ROMANCE: Bear Naked Passion (Billionaire Bear Trio Book 2)

by Audrey Storm

  When had she gotten so old?

  Well, she was only thirty, but she felt older, almost as though she had lived ten thousand years. And what had she done with her life really? The brown eyes stared back at her, shimmering with the embers of faded dreams. For others life was a mountain but for her it seemed to have plateaued. There was nothing she was looking forward to. Work had consumed her life, but at least she had that. Sometimes she looked with sadness at the world around her for in her heart she knew that she was missing out on things, but she did not know how to integrate herself into the world. Aaron had left her with deep wounds, and she thought she was too old to start again. When she used to look in the mirror, she was proud of her curves, proud to be a big, beautiful woman, but Aaran had shattered her confidence, and now she only saw a shell, a shadow. The flame was being extinguished and she didn't know if it was even possible to reignite the flame.

  Chapter 3

  There were a few grapes left over from when the girls had been round so Linda popped them into her mouth as she sank into the sofa after a hard day's work. She had about half an hour before she had to go to bed, and then another long day would start. The endless march of days that stretched forward eternally. There was no end. Not until she died. And that thought depressed her.

  The apartment was quiet, stiflingly so. Linda looked around and groaned inwardly. On nights like these she would have loved to have had someone to talk to, or even just to sit with in silence. She picked up her phone with the intention of calling one of her friends but as she glanced at the time she knew that it was too late. They would all be tucked up in bed now with their lovers, enjoying the thrill of flesh upon flesh. Linda sighed, for all her bravado she was lonely and wanted to make a change in her life, she simply didn't see how to go about it. The idea of yoga played on her mind though. Her body was tense and sitting at a desk all day wasn't doing anything to make her feel better. But she had never been good at doing things on her own. Yet she knew that things would never change unless she was willing to do things on her own. She picked her phone up again and scrolled through the messages. Marie had sent her a link to a yoga class that was for beginners. Linda looked through the page. It claimed to be good even if you had never done any yoga before, and was supposed to be a welcoming environment.

  The thought played on her mind even as she went to bed, and in the stillness of the night she thought it could be quite fun to do something out of the ordinary and she made the decision to go.

  Of course, when she awoke things were different in the cold light of day and she was seduced by her regular routine, and pushed the thought of yoga out of her mind. She went to work as always, came home as always, and repeated this. But every night before bed she kept thinking of yoga, and in her daily life she saw signs that seemed to point to her going to a class. There were advertisements on television, and when she was driving to work she saw people in yoga outfits, it seemed to be everywhere. The seeds in her mind were growing and she slowly but surely got used to the idea.

  “Did you get that link I sent you?” Marie asked, having called her randomly one afternoon, just catching Linda as she was coming on a break.

  “I saw it yeah...”

  “And?”

  “I don't know I mean, it all seems so weird just going there and bending and flexing in front of a bunch of strangers.”

  “When you put it like that, yeah. Can I be honest with you though?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why are you being so difficult about this? Like, I get that you're having a tough time of it but it's been ages since Aaron left you and you have to start living again at some point. We've tried to help you as best we can but at the end of the day you have to help yourself. We all want you to be back to your best but we can't keep banging our heads against a brick wall, you know? I'm just worried that you're going to lose yourself so much in your work that one day you're going to look up and find that everyone around is gone. Please, just give something a try. It doesn't have to be yoga. I just want to get you out in the world again.”

  As the afternoon went by Marie's words of warning echoed through the caverns of Linda's mind. Someone else had voiced her own deepest fears, and it was unsettling. Her heart clenched inside her chest and her mind crawled with all the grim possibilities of the future. She saw herself sitting alone in her apartment with the sounds of laughter and romance outside, the sun shining brightly while she was cast in shadow, a miserable figure whose life had passed her by and she had missed every opportunity for happiness. She gazed out the window and saw her friends, who had long abandoned her because they had families and she couldn't fit in with them, playing in the park. People strolled along hand in hand. The world continued turning around her, while she drifted into oblivion. Tears filled her eyes and her hands were shaking as she thought of such a dark fate and knew that she didn't want it. She didn't want to be left behind and a change had to be made.

  So she decided to go to a yoga class.

  Chapter 4

  When she told Daniel that she was leaving early to go to yoga he did a double take. Leaving early was a surprise in and of itself but to go to a yoga class as well, it was something that he couldn't believe. She'd been out and brought herself a mat and an exercise outfit, although she didn't think it was flattering and dreaded the thought of wearing it in front of other people, but as she pulled into the gym's parking lot she was filled with excitement. It had been so long since she had done anything out of the ordinary and it made her feel young again.

  She walked through the doors and made her way to the private room in which the class was being held. To get there she had to walk through the gym and felt self-conscious when she saw all the fit people keeping their bodies toned and fit. When she got to the class, however, she was relieved to see that there were other people like her. They were clustered around the room. Linda smiled at a few of them as she entered. Some of them were chatting, and this soft hum filled the room, but otherwise they were quiet. Linda wasn't quite sure what the procedure was but she rolled out her mat toward the back of the room and followed everyone else as they stretched their limbs.

