Mona's Honeymoon Fantasy (Delta of Venus Inc.)

by Vincent, Verena

  Miss Bright crossed her arms and looked meaningfully towards the groupies. “First of all, you’re a forty-year-old virgin which is, by definition, the opposite of an easy lay. Second. Does it look like he has to go to such extreme measures to get women?”

  Mona watched as one pretty blonde girl with impossibly large breasts wrapped her fingers around the neck of Sam’s guitar to prevent him from putting it away in its weathered case. She ran her fingers up and down the strings in a gesture that was unmistakeably erotic, even from across the tent. Mona silently willed the guitar case to snap shut on the pushy blonde’s manicured fingers. Oblivious to the daggers Mona was shooting her way, the girl continued fingering the guitar like it was an extension of Sam’s buff body.

  Mona watched, waiting to see if Sam would fall for Double-D Barbie’s attempts at seduction. She half-expected him to take the girl up on her offer but instead of responding he gently removed the blonde’s hands from the guitar. When she protested he gave her an indulgent smile and a condescending pat on the cheek. Then he walked away towards the bar. The girl pouted at his retreating back but he didn’t even seem to notice.

  Mona felt relief wash over her. “No. I suppose he really doesn’t need to do much at all, does he?”

  “Never has. Until you. I think he was pretty shocked when you rejected him on the plane.”

  Mona snorted. “I’ll bet. Gorgeous women throw themselves at him every day. He must have thought I was nuts to say no to him. An average woman like me.”

  “Actually I think he was shocked because it seemed pretty obvious to him that you two had a real connection. And yet you still wanted to go through with your fantasy. I think that was a huge blow to his ego. When I told him that Carlos had agreed to be your Scene Facilitator he nearly went ballistic.”

  “He was jealous?”

  Miss Bright nodded. “Like crazy. He wanted me to tell him where you were staying so he could make Carlos ‘cry like the little bitch he is.’ His words, not mine.”

  Mona paused to process this information. The idea of anyone being so possessive of her was such a new concept, especially on such a short acquaintance. It was thrilling but also kind of unsettling. She was still having a hard time believing he was interested in her but why else would he be threatening poor Clark?

  “But you wouldn’t tell him?”

  Miss Bright shook her head. “No, of course not. I know it must seem like I don’t care about the privacy of my clients given the circumstances, but nothing could be further from the truth. I take my job very seriously.”

  “I can see that, but how did you get Sam to pursue me? You said he doesn’t work for you. So why was he so intent on seducing me?”

  Miss Bright looked uncomfortable. “Well, I may have challenged him a bit.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, he thought it was completely depraved that I was allowing you to pay to lose your virginity. He actually wanted me to reject your fantasy. When I refused and implied I might even arrange for another SF to meet you on the plane and ambush you, he insisted that I put him on the same flight instead. He thought he was rescuing you.”

  Mona held up her hand. “So, let me get this straight. He thought losing my virginity in a bathroom to a virtual stranger was better than fulfilling my fantasy?”

  “Apparently so. And they say chivalry is dead.” Miss Bright commented dryly. “Though I’m fairly sure his own desires were clouding his judgment. He’s not usually so easy to manipulate.”

  Mona pressed her fingertips to her temples as if she felt a headache coming on. “This is so confusing. I don’t know who to be angry with. You. Him. Or myself.”

  “Forgive me for saying this but does it really matter? What’s important now is that you have another chance with him. Are you going to take it? Or are you going to use all of this as an excuse to run away from him too? Because no matter what brought you together, there’s definitely something real between you two now. It would be foolish to ignore the possibility of finding someone special twice. Don’t you agree?”

  Mona stared at Miss Bright for several long, tense moments. This woman obviously thought she had a choice in this, but the truth was that running wasn’t an option anymore. She wanted Sam. Had wanted him from the moment they met. He wasn’t what she’d envisioned when she imagined her fantasy but that didn’t really seem relevant now, when her heart was leaping in her chest at the sight of him. He was everything she wanted right this second.

