Sophie shrugged and addressed the class. “David has no problem”—she paused for effect—“with foreplay.” She grinned from ear to ear as the class snickered. It was petty, but it was fun.
“Sophie,” David hissed at her. His jaw was set so tight she wondered if his teeth might break. She shrugged again, cued up the projector, and dimmed the lights. As the explicit photo illuminated the wall behind her, she watched David’s brows knit together. Let him see she could handle things on her own without him trying to rush in and fix everything.
She stood in the center of the platform, crossing her arms over her body and hugging her elbows. “The positions tonight can be more challenging than those we’ve tried before. I think you’ll all understand why we focused on abdominal strength and flexibility tonight.
“This first position is Kama’s Wheel. It’s one of the more meditative positions, so I want you all to focus on your breathing and sense of balance while in the position. Men, you’ll want to sit comfortably with your legs stretched out in front of you.”
She heard David moving behind her and knew he was getting in position. She wanted to prove a point, but like the fool she was, she also wanted to touch him. Her insides knotted as she tried to decide what to do, knowing where touching him might lead. She’d want more; she always did. But she also didn’t want to reject him, leave him exposed in front of the class.
“Ladies, you’ll need to lower yourself down, stretching your legs out behind him. Men, you can help her by placing your hands on her back for support. Ladies, hold onto your partner’s arms for leverage and support.”
Sophie watched as the class struggled with the position. They could look at a picture from a book at home. What they were here to learn was how to get into the position. She felt a tug on her finger as he whispered her name.
She turned, looking down at him for a change. His soft brown eyes looked up at her, unraveling the knots in her stomach as she moved and joined him. She heard the class quiet as they watched her lower herself down to him, achieving the position as easily as if they’d practiced it a hundred times.
Swallowing hard to keep her voice steady, she reminded the class to take a moment to focus on their breathing, to try to mirror their partners. Closing her eyes, Sophie realized she and David had already done that, their bodies ever so slightly rising and falling in time with each other.
She felt his heavy stare but found it far easier to move ahead with the class than deal with David Strong. She reached for the remote and clicked ahead, finding the next position.
“This next posture is called the Position of Equals. Men’s position remains the same. Ladies, you lean back farther, moving your hands from resting on his arms to his feet. Guys, you can relax your arms, or use your hands in whatever way is comfortable.” She leaned back into the position, thankful that with her head back she wouldn’t have to look at him.
She listened to the students giggle as they realized how a man might use his hands in this position. He realized it, too, as the thumb of the hand away from the class began to stroke the side of her breast.
Sophie snapped her head up and gave him a warning look. He didn’t stop. Increasing the pressure, he stared at her with a cocksure grin. Unsure what he meant by his little display, she reached for the remote again, changing the position on the screen.
“Next we transition into the Snake Trap. Ladies, make sure you can support yourself in the position you are in with your hands on his legs. Once your partner is secure, men, lean back and hold on to her feet. You can see that these positions are more about enjoying each other, more about sex play than about achieving orgasm quickly.”
He rolled his eyes. “You and your oranges,” he muttered under his breath. “Of course, if achieving orgasm suddenly becomes your goal,” David’s voice echoed in the quiet classroom. “Then you simply…” Sitting up quickly and moving his legs, he threw her off-balance, landing her flat on her back. She pulled her legs together as he came down on top of her. “But I’m sure you all have that move down.”
Her temperature rose, realizing how he’d turned the tables on her. She prayed the move they taught in self-defense class would work when she was so outmatched in size. She moved her legs to the side, then quickly raised them up in the air, perpendicular to their bodies. She swung her legs over, using them as leverage as she pushed him off her. Taking him by surprise, she was actually able to roll him off her and onto his back.
She quickly sprang to her feet, brushing her hands together in triumph. She grabbed the remote and shut off the picture and brightened the lights.
“There is a rule in this classroom. No one should feel pressured into a position that makes them uncomfortable.”
She was enjoying the giggles from the crowd so much she barely noticed he hadn’t moved from where she’d left him. Turning to him, she realized his eyes were closed in a wince. Her stomach sank. She’d hurt him. She took the two steps back toward him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she knelt down. “I didn’t think I could hurt you.”
He opened his eyes. “You know better than that.”
“Are you okay? Where does it hurt?”
“Mainly my pride,” he said, pulling himself up slowly. “And my back.” He winced again, bringing a hand to his lower back.
Sophie brought a hand to her mouth. Leaning closer, she said softly, “I swear, I didn’t mean to. I wanted to show you I could take care of myself.”
He waved her off as she tried to touch him. Finally standing, he looked down at her. His smirk came close to sinister, his voice low and gravelly. “You’re going to be sorry later.”
…
Gone. As if he hadn’t been there at all. Sophie turned and looked at the empty gym. She’d finished the class and dismissed the students, hoping David would wait. But of course, he’d gone.
Backing against the reception desk, she set her hands on the counter and her shoulders slumped in defeat. Even though she’d decided not to continue pushing things with David, she was still attracted to him. She rolled her eyes. Most of the women on the planet were attracted to him.
