”
My cheeks flushed a deep red, and I dropped my forehead to the table, groaning softly.
Well, that was one way to ruin the mood.
And if anything, I was even more tense now—the exact opposite of what a massage should’ve done!
I couldn’t even bear to face Cade.
He rubbed his hands over my back and shoulders in a much more innocent massage, seemingly unbothered by the interruption. But after a minute of me staying facedown on the table and not moving, Cade made a sound suspiciously like a cough covering up a laugh.
“Ellie?” A grin tugged at his voice. “Are you planning to sit up?”
I paused, debating my options, before settling on the truth. “No.”
“… Why not?”
I attempted to clear the growing lump from my throat. “I’m waiting for you to leave first.”
His answering breath of laughter slid straight into my veins. “Why do you want me to leave?”
I did my best to melt into the massage table, trying to become one with it. When that didn’t work, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Because I’m embarrassed,” I finally admitted.
Another suspicious cough sounded before his lips pressed against my bare shoulder. The kiss eased more tension than a massage ever could, and he murmured near my ear, “I’m more turned on than I’ve ever been in my life. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Sit up.”
I gulped at the order, even as a blush consumed my face. Reluctantly, I clutched the sheet to my front while awkwardly fumbling up to sit. Cade stood in front of me with just a white sheet slung low on his hips—doing nothing to hide his own excitement.
My eyes bugged out before I quickly averted my gaze, but it made me feel better that I wasn’t the only one so affected.
He nudged my knees apart and settled into the space between them, his hands resting on my hips.
“Good girl,” he said softly before pressing his lips to mine. I melted into him—from the praise or kiss, I wasn’t sure.
Probably both.
Cade nibbled and kissed along my jaw, tracing a slow, lazy path down to my neck.
“We’re kicking your hellion out of our room tonight,” he said in that gravelly voice I liked so much.
A soft sigh escaped me. I tilted my head back to give him better access. “Oh yeah? Why would we do that?”
His teeth dragged against my neck, making me grab his shoulders. “So I can do all the things I’ve imagined doing to you in our bed, including finishing what we started here.”
Well, I couldn’t argue with that.
“I’ll move his pillow to the hallway and let him know,” I whispered with a smile, hoping Whiskey would forgive me.
Cade’s tongue joined his lips’ exploration, and my patience snapped. I buried my fingers in his hair and tugged him up, pulling him into another kiss, which he immediately deepened. The hunger radiating from him had me wanting to rub up against him like a cat in heat.
Before I could do that, muffled voices passed the door, and I froze in Cade’s arms. The last thing I wanted was to get walked in on again, so I pulled back and cleared my throat. “Um, we should probably get cleaned up before yoga.”
Cade’s eyes narrowed, like he wanted to argue, but he grunted. “You’re right. I’d say we should skip everything and lock ourselves in the cabin for the day, but…”
A soft laugh spilled from my lips, and reality sank in a little deeper. “That wouldn’t help the plan.”
“Right,” he agreed. I tried to read more in his gaze, but the man was a closed book.
He helped me hop down from the table, and I tied the sheet together above my chest.
“Hey.” Cade pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to my head, lowering his voice. “Tonight, Darling.”
The promise sent a full-body shiver through me, and I wet my lips before a grin threatened to split my face in half. “Can’t wait.”