“Grrrr!” Erica had been too stunned to do more than grit her teeth and sink down in the seat like a recalcitrant child. Her captor quickly returned to the driver’s seat and started the car.
“All right, Gianni, we’ve had our little fun,” she said as he navigated the Jag to the highway. “I ruined your place, and you kidnapped me, so we’re even. Why don’t we just call it a day and go our separate ways?”
Keeping his eyes on the road, Gianni produced a slim smile. “Ah, my darling, if you think I’m going to let you off so easily, you have sadly underestimated me. When I want something, I get it. Of course, I have to admit that you really made me work hard for your affections.”
“I am not one of your conquests!”
“No, I consider you the ultimate prize package.”
“Hah! You are a filthy, degenerate pig!”
He laughed. “And do you know, you’re much too cute when you’re indignant?”
With a huff, Erica sat back and stared ahead. “So, where are you taking me? Back to your den of erotic iniquity?”
“Hardly.” He slipped her a quick glance. “My place is not quite conducive to serious conversation thanks to your creative decorating efforts. No, I have a better place in mind.”
For the next few miles, they remained silent as Gianni set their course northward. With the darkness as a backdrop, Erica studied the reflection of her face in the passenger window. Besides the sand in her panties, a few strands of ocean flora dotted her hair like weedy ribbons. Plus, her seducer’s sudden appearance gave her no time to replace her sandals. Great! Barefoot and bedraggled... and probably just the way he wanted her!
Minutes, hours, miles seemed to tick by, but Erica refused to look at her abductor despite his occasional glances and queries as to her welfare. This purveyor of promiscuity couldn’t care less about her comfort. Gianni Sloan, no doubt, was off to humiliate her, and Erica had jumped right into his clutches!
When she spied the entrance to the Bay Harbor Marina, she realized he planned to take them aboard his parents’ sloop. Oh, they would be alone all right, and the cocky player of women’s hearts would make sure his hapless victim had no means of escaping his amorous clutches once out to sea!
After Gianni placed his membership card in the electronic opener, he waited for the gates to open, and slid the Jaguar into a parking spot close to the pier. He turned to her and quickly clamped a short leash on the cord wrapped around her wrists.
“What are you doing!” Erica squeaked and raised her bound hands, her eyes wide with alarm. Not that she didn’t mind a bit of kinky, but this seemed going overboard!
He flashed an innocent smile. “Just making sure you won’t try to get away.” Flipping up the locks, Gianni started to open his door, but turned suddenly. “Oh, and you might as well save your breath. Screaming won’t bring anyone to your rescue. At this time of night, we’re completely alone.”
Erica shot him a dangerous look. “Thanks for the warning.” When he came around and opened her door, she refused to budge.
Gianni tugged the leash, but she held her ground. Instead of a grimace, he produced a smile of supreme patience. “Now, darling, we can do this the easy way or not. It’s all up to you.”
With her own saccharin sweet smile, Erica moved closer and spat in his face. “You are a lying, contemptible, thoroughly disgusting pervert!”
Gianni reared back and gave a hearty laugh. “Now, now, mi amor. Let’s save those little terms of endearment for later, when I’ve inspired you to cry out my name in passion and not in vain.”
“Oooh!”
Before she had time to react, he reached over, unsnapped her seat belt, and gathered her up in his arms. As soon as he had his prisoner out of the car, he hoisted Erica over his shoulder and strode purposefully to the boarding plank of the Island in the Sky.
She pounded his back, flailed her legs and shouted, but Gianni’s surprising strength kept her folded in this same humiliating position. With her last struggle, he slapped her derrière again.
“Ouch! You’re certifiable!”
“And you’re so sexy when you get all spunky and feisty.”
Oh, he would pay for the insults! she vowed. So, he wanted wild, huh? She’d give him much more than just spunky and feisty!
