The sound of running water calmed me. The steam’s dance with the room’s warmth guided me further toward this soothing sensation of peace. But I wasn’t relaxed. Knots bound inside my shoulders and piled inside the back of my neck. The longer I studied Freddy’s wet sculpted body, the more I stood there in this pit of unease.
Just tonight. Nothing more, Dawn. You know how this will play out if you do more.
With his back still to me, he asked. “Are you coming inside?”
“How did you know I was behind you?”
“I can smell your sweet perfume. It’s been drifting into the shower since you started standing there, watching me.”
“I haven’t been watching you.”
“Friends don’t lie to friends.”
“We’re friends?”
“Oh, yes. In fact, we’re more than friends.” He turned around and showed me all of him.
It’s not fair that he’s this gorgeous.
What a work of art he was, a twisted depiction of masculinity and sex, uncontrolled power and dark foreboding temptation. His cock pointed my way, solid and thick. Water spilled over the length and dripped from the tip. With each drop, my body plummeted into an ocean of lust, a murky one that could have rivaled any other. It was like I struggled in that very black ocean, kicking my legs and doing my best to stay afloat as this storm of black clouds and lightening-filled sky hovered over to monitor my demise.
Turn around, Dawn. Turn the fuck around.
“Come here.” He leaned against the wall behind him.
I cleared my throat. “No.”
“Why not?”
“We’re done. Just one night, remember.”
“The night is still going.”
“No.”
“No?”
“It’s morning now,” I said. “The clock read two forty when I came into the room.”
“Monte Carlo is six hours ahead of Miami. So officially it is eight forty at night there, which means we’re not done.”
“I never said we were going by Miami time.”
“You never said we weren’t.” He glided his fingers down his chest, inch by inch. With a parted mouth, I gaped at his hand’s journey. There was something so sensual about a hot man caressing himself because of me. When Max did it in the living room, I’d been revolted and. . .a tiny bit aroused. With Freddy’s steamy personal massage, my body blazed and readied itself for explosion.
Stop it. No more sex with this one.
“Are you done washing or should I wait?” I directed my attention to my feet so he wouldn’t continue to distract me.
“Come here.”
“Freddy, I can’t, so let’s just leave it at that.”
“Then help me with something.” The shower shut off. His footsteps sounded right in front of me, but I wouldn’t look up to him. He was wet. That simple fact alone would bring me to my demise.
“What do you need help with?”
“I more need advice. Say there is this beautiful woman that caught my attention.” His feet appeared in front of mine. He traced my toe with his. A small quiver traveled through my flesh. He placed his hands on each side of me to the point that if I continued to look down, I’d be gawking at his cock. He imprisoned me in his chiseled frame.
No big deal. Don’t show him that his being so near is killing me.
I centered my focus on his eyes. Desperation rested there, outlining those amazing green pupils.
Why does he look so scared?
“I’ve tried to own her, but she can’t be bought. I’ve tried to romance her, but she already sees the true me,” he said. “For other women, I’ve always been the wolf in sheep’s clothing, mingling with them and then stealing their hearts at ease. This one unzipped my disguise before I could even utter a word.”
“You’ve never been a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” I bit my lip. “Maybe a lion in wolf’s clothing. I knew you were dangerous in the beginning, but now . . . after tonight. . .you’re even more hazardous to my sanity.”
“I won’t hurt you.”
“You will and so bad I would need counseling and a big prescription for blue pills.”
“Why blue?”
“When my heart is broken, blue is the only color I can deal with.”
His gaze tweaked my bare nipples that pebbled right before him. “I swear I won’t break your—”
“You will.”
“Maybe we could—”
“No.”
“But I could just—”
“Absolutely not.”
“You’re not letting me finish my sentences,” he grumbled.
