Desires (33 page)

Chapter Twelve

Sticky from sex and chocolate, Stacie decided to take a
bubble bath before the ball that evening. Dan elected for a shower and Stacie
lay back in the hot scented water, watching him.

He could even make a quick, business-like scrub look
sexy, she mused as she watched him lather up his hair before rubbing the wash-cloth
over his body. The water cascaded over his body, shining in the light. He
rinsed, putting his head under the water and closing his eyes against the drops
that ran down over his face. Stacie had no qualms about drinking in every
single naked wet inch of him. He got out the shower and grabbed a towel,
rubbing it over his head before wrapping it round his waist. He glanced at her.

“Do you want me to soap your back?” he said, walking over
and sitting on the edge of the bath.

“Might be nice,” she said, handing him the soap and a
bath puff. He squirted liquid soap on the puff and she sat up in the water,
leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. She felt him move the bath
puff firmly over her back, moving in circles. He rinsed her off with the tumbler,
dipping it full of water and pouring it over her back.

“All clean,” he announced, leaning over to kiss her on
her forehead. He stood up and went over to the sink. She watched him cover his
face in shaving foam and begin gliding the razor across his skin. Much as she
liked him with sexy designer stubble, she figured he would look equally
delicious clean-shaven.

He looked at her through the mirror, smiling back at her
“Is everything okay?” he asked her, swishing the razor in the water.

“Fine.” She squirted some more soap on the bath puff and
began to clean the rest of her body, sticking one leg out of the water to soap
it up.

“Are you looking forward to the ball?” he asked.

“I guess so.” Stacie soaped her other leg.

“It’s great fun.”

“What are the rules?”

“There are no rules really, just have a good time. If
you see something, or someone, that takes your fancy, go for it, provided the
other person is happy.”

It sounded like the cattle market that was the local
night club. Stacie couldn’t help but think about her feelings toward Dan. “What
about you?” she asked, a lump rising in her throat, dreading his answer. Would
he be looking for someone who took his fancy also?

“What about me?” he asked, wiping away the foam from his
face. He cleaned the sink, then turned around staring down at her. “I’ll be
hanging around. It’s your night to see if there’s something you fancy. Just
relax and go for it, this might give you that extra confidence you’re looking
for.”

Stacie wasn’t exactly eager to bed other men, but Dan
was still training her. He might be right, this might be the opportunity she’d
waited for. Mike was different, she hadn’t chosen him. Maybe she could find
someone to have some fun with. At least at Desires there were no relationships or
feelings to worry about, just pure explicit fun.

“Okay,” she replied, not feeling a hundred percent sure,
but prepared to give it a try.

Dan smiled and left the bathroom. Stacie soaped the rest
of her body absent-mindedly, thinking about her actions and how to deal with the
situation she was putting herself in. Stacie was drowning in his captivity,
reading God knew what meaning into his body language. She didn’t want to waste
the precious time with Dan by confessing her feelings. At least she would have the
enjoyment of spending the little time with him she had. The next twenty-four
hours were going to mean everything to her.

Stacie shampooed and conditioned her hair. Opening one
of the drawers of the small chest next to the bath, she found lady razors and
feminine shaving gel.
They really do
think of everything here
, she thought as she lathered up. Nothing worse
than giving your man stubble rash on his torso. After her bath, clean and
hairless, she wandered into the bedroom. Dan was nowhere to be seen so she
decided to relax on the bed while the towel on her head absorbed the excess
moisture from her hair. Images of Dan making love to her filled her mind as
soon as she closed her eyes.

She opened her eyes and jumped off the bed, grabbing the
remote and flicking on the television, anything to distract herself from these
thoughts. She stabbed the channel button, trying to find something to watch so
she could forget about him for a while. Maybe this ball was something she
needed. Maybe she would meet someone who might distract her and make her look
in another direction. But doubts kept entering her head. Could she voluntarily have
sex with a total stranger knowing Dan was somewhere around? But if it was the
key to breaking this pathetic obsession she had with Dan, it might be worth it.

Once the worst of the wetness had been absorbed, Stacie
began to dry her hair when she saw the door open through the mirror. Dan walked
in, two garment bags laid across his arm.

“Hello there. How are you getting on?” he asked. Then he
smiled and Stacie knew she was lost.

“Fine,” she said, grinning back inanely, while her common
sense screamed at her from the confines of her stupid brain.

“I have got your dress here,” he said, heading over to
the wardrobe and hooking the bags over the wardrobe door.

Stacie laid down her hairdryer and jumped off the stool,
rushing over to the wardrobe and bouncing on her toes like a little girl as Dan
slowly undid the zip of the dress cover.

“Wow,” she said, as he slid the cover off the floor-length
white satin dress.

The bust area was thickly encrusted with diamantes and
sparkled in the light. A trail of diamantes ran down to the stomach area, and
the skirt was liberally sprinkled with the glittering stones. Dan turned it
around to show her the long scoop back and small train. From the bottom of the
garment bag Dan pulled out a shoe box, opening it to reveal matching white
satin shoes, likewise decorated with diamantes.

“How did you know my shoe size?”

“I looked in your boots the other day.”

nzip;d g the other
garmetns her day."ecorated with diamantes. opening it to reveal whiteirl
as Dan
 
will be able to find it.
“What are you wearing?”

“Just a boring old tux,” he replied, unzipping the other
garment bag and showing her the suit. “Do you like the dress,” he said, looking
anxious.

“It’s absolutely stunning,” Stacie whispered. Dan
beamed. “But, do you think I can pull it off? I mean, I’ve never worn anything
like this. It’s like something a film star would wear to the Oscars or
something. I hardly dare touch it.”

