WalkingSin (12 page)

She sighed to herself. It was probably for
the best anyway. More time with Dax would lead to her wanting even more time,
and that couldn’t happen. She had given herself to him last night, hoping he
could help her get past the awful roadblock that kept her from being intimate
with a man. He’d done that with consideration and kindness. She would always
love him a little bit for that. Anything more than that little bit of love
wouldn’t be possible. She’d heard over and over from her friends that Dax
didn’t want to be tied down to one woman.

“I brought your purse in from your car,”
Alaina said.

“Thank you. I need to call my insurance
agent.”

“We ran into the sheriff at the donut
shop,” Griff said. “He’ll be by with one of his deputies in about an hour.”

She looked from one brother to the other.
“Do you think my car is totaled?”

“I think there’s a good chance of that,”
Rye said. “It looks pretty bad.”

“It’s only four years old.”

Emma gave her a quick hug. “Lainy and I
will go with you to shop for a new one.”

“Thanks, Emma.” She spotted her purse on
the end of the counter. “I’d better call my agent. Be right back.”

She’d just finished leaving a message on
her agent’s voice mail when Alaina and Emma walked into the guest room. Emma
shut the door behind them. That alerted Kelcey that her friends planned to have
a serious talk with her.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering her question, Alaina
and Emma gave her a fierce hug. “We were so worried about you,” Alaina said.
“Don’t
ever
get in another car accident.”

A lump formed in Kelcey’s throat at the
obvious love of her friends. She’d had a few close friends in her life, but
none of them as special as these two ladies. She was so lucky to have them in
her life. “I’ll do my best.”

Emma released her, wiped a tear from her
cheek. “Okay, end of serious stuff. What happened with Dax?”

“What makes you think anything happened
with him?”

“He had that rumpled,
just-had-a-great-night-of-sex look. And so do you, even though you took the
time to get dressed and start coffee so none of us would suspect you came from
his bed.”

Kelcey started to automatically deny
anything happened between her and Dax. What they’d shared should be between
them. Then she realized she didn’t want to lie to her friends. The memory of
the previous night caused her lips to tilt up in a pleased smile. “It was
amazing.”

Emma flashed a grin at Alaina and punched
her upper arm. “I told you so! I
knew
they’d have sex.”

“You were okay?” Alaina asked. “No freaking
out or nightmares?”

Kelcey shook her head. “I thought about
what you said, Emma, about me being in control. Dax let me do that. He didn’t
even touch me until I told him he could. After that…” She fanned her face.
“Wow.”

Emma grinned again. “Sounds like all the
Coleman triplets have impressive tools.”

“I don’t know about Rye and Griff—nor do I
want to—but Dax certainly isn’t lacking in the tool department.”

Alaina giggled along with Kelcey. “You
realize they’d shoot us if they knew we were comparing notes about
their…assets.”

“Men have talked about our tits and asses
for years,” Emma said. “It’s our turn to have fun.”

The teasing look disappeared from Emma’s
eyes as she touched Kelcey’s face. “I’m happy you were with Dax last night.
What your uncles did to you was beyond horrible. I would gladly cut off their
dicks if I could.”

“Don’t think I haven’t thought about that
too.”

Alaina gave Kelcey a one-armed hug. “You’re
safe now and no one will ever hurt you again. We’ll all make sure of that.”

Chapter Ten

Thanks to the flat land of North Texas, he
could see the sprawling Metroplex long before he got close to it. He rarely
left California so he’d never been here, yet he couldn’t take the time for any
sightseeing. He had to find Kelcey before he did anything else.

Then he would settle up with her once and
for all.

* * * * *

Kelcey rotated her neck and winced. It had
become tighter as the day progressed. She blamed the achy shoulders and stiff
neck on too much time on the computer, yet she suspected she hurt because of
another reason—a touch of whiplash from her accident.

She’d promised Dax she’d see a doctor if
she started hurting. He’d probably write a prescription for pain pills or
muscle relaxers and send her on her way. She didn’t want to pop a bunch of
pills that would make her sleepy. She had way too much work to do to have pain
medication hamper her ability to think.

Hooking her hands behind her neck, Kelcey
leaned her head back to try to loosen the stiff muscles. A massage would be so
welcome now. Perhaps Alaina and Emma had found a massage therapist here in
Lanville who would be willing to see her on short notice.

“You okay?” Dax asked from behind her.

Kelcey started to turn her head toward his
voice, but quickly changed her mind when pain shot down into her mid back. She
couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips.

Dax moved into her line of vision, a scowl
on his face. “Your neck is hurting, isn’t it?”

“A little.”

He gently pulled her hands away and ran his
fingers up and down her neck. “From as tight as these muscles are, I’d say
you’re hurting more than just a little.”

Alaina came into the office, carrying
today’s mail. One look at Dax’s hand on Kelcey’s neck and she frowned. “What’s
up?”

“Kelcey’s neck is hurting.”

Kelcey didn’t want anyone making a fuss
over her. “It’s not that bad. I think a massage is all I need. Do you know a
massage therapist, Lainy?”

“Yeah.” Alaina laid the mail on Kelcey’s
desk. “He has his hand on your neck right now.”

If Alaina had said a truck full of gold
pulled up outside, Kelcey wouldn’t have been more surprised. She swiveled her
chair so she could see Dax’s face. “You’re a massage therapist?”

“Not officially. I took the classes and I
do have a license, but I don’t see clients. I only work on family and friends.”

“He told me he works for sex or food,”
Alaina said.

Dax shrugged. “I had to pick something else
besides sex. Can’t ask for that from my future sister-in-law.”

“You can
ask
, but you ain’t getting
any.”

