Page 31

Chapter 31

Declan

Muscles I didn’t even know I had are screaming at me as I try to match Hannah’s impeccable form. But no amount of weightlifting or resistance training in hockey could’ve prepared me for the absolute exhaustion that a strenuous yoga session with her brings.

It’s been a little more challenging than usual to find gaps in our schedules to get together and keep the sessions going, but we’ve been able to slot in a couple over the last week or two.

Partly because of that, and partly because we’re only about halfway through our session, I’m determined not to let Hannah see that I’m wearing down so quickly. So even though my arms are starting to tremble from this plank pose I’ve been holding for what feels like an eternity, I take several deep breaths and engage my core muscles to try to redistribute the strain.

“You’re doing really well,” Hannah says from the mat next to mine.

Her body is straight as a board, and as far as I can tell, there isn’t a single muscle on her amazing body that isn’t effortlessly locked in. It’s kind of hard to believe that she’s having an easier time with this than I am—I’m the professional athlete, after all—but that only makes me admire her more.

She’s so good at this that she doesn’t even see it, and she doesn’t have to think about it. It comes that naturally for her.

“Doesn’t feel like it,” I wheeze, and she smiles at me. The look alone is almost enough to make me collapse, and I really feel like I’m about to give out—so to cover it up, I lean over and steal a kiss from her.

She laughs and pulls away. “Nice try, but we need to stay focused. We’re almost done.”

“And what happens when we’re done? Do I get a reward?”

“The only way to find out is to finish. Come on, I’ll give you a break,” she says and lowers herself down into cobra pose, her back arched away from the mat.

I have to put my knees down to get my body to lower into the pose without falling, but I manage it. My reflection in the mirrors around us shows that I’m nowhere near as flexible as Hannah is and my arch isn’t anywhere close to as sharp as hers is, but I feel like I’m definitely seeing an improvement.

Still, she’s so close and the muscles are so tightly engaged that I can’t help myself from reaching over to run my hand across her ass. She laughs and swats me away with her free hand, but I can tell from the way she’s looking at me, from the heat flashing in her eyes, that her mind is probably just as full of the same thoughts.

“You’re making progress, that’s for sure,” Hannah says, looking at my lower back to judge the quality of the stretch and so she doesn’t have to look me in the eye. “But let’s see how you handle your favorite pose.”

“Oh, come on, hummingbird. Do we have to?”

“Do you want your reward or no?”

“Alright, fine. I’ll give it my best,” I grumble and push myself up off the mat to get into downward-facing dog.

My arms and core muscles are already angry with me from the plank we were doing before, but the break into cobra pose helped so they at least aren’t trembling like they were before. I turn my head to check my posture in the mirror, and I’m actually shocked to see that my feet are flat on the ground and my body is much more A-shaped than it’s ever been.

“See? I told you. You’re gonna put me out of a job at this rate,” Hannah says, watching me in the mirror as she gets into the pose herself.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath for that if I were you. And I don’t think your students would approve.”

“Probably not. But all kidding aside, this is a night and day difference from the first day.”

“It’s all thanks to you,” I tell her and wink.

Her cheeks are flushed, but I can’t tell if that’s from my compliment or all the blood rushing to her head—or both. Either way, she doesn’t address the comment. The two of us just hold the pose until I literally feel like I’m about to pass out, but she must notice because she starts to lower herself back to her knees just in time.

She lowers her forehead down to rest it against the mat with her arms stretched above her, and I follow suit, grateful for the break.

We stay that way for about ten minutes, neither of us saying anything as we catch our breath and give our muscles time to relax. But I don’t mind. As long as I get to spend more time with her, that’s all that matters to me. I’m starting to drift off a little when Hannah gently tells me it’s time to wrap up, so I sit up and stretch a bit before I get up and grab a spray bottle and towel to wipe down my mat. Once it’s clean, I roll it up and carry it over to the shelf.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I have something for you,” I tell her after she wipes down her own mat, rolls it tightly, and joins me at the shelf.

She shoots me a quizzical look but follows me over to where I left my bag on the floor. I reach into the bag and carefully dig around for the items I brought. My hand finds the smaller one first, so I pull it out and Hannah’s face lights up.

