His gaze darkened with suspicion. “Why?”
“I can help.”
After a moment of visible reluctance, he raised himself up. Jen wedged her body on the couch, settled into a cross-legged position and pulled Cash’s damp head into her lap. That he didn’t protest at the close contact told her that his headache must be worse than he was letting on.
“Close your eyes,” she murmured.
He did, and his features relaxed as she lowered her thumbs to his temples. Drawing her brows together in concentration, she massaged his temples in a circular motion, keeping the pressure steady.
Cash groaned huskily. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“I got a lot of headaches when I was younger. My mom’s a nurse, so she knew all sorts of tricks to get rid of the pain. She gives the best temple massages,” Jen confessed. “She taught me how to do them.”
When she used her fingertips to stroke the area between his eyebrows and hairline, slowly rubbing his hot skin, he groaned again. “She taught you well. That feels fantastic.”
She made small circles between his brows, gently pressing down, then massaged from his temples to the strong line of his jawbone. With his eyes closed, she was able to admire every inch of his gorgeous face. The sharp jut of his cheekbones. His surprisingly long eyelashes. The tiny scar nicking the corner of his jaw.
She knew he’d fallen asleep when his breathing steadied and his bottom lip dropped out in a sexy pout. She kept massaging, watched the rise and fall of his spectacular chest. His skin felt cooler to the touch, but she only allowed him a twenty-minute catnap before reluctantly waking him up.
“Drink,” she said after she’d coaxed his eyes open.
His answering moan was seriously endearing, but he didn’t resist when she brought the bottle to his lips. He drank greedily, then lolled his head to the side and snuggled into her thigh.
Jen couldn’t fight the rush of heat that sizzled through her. She wore only a tank top and a pair of cotton boxers, and the way Cash’s whiskers scraped against her bare thigh brought goose bumps to her skin. And his head kept rubbing over her mound as he tried to get comfortable again, which made it pretty damn impossible not to get turned on.
As she ran her fingers through his hair in soothing strokes, sexual excitement pricked her flesh, making every inch of her burn. Her ni**les beaded, pushed into the lacy material of her bra. Her pu**y ached, throbbing in tune to the persistent beating of her heart. Lord, she wanted this man.
Frustration seized her insides. Damn her brother for ordering Cash to keep his hands off her.
Her fingers froze in Cash’s hair as a thought dawned on her. Now wait a minute… Carson might have tied Cash’s hands, but he hadn’t tied hers.
A devilish smile tickled her lips. Nope, her hands were certainly not tied.
Without giving herself the chance to chicken out, she shuffled and slid down the couch so that she and Cash lay side to side.
Those blue eyes popped open, narrowing when he realized their faces were inches apart. “What are you doing?” he croaked.
“Taking advantage of the loophole.”
And then she lowered her hand to his groin and cupped him over his shorts.
Cash jerked as if he’d been shot. He instantly tried to wiggle away, but she tightened her grip on the c**k that quickly swelled beneath her palm.
“Hear me out,” she said in a throaty voice that couldn’t possibly belong to her.
His features grew taut, but she knew it had nothing to do with his headache and everything to do with that darn restraint of his.
“Carson told you to keep your hands off me, but he didn’t say anything about me keeping my hands off you.” To punctuate, she dragged her palm up and down that hard ridge of arousal.
Cash’s expression creased with torment. “Jen—”
“Let me touch you. I’m going crazy here, Cash. I want you so badly I can hardly breathe. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone this much.”
Surprise filtered into his gaze. “I want you too,” he said roughly.
With a faint smile, she gripped both his wrists and forced his arms over his head. “Just keep your hands up there, cowboy. That way if my annoying brother asks whether you touched me, you can honestly answer that no, you didn’t.”
When his mouth opened to voice another objection, she shut him up the only way she knew how—she kissed him.
And boy, his lips were as addictive as she remembered. She brushed her mouth over his in a fleeting caress, then peppered little kisses on the corners of his mouth, his cheeks, his jaw. When she returned to his lips and teased the seam with the tip of her tongue, he made a husky noise and granted her access. She licked her way into his mouth, planting her palms on his chest as she deepened the kiss. When their tongues met, Cash thrust his hips, pushing his erection into her thigh.
Jen’s lungs burned from lack of oxygen as the kiss grew hotter, more desperate. When Cash tried to lower one hand to touch her, she shoved it back up and locked his wrists with her fingers. “No touching,” she said breathlessly.
She glided her other hand down his rock-hard chest, past his rippled abs and under the waistband of his shorts.
Cash groaned.
“How’s your head?” she murmured.
“Still hurts,” he said in a strangled voice.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make it better.”
With a wicked smile, she moved to the foot of the couch and slowly worked his shorts off his hips. Her mouth watered when his c**k sprang up to greet her. Lord, the man was hung like a bull. Thick, long, hard. His balls were drawn tight, and the engorged head of his c**k bobbed against his navel, leaving a streak of moisture on his abs.