by Molly McLain
That mysterious gleam flashed in Maddie’s eyes again, but before he could question her, Armando appeared beside them.
“Bella and Dan!” Somehow the instructor looked even more built with a shirt on. Not that Dan was the slightest bit intimidated, even when the guy grabbed Maddie’s hand and twirled her right out of his arms. Her dress lifted, showing off more of her pale, creamy thighs and an almost indecent expanse of mile-long legs. Despite the dimly lit club, Dan could still see blatant interest shadow the instructor’s face. “Eres muy hermosa, bella.”
“Thank you, Armando.” Maddie smiled, though it seemed forced, and Dan cocked his head to the side. He had no idea what the guy said and he wasn’t sure he liked that Maddie did. Of course, she’d minored in Spanish in college, so he shouldn’t be surprised. Still, it didn’t thrill him that the two of them could carry on a private conversation about God knows what and he’d be clueless. Somehow that little detail bothered him more than the guy putting his hands on her.
But, he reminded himself, he trusted his wife implicitly, therefore he’d have to restrain his inner caveman. Taking a hearty pull from his beer, he shook off the agitation. She wanted to have fun tonight, then they’d have fun.
“Have you been here long?” Armando asked, still holding Maddie’s hand.
“No. First drink.” She lifted her glass and then sucked most of the unnaturally blue liquid down in one long slurp, as if she were nervous. Which beckoned the question—why would she be nervous? She’d been completely comfortable with the man earlier in the day. Was there something going on Dan wasn’t privy to?
Armando chuckled and plucked Maddie’s empty glass from her hand. “Let me buy you both another round.” Excusing himself, he shuffled off to the bar.
Grateful for the moment alone, Dan pulled Maddie close again. “Babe, why don’t you let me in on whatever’s going on in that pretty head of yours, because the second I think I’ve got you figured out, you flip like a switch right before my eyes.”
Maddie placed her hands on his chest, her fingers spread wide. Obviously avoiding his gaze, she looked to be completely fascinated with her fingernails. But her lower lip, pinched between her teeth, gave her away. Yes, she definitely had something on her mind.
“You know how I am. If you don’t just come out and tell me, I’m going to overanalyze every little clue you do give me until I figure it out.”
He felt, more than heard, her heavy sigh and unless his senses were playing tricks on him, her fingers were shaking too. What’d she have to be anxious about? The wedding was over, the pressure off. It was just the two of them here and, while saying ‘I do’ had been wonderful, this time alone with her was what he’d looked forward to the most. He wanted her to enjoy these few days just as much as he hoped to. But whatever she wasn’t telling him wasn’t allowing the good time he wanted for either of them.
She glanced up at him almost tentatively, her normally bright eyes stormy once again with that hesitation he couldn’t puzzle together. “I think I’d rather you tried to figure it out.”
“I’ve been trying, babe, and I’m clueless. Narrow it down for me?” He slid his hand up the back of her neck and into her hair. She shuddered and her eyes fluttered shut as goose bumps prickled along her chest and shoulders. “You obviously still want me as much as I want you. That much I’m sure of.”
“That’s never been a question.”
“But there is a question, isn’t there?”
Her eyes sprung open and she took to biting that pretty pink lip again.
Damn, if he didn’t want to do the same. To taste the sweetness of her drink on her lips and feel the sugary slide of her tongue against his. He swallowed hard. “There’s something you want, but are afraid to ask for.”
Her sharp intake of breath and even wider eyes promised he was right. Well, at least he’d pinned that down. It wasn’t much but it was a start.
Armando came back carrying a tray with their drinks and three shots of something amber. “Tequila,” he explained, handing one of the small glasses to Maddie. “The good stuff.”
Dan’s stomach twisted instantly. The last time he had tequila, he wound up naked in the front flower bed of a sorority house. “Nah, I’ll pass.”
“More for me then.” In a matter of seconds, Maddie downed both her shot and his, and he noticed her nipples pebbled as she shivered with the afterburn. When she licked her lips—the lips he so badly wanted to taste—she never took her eyes off of him. In that moment, he was completely confident that he’d misinterpreted her earlier reaction to Armando. She was definitely more interested in him than she was the surf god. Thank Christ.
