I'm not interested in being added to the list."
He laughed. "I'd give it all up for you, Janine."
"And I'll bet you really do say that to all the girls."
"You know me all too well. How sad."
Despite her knowledge of Stefan's motives, she couldn't help but like him. He might be transparent, but he was honest about his intentions.
"You'll have to work harder to be mysterious."
"I'll try, but I think your father ruined all chances I had with you by spilling all my sordid secrets."
She nodded. "I'm afraid so. He left no stone unturned. Really, Stefan, I'm amazed you don't make the front of The Enquirer every week."
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"It's a goal of mine, didn't I tell you? I want to be scandal monger of the year."
She couldn't hold the snort inside. "If anyone can do it, you can."
"Thanks, Janine. I think I'll go find my date now. At least she still has illusions about me."
"Your secret is safe with me."
Stefan kissed her cheek and moved off into the crowd.
"One of your many admirers?"
Janine whirled at the voice behind her. Her smile died as recognition dawned.
"Del? What are you doing here?"
His lips curled. "I was invited."
She frowned. "You were? By whom?"
He shrugged. "By whomever does those things for your foundation, I imagine."
Just looking at him made her mouth water. Dressed casually at the club, he was delectable and sexy. In black tux, he was devastating. This was a man who could be comfortable dressed to the nines or lazing about in jeans. And he still sported that scruffy unshaven look, even in his tux.
God, he was handsome. His dark eyes that seemed to be able to see through her just made her melt.
Then recognition dawned as she remembered his introduction the other night. "Delacroix Motors. Foreign imports."
He nodded. "Yes."
That's why he was on the guest list. Very important businessman.
Lucrative company, too. The foundation had worked with his company before, and Delacroix had always been extremely generous. She didn't know why she hadn't made the connection the other night. Probably 38
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because she didn't expect the head of Delacroix Motors to have anything to do with owning and operating a sex club.
"What?" Del asked.
"I'm just...stunned."
"Why?"
"Because you're a prominent member of the community. And you own a..."
"Club for voyeurs and exhibitionists?"
"Shhh." She dragged him over to a corner of the room, out of earshot of the other guests. "I can't believe you're so blase about this."
His lips curled. "That's because I don't give a shit what people think.
You should try it sometime."
"Easy for you to say. If anyone found out I was there the other night--"
"What? The world would stop turning? The stars would fall from the sky? The global markets would all crash?"
She sniffed. "That's not funny."
"Nothing would happen, Janine. You're entitled to a life."
"Not that kind of a life."
"Why not?"
"Because the newspapers would drool over news like that. They'd love nothing more than to dig up some dirt about me, to muddy the pristine reputation of the foundation."
Del shook his head. "You're way too paranoid."
"Not at all. I've seen it happen. When you're in the limelight, the paparazzi stalk you just waiting for you to slip."
He turned around. "Nobody's even looking in our direction, not the slightest bit interested in you and I talking."
"That's because they wouldn't expect anything to happen here."
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Del arched a brow. "Kind of gives one ideas, doesn't it?"
Despite her irritation, she flushed with heat. "It doesn't give me any ideas."
"That's okay. I have plenty for both of us. Come on. Let's dance."
"I told you I don't...Del!"
Too late. He'd grabbed her hand and tugged her through the crowd and toward the dance floor. Short of causing a scene by digging in her heels and wrenching away from his grip, she was stuck having to go along with him. Dammit.
The dance floor was crowded, as well it should be. She'd hired a fabulous orchestra, the strains of violins playing a slow, seductive melody. Del pulled her to the middle of the floor and drew her against him.
"You look beautiful in gold," he said, once again showing his prowess as a dancer, gliding her with no effort through the dance. "You dress to show off your body."
She looked down at the dress, glittering, floor-length and hugging her curves. She loved this dress because it sparkled. She loved the slit in the middle because it showed off a little leg, her best feature, and hoped it would detract attention away from the fullness of her hips. Did she buy it to exhibit her body? Hardly. She'd never thought about that. This event was for the foundation, not to catch a man.
"I do not."
"There's nothing wrong with showing off your assets. You have a beautiful body."
"You're full of shit."
"And you need to work on your self esteem. Maybe you need to spend more time looking in the mirror. Naked."
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"I don't have body image issues. Nor do I spend my time staring at myself naked in the mirror."
"Try it sometime," he said, his gaze roaming toward her breasts. "You might enjoy it."
She shook her head. "You and I are from completely different worlds, Del."
"I don't think so. I live in the same world you do. I run a successful business, am publicly involved in the community, but no one knows what I do for fun. I'm very discreet, but I enjoy my pleasures. I've spent several years as the owner of Sneak Peek while still maintaining Delacroix Motors, and guess what? No one has ever found out, because it's none of their business and I make sure to keep it that way."
