Dangerous Pleasures (30 page)

“I know,” he responded. “And I will be gentle with her, and I’ll warn her so there are no surprises. I like the fact that I’m going where no man has gone before me.” He grinned down at Annie. “But I also like an experienced woman, too. Just thinking about little Mary has me all hot and bothered again. Wanna do it again, boss lady?”

“I think I’m insulted,” Annie told him, but she reached down to stroke his big cock with her skilled fingers. “But I’m also hot to be fucked again, Lars, so I’ll overlook my hurt feelings, and you’ll make me come and come and come. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said, reaching for a fresh condom as he peeled the old one off.

“Let me,” Annie said, taking the packet from his hand and opening it. His penis was turgid and swollen already. He must really be lusting for her assistant, she thought as her fingers stroked his thick length. She bent her head and nibbled the head of his dick with delicate teeth; then she sucked him briefly before encasing his penis in the condom. “There,” she said. “Now we’re ready to play, aren’t we?”

“You’ve really changed,” Lars told her, “since that first day you came to the Spa as its opening grand-prize winner. You were shy and very proper then. You aren’t shy, and you sure as hell aren’t proper anymore, Annie. You’ve turned into one wicked, sexy vixen. Maybe it’s really true that power corrupts.”

“I don’t think I’ve changed much,” she protested. “I’m just a working woman now, not a housewife. And everything I do is for my kids, so they can have a better life.”

“Everything?”
he asked as he slid his cock into her wet vagina.

“Well, almost everything.” Annie laughed. “Oh, God, that feels good. You are so deliciously big and hard. Now do me, Lars. Do me hard and do me deep. Make me scream and make me come. Not once. Not twice. I want to come three times.”

“Whatever you want, boss lady,” he told her. He pinioned her arms above her head with one hand, balancing himself with the other. Then he began to fuck her hard and fuck her deep. In short order Annie was moaning as she came once. He found her G-spot and worked it gently and teasingly. She swore at him as he brought her near, and then pulled back. His nails clawed him, and he laughed.

“Let me come, you bastard!” Annie swore at him again.

“You are such a greedy bitch,” he teased her, but he gave her what she wanted, and she panted with her release. “Ready for number three?” he wanted to know as his cock began to flash faster and faster within her.

“God, not yet!” she begged.

“Oh, yeah, sooner than later, because I’m going to explode if you don’t climb the mountain a third time, Annie.” He homed in on her most sensitive spots, and in short order she was moaning.

He was the most skilled lover, Annie thought as she felt herself beginning to soar again. It really was a shame he hadn’t wanted them to seduce little Mary tonight. But then, there would always be another time for that delicious treat. Lars liked good sex every bit as much as Annie had discovered she liked it. And multiple lovers were really the way to go.

C
HAPTER
T
EN

B
ut something had happened that December night, as Annie quickly discovered. Lars—big, stoic Lars—had fallen in love with Mary Finch that night. Annie almost laughed at the irony of it all. She had finally found a lover who wanted nothing more from her than good sex, and now, as he apologetically told her several days later, he was in love. “That’s wonderful!” she said to him. “But please be good to her, Lars.”

“I intend to marry her, Annie,” he said. “I know she’s younger than me—just nineteen—but she really is a good girl. We’re going out New Year’s Eve. I know that, having been in love yourself with your husband, you understand.”

“I do,” Annie replied. And she did, but it didn’t make it any easier. Well, at least in the Channel her lovers would stay with her as long as she wanted them. She was probably better off keeping her sex life where no one else could know about it. Connor would have gossiped about her, she was certain. But after Lars had put him in his car that night and he had driven off, no one had seen him again.
Good riddance to bad rubbish,
Annie thought.

The holiday had passed without further incident. She had let Amy go skiing in Colorado with Brittany and her parents. Amy was rather pleased that of all the girls Brittany might have taken, she had chosen Amy. The twins were consumed with doing research for their science fair project, and Wills was happy with Nanny Violet, who was now teaching Annie’s younger son to cook simple things.

“A man should always know how to make himself a nourishing meal,” Nanny Violet said. “I’m going to teach him how to do laundry, too.” She chuckled.

