12. Hux
12
HUX
“You booked a couples massage?”
The way Dolly’s voice lifts after her last word, paired with her one raised eyebrow, leaves zero room for debate that that’s a question, rather than a statement, and she’s perplexed rather than tickled. Holding up the pamphlet the woman behind the check-in desk at the spa handed her, as if that’s going to somehow provide an answer, her gorgeous blue eyes go wide and I can see the wheels in her brain spinning.
Errrr…I booked a couple of massages…
Then again, thinking back to the package they had online, I might have been mistaken. After all, it was a "romantic escape" package. I simply hadn’t planned to use the romance part.
As best friends, one bed for us both was fine—we’ve shared a sleeping space plenty over the years—and the quiet dinner was going to be an escape. Add in a couple of massages as a way to relax and unwind, and it was going to be a great getaway.
That said, it makes a lot more sense now that I think about it that it would be a couples massage.
Oooops…
“Guess so…” I shrug, not knowing how else to respond. Because this is more than a little awkward.
And there’s not a lot that’s awkward between Dolly and me. It’s a rather short list considering how long we’ve been friends.
“Okay then.” Turning back to the check-in lady, she smiles, lighting up the room. Her voice is easy, light, and nonchalant, like this is the most natural thing in the world. “Yes, we are here for a couples massage.”
My insides ease, areas of my body I didn’t realize had gone tense releasing. Guess I need this massage more than I realized.
Slipping her arm around me, Dolly rests her head against my chest, and instantly, everything is right with the world. There is no way anything could be wrong with her holding me like this. I’m sure of it.
Same as it was when I woke up this morning, wrapped around her luscious body, her curves pressed against me and my raging morning wood nestled between her cheeks, screaming for attention. I never wanted to let go. If I could have figured out a way to keep her right there for the rest of time, I would have. Because this morning was different from all the other times I woke up snuggled next to her.
Because I kissed her.
I kissed Dolly McLain. Damn if that hasn’t been a secret fantasy longer than I want to admit.
“What’s the matter?” she asks, pulling away.
“Nothing.”
It’s not a lie. There isn’t anything the matter. But it’s also not quite the truth. Because I’m in deep fucking water and am starting to doubt my ability to swim.
“Your heart just started racing, so something is up.”
I chuckle, unable to hold it back. Leave it to this one to call me on my physiological reaction to her beauty.
“Can’t a guy’s heart skip a beat when holding his girl?” I reply, laying it on thick.
“Get out of here!” She pushes me away, rolling her eyes.
I laugh it off, trying to keep the moment light, but there’s no missing the twitch in her eye. The one that tells me she doesn’t believe me. Not really. The one that tells me she thinks that there’s no way anyone could ever think that about her.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, stealing my attention as the attendant appears from behind a sliding door, gesturing for us to following her. I let Dolly lead the way, quickly checking the text.
Willa
Showed Auggie the plans for Project: Second Star…he loves them! Said he and Jack can help push it through for approval
“Ah-hem…”
“Huh?”
I look up, the impatient blonde beauty in front of me holding out a robe, an amused smile spreading across those very kissable lips.
“This is yours. Locker room for you to change is right there.” She nods toward the door labeled men . “And leave that thing in there. I don’t want to listen to it going bzzzz bzzz the whole time because of whichever brother can’t leave you alone.”
“It’s Willa,” I correct her.
“That’s even worse.”
She has a point. I steal a quick, chaste kiss then disappear to change. It’s been a long time since I did this, and I don’t remember proper protocol. So, skivvies it is. Last thing I need is to go au natural and get us kicked out of here.
I change quickly, then tap out a reply to my sister before stashing my phone.
Awesome. Tell Nash I expect free landscaping
Exiting the locker room, I look around for Dolly, finding her in a dimly lit lounge type room, full of couches, with soft instrumental music playing, almost drowned out by an oddly loud water feature.
“Hey you.”
I sit down next to her on the couch, not leaving much room between us. The urge to be close to her is overwhelming and something I can’t explain. It’s like kissing her broke the dam, allowing all sorts of things I was keeping bottled up to flow out.
“Hi.” She reaches over, wiggling her hand out of the oversized robe that seems to swallow her and hide her beautiful curves, grabbing mine. “What’s Project: Second Star?”
“What?”
Now my pulse is really racing. How does she know about that?
She giggles, shaking her head. “It was in your text.”
“Oh.” Right. Errrr…how do I answer that? “Hayes business.”
“That all I’m gonna get?”
“For now.”
“Since when is paper and lumber so mysterious?”
Narrowing her eyes, Dolly shifts, studying me. I let her, enjoying being the object of her gaze.
“Who said it had anything to do with paper and lumber?”
I waggle my eyebrows, knowing that my cryptic answer will drive her crazy. She gasps, the sound much louder than intended, her hand flying to cover her mouth.
“Huxley Hayes, are you up to no good without me?”
Never…
If she only knew that all this was for her. That my secret project—which was originally intended to be a wedding gift—is more about making her smile than anything else. Because that smile is what fuels my entire world.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hayes?”
I freeze. My initial reaction is to be a smart-ass and tell this nice human being in the salmon-colored scrubs that my parents are back in Hickory Hills, but then I think better of it. Good thing too, because Dolly is quick on the draw.
“Why not!”
Why not indeed…
She pops up off the couch like a bottle rocket in a back field on a hot summer’s night, the still way too big robe slipping off her shoulder, showing off some skin. My dick twitches, and fuck, it’s a good thing I kept my skivvies on because the tent pole I’m currently sporting would be splitting this robe right open. Talk about indecent exposure.
A moment later, we’re in the room, the two massage tables set just far enough apart for the therapists to fit in between, leaving maybe enough room for a couple to hold hands during treatment. Which wouldn’t make much sense anyway. More importantly, the tables are dressed so that the heads face in opposite directions.
