The Tycoon's Temporary Bride: Book Four (18 page)

“I built it five years ago when my parents
moved back to Italy,” he replied, his eyes following hers. “I come
here as often as my role as CEO of Andreas International allows.
When the weather is favorable, I spend the night.” He pointed at a
closed door on his left. “That’s a bedroom suite, and—” He pointed
to the right. “Kitchen, living, and dining area. I spend more time
here when my parents visit.”

“Do you always come alone?” she asked, taking
a swift glance at a slab of granite on one wall that served as a
table. A pitcher of water with what looked liked mint leaves
floating inside it, and two glasses were situated on one end of it,
and a black leather toiletry case on the other.

“The only other people who come here are the
landscapers, and they stay away when the flag is up.”

“So that’s what the flag is for.”

“Yes. And for additional security and
privacy, I had retractable, one-way, mirrored walls installed on
each side of this platform to protect against the elements of
Mother Nature, scurrying animals, and uninvited guests. The front
part has two panels—one for the foyer—” He pointed to the wide
step, “and one for the platform. They are remotely controlled and
when in use, I can see out, but no one can see in. You’re the first
person I’m sharing my sanctuary with, Tashi Evelyn Holland.”

Tashi quivered from the indulgence in his
voice when he spoke her full name.

“I’ve been waiting for the right partner to
join me, to share this special place with me. And now here she
is.”

“How do you I’m the right partner?”

“How do you know you’re not?” A faint light
twinkled in the depths of his blue eyes, like a prelude of voltage
to a lightning storm about to break. “Sometimes we should just let
the questions lead us into the answers, naturally.”

Tashi’s heart took a perilous leap. If he
only knew her—that she’d killed a man, taken the life of another
human being, he might ban her from his special place.

“Tashi.” His eyes searched her face as if
reading her thoughts. “You won’t be able to explore the
complexities of your soul if you harbor negative thoughts. You must
let everything go if you intend to find the true and secret
knowledge of
you
. Let Little Eve be your guide, your compass
as you discover a different way of thinking, breathing, reacting to
situations and stimuli in your life. Just trust her. You think you
can do that?”

“Yes. I can. I want to.”

“Good.” He looked her over. “We need to
secure your hair so it doesn’t get in your way.” He walked over to
the granite pillar.

As he rummaged through the toiletry bag,
Tashi couldn’t stop herself from admiring the twin hillocks of his
buttocks projecting from the strong columns of his thighs, and the
slight flexing of the muscles beneath the taut olive-toned skin. It
was sexy and provocative and she wondered how his skin and his
muscles would feel under her palms.

He turned suddenly, and her gaze once again
landed on his groin. His erection had lost some of its vigor,
although it seemed to retain much of its girth and length. She
dropped her gaze when he began walking back to her.

“It’s okay to admire me, Tashi,” he said in a
low silky voice. “I can take the attention.” He held out his
hand.

Tashi took the hair elastic from him. He
could take her attention, but could she take his, she wondered when
his gaze zeroed in on the lift of her breasts as she raised her
hands to pull her hair into a ponytail.

“Ready?” he asked, giving her a flashing
smile.

She cleared her throat. “Ready.” Anything to
shift her focus.

“The first thing I want you to do is stand
straight with your feet together and your hands clasped, like in
prayer.” He demonstrated the posture.

“Say the word
Namaste
three times as
you bow toward me. We’ll do it together.”

Tashi wanted to ask him what the word meant,
but thought it would break the spiritual aura already twirling
around them. So she tucked her questions away, clasped her hands
against her heart, and on Adam’s cue, she bowed toward him and
repeated
Namaste
in unison with him.

“Now,” he said on an impressive smile, “drop
your hands to your sides and your head forward and just let it hang
there, like a robe on a hook.”

Tashi mimicked him.