On January second Annie dressed with special care: a black lambswool sheath skirt and black cashmere turtleneck, over which she wore a bright red fitted wool jacket. She hadn’t been so thin in years, and she was relishing it. She was wearing red tights and black leather boots. She had on gold jewelry, although she had finally put her wedding ring into her jewelry box. She wasn’t married anymore. She was a widow.

“You look mah-vel-ous,” Nathaniel said to her in a plummy voice. “What’s the occasion, Mom?” He was home between semesters.

“Mr. Nicholas is coming today. He wants to see me in his office at ten a.m. I think I’m going to be made general manager of the Spa. Everyone thinks so,” Annie told him. “Nora Buckley’s been away a couple of months now, and no one thinks she’s coming back. She isn’t even in Egret Pointe right now.”

“Wow! You really have been on the fast track, Mom, haven’t you?” Nathaniel answered her. “Well, good luck then! But I suppose that means more time at the Spa, and less at home.” He sounded a little disapproving.

“Probably it does,” Annie agreed. “You can’t run something like the Spa and leave it to your underlings all the time. I have to be there to make certain everyone is doing what they should be doing. And look what I’ve been able to do for the family because of my job. I may be letting Lizzie help you through Princeton, but I’m going to be able to pay for Amy’s college. She talking about Yale or Skidmore. And with the grades she’s been getting she’s going to get in, Nathaniel. And at midwinter vacation Nanny is taking Wills and the girls to Arizona to visit Grandma and Grandpa. I’ve rented them an apartment for ten days there. Amy has all the right clothes now because of my job. She had the most adorable ski outfits when she went off with Brittany. Everything I do is for this family, Nathaniel. No one suffers. Nanny is here for me so I can do my job, and not worry.”

“The kids hardly see you at all, Mom. It used to be that you were at least home on the weekends, but since Ms. Buckley left the Spa you’re there practically twenty-four/seven,” Nathaniel told his mother. “If you want the promotion, I hope you get it. Just don’t forget you’ve got a few daughters and a little boy who need you. We all got on quite well without all these things you talk about.”

“We got on, as you put it, because your aunt and your grandparents helped us out. Part of me was grateful, but most of me hated taking their charity. It was almost like a rebuke to your father for not planning well and considering that he could die young. Now I pay all the bills. I send your sisters to camp. I buy their clothing,” Annie said. “I like being able to do these things. I don’t need anyone’s charity anymore. Everything I do is for the family, Nathaniel. I could pay for Princeton now, but it makes my sister happy to do it. She has no kids and probably never will. And she’s so proud of you.”

“Okay, Mom, okay,” he replied, and Nathaniel put an arm about her and hugged his mother. “So you like being a working girl, and now you’re going to be a mover and a shaker. You deserve to be happy too, and I know Dad would be proud.”

“Thanks for that,” Annie said, realizing she felt a little teary all of a sudden. She fought back her urge to shed a tear or two. She didn’t need to ruin her makeup. “I gotta run. Ask Nanny to do her shepherd’s pie tonight with the leftover lamb, sweetie.”

She arrived at her office at eight thirty sharp. She checked the guest register to see who would be checking out and who would be checking in today. She ran over the provisions list for the next two weeks that had been set on her desk, and checked the menus for the week to come.

“Good morning, Mrs. Miller.” Mary was right on time, Annie noted. She came in at five minutes to nine every morning. “Can I get you something?”

“Green tea with lemon,” Annie replied. Mary looked happy, she noted.

At ten minutes to ten o’clock the front desk called, and Mary came into Annie’s office to announce, “Mr. Nicholas’s car just pulled up. I can see the lobby from here, and he’s coming in, Mrs. Miller. There’s a man with him.”

“A man?” Annie said, surprised.

“Yep. And is he hot,” Mary noted.

Annie touched up her makeup, got up, put on her jacket, and hurried from her office. After knocking on Mr. Nicholas’s door she opened it and stepped into the charming room. The fire was already burning, and she smiled. She’d given instructions that a fire be started at nine thirty a.m. so the chill would be off the room and it would be inviting.

“Annie, my dear, come in, come in,” Mr. Nicholas said. He turned from the fireplace, where he had been warming his hands. “I do love a good fire,” he said. “Sit down, Annie. I have some wonderful news for you.”

