Page 51 of Fractured Grief (Hope’s Ridge #2)

Seb

I ndy was stuck in his head with worry. I wanted to get him out and do something for him. Cherish him the way he deserved.

“Are you tired? How about I give you a massage? Do you have your oil here?” I asked, noting the bag he used to bring to our appointments by the door.

He gazed over his shoulder in shock. “You want to give me a massage?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t help the smile that lifted my cheeks at his beautiful blush. “It wouldn’t be as good as the ones you do, but it might help you relax. You deserved to be treasured.”

Indy stretched up on his toes to kiss my lips, and I melted into him. I quickly turned him around and deepened the kiss. Indy groaned into my mouth.

With great effort, I pulled back and traced his swollen lips with my thumb. “Later,” I promised. “First, let me pamper you. ”

I went to his bag to rummage for the massage oil. Indy stayed, frozen to the spot, tracing his lips with his fingers.

“Hey, you with me?” Snapping him out of his haze, I led him up the stairs to the bedrooms. He gestured to the door on the right, and we entered the simple space.

The room just had a dresser, a queen-sized bed— that would be a tight fit —and two bedside tables.

It wasn’t decorated, and all the colors were neutral.

I wondered if Indy didn’t have much stuff, or if the place came like this.

It was a bit drab, and nothing about it screamed Indy .

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I led Indy to the bed and had him sit down. I quickly knelt to remove his socks and rubbed along the bottom of his feet.

The cutest squeak popped out of him as he jerked his foot back. “Hey, that tickles!”

“I thought you might be ticklish when you left me to Hazel’s mercy during our tickle fight. I’d say it’s time for payback, but I want to spoil you first.”

His stunning smile stretched across his whole face. It was infectious and had me smiling in return. I made quick work of his pants, shirt, and thermal layers, and soon he was lying spread out on the bed in just his delectable little panties.

These were tiny red satin boy shorts that hugged his package perfectly. I was so tempted to forget all about the pampering and devour him right there.

“I’d almost forgotten about your little secret. I think you need to model a few more of these for me. But first, let me help you relax,” I whispered into his ear, tracing the edge of those tantalizing panties, before diving in for one more kiss.

Indy groaned so sweetly into my mouth, bucking up into my touch. His body begging for more. “Soon,” I hissed. “Roll over.”

Indy did as instructed, and I was met with the sight of his perfect peach encased in satin and ribbons.

I’d thought these were just plain red satin panties, but how wrong I was.

The back was split in a V shape from the top of his hips down to his taint, and in that V were crisscrossed red ribbons that ended with a tied-off bow at the top of his gorgeous ass.

“You’re going to kill me with these,” I groaned, willing myself to calm down. I gripped his firm cheeks, because how could I not with a sight like that?

I decided they were too delicious and distracting to keep on, so I lifted the edges and had him wriggle out of them. I’d decided on a personal torture theme for the night, as just him wriggling out of those panties and exposing each tight butt cheek had my cock twitching in my jeans.

“Linen cupboard?” I asked, knowing I needed a towel or two to cover his distracting peach and to protect the bedding. He just laughed and pointed to the hallway.

I hobbled off and came back with three towels. I had him hop up and lay one down on the bed, one over his ass and one for the wipe down afterwards.

Once Indy was comfortable again, I warmed some oil in my hands. “You have to tell me if I’m too heavy or if I’m doing something wrong,” I joked as I climbed on top of him and straddled the towel on his ass. “Just try and relax and enjoy.”

Indy groaned as I worked his muscles from his neck and shoulders down his back.

By the time I’d made it to his lower back, he looked completely blissed out.

A sense of pride rose inside me as I gazed at this beautiful man who deserved the world.

If he looked like this every time I gave him a massage, then I vowed to give him one every day.

I kept stroking and kneading his muscles until he was covered in oil from head to toe.

He’d almost fallen asleep as I took my time to touch every part of his body.

Once I finished, I wiped off the excess oil, but he was still quite greasy.

“How about a shower?” I asked, and he blinked his eyes blearily at me.

“Shower?” he questioned. He was blissed out.

I smiled and stroked his cheek, “You’re covered in oil, Sunshine. A shower might be a good idea.”