“Oh my god, you made Ralph another hat?” she asks as she reaches for it.

It’s pretty similar to the one I already made for the little kitty, but I thought she might like to have some different colors. But this one’s even better anyway because it has the iconic Canadian maple leaf stitched into it in bright red on white.

Hannah pouts out her lower lip, examining the hat. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but this one’s even cuter than the last. I can’t wait to see her in it.”

“That makes two of us. But there’s more where that came from.” I pull out another, much larger hat that perfectly matches the one for Ralph. Hannah belts out a laugh when I hand it to her.

“This so silly, but I love it,” she says, still laughing as she tugs the hat onto her head.

It was tough to guess her measurements, but I must have done a good enough job because the hat fits almost perfectly.

She does a little spin, gesturing out to her sides like she’s holding out a dress as she twirls. “How do I look?”

“At this rate, you’ll be ready for your Canadian immigration test any day.”

“Oh god, don’t even joke about that. I can’t think about another test right now.”

“Anyway, I’m sure my mom is grateful that I have someone else to make things for,” I say as I start to help her clean up the studio and get ready to lock it up for the night.

“What do you mean?”

I grimace wryly. “Let’s just say her winter closet is pretty full. I’ve inundated her with scarves and gloves and everything else under the sun I could think to crochet over the years.”

“Aw, that’s sweet. I’m sure she loves it.”

“I know she did at first, but at some point I think she’ll probably start refusing packages from me,” I say with a chuckle. “I swear, her house is starting to look like an old folks’ home with all of this crocheted stuff everywhere. But I can’t help it. It’s what I do whenever I need to take my mind off things.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. But hey, if you want to crochet me a new sweater or scarf or two, I won’t say no to that—even if Ralph will claw them to shreds.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” I tell her with a wink, and her cheeks blossom with a hint of a blush. “My mom is my biggest supporter, but I think she’d be okay with me being a tailor for someone else for once.”

She straightens the stack of neatly folded towels on the shelf by the door, then turns to me, smiling warmly. “She sounds lovely. I’d like to meet her someday,” she says, and the dusting of blush that was on her cheeks before immediately deepens when she realizes the implication of what she just said. But I love the idea.

We’re not technically dating, and she made it pretty clear that she wasn’t ready for that, but why would she want to meet my mom if she wasn’t interested in me that way? Maybe it’s overly optimistic on my part, but I’m choosing to see it as a sign that she’s at least somewhat open to this thing between us eventually becoming more than just a friends-with-benefits situation.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about flying her out here for one of our games soon, so maybe you’ll get the chance.”

She seems flustered, and I notice her hand shaking a little as she tucks a loose lock of her hair behind her ear, but she smiles and nods. “That’s super sweet. I definitely want to meet her if you want me to.”

“She’s gonna love you, I can already tell. But then again, who wouldn’t?” Her blush deepens, but before I can say anything else, my stomach growls, distracting both of us. “I don’t know about you, but I worked up an appetite. Do you want to grab a bite to eat?”

She grimaces. “I want to, but I have some admin work to do that I promised the owner I’d have finished today.” My heart squeezes a little with disappointment, but then she quickly adds, “It shouldn’t take me long. You could wait for me, if you have the time to wait and wouldn’t mind.”

I beam at her. “I’ll wait for you as long as it takes.”

The words hang in the air between us like some sort of charge is keeping them suspended, and her breath catches as our gazes lock. I didn’t mean for what I said to hold so much meaning, but I can’t deny that I meant every single word.

“O-okay,” she stammers. “You can come into the office with me while you wait if you want. The work I have to do is super boring, so I can’t promise it will be entertaining, but I’ll be as quick as I can.”

“Works for me.”

She nods and heads for the office, so I follow her inside. There’s a sliding glass window that looks out into the main area of the studio, so I have some idea of what it looks like, but I’ve never actually been inside it before.

It’s much smaller than I thought it would be, with just a few file cabinets and a small desk set by the back wall. A computer sits on top of the desk, and Hannah pushes the chair back and sits down.

