9
“YOU STILL HAVEN’T explained why we’re here instead of your cottage.” Mitch asked for the third time as he followed her down the short hall to one of the guest suites the next evening.
Belle glanced back at him, a thrill of excitement flashing at the sight of his version of evening casual. Jeans, a black button-up shirt and, her gaze dropped to his feet, dress shoes. He looked so good, even better now that she’d seen him naked. She sighed. The man was simply delicious.
And, she glanced at his face, so not the kind of guy who’d play some elaborate scam to screw over his own company. She’d asked him to trust her to make dinner arrangements, and had been gratified—and a little shocked—when he’d readily agreed. She figured this was the perfect time to do some subtle questioning, just to assure herself he was as innocent as she thought.
It had to be her own doubts that had her imagining the suspicion in his voice. Belle tried to shrug off the weird feeling, telling herself it was paranoia brought on by Reece’s surprise arrival and the papers she’d found in Diana’s office.
“It’s a surprise,” she told him again. With a deep breath, she reached into her purse to pull out the room card. Her tummy spun with nerves and she missed twice before she could get the flimsy card into the lock. She’d never been this nervous to present an event or theme to a client before.
Of course, she’d never planned to get the client naked before, either. She didn’t know if it was that, or nerves over playing Mata Hari on a quest for secrets that made her feel so intimidated.
It definitely wasn’t because they’d had the most intensely wild, passionate sex of her life or that it left her feeling emotionally naked and vulnerable. Worrying about that would be ridiculous, especially since she couldn’t do anything about the vulnerability unless she was willing to stop having the incredible sex. And that was out of the question.
She told herself for at least the hundredth time since yesterday to quit obsessing. And while she was at it, just to put Reece-the-intimidating out of her mind and forget about the note and the suggestion that Mitch had asked for damage to be done to Lakeside. It just didn’t make sense for him to ruin his own resort.
Belle shook her head as if she could knock the thoughts out of it. With a deep breath, she focused instead on the previous night, the great sex, and the hot lovin’ she had planned for tonight. Whew, much better.
With a deep breath and a little wiggle of anticipation for what she hoped was about to come—namely her—Belle pushed open the heavy door.
“We’re doing dinner here tonight,” she said as she entered the dimly lit room. Hurrying before Mitch could get a good look around, she grabbed the lighter and lit the bank of candles on the dresser. “I thought we’d have a preview of what your guests can expect when they stay.”
“Really?” Excitement, curiosity and a hint of naughty pleasure were all packed into that one word.
His tone instantly settled her nerves. Belle pasted on a seductive smile and turned to face Mitch. Leaning one hip on the dresser, she gestured to the room.
“What you see before you is a typical, luxurious resort suite. Comfortable seating, antique furnishings, good art. Quality all the way, which your guests will expect.” She tilted her head toward the table in the corner, set up to her specifications. “A delicious private dinner for two, wine and a decadent and one-of-a-kind dessert. Yummy by any standard, but we’re hinting at something more. Something, dare I say it, sexy?”
Mitch’s lips twitched but he kept his expression intrigued instead of amused. “Sexy?”
“Just a hint,” she demurred, stepping to the table and curving her fingers around the handles of the domed silver covers she’d instructed the kitchen to find. She wanted that movie-star ambience. Lifting the covers, she set them aside and gestured again, this time toward the love seat next to the table.
Oysters, asparagus, lobster and a spice-encrusted steak. This time Mitch didn’t bother to hide his grin. Instead he stepped forward, and after a quick glance at the table pulled her into his arms for a kiss that put the ninety-dollar-a-plate meal behind them to shame.
Belle gave herself over to the kiss, needing it in a way she couldn’t even explain to herself. Maybe because it was the first one since he’d left her curled up naked in her sheets, or maybe it was just the nerves, but as soon as his lips touched hers, her entire body relaxed in one huge sigh of relief. She was silly to suspect him.
A kiss and a grope later, Belle peeled her fingers off his ass and they settled on the plushly cushioned love seat for their meal.
“This is fabulous,” he said after a few bites of his steak. “Not just the private dinner, but the whole setup. The candlelight and roses, the view—” he gestured to the open balcony window and the moonlit copse of trees “—it all adds to the romantic ambience.”
Pleased, Belle glanced around the room that worked perfectly with her theme. Romance went hand in hand with sexual fantasies.
But the theme would be pointless if whoever made that list hit their goal and Lakeside went belly-up before the end of the year. Belle squared her shoulders, remembering her private mission for the evening. Dig.