He exhaled a large breath as he rolled over to sit up. “Go slow,” I said as I offered him a hand up.

“That was incredible, Seb. Thank you.” He kissed my cheek and laid his head on my bicep.

“I’m glad.” Pride puffing up my chest.

“You’re right, a shower would be a good idea. Unfortunately, my shower is tiny, and I don’t think you’d even fit, let alone both of us,” he added as a pout crossed his face. “We’ll have to take turns. ”

“No problem. You go first,” I said as I watched his lithe naked body strut out of the room and into the attached bathroom.

I removed the towels from the bed, placed the oil on his dresser, and put his clothes in the hamper. Then I settled back on the bed to wait.

I noticed a stunning faux-leather-bound book on his bedside table surrounded by exquisite, ornate animals.

I picked up a bison and admired the details.

Lexi had been incredibly talented. Each animal was unique and different, with different expressions, different fur techniques; they were all individual and stunning.

I found the lone fox with the broken tail at the back.

He was so tiny and yet so detailed. His eyes looked like they followed you.

I assessed the tail and thought about the best way to fix the little guy.

Indy still hadn’t returned as I gazed at the journal, running my hand over the letter pressed into the front cover; IJC. Indy’s initials, I wondered what the J stood for. I was still tracing the letters as I clutched the fox in my other hand when Indy strode back in.

His gaze shot to mine. I felt like I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. I snapped my hand back from the book and scrambled to place the fox back with the other animals.

“I’m sorry. They’re just so beautiful, I couldn’t resist,” I babbled, unsure if he was mad or if I’d just undone all my hard work relaxing him.

I watched him cautiously as he visibly shook himself off and walked over to sit next to me on the bed .

“It’s okay,” he whispered, picking up the journal. “I’m very protective of this and those animals, so it surprised me to have someone else touch them, but I want you to, Seb. I want to share this with you.”

He reverently placed the book on my lap. “Take a look.”

I slowly opened the book to the first page, feeling the weight of his trust and love in this moment.

The page had a message in messy handwriting that said it was from his soul sister, his Lexi.

I traced the message with my fingers, noting the warped parts and raised bumps on the page from what must have been Indy’s tears.

As if reading my mind, he spoke, “I hadn’t been able to open this since she died. I only managed to do so recently, after one of our appointments. Reading this message for the first time since she’d been gone was different. Yes, those were my tears,” he stated, as he too traced the warped paper.

“It’s beautiful, Indy. It’s clear how much she loved you,” I whispered, feeling the reverence of this moment.

Indy was sharing something raw and real with me—something no one else had seen.

I turned the pages slowly, gasping as the stunning artwork was revealed.

They looked like photos. The details in every stroke, the use of texture and shadows.

It was breathtaking, his talent truly extraordinary.

“These are incredible.” I was completely in awe. Each picture was unique. Each more exquisite than the last. I turned page after page of Hazel and Lexi. Two stunning girls, brought to life by Indy’s talent .

I turned to watch Indy and saw he was smiling as silent tears streamed down his face.

“I haven’t been able to bring myself to look at the pictures of her.

It was too hard.” He gazed up at me, his multi-colored eyes sparkling with tears.

“But you made it easier. Thank you for giving a piece of her back to me.”

His words hit me hard in the chest, taking my breath away.

The moment was heavy, overflowing with emotions, but a lightness too. Indy smiled and let his tears fall down his cheeks as he gazed back at the drawings of Lex.

“It’s so good to see her smile,” he spoke reverently as he traced the picture with the back of his forefinger, careful not to smudge it. “Thank you, Seb.”

Indy cautiously took the book from my hands and placed it back on the bedside table before he moved to straddle my lap and caress either side of my face.

“Thank you,” he said again, before kissing me like his life depended on it. His tongue pushed into my mouth, taking control and dancing with mine. He moved my hands down to grip his bare ass, his towel from the shower discarded on the floor. We kissed and caressed as our hands roamed.

I was hard and aching as Indy writhed on my lap. Soon, Indy was nibbling his way down my neck, pulling down the collar of my Henley to reveal more skin. He made quick work of removing it and flinging it off to the side, along with my undershirt .

Indy sat back and gazed at my chest. His fingers tracing the lines of my various tattoos, each movement different as he followed the story mapped out on my skin.