Chapter 11 #2
When I opened my eyes again, I peeked over at Russ. His were closed, and he seemed to be in the same zone I was in. As if he could feel my eyes on him, he opened them. It happened so quick; I didn’t have the opportunity to turn away.
Staring at each other, we soaked in the hot mud.
The way he looked at me held me captive, and a wave of emotion rocked me.
I wasn’t sure if it was the mud or the detoxification process or what, but my eyes started watering.
Still, I couldn’t turn away from him. I didn’t want to cry in front of him, especially when I had no reason to.
It didn’t make any sense. His gaze felt like he was speaking to me in a language I didn’t fully understand.
But I understood enough to have a physical reaction.
I didn’t know what he had going on or what he had to release, but my heart went out to him. I’d never wanted to hug him more than I did in that moment. It wasn’t sexual. It wasn’t based on our intense attraction. It wasn’t based on our chemistry. It wasn’t even based on our connection.
It was spiritual.
“And that’s it for the soaking portion,” Byron announced, snatching me from my thoughts.
I looked over at the man with the bald head and then back at Russ.
Russ was staring straight ahead, a contemplative look on his face.
“Let me help you,” Tessa offered, reaching for my hand.
As I rocked forward, she handed me a towel to cover my breasts. She pointed out my shower shoes to slip back on before we made our way to the glass enclosure. Mud dripped from our bodies and I didn’t look back, but I just knew we were making a mess.
“Stand near this wall,” Byron instructed.
“You will spend five minutes being heated and letting the mud dry. When the drying process is done, you will spend ten minutes sitting on these stones. When the door is closed, the glass will become opaque, so there is a speaker for us to talk to you. Hit this button if you need us.” He pointed to a black button.
“And this one if there’s an emergency.” He pointed to a red one.
“If you feel overheated at any time, let us know.”
He looked between us before stepping out of the enclosure. Without warning, dry heat blasted us from all angles.
“Oh my God!” I cried.
“What’s wrong?” Russ asked.
“I was caught off guard by the desert-air blast.”
He snickered. “I was more caught off guard by how hot that mud bath was. I felt like we were being cooked. Like the spa was a front for some cannibalistic shit. I was feeling a little too much like beef stew in that thing.”
“We were in a Crock-Pot.”
“Talking about it was one hundred degrees. Mannnnn, that shit was easily three fifty.”
I giggled. “And now here we are… in the microwave.”
We were laughing as the mud dried on our skin. I felt the tightness, but it wasn’t until the fans slowed to a stop that I noticed how different I felt.
“I think there really are rejuvenating properties in this,” I told him. “Look.”
We looked like we were covered in clay, not like we’d just stepped out of the mud.
He shook his head. “Gravy.”
I burst out laughing. “I was going to say sauce!” I exclaimed.
Tessa knocked on the door before she opened it.
Without hesitation, she pointed to the two stones set up like beach chairs.
“Use the ten minutes on the stones to reflect on how you feel with the mud on you. Listen to the sounds of the rainforest and connect with yourself and your body. Instead of talking to each other right now, talk to yourselves.”
We sat down.
“You got us in trouble,” I whispered playfully.
“That was you!”
We snickered quietly before relaxing into our stone chairs. The mud made my limbs tight and a little more difficult to bend. It felt like I had on a full-body mask. Tessa placed cucumber slices on our eyes and the sudden darkness quieted our amusement. My mind cleared.
“And now, it is time for the mineral shower,” Byron told us over the speaker, startling me.
Has it been ten minutes already?
“Brace yourselves,” he said before water gently started to fall over us.
With the combination of the rainforest soundtrack and my cucumber-covered eyes, it felt like we were in a heavy rain. Water washed over us gently at first and then increased in pressure. When it stopped, I thought it was over.
“Now please remove your cucumbers and stand,” Tessa commanded over the speaker.
Sitting up, I had to blink several times to adjust my vision, but the low lights made it easy.
Russ got up before me. Looking up at his sexy, muscular frame, I bit my lip.
He was dripping wet and illuminated by the gentle green glow.
Although I’d seen him in the shower, I’d never had him tower over me while he was soaking wet.
I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
“Let me help you,” Russ suggested, reaching for me.
I allowed him to pull me to my feet. “Thank you.”
