Just One Night Together (Flatiron Five Fitness #3) - Deborah Cooke Page 0,11
know just what her lips tasted like.
Epic fail.
He thought of his partner, Ty, and how Ty treated his four sisters. Protective. Reliable. Patient. Damon could do that, even with Haley.
He had to, if he wanted to give her this lesson.
And he really did.
Damon turned and surveyed the apartment again, putting his shirt on the back of a chair and avoiding Haley’s gaze. “Probably the floor is best, if you’re okay kneeling,” he said, keeping his tone practical. “Show me what you know first, then we’ll go from there.”
Together they moved her coffee table so it was against the wall and she got a couple of towels out of the bathroom. The rug was clean, but it wasn’t that thick. Damon spread them on the floor, folding a couple to go under knees and chests, while she got a pump bottle of body lotion.
“Can we turn down the lights a bit?” he asked. “It’s a bit bright in here, and that won’t help with relaxation.”
Haley turned out the overhead light and turned on a lamp instead. “I don’t have incense or candles,” she admitted.
“You must be the only woman in New York who doesn’t,” Damon said, then continued before she could apologize. “It’s refreshing. In practice, you might want some soothing music, too, but let’s concentrate on the nuts and bolts.” He spoke with smooth confidence, slipping easily into the manner he used when teaching at F5F. He stretched out on the floor on his belly, lifted his arms to cushion his head on his arms and waited.
It took a moment, then, he felt Haley kneel beside him at his waist. “Do you have any allergies?” she asked.
“None.”
“Any injuries that I should be aware of?”
“None.” He couldn’t help being amused. She might have been following a punch list of instructions.
“What’s so funny?”
“I wonder if you ever do anything impulsive.”
“You’re here,” she noted and he nodded.
“I guess that counts. Do you always have a checklist?”
“Yes. It’s like triage. It makes me feel ready for anything.”
“Isn’t triage for emergencies?”
“Sure, but it’s useful to prioritize even when the stakes aren’t life or death.” She exhaled. “I call it triage as a lifestyle.”
Damon bit back a smile. “That’s not all bad.”
“It’s how I think.”
The truth was that Damon often thought like that, too. He knew, though, that in his case, it was training. Assess. Prioritize. Act. Repeat.
He heard the pump and Haley rubbing lotion between her hands. It didn’t have a floral scent, which was also welcome. She placed her hands flat on his back between his shoulder blades and he was relieved that they were warm. He didn’t want to jump and spook her. She moved her hands together in a sweeping motion, driving the heels of her hands into his back and leaning into the gesture.
“Do you read books?” Damon asked after a few moments. He knew she did, because there was a Kindle on the end table.
“Yes. Why?”
“Because what you’re doing here is like jumping right into the middle of a book, instead of starting at the beginning and easing your way into the story.”
Her hands lifted away from his skin. “I don’t understand.”
“Well, first you need a plan. What’s yours?” He turned to look at her, bracing himself on one elbow.
Her gaze lingered on the tribal tattoo on his upper arm and she looked worried. “I guess to massage your shoulders and neck.”
“That’s a good general plan. Most people carry tension there. It feels like a knot when you’re massaging, but working it out of the muscle can be painful. So, you need to start slowly, warm the skin and relax the patient, then search for the tension spot and work it out.”
“Beginning, middle and end. That is like a book.”
“Also, gentle, firmer, then harder. Then you back it out to gentle again.”
“Okay. Let me try again.”
“Let’s start with effleurage.”
“Stroking,” she translated and he knew she had been studying.
“Yes. Your movements should be fluid and continuous.” He laid down again. “Start very lightly.”
She slid her fingertips across his back, just slipping them over his skin, and he nodded. It was like a caress, one that sent his mind straight to the gutter. He could imagine her touching him like this in a much more intimate location and knew it would drive him crazy. He was glad to be lying on his stomach.
Maybe Haley wouldn’t notice her effect upon him.
Damon kept talking, so he wouldn’t forget himself and just enjoy. “Now use the flats of your hands, still stroking.”