Bending Over Backwards

by Samantha Hunter

  “Just breathe, Jasmine…in.” He drew his finger up to her ass. “And out,” he said against her skin, his finger returning to her clit.

  She did, and then as he circled the hard nub rhythmically, she came, yelling his name. It made her even wetter. Leo’s jaw clenched in masculine pleasure as he felt her contractions, her pussy muscles grabbing all the pleasure they could.

  “Fuck,” he swore under his breath.

  “Yes, please,” she responded on a gasp.

  Getting to his feet, he pressed in close behind her and slid his cock back and forth a few times like he had with his fingers before thrusting home. He went deep the first time, taking her up to the hilt. She pressed back into him, letting him know that she wanted more.

  Leo gripped her hips and found a long, hard pace that worked for both of them. He grabbed her ass, loving how it filled his hands, and squeezed her cheeks tight together as he fucked her. He loosened his grip as he pulled out, grabbed and squeezed again as he slid inside, repeating the motion in a steady rhythm.

  When he was close, and she was whimpering, clawing the sheets, he slipped a finger into the tight button of her ass. It was a light, teasing penetration that pushed her over again as he lost control, thrusting hard.

  “Yeah, come with me,” he said through gritted teeth. His shoulder burned but he didn’t care as she cried out through another release that drained him of his.

  When the storm passed, he fell forward over her, still in her, unable to stand. Hardly able to breathe.

  “Holy shit,” he panted against her back.

  “Uh-huh.” He figured she was in agreement.

  Lifting himself carefully from her body, Leo fell to the bed beside her on his back, cooling down. For a moment, he wondered if this had really happened, or if this was an insanely good dream inspired by the painkillers.

  If so, he saw why people became addicted.

  When she met his eyes, she looked thoroughly worked out and as warm and sweaty—and satisfied—as he was. He smiled at her.

  No dream. Hot damn.

  He winced as he reached up to touch her face.

  Her smile faded.

  “Hurts again?”

  “Not much. So worth it,” he joked.

  She pushed up from her prone position to standing.

  “All my clothes are down in the kitchen.”

  “Mine too. We can get them, though I don’t think we’ll need them for a while.” He stood up next to her and dropped a kiss on her shoulder.

  She moved away.

  “Actually, I should get back to my place, Leo.” She didn’t meet his eyes. “This was…really wonderful. But I have to go. I have an early class, and I need to sleep.”

  Leo didn’t respond as he processed what she said. She turned and walked back out into the hall, not waiting for any response.

  Right. Okay. She had to work. How many times had he told women that after crawling out of their beds? Whether it was true or not.

  He followed after her, the two of them picking up their clothes and getting dressed without a word. Jasmine ran some water in the sink, splashed her face, ran her fingers through her hair.

  Just watching her made Leo want to pull up that filmy skirt she was wearing and take her again, right there.

  When she turned around and met his eyes, she read what was there and the answering spark told him that she wouldn’t mind.

  But then it cooled, and she broke the spell.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, looking away again. “I know this is awkward, but it was great. It really was. Let’s leave it at that, okay?”

  Leo found himself nodding. “Sure. No problem.” His nonchalance was rewarded with a grateful smile. He didn’t agree, though. He didn’t want this to be a one-night stand.

  “How about we go to dinner tomorrow?”

  Her smile faded. “That’s not necessary, Leo. This can just be what it was—I’m okay with that. Really.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure I’m okay with it. This was great, but why not dinner? Does it have to be one or the other?”

  She suddenly looked stressed, her facial features tight. “I have several classes lined up tomorrow. It’s the busy season, and I don’t know when I’ll have time. At the end of the day, I’m usually dragging.”

  He crossed the space between them, leaned in close without touching her. She didn’t move away. Held her breath as he put his lips near her ear.

  “Make time.”

  When he pulled away, he thought she might have swayed a little toward him.

  “I’ll see. Maybe.” She walked quickly toward the back porch where she’d come in, turning back for a second. “Bye. Thanks.”

  Then she was gone.

  “Thank you,” Leo said to the empty kitchen, eyeing the cookies on the counter and inhaling the fragrance of chocolate, sex and Jasmine on his skin.

  A few minutes before, he’d been starving for something to eat and for more of Jasmine. Now, a cool breeze from the window dried the passion from his skin and offered a chill. He wondered if he’d see Jasmine again. His appetite faded, so he took the beer from the fridge and went to do some work on the bookcase. Sleep wasn’t going to happen tonight.

  Chapter Five

  Two days later, Jasmine thought she was in the clear. She’d done a stupid, impulsive thing, but it appeared that Leo had gotten what he wanted and was happy to let their indiscretion fade to black.

  She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed. She was completely distracted as she faced the ocean and fell into Uttanasana, Forward Standing Bend. Normally, the pose, part of her warm-up for the day, was deeply relaxing. A good focusing exercise.

  This morning, hands planted in the wet sand where waves came up to kiss her fingertips, all she could think of was Leo behind her, inside her, and how she’d never experienced sex that intense in her life.

  It had been difficult to leave; she’d wanted more too.

