she closed her eyes when Damon applied more pressure. The warmth of his touch spread through her, helping that area to relax.
It felt divine.
In fact, Haley was pretty sure her panties were wet.
“A little knot there,” he murmured. “We’ll come back to it.” His left hand moved up her spine, the right staying put. “The solar plexus chakra is under the diaphragm. It governs our notion of self-worth and how we conduct ourselves in the world.” His palms awakened a heat under her skin as he moved higher. “The heart chakra is right where you’d expect it to be.”
“I’ll guess it governs feelings,” Haley said.
“Empathy, too.” Damon’s hands moved higher, circling and soothing, mesmerizing. “The thymus chakra is at the larynx, governing our notions of responsibility and our convictions. It doesn’t always make the list of chakras, but it’s an important one.”
His hands slid over the back of Haley’s neck again, bracketing it this time, the intimacy of his touch awakened a need so raw it made her shiver. “The throat chakra is about communication and expression.” His fingers pushed into her hair again and Haley’s body sent her a clear message about arousal and desire. His touch felt possessive and sexy. She blushed but hoped Damon wouldn’t notice. “The nose chakra is another one that’s often ignored. It’s in the very tip of the nose and is about intuition. The brow chakra is also called the third eye.”
“The pineal gland,” Haley provided.
“Exactly. It’s about imagination, second sight, and following our course.” His hands cupped the top of her head, his fingers moving steadily, tracing circles that made Haley feel on fire. “And finally, there’s the crown chakra, at the top of the head, which is about dreams and inspiration.”
He ran his hands over her again, making circles with his fingertips. Haley wanted to shiver in delight. “All these places are focal points for growth and learning and the pursuit of balance. When there is creation and growth, the chakras turn clockwise.” His fingertips turned in that direction. “When there is destruction, the chakras turn the other way. In Sanskrit, chakra means wheel, and the chakras should always be in motion.”
“But shouldn’t they always be turning clockwise?”
“No one can always be improving or building. Sometimes things have to be taken apart or re-examined to allow for growth.”
Haley smiled. “Like knitting.”
“How so?”
“I tear back my knitting to start it again when there’s something wrong. I might have cast on the wrong size, or not have my tension right or have messed up the pattern stitch.”
“So, you start over to do it right. That’s exactly what I mean. It’s a good metaphor.”
His praise made Haley feel like a good student. “But what about sharing your energy?”
“When you find a knot—” Damon’s hands unerringly returned to the tightness at the base of her spine. “—it might mean that the chakra is stuck or moving very slowly. You want to help the patient move beyond that challenge and you can nudge the chakra with your own energy to do that.”
“I thought I read that practitioners were supposed to open the patient to the energy of the earth but protect their own.”
“That’s one school of thought. This is mine.” His hands bracketed her waist, his thumbs working circles against her skin. She felt him leaning over her, putting more weight into his movement. Haley closed her eyes as the heat of his touch flowed through her.
The effect, though, seemed to be on the lower chakra. She hadn’t been so aroused in years.
“Where did you learn it?”
“From my dad. The Marco Perez school of massage therapy.”
Haley smiled. “Where did he learn?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he invented it.”
“Did he really have a school?”
Damon laughed. “No. My mom was a ballet dancer. She always had aches and pains. He was a carpenter. He liked fixing things.”
Haley closed her eyes, liking the explanation and what it told her about his parents’ relationship. He didn’t say more and she didn’t ask, just enjoyed.
“This is called kneading,” Damon said as his hands lifted, squeezed and rolled one side of her waist in steady circles.
“That feels awesome.”
“It loosens the muscle at a deeper level, making it more flexible and supple.”
Haley felt about as supple as a wet burlap bag. She couldn’t remember that area not aching, but it felt a thousand times better. He eventually moved to the other side, lavishing attention upon her.
That was all new. Haley had never felt so pampered.
She really hoped Damon didn’t stop anytime soon.
One of his