by Marie Carnay
Her blue eyes went wide and her plumped lips turned into a duck bill. Was that supposed to be sexy?
“Gosh, it must be you.” She leaned on the table, her cleavage shoved in their faces like a pair of inflatable buoys. If the ship sank, she wouldn’t drown. “You’re the owners aren’t you?”
Tony spread out in the booth and hooked his arm behind the seat. “We are.”
“Oooh!” The duck bill intensified. “It’s an honor to meet you. All the girls on the ship are talking about you.” She bit her lower lip and Damon wondered if it would spring a leak. “Is it true what they say?”
Tony graced her with a smile. “What would that be, exactly?”
“You know, about the women.” She motioned with her hand, but Tony only shook his head. The bastard. He’d decided to toy with her.
“I shouldn’t say anything.”
“Don’t be a tease. Ask what you want to know.”
She grew bolder. “That you pick a lucky woman to spend the week with you every cruise.”
Damon wished he had the heart to let her down easy. “You shouldn’t trust the gossip you hear around the ship.”
Her face fell. “So it’s not true?”
Tony straightened up and adjusted his shirt sleeves. “Not this time, honey.” He waved to the waitress and she hustled over. “Can you make sure this lovely lady has all the drinks she and her friends would like? You can set them up in the VIP section in the other room.”
The blonde practically squealed. “VIP service? For me? Wait ’til I tell the girls!”
The waitress hustled away to make the arrangements and Tony nodded at her retreating back. “I’d follow her, sweetheart. You wouldn’t want to get lost on the way.”
“Right!” She bounced up and down and beamed at them before scampering off.
“VIP service? For her?”
Tony shrugged. “Now she’s in another room and out of our hair.”
“We’re getting too old for this.” Damon ran his hand across his cheek and frowned.
“Don’t tell me we’re too old for her.” Tony motioned toward the front entrance and Damon froze. Daphne stood at the door to the restaurant, her red hair pulled up into a mass of sculpted curls, the dress they’d picked out slid over her body like water.
His lungs burned and he choked on a cough. Damon had forgotten to breathe. “She’s stunning.”
“That she is.”
Daphne fidgeted with her clutch and glanced from the hall to the restaurant and back again. Damon smiled. “She’s nervous.”
“I like it. It means she’s not used to this kind of thing.”
“What if she bolts?”
Tony shrugged. “Then we find someone else. But I don’t think she will.”
Damon didn’t know what it was about the woman that captured him. But if she left the ship, he’d be spending the rest of the week alone.
The hostess appeared and as she pointed, Daphne’s head swiveled in their direction. Is that a blush? Damon licked his lower lip. It had been ages since they’d had a challenge. He sat up straight as she walked through the restaurant.
Heads turned, voices whispered, and Damon slid out of the booth to stand. “Ms. Meadows, so glad you could join us.” The dress was even more spectacular in person. The diamond brooch holding the fabric of the dress together nestled between her breasts and cleavage peeked out every time she moved. Mmm.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “You’re stunning. No one can keep their eyes off you.”
She chewed on her lip and nodded. “Thanks for the dress. And the massage, and the nails, and—”
Tony waved her off. “It’s nothing.” He stood and leaned into her side, brushing his lips across her other cheek. “Come, sit down.”
She slid into the booth and the men took up position on either side. Perfect. The waitress appeared, took their drink orders, and Daphne clasped her hands in front of her.
“Don’t be nervous. We’re here to have a good time.”
She half-smiled. “I’m not well-versed in the good time bit.”
“What is it you do?”
“PR.” She exhaled. “Damage control, really. I help celebrities and politicians cover up their problems before they ruin their careers.”
Damon blinked. No wonder she hated being stuck on a singles cruise. “How did you get into that line of work?”
That blush again, “You can’t possibly be interested in learning about me.”
Tony put a hand on his chest. “That hurts.”
Damon shot him a glance. “What he means, is that of course we’re interested. We wouldn’t have asked you to dinner if we didn’t want to get to know you.”
Daphne spread her hands on the table top. The pads of her fingers pressed into the lacquer. “Let’s get one thing straight, okay? I don’t do flings. I’ve heard all about your reputation and I’m telling you right now, I’m not interested.”
Tony’s deep laugh boomed from the booth and half the restaurant turned to look. “You really aren’t like any other woman on this ship. Tell me, Daphne, what was it you’d hoped to get out of this trip? Name it and it’s yours.”
Daphne’s brows furrowed. “Nothing. Like I said before, I only came on this cruise to help a friend over a breakup. I’d never do something like this myself.”
“Not the adventurous sort?”
“I don’t like to make a spectacle of myself.”
“Why not?” Tony relaxed back in the booth and put his arms on the back. He took up half the space. “A woman as beautiful as you could have all the men on this ship fall at her feet with a snap of her fingers.”
She scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“He’s not. He’s being honest.” Did she really not see herself that way?
Before Damon could say any more, she grabbed her clutch and scooted toward him. “This is a mistake. I shouldn’t be here. Please let me out.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And if I say no?”
