Past Midnight (24 page)

He crowded her up against the wall, pressing his body to hers. “You’re dying to see naked people.” He nipped her throat. “And you’re dying to have them see you.”

She had to admit to a certain thrill of the spectacle. Part of her reason for arguing about the dress code—or rather the nondress code—was so that she wouldn’t suddenly blurt out how damn grateful she was for his thoughtfulness. He’d done this to take her mind off the day, to take her away from anything that might remind her. But he certainly had an agenda of his own, too. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it had to be more than getting naked in public.

“Well, they have a lot of rules,” she said, hoping to draw his plans out.

He nuzzled her hair, blowing on her skin, heating her through. Maybe his plan was simply seduction. It was working. “The rules aren’t so bad,” he murmured as he skimmed his fingers over the outer swell of her breast.

Okay, rules, they were talking about the rules. There were places where nudity was not an option, in the restaurant, for example.
“We dress for dinner, sir,”
the check-in clerk had told them. You couldn’t walk out to your car without your clothes. The hotel lobby was also off limits. Within the grounds, though, the pool area, the Jacuzzis, it was a free-for-all.
“But don’t touch without permission.”

That was the rule that made her tingle. Because it obviously meant you could touch
with
permission. She wondered how much touching Dominic was going to give permission to.

“But you said I didn’t have to worry about what I was going to wear, so I only brought jeans. I don’t have anything to dress up in for dinner.”

He trailed a hand down her arm, then stepped away. “That will give me the chance to buy you something sexy from the dress shop in the lobby.” He shot her a seductive, heavy-lidded look. “Sometimes it’s more tantalizing when the clothing makes a man crazy to see what’s underneath.”

Oh yeah. He had an agenda.

SHE MADE HIM ROCK HARD IN HIS PANTS. IF ERIN DID THAT TO HIM, Dominic could only imagine her effect on the other men in the dining room.

The resort’s dress shop had an eclectic mix of styles, from classy to sedate to stylish to slutty.
Ultra
slutty. It was a nudist resort after all, with a whole lot of leeway on the amount of public touching that could go on. Dominic had purchased Erin a dress that drew attention to the delectable body that lay beneath the material.

It was a black drapy thing, with soft folds of material dipping low to expose a lot of cleavage, bare shoulders, and a short, flirty skirt that was little more than a series of scarves attached at the waist. When she walked, the scarves flowed around her legs, her thighs playing peek-a-boo. When she sat, the material fell apart to expose her gorgeous legs almost to the crotch. Wanting to keep something secret—and to heighten anticipation—he’d purchased her a pair of black lace panties. Yes, she was a walking advertisement for sex.

The clientele was well aware of it. The restaurant was dimly lit and classy, the tables set with crystal glassware and china with gold edging, and a gourmet menu, which meant the prices were high, the food elegantly presented, and the portions small. The average age of the diners was over forty; couples, small groups, a few men seated together dotted here and there, sipping expensive wine and demolishing rich, exotic hors d’oeuvres.

He could safely say his wife was a jewel among them.

“So, exactly what have you got planned for us?” Her eyes sparkled as much as the champagne. She bit into a mushroom canapé, her lips glistening.

Their table was small, round, intimate, his leg brushing hers because he’d moved his chair even closer. His pulse pumped blood through his veins, his eyes tracking her from throat to cleavage. “Dinner, then a stroll through the grounds, and finally a soak in one of the Jacuzzis.” Then his biggest surprise of the evening.

He was equal parts buzzing with excitement and thrumming with nervous tension. If she objected, he was totally screwed. But he’d made his plans anyway.

“I didn’t bring a bathing suit,” she complained.

He detected the tease in her voice. “Neither did I.”

She chose a spinach leaf daubed with beluga from the selection of appetizers he’d ordered. “So, naked hot-tubbing.”

“You’ll love it.”

A couple, done with their dinner, passed behind her as they left the dining room. The man’s gaze fell to Erin’s breasts. Tall with short, dark hair and a workout-trim physique, he was Erin’s type. There were some that were far too old, some that weren’t in shape enough for her, some that appeared too lecherous, damn near drooling. Dominic wanted classier for her.