“Because there’s nothing that you can say to make me sacrifice my mental stability. Nothing. You may think you need me bad or whatever. You probably even convinced yourself that I’m the one, but I’m not.” I shook my head. “You know what would happen if we tried. Things would go great for several weeks, maybe even months, but I wouldn’t say a year. Why? Because the world is not perfect. Sadly, I can’t be the only awesome female on the globe. Other enchanting women walk around, and you being a man can’t help but look at them. And that’s how it begins. You gaze just a little each day. Next, you’re imagining their naked bodies under their clothes, maybe you even start flirting with a few. Suddenly, our relationship is boring. My great beauty isn’t enough. Now I’m just not that good at keeping your attention. All of these others have it. And that my friend, is when my heart will begin to break.”
“I’ve had others all my life. Lots of them. No one’s going to make me stray.”
“You say this after knowing me for how long?” I stuck my tongue out. “Naive much?”
“I crave you.”
“There will be others to crave, women who are stronger than me and would love to play your games.”
“Never. My mind is all on you.”
“For now, but it won’t be that long until you’re off playing with other shiny new toys.”
“You’re wrong.” His words came out with a dark edge. “You don’t know me as well as you think.”
“It doesn’t matter. I would rather be wrong, than lying in the fetal position, crying because you consumed my heart and then threw me away like yesterday’s garbage.”
He tiled my way and didn’t kiss me. Instead, he inhaled my entire being, as he brushed his nose against my shivering flesh. A subtle gasp escaped his lips, right before he captured my skin with his teeth and sucked. I arched forward in an odd dance of shock and pleasure.
He drew my small body in with his large hands. “The possibility of us scares you?”
“More than you will ever know.” I shouldn’t have, but I rubbed my breasts against him.
“We’re going to happen.”
“Never.”
He cupped my behind. “Oh look at you, wicked one. You’re already mine, and don’t even see it. Look at your body.”
“No.” I closed my eyes, not prepared to deal with the truth. However, I couldn’t shut away the rest of my senses. His hands manipulated me. I was a puppet and he was the master. Any string he tugged at brought me nearer to him. With a twist of his fingers, I moaned loud. My voice drowned out the music in the bathroom and merged with his own grumbles of hunger.
“You tell me no, but the rest of you says yes. What should I be listening to?” He licked my nipple’s point. “What rules you, Dawn, your body or mind?”
“Mind,” I mumbled.
He nibbled along the curve of my breast. I jerked with each marking of his teeth on my skin. His bites tingled and delighted me all at the same time.
He dipped his hands between my legs. “What is your mind telling you now?”
“Fuck me.”
“Are you sure?” He stuffed me with his fingers. I had no idea how many, one, two, or maybe even three.
“Oh, Freddy.”
“Aww.” He slipped those naughty digits in and out of me. “Is that my name? Say it again.”
“Freddy,” I moaned.
The phone rang in the bedroom. He tensed against me and removed his fingers. The noise was just enough to clear away some of the fog in my head.
“Did you order something or request assistance from the concierge?” he asked.
“No. Why?”
“It’s early in the morning.” He left me in there and rushed to the phone. “Hopefully, this isn’t something to deal with Max. I was hoping he would just pass out and not go back down to gamble more money away.”
I followed him into my bedroom. He was right. The clock read three.
He picked up the phone. “Hello?”
Please don’t let Max be in more trouble.
“Who do you want to speak to?” He turned to me with a frown. “And who is this? Oh no. Trust me. If you’re asking to speak to Dawn, then it’s very much my business.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Someone wants to talk to me?”
He put his back to me. “Who is this? No way. Fuck you. How did you get this number? No. You don’t get to talk to her unless you answer my questions.”
“What the hell? Just give me the phone. What’s going on?” And then I considered what Freddy had said earlier about the time difference in Miami and Monte Carlo. In my time zone now, it was three in the morning on a Monday, but in Miami it was Sunday evening.
Caden, you son of a bitch. You just couldn’t give me a break this Sunday. You just had to show me that you knew where I was at.
I went over to Freddy, took the phone out of his hand, and hung it up. There was no need to even talk on the phone. “Arguing with Caden will just entertain him. I’ve found ignoring him the best way to piss him off.”
“Caden.” Anger saturated that word as it left his mouth. “How can I meet this Caden?”
“Why would you want to? He’s an idiot.”
“Caden is the ex-boyfriend? The rich guy that calls you every fucking Sunday for the past three years?”
