“You think that’s wise?” I glance around, notice that the club has become even more crowded, the music somehow louder. Beams of multicolored light flash, illuminating a couple standing close by, locked in a passionate embrace. The man’s hand is beneath the woman’s top and her hands are gripping his ass as they kiss.
No one holds back in this place. And I bet as the hour gets later, it gets even dirtier here.
“I want to check the club out, see what else is going on.” She takes my hand and starts to walk, leading me toward the back of the building, where the dance floor is. “Or maybe we should dance first.”
“Princess, I don’t dance,” I protest, but she ignores me. Her fingers entwine with mine as she pulls me through the crowd and I keep hold of her, not wanting to let her go. I see the way the men look at her as we pass and it gets my hackles up. They want her and I can’t blame them. She’s fucking gorgeous.
Yet she doesn’t seem to pay much attention to anyone but me.
“I’m not going out there and making an ass of myself,” I tell her as she heads toward the dance floor.
Lily turns on me with a pout, her eyes wide as she blinks up at me. “Come on, cowboy. I want to dance.” She starts to sway her hips and my mouth goes dry. Holy fuck, I could watch her do that all night. “All you’ll have to do is just stand there. I’ll do the rest.”
“No way.” I shake my head. It’s never that simple. I don’t dance; I never really have. But damn, she tempts me. Watching those hips move, the inviting look on her face, in her eyes …
“Please, Max?”
Hell. It’s the “please” that does it. Reluctantly, without a word, I let her lead me out onto the dance floor, thankful that she has us stand on the edge. The music is loud, the crowd moving as one to the beat, and I stand there and watch her, our gazes locked as she starts to move. Within seconds she’s lost to the music as she lifts her arms, her hands in her hair, and she lifts it away from her neck. She closes her eyes, her body fluid, and I want to grab her. Pull her into me, and feel that sexy body move and shake.
But I don’t. I just stand there like she wanted me to, my muscles tight, my skin heated. It’s hot as hell out here with all the gyrating bodies and I can feel sweat start to form on my forehead. She’s driving me out of my mind, and all she’s doing is dancing.
I can’t imagine what she’ll do to me if I ever get her beneath me, naked, wet, and willing. My head would probably explode.
“You need to loosen up.” She wraps her arms around my neck again, just like she did earlier when she kissed me, but this time she grinds her lower body against mine. The song changes, this one a little slower, a lot sexier, and she moves with it, her lids lowering, her lips pursing into a sexy pout, driving me out of my mind with wanting her.
I slip one arm around her and lift my leg so it wedges between her thighs. She takes the opportunity to dip low, and I swear to God I feel the silky rasp of her panties against my knee.
Holy shit.
Pressing my face against the side of her head, I whisper in her ear, “Turn around.”
“What?” She withdraws so she can blink up at me.
“Turn around,” I say again. “Your back to my front.”
Without protest she does as I ask, her ass brushing against my erection, and she flashes me a knowing smile over her shoulder. I grab hold of her hips, my hands loose, letting her sway and move against me. Those plump ass cheeks work my cock as she continues to dance and I let my hands drift down, toying with the hem of her dress. She arches her spine, her head going back at the exact moment I slip my hands beneath her skirt and touch the bare skin of her thighs.
Glancing around, I see no one’s paying any attention to us. Other couples out on the dance floor are getting just as grabby as we are. One man has his hand blatantly between the legs of the woman he’s with, her eyes closed in ecstasy. Another man has his hands tucked within a woman’s tank top, fingers moving busily over her breasts as he devours her mouth with his own.
Lily lifts her arms and reaches for my neck as she turns her head to the side, still moving to the music. I move with her, slowly establishing my rhythm, thrusting against her ass along with the pounding beat. She pushes her chest out as I glance down, captivated by the way the fabric of her dress slides over her breasts, her nipples hard. I race my hands up the outside of her thighs until my fingers encounter the thin, lacy strap of her panties.