"Lucky for you that you have that anonymity."
"And I think you want what I have to offer. You're just afraid to take that step."
"I'm not afraid. I'm just not interested."
The smile he cast wasn't smug, exactly...more triumphant. "You're worried. You think people watch you all the time. Look around. No one is paying attention to us."
She did. As Del turned her, she gazed at the others on the dance floor. None of them looked at her. They were focused on their partners.
And beyond the dance floor, people were talking amongst themselves or busying themselves at the back tables where the silent auction was going on.
Still, she felt eyes on her. Why? Why couldn't she let go, as Del suggested?
"I could touch you intimately right here on the dance floor and no one would notice."
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Her breath caught and she shook her head, her traitorous body responding to his suggestion with a quiver of anticipation. "No."
"The lights are low over the dance floor, the crowd noisy. People are packed in and enjoying each other. If I moved my hand like this..." His hand at her back traveled down, over her buttocks, gently caressing her.
Janine sucked in her bottom lip as he palmed her ass and pulled her tighter into his embrace.
"It's just a dance, Janine. Relax and enjoy it."
He moved her through the steps, but her mind was lost as his hand grazed the curve of her hip, then across the front, dipping down to the slit in her dress. Okay, so it was dark on the dance floor but--
Oh, God. His hand made contact with her skin, his fingers creeping along her bare thigh. Part of her wanted to push him back, to walk away.
But the other part o
f her, the part that kept her on the dance floor, was excited. Her pussy moistened, her nipples beading against the fabric of her dress. He wasn't stopping there either. As he drew her closer, he brushed her panties with the tips of his fingers.
"Del, stop." Whose breathless voice was that? Surely not hers.
"Do you really want me to stop?" He was so close his breath tickled her ear. "No one can see us, ma beaute. It's just you, and me. Doesn't it excite you knowing that I can touch you like this in a room full of people?
That no one will know?"
He didn't wait for her answer, not that she could speak, anyway. Her protest had been weak at best, and now she had no voice at all. Her gaze was on him and him alone, her body concentrating on his touch as he rimmed the hem of her panties--so, so close to her pussy. She trembled in his arms as he rocked them back and forth to the music. They weren't even moving anymore. Did people notice?
Did she care?
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Not anymore. Not when the tip of his finger traced upward, sliding along her clit. She sucked in a little gasp, and was met with a wicked smile in return.
"You're wet."
She nodded.
"I wonder how fast I could make you come, Janine?"
Pretty damn fast considering what that single touch had done to her.
He shifted, making motions as if they were still dancing. His fingers danced too, up and down her swollen, trembling cleft, pressing along her agitated clit. She widened her stance, giving him access, wishing she hadn't worn panties so she could feel his fingers on her flesh. Gone was the reticence, the shock, the wondering what others would think. Del had her mesmerized and fully under his control with the magic of his touch. Thankfully, he did look around the room. Maybe he was checking to make sure they were safe and secure, that prying eyes didn't catch on to what he was doing. She could care less. She was single-minded in purpose now, and that was only to continue the amazing sensations of his fingers dipping into her crevice, promising delicious rewards.
She wanted that reward, clenched her fingers into the fabric of his tux jacket. He leaned against her and she felt the hard ridge of his cock against her hip. Oh how she wanted to rest her palm there, to stroke along his ridged length. She swallowed, wishing she could wrap her legs around his waist and feel him plunge inside her. She was so wet now, trembling with sensation overload, with the reality of this fantasy come to life.
"Yes," he said, moving his fingers in a torturous circle around the nub, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear again. "Come for me.
Right here."
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Oh, God. She really was going to. Right here, in public. Her fantasy was about to come true. The tight coil of sensation built and she couldn't hold back.
Look at me, people. I'm coming. Her body burst in climax and she shook in his arms. She fought for silence, clamping her lips together to fight back a moan. Del tightened his hold around her, palmed her pussy, dipping inside her panties to slide along her wet slit as she shuddered through the wild orgasm that threatened to drop her to the ground. If not for Del holding her, she wasn't sure what she would have done.
Panting, struggling to look normal, she closed her legs and Del withdrew his hand, then brought his fingers to his mouth and tasted her.
"So sweet. Just as I imagined you'd be. It's a damn good thing I have a tux jacket to hide my hard-on. Goddamn, Janine."
He sucked in a breath and twirled her around the floor as if nothing had just happened. Inside, she was still quaking from the aftereffects of one tremendous orgasm.
Nothing? Dear God, what had she done? She'd completely lost her mind. A mind that was still half in a sensual haze of pleasure.
Horrified, she glanced around the dance floor, but the couples weren't even looking their way.
"No one knows. Just you and me," he said, his gaze dark.
"I can't believe I did that."