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in outrage. An insult was on the tip of her tongue when the waitress appeared with their drinks. She slid a champagne cocktail across to Daphne and Damon wondered if she’d throw it in one of their faces.
Instead, she sat back in the booth. “This whole thing is so far outside my comfort zone, it’s ridiculous.” She picked up her glass. “I’m a see the show, not be the show, kind of woman.”
Damon chuckled and picked up his glass. “Here’s to changing that for a few days. Stay, enjoy our company, and who knows, maybe you’ll find out you like a little attention now and then.”
Daphne frowned and glanced at Tony.
“My partner is right. Just because it makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t mean it’s bad. We’re here to have a good time. We want you to be a part of it.” He clinked his glass against hers. “Remember what we agreed to this afternoon. You have dinner with us. We talk. If you still want to leave, we’ll make it happen.”
“If I don’t?”
Damon grinned. “Then you’ll have the best vacation of your life.”
* * *
DAPHNE
Who knew cruise liners were hotbeds for exquisite food and wine? Daphne set down her fork and leaned back in the booth. “That was amazing.”
“Glad you approve.”
She couldn’t get over it. Damon and Tony were nothing like she’d expected. Instead of groping her under the table and dropping hints about their suite upstairs, they were complete gentlemen.
After she’d gotten over the shock of the whole thing, Damon had asked a million questions about her job in PR. Tony had opened up about how they started the cruise line and told some of the craziest stories she’d ever heard.
The image she’d conjured in her head of sex-starved beefcakes couldn’t be further from the truth. She glanced at Damon’s rolled up sleeves and impressive build. Between his dimples that came out every time he smiled, to Tony’s storm cloud eyes that stared right through her, Dap
hne didn’t know where to look.
The waitress cleared their plates and Daphne checked her watch. “Wow. When did it get so late?”
Tony leaned closer. “Do you have somewhere to be?”
She blushed. “No.” She hadn’t stayed up this late in years, but he didn’t need to know that.
“What would you like to do? We’re on cruise time, so there’s no hurry.”
Daphne paused. Was this the part where they asked her back to their room and she said no?
“We’ve got a casino downstairs. We’ll front you any amount you’d like.”
“Or there’s the boutique the dress came from. You could model all the latest fashions from Paris for us.”
Daphne pursed her lips. She wasn’t some gold digger. “You make it sound like I’m for sale. I don’t need your money.”
Tony slid closer and his heat radiated against her arm. “Everyone has a price.”
Here we go. That was what she’d been expecting to hear since she’d slid into the booth. “Not me.”
“You can’t be immune to wealth.”
“I’m not. I’m just sick of it.” She crossed her arms in a huff. “Money doesn’t equal affection. I should know, I deal with people rolling in piles of it every day.”
Damon reached out and touched her shoulder. She jumped. “If it’s not money, what is it? Attention? Time? You name it, it’s yours.”
Daphne sat in silence. It didn’t make any sense. One minute they were normal guys, listening to her talk about her job and sharing details of their own. The next they’re throwing things at her like an auctioneer at an estate sale.
“Is this how it usually works? You wave your fancy watches and nice clothes around and ply some woman with top shelf liquor and she falls into your bed?”
Tony smirked. “To be honest? Yes.”
“Well that’s not my style.”
Damon took her by the arm. “Daphne, look at me.”
She frowned, but turned his way. “What is it? You going to wow me with a helicopter ride around the ocean now, or what?”
Damon winced. “How about an apology? We didn’t mean to rub you the wrong way.”
“Keep talking.”
“We like you, we’re not going to lie. And we’d like you to be more than our friend.”
“You mean you’d like to sleep with me.” She swallowed and glanced at Tony. “Both of you.” He nodded and she turned back to Damon. This had to be the craziest trip she’d ever gone on in her life.
Men didn’t look at her like she was a main course. They certainly didn’t throw money at her hoping she’d give them some attention. She’d seen her clients do it over and over. Not that she didn’t want security—she did. It’s why she’d clawed her way up from the basement of her firm to aspiring partner.
But she’d earned every cent she made.
Could she really entertain the notion of two men sharing her for a night? Two sets of hands all over her body. Two pairs of lips kissing her senseless. Two… cocks inside her. God, even the thought made her shiver.
But it had been way, way too long. She’d almost forgotten what a good romp in the bedroom was like. If it weren’t for a handy vibrator tucked into her bedside table, Daphne would have lost her mind months ago.
She picked up her glass and downed the last of her drink. “You said there’s no way I can get off this boat until tomorrow, right?”
Damon nodded.
She could go back to that enormous suite all alone and stare out at the ocean until the morning, or she could enjoy herself. When was the last time she’d done something she had wanted to do anyway?
Hopkins’ dismissive comments filled her mind and she set the empty glass on the table. Screw it. It was time to enjoy herself for a change. “There’s a dance club in this place, right?”
Tony perked up. “We have three.”
Daphne let a smile spread across her face. “Pick your favorite. You’re both taking me dancing.”
Chapter 6
TONY
Smooth silk. Warm skin. Tony ran his fingers up and down Daphne’s hips and fought the urge to grind against her.
