Do Not Disturb (18 page)

And every time she lifted in preparation for slamming back down, her fingernails dug a little deeper into his skin, until he was pretty sure she’d drawn blood.

Two minutes, tops, and he felt her shatter around him on a downward thrust, coming so hard her entire body shook.

Wrapping his arms around her, he held her in place as he pumped his own orgasm into her.

“No, I never said I didn’t like to be tied up. I just said we’ve never done that, and I only wanted to know if rope or silk scarves would be better. Damn, you guys really know how to make me feel like a newb.”

As Kate and Annabelle laughed, Talia took another sip of her exquisitely wonderful rum punch and looked Sabrina right in the eyes as she answered her.

“Ropes. Definitely ropes.”

Three pairs of widened eyes pinned her in place.

Talia rolled her eyes and lifted a shoulder. “What? It’s not like I’m a virgin.”

“That’s not why we’re looking at you like this,” Kate wagged her index finger in front of Talia’s face. “And you know it.”

Talia blinked slightly hazy eyes because it was close to midnight and they’d been drinking rum punch since they’d finished with dinner around nine. During which they’d polished off two bottles of wine.

Talia would admit to feeling no pain whatsoever, although she knew tomorrow morning would probably be a different story. Which was why she was switching to water after this last drink. Probably. Maybe.

“Then why are you looking at me like that?” she demanded.

“Because you, miss, have been holding out on us.” Annabelle sounded slightly more slurred than Kate, but then Kate was almost as good as Talia at covering. “When was the last time you used ropes during sex?”

“I don’t think I should answer that on account of incrimp—incriminating myself.”

“Ooh, you really have been holding out on us, haven’t you?” Sabrina pouted, setting her glass on the coffee table in front of her, which separated the matching couches, then leaning her elbows onto it. Kate sat next to Talia while Annabelle and Sabrina shared the one across. “I wanna know what you did with the ropes. Were you the tie-er or the tie-ee?”

Talia shrugged, slumping further into the fluffy couch in their suite at the Retreat as she did.

Warm blue walls glowed in the dim light from the crystal fixtures around the room. The brochure listed this as the Crystal Suite. Girly without being overly feminine, and elegant without being stuffy or uncomfortable. The deep purple fabrics and dark wood furniture made her want to stay for days. With Dane.

She gave Sabrina a wry glance. At least she tried. Her muscles seemed a little out of her control. Good thing she wasn’t moving any farther than the next room tonight. “I don’t think those are actual words.”

Sabrina scoffed. “How would you even know, considering you’re just as drunk as we are?”

“I’m not drunk.” Talia tried for haughty and probably only attained confused.

Annabelle snorted. “Yeah, right. And I
know
how you used those ropes. And,” she drew the word out impossibly far for someone who had the amount of alcohol in her that she did, “I know who used them on who.”

“And how do you know that?”

Annabelle’s lips curved in a knowing smile. “Because I know Dane. And I know you.”

Something niggled at Talia’s alcohol-soaked brain, but said alcohol wasn’t letting her grasp it, so she shrugged.

“And what do you know about me?”

Annabelle leaned forward across the table separating the couches. “I know you’re not as straightlaced as you think you are.”

Talia rolled her eyes, though maybe they were closed the whole time, which is why everything went dark. “And I don’t think I am very straightlaced, considering I let Dane tie me to one of those chairs in the Salon.”

Dead silence greeted that statement. Three pairs of eyes stared at her with varying stages of fuzzy shock.

And then Sabrina began to laugh. “Oh, my god, you’re a freak too. I mean, that makes me so
happy
to hear!”

Talia grinned at the squeal in Sabrina’s voice. “We all have our kinks. And we are not freaks. A healthy sex life can involve all kinds of different activities, and you shouldn’t be ashamed of any of them.”

“Oh, hell.” Kate shuddered. “Now you sound like my dad . . . if my dad ever mentioned anything about sex to me. Which he hasn’t. Ever. Thank god.”

“Can we
please
not talk about your dad at my bachelorette party?” Annabelle started to laugh. “I don’t want that image in my head tonight. Of course, now I’ve got an image of Talia tied to one of those chairs . . .”

They all started to laugh again and Talia joined in because she knew they weren’t laughing at her.

“Y’all do realize when I first saw that room, I couldn’t stop imagining you in there . . . using all that furniture.” She paused. “And let’s not forget the toys.”