“She’s a feisty one, isn’t she?” Armando’s eyes gleamed with appreciation.
Possibly more feisty than Dan realized and, expressing its approval, his dick twitched.
“Mind if I take her for a spin on the dance floor?” The instructor flashed a grin and Dan gave a short laugh. The guy didn’t waste time, did he?
Dan also wasn’t dumb enough to believe there’d be any actual spinning. The crowd was currently swaying in unison to a fast, bone humming, blood pumping techno remix. He couldn’t see where one body ended and another began, and no doubt Armando would use that to his advantage, getting as close to Maddie as possible.
“Be my guest. But she comes back here when you’re done.” He looked from his wife to the man and back again. Maddie had a quietly curious expression on her face and her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. The alcohol? Or did his words hit too close to what she wasn’t telling him?
“Of course.” Armando reclaimed Maddie’s hand and began to lead her away.
No way could he let her go that easy. Moving fast, Dan caught her other wrist and pulled her back to him. Fingers in her hair, tongue in her mouth, whisker burn on her chin, he kissed the absolute hell out of her before he let her loose, both of them gasping for air.
A crooked smile hitched up one corner of her mouth and she pressed her fingertips to her lips as she walked backward, allowing the other man to pull her into the crowd. Thankfully, Armando didn’t take them too deep into the crush. Though a few couples obstructed some of his view, Maddie’s red dress stood out like a matador’s cape, beckoning attention. There was no missing Armando moving up behind her, pulling her into his lap as they swayed and pulsed to the beat of the music. The instructor’s big body dwarfed his wife’s much smaller one and it made Dan’s blood run a little hotter.
And just like that, he was stiff as fuck.
What. The. Hell.
Chapter Four
Never in a million years did she expect Dan to insist she dance with another man. Especially in a sexually charged crowd like this and definitely not with a man who wore his intent on his sleeve.
She might’ve tried harder to resist Armando’s invitation, but something about the look in Dan’s eyes as he gave her permission made her curious. Made her want to see just how far he’d let her take things, because, if her guess was right¸ her husband liked the challenge of her being in another man’s arms. And if that was the case, then maybe there was a way their individual desires could align, ultimately satisfying them both.
Right now, the question was...what could she get away with? She wanted to push her husband to the limits of his tolerance. She wanted to tip his patience upside down. She wanted to rock his world so damn hard that he had no choice but to unleash the domineering, no-holds-barred badass he became when his put on his suit and tie every morning.
Dan was ruthless in the courtroom—and she wanted him just as wicked in the bedroom.
Though she wasn’t completely comfortable having another man so close, she reached behind her, grasped both of Armando’s hands and put them intentionally low on her hips, hoping against hope it’d be worth it—that Dan watched their every move. The surfer wasted no time moving into place, his crotch cradled tightly against her ass, as they both bent at the knees and popped to the bass-heavy beat.
She lost herself
in the groove, letting her eyes drift shut as the music pulsed through her body, resonating deep in her ears and heavy in her blood. She had no idea how long they moved like that, but when Armando finally spun her around, perspiration glistened on his forehead and he was breathing just as hard as she was.
She smiled and he did too. “You’re a good dancer.” She spoke loudly so he could hear her above the music.
“Not so bad yourself. I take it Dan doesn’t dance?”
“Not if he can help it.” Which was hopefully a battle he’d lose very soon. She glanced over to where she’d left him standing and, oh, yes, he was watching. The dark intensity in his eyes made her shiver and her smiled widened. He held her gaze for a long moment, before he gave her a slow, sexy grin of his own.
But, dammit, he wasn’t supposed to smile. He was supposed to march his fine ass over to them and yank her away from Armando. Maybe even punch the guy in the face. At the very least, take her back to the villa and fuck her senseless as punishment for letting another man rub all over her.
Armando chuckled. “His loss, my gain.”
