“He doesn’t want to hurt you either,” Fox said. “He’s done a piss-poor job of showing it to date, but that guy will walk on hot coals for you if you ask. So I figure you two have a better starting place than most.”
Kit tried to hold on to that thought as she did some more reading. Harper called around midday and told her she had a meeting with the Redemption people tomorrow, which she noted down. But otherwise, her day was quiet. Even the media coverage about Noah and Fox’s fight was relatively low-key.
It totally fizzled out once Fox joined the other guys on their drum-kit-buying slash just-hanging-out trip and a blogger uploaded photos of Noah and Fox laughing together after Fox offered Noah a bag of frozen peas. The two were also pretending to throw more punches.
Kit had to admit that photomontage made her smile too.
They’re such guys sometimes, she messaged Molly, attaching a link to the article.
The other woman replied quickly. Fox stole those peas from our freezer. I was planning to use them for dinner!
Laughing so hard her shoulders shook, Kit sent another message. Did he tell you Noah looked worse?
Of course!! :-)
Kit decided to call Molly, and the two of them had a good laugh before the conversation turned serious. “Sarah’s doing laps in the pool,” Molly told her. “I think she’s more comfortable here now, but she really wants to go home.”
“I can understand.” Kit would want to be in her own space too. “Has Abe been by?”
“No, but he messages me or Fox several times a day to check on her.” Blowing out a breath, Molly said, “I had my phone on the counter earlier and Sarah saw his message on the home screen.”
“Oh.” Kit worried her lower lip. “What was her reaction?” After what she’d seen at Zenith, she had no idea what was going on between Abe and Sarah—or what had gone on in their marriage and divorce.
“It’s strange, but she looked shocked… and kind of sad.” Molly sounded like she was moving around as she spoke. “Thea says Abe’s been extra quiet and uncommunicative but that he’s staying stone-cold sober.”
“Good.” At least if drugs and alcohol were out of the equation, Abe and Sarah could finally talk. “Is that your other phone ringing?”
“Drat. It’s a work call.”
“Go grab it. We’ll catch up later.” After hanging up, she threw together a quick salad for lunch, then continued her reading.
Noah picked up dinner on his way back home from what had turned into an impromptu jam session at David and Thea’s, and they ate out in the garden—at his suggestion. He was really comfortable out there, Kit realized, another idea bubbling in her mind.
“So when’s this massage thing happening?” he asked an hour after dinner.
Surprised and happy he’d brought it up himself, she smiled. “You sure you want to do it?”
“Yeah. I bought this stuff.” Going into the house, he came back out with a bottle of organic vanilla oil for sensitive skin. “I figure your skin’s softer than mine.”
“It looks great,” she managed to get out, though her stomach was full of butterflies. The idea of having Noah’s hands on her, those guitar calluses deliciously rough against her skin…
Breathe, Kit. This is just a massage. That’s all it can be.
The point was to teach Noah that sensual touch didn’t always have to lead to sex, that intimacy could be built in other ways… that he could give her physical pleasure in other ways. The latter sounded selfish, but the things Noah had said, his behavior, it all pointed to the fact that should he be unable to give her pleasure, he’d take that as a failure on his part, and that failure could lead him to some very dark places.
Kit was going to do everything in her power to keep him from going there.
“Do you want to go first or shall I?” she asked after spreading out a blanket in the center of the living area, Noah having shifted the coffee table out of the way.
“I’ll do you,” he said without hesitation.
Butterflies in full fury, she nodded and, going down to her knees on the blanket, took off her T-shirt while Noah came up behind her. Her yoga pants, she was definitely keeping on. She didn’t know whether to take off her bra or not, decided to leave the decision up to him. “You can unhook the bra if it gets in your way,” she said as she lay down on her stomach.
Noah didn’t say anything, but she felt his warm, strong presence behind her, heard him twist off the cap on the oil, sensed him pour some onto his palm. Vanilla scented the air. Then his hands were on her, and the rough, warm feel of them brought tears to her eyes. She’d waited so long for him.