Chapter 8 #2
“Tenderness, comfort, touch…” Sebas held his hand to his heart. “That is what this is all about.” He gestured along the length of my frame. “Cienna is in a vulnerable position, trusting you with her body, but more importantly, her spirit.”
I bit back a grin. Sebas clearly took his job seriously, and I was sure in situations involving real couples, this was all very compelling. Reed’s rubbing paused suddenly, and I didn’t dare look at him, knowing he was close to laughing himself.
Sebas placed his hand on Reed’s shoulder, giving it a pat. “I saw you cup her head and stroke her ears.” He shook his head with a grin. “Such intuition. I can tell you have a great spiritual link.” He made two fists and squeezed them together. “Your connection is so natural.”
I gulped down a quivering feeling in the corner of my mouth.
“Is it okay if I touch your face?” Sebas asked, leaning over me and showing the oils on his hands. I nodded and fluttered my lashes closed, resisting the urge to squirm with nerves.
His touch on my face was gentle. And the oil’s sweet and earthy aroma overtook my senses as I took a deep breath of it. His fingers trailed across my forehead, between my brows, down the bridge of my nose, across my cheeks, and down my jawline.
Each spot he rubbed warmed, and I relaxed into the moment. “I’m creating a path for you, Reed.” His thumbs drew circles along my cheekbones as he spoke. “I won’t go any further than your neck. The rest is up to Reed.” The rest. My body tingled at the thought of what that entailed.
“Let’s see your hands.”
I squinted an eye open as Reed held his hands forward, palms up, and Sebas examined them before shaking some oil onto them.
He motioned for Reed to rub his hands together. “There you go, make it nice and warm for her.”
A thrill shot through my spine, splaying out to every limb. This wasn’t comical anymore. Reed was going to touch me. Intimately. If my body reacted to his little touches and flirtations, what would it do with sensual touches?
“Okay, Reed.” Sebas hovered over me, serious business here. “Go ahead and trace the path I made. Start your journey of touch and love there, and we will see where it leads you.”
I glanced up with a hard swallow. Reed’s mouth was tight, but his eyes swirled with suppressed laughter.
He held his hands over my head, pausing, and I surrendered to the darkness behind my eyelids, bracing myself.
When his fingers touched my forehead, the sensation was a million times different from what I experienced when Sebas had done the same thing.
Sebas’s rubbings created warmth and relaxation; Reed created an electric current that sparked to life through my body.
Last time I checked, the forehead was not an erogenous zone, but his simple touch nearly drew a whimper from me.
He brushed across my forehead, over my cheekbones, and across my jawline, making my toes curl to prevent other parts of my body from reacting. Then he went rogue and cupped my face, using his thumbs to massage my cheeks. “Beautiful,” Sebas whispered.
A shuffling noise sounded, and Sebas’s voice drew closer again. “Your connection is palpable.”
I looked up at Reed, catching a quirk of a grin, and in my peripheral, I saw Sebas scooting closer. He hovered over me, and my gaze darted to him. Nerves fluttered through me as he examined my face, then placed his hand on Reed’s shoulder, jolting his hold on me.
Reed’s smirk flattened, and he squirmed under me. This could be a fun little game if I wanted to be devious. I contemplated this option while Sebas explained something to Reed, floating his hand over my face and upper body.
“I want you to tap into her pulse, really read her. See what touches, what areas, make her pulse slow, and what makes it speed up.”
Reed’s gaze shot to mine, and I squeezed my eyes closed, pursing my lips the best I could, playing the role of a perfectly relaxed partner.
Still resting in his, um, nest, I heard him add more oil to his palms, and then his slick touch was under my chin.
His soft hands massaged downward to my clavicle, then traced the bone outward to my shoulders.
Underneath, my skin quaked, and I tucked my hands under my body, hiding how each simple touch strengthened my desire.
His hands moved back to my neck, and he paused. Sebas whispered, “There, tune into her, and her heart will guide you where she needs you.”
Oh my. Where I needed him was far lower than my neck. I practiced my yoga breaths, desperate to slow my heart rate.
Reed’s hands returned, his fingers tracing around my jaw and neck with soft pressure, massaging at my earlobes and then moving further down. My breath hitched, and Reed halted. “So what do I do next?” he asked Sebas.
