All Night Long

by Melissa MacNeal

  “Good evening.”

  The words flowed near her ear with that seductive Greek accent, yet Lola heard undertones of Bela Lugosi doing Count Dracula. Like she could care, in this relaxed state. She lazily opened one eye, almost wishing the captain had stood her up.

  He was nude. Smoothly muscled and sleek, like she knew he’d be. And that thing standing at attention, right at eye level, was not a cocktail weenie he’d brought her from the reception.

  “It pleases me that you’ve followed my instructions, Miss Wright,” he went on in a voice dusky with desire. “I plan to reward you accordingly. May I introduce my personal masseuse, Odette.”

  Things began to spin out of kilter when she raised her head from the pillow. Why would this man want a different masseuse, when Miss Christy with the magical hands obviously adored her boss? And hadn’t he requested the pleasure of her company tonight?

  Looking at Odette, however, kept Lola from voicing these demands. She was willowy and tanned and pampered, with the smile of a satisfied cat on her classically elegant face…a cat who saw a canary and intended to make it squawk. She could’ve been Skorpio’s twin, except he wasn’t exactly kissing her like a sister. As their bodies pressed together, Lola got the icky feeling they intended to put on a show—like the ice dancers in the Olympics, who’d honed their performance during months of practice. Except those folks wore clothes!

  And as the Greeks eased onto the other massage table in the small room, Miss Christy peeled off her lacy pink baby-dolls. Then the masseuse mounted her table—straddled her, while she was laid out on her stomach, naked and defenseless!

  “What kind of a deal is—”

  “Shhhhh, sugar, don’t fuss now!” the blonde whispered in her ear.

  Pale hair fell like a curtain around her face, and Lola felt the warm weight of that voluptuous body beginning to rub…to lightly writhe against her butt and spine. Those double-Ds were resting against her back, and Miss Christy’s nips were prodding her. Hard.

  “Everybody’s gonna have a real good time tonight,” she promised. “Play the game by Skorpio’s rules, honey buns, and you’ll get yours. Oh, you’re gonna get it reeeeeal good, girlfriend.”

  Lola clenched her jaw, not to mention the rest of her body. It wasn’t so much what Miss Christy said, as the way she’d said it. As though the masseuse felt inclined to be girly and get some for herself while she was at it.

  Meanwhile, Captain Skandalis was lying on his back not five feet away, with Odette straddling him. His laugh lines arched above his cheek as he smiled fondly at his partner, fondling the taut line of her jaw…letting his fingers skim down her honey-colored skin until they found her pert, bobbing breasts.

  Lola clenched again, somewhere lower this time. God, the way he handled that woman! The way he cupped her and murmured encouragements.

  Not once did Fletch ever gaze at me that way. Or caress me with such genuine affection.

  But her ex was the furthest thing from her mind when she caught a glimpse of the captain’s cock. He’d slipped it between Odette’s outer lips, and was encouraging her to slide up and down it, with his hands indenting her hips. Her head lolled back, and her tortoiseshell comb came loose, sending waves of midnight hair cascading down her back as she let out soft, desperate moans. Meanwhile, there was that tip of him, like a wine-colored mushroom, bobbing up and then disappearing beneath Odette’s little Mohawk of black thatch.

  Lola gripped her pillow. Modesty guilted her into looking away, yet her eyes wandered back to that sensuous scene with every gasp and lusty grunt Captain Scandalous let out.

  “You want that cock up your cunt, don’tcha?” Miss Christy whispered. “I can feel your heat down there, Lola. And I can tellya Skorpio hits all the hot spots and lets his woman come first. Right, Captain?”

  The handsome Greek flashed a grin that told Lola he loved this game. He intended to make her watch, until she couldn’t stand it any more!

  “Give it to her, stud!” the masseuse said in a hoarse whisper. “Shove it up her cunt and pump her full of it! Lola here can’t wait much longer.”