“What if someone else gets in our tub?” she asked, waiting until the busboy had cleared the empty canapé tray.

“Then hopefully we have a very nice conversation with some new people.” And so much more, he mentally added.

She laughed.

Christ, he loved the sound. He’d been so damn smart for taking her away this weekend. At home, she’d have prowled the house like a caged animal. Here, her mind could play with other things. He told himself she would love everything he’d put together for her.

The waiter arrived, laying down their salads, topping them off with ground pepper. Alone again, she leaned closer, her hair brushing his cheek, her scent washing over him, and lowered her voice. “Is this a sex club?”

“Of course not. It’s a nudist resort.” But he’d read a few things online about the place. While not a club where people overtly engaged in sex out in the open, there were hidden groves, coves, nooks and crannies for a little discreet coupling, threesome, foursome, for seeing and being seen.

That was the reason for dinner in the restaurant and for the dress his gorgeous wife was wearing. He wanted her to be seen. Oh yeah, he wanted to advertise. He wanted to see what naughty things crawled out of the woodwork. It was about anticipation, about getting her primed and ready so that when he sprang his surprise, she’d jump at it.

“What would you do if it was a sex club?” he asked idly. As if he were doing nothing more than making polite conversation.

“I don’t know.” She speared a few greens on her fork and twirled them in the salad dressing.

Ah, so she wanted him to draw her out. Talk was foreplay. “How about a foursome with a hot couple?” He scanned the dining room, then moved his head slightly. “Them. I’ve seen him looking at you.”

She glanced in the same direction. The couple was their approximate age, the woman with poufy Farrah Fawcett blond hair, the man with a few strands of gray and attractive lines on a tanned face.

“Do you want to do her?” Erin asked, her tone neutral.

“I’m more interested in watching him lick you to orgasm and hearing you scream.” He trailed a hand up her thigh beneath one of the scarves. For him, it wasn’t about other women. Though it defied explanation, for him, it was always about her pleasure, even with another man. Holding her face in his hands and kissing her as she moaned from another man’s touch, another tongue on her, another cock inside her. “Thinking about it makes me fucking hard.”

She regarded him, her eyes so dark in the dim light, they were the color of the deepest part of the ocean, only a hint of blue. “You wanted me to do Shane, didn’t you?”

The steady rate of his heart doubled its beat. It had been two weeks, but she’d been thinking about the bartender. “I wanted you to enjoy yourself with him.”

She studied her dwindling salad.

He pushed a little harder. “I was thinking about Winter actually. You wanted to say yes, but you were afraid. I wanted the trip to Rudolpho’s that night to be a second chance for you to have your fantasy, whatever that was.”

Through his slacks, he could feel the warmth of her skin along his leg. A pulse fluttered at her throat. “I was afraid at the time. It just seemed so crazy inviting a man into our hotel room.”

“Is it so crazy now?” He waited, the noise of the dining room suddenly muted, his mind blanking out everything but her.

She gazed at him, her lips slightly parted, her lipstick glistening. “No. Not so crazy now,” she whispered.

Relief and desire rushed through his body. His cock throbbed with all the possibilities suddenly driving through his mind. He’d put a plan into motion, taken a huge risk.

Without knowing it, she’d just agreed to the plan’s execution. Yet he now saw the problems clearly, too. He’d been torn between his desires and the fear that she’d turn him down, but springing it on her was more like a trap. He wasn’t sure of her, hadn’t been sure for so long, and he couldn’t stand losing any ground he might have gained when she’d agreed to the trip.

Holding her hand, he squeezed. “Are you willing to take a chance?”

She pressed her lips together, and her eyes widened. “A chance on what?”

“That I’ve got a surprise you’re going to love.”

“What is it?”

He clucked his tongue. “If I tell you, it’s not a surprise. But I want you to know that something’s coming.”

His tensed muscles ached as if he’d waited forever, but when she finally let out a breath, he heard the slight shudder in it. “All right,” she said. “You can surprise me.”

