Perfect for the Beach (11 page)

“Soon after my parents’ divorce was finalized, my father married a younger woman, which completely devastated my mother,” she went on, and shook her head in annoyance as they started strolling along the beach again. “She was at such a loss without my father, since she’d spent over ten years being completely devoted to him. She’d been a stay-at-home wife, very passive and always trying to please my father, to the point that I was sometimes an afterthought. She’d also depended on him for everything, and once she was on her own she didn’t know what to do, or how to support herself.”

Her lips flattened into a thin line, her frustration over her mother’s inability to stand on her own two feet obvious. “So, instead of getting a job or trying to better herself, she found another man to take care of her, and when that didn’t work out, she found another. It became a vicious cycle, and it got to the point that whenever she said she was
in love,
I’d cringe because I knew it was all so superficial and just a matter of having a man around to rely on.”

Alex listened quietly, intently, knowing there was more and wanting to hear it all.

With a sigh, she threaded her fingers through her tousled hair before speaking again. “As I grew older, I learned to equate that emotion with being weak and vulnerable and dependent. Mainly, on a man. It’s what I saw with my mother on a regular basis and lived with until I graduated from high school, and by that time I swore I’d never put myself in the kind of position my mother had.”

So much clicked into place for Alex, especially a greater understanding of Dana’s driven, strong-willed personality and why she felt the undeniable need to be so disciplined and in control of everything in her life. Including their relationship.

“You’re nothing like your mother,” Alex assured her. “And you know me well enough to realize that I’m not anything like the men in her life, or that I’d ever ask you to give up anything for me.”

When she made no reply, he pressed his advantage. “Another thing I know with certainty is that what you feel for me isn’t anything superficial. And maybe that’s what scares you so much, because real love means laying yourself bare and believing that the person you care so deeply about will always be there for you, no matter what, and making that leap takes a bigger amount of trust than walking away with your heart and emotions intact.”

She gave him a wavering smile. “You’re right,” she whispered.

And he hated that he was. “So I guess the biggest issue that remains between us is you trusting in me. In all ways. Physically and emotionally, and with your heart and soul.”

And tonight, he planned to put her to the ultimate test.

Chapter Five

Wearing a sexy black cocktail dress, and ready for her evening with Alex, Dana headed out of the suite’s bedroom, only to find the living room empty and Alex gone. She frowned, then caught sight of a single long-stemmed red rose on the coffee table, along with a folded piece of stationery with her name on it.

Recognizing Alex’s handwriting, she picked up the note and read what he’d written inside:
Meet me down in the hotel bar. Love, Alex.

Curious, and more than a little intrigued to find out what kind of game Alex was playing, she took the elevator to the main floor, then headed into the hotel bar, named the Lobby Lounge. Once inside, she glanced around, searching for her date.

He was nowhere to be found.

The establishment was spacious, with a large bar, intimate sitting areas, and live musical entertainment. Dana went ahead and chose a vacant table and sat down to wait for Alex to join her.

A waitress came by to take her order; Dana smiled at the young woman and told her that she was waiting for someone, and she’d order a drink when he arrived. With a nod, the waitress moved on to another table.

Ten minutes later the woman returned and placed a drink on the table in front of her. Before Dana could tell her she’d made a mistake, the woman grinned and spoke first.

“The drink is from that good-looking guy at the bar dressed all in black,” the waitress told her, and pointed out which man she was referring to.

Dana glanced past the woman, prepared to refuse the drink, until she saw Alex sitting on a barstool. Sure enough, he was dressed in a black shirt and pants, and he looked sexy as hell.

He grinned like a rogue and raised his own glass to her in a silent toast, then downed the rest of the contents.

She stared at him in stunned disbelief, trying to figure out his angle, along with his pretense of being a stranger buying her a drink—which she admittedly found to be an exciting and potentially erotic prospect with Alex.

When Dana took too long to formulate a response, the waitress came to her own conclusions about her silence. “I’m sorry. Did you want me to tell him you refused the drink?”

Dana immediately shook her head. “No, I’ll take it,” she said, and glanced back at the cocktail Alex had sent her, which didn’t look like anything she’d ever had before. “What kind of drink is this?”

Amusement glimmered in the other woman’s eyes. “It’s called a Screaming Orgasm,” she said before heading back to the bar to pick up another drink order.

Dana nearly groaned at that, and gave Alex credit for being so innovative—with the drink and this seductive adventure of his.

Deciding to play along and have fun with the fantasy, Dana raised her glass and acknowledged Alex with a sultry smile. She mouthed the words “thank you” before taking a drink of the creamy, sweet-tasting drink, recognizing the rich, smooth flavors of amaretto, Irish cream, and vodka.

After that initial first sip, she slowly licked her lips and coyly touched her fingers to the swells of her breasts above the low-cut neckline of her dress. Her nipples hardened in response, and she let her lashes fall halfmast, in a way that told Alex just how hot and aroused all this role-playing was making her.

For the next half hour they flirted back and forth from a distance, teasing one another with their eyes and body language, and heightening the desire and anticipation building between them.

