by Mel Curtis
Winnie paused next to a marble column, sliding her hand up its length and leaning against it in a wanton movie star pose, undoubtedly staged for the camera. “You didn’t tell me we’d be part of one of the Foundation’s videos. I’m flattered. And it shows your confidence in completing the lesson.” She batted her false eyelashes and eyed Blue’s suit and tie. “That can’t be comfortable. You look like a studio exec. Take it off.” With a flourish of her arm she led them deeper into her temple.
Blue tightened his tie, glancing back at Maddy, whose red light was trained on him. In the next hour, he’d either bluff his way through this or be outed as a fraud. “Don’t film this.”
“But we’ve already signed the releases, Blackie.” Winnie turned. She raised an eyebrow when she realized he was in her shot. She expertly sidled back into Maddy’s view, smiling in that wrinkle-less way she’d perfected. “It’s settled. We film. Come along.”
Of course, an aging movie star would want to be filmed.
Blue’s eye twitched. He waited until Winnie disappeared around a corner and then spun on Maddy. “The Dooley Foundation rescinds your invitation to film.”
“This isn’t your house and I’m not a vampire.” Maddy didn’t so much as hit pause on her camera. “Don’t be mad.”
“No one should film this.” Whatever this was.
Winnie poked her turbaned head around the corner. “Well, I suppose inhibitions are a blessing in this day and age, but you won’t find any of that here. We don’t mind being filmed.”
Maddy shot him a superior look.
With a sinking sensation, Blue followed Winnie down a hallway beneath the curving staircase. Mr. Jiggles growled, shifting to the rear of his briefcase carrier where he had a better view of Maddy.
Winnie turned. “Don’t tell me you have an odious dog somewhere on your person, one you carry everywhere? I wasn’t sure last week at lunch.”
“I…um…”
Maddy closed the gap between them, camera angled down on the carrier.
Mr. Jiggles growled again.
“Blackie, you truly are a wonder. Not afraid to dive in with the rest of us and admit imperfection.” Winnie gestured to his dog carrier. “I have a good feeling about tonight. You can put your baby in the playpen with the others.” She clapped, her rings clanging together.
“Others?”
“My other guests bring their misbehaving babes along, too. I can hardly allow them to chew up my hydrangeas. The gardener would quit. And I wouldn’t trust any of them to run free with so many shoes out.” She veered into a bedroom off the massive white kitchen. A blue child’s playpen was situated in the corner. Three Mr. J clones peered up at him expectantly, pom-pom heads trembling.
“Mr. Jiggles is kind of anti-social.” Blue was reluctant to leave the poodle with those well-behaved, pampered pets.
“He needs to get laid, Blackie,” Winnie said impatiently. “Put him down.”
Maddy circled the playpen, zooming in on the dogs.
Blue withdrew Mr. Jiggles from the carrier. He growled and moved his legs as if running away. When Blue put him in with the pack, Mr. Jiggles ran from one to the other, sniffing butts and prancing around as if he was The Man. And then he mounted a little black dog with a diamond studded collar.
“No-no.” Blue reached in, but Mr. Jiggles growled at him.
Winnie tittered. “A dog is just like the rest of us – wound up so tight. A little sexual release goes a long way, doesn’t it, Blackie?” She pulled Blue along with her out the back door. “That’s what transformation is all about – from tension to peace.”
Winnie led them past the pool to the spa, which was located in a secluded area beneath towering palm trees. It was a large spa, big enough for eight. The sun had set and shadows were claiming the yard.
There were three women in the bubbling water. Two were gray haired, one of which was Mary, Winnie’s mother, whom he’d met at Amber’s wedding. A younger looking blonde spun away and sank into the frothy water as soon as she saw Blue.
Trepidation tap danced through his muscles. What if the blonde was one of his ex-girlfriends?
