On the Run (Whispering Key #2) - May Archer Page 0,27
hands. “Fine, then. What do I do?”
“Stand up straight, feet hip width apart.” I demonstrated. “Good posture is crucial for any yoga pose. Sometimes just standing straight makes all the difference in making you feel powerful.”
“Sure,” he grumbled, getting into position facing me. “When you’re a seven-foot-tall monolith.”
“Six and a half,” I said mildly. “Not quite Stonehenge.” I usually rolled my eyes at height comments, because I’d heard every single one of them a billion times, but I couldn’t deny Toby noticing my size felt different somehow, and I liked it.
And didn’t like that I liked it.
I was so screwed.
“So now what?” he demanded.
“Huh? Oh, right.” I refocused my attention on the situation at hand. “Now you close your eyes and breathe deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Extend your arms out to the sides. Then slowly, hinge at your right hip like this.” I sank into triangle pose with ease.
Toby twisted his lower back and leaned so far right, he nearly fell over. “M’kay, sorry, but that’s a big N-O. My hip doesn’t hinge in that direction.”
I rolled my eyes and stood up. “Of course it does. Everyone’s does.”
He shook his head sadly. “Born with no chakras and an unhinged hip.”
I chuckled helplessly and came around behind him, setting my hands on his waist. “Okay, start small. Just focus on your breathing for now,” I instructed, forcing myself not to notice how it felt to have my hands on him. “Inhale and let your stomach expand, exhale and suck your stomach in. Yeah! That’s it. Good job.”
Toby snorted. “Thanks. Been breathing on my own for nearly thirty-five years, but I’m glad I’m doing it right.”
I shook my head in amusement, though he couldn’t see me. “Arms out like an airplane—yes, good. Now, keep your legs and arms in alignment, and stretch your hand down like this.” Gripping his wrist, I guided him into position. “Let your hand rest on your leg and… yeah! That’s it. Now breathe deeply into the stretch. Awesome! Count to ten slowly, then straighten up, and do the same thing on the other side. Perfect! Focus on your breaths again. Feel yourself loosening right here.”
I reached around to slide my palm up his stomach, forgetting for a second that he was wearing a cropped shirt and that his warm skin would be directly under the heel of my hand. A hard jolt of electricity ran through me that had nothing whatsoever to do with my chakras and everything to do with my suddenly plumping dick, and I snatched my hand back like I’d been burned.
Of course my sudden movement meant Toby, whose legs were still spread and whose body was still tilted to one side, was thrown off balance just slightly. He windmilled his arms and grabbed the counter in front of him to brace himself while I belatedly grabbed his hips back against me to keep him upright.
“Shit. I’ve gotcha,” I told him firmly. “You’re good.”
“Damn.” He rested his cheek against the counter, leaning his head on his arm, and panted a little. “I told you I didn’t bend like that.”
“You bend perfectly,” I soothed, running a hand down his back. “I just moved too fast. You weren’t ready for it.”
He lifted his head to look at me over his shoulder, and his voice was shaky with nervous laughter. “I almost splattered on the floor, loose chakras and all.”
“Fuck,” I groaned, remorseful. “I’m so—”
“Sweet Jesus, what am I seeing?” a voice demanded from the doorway. “Gage? Gage, am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?”
I looked up so fast I nearly got whiplash and found both of my brothers standing by the open door to the pool house. Rafe had both hands clasped over his eyes, while Gage watched me and Toby with a mischievous little smile playing on his lips.
“I dunno, Rafe. Do you think you’re seeing our brother fuck a hot dude against Mason’s pool house counter?” Gage asked, rocking back and forth on his feet.
“What?” I glanced down at my position, one hand grasping Toby’s hip while he was bent over, the other hand braced on his back. Fuck.
“’Cause if so,” Gage continued gleefully, “I’m definitely seeing what you’re seeing.”
5
Toby
Help Me Hagatha (Issue #2411)
Dear Aunt Hagatha:
I’ve been dating a girl for a while now, and I’m totally into her. I want to take things to the next level, but only if I know for sure she’s into me, too. What should I do?