by Roz Lee
“You aren’t giving me much credit. I told you how beautiful you are. I even showed you at the spa. I thought you understood then.” He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice but failed miserably.
“I did. I mean, I believed you at the time, but then I got home and reality sank in.”
“The things I said at the spa were real. The things I said today were real.”
“I know you meant them at the time.”
“I meant them then, and I mean them now.” He nuzzled the top of her head with his chin. “Tell me…why would it be any different if three men told you the same things at the same time. It would only be one time. I don’t understand. Why would that be any more believable than hearing it from me?”
“I don’t know. It just would.”
There wasn’t a shred of logic in her thinking. Therefore, any further argument on the subject wasn’t going to do any good. Her mind was made up—had been even before she met him. He continued to hold her, enjoying the feel of her in his arms while he contemplated his next move.
Bases Loaded was not an option. Somehow, he would have to think of another way to convince her she was beautiful, so she would drop her insane idea on her own.
He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Give me a chance to change your mind. I have all those auction items, and I’ve got a little over three months before Spring Training starts. Do them with me, Clare.”
“Okay. I’ll help you use all the items you won at the auction under one condition.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“That you at least consider inviting me to Bases Loaded.”
He stared at the ceiling for a moment then looked at her. “Okay. I’ll consider inviting you to Bases Loaded if you do all the bid items with me.” He pointed his index finger at her and narrowed his eyes. “I mean all of them. And, we’re going to do them as a couple. That means you’ll sleep in my bed, with me, on the trips.”
He’d given in to her demands too quickly, which sent more red flags waving in her mind than the Mustangs had pennants. He held her gaze, unwavering. Baseball players. The good ones had the best poker faces, and he was one of the best.
He has no intention of offering me an invitation to run the bases. Well, we’ll see about that. The only trick would be guarding her heart while she changed his mind. It was already going to be difficult to walk away from him when he grew tired of her. If she fell any harder for him, the damage would be irreparable.
Despite the risk, it was a challenge she couldn’t resist.
“I can do that,” she said.
“We’ll have sex. With each other,” he added. “And we’ll act like a normal couple in public. Kissing. Touching. The whole ball of wax. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I think I do. You want me to act like I’m your girlfriend.”
“Not act, Clare. You are my girlfriend. I’ll call you with arrangements for the weekend on the yacht.”
He left, slamming the office door behind him. Clare folded her arms around her middle and dropped her forehead to her desk.
She couldn’t stop shaking. Where had she found the nerve to talk to him in such a way? She’d never stood up to any man before, but there was something about Antonio that made her forget who she really was and behave like the woman she wanted to be. His parting words echoed through her brain. “You are my girlfriend.”
Oh. My. God.
* * *
An enormous bouquet of red roses greeted her the next morning from the center of her desk. Her heart skipped a beat. Antonio. She was just slipping the accompanying note out of the plastic pick holder when someone knocked on her door.
“Come in.”
Her fellow professor, and good friend, Laura, stuck her head in. “Someone has been holding out on me.”
“Come on in. I take it you let the delivery person into my office?” They had exchanged office keys long ago in case of an emergency. Flowers weren’t really an emergency, but they were gorgeous, so she wasn’t going to make an issue of it.
“I hope you didn’t mind.”
“Not at all. And I haven’t been holding out on you.”
Laura sat in the guest chair facing Clare’s desk. “So, who are they from?”
Clare peeked at the card. Not that she needed to. There was only one person on the planet she knew who would send such an extravagant gift.
“It must be someone really special,” her friend said. “There must be three dozen roses there.”
“They’re from a friend,” Clare hedged.
“I wish I had a friend like that,” Laura sniffed. “You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”
“No. Really, it’s just someone I met recently. He’s just being nice.”
“Well, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”
Clare moved the arrangement to a corner and sat behind her desk. She slid the card into the center drawer on top of the charm. “I didn’t say I don’t want him. It’s…complicated.”
“It must be more complicated than a Mozart symphony to warrant that many blooms.”
Clare sighed. “It is. Believe me, you don’t want to know.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, girlfriend. I want to know everything down to the smallest detail. How did you meet him? What does he look like? Is he a good kisser? Is he good in bed? Is he husband material?”
Girlfriend. There was that word again—only it meant something entirely different when Laura said it. “I met him at Jason Holder’s fundraiser last weekend, and he’s more gorgeous than a hothouse full of roses. The rest I either don’t know or I’m not telling.”
“Lots of different people go to fundraisers, but most of them are rich. That would explain how he could afford the roses. Those things aren’t cheap, you know?”
Yeah, she knew. But Antonio could afford them. No problem.
“You already know everyone on the team, so it must have been some Dallas socialite or a politician, maybe.”
Thank goodness, her fellow music professor didn’t follow sports, or she would know the Mustangs had acquired several new players after the playoffs. But her lack of knowledge played to Clare’s advantage. “Maybe,” she encouraged.
