Erin stiffened in his arms. He felt her tension in every muscle and knew there wasn’t a shred of doubt in her what
talk
meant. Fuck, he was an idiot. They’d had good sex, that was all, nothing
momentous
, nothing changed, no epiphany.
“I’m getting a little cold.” She clambered awkwardly from his lap. “I think I’ll take a bath.”
Oh yeah, he was an idiot. Maybe if he’d shut his mouth, maybe if they’d had more
moments
like that under their belt. But no, one kiss and he thought he’d won the war.
She wasn’t going to talk to him. Maybe not ever. Maybe this—hot, kinky role-play sex in the backyard and a kiss—was the most he’d ever get.
THEY WERE FINE, THEY WERE GREAT, THEY WERE ALMOST NORMAL. Then he wanted to talk. Erin slid deeper into the steaming water, letting the bubbles rise to her chin. At least she’d resisted the urge to snap his head off. She could give herself that much credit. Traditionally it was the woman who needed to talk and the man who crawled into his cave, or something like that. But Dominic never followed the rules, that didn’t suit him.
He knocked on the bathroom door. “Honey, you all right?”
Almost as if on cue, there he was. He didn’t follow rules, and he never gave up. She’d always admired that about him, yet it gave her a guilty twist inside. She knew he needed to talk. Over the last few weeks, since Orlando especially, she’d started wishing she could do it for him. She knew he had his own guilt; she knew it was just as hard on him. But she just couldn’t let it all out the way he was able to. She couldn’t even listen to him do it, and the moment he’d wanted to talk out there on the patio, her whole body clenched against it.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she called through the door because politeness was all she had to give him.
“I made you a champagne cocktail.”
Long ago, that had been one of her luxuries, a bath, champagne, and dark chocolate. She wanted to climb out, unlock the door, let him in. Swear it. But she didn’t.
Please don’t make me talk.
If only he would let them be like they were on the patio
before
he started pushing, the sweet comfort of sitting in his lap, his arms around her. Why couldn’t that be enough?
“I don’t feel like one, but thanks for thinking of me.”
She heard his soft footfalls as he padded down the hall, and she was almost sad. What they’d done tonight was so good, but the problem was that any joy in their lives suddenly became a sacrilege as soon as she thought of Jay. And she didn’t know how that could ever end.
22
DOMINIC SAT WITH HIS FEET ON HIS OFFICE DESK, TAPPING AWAY on the keyboard in his lap. In the hallway people scurried to and fro, mostly Atul and Cam rushing to get everything done before the four-day holiday weekend. He was in no such rush. Erin would let them all go early, probably just before lunch, but they wouldn’t give themselves the same luxury. In years past, yeah, but now they had no last-minute gifts to run out for, no rash of housecleaning before guests arrived, no turkey to stuff.
He clicked his mouse and brought up another website, then plowed through several different pages looking at photo galleries, amenities, pricing, availability.
Erin appeared in his doorway, her face slightly flushed, her smile too big. He could see the tension rising off her in a haze. “Well, the meeting’s over,” she said.
He didn’t stop scrutinizing the photo galleries, clicking through one picture at a time, getting a feel. “I trust everyone was in agreement.”
“It’ll all be fine,” she said, hugging her clipboard to her chest. “Bree came up with a good cost estimate that’s doable. The techs agreed to give it a shot.” She raised a brow. “Matt actually showed some enthusiasm just as Leon thought he would.”
Dominic could have gone to the transducer meeting, put in his two cents, but he’d decided to let her handle it. They had their own duties, their own areas of expertise. He hadn’t liked it when she butted into the patent thing, so he wasn’t about to stick his nose into her stuff. Besides, she was good at everything she did. He’d always believed that. His only meaningful thought about the transition to making the transducers in-house was that he’d miss Leon. Leon was a good guy. Erin had said he’d be in to do some training. Dominic would say his good-byes and give his well-wishes then.
“What about Steve?” Steve could poke holes in anything when he wanted to, especially since he was on the warpath with Matt.