She wanted him to be attracted to her. Until tonight, she’d always known he was aroused as they ran through the positions. Tonight there had been no signs of life. The powerful feeling she usually had from getting a rise out of him was woefully absent.
She closed her eyes and willed her heart to harden. He didn’t want her, probably never had. As the tears pricked the back of her eyelids, she sucked in a deep breath. She wasn’t going to cry about this anymore. There was nothing she could do to change things, no point wasting energy on what-ifs. Pushing off the counter, she propelled her tired legs to her office.
She heard him before she saw him. “You date a lot.” His voice was more curious than accusatory. “A lot, a lot. Much more than me.”
Her forehead wrinkled as she saw him playing with her cell phone. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He looked up. He set down the phone and held out his hands. “Relax. I was looking for some ibuprofen and saw it. I was bored and thought I would play a video game. But you don’t have any games on yours.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t have time for games.” Sophie picked up her backpack and shoved her phone inside. “Why would you go through my things?”
He rolled his eyes. “I told you, I was looking for some ibuprofen. Someone wasn’t playing fair earlier.”
She planted her feet firmly on the ground. “You started it.” She had to grin. They’d been reduced to playground bickering. Again.
“I’m sorry. You had my corporate and personal accounts at your fingertips. You could have robbed me blind. You could trust me a little.”
“I don’t want your money, David.” She yanked her coat off the chair behind him
“I know,” he muttered, looking at the floor. “I’m surprised. I assumed you didn’t date much.”
“That’s what happens when you assume.”
; “I don’t get it. Why weren’t you with any of them?”
Pausing at the second button of her coat, Sophie met his gaze. “I didn’t want to be.” The words echoed in the still room. The blood pounding in her ears got louder and louder until she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to break it up with something, even if it meant she rambled.
“Some of them were jerks, some didn’t want to deal with my folks, and when I agreed to be a surrogate for Daphne, I stopped dating altogether. It just didn’t seem appropriate.”
“Daphne’s been pregnant for what, seven months now?”
“She’s been sick, David. I’ve had to step in and keep this place going while she takes care of herself. Losing my virginity hasn’t been a priority. And I didn’t see the point in sleeping with one man while fantasizing about another.” Finally, she’d said it. Fishing her gloves from her coat pocket, Sophie asked, “Haven’t we already had this conversation?”
“We need to have a conversation about what is going on with us.”
She swallowed hard and charged forward. She couldn’t bear to hear some impassioned it’s-not-you speech from him. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that, and I’ve decided you’re right.”
“I’m right,” he repeated slowly.
“Yes. I can’t handle a relationship with you. I can’t keep putting myself out there to be rejected at every turn. My ego isn’t as big as yours.”
“I never rejected you,” David said, leaning forward in the chair. He winced, his hand finding its way to the sore muscles.
She pursed her lips and continued. “You won’t have to worry about me throwing myself at you anymore. I’ll respect your decision.” She sucked in a hard breath. When had the air in this room gotten so cold?
“I hope you can understand that I can’t handle kissing or touching outside of class.” She cast her eyes to the floor as she made her confession. “I’ll feel you and want more. It makes me think you do, too, and that isn’t good for either one of us.” Her heart splintered apart. This was supposed to make things easier, so why did it feel like dying?
“Whatever you want, Sophie,” he rumbled quietly.
She looked up and watched him sit, staring at his hands. “I thought you’d be relieved.”
He looked up at her, his brown eyes unreadable pools of emotion. “Are you ready to go?”
She nodded, wrapping her scarf around her neck and heading for the door. “You don’t have to drive me,” Sophie said as they reached the exit. “I walk every other night. I’ll be fine.”
He held open the door as she walked out, then turned and checked to make sure it locked behind them. “Actually, I need you to give me a ride home,” David said, fishing the keys from his pocket. He pressed a button that flashed the lights on a red compact SUV and then handed the keys to her. “Surprise.”
…
“What are you doing?” David asked as Sophie followed him out of the SUV.
“I’m making sure you get home okay,” she said, falling in line behind him.
“I’m fine,” he said, turning to face her.
“Don’t make me give these back to you again.” She dangled the key in front of his face. He realized then that the spare key to the SUV was already on his key ring. He’d have to give that back. Nothing about this day had gone as he’d planned.
He still wasn’t sure what he wanted from her, but he damned sure knew it wasn’t the nothing she was offering. He’d known all along he didn’t deserve to be with someone like her. So if this space was what she needed, he wouldn’t fight her on it. At least not until he figured out what he wanted for himself.
He stared down at her determined expression and shrugged, then turned and walked up the stairs to his condo. This was not the scenario he’d imagined for the first time he brought a woman back to his place. She had to be feeling guilty. She’d dumped and injured him, and he’d bought her a car. Again.
He turned the condo key, pushed the door open, and turned to tell her good-bye. But somehow she slipped under his arm and made her way inside, flipping on the light as she passed into the living room.
Spinning on her heel, she began to take off her gloves and scarf.