Laura nodded. “Okay, so you aren’t going to tell me.” She sat up and leaned over the desk to look Clare in the eye. “At least tell me what he did that requires such an elaborate apology.”
“It’s not an apology. He wants me to go out with him. That’s all.” On a yacht. For an entire weekend.
“And you don’t want to go.”.
“I already told him I would. This—” She indicated the bouquet with a sweep of her hand. “—is just overkill.”
The other woman sat back and fanned her face. “I wish I had a man who sent me flowers for no good reason. I’d settle for a bunch of daisies.”
It was sweet and unnecessary—which made it all that much sweeter.
“Where’s he taking you?”
“I’m not sure. He didn’t say.” That much at least was the truth. The private yacht was docked somewhere along the gulf coast of Texas, but she had no idea as to where.
Laura stood. “Well, I’m glad you have a date. It’s been way too long since you’ve had one.”
“Not that long,” Clare protested.
“Months, sugar.” She moved toward the door. “It’s been at least six months.”
As her well-meaning sidekick stepped out into the hall, Clare called after her. “Thanks for letting the delivery guy in.”
“No problem.” She eyed the giant bouquet. “I’ll take my fee in details later on.”
Clare smiled as her friend closed the door with a final wave goodbye. She sat for a moment, waiting, just in case she decided to come back. When she was sure she was alone, she opened the drawer and picked up Antonio’s note.
She recognized his handwriting from the silent auction bids. It was strong, but there was a flair to it that spoke of his passionate side. She
sighed. He definitely had a passionate side. She could attest to that.
She slipped the card from the envelope. Her skin burned red-hot as she read the short note.
I’ll pick you up on Friday. Your place. 4pm. It’s a clothing optional weekend. He had signed it simply, A.
A clothing optional weekend. Oh boy.
Chapter Eleven
She’d been on a chartered flight once, but it was nothing like the executive jet Antonio had arranged to take them to Galveston where they would board the yacht. As they got closer to the coast, the butterflies in her stomach turned into seagulls. It was all she could do to keep her legs still and her hands from shaking.
“Thanks for coming,” he said for the hundredth time since she’d stepped into the limo he’d hired to take them to the airport. “I can’t wait to have you all to myself for forty-eight hours.”
“I’ve never been on yacht before.”
“I’ve been on a few. This one is bigger than the others I’ve been on. The owner said they’ve taken it to Europe several times.”
“Where are we going?”
“Just out into the Gulf. I told the captain to sail around in circles and not to expect to see much of us.”
The meaning behind his words sent the flock of birds in her stomach into a tizzy. She had imagined doing all kinds of things with Antonio this weekend, but she hadn’t taken into account they wouldn’t be alone on the boat. “It’s just us and the captain?”
“There’s a cook, a steward, and a mechanical guy, too.”
“Oh.” She turned her face to the window, so he wouldn’t see the look of horror that was probably there.
“They’re used to this sort of thing,” he said, accurately reading her discomfort. “They’ll be discreet.”
She supposed coming from someone who wanted an invitation to have three men fuck her at the same time, her shyness seemed out of place. But the idea of strangers eavesdropping on private moments was different. “They’ll know.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll suspect, but they won’t know. Unless you want them to.”
A flush of embarrassment crept over her face. She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think, or you don’t want?” His voice was low, seductive, as he called her out on her evasion. “Would you like the possibility of having an audience?”
She shook her head again but with less conviction than before. For the first time in her life, she began to believe someone might find her attractive, and with that amazing realization came a new desire to explore her sexuality.
“Clare.” He leaned over and captured her hand in his. “I’m looking forward to making love to you all weekend long. I certainly wouldn’t pass up the chance to make love under the stars or on the open deck with the sun warming your skin. If you want to be adventurous, all you have to do is say so, and I’ll ask the crew to stay below.”
Adventurous. She turned the word over in her mind. She wanted to run the bases with three guys at once, but, truth be told, she didn’t know if she had the nerve to actually do it. Perhaps all she really wanted was to be asked. Knowing someone thought her attractive enough to issue an invitation might be enough. But if she took baby steps toward the goal, she could prove to herself and Antonio she was ready to play his kind of games. Then there would be one less reason for him to deny her.
Taking a deep breath, she made up her mind to cultivate her adventurous side. Heck. She’d already had sex in her office. That counted, didn’t it?
“I think I’d like to be daring,” she said.
He squeezed her hand. His smile was brilliant. “We’ll see. I want you to enjoy this weekend as much as I intend to.”
The moment the wheels touched down on the runway until they set foot on the deck of the yacht, Antonio kept her hand in his, their fingers intertwined just like she imagined their bodies would be soon. She wasn’t sure if the gesture was meant to comfort or to ensure she didn’t run. It did both, she decided as she gazed longingly from the aft deck toward the rapidly disappearing dock.
So far, everyone had been wonderfully attentive, assuring them both of their wish to be of service, performing their duties then quietly disappearing.