“There are no cameras in Wicked Tantric. There is only faith and trust.” Senge Tenzing stepped out from behind a palm wearing what looked like orange MC Hammer pants and a white sleeveless tunic. His petite, swarthy frame blocked Blue and Maddy from going any further. He leaned around Blue to study Maddy. “You have come to join us on this journey to freedom, I see. Good. You two are not suited in bed as it stands.” Senge pointed at Blue. “You are burnt out on sex without love. I can tell by the twisting of your chakras, although they are not as stifled as your sister’s were. And she…” He pointed at Maddy. “She has locked her legs against men because she knows not what she is doing. Repressed she is, hiding behind her camera.”
Blue bit back a laugh, while Maddy made a strangled noise.
“Yes, I should have seen it, too.” Winnie paused. Her zipper was down to her naval, revealing curves barely covered in a bikini too small for a woman her age.
The bull-like huffing next to him came from Maddy.
“Temper, temper,” Blue cautioned, unable to contain a grin.
“Maddy, would you like me to get you a bathing suit?” Winnie gestured to the spa. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“Say yes,” Blue said under his breath, suddenly very certain that Maddy would put on a loud transformation. “I’ll film.”
“No, thank you, Winnie.” Maddy lowered her camera, her brows dropping in annoyance, first at Blue and then at Senge’s baggy, flat crotch. “What, exactly, are you trying to say about my libido, oh mighty, miniscule sex master?”
“Two points for the repressed filmmaker,” Blue murmured.
“Why explain when you know the truth?” Senge steepled his fingers and smiled enigmatically as if he knew more, but preferred to say less. “You are not making good use of your time on earth. Life was not meant to be lived in mediocrity. Now, leave us.”
Winnie shed her robe and sank into the hot tub like a turbaned goddess ready to be worshipped.
“We’re not here for your sex advice,” Blue said. “We’re here to make sure Winnie’s group gets their money’s worth.”
Senge glanced over his shoulder at the hot tub. “A group of women. That is always a challenge. It is hard for them to forget the others around them to achieve fulfillment, especially if they have strong alpha tendencies.” Senge giggled. “But I am always up to a challenge.”
“Satisfaction guaranteed?” Maddy clutched her camera to her chest.
“I can make even you deliver. You will tell me if you want coaching through the joining of the two of you.” Senge giggled again. “It would be a pleasure to watch you try to get beyond what lies between you. And of course, Blue has me on retainer, so my fee would be waived.”
Blue scowled at the idea that he couldn’t show Maddy what she’d been missing without instruction from Senge.
“Now, I must ask you to retreat to the house. I cannot work with such stifled chakras present.” Senge turned away with a swish of his wide pants.
Chapter 17
“I’m offended.” Maddy set her camera on the kitchen counter. She looked out the window toward the spa, itching to open the window and film. “Senge thinks I’m repressed. How do men get that repressed message?”
“It could be that…” Blue gestured below his collarbone and then to her, his smile barely contained.
Maddy glanced down at her B cups, covered in a soft cotton T-shirt. “Because I’m not showing cleavage? You expect me to schlep around a camera with a Wonderbra?”
Blue had the grace to look apologetic. “This is L.A. You can’t look like a tomboy on the playground if you want to communicate you have a marketable commodity.”
The women in the spa began bouncing in the churning water, as if they were in a water aerobics class.
“So if I was paying you to be my relationship counselor, you’d want me to put my body on
display? Improvement in my sex life corresponds to how much skin I show? Dooley would be so proud.” Maddy rested a hand on her camera, longing to turn it on and capture the anger hovering on Blue’s brow. “The Rules of Attraction aren’t about the external. They’re about the heart. You have no clue, do you?”
Blue groaned. “I should have seen it earlier. You’re one of those.”
“One of those?” Maddy’s cheeks felt hot. Those who were repressed? Those who didn’t turn Blue on? Those –
“Women who bought into the Rules of Attraction. Women who use my father’s principles to attempt an orgasm orchestrated by some scam artist with a fake accent. Not that I’m specifically referring to Senge.” He grinned, letting her know he was referring to Senge. “Sex isn’t about relationships and freedom. It’s about being greedy and taking what you want. Tomorrow what you want and who you want it with may be different, and that’s okay. But covering up…” And here Blue gestured once more below his collarbone. “That’s not going to get you any freedom.”
