21. Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Quinn
Jake stepped into the tub, water splashing up. His movements were big and strong, even with something as simple as that, which made waves and stirred up even more of the salt from the bottom, clouding the water further. Quinn only paid such close attention to the behavior of the water because he was watching as Jake’s thighs dipped down, covering the stark tan line from his boxers, then over his balls and his still-hard cock, then the wiry blond pubic hair and his happy trail and the damn outie belly button that Quinn shouldn’t have been so into.
But he was. He was into all of it, and it took all his self-control not to go into the tub front-facing and let his tongue explore. His back wasn’t even sore anymore. Either that, or he was too distracted to care.
With a sigh, which he hoped came off as contented, he slid back into the hot water and breathed in the bright, floral scent. He’d been right about one thing: lemongrass and lavender smelled pretty damn nice.
His ass slid right along Jake’s cock as he took a seat, shooting pure, molten steel up through his shaft and making him fully erect.
Once he got settled again, Jake’s hands returned, applying even more force, reminding Quinn just how sore the day had made him as they reawakened aches and pains, only to knead them away.
“So. This a good enough massage you can risk talking about your day?”
Quinn tried his best not to tense, he really did. It didn’t work. A wave rolled up and brought his shoulders higher. He took a few breaths in an attempt to calm himself.
“If it’s too much, that’s a-okay.”
“No. It’s just been a lot more than I expected.” He closed his eyes and leaned forward, giving Jake a little easier access to his back and neck and shoulders. He gave it a few seconds, letting Jake work him over, up and down, while the water and the fragrance swirled around him, then opened his mouth and let it spill. “The project they have me working on was thorny and messy, but I usually don’t run into quite so many interpersonal issues in my line of work. And I like it that way.”
“Interpersonal how?”
He sighed, focusing on the feel of hard calluses digging into his back and shoulders instead of the whole mess of this job. “Family enterprise. Lots of businesses. Messy to untangle, so of course it’s already stressful. They gave it to me because they know I can do it, and even though I can ask for help, they absolutely expect me to do this on my own. That’s never been in question.”
“Did they ever tell you that, or did you decide that on your own?”
“They didn’t have to tell me. But that’s not even that bad. I could handle it if it was just the work.” He felt the rising tension again and forced himself to relax, to lean into the massage, feel every available inch of Jake beneath and behind him. “I was fine until I got to the scans of the letters and the forwarded emails. I had to read through them to get pertinent information. And I’m used to that. I can mostly skim. But skimming…you still get the gist of what you’re reading. So as much as I try not to, I have to learn how one of them dipped into their parents’ retirement fund, and how another tried to forge a will, and then affairs, everyone sleeping with each other’s husbands and wives, payoffs to keep different staff members quiet, all of them mingling personal and business finances so I can’t just skip any of it or write it off.” He blew out a harsh breath. “I came out today after I had to go through all the back and forth when the grandpa died.”
Jake’s fingers stopped working for a split-second, then dug in again. More gently, slower. “That had to be rough.”
“I can’t believe how bad it was. I guess my grandpa was a better situation overall. He didn’t have anyone left to leave anything to other than me, so no fighting.” He shook his head. “That’s not the case with them. They’re still trying to sue each other over it to get what they think they deserve, and they’ve somehow tied it all into their businesses, so I have to go through it.”
“Did you try telling the higher-ups it’s too much? I’m sure they’d understand, given everything.”
Quinn let out a shuddering breath, then leaned all the way back so he could rest his head on Jake’s chest and shoulder, look up into his eyes. “I don’t want to just abandon it. And I don’t want to make somebody else go through it. I just…I needed a break, and I thought working on the house would be a good chance.”
“Well you should have called me.” Jake raked his fingers back through Quinn’s hair, scratching and massaging his scalp. “I could have told you that working on the house wouldn’t have been less stressful. Getting recorded while you sweat, getting covered in dirt…dealing with Ozzy.”
Quinn snorted and shifted his hips back, settling in a little deeper and allowing the water to wash even higher up his body. “He’s a handful, that’s for sure. But hopefully the front lawn looks good.”
“Oh, he’s great at what he does. Whether that’s landscaping or being a tool.” Jake ran his hands up and down the front of Quinn’s body, over his nipples and down his ribs to his abdomen, sliding under the water but stopping short of reaching for his crotch before climbing back up. “Is the Epsom salt helping at all?”
Quinn took a moment or two to evaluate. “I think so. But it’s pretty subtle. I don’t think my hips or lower back hurt as much as they did before.”
“Yeah. It’s more of a relaxing kind of thing than a miracle cure. But I like to use them. I think they do something. Or they’re a really good placebo.” He kept his hands moving the entire time, stroking all over Quinn’s torso, bringing the water up to slick his movements across Quinn’s chest and belly.
“I think you might be helping more than the Epsom salt.”
“Well, I do what I can.”
His fingers slipped to the side and slid down and Quinn tensed, resisting the urge to jerk away.
Jake pulled back instantly. “What’s wrong? Something sore? I’m sorry.”
Quinn breathed out and forced himself out of his head. “It’s…no. Nothing hurts there. I don’t…” Somehow this felt more awkward than owning up to his relationship worries or airing everything out about work. “I’ve got love handles there.”
“Oh.” Jake was quiet a minute, then his hand slid up and gripped Quinn by the chin, tilting his head back until all Quinn could see was him looking down, his eyes somehow simultaneously deep and bright. “If you care about them, that’s valid. But I don’t.” He gently pressed his lips to Quinn’s forehead. “I just spent a while looking at your whole body and touching your whole body, and you might have noticed my boner hasn’t diminished at all.”
“I need to work on them.”
“You don’t. You’re fine. But if you want pointers on handling them, I’d help you out with that, too.”
He placed one hand in the center of Quinn’s chest, pulling him closer. Quinn’s breath hitched as he felt that, indeed, Jake was still hard. That hand glided down, over his navel, then to the side.
His fingers were warm and hard and lovely, brushing over his sides. His love handles. This big blond hunk with abs and biceps to die for lovingly touched that stupid part of himself that Quinn was ashamed of.
I’m in danger. He nuzzled in closer and brought his own hand up, guiding Jake down for another kiss. Right now, throwing caution to the wind sounds great.