ROMANCE: Bear Naked Passion (Billionaire Bear Trio Book 2) (60 page)

Chapter 6

The yoga classes were quickly becoming the highlight of her week. She attended two per week, although they didn't seem enough. Tori was a great teacher and soon recognized Linda as she became a regular, although they were yet to have a proper conversation. But in every session Tori came along to inspect Linda's form, and she always had her hands over Linda. It gave her a special kind of excitement, although then she did flush with bitterness when she saw Tori do the same to other people, and before too long she had to admit that she had a crush on the yoga instructor, which was bad news.

One day, after she had left for class, Linda received a phone call that stopped her in the hall. It was Daniel, and there were still some problems with the Danny King article. Linda dropped her bag and paced in the area outside the room, running her hands through her hair as she listened to the news that could spell trouble for the magazine. She groaned and tried to come up with a plan to salvage the situation but found it difficult to come up with any. She was walking back and forth and then abruptly collided with Tori, who had just left. The instructor went spinning to the floor, landing with a thud, while Linda's phone was pushed out of her hands and fell to the floor, cracking and splintering. Linda helped Tori up and apologized profusely, then went to tend to her phone, which was damaged beyond repair. She cursed.

“Are you alright?” Tori asked. Even though she had just been thrown to the floor she still looked immaculate.

“Yeah, I was just in the middle of an important call. Anyway, you were the one that got knocked over, are you alright?”

“I'm fine, been in worse scrapes in my time. Seriously though, are you sure you're okay? You look a little shaken.”

Linda sighed. “It's just some trouble at work. I don't want to bother you with it, but I should really be getting back to the office to deal with it since I can't do so via phone anymore.”

“Wait,” Tori said, grabbing Linda's wrist as she turned away. Linda looked down at it and then up at Tori, shocked. Tori let go of Linda's arm but the warmth of the touch remained. Linda liked it.

“I've noticed you, in class, you always have this look, like you're somewhere else, or like something is bothering you. I've seen it before, maybe you'd like to go somewhere and talk about it?”

“I'd love to but I really have to get back to the office...” she said, almost hating herself.

“Linda, really, yoga isn't just about making the body flexible it's about making the mind flexible as well. Come on, let me take you out for a coffee. Is the world going to blow up if you don't get back to the office? I'm sure there are people there who can handle whatever disaster is going on.” It was tempting. Too tempting to resist so Linda ended up agreeing. It felt good to let loose.

“I know a good place around the corner,” Tori said, and the two of them took a quick stroll. They were still in their yoga gear and Linda felt very aware of everyone who was staring at them as they walked along but Tori didn't seem to mind.

“How do you do that?” Linda asked as they ordered their drinks and then took a seat in the corner of the coffee shop.

“Do what?”

“Walk along and not care what anyone thinks of you.”

Tori smiled. “I wasn't always able to do that. It just takes practice and getting into a certain mindset. There are only certain things you can control in life and other people's opinions aren't one of them, and most people you're never going to see again anyway. They get on with their lives and I get on with mine. There's no sense worrying about it.”

“I wish I could do that. I'm always afraid of what other people think of me.”

“You don't have to be if you don't want to, and it's a gradual change. I used to be like that a lot, always tried to wear the right thing and say the right thing. It's like I was playing a role for other people and had to be exactly what they expected otherwise they'd be disappointed in me.”

“I never thought you'd be the type to be like that. You seem so secure in yourself, like you know exactly who you are.”

“Yeah, well, I do now but it hasn't been easy I mean, do you really think my parents wanted me to be a yoga instructor?”

“I guess not,” Linda said, laughing along with Tori.  They were sitting at a small table against a window that looked out into the city. Although it was almost impossible for Linda to take her eyes off Tori, occasionally she did find herself glancing outside. As she did so she saw different versions of herself, all suited up and rushing about to various appointments, too busy to take a moment of time to enjoy the day. It filled her with sorrow to think of how she had neglected her own soul and given so much  of herself to a job.  The drinks they had were sweet and heavy and filled them with warmth. Linda curled her fingers around her mug and enjoyed the coziness of the moment. There were a few other people in the cafe but there was a slight partition separating the two of them from the rest of the cafe, so it gave them the feeling that they were alone, and Linda felt like she could tell Tori anything. 

Chapter 7

“So what did your parents want you to be?” Linda asked.