Annie sat down before she fell down. The other occupant in the room was a tall, slender man with coal black hair and dark eyes. He was practically a mirror image of her Beast, except his hair was cut decently, and he had no scar to mar his handsome face. He was wearing a beautiful dark pin-striped suit. She forced her eyes away from him.

“Annie, my dear,” Mr. Nicholas said, “this is my nephew, Fyfe MacKay. He is to be the new assistant manager here at the Spa, because you are going to be the new manager. But I think you may have already figured that out.” He chuckled.

“I did consider the possibility,” Annie admitted candidly. “Where is Nora Buckley?”

“Oh, she is traveling the world for me now, my dear. The Spa has been a fantastic financial success, and we will be opening several more within the year. Nora has been selecting the sites, and she will now be overseeing the construction. An amazing woman, Nora Buckley. Of course, I never intended keeping her here in Egret Pointe, and we have been wildly fortunate in you, dear girl.”

“Thank you, sir,” Annie replied politely. She was general manager of the Spa! But she would really have liked to have picked her own assistant manager.

“Fyfe will report to you, Annie. He’ll be living here. Your little apartment should be available now, as Nora’s is yours,” Mr. Nicholas said. “I will rely on you to break him in, but I must warn you that he won’t be with you long. Fyfe is one of my smarter nephews, and I have bigger plans for him. You will be able to choose your next assistant manager as you see fit, my dear, but for now I appreciate your help.”

“I’ll be delighted to help out, Mr. Nicholas,” Annie told him.

“Don’t let my nephew intimidate you, Annie. He thinks that because he’s handsome and wealthy, he can do as he pleases. He can’t. You are in charge, dear girl.”

“Knowing I have your support is important, sir,” Annie responded. “I shall treat Fyfe as I would treat any employee.”

“And I am certain he will, in the end, appreciate that, my dear,” Mr. Nicholas said.

For a brief moment Annie had the distinct feeling that her employer meant something entirely different from what her words had meant. Then she shook her head. She was imagining things. Mr. Nicholas couldn’t possibly know about her liaisons with certain members of the staff. Besides, she was through with that kind of behavior. With Connor and Devyn gone, and Lars in love, who was to say what she had or hadn’t done? She was general manager of The Spa at Egret Pointe.

“I cannot remain with you long,” Mr. Nicholas said. “Take today to help Fyfe settle into his new environment.”

“Of course,” Annie said. “I’ve ordered your tea. It should be here any minute.”

“The week after the holiday has gone well?” he inquired.

“Very well. J. P. Woods is coming regularly.
Entertainment Tonight
wants to do a piece on us, but I’ve held them off until we could speak to you about it. I don’t know if we need the publicity. We’re fully booked just about all the time, Mr. Nicholas. If we disappoint too many people, the rumor begins that you can’t get into the Spa, and then people start not booking because they think they can’t get in,” Annie said. “It’s a fine line we tread.”

“We will need the publicity for the new facilities opening this year,” Fyfe MacKay said, finally speaking up. “Perhaps, Uncle, we could arrange to have
ET
do the piece when the island Spa opens up in April. They could start here, and then go on to promote the island.” He turned and looked directly at Annie with those dark eyes. “What do you think, Mrs. Miller?” he asked her.

Annie felt a rush of moisture between her legs. The sound of his voice was an aphrodisiac. “I think you have an excellent idea, Fyfe,” she replied in cool, businesslike tones. “Why don’t you handle it for us? I’ll give you the contact name, phone number, and e-mail.”
God, you’re gorgeous,
she thought to herself.
I want to fuck you
.

He looked at her again, a faint smile on his thin lips.
I want to fuck you, too.

Annie flushed, startled, but kept her demeanor. He had not spoken, but she had heard his voice as plain as day.

There was a rap on the door, and Mary Finch stuck her head into the room. “The tea tray is here, Mrs. Miller. Shall I have the waitress bring it in?”

“Yes, Mary. And you come in and meet Mr. Nicholas,” Annie said, grateful for her assistant’s timely arrival. “Sir, this is my assistant, Mary Finch. Mary, this is our boss, the CEO of the Channel Corp.”

“How do you do, sir,” Mary said politely. She still retained the look of an ingenue.

“How do you do, Miss Mary,” Mr. Nicholas said with a small, courtly bow from the waist. “You are happy in your work?”