The Professional by Rhonda Nelson Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rhonda Nelson
same. Visions of his large, magnificent, naked body sprawled out on her table, his skin slickened with oil and glistening in the low light while she rubbed his shoulders tripped rapid-fire through her mind, eliciting an odd little noise from the back of her throat.
She suspected it was a moan.
His suddenly humorous gaze confirmed it.
If only a hole would open up beneath her feet, Sophie thought, mortified. With effort, she attempted to salvage the moment by attempting to be a professional. She cleared her throat. “You’re welcome to call and set up an appointment.”
“She works wonders,” Lila interjected. “She might be little, but she can get in there and work a knot out in nothing flat.”
His lips twitched and his gaze drifted over her from head to toe, as though confirming Lila’s description of her size. Her nipples beaded behind her bra and a flush of heat skidded over her belly. “I’ve got a few knots she could work out.”
Sophie nearly swallowed her tongue. Oh, yes. He was definitely flirting with her. As impossible as it seemed, the suggestion in his tone wasn’t open to misinterpretation. And the temptation to flirt back was almost impossible to resist. She got the impression that he was purposely trying to rattle her, that he enjoyed watching her wiggle like a worm on a hook.
Fine. She’d play along.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing a little time on my table couldn’t fix,” she said. “You’d be amazed how much good a little oil and a deep tissue massage can do.”
Gratifyingly, a little of the satisfaction clinging to his smile dimmed.
“I like to heat the oil up,” she went on. “Get it really hot so that it slides more easily across the skin.”
He swallowed, the muscles working along his neck, and his jaw went a little slack.
“Peppermint is my favorite,” Lila interjected, returning to the living room, her arms laden with more tea and cake. “It smells good and it tingles.”
Sophie chewed the inside of her cheek to keep her smile from widening any further.
Jeb’s eyes twinkled and he hummed under his breath. “Indeed. I’m tingling now just thinking about it.”
She was, too. In inappropriate places. Right here in Lila’s living room. When she was supposed to be avoiding him and catching a thief. All-righty then.
Time to go.
* * *
J EB WATCHED HER go and felt his shoulders shake with a chuckle. Sophie O’Brien had been doing her dead level best to avoid him since the first time she’d clapped eyes on him. From her hasty retreat from the diner night before last, to the book she’d pretended to read to keep from looking at him yesterday at lunch—her performance might have been more convincing if she’d remembered to turn the page, he thought drolly—to, as early as this morning, seeing him on the street and purposely changing directions.
Though irritating—as his prime suspect, it was imperative that he talk to her—it had been endlessly entertaining. She had the most expressive, animated face he’d ever seen. Take this morning, for instance. When she’d looked up and noticed him coming in her direction, both her eyes and her mouth had rounded—though he knew it was impossible, he could have sworn he heard her swear—then she’d stopped short and wheeled in the other direction. And it wasn’t even a good short stop, like a “Darn, I must have forgotten something and I need to go back and get it.” It was more like a dreaded, “Oh, hell, there he is again.”
Initially, her reaction had baffled him. Women, on the whole, didn’t purposely avoid him. Quite honestly, it was ordinarily the other way around. Though Jeb liked getting laid as much as any man—probably more so than some—he’d never let his appetite for sex get in the way of being selective. When he chose a woman to bed, several key factors came into play. In addition to him finding her attractive, she had to be smart, self-sufficient, healthy—he didn’t want any diseases, thank
She suspected it was a moan.
His suddenly humorous gaze confirmed it.
If only a hole would open up beneath her feet, Sophie thought, mortified. With effort, she attempted to salvage the moment by attempting to be a professional. She cleared her throat. “You’re welcome to call and set up an appointment.”
“She works wonders,” Lila interjected. “She might be little, but she can get in there and work a knot out in nothing flat.”
His lips twitched and his gaze drifted over her from head to toe, as though confirming Lila’s description of her size. Her nipples beaded behind her bra and a flush of heat skidded over her belly. “I’ve got a few knots she could work out.”
Sophie nearly swallowed her tongue. Oh, yes. He was definitely flirting with her. As impossible as it seemed, the suggestion in his tone wasn’t open to misinterpretation. And the temptation to flirt back was almost impossible to resist. She got the impression that he was purposely trying to rattle her, that he enjoyed watching her wiggle like a worm on a hook.
Fine. She’d play along.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing a little time on my table couldn’t fix,” she said. “You’d be amazed how much good a little oil and a deep tissue massage can do.”
Gratifyingly, a little of the satisfaction clinging to his smile dimmed.
“I like to heat the oil up,” she went on. “Get it really hot so that it slides more easily across the skin.”
He swallowed, the muscles working along his neck, and his jaw went a little slack.
“Peppermint is my favorite,” Lila interjected, returning to the living room, her arms laden with more tea and cake. “It smells good and it tingles.”
Sophie chewed the inside of her cheek to keep her smile from widening any further.
Jeb’s eyes twinkled and he hummed under his breath. “Indeed. I’m tingling now just thinking about it.”
She was, too. In inappropriate places. Right here in Lila’s living room. When she was supposed to be avoiding him and catching a thief. All-righty then.
Time to go.
* * *
J EB WATCHED HER go and felt his shoulders shake with a chuckle. Sophie O’Brien had been doing her dead level best to avoid him since the first time she’d clapped eyes on him. From her hasty retreat from the diner night before last, to the book she’d pretended to read to keep from looking at him yesterday at lunch—her performance might have been more convincing if she’d remembered to turn the page, he thought drolly—to, as early as this morning, seeing him on the street and purposely changing directions.
Though irritating—as his prime suspect, it was imperative that he talk to her—it had been endlessly entertaining. She had the most expressive, animated face he’d ever seen. Take this morning, for instance. When she’d looked up and noticed him coming in her direction, both her eyes and her mouth had rounded—though he knew it was impossible, he could have sworn he heard her swear—then she’d stopped short and wheeled in the other direction. And it wasn’t even a good short stop, like a “Darn, I must have forgotten something and I need to go back and get it.” It was more like a dreaded, “Oh, hell, there he is again.”
Initially, her reaction had baffled him. Women, on the whole, didn’t purposely avoid him. Quite honestly, it was ordinarily the other way around. Though Jeb liked getting laid as much as any man—probably more so than some—he’d never let his appetite for sex get in the way of being selective. When he chose a woman to bed, several key factors came into play. In addition to him finding her attractive, she had to be smart, self-sufficient, healthy—he didn’t want any diseases, thank