“Dubious.” She seesawed her hand. “I did agree with one thing he said.”
“Bye, you guys.” Rachel leaned into the doorway, one hand on the jamb for balance. “Mer—” She cut herself off, eyes wide with horror. She’d obviously been about to wish them a Merry Christmas and knew it was a no-no in Erin’s world.
Yet Erin gave her an exuberant though patently false smile. “Have a great weekend.”
Dominic waggled his fingers.
Rachel left, and Erin’s tension eased slightly. “I told them all they didn’t need to come back after lunch.”
“Figured that’s what you’d do. So what did you agree with Steve on?”
She blinked, coming back to the conversation. “Oh yeah. He thought we should assign the transducers to one person, with another of the techs as backup.”
“Sounds reasonable. Who’d you choose?”
She smiled, and this time it was genuine. “I told them to choose among themselves. They picked Matt. Can you believe it?”
“That was bold,” he said, raising an eyebrow. She usually liked to control everything.
“If someone takes on the responsibility by choice, the odds are better they’ll give it a one hundred percent effort.” She shrugged. “It’ll be good for Matt.” She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “It was like he was being entrusted with something and it made him proud.”
“You did a great job.”
He waited for her to slam him down for the compliment. He’d screwed up last night, and she’d shut him out, literally. When he’d taken her the champagne, she hadn’t even unlocked the door. Today he’d expected the cold shoulder. She’d surprised him with a civil tongue, a smile, and now this, a polite thank-you.
“I’m out of here.” Atul appeared in the doorway this time, the colloquialism sounding strange and clipped in his accent. He didn’t make the mistake of wishing them a Merry Christmas.
Erin fluttered her fingers. “Have a good one.”
With Atul gone, Dominic tapped the keyboard again, typing in another search. “I’ve got a guy coming in next week to check the computers for viruses and malware.”
A line emerged between her eyebrows. “What for? We just upgraded the virus protection.”
Cam popped in then, cutting them off, and behind her was Steve. With each new face in the doorway, the next good-bye, Erin’s face grew more tense and her smile more brittle. He wanted to ease her pain, but he knew she wouldn’t accept his emotional support.
So when they were alone again, he went back to the malware issue. “Hansen suggested checking all our computers, and I agree. We could have been infected with a malicious software that’s enabled someone to see our financial data.”
“I guess that’s better than thinking one of our own people has turned against us.” She stared at him unblinkingly for a long moment. “Thank you for letting me know.”
Odd how in less than twelve hours they could go from the hottest damn sex to locked doors to being so fucking polite, each mindful of the other’s feelings. Like courteous strangers. He’d been careful to make sure she knew what he’d planned before he had the guy show up next week. In days of old, he probably would’ve told her the morning of, and she wouldn’t have cared.
He waved a hand at her. “Come here. I want to show you something.”
She was slow to round the desk to his side. “What?”
He hadn’t changed his position the entire time she’d been in his office. His feet were on the desk, the keyboard in his lap. He pointed at the monitor. “What do you think of this place?”
“Looks nice. What is it?”
She smelled sweet. Her lotion, he’d always liked the scent. “It’s a resort in Napa.”
“How much does it cost?”
He tipped his head back, looked up at her. “I don’t care. I want to take you there.”
She pursed her lips, but said nothing.
“This weekend, Friday and Saturday,” he added.
“No way are they going to have anything available this weekend, it’s—” She cut herself off lest she should have to say the dreaded word
Christmas
.
“Let’s test out your theory.” He clicked on the reservations tab, then filled in the dates for a two-night stay including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The wait was a couple of seconds, and it came back with an unusually low price. “Hah.” He pointed. “At this price, we can even afford to get you a massage.” He grinned. “A full-body massage.”
She wasn’t smiling; she wasn’t even looking at him. She was just staring at the screen, thoughts he couldn’t read running through her mind. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I do.” He hit the reserve button, then hitched his hip to tug out his wallet. “We’ll have a good time.” They would be away from home for Christmas. Perfect. He pulled out his credit card.
