Unwrapped (6 page)

Daniel pauses. He swirls his whiskey around his
glass, thoughtful. I’m expecting something personal, maybe even
suggestive or flirty, but instead, when he speaks, his voice is
quiet. “Do you believe in soul-mates? That there’s one person we’re
destined to be with, or is it all just random bullshit, we can’t
ever know for sure who’s right for us?”

Juliet.

My hopes come crashing down around me in a cold
wave. He’s thinking about her, still hung up after all this time.
Here I am, practically throwing myself in his lap, and all he wants
to talk about is her.

“Daniel,” I sigh, reluctant, but he won’t be put
off.

“I dared you, you have to answer.” He looks
stubborn.

“Soul-mates? Fine, no, I don’t believe in them.”
I lie. Because what’s the use in believing when his heart still
belongs to someone else? “Do you?”

Daniel blinks. “I thought so,” he sighs, “I had
it all planned out. But now … Now I wonder, what’s the use in
planning?” he adds bitterly. “Maybe it’s better just to live in the
moment. Do whatever I want, right now, to hell with the rules or
the consequences.”

His eyes meet mine, and the naked desire I see
there steals the breath from my lungs. “What do you want?” I
whisper, barely breathing.

“To do something crazy.” Daniel’s eyes stare
into mine intently. “Just, get out of my own head. Be someone else.
Just for tonight.”

Tonight …

I waver. I know now this isn’t about me, but a
treacherous part of me doesn’t even care. I’ve wanted him for so
long, on any terms. At any cost.

“Your turn.” I don’t look away. I should leave
now, run far away, hell, I should go sleep in the airport overnight
just to stay away from this bad, bad idea.

But I’ve never been one to do the smart thing.
Instead, I gather my courage, and ask the question I shouldn’t.

“Truth or dare?”

Daniel smiles, a dark, glittering smile that
could knock me to the floor if I wasn’t clutching onto the bar for
dear life.

“Dare,” he replies.

Abort, abort!
My voice
of reason screams, but I don’t back down.

I match his smile, slow and teasing. “You ever
been skinny dipping?

***

This is a bad idea.

The thought echoes in my mind as Lacey leads me
through the deserted lobby back to the elevators, her hips swinging
with every step. I can think of a hundred reasons why breaking into
the hotel pool and getting naked is the last thing we should be
doing.

It’s a crime, for one
thing,
a voice scolds me.
A misdemeanor
maybe, but definitely not the kind of thing a partner-track lawyer
should be doing.

But then Lacey fixes me with that tantalizing
smile, and suddenly I don’t give a damn. I’d go rob a bank with her
if it meant just another minute of her company. “Top floor,” she
announces, hitting the button. The doors close behind us, and she
winks. “Ready to break some rules?”

I don’t reply, my blood pounding. The only rule
I want to break right now is the one that says gentlemen don’t
shove girls up against the wall and go down on them in an elevator.
“I thought the pool closed at seven,” I say, and then immediately
feel like a fool.

Way to be crazy, Dan. You’re a real
rebel.

Lacey smirks. “That’s what makes it fun.”

The elevator arrives, and Lacey peeks her head
out, looking around. “OK, all-clear!” she whispers, gesturing me to
follow. We sneak down the hallway, keeping a careful look out for
anyone around. By the time we reach the doors at the far end, my
heart is pounding — although whether it’s from the risk, or the
feel of her hand, clutching my arm, I don’t know.

She reaches for the door.

“It’ll be locked,” I warn her, but it swings
open without a sound.

Lacey grins. “Destiny,” she announces. “See? The
universe wants us to do this.”

“I think the universe has bigger things to worry
about,” I reply, but her excitement is infectious. She takes my
hand, yanking me inside.

The door slams shut behind us. Inside, the pool
area is dark and still. The water laps, deep blue against the pale
tiles; the empty lifeguard’s station overlooking the long,
rectangular pool. Security lights from outside cast strips of light
across the room, and our footsteps echo in the hush of the room,
totally alone.

Lacey heads straight for the edge of the pool,
kicking off her strappy sandals. I stroll closer, reaching down to
test the water.

“Cold,” I note.

She smirks. “Less talk, more action, mister. A
dare’s a dare.”

I stand, not ten feet away from her, and slowly
pull my T-shirt over my head and drop it to the floor.

Lacey raises an eyebrow. She slides one strap
over her shoulder, then another. The dress ripples to the
ground.

Fuck.

Lust slams through me, so hard I almost drop to
my knees. Lacey is standing there in front of me wearing nothing
but a pair of black lacy underwear. My brain short-circuits, my
body tightens with desire.

She’s a goddess.

The moonlight falls through a window, brushing
her skin with silvery light. The curves, the soft glide of her skin
… I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful. My blood surges as I
greedily drink in every inch of her. Those breasts, high and full..
Her slim waist.. Her long legs, tapering up to that scrap of lace
at the apex of her thighs, promising the world, just out of
sight.

Jesus Christ.

“Your turn,” she smiles at me.

I unlace my sweatpants and drop them to the
floor. Her gaze slides lower, and I can tell from her smirk, the
proof of my desire is showing, hard through my briefs.

Fuck it. She can’t strip like this and expect me
to stay unmoved.

Lacey presses her tongue between her teeth, and
hooks her thumbs under the lace of her panties. I stop breathing.
The air between us blazes with electricity as she slowly, teasingly
slides them over her legs to the floor.

I let out a tortured groan. She’s bare between
her thighs, smooth and so fucking sexy it’s enough to make me lose
my goddamn mind. Suddenly, all the self-control in the world is no
match for the fire in my blood, the desire screaming through my
veins, blotting out the world until there’s nothing but Lacey and
the look of wicked temptation in her eyes.

