by Anna Durand
"I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Yeah, I know you will." I started for the door but stopped. "Do you want to come out with me? You can watch the class, and after, we can go for a walk down the nature trails."
"I'd like that."
"Cool." I swung the door open, waving for her to exit. "Beautiful, sexy ladies first."
She walked out, flashing me another shy smile.
And damn, my dick loved that.
Chapter Eleven
Mara
I felt hot all over, like I was in a sauna with the steam going full blast and those hot coals sizzling away. The coals were inside me, though. Red-hot, smoldering lumps of lust. It was completely Ollie's fault that I couldn't cool down. When he taught a nude yoga class, he should've handed out flyers with a big warning written on them in bright-red letters: "ALERT: You will get hot and bothered watching your gorgeous instructor move his sexy body into all those poses."
Never had I thought of yoga as salacious. Today, I did.
And I wasn't even paying attention to the other attractive young men in attendance. No one else interested me, only Ollie.
I might've thought that was because we'd had sex a little while ago, but something told me it was more than that. I felt comfortable with him, even when he was naked. Talking to him, I didn't feel like a loser who had let her family down over and over and over, or like the girl who couldn't keep a husband. Honestly, I hadn't wanted to keep Nico. Not at the end.
My phone chimed, indicating a new text.
When I checked it, I groaned. Nico. Did my ex-husband have psychic powers? Or had he bugged my phone so he could tap into the camera and spy on me? Neither, I knew, but he sure did have perfect timing.
Perfect for ruining my day. Yeah, he'd always been great at that.
The text said, "Can we talk?"
I started to type a response but stopped. Why was I indulging him? He wanted to make me feel like shit, but I did not have to let him. So I deleted his text and slipped the phone back into the little purse-like bag for it that hung from a belt loop on my pants. The hem of my shirt hid it, not that I was worried somebody might steal my phone. Nobody here seemed like the type. Ollie had been right when he said everybody here acted like one big family.
Ollie was currently in standing splits pose, with one foot on the ground and the other leg raised almost vertical. Both his hands lay flat on the ground, his arms were bent, and his head hung upside down. Before we came outside, he'd taken his glasses off and asked me to keep them in my shirt pocket. Since I sat on a chaise facing sideways to him, he could see me if he glanced this way.
He did, and he smiled and winked.
I smiled and waved.
"Okay," Ollie said to his class, "let's kick this up a notch and move into a headstand. Slowly straighten your arms. Then we're going to push up with the foot that's on the ground and ease into the headstand."
"Jeez, Ollie," one young man said, "that's way too advanced for me."
"Then skip it. Nobody will think you're a wuss if you don't do this one."
Ollie eased into the headstand pose with grace and agility, having no trouble achieving it.
Another young man tried to do the headstand but tumbled out of it, muttering a curse.
"You okay?" Ollie asked.
The guy sat up and gave Ollie the thumbs-up sign. "Totally good, man."
Ollie's ability to do a headstand impressed me, but the part that got me really hot for him came a little later when they all got into downward dog pose. The basic version of it wasn't super sexy. The pose involved planting the hands and feet flat on the ground and straightening the arms and legs to get into a kind of inverted V position. I could do that pose. It was pretty basic, not an advanced move.
But when Ollie raised one leg straight up, I got a great view of his manly parts. Oh wow, the sight of his dick and his balls made me flash back to earlier, in my room, when we'd gotten hot and heavy---and I'd come like a supernova. God, he was fantastic in bed.
What would it be like to have sex with him outdoors?
I froze, stunned by own thought. Holy shit. I wanted to have sex outdoors.
But only with Oliver Jackson.
No, I couldn't do that. It wasn't proper. And what if someone caught us? What if my family found out I'd not only done the deed with a virtual stranger, but I'd done it outdoors?
I let my head fall back against the chair and expelled a long sigh. Why did I still care what my parents thought? I'd always done what they wanted, what they expected, and it had gotten me exactly nowhere. Sure, I'd done okay with the apartment complex. But I was divorced. Another failure.