“Today’s rubdown is brought to you by the number sixty-nine,” I joke, slipping out of my robe and hanging it up on the wall. “If they think that’s discouraging couples from?—”
I spin around and am stopped dead in my tracks. Absolutely, one hundred percent dead.
Dolly McLain is naked.
All the air has been sucked from the room, my lungs burning as they try to keep up. I don’t know where to look, because all of it is stunning. Magnificent. Forget the Venus de Milo or whatever that statue is in the Louvre—because the most incredible woman is standing right here in front of me in a spa in Georgia.
Fuuuuuck…
“You’re wearing undies!” Dolly whispers, the soft words both accusatory and hurt at the same time.
“They’re boxer briefs,” I correct her. Men don’t wear undies . “And I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do and didn’t want to cause a scene with my wang just hanging out.”
If there was ever a time to not free ball it…
“Instead you just let me put on the show? Embarrass myself even more?”
Embarrass herself? Is that what she thinks this is? Oh, fuck no.
“Dolly.”
My voice comes out like I just chain smoked an entire pack. She shifts, her annoyance on display as she crosses her arms, pushing up her breasts, front and center. If I thought I didn’t know where to look before, she just answered my question. Lust surges through me, and there’s no hiding it, my cock going rock-hard and creating a bulge that I’m sure she can’t ignore.
Yet, somehow she does.
I need to rectify this.
Stepping into her, I lick my lips, trying to find the perfect words to let her know what I’m thinking. Feeling. But if my comment from the lobby proved anything, a cheesy line isn’t going to work here. She needs the simple truth.
“You don’t have any idea how beautiful you are, do you?”
Dolly scoffs, trying to look away, but I stop her. Cupping her cheek in my hand, I guide her back to me, locking our gazes.
“You don’t have to feed me a line, Hux,” she sasses, giving me that smile that lights up my world. The one that I know only I get. “I’ll still fuck you.”
I let out a laugh under my breath, shaking my head. Damn, I love her spirit.
Running my thumb along her cheekbone, I take a moment, wanting this next part to sink in. Wanting her to know that I meant it.
“It’s not a line. It’s me realizing that you don’t actually have a clue.” Leaning into her more, I drag my fingers along her forearm, making sure to skim her tits as I do, grabbing her hand and uncrossing her arms. She shivers from the light touch, and I make a mental note to revisit this later. Bringing her hand to my chest, I guide it south, until it rests squarely on the hard-on that she—and she alone—is responsible for. My dick twitches from the new attention, leaving little room for question. “That’s what seeing you like this does to me. So I won’t be accepting any counterarguments in regard to just how gorgeous you are.”
Her harsh, shuddered exhale fills the small room, overtaking the mood music for a moment. Fine by me. Because that reaction is music to my ears.
In fact, everything this woman does is.
And standing here like this is making me start to reevaluate things. Because I’ve always known that I love Dolly. Little lowercase l love. Best friend platonic love. Except, maybe it’s not as lowercase as I think.
Her being naked has nothing to do with it either. Or maybe it does. Just not in the way I think. Because yes, I want to do dirty, dirty things to her. But even if she told me that was off the table, nothing would change. The ability to be this comfortable and vulnerable while literally naked with someone isn’t lowercase feelings. It’s uppercase feelings.
“You’re still wearing undies…” Giving me a light squeeze, Dolly’s eyes go dark and I have to bite back a groan. We are still kind of in public.
“Want to take them off me?”
Truth time. I’ve laid my cards out. Time for her to either call my bet or fold.
Wordlessly, she adjusts her stance again, moving her hands to my hips and slipping her thumbs under the elastic. Electricity shoots through me from that first touch, much the same way it did last night when I kissed her. Much like I did then, she starts out slow, inching the fabric down my skin, waiting to see what is exposed. Part of me wants to tell her that all my ink is already on display, but I don’t, letting her make this discovery for herself.
Rounding my briefs over my ass, she sucks in a breath, before moving the front portion. My dick pops free, thankful to be out of the confines of the fabric, and this time, I don’t hold back my moan.
“Feel better?” she teases.
“Much.”
“So, then, what if I did…this…”
Wrapping her hand around my length, she slowly strokes me, sending pleasure straight up my spine. My legs wobble, the sensation so unexpected, but oh so welcome. Her skin is soft and warm, and like nothing I’ve ever felt. It’s fucking magic.
“Fuck, Dolly,” I curse.
I grab her face, not caring for a single second how gentle I’m not being, planting a kiss on her. It’s hard, fast, and full of everything I can’t say right now. All the things she’s making me feel. Both physically and otherwise. She kisses me back with just as much intensity, whimpering into me, her hand tightening around my cock. Letting me know that she’s in this moment just as deeply as I am.
Knock! Knock!
“Y’all ready?”
The sweet, Southern accent that cuts through the door is so much like my mother’s that it’s almost enough to kill the mood. Almost. Dolly is still holding my cock after all.
“Just about!” Dolly calls back, a devious look on her face.
That’s my girl…
We separate, cool air swirling around us, the energy still crackling in the air. How I’m going to hold it together for the next ninety minutes while I know she’s on the table next to me—naked—is beyond me.
“Hop up,” I tell her, patting the one massage table. “I’ll tuck you in.”
“You’re gonna tuck me in?”
“Yup.”
I pull back the sheet, eyes glued to her ass as she climbs onto the table, my hard-on still raging.
Fuck…
A second later she’s settled, so I start to pull the sheets up, but then I pause, giving that glorious ass a smack.
“Hux!”
“Don’t worry, there’s more where that came from.”
I wink, then hop up on my table, quickly covering myself so the massage therapists can come in.
Yeah, I think I uppercase love her…