Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com

RAEANNE THAYNE
231
“Jake…”
“Just a minute.”
She watched him out of wary eyes as he reached for
her leg. He tried to remember what he’d learned and used
smooth, gentle strokes to try massaging the pain away.
Though she stiffened at his first touch, she didn’t
pull away, so he took that as tacit permission to continue.
Gradually he felt her muscles relax, felt the hard
tightness of scar tissue and contracted muscles begin to
ease. After a few moments her whole body seemed to
sag into the bed, and she closed her eyes, the apprehension
seeping out of her features.
Finally, when he almost thought she had fallen
asleep, he kissed her just below her knee and sat back.
“Better?”
She opened one eye. “Madre de Dios. How and
where did you learn to do that?”
“I had a rudimentary massage section in my alt-med
class. The rest was just instinct.”
“You’ve got one heck of an instinct, Dalton.”
Guilt pinched at him, and he knew he couldn’t lie.
“Okay, that’s not exactly the whole story.”
Confession time, he thought, a little apprehensive at
how she might react. “The day after you came back, I
called a friend of mine who’s a prosthetist in Seattle and
asked him for some pain management techniques I
could try with you. He suggested massage and sent me
a couple articles and a video.”
Both of her eyes were open wide and the stunned
wonder in them left him deeply grateful he’d taken the
time to study.