But for now, maybe they could both just... relax.
Chloe forced her breathing to stay steady as Dara’s expert hands worked knots from her shoulders. The massage therapist hummed something melodic under her breath, her movements fluid across muscles that had been coiled tight since yesterday’s near disaster.
Since watching Skeet almost get captured. Since realizing she cared way too much about what happened to him.
Yeah, she desperately needed a massage.
“Breathe deeper,khun,” Dara murmured, pressing into a stubborn knot. “You carry much tension here.”
Right. Tension.Not terror or the fact that she’d nearly lost her mind when those guards had appeared. That her heart had stopped completely until she’d seen Skeet escape from the villa.
Don’t do that again.
Don’t leave her behind—yes, she wasn’t a fan—but really...
Don’t scare me like that.And especially,Don’t make me fall in love with you.
On the table beside her, Skeet let out a low moan of appreciation as the masseuse named Narat worked his shoulders. The sound did things to her pulse that had nothing to do with the spa’s relaxation benefits.
“Your husband, he has strong shoulders,” Narat commented to Chloe in accented English. “Very good muscle tone. You are lucky woman.”
Heat crept up her neck. “We’re not?—”
“Thank you,” Skeet interrupted, shooting her a sideways glance that suggested she remember their cover. “I try to stay in shape for my wife.”
The casual way he said “my wife” sent a ripple through her.
Calm. Down. It’s just an act.
Except her traitorous heart didn’t seem to have gotten that memo.
“You have been together long time, yes?” Dara asked, her hands never pausing in their work. “I can feel the energy between you. Very connected. Very... how you say... in tune.”
Chloe kept her eyes closed. Tried for a casual tone. “Energy?”
“Oh yes,” Dara said. “The body, it tells stories. Your tensions, they match. When he relaxes, you relax. When you tense, he tenses. This is sign of deep bond.”
Great.Even the massage therapist could read what she was trying to hide.
“We’ve been through a lot together recently,” Skeet said, his voice careful.
“Mmm,” Narat said. “Stress, it brings people closer or pushes apart. You two, closer. This is good thing.”
Chloe willed herself to think about anything else. The mission. The investigation. The fact that they’d be heading to Bangkok soon and this weird vacation would be over.
The fact that she had no idea what would happen to them after that.
We’re going to hear about this when we get home.
“Relax,” Dara said softly. “You think too much. Feel the moment.”
Feel the moment. Right.The moment where she was lying half naked next to a disturbingly attractive man, being told by strangers that they had some mystical connection while trying to pretend her world hadn’t shifted when she’d thought she might lose him.
This was fine. Everything wasfine.
The massage continued in silence, broken only by the soft sounds of the therapists moving around the tables and the distant crash of waves. A warm breeze drifted through the space, carrying the salty sea air.
Paradise. This was supposed to be paradise.