High Stakes Seduction - Book 3 (2 page)

But first, I headed towards the pool deck, intending to enjoy the sunshine, and get in a quick and refreshing dip. The weather was so perfect. I didn’t even need to towel off, letting the warm breeze do the work for me. It wasn't long before I threw on my sun dress and picked up my camera again.

I wandered the deck, taking random shots of the people still onboard enjoying themselves. It was sparse, with most of the passengers out on the island for a few hours.

Over by the shuffleboard games a small group of men stood chatting. They were all dressed in typical cruise attire—shorts, button down shirts—yet somehow they didn’t quite seem to fit with the rest of the typically cheerful and relaxed crowd. Despite their attire, and even though they were actually playing the game, they somehow seemed intense, isolated, out of touch with everything around them.

I watched them for a while, noticing the deference they all gave to one man in particular, He was solemn and quite distinguished looking. Something about him was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. The grouping made for a really interesting juxtaposition as I peered through the lens.

I suddenly felt conspicuous—peering at them through my camera. I decided that was enough and headed back to our suite to see what I could set up for our trip to Europe.

***

Later, emails sent and travel agents contacted, I wandered through the lobby in search of something to keep me busy. I was surprised to notice Antonio deep in conversation with a couple of the men from the shuffleboard game. I watched for a few minutes while standing back, out of the way, so I wouldn't be seen.

If this was, indeed, a business trip and I was his… associate, why wasn’t he introducing me to these people? Something about these men made me uneasy. It brought back that strange investors meeting he’d asked me to attend shortly before we’d left on this cruise. He’d asked my opinion about those businessmen, but they'd all seemed rather shady to me. He'd smiled when I gave him my opinion, but maybe he hadn’t liked what I had to say. Was he concerned that I might say the wrong thing in whatever business dealings he was having with these men?

Well, if sex wasn't the reason -which didn’t appear to be the case -and business dealings weren't the reason, then why bother to invite me on this trip at all?

"Ange, what’s wrong?" Maria demanded, cutting through the small talk on our Skype call.

Much to my increasing guilt, I’d done a pretty good job of pretending that everything was going wonderfully with Antonio and me, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer. My big sister knew me better than anyone in the world. She could always tell when I was hiding something. She had an uncanny ability to see right through me.

"You’re not happy, are you," she asked, peering at me with narrowed eyes. "Have you and Antonio had a fight? Or something?"

Actually, I think he’s involved with the Mafia and has spent the entire trip either gambling or meeting up with shady businessmen. And every time things start to get hot and heavy between us, he suddenly backs off like I’m an evil witch out to suck his soul away.

"Or something," I managed, stifling my true thoughts.

Maria frowned at me.

"I don’t know, Maria," I said, letting my shoulders sag with the weight of it all. I didn't want to tell her the truth about working for Antonio to pay off our debts, let alone coming on this trip as a way to pay for her surgery. She’d be so mad at me. But maybe it would help get some of the confusion and anxiety off my chest.

"He’s spent most of the trip gambling. I hardly see him. It’s starting to feel just like Dad all over again. And when I do see him, things are—well I don’t even know. He seems totally into me one minute, then the next minute, it’s like there’s something holding him back, like maybe there's something wrong with me. I’m not sure what to do."

Maria shrugged. "Be yourself," she said simply.

"Well gee, I hadn’t thought of that," I said with an exaggerated frown.

Maria waved away my sarcastic comment and laughed. "Ange," she said in her big sisterly tone. "You are the smartest woman I know. And you’re drop dead gorgeous. If your tall, dark and handsome is having trouble making up his mind about you, then take it into your own hands. Put on something really sexy, put your hair up the way he likes it, and go for it!"

I stared at her for a moment, not sure what to say. Was it really so simple? That was what I thought I’d been trying to do. Sort of. At least that was my intent. Maybe I wasn’t being as persuasive or straightforward as I could be.

I kept telling myself he was the one who'd been pulling back. But then, in my nervousness to please, I’d also been holding back. Oh, I didn’t need to be as domineering as that Naomi woman who had hung on him at the charity art event, but I could certainly be more assertive. Even with a man who seemed to thrive on being the one always in control.

Maybe that was just it. Antonio spent every waking hour in control of everything. Maybe what he really needed was a woman who would be a match for him.

Am I strong enough to be that woman? I shivered, thinking delicious thoughts of taking the reins from him.

"Well?" Maria's voice pulled me back. "What do you say, Sis?"

A big smile spread across my face. Yes, I could put more strategic effort into this. I'd seen other women curl a man around their finger. With a little bit of planning, I could be that kind of woman. I'd already made up my mind about what I wanted. All I had to do was figure out how to make sure he didn't have a chance to undermine my plans. "You’re right, Sis. It’s time for me to take back control of my own destiny."

"Good,” she said with a bright smile and a wink. “I'd hate to see you waste such a good looking hunk of man. Go get him, princess.”

When had Maria become my personal cheerleader?

Twenty minutes later, I was at the boutique where Antonio had picked out the dress for our dinner with the captain. Goodness, that seemed ages ago! I glanced over at the couch where he’d so sensuously placed the gorgeous slippers onto my feet. An involuntary tensing of my leg reminded me of the electricity that had run up from his fingers at his gentle touch.

"Anything I can help you with, Miss?" asked the clerk. "Another evening gown perhaps?" It was the same clerk who’d been there that afternoon.

"Not this time," I said, trying not to sound as nervous or naïve as I felt. I glanced at the lingerie rack.

