Show & Tell

by Rhonda Nelson

  Feigning sleep, Savannah moaned softly and nonchalantly rolled away from him and onto her side. There, she thought. She’d escaped. She’d saved face and would—

  To Savannah’s slack-jawed astonishment, using the exact same tactic she’d just employed, Knox promptly spooned her. The force of his heat engulfed her as he bellied up to her back. He twined an arm around her middle and unerringly settled his palm upon her breast. Savannah hadn’t recovered from that brazen move before he pushed his thigh between her legs and sighed with audible satisfaction right into her ear. The combined masculine weight, heat and scent of him caused a tornado of sensation to erupt below her navel.

  She couldn’t believe his gall. At least she’d molested him while she’d been asleep and unaware of her transgressions. Knox, the sneaky lout, was in full possession of his senses and had used the lucky opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Still, her conscience needled, she hadn’t abruptly drawn away from him when she’d woken up. She’d lain there and savored the feel of him against her, just as she was doing now.

  Which was madness, she thought with a spurt of self-loathing. Why didn’t she just forgo all of the niceties and hand him her heart to break?

  Savannah drove her elbow into his unsuspecting stomach. “Get…off…me.”

  Knox’s breath left him in a quick, surprised whoosh and he promptly released her throbbing breast and rolled away. “Wh-what?” he asked with enough sleepy perplexity to look genuine. But she knew better.

  Savannah glared at him. “I thought I told you to stay on your side of the bed.”

  Knox sat up in bed and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. His mink-brown hair was mussed and the flush of sleep still clung to his cheeks. Those heavy-lidded eyes were weighted even more with the dregs of slumber. He looked almost boyish, yet the term didn’t quite fit, because there was absolutely nothing boyish about the way her body reacted to his.

  “Huh?” he managed.

  Savannah blew out a breath. “I thought I told you to stay on your side of the bed,” she repeated.

  “Didn’t I?” he asked foggily.

  He knew damn well he hadn’t, the wretch. “No,” she said tightly. “You did not.”

  He frowned. “Oh, sorry. Hope I didn’t crowd you.”

  “I woke up with your hand wrapped around my breast.”

  A smile quivered on his lips. Knox threw the covers off and planted his feet on the floor, but didn’t readily stand. He leveled a droll look at her. “Funny. I woke up with your hand inches above my dick and your thigh on my ass, but you don’t hear me complaining.”

  Savannah flushed. She could win this argument, but not without admitting fault on her own part, so she didn’t bother. “Just get ready,” she huffed. “We’ve got less than an hour before breakfast.”

  THEY WERE TEN MINUTES LATE for breakfast. Knox had been wrong. Savannah did take great pains with her hair—it just didn’t do any good.

  She’d spent the better part of thirty minutes this morning trying to force the unruly locks into some semblance of a true style and when she’d finally exited the bathroom, she’d looked exactly as she had when she’d gone in. “I don’t know why I bother,” she said when she walked out.

  Knox had bitten his tongue to keep from saying, “Me, neither.”

  He kept his mouth shut, of course. He’d already pissed her off this morning with the sleepy-hand-upon-her-breast bit and didn’t dare risk her further displeasure by agreeing with her dead-on assessment about her hair. Besides, her hair had character. Knox thought it was adorable.

  Having her draped all over him this morning had been a pleasant surprise. She’d smelled curiously like apples, a scent he’d associated with her before, and the feminine weight of her body nuzzled against his had been incredible. He’d felt the press of those delectable nipples against his back and that sweet hand snugged against his abdomen. If she hadn’t moved when she did, his randy pecker would have nudged under her palm like an eager puppy begging for a stroke.

  He’d known he shouldn’t have rolled over with her, but for some perverse reason, he hadn’t been able to help himself. His palms literally itched to touch her.

  The one woman he’d imagined he wouldn’t be hot for had unaccountably turned into the one woman he simply had to have.

  Knox had never in his life longed to root himself between a woman’s thighs more. He wanted her legs hooked over his shoulders, her arms lashed around his waist and her tongue in his mouth, and not necessarily in that order.