He’d known the minute she gave in. The decision had come over her in a slow wave. First her eyes had brightened, then her cheeks had flushed. When she looked at him, she’d dropped the veneer.
A sucker punch to the jaw, that’s what one look from her green eyes did to him. And now her body rolled and rocked inches away from him. Tony smiled as the beat picked up.
Nava had been the best choice. Tucked into a corner on the starboard side, the club had a sultry speakeasy feel. Nothing like the giant techno marvel a few floors up.
Lost in the steady grooves and endless drinks, Daphne could let go of everything that worried her. Every last string tying her up and holding her back could break and Tony would be right there to catch her.
He reached for her and pulled her body close. Her hips grazed his cock and it twitched inside his pants. Down boy. His lips found her ear. “You were born to dance, Daphne. The way you move your hips. How you feel the beat in your soul. You’re a natural.”
She tried to push away, but he reeled her in, inching her body tighter against his until her back pressed into his chest and her ass ground against his crotch.
“You’re just buttering me up to get in my pants.”
“Last time I checked, you weren’t wearing any.” Tony slid his free hand down her side until his fingertips grazed the outline of her panties. He traced the seam back until it disappeared behind her. “Only a thong.”
She twisted and he let her turn to face him. “You’re terrible.”
“You’re sexy.”
“Stop saying things like that.”
“Like what? The truth? You’ve been hanging out with the wrong people. Stay with us, and by the end of the week you’ll know how beautiful and intriguing you are.”
She shook her head. “I shouldn’t.”
Tony smiled. He could work with that. “That’s where you’re wrong.” He grabbed her by the hands and tugged her close, her breasts crashing into him as their lips almost touched. “Staying with us on this cruise is exactly what you should do.”
“No, it’s not.”
Determined. Tony liked it. It’d been a long time since they’d needed to seduce a woman. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed the game. He ran his fingers up and down the seam of her underwear, slipping the silk of her dress over and around. Down the front of her body to the crevice between her legs. Up and around her hips to the crack of her ass.
Every time he inched farther, took more. Daphne squirmed, but didn’t push him away. That’s it. Give in to me. The music slowed and Tony wrapped one arm around her middle, holding her body against him as they swayed to the beat.
“Tell me the last thing you did because you wanted to, not because it was the right thing to do.”
Daphne frowned and let him lead, his arms swooping around her frame and guiding them both in a slow, circular beat.
“I don’t know. Taking this vacation, I guess.”
“Before that?”
“None of your business.”
She jutted out her lower lip and Tony couldn’t help himself. He brushed the pad of his thumb across her pout and Daphne’s eyes widened.
“That’s what I thought. It’s time you start living, Daphne. Be your own person. Take a chance.”
His thumb slipped off her lip and before she could say a word, his lips took its place. Mmm. Kissing her was like stealing from a barrel of candy. Soft, sweet lips. Heat and desire.
Plunder. It’s what he’d do to her all night long.
Damon was right. She was the only woman for them. The only one he wanted to kiss and lick and ravage. The one he couldn’t wait to strip naked and sink his cock into.
If she turned them down… Tony didn’t want to think about it. He broke their kiss and twirled her around on the floor. Daphne Meadows would be in his bed by the end of the night. He’d make su
re of it.
* * *
DAMON
Damn. That woman was incredible. Damon leaned against the bar, sipping another drink as Tony and Daphne danced in the middle of a packed floor. For someone who claimed she didn’t like to be part of the show, she sure as hell was giving one now.
All the eyes in the club were on her and Tony. Her hips rocked against his crotch. His hands ran up her sides and bunched the fabric of her dress. Every time she threw her arms in the air, Damon held his breath. Her tits were about to pop out, he knew it.
“You aren’t the type to sit by the sidelines. Why aren’t you out there?”
Damon glanced over. Two of the regular crew had taken up front row leans next to him at the bar. He’d been so engrossed in watching Daphne, he hadn’t noticed.
“Hey guys. Just taking a break. Shouldn’t you two be working the bar?”
George scratched his head. “Naw. Ramos is on it. Besides, its shift change. We’re off for the night.”
Damon nodded. Of course. Daphne really had addled his brain. “How’s business been so far?”
Bill shrugged. “Pretty good. Most of the pools are packed. The other clubs are standing room only. Nadine said the casino was on track to meet expectations.”
“Good. Will you be ready to brief me and Tony in the morning?”
Bill hid a smirk behind his beer. “If you two think you’ll be free.”
Damon glanced out at the dance floor. Shit. If he didn’t get out there soon, Tony would woo that woman straight to bed. Damon didn’t want to be left out of the fun.
George piped up. “Who’s the skinny chick with Tony? She’s not his usual type.”
What? Damon gripped the glass so hard it threatened to crack. “She’s not skinny. And she’s not your concern.”
“Ooh, sorry man. Didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.” George took a swig of his beer. “Can’t say I’m surprised he found a hottie first, though. Tony always had a leg up in the ladies’ department.”
Bullshit. Tony might have more swagger and bravado, but that was what he wanted everyone to see. Behind closed doors? They were on equal ground. Damon just didn’t need to let the whole ship know it. Especially an employee.