  This encouragement was punctuated by those rock-hard nipples prodding her back. Lola was too appalled at her body’s reactions to protest what Miss Christy said or did: their rhythmic rubbing against the sheets made a suggestive whisper all its own. And with the weight of her captor pushing her mound into the mattress, it wouldn’t be long until she needed more direct relief.

  And damn the captain! He chose that moment to lift Odette a few inches above his body, giving Lola full view of his rampant erection before lowering his lady onto his shaft, inch by inch.

  Odette cried out, bucking wildly. The massage table creaked with their shifting weight, and the musky scent of their sex made Lola writhe in spite of herself. Skandalis was gorgeous, lying there fully in command of himself and his partner: his muscles tensed and bunched with each deliberate thrust as Odette rode him. She was rocking faster against him, her pert breasts shimmying as her hips wiggled feverishly against his.

  Then Skorpio jammed her down and held her absolutely still.

  The little room held its breath. And so did Lola.

  As he raised his head, Odette lowered herself enough for him to suckle her breasts. He lapped gently at one peak, releasing it with a wet, sucking sound that made Lola clench where she hoped Miss Christy wouldn’t notice.

  Her own nipples ached as she watched, so she pressed them harder into the mattress. Would that man never tire of teasing every woman in this room? Did he think they’d all worship him while he took his sweet time with his partner?

  Skandalis clamped his lips around Odette’s other breast and she shrieked. Began to pump the man with an abandon that took Lola to the end of her tether. Her sigh rasped between her clenched teeth, and damned if Miss Christy didn’t scoot off her and slip an arm beneath her hips.

  “I’m gonna give you what you want Lola,” the masseuse said, reaching beneath the table. “I can’t stand your agony any longer. I know your pain, girlfriend, and Miss Christy’s gonna fix it.”

  The masseuse, strong from the rubdowns she gave each day, effortlessly lifted Lola into a position that left her backside pointing up and her legs parted. This sent her weight onto her forearms while she clutched the mattress.

  “If you think for one minute you’re going to—”

  “Don’t even have to think about it, darlin’. Just followin’ my rule about how the customer comes first.” When Miss Christy chuckled, her breath feathered against Lola’s slit. “Open wide, and then close hard. Try not to let the people upstairs hear you screamin’, baby doll.”

  Lola squeezed herself shut, determined not to let this woman have her way, when it was that man on the next table she wanted. But then she felt a very warm, solid something coaxing her open down there.

  “Whatever that is, you’re not going to—”

  “It’s a glass dildo, sugar. All warmed and oiled and just ready to slide inside your—”

  “I want it that way,” Odette rasped, pointing at Lola. “I want to be the bitch in heat while you fuck me like a dirty dog, Skorpio.”

  Lola’s breath left her in a rush as the lithe Greek woman scrambled into position, pointing her firm backside so her slick lips were visible between long, shapely legs. Skorpio’s smile had a desperate edge to it, yet he was ever the captain in control. He knelt behind Odette, his rod as rigid as a piston, and then entered her with enough force to make them both gasp.

  Lola’s groan rose to a cry of sheer need as Miss Christy plied the glass toy with perfect timing, matching the captain’s thrusts, stroke for stroke. Was that a thumb tickling her clit, or a knuckle?

  Not that it mattered. Too far gone she was; didn’t care what rubbed her there as long as it didn’t stop.

  “Doesn’t that just make you wanna whimper and pant, Lola?” the masseuse demanded slyly. “I’m gettin’ mine just watching that sweet little ass of yours spasm…oooh, and here comes the honey!”
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  Odette’s low moan escalated, filling the little room with a keening need that made everything spiral upward like a turning screw. She arched up to balance on her knees, her ebony hair swinging above hips that ground backwards into Skorpio’s. Her long fingers curled over her breasts. The gorgeous woman’s breathing became ragged and rough, and at the moment she grimaced, Skandalis shot.

  Unable to control her wiggling hips any more than she could stop that wicked masseuse with the slick toy and fingers, Lola gave in to it. Closed her eyes and lost herself in the extreme sensations of solid girth and warm length and the wetness dribbling down her leg. Gritting her teeth against a scream, she convulsed. Again and again Miss Christy slid the dildo inside her, high enough to inflame her g-spot, as well.

