But, important or not, the man was just another client to Lora, and she gave every customer the best treatment possible. "What's his name?" she asked Brittany, so she could at least address him in a professional manner.
"John Smith."
A nice, nondescript name, she thought, finding the whole scenario a bit strange. "Is he a guest at the hotel?"
"Not according to our records. I already checked. So, he must be a personal friend of the St. Claires'." Grinning, Brittany leaned closer and lowered her voice so other nearby guests couldn't overhear her. "By the way, I'm thinking you're going to want to give him lots of special attention."
Lora caught Brittany's not-so-subtle wink and smiled. "Oh, really?"
"Mmmm. A few of us saw him when he first arrived, and let me tell you, the other technicians were begging me to give him to one of them. He is super-fine and hotter than most of the preppy executives that come up here." The receptionist fanned herself with her hand for effect. "We want details when your appointment with him is over."
"Details?" Lora asked, not sure what kind of inside information they were all after.
The younger woman nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we all want to know if his body is as rock hard as it looks. Everywhere."
Lora couldn't help but be amused, and was curious as all heck to see this John Smith for herself. "Sorry, but I never gossip about my clients. Or their attributes," she added with a grin.
"Yeah, I know," Brittany said on a disappointed sigh. "But I thought it was at least worth a shot to ask."
The spa's phone rang, forcing the receptionist back to work. She answered the call with a courteous greeting, and after a brief moment began describing what a Spa Signature Sampler entailed to the caller on the other end of the line.
Not wanting to keep her client waiting any longer than necessary, Lora made her way to his room. She quietly slipped inside, grateful to find the room already set up for her. A few aromatherapy candles had been lit, and the pleasant, woodsy-floral fragrance of rosewood filled the air. Soft music played in the background, adding to the soothing, relaxing atmosphere. But it was the gorgeous, well-built specimen of a man laying facedown on the massage table that made everything feminine within her sit up and take notice.
She'd seen a whole lot of nude male bodies during her years of being a massage therapist, and for the most part it was easy to remain indifferent and unaffected, but like Brittany had indicated, this man was unlike the normal executives and businessmen that frequented the hotel's spa.
This man was big and broad and well-defined in all the right places. Unable to resist, she took a moment to appreciate and enjoy the sculpted contours of his naked, muscular body. Starting at his bare feet, her gaze traveled over well-defined calves and up his long, strong legs. From mid-thigh to the base of his spine, he was covered with a towel, but there was no mistaking that he had an ass that was just as rock hard as the rest of him. The slope of his lean, sun-bronzed back led to wide shoulders and sinewy arms that spoke of the kind of power and strength no one would dare mess with.
He was facing the opposite direction, and she took in his thick, roguish long and shaggy hair. Those textured, unruly strands, coupled with that amazing body, stirred an undeniable awareness and familiarity inside her. She walked around the table and confirmed her suspicions when she was met with vivid blue eyes and a positively sinful grin that gave her a thrilling rush of pleasure.
The tempting, fully naked body laying on her massage table was none other than Joel Wilde.
Chapter Four
LORA tipped her head, lifted an inquiring brow, and regarded Joel with an amused smile. "John Smith, I presume?"
He chuckled, the sound as intimate as the blue-eyed gaze traveling down the length of her body. "I wanted to surprise you."
"You definitely accomplished that."
His gaze slowly, gradually returned to her face, making her all too aware of how drab and sensible she looked compared to how he had seen her at her night job at The Electric Blue. Per the spa's rules for female employees, her hair was pulled back into a neat and tidy ponytail, and she had on a white smock, matching cotton pants, and rubber-soled shoes she wore more for comfort than style.
The outfit certainly wasn't something to inspire a man's lust, yet the spark of desire darkening Joel's gaze was as real as it got. And seductive as hell.
She turned away for a moment-to check the heat setting on the massage stones and make sure they were ready, as well as to compose herself and her response to him-before glancing back at Joel. "I don't know if I'm more surprised to see you here, or more surprised to find out that Ashley St. Claire made special arrangements to fit you in at the last minute."
"It's great to have connections," he said, and grinned shamelessly. "I never know when I'll need to pull in a favor, but it comes in handy at times like this."
"Times like this?" she asked as she picked up one of the warmed basalt stones and placed it on his upper left thigh.
"Yeah. Getting-to-know-you time. You're so busy that I figure I ought to take whatever time with you I can get."
She laughed, truly flattered that he'd call in a favor in order to pursue her. "You didn't have to go to this extreme." She added another stone to the middle of his hamstring, one to the back of his knee, and a smaller stone on the center of his calf.
"Yeah, I did." He let out a low, pleasurable groan as the heat of the stones penetrated the corded muscles along his leg. "I wanted to find out for myself just how good those hands of yours really are," he teased.
Despite the cheesy pickup line, her pulse raced a bit faster. The conversation had definitely taken a turn toward the kind of sensual banter they'd indulged in the night before, and while she enjoyed flirting with Joel, she was at work and wanted to keep things on a purely professional level. If that was possible when she was about to touch, caress, and massage nearly every naked inch of the man.
She placed a new set of heated stones down the length of his right leg and turned the discussion back to something less tempting. "You seem to have connections all over town-last night at The Daily Grind, and now today, with Ashley St. Claire."
"Actually, Ashley St. Claire is really Ashley Wilde," he said in a low, relaxed tone of voice. "She's married to my older brother, Scott, but keeps the St. Claire last name for business purposes."
Lora had no idea, and was intrigued by that bit of information. "Are you serious?"
"Yep." He exhaled a seductive sigh as she set a pile of hot stones on his lower back to warm the muscles there. "So far, most of my connections are among my brothers' and cousins' spouses. That means lots of perks for me."
She heard the lilting humor in his voice and wondered just how large his family was. But instead of asking, she answered with a soft, soothing, "Ummm," and let the moment segue into a comfortable silence.
"Ummm?" He murmured back to her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She smiled to herself and placed more of the therapeutic stones on his wide shoulders, around the nape of his neck, and down along the slope of his spine. "I'm trying to be quiet so you can relax and enjoy the experience."
"I'm enjoying it very much," he assured her in a sexy, rumbling voice that had the same effect as if he were stroking his fingers along her bare breasts and belly.
"Good. Now be quiet." She returned to his left leg, grateful that Joel's eyes were, closed, because her nipples had tightened against her bra, and her body's reaction to him showed through her white work blouse. God, if the man's voice alone could elicit such a searing response, she could only imagine what a kiss, or a slow, deliberate caress of those big hands along her body, could do to her. Make her melt and unravel, she was sure.