He was maddening, so hot even when he was being annoying. And all his talk about sexual repression and freedom and being greedy only made her want to be greedy with him.
“I am not repressed. I am not…Oh, hell.” She grabbed onto Blue and kissed him.
Her lips were tense. Her tongue was tense. Her mind was tense. The kiss took repression to an awkward, modern art form.
What was she doing? There was more at stake here than proving she had a sex drive.
Maddy pushed Blue away. “Damn it, that was stupid. I don’t know what came over me.”
Bad kissing karma, that’s what. She was like some form of playboy kryptonite.
“Jesus, it was just like Senge said. We’re incompatible. That’s so weird.” His gaze categorized her faults, from her tennis shoes to her covered cleavage. “It must be you.”
It was maddening, the way he annoyed her and made her want him at the same time. But it was better to realize he was all-show-and-no-go to her libido now before she did something stupid, like peel off her clothes and spread her legs.
Blue held out a hand in invitation. “That can’t be right. Let’s try again.”
Hell, yes.
God, no.
When she didn’t budge, he took a step toward her. “In the name of science. In the name of proving Senge wrong.”
Maddy rolled her eyes. “I don’t care about Senge’s opinion – ”
But Blue cared. He kissed her.
This time it wasn’t a surprise invasion. This time they were both ready. His tongue coaxed. His lips enticed. His hands molded her body to his.
Subtly, something in her body shifted, heat sparked in her veins, promising fire. For a moment, Maddy luxuriated in the feeling, because – let’s face it – she’d never been with a guy with so many notches on his belt. She’d never been kissed like this. Like the man was hungry and she was a five star buffet. It made her light headed. It made her giggle.
“I must be losing my touch,” Blue murmured against her lips.
Reluctantly, Maddy edged free. No sense in telling Blue he hadn’t lost anything. “I think we just proved everything Senge said was true.”
Blue’s brows furrowed.
The kitchen door slammed open. Senge burst in. “You have destroyed my energies. I must go.”
Blue side-stepped, blocking the sex guru’s escape. “Tell me you freed those women.”
“It is impossible. They want you. They desire you. Stupid when what they could have is so much richer and deeper.” Senge looked at Maddy with unnerving intensity. “If you follow me now, I will show you the deep spiritual pleasure you seek.”
“Get out.” Blue stepped between them before Maddy could draw a breath to retort.
Senge shrugged. “She will realize she needs me soon enough.” And then he left, sandals slapping marble.
Maddy had no need of Senge. That kiss of Blue’s would keep her imagination humming along with her vibrator for weeks.
“Blackie! Blackie!” Winnie called. “We need you outside. Now.”
The women huddled in the spa, faces turned to the kitchen, all except the blonde.
Eyes wild, Blue grabbed Maddy’s shoulders. “Do you know what a Freedom Transformation is beyond an orgasm? Because I don’t.”
She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t know. What surprised her was that he’d admitted it. Maddy opened her mouth to tell him how the exercise flowed, and then decided she couldn’t so easily give up her only bargaining chip. “I’ll walk you through it if I can film.”
“Shit. I promised myself I’d never do this.” He closed his eyes tight, like a little boy who was scared of monsters beneath his bed. “Earlier you said…Tell me something that happened tonight was real, before I go out there and prostitute myself. Tell me you felt the earth move when we kissed.”
“I…” She wanted to deny it, but then he opened his eyes and the vulnerability was there. “Yes.” And then firmer. “Yes.”
“Thank, God.” Blue’s grip on her slackened. He took a breath, released her, and headed toward the door. Then stopped, pinning her with the hard gaze of the Blue she was used to. “Am I going to get arrested for this?”
The women were chanting his name.