Chapter Fifteen
When they reached the galley stairs, he finally let her go, but quickly pulled at her leash so that Erica had no choice but to walk down the steps as he tugged her along. The minute Gianni turned on the lights, she looked about in amazement. Besides the little strings of twinkling lights twined across the top rails, the captain of their “love boat” had transplanted a few of the items from his apartment. The wide bunk sported the scarlet bedspread and a jumble of satin pillows, while the “Penis de Milo” sculpture occupied a niche over the bed.
To add insult to injury, Gianni also added a bottle of champagne on ice, along with two goblets and a pair of tapered candles on the dining table.
Despite her humiliating position, Erica had to laugh at the incongruity of the situation as well as his ridiculous setup, mixing the gauche and the provocative with his idea of romance. Come into my kinky lair said the spider to the fly…
“So, am I still your prisoner?” she sputtered between laughs, “or will you give me a reprieve?” She continued to take in his idea of interior decorating. “And do you really think you can change my mind with all of this so I won’t consider you a contemptible, lying, scheming, mezquino anymore?”
“You got me there,” Gianni admitted as he placed a hand to her back and urged her forward. “But you’re not a prisoner. I’ll even let you be the captor of my heart, while I, lucky fellow, become your prisoner of love.”
“Oh, pull-ease!” she snorted. “Spare me your ridiculous clichés! You’ll have to get me awfully drunk to become captivated by your charms.”
“Well, sit down. Allow me ply you with liquor, and I shall continue to enthrall you with my charming repertoire.”
Sliding into the banquette seat, Erica placed her bound hands on the table. “I think you’ve done quite enough damage to the English language, thank you very much.”
“Then, I’ll try to make this plain and simple.” Sitting across from her, Gianni picked up a book of matches, lit the candles, and then worked the champagne cork until it popped. After pouring them both a glass, he donned a more soulful expression. “Look, I know all the apologies in the world won’t make up for what I did.”
Erica threw him an indignant look. “You didn’t have to do anything but be yourself. Instead, you lied and humiliated me.”
Gianni placed a goblet in front of her. “I had a problem with being myself. You didn’t like the first Mr. Sloan, so I had to invent a second one, a twin brother, to try and win you over.”
“So, what’s your point now? What do you want to prove?”
He toyed with his wine glass. “I just want you to understand, even forgive me if you can. I certainly don’t want you to hate me any more than you do at the moment.”
Eying her champagne, Erica lifted her bound limbs. “Well, if you want me to reconsider, you might cut me loose first.”
“Oh, coming right up!” Gianni went to one of the galley drawers, retrieved a steak knife, and promptly cut away her bindings.
Erica rubbed her wrists. “Gee, thanks.”
“You won’t try to run away until we talk, will you?”
“Where would I run to? You have me at the disadvantage.”
“Well, at least let’s toast to your success with my apartment. You’ve done an over-the-top, stupendous job of putting me in my place.”
“It was the least I could do.” Taking her glass, Erica tapped it against his and then took a sip of the champagne. At least Gianni or Nico or whomever he wanted to be had provided a decent brand.
“What can I say, Eriqueta querida?” he continued. “I thought you might actually start to think differently about me if I presented a more suitable, likable side.”
<
br /> Erica tried to gauge his sincerity, but Gianni kept his gaze focused on the table. Now, she caught a glimpse of the soft brown glimmer of his eyes beneath the long lashes. “I don’t understand why you had to go to all that trouble when you could have just acted like a decent human being. At least I could have appreciated your efforts, made without the lies and subterfuge.”
“I know, I know!” He held up a hand. “I screwed up, okay? Can we put Nico to rest and hopefully start over again with an even slate?”
As Erica straightened, she threw him glaring darts meant to force him to look at her. Sure, Gianni might be expressing genuine contrition, but she refused to be cajoled so easily. “You actually had me falling for your twin! I even told you how I felt! So, how long did you plan to keep up the deception?”
He shrugged. “Long enough, I suppose, until I felt sure I had you completely won over.”
“You mean skewered on your booty hook!” she shot back, her cheeks burning with humiliation. “You used Nico as your bait to entrap me under false pretenses! You saw me as just another one of your conquests, and I represented a challenge because I didn’t give in so easily to your smarmy come-ons!”
