The Naughty Nine: Where Danger and Passion Collide

by Nina Bruhns

  Any other time, and with any other woman, Antonio might consider sex with her, but Margot was too shaken and she had had way too much wine for him to attempt anything tonight, even though he desperately wanted to. There was a moral code he went by that prevented him from ever taking advantage of a woman in her condition.

  Not that he was much better off, although the near car accident had really sobered him up and he wondered if it had done the same for Margot.

  They made their way down the narrow hallway to her bedroom. He switched on a soft light then gently deposited her on her white marshmallow bed. Just as he did, she grinned and stared up at him. Her voice was husky and low as she said, “I don’t want to be alone tonight, Antonio. Stay with me.”

  She seemed perfectly awake and sober, but Antonio knew better. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, baby. We both drank a little too much.”

  “Your loss,” she cooed, turned on her side and closed her eyes.

  “Don’t I know it,” he said feeling his ethical code all the way down to his toes.

  Antonio would have been happy to leave her like that, but she was wearing a bulky coat, with a red scarf still tied around her neck. He knew that both those items had to come off or she might choke to death in the middle of the night.

  He carefully rolled her on her back. “You decided to stay. That’s good, and you’re going to help me get undressed. I haven’t had a man undress me in . . . way too long.”

  She sat up while her fingers stumbled over her buttons.

  He figured he could help her get out of her coat and scarf, anything more and his moral code would be severely tested. “Here, let me do that.”

  Her arms dropped down on the bed as if they were made of lead. “That would be so nice. I can’t seem to do it.”

  Then she yawned, a great big yawn and tears stained her cheeks. “I’m sorry. It’s been such a long day. Plus, did I drink too much? I feel kind of woozy.”

  “I don’t think anyone’s ever drank that much.” He was teasing her now. He really only saw her drink two glasses of wine.

  She giggled; a true girly giggle and he couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

  When he finally removed her coat and scarf she went for the zipper on the side of her strapless dress, but couldn’t grab ahold of it. “It would be much sexier if you unzipped me.”

  “It sure would, but I’m going to take a pass on that move for now.”

  “Suit yourself.” She turned sideways on the bed and grabbed at the zipper but couldn’t quite catch it.

  “Okay, but this is really dangerous,” he said and gently unzipped her dress. He quickly realized she wasn’t wearing a bra.

  “Maybe you better hold onto the front of your dress while I do this.”

  “Why?”

  “Because your dress will fall off.”

  “Isn’t that what you want to happen?”

  “More than anything, but this isn’t the time.”

  “Why? Would my breasts offend you?”

  “No. I just think it would be easier for both of us if you kept them covered.”

  “Don’t you want to see my breasts?”

  The thought of seeing Margot’s breasts sent an immediate reaction to his already throbbing groin.

  “More than my next breath, just not tonight.”

  “Let’s be naughty.”

  “Let’s wait until you’re sober.”

  “But then I won’t want to be naughty. I’m kind of a prude, at least that’s what my ex-husband used to say. I don’t want to be a prude anymore.” Then she let her dress fall open revealing absolutely perfect breasts, rosy peaked nipples against white smooth skin. “Oopsy…let’s have some fun.”

  She had a body for sex, all curves and softness that he’d love to spend hours tasting and loving . . . just not now, not like this. He reached for the front of her dress which now pooled around her waist, grabbed the silky fabric and carefully pulled it up to cover her adorable breasts, his fingers gently brushing her creamy skin.

  Damn but he wanted her.

  Fortunately, she took his lead and held her dress up, momentarily at least. Then she fell back on the bed and all bets were off.

  “I’m so tired,” she cooed, and turned on her side, the side with the open zipper.

  At this point, Antonio would like nothing more than to slip that dress off, get out of his own clothes and make love to her until they were both so spent sleep would be the only thing that could revive them. A woman like Margot deserved nothing less.

  But he knew he couldn’t, not tonight. Instead, he slipped her dress completely off noting that at least she was wearing pretty black panties. Never had he been so happy about panties on a woman as he was at that moment. His arousal for her was sheer torture, and if she’d been completely naked under that dress, he felt certain he would collapse in a heap, unable to breathe.

  He grabbed the blue quilt from the foot of the bed, and quickly covered Margot’s beautiful body. Then he gently shoved a pillow under her head, raked her hair off her face, draped her dress over the chair, turned out the light on the nightstand, unhappily walked out of the room and headed for the shower. He needed a cold one if he had any chance at all of sleep.

  * * *

  Margot awoke with a start as if she’d been drowning and needed air. She pulled in great big gulps of air as she sat upright remembering her dream about a looming lighthouse. Her head immediately exploded with pain as sunlight poured in through the windows, causing her to squint which only intensified her throbbing head. She thought it odd the shades weren’t drawn, and odder still that she had slept once again essentially naked, something she’d never done at home, especially with two children in the house.

  But she wasn’t in her house. She was in Jackie’s apartment in London, and those sounds she heard weren’t from a lighthouse but were most likely coming from Antonio, cooking something delicious out in the kitchen.