  Lola collapsed forward, which canted her ass toward the ceiling. Her thoughts were still swirling in a sated haze when she heard the captain’s low laughter.

  “What a lovely creature you are when you lose control, Lola,” he murmured, stroking her hair away from her damp forehead. He was standing beside the massage table with his other arm around Odette, smiling indulgently. “It will be a great pleasure indeed to hold your body close to mine as we waltz tonight in the grand ballroom.”

  Lola blinked, which was all she could manage at the moment. Now the captain was hinting at other intimate activities, but she wasn’t betting any money she’d make it to the ballroom—or anywhere else—as rubbery as she felt.

  “Be dressed and ready to dance the night away when I come for you,” he crooned, lowering his face so those obsidian eyes were level with hers. So she could see how handsome he was as she caught a whiff of the sex he’d shared with Odette; so he could lord it over her that even after making mind-numbing love, Skorpio Skandalis remained the supreme commander of everyone and everything aboard his ship.

  “I want you to look nothing less than electrifying when I show you off, my dear,” he finished, “because you are mine.”

  7

  “Wipe that smirk off your face and get me outta here,” Lola muttered.

  Aric had appeared out of nowhere, and had the gall to hold her robe like a perfect gentleman would hold a lady’s coat. Once again his silver-green eyes took a leisurely tour, this time lingering on the wisps of hair clinging to her sweaty neck, and on the trails of wetness that had dried on her thighs.

  “Rode hard and put away wet?” he teased.

  She whirled around to smack him, but he caught her by the wrist.

  “You knew!” she rasped. “You knew Skandalis would just tease me while that nympho Miss Christy shamed me into—”

  “So you find pleasure shameful?” Keeping hold of her hand, Cabana Boy opened the door for her. “Funny, but from the looks of you I’d swear you found shame pleasurable. You just won’t admit it.”

  “Bye, now! Y’all come back!” a cheerful chirp followed them out of the spa.

  Lola strode down the hallway with what little dignity she could muster. Were the other guests still at the gala, or had they gone to dinner by now? She could not be seen by normal, decent people looking like she’d been ravaged!

  Especially since she hadn’t. Not the way she wanted, anyway. And not so much as a towel or a cigarette or a kiss-my-ass when Miss Christy sashayed out of the massage room, sniffing after the captain. Just left her there, feeling sticky and—used.

  “Why do you find it so amusing that—why do you call it pleasure, what Miss Lusty Busty did to me?” she demanded. “You think it’s funny that the captain got me all hot and bothered, and then made me watch him put it to that—that other woman?”

  Aric’s lips curved in a secretive grin. “Why do you think I’d know about this stuff?”

  “Oh, get real!” she cried. “Skandalis would’ve bragged to you on his way out. Don’t pretend he doesn’t keep you informed—so you can be sure I don’t have a single moment to consider escape.”

  They stepped into the staff elevator. Once again, Wonder Warden leaned against the wall right beside her, lithe as a tiger. Looking sexy as hell just pushing the UP button.

  “OK. So he told me I was to get you showered and fed before I hustle your buns downstairs to find a formal dress,” Aric replied with a hint of impatience. “You think I have it easy? You think I like playing cop to a prickly little bitch who whined because she got moved to the penthouse level? And is whining because she came in the spa?”

  Lola straightened her shoulders, yanking her lapels together. Those silvery eyes were looking for her Very Cherries again, and he didn’t deserve that view right now!

  “I didn’t whine,” she simpered. “I merely….”

  She sighed. Why was his point so very damning? So damned accurate?

  Suddenly very tired, Lola went limp against the cool steel wall. “What would it take for you to let me just crash tonight? It’s been a helluva day, you know?”

  “Sorry, babe. I’m not for sale.”

  The elevator door slid open with a low swoosh, and then Aric unlocked the suite’s door. In their absence, the room attendant had turned down that big, beautiful bed and left mood lamps burning on the tables. It seemed a shame to have such a gorgeous suite and no chance to spend time in it.

