Page 56 of Bountiful
And here I’d thought this hour would berelaxing.
The only saving grace was that he couldn’t see my distracted face perving on his posterior. Although, it was quite possible he could feel my hot gaze on his tight man buns. My gaze and everyone else’s. It wasn’t every day that a hot stranger wandered into the late-morning yoga class. It was mostly moms trying to get out of thehouse.
“Find warrior one. Exhale, hands to heart’s center. One breath here. On the next exhale, twist toward theright.”
Since I was a beat behind the asana, Dave turned before I did, his powerful arms locked in the prayer position, his bulky torso twisting over a surprisingly slimwaist…
And he caught me staring. Green eyes bored into mine. And then he licked his lips, as if he were having a dirtymemory.
Shit!
I twisted, finally. My body was an inferno as I struggled to do vinyasa yoga in the presence of my baby daddy. And revolved poses were not my strong suit, either. So I wobbled like a tourist on the bunny slope at theskihill.
Just kill mealready.
After that disaster, I tried to up my game. Rayanne brought us into half-moon, and I concentrated with everything I had, lifting my leg toward the heavens and balancing my fingertips on thefloor.
“Feel the extension in all four directions,” the teacherprompted.
I felt them. And I knew I’d be feeling them tomorrow, too. I’d pay later with muscle pain for trying toshowoff.
During the entire hour, Dave struggled with exactly one pose, and that was the standing split. And thank goodness. If that man had managed to do the splits while inverted in the air, all the women in the room would have crash-landed right onto thefloor.
By the time we got to boat pose on our mats, every one of my muscles was quivering. But somehow I’d survived the hour. When the teacher brought us into Savasana for a rest, I was breathing like a sprinter and sweating through mysportsbra.
Worse, I was more turned on than I’d been in two years. Lying there on my back, with my ankles gently spread…God. Every other time I’d assumed this position in Dave’s presence, we’d been burning up thesheets.
And it had been so, so long since anyone hadtouchedme.
When Rayanne finally asked us to sit up and join her in a single Om, I closed my eyes and listened for him. And there it was—his deep voice an octave below all the others, vibrating throughmycore.
“Thank you for joining me in your practice today,” the teacher said softly. “If you began class by setting an intention for yourself, try to carry it with you throughouttheday.”
My daily intention was simple and yet still terribly difficult—to not think about David-freaking-Beringer.
Class broke up, and I dabbed my towel at my face in a vain attempt to look less sweaty. As a teenager, I used to get so mad at my mother when she emphasized the importance of behaving in a “ladylike” way. I’d hated that word, and everything it stood for. But now I almost understood. Sometimes, when you’ve been stripped bare by circumstance, and your personal travesties are known by every person in your small town,ladylikeis all a girlhasleft.
Scraping my dignity off the floor with my tired body, I rolled up my yoga mat and attempted to slow mybreathing.
“Afternoon, gorgeous,” Dave said, standingoverme.
Play it cool, Zara. I rose to my feet so I could look him in the eye instead of in the crotch. “Afternoon. Didn’t expect to see you here.” I hoped he knew thatwastrue.
“The cabin we’re renting is in thiscomplex.”
“Oh,” I said slowly. That made perfect sense. Of course he’d rent in the most expensive spot in thecounty.
We headed for the door, walking out together. I didn’t miss the appreciative looks the women gave him as they passed us, heading totheircars.
“So, yoga, huh?” I asked like anidiot.
“It’s mandated by the team. Some guys hate it, but it worksforme.”
Itsuredoes.
“Hey—can I pour you a cup of coffee?” he asked, pointing toward the circle of cabins against the forest. They weren’t cabins, really. More like two-story luxury homes. “We’re just overthere.”
“I do own a coffee shop,” I pointed out. “I should probably get back to it.”Ugh, that came out sounding bitchy. “Honestly, I don’t want to meet your teammates when I’m this sweaty.”And reeking ofdesire.