Tori threw back her head and let out a throaty laugh. “They wanted me to be a housewife. A loft ambition I know. My parents had very... traditional values. My brother was going to be a lawyer and I was going to marry someone successful and give them lots of beautiful grandchildren. I was never one for their rules though, which annoyed them to no end and they just couldn't understand that I was different. But I tried my best to be what I wanted because I was brought up on all the same ideas as they had, to be a princess and all that jazz, so in the end I just ended up going along with it. I had the school quarterback as a boyfriend and I was prom queen.  It was like a fairy-tale... until I had to go and ruin it by being caught making out with my science teacher.”

“You what?!” Linda asked, shocked and intrigued.

“Oh yeah. I'd always had a crush on her and things were getting too much. There was so much pressure on me that I felt like I was losing myself and I didn't know who to turn to. So I turned to her and something... happened. She lost her job though and we had to move. They hated me after that and blamed me for my brother flunking out of his first year of college, although he had way more problems that they're still blind to today.”

“What happened then?”

“They held out hope that I was just going through a phase and was still going to be their perfect little angel but I had a taste of what I truly wanted and it felt good. I explored and learned more about myself, and in the end I decided to become a yoga instructor. It's a good way to meet people and share what I've learned, and I get to just be myself. I look back on it now and think of what a fool I was to believe that I could be a housewife. It's not in my nature at all.”

“I know what you mean though,” Linda said, surprised that Tori had shared something so personal with her, but it only made her want to share something equally as personal, and there had been things burning inside her that she had never been able to express. “I had a similar thing. I have a group of friends and they all had the same ideas. They wanted the perfect job and the perfect men and they found them. I wanted to be a writer but I ended up editing a magazine and I didn't really have time for love. Didn't even know if I was capable of it. Then they introduced me to Aaron who was wonderful at first and I thought I could really make a go of it with him. Guess I thought that being with him would give me the same kind of life that all the others had. The kind of life that I thought I wanted and I think I made myself fall in love with him. Then he left me for another woman, some intern that he had working at his office. She was eighteen. Ten years younger than me and that was that. He just left me without any kind of apology or anything and I didn't know how I was going to get back to a place where I could be with anyone again.  I told him things, shared things with him and the fact that he left made me feel like they were too much for him... too much for anyone.”

“Like what? What kind of secrets?” Tori asked. As she did so she slid a hand across the table and caught Linda's fingers in her own. They looked in each other’s eyes and Linda was being taken to some other realm, where time and space didn't mean anything, and she was born anew in the moment. Tori was purging her soul of all the doubt and fear that she was feeling. She felt like a new person, and her soul was light and vibrant, and she found herself opening herself up in a way that she had only done with one other person as she gave away her biggest secret of all, the one she had held onto dearly all through her life.

“I've always, um,” she began, and lowered her voice so that nobody else could hear, because this secret was meant for Tori only, no-one else, “I've always liked girls and the only reason I went out with Aaron in the first place was because I thought I was supposed to. But the truth is that I always wanted to be with a woman. He just... he couldn't make me feel the things that I wanted to feel, and I think that's why he left me for someone else, for someone he could make happy. And because of that I know that it was my fault that things ended the way they did.”

“Linda, come on, it's not your fault. You're not responsible for him acting like a dick,” she said, and dragged her chair around the table so that she could put a comforting arm about Linda. “There's no reason you should feel responsible for that. Sexuality is a complicated thing and you shouldn't feel ashamed of liking what you like or wanting what you want. If you want something you should go for it,” she said, and in that moment Linda was lost in Tori's eyes, and before she knew it she was leaning forward and stealing a kiss from her trembling lips. She increased the pressure, moving forward, feeling the release of passion but then Tori pulled away, took her hand back, and Linda realized that she had made a grave mistake.

“Oh... I... I'm sorry,” she stammered, and rose to leave.

“No, wait,” Tori said, but Linda was already out of the door.

Chapter 8

How could she have made such a fool of herself? Linda was furious with herself for misreading the signals. Of course Tori was only being friendly with her. She was far too hot for Linda and it made her feel frustrated with herself for believing in something that was never going to happen. But the kiss still lingered on her lips and every time she closed her eyes she had the feeling come back to her, that sweet feeling and the taste of strawberries and it seized her soul and all she wanted to do was see Tori again.

She had missed the last two classes and wasn't sure if she was ever going to go back but it was hard to not see Tori, and she found it difficult not to think of her. Even the techniques that Tori had shown her only led to her being reminded of the yoga instructor, and it didn't do anything for her mental or physical well-being.

She hated how she had left things and how it had been her secret that caused all the trouble again. So it was with Aaron it was with Tori. Would Linda ever be able to find someone with whom she could share all of herself?