“Yes, please let’s not forget the toys.” Annabelle’s plea was heartfelt. “Have you tried that little—”

“TMI!” Sabrina started waving her hands in the air, having put her glass on the table in front of her. “TMI, seriously. I don’t want to know which toys you use. Because I would never be able to look at any of them again. We don’t use them too much, but still . . .”

Talia had to ask, the hold on her curiosity loosened by the rum. “Don’t you like them? Or does Greg not like them?”

Sabrina got a sly little smile. “We just haven’t found the time to use them yet. Usually we’re too happy to have the time together to even think about going to the Salon. We rarely leave the bedroom in Greg’s apartment at the hotel when we have a few minutes together.”

“So what’s the freakiest thing you’ve done?”

Talia’s question produced a noticeable lull in the conversation, but when she looked around at her friends, she was pretty sure they were all thinking and not avoiding her question.

“Giving Tyler that much control over me.” Kate’s quiet voice sounded sober. “I never thought I’d like being tied to a bed and having all control taken away. But I realized, it’s not that I don’t have control. It’s that I’m giving my control to someone I trust.”

Talia nodded. “Yep. That. And the fact that I have to be in control of so much during the day. I like not having to always be the one who handles everything.”

Annabelle’s soft smile gave her away. “I like the fact that Jared loves me enough to allow me to try different things.”

Talia smiled at the amount of emotion in Annabelle’s voice when she spoke about Jared. “Like what?”

“Like having sex with Jared and—”

As Annabelle stopped abruptly, Talia blinked, trying to bring her eyes into focus. “And? And what?”

“And having others watch.”

“Just watch?” Sabrina’s quiet question made Talia shift her gaze. “Because sometimes, I wonder . . . if Greg wanted to ask someone into bed with us, would I say yes?”

“It depends on the person.” Annabelle’s lips curved in another one of those mysterious smiles. “I’d have to trust them just as much as I trust Jared. But . . . I love Jared and I can’t imagine living without him.” She opened her mouth to say something, but Talia knew she’d switched gears before allowing the words to slip out. “That other person doesn’t affect those feelings I have for Jared. If your relationship is strong, even if you have feelings for that other person, it won’t be a problem.”

“Wow. You sound way too sober right now. And Tyler doesn’t share.” Kate shrugged. “I’m totally okay with that.”

“Baz watched Greg and me have sex once.” Sabrina spoke so fast, Talia almost didn’t understand her at first. “It was the most exciting sex I’d ever had up until then. I love Baz . . . I mean, not in the same way I love Greg, but still. And I gotta admit I could probably be talked into having Baz join in. But it wouldn’t be the same as with Greg. Does that make sense?”

Talia nodded. “Yep. Of course, I may forget you said that by tomorrow morning because I’m still trying to process the fact that Baz was watching you and Greg.” She paused and let her lips curl in a smile. “How do you know Baz wasn’t just watching Greg?”

Sabrina’s mouth dropped open for a second before she started to laugh and threw a pillow at Talia. “I don’t. And now I’m going to have to ask him. Baz. Not Greg.”

Kate and Annabelle joined Talia as she started to laugh.

“I can honestly say I think I’d rather watch Greg.” Annabelle sighed. “No offence, but the man certainly is nice to look at.”

Sabrina and Kate exchanged a smile that confounded the hell out of Talia. She was just about to ask what it meant when they caught her attention.

“So, Talia, are you coming to the party next Saturday or have we scared you away?”

Talia took another sip of punch. Maybe she would have one more. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

***

Dane had switched to water after four Macallan doubles.

Most of the other men were still downing alcohol, knowing they didn’t have to drive home.

Tyler had started to lose at poker to Jed, which meant Tyler had polished off way more alcohol than he usually did. Greg and Baz sat on the other side of the table, beer glasses in hand, as Greg laughed at something Baz had said.

Geoff Black and Cory Shirk stood at the bar in a private room off Frank’s Bar at Haven.

Jed had wanted to play cards at his bachelor party and had forbidden any entertainment that involved strippers. Dane had privately thanked him for that.

Of course, none of the men here, with the exception of maybe Baz, would’ve wanted them.

“Dane, hey. It’s your bet, man.”

And he’d lost the last four hands. “Hell. I fold. I’m getting fleeced here.”