Her waitress came by again, blocking Dana’s view of Alex.

“That guy is really hot for you,” the other woman said with a speculative raise of an eyebrow. “You’re a lucky girl. There have been at least three women that have tried to get his attention, but he’s not interested in anyone but you.” With that, she presented Dana with a sealed envelope. “He asked me to deliver this to you.”

“Thank you,” Dana murmured.

As soon as the waitress left her table and Dana was alone once again, she opened the envelope and pulled out the contents—a keycard to their suite, and another note, which she unfolded and read.

I want you. In my bed. In my heart. In my future. Come to my room for an evening filled with erotic pleasures and forbidden desires. If you dare.

Dana’s heart pounded hard and fast in her chest, seemingly rendering her breathless as she glanced back toward the bar—only to find Alex gone. He’d set the stage for an elaborate seduction, as well as her emotional and physical surrender, but he was leaving the decision to take this provocative fantasy to the next level up to her.

Oh God, could she do this and give Alex what she knew this night would mean to him? She realized she was at a crossroad in her relationship with Alex and had to make a choice that would irrevocably change the course of her life after tonight. She could either trust in Alex with everything she was, or she could end this dare of his right now and end up alone.

Possibly forever.

It was that thought that frightened her most of all. A life without Alex in it.

Their discussion this afternoon filtered through her mind, and she knew this was where she had to make that leap of faith and trust in Alex, to give herself over to him in all ways and hold nothing back. Because there was no doubt in her mind that Alex would be in charge of tonight’s seduction, and she’d be
his
willing slave. In all ways.

Minutes later she was standing in front of their suite door, smiling at the DO NOT DISTURB sign Alex had already put out for the housekeeper. Obviously, he planned to keep her very busy—tonight through tomorrow morning.

Without hesitating, she used the key card and stepped inside the adjoining living room. The suite was dark, except for a soft glow of light beckoning her to the bedroom. Setting her purse down, she headed in that direction and found Alex reclining in a chair in the corner of the room, waiting for her to arrive.

His long legs were stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, and his hands were clasped loosely in his lap. A slow, lazy smile eased up the corner of his mouth. “You came.” His voice, deep and low, sounded very pleased.

She stopped by the bed, facing him, feeling his hot eyes on her from across the room. “You knew I would.”

“There was always the possibility that you’d decided this isn’t what you wanted,” he said meaningfully. “You and I both know there’s nothing safe about tonight, and what I’m asking is a big risk for you.”

“And what risk is that?” she asked impetuously. “Sex with a stranger?”

He chuckled. “That, and submitting to
my
wishes and desires.” He waved a hand toward the four-poster bed, which had been turned down for the evening.

Her gaze shifted in the direction he’d indicated, taking in the props he’d laid across one of the pillows. A satin blindfold. Cream satin restraints. And a black feather tickler. She shivered at the thought of how he planned to put all those items to good use.

“Are you willing to take tonight as far as I want it to go?” he asked, bringing her attention back to him. “Are you prepared to do as I say and give me whatever I ask for?”

Her pulse quickened, sending a melting warmth swirling toward her quivering belly, and lower, between her thighs. This was it. The culmination of their weekend together. No more hiding from him or her own feelings. She was about to give him complete control and power, over her body, her heart, her emotions. Her very soul.

And she was ready to do so. Without reservation. Without fear.

“I’m yours to command, any way you wish.”

A satisfied light burned in his gaze. “Then remember this. No touching unless I say you can. Now take off your shoes, then your dress.”

After slipping both of her strappy heels off, she slowly skimmed one shoulder of her dress down and off her arm, then the other, exposing her bare breasts since she hadn’t been wearing a bra. Her nipples were already tight and aching, and she hooked her fingers into the rest of the fabric and shimmied it over her hips and let it fall to the floor at her feet, leaving her clad only in a pair of skimpy black panties.

“Very nice,” he murmured appreciatively. Standing, he took off his own shirt and tossed it aside as he closed the distance between them, his features bold and masculine and breathtakingly sexy.

She only had a handful of seconds to admire his broad shoulders and well-toned chest before he slid his hand around to the nape of her neck and tipped her face up to his. He slanted his mouth across hers, kissing her with an intensity and primitive hunger that branded and possessed. She whimpered, wanting to touch him all over, and had to force herself to obey his request to keep her hands to herself.

Long minutes later, he slowed the deep kiss, his tongue hot and soft as it lazily chased hers. He gently bit her bottom lip, tugged on it, and suckled it into his mouth until she was moaning and arching toward him in an attempt to rub her breasts against his chest.

He stopped before she could manage to do so. Taking a step back, he grinned wickedly at her. “Sit down on the bed.”

She settled herself on the edge of the mattress, and he nudged her feet apart and stepped in between the vee of her spread legs, so that she was eye-level with the thick bulge straining against the fly of his trousers. He unbuckled his belt, opened his pants, and freed his erection. She licked her bottom lip in anticipation.

He rubbed the head of his shaft along that slick moisture and pushed her lips farther apart to gain entrance into her mouth. “Caress my balls and suck my cock.”