My phone rang.
The noise made me jump, and I fumbled to get my phone out of its little case. I twisted around, trying to dig the phone out, but my fingers slipped. I lost my balance, since I'd apparently been leaning too far over, and flopped onto the ground with a yelp.
Crunch.
I'd landed on my stomach. My phone stopped ringing just as my chest collided with the ground---and crushed Ollie's glasses in my pocket.
Pushing up onto my knees, I winced as I pulled his glasses out. The lenses were broken.
"Are you all right?" Ollie asked, rushing over to kneel beside me.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, kind of whining when I spoke the words. I squeezed my eyes shut and offered him his glasses. "I'll pay for replacing them. It's my fault, I'm sorry."
He took the glasses. "It's okay, Mara. I have a backup pair."
"I'm such a klutz. A walking disaster."
"Come on, it's not like you shoved that iceberg into the Titanic." He laid a palm on my cheek, his thumb brushing over my skin. "Relax. Everybody has accidents."
I moaned miserably.
"Open your eyes," he said. "It's okay. Look at me, Mara."
Though I didn't want to, I looked at him.
He smiled and kissed me. It was soft and brief, but the feel of his lips made my tummy flutter.
"See?" he said, waving his other hand to indicate our surroundings. "You didn't destroy the world. I'd call that a win."
I couldn't help smiling. How did he know exactly what to do and say to make me feel better?
Ollie set his broken glasses on the chaise and helped me up. "I'll get my backup glasses and then we can take that hike. Would you be more comfortable if I got dressed?"
"No, that's okay. I'm getting used to being around naked people."
He kissed me again, then grabbed his glasses and headed for the little house.
I slumped onto my chaise, frowning down at the ground.
My phone rang again.
This time, I carefully pulled it out of its case. The screen told me who was calling---Nico. Oh great, that's exactly who I wanted to talk to right now. I didn't want to talk to him ever again, but I knew he wouldn't give up until I did.
So I answered. "What do you want, Nico?"
"I miss you, Mar-Mar. When are you coming home?"
"When I feel like it. And my name is Mara, not Mar-Mar. You know I hate that nickname."
"But you used to love it when I called Mar-Mar while we were making love."
I huffed. "No, I hated it then too. You ignored me when I told you so."
"We were good together. Let's not throw that away."
Good together? Was he on drugs? And he had filed for divorce, so he had no right to imply I'd thrown our relationship away. He did that all on his own. I knew my ditsy behavior had pushed him away, but he hadn't even tried to work things out. Even when I'd learned about his infidelity, I tried to work it out with him. What an idiot. I was better off without him.
"You and I are divorced," I told him. "That's the definition of 'over.' Stop calling and texting me, Nico, or I'll get a restraining order."
I hung up on him. And I had no idea if I could get a restraining order because my ex-husband was annoying the hell out of me. I hoped the threat would convince him to go away.
"Sorry," Ollie said, coming around in front of me. He wore his backup glasses, which looked just like his wrecked ones. "Didn't mean to scare you, but I kind of thought you hadn't noticed me there. Guess I could've done something more smooth to let you know."
"It's fine." I got up. "Let's go for that hike."
He screwed up his mouth and hummed like he was trying to decide whether to tell me something.
"What is it?" I asked, sounding a touch more...touchy than I'd intended.
"I sort of accidentally overheard the last part of that phone call. Your end of it, anyway."
"Oh." My shoulders slumped. "I suppose you figured out I was talking to my ex-husband."
"Yeah." He took my hand. "Let's talk while we walk."
I let him lead me down the nature trail into the woods. Birds twittered and sang. The breeze ruffled the trees. Above us, the sunlight filtered down to the ground, muted by the foliage, and its warmth seemed muted too. The heat I'd experienced while watching Ollie do yoga had given way to a slight chill.