  She spotted two wrapped truffles from that high-end chocolate shop downstairs, and snatched one off her pillow. “So tell the captain I’m sick. You know damn well he only wants to—”

  “Take your shower. You’ll feel better.”

  “—get me all hyped up to dance with him, and then he won’t—”

  Aric’s single raised eyebrow said don’t make me take you to that bathroom myself, lady.

  With a loud sigh, Lola unwrapped her candy, smoothing its foil when she saw a message printed inside.

  You’re about to meet a wild, wonderful lover!

  “Yeah, right,” she muttered. “In my dreams.”

  She popped the truffle into her mouth and then paused, letting the sweet mocha filling ooze over her tongue while her teeth tested the dark chocolate that surrounded it. Her toes curled into the plush carpet.

  My God, this is fabulous. Good thing I breezed into that candy shop and breezed right back out when I saw the price tags on these things. I can already feel my ass getting fatter.

  Cabana Boy, who was staring right at it, didn’t seem to notice. So she wadded up her robe and threw it at him, for spite. She padded toward the bathroom, aware he was watching her every move.

  “Do you know how many women on this ship would give their right legs to dance with Captain Skandalis?” he shot at her bare back.

  Lola stopped, tonguing the chocolate off her teeth as she thought about that. “Not if they really intended to dance with him, they wouldn’t,” she teased.

  “OK, I’ve got it now! You don’t know how to dance!”

  She slammed the shower door on that remark, twisting the faucet handle with a vengeance. What did a girl have to do to get a little peace and quiet? So much lip that kid was giving her! Another Yes Man for the captain, just like Rio DeSilva.

  Closing her eyes as the warm water pulsed against her chest, Lola let herself relax against the glass wall. Let her head fall forward to catch the water. This was the best thing to happen to her all damn day!

  But why? What’s so tough about playing along with Captain Skandalis and your cabana boy? In the end, you go home a free woman! Your credit gets fixed, and it’ll be business as usual.

  But that was the problem, wasn’t it? She’d planned to go home married.

  While she prided herself on being independent and savvy, Lola Wright still believed, deep down, that once you had that MRS in front of your name, life had direction. You had a road map to maturity, and a more secure future—and your family and friends would stop speculating about whether you were too impossible for any man to put up with. Or…girly, that way.

  And once you got past the Big Three-O, the biological time bomb ticked like a grandfather’s clock marking time in a funeral parlor. Even though she’d been running a su
ccessful business for years, she felt lacking as a woman because she didn’t have a family of her own.

  What ever happened to that woman who’d believed she could have it all, and do it all? And why couldn’t you just order the perfect guy online and get a set of smart, adorable kids to go with him?

  Sighing, Lola lathered her hair and then scrubbed herself all over with her net scrubbie and the gel on the shower shelf. Scents of eucalyptus and green tea wafted around her in the steam, refreshing her more than she anticipated. The chocolate and sugar and caffeine from the truffle kicked in, revving her pulse.

  Maybe there was hope for this evening, after all. Maybe she could give the captain an eyeful of woman he couldn’t possibly refuse—or at least get a kick out of showing herself off.

  When Lola opened the door, the cloud of herbal mist filled the bathroom with a heady sense of wealth and well-being, as though a woman of mystery—a goddess!—was emerging to rule this night like the moon!

  “And here I am!” she whispered, raising the back-scrubber like a scepter. “The High Priestess, stepping from her Gilded Tarot deck to dance divinely above the waters of insight and illumination!”

  A low laugh came from the doorway. “Bet the captain’s never heard that one!”

  Aric appeared in the mist then, holding out the thickest, fluffiest towel she’d ever seen.

  “Thank you, dear,” she murmured. Despite his smart-ass remark, she maintained her regal tone and posture. “Never forget who you’re dealing with here. A Priestess has powers and secrets no mortal man can fully comprehend. Captain Scandalous doesn’t stand a chance!”

  It was a head game, a pretense to get her through the night. But what could it hurt? It beat whining and feeling sorry for herself—and being told she was.