  Linda hadn't done any exercise for a long time. She'd tried back in her early twenties but found that it didn't agree with her and ever since then she had been quite content to leave it to other people. As such, she heard some unnatural cracks and creaks as she pulled her arms over her head. She could feel her heart quickening inside and already her skin was beginning to prickle with sweat. The outfit she wore was made from pink spandex and it felt heavy against her body. Her self-conscious feelings didn't help. It was like everyone was looking at her and even though she knew that it was irrational she couldn't help the feelings from flooding through her mind.

  Then, the door opened and a woman entered. Linda turned to face her. She was blonde, with a perfect figure, about 5'8 tall with long legs and curves in all the right places, which were accentuated by the outfit she was wearing. Every man in the room looked at her, agog, and Linda understood why. This woman was the very definition of beauty. She exuded a calm serenity and seemed to glow like a hazy dream. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her wide, blue eyes were set perfectly in her heart-shaped face, and her soft, full lips were always curled into a friendly smile. She didn't so much walk across the room as she bounced, and it was this youthful spirit that made it seem as though she was blooming like a flower in spring. She clapped her hands to get everyone's attention, although all the attention was already on her.

  “Welcome to the class, I'm Tori!” she said in a loud clear, melodic voice. It was like honey, and Linda found that she was transfixed.

  “Now I know that we're in a gym but don't let that put you off. I don't think of this as an exercise class it's more of a well-being class. My goal here is to show you how to attune your minds with your bodies and hopefully you will leave here feeling more relaxed, and the techniques I'm going to teach you will allow you to take time out of your day to center yours
elf. If you like this class then I do teach some more advanced ones but for now I'm just going to give you a little taste of what you can expect. Don't worry if you find some of the positions hard. It's not going to come to everyone naturally, and if you feel pain then just relax and let your body rest for a while. The worst thing you can do is push yourself too hard. Remember, this is supposed to feel good.”

  She continued to talk a little bit about the history of yoga and then led the class through some basic stretches. Linda was pleased to see that a few other people were having difficulties, although she looked on with envy at other people who were finding them easy. After this, they started with some basic positions that were supposed to improve balance. Linda was standing on one foot with both hands in the air. At first she felt elated that she was doing it but then felt herself wobble, and as soon as she did so her other foot shot down, stabilizing herself.

  She raised the foot again, trying to clear her head and adjust to the new position. This time she head to lean forward and bring her leg behind her. Again she felt herself wobbling, and it was a strain to keep her body upright on just one foot. Her arms ached from being held up for so long. She remembered what Tori had said about resting if she felt pain but Linda didn't want to give up just yet. Sweat burst out of her temples in salty streams and she could feel it trickling down her cheeks. She glanced down to see the drops fall to the mat, leaving round stains. Her entire body trembled as she fought against her natural lazy nature. Something inside her wanted to make a good impression for Tori.

  The instructor was gliding around the room, examining people's positions, giving praise when it was due and offering tips where they were needed. Her golden hair bobbed as she twirled through the rows of people, until she finally came to Linda, and caught her just as she was about to fall over.

  Chapter 5

  “Whoa, careful there,” Tori said as she placed both her hands around Linda's body. One came up under her arm, supporting her chest while the other took hold of her thigh. It was strange because it had been so long since anyone else had touched her, and Linda knew that it was completely innocuous, yet there was something thrilling about it.

  Tori steadied Linda and leaned forward. As she did so her hair brushed Linda's face, and she caught Tori's scent. She smelled like summer.

  “Okay class!” she boomed, “This is another little piece of wisdom I'm going to give you. When you are doing yoga you need to concentrate and be aware of yourself in that moment. It's a bit like meditation. You have to try and let go of your thoughts and live in the moment. I know it's difficult because there are so many distractions around us but in order to keep balanced you have to keep focused. If you let in a torrent of thoughts it's going to make you lose concentration. It's something that can be trained though. What I like to do is imagine a great big wall being built that blocks out all of the thoughts that I don't want.”

  She turned to Linda and spoke in a lower tone, so that only Linda could hear her.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. Linda nodded, not attempting to speak because she wasn't sure if any words would come out.

  “You're doing well,” Tori said, and flashed a smile. Linda's heart swelled at the encouraging words and her eyes followed Tori as she walked around the room. There was something about the instructor that captured Linda's attention. She was enchanting, almost like an ethereal spirit and Linda couldn't quite believe that such a woman existed because she seemed too beautiful to be true.

  The class was over sooner than Linda expected, although she was glad that it was because her body was aching. She collected her things and heard Tori praise the class. As Linda left, she looked back and saw Tori mopping herself with a towel, then turned around and leaned over to place it back in her bag.

