Page 24 of The Seducer
“Sure.”
“Good. I don’t wish to take your humor away from you. Rather, I want to help you use it in good ways only.”
I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Athena placed her hands on my knees and it made everything tingle in the lower part of my body. “Humor can be an armor to hide behind or a torch to brighten the darkness for others. Either way your humor connects to your spirituality.”
“All right.” I bit back my need to ask her to move her hands up my thighs.
“If you’re using humor as a shield, it will harm you because it will prevent you from growing.”
I gave her a lopsided smile. “Honey, I’ve been six-two since I turned eighteen and at thirty-four, I doubt I have more growing to do.”
“I’m talking about your personal growth,” Athena said in a patient voice.
“Ahh, okay.”
“Now close your eyes and take deep breaths like me. Focus on only your breathing and use this centering thought. I am kind to people, and people are kind to me.”
I kept a straight face when I repeated Athena’s words and I tried really hard to chant the funny line she’d taught me to think about every time I got distracted. But the problem was that my mind wouldn’t stop thinking, and in particular it wouldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to have sex with Athena. She was so petite that I could probably carry her in any position I could imagine. My mouth lifted in a smile when I envisioned her naked and moaning my name in pleasure. It was hard, but with my head full of dirty thoughts, I remained quiet, breathing in a steady rhythm and holding on to Athena’s soft hands.
After a while, Athena whispered. “You can open your eyes now.”
When I did, I almost wished I hadn’t because her beautiful large eyes were full of curiosity and I got a feeling she was looking straight into my mind.
“Wasn’t it amazing?”
Everything inside of me bubbled. “Sure was,” I agreed with a growing smile.
“Did you feel our energies bond?”
“Yup, there was a whole lot of bonding going on.”
Athena squeezed my hands. “I feel kindness in you, Finn, and I think focusing on your spiritual energy like this for five days will do you a world of good.”
“Could be,” I said and played along.
Athena looked happy with herself, and for the first time I saw her smiling without holding anything back. “I knew you would like meditation.”
Having Athena smiling at me like this was starting an unwanted reaction in me. She was pretty when she wasn’t smiling. Her happiness only made her natural sweetness come out full force. Her closeness and illogical interest in me made it feel like the sun had come out on a cold winter’s day. I sat there basking in her attention like she was the sun throwing off warmth and nurturing vitamin D.
“If we do it two to three times a day, you’ll grow your stamina in no time,” she added.
Instead of telling her that she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever met, I put on my playful smile and armored up with humor. “No need to worry about that, sweetie. I’ve got plenty of stamina to bond with you as many times a day as you’d like.”
Athena’s smile stiffened. “You do know I’m talking about mental stamina, right?”
“Yeah, I figured, but just know that in case you want to do any other kinds of bonding with me, I’ve got the physical stamina too.”
Athena let go of my hands and pushed up from the floor. “You never give up, do you, Finn?”
I got up too, shaking my stiff legs. “Give up on what?”
“How many times have I told you that I’m not interested in having sex with you?”
“I’m not counting, but the number is probably equal to the number of times I’ve told you that you can’t say no to something you haven’t tried.”
Athena picked up the mats from the floor and told me to help her move the couch back.
