The Sunday Arrangement (9 page)

“I
know what you mean,” he said. His eyes locked on mine, and my breath caught at
the intensity I saw within his stare. How did he always do that? He’d become
serious and concentrated, leaving me breathless, wondering what he was thinking
about.

He
quickly stood up and shifted his seat beside mine. “Better view,” he mumbled.
Although his back had been at an odd angle with the stage, I couldn’t help but
hope he wanted to be closer to me. Maybe, just maybe, he too felt the heat
between us.

The
lights around us dimmed, and the lights in the tanks brightened. It was as if
we were really seeing the aquatic life for the first time. The water was so
clear, so vivid. Two swimmers clad in bizarre mermaid costumes and oxygen tanks
swam into view. Ariel wore a long, red wig and a low-cut seashell bra, a little
more adult than the Disney original. A spotlight shone on a man standing at a
podium on stage.

“Welcome
to Club Oasis,” he said. The narrator’s voice resonated throughout the theater
as several people applauded in eager anticipation. “Sit back and relax. You’re
about to see the tale of
The Little Mermaid
and what happened when she
asked Ursula for what she really wanted from Prince Eric.”

“I
wonder what she really wanted,” Pierce whispered in my ear.

“Once
upon a time, there was a beautiful mermaid named Ariel,” the narrator began.
His voice was strong and captivating. “Ariel seemed like such a sweet little
girl to everyone in the mermaid kingdom. She was innocent to the many
temptations of the sea.”

More
swimmers came into view inside the tank. Like Ariel, all of them were wearing
seashell bras and long, flowing wigs. Each of the mermaids held a white
rectangular sign. Lust, greed, sexual fantasy, fornication—all representing a
different path in the world. They swam in a circle around Ariel, moving their
signs in front of her face in a choreographed movement.

“Until
one day,” the narrator continued, “Ariel saw a handsome merman. His dark hair,
washboard abs, and seductive gaze made Ariel feel explorative. She was ready
for an adventure.

“Little
Ariel didn’t know what to do with herself. She had never been with a merman
before.”

I
tried to focus on the erotic story in front of me: the elaborate choreography
between the two actors in the water, the beautiful creatures that surrounded
them, the dynamic voice of the narrator on stage, the sexual movement of the
actors in the tank. But I couldn’t.

Pierce
leaned in close. I felt his warm breath against my neck. “This is turning you
on. Admit it,” he whispered in my ear.

I
could feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment. Why was he speaking this way? He
was so close. Thankful he couldn’t see my face well in the dark light, I stared
at the table. “You planned this,” I whispered back before I could stop myself.

“Actually,
I had no idea how erotic this little fish tale was going to get,” he said. “But
I can’t say that I’m disappointed.” He glanced at the tank. My eyes followed. The
Little Mermaid was now pushed up against the tank receiving spankings from her
handsome merman.

“Admit
it though,” he whispered again. “This is getting you hot.” He placed his hand
on my upper thigh. His fingers, warm to my skin, slowly squeezed my leg as if
he was forcing an answer from me.

I
shuddered at his touch.
Was this really happening? Did he actually want me?
I surprised myself by not immediately shirking away from his grip. In spite of Kat’s
warning text, my own doubts about mixing business with pleasure, and the
surefire field day the press would have with this information if it was leaked,
I couldn’t help but cave to the heat radiating from his subtle touch. It was
electric and magnetic, intense and irresistible. Captivating me, the slight
movement of his fingers catapulted me from that dim room in the middle of a
club to a dark room all our own. Doubt became my mind’s stranger as I toyed
with the idea of letting Pierce pierce me where I wanted it most—the very idea
that I hadn’t been able to shake since the day he and his father showed up at
Hart Corp.

I
frowned. “What are you doing?”

He
grinned but didn’t remove his hand.

“We
work together, Pierce . . . we can’t . . .” I struggled to sound doubtful,
afraid even. Even I didn’t believe the pretense I forced from my lips.

“I’ve
seen you, Lauren,” he said softly. “You’ve been staring at me the same way I’ve
been staring at you the past two days.”