“So, how’s it all coming for the resort’s opening?” she asked as they ate. “It’s just a week until the first party, three weeks until the doors open to the public. Is everything ready to go on your end?”
A tiny frown came and went, but Mitch just shrugged and nodded. “It’s coming along. Things will move a little smoother now that Reece is here.”
Was that because Reece was Mr. Security? Did Mitch know who was behind the problems and had brought his cousin out to catch them? Or was Reece here to stop any further incidents? For about the hundredth time, Belle considered showing Mitch the list. But, as always, she recalled the comment about the damage being something he’d requested and held back.
“You’ve run security checks on all the resort employees, haven’t you? Including management?” That memo had definitely been sent by someone who wouldn’t be questioned hanging out in Diana’s office.
“Sure, a check is standard and we sent around those confidentiality agreements you wanted, too.” The look he gave her, curious and just a little suspicious, let her know it was time to change the subject.
“Wait till you see dessert,” Belle said, shifting so her thigh slid along his. The move pulled the hem of her dress higher, leaving bare thigh pressed to the rough fabric of his jeans. “Since I thought it’d be better to postpone the chocolate spa treatment until, um, later—” like, after Reece had left “—I came up with a fun after-dinner treat that has a similar effect.”
Tearing his eyes from her silky thigh and its hint of the naked delight barely hidden by her dress, Mitch looked at her and frowned. “Chocolate spa treatment? What’s that?”
“I met with your spa owner to discuss some ideas I had.” Like finding out if Kiki, who was looking to launch two more spas, might want to consider renting space in a Forsham Hotel. But that wasn’t her point. “She and I came up with a dozen or so sexy-themed services she’ll offer and I booked us to try the couples’ chocolate spa treatment.”
Belle had also noted that none of the “accidents” had affected the spa or any of the other privately owned businesses. Only Mitch’s direct holdings.
“Sounds...intriguing,” he said with a grin. Setting his fork down, Mitch rested his hand on her knee. His warm fingers sent a tingle of excitement up her bare thigh all the way to the heated core between her legs. She wanted to shift, to encourage him to slide his hand higher and discover for himself that she was commando under her slinky black dress. But she was on a mission. Besides, part of the fun was anticipation, so she forced herself to be still.
“Why’d you cancel the appointment?” he asked.
“I...” She’d been so distracted by Reece’s appearance, and then her discovery that someone was deliberately trying to tank the resort, she’d forgotten to confirm a time. Belle tried to come up with a decent excuse, but his fingers were making a slow, hot trip north and she couldn’t think straight. “Um, you have family here.”
Mitch’s jaw dropped. Belle frowned. She didn’t so much mind shocking him, but she did mind that his fingers stopped their delicious journey.
“What?” she asked when he started laughing, not sure why she felt so self-conscious all of a sudden. It wasn’t as though she’d confessed that she’d spent months practicing her signature as Mrs. Belle Carter.
“I’m just surprised,” he admitted. “I mean, I would have sworn you didn’t have a shy bone in your body.”
“I don’t,” Belle snapped, offended.
“And yet now that we’re not having anonymous, hotel-employees-are-totally-discreet sex, you’re taking it into hiding?”
“Did you want to ask your cousin to come watch?” Belle shot back without thinking. “Or maybe videotape us doing it in the shower to show at the next family reunion?”
“Most of the family will be here for the pre-event next week,” Mitch mused. “We can show it then. Really kick off this sex theme with a big bang.”
She stared in slack-jawed shock, irritated embarrassment forgotten.
“You’d actually show your family sex tapes?” She couldn’t even read romance novels in the presence of her father, he was so uptight about the topic.
“Nah, I was teasing. They don’t want to see my naked butt move to some porn sound track.” Mitch grinned and gave a rueful shake of his head. “But they are amazing, especially my grandma. She pretty much raised all my cousins and me.”
“And your sister?” Remembering Mitch’s snotty sister from their abandoned wedding, Belle hid her grimace in a fake smile. She’d spent months regretting not letting Sierra kick her rude ass.
“Sister?” He frowned, then his face cleared and he shook his head again. “Lena? We lived in the same house for a year or so when my mom first married her dad, but then she left for college. After our parents died, we grew apart. We reconnected right before I went to work for your dad. I’d decided to merge her late father John’s construction company with MC Development and I needed her signature.”
Belle remembered the bland woman’s taunts as if it were yesterday. Of course, she’d replayed her “runaway” reel in her head a million times, so that actually felt like yesterday, too. Lena had been so cocky about her knowledge of Mitch’s character.
