Blush

by Lauren Jameson

  Could she if he asked? Since he would know very well that she wouldn’t have an overnight bag, it seemed unlikely that he would.

  If something didn’t happen to release some of the sexual tension that drew hot and tight between them, Maddy thought she might explode.

  Pushing her thoughts away—she could go around about it forever—she focused on following her guide and on not becoming lost in a sea of sequins, lipstick, and silicone.

  “This way please, Miss Stone.” Another man dressed in sleek black took her by the elbow and steered her toward the front lobby of the casino. Alex couldn’t have gotten there more than a few minutes before Maddy had, but it seemed that he had announced her arrival. She wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or nervous to be in the company of a man built like a tank, a man who knew her name even though she didn’t know his.

  “Who are you?” The question sounded rude, though she hadn’t meant it as such.

  To her surprise, the giant in black dropped his dour expression and chuckled. “I’m Declan.”

  Maddy blinked when she realized that the man had a thick Irish accent. Thinking of how the man at her blackjack table that first night in the casino had called Alex an Irishman, she wondered if he was maybe a relative.

  “I take care of things here.” He resumed his serious expression as they reached a bank of elevators.

  Maddy didn’t ask any more questions, because she didn’t think that she was going to get any more out of the man. He seemed to have shut down after that one brief flash of approachability.

  He took care of things? Like her? Or Alex’s business-related things?

  As a gaggle of gaudily dressed young girls approached the elevator that had just opened for them, Declan caught Maddy by the elbow again and towed her inside, warning the girls off of the same lift with a scowling shake of his head.

  Maddy raised an eyebrow at the head shake. The elevator was big enough to comfortably fit a crowd. There wasn’t any need for them to hog it.

  The doors closed, and Declan inserted a card into the slot below the keypad. What appeared to be an LED screen popped out, much in the manner that cash was dispensed from an ATM. He pressed a thick index finger to the pad, and a light rolled down the screen from top to bottom.

  “Declan St. Adams.” An automated female voice filled the elevator, which then began to move. Maddy felt her mouth fall open a bit with astonishment. Declan caught her expression, then very nearly smiled again.

  “Security.” The word was a grunt.

  Where on earth were they going? When Alex asked her to have dinner with him at the casino, Maddy had assumed that he’d meant one of the restaurants in the casino itself.

  The elevator rose, then rose some more. Just when she started to wonder if the ride would ever end—the higher they rose, the more nervous she got—the elevator gently shuddered to a stop.

  “Miss Stone.” Declan gestured for Maddy to exit the elevator. She was rooted in place with wide eyes, staring at the elegant room that had opened up in front of her.

  She swallowed thickly and turned back to Declan. She would have to ask him to take her back down. She couldn’t do this. She was way, way, way out of her league.

  Declan eyed her with calculation written over his face as Maddy battled her inner demons. Then his face softened, just the tiniest bit. “He’d never hurt you. Not unless you wanted him to.” Then, with a hand on Maddy’s elbow yet again, he urged her off of the lift. It swallowed the great big man back up, and she was left alone in what she assumed was the penthouse of the building, wondering what on earth his words had meant.

  Holy shit.

  The floor was intricately tiled, an array of blue, green, and white. The walls were tinted pale green, and the glass dewdrops of a chandelier that soared above her head cast light on the wall in a pattern that reminded Maddy of a flowing stream.

  A polished mahogany table sat against the wall, holding carved jade bookends and a bright stripe of leather-bound books. Her fingers itched to touch them—she loved to read—but she still couldn’t quite bring herself to move.

  “Welcome, Maddy.” His voice parted the air softly, and she shivered as she looked up and saw Alex standing at the end of the hallway, watching her. He had unbuttoned the top two buttons of his black shirt, and Maddy’s mouth watered at the sight of the tanned skin beneath.

  She ran her tongue slowly over her lips without realizing that she was doing it. His eyes followed the movement hungrily.

  “Hi, Alex.” This was all that she could manage to say. He waited, presumably for her to come in. Nervously, she toed off her sandals and then flushed when he studied the action curiously.