  Linda left feeling invigorated, and almost regretted that she hadn't taken up a yoga class before. As soon as she could, she let her friends know that it had gone well, and there was an outpouring of relief. During work she applied some of the techniques she had learned and they worked to quiet her mind in times of stress, and she found herself looking forward to the next session but not just because of the yoga itself, also because of Tori. There was something about the instruction that had captivated Linda and she found herself thinking of Tori often. She hadn't told her friends that part though. She had always kept that part of herself hidden from her friends so they wouldn't think she was weird, or that she had crushes on them.

  It wasn't a big deal anyway. A girl like Tori probably had ten guys on the go at once. All she had to do was walk down the street and she'd have been flooded with offers. But it didn't stop Linda from enjoying the way her hands felt on her body. As Linda slipped into bed she breathed deeply, remembering everything that Tori had taught her, and she started to build a wall in her mind, trying to push out the unwanted thoughts and clear her head, but she only succeeded in pushing out everything but Tori. She thought of the way the woman moved around the room with such grace, about how her eyes sparkled in the light and how her lips were soft and sensual. She thought of Tori's low, breathy whisper in her ear, sexy and tempting, about the sweet scent that lingered around her head. Linda's breathing grew deeper as she rolled about in bed. The rhythm of her heart grew faster as she thought about Tori bending over, and wished that she had seen her peel away her tight clothes. The spandex left little to the imagination but it was enough, and Linda's imagination was on fire. Her hands moved down her body and twisted between her legs, finding the warm wetness that offered so much sweet delight and pleasure. She bit her lower lip as she played with herself, thinking about Tori, her new goddess, imagining what it would be like to have a private session from the gorgeous woman, to be touched all over and put in different positions, to be shown how to stand and how to balance, to feel those slender fingers caressing her body and reaching sweet spots that she never knew she had, to be at the mercy of such sweet delights. The heat rose in her lonely bed as her body erupted in a blaze of passion. Her soul was alive and erotic thoughts danced in her mind as she dreamed of drowning in Tori's sexy feminine essence. A soft moan escaped her lips and her eyelids fluttered as her fingers became Tori's fingers, and the fantasies became so real, so intense that she could almost believe that Tori was in the same bed as her. Her chest heaved and she plunged her fingers deep inside her, drawing her legs up as her body tried to process the hot sensations that were coursing through her. It had been so long since she had felt anything close to this passion and now Tori had reawakened something inside her, something that had been threatening to break through the surface for years. She played and teased and toyed with herself, and all the time Tori was strong in her mind, a fantasy that had such a powerful effect that it was real, and the blood rushed through Linda's body and the orgasm crashed through so fiercely that her eyes shot open, and she lay in the mess of the sheets drawing her breath in sharply, wishing to not be alone.

  Chapter 6

  The yoga classes were quickly becoming the highlight of her week. She attended two per week, although they didn't seem enough. Tori was a great teacher and soon recognized Linda as she became a regular, although they were yet to have a proper conversation. But in every session Tori came along to inspect Linda's form, and she always had her hands over Linda. It gave her a special kind of excitement, although then she did flush with bitterness when she saw Tori do the same to other people, and before too long she had to admit that she had a crush on the yoga instructor, which was bad news.

  One day, after she had left for class, Linda received a phone call that stopped her in the hall. It was Daniel, and there were still some problems with the Danny King article. Linda dropped her bag and paced in the area outside the room, running her hands through her hair as she listened to the news that could spell trouble for the magazine. She groaned and tried to come up with a plan to salvage the situation but found it difficult to come up with any. She was walking back and forth and then abruptly collided with Tori, who had just left. The instructor went spinning to th
e floor, landing with a thud, while Linda's phone was pushed out of her hands and fell to the floor, cracking and splintering. Linda helped Tori up and apologized profusely, then went to tend to her phone, which was damaged beyond repair. She cursed.

  “Are you alright?” Tori asked. Even though she had just been thrown to the floor she still looked immaculate.

  “Yeah, I was just in the middle of an important call. Anyway, you were the one that got knocked over, are you alright?”

  “I'm fine, been in worse scrapes in my time. Seriously though, are you sure you're okay? You look a little shaken.”

  Linda sighed. “It's just some trouble at work. I don't want to bother you with it, but I should really be getting back to the office to deal with it since I can't do so via phone anymore.”

  “Wait,” Tori said, grabbing Linda's wrist as she turned away. Linda looked down at it and then up at Tori, shocked. Tori let go of Linda's arm but the warmth of the touch remained. Linda liked it.

  “I've noticed you, in class, you always have this look, like you're somewhere else, or like something is bothering you. I've seen it before, maybe you'd like to go somewhere and talk about it?”

  “I'd love to but I really have to get back to the office...” she said, almost hating herself.

  “Linda, really, yoga isn't just about making the body flexible it's about making the mind flexible as well. Come on, let me take you out for a coffee. Is the world going to blow up if you don't get back to the office? I'm sure there are people there who can handle whatever disaster is going on.” It was tempting. Too tempting to resist so Linda ended up agreeing. It felt good to let loose.