"Ah," she said with a twinkle in her hazel eyes. "Something for a little later in the evening. Do you have a preference? Or might I offer you some recommendations I think would suit your figure and skin tone?"

In some ways I would have much rather done this on my own, but something about the woman reminded me of my friend Nevia from the store. Nevia was an excellent clerk who'd done a wonderful job of picking out "barely there" underwear for me. Thinking of my friend made me lose some of my self-consciousness. "I’d like something lacy in purple," I said, willing myself to be confident in my decision. "Perhaps something reminiscent of that burlesque show performed on the ship?"

"I have something I think you'll like," the clerk replied, heading into the small room behind the register.

***

Back in the suite, I took apart the skillfully wrapped package and held up the delicate collection of ribbons and sheer satin. I glanced at the clock. It was still early. Antonio was probably immersed in his "meeting" and would be busy for a while.

I was so excited I couldn’t help myself. I undressed quickly and slipped on the teeny tiny panties. I let the soft fabric of the top glide over my skin, luxuriating in the sensual feel as I tied the violet ribbons that barely held the pieces together across my stomach and breasts. Then I carefully rolled on silky stockings, running my hands up my calves and thighs before attaching the garter straps to the lacy tops of the stockings.

I stood to admire myself in the corner mirror, piling my long, amber curls on top of my head and twisting from side to side to get the full view.

If I couldn't get Antonio to fall all over himself when he saw me in this…

I smiled at myself in the mirror, my breasts aching at the mere thought of Antonio. I imagined his fingers running over my firm nipples, barely hidden beneath the translucent material. I sucked in my breath as I imagined him tracing an electric finger along the bare skin of my stomach, inching his way slowly down to my panties and the warm, wet treasure that awaited him there. Then he would tug at the ribbons, first with his fingers, and then with his teeth as he—

My warm, wet fantasy was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door to our suite opening. I hadn’t expected Antonio back so early, but did that matter? I took a deep breath to calm myself. He had surprised me, yes, but that shock had not reduced the gentle throbbing between my thighs that was demanding attention. I centered my resolve and reached for the door, ready to invite him in to help me deal with those demands. Then I heard a deep voice.

It wasn’t Antonio’s.

"He needs to go," said the voice. "He’s seriously getting in the way and I'm tired of covering for him. We need to take him out of the picture."

My breath caught in my throat. Who the hell was in our suite? I looked around frantically, suddenly very conscious of my near nudity and feeling as though I’d been caught in some petty crime.

"He’s not playing ball, Mancini," said another voice, this one slightly higher and a bit whiny. "He needs to be reminded that we’re the ones who got him this far."

"Stephens has not made any claims against you." I recognized Antonio’s voice and breathed a small sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t alone in my suite with a couple of strange men who didn't belong here. Not that I understood why they were here now, with or without Antonio. What was he up to?

And who were they referring to? Was this Stephens our District Attorney, Brad Stephens? Why would they be talking about the DA? About our DA?

"Maybe not yet. But he certainly hasn’t done anything he was put in there to do, has he?" demanded the whiny voice.

"I think his being in office is interfering with our plans," said the first man. "He has to go."

"And how do you plan to take care of that?" Antonio said. "It’s unlikely he’ll be voted out of office in the coming election at this rate. Unless you’re planning to tie him to one of your less desirable businesses."

"No," snapped the whiny voice. "I don’t want his name anywhere near my business. It's bad enough he's on the Board of South Side Children's Academy. I don't trust him to keep his mouth shut about anything, and I certainly don’t plan to let him take any of us down with him. When he goes down, it’s him alone."

"You won't be able to use the Academy's funds for your pet project, you know," Antonio said.

"You don’t think we know that? That’s why we need Carmiante’s people. They have enough political sway to tip the scales."

I still had no idea what was going on, but I understood enough to decide that my original assessment of Carmiante in the meeting Antonio had invited me to had been right. I didn’t trust the man and now it seemed my instincts had been right on the money.

I kept my ear pressed against the door, but thankfully, Antonio escorted the men out a few moments later. I stood frozen there for at least a minute longer until I was absolutely certain they were all gone. I reached a trembling hand for the door handle once more, then stopped, looking down at my skimpy attire. Maybe I should get dressed first, I thought.

I toyed with the ribbon at my breast, pulling it slowly and feeling the smooth fabric fall open. In spite of the implications of what I’d just heard, I found myself suddenly wishing that Antonio would come back. And soon.

What have I gotten myself into? I wondered as I made my way aimlessly through the halls. I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt now, a little disappointed that I’d had to take off the sexy lingerie, but glad to be out of the room in case Antonio came back with those men. My mind was a mile away when I heard my name being called, apparently for a second time.

"Oh!" I said, stopping to greet the author I’d met at his seminar a few days earlier. "I’m so sorry."

"It’s all right," Thomas Markus smiled broadly, apparently very happy to see me. "I hope your thoughts were pleasant ones."

I returned his smile, praying it didn’t look as fake as it felt. "What are you up to this afternoon?" I asked, avoiding entirely the subject of my racy, but not so pleasant thoughts—and the man who inspired them.

"I was just about to go ashore for a quick visit. Would you care to join me?" He offered me his arm.

"Um, all right. But let’s stay close to the ship, if you don’t mind? I had a little incident at one of our last stops."

He raised his eyebrows at that. "Incident? Now that sounds like a story worth hearing. Why don't we get a drink and you can tell me about it."

I liked this man. He was easy to talk to, and he didn't scare me the way Antonio and his "friends" did.