“Erica, no, I would never do that!”
“So, now you think we’re even? Hardly, mister! My job on your apartment didn’t even register on my payback scale.”
To emphasis her disgust, Erica picked up her glass and threw the champagne in his face. Without missing a beat, Gianni continued with his confession. “I never intended to hurt you or anyone else, but I ended up making a mockery out of everything. I admit that. It started out as a challenge, yes, but I soon fell for you, totally and completely! You’re not like any of the women I knew. You’re smart, sexy, creative, generous, beautiful and totally too good for me! And yet, I can’t help myself. I’ve fallen for you big time.”
He let out a sigh of resignation. “I tried to find a way to get out of the mess I created. I meant for the ruse to run its course quickly. Yet the more I saw of you, the more I knew if I revealed my deception, you’d hate me forever. I didn’t want that to happen, especially since we hit it off so well when you knew me as Nico. I could be with you and make love to you—without the lies and come-ons that Gianni used.”
When Erica didn’t respond right away, he slowly wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. “I’m in love with you, dammit! You think you’re surprised, but let me tell you! I thought I could fight it or ignore my feelings for you in hopes they would all go away, but they didn’t. In fact, they continued to grow until I knew I was absolutely, positively in love with you.”
She blinked, startled by his revelation. She never took Gianni Sloan, the master of one-night seductions, as anything but a superficial, shallow, egotistical skirt chaser with no redeeming qualities. Now, here, he wanted to bare his soul! Love? What did he know about the give and take of love? Erica had yet to be convinced of his sincerity on the subject of undying affections.
“You already made a fool out of me once. How can I possibly believe you a second time around? You’re nothing but a sex-driven con artist!” With her indignation on the rise, she slipped out of the banquette and stood her ground with arms crossed.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Oh, yeah!”
“The song the mariachis sang for you that night, I meant every word of it, Erica. I knew then and there I loved you.”
She still didn’t feel totally satisfied. “Sure, any guy can pay a couple of guitar-wielding singers to do his dirty work.”
“But what if he took hours to search for just the right song to express what’s in his heart?” He rose from his seat. I want us to move forward and forget about the past. So, please marry me!”
Erica felt momentarily stunned; and for a split second, she took time-out to try and gauge his feelings. To her amazement, she actually caught a glimpse of Gianni’s vulnerable side, even a boyish, innocent quality about him. And, if she chose to believe him, she could even spot sincere affection in his soft gaze.
He took a few unguarded steps forward, but Erica quickly turned, bolted up the steps and out the galley door. She started for the aft deck until his voice from behind made her stop short.
“Hold it!” Gianni shouted. “You’re crazy, you know that! Completely loca! I told you I love you, dammit, and I mean every word of it!”
Turning sharply, she placed her hands on her hips. “Yeah, well, I believe that about as much as I believe you used to be a saintly choir boy! You, Gianni Sloan, are nothing more than an egomaniacal, arrogant, rude, self-serving, poor excuse of even the most despicable of men!”
As Erica moved forward she caught a splinter from the uneven floor boards in the pad of her bare foot. Taking up her injury, she hopped on the other foot until she felt herself careening backwards, right over the side of the slip and into the water with a giant splash. When she surfaced, she shook out her dripping hair and glanced up. Gianni gazed down at her with a mix of amazement and humor.
“Hey, just don’t stand there!” she barked, furious. “Help me out of here!”
“Well, let me think about it.” He planted a sandaled foot on the low rail and an arm across his bent knee. “Now, if certain parties would just ask nicely, and deign to actually listen while the most despicable guy in the world wishes to explain not only that he loves her but that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, then maybe, just maybe, said despicable guy would be glad to fish you out of the drink.”
“Ooh!” Erica splashed the murky water. “All right! I’ll give in just this once, but you better make your groveling worth my while!”
“Oh, I plan to, my dear, I plan to.” With that, Gianni went to fetch the life preserver.