  “You’re very sweet.” Alex didn’t come any closer as he spoke, seeming to want Maddy to come to him. Hesitantly, she took one step toward him, then another. Finally she reached the end of the long hall, and as she closed the distance separating them, she felt weak in the knees.

  What am I doing here?

  • • •

  “Are you all right?” Alex smiled at Maddy’s nervous nod before tucking her hand into his. He was suddenly transported back to junior high school, when just the touch of another’s hand was exhilarating.

  “Come with me.” Alex led her a bit farther down the hall, until the corridor opened into a massive kitchen. The room gleamed with bright copper and polished wood and was kept neat as a pin.

  He liked things in order, and though he’d never bothered himself wondering what others thought of his home, he suddenly found himself hoping that Maddy liked it.

  Releasing her hand, Alex urged her into the kitchen with a gentle push at the small of her back. Warmth from her skin made him burn, and when he saw her shiver, he assumed that she felt the same way.

  She gasped when she saw the spacious wooden island in the center of the room, loaded with dishes.

  “What . . . Surely this isn’t all for me?” Maddy turned to look at him, bewildered. She looked so cute, he wanted to kiss her nose.

  That was a new one for him.

  “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I had the Bistro send one of everything.” Her eyebrows rose to her hairline at his words, and he winced inwardly, following her line of thought.

  “One of everything? From the Bistro?” Despite its casual name, the boutique restaurant located on the lower level of the casino was five star and ridiculously expensive.

  He hadn’t yet had cause to tell her how incredibly wealthy he was.

  “Alex, really . . .” Maddy’s words trailed off under his gaze, and his eyes narrowed further. He wanted her to understand that this was nothing compared to everything that he wanted to lavish on her.

  As if plucking the thought from his head, she swallowed whatever she was going to say and instead replied simply, “Thank you.”

  Alex couldn’t help it. He grinned and guided her closer to the island. Pulling out one of the high bar stools for her, he clasped her around the waist and seated her gently, then reached for the bottle of wine that sat nearby, open to breathe.

  She squinted at the label, wincing when she saw that it was the Mouton Rothschild again. “Just water, please.”

  Alex couldn’t help but chuckle. Clearly the memory of her binge was all too fresh in her mind.

  Still, he couldn’t complain. If she didn’t need a drink to relax around him, then she was trusting him a bit more.

  “Just a taste?” Alex poured himself a glass and offered it to Maddy. Warily she nodded, her eyes widening when he kept his fingers clasped on the stem, entwining them with hers. Leaning in close, his breath misted over the skin of her cheek as he confided to her, “You’re the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met.”

  • • •

  Surely it was just a line, though he seemed to be entirely sincere. Still, Maddy’s belly did a slow roll at the words and then again when, instead of relinquishing his control and handing her the glass to sip, he dipped his index finger into the swirls of red and painted the liquid over h
er lips.

  She inhaled sharply and her tongue slid out to catch the drops. Maddy watched Alex’s eyes go dark as his stare followed the path of her tongue, and she could feel her skin turning red.

  “That blush.” This is it, she thought. He was going to kiss her again. She wanted to undress him ever so slowly and explore the contours of his body. It was going to happen.

  Instead he turned to the first of the plates that crowded the island.

  “What is that?” It looked and smelled good, but Maddy had never been an adventurous eater.

  “Bison meat loaf.” He filled a fork, then held it to her lips. She was ready to melt.

  Alex Fraser is feeding me.

  Even with her nervous stomach, she parted her lips to accept the bite. She chewed and swallowed—she was sure that it was delicious, but her senses were otherwise engaged.

  “Good?”

  “It’s lovely.” Maddy nodded her approval as the flavors burst over her tongue. Alex took a bite for himself, eating it off of the same fork. It was so intimate, and not at all what she’d expected from dinner with the business mogul—though she still wasn’t sure what, exactly, that was.

