For a long moment, she stared at nothing, pushing her uncertainty and nervousness to the back of her mind. David hadn’t even known what she looked like, so Craig probably never told him she’d yet to make her sexual debut. She groaned in frustration, opened the closet, and dragged out the yoga mats.
“You want some help?” a deep voice rumbled from the doorway. Followed. She’d been followed. Just when she needed a moment to think.
She shot him a glare but wound up smiling. He was so handsome, impossibly handsome, really. Some of the women registered for the class tonight were regulars in her other yoga sessions. They’d want to know all about him tomorrow.
“You don’t have to.” She looked away, concentrating on prepping the room for the class. “I was teasing back there. I’m sure your latest girlfriend would dump you on your butt if she knew what you’d be doing. Save yourself.” She dragged the mats across the floor with ease and dropped them into the usual purple grid.
“Let me worry about my butt.” He tapped a steady rhythm against his thigh with his water bottle. “Craig asked for a favor, so I’m here. I don’t disappoint.”
Sophie shrugged. She’d given him an out. If he wanted to stay and let her paw him, so be it. He was a big boy. She turned and looked at him. Was he ever a big boy. Students would sign up for the class just to watch him, even if they had to bring their partners along.
Charm and confidence oozed out of him. He was everything that women fantasized about—even completely unattainable. That was the safest thing about a fantasy. She reminded herself of all of Daphne’s warnings. If she indulged herself and used him in the class, could she remember he wasn’t what she needed? She was already enjoying him more than she should.
“What exactly do you need me to do?” he asked, without leaving the doorway.
Maybe he was still thinking about bailing on her. She crossed the room and stood next to him, adjusting the lighting in the studio using the panel by the door.
“We open with some stretches, and then some very basic yoga poses to get the muscles warmed up. We run through a series of positions, showing how to transition from one move to the next.” Her breath quickened, betraying her desire to appear in control. “Then we show them some more yoga poses and strength moves that will enhance the postures. At the end, we assign them positions to try at home, and they come back next week with questions.”
“And you’re comfortable with all that?” The way he stared at her made her think he could see through her. Did he look at every woman that way?
“Honestly?” She dropped her shoulders and her cocky attitude. That was exactly her question to Daphne last month.
“Please.” The skin around his warm brown eyes crinkled up in the most delicious way, melting what was left of her resolve.
“Not really. But I’m a professional. And the class is very popular. Like most everything around here, it’s a passion of Daphne’s.”
“But not yours?” He stepped forward, letting the door close behind him.
Chuckling, she crossed the room to turn on the sound system. She liked soft ocean sounds in the background as white noise to block out any outside interferences. She looked up at the clock on the wall. Six minutes.
“How inflexible are you?” She needed to know, and to shake him up a little. It felt entirely too comfortable having him here.
“What? Where did that come from?”
“You said you weren’t very flexible. I’m wondering if you’ll be able to make it through all of the positions tonight.” Sophie forced a smile, reminding herself he was just a man. He couldn’t possibly know she’d had him in every position in her dreams.
He rolled his eyes and stepped farther into the room. “Where are the cards?”
“Have you ever read the Kama Sutra?” She pointed to the raised platform where she’d set the notes.
“Nope.” He sat on the low stage, stretching miles of leg in front of him, and picked up the cards.
She watched his reactions from the corner of her eye as she walked to the door and locked it. She didn’t want the students wandering in until she was ready for them. She began her deep-breathing exercises and returned to the elevated section of floor at the front of the room.
“Close your mouth,” she said, sitting down cross-legged next to him.
“Why would anyone want to come here and go through this in public?” His eyes never left the diagrams.
“Not an exhibitionist?” She smiled up at him, biting back the desire to tease him further.
He ignored her taunt. “The idea of assigning a sexual position…it’s very procedural. Good sex shouldn’t be that mechanical and structured.”
“Maybe it’s a starting point to get them in the mood, like an aphrodisiac.”
He turned to face her, finally gifting her with a devious grin. “Or these folks have a group-sex fantasy and are using your class to find other couples.”
“Yuck! I’m sticking with my viewpoint, thank you. Though, maybe that is why some of the students tried to set me up when I sat in on the class last month.” She shuddered at the thought. “Besides, you haven’t even met any of the students. I was uncomfortable with the idea at first, but the last session changed my mind. All of the couples are in long-term, committed relationships. I think the class helps them spice things up.”
He groaned. “It’s sad when sex gets so boring you have to take a class to maintain your interest.”
“Maybe it gives them a starting point to talk about sex. Communication is the key to a healthy sexual relationship.” So she’d heard. “Anyway, Daphne thinks it’s more about the touching.”
David shook his head and stared into her eyes. He had the thickest eyelashes she’d ever seen.
“It’s about the sex. Trust me. At least for the guys. They show up because they know they’ll be trying out a new position each week.”
Thank goodness, she’d made most of these arguments to Daphne when she’d sat in at the last session. She could just reiterate her sister’s answers. She couldn’t think straight with him this close, smelling so good. Clean, soapy, and warm. Not a trace of the biting cologne most men slathered on at the end of the day. He must have showered instead.