  She was moving across the crowded dance floor before she even realized it.

  Her stomach clenched with fear as she approached him but she didn’t slow her steps. She was terrified that he would look up and stare at her coldly as he’d done when leaving the plane that afternoon, or worse, be appalled at the sight of her. But she had to try. This one time when it really counted, she would put herself on the line and make herself vulnerable to rejection. What did she have to lose besides her dignity? And she’d probably lost most of that this afternoon on the plane. Nothing says dignity like being bare-assed and spread-eagled on a bathroom counter while a flight attendant pounds on the door to the amusement of the other passengers.

  When she was just a few feet away she stopped and drank in the sight of him. The bar he sat at was in the furthest corner of the tent from the stage. There were several rattan stools lined up in front of the long wooden surface but Sam was the only one sitting there. Everyone else was having fun and enjoying the lovely setting.

  He was facing away from her, nursing a glass of what looked like Scotch. Just sitting at the bar by himself, not watching the dancers or the band but looking out at the ocean with an adorably disgruntled look on his harsh profile. He was unshaven and his hair looked a tad wild. His white tuxedo shirt was half untucked and his sleeves were rolled up to reveal those insanely muscular forearms. In short, he still looked like a dangerous convict, but a very well-dressed and sexy one.

  She took a deep breath and pulled out the barstool next to him. “Excuse me, but is this where the Hawaiian Skinny-dipping Club is meeting tonight?”

  His gaze swung towards her and the disbelief and delight on his face was everything she could have hoped for. She had clearly run in the right direction for once.

  “Mona?” He stood up and stepped close but didn’t hug her. Instead he swept her from head to foot with that bright blue gaze. “Damn. Woman. You have no idea how glad I am to see you. Those bridesmaids are circling like sharks. You have to save me.” He grabbed one of her hands and tugged her towards him, until she was standing between him and the bar.

  She gave him a prim look. “Oh yes. I can see you were really suffering. That blonde over there was demonstrating her monkey spanking techniques on your guitar. That must have been so horrible for you.”

  “You were watching that? I feel so violated.” He tried to look morose but his huge grin wouldn`t be contained. “It really was traumatic because the only monkey-spanking techniques I’m interested in are yours and you were nowhere to be found.”

  She burst out laughing. “You still have a way with words. That was very smooth, in a gross kind of way.”

  “I can do better.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed one of her knuckles playfully. “How about this? I was a complete dick-wad this afternoon after that psycho flight attendant interrupted us. I had no right to act like such a tool. You made plans before you met me and I should have respected that instead of pouting like a horny teenager denied second base at the drive-in.” Looking proud of himself he leaned in to kiss her, clearly expecting forgiveness, but she stopped him with one hand on his firm chest.

  She raised one eyebrow at him in warning. “Nicely put, Romeo. But FYI – Miss Bright told me everything, including how you overheard my very private conversation with her and then proceeded to interfere with my life.”

  He had the grace to look embarrassed. For about five seconds. Rubbing the back of his neck, he squinted down at her. “Also a major asshole move.” He sighed and
sat back down on the barstool, gently shifting her until she was standing between his spread thighs, effectively trapped.

  Unable to resist being close to him, she allowed him to manoeuvre her but she didn’t sink into his strength and warmth as she so desperately wanted. She breathed in his heady scent and tried to focus on her anger rather than the bone-melting desire that was already stealing over her senses. They needed to get a few things straight before they could proceed with her new and improved fantasy. So she gave him an expectant look and crossed her arms, waiting for him to explain himself.

  He sighed and rubbed her upper arms with his big hands. “Ok. Obviously you want the long version. I don’t know what came over me but once I knew what you were planning, I couldn’t help myself. The thought of a woman like you wasting yourself on some paid dick-head made me go loco. But I should have been honest with you from the start. The problem was that I didn’t know how to do that without confessing that I was a creepy eavesdropper. But when it came down to sealing the deal, I couldn’t go through with it.”

