Page 27 of Heartsmashed
“Probably not.”
“Man, he missed out big time. He could’ve had allthis, but noooo.” He frowned suddenly and began to pat his pockets. “Shit, I lost the keys.”
I held up the cabin key. “These keys?”
“Oh, you’re good,” he said, shaking a finger at me. “A master pickpocket.”
“You handed them to me.”
“I didn’t— Oh yeah. Well, that was smart of me, then. Giving my hot boyfriend the keys. My hot,fakeboyfriend. God, why are you so hot? It’s not fair.” He gestured vaguely at me. “I’m a mess and you look perfect.”
I shook my head. “You’re not a mess.”
“I am. I’m not always this way, but…” He stretched his neck from side to side, a crease forming between his brows as he reached up to rub at his shoulder. “Okay, yeah, maybe I slightly regret the Worm.”
“I bet. Turn around.”
He blinked at me. “Do what?”
“Turn around,” I repeated, walking toward him. “Let me see.”
For a second I thought he might argue, but then he bit his lip and turned, facing away from me with a dramatic little sigh.
“I’m fine, rea—” he started, but cut off the second my hands found him.
Even through the thin fabric of his shirt, I could feel it immediately—the tightness along the left side of his upper back, the muscle knotted from the sudden strain. Nothing serious, but enough irritation to make every movement just uncomfortable enough to be a problem.
“Oh my God,” he said with a low moan.
“Told you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Fix me, oh wise one.”
I adjusted my stance, one hand braced lightly at his shoulder, while the other pressed more firmly into the knot, testing the tension.
He sucked in a breath. “Jesus, okay. Yeah, that’s… Damn.”
“Breathe for me.”
“I am breathing,” he said, though it came out a little uneven as I worked deeper, my thumb circling the tight muscle with practiced precision. “I just didn’t realize it was that bad.”
“Not too bad. Just tight.”
“That’s what he said.”
I bit back a smile. “I asked for that.”
“You did.” When I hit an especially tender spot, he let out another groan and swayed a bit.
“Why don’t we move over to the bed?”
Sawyer’s eyes shot open, and I saw him swallow, but he didn’t say anything.
“Lie on your stomach,” I said, and when he stayed frozen in place, I added, “So I can work on your shoulder.”
“Oh. Right. My shoulder…on the bed. I mean, I’ll get on the bed so you can… Yeah.” He put a knee on the mattress to do what I’d asked but then sat up suddenly and plucked at his shirt. “Do I need to take this off?”
Yeswas my immediate thought, but I held back. Not because I didn’t want to see what Sawyer was packing beneath his clothes, but because he wasn’t exactly in a place for anything more than support at the moment.