“Maybe the women use the sexual element to get their husbands to attend with them at first. But beyond that, it’s about reintroducing nonsexual touch to the relationship. Once couples stop dating, they often stop holding hands or hugging. The majority of the session is partnered stretching. Daphne thinks the students stay with the class for the closeness the touching provides.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders and finished his bottle of water.
She wanted to keep quiet, but her mind was taunting her with the reminder that this might be the only conversation she’d ever have with him, no matter how trivial. “It’s a very popular class. Daphne has enough people on the waiting list for a year.”
“Really?” He arched his eyebrow as he turned toward her. Was he teasing now?
“It’s a big trend, combining sex and exercise. We’re trying pole routines and belly dancing, too.”
“I’ll have to look into that.”
She looked away to hide her frustration. She shouldn’t care if someone else pole danced for him. She’d have to watch herself. One conversation and she was already getting possessive.
Sophie got up and walked back to the closet. She liked him, liked him enough to give him another out. “If you’re not comfortable with this, you can go. No hard feelings. Tell Craig I made you leave.” She lifted the sweatshirt over her head, pulled off the sweatpants, and slid on her non-slip yoga shoes.
It was his decision. She crossed the room and unlocked the door, peeking out to see the receptionist back at the desk. She opened the door. The first few couples wandered inside. For the next few minutes, she busied herself with greeting the students and getting them ready. She didn’t want to watch her fantasy walk away.
…
He wasn’t sure if he was staying
until Sophie took her clothes off. Somehow, he lost his ability to think. Without her sweats, she transformed into a different person. The toned expanse of belly between her sports bra and low-slung yoga pants magically made her seem taller. The curves on the woman were dangerous. Her hips flared wide beneath an impossibly small waist. He swallowed hard to keep himself from drooling.
He watched in amazement while she ran the class through the warm-up. He stood against the wall, his arms folded across his chest, and just stared. She was doing a good job of warming him up.
He kept reminding himself to keep his mouth closed as she modeled moves for the students. The rest of the class must have mimicked her movements, but he didn’t notice. This warm-up looked like the main event to him. This was why the men showed up for this class—to watch her.
He closed his eyes and tried some of the deep breathing she’d been doing earlier. Sophie was not his type. Not even close.
That’s what this reaction was about. It was a steamy situation, and his libido was rebelling because it had been ignored. He’d take care of it this weekend, maybe later tonight with that blonde on the stationary bike. He could handle this. He opened his eyes slowly and winced. Maybe not.
He couldn’t take his gaze away. She thrust her pelvis forward and back, swayed her hips from right to left, up and down, circles, figure eights. He sucked in a ragged breath and tried to think of the quarterly report he’d read this morning. No good. She moved to lie on her back and repeated the same sweet torture.
Her voice was perky and sweet. “Try and run through these stretches every day. It will loosen your hips and help the movements feel more natural during lovemaking.”
He could run her through those stretches every day. No problem. Where had that come from? He stared at her smooth skin. She was young, early twenties, maybe. Way too young for him.
“Finding which movements work best for you in each position is the key.” She flipped onto her elbows and knees. He closed his eyes against the image burned forever there.
Craig trusted him. And all David could think of was running through every position with her later. There had to be a catch, or a hidden camera. Had Craig punked him?
…
From memory, Sophie went through the history of the Kama Sutra. Thankfully, she could do it without thinking, because having David Strong stare at her that way was frying her brain cells. He looked at her like, well, like he did in her dreams. Maybe this was all a very vivid dream.
No. If it were, the students wouldn’t be here listening to her every word. And he wouldn’t be all the way across the room. She crooked a finger at him, beckoning him closer as she picked up the remote. Dimming the lights, she turned on the projector and an image of a couple illuminated the wall behind her.
“The Kama Sutra teaches about lovemaking as an experience, not an event. It illustrates how to slow down and make the most of your partner, to bring you both as much pleasure as possible. And that means starting at the very beginning, with touch.”
She swallowed hard as he stepped up onto the raised platform. She looked out at the class, instructing them to stand as she tried to find her bearings.
“In the Kama Sutra, the man is the pursuer. But that’s due more to the age it was written in. Now, women are free to make the first move.” Sophie reached out, running her hand down the length of David’s arm. The coarse hairs tickled her palm.
“Instead of racing to the main event, start slow. With a simple touch. It’s important to start lovemaking outside of the bedroom. Glancing touches, holding hands, embracing as you walk, moving together as one—these are the things that build the intensity of what’s to come.”
Sophie stepped closer, leaving the class behind for a moment as she slipped her arm around his waist and pulled herself to him so they stood side by side. She didn’t even come up to his shoulder. The realization made her smile and brought her back to reality.
“Some of the embraces are simple enough to be hinted at while you go about the day, with no one else aware that you’re building the anticipation for what comes later. Signing up for this class tells me you’re looking for a way to make the more complicated poses natural instead of awkward.” The students laughed, lightening the tension in the room.