All I want to do is rip them off her body. Dive my fingers between her legs and see just how wet she is for me.
I bet she’s fucking soaked.
“Max.” She moans my name as she tilts her head to the side, exposing her neck to my gaze. I lean in and kiss her there, lick and nibble her skin, and I hear her whimper. Feel the tremble move through her body.
I don’t know what the fuck we’re doing, but I’m playing a dangerous game. One that’s going to get me in a lot of trouble.
For the first time in a while, I don’t really care.
“I don’t even know you,” she whispers as I toy with the flimsy band of her panties. Her skin is so soft and I touch her lightly, drift my fingers across her flesh, slide them over her hip. “Yet I’m letting you touch me like this in public.”
“You’ve never done anything like this in public before?” I kiss her just behind her ear, noting the tiny heart tattoo that’s etched there. The heart is broken, a jagged line going down the middle, and I wonder at that.
“Maybe …” Her voice drifts, confirmation that she has done this sort of thing before. Not that I care, considering she’s with me tonight.
Her past doesn’t matter.
“You want me to stop?” I breathe deep her delicious honeyed scent. Her hair tickles my face and I study the giant diamond stud in her ear, wondering if it’s real.
Of course it’s real. Lily Fowler is worth millions. Maybe even billions.
She shakes her head, her hair catching on the stubble on my cheek. “No,” she whispers.
“Making all your secret dirty fantasies come true then?” I ask as I carefully shift my hand to her front, my fingers tracing along the edge of her underwear.
“Almost,” she chokes out when I swipe my finger across the front of her damp panties.
My hand goes still. “Almost? What do you mean by that?”
She rubs her butt against my cock and I remove my hands from beneath her dress, settling them on her hips. “I have another fantasy. A much … darker one.”
Everything within me stills, with the exception of my heart. It kicks into high gear, pounding within my chest, roaring in my ears. “What is it?”
Lily looks back at me, a wicked smile curving her lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
I rest my hand against her belly and then slowly slide it up, between her breasts, along her chest, her collarbone, until my fingers are resting against the base of her throat. I can feel her pulse beat mightily beneath my thumb, hear the slight catch in her breath when I stroke her skin. We’re not dancing anymore but no one cares. No one’s paying attention to us. It’s like we’re in our own little private world and all I can see, all I can hear and focus on, is Lily. “Tell me,” I murmur, ducking my head so my mouth is close to her ear.
She melts against me and I bring my fingers up farther, so I’m clasping the front of her neck, my hold feather light. I may want to possess her but I would never want to hurt her, and she needs to know this.
I hope she realizes my intent. I don’t want to break her. Just … tame her. At least for tonight. Then I have a job to do.
Lily shifts her ass against my cock, lifting her head as if she’s giving me better access. She doesn’t say a word, doesn’t tell me to let her go, and I know she likes the way I’m touching her.
Interesting.
“You’ll think I’m a freak,” she finally whispers in response, her hand dropping to rest on the outside of my thigh. Her fingers burn where she touches me.
“No, I won’t.” I tighten my
hold on her neck, making her gasp. “Tell me, Lily. You like it when I touch you like this?” She nods but doesn’t say a word. “I want to know what else you like.”
“I want …” Her voice drifts and I can feel the delicate movement of her throat when she swallows. I press my face against hers, my mouth at her temple as I wait to hear what she has to say next, anticipation riding me hard. We’re playing a game, Lily and I. I have a feeling whatever her secret desire is, I’m the one who’s going to fulfill it.
Tonight.
“I’ve never admitted this to anyone before, so it’s hard,” she says, and I breathe deep, dying to know what she’s about to say next.
“Take your time, baby girl,” I coax, my voice low, my mouth right at her ear. I stroke the fragile skin at her throat, my other hand resting on her stomach. I can feel her tremble beneath my touch and everything within me goes hard.