Not in a million years. Still, she let the man pull her close for another song. Then a third, but when the fourth began, she shook her head, feeling defeated in her thus unsuccessful endeavor to rile up her husband’s dominant side. “I need something to drink.”
Armando slipped his arm around her waist and led her back to where they’d left Dan, but wasn’t there. She turned in a circle, scanning the crowd, but to no avail. Crap. The display hadn’t had the opposite effect, did it? He hadn’t gotten pissed and left her there, had he?
“No worries, bella—he’s at the bar, talking to one of the couples from this afternoon’s lesson.” Hands on her shoulders, Armando steered her through the ever-growing crowd of club-goers.
“Armando!” Kyla, the pretty young blonde, hopped off her bar stool and threw her arms around the instructor’s neck. When Kyla had her fill, he carefully set her away.
“You looked like you were having a good time.”
The sudden breath against the back of her neck and the solid arm around her middle made Maddie shiver. Mmm, this is more like it. “I was. How about you?” She leaned back against Dan’s chest, tipped her head to one side and let him kiss his way down to the curve of her shoulder. She nodded toward the younger couple. “You get all hot and bothered watching those two?”
Dan’s low growl reverberated against her skin. “Watching you, you mean?”
She smiled and pulled back enough to see his eyes. The dark brown depths were swallowed by dilated pupils and she could feel the hard press of his erection against her lower back.
Mmm. He had liked watching her with Armando. And for that, she had to reward him. Warm him to her way of thinking.
She eyed the hallway that lead to the restrooms, but with the steady line of traffic, in and out, there’d be no chance of privacy. Then again, they were in Cabo. Privacy seemed to be an overrated concept. In fact, that gave her a much better idea...
“Come with me.” She twined their fingers and led him away from their companions.
“You wanna leave already? I was hoping there’d be more dancing.”
Ha. Who knew her straight-laced husband would have such twisted desires. But then, they say it’s the quiet ones you need to worry about. Maybe she should’ve tried pushing his buttons earlier in their relationship.
It was right around ten o’clock so there were now even more people milling about, some enjoying drinks and low-key dancing in the cabanas, others paired off on blankets on the beach, and some were just stumbling from bar to bar.
“We’re not leaving.” She tossed a taunting grin over her shoulder. “We’re just taking a much needed break.”
Dan flashed a knowing smile of his own and his dark eyes sparkled beneath the lanterns hanging overhead. “I like the sound of this.”
And he’d like it better when she showed him exactly what she had in mind.
Ducking off toward the beach, they stepped into the sand and she stopped to pull off her heels.
“Damn, I was really hoping you’d leave those on.” He slammed the rest of his beer and tossed it into a trash bin beside a thicket of shrubs.
She chuckled. “Maybe later.”
“Yep, this is definitely starting to sound like my kind of break.”
Off the beaten path a bit, there were only a few people close enough to witness what she was about to do and they all looked too preoccupied with their own daring behavior to notice.
Unable to contain the anticipation any longer, she pushed him into the shadow of a vending hut that had closed for the evening and tiptoed up to claim his mouth. He tasted of malty beer and, unlike this morning at the café, he held nothing back when he kissed her in return. When she scraped her teeth along his lower lip, pulled it between her own and sucked, he groaned, fisted her hair, and tugged.
Oh, yeah, just like that.
Empowered by her ability to affect him, she let her hands drift down his chest and over his flat stomach, taking her time to enjoy every ripple of muscle, until she arrived at his belt. His erection already stretched the soft denim around his fly and she wasted not a second more, quickly twisting open the button and yanking down the zipper.
Holy. Crap. He’d gone commando and his thick cock bobbled right out into her hand.
A rush of excitement and hunger pulsed along her nerves, and her mouth began to water at the same time arousal dampened her panties. Much as she’d love to have him inside right now, this moment was about showing him she understood and acknowledged his desire. Telling him, without words, that she’d do whatever she could to make him the happiest, most satisfied man on the planet.
