“Look,” he said, “I appreciate that you were willing to share all that with me. You’ve been through so much. If you’re not feeling up to any of our product review tonight, I’ll completely understand. But there’s nothing you could tell me that would make me want to back out of this.” He gave her a smile that felt tentative, but he hoped was encouraging.
“That’s sweet,” she said after a moment. The hell of it was, what pulsed through him wasn’t sweet. He might not technically be the one trying to shut down Sex on the Beach, but he was working with the man who was. He was facilitating the sale, and if that sale went through, Cami would lose her job. Maybe not right away, but she would. And it would be his fault.
They finished dinner while sticking to more palatable topics. He considered it a blessing that she didn’t ask about his line of work. He’d done his best to portray it as boring, to avoid people asking too many questions, but he hated doling out the half-truths or blatant lies sometimes required. It had started out so innocently, too.
Initially, he’d just gone along with it, because it’s what Lenny had said. He didn’t know what made her lie to Cami about his job, had never wanted to ask. His job was to get Lenny to sell, and she was more likely to do that if she liked him. So he’d gone along with her lie, without even thinking about it. The choice was easy.
He hadn’t expected the lie to matter. He hadn’t anticipated ending up here.
“You look pensive,” Cami observed. She swallowed a mouthful of chocolate pudding, and when she pulled the spoon away, there was a smear of chocolate on her bottom lip. He itched to lean over, to wipe it off with the pad of his thumb, but wondered if that would be out of line. Before he could decide, she noticed his line of sight, and wiped her mouth. “You could have said something instead of letting me sit here with pudding face.”
He laughed. “Sorry. It was just so cute.”
“I’m sure,” she scoffed. Then she balled up her napkin and threw it at his face. It bounced harmlessly off his nose and into his lap.
He blinked at her. “I can’t believe you just did that. You have horrible table manners, Camille.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest in what he could only take to be a challenge. “Are we going to get this show on the road?”
15
Des gestured for her to move to the bedroom down the hall while he cleared the dessert plates from the table. Cami did as he suggested, figuring she may be able to get an idea of what he had planned in the few moments alone in the room. But what she found caused her to step back and raise her hand to cover a gasp.
The bed wasn’t strewn with dildos. Not that she’d expect a display so tactless from Des, but she wouldn’t have been shocked to see an extensive toy selection for tonight laid out neatly at the end of the bed. That was the point, after all; to stock her toolbox so she could ultimately do this on her own. But instead, the little case he’d pulled them from last time was waiting patiently on the floor near the nightstand. The bed was made up, but still looked inviting, just like last time. The lights were dimmed again, but this time the top of the cherry wood dresser and matching nightstands were strewn with lit purple candles, giving off a muted, lavender scent.
“I figured if you liked them, they had to be top quality.” He appeared in the door frame behind her, smiling gently. He scooted around her into the room, just close enough that hecould have nudged her with a hand on the small of her back, had he chosen to.
The sweetness of the gesture struck her silent. He wouldn’t lay a hand on her back to scooch her out of his way, but he’d buy a set of scented candles just to add to the atmosphere of their illicit rendezvous. To make her more comfortable, maybe. Her throat thickened with emotion. She swallowed against it.
“How adventurous do you want to get here?” He picked up the mini duffle. He shot a glance at her as he set it on the foot of the bed, his smile twitching and his gray eyes glittering with amusement.
He hadn’t phrased it like a challenge, but her chin ticked up, and she crossed her arms under her breasts. “What’d you have in mind?”
“Well...” He rubbed his jaw with the side of his hand. “We’ve tried a few of the different vibrators, so I thought you might want to test out a plug. But I know that’s not everyone’s thing, so we can stick to other stuff if it makes you uncomfortable.” He was watching her carefully, studying her for signs of squeamishness.
“I work at a sex toy store,” she deadpanned. “Butt plugs don’t make me uncomfortable.”
“Right.” He looked like he was struggling to contain a grin. “You want to try one then?”
“Sure.” She met his gaze evenly, trying to squelch the inexplicable feeling of defensiveness rising in her. It didn’t make sense, and was stupid on top of that. But he’d probably dated a slew of rich women more his style, on a more even footing, who’d tried far more in bed than her, and could orgasm if he looked at them right. She bet they enjoyed butt stuff. It was a little nerve-wracking, but she’d look pedestrian if she said no. “If I don’t like it, I’ll tell you to stop.”
He nodded and withdrew a bottle of lube from the pocket of the bag, which he tossed up and caught. “Sounds good. We’ll start small. Why don’t you undress and we’ll get warmed up?”
The phrasing sent a zap of anticipation between her legs, like her body hoped he might be the one to warm her up himself, all hands and mouth and nothing artificial. But while she unbuttoned her shorts and stripped off her tee, he pulled a new goodie from his bag of tricks.
“I read this one needs lube for the proper feel.”
Her eyebrow quirked in interest as she took in the toy he held. It was another they sold at the store, and though she’d studied it a few times, and familiarized herself with the instruction manual, she’d never quite been able to fathom how it worked. It was called the Lulu, and looked sort of like a lopsided donut, wrapped around the outside edges in silicone. It was another vibrator, but this one was intended to simulate the feel of oral sex, featuring little beads inside that made circular licking motions like a tongue. It wasn’t the most expensive thing in the store, but it was up there.
“You’ll have to let me know if it feels like the real thing,” he said, twirling it around in his hand. Then he jerked his chin toward the bed. “Hop on.”
She shucked her underwear, only feeling mildly less self-conscious than she had last time about being the only nude one. This time, he hadn’t even removed his shirt. Maybe that was safer, though. Not seeing all that smooth, warm brown skin would make it easier to avoid touching him. Still, she left her bra on again, in spite of the lust-fogged memory she had of begging him to take it off her. She crawled to the middle of his bed and settled in, laying back on his lush pillows. When he smeared cool silicone on the inside of her knee, no vibrations yet, she spread her legs.
She closed her eyes, the warm, relaxing scent of lavender washing over her. The mattress shifted under his weight, a tickle rose as if he slid his hot gaze over her skin. He maneuvered between her knees, and the denim on his hip brushed her. The gentle friction ignited a tangle of sensation and need in her. She was an idiot. How could she keep this non-committal when just the feel of his jeans on her leg set her aflame?
He dragged the Lulu along the curve of her hip, then across her abdomen. When he slid it toward her clit, he turned it on.
It was a gentle, rotating vibration, and the closer he got to her clit, the more anticipatory tension clenched her muscles. He skimmed the vibe down the lip of her vulva on one side, and up the other. Under the muted buzz of the vibrator, he popped the bottle of the lube with the telltale snick of the cap. Her hips shifted with impatience.