“I think you’ll look sensational. But then you don’t
need that dress to do that,” he said and winked at her before flopping down on
the bed and turning the television on.

Stacie stood where she was, looking at the dress,
processing his comment. Was it a genuine compliment? Or was it just to flatter
her to make her wear the dress? Either way, it worked. How often did she have
the chance to dress up in a ball gown and look like a Hollywood A-
lister
?

She walked over to her bag, looking through the makeup she
had brought with her. A natural look tonight, she thought, soft and shimmery,
to complement the dress, not overshadow it. Stacie carried on drying her hair whilst
Dan started to get dressed. It was so easy for men, Stacie thought as she
watched him in the mirror putting on his trousers. All they had to do was
shower, shave and throw on some clothes and that was them done. He went into
the bathroom and splashed on some aftershave, the scent drifting through into
the bedroom. Stacie made a mental note to find out which brand he used, and
make every single boyfriend from now on wear it. It was divinely sexy. He came
back through and put on his shirt and bow tie, then his shoes and jacket. He
was dressed and she’d barely started. Mind you, it probably didn’t help that she’d
been staring at him in the mirror instead of getting ready. He straightened
himself up and checked out his reflection in the full length mirror.

“What do you think,” he said, coming over to her.

“Not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Will I do?”

“Just about, I should think.”

He went over to the table and poured two glasses of
wine, bringing hers over as she started on her makeup. He watched her for a
while as he drank his glass, gulping it down pretty quickly, she thought as she
took a mouthful of hers before she applied her lipstick.

“I just need to pop downstairs for a few minutes,” he
said, putting the empty glass on the dresser. “I’ll leave you to finish getting
ready.”

“Okay, thanks,” she replied. He leaned over and kissed
her on the cheek. She shivered, just the feel of his lips pressed against her
flesh was enough to send her crazy.

Dan left the room and Stacie turned her attention back
to her makeup and her dilemma. No matter how hard she tried to get over or
ignore her feelings for him, the hole appeared to be getting deeper. Could he
have looked any better tonight? Was he deliberately making her crave him?

Stacie moved over to the dress, gazing at it, imagining
exactly how the dress would hang on her. She took the dress off its hanger and
moved over to the full-length mirror, holding it up in front of her. Thank
goodness she managed to get to a tanning studio when possible, otherwise the
pure white would have made her look ill.

Stacie put the dress back on the wardrobe door, then sat
at the dresser debating how to have her hair. She rummaged in the drawers and
found a new pack of hairgrips, so she decided on a French pleat with a swept
fringe at the front. She neatly pinned her hair up, then reverently took the
dress off its hanger. She put her feet into the dress, bringing it slowly up
her body until it reached her waist. She eased the bust area over her breasts,
settling it low enough to give her a devastating cleavage. The dress had an
almost magical inner support she found as she zipped it up the side, holding
her breasts up and projecting them out quite magnificently.

She turned her back to the mirror, craning to look over
her shoulder. The deep scoop at the back left her back fully naked with the
train trailing on the floor. The front of the skirt sat slightly higher, so she
wasn't likely to trip over it, which was a good thing.

Her breasts looked dazzling—they were certainly going to
get attention. She may as well not have bothered making up her face, certainly
no one would be looking at it, with those boobs in eyeshot.

Stacie slipped her feet into the shoes. The four-inch
heels were surprisingly comfortable, although whether they still would be after
a night of dancing remained to be seen. She did look pretty good though, she
thought, giving a twirl. She heard the door open and waited till Dan was fully
in the room before turning to give him the full effect. His eyes widened and
his mouth dropped open quite satisfactorily, and he gaped at her for a full
thirty seconds, she judged, before he managed a stunned, “Wow!” He came over to
look at her from all angles. “You look sensational,” he said, stealing a
mouthful of her wine. “How do you feel?”

“I feel good.”

“I don’t think I have ever seen such a beautiful
creature,” he said as he admired her.

“Does that mean I normally look terrible?”

“Oh, yeah, awful. I’d be ashamed to be seen out with
you,” he teased, his eyes twinkling. “But there is something missing,” he
continued, his face turning serious.

“What?” Stacie asked, worried.

“I bought you a present,” he said, drawing out a long
blue jeweller’s box from his inside pocket.

“A present? For me?”

“Now, don’t get excited,” he warned as she took the box
and opened it. “They aren’t real diamonds!”

“I should think not,” Stacie said, as she gazed down at
the stunning drop earrings and graduated bib necklace in the box. “If these
were real diamonds you’d probably have to mortgage your life away to pay for
them.”

“Do you like them?”

“I love them. Thank you,” Stacie looked up at Dan’s
happy face. She took a step toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek.

“Here, let me put it on.”

Dan took the box off her and removed the necklace.
Stacie turned back to the mirror and watched as Dan draped the necklace over
her collarbones and fastened it at the back of her neck. It looked stunning,
even if they were only cubic
zirconias
. She put on
the matching earrings.

“You look absolutely amazing,” Dan said in her ear. She
met his eyes in the mirror. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Shall we go?”

Stacie turned and took the arm he held out to her.
“Indeed.”

They left the room and made their way down the corridor.
Music emanated from the grand hall and Stacie began to feel excited. Another
couple came out of a room. Stacie and the other woman gave each other that
discreet once-over, evaluating each other’s outfits. The other woman wore a
bright pink strapless dress with a massive meringue skirt. She looked like a
blancmange. Like Dan, her guy was dressed in a tuxedo. Stacie indulged herself
in a little smugness, feeling she had won the tacit competition. Her dress was
far classier and sexier than the woman in pink. They smiled, acknowledging each
other, then continued their journey down the corridor.