“Close your eyes. Good,” he said when her
eyelids fluttered shut. “Now allow your body to relax and melt into
the space around you. You are the air you breathe, the light you
feel, the wind that bathes your skin. Breathe in that light and
that air slowly through your nostrils while simultaneously raising
your head, and then exhale through your mouth while bringing your
head back down. Release the toxins that have been building inside
you over the years to the wind. Again. Breathe in. Deeply. Slowly…
Out… In… Out... Inhale… Release…”

Tashi was so caught up in learning to
breathe, and relax, and ridding herself of toxins, that she didn’t
even realize Adam had moved until she felt him standing directly
behind her, so close she could feel the heat from his body bridging
the tight gap between them, his musky odor scenting her space. A
gust of wind picked up a few strands of his hair and whipped them
over her shoulder. They landed on her chest and danced across her
left breast as they swayed to the motion of the wind. Tashi
trembled, and her heart began to thump.

“Keep breathing,” Adam whispered. “Don’t
break the rhythm. Control the sensations. Breathe them in, make
them flow through you, send them to every fissure of your body,
command them to assuage your aches for as long as you desire, and
then release them into the ethers when you’ve had enough. In…
Out…”

Tashi did as he instructed, and soon her
heart settled into a steady pace, and the tingling sensations of
Adam’s hair brushing against her breasts and nipples, his voice and
his smell transitioned into wellsprings inside her spewing streams
of impalpable warmth throughout her inner being. It was magical,
like desire alleviating yet amplifying desire. It satisfied her,
yet drained her… Unable to stand the contrasting delight, Tashi
opened her mouth and sent it into the ethers.

Her heart was pounding, her limbs were
languid, and she felt dizzy, like she was spinning in space. Her
knees buckled.

Adam’s arms circling her kept her from
falling. “Good girl. You’re a quick study. No, no,” he added softly
when she tensed from the warmth of his skin on hers, the hairs of
his chest and torso tickling her, the feel of his smooth hardness
pressing into her back. “Don’t tighten your body. Don’t fight. I
promised that we won’t do anything you’re not ready for. You can
trust me, Tashi. Just relax into my embrace and think of me as a
vessel channeling you calmly to shore on the waves of your
sensations. Use me.”

Soothed by his gentle voice and tender touch,
Tashi relaxed into the rhythm of the waves and soon her heart was
calm and beating against her chest in a steady rhythm again.

Adam unfolded his arms from around her, and
drawing his body away from her, he placed his palms to the backs of
her hands and laced his fingers through hers.

The simple contact seemed even more intimate
than when his body was pressed against hers. She swallowed a lump
in her throat.

“Bring your head up, and take a deep breath,”
he said as he raised her arms slowly away from her body and up
above her head. “Hold that breath,” he said, touching her palms
together before releasing her and stepping back. “Now turn your
palms facing outward and bring your arms very slowly back down to
your sides as you release your breath. Don’t forget to lower your
head to your chin on exhale.”

Tashi exhaled on a smile, amazed at the
equanimity that controlled breathing brought her. No wonder Adam
seemed so balanced and serene all the time.

“Good,” Adam said coming to stand in front of
her. “Now try it again, at your own pace this time.”

After a few more breathing exercises, Adam
began to demonstrate a series of yoga poses for beginners. First it
was The Mountain, then The Tree, The Warrior, The Seated Twist, The
Cobra…

As she transitioned from one position to the
next, Tashi’s body felt limp, relaxed, and light as a feather, like
she was looking at an apparition of herself floating through time.
Her mind was free, empty. She was one with the wind, the light, and
the air surrounding her. She heard nothing but the deep sound of
Adam’s coaching voice. She felt nothing but his strong warm hands
on her body as he helped her perfect one pose after the next.

Tashi even forgot that they were both
naked.

Finally, they sat facing each other in the
Crossed Leg pose.

“Rest your arms along your thighs with your
wrists on your knees, your palms facing upward. Drop your shoulders
and your head. Close your eyes. Relax your body and breathe
normally. Invite your spirit and your soul back home. Stay like
this for as long as you need, and when you’re ready raise your
head, and open your eyes.”

Silence wrapped around them, then Tashi
became aware of the physical environment—the leaves rustling in the
wind, birds chirping. She was certain that she could hear the buzz
of a bee above the gushing waterfall. Raising her head, she opened
her eyes to find Adam watching her.