  She gave him an “A-ha” look and poked him in the hard chest. “So you were purposely dragging out the foreplay. Just like I thought.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. But not because I didn’t want you. The truth was that when it came down to it I wanted more. For you. But also for me. I didn’t want to be the asshole who took your virginity and then disappeared. I told myself that it was better than the alternative but it still wasn’t what you deserved.”

  As noble as that sounded she still resented the fact that he made decisions for her without her knowledge. She was a tad innocent, but that didn’t make her a child. She’d been running a successful business for ten years and she hated the fact that he thought she couldn’t make decisions for herself. “What I deserve? How do you know what I deserve? You don’t know me. Not really. Maybe I deserve a cold, disappointing sex life. Just because I’m a virgin doesn’t mean I’m a saint. I could be a horrible person who cheats on her income tax and kicks puppies.”

  He snorted. “Yeah. I can see you’re a real monster. Even your examples of bad behavior are pretty tame.” He placed his hands on her hips and held her still, as if expecting her to run. “Don’t freak out, but I do kind of know you. Your interview with Elizabeth wasn’t the first time I saw you on video.”

  “What are you talking about?” She gave him a confused look.

  “Well, remember I told you that I work for an IT firm?” She nodded. “Well that IT firm specializes in video surveillance and has been known to work for the Technical Investigation Services Branch of the RCMP’s Technical Operations division.” He said this quite casually, like he worked at an insurance firm.

  “Umm. That sounds pretty impressive. But you can`t be a cop. Look at you.” She waved her hand at his body. “You look like you just walked off the set of that motorcycle gang show on TV.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I’m so good at my job. I blend in with the bad guys. No one looks at me twice. But just for the record, I’m a highly specialized surveillance specialist who owns patents on some crazy-sensitive equipment. Not an actual cop.”

  “Now you’re trying to tell me you’re a techno-geek? Also, not a good fit.”

  He grinned. “I’m going to take that as a compliment. But yeah. That’s probably an accurate description. A bad-ass, techno-geek who’s responsible for putting away some seriously dangerous criminals over the past eight years. We’re talking drug dealers, human traffickers and even a few terrorists.”

  “Wow, Seriously? I take it back. You are the King of Techno-geeks. But that doesn’t explain why you’ve been watching me. I make cupcakes for a living, not crystal meth.”

  “We weren’t actually watching you. Or at least not in the beginning. There’s a certain organized crime figure who likes to have meetings in the steam room at your gym. I’ve spent the last six months getting an up close and personal look at his wrinkly old nut sack. But while I was watching him, I also happened to notice you. Nothing pervy, like close-ups of your thong or anything like that. I just became aware of you and began looking forward to seeing you every day. You worked so hard and were so serious. It impressed me. When my case was over last month, I moved on to something else but I always wondered what happened to you. Then, when I saw you go into Liz’s office last week I couldn’t resist checking in. I had no idea you were going to reveal your deepest, darkest secrets. I thought you maybe knew Liz from college or something. I wouldn’t have powered up the surveillance equipment and invaded your privacy like that if I’d known.” She gave him a doubtful look. “Well, okay, I probably would have, but I’d feel shitty about it.”

  She shook her head. “Wow. I don’t get it. Out of all the hard-bodies at that gym, why me? I mean, you know I’m forty, right? And a virgin? And how about my former fat girl status, were you aware of that too? Or did I somehow manage to keep one secret to myself?”

  He frowned at her, a truly intimidating sight. “Mona. Seriously. Your age doesn’t matter to me. If it makes you feel any better, I thought you were around 35, but you could be 50 or even 60 and I would still be sporting wood every single damn time you came in the room. So I really don’t see why it’s a big deal.”

  “That’s sweet. I think. But since we’re on the subject, how old are you?”

  “Not that it should matter but I’m 32. And, by the way, I’m not a virgin. Does that matter to you?”

  She couldn’t help it, the idea of him as a 32-year-old virgin made her laugh. “I really didn’t expect that you were.”

