Before I’ve even finished my sentence, I’ve moved so I’m standing directly behind her, the heat from my chest encroaching on her back. My hands fly to the sides of her waist and a gasp falls from her lips, so quiet I almost missed it, but I don’t miss how her back goes ramrod straight and the tension sits in her shoulders. I give her hips a squeeze and her body seems to relax against its will. My right hand leaves her waist, and she shudders as if she can’t stand the loss of my touch. My lips curl up into a secret smile with the satisfaction that I know I affect her. I settle my hand against the back of her leg, then trail it down a dangerous path to her injured knee and tap it. “Extend this leg back.”

She does as I say with no objection, and I swipe my thumb across the inside of her kneecap, watching her body reward me with another shudder. It’s inappropriate. I shouldn’t be doing this. I would never touch another client this way but fuck if I can stop it. I move my right hand back up to her waist, holding her in the position I want her. Once she’s in her stance, I maneuver so I’m standing in front of her. Her breath catches as our eyes meet. “Like this?” she grits out.

“Just like that. Now hit your split squat.” She does so with measured confidence, but it’s me who falters once she’s in her full squat because of course she’s eye level with my dick. She’s always looked so good on her knees for me. I see the moment she notices our awkward position because her eyes bulge and fly up to my face. One of us should move. I should step back and she should stand up, but we don’t. Instead, she does something to tug at the fraying thread of my willpower—she licks her lips. A growl rips from my chest before I can stop it. My hand acts of its own free will and reaches out to cup the back of her neck. Her teeth trap the plump swell of her bottom lip behind their cage, urging me to pull it free. I’m seconds away from doing so but manage to stop myself.

Fuck, this woman.

Dropping my hand to my side, I grant myself a moment of relief by taking a big step back from her. “There, didn’t that feel different from how you were doing it before?” The fact that I’m even able to remember what we were doing is a miracle.

Somehow I throw my PT hat back on and pay close attention to how she lifts herself back up from the squat, noting she does it correctly. “Yep, definitely feels different,” she mumbles.