by Peggy Dulle
When the elevator opened, Carmelita and I walked into the Supper Club. Tom and Brian sat at a table by the window. They both rose when we came into the room.
Tom look wonderful, although a little uncomfortable in his tux. I’m sure he preferred his uniform or jeans. Come to think of it, I liked his uniform better on him, too. He came directly over to me and took my hand. He smiled and those lovely blue eyes glistened. “You look wonderful, Liza.”
“Thank you, Tom.” I smiled.
“You decided to get the dress, I’m glad. It looks fabulous on you.”
What? I hadn’t bought the dress. He had. “But I thought…”
“Thought what?” He pulled out my chair for me.
“I thought you’d like it.” I smiled and took my seat. I sat by the window, with Tom across from me, his back to the room.
I heard someone giggle and looked across the room. In a secluded corner table, a woman in a short red halter dress, with four-inch stiletto heels hung on Dorian’s arm. As he talked, she flipped her hair, enthralled by every word. His tux fit him like he was born to wear it.
He glanced over his shoulder and our eyes locked.
He smiled and nodded.
And then it came to me - Tom hadn’t bought the dress, Dorian had.
Chapter 18
I immediately brought my eyes and attention back to Tom. He was talking about his golf game with Jack and I missed the entire account.
The high ceilings and crystal chandeliers accented the modern Manhattan chic design. Even though the tables were occupied with guests decked out in tuxes and evening gowns, each was separated with enough room to give you the feeling of privacy. A small string quartet played in the corner, the music soft and soothing to go with our dinner. Although, frankly, it didn’t match the tempo of what flowed through my mind and body. Dorian had bought me a dress, and even the jewelry and shoes. I could live with that, but the bra and panties were more than anyone, especially Tom, would understand or appreciate.
I worked hard to concentrate on dinner and Tom and not on Dorian and his giddy companion at their table. Every time she’d laugh, I’d smile at Tom.
Eventually dinner arrived and my focus went to the wonderful prime rib and lobster. Halfway through dinner, Brian complained of a headache and went back to the room to take some migraine medication and lie down. That left just Carmelita, Tom and me at the table.
When it came to dessert time, I ordered my chocolate melting cake.
“Why don’t you try something else, Liza?” Tom asked as he ordered the cheesecake.
“Why mess with perfection?” I replied.
“I think I’ll go and check on Brian. Will you escort me back to my room?” Carmelita asked Tom.
Tom looked at me.
“Go ahead, Tom, I’m not leaving without my dessert. I’ll wait here for you.”
“Okay.” He left with Carmelita.
A few seconds later, Dorian came over and sat down in Tom’s chair. “Good evening, Liza.”
“Good evening, Dorian.”
He reached over and took my hand. “When you walked into the room tonight, every eye in the place was on you.”
I shook my head.
“Oh yes. You took my breath away.”
I blushed. I didn’t want to, but did.
Dorian pulled my hand to his lips, and whispered, “And the modesty makes you even more irresistible.”
He kissed my hand, lingering just long enough to send chills down my spine and to my toes.
I needed to say something, even if it was just to prove to myself that I could still talk. “I guess I have you to thank for the lovely dress and jewelry?”
“They pale in comparison to your beauty.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and continued, “And your hair is perfect. I think I see Carmelita’s handiwork there.”
“Yes, she helped me.”
Roberto, our waiter, brought my cake and Tom’s cheesecake. He looked confused.
“You can serve the gentleman’s dessert to me,” Dorian said, never taking his eyes off me. “When he comes back, you can get him another.”
“Yes, sir.” Roberto set my cake in front of me.
I needed something to concentrate on beside Dorian’s sexy black eyes and long luscious eyelashes, so I dipped my spoon into the firm cold vanilla ice cream and then into the center of the warm cake. The sweet chocolate melted around the rich ice cream and I slid it into my mouth. It was fabulous.
When I started on a second bite, Dorian put his hand on my arm.
“What?”
“That’s not the way to eat chocolate melting cake.”
“It isn’t?” I asked.
“Oh no, let me show you…,” He picked up his spoon, dipped it into the chocolate, then the vanilla ice cream, and then back into the chocolate. He held the shimmering morsel toward my mouth. My lips parted.
I took it and smiled. He was right, it was better. “Thanks.”
He dipped the spoon into the chocolate again.
I put my hand on his arm. “I can do it.”
Our eyes met. “No,” his words were slow and smooth, “please indulge me.”
Okay, I should have said, “no”, but I only pulled my hand back. Besides, I didn’t think I could actually speak at this point. A tidal wave was building inside my body. Every nerve ending sizzled.
I watched as he dipped the spoon and then brought it toward my mouth. I swallowed, then opened my mouth.
I started to close my eyes, but he said, “No, Liza. Keep your eyes open, look at me.”
I brought my eyes to his. The fire that raged in his was matched by the one building in my body. He slipped the spoon into my mouth and I swallowed, never taking my eyes from his.
“Would you like more, Liza?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said between small breaths.
“Do you have on all the lovely things I bought you?” he asked.
I smiled. “Oh yes.”
“Divine, just divine.” He scooped another spoonful and brought it up. “Liza,” he hesitated.
