Three nights ago, I astral-traveled for the first time. I left my body and had sex with a cute client, who I train at the gym where I work as a personal trainer. Iâd thought at first that I was having an erotic dream but it was real. Hot, sweaty psychic sex. The proof that Iâd astral-traveled was the scratches Iâd left on Tomâs back, which I saw the next day at work. The trouble is, since I astral-traveled, Iâve had the worst nightmares. Every night I wake, my heart thumping, my gaze scanning the room for the scary thing waiting there, but thereâs no one. Nothing. Always nothing, but I know thereâs someone. I just canât see him.
Itâs put me off astral-traveling. I mean, what if Iâve brought something weird back with me as a punishment for breaking the laws of the universe? What if my portal to having fun, safe sex with anyone I choose wasnât as safe as Iâd thought? Iâve put my book, The Guide to Astral-Traveling, aside for the moment.
âGabby, your one oâclock client, Michael, has just arrived,â said Pinky, the gay masseur who works behind our gymâs reception with me. His butterball face was flushed with hope that Iâd spill my secret. Pinkyâs my best friend and I wouldnât like anything bad to happen to him.
I glared at him and hissed, âForget it, Pinky.â
Pinkyâs smile dropped from his face, but I ignored him. Pinkyâs not tough like I am. Heâs bugging me to teach him how to astral-travel, but thereâs no way Iâm letting him loose on the astral plane if itâs not safe. Heâd freak out if he had nightmares and make me come over to his house and sleep over to protect him, which means Iâd have to listen to him snoring every night.
I looked past Pinky, ignored his dramatic sniff and saw the hottest guy Iâd seen in a long time. He was over six feet tall and bulky like a weight lifter. He had a deep tan as if heâd spent hours baking in the sun on Bondi Beach in Sydney, which is close to the gym. It wasnât just his size that drew my attention, it was his demeanor. He was watchful, like a cop who was used to working a tough beat. He carried anger with him, which drew my attention because I love a man with energy, even dark energy, because it makes for the hottest sex if tuned right.
I sauntered from reception, letting him drink in my form, my perfect, gym-toned body. I was wearing a red micro top and matching shorts that started at my hip line and finished just below my bottom. When I came close I took in Michaelâs hard, sharp features. His eyes were the color of the sea and the lids were heavily hooded, which on another man might have looked sleepy. Not on Michael. Instead, it gave him a predatory look and I didnât know whether he was the kiss-or-kill type, just that he had full lips made for kissing. He had thick black hair down to his shoulders, a hooklike nose with slim nostrils. His tongue flicked out between his full lips and something about the action made me shiver, yet my nipples in my bra hardened. Perfect. The tiny hairs on my arms rose. I loved working on a man who intrigued me.
I had a sense that Iâd encountered Michael before but Iâd checked his file and this was his first booking. I was surprised he booked me because the well-built, lift-and-grunt guys prefer lift-and-grunt trainers, whereas I order my clients to work hard and fast until theyâre so weak from exertion theyâre at my mercy.
âHi, Michael, Iâm Gabby.â I held out my hand to shake his. When he took my hand in his, he used his strength to pull me in close so that I was up against his chest and he was looking down into my eyes. His narrowed into slits. I couldnât pull my gaze away. I couldnât move. I noticed that he had tattoos on both pectoral muscles that showed over his singlet top, hoops that curled and wound around each other, stopping just under his collarbone. Snakes. The spit dried in my mouth. I realized what they were. I adore snakes. I have an affinity for the creatures, especially pythons, since Iâd bred them as a child. I stared, fixated, until someone tapped my shoulder.
âExcuse me, Gabby?â Pinky asked.
The spell broken, I pulled my hand from Michaelâs and turned, relieved that I could move again.
âWould Michael be interested in a massage after his session with you?â
That was Pinkyâs code for was I interested in having him follow Michael into the showers to see how big his penis was? He knew I never wasted time on a man with a small cock.
âWhat a great idea,â I said. âMichael?â This was one client who was going to learn that he would not be able to dominate me, but I liked it that he tried. Heâd learn.