“Most of my family is on the board of MC Development, except her. I offered her a chair, but she had other things going on. Other than Lena, who never really hung out much, the family is really tight. When I was growing up, my grandma was the family babysitter. Even after she remarried, my mom was a working woman. All my aunts were, too.”
The love he had for his family was clear in his voice. Belle felt a twinge of jealousy. Sure, she loved her dad, but they weren’t tight like Mitch’s family seemed to be. Would she have been welcomed in if they’d gotten married? The thought of what she might have had made her want to cry, so she gestured to Mitch to keep talking.
“The family all lived within four blocks of each other so instead of after-school care, my cousins and I went to Gram’s house.” Mitch went on to describe his childhood and random details about what various cousins and family members were doing now. From the sound of it, each and every one would be arriving at the resort the following week.
Belle felt like throwing up her perfectly delicious lobster. All of them. Here. Knowing exactly what she’d done to Mitch, how she’d run away on their wedding day. Wouldn’t parading naked down Rodeo Drive be easier?
“So that’s why you canceled the chocolate and sex massage?” Mitch asked as he finished the last of his dinner. “Because you didn’t want my cousin to know we’re practicing what you preach?”
Embarrassed heat washed over Belle from the top of her forehead to the edge of her bra. She hated when she blushed. The color totally clashed with her hair.
Trying to save face, she just shrugged and pointed out, “This is what your clientele would be dealing with, you know? They want to have wild, uncensored sex and the oddest things cause inhibition. You might want to talk to your cousin about making sure the resort’s security is solid. That’ll be crucial if you want to pull this off.”
Mitch’s arched brow told her he hadn’t missed her blatant avoidance of an answer, but he let it pass. “I’ve set up a meeting between you and Reece for tomorrow,” he said.
Belle licked her lips. Meet with Reece? Alone? Um, no. Even though he’d been perfectly cordial through dinner the previous evening, she hadn’t forgotten that threatening look he’d given her when they’d first met. He obviously had it in for her, and while he might be willing to play nice in front of his cousin, she had no doubt the gloves would come off in private.
“Can we make it the day after?” she asked, buying time as she stood and made her way over to the second room in the suite. Time for dessert. Or at least a change of topic.
Mitch just shrugged in answer. His attention, she realized, was on the bedroom. The bedroom containing her pièce de résistance, the culmination of her sex-themed evening. Her nerves returned. Fingers laced together, she tried to keep herself from bouncing in her high heels as she waited for his reaction.
* * *
MITCH FELT LIKE HE’D died and gone to heaven. A delicious dinner, Belle and, from the look of the bedroom and glimpse of the bath he could see from the doorway, a very hot night yet to come.
Like the romantic dinner, the dimly lit bedroom screamed romance. A midnight-red trail of rose petals lay strewn over the floor and across the cool, white expanse of the turned-down bed. Every surface held candles waiting to be lit. He squinted, trying to see the array of items displayed on the silver tray on the nightstand. The thick, knobby curve on one of the things worried him a little. Belle had talked about sex toys for the guests, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to play hide the dildo with her. The light glanced off something metal—handcuffs, he realized. He’d just have to cuff her to the bed before she hauled out the Rabbit vibrator.
He glanced at Belle, who was trying to read his reaction. The moonlight shone through the window, casting a glow of pearls over her skin and blond hair, tousled and sexy for their date. But the luminescent beauty that tugged at his heart was all hers.
She nibbled her sweet lower lip between her teeth, brows raised in question. Mitch could see the nerves in her sea-green eyes, that underlying worry he’d been so surprised to find in such a confident woman. He supposed that was why she was so good at what she did. She cared, really cared, about her clients loving her work.
Not that he saw this as being about business, of course. What was between them was all personal. No matter how she tried to wrap it up as justifying her contract. Or how much Reece tried to argue that Belle was only after some weird revenge by sabotaging his resort.
“I take it this is phase two of our evening?” he asked.
“The dessert phase,” she responded seriously.
Mitch glanced around again, but didn’t see anything resembling food. “I take it we’re each other’s treat?”
Which suited him perfectly. Feasting on the sweetness of Belle’s body was an ideal ending to a delicious dinner.
Her eyes danced in delight as she giggled, but Belle shook her head. “No, no. I wouldn’t cheat you out of a yummy ending to such a special dinner. Dessert is waiting.”
Mitch followed her gesture toward the bathroom, then glanced back at her in question. Hardly his idea of the ideal eating place.
“I need a couple of minutes to get everything ready,” she said, sounding a little breathless. He hoped it was anticipation and not amusement. “While I’m preparing the surprise, why don’t you think about preparing yourself for a little fun?”