“Oh please, Dorian,” I begged… I wanted it and I needed it now!
His eyes sparkled, flickered for a moment, but then were immediately back on mine. “Okay, then, close your eyes.”
I closed my eyes and felt the lovely mixture slide down my throat. My entire body shuddered with delight. How was that possible without anyone actually touching you? If we weren’t in a public place, I might just take the man right here on the table. Every cell in my body tingled with fire.
“Oh, Dorian,” I moaned, then opened my eyes.
His were smiling. A shadow crossed the table and I looked up. Tom stood next to the table. Seeing him cranked my nerve endings higher.
Dorian stood and motioned for Tom to sit. He reached over and grabbed my hand. “Thank you for allowing me to keep you company, Liza.” He brushed his lips against my hand and said, “It was an overwhelmingly exhilarating experience.”
He left and I looked back at Tom.
Tom rolled his eyes. “Who does that guy think he is?”
I couldn’t answer. Had he seen the interplay between Dorian and me? How long had he been standing there? Apparently only a second since Tom looked annoyed rather than angry.
Tom glanced at his watch. “It’s almost time for bingo. Do you want to walk down to the Carousel Room?”
“No. I need to go to our cabin,” I said.
Tom pulled out my chair. When I stood, I smelled his shampoo and aftershave. The familiar scents made my head swirl.
“Do you want to change out of the dress?” he asked.
I leaned into him. “No,” I looked up into his eyes, “I need to go to the room.”
He raised his eyebrow. Usually I find it funny but this time it made me gasp and struggle to breathe.
“Okay, then.” He took my arm.
We didn’t speak the entire way back to the room. I couldn’t. They only thing I could think about was getting into our cabin and get
ting Tom’s clothes off! My body felt like it was going to explode. I had certainly seen desire like this in Tom’s eyes a few times, especially when we hadn’t been together for several weeks, but I’d never felt it before.
Tom used his card to open the door and stepped aside. I went inside. As soon as he was in, I shoved him back against the door and started unbuttoning his shirt.
He started pulling all the pins out of my hair, letting each strand fall. I was in a much bigger hurry than he was. I had him totally undressed before he was done with my hair. I moved back toward the bed and beckoned him to follow me.
He started toward me, then stopped and said, “Wait a minute, Liza.”
No, I wouldn’t wait. I stepped up toward him and rubbed my body against his.
“Something’s wrong. I think somebody’s been in our room,” he said, looking around.
Who cares? I needed the man to focus! Unless there was a dead body lying across my bed, nothing would stop me from what I wanted.
I slid the expensive black dress off my shoulders and onto the floor and stood there in my high-heels, black lace bra and panties, and jewelry.
His breath caught and he started toward me.
I glanced toward the bed. No body, just a cute little swan made with white towels. Usually, I’d look at it, maybe even take a picture, but that wasn’t what I needed right now. I grabbed Tom’s hand and pulled him down to the bed with me.
My sexual appetite seemed insatiable. It was like I was ravenous and hadn’t eaten in years. And for the first time in my life, I just let go and touched and felt every experience. I couldn’t get enough!
Hours later, Tom pinned my arms down. “Liza.”
I didn’t let him finish. I moaned, “no,” and shook my head. When I slipped my arms out of his grasp, I rolled him over onto his back.
Another hour later, Tom pinned my arms down again and said, “I’m not letting you up again, Liza. It’s not that I don’t appreciate all this, but I just have one question.”
I looked into his eyes and smiled. “What?”
“Who exactly are you making love to?”
“What?” I said and looked around. “You’re the only one in the room.”
“I know that. But in your head, who are you seeing?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dorian or me?”
My eyes flared and anger grew inside my body. What the hell was he talking about?
“Be honest, Liza.” He loosened his grip on me.
I started to giggle. It started low and then exploded into a full and rich laugh.
Tom looked confused, which made me laugh more. He moved to get up and I grabbed his arm. “Wait,” I said and tried to stifle my laugh.
He frowned. “Oh, love,” I said and yanked him back into the bed.
I pinned him down on his back and sat on him.
“Liza,” he said.
“Why do you think I’d be thinking about Dorian instead of you?” I asked.
“Let’s see. He looks at you like you’re a piece of meat, and when I came in, he was feeding you and you were enjoying it.”
I closed my eyes, lifted my head, and took a long deep breath. “Oh, yes.”
I leaned down, put my elbows on Tom’s chest and looked into his eyes. “I never knew eating dessert could be so orgasmic. Is that a real word? I don’t know, but that’s exactly what it was.”
Tom frowned and I started laughing again.
He tried to get up, and I said, “Wait.”
“I don’t think I like you using the work orgasmic about another man.”
I leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. “But I’m here, not anywhere with him. And you did reap the rewards of that dessert.”
“That’s true, but the way he looks at you.”
“Oh,” I sighed. “I know. His eyes, my God the heat in his eyes could light the torch in the Statue of Liberty.”
Tom frowned again. “What about my eyes, Liza? What do you see in them?”
I leaned closer, within an inch of him. “In your eyes I see love, passion, and commitment.”
“No heat?”
