Ripped by Lisa Edward

my rounded belly, sighing contentedly. Bax patted his lap and waited while I kicked off my shoes and swung my legs around to place my feet on his legs.
    “After a long day of dance, I think you need a foot rub.” Baxter went to work kneading my arches, his face fixed in concentration. I chuckled, making him look over at me. “What’s funny?” he asked with a grin.
    “It’s not neuroscience. You look so serious.” I pulled a very serious face at him, and he burst out laughing.
    “Well, your feet are going to be worth a fortune when you’re famous. You’ll need to get them insured for millions so I need to take extra special care of them.”
    Now it was my turn to burst out laughing. “My feet will never be worth millions. I’m lucky if they’re worth two dollars each.” I wiggled my toes. “Right now they feel like they’re worth a buck and a half.”
    Bax’s hands continued working their magic, then slowly crept higher up my leg under my pants. “How does this feel?” Strong fingers worked the tight muscles in my calf.
    Sighing, I closed my eyes. “Feels wonderful,” I mumbled.
    “You could take your pants off”—my eyes sprung open—“if you want me to go higher.”
    The rapid rise and fall of Bax’s chest as he held my gaze had my heart racing. Nodding slowly, I lifted my butt and shimmied my sweatpants down my legs and off, tossing them on the floor. I was still in my dance shorts, the shorts I’d worn all day in front of more than twenty people without a second thought, but exposing this much skin while lying on the sofa with only Bax in the room had my heart leaping out of my chest. I felt naked, vulnerable, and I bit my bottom lip and watched as his gaze swept over my legs and up to the apex.
    “Relax, Jaz. It’s just a leg rub.” His gaze didn’t waver as firm strokes massaged from ankle to thigh, always just stopping before my shorts. “I’m not going to do anything until you give me the signal.” His eyes flicked up to meet mine for a split second before dropping back to the task at hand. “Of course, if you want me to …” His touch softened. Feather-light fingertips ran up my inner thigh sending a wave of goose bumps in their wake.
    I sucked in a short breath. How could his touch take me from relaxed to nervous to wanting in the blink of an eye? How could a man’s hand on my leg make me feel so many emotions, and have my skin flushed with desire? Maybe it was because I knew what that man’s hand was capable of. The way he could touch me, making me feel so alive, so breathless. God, how I had missed him.
    “Bax, I’m not ready. Not yet,” I whimpered, my body betraying me as my legs parted slightly. It had been so long since we’d seen each other. I wanted to take it slow, to enjoy the build up again instead of jumping straight in where we had left off. Besides, Bax had been the only man I had ever been with, which meant I hadn’t been touched in eight years. Surely that meant I had somehow regained my status as a virgin.
    My heart sank, looking at Bax and how drop-dead gorgeous he was. Surely he hadn’t waited eight years. There must have been dozens of girls, including the two in the pizza shop that he couldn’t wait to get away from. He would have grown in experience and confidence, while I? Well, I would be totally clueless.
    I scooted over as Bax lay his bulky frame beside me. “There’s no rush, Jaz.” Butterfly kisses peppered my shoulder. “We have a lifetime.”
    Curling up in Baxter’s arms was the only place I wanted to be. As he rubbed his stubbled chin against my head, catching my hair, I closed my eyes and listened to the steady thud of his heartbeat.
    Soft lips kissed my hair, my forehead, and down my nose. “I’ve missed you so much.” He sighed. “I never stopped thinking about you. My heart broke when you didn’t come to New York after you graduated, but now you’ve mended it and it’s stronger than ever. If beats only for you. It always