Chapter Four: If at first if you don’t succeed…

Jon remembered having saunas, when he had allergies, congestion or a cold and that they did have some calming properties. He slid onto the wooden slat bench and rested his head back against the wall. He spied the controls she had explained and he flipped through the choices until he found an Eagles album and hit play.  Her scent of cotton candy swirled around him and through the billow of steam around him he could see her heavy lidded blue eyes in his head.

There was something about her, she had to be a little younger but there was something different, intriguing about her. Something he wanted to figure out. Jon dealt with most things in his life like that, if he didn't know it or didn't understand it he'd work it out and if it was worth keeping, worth pursuing, he'd hold onto it. She had a fresh vibe about her; maybe it was the foreign thing. He liked people’s stories and was keen to know how a young Kiwi girl ended up owning prime real estate in Soho, there had to be a story in that. Perhaps an inspiring one.

He was betting a girl like Devon knew how to have a good time, when he wasn’t asking her out she had a nice ease about her, especially when she smiled or laughed.

Each wall was lined with clean white tiles that sparkled under the steam and the floor was heated with big square terracotta tiles. He remembered arguing with Dot about the tiles for their new bathroom a few years ago. He wanted the very same style tiles but she had other plans and who was he to argue when he hadn't given a fuck about how she'd decorated the rest of the house without any of his input.

Another thing to chalk up on the how-to-kill-a-marriage checklist.

The bands around his chest grew tight as the steam puffed around him but he felt refreshed as the sweat tracked down his body. The twitch in his fingers faded away and his shoulders dropped while Don Henley sang about being Fabulous. Maybe there was something to these routines after all. He let himself slide into a steamy coma making sure that he kept topping himself up with water. When the red light blinked on he stood up gingerly and adjusted his towel.

"Jon, you might want to just have a cool shower, to your left is a small shower booth, and when you're done pop back out."

He quickly turned around but realized she was on an intercom not that having her inside the steamy room would be a bad thing. "Thanks." He did as he was instructed and had a quick shower washing the excess sweat away. He had to admit he felt fresh and light, more than he had in a long time as he ruffled his hair dry before re-wrapping the towel back around his waist and walking out.

She smiled and held her arm out to an open door.  "Feel good?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised actually." Jon blinked as he entered the private suite. It wasn't a big room, a little bigger than a single bedroom but was set up with a massage table, a lazy boy and a long wooden counter of a variety of products and potions. "Wow. How many of these rooms do you have?" Women must get off on this sort of pampering.

"Eight. I use four of them mainly as part of my business but I have a few external consultants that rent out the rooms to."

He nodded. "Smart." White Pillar candles flickered on the ends of the counter tops and she had the Stones playing in the background. The decor was simple with navy and white being the headline colours. He wondered if this was the man's suite as there were no flowers or water features like he'd spotted in the main salon. Blue and white towels were stacked neatly in the corner and there was a small bar fridge underneath it.

"Just pop up on the bed and lie on your tummy. Drape the sheet around your waist and throw that towel in the corner over there. I've give you a few moments to get comfortable and I'll be back." She grinned and slipped out of the room leaving only her sweet scent lingering. He picked up one of the bottles and examined it, there were piles of them! God knows what they all did and on second thoughts he didn't want to know. He got himself comfortable on the bed and lay flat on his tummy and bought his arms up tucked his hands under his face. 

"Right, excellent. Now just relax and I'm going to work a little more with your back. I won't focus too much on the deep tissue massage, as I don't want to shift anything else or cause you any pain."

Ok. Relax. That wasn't something he really did all that often and it didn't bother him. He usually relaxed one month out of the entire year and he was good with that. Since the divorce things had changed a little and he knew it. But like anything he just dealt with it as it came. No big deal. He was aware of her walking around him, popping caps or whatever she was doing. That damn sweet scent of her was back, candy apples…cotton candy?

"Ok here goes Jon, try and relax."