Maddy grabbed her camera. “On one end of the spectrum you’ve got hookers – definitely illegal. In the middle there’s phone sex – not illegal in most states. And on the other end, there’s you and Senge, delivering release in the name of self-discovery. I think you’re safe.”
“I hate my father.” His control slipped. His Adams apple bobbed. “Don’t turn on the camera.”
“Like hell I won’t. You know you can’t do this without me.”
He shook his head. “I’m serious. It’s porn.”
“Uh, no. I’ve filmed porn. This wouldn’t even get you on HBO.”
“Blackie!” Winnie again.
Blue’s eyes looked haunted. “I can’t do it.”
Career goals battled empathy. But filming the transformation would be a coup, regardless of how uncomfortable it would make Blue. Clearly, a little reverse psychology was called for. “You’re right. It takes cajones to pull this off. Your dad had them, and you don’t. It’s why you’re in trouble with the Avengers. You avoid confrontation. You avoid messy emotions. You avoid life.”
His jaw clenched. “You’re saying I can’t do it.”
“No. I’m saying you won’t. Big difference.” Take the bait, Blue.
His gaze narrowed. “How do I know you know what you’re doing?”
“One of my earliest jobs was working on a porn project. It’s where I picked up the Freedom Transformation DVD – meant for in-person coaching clients only.” He’d freak even more if she told him his dad’s client was a porn superstar, greatly helped by the Freedom Transformation. Maddy put a hand on his arm. “Relax, will you? I met eight women yesterday who thought you were a rock star in bed. You want me to believe you can’t talk these women into the Big O when they’ve got jets aimed at their ju-ju?”
“This is different.”
“It’s not. I’m sure you’ve had phone sex before. Draw on that.”
Something dark and dangerous sparked in his eyes. “If I free these women, you owe me the chance to give you a Freedom Transformation of your own.”
Telling herself the excited pound of her pulse was only due to what she was about to film, Maddy gestured toward the door. “Gotta cook the pudding first, lover boy.”
“It’s a date.” He spun away, grinning.
“It’s not a date,” Maddy grumbled, but she was smiling.
“Blackie, oh, good. Here you are. Ladies, we have the privilege of being filmed tonight for the Dooley Foundation. Is everyone in agreement that we’re doing this for the sake of the science of the mind?” Winnie didn’t wait for a response. She lowered her curvy self down, until only her head and silver turban bobbed above the water. “Senge was a blowhard, but now we have the real thing.”
B
lue doubted he was the real thing, but he was a man with a goal – get Maddy in bed. And to do that, he needed to talk these women to orgasm.
His clients each turned to face the side of the spa, each jet bubbling up between their legs and presumably hitting them in their nether regions. The blonde still faced away from Blue.
“Breathe in.” Winnie instructed. “And out. Again. In. And out. You may begin now, Blackie.”
Blue glanced at Maddy, just a few feet away. She watched him through the camera with an oh-no-he-can’t expression.
“On a path to discovery,” she said. “This is going to be good.”
Discovery. It was a rule that Blue paid little attention to when he’d been poking around his father’s books and DVDs. And he’d never seen a Freedom Transformation DVD, had never known one existed.
He turned back to the women, who were breathing deeply, eyes half closed, bodies rocking up and down. He’d brought plenty of women to orgasm, just not so many at one time, as if he was leading an orchestra. He’d much prefer to play Maddy solo. She was infuriating, with her subtle sexuality and snappy wit.
“Blackie,” Winnie chastised. “We’re ready.”
Air left Blue’s lungs in a whoosh. How was he going to begin?
Bluff. Phone sex.
He drew a blank.
“What would you like to discover?” Maddy murmured near his shoulder. They were far enough back from the spa that the rumble of the jets covered anything she said and the shadows of the night masked her face.
A vague memory rushed back of his father speaking to a small group of women lounging in his hot tub. Blue had been trying to sneak in past curfew, and was forced to wait in the side yard until his father’s guests went home, apparently transformed.
The camera made him nervous, but then Blue realized that this was essentially Maddy’s home movie. Why not give her something to make her think? About sex. With him.