They’d settled onto chaise lounges in the sun. Sheltered from the wind, and thanks to a Fall heat wave, the air temperature was just right for lounging.
He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. “As soon as we have something to eat, I’m going to take you to our cabin and have dessert.”
There was a wicked tone to his voice that left no doubt as to what he considered dessert. She stared straight ahead, acknowledging his comment by returning the thumb caress. Her body warmed from the inside out, imagining what she hoped he had in mind.
They watched the sun disappear below the horizon in a blaze of jewel-toned colors. Dinner was served al fresco on a white-draped table illuminated by candlelight and a blanket of stars. The servings were generous, and she ate like she’d been told it was the last meal she would ever have, despite her earlier nerves.
“This is delicious,” she said, reaching for another warm roll.
“The sea air always makes me hungry,” he said. “I could never be in the Navy. I’d eat until I couldn’t get through the hatches.”
“Good thing you took up baseball.”
“I suppose so. I never would have met you if I had taken another route.”
“I doubt that would have been a great loss.”
She sensed a change in the atmosphere and glanced up at her dinner companion. Candlelight flickered off the hard lines of his face. His dark eyes seemed to absorb more light than they gave off.
“What do I have to do to convince you, Clare Kincaid, that you’re a game changer for me?”
His earnest admission stole her breath. She wanted to believe him. “I’m a conquest for you. Nothing more. I understand that, and I accept it.”
“No. You don’t. You don’t understand anything.” He folded his napkin and placed it on the table. He sat back in his chair and let out a long breath. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you. I know what I know, and I’ll eventually convince you, too. In the meantime, can we just enjoy each other’s company?”
She rose and walked to the railing. Wrapping her arms around herself, she gazed up at the full moon. What he was asking wasn’t unreasonable. She had agreed to his terms, which meant she’d agreed to sleep with him. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t already done it. But this was different than the time in her office.
That had been spontaneous combustion.
Tonight was a planned seduction with all the time in the world to see it through.
Be adventurous. Take what he’s offering for as long as it lasts.
Antonio joined her, enfolding her in his arms from behind, startling her.
“Shh. It’s just me, sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear.
“Antonio….”
“You look so lovely in the moonlight.” His lips left a trail of heat along the length of her neck to her collarbone. “Relax. Let me love you.”
She leaned back letting him take her weight. He was solid and heat radiated off him, so it was easy to imagine the star-splashed black sky as a blanket cloaking them from the world. When his fingers slid along her arms to capture her hands, guiding them to the rail, she made no protest.
“Hold on,” he said.
She gripped the polished wood, grateful for its unyielding presence. His hands moved to the buttons on the front of her summer blouse, and as he worked the fasteners free, warm air caressed her exposed skin. When the garment hung open, he cupped her midriff between callused palms and let his fingers explore from the band of her bra to the waistband of her shorts.
Clare closed her eyes, allowing her to focus all her senses on enjoying the feel of his work-roughened hands touching her.
“So soft.” His voice was anything but. The shell of her ear tingled where his lips brushed then nibbled. She pressed her mouth
tight to keep from groaning out loud at the erotic sensation. He nibbled again, this time taking the lobe between his teeth, biting lightly then soothing the prick of pain with his tongue. A sound escaped then. A moan? A groan? Whatever it was called, she felt sure it’d been loud enough to summon Merfolk from the sea.
Antonio’s silent mirth rumbled around in his chest pressed to her back. Smiling, he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.
Damn man. It wasn’t fair what he could do to her with so little effort.
Covering her breast with one hand, the other inched below her waistband, stroking, sending tendrils of want and need to her pussy.
Giving her no time to protest, he’d upped the seduction to a whole new level.
She flexed her hips in a vain attempt to coax his fingers toward the swollen flesh between her legs, but he wouldn’t be goaded into speeding things up. In answer, he pulled his hand from her shorts.
“Let’s get this off.” He brushed her hair over one shoulder and placed a kiss on the nape of her neck while he worked her blouse over her shoulders.
She tried to shrug it back in place. “We can’t….”
“We can. I told the staff to go below for the night.” He divested her of her top and bra before placing her hands back on the rail. “Don’t move.”
Her nipples puckered in the warm night air. She quickly scanned the ink-black ocean for signs of life. They were alone with the vast sparkling blanket and the moonlight. She was half-naked and all alone with Antonio. An errant breeze teased a loose tendril of hair, adding to the wild and decadent feelings rushing through her.
Behind her, he adjusted his stance, fusing his front to her back. He’d removed his shirt so they were skin to skin.
“God, you feel so good,” he said, his cheek pressed against her temple He growled out the words, his chest vibrating against her back sending a shiver of awareness all the way to her toes.
His hands once again learned the shape of her shoulders, her ribcage, her breasts. “I love your breasts.” He handled them reverently, testing their weight before brushing his thumbs across her nipples, making them grow impossibly harder.