“For the next few minutes, hold your partner’s hands,” Tessa instructed.
Russ’s fingers intertwined with mine and he gazed at me with such tenderness. I squeezed him and ran my thumbs over the sides of his hands. Even though I knew there were two strangers outside of the room watching our shadows, I was very tempted to kiss him.
“Look into each other’s eyes and sync your breathing,” Byron guided us over the speaker.
We were already standing close. But I took a step forward so my breasts were pressed against his chest. His lips spread into a smile, and I just knew he was thinking something dirty. I smiled back as he put our interlocked hands behind my back and then brought me closer.
Holding my gaze, he began breathing in time with me. My stomach fluttered with each inhale and my heart pounded with each exhale.
Seconds later, the water started drizzling down on us.
Squinting, we continued to stare into each other’s eyes until the water came down harder.
I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, so I squeezed his hand tighter and rested my head against his chest. Hearing his heart thump drowned out the rainforest noises.
His chest rose and fell as I leaned into him.
When the water slowed to a light sprinkle, Tessa’s voice came in over the speaker.
“You’ve just experienced our hot-springs mineral shower,” she told us. “Hot-springs mineral water heated to…”
Russ let go of my hands and grabbed my face. Leaning down, he moved his lips over mine powerfully. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Our mouths met hungrily, and it wasn’t until I moaned that I remembered where we were.
“—so make sure you don’t have any more mud on you. We’ll be in to bring you your robes and slippers in two minutes.”
Leaning down so his lips were against my ear, Russ whispered, “I’m going to sit on this stone… and I want you to sit on my lap… and ride my dick.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“Russ…” I was glad I was already wet because the way that man had me dripping, it would’ve been obvious in my swim bottoms.
His hands slipped down every curve of my body until he had a two-handed grip on my ass. “I want all this ass on me. I want—”
Tessa and Byron knocked before entering.
Their presence interrupted the sentence, but he didn’t take his hands off my ass.
I kept my body pressed against Russ so they couldn’t see my bare breasts, my taut nipples, or his hard dick.
I turned my head to watch the attendants as they placed our robes and slippers at the door.
“Now it is time for the final stage,” Byron announced. “Get dressed, and we’ll take you to the cooldown.”
“Okay, thank you,” I called out.
They left and I looked up at him. “You need to stop. I almost pulled your dick out earlier.”
He let out a low, rumbling chuckle. “There’s still time.”
“No, there isn’t,” Tessa replied over the speaker.
My jaw dropped and my eyebrows shot up. Could they hear us the whole time?
“We’ll be right out,” Russ replied, looking around.
“You’re always getting us into trouble,” I teased as I slipped on my robe and removed my swim cap.
He put his on as well. “You started it.” He stepped into his slippers and grabbed me by my waist. Lowering his voice, he uttered softly, “But once we get done here, I’m going to finish it.”
I let out a trembling breath.
Giggling, I scurried from the glass enclosure, with Russ on my heels.
Tessa and Byron exchanged a knowing smile before the four of us left the mud room.
We traveled down the hall and entered a white room with plush white chairs and a couple of love seats facing a glowing statue.
I inhaled deeply and looked around. The peppermint scent was prominent but not overbearing.
“This is the cooldown,” Byron told us. “This is to rehydrate your body and reset your mind. And because this is a couple’s session, this is also an opportunity to reconnect.”
“This room utilizes aromatherapy, so the peppermint improves mental function and reduces pain and stress.” Tessa ushered us to our seats as she pointed to the light structure in the middle of the room.
“The room is lit by the large Himalayan salt lamp, which will boost mood, increase energy levels, and increase the flow of oxygen to your brain. And we have fruit-infused water that will not only rehydrate your body, it’ll also flush out any remaining toxins. ”
We sat on the love seat and propped our feet up on the footstool as we listened. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until my first sip of water.
“Lastly, you are going to use this time to silently reconnect. Since you’ve released all the toxins and negativity, use this time to rehydrate your relationship as well.”
When they left us alone, we finally took a break from drinking.
“Somebody is thirsty,” Russ said, taking another sip of water.
I giggled quietly. “I know you ain’t talking! Not the way you just took down that whole bottle.”
“I let out a lot of toxins and negativity in that mud. I had to replenish.”