#spicy!

He opened his eyes and saw the outline of her at the far end of the pool. The steam was just thick enough to lend her figure an air of mystery, though he could clearly make out the swell of her breasts and the curve of her hip. She was a sight he thought he could never tire of. Hideyoshi’s mouth curved up in a pleased smile. “Are you joining me?”

“Yep. It’s just really hot.” She dipped her toe in the water and pulled it back. 

“You have to go slow, let your body adjust.” He moved over to her side. “It will be a little uncomfortable at first, but then you start to relax and it’s -” He searched for the right word for a moment.

“Perfect?”

Hideyoshi chuckled. “That works.” 

She sat down at the edge of the pool and carefully put her feet in. Her face was already flushed, her hair damp and clinging to her skin where it touched. The nervous expression she wore eased after a long moment, and she scooted forward to sink her legs into the water up to her knee. “That does feel good,” she sighed.

He took her foot in his hands and began to rub the tension from it. She worked hard, always taking on tasks and volunteering for things. The chatelaine needed this break as much as he did. They were both always taking care of other people and it was a nice change to just take care of each other for a bit. 

“Oh my god. You are so good at that.” She made a little sound of pleasure. 

Hideyoshi switched to her other foot. “I don’t have any training. I just go by your sweet expressions to figure out if what I’m doing works or not.” He grinned. “Right now, your face says ‘yes, yes, that’s the spot!’”

She laughed. “Are you teasing me right now, Mister Toyotomi?”

“A little,” he admitted. 

“Well, you can tease me all you like as long as you keep doing that with your hands.” She leaned back, setting her hands a little behind her hips. 

Hideyoshi wondered if she had any idea how she looked, sitting like that. Gorgeous came to mind. But that wasn’t quite right. Tantalizing might be better. He slid his hands up to her calf, continuing to work out her tension, though his thoughts were much less innocent.

The chatelaine regarded him through heavy-lidded eyes. “Oh is this a full body massage now? I thought you were just being sweet by rubbing my feet.”

“I think it ought to be,” Hideyoshi replied, trying to keep his voice level and calm. He didn’t feel calm at all. Desire set his pulse racing and thrummed in his low belly. But this was a hot spring and the point was to relax. Not . . . the many activities that stirred to life as he looked at her luscious beauty. 

She laughed. “I never actually had one before. It’s kind of expensive and I thought it would be a little weird to be naked or, I guess mostly naked, while someone you don’t know rubs you.” 

“Mmm. Yes. I wouldn’t want anyone else to touch you like that.” His hands slid up from her calves to her thighs. 

The chatelaine sighed in pleasure at his touch, her eyes fluttering closed. “Right? And that’s even without a happy ending. I don’t think . . . a real . . . masseuse does that . . . it would be so awkward!”

“A happy ending?” Hideyoshi leaned closer, not understanding. 

“Oh!” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “It’s a - a thing I heard. That some places kind of . . . finish you up? You know?”

“I don’t understand.” He didn’t, though he had a suspicion of what she meant. Services of a more intimate nature than just a massage. His fingers glided over her damp, slick skin, rubbing away the knots of tension in her inner thighs. Her legs slid a little further apart, and the sight of her like that sent a sharp need coursing through him. Relax relax relax, he thought, though the mantra did nothing to calm him. 

“Mmmm. Damn, I didn’t even know I was tense there,” she sighed. She said nothing more on the subject of happy endings, but Hideyoshi wasn’t going to drop it. The idea stuck in his head, fueled by the sight of her and the sound of her pleasure. 

This was a private onsen and they would not be interrupted. He placed a kiss on her leg. “So. These happy endings . . . they are a little more intimate than a massage?”

“Y-yes.” Her eyes opened and she watched him with a wary anticipation.

Hideyoshi brushed his fingertips over the soft skin of her low belly, tracing the line of her pelvic bone. “Creating some tension to release?”

She made a little sound of surprise at the touch. 

“I think I get the idea, but . . . “ He used his other hand to bring her closer to the edge, until she was sitting half off and half on the stone. “Why don’t you tell me if I got it right?”