“Babe,” he groaned, his tone questioning, but weakly so. He might try to do the right thing and hint that they should stop, but the painfully aroused haze in his eyes said he didn’t want to postpone this any more than she did. He confirmed her suspicious by pushing his hips forward and gliding his shaft eagerly into her palm.
“You liked watching him touch me, didn’t you?” She wrapped her fingers around his hot, silky skin and stroked him from tip to base. He was wider there and the further down she slipped, the further her fingertips shifted away from each other. She felt him grow harder with her touch and his eyes searched hers. Presumably for something to indicate he could be completely open without scaring her off. “It’s okay—I liked that you liked it. And I’m going to show you just how okay it is.”
She dropped to a squat in the sand and took him into her mouth before he could try and be noble. Gathering her saliva, she wet his cock and took him back as far as she could on the first stroke. As soon as he touched the back of her throat and was reminded of how good this was gonna feel, she knew he’d be a goner.
And he was. He fingers pushed back into her hair again, skipping all polite and considerate hesitation and giving into exactly what he wanted.
“Ah, fuck, Maddie.” His hips flexed when she gave him the flat of her tongue and opened her throat to even more of his length. She kept her lips firm as she bobbed back and forth for a few strokes and then grasped him in her hand, circling her tongue around his wide, velvety head. “Yeah,” he said through clenched teeth. “Yeah, I liked seeing you with him. You know why? Because, no matter what he did, I knew I’d be the only one getting this. Tease him all you want, babe, but this? You on your knees? It’s all fucking mine.”
Damn. A light breeze swept across the beach and, in her exposed position, it felt like a cool breath against her wet, satin panties. She trembled with the delicious sensation and squeezed his cock in a hard pump before slipping him back into her mouth.
“You look so friggin’ beautiful right now.” He hissed and his hand fisted almost painfully in her hair. She loved every second of it. She showed him just how much by looking up at him and letting him push into her mouth as far as he could. Her eyelashes fluttered as her throat constricted, but she kept at it, knowing he wouldn’t last much lon
ger. Not when she gave him all she had.
He groaned and let out a shaky laugh-slash-growl. “I can’t believe you’re sucking my dick in public like this.” One of his hands let go of her hair to smooth fingers down, along her jaw. A tender touch that belied the way he fucked her mouth. “Anyone could walk around that corner and you don’t even care, do you?”
She shook her head and swallowed him down, pulling back along every gorgeous inch with just the right amount of suction.
“Jesus Christ.” He shuddered and sagged a little at the knees, his shaft lengthening against her tongue. “I’m gonna come, babe. If you don’t want all of me, you better stop.”
She’d never held back before, why would she now? Reaching into his shorts, she cupped his balls in her hand and gently squeezed, coaxing the release she so badly wanted to taste on her tongue.
He unloaded a second later and she felt the warm, saltiness of his essence slide down the back of her throat. It was both heaven and hell, knowing she could affect him so. She loved the intimacy of the act, loved how he always looked at her afterward. Like she’d given him the greatest gift in the world. But she also loved how dirty it made her feel. How primal it was having him in her mouth and how he growled and pulled her hair when he came.
“Holy shit.” He hauled her upright and placed a wet, smacking kiss on her forehead, before he wrapped him arms around her shoulders and completely enveloped her against his chest. “Tell me again what I did to deserve that?”
She smiled and teased her thumb across his lower lip. “You looked like you needed relieving. Since that’s my job...” She lifted a shoulder and helped him back into his shorts.
“Goes both ways, babe. So, what do you say we head back to our suite? I’d love to reciprocate.” He reached between her legs and cupped her sex beneath the hem of her dress. “Jesus, you’re already drenched.”
No kidding. But as much as she wanted him buried deep inside, she wasn’t willing to compromise what she needed even more. Not when the perfect antidote to what ailed her stood inside the club, completely clueless that he’d become her pawn. Maybe it wasn’t polite to use people, but she got the impression that Armando had used plenty of women in his lifetime. Besides, she might never have an opportunity this perfect again. She’d never consider doing what she was about to do in River Bend.
