And you gotta love your friends, right?
Toby shifted onto his belly. He rolled his shoulders and popped his neck.
My hands itched to touch him. “Have you hurt yourself?”
He glanced at me and shook his head. “Not really. Slept on it funny a few times.”
“On what? Your neck?”
“Yeah. Too many nights in the barn.”
“And up the tree?”
“Very funny.”
I wasn’t trying to be funny, which was just as well, as I wasn’t very good at it.
Apparently I wasn’t good at keeping my hands to myself either. I coaxed Toby to sit up and manoeuvre himself between my legs—genius—so I could rub the tension out of his neck. I wasn’t a physiotherapist by a long way, but I had sports massage qualifications. Technically, I was just doing my job.He’s not your client.
Details. Somehow, they weren’t important.
I slid my fingertips along Toby’s sun-warmed skin and absolutely did not lower my face so his soft hair tickled my nose. I didn’t suck in a deep breath of his salty, ocean scent either.
Definitely not.
And as for the tent pole in my trousers? It belonged to someone else.
It had to, or I was fucked.
Or not fucked, depending on how literally I looked at it.
I went with not looking at it at all. To absorbing Toby’s low groans as if I had every right to be turned on by them. By him. I rubbed his neck, his shoulders, and ghosted my hands over his sinewy back before he shuddered and called time on the charge vibrating between us.
He twisted to look at me. “You’ve turned me into a horny puddle of goo, which I’m guessing wasn’t your intention.”
I pursed my lips, unable to lie to him but unwilling to admit the truth.
Toby’s expression turned sheepish, and he shifted away from me, but I shot a hand out to catch him before he got too far. “I wasn’t trying to be horny, but I’m not particularly upset that it played out that way. I guess being permanently attracted to you is something I’ve got to live with.”
“I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Then don’t say anything. Awkward silence is good.”
He laughed, sudden and beautiful, and the sun seemed to shine brighter.
I laughed too, and it helped dampen the urge to jump on him, press him into the soft sand, and kiss the hell out of him.
Cos that’s what I thought about most—kissing him, and kissing him, and kissing him. Giving it up was devastating, even though the sensible adult having Ella had forced me to be knew it was the right thing.
Toby’s humour petered out.
I was still gripping his wrist. He stared at my hand for a long moment, then turned his liquid gaze on me like a weapon. “You wanna go get drunk?”
“Drunk? Where?”
“Come on. You’ll see.”
I didn’t even think of saying no.