“What are you doing?” he asked, removing his jacket.
“I’m going to make your back feel better,” she said, peeling off her coat. She dropped her keys on the table beside his and stepped deeper into his condo. She laid her coat along the back of a chair. His chair, where he sat to watch TV or read or put on his shoes.
“I took some ibuprofen. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m the reason it’s sore. Just let me fix it.” Her eyes sparkled as she grinned up at him. She looked like the old Sophie, the playful, fun Sophie he knew before things had gotten out of hand at her apartment.
He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“Why not?” she asked, pushing her full lips into a pout.
“You said we weren’t going to go there anymore.” And if she kept looking at him like that, he definitely would want to.
She rolled her eyes playfully. “You think I’m coming on to you?”
“Aren’t you?” His voice betrayed him, cracking as he spoke.
The way her eyes darkened showed him she’d heard it. “You should be so lucky. No, I don’t want you aching tomorrow and cursing me all day.”
He cleared his throat to make sure he could speak. “I won’t. I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t trust yourself, do you?” Her voice was low, throaty, teasing.
“Excuse me?” he managed.
“That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t think you can keep your hands off me.” She must have grown, because he could swear she was bigger than him now.
“You’re the one who wants to get her hands on someone.”
She held up her tiny hands. “Purely medicinal, I assure you. Come on, I swear I’ll keep my clothes on, no matter how much you beg.”
It was his turn to smile. “You should be so lucky.”
“Fine, then I’ll grab some lotion while you get ready for the best massage you’ve ever had.”
Since he got deep-tissue massages when he took his workouts a little too far, there wouldn’t be much of a contest. She bounced to her bag and pulled out a bottle. Her lotion, the one that smelled like almonds. He turned and walked through his bedroom into the bathroom where he stripped off his shirt. He caught his reflection in the mirror. What was he doing? He must be crazy to be turning down a massage from a beautiful woman. She was right, he was afraid of her a little. She had some physical power over him he couldn’t explain. Craig had made him promise to leave her alone, and she’d just said they weren’t going there anymore. And he was trying. Failing miserably, but still trying.
He cocked his head to the side as he realized something. The last time he’d tried to push her limits, he’d been the one to pull back. He had to push until she stopped. He dropped his pants and stood naked in front of the mirror. He could march out there nude, and the shock alone might send her running. More than a few women had been intimidated by his size, and they hadn’t been virgins. As forward as she’d always been with him, he knew a massage was only the beginning of what she had in mind. He met his own eyes in the mirror.
Without the safety net of clothing, he might hold himself in check enough to hold back if she made a move for him. He grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around his waist. He didn’t trust himself that much.
He stepped out of the bathroom and froze. She sat on his bed rubbing her hands together.
“Oh no. Not in here.”
“What do you mean?” Her wide innocent eyes almost had him believing she wasn’t trying to seduce him.
“Not you and me on the bed. We can use the couch in the living room.”
She shook her head and patted the bed next to her. “Are you afraid of little, tiny me? Come now, what could I possibly do to you?”
Was she batting her eyelashes at him? What could she do?
He had a mile long list that would do for a start. He opened his mouth to object, but she stopped him short.
“Get over yourself. I’m not going to jump you the second you close your eyes. I told you, I’m done with trying that. Now, lie down.”
He did as he was told, even though his brain was still urging him to run full-speed toward the nearest exit.
He lay down on his stomach and reached his arms around the pillow under his head, reminding himself it was just a massage. That his back hurt—though, for the life of him he couldn’t remember exactly where. Every muscle in his body tensed as he felt her thighs on either side of his, straddling him. So much for relaxing.
His protests were futile now; she had him. This was what he wanted—her, warm beside him in a bed. It was the rest of the time that he didn’t know what to do with her. He didn’t say a word, trying to focus on anything but her scent, her weight pressing into the bed on either side of him, her touch. Her warm hand fanned out between his shoulder blades while another pressed on the base of his spine. With the help of the lotion, her palms slipped across the muscles of his back. She must have been warming it, because it glided effortlessly, slowing the sensation of her hands so it was like she was everywhere all at once.
She lightly stroked his back from top to bottom. Her hands worked in tandem, so that one was reaching the towel across his buttocks as the other began atop his shoulder. Over and over, her strokes ran down his back until the muscles began to relax. Dancing fingertips were replaced by the steady pressure of flattened palms as she continued the path on either side of his spine. For what seemed like eternity, she kneaded and stroked, rolled and pushed at his tired muscles. Her hands explored his shoulders, neck, the back of his arms, his buttocks, back of his thighs.
He’d experienced thousands of rubdowns in his life. But this was different. Somehow, because it was Sophie, the motions had a different meaning and seemed to trigger a deeper response. Every nerve ending in his back had ached before, so he knew they were there. But never had he considered those same nerve endings to be capable of such immense sexual pleasure. In fact, if this didn’t end soon, he might come right here on the bed, without her ever having touched the front of him.
Compromising Positions (Invested in Love) Page 13