  A moment after they entered, the Sheas moved to stand side by side in front of the room and garnered everyone’s attention. “Greetings and good morning to you,” Rupali said. Knox noticed that when Rupali moved forward to speak, Edgar instinctively moved slightly back and behind her. Support, Knox realized with a jolt of surprise and admiration. “We hope that you all passed a pleasant night and adhered to the rules set out for this retreat.” She paused. “Did everyone adhere to the rules?”

  A chorus of assents passed through the room, though Knox spotted at least two guilty faces. One was Chuck’s, of course.

  “What about homework?” Edgar asked. This time, it was Rupali that moved behind him. So the respect and support was reciprocated, not just one-sided.

  Despite all of the questions and doubts surrounding this workshop and tantric sex in general, Knox had to admit that their relationship seemed genuine. They obviously cared very deeply for each other.

  What would it be like to be on the receiving end of such unwavering love and support? Knox wondered as a curious void suddenly shifted in his chest. What would it be like to have someone who believed in you so much that they instinctively knew to get behind you when you needed it, or perhaps even when you didn’t? He’d had that sort of support from his family until he’d majored in journalism, but after that he’d lost their encouragement. It had hurt, but the desire to succeed had been a balm to his disappointment.

  “Let’s have a status report on our chakras,” Edgar said. “We’ll start and go around the room. Tell what sort of breakthroughs you experienced, as well as how many chakras you believe you unblocked. Who would like to go first?”

  Several hands shot into the air at this question. Needless to say, his and Savannah’s weren’t among them. Chuck and Marge began and proudly reported that they’d unblocked their perineum, genital and belly chakras. Several other couples continued in this vein sharing their experiences, reporting multiple chakra breakthroughs. Knox began to get a little nervous. He hadn’t realized just how little he and Savannah had gotten done last night. They’d have to take their break this afternoon and play some catch-up; otherwise they were going to be lagging behind the rest of the class. That was simply unacceptable. Knox didn’t lag behind anyone.

  Apparently, the realization had hit Savannah as well. Her lips had flattened into an adorably mulish expression. Knox felt his lips twitch. He knew that look—heaven knows he’d seen it often enough—and it meant watch your back.

  “Is there anyone who hasn’t reported?” Rupali asked.

  “Knox and Barbie haven’t,” Marge replied helpfully. Knox gritted his teeth and smiled at her.

  “Well, Knox and Barbie,” Rupali said. “How did it go?”

  Knox looked to Savannah, hoping in her ire, she’d step up and answer the question. For all appearances she smiled encouragingly, but Knox saw the evil humor dancing in that ice-blue gaze. Her look clearly said, “You made your bed, now lie in it.”

  “We, uh, worked on the trust exercise so much that we only got the r-root chakra unblocked,” Knox reported. From the corner of his eye, he saw Savannah’s eyes narrow fractionally. Obviously, she didn’t appreciate taking the blame for their poor performance.

  “Don’t be so modest, baby,” Savannah said sweetly. “Tell the rest.”

  The rest? Knox wondered as his breakfast curdled in his stomach. His smile froze. “That’s private, pumpkin,” he all but growled through gritted teeth. He had absolute
ly no idea what she was talking about, but instinctively knew she intended to humiliate him. Royally.

  “Nothing is private here, Knox,” Rupali reminded with a smile. “Truth and healing, remember? You obviously have something to be proud of. Barbie is proud. Please share,” she encouraged gently.

  “I—”

  “Oh, very well,” Savannah said, with a humbly mysterious look about the room. “I’ll tell them.” She paused dramatically. “After we unblocked Knox’s root chakra—which took a great deal of time because of his tight-ass tendencies—he got an erection!”

  This theatrical announcement was met with a mass of delighted oohs and aahs and a spattering of applause.

  Savannah clasped her hands together excitedly and looked meaningfully around at everyone. “It lasted for almost two whole minutes!”