He led her off the dance floor and to the table where drinks were served, grabbing two glasses of champagne and offering one to her. She took it and forced herself not to gulp it down. Her throat was dry as a desert from panting her way through her orgasm.
"Are you sure that champagne won't give you a headache?" he teased, obviously remembering her excuse from the other night at the club.
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"I'll chance it." The champagne tasted fabulous, cool and refreshing, clearing her head. How could she do that? She was in charge of this entire event, and she'd just had almost-sex on a crowded dance floor.
What if someone had gone looking for her? Good God she was losing her grip on reality.
"Now you're second-guessing yourself," he said, his wry grin annoying as hell.
"Quit reading my mind. It pisses me off."
He laughed. "You think too much. You need to turn your mind off and just let yourself enjoy."
"I can't. I have too many responsibilities."
"I'll tell you what. Go play nice hostess. But when the event is over, meet me outside."
"Why?"
"Because we're going to play tonight."
He didn't ask. Did she need him to? Despite the orgasm he'd given her on the dance floor, she wanted more. She wanted him. Inside her.
She wanted to know where this was going to go. But here and now? No, she couldn't do that.
But doing anything with Del was risky. Anything public, anyway. She could, of course, date him, do things normal couples would do. But somehow she didn't think that's what he had in mind. He asked things of her that were impossible to give. Then again, maybe she was off-base about his intent. Maybe that's all he wanted, was to spend time with her in the way that couples normally spent time with each other. Dinner, movies and the like.
Right. And there really was a tooth fairy. She knew that's not what he wanted from her, and she had good reason for her trepidation.
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But when was the last time you felt this alive? When was the last time your body throbbed like this?
"All right." The words spilled from her lips before she had the chance to take them back.
He nodded. "I'll be out front waiting when the event is over. Black Navigator." He turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Janine finally exhaled, then wondered what she'd just agreed to.
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Chapter Four
Four hours later and Del's cock was still hard. Jesus, it wasn't like this was his first experience with a woman, or that he'd never had risky encounters before.
What was it about Janine that made her so different from other women, that made being with her such a turn on? Maybe because the other women had been so willing and eager, experienced at this game, and Janine was so hesitant? Maybe that was it, the lure, the challenge.
He hadn't been challenged in far too long. Not that he was bored.
Hell, he loved the game and never tired of it. But with Janine...there was just something about her. Something fresh and innocent--
almost...untouched about her. Because she was new at this. She hadn't done it. But she really wanted to.
In a way, that made her a virgin. And damn if that didn't turn him on.
You're such a fucking pervert, Delacroix.
He'd waited through the endless hours of dinner, small talk and the auction, until the ballroom was almost empty, knowing Janine wouldn't leave until the last of her guests was gone. When he was certain she was almost finished, he left, had his car brought around, then pulled up to the front of the hotel and parked there, waiting.
Would she show, or would she change her mind?
After almost thirty minutes, he was about to give up, but then a flash of gold at th
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and there she was, strolling through the doors like Cinderella leaving the ball.
One look at her and his pulse started to race. She really did wear the look of a princess well, from her hair piled on top of her head, to the way the gown flowed around her legs. She wore a wrap covering her bare shoulders, but that only added to the allure. She glowed from head to foot, and he wanted to see more of her skin.
She spotted his car, stalled for a fraction of a second, then, when he stepped out and moved to the passenger's side to open her door, started walking toward him.
"I wasn't sure you'd come," he said.
"I wasn't sure I would, either."
"Don't be afraid, princess. I won't bite." As he held her hand and helped her slide into the front seat, he added, "Unless you ask me to."
She slanted a wary glance at him and he closed the door, moving around to the driver's side.
"Where are we going?" she asked as he put the car into gear.
He moved onto the boulevard. "For a drive." He pressed the button and opened the moon roof. "It's a beautiful night. You can actually see the stars."
She tilted her head back, allowing him to ogle the soft column of her throat. "So you can. But that still doesn't tell me where we're going."
"It's a surprise. Trust me."
She was silent then while they drove out of the city and climbed into the hills. He knew exactly where he wanted to take her. The perfect spot for what he had in mind.
"How did the fundraiser go?" he asked, hoping to put her at ease with banal conversation.
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"Great. We raised more money than last year, and that's always the goal."
"You do a wonderful job with the foundation. Your father would be proud."
"It was his life's work. I can only hope to do half as well as he did."
He got the idea Janine was worried she couldn't measure up. She needn't be. The foundation was a well oiled machine. It practically ran itself and was operated by competent staff. "You need to relax."
She stared ahead, but her lips curled in a half smile. "Probably."
"Have more fun."
"So my friends keep telling me."
"You should listen to them."
"Look where that brought me."
"To Sneak Peek?"
"Yes."
"And that's a bad thing?"
"The jury's still out on that one."