  But she told herself—again—that she’d done the right thing walking away. He hadn’t made any more effort to get in touch. He must have decided she was right, after she’d left.

  She should be okay with that. She should have forgotten it by now. It was just a moment. However, a few times, when she was at the studio, she’d look up, wondering if it might be him coming through the door. Aggravating. She hated that little glimmer of hope that he might show up while she was here in the mornings, or that he might watch from his deck, like he had before. But he hadn’t.

  “Oh, what do I care?” she muttered to herself, pushing into plank pose and then to Upward Dog, forcing herself to focus.

  After all, she’d gotten what she wanted too. Leo had been fantastic in bed, and it had been good for her. A quick bout of hot sex had been exactly what she needed, no commitment, no strings.

  Though it was a first for her, actually While she’d had casual lovers, she’d never let a guy she barely knew bang her and then walk away. She was generally friends, at least, with the men she went to bed with. But Leo hadn’t been the one to walk, she reminded herself as she lingered in Cobra Pose and then back to Downward Dog.

  He’d wanted cookies. Wanted more. Asked her to dinner. She’d panicked, her escape not as neat as she’d hoped.

  He’d quit his job. Maybe he would be living here. What if she did see him again, at the store or on the beach? The hopeful demons in her mind teased her with relentless speculation.

  No. He’d done something rash. Quitting his job and almost drowning on the beach only proved how unstable he was at the moment. Not to mention all that junk he’d collected around the beach house. Right now, at best, he was…confused. When his memory did come back, he’d be out of here like a shot.

  “Ahhhggghh!” she growled loudly, needing to shake thoughts of Leo from her mind.

  It happened, it was a moment, and it was over.

  Move. On.

  Students began to arrive for the morning class, and that redirected her attention. As they shared mor
ning greetings and a brief moment of meditation, they all settled into their routine, Jasmine included.

  She was lifting up after a long, sensuous stretch in Downward Dog when she saw him. At the back of the group, he was there, following along as best he could. Transitioning into Virabhadrasana I, Warrior One, she nearly tilted over, losing her balance, as their eyes met.

  How embarrassing.

  Leo watched her intently, but there was nothing in his gaze except for concentration—he mimicked her moves but was over-exaggerated in his efforts. If he kept bending so strenuously, overextending his joints, he’d hurt himself again.

  “Spend four or five cycles of breath in Warrior One, then transition to Warrior Two, and from there, into Triangle on the right, breathing at least four to five cycles each time,” she instructed the class, all of whom were experienced enough at this point to follow those directions in sync with each other.

  Jasmine took a deep breath and walked back to Leo.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked under her breath, reaching out to correcting his posture so that it wasn’t as strenuous.

  “The little bit of yoga you showed me has been helping. I’ve been trying it on my own, using the internet, and trying to follow your class from the front room, but I can’t see everything as well. The bookcase is kind of in the way. So I thought I’d come down to join in,” he said, sounding perfectly reasonable.

  “I told you I needed to talk to your physical therapist before you did any of this. You’ll hurt yourself if you push too far too fast.”

  “I can figure it out. I’d rather leave the therapist out of it. She’s back in the city, anyway.”

  Jasmine sighed. “Fine. Whatever you see us do, do it more moderately, at about fifty percent or less and stay away from twists completely for the moment, unless you have a partner.” Talking about practice helped her calm down, her heart stopping its rapid stutter.

  “Do you want to be my partner?” His voice was innocent as could be, but there was mischief in his eyes.

  Biting her tongue, she returned to the front of the group in time to guide them through the next few poses and finally into Savasana, Corpse Pose. She kept her eye on Leo, making sure he didn’t overdo it. She’d treat any student the same way, though with the others, she didn’t notice how the muscles in their shoulders bulged in a very sexy way, or how their shorts fit. She also knew what was inside Leo’s shorts, and her concentration slipped again.

  “Namaste.” She concluded the class with a distracted bow to her group, who returned the same. They didn’t seem to notice that she was out of sync. “Have a great day, everyone.”

  As the class started packing up, Leo waited while she talked to a few people. Jasmine picked up her things slowly, but she was aware of him watching her.

  “Thanks. That helped. What is Namaste?” he asked. “I used to hear people saying that all over the place in the city and always wondered.”

  “Generally, it’s a traditional greeting, I bow to you. Others see it in a more spiritual sense, that the divine in me is acknowledging the divine in you,” she explained, keeping her voice neutral. “So are you really joining the class?”

  “Would that be okay?”

  “Of course.” Liar.

  “Maybe I should get private lessons too. This seemed pretty advanced.” This time he didn’t bother hiding the sexual intent behind the words.

  “That’s probably not a good idea.”

  “I think I’ve heard that before.”

  “Listen, if you’re serious about the yoga, I can set you up in my assistant’s beginner class, or she could give you some private lessons,” Jasmine offered. She frowned as she realized that she didn’t at all like the idea of Amanda tutoring Leo in private, even though it was the perfect solution.

  “I don’t want your assistant. I want you.” He reached out to touch a curl that had escaped the headband she was wearing.

  “Leo, the other night—”

  “Don’t say it was a mistake, Jasmine. Don’t do that. The only thing wrong with what happened the other night was that you ran away like a scared rabbit.”