"I will...oh God." He groaned as her hands glided up the centre of his back and circled out over his shoulder blades.

"Feel good huh?"

Good was an understatement and like he said before, she had magic hands, hands that were meant for touching. He shifted on the table thinking about that possibility. He mumbled into his hands. "So good."

She chuckled and her hands slid up around his shoulders. His muscles melted like butter under her hands and his body sank into the bed. She certainly had a gift for it. He couldn't remember the last time he had a proper massage, he'd had plenty of back adjustments but as for massages as sensual as this, nope. God, he couldn't even remember the last time Dot and he even did this to each other. And then he went there. If this is what Devon could do under a professional manner, he wouldn't mind getting to know what she could do with those hands in the bedroom.

Hell.

Damn, had to go there huh?

~

There was no doubt that Jon was physically attractive, he had a body most men his age would pay for. And now, she was touching it. The appreciative groans and low growls he made could have twisted her up in knots if she let it, but nope he was her client that was all. He had to be. She'd read about Jon over the years, that all women turned to mush around him and ok, they probably did with Brad Pitt too.

His back blades were tense and she could feel the pressure release as she soothed it down his spine and out to the tip of his buttocks. That was another thing, his ass. Although she'd seen it well enough in jeans to believe that it was perfectly perfect. In a towel, it really was. She glided her hands just below the seam of the towel digging in a little more to put the pressure on the lower back. The best part about this massage was she could avoid those piercing sea-blue eyes that knocked her off her axis. She had complete control and she liked it.

He groaned and stretched as she worked down his arms, another testament of rigorous hours at the gym she thought as she glided over his biceps.  Think of something, god think of anything that wasn't involving touching him. She remembered as she stroked, kneaded, and rubbed the tension away, that she had Kelly's bridal shower to get out of. It wouldn't hurt her to get out of it and Kelly was one of her hardest workers and sweetest girls but damn, she wasn't a party-kind of girl. She always was making excuses, always running but honestly she was happy. Hand on her heart happy? Maybe not but for the most part she was and she had her little circle and her clients to look forward to every-day. 

"Feeling relaxed?"

"Sooo relaxed." He mumbled into the headrest. She squirted some lavender oil on her palms and rubbed that in deep in his lower back for the next ten minutes. She imagined a rock-star's life certainly wasn't all that it was cracked up to be at times and probably was stressful with all those people always wanting your attention, ick. She swept her hands around his shoulder, up his neck and then down over his buttocks before declaring he was done.

"All done, I'll give you a minute. When you're ready just roll over and use the robe hanging up and lie back in that lazy boy, and I'll be back soon with the next step of the program." She grabbed a wad of tissues and slipped out of the room and into her staff quarters where she washed her hands and tidied herself up. She straightened her hair and tied a new apron around her waist. 

She gave him a few minutes and slipped back into the room. He was sprawled comfortably in the recliner glugging down a bottle of water she'd left out for him.

"How do you feel?"

He smiled easily. "Like a big marshmallow. I feel good."

She turned to the small basin and filled up the bowl with warm water. "That's what I like to hear. Now just lie back and this part won't hurt a bit." Her business was on display here and she would damn make sure he got the best experience ever.

"I bet that's what you say to all the boys."

God, was he ever not going to flirt with her? She'd be lying if she was denying that there was no heat between them but it had been so long since she'd been sizzled and she was pretty sure being sizzled by Jon was a bad idea. She turned and placed the bowl down and winked. "Only the ones that think they’re getting a vasectomy instead of a facial.”

His brow lifted and she turned away from him, her cheeks burned. Holy crap, she did NOT just say that out loud?

He chuckled. "Oh, I definitely like you."

She took a deep breath and hoped that the pound of her heart couldn't actually be heard outside her body. "Well I am likeable person. I can't deny that." 

"So have dinner with me?"

She picked up the cleanser and squirted a little in her hands. "You don't give up easily huh?"

She stepped on the foot pedal which slowly retracted him back.