  “You didn’t need to order so much, Alex.” As Maddy spoke, Alex laid the fork down on the wooden counter and pulled a new plate close. With his fingers, he lifted what appeared to be some kind of shellfish, swirling it through a thick, rich broth before lifting the new offering to Maddy’s lips.

  “Open your mouth so you can try the mussels.” He ignored what she’d said. She wanted to please him, so she didn’t press, and again parted her lips. Something with an unfamiliar texture slid in. The taste was pleasant, but she didn’t like the rubbery feeling and made a face before she could stop herself, freezing immediately after, knowing she’d just been rude.

  Instead of being agitated, Alex threw his head back and laughed, shoving the plate away at the same time. “I don’t much care for them either.” Leaning toward her, he brushed the residual broth from Maddy’s lips with his thumb. Before she could think it through, she nipped at it and he closed his eyes.

  When he opened them again, they were dark and full of heat. “No more mussels. But you have to eat more.” He placed his hands on Maddy’s waist, squeezing briefly, and she shuddered.

  “I’m not really hungry.” Not for food, at any rate. There were so many emotions pummeling her that Maddy wasn’t sure how much she’d actually be able to get down.

  His expression stern, Alex continued to feed her, bites of tuna tartare, Brie en croute, crispy crab cakes, and deliciously spiced prawns. Between bites, he touched her casually here and there, a palm on her knee, a swipe over her mouth, lips whispering through her hair.

  “Please.” She couldn’t do it. Not only was she unable to swallow any more, she was on fire, consumed by heat from his light touches.

  “Are you full?”

  “I couldn’t eat another bite.” Maddy nodded vigorously to support her response, and he again laughed, in a wonderful soft sound that tickled inside her ear. His lips trailed lightly from her ear across her cheek and down to her neck. His fingers tugged lightly on the chain of the locket that she always wore, and she froze, suddenly panicked.

  “Picture of a former lover?” The surface of his voice was amused, but it was swirled through with something that sounded like jealousy. His fingers toyed with the clasp of the locket.

  “No!” Maddy snatched the locket from his fingers and leapt backward, off the stool. Her heart rate was up and her breath came in short pants. Her body was reacting now more from anxiety than desire.

  Alex looked angry, not, she thought, because he so badly wanted to see the picture, but because she was keeping something from him.

  “No. I don’t show that to anyone.” With her heart pounding in her ears, she stared back at him, clutching the locket tightly in suddenly sweaty fists—but she wasn’t going to back down, not on this. This secret of hers was too precious, too fragile, to share with someone so new to her life.

  The sensual haze that had wrapped them tightly together as they ate was broken. Maddy could see Alex drawing into himself, becoming once again the casino magnate, not the would-be lover.

  “Well, even if you won’t share with me, I have something that I need to share with you.” His jaw was set, and if Maddy had to describe how he looked, she would have said apprehensive, or maybe resigned.

  She couldn’t imagine what he could show her that could elicit either sentiment from him. He had already discovered more about her than she’d let anyone else know, and he was still there.

  “All right.” What else was she going to say? He had been so sweet, had gone to so much trouble for her tonight. It had been a wonderful evening. She could hear him out, even if the dinner date had veered off of the sensual course that she had so anticipated.

  “I know I’ve been hot and cold with you. It wasn’t because I wanted to.” Alex held out his hand; then, as if thinking better of it, he retracted it before Maddy could place her palm against his own. “There are things that . . . fulfill something in me, things that I very much want to do with you, but that I didn’t feel right introducing to someone so sweet and innocent.”

  “I’m hardly an innocent.” But she supposed she could see where Alex had gotten that idea. Maddy felt a rock settle in her gut, weighted with a hefty dose of irritation. Still, despite the ominous tone that now permeated the air, Alex was still gentleman enough to usher her ahead of him.

  With the slightest of touches to her waist, he guided her down yet another hallway. At the very end was a closed door. Pulling a plastic key card from his pocket, he slid it into the slot beneath the handle.

  Holy crap. He had a locked room in his home? What was on the other side? The bodies of every other woman who had been lured to the penthouse?