Ollie led me down the path until we reached a spot where a downed tree lay alongside the trail. He motioned for me to sit on it.
I settled my bottom onto the tree. It was surprisingly comfortable to use as a bench.
He sat right next to me and clasped my hand again. "You don't have to tell me anything."
"But I want to. Not sure why, but I feel like I should tell you."
"We hardly know each other. You don't owe me anything." He clasped my other hand too. "But I'm here if you need to talk."
"It's my ex. Our divorce was finalized six months ago, and I haven't heard from him since. Until the day I arrived here, and he texted me to say he wants me back." I turned my face toward Ollie. "Nico called me today to say he misses me and wants to give it another try."
"What do you want?"
"Not him." I moaned again, even more miserably this time. "He cheated on me. I mean, he used to tell me all the time how I don't behave like a proper lady, then he goes and screws the checkout girl at the grocery store." I gritted my teeth. "At the store."
"He sounds like a real prick." Ollie gave my hands a little squeeze. "And he's obviously a moron. He had an incredible woman like you, and he went and fucked some checkout girl? If I ever meet him, I'll punch his lights out."
Maybe his anger should have shocked me, possibly even disgusted me, but it didn't. I got a funny warmth in my chest when he threatened to deck my ex. Nobody had ever taken my side when they found out Nico had cheated, and definitely not when we got divorced.
"You're so sweet, Ollie," I said. "But how can you be sure he's the idiot? Maybe I messed things up."
"No way. I get that you've got this complex about thinking you're a mess and screw everything up, but I don't see that at all. You're amazing."
"I feel so good when I'm with you. The sex was incredible, and I really want to do that again, but maybe we should spend some time getting to know each other first." I hunched my shoulders, afraid he might say no to the next part. "Like maybe a week with no sex?"
"Sure. Let's do that."
Relief sagged my shoulders. "I'm so glad you said yes."
He got up and held out his hand. "Time for me to show you more of my world."
I took his hand and let him lead me away.
Chapter Twelve
Ollie
Mara was so much fun to be with, which would've surprised me if we hadn't screwed each other's brains out earlier. She put on an uptight front most of the time, but when given the chance and some encouragement, she could cut loose like nobody's business. When we got to the hot spring, I made a joke about jumping in with our clothes on and how she was scared of nudity. She knew I was kidding.
"Is that a challenge?" she asked teasingly. "Because I'm not freaking out anymore, in case you haven't noticed."
"Oh, I noticed. But I'll bet you a free massage that you won't get in the hot spring even if you keep your clothes on."
"You're on."
She kicked her sandals off and took a running leap at the hot spring, splashing down with so much energy that the water sprayed up around her and splattered me where I stood six feet from the pool. She surfaced a couple seconds later, grinning and laughing.
I jumped in too, with my clothes on.
We got into a splash fight, both of us laughing so hard we had to stop to catch our breath. She was so fucking amazing. Anyone who met her for the first time would never realize she had so much joy inside her, just waiting to come out and play. I got to see it. She trusted me enough to show me the real Mara, the one she'd been afraid to show to anyone. I loved that. I liked her, a lot.
And I'd known her for less than two days.
Once I managed to drag Mara out of the hot spring, we headed down some of my favorite trails where we could see the birds and the wildlife, places I hadn't shown her yesterday. She got so excited when a deer trotted past us. The girl had never seen one in person. Never.
"How is that possible?" I asked.
We sat in a small clearing filled with wildflowers, their blossoms in full bloom---just like Mara, who had spread her petals today.
"I lived in the city, in Philadelphia, and never drove anywhere," she said, picking a small flower and studying it. "The few vacations I took were at big resorts. I've seen the beach in Tahiti, but not the woods in America."
"You never, ever left the city. Not even for a day."
"Well, I've driven through rural areas. But I never got out to do more than use the bathroom at a rest stop."
