I took a couple more steps into the room, my eyes locked on the setup he’d laid out. He had candles, bottles of oil—he even had music, which when I listened closely realized was not exactly easy listening.

“Are you serious?” I sputtered, laughing at how he was grinding his hips to the Bad Bunny song coming through the speakers. He was so different from the man I thought I’d known. And in that moment I felt a little bit more in love. “How is ‘Safaera’ the proper music for a soothing massage?”

“Extremely serious.” He waved a hand over the massage table Vanna White style and I had to smile at his cheesy grin.

“He offers to suck on a girl’s ass in that song!” He waggled his eyebrows and winked and fuck. He made me weak.

“Trust the process, Alba Peregrina.” He slapped the table, and I almost wished my ass was that leather-covered headrest. “Come on, baby, let’s do this. I’m going to give you a massage and then I’ll take you to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum for a private tour.”

“Are you for real, Theo Ganas?” I didn’t even know why I bothered sounding surprised. We’d been in a Cinderella meets Pretty Woman live-action show for hours now.

“You would be amazed what can be arranged when you’ve got a working Amex card and a phone, Alba. Now, come on.” He curled his fingers at me, a filthy smile on his lips promising that whatever it was he planned for this massage, a happy ending was for sure in the mix. “Take it off,” he ordered and my hands went to the belt of my robe instantly. I undid the knot and slid it off my shoulders while he sent me heated glances. My nipples hardened and my core throbbed, just from having his eyes on me. He grunted in approval when the white terry cloth crumbled softly to the floor.

“No panties,” he ordered and my clit responded with enthusiasm at the promise in those two words.

“I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to insist that a massage client be naked,” I told him then gave a very appreciative look at the bulge in his sweats. I decided I wanted to see how much a little game of hard to get would go in delaying Theo’s depraved massage plans. Just to give him a little extra motivation I hooked my thumbs into the elastic of my panties and slid them down a couple of inches. Just enough to let him see it.

“My balance is a little off still,” I announced, walking up to him and lifting up until I caught his earlobe between my teeth. “Maybe you can help me take them off.” He let out a ragged breath and slid a hand inside the triangle of lace covering, his finger tugging on the thong.