He looked over at the dildo, even bigger now that he could see it clearly, and arched his brow. She followed his gaze and laughed aloud. “No, no, that’s just a sampling for the guests. You don’t want to judge what they might indulge in. You just want to give them plenty to choose from.”
“And your choice is?”
“You,” she said, the laughter fading as she stepped close and pressed her hands against his chest. He automatically reached up to curve his fingers over her breasts so lovingly encased in filmy black fabric. Her nipples perked under his palms, her breath hitched just a little as she stepped up on tiptoe to meet his lips.
Mitch tasted the rich lobster, butter and the sweetness that was all Belle as he sank into the kiss. Tongues danced a slow, wicked waltz, making him painfully aware that the bed was waiting just a few feet away.
Needing more, he curved one hand behind her neck and felt the hooks that held her halter dress together. With a flick of his fingers, the fabric loosened and skimmed down her body.
“We’ll call this a taste of what’s to come,” she purred with a satisfied look on her face. Belle stepped away, wearing nothing but a strappy pair of black sandals and gorgeous smile. “While I get the next course ready, why don’t you undress? I hate to be the only naked body enjoying the treat.”
Screw the treat. Mitch wanted her. Now. He reached out to grab her but Belle danced away, surprisingly nimble in such high spiked heels.
“No, not yet. Go undress.” She gave a little wave of her fingers toward the other side of the room. “I want to do this for you, okay? For you, with you. You’ll love it.”
With that and the mouthwatering view of her naked ass as she scurried from the room, she was gone.
Mitch sighed and, after a quick recitation of the first twenty U.S. presidents, managed to return the blood from his throbbing dick back to his brain.
Deciding she was right and naked would get him inside her hot, wet body sooner, he stripped. From the bathroom and dressing area he heard the rush of water in the tub, the clinking of glass and, at one excruciating point, her moan of delight.
“She’d better not be starting without me,” he muttered as he left his jeans in a pile with the rest of his clothes.
Naked and rock-hard, Mitch strode across the room. When he reached the suite’s dressing area, he noticed the carved, tufted rosewood dressing bench had been covered in thick towels. Next to it was a small glass table, a bowl and two spoons. The bowl was filled with what looked like ice cream and some kind of topping, making Mitch’s mouth water as he thought about eating the treat off Belle’s naked belly.
Steam poured from the open bathroom door, the scent of peaches and heat filling the room. Like a dream, Belle stepped out of the steam naked. Droplets of water dotted her bare flesh, one trailing a wet caress to the tip of her right breast.
Mesmerized, Mitch walked across the room, not breathing until he reached her. He bent down and sipped at her wet nipple, making her mewl like a kitten begging to be petted.
His hands moved easily over her damp skin, up and down the planes of her back twice before he pressed his fingers into the curve at the base of her spine to bring her tight against his body. His sips now turned to nibbles. One hand slid around her waist and down between their bodies to cup her damp and, he realized in shock, very bare sex.
Mitch pulled back from his feast to see the discovery his fingers had made.
“Well, well,” he said with a grin.
Belle giggled, then arched one brow in a vampy look. “A smooth surface was better for what I have in mind.”
“Later,” he dismissed, wanting to run his fingers and tongue over that silky expanse of bare flesh.
“Uh-uh,” she corrected, stepping back. “Keep your hand on your bird and not in my bush.”
“A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush,” he corrected absently, shooting her a grin. “Besides, you’re bushless now.”
Belle’s giggle made Mitch feel like a million bucks. The simple fact that here she was, the princess of his dreams, naked, laughing and totally focused on him— Well, it blew his mind. Mitch recalled how excited he’d been to buy the resort, to see what he’d thought of as his dream actually come true.
But he looked at the woman staring up at him, amusement and happiness clear on her face, and realized this was his real dream come true.
“Come see why naked is better.” Oblivious to the shocked realization that’d just kicked Mitch in the face, Belle grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the dressing area, where she’d set up the towel-covered settee and dessert.
Telling himself he’d overreacted and to focus on the naked woman and incredible sex in store for him, Mitch shoved aside the emotional bomb and watched Belle. His mouth watered both at the richly sweet scent filling the air and the sight of her naked ass as she swayed across the room, still wearing those sexy do-me heels.
Wiggling her brows at Mitch and giving him a look that was a combination of flirtation and amusement, Belle sat in demure nudity on the cushioned bench. She lifted a crystal bowl filled with ice cream, peaches and what looked like a caramel sauce.
