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“Gretchen?” Xavier asked with a smile.
“Tempting, but I’m scared we’d put her hip out. Who are you thinking?”
“The redhead in the dark blue, sparkly dress?” he asked.
Hope casually surveyed the room until she saw the woman Xavier was referring to. She leaned towards a tall man, laughing as she grasped his arm.
“No, too skinny. She’ll snap.”
“Agreed. What about the blonde in the green dress talking to the walrus?”
She scanned the room again and snorted when she spotted a slender blonde in an elegant, emerald dress talking to a fat, grey-haired man with a bushy moustache. He was blocking her only exit, and she wore an air of repressed boredom.
“Perfect. She looks like she needs saving. I’m sure she’ll be more than willing to consider an… alternative offer. How long do you think you’ll need to work your magic?”
Xavier winked. “Twenty minutes?”
“Cocky. I’ll give you forty-five.”
He grinned and plunged back into the crowd like a surfer into the ocean. She smiled to herself. Lifesaver. Ocean. She wanted to share her joke with Xavier to see if he’d laugh. A wave of her own hit her, one of sadness. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to share anything with him. No happy ending like Gretchen and Luther, just this brief wonderful affair.
She shook the thoughts from her head.No. In Indiana, she’d promised herself to wring all the pleasure she could from her dwindling time with Xavier. This was not the time to get teary. They had other plans tonight. She stood back, cocktail in hand and watched Xavier putting it into action.
Minutes passed, and she did her best to ignore the side looks and some outright staring in her direction. When Xavier touched the arm of the blonde and pointed in her direction, she realised her work was done. The blonde looked slightly puzzled and turned back to Xavier. It was up to him.
This encounter was to be the opposite of their first. It had been Xavier’s idea, but one she had been quick to embrace. In New York she’d had the power, the control. She had been the one who was dominant. Here, she wanted to experience it from the other side. To see if it was possible for her to feel pleasure from taking instruction, being obedient only to him. A quiet sigh escaped her lips just thinking about it.
In a way, she hoped surrendering herself and sharing him with another woman would help to let him go. To remind her that he was not hers for all time. As much as she had tried to forget their inevitable end, it stood on the ever-nearing horizon like an imposing and immovable monolith.
Hope turned away and headed for their room. This man had introduced her to so many adventures, so many pleasures. How was she going to let him go when their time came to an end? She wasn’t sure but did know it wouldn’t be without telling him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Her heart pounded with excitement. She whistled along to the Muzak as she pressed the button for the elevator to take her back to their room.
* * *
The knock at the door signalled Xavier’s arrival. Before she could answer it, he knocked again, signalling he had company. She opened the door with a wry smile.
“Twenty-two minutes, you’re slipping.”
“Good of you to keep count, darling. I’ll try to do better next time.” He didn’t even try to keep the smugness from his voice. “May I introduce you to the lovely Marion? She’ll be joining us this evening.”
“Lovely to meet you.” Hope smiled at the woman and gestured for her to come further into the room.
The woman entered smoothly, looking around as she dropped her coat and handbag onto the seat of the lounge chair.
“Can I offer you some champagne?”
Xavier hurried to the fridge to pop the bottle, pour glasses, and hand them out. The woman remained silent, but Hope couldn’t help noticing her delicate hands as she took the glass and sipped from it.
“To an eventful evening,” Xavier said.
Hope watched the woman’s shiny red lips as she took another small sip. She tipped her own glass and swallowed it all in two gulps, refilled the glass, and threw it back as well. Xavier took the glass from her and set it down on the bedside table.
Without her pills to calm her, Hope’s nerves jangled. Jittery numbness spread quickly through her limbs. She let out a slow, silent breath.I can do this.
The woman was still standing in the middle of the room, waiting, watching, her blue eyes calm and unhurried. Hope was awed by her natural beauty and intimidated by her calm. Despite her swirling inhibitions, she was getting horny as hell.
Xavier walked over to the windows and closed the curtains. As though that had been her cue, the woman walked over to the bed and turned away from them. Unzipping her dress, she let it fall to the floor in a pool of expensive material. She turned andsat delicately on the edge of the bed, crossed her long shapely legs, and waited some more.