I peeked through my eyelids as he responded with a low hum. “Explore.” He stood and used his hands to mime a curvy figure. “I will give you a few minutes of privacy to move forward with this journey, and then we can try a different strategy.”
And with that, he exited the cabana. Reed stared down at me, but his hands held still at my shoulders. A huff vibrated through his body, though the noise never escaped his lips. I stared at those lips, pursed, his earlier tinges of amusement gone.
His gaze met mine, half-lidded orbs of swirly jade.
Without looking away, he kneaded his thumbs across my shoulder blade.
I immediately responded to his touch, heat traveling from my shoulders to my core.
I squeezed my legs together and bit my lip.
He rubbed softly along my neck, then connected his hands in a V right above my sternum.
I arched slightly, pulled by the silky slide of his fingertips.
But all traces of relaxation evaporated as he hissed, and I shot straight up, nearly knocking heads with him.
“I’m sorry!” I turned to see him tugging his robe back in place. No sign of his arousal, but the back of my head knew better. “We can stop and—”
He cut me off, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Shh, lovebird.” He smirked, but his voice was sultry. “Return to my nest.”
I released a tiny giggle but let him guide me back down to his lap.
His hands slid to the base of my throat, and his fingertips applied pressure that shot tendrils of yearning down to my nearly bare breast. They came alive with need.
Following the path to my sternum, he dipped lower. A pant escaped me, and Reed paused, his own audible exhale floating through our space. Desire whirled in his emerald gaze, shooting waves of lust through me, a sensation more powerful than those he’d elicited through his massaging.
“This okay? I can—”
This time, I cut him off with a nod. Maybe it was the essential oils intoxicating my mind, or the music, the waves, but whatever this feeling was, it emboldened me. Allowed me to want and crave.
Reed’s chest heaved, and then he moved his hands again.
Those tantalizing fingertips glided down the center of my chest. He grazed my breasts as he rubbed between them, up and down, to my shoulders, my neck, and back down the path, nearly to my abdomen.
Each movement stoked the inferno growing deep inside, a fever striking at my core the closer he got.
The sound of the fabric swaying made me jolt, and Reed’s hand moved to his knees as I sat up.
“The energy in here is fiery red.” Sebas’s stare swept over the two of us as he approached the blankets and knelt by us once again. “Perhaps I should have given you more time for exploration, Reed?”
“We’re good, man.” He coughed into his hand. “Thank you for the instruction.” Reed moved to stand, and Sebas raised his hand, motioning downward. “No, no, sit. There’s more to this session. The nest is just the beginning.”
A laugh bubbled up in my throat, but I swallowed it down. If I heard the word nest again, I was going to explode.
Sebas modeled the next position for Reed to sit in—a narrow straddle of his legs. And oh boy, was I grateful Sebas was not the one in a robe. Reed hesitantly sat and opened his legs, then tucked down his robe. He looked at me, a mix of apprehension and amusement etched into his face.
The unspoken humor between us was short-lived when Sebas directed me to take the same position, legs in a V out in front of me, on top of Reed’s straddle—my thighs over his, nearly chest to chest.
Reed took a long blink as I timidly lowered myself, feeling his breath the closer I got.
I adjusted my robe and scooted toward him, and he whispered the words that were comforting and welcoming each time.
“This okay?” I nodded and connected myself to him in what Sebas called a cocoon, turning off the overthinking part of my brain that wanted to mull over how yes had been my answer every time.
“Cienna, hold out your hands.” Sebas held the massage oil and poured some into my palms. “Rub that in and make it warm with your love.”
I bit my lip but rolled my hands and spread the sweet-smelling oil.
“Now, start by grabbing Reed’s hand, and hold it between both of yours.”
Um, okay, easy enough. I did as instructed, cupping it between both of mine, and—oh shit.
New erogenous zones: forehead, check. Sternum, check. Hands? Check, check, check.
The shape of his large hand sandwiched between mine, the slight curve of his fingers as they relaxed into the embrace, the contrast of silky oil over his coarse knuckles and palms. A pang of desire resounded through me.
Sebas’s voice edged closer. “Lastly, I’d like you to connect your foreheads so your mental and emotional bond can relay between you.”
I couldn’t tell if the puff of air from Reed was a chuckle or a sigh. We both leaned in, and tingles traveled from my neck down to my shoulders at the feel of his head against mine.
“Cienna, massage Reed’s hands, one at a time. Use this link to show your devotion.”