* * *
Despite her humiliation and wet clothes, Erica didn’t put up a protest as he carried her to the splashy red bed and laid her across it. Quickly, he skimmed his hard body over hers. Mouths covered lips with brutal intensity. As his kiss continued to grow with his spiraling lust, Erica clamped her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer, everything inside her now hot and wild.
She reveled in the way his heart did a salsa beat with her own, the way his blood rushed and pulsed above, and the feverish pitch of tongues and lips as they both continued a dance of take and give. Oh, it felt so good to touch him, to move beneath his lean, hard body and savor the smell and flavor of his skin. Lust and love became a glorious tumble in her system.
Erica soon nipped down his throat, never quite sated when it came to quenching all of her senses with Gianni as her feast of delights. All those days and nights without him had made her completely crazy, and she took it out on him now like a starving woman. As he cupped her breasts through the thin fabric of her tank top, she watched his face as he lightly skimmed his palm along each extended nipple. She loved to gaze into his eyes, to drink in their rich brandy color, and watch the way love steeped them to a glossy shine.
When she lifted her arms, he tugged off the damp top, and then caressed the fleshy undertow of her breasts with adept fingers. She arched her back to offer him more, and he took his fill of soft skin until she stirred and tore at his shirt. They quickly peeled and pulled away clothing so flesh could find flesh. As Gianni skimmed fingers along the inside of her thighs, Erica purred with delight and trembled beneath him. His name, and his name only, became her personal mantra as she whispered it with growing pleasure.
The man of her heart responded with his own moan of happiness. After nestling between her legs, he parted her folds and swept his tongue up and down her slit. Erica screamed and writhed, and by the time Gianni kneaded her clit, she became a quaking mass of raw emotions. As her need spiraled out of control, she quickly urged him up and drew his stiff member inside. He glided along her body, and her hips rose and fell with the heated rhythm that bound them together. As she welcomed him, he drove her deeper and deeper.
She attacked his throat and then took the silver chain he wore between her teeth, nipping, tugging, pulling an
d teasing. Every pore, every sense, became alive as she welded her body to his and ran her hands along his tight back. Gianni peppered her temple, her cheeks and her chin with hungry kisses. Again, she cried out in response to his unbridled touch. And when he stiffened to claim release, she arched into him so they could climax together in a wonderful burst of white heat.
Now as he caught his breath, she gently caressed his shoulders and kissed the top of his head, his hair and flesh damp from their exertions. She would never, ever, cease the need to stroke his firm, smooth planes, and taste and inhale his total masculinity. Slowly, as he pulled aside, Erica gazed at the string of cabin lights and listened to the sound of the boat rocking gently in its slip. For a moment they drifted into this wonderful contentment, this quiet aftermath. So much for curses, magic spells and incantations! Erica never had a chance. Gianni Sloan had finally won. And yet, it felt so good to finally give in and bask in his glory, their glory.
After giving her a quick kiss, he rose on his arm and looked in her eyes. He asked again, this time with a soft, clear purpose in mind. “Will you marry me?”
Erica blinked. “If I don’t say yes, will you make me walk the plank instead of falling off of it?” Amazingly, the splinter in her foot had ceased to hurt.
“Sure, and you can take some of your sex toys with you.” With a wave of a hand, Gianni indicated Sacha’s masterpiece on the shelf overlooking the bed, his one and only, truly original dildo sculpture, “Penis de Milo.”
Admitting that her decorating efforts had been a total, hideous disaster, Erica giggled. “Okay, I’ll get rid of all the sleaze.”
“Please, unless you want our apartment to resemble a bordello from hell! Although, think of all the interesting dinner parties we could throw!”
Her fingers traced the corded lines of his neck and throat. “How come you’re so sure I’m going to say yes and move right in with you? What about my place, my life?”
“Nothing major is going to change,” he argued. “We can open up the floor and run a spiral staircase between the two apartments. I’m sure you can work something out. After all, you’re going to be my resident designer from now on.”
Miami Spice Page 13