The tension rushed out of him in a flood. He almost crushed her hand in his. Christ, he wanted this, for her, for him. It would be as first-rate as his fantasies. It had to be. “Good.” The single word in no way described the emotions inside. Victory. Desperation. Desire. Fear. Relief.

She leveled a hard look at him. “But if I don’t like it, I can call it off.”

“You won’t want to.”

 

 

WALKING IN THE GARDENS AFTER DINNER, ERIN WASN’T AT ALL sure she was glad he’d told her about the surprise. Now she was all nerves, her skin jumping. He’d disappeared for a little while as she was dressing for the evening; it wasn’t as if she hadn’t known he was planning something. So why was this different than any of the other surprises they’d given each other over the past few weeks? That was the problem. He’d changed. Before, he’d simply tell her what to do and not allow any questions. Now
his
tension was making
her
tense.

Erin shivered. “I’m freezing.” It was far too cold for an evening stroll, especially in this dress, the night breeze billowing through the scarves. In the dining room, she’d felt both exposed and sexy. Dominic, however, had been delighted showing her off in the outfit.

“Off to the Jacuzzi then,” he said. Pulling her hand through his looped arm, Dominic directed her to one of the smaller pools they’d passed. It was tucked in a secluded corner fairly close to their villa and surrounded by faux lava rocks, a waterfall, and lush greenery.

He opened the gate for her, closing it behind them. The pool itself was kidney-shaped and surrounded by lounge chairs and tables with umbrellas. On one end there was a bar, closed for the night or perhaps the whole season. The Jacuzzi, enclosed within a tropical setting of lava rocks and palm fronds, steamed against the night air. Illumination was provided by twinkling bulbs in the foliage and a row of perimeter lights along the inside edge of the round spa. The water was unoccupied.

She was oddly torn between relief and disappointment. She reached for Dominic’s hand before he went any farther. “Why didn’t you simply surprise me the way you have the other times?”

He curled his fingers around hers, then raised her hand, setting her palm to his cheek, cupping his over hers. “I keep asking you what your biggest fantasy is. But I still don’t really know, and all I do is offer up mine.” He lowered his voice to a bare whisper. “I don’t want to push you too far, yet I don’t know how far that is.”

“I don’t know my own fantasies,” she admitted. That’s why she’d never really answered. It was so much better when she was swept along by his. As it was up in San Francisco. Tying him up and doing him in the dark hadn’t worked. When she let him take over, he’d made it perfect. Although seducing him in the backyard had been pretty darn hot and all her idea. Still . . . “I want you to choose tonight.” His hand was so sweet and warm over hers, his cheek firm and roughly male. “Make it good for me,” she whispered.

His eyes were deep, full of an emotion that heated her. “I will, baby. I’m going to make it so good.”

She felt the shadows of their nerves lift, and she was lighter, ready to flirt, ready to play. Ready for anything. “What do you want me to do first?”

He smiled, raised a brow, teasing. “Strip for me. I want to see you naked.”

His desire swept over her, setting a flush to her skin.

“I’m sure we’ll have visitors later,” he promised, with a glint in his eye. Then he grabbed a couple of towels from a cart, throwing them on one of four chairs surrounding the Jacuzzi. Bending, he turned the timer for the jets, and the tub bubbled to life. “Go on,” he urged.

The back of the dress plunged, and it was a simple matter to unzip and step out of it. “Here you go.” She tossed it at him, and though she wore only her panties, she’d lost all her apprehension. For the moment anyway.

He caught the dress, laying it across the back of another chair. “Were you aware that everyone in the restaurant could see those gorgeous hard nipples of yours?”

She’d known he could, and that’s all that mattered. “Do you like it when I touch them?” she purred, trying for sultry as she pinched them. The answering jolt in her clit surprised her.

Dominic’s pupils dilated. She was almost sure his cock twitched in his slacks.

Then she stepped out of her lace panties.

“You trimmed, you dirty woman. Don’t tell me you weren’t expecting activity.”

She bared her teeth in a smile, then stepped into the small pool. A moan of sheer pleasure fell from her lips as she slipped beneath the churning water. “Oh God, this is heaven.” Even the clean scent of chlorine was delicious. “Your turn.”