23. Carina
twenty-three
Carina
“R each up and stretch your fingers toward the sky. Plant your heels on the floor. Exhale slowly,” Linc murmured calmly. His voice was even and serene.
He was patient, stripping back his routine to the basics. From what I’d seen him do before, he concentrated on strength and control, regulating his breathing and almost moving into a meditative space.
I was nowhere near that level, but I’d wanted to learn the basics—sharing it with him felt important. He was alone so much; his business was so solitary, and aside from Jacques and Trav, he didn’t really get out much to see other people. I knew he liked it that way, but we would soon find ourselves alone together for longer stretches of time. With Trav at work and Jacques travelling once preseason training started and during the season after that, we’d likely spend the most time together out of all of us. We were already friends. I wanted us to be the very best of friends. I wanted to try the things he loved.
The problem was that although we were only just starting this yoga routine, I already knew it was going to push me to the limit. He was a good instructor; I wasn’t a great student.
I followed his direction, and he smiled and nodded. “Perfect,” he purred.
I couldn’t help my smile in return. It was silly how the butterflies in my belly swooped when he praised me.
“Release,” Linc said in that same calm tone.
I did the move again a couple more times, and each time he hummed his approval or outright complimented me. His words were making me giddy, and I was floating among the clouds with a mix of sereneness and fizzy excitement running through my veins.
“Right foot forward in a long lunge. Back leg straight.”
I stepped forward, and Linc touched my knee.
“Lower yourself down. Try to get your front leg bent ninety degrees.”
I lowered myself a little less than gracefully, and my hamstring screamed at me. My thighs downright quivered, and not in a good way. My calves all the way down to my Achilles tendons were pulled so tight that I expected them to snap at any second.
“Oh shit,” I gasped. “This bloody hurts.”
He was right there, grasping my elbows before I’d even finished my sentence.
“Lift up a little. You should still feel the stretch, but it shouldn’t hurt. We’re going for no injuries.”
I huffed out a laugh. It shouldn’t hurt. I’d doubled, even tripled, the amount of exercise I’d been doing. It wasn’t aimed at losing weight. I was having fun. I was experiencing life. I was doing all the things that I’d stopped myself from doing for so long. We’d gone line dancing and horse riding, I’d been on the back of the quad bike with Jacques, I’d done a gym session—if you can call a fifteen-minute warmup a session—laps of the pool, we’d gone bowling and to the beach. We’d taken Zeus for long walks too. Getting out and enjoying life, doing things rather than sitting behind a desk working, were everyday occurrences for me now. But this… this wasn’t exercise. It was torture.
“Lift a little more.”
I did and breathed a sigh of relief. The discomfort eased, and I looked at him wide-eyed. “It’s stopped,” I marveled, and he snorted out a laugh. “What?” I asked indignantly.
He pointed to my legs, and I looked down. My front leg was barely bent. “Oh,” I stuttered out. That was embarrassing. I was stronger than that. I was a big girl, not a weakling. I could do this.
I lowered myself down, and he grinned happily.
“Nice job,” he crooned and got into position next to me, leading me again. “Arms up slowly. Inhale. Palms together and hold your breath. Stretch your fingers toward the sky. Exhale and lower your arms.”
I followed his moves, admiring the way his lithe muscles flexed. He wasn’t bulky like Trav or even as tall and thick as Jacques, but Linc was objectively beautiful. His auburn hair shone in the light streaming into the sunroom. The pale skin of his shoulders was dotted with freckles that danced as he shifted.
And that tight, round butt.
It was a work of art.
I honestly wanted to bite it. But I couldn’t be thinking about Linc like that. We were friends. That was it, and it was fine. It was more than fine. Two men were more than enough for me. When I separated from David, I thought I’d be happily single for the rest of my life. I’d planned on it. I definitely didn’t see two gorgeous, younger men wanting me. Nor had I imagined I’d be so insatiable for them. I wasn’t sure how I was keeping up with them—or maybe it was them keeping up with me. I didn’t need a third man.
But was it bad that I wanted three?
“Repeat that move.”
I did, and on the exhale followed Linc, lowering my arms only to shoulder height. My legs were crying out, begging me to stop this insanity.
“We’re going into warrior pose. Watch how I turn my body, rotate my hips, and shift to my left.”
I did. The move he demonstrated looked easy enough, and I followed, trying to mimic him.
“Hold.”
I counted slowly to five.
“And release.”
He shot me a grin, and my smile dropped. I swallowed. The way he was looking at me screamed mischievousness. He was going to do something wickedly hard. I just knew it.
“Shake your arms and legs out.”