“Freshly made vanilla-bean ice cream, brandied peaches and caramel,” she told him as she held out the bowl for him to see. Then she puffed out her lip in an exaggerated pout and gave a tiny shrug. “But it’s so rude to eat out of the serving bowl, isn’t it? So you’ll be my dessert plate and I’ll eat off you, hmm?”
His cock jumped at the image of her eating dessert off his body and it was all Mitch could do not to grab the bowl and pour the sweet confection over himself.
“What about my dessert?” he asked, the gentlemanly part of him struggling to overcome the powerful urging of his dick.
“You’ll get to eat all you want later,” she promised. When he started to protest, she made a tut-tutting noise and shook her head. “Ladies first, remember.”
He told himself it was manners that stifled his protest, but they both knew it was the fact that she took his hands and pulled him forward so his dick was level with her breasts.
Visions and ideas flashed through his head, each one more erotic than the last. But before he could act on any, Belle shook her head again and dropped to her knees so he was now level with her mouth. She lifted the bowl and with a wink she blew him a kiss and poured.
Mitch groaned at the sensation of cold ice cream and warm caramel sauce sliding over his straining head. Then Belle added her hot mouth to the mix. His hips bucked, and unable to help himself, Mitch tunneled his fingers through her hair and held on as she blew him and his control all to hell.
His orgasm hit hard, fast and intense, and Mitch growled with pleasure when Belle didn’t stop sucking, licking or nibbling away at her dessert. Everything went black, his knees almost buckling as he gave over to the pleasure pumping out of his body.
It took him a solid minute to regain his senses. When he came back to earth, he realized Belle had stopped sucking and had laid her head against his belly and was giving him a hug, her arms wrapped around his thighs.
He smoothed a caress down the back of her tousled hair, causing Belle to pull back and grin up at him.
“Now, that was a tasty dessert,” she purred. “Shall we follow it up with a relaxing bath and wash off the stray peaches?”
“What about mine?” he asked, wanting nothing more than to taste her juices mixed with hot caramel.
“Help yourself,” Belle said with a wink.
Mitch noted a peach stuck to her shoulder and grinned. He scooped it up with one finger and popped it into his mouth, then proceeded to enjoy the clean, smooth pleasure of peaches, Brazilian style.
Ten minutes later Mitch sighed with pleasure as he held her back against his chest and sipped champagne in the huge spa tub.
“So what do you think of this particular theme?” she asked, her face still flushed from her climax.
“It’s perfect. Traditional yet just kinky enough to appeal to the average guest,” he assured her. “Like everything else you’ve come up with, it’s perfect.”
“Wait till you see the setup for the kinkier guests. You know the ones—seen it all, done it all.” He felt her laugh as her shoulders shifted against his chest. “The leather goods, floor-to-ceiling poles and edgier sex toys arrived this afternoon.”
“I can’t wait to try them out,” he assured her before taking a drink. The explosion of bubbles, alcohol and peaches filled his taste buds and Mitch sighed. Damn, life was good.
“Hmm, I think that means I deserve a reward,” she mused. Wicked humor lit her green eyes, but before she could take charge of their lovemaking again, Mitch set down the champagne flute and grabbed her hips.
A quick move and he had her pressed against the opposite side of the tub, her breasts just above water level and her butt up in the air.
His fingers went to work on her nipples as Mitch sucked and licked the trail of water up her spine until he reached the back of her neck.
His body holding her in place, he slipped into the glorious wet pleasure of her body from behind. Belle’s moan was breathy, lost in her soft pants of delight.
The steamy heat, the slickness of the water added another level of decadence to their lovemaking. Mitch took his time, building her pleasure with long, even strokes countered by tiny flicks of his fingers over her wet, turgid nipples.
When Belle couldn’t handle it anymore, her pants becoming whimpers and her body pressing tighter against him, he pulled out, turned her in one swift move and pulled her right back down on his throbbing dick. The move, so hard and fast, sent him over the edge and his explosion of pleasure brought her right along. His mouth took hers as they came together. Belle’s gasping cry of his name added an emotional edge to his orgasm.
He scooped her slippery slick body out of the frothy bubbles and, still kissing her, carried Belle into the other room. Uncaring that they soaked the sheets, he dropped to the bed, pulling her with him. He couldn’t release his hold on her, not even to grab a towel, to pull up the blankets. He didn’t want to let go of Belle.
Ever.
His last thought before sleep wound its way through his sexual haze was that he couldn’t wait to introduce Belle to his grandma. Six years ago, he’d used the excuse of their rushed wedding as his reason for not bringing her into his family circle. The truth was, he’d been afraid of losing her.
This time, he knew it’d work out.
This time was forever.