“No more.” I growl, yanking my briefs down and
reaching for her, crazy with lust. But Lacey slips back out of my
grasp with a teasing smile. “A dare’s a dare,” she grins, and then
she plants both hands on my chest and shoves.

I fall backwards, hitting the pool with a
splash. The freezing water closes over my head. I hear another
splash, and see Lacey make an elegant dive into the pool. Her body
slides past me, arched and effortless, twisting lazy circles as she
reaches the bottom of the pool and smiles at me, inviting. I swim
towards her underwater, grabbing her around her waist and pushing
up, breaking the surface with a gasp.

“Naughty girl,” I tread water, holding her up in
my arms.

Lacey laughs, the sound echoing in the hush of
the pool “What can I say? I couldn’t resist.”

I pull her closer, sliding my hands down to grip
her thighs. Lacey’s laughter fades. I can feel her, naked and wet,
pressing against me, every inch, every curve, even the pulse of her
heartbeat racing, thunder in her chest.

“Are you going to punish me?” she whispers,
still flirting. Her hands slide across my shoulders, and I shudder
under the touch, her breasts pressed against my chest, the ripe
curves soft between us.

“No,” I lean in, trailing my lips over her
cheekbone, wanting her so bad, but wanting to make it last even
more. The world has disappeared, all my rational thoughts chased
clear from my mind. Now, the only thing that matters is the wet
slide of her body against mine and the hard ache of my cock,
pressing against her silken thigh.

I dip a gentle kiss into the hollow of her neck
and feel her whole body shiver. “I’m not going to punish you,” I
lick up the slim column of her throat, finding her ear to nip and
tease, whispering low.

“I’m going to make you come your brains
out.”

Lacey’s body shocks in my arms, and then I
capture her mouth in a blazing kiss.

God, she tastes so good, the sweetness of her
scent and the burning traces of tequila, intoxicating. Dangerous. I
groan, parting her lips and plunging my tongue deep into her mouth,
devouring her. Lacey gasps against me, wrapping her arms around my
neck, pressing her breasts against my body, moulding to my form. I
kiss her harder, gripping the soft flesh of her thighs to wrap her
legs around my waist, feeling the ache of my cock screaming for
release, pressed between her thighs.

I could drown like this, the cold water lapping
sensually at our bodies; the dim light and hush leaving nothing but
our gasps, ravenous, hungry for more. Lacey bucks against me, and I
can feel the tight buds of her nipples, hard against my chest. God,
I want to feel every inch of her, taste those stiff, rosy nipples;
make her scream and pant. I slide a hand up between us, grazing her
breasts, then stroking, harder, palming the weight of them, so lush
and fucking perfect. Lacey gasps against my mouth, and I close my
thumb and forefinger around her nipple, squeezing, rolling the
sensitive nub until she throws back her head and cries out with
need.

Fuck
.

I growl, dipping my head, biting and licking at
her neck as I reach lower, sliding up her thigh, finding the
blazing heart of her, so wet and ready. She lifts her head to meet
my eyes. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright and dazed, liquid
with desire. So alive. So beautiful. So fucking beautiful.

I slowly stroke across her tender skin.

Lacey’s mouth drops open in a silent gasp. I
hold her gaze, seeing everything, every tremor that rolls across
her face as I stroke again, slow, deep circles, over and over that
make Lacey whimper and writhe in my arms.

Jesus. I’ve never been so turned on in my life,
watching her feel this, sending her closer to the edge. She’s
tight, so wet I could lose myself here forever, but I want more, my
whole body is demanding more. All of her. Now.

I lock my arm around her waist and then kick off
for the side of the pool, moving us to the shallow water. I lift
her body, laying her out beneath me on the steps. Her skin glistens
with the water, luscious curves temping me in the moonlight, but I
force myself to take a ragged breath and hold back.

Not yet, not yet.

I kiss her, deep, running a possessive hand over
her skin, from the curve of her neck down over her breasts,
tracing, teasing, until Lacey is moaning into my mouth, her body
bucking under my touch. I trace lower, back to that wet, aching
spot that makes her tremble, stroking her again and again so she’s
panting and undone. I want to turn her inside out, make her beg for
me. I want her crazy and wanting, as reckless as she’s made me.

“Daniel!”

Her voice echoes in a desperate cry as I close
my lips around her nipple and suck.

Fuck
. She feels so good,
pert and sweet in my mouth. I flick my tongue against her nipple
and she cries out again, her body rising against my hands, tense
and aching. She’s close, I can feel it in the quick pants of her
breaths, the sound of her moans. My cock aches, my whole body is a
haze of lust, and I swear, I’ve never felt so fucking alive,
driving her wild here in the hushed blue light.

I need her.

I kiss her mouth again, hard, branding myself on
her lips. I keep stroking between us, relentless, finding that
secret spot, the tender nub, gently tormenting her with my fingers
over and over until she’s writhing and crazy.

Then I stop.

Lacey’s eyes flash open. She whimpers with need,
but I hold back, braced above her, feeling her body clench and buck
against my hand. I watch her gorgeous face, feeling a surge of
power that could blot out the sun.

I’m
making her feel this
way.
I’m
the one driving her wild. My
hands, my body.

Lacey moans again, needy, and I gasp for air.
The desire crashing through me is a revelation, something wild and
primal, from a dark, dangerous place inside me I never even knew
existed. I want to throw her down and bury myself inside her, over
and over. I want to fuck her brains out, until I’m the only one,
the only one she ever wants.

I want to own her, completely.

Mine
.

The thought slips through the haze of lust, but
I don’t have time to register it, not when I’m about two seconds
from losing all control. I let out a groan, lowering my mouth to
claim hers again, and stroking between her thighs, swift strong
circles against her, feeling her body rise to me again until I
slide one, then two fingers deep inside her.