Sacred Serenity (Lotus House Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

placed it next to the others. “What else? What did you hear?”
    Again, I scoured the experience with a mental toothbrush, moving over the finer, grittier points. “Your breathing and mine. It had an oceanic echo to it.”
    He nodded.
    “And I felt warmth. Your body was so warm.” While I spoke, my skin heated.
    “As was yours. You carry a lot of energy within you. When you were letting it out, I could feel it tingling around us. Could you sense it?”
    “Is that what that was? I had a moment where it felt as though a warm blanket had been placed over my shoulders.”
    His corresponding grin was huge. “Exactly. Now you’re getting it.”
    I grinned and scribbled down what we’d talked about, noting the finer points with bullets.
    - Unity
    - Warmth
    - Energy
    - Breath = Life
    “This is really great stuff, Dash. I can’t wait for Friday’s class.” I scribbled more notes, trying to remember how the couple who’d sat in front of me moved through their practice. It was hard because, a lot of the time, I was solely focused on Dash. The practice demanded it, which, I guess, was the point—unite with a partner or, in my case, his assistant. He wasn’t doing it to connect with me specifically, and I’d do well to remember that.
    “About Friday’s class, wear a sports bra, leaving your abdomen bare.” He said this nonchalantly, the same way a stranger asks how you are, and the corresponding reply is always, “Fine.”
    A chill swept up my spine. “Why?”
    He waggled his eyebrows, which confused me more. Was he playing with me or being serious? “Because I’ll be touching your bare skin.”
    That I did not expect. I swallowed, my throat so dry it would give the California desert a run for its money. “Can you be more specific?” My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat of the tumbleweeds.
    Dash licked his lips, and one blond eyebrow rose up into his hairline. “I’d rather you experience it organically, the same way the class will. It’s more powerful if you are not anticipating my movements. Then your response will be honest.”
    “Honest response? Um, okay. But you’re not gonna touch me in my…you know.” I did a quick hand gesture to my breasts and lower half.
    He crossed his muscled arms over his chest, his eyes flashed a startling sienna, and his bearing clearly screamed offended.
    Shoot. Not what I was going for.
    “We do a lot of touching in this class, but I will never, ever lay my hand on a woman anywhere she isn’t comfortable. That’s why we have the itchy nose signal.”
    Right. The nose signal. It never dawned on me to use it in today’s class. Then again, I was more comfortable sitting with Dash, foreheads pressed together and hands touching, than I was curled up in a snuggly blanket on my grandparents’ couch watching a game show. And I’d been doing that my entire life.
    “Was touching your breastbone over your heart too much?” His head was cocked at an angle, waiting for my response.
    I wanted to say I’d rather he’d cupped my breasts, but that would be the sexy dream vixen Amber St. James—the one I pretended to be alone in my bed, not the real-life me. In the daylight hours, I held strong to my conviction to save myself for marriage. For me, more so than for God. Because it’s something I wanted. Most men, after a handful of dates and light petting, lost interest when I refused more. People didn’t want to find their forever mate. They just wanted to bring their bodies together in the most intimate way as a means to an end. I wanted the end to be forever, and I planned to give that final boundary to the one man who loved me in every way possible. It would be my gift to my husband. Only he would ever have all of me, and that included my virginity.
    Eventually, I shook my head. “No, it wasn’t.”
    “And I never plan to push you too far.” He stepped forward and cupped my cheek, his thumb tracing my cheekbone the same way he had yesterday. A thrill of heat