Chapter 38

Before she could say another word, he worked at a nasty knot just under her shoulder blade, then pressed his thumbs up either side of her spine until he reached her neck and began releasing the tightness there. Within minutes, she was totally limp under his hands.

“You always do something redeeming just when I’m ready to slap you,” she mumbled.

He grinned as he reached for the soap. To his relief, Kata didn’t protest when he lifted and washed each arm top and bottom, or when he gathered all the gloriously soft hair in his grip so he could soap up her back. After a quick rinse, he hopped out of the tub and leaned over her, urging her to lie back, then took hold of each leg and bent them at the knees until her feet rested flat on the bottom of the tub. In fact, she didn’t have a hint of defiance left in her body as he gently smoothed the white bar and his hands across her abdomen, over her shoulders, and lingered on her breasts. Then he edged between her legs. As he’d suspected,