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“Do you mind if we work on a chest massage today?”

Athena halted in her step toward the bed. She met Monti’s gaze.

“It’s not your breasts, I promise. It’s all around them, but when there’s a lot of back and neck tension, we need to release those muscles as well.” Monti sounded so confident, like she’d done this a thousand times before.

Athena couldn’t remember the last time anyone had touched her chest.

“We can leave your shirt on still. I don’t need you to take it off.”

Mulling through the comment, Athena held her breath. Eventually she gave a sharp nod of affirmation and then climbed onto the bed. Monti pulled the clip from her hair and threaded her fingers through the strands. This was how they always seemed to start lately, a gentle pattern to get used to the touching.

Athena’s heart raced.

She knew what to expect now. The gentle brush of Monti’s fingers in her hair, the slick feel of her hands against her neck, the scent of the oil reaching her nostrils and relaxing her even more. Dragging in a deep breath, Athena closed her eyes and pushed into the mattress.

“Do you want to talk more about the other day?” Monti’s voice was quiet.

For some reason she couldn’t put her finger on, Athena wanted to say yes. But that damn sensation clogged her throat again. She wanted the words to spill from her, she really did, but it was next to impossible to work past that sensation.

“You’re so tense.” Monti pinched her way down the muscles in the sides of Athena’s neck, easing them.

Suddenly, Athena was able to breathe better. She dragged cold air into her lungs and settled even more. Monti used her thumbs along the side of Athena’s neck, easing the tightness there one stroke at a time. As much as her neck muscles were relaxing, the rest of her body tensed.

No, that wasn’t right.

Athena closed her eyes and felt through her body. It was so rare that she did this, that she took the time to see what she was feeling physically. She followed the sensations from Monti’s fingers, the firmness, the tingles they created. Her breathing became shallow as she tracked the tingles from her neck into her chest, where they seemed to almost multiply.

Now that hadn’t happened ever. Not with anyone before. Athena bit her lip, keeping her eyes closed. She couldn’t look at Monti while she did this. She couldn’t think about the fact that Monti was touching her, and not really in the way that she wanted.

Athena stopped at that.

Not in the way she wanted.

Was that what this was? Was this arousal? The tingles continued to build in her chest, and her nipples hardened. But that could have been from the cold in the room, right? Her breathing steadied as Monti moved to the other side of her neck, pulling and manipulating her body to stretch the muscles.

It felt odd at first, but Athena couldn’t deny how it felt afterward. She kept her eyes closed while Monti moved her fingers back into Athena’s hair, thumbs down her forehead and against her cheeks. That sweet tension—and it was definitely sweet, not painful—increased in her chest again. Athena allowed it to grow, wanting to test it out and see what it was.

She liked Monti touching her.

“Did you want to talk?” Monti asked again, her voice a stark reminder that she was still in this room.

Not that Athena needed it. She was viscerally aware that Monti was in the room with her. She was aware of every fingertip that Monti moved against her, the way her body reacted to the touch. Heaving a breath, Athena tried to get ahold of herself.

“It’s not easy to talk,” Athena finally answered, her voice breathy.

What was happening to her?

“I don’t imagine it is.” Monti didn’t stop moving. Athena would never have expected a skilled massage could be the one thing to turn her into this blubbering puddle.

Athena relaxed again, the tingles floating through her chest and moving into her stomach and then lower. She let them go, curious if they would lead exactly where she thought they would. She’d read about this, in her books of course, and she wasn’t ignorant about what people felt when they were aroused. But she couldn’t remember ever feeling like this.

She’d thought she was broken.

She’d thought she was too destroyed for this.

They had taken everything that was her essence and ripped it to shreds right in front of her eyes. Athena swallowed the lump in her throat, her shoulders suddenly cold when Monti’s hands left her. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see Monti staring down at her with concern written all over her face.

“What?” Athena asked, her throat thick with mucus.