She was boneless, so she didn’t have to concentrate on relaxing for him. It was the only condition she could experience at the moment. He tugged the device free of her body and set it aside. She would admire its ingenious design eventually. For now she would just lie face-down on the bed and float on a sea of tranquility.

She must have nodded off. Her next conscious sensation was a wet tickle against the sole of one foot. She lifted her head and found Beau sampling the flavor of her toes.

“Gabe,” she mumbled. “I think your dog wants out.”

“He’s already been out,” Gabe said. “There’s a doggie door to the back yard.”

She flopped her head over in the other direction and found Gabe lying beside her, looking as exhausted as she felt.

“How long have I been unconscious?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. I think it’s already Tuesday.”

She chuckled. “So four days?”

“At least.”

Melanie stretched languorously and snuggled up against Gabe’s side. “What?” she said, “No breakfast in bed? What kind of host are you?”

He squeezed her hand. “I’ll take you out to a great little diner for breakfast,” he said. “As soon as I can move.”

“I can’t believe you’re worn out already.” The reason she was giving him such a hard time was because she was pretty sure her quivering legs would be unable to support her. “Is that jetted tub in your bathroom big enough for two?” she asked. Maybe a nice underwater massage would rejuvenate her tired muscles and soothe the ache between her thighs.

“Yeah.”

She forced her exhausted body to slide from the bed. She was surprised when her legs supported her weight. “Care to join me?”

“Baby, I couldn’t f**k you right now if my life depended on it.”

“That’s not why I asked,” she said. “I’m craving the pleasure of your company, not your cock.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” he promised and closed his eyes, his face slack.

She smiled, figuring he’d need the better of the part of the morning to recover, not just a minute, but she hobbled toward the bathroom and turned on the faucets to fill the enormous sunken tub with hot water. His bathroom was larger than her entire apartment. And why a single man would need a huge shower with dozens of showerheads was beyond her comprehension.

When the tub was half-full, she collected her shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and climbed into the hot, soothing water. She found an unmarked button on the side of the tub and pushed it, hoping she wasn’t about to be violated by one of Gabe’s crazy inventions, but the tub sputtered and whirred and began to shoot jets of water over her flesh. She sighed in bliss as the massage worked miracles on her aching muscles. She sank beneath the water, wetting her hair, and then jerked upward with an explosive splash when something brushed against her shoulder.

Gabe chuckled. “Did I startle you?”

“Nope,” she said. “That’s how I always wash my hair. Whiplash makes it more manageable.”

“Can I show you how I’d wash it?”

He sank down behind her in the tub, with her seated between his legs.

“Um, yeah, okay,” she said. “But be careful not to get lost in there. My hair’s a rats’ nest this morning.”

“I love your hair,” he said. He turned off the water and then reached for the shampoo. He dumped enough on his palm to wash a small mohawk. She didn’t bother to correct his folly. He’d soon figure out that it took at least half a travel-sized bottle to clean her thick and unruly locks.

“You have gorgeous hair,” he said, burrowing his fingers in the wet mass and snagging on several tangles. “It’s one of the million things about you that I can’t stop thinking about.”

She giggled. “I can’t stop thinking about your hair either.”

He added more shampoo to his hands and began to work it into a rich lather, massaging her scalp so deeply that she sighed in bliss.

“Yeah, well, my hair is pretty unforgettable,” he said.

“It’s your smile that’s unforgettable,” she said and moaned in contentment as he continued to massage frothy, clean-smelling bubbles into her hair.

“If you keep making those sounds, my brain’s going to issue a check that my c**k can’t cash.”

“Feels so good,” she murmured. “Don’t stop.”

He washed her hair until her entire body was relaxed, and then he eased her forward so she could lower her head back into the water in the open space between his legs. His fingers worked the shampoo from her hair.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, and she opened her eyes to gaze up at him. He appeared upside down to her, but she could tell he was enjoying the view of her wet, naked body almost as she was enjoying the water jets against the soles of her feet.

“Your hair floating all around me,” he said. “Your skin shiny wet. Your br**sts peeking above the surface of the water. Beautiful.”

He cupped her br**sts and rubbed his thumbs over her ni**les. She shuddered, unable to stop the flood of heat his touch always caused. It didn’t matter that her pu**y was tender from the pounding he’d given it less than an hour before, she could feel herself swelling with desire once more.

He helped her sit up again and began to work conditioner into her hair.

“Taking a bath was a great idea,” he said. “My body has decided it can handle a bit more physical activity if you’re game.”

“I’m game,” she said. “You’ll have to take it easy on me though, I’m a little sore.” She flushed as soon as she said it. Were they far enough into their relationship that she could share her discomfort with him?

“Then I’ll try to curb my enthusiasm for your body until later. You’ll just have to dazzle me with your mind.”

She laughed. “Not much dazzling in there,” she said. Not when compared to someone as smart as Gabe was.

“So what do you do with your time outside of accounting and babysitting Nikki?” he asked. “What’s your family like? Did you have pets growing up? Tell me everything.”

“Babysitting Nikki is a full-time job in itself,” she said with a laugh.

“How did you meet her?”

“I first met her when I was six. We spent an entire summer playing in the park. Then she moved away and I lost track of her. Imagine my surprise when she was assigned as my roommate freshman year of college.”