Erogenous Zones: Monica's Secret (7 page)

That tsunami was surging up, condensing into a vibrant call inside her, a call that would no longer be denied. It had taken these two men—forceful, decadent men—to push her to it, but now they had and there was no holding back.

The one small mercy was that Alec was angled so that he created a barrier between her and the rest of the restaurant. He was protecting her from view, but her level of concern was still high. Then Alec moved his fingers inside her undies and paddled them against her mound. When he bumped over the swell of her clit, she gasped aloud.

“Do it quickly,” she begged. “You’ve got me in such a state!”

Alec gave an accusing chuckle. “Are you trying to blame me for this?” He plunged his finger deeper between her nether lips and moved it around. “You’re deliciously wet, my dear. Are you saying that’s our fault?”

“Hell, yes.” She glared at each of them in turn. A sense of urgency combined with a heady rush. It shot through her. She began to rock backwards and forwards against the hard intrusion of his finger. Her head dropped back against the banquette, her hands clutched at her sides. She was glad of the banquette, because the way they both watched made her forget who they were and where they were, because she’d turned feral and all she was able to do was rock her hips, to meet each stroke of his thumb over her inflamed clit.

“Oh yes, the way you look…it makes me think about last night all over again.” Owen grinned at her across the table. “I will never forget how hot you looked…tied up, your body bucking under me…when you climaxed.”

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Bloody hell
. She was still vaguely aware of the voices nearby, the occasional shadows of the waiters and customers moving at the periphery of her vision. Pressure was building and her core tightened, her womb growing heavy in the moments before release.

Then Owen moved the toe of his shoe around her calf and lifted her leg. Grasping her beneath the table, he put his hand around her ankle and rested the heel of her shoe on the seat between his thighs. When he began stroking his hand up and down the back of her calf, she doubted her ability to stay quiet a moment longer, and brought her fingers to her mouth.

As her orgasm built she bit down on one knuckle, using the pain to focus her on withholding the cry of release that would otherwise be echoing around their banquette and beyond. Release barrelled through her. She slumped back against the seat, her thighs shuddering.

Alec carefully rearranged her underwear, and removed his hand. To her utter mortification, he drew his hand to his lips, and licked his fingers. Across the table, Owen chuckled darkly. She had to close her eyes and press her head back against the banquette, because her whole world was spinning.

The waiter arrived with their food moments after she managed to get her skirt back into place. The waiter was familiar to her and he looked over at her longer than he normally would when he served her. Instinctively, she tidied her hair and wondered how flushed and aroused she looked. It didn’t bear thinking about. The people she worked with every day would definitely notice a difference if she carried on like this. Straightening her spine she nodded and thanked him.

Thankfully, the mood returned to somewhere near normal for a business lunch as they began to eat. Monica found she was ravenous, and her club sandwich had never tasted so good. Alec had ordered a hot chicken and bacon salad, and Owen had a steak and onion baguette. As always, the food was delicious.

“I spent the morning in accounts,” Alec said conversationally. He directed the statement to Monica. “Interesting team you’ve got up there.”

Monica wondered what he was getting at, but luckily Owen stepped into the conversation.

“I missed out on that. Anything I should be aware of?”

Alec was about to speak, then paused. He obviously didn’t want to say it in front of her. It felt rather awkward, and Monica knew it was because of her.

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“Seems very efficient,” Alec commented, eventually. “You’ll have to visit before we depart.”

Mention of their departure made her heart sink. Owen seemed to notice, and he reacted. Pushing his plate aside, he reached inside his jacket pocket.

“I brought a gift for you.” He put a long slim velvet box on the table. It looked like the sort of thing that came from a jeweller.

“What is it?” She felt uncomfortable about accepting a gift from them.

“A token reminder of last night.” He shrugged lightly and ran his finger along the top of the box. “Or a promise of things to come, perhaps?” He opened the box and turned it to face her.