  Her eyes popped open wide in surprise.

  “I did not run away. I left. There’s a big difference, and it was the smart thing to do. We had some fun, and there was no need to make more of it than it was.”

  “Really? That was enough for you? You didn’t want more? I did.” His bluntness sent a shiver down her spine. “I do. I want more. Of you.”

  Unwanted arousal and temptation warred with common sense and caution as Jasmine blew out a breath, throwing her hands up.

  “More what, Leo? More sex? You said you wanted more, but what more could we have? You’re just here killing time until your memory comes back. Then, you’ll go back to your old life. You’d like me to be your plaything in the meanwhile.”

  He pursed his lips, rocked back on his heels, as if considering what she said.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen with my memory. Maybe it will come back, but I quit the job, and I think it was the right thing for me, no matter what. Maybe my memory will never come back. I’m sick as shit of thinking about it. Regardless of what happens, right now, in this moment, I want more sex with you, absolutely. Until neither of us wants any more or until things change. And maybe we can also be friends, at least. We’re good together, so why not?”

  His honesty startled her. He didn’t try to manipulate her emotionally, cajole or pressure, he said what he wanted. It set her back for a minute. She’d expected more games from Leo. More power plays. But he was putting the ball in her court, and she struggled to find a good reason to shoot him down.

  “Because it’s never that simple. You’re only here for the moment. You have nothing at stake. I run a business here. I’m busy, I live here, and I have a reputation to think of.”

  And a heart to protect, she added silently.

  She couldn’t risk letting sex turn into something more than sex, not with this man. Usually she was in control of her desire and her emotions, but Leo had made her want him in a way that blew her caution and limits to smithereens. She’d given more to him in one hour than she’d given to many of her other lovers over longer time periods, and that made her wary.

  She shouldn’t give in, she knew that. She’d been down this road before. Not with the amnesia, granted, but that was all distraction. Leo was who he was—at heart, he was a player. A power broker. That didn’t change. Sooner or later, it would bear out.

  “Listen, I can give you some basic yoga instruction—at the studio—to teach you what you need to know so that you can join any class and not hurt yourself. But that’s all, Leo. That has to be it,” she said firmly, feeling sure it was the right thing to do.

  His brown eyes turned a little darker. Disappointed.

  “Okay. I guess you have your reasons.” He expelled a breath, clearly hoping she would share them.

  She wasn’t about to do that. To let him know that his old life, his shark-in-surfer’s-clothing reality, was her nightmare? The life that she’d seen destroy her family? The one that she’d fought her way back from? No way.

  “Okay, good. Let’s set up some times, and then I have to get going,” she said in her most businesslike manner. She wanted to help Leo, and maybe they could even be friends, but what happened the other night couldn’t happen again.

  That made her sad inside, but it was how it had to be.

  Leo walked into the cottage-like studio in the heart of Harwichport around six for his appointment with Jasmine.

  The place was charming and homier than he’d expected, with gleaming wood floors and brick walls that toned down what might otherwise be a harsh glare. The front was all window space, but the light was softened with bamboo shading and plants that flourished all along the ledges of the windows.

  There was a sound system in the corner, but no music; all he heard was burbling water. Investigating, he found an indoor water feature around a corner of the studio. A
separate room that was labeled Meditation Cove on a wall plaque.

  He had to admit, he was a little nervous when he’d come in, but the place did have a calming atmosphere. His nerves had nothing to do with yoga, though; it was sheer anticipation of seeing Jasmine. He’d agreed to yoga lessons only, but his hopes were still that she might change her mind about them having more than that.

  “Leo, there you are. Welcome.” Jasmine spoke from behind him, and he turned to find her smiling and looking composed.

  And she was completely hot in some kind of peach-colored, gauzy bodysuit thing that destroyed his Zen in about two seconds flat.

  “Hey.” It was all he could manage in the way of a greeting while trying to not stare at how the material clung to her curves.

  The tables were clearly turned. The day before, on the beach, he’d had her flustered, blushing, and if he wasn’t mistaken, wanting.

  Now, she was on her own turf, cool and in charge.

  Both were sexy—Jasmine was sexy no matter what—though he didn’t care for his own uncertainty. He’d had too much of that in recent months. Looking around, suddenly he felt a little too out of his element.

  “Listen, you know, I think maybe you’re right,” he said. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”

  She frowned. “I see. Well, that’s your decision, of course.”

  She thought that he wasn’t interested in yoga, but only wanted to sleep with her. That this had been a ploy.

  She wasn’t entirely wrong. He did want to sleep with her—badly. But the yoga had helped, and he wanted to learn. He’d accepted her decision the day before and told himself that was that. No meant no. But his body wasn’t playing along.

  “Wait, I’m sorry. You’re right. Cold feet, I guess.”

  Her shoulders loosened, and she nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be offish, it’s just been a long day.” He noticed the traces of fatigue and the lingering strain in her expression.

  “Listen, if you’re too tired, we can reschedule. I got a lot from the class yesterday, and—”

  She put her hand up. “No, this is fine. Most days are like this. I’m used to it. You’ll be doing most of the work, anyway.”