  She was evil, Knox thought as he felt his face flame with embarrassment. Evil. And he would make her pay. With a grand show of delighted support, Savannah grabbed hold of his arm and pressed close to him. “I’m so very proud of you, baby.”

  Edgar and Rupali beamed at him. “That’s indeed something to be proud of, Knox. Congratulations on your erection.”

  Knox had been congratulated for many things over the years, but he could truthfully say that having a man congratulate him on an erection was a wholly new experience. A couple of the truly impotent men glared enviously at him.

  “Er, thank you,” he muttered self-consciously.

  Beside him, Savannah sighed with sublime satisfaction, the faux picture of wifely adoration.

  Rupali threaded her fingers through her husband’s. “This is precisely why we have opened our home and hearts, why we decided to start this clinic. So that impotent men like Knox can come and reclaim their masculinity. With harmony and truth healing and the art of tantric ritual, perhaps he will be able to surpass even this breakthrough and lead his lover to climax.” She gave Savannah an enigmatic look. “I don’t think your problem lies in the lower chakras, Barbie. You will learn what I mean, and I would appreciate your telling me when it happens.”

  Looking somewhat startled, Savannah merely nodded. Now what did Rupali mean by that? Knox wondered. After a moment, he leaned over and asked Savannah.

  She shook her head, clearly bewildered. “I have no idea.”

  “Well, tell me when it happens. I want to know, too.”

  “Oh, hell, Knox, you know as well as I do that nothing is going to happen.”

  “Now how would I know that?” he replied sardonically. “Just think about me and my whopping two-minute erection.”

  She had the nerve to laugh. “Save your indignation. After this morning, you deserved it.”

  “I wasn’t the only one copping a feel,” Knox replied, somewhat miffed. “And I wasn’t the one who was so horny I had to masturbate during my bath to get some relief.”

  Her head jerked around and her stunned gaze found his.

  “Yeah, that’s right,” he said with a crafty grin. “I know.”

  He had to give her credit—she recovered well. She blew out a disbelieving breath. “Don’t be ridiculous. Honestly, Knox, the size of your ego never ceases to amaze me. I—”

  “It wasn’t the size of my ego that sent you into the bathroom and had you slipping your finger into—”

  “Shut up,” she said, squeezing her eyes tightly closed.

  Knox tapped his finger thoughtfully against the chin. “Come to think of it, I think that was a violation of the rules. Perhaps I should report your climax—seeing as you’re frigid and that would be a breakthrough,” Knox threatened. “Then the whole room could applaud you and celebrate your orgasm.”

  “I’m sorry,” she hissed.

  “What?”

  “I’m sorry, dammit.”

  He eyed her, his gaze lingering on her guarded expression. “Just what exactly is the problem?” Knox wanted to know, serious now. “What have I done—besides making you do this story—that has you alternately assaulting my character and my ego?” Why don’t you like me? he demanded silently.

  Why can’t I charm you? For the love of God, why do I even care?

  She swallowed. “Nothing. It’s my problem, not yours.”

  Oh, no. That was the closest thing to a personal admission she’d ever made and he had no intention of letting her get away with not finishing the thought.

  “What is it?” he pressed.

  “We don’t have time to go into this right now,” Savannah hedged. She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Trust me, it’s nothing. You’re right. I’ve been unfair.”

  “If it was nothing, you wouldn’t want to go for my throat every time the opportunity presented itself. Spill it, Savannah. I’ve got a right to know.”

  “Y-you remind me of someone, that’s all.”

  “I remind you of someone,” Knox repeated. “Who?”

  Seemingly embarrassed, she huffed a breath and refused to look at him.

  “A guy?” Knox guessed, annoyed beyond reason.

  “Yes,” she finally relented. “A guy. Are you happy now?”

  No, he wasn’t. He was anything but happy. “If I remind you of a guy and it’s not a good thing, then one could logically deduce that this particular guy was a bastard who broke your heart. Am I right?”

  “He did not break my heart,” Savannah insisted icily. “I hadn’t given him my heart to break.”