The nights were long and lonely and work didn't do anything to help with her levels of stress and above all else she found that she didn't just miss Tori, she missed the yoga as well. It had become a routine for her and a valuable part of her life, and yet she didn't feel like she could go to another class because somehow it felt wrong to be taught by anyone other than Tori.

In the end it was just too much to bear, and she ended up going along to one of her regular classes. She got there early so she could set up by the back, hoping that Tori wouldn't see her. But when the golden goddess walked in Linda was stunned by how much it pained her to see Tori there, to be in her presence again, and the shame of that moment when she had leaned in for a kiss plagued her. Oh, the sweetest kiss that turned into a torment. 

To Linda's surprise Tori seemed subdued. She wasn't her usual bubbly self and didn't walk through the rows of people as before. The class went by quickly and Linda felt hollow, as though she was a ghost that had returned to a place where she didn't belong. As soon as it was over she slipped out of the door, vowing never to return again.

“Linda!” Tori cried. Linda stopped for a moment, wincing as she heard the bittersweet sound of her name of Tori's lilting voice. Then she carried on, but Tori caught up to her and grabbed her arm. She looked directly in Linda's eyes and pulled her aside to the women's locker room.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to turn up. It was a mistake,” Linda began.

“No, I'm sorry,” Tori said, coming up to Linda and taking her hand. “I'm sorry for pulling away that day. I didn't mean to it was just that you took me by surprise. I was so shocked, and I'd just been getting over someone myself that when you kissed me I didn't know what to do.”

“It's okay Tori, you don't have to make excuses. I get that you're too beautiful for me you can just come out and say that I'm not your type. It's fine, it really is,” Linda said, “and I think it's better if I leave now and I'll just let you get on with your classes.” She hung her head and turned around to go towards the door but then she heard the shower come on.

“You could leave,” Tori said, “or you could stay.”

Linda turned around. There was a playful tone to Tori's voice and as Linda watched Tori peeled away her clothes, revealing a perfect body that poured out of its tight spandex prison. She walked up to Linda and ran her hands around the back of Linda's head.

“I've had my eye on you from the first moment you walked in. I'm just sorry that I ruined it. Let me make it up to you,” she said, and pressed her lips to Linda's, so deep and tender that it found its way into Linda's soul, and her entire body flushed with arousal. Tori licked her lips as she leaned back and inclined her head, giving Linda a coy look, and slid her hand all the way down Linda's back, drawing it across her hips as she stepped back in all her naked glory, then disappeared into the shower.

It was almost too much for Linda to bear. She gulped as she stepped forward and took off her own clothes. She glanced over to the mirror but her reflection was masked by the condensation. Steam rose as the hot water poured out and the mist swirled around, beckoning her into the shower.

Tori's body was hidden by the fine mist that was caused by the splashing water. It poured down, warm and hot, biting into their skin. Tori wrapped her arms around Linda and kissed her slowly and deeply, leading her deeper into the shower where soon their bodies were soaked and glistening. Tori took Linda's hand and ran it all the way down her perfect body. Linda gasped and looked like she was in a dream. Tori then took both of her hands and pushed her against the wall. The cold tiles made her gasp sharply but they were soon stifled as Tori planted another deep kiss on her, then moved her lips down her body kissing her neck all the while pinning her wrists back. Linda writhed and shuddered as the most beautiful woman she had ever seen descended down her body, taking her breasts in her mouth, kissing and sucking them, falling to her knees and teasing Linda with her tongue. Linda glanced down and struggled against Tori's grip, wanted to caress her head but she was forced to endure the delights of passion as Tori buried herself inside her, finding the sweet spot with her tongue and pleasuring it.

Finally her hands gave way, sliding over Linda's soaked skin, groping at her breasts, pinching her nipples, rising back up to slither over her face and in her mouth, all the while Linda moaned loudly, the pleasure almost becoming too much to bear. Tori hoisted one of Linda's legs up over her shoulder to get even deeper in, and this sent Linda out of this world, trembling and shivering as a warm release swept through her convulsing body.

Tori smiled up at her and let the hot water splash over her face. She lay down on the floor, letting her arms and hair splay out beside her, and curled her body in an alluring manner. Linda was still breathing heavily as she watched Tori beckon to her with one finger. She descended to the floor to be with Tori. The yoga instructor pulled her legs over her head and presented herself to Linda, who dove in and started to use her tongue to pleasure Tori, and finally indulged a desire that had been swelling inside her for so many years.