During the brief walk down a short hallway that had several rooms on each side, Matthew tried like hell not to let his lecherous gaze drift past the graceful curve of Sasha's spine. But it was damned near impossible to ignore the way those form fitting yoga pants cupped the firm curves of her ass, and he was able to sneak in a quick, furtive peek before she stopped in front of one of the doors.
"Here we are," she announced as she opened the door and ushered him inside. If she'd been aware of his hot gaze on her butt, she was evidently too discreet to make mention of it. Matthew just guessed that he was far from the first male yoga student or massage client to take note of the fact, however.
The room Sasha had brought him to was small but had obviously been decorated with comfort and calm in mind. The walls were painted a soothing shade of blue-gray, and a soft area rug covered the wood floor. The lighting was muted, and there was a minimum of furniture in the room, with the massage table taking up most of the space. An aromatherapy diffuser was emitting a subtle scent of peppermint oil, and New Age music was being piped discreetly through small, wall-mounted speakers.
"You can leave your things on the chair in the corner," Sasha told him as he finished his brief inspection of the room. "Or hang them on one of the hooks."
"My things?" he quizzed, turning to face her.
She smiled before replying calmly, "Your clothes. All of them. And, yes, before you ask, that includes your underwear."
Unwittingly, he felt his cheeks grow hot and was grateful for the dim lightning of the room. "Oh. Um, yeah, sure. What – whatever you prefer."
Sasha's smiled deepened but her voice was reassuring. "Don't worry, you'll be covered the entire time with a sheet. Plus, I can assure you that you don't have any body parts I haven't seen many times before. I'll give you a few minutes to undress and get under the covers. Face down to start, please. I'll knock before I entering."
The door clicked shut quietly as she left, and Matthew quickly began to disrobe. He hung his suit jacket on a wall hook, but took less care with his shirt, tie, and trousers, draping them casually over the chair. After removing his shoes and socks, he stood in the middle of the small room wearing just his dark blue briefs, wondering vaguely if he really needed to take everything off. After all, he reasoned, it was mostly just his neck and shoulders and upper back muscles that needed attention, so why did he have to take off his Calvins?
But he didn't want to displease Sasha by going against her wishes, so he quickly shucked the cotton underwear and shoved it under the other clothes on the chair. He had just stretched out on the massage table and pulled the top sheet up to cover his bare ass before a soft knock sounded on the door.
"Uh, yeah. Come in."
Sasha's bare feet didn't make a sound as she entered the room, only the slight click of the door behind her signaling her arrival. Wordlessly, she pulled the butter soft cotton sheet and lightweight blanket all the way up to his neck. Beneath the bottom sheet was some sort of heated pad that felt so fantastic against his bare skin it made him want to close his eyes and take a really long nap.
But it was the first touch of Sasha's long, elegant fingers on the back of his neck that caused him to actually groan out loud, the sound escaping his throat involuntarily.
"My God, that feels good," he sighed, his voice muffled by the fabric covering the face rest.
She chuckled softly as her hands began to knead a little more forcefully along his shoulder blades. "I barely touched you," she pointed out. "But I can already tell that we've got a lot of work to do here. Your muscles are about as tense as I've ever felt. I'm afraid it's going to take several sessions before you feel any significant improvement. How long has it been since your last massage?"
Matthew gave a little shrug, closing his eyes in half-bliss, half-pain as she began to dig a little more deeply into his knotted muscles. "Months. Maybe closer to a year. I'm not good at taking care of myself, unfortunately. I get pretty wrapped up in my job, work really long hours, travel a lot. And then, well, I assume Tessa has told you about my family situation. My wife and I are, uh, in the process of getting a divorce."
Sasha's hands stilled momentarily, and she didn't offer up a reply for several seconds. "She didn't tell me, no. Knowing Tessa as well as I do, I assume she withheld that information because she respects your privacy. When she called me last evening to book this appointment, she simply said that you've had a great deal of stress to cope with lately and really needed a massage."