She clicked the remote to reveal a new image. “This embrace will escalate things. Just as the embrace where the man presses his body against the woman can escalate things, let your partner know without words what you have in mind.”
He turned so they were face-to-chest, their height difference making the posture ridiculous. Sophie grinned, her anxiety easing. She cued up a montage of the remaining embraces.
“The Kama Sutra has suggestions on every pairing, ways to make lovemaking more accessible and exciting for every couple. It’s up to you to experiment and find the ones right for you. For lovers with height differences, there is the Climbing a Tree embrace, where you place your foot on his, your thigh on his, wrap an arm around his back, place your hand on his shoulder, and boost yourself up for a kiss.”
Sophie followed her own instructions until she and David were eye-to-eye. His warm brown gaze revealed his apprehension, which evened the playing field quite a bit. She slid back down.
“Many of the poses resemble their name, like Twining of a Creeper, where you snake your way around his body like a vine until your hand is behind his neck and you can pull him to you and brush your lips against his.”
The heat radiating off the back of his neck seeped through her hand. When their eyes met this time, she recognized something new there, something she’d never experienced. Dear God, he can read my mind. She released him, shaking her head as if it might clear away the clouds of lust.
“The Kama Sutra has a lot to offer in the way of lovemaking preparations—bathing and massage, kissing and foreplay like fondling and oral sex.” She prayed the blush burning her cheeks wasn’t too obvious. “Those techniques are for you to explore on your own. Here, we’ll focus on positions you might find awkward at first, or might not have the stamina for. We’ll show you how to get in position and how to condition your body so you can stay there.”
…
Working It Out had emptied sometime during the class. David stepped out into the vacant lobby, marched to the receptionist desk, and sat down hard in the chair. There needed to be some physical space between him and Sophie. His reaction to her had been all too real. No matter how technical she’d kept it, he’d always been a second away from tossing her over his shoulder, carrying her out of there, and finishing the act. He couldn’t help but overhear some of the students tease her.
“If you had told me you were going home to that, I never would have been after you about my nephew,” a kind, matronly voice said.
“No harm, Kathy. I’ll see you at yoga tomorrow,” Sophie replied.
“When we try this tonight, I’m going to fantasize about that one,” a gruff voice said. He really hoped it was a woman. “I hope you won’t mind.”
He heard Sophie laugh. He sank his heavy head into his hands. He should bail. Run now and never have to look the woman in the face. Except he might. She was Craig’s sister-in-law, so she would probably be popping up unexpectedly for the rest of his life. Just like a part of him had popped up unexpectedly.
He listened to the sounds of the students filing out the front door. He battled between being a coward and apologizing. He didn’t have much practice at either.
“David, are you okay?” Her voice was laced with honey. She even smelled sweet. Why am I so aware of her?
He raised his head from his hands, finding her dressed in her sweats again and standing next to him. Every fiber of his being wanted to grab her heart-shaped face and kiss her breathless.
To put some space between them he pushed his feet on the floor, sending the chair backward. “I’m fine, just fine.”
“Okay, then.” She retreated to her office.
Guilt punched him in the gut. She’d gotten him through that class without
embarrassing him, and he’d repaid her by acting like a petulant child. He shook his head and told himself to sack up. She emerged a moment later looking like a college student with her sneakers and backpack. He stood as she stepped into the lobby.
When she approached him, he remembered how small she was. He’d completely forgotten. Strange the way someone so diminutive had commanded a room, controlled his body just moments ago.
He swallowed, forcing the words out. “Thank you for covering for me in there. I appreciate it. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”
Sophie raised her hand. “You don’t owe me any apologies, David. Thank you for helping me with the class.”
He stared into those pale blue eyes. Was she really going to make this easy for him? He’d seen the look of surprise in her wide, innocent eyes as they went through the positions. She’d given him every opportunity to walk out of the class, and now, after he had practically molested her in front of a room full of strangers, she let it go without judgment.
He followed her to the door, but not too closely. They stepped outside into the cool night air.
“Let me walk you to your car.”
“Oh”—she turned to face him—“I didn’t drive.”
He nodded. “You live around here?”
“No, up in the Alphabet district. After class I go grocery shopping with Craig and Daphne, and they drop me off at home.”
“You don’t have a car?” Maybe she’d just graduated from college. If she were as young as she looked, what happened tonight would be all the more inappropriate.
Her cheeks pinked. Was it cold enough for them to color? “I have one. It’s just a beast to park. It’s not worth the hassle for two miles.”
“I’ll drive you home.” It wasn’t an offer.
“Really, you don’t have to.” She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I’m going to walk up to the grocery store and then head home. Have a nice night.”
“I’ll take you.” She obviously hadn’t heard him.
Her smile stretched so wide, dimples pressed into her cheeks. “To the grocery store? Are you trying to earn a merit badge or something?”
Compromising Positions (Invested in Love) Page 2