“Man, I’m so abused.” He pressed a spot in
Kelcey’s shoulder with his thumb. She snagged her bottom lip with her teeth to
keep from gasping. “I’d like to help you.”

“Kelcey, go. Right now. I don’t want you
here if you’re hurting. I promise Dax will make every ache and pain disappear.”
She reached into the top desk drawer and drew out a ring of keys. “Take my car.
Then go home and rest. I’ll get a ride with Rye.”

She’d ridden to work with Alaina, so had no
way to leave unless she took her friend’s car. “I still have accounts to set
up—”

“It’s already after three. There’s nothing
you have to do that can’t wait a day. Go!”

Dax gently squeezed her neck. “I’ll follow
you.”

With two people working on her, she didn’t
have a choice. Kelcey gathered up her purse and sweater and walked out to
Alaina’s car, Dax right behind her.

The drive to Dax’s house gave Kelcey the
chance to think. His hands on her during a massage would be completely
different than when he touched her while making love. There wouldn’t be
anything intimate about it. Dax hadn’t given her any indication that he wanted
a repeat of what happened between them last night. While it had been
life-changing for her, it had probably been just another evening of sex with a
willing female for him.

She wouldn’t mention last night, wouldn’t
ask him for a repeat. She refused to be a needy, clingy female when she knew
Dax didn’t want that.

She parked in front of his house. He pulled
onto the pad in front of his garage. By the time she climbed from the car, she
could barely move her neck. The pain must have been evident on her face for
concern filled his eyes as he held out his hand to her. Taking it, she let him
lead her to the back room of his house. He took a key off a hook on the wall
and unlocked the door.

“I have to keep the door locked or Walker
will go in and sleep on the table.”

He pushed down on the door lever and stood
aside so she could enter the room. A massage table sat in the middle of the
room, already made up with fresh sheets. Dark curtains covered the windows to
keep out sunlight. Several candleholders sat on the chest of drawers against
the wall and on small accent tables.

“I keep the room ready in case someone
comes over.” Walking to one of the tables, he picked up a lighter and touched
the wicks of three tall pillar candles. “Emma picked out these candles for me.
They’re a mix of lavender, jasmine and vanilla.”

“Do you burn candles when you work on men
too?”

“Men enjoy fragrances just like women do.”
A press of a button on a stereo in the corner and New Age instrumental music
filled the room. “I’ll give you time to get undressed and between the sheets.”

Undressed? Kelcey hadn’t realized taking
off her clothes would be part of the deal. “Why do I have to get undressed if
you’re working on my neck?”

“Because I won’t be working only on your
neck. This will be a full-body massage, Kelcey…about two hours worth, if you’re
as tight as I suspect you are.”

Two hours of muted light, soft music, and
Dax’s hands on her skin. That could be a potent combination.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Lie on your
stomach.” He opened the door, pushed Walker back before the dog could go in the
room, and closed the door behind him.

This is medical, Kelcey. As long as you
remember that, you’ll be fine.

With that thought, she looked around the
room again and noticed the hooks on the wall over a padded chair. That must be
the place for her clothes. She’d had a full-body massage several times and knew
that meant everything off, including underwear. That had never bothered her
since she’d always had a female massage therapist and a female doctor. A man
had never touched her nude body since she became an adult, until last night.

The pain shooting through her neck and
shoulders stopped her hesitation. Kelcey quickly removed all her clothes and
slipped between the sheets.

A soft knock on the door announced Dax had
returned. Kelcey lifted her face from the headrest and called out, “Come in.”

She noticed he’d changed clothes while out
of the room. No longer wearing his paint-spattered jeans and shirt, he now wore
dark green sweatpants and a loose camouflage T-shirt. He’d also removed his
shoes and now wore only socks on his feet.

She didn’t understand why that seemed so
sexy.

Dax opened a two-door cabinet close to her
head. “I have several different scents of massage oil. Do you have a
preference?”

“Something flowery.”

He looked at her over his shoulder and
grinned. “I figured that since you’re a girl.” He chose a bottle and closed the
cabinet. “I think you’ll like this one.”

She watched him slip on a loose canvas belt
and slide the pump-top bottle into a loop on the side. Expecting him to start
on her neck, Kelcey lowered her face to the headrest. He surprised her yet
again by uncovering her left foot and taking it in his oil-slick hands.

“You aren’t working on my neck?”

“I’ll get there. Eventually.”

Kelcey had tensed when Dax first touched
her foot. The smooth glide of his fingers across her skin soon helped her
relax. He caressed every part of her foot, including each toe. He found sore
spots on the bottom of her foot she didn’t realize she had.

“Have you ever had a massage?” he asked.

“Yes, but it’s been a while.”

“Everyone has a different level of pressure
they can take. Let me know if I go too deep. I want to go as deep as I can, but
don’t want to hurt you.”

“Okay.”

A whiff of flowers from the massage oil
reached her nose. Kelcey closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The scent made her
think of the first flowers of spring. The soothing fragrance mixed with the
soft music had her contemplating a nap.

The thought of a nap flew out of her head
when Dax uncovered her left leg and buttock. She barely caught the groan before
it escaped when his hands slid all the way up her leg and cheek. There was
nothing sexual about his touch, nothing to compare it to the way he’d touched
her last night. Yet memories flooded her mind of his kisses, his caresses, his
cock moving in and out of her channel. Her clit throbbed when she thought of
his tongue on her intimate flesh.

Talking would help get her mind off sex and
back to medical stuff. “You, uh, do this a lot?”

“Depends on what you mean by a lot. I give
at least one massage a week. There have been weeks when I’ve done one every
night.”