“Dominic—”
Without even looking, he held up a finger to stop her. “I want us to go.”
“Then why can’t you ask me instead of ordering?”
He pulled his feet off the desk and twirled his chair to face her. “Will you please go with me, Erin?”
She stared at him a long moment, her features intent, her gaze moving over his face. “If that’s what you really want.”
He didn’t want some half-assed agreement, where she could blame him if anything went wrong. “I want to be gone from here. I don’t want to think about work. I don’t want to think about the patent.” Then he reached for her hand, managing to grab her pinkie finger. “I want to fuck your brains out.”
She laughed out loud, then clapped her hand over her mouth.
“I’m off.”
They both jumped at Yvonne’s voice. Dominic almost dropped the keyboard from his lap.
“Oh,” Erin blurted. “Have a good weekend.”
“Oh, I will, I will.” Yvonne’s eyes sparkled. “I can almost smell the sausage stuffing.” She waved her hand and was gone.
“Do you think she heard?” Erin whispered, her cheeks pink.
He didn’t care. “I’m sure she’s rushing out to tell anyone who hasn’t left yet.”
She popped him on the shoulder. It felt good, a little joke, a tease. They’d weathered his faux pas from last night. He wouldn’t ask her to talk. He’d wait for her. What other choice did he have?
He started typing in his credit card number.
“I’m really surprised you can get such a great deal at such a late date,” she mused.
“Luck of the draw,” he murmured. Christmas week was actually very popular. Families went away together,
families
being the operative word. This resort was for adults only, no kids. Thus it wasn’t in high demand for the holiday weekend. In fact, you could call it the off-season.
“What should I pack?” she said, thinking ahead.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” he answered.
Not only was it adults only, this place was clothes optional. That was part of his surprise. But he had one more thing up his sleeve. If he could pull it off, he was going to make one of their biggest fantasies come true.
ERIN COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. “CLOTHES
OPTIONAL
?” SHE HISSED AS they followed the bellboy hauling the luggage to their villa.
It was Christmas Eve. Neither of them had mentioned it.
“I wouldn’t worry about it much while we’re outside,” Dominic said. “It’s too cold to be naked.”
She punched his arm. “You could have warned me.”
“You would’ve said no.”
“You’re damn right, I’m forty years old. I’m not showing my naked body in public.” If the bellboy was listening, he gave no sign of it as he guided the luggage cart down a wide path bordered with rhododendrons.
Dominic put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her close, probably so she couldn’t sock him again. “I bet most of the people who come here are older than us.” He slid a hand down her back and squeezed her ass. “And most of the ladies sure as hell aren’t going to look as good as you.”
She glanced once more at the bellboy. His dark hair was short, his slacks pressed, and he was barely out of his teens. She couldn’t imagine being naked around a boy like that.
“Besides, clothing is optional.” Dominic was clarifying. “Meaning you can keep it all on
or
you can get naked.”
“Well, I’m keeping it all on,” she assured him, but she feared he’d never let her get away with it.
Their villa was a small adobe-style cottage with a patio in front, complete with table, chairs, barbecue, and a bed of flowers along the edge. The grounds were lovely, meticulously trimmed green grass, lush flowering bushes, and trees separating each of the villas. There was privacy. They’d passed a few couples and singles on the way; all were fully dressed, thank God.
The bellboy unlocked the front door, then handed the card key to Dominic before guiding the luggage cart inside. He unloaded their two suitcases, a laptop—because they couldn’t go anywhere without checking their e-mail and the Internet—and a box of food and wine. She liked to have a glass or two of her favorite wine in her own room, and the restaurant was probably horrendously expensive. Though Dominic insisted they attend tonight, she didn’t want to eat every meal there.
Dominic palmed the boy a bill as he left. “Pretty nice digs,” he said once they were alone.
Erin had to agree. The small sitting room housed a corner sofa grouping, TV console, wet bar, fireplace, table and chairs. The sliding-glass door opened onto the front patio, and through a wide door to the right was the bed and bath. “At least we can stay in here and not go outside to see any naked people.”