I did it gratefully, and for a split second, I thought I’d misjudged him. Perhaps we were done. Maybe he was going to congratulate me for getting through a whole session.
Linc stood before me and adjusted his loose yoga pants, tugging them up slightly so I could no longer see as much of his snail trail. But all it did was highlight that his pants didn’t hide a thing.
He cleared his throat, and I snapped my eyes up to his. Heat flushed my cheeks. I bit my lip, desperately trying to stop the awkward laughter bubbling up my throat. Busted.
“We’re going to try the tree pose. Watch me do it first, and then I’ll help you.”
He balanced on his right leg and slid his left foot up his leg. He turned his knee out, brought his hands up as if he were praying, and breathed deeply. He held eerily still with his eyes closed for longer than I could even stand still on two feet, never mind one.
When he lowered his leg, he opened his eyes and smiled. “Let’s start with your foot at your ankle.”
He grasped my waist, and I swallowed hard. He was so close to me. Only a few inches separated us. I inhaled his scent—something woodsy with citrus—and bit back a moan. He was familiar in that unobtainable way. I picked up on traces of his aftershave and that natural scent that was all him that I smelled on Jacques and Trav every time we were together. Knowing he’d been with my guys, that they’d touched and tasted one another was like catnip. I’d loved watching them with him. How they’d been together—unrestrained and carnal yet caring at the same time—was beautiful. The way Linc touched Jacques and Trav was… beautiful. He took control, and my guys melted, trusting him without question. I loved their familiarity. The way they didn’t need to ask what the others liked because their relationship had been rock solid for so long was so damn attractive.
After all, how could it be anything but solid, given the way Linc had just accepted me straight into the fold?
Every girl says they want the bad boy, but good guys—especially ones who were as good in bed as they were outside—were truly a rare find. It had taken me decades of marriage and a messy divorce to realize that all I wanted was three men who loved one another… and me.
Well, two of them anyway. Gah, I had to force my libido to get with the program, because the man in front of me was Fine—with the capital F.
I licked my lips and instinctively leaned closer, breathing him in. I knew I needed to stop, but against my better judgement, I let my eyes wander down that perfect chest and six-pack to the sexy-as-sin V peeking out above his low-cut, loose grey pants.
Oh yeah. The view was even better than during grey-sweat-pant season.
How were real people this beautiful? All three of them were so different, yet equally as sexy. My mouth watered as I thought about all three of them naked. I shivered, desperate to see that again.
“You ready?” Linc asked, his voice an octave deeper and raspier than it had been a moment earlier.
I snapped my gaze up to his again—totally busted for the second time—and flushed. “Right,” I choked out. I cleared my throat and plastered a smile on my face. “Let’s do this.”
“Let’s,” he murmured, squeezing my hips.
I bit back my moan and shifted my weight to my right foot, balancing on it while I slid my left foot up my leg. I wobbled, then paused and Linc reassured, “I’ve got you.”
I held my arms out wide, trying to regain my balance, and slid my foot up a little higher so it was just below my knee.
“Good. That’s good. You’re doing great. Now bring your arms in, and press your hands together.”
I swayed, wobbling harder. But Linc stepped closer, tucking me against his body. It was probably meant to stop me from getting too off-balance, but the feel of his hard body against mine upended me. I looked down, and my breath caught at the way my belly and boobs were pressed against his chest and flat stomach. I was wearing one of my old singlets—low cut with shoulder straps wide enough to hide the over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder bra I was wearing. It was comfortable, but I wanted it off me.
Bloody hell, I was hot for my boyfriends’ boyfriend. Cara would have a field day with this if she were writing this story. I’d be that tragic female main character who fell for her yoga instructor. I could just imagine the tagline—he was the one man she couldn’t have. Of course, the greedy bitch already had two Adonises.
But that wasn’t enough.
She needed three.
“You’re a natural,” he murmured.
I startled, so lost in my own haze of desire that I’d completely zoned out. He’d fried my brain. Zapped every one of my synapses so that the only thing working was the throb of my heartbeat in my pussy.
I snapped my face up to his.
I connected with Linc’s nose, and tears sprang to his eyes. He blinked repeatedly and sniffed. I reached for his shirt, trying to grip him there. But it was nonexistent.
Bloody sexy, shirtless men.
I wobbled and threw my hands out, my knuckles connecting with his jaw.
“Oh, shit,” I gasped as I wobbled on my foot, half circling my arms and half trying to cup his face to check I hadn’t broken it.
I bobbed forward, and his face was so close to mine that my eyes crossed trying to look at him. He pressed his lips together, biting back his laugh, and I snorted out a giggle.