I
looked into his dark eyes. The narrator’s voice and the aquatic tanks we were
so enraptured by only moments ago were now a distant thought. It was as though
we were the only people in the room. Heat from my chest spread throughout my
body as I allowed his heavy words to truly sink in. Could this possibly be
true?

He
licked his lips. “It’s Sunday. We have tomorrow off, remember.”

“What
does tomorrow have to do with anything?” I pushed his hand off my leg, the very
opposite of what I wanted to do. A bolt of clarity washed over me. I forced myself
to concentrate on the many reasons I couldn’t sleep with Pierce Maverick. Not
now. Not in Vegas. Not ever. “I don’t know about your father, but mine would
kill me if this reached the press.”

“Who
says it’s going to get leaked?” He shrugged. His nonchalant behavior made me
crazy. Was his arrogance and confidence about our potentially scandalous
behavior really turning me on? God, it must be nice not to care what the press
would do . . . what our fathers would do . . . “We’ll just have to initiate a
no-Monday’s policy. Then we’ll have an entire day to catch up,” he said. “I
promise you won’t regret being with me.”

I
ignored his last comment and tried to return to the show, which wasn’t the best
choice; the intensity of the production had just reached an entirely new level
of eroticism. Was the merman really motor-boating the underwater Disney
princess? Her breasts bobbed in the water, and I found myself strangely aroused
by the entire scene.

Pierce’s
soft hand touched my knee. Instinctively, I brushed it off and sent him a
half-hearted glare that he probably couldn’t even see in the dim light. My mind
waged a war with my hormones. Every fiber of my being wanted to throw myself
into Maverick’s manly arms and beg him to whisk me back to his condo. I wanted
to be like the mermaid in the tank, captivated and dominated by the sexual
merman with the really long tail. But a quiet voice in my head told me to
resist him at all costs.
What will Dad think? What will the tabloids say?
My hormones were winning the battle over my logical self-warnings to flee.

While
the underwater actors shared a heated kiss, Pierce put his arm around my
shoulder. His thumb softly stroked the bare skin of my shoulder. His hand was warm
and gentle, sending sensations throughout my entire body.
If this is what he
can do with just a thumb . . .
I wondered what he was up to, why the sudden
urge to be with me, and even more, why I was falling for it.

He
leaned over again and whispered closer to my ear. His hot breath traveled over
my skin, and I whimpered with desire. “It looks like that actress really wants
him, doesn’t it?” he asked teasingly. I couldn’t deny it—the Little Mermaid had
heat in her eyes for the actor in front of her that wasn’t easy to fake. It
made me want to feel the same anticipation, the same thrill of experiencing
what he would do to her. That moment, right before you feel your partner enter inside
of you—the anticipation, the build up—was always my favorite part of sex.

His
hand returned to my thigh, and this time, I didn’t push it away. I didn’t want
to. It moved underneath my dress and farther up my thigh until his fingers
touched the lace of my tiny black thong. It had been so long. . . . The logic
in my head quickly faded into the background as my arousal took hold of me. I
could hardly breathe as his fingers gently rubbed the front of my panties. He
was teasing me, arousing me. And I was in no mood to stop him.

“Let’s
get out of here,” he whispered.

“Please,”
I responded breathlessly. I didn’t want this to end. Pierce was offering me a
night of sexual pleasure, and I couldn’t resist the strong desire welling
within me to explore every inch of his sure-to-be incredible body. The
impulsive, lustful side of me won, and I gave in faster than I had wanted to.
“Let’s go back to my place,” I offered.

He quickly
stood from the table, threw some cash on top of the linen tablecloth for the
bottle of wine and our meals that had not yet arrived, and left the club through
the same door we had entered not too long ago. I followed with anxious steps,
ready and willing to take this leap with him. It wasn’t love that prompted me
forward. It wasn’t even like. It was a burning lust that even I, a workaholic
loner whose only relationship was with a bedazzled planner, couldn’t ignore. I wasn’t
sure if the sex would even be worth it, and I knew that it was probably not the
wisest decision, but I had to find out. I knew I’d regret it forever if I
didn’t discover what being wrapped in the arms of the naked young millionaire
Maverick was like.