“Now for the grand finale,” he said with a
smile. “Clasp your hands together like you did in the beginning.
Keep holding my gaze as we say
Namaste
three times while
bowing to each other.”

And so they ended their session as they’d
begun.

“You did excellently, Tashi.”

“You’re an awesome teacher, Adam.”

“I should warn you that you’ll have some
aches and pain tomorrow morning. You’ve used muscles you’ve never
used before.”

She would probably have aches and pain after
their first lovemaking session, too. She was certain that he would
be just as awesome as he introduced her to the ecstasies of
lovemaking. Involuntarily, her eyes were drawn to his midsection.
Sometime during their yoga session, his erection had returned. She
swallowed as she felt the heat of his gaze traveling slowly down
her body. He stopped at the place between her thighs where the
breeze cooled the warm moisture seeping from inside her.

Their gazes collided and held. Tashi’s
stomach lurched at the flicker of passion she detected in his eyes.
She wanted to be with him—be one with him. How could something that
felt so beautiful, so right, be forbidden? If she lay back on his
soft floor and invited him to fit himself to her, would he, or
would her innocence deter him? “Adam—”

He shook his head as if he knew where her
thoughts had gone. He uncrossed his legs, pushed to his feet, and
reached down to help her up. “You’re a very desirable woman, Tashi
Holland, and I’ve been thinking about making love to you since the
day we met, but your physical condition kept me in check. And now
that I’m aware of the way you were brought up, I’m wise enough and
experienced enough to know that you’re not emotionally or
psychologically ready for such a life-changing experience.”

Tashi knew he spoke the truth, and she
appreciated the control he’d exhibited on her behalf. But her time
with him was temporary, limited. “How will I know when I’m ready?”
she asked him.

“When you stop questioning yourself. We will
both know when that moment arrives, and our union will be pure and
sweet and wholesome. I’ll wait for you, Tashi. I’m not going
anywhere.”

But I am
. Pain squeezed her heart.

He stepped to the side, picked up his robe
from the floor, and slipped it on. He then opened a built-in drawer
on a wall and lifting out a folded matching robe, he held it open
for her. “This is brand new. It’s been waiting for you, I
suppose.”

Tashi slid her arms into the sleeves and
wrapped the silky material around her body, securing it at her
waist with the belt. He seemed to keep a lot of brand new items of
clothing around that fitted her…

“Perfect fit,” he said, smiling at her with
his electric blue eyes that seemed to pull her a little further
into their unfathomable depth every time she looked at him. He
turned and picked up the pitcher of water she’d seen earlier and
filled two glasses. He handed one to her. “Would you like to do
this again sometime?”

“Yes. Definitely. I enjoyed it.”

“I enjoy you, Tashi,” he said, his lips
curling into a sensuous smile as he raised his glass for a long
sip.

He spoke of enjoying her in the present as if
it was continuous, with no beginning and no end. Tashi gulped down
the cool minty water, willing it to moisten and soothe the dryness
in her throat, cool the heat in her body. “What does
Namaste
mean?” she asked when he set his empty glass on the pillar.

“It’s a word the Hindu use when they meet and
part from each other.”

“Kind of like
Aloha
in Hawaii?”

“Kind of, but with a deeper, more significant
meaning. When you say
Namaste
to someone, you’re saying: ‘I
honor the place within you in which the entire universe dwells. I
honor the place within you, which is of Love, of Truth, of Light,
and of Peace. When you are in that place within you and I am in
that place within me, we are one’.”

“That’s powerful.”

“It is. It’s customary to say it before and
after each yoga session.”

“Why do you say it three times?”

“You say it three times when you’re with
someone or in a group. Once to yourself—the god or goddess within
you—once to your partner or group, and once to your higher power,
whoever that may be. For me, He’s God Almighty. I respect all
religions and borrow philosophies from some.”

She liked that they had that in common. “Can
we say
Namaste
together again now that I understand its
significance?”