  He grinned. “But don’t you see? It’s the same thing. As much as I hate the idea of you with anyone else, especially that swollen testicle, Carlos, it’s really none of my business if you’ve been with a million guys or none at all. As for your weight, I never saw you when you were heavy but I doubt it would have mattered to me very much. I like a woman with curves. That being said, I wish I could say it was your soul I was attracted to in the beginning but on video all I could see was your hot ass and your killer legs. That’s what drew me to you. But as time went on and more of your personality came through, I really did start to be interested in getting to know you outside my perverted fantasies. Which, incidentally, usually involved tying you to weight-lifting equipment and doing some pretty dirty things to you. ”

  That got her attention. “Like what?”

  “Why don’t I show you instead?” He leaned in and kissed the side of her neck.

  Mona closed her eyes and savoured the tingling sensation of his warm lips on her skin for a moment and then she gently pushed on his chest to get his attention before she forgot entirely why she was annoyed with him. “Didn’t it ever occur to you to, I don’t know, stop and talk to me at the gym?”

  He sighed and pulled back far enough to see her face again. “Hell, yeah. I thought about it, but I did most of my surveillance from my office on the other side of town. I was actually hardly ever there except when I was setting up the equipment or making adjustments. You and I were never actually there at the same time.”

  “But you watched me. You knew my schedule. Couldn’t you have made a special trip?”

  He took a fortifying sip from his glass and signalled the bartender to bring her a glass of wine. “Listen, I never actually saw you in person, but I was fairly certain that you’d probably call the cops on me if I approached you on the street.”

  “Why would I do that?” She smiled absently at the bartender as he set down her glass in front of her.

  “You said it yourself: I look like I should be in lockdown, trying to avoid dropping the soap in the shower. Talking to classy ladies isn’t exactly my strong suit. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly the poetry and flowers type.”

  “C’mon,” she scoffed. “You must know how attractive you are.”

  “And you should know the same thing, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, now does it?” He gave her a smug smile.

  She rolled her eyes. “Ok. Fine. Good point. But y
ou would have saved us a lot of trouble if you`d just asked me for coffee,” she grumbled.

  He nodded and toyed with one of the curls that had fallen out of her ponytail. “Fair enough. But I strongly suspect you would have chopped me off at the knees if I’d cornered you at the gym. Like that douche-bag personal trainer who was panting after you. That fucker nearly got a barbell in the teeth.” His face became positively ominous at the memory and the bartender, who’d been about to ask Sam if he wanted a refill, quickly changed his mind and began cleaning glasses at the other end of the bar.

  ”Oh my God. You saw Darryl ask me out?”

  “No, but I may have accidentally listened to him tell some of his juice-head buddies about all the weird shit he was going to do to you. Believe me, you did the right thing avoiding that freak. He wasn’t right in the head. Especially after you started avoiding him. He took that a little personally and I may have had a little chat with him.”

  “What? Is that why he quit? Because of you?” Her voice went up a few octaves in surprise.

  “I had footage of him selling cocaine in the locker room. He left to avoid prosecution.”

  “Wouldn’t that get you in trouble? Blackmailing him, I mean.”

  He chuckled. “Probably. Totally worth it to watch him squirm in his inappropriately tight shorts.”

  She threw her hands up. “I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe all this was going on and I had no idea. Is there anything else I need to know? Like your last name maybe?”

  “It’s Bright. Other than that all you really need to know is that I want you. And not just to finish what we started on the plane. I think there’s more here than just a night of sweaty fun. How about you?” He started to lean down to kiss her, but she held up her hand again to ward him off. Again.

  “Hold on. Bright? As in Miss Bright?”

  “Yup. My sister.”

  “So, let me get this straight. You work for law enforcement and your sister is a pimp.”

  He rubbed his forehead, clearly in distressed at the thought. “Don’t remind me. And my best friend owns the company. That would be Nick, the groom.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “Now, answer my question. Are you ready to forgive me? And do you think there’s something real here between us besides some truly explosive chemistry?”