  No, only her trust, Knox realized, which any moron should have realized was almost as precious as her heart. “Do I look like him?”

  “No.”

  “Do I act like him?”

  Her shoulders slumped with an invisible weight. “I’d made myself believe that you did. But you don’t.”

  Knox scowled, hopelessly confused. “If you no longer believe I act like him, then what’s the problem?”

  She emitted a low, frustrated growl. “Being here with you, this whole workshop…” She gestured wildly. “How am I supposed to stay out of the bathroom,” she said meaningfully, “and not do what I—”

  “Masturbate?”

  “—did, when I’m here with you and we’re surrounded by sex, sex and more sex?” Her voice climbed. “How am I supposed to think about anything else with all this talk of orgasms and erections and—”

  Understanding suddenly dawned and Knox felt a self-satisfied grin spread across his lips. “You want me.”

  She shot him a dark look. “I didn’t say that.”

  Something warm and tingly moved through his rapidly swelling chest. “You want me.”

  She paused. “Don’t look so proud of yourself. I’d want just about anybody under the circumstances.”

  “Yeah…but you’re not here with anybody. You’re here with me.”

  “Brilliant deduction, Einstein.”

  “Would it make you feel any better if you knew I was having the same problem?”

  She snorted. “Don’t lie. You’ve already told me that the reason you brought me here was because you weren’t attracted to me.”

  “Things have changed.”

  “Yes, I’m sure they have. You’re a man and you’ve decided to make do with whomever is available. Which happens to be me. Meanwhile, neither one of us has any business being attracted to the other because we’re here to do a job. And we can’t truly do that job correctly unless we have sex, so it really is a screwed-up conundrum, isn’t it, Knox?”

  Another thought surfaced and suddenly everything became clear. “Ahh,” Knox said with a knowing twinkle. “You wanted me before we left Chicago. That’s why you didn’t want to come. That’s why you were so determined not to attend this workshop with me.”

  “Keep this up, you cocksure moron. You’re quickly losing your appeal.”

  Savannah promptly stood and followed the rest of the group to the classroom, leaving Knox to glow with her revelation.

  Savannah Reeves wanted him…and apparently always had. What to do with this new information? Knox wondered. Just exactly what the hell was he supposed to do?
She’d told him for a reason—she hadn’t just dropped this little bomb without some inkling of the consequences.

  Did she expect him to be a hero and abstain, or was she simply putting the ball into his court? Did she want him to take the sexual lead, so that any blame could be laid squarely on him when this weekend was over?

  Knox didn’t know, but he knew he’d better figure it out. Otherwise, he feared he might single-handedly be responsible for Savannah never trusting a man again.

  9

  SAVANNAH COULDN’T BEGIN to imagine what had possessed her to all but admit that she’d been lusting after him for a year, but once the burn of humiliation cooled, she knew she’d undoubtedly feel better. It would be a relief not to have to pretend that she didn’t want him. Since he’d deduced what had occurred during her bath last night, Savannah thought with a rueful grin, she hadn’t been doing such a great job of pretending otherwise anyway.

  He’d seen right through her.

  The only reason she’d been able to hide the truth as long as she had was because she’d made a point of avoiding him.

  But she couldn’t avoid him here.

  He was everywhere.

  In her mind, in her mouth, beneath her hands, in her room, even in her bed.

  Everywhere.

  She couldn’t escape him and was rapidly losing her resolve to try. The attraction had simply become bigger than she could handle, more than she could conceivably take on. She’d been doomed from the moment Chapman, the vengeful bastard, had forced her to come on this ill-conceived trip. No, Savannah thought with a dry chuckle, she’d been doomed from the moment she’d met Knox. It had all been simply a matter of time before she’d fall victim to his lethal appeal and her equally lethal attraction.

  Knox sat down on the padded mat next to her. The hairs on her arms prickled at his nearness, seemingly drawn like a lodestone to him. For reasons she didn’t dare dwell on, all of the chairs had been removed from the room and had been ominously replaced with big cushy mats.