Inside laid a delicate bracelet, not dissimilar to a charm bracelet. However, the catch was styled from a pair of miniature handcuffs. A promise of things to come? When she didn’t move, he lifted the bracelet out and leaned across the table to put it around her wrist. She tried not to flinch.

“I thought you would be able to wear it quite discreetly, with the fastening on the inside, so it would serve as a private reminder.”

“You think of everything.”

“You better believe it.” After he’d done up the fastening he rested his fingers on it, pressing the miniature handcuffs against the soft inside of her wrist, marking her with their impression.

Sexual energy began to surge into her even though he was only touching her wrist, but she couldn’t pull her hand away, because he’d locked his gaze with hers and she saw such suggestion there that for a crazy moment she wanted to feel every ounce of his sexual power. When she gasped aloud, Owen’s eyebrows drew together and he studied her with blatant curiosity.

She drew her hand away.

There was no shying away from the fact that she had to tell them.

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Owen was pleased by her response to the gift. As he expected, she was cautious about accepting it. Everything about her was measured, as if every step she took was carefully thought through. Yet she was tempted by the gift, and by the implication it contained.

“Was there something specific you wanted to talk about,” he asked as she stared down at the miniature handcuff on her wrist. He wanted her to know that he hadn’t forgotten she had something on her mind. More to the point, he was a little concerned that she was going to quiz him about their true purpose. She was a bright woman and it wouldn’t take her long to notice their approach to the task was more investigational than developmental.

Monica took a deep breath then looked at them both. “I want to tell you something about me, something that I would like you to keep to yourselves.”

A confession? For one moment Owen had the feeling that she was going to tell them something they didn’t want to hear. Was she involved in the financial leak in some way?

Had they inadvertently seduced the criminal they were looking for? “Go on.”

“Do you know what psychometrics is?”

Owen frowned. “I can’t say I am familiar with the term.”

Alec touched his chin with his finger then pointed it at her. “Isn’t it something to do with psychic ability and objects?”

Owen noticed that relief passed over her expression. She nodded. “That’s it exactly.

Psychometrics is a rare psychic…gift.” She seemed to have trouble with the word ’gift’ and paused overly long. “The person who has this ability can touch an object and experience the history of the object.”

Owen frowned and sat back in the banquette. She was talking about herself. His mind began to race.

“As you’ve both noticed, I have a bit of an issue with personal space and with touch.”

She looked down at her hands, which she’d had pressed together while she launched into this confession, and now she opened her palms to them. “As you may also have noticed, I haven’t touched either of you, barring our initial handshake, Owen.”

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Her voice faltered at the end there and she stared at him. She was afraid. Owen saw it in her eyes. She was afraid to tell them this.

“You have this ability?” He couldn’t get his head around it, but he knew it was important to react evenly, to put her at ease. She was fast growing distressed now that she had told them.

“Yes, and it makes my life…challenging.”

“That’s incredible,” Alec said. “You seriously have a psychic experience through touch?” He shook his head.

Monica reached for her glass of water and sipped at it. Her cheeks were flushed.

Owen wondered how many people she had told.

Suddenly it mattered, really mattered, because she was upset about this. It was in his nature to try to put people at their ease when they were offering new information. He got more feedback that way. Above and beyond that, this was about Monica. He was deeply attracted to the woman and he had a lot of respect for the way she handled herself, especially if this psychic thing was true. “Hey, chill. You’re worried about sharing personal information with us.”

“Too right I am.” Tension rang in her tone. “I had no choice but to tell you. That’s not something I do very often. On the occasions that I’ve had to, I’ve been laughed at, or worse, branded a freak.”

“That’s not going to happen here,” he reassured her. He wished it was the evening and they could discuss this over a good bottle of brandy. “I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t quite understand what you mean. The subject is totally new to me and it’s beyond my experience. But I’m always willing to listen, and I’m especially willing to listen to you.”