  “You’ve shown me that you’re plenty strong enough to make the decision for yourself, Maddy. And I’ll do everything in my power to convince you to be with me, but I will also understand if you don’t want any part of this.” Maddy stepped backward, only to be met with the solid warmth of Alex’s body. She prepared to flee, but the heavy metal door swung open, and the sight beyond it shocked her still.

  What have I gotten myself into?

  • • •

  The room that Maddy was standing in was a study in black and gray. Directly in front of her was what appeared to be a swing, suspended from the ceiling. Beyond it, against the wall, was a giant wooden X and something that looked like gymnastics equipment. Shelves on the wall displayed a variety of instruments that, unless she was very much mistaken, were whips and canes.

  Startled by the sight in front of her, Maddy looked to the left, where she saw a massive wooden post, a coil of leather at its base. Right, and there was another set of shelving holding bars, handcuffs, and other things whose purpose she couldn’t even begin to guess.

  The truth hit her like a freight train, and her knees buckled. What had she gotten herself into? Alex placed his hands at her waist, holding her up. She looked up at him, her feelings coalesced into a thick, unidentifiable miasma.

  His face displayed no emotion—deliberately, she thought. “Do you have any questions?” This was business Alex, always stoic and in control.

  Maddy looked around the room quickly, then squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn’t repulsed—no, not at all. Confused, yes, and a bit disoriented, but underneath it all was a heat that was spreading out slowly from the apex of her thighs, suffusing her skin with its warmth.

  “What is this place?” She had already guessed—she knew what he was about to say. But she still wanted to hear it from him.

  “This is my dungeon.” Alex still wasn’t expressing any emotion toward her—or was he? There was the slightest flicker in his eyes when Maddy looked up at him that told her that what she thought of this place mattered to him.

  She tore her stare away and sucked in a searing mouthful of air.

  “I think I would like that drink now.” Pulling
out of his grasp, Maddy scurried out of the “dungeon” and back down the hall to the kitchen. She wasn’t offended by the things that he’d shown her, but he’d thrown her for one hell of a loop, and she couldn’t think straight.

  Plus, the wine was in the kitchen, and she found herself desperately in need of a drink.

  “Hell.” Not bothering with the glass, Maddy lifted the bottle to her lips the second that her fingers clasped the smooth surface. She chugged, gulping once, twice, then wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand.

  Alex entered the kitchen several moments later, after the wine had had a chance to fizz its way into her bloodstream. She appreciated the time he’d given her to compose herself, which she knew wasn’t accidental.

  “So?” Crossing the room toward her, Alex removed the bottle from Maddy’s hand and tidily topped off the red liquid in his own glass. Every inch the gentleman, he seated himself on a bar stool and looked up at her, frank curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

  “So.” She remained standing—she was too antsy to sit. There were a million questions swirling through her head, and she plucked one randomly and spat it out of her mouth.

  “What is the swing for?” Biding her time while waiting for his answer, she reached for his newly filled glass and sipped from it herself, using the action to hide her embarrassment. There was also a surge of something like desire running through her. From the smirk that crossed Alex’s lips, she knew that she hadn’t succeeded in hiding her interest.

  “That is a sex swing.” Taking the glass back, he drank, too, then reached out to trace a fingertip over Maddy’s abdomen. She shivered at the touch. “A ceiling suspension swing, to be precise.”

  Right. Of course it was. “What is it for?”

  Alex didn’t bother trying to hide his smirk that time. “It is to support one partner during . . . let’s call them unconventional . . . sexual positions.”

  “Oh.” Maddy wasn’t completely naive, but the lovers she’d had could have been counted on one hand.

  She knew nothing of dungeons or sex swings.

  “Why did you show it to me?” After taking one more sip from their shared glass, Maddy set it down on the polished wood of the island with a sharp clack, then twined her fingertips together and studied them intently. Alex trailed his fingers up from her belly, between her breasts, and under her chin, tilting her head until she was forced to look at him.