As soon as we were in
the private elevator of my apartment complex, I fumbled in my bag for the badge
that would give us access to my penthouse condo. The urgency behind my
movements made me clumsy. I couldn’t get the pink leather wallet open. I hoped
Pierce was too busy fantasizing about reaching the top floor to notice my
obvious distraction. Finally I found the badge, tucked away in the crevices of the
wallet. Before I had time to change my mind about having Pierce in my condo, I
swiped the badge decisively and the doors to the elevator closed with a
finality. At last, we were alone. The button on top of the elevator door lit
up, and the sexual goddess within me did as well. I was awake and alive, ready
and willing for anything.

I stared at Pierce
nervously, hungrily. My heavy breaths were loud in the small space between us. Within
moments, he cupped my face and pulled me close. We were like two magnets drawn
together with a force that even we could not break. His lips quickly found mine.
They were soft and gentle, just as I had imagined. But he was forceful,
ravenous even. He commanded the kiss, and I allowed him to take the lead. With
any other man, this would be a complete turnoff for me, but with Pierce, essentially
my rival on this project, it had a powerful effect. I wanted to be dominated. I
wanted him to lead. Somehow it turned me on as if I were a virgin intrigued by
her first sexual encounter. My panties became damp with this newfound
awakening.

The subtle touch of
his warm tongue, wandering around the inside of my mouth, sent me to a new
level of arousal. My fingers tightened around the small curls at the nape of
his neck as he took my mouth in his. I wanted to stop him, to slow everything
down so that I could savor every stroke, every brush, and every heartbeat in
this moment. I wanted to relish this passionate embrace in the middle of an
elevator, something I had always fantasized about. And yet, feeling his
muscular body pushed up against mine, I wanted to devour him even more. It was as
if I’d been sleeping for years, only to wake thirsty. Incredibly thirsty. I’d
do anything for a sip of that tall drink of water.

Effortlessly, he
lifted me up and pressed me against the wall of the elevator. He was hurried
and passionate. The mirrored wall was cold against my skin, but I hardly
noticed. My legs tightly wrapped around his hips. My thigh grazed the front of his
pants, and, for a brief moment, I felt something hard. And big, so incredibly
big. Somehow I managed to stay in control. His strong hands tightly gripped my
ass against the elevator wall. He pushed my dress up past my thighs, and I
wondered if he could feel the heat resonating off me. His fingers toyed, once
again, with the tip of my lace thong. Gently, he stroked. Back and forth, back
forth. He was teasing me with his fingers, all the while distracting me with
his artful tongue.

His mouth slowly
moved down to my neck, and my hands grasped his shoulders. I bit my lip and let
out a small whimper. Everything he did felt so good. So right. It had been so
long since I’d been with a man, but this was unlike anything I had done before.
This was primal, necessary, and beyond heated. It was like a stranger had taken
over my body, willing it to do as she pleased, not caring for the consequences,
seeking only pleasure. I stole a glance at our embrace in the mirror as Pierce
kissed my neck. Hardly recognizing the woman I saw in the reflection, the sight
turned me on even more.

The elevator dinged,
and he hurriedly carried me out into the pristine living room. “Where?” he
asked.

I pointed to the L-shaped,
white sofa near the center of the room. “Over there. On the couch.” My voice
was breathless and rushed. The few steps he took across the large entertainment
room seemed endless. My body was practically shaking with desire. This was the
perfect spot, and I was ready to be entertained.

Finally, he gently placed
me on the sofa. With a flurry of movement, we undressed each other like
starving animals. I ripped off a few of his navy buttons as I tore his shirt
off. His pecs bulged, his muscles flexed. It was almost too much to take in. He
quickly sashayed me out of my dress, flipping the silk fabric over my head with
incredible ease. Soon I was in only my bra and my matching black lace panties.
I was so thankful I had opted for one of the only sexy sets of underwear I
owned, though I could never have anticipated the night unfolding like it was.