She swallows again before she speaks, her voice hesitant. “My favorite fantasy is a man breaking into my room.” Her words are low and carefully chosen, her head bent forward, as if she doesn’t want to look at me or meet my gaze for fear she’ll see nothing but judgment there. “I’m sleeping. I have no idea he’s in the room with me.”
With my free hand I reach up and brush her hair away from my face, pressing my lips against her temple. “Tell me what happens next.”
She takes a deep breath. “I can sense that he’s there but I pretend I’m asleep. I like … I like knowing that he’s watching me.”
Arousal punches me in the gut and makes my dick even harder. She likes knowing I watch her, too. “So you want to trick him.”
“No. Not necessarily.” She shakes her head, seeming at a loss for words. I can’t believe we’re having this private conversation in the middle of a crowded nightclub, but I’m so attuned to her, she’s so attuned to me … she is everything I see and feel and hear. “More like I want to savor the moment.”
I close my eyes and breathe deep the scent of her hair, thrusting my cock slow and easy against the curve of her ass as I slide my hand back down her throat, caressing her delicate collarbone and then lower, the erratic thump of her heart pounding against my palm. We would be so fucking good together. I shouldn’t do this. It goes against every work ethic I have, messing around with my subject, with anyone related to my work, but I think that’s half the thrill.
Knowing that being with her is … forbidden.
Wrong.
“Then what happens?” I open my eyes and tilt my head down just as she turns to look at me from over her shoulder. I see the arousal in her gaze, feel the shiver that steals through her. She sinks her teeth into her lower lip as she contemplates what to say next.
“I … I don’t know. I never get that far in my fantasy.” Her gaze drops to my mouth and lingers there for a long, tension-filled moment. I wonder if she’s afraid to push the fantasy farther in her thoughts. Most people don’t want to know how far they’d go for sexual satisfaction. “You think I’m weird, huh.”
“No.” I drop my hand from her chest, resting both of my hands at her hips. “I think you’re brave for revealing that to me.”
Slowly she turns in my arms, staring up at me as if I’ve sprouted two heads. “Really?”
I nod. “Everyone has dark fantasies they’re uncomfortable sharing.”
Her expression fills with interest. “What’s yours?”
Pressing my forehead to hers, I whisper, “I sneak into a beautiful woman’s room and watch her while she sleeps. She doesn’t know I’m there and that makes me … hard.”
“Oh.” Her eyes go dark.
“You want to hear more?”
There’s no hesitation. “Yes, please.”
The girl definitely gets off on this sort of thing. “So I take off all my clothes and sneak into her bed, only to discover that she’s naked, too …” I let my voice drift off.
“What happens next?” she asks eagerly.
“Well, maybe I’ll show you.” I lift my head away from hers so I can gauge her reaction.
Her eyes go wider. “How?”
Smiling, I murmur, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
chapter eight
Max
I’M FUCKING CRAZY. I have straight-up lost my mind and I need to leave before I do something really stupid and risk my career forever.
Yet here I am, standing in front of Lily’s bungalow after I snuck into the exclusive area by hopping over the gate, my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my black cargo pants, the warm tropical wind whipping around me and making my hair fly into my eyes.
I push the hair away from my forehead and scratch the back of my neck, contemplating my next move. It’s late. Past midnight. I waited on purpose, walking Lily to the entrance of the bungalow area after we left Vice, giving her a soft, chaste kiss before I whispered in her ear, asking her which bungalow she’s in.
“Number eight,” she murmured, looking disappointed when I didn’t say anything else, didn’t make a move to kiss her again. “Do you …”
I shook my head, cutting her off. “Maybe I’ll see you later,” I tell her pointedly, hoping she got the hint.
But the disappointment was still there, written all over her expressive face. She didn’t want me to leave. She wanted me to come back to her bungalow and get naked. Hell, I haven’t even really tasted her mouth yet, though I felt her wet panties, the heat emanating from her pussy.