“Yes.”
“So he has people watching you, since he decided to ring you here?”
“I’m sure there’s someone monitoring my movements, but whoever it is keeps their distance, so I don’t pay Caden or this special agent person any mind. I just continue on with my life.”
“Have you gotten a restraining order or called the police?”
“Of course. He pays whoever he has to pay off and continues to bother me.” I headed to the bathroom, done with this conversation. “I’m taking a shower and going to bed. Are we still leaving in the morning? Do you know what time we’re supposed to be ready for the plane to take off?”
“It’s my fucking plane so we leave when I’m ready.” He stormed in after me.
“All righty, Mr. Angry Man.” I got in the shower and turned it on with the hopes of washing away everything—Freddy’s presence, Max’s depraved behavior, and even Caden’s continuous will to keep me on the edge and thinking about him.
“I want to talk about this guy. What did the police say when you—”
“Just drop it. I’ve been dealing with Caden for many years. I have everything under control.” Hot water rained down on my body and incited a relaxed sigh.
Freddy joined me in the shower. “I don’t want to drop it. What did the police say?”
“Silence. I need sweet silence.”
“I think this guy is dangerous.”
“He is.”
“And psycho.”
“Yes, that much is clear.” I raked my fingers through my wet hair.
“I wonder if I know him.”
“I bet you do. Now be quiet so I can enjoy this shower.”
“I went to college with three guys named Caden. What’s his last name?”
I placed my finger in front of my lips. “Shh.”
He pressed his wonderful mouth against my finger. “What’s his last name?”
“What would you do with it?”
“Search him out and—”
I laughed.
“What?”
“You’re just itching to declare war with a dangerous rich psycho? Do you think that is really smart?”
“I don’t like that he called here.”
I grabbed up the soapy wash cloth on the shelf that he’d been using, poured some pink liquid on it from the other shelf, and covered me all in bubbles.
“Dawn?”
“Yes, you persistent bastard?”
“What’s his last name?” He snatched my wash cloth away and lathered me in even more soap. I relaxed and let him take control. The soft material massaged away those earlier knots of tension. Once he moved that cloth all over every inch of my frame, he directed his concentration to my hair, pouring shampoo all over my tresses and kneading bubbles into my scalp.
“What’s his last name?” he asked again.
“Forget about him.”
“Fuck that.”
I gave him a weak smile. “Thinking about him is a waste of energy.”
“I don’t care. I’m going to have people look into this Caden.”
“Why?” I shut my eyes and relished in his fingers for the last time.
“He’s a stalker that is messing with my. . .”
I stiffened under his hands. “Your what? You can’t be referring to me because I’m nothing to you, and will never be. And now you see why. I’ve loved a man like you before. I gave him a chance and delivered my heart to him with no preconceived intentions.”
“And he broke it.”
“Yes.”
“And he is still trying to get you back, by terrorizing you.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Just let it go.” I left his hands and washed away all of the shampoo out of my hair. It was time to get away from him, the shower, this madness, Monte Carlo, and everything else that had disrupted my simple life.
He studied me as I rinsed out my hair. “I won’t let it go.”
“Yes, you will.” I got out and grabbed a hold of a towel and bathrobe on the hooks by the shower. “Just think. Next week, you and Max will be in some new exotic destination where some poor female will spot you two gods and fall to her knees, wondering why she’s so lucky. Just do one favor for me and try not to hurt her too bad.”
“I’m done with those games.”
“No, you’re not. Spoiled rich guys never get tired of games.”
Chapter 14
~Frederick
W
e lay together
in Dawn’s bed with my arm wrapped around her waist and her body molded firmly against mine. There was no need to make love. Once she shut herself away, there was no way of getting her back. Caden’s phone call did it. I’d had her in my hands, writhing and moaning like the sweet seductress she was meant to be, and then one ring collapsed all of my efforts.
How the hell do I make her see that we should try it?
With her soft frame so near, I never fell asleep in that dark suite where the moon’s light peered through the open window. I couldn’t drift into slumber. Jumbled insecurities and dread crowded my head.