"You're about to take my manhood away, it's the least you could do." His eyes sparkled with mischief and she laughed as she hovered over him.

"I'm not taking anything away from you. Now close your eyes." She smoothed the cleanser up over his cheek bones using her fingertips in a gentle circular motion. "You'll look so well and rested by the time I'm done with you, women will be flocking around you." She paused and swirled it over his forehead. "Although I am sure you don't have any issues getting women."

His brow lifted and the corners of his mouth twitched. "Does that make you jealous?"

"You wish." She smiled, again relieved that with his eyes closed and all that damn intensity blocked off from her she was a little more relaxed around him, well almost. 

"Maybe I do."

Ok so he had a cute fun side, she could see that. He might not be all that scary to date but there was still the whole he was far too famous for her. She was sure woman would jump at the chance to be on his arm, hell even just for the exposure it would give them. It would be smart marketing for her, there was absolutely no denying that but she wasn't that desperate for business.

She had to play to the client, just a little. It’s what they were all trained to do. “Where would you take me if I agreed?” She reached for the sponge in the bowl and squeezed the water out of it before sweeping it across his face to absorb the cleanser. 

His lips pressed together and then parted. "Somewhere quiet, maybe down by the river, I know a few holes in the wall that people wouldn't think to look."

She raised a brow. "Don't you have stalkers? Sorry I didn't meant like that. I mean the press?"

He nodded, "Yeah I do. The press in New York not so much, they know I live here and so do far more exciting celebrities with scandals. It's really not that bad here in the city. They won't find us if that's what you're worried about." 

She ignored the question and pat-dried his face with one of the hand towels and then started with the scrub. "This is an apricot-oatmeal scrub."

"Sounds like something I should be having for breakfast."

She giggled, a little looser than she expected. "It's good for your pores." He kept his eyes closed as she massaged it in gently. 

"So?"

"So, what?" she asked as she kneaded it in deep.

"Dinner. Tomorrow eight o'clock."

She steadied her hands and the adrenaline raced inside of her. Was she even actually considering this? God, she hadn't done anything this reckless in-god in so long. As that's what dating a man like Jon had to be, reckless. But it could be exciting. For the love - be sensible. "I really am flattered Jon, but I really don't think you'd find me all that interesting." 

"I’ll decide that on my own and besides, your accent is too cute for you not to be interesting."

She bit on her bottom lip and paused.

"My mother would love this place and all her high society friends, she was mentioning how unhappy she was with her regular place..."

"You are a liar Mr Bongiovi."

His chuckle vibrated against her wrist as she cleaned off the scrub. "Ok I am. I freely admit it, she's not unhappy but I'm serious all I'd have to do is put in a good word."

God. Now she couldn't let it go. Why was it getting harder to say no to him each time he asked? Was she secretly longing to go and have some fun, maybe just once?

“Jon, I don’t date my clients.” Ha! There was a new rule she was about to enforce.

“My mother has a lot of influence around these parts. They go to the salon every week Devon, every week.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Doing quick math in her head Devon calculated clients like that could pay off the outstanding equipment and get her the extensions a lot of earlier.” She rolled her lip under her teeth. So she’d have to go out and eat with him and then come home, would it really be that bad? Once?

Screw the new rule. "Ok. But it has to be tonight." Eight o'clock." The sooner the better, then she couldn’t change her mind.

His smile spread wide. "Excellent. See that wasn't hard after all was it? Now who is the liar, you aren't busy tonight at all."

Dammit. "Well it is a girl’s prerogative to do that until she's figured out if the man in question is trustworthy of her company."

"Ah touché. I'll give you that one. Shall I pick you up from here?"

"Yes, that would be fine. Just a casual dinner somewhere quiet right?"

He nodded. "Right."

She blew out her breath and reached for the toner and her belly somersaulted. She was crazy to even go here and considering she just made a date with a man who spent the whole time talking her into this convincing with his eyes closed. She had a feeling she was in some serious trouble. Oh god. What the hell had she done?