"Uh-huh." I was still struggling to wrap my head around that. Never seeing the woods? Or a freaking deer? "Guess I can't imagine living that way, but everybody's different. The city is your home. I found out a rural naturist retreat is where I belong."
She ran her fingers over the petals on the flower she'd picked, still focused on it. "Not sure the city is my home. It's all I know, but..." She dropped the flower and looked at me. "Being here, with you, I'm starting to wonder if I've missed out on what really matters." She sucked in a deep breath, her eyes fluttering shut. "I love the way it smells here, so fresh and clean and sweet. And the grass feels soft on my toes. It's wonderful."
I loved watching her face while she enjoyed all of those things and so much more. She seemed younger, and definitely freer.
We stayed in that clearing for a while, kissing and talking and kissing some more. I could've kissed Mara all day. Her lips were soft, and she tasted better than any woman I'd ever kissed before. Maybe I was kind of smitten. Maybe she didn't actually taste different from other girls. I didn't care, because I'd never felt this good in my life.
We went to the lake again too. Mara waded out into the water up to her knees, giggling when she realized how cold this water was compared to the hot spring. She waved for me to join her, so of course I did. At first, we held hands and splashed our feet in the water. Then, she slipped her arms around me, and I put mine around her, and we just stood there like that for a while. Eventually, we started kissing. Mara didn't seem to care anymore if someone stumbled onto us doing whatever the heck we wanted. Well, no tourists other than the resort guests could come here, since the lake lay on private land owned by Eve and Val.
While I gazed down at Mara, at her gorgeous green eyes and the cute smile on her lips, I found myself thinking about Eve and Val. They had seemed like complete opposites, and I supposed they still were, but their relationship worked despite that---or maybe because of it. They were business partners and partners in life. Spending every day with Eve and Val, seeing how their partnership encompassed every aspect of their lives and how they made each other stronger and better, it made me want that too. I wanted to find the right girl and share a life with her. I didn't know if Mara could be that woman, but I intended to find out.
A week of getting to know her. Yeah, that sounded perfect.
Except
that I still had this little problem of getting turned on every time she smiled. When she'd jumped into the hot spring and emerged completely soaked, her shirt had gone almost transparent, and I could see her nipples. Oh yeah, hard-on alert.
I was an adult. I could handle this.
Probably.
We were relaxing on the beach, watching the gentle waves lap on the shore, when Mara asked me a question.
"Do you get along with your family?" she asked.
"Sure. My parents are good people, and they've always supported me in whatever I wanted to do." I winced, realizing how that might sound to Mara. "Not that I'm bragging or something. I'm sorry your family isn't like that."
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize for having good parents." She smiled shyly. "They certainly raised an amazing son."
Her compliment made me feel a little weird, or maybe I was embarrassed. Hard to say for sure. But I knew without any doubts that I liked the way she made me feel.
"My family isn't as bad as you think," she said. "My mom is always there for me when I need her. When I was growing up, anytime I got sick she would make me soup or get ice cream for me, and she'd sit by my bed reading stories to me. She and my dad would take turns doing that."
"Then what's up with the 'you have to be proper' garbage?"
She shrugged. "My mom and grandma worry about stuff like that. We have to fit into the level of society we're in, where people care about appearances more than anything else."
"No offense, but that's dumb."
"Yeah, I know. But I'm stuck in that world, so I have to try to be what people expect. A proper lady."
I couldn't imagine how stressful that must've been. Constantly worrying about how other people viewed me and whether I'd lived up to their expectations sounded like the definition of hell.
No wonder Mara had been so uptight.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked. "I don't. Only child here. But I always wished I had a brother or sister."
"I've got one sister, Bailey. She's fourteen and likes to call me Liver."
Mara laughed. "Liver?"
"Yeah, it's short for Oliver." I shook my head but felt my mouth tightening into a closed-mouth smile. "She's a brat, but I love her anyway. You have to cut teenagers some slack, because their brains haven't grown any common sense yet."