  “Oh-my-God, Antonio!” she said it so loud that he appeared in her doorway.

  “What? Are you okay?”

  She instantly pulled the comforter up to cover herself while visions of the previous night replayed in her head. As she gazed at him, looking scrumptious in a gray T-shirt and jeans, not only did she remember drinking far too much wine, but she flashed on him helping her get out of her dress. She drew a blank on everything else.

  “Other than my head feeling like it’s going to explode, I think I’m fine.”

  “I’ve got just the cure.”

  He left and while he was gone she spotted the bunny T-shirt on a chair not two feet away from the bed. She made a dash for it, her head pulsating with pain with each step, slipped it over her head, raked her hands through her tangled hair and just as she slipped back into bed, Antonio appeared with an entire tray filled with goodies, a glass pitcher of water and what had to be tea served in a white teapot. He slid the tray onto the bed, then sat in the overstuffed chair next to the bed.

  “I see you’re wearing my favorite T-shirt.”

  “You actually like this thing? I think it’s horrible.”

  She gazed down at the smiling bunny staring up at her trying to imagine why Jackie would own such a thing. Nothing came to mind other than Jackie must have been stone drunk when she bought it.

  “It’s sweet and you look adorable wearing it.”

  “Don’t make me smile. It makes my cheeks hurt.”

  “I figured you might need my special breakfast. You’ll feel better in no time.”

  “Please, tell me what to do first. My head feels like it’s about to crack open.”

  He poured the water into a glass, then held up an aspirin bottle. “Drink this and take two of these. You’re dehydrated.”

  She eagerly did as she was told, drinking down every drop of the cool liquid and then realized she had to pee in the worst way. “Excuse me,” she told him, moved the tray to the nightstand, and dashed off to the bathroom.

  Once she relieved herself, she gl
anced into the mirror. Horrified at streaked makeup and bed hair, she quickly cleaned up. When she felt human again, she casually walked out of the bathroom, and slid back up on the bed with one burning question.

  “Did we, um, last night, did you and I . . . ?”

  She could barely look at him while she waited for the answer.

  He chuckled. “We did not.”

  “We didn’t?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “But I remember my dress coming off. . . where is my dress, by the way?”

  He leaned forward and she spotted it behind him. “I helped you out of it.”

  She felt the heat from the blush. “And you didn’t look, right?”

  “I’m not a saint.”

  She flashed on his naked body sprawled on the sofa. “Neither am I.”

  He snickered and she sparked on how delectable he could be. It was enough to turn her into a schoolgirl crushing on the guy she knew she could never have.

  “What does that make us?”

  “Naughty.”

  She giggled and her head wanted to explode. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts too much.”

  “Then don’t remind me of what’s under that T-shirt.”

  “They’re just breasts. Half the population has them.”

  “Not like yours.”

  She was in a teasing mood. “And what makes mine so special? After all, they’re not as perky as they once were.”

  “I was never a perky kind of guy. I prefer a real woman’s breasts.”

  “And do you consider me a real woman?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  His gaze dropped to her breasts and instead of wanting to hide them, a delectable thought raced through her mind. She’d never talked dirty with a man before, especially not with a man like Antonio who she already knew was a tiger in bed. Fortunately, this was only talk. They both knew it couldn’t go any further.

  “Why’s that? What makes my breasts so special?”

  “I’d have to see them again to make sure I’m adequately describing them.”

  Her body tingled at the thought. “You can’t describe on memory?”

  “I couldn’t do them justice. It was a little too dark in the room.”

  “It’s not dark now.”

  “I’d be much more able to do them justice with sunlight caressing your beautiful skin.”

  More delicious thoughts danced through her head, thoughts she’d never even considered before, thoughts of being daring and bold. Two traits she sorely lacked.

  Until now . . .

  “There would have to be some rules.”

  Following rules always made her feel as though she was doing the right thing, and at the moment, doing the right thing seemed of the utmost importance . . . sort of.

  “Whatever you want.”

  “There’s no touching.”

  “You can tie my hands if you want to.” He held them up to her, wrists touching.

  “I’m all out of rope at the moment.”

  “Then this will have to do.” He slipped his hands under his bottom on the chair. “Will this work for you?”

  “It’ll work, but you have to promise you’ll keep your hands there the entire time.”

  “This is purely a demonstration on why your breasts are different that the rest of the population. Strictly an ego boost to you, and a dream come true for me.”

  She laughed again, twisted to face him and instead of lifting her T-shirt she simply took it off and waited as he stared at her. Adrenalin surged through her veins, and somehow her headache eased. Never in her life had she felt so alive, so blissful, so turned on without so much as a touch or a kiss.

  He stared at her breasts for what seemed like forever, then he said, “Spectacular. They’re even more beautiful in daylight with the sun hitting them at just the right angle. You’re skin looks especially lovely in sunshine. You were meant to be naked.”

  She’d never felt more alive in her entire life. Complete arousal tingled through her body, making her want to pull him on top of her, making her want to do everything and anything he wanted.