He chuckled, and I laughed harder, the ridiculousness of the situation hitting home. I didn’t mean to laugh—I’d just hurt him—but the more I tried to stop, the worse it was until I had tears streaming down my face and was stuck in this weird “Walk Like an Egyptian pose,” trying not to fall on my ass.
“It’s definitely a talent,” I quipped, and we both burst into giggles again.
Then we were falling.
My eyes widened, and I gasped, shock slapping me in the face.
I dropped my foot down—why did I still have it up?—but it was too late. My hands were flailing, and Zeus was barking. I screeched in equal parts surprise and fear as I watched the floor get closer to me in slow motion.
But Linc’s arms never left me. He tucked me in close to him and cushioned my fall. Instinctively, I reached for his head, tucking it into the crook of my neck and tried to catch my fall with the other hand.
“Oof,” I grunted as we landed, and the breath whooshed out of Linc. A shock of pain radiated up my wrist, and I hissed.
My landing was soft—well, softer than the floor, anyway. Linc’s was a different story. He’d taken nearly my full weight and his when we hit the timber floor. At least he didn’t hit his head.
“What the hell just happened?” I regretted opening my mouth the moment I did. Zeus was licking my face and breathing his doggy breath all over me. His breath was almost as bad as his shit. He had to have been licking his butt.
“Zeus. Down,” Linc commanded, but he sounded winded.
I wiped the drool off my face and shuddered, trying to stop myself from dry heaving at the thought.
Zeus’s claws clicked on the floor as he pounced around excitedly, waiting for us to play with him. It was as if being on the floor was an invitation to him.
Oh shit, it was. Trav would get on the floor and tag his feet. It was almost a game of knuckles—the first one to flinch would either get the zoomies or a face full of dog.
“Zeus, no,” I cried as he lifted his paw up.
He lowered it, the excited smile slipping off his face. His big brown eyes widened, and his tail stopped wagging. I’d broken his heart, but I had bigger worries.
I looked down at Linc and realized I still had my hand tangled in his hair, my weight braced above him, and one leg straddling his hip, while the other was tangled with his. I could feel every one of his coarse hairs against my smooth-shaven leg. My boobs were hiked up around my throat, almost spilling out of my singlet, and my nipples hardened.
I sucked in a breath, and Linc’s gaze dropped to my chest. He darted his tongue out to lick his lips. I bit back my moan.
He looked back up at me, and I swallowed hard. Desire flared in me.
His eyes darkened. His pupils blew out.
I inched closer.
His cock twitched.
I parted my lips.
Zeus barked, a high-pitched yip. I knew the tone—he was sick of being ignored.
He launched himself forward, inserted his muzzle into the gap between us, and licked. I was having a make-out session with a dog and my boyfriends’ boyfriend. What the fuck had happened to my life?
I rolled off Linc and sputtered, then wiped my mouth as Linc shoved Zeus off him.
“Thanks, buddy. I wanted to bathe in dog slobber,” Linc muttered fondly.
I couldn’t help but watch as he tried to discreetly adjust himself and hopped up to his feet in one smooth motion.
Linc held his hands out to me, and I reached up, letting him tug me to my feet. He adjusted my bra strap, pulling it back up to my shoulder, and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”
“My wrist is a little sore, but I’m okay. I’ll live. What happened?” I asked, still trying to figure that out.
“You’ve seen Zeus jump up whenever he sees us hugging.”
I nodded, and he continued.
“Travis thought it’d be cute for him to join in on our hugs, so he trained him to jump up whenever he sees us hugging.” He smiled and added, “He’s decided he wanted in this time. It means he’s adopted you.”
I grinned, and my cheeks heated. The sentiment was sweet, but as much as I loved it here, I had to remind myself that this fairytale had an end date. Both my visa and my agreement with Jacques would come to an end.
I’d have to leave.
The thought broke my heart.
Linc continued, unaware of the direction my thoughts had turned. “I wasn’t expecting for one hundred pounds of muscle to launch himself at us. I lost my footing.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, reaching up to touch the back of his head. I ran my fingers through his silky-soft hair, and he smiled gently.
“Thanks to you, I don’t have an egg on the back of my head.”
“Hey, I’m just glad I didn’t knee you in the nuts.”
He winced. “Yeah, me too.”
I gestured over my shoulder with my thumb, pointing the way to the bedrooms. “I might go have a shower. All this talent is hard work.”
I stepped back, immediately missing the feel of his arms around me but insanely grateful that Zeus didn’t decide to join in again. I forced myself to walk away from Linc. I bit my tongue, holding in the invitation for him to join me in the shower.
I was going to need an ice-cold one.