“You just don’t know how to play the game.” Baz grinned at him, a pile of chips sitting in front of him.

“And if you had sleeves, I’d say you were cheating.”

Baz shrugged. “Nah. I’m just that good.”

“I’m gonna go drown my sorrows. Deal me out next time, guys.”

He headed toward the bar. Cory and Geoff nodded to him as he gave the bartender an order for water.

Cory nodded toward the glass the bartender set in front of Dane. “Saving yourself for tomorrow night?”

“Definitely not interested in ending up with a hangover tomorrow. We’re not as young as we used to be.”

“And you’re still younger than me.” Geoff laughed. “I think I’ll take your seat at the table. I’m feeling lucky.”

He walked away, leaving Dane and Cory to hold up the bar.

“So you’re bringing someone new tomorrow night.”

“News travels fast.” Dane settled onto the stool next to Cory’s as the bartender discreetly moved to the other side of the bar.

“Big deal for you to bring someone.”

“First time for everything.”

Cory laughed, not buying Dane’s obvious attempt to shut him down. Dane and Cory had known each other for years. They had more in common at first glance than Dane and Jed did. They’d known each other just as long as Dane and Jed, but Cory and Dane shared a love for skiing that meant they took several vacations together throughout the year.

They also had a similar taste in women, which translated to a few legendary stories of their European exploits in certain circles.

“I heard she’s a friend of Annabelle’s.”

“Yep.”

“Gonna be awkward.”

“No, it’s not.”

Cory still didn’t take the hint. “Remember that time in Switzerland? The twins. Did everything together. Dressed alike, did their hair the same. Could barely tell them apart until you got them naked.”

Dane remembered, which is how he knew where Cory was going with this. “Not the same. They were sisters. Of course they were going to be competitive. Talia and Annabelle aren’t like that.”

“True. But they’re women. Women don’t like when you fuck their friends.”

“Why is my love life suddenly so interesting to you?”

“Because I know you, Dane. You wouldn’t have invited her if you didn’t have feelings for her. And that alone is amazing.”

He was trying not to get pissed off, but Cory was pushing his buttons. He knew why Cory was doing it and, if he thought about it rationally, he’d realize the guy wasn’t trying to be a dick.

Because he wasn’t saying anything Dane hadn’t already thought about.

But, damn it, he didn’t want to lose her. He wasn’t ready to declare his undying love either, but he wasn’t ready to give her up.

And he knew there was a really good chance that he’d have to when Talia found out about the nature of his relationship with Belle and Jed.

He looked over to the poker table to make sure Jed hadn’t moved, wasn’t close enough to hear. “I do have feelings for her, but I’m not asking her for a list of men she slept with before I met her.”

Cory shook his head. “You know that’s not gonna hold water, because it’s Annabelle, and they’re friends. Talia finds out, she’s gonna be hurt.”

“So you think I should just say, ‘Hey, just so you know, I’ve been fucking Annabelle with Jed?”

“Yep, because if you don’t, you know she’s gonna hold it over your head.”

Shit.
“Have a little experience with this?”

Cory sucked back the last of his drink, a club soda because he’d been in AA since he was twenty. “A little.”

“And how’d that work out for you?”

Cory gave him a sidelong glance out of glacial blue eyes that could melt women’s inhibitions in less than a minute.

With cover-model looks, wavy auburn hair, and rough-edged features, he’d been able to get exactly what he wanted since he’d been born.

His parents had been a Philadelphia power couple until their spectacularly brutal divorce when Cory was fifteen. The resulting battle for the Shirk billion-dollar empire and the control of Cory, who, at fifteen, owned more than half of the global company shares due to his grandparents’ deaths, had given Cory a taste for living on the edge.

Extreme sports had been his rebellion, but he’d still managed to get a business degree from Wharton and then a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. “Live Fast, Die Young” had been Cory’s motto . . . until he’d nearly died in an avalanche climbing Mount Kilimanjaro when he was twenty-two. The woman he’d been climbing with hadn’t been as lucky.

“She died pissed off at me, and her parents and sister think I’m the devil.”

“Shit. Sorry.”

Cory shrugged. “Long time ago. Water under the bridge. I just don’t want to see you standing on that bridge. Not a good place.”

No, he didn’t expect it would be. “So what the fuck am I supposed to do? I can’t tell her now. At least not until after the wedding.”