Her fingers glide across the computer’s keyboard as she enters her password to log in, and I stand in the doorway to the office with my hands on the frame above it, watching her.

I don’t want to totally invade her space or make her feel like I’m trying to make her hurry up, but I can’t take my eyes off her. She clicks the trackpad, her lips pressing together in focus, and it’s unfair how sexy she makes something so ordinary look.

“What are you doing anyway?” I ask.

“Updating the class rosters,” she answers without looking at me, her fingers clacking against the keys.

“Sounds exciting.”

“About as exciting as a root canal. I’ve been putting it off forever, but the owner has been bothering me to get it done so we have a better idea of how many spots we have filled.”

I nod, continuing to watch her. She’s definitely aware of my gaze on her, because after a few minutes, she lifts her head and looks at me, raising a brow.

“What?”

I smirk and give her a heated look. “It’s hot watching you like this. All boss lady, in control, talking about filling things up.” I push off the doorframe and walk over to her, resting my hands on the desk as I lean down. “The only thing missing is someone under that desk to take care of you while you handle business.”

Her breath catches, her jaw dropping open slightly. “What do you mean?”

I step around the desk and lean down to brush my lips against her jaw, trailing them to the spot just beneath her ear.

“What I mean is, you’re sexy as hell when you’re working,” I murmur. “But you’d be even sexier falling apart for me.”

A soft, shuddery breath leaves her lips. That’s all the confirmation I need that she’s as turned on by the idea as I am. Without pausing to think about it, I nip at her jaw and then drop to my knees and crawl under the desk.

“What are you doing?” she whispers, her fingers tightening around the edge of the desk, but she makes no move to stop me.

I smirk up at her from the cramped space beneath the desk, shifting so my shoulders press against the insides of her knees, locking me into place.

“Like I said,” I growl, “I worked up an appetite.”

I reach for the waistband of her pants and tug them down along with her panties, slow and deliberate, giving her every chance to stop me. But she doesn’t. Instead, she shifts her weight a little to help me.

Her breath shudders as I bare her pussy, her fingers twitching like she wants to grab my wrist—maybe to push me away, maybe to pull me closer. I watch the exact moment when she stops fighting it. Her shoulders ease, her body softening like warm wax, and her thighs spread a little wider for me.

A flicker of heat sparks in her eyes as she stares down at me, replacing hesitation with something darker, something needier.

“You’re insane,” she breathes, her voice hushed.

I grin, dragging my palms up her thighs, slow enough that I feel every tiny reaction—every twitch, every muscle tightening beneath my hands.

Goosebumps race over her skin, her breath coming faster as my fingers graze her pussy.

“And you,” I murmur, dipping my head just close enough for her to feel my breath against her inner thigh, “are already wet for me.”

I lean in closer, flicking my tongue against her clit, and she jolts, a soft whimper escaping her lips.

“Keep working,” I tell her in a low voice. She moans but reaches blindly for the keyboard, her fingers trembling as she forces herself to type.

“This is going to be full of so many errors,” she whispers, her breath hitching.

“Then I’ll just have to keep going until you get it right.”

“Are you trying to get me fired?”

I flick my tongue against her clit again, making her thighs tighten around my head.

“No,” I murmur. “I’m trying to make you come.”

A strangled sound leaves her throat, halfway between a whimper and a groan. Her legs part even wider, giving me full access, and I dive in, savoring the way she melts under my touch.

I wasn’t prepared for just how fucking hot this would be. The risk, the taste of her, the way she’s trying so hard to stay quiet—it’s all making me hard as a rock. It crosses my mind that there could be security cameras in here, but if there are, I don’t think they can see me under the desk.

And even if they could, I wouldn’t stop.

The only thing that matters to me is the beautiful woman in front of me, breathing raggedly and squirming in her seat like she’s barely holding on.

I nip at her clit, but before I can murmur more filthy words of praise, a muffled noise carries through the open office doorway. Above me, Hannah stiffens, her thighs clamping down around my head in pure panic.

At first, I think she’s just trying to hold back from coming, but then she clears her throat and straightens up in the chair a bit.

“Aaron,” she says, and my entire body goes rigid.