“Plenty of heat, love.” I leaned in and kissed him.
When I pulled back, he said, “So the dress and stuff, it was from him?”
I nodded.
“Including the lace bra and panties?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head. “That man’s got some nerve.”
“Do you want me to give it all back? I will if you want me to.”
Tom smiled. “No, keep it. It will be a reminder.”
“Of what?”
“I have you and he doesn’t.”
“You win, he loses?” I laughed.
Tom nodded and pulled my face back down to his. He kissed me and brought all that heat right back to all the nerve endings in my body. And for the next hour we showed each other exactly how deep our love and commitment were.
Afterwards, I lay entwined with Tom as he slept, his breathing slow and steady. The only thing I could think about was how I could get the recipe for chocolate melting cake.
Then I remembered - didn’t Tom say something about someone being in our room? I looked around warily.
Chapter 19
Untangling myself from Tom, I crept from the bed. The room didn’t look disturbed to me, other than Tom’s clothing thrown about and my black dress in a pile on the floor. I checked the closets; everything was there. Then I remembered the safe where we’d put our passports, wallets, and my photos.
Which card had Tom used to lock the safe? I found the holder he’d kept his Navigator card. Behind it was his car insurance card. That’s right, he’d used it to lock the safe. I went over to the cupboard that hid the safe and opened the door. It wasn’t locked. I opened it. The passports and wallets were there but the photos were gone.
“Damn it!” I said.
“What?” Tom shook his head and sat up. “What’s the matter, Liza?”
“My pictures are gone.” I stepped aside and showed him the open safe.
“You opened the safe and they weren’t there?”
“No, the safe was open and they’re not there.”
Tom got up and came over. “I know I locked this before we left tonight.”
“Someone opened it.”
“I knew something was wrong when we came into the room tonight.”
“I vaguely remember you saying something about it.”
Tom smiled. “Yeah, you had other things on your mind.”
“So now all of my pictures are gone.” I sat down on the couch near the vanity and my eyes filled with tears. “All the pictures of my parents having a great time are gone.”
Tom sat next to me. “I’m sorry. Maybe you’ve got the negatives at home.”
I shrugged and leaned my head on his shoulder. “I don’t think so. I didn’t see any negatives in the box where I found the pictures.”
“Let’s go back to bed, Liza. In the morning, I’ll talk to the purser and see if there’s anyway to find out who got into our room. The best we can hope for is they have surveillance tapes for the corridors.”
I nodded and let him lead me back to bed. I snuggled in next to him and tried to sleep. But my slumber was constantly interrupted with dreams of my parents, Betsy’s body, and Dorian’s eyes, and someone sneaking around our room.
In the morning, I woke up more exhausted than when I’d gone to bed from all the interrupted sleep. I didn’t feel like getting out of bed. Tom went off to find the purser, exercise, and have breakfast.
Around ten, Tom came back carrying a tray. “I brought you some sustenance.”
“Thanks.” I shrugged. “But I’m not really hungry.”
“Come on, Liza. I brought it all this way.”
I frowned and sighed, “Okay.” But I really didn’t want anything.
He brought the tray over and opened the silver lid. Inside was a chocolate melting cake and vanilla ice cream.
/> I smiled. It probably was the only thing that would taste good at this moment.
“I figured if it’s good for dessert, than it must be good for breakfast, too.”
“Are you going to feed it to me?” I handed him a spoon.
“I don’t think I can take another round with you, right now. I tried to run on the treadmill this morning and all of my muscles were screaming.”
“Chicken?” I teased.
“I’ll feed you if you promise not to jump on my body.”
“No promises.” I shook my head.
He laughed and picked up the spoon. It didn’t matter in what order he dipped, it all tasted wonderful. I closed my eyes and enjoyed every bite of it. And him.
Several hours later, I sat up in bed and said, “Okay, I’m starving. I need real food!”
“Ah, there’s my girl.” Tom smiled.
“What time is it?” I asked on the way to the shower.
“Two-fifteen.”
“Where can I find food?”
“Pool deck food is open until three.”
“Perfect.” I took a quick shower.
Tom took a shower after me and I only pounded on the door three times to hurry him up.
When he finally was ready, I grabbed his hand. “Food!”
We went up to the pool deck. Tom went to get his salad and I got Chinese, Italian, and Mexican food.
We decided to sit outside since the weather was warm, but away from the chaos of the swimming pool full of little kids. Maybe next time, we’ll go over and sit in the adult section. I spend so much time with kids during the year, sometimes it’s nice just to get away from them, especially when they’re running and screaming with no one really watching them.
While we were eating, I asked, “What did the purser say about our safe?”
“I repeat: it’s impossible for anyone to open up your safe when it’s locked. He thinks we left it open and misplaced our pictures.”
“Did you tell him that copies of the same pictures were stolen in Long Beach?”
“No, I didn’t want to get into an argument with him about the security in the cabins. The pictures are gone and I don’t think there’s anything he can do to get them back.”
“That’s probably true.”
Emily and Jack came up to our table. He was dressed in tan shorts and a black t-shirt with a large pair of dice on it. Under the dice it said, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!” She was in a bright yellow sundress.