Now it was empty except for a massage table. A colorful sheet in a mandala-like pattern covered the mattress. More candles burned on the windowsill.
Jess’s muscles weakened, and she nearly stumbled. This was about a massage? Lena was doing massages in their garden house? What had she gotten herself into?
“Heather, take a look at these while I show Jess to the bathroom.” Lena pointed to a collection of small brown bottles with handwritten labels, then steered Jess toward the back of the house.
Jess knew damned well where the bath was, and she guessed Lena was aware of the fact. But the warm hand on the small of her back was oddly reassuring, something real and solid in this confusing evening.
The bathroom door shut behind Lena with a click, and she let go of Jess, took a step back, and stood straight with her hands pressed against the door. She studied Jess with a frown. “As you’ve probably guessed, these appointments are about massages, nothing else.” Her tone was matter of fact as if they were discussing the weather. “I actually don’t do them myself. I teach them. Mostly couples, rarely single persons. When that is the case, Maggie helps out by getting massaged, and that’s what she volunteered you for tonight. Nothing more.”
Not knowing what to say, Jess nodded. It might be a first for her, that she didn’t have a quick and sarcastic reply on the tip of her tongue. Were her wits failing her like her body had done?
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to do this. I wouldn’t hold it against you. Not everyone is comfortable being touched by complete strangers.” Lena smiled but didn’t relax her tense stance. “I can call Maggie and tell her I changed my mind.”
Jess winced at the thought of facing her mom again right now. She had felt five years old again when her mom had scolded her on the porch, like the last time she had been lectured about privacy and snooping at doors. It was a lesson she’d thought she’d never forget. Obviously, she had.
Sneaking around someone’s house and peeking through the windows was stalkerish, creepy, and plain wrong. She owed Lena an apology, and she would start with whatever task was required of her.
“No, don’t call her. I’ll do whatever you need me to.” Jess held up her hands. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Stop. I can’t do this now.” Lena’s voice quivered, and she blinked a few times. “Let’s get this evening over with, okay?”
“Okay. I can do that.” Jess attempted a smile to reduce the tension crackling between them like the electric charge of a summer storm. “So I undress, go in there, and get a massage? That hardly seems like a punishment.”
The corner of Lena’s mouth twitched. “Maybe I’ll stick my hands in ice water or something.” She pushed off the door behind her and left.
As soon as she was alone, Jess let out a sigh. Before she lost her courage, she shed her clothes, folded them, and stacked them on the washing machine next to what she assumed were Heather’s. With her back to the mirror, she wrapped herself in the dressing gown and left the bathroom to face whatever Lena had in store for her.
She found Lena and Heather bowed over a tray of dark glass bottles on the coffee table.
Heather held one up, sniffing. “This one.”
“Great choice.” Lena screwed the tops on the other bottles. “It’s a combination of ylang ylang, vanilla, tangerine, and a hint of lavender. Very soothing.” Without looking at Jess, Lena pointed to the small room. “Jess, why don’t you make yourself comfortable on the massage table? Just open the dressing gown and we’ll take care of the rest.”
Grateful no one was watching, Jess opened the gown and clambered onto the table. With her face in the soft ring of the headrest, she could only see a small part of the wooden floor and her hearing was dimmed.
The twin sets of footsteps approaching drowned out her increasing heartbeat. They stopped next to her.
“We’ll pull the gown down now to bare her back. If you’re doing this in a hotel, you can leave the gown in place over her lower half, but if you’re at home and mind getting oil on it, replace it with a towel. You can do this part as sensually as you want to.” Lena’s voice was teasing again.
Jess’s gown was pulled down in a quick and efficient movement that barely touched her skin. Even though it was more than warm enough in the room, her skin pebbled when it was exposed to the air. Or with anticipation.
Why was she nervous about this? Jess swallowed. She’d had professional massages before, spa days even.
“Watch her skin. I’ll show you something.” Lena touched her with ice-cold fingers.
Jess yelped and flinched. “Hey!”
Lena laughed, a warm and mellow sound that appeased her again. “Sorry, but I couldn’t resist. Heather, you touch her now.”
Heather’s hands were warm, and Jess’s tension receded. The touch was tentative but not uncomfortable.
“See? That’s why I had you cradle the cup of tea for a while. And I placed the bottle of oil on the stove for a minute just now. This should all be about relaxation and sensual experiences, and we don’t want to cause more tension.” Lena continued to explain something technical about the oil, but Jess stopped listening.
A hand on her shoulder caught her attention. Lena had stepped to the front and crouched to look at Jess’s face from below. “Everything okay? Are you comfortable? May we start?” Her gaze and voice were bare of teasing now and full of warmth.
Jess nodded, afraid her voice would betray her uneasiness with the whole situation. She didn’t mind professional touch, and she didn’t care what Heather, a complete stranger, thought, but lying half-naked under Lena’s eyes was different.
Lena held her gaze for a second, then rose but left her hand on