The moment I went back to my hotel room, I wanted to jack off. My cock was aching, my mind filled with thoughts of licking Lily all over her body, driving her wild with my tongue, making her come and fucking her hard.
But I held back. I did nothing but take a cold shower and will my erection to go down. Dressed in all black and snuck out like a thief in the night, my thoughts wild with the prospect of having Lily naked and beneath me soon.
I’m a man desperate for a woman. And only one woman will do.
Glancing about and making sure no one is near, I skirt around the premises, ducking along the side of the building and out of view of the windows. I go around to the back of Lily’s bungalow, opening a tiny gate that’s unlocked and leads to the beach. The moon is full tonight, shining its silvery light so that the sand is bright and the whitecaps of the waves stand out stark against the swirling dark blue sea. It’s a beautiful evening, not one on which I should be sneaking into Lily’s room and possibly scaring the shit out of her.
But she wants it. It’s her deepest, darkest fantasy and I’m hell bent on fulfilling it. What if she freaks out? What if she was feeding me a line of bullshit and she calls security on my ass and I somehow end up getting arrested?
That would ruin everything. Not that I’ve been following my plan to get into that laptop and destroy whatever’s inside it. My fascination with Lily shot that to hell. I’ve never been so distracted on a case before and I can only blame her.
If everything fell apart, Pilar would want to kill me. My cover would be blown, my reputation trashed. I shouldn’t risk it.
I should turn back right now. Go back to my hotel room and hope like hell I run into her in the morning. I know I would, because we always find each other. And I could come up with some sort of excuse, tell her I’m sorry, that I fell asleep and maybe I could make it up to her? I bet she’d understand. I bet I could convince her to understand.
You sneak into her room and you have instant access to the laptop. It’s gotta be in there. Get inside Lily and then grab the laptop. Everything you want, all at once.
Right. I have to do this. There’s really no other choice.
I sneak onto the lanai, holding my breath as I approach the French doors. They’ll be locked, but I can peek through the glass and see if there’s any movement inside. Leaning in close but not touching anything, I do exactly that, squinting against the reflection of the moon off the clean glass, trying to see something, anything that’ll make me turn tail and get the hell out of here.
There’s nothing. No lights on, no movement, no Li
ly in sight. She’s in her bedroom. She’s asleep.
I can almost guarantee it.
Cursing under my breath, I stride across the lanai, following along the building until I reach the sliding glass doors. One side of the curtains is drawn back, allowing me a glimpse inside the bedroom. The bed is huge, covered in white, and I see the form of a body beneath the comforter, tucked in tight.
Blissfully unaware that I’m watching her.
I reach out and curl my fingers around the handle, close my eyes, and count to three.
One … I shouldn’t do this.
Two … I need to walk. Now.
Three … My hand tugs on the handle and the screen door glides open, whisper soft.
Almost as if I never opened it at all.
I take a deep breath and step inside the quiet room, pulling the screen door closed behind me. It doesn’t even make a sound—nothing like the screen door at my parents’ place, which screeches on its hinges like an old witch’s laugh.
The sound of soft breathing reaches my ears and I stand at the foot of the bed, staring down at the figure lying on her side, buried beneath the fluffy white comforter. The air conditioner is on despite the open screen door and it’s frigid in the room. A fan swirls overhead, stirring the ice-cold air, and I shiver, stuffing my hands in my pockets as I stare at Lily.
She shifts, almost as if she knows she’s being watched, and I take a couple of steps back, panic nearly making me run into the dresser. She throws her leg over the comforter, nudging the fabric so it’s tucked between her legs, and I realize she has nothing on.
Lily is fucking naked, just like I described in my fantasy.
I swipe a hand across my face, leave it covering my mouth as I stare at her, contemplating my next move.
Go, asshole. Before you do something really stupid and scare the shit out of her. Next thing you know she’s calling security, they’re calling the police, and they’re arresting your ass for stalking—and you’re fucked for life.