Page 36 of Reckless Desires

“Are you going to tell me what I can do for you?” I say, standing at the edge of the bed.

“Just leave me alone.” Lily buries her face into the pillow as she clutches the sheets and pulls her legs up to her body. “Go!”

I grab the chain off the floor. “Do I need to drag you to the barn?”

Gritting her teeth, she huffs. I watch her hands touch her lower back. “Here.” And then her pelvis. “Here.”

Sitting at the end of the bed, I grab her ankles. “Let’s straighten you out.”

She whimpers even though my grip isn’t tight. Her muscles seem tense. She lies on her back, covering her face with her arm.

“If you try anything,” she warns me.

“Like fuck you?” I arch a brow. “If I wanted to, I had plenty of opportunities to take your body.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lily

The pain is a familiar, unwelcome visitor in my body—a deep, throbbing ache radiating from my pelvis and my muscles so tight I can barely move. Endometriosis has been my constant companion for years, but today’s flare is particularly vicious. I lie on my back but keep the towel covering my body.

“I’m bleeding,” I remind him, embarrassed.

“It’s just blood,” Killian replies without looking at me. “Besides, I’m already covered in it anyway.”

“It’s going to get everywhere.” The words are forced through my mouth as I fight through the pain.

“No need to be embarrassed. I think we are past that.”

My eyes shoot open, and I glare at him but say nothing. My cheeks flush. He gets off the bed and moves quietly around the room. I notice he has a bottle of lotion as he approaches the bed again.

“I didn’t take you as the type of guy who likes to moisturize,” I comment.

A smirk crosses his face. “There are other things you can use it for.”

The realization dawns on me. “Ew, I don’t want you to use that on me.” I shift with a wince, the movement sending fresh waves of pain through my abdomen.

“Just shut up.” Killian pumps some onto his hand. “You’ll thank me later.”

“So, when you’re not torturing people, you’re a masseur?”

His hands are warm when they first make contact with my stomach, the lotion smooth against my skin. He begins with broad, sweeping strokes along my torso, his thumbs pressing into the tight muscles on either side. I breathe deeply, trying to relax into his touch despite the persistent ache.

“I’m going to work on your hips and thighs.” Killian’s voice is low and soothing, his fingers tracing circles right above my pelvis.

The pain seems to shift for a brief moment. The deep, therapeutic pressure is still there, but now it’s accompanied by an undercurrent of something else—something that makes my skin tingle and my breath catch. As his hands move lower, sliding down my abdomen, I gasp when his thumbs press into each side of my hips, finding knots of tension that make my breath hitch. He works them methodically, his pressure firm but controlled, easing the tightness that has built up over days of pain. A quiet moan tries to escape my lips, but I bite my lip to prevent Killian from hearing it.

As his hands travel down my thighs, I feel something shift. Killian’s fingers trace the sensitive skin of my inner thighs, his touch lighter now, almost teasing. My cheeks flush, knowing I’m bleeding even though Killian seems unbothered.

“Is this okay?” he asks, his voice slightly rougher than before.

I make a soft sound of affirmation, pushing back against his hands without consciously deciding to. The pain is still there, but it’s changing shape, blurring at the edges as another sensation begins to rise.

Killian’s hands move higher, his thumbs brushing the junction where my thighs meet my pelvis. My breath hitches again. His touch is deliberate now, no longer purely therapeutic. His fingers trace patterns on my skin, each movement sending sparks of electricity through my body.

I feel myself getting aroused, my body responding to his touch despite the pain that still lingers. It’s a strange contrast—pleasure and pain intertwining until I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.

Killian shifts position, his knee pressing between my thighs. “Open your legs a little,” he commands softly.