Beck sat up on the table so fast she had to back away from him or risk getting her nose busted by his forehead.
“Beck, I’m not talking to you anymore if you keep this shit up. Lay down.”
“He wanted you to jack him off?”
Lucy chuckled. “Yes. I told him that he needed to go home to his wife and work that one out between the two of them. I also told him that I wouldn’t be massaging him in any fashion.”
“Was it someone here in town?”
“Lie down, He-Man,” she ordered, pushing on his shoulder. “No. It happened when I was still living in Temple. You sure do get all riled up.” She giggled and added, “So I guess I shouldn’t tell you about the guy I caught masturbating when I thought he was in position on the table, ready for his massage to begin, huh?”
“No. Holy crap, people do that shit?”
“The culture he came from believes massage therapists are prostitutes. I quickly dispelled that notion. I told him if he didn’t get dressed and leave I’d call the police.”
“What did he do?”
“He became disgruntled and ordered me to leave the room so he could ‘finish.’ Imperious prick.”
Beck’s jaw dropped, “What’d you do?”
“I closed the door and called the police. They dealt with him. They were the ones who came back and explained to me that he thought massage therapy here was the same as in his country. He knows to jack off at home now,” she added with a snort.
Beck was glad she approached the situation with good humor but he wanted to cut the guy’s balls off for putting her through that.
“You’re getting all tense again. I’m not talking to you anymore when I massage you, Mr. Caveman. Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Now hush.”
Beck grumbled but lay back down so she could finish. The rest of his attempts at conversation were met with monosyllabic responses until he gave up and submitted quietly.
He was nearly asleep when she placed her hand on his shoulder. “I hope you feel better now, Beck. Take your time getting dressed. I’ll be out front.”
“Mmmm,” he murmured as she left the room and he laid there enjoying the floating sensation for a moment longer. He rolled his neck from side to side and felt no pain or pulling in his shoulders and sighed in relief.
When he opened the door a few minutes later, fully dressed, it was to find her in the middle of a conversation with Lucas and Josh Abbott.
“So you can do me next Thursday at one?” Josh asked as he leaned his hip against the reception counter in a casual fashion while Lucy looked at her appointment calendar and then nodded. Beck thought he saw a flirtatious twinkle in Josh’s eyes.
Lucas looked at the card she handed him. “And you’re doing me at one next Friday.”
The men looked up when he came to stand directly behind her and Josh held out his hand. “Hey, Beck. Good to see you again. So how was it?”
Beck didn’t like either man referring to her “doing” them and was about to tell him to mind his own fucking business. Lucy looked his way like she could read his damned mind so he shook Josh’s hand. “Good to see you, too. I feel much better and that’s saying a lot because I felt like hell.”
Lucas grinned and winked. “Sent you to Heaven, huh?”
I’m about to send you to Heaven if you don’t stop—
Lucy wrapped her hand around his wrist and said, “Beck had the flu recently and he was in dire need of a deep tissue massage to overcome all the stiffness and body aches. So you feel better?”
Beck smiled at her. “Hundred percent better.”
“Well, Lucy, we’re getting back to work in the bathroom if that’s okay. Good to see you again, Beck,” Josh called as he and his brother gathered their tools and some boxes and went to work.
Lucy smirked at him when they were alone again at the reception desk. “You know they don’t mean anything by that, right? You have nothing to be concerned about, Beck.”
Didn’t he? They were both good-looking men. And they were probably pretty smooth with pickup lines and compliments. A talent that he sorely lacked.
“If you say so, Lucy. But they look interested in you to me. Both of them.”
Lucy’s cheeks turned pink. “Whatever. Let me know about tomorrow night,” she added as she reached for the keys to the front door.
“I will. I’ll call Patrick after I leave. If there’s a problem we’ll work it out and give you a call. Thank you again. Wait—What do I owe you for the massage?”
Lucy smiled up at him and gently rubbed his shoulder. The muscles felt loose and warm under her touch, and the pain and tenderness were all but gone. “Nothing, Beck. It was my gift to you.”