  She sat up straighter, moved her hair off her shoulders, giving him a perfect view. “I’m still waiting for you to tell me why.”

  For so long Margot had been ashamed of her body, especially after her second baby stopped nursing. She felt as though her breasts had lost all their suppleness, and her tummy was never the same. Having babies takes its toll on a woman and it was rare for a man to appreciate an older woman’s body. It was one of the reasons why she’d never dated. Her ex had noticed the change. He’d encouraged her to get breast implants and a tummy tuck, but she never wanted either of those. Then, after she’d caught him out in the playhouse, she’d seriously considered it, even going as far as talking to a surgeon. In the end, she simply never had the time for it, and decided to instead dedicate herself to her children.

  That was until she met Antonio.

  “I think it’s the slope of your breasts, the curve of them, the way your rosy nipples peak when you’re excited, like they are now. It’s the dark rosy color of your perfect areola, and how smooth and sweet your creamy white skin looks. Your nipples are perfectly round and I can imagine myself suckling each one and cupping your breasts in my hands. They were made to be suckled by a man. I would love to taste them and run my tongue over your nipples, nipping at them until you—”

  She pulled the blanket up over her breasts. “You made your point.” And she slid down under the blankets completely turned on and wanting him more than she’d ever wanted any man.

  “Any time,” he told her, his face flushed.

  “We can’t do this.”

  “Do what? Have breakfast together?”

  She turned to face him.

  “Tease each other. Flirt. Talk dirty.”

  “I was just being factual. Besides, you asked me to.”

  “I’m Jackie’s best friend and you’re her boyfriend.”

  “That’s not exactly true.”

  “Then what?”

  “We had sex, and she . . . ”

  Margot slipped back up holding onto the comforter.

  “She what?”

  He hesitated. “I think I’m going to let her tell you the rest.”

  “But you did have sex.”

  “Yes.”

  Margot felt crestfallen. She knew about the sex, but to hear it from Antonio was something else entirely. “That’s more than enough for me to stay away from you.” If that was all Jackie meant to him, that would be all she would mean to him and she wasn’t sure she could handle that kind of blasé thinking. Margot was falling for him and she knew for a fact once she slept with him, she’d be devastated when he left. Despite what her daughter had told her, she simply couldn’t be a one night stand.

  At least not with Antonio.

  “This is a major problem,” Margot said.

  “Why didn’t you let me get a hotel room when I wanted to?”

  “Besides the fact that you were worse for wear at the time, I thought I could handle this.”

  Her thighs itched and the intimate parts between her legs tickled.

  “Handle what?”

  “This whole thing . . . your liking my writing . . . my getting an agent . . . George coming onto me . . . drinking too much wine . . . my showing you my breasts. I thought I was all grown up and in charge of my life. But I’m not. I’m the same woman I’ve always been, the only difference is . . . I really don’t care anymore.”

  She threw off the blanket, slid out of bed and stood in front of him, completely vulnerable. “I’ll probably burn in hell, and I’ll probably lose my best friend, but I can’t help myself. I want to have dirty sex with you. Right now. Right here. And if my breasts appeal to you so much, I’m hoping the rest of me has the same effect.”

  Everything He Never Wanted: Chapter Seven

  Antonio didn’t move. He felt as if his world had just split in two. He wanted to make love to Margot more than
he’d wanted any woman in his entire adult life, but he also knew what that would mean to her. Everything she believed in would fall apart and he wasn’t sure he could put it back together again.

  So instead, he had another idea.

  “Take off your panties.” Just saying the words out loud caused his mouth to go dry and his fists to clench. He wanted to see her naked, but didn’t think she could actually do it, especially not this way. He was taking a risk. She could tell him to get out, that she never wanted to see him again. Or she could do it and give him everything she had. He was hoping for the latter because it would mean she was ready to take whatever consequences fell on them after this moment.

  “What?” He could see the shock on her face coupled with a naughty little smirk. He figured she must have been deliciously devious when she was growing up and wondered when all that changed. What had caused her to become so uptight? So shy?

  Although, watching her stand in front of him now, she didn’t seem the least bit shy. He was hoping he’d tapped into the naughty side of Margot Butler, the little girl who probably showed the boys her ruffled panties in first grade.

  “We’re going to do this my way.” He used his deep, authoritarian voice taking yet another risk, hoping she would react in his favor.

  “I can’t…”

  “I want to see all of you.” He took his voice down even deeper, letting her know this was the real Antonio, the man she was about to get tangled up with. “Take off your panties.”

  She hesitated, standing perfectly still and he could almost hear the wheels turning inside her head. Trying to decide if she had the courage to bare it all to a man who could be her ruin, be her ultimate defeat. But he had to know if she was in this, if he could have all of her with no regrets.

  She blinked and her expression changed ever so slightly. While she stared directly into his eyes, she slipped her hands ever so slowly down the sides of her body, then hooked her fingers into the sides of the black lace, then deliberately moved her panties down her legs and revealed the luscious dark vee between her legs.