After a moment, the tension that was evident in her posture dissipated. She took her napkin to her mouth and dabbed her lips. “Thank you.”

Alec stared at her avidly. He seemed to have a better grip on what she was talking about, which bugged Owen somewhat.

“Can you demonstrate?” Alec asked.

“Kind of. I mean…I can tell you what an object tells me.” She glanced across the table uneasily. “I know how ludicrous that sounds if you don’t give any credence to psychic ability, but I promise you it
is
true.”

“We’re listening. Show us,” Alec encouraged.

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She ran her fingers along the edge of the table then moved them on to the seat between her and Alec. As she ran her fingertips over the red leather studded surface in small circles her eyelids lowered, as if she was concentrating. After a moment, she paused. Owen stretched, so he could see what she was doing. She’d splayed her palm and fingers on an area of the seating between herself and Alec. “I can tell you that we’re not the first people to have touched each other intimately, in this booth.”

Alec grinned. “See, and there was you putting up a struggle.”

She smiled at that, which was good to see. Owen also noticed that her pupils had dilated. She was getting aroused again, and it was because of this psychic thing of hers. Her hand still ran over that spot, back and forth, around and around, as she nodded at Alec’s remark. There was a light flush at the base of her neck where it met her collar bone. Her eyes widened. “Two women sat here. They’d come in here for a bit of luxury and one of them dared the other to masturbate, under the table.”

Jesus, no wonder he thought she was a sensualist. Owen wasn’t big on psychic matters but if what she was saying was true, she was a loaded tinderbox just waiting for a spark. And in her world, those sparks must be everywhere. No wonder she’d been cautious about touch.

His thoughts raced back through the evening before and with sudden clarity he remembered how she had avoided touch and how relieved and aroused she’d been when they had elected to tie her wrists together.

“Okay, you’re turning me on,” Alec said, still laughing. “I only just got rid of the erection I had earlier. You’re a liability, lady.”

Alec’s easy way worked for her, putting her at her ease. Owen had never been more glad of his partner’s charm and easygoing nature. Monica looked across at him then, nervously, as if seeking his understanding.

“I can tell it’s arousing you. You looked like this when we met, that made me curious.”

She nodded. “I’d been in one of the suites. The handcuffs were lost property and they’d been left there. The place was buzzing with residual sexual energy. Sometimes I resist touching.” She paused, and the sultry look in her eyes made his cock harden. “And sometimes I can’t help myself.”

Now that was something he wanted to see. “Is that suite occupied at the moment?”

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Without breaking eye contact with him, she reached for the organiser she kept at her waistband and unclipped it. She scrolled through the screens then turned the device off. “No it isn’t.”

“I call that good luck.”

She smiled. “So do I, but aren’t you supposed to be coming up with ideas how to keep that suite occupied every night?”

“
Touché
. Right now, I’m just glad it isn’t.” He gestured to the waiter for the bill.

Minutes later they vacated the busy restaurant and she led them to the suite. As he walked behind her along the plush corridor Owen’s fascination with her deepened. He had sensed so much beneath the surface, but he never would have guessed its source. Not in a thousand years.

When she reached the door she stopped and turned to face them. “This is the suite.

Wait here, I’ll check to see if there are any housekeeping staff around.”

She wandered to the end of the corridor.

“Jesus, what do you make of it?” Alec asked.

Owen shook his head. “Right now it’s beyond my comprehension. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was off her rocker.”

“I read something about it.”

Owen envied him that and the way he’d been able to follow through on her question immediately. Usually he was the one with the full deck of cards. “Thank God one of us knew what she meant.”

Both of them kept their eyes on the housekeeping storage room that Monica had disappered into while they discussed her in low voices. “If it’s true, it explains a lot of the way she is, you know…that extreme sense of cautiousness about her.”

“There had to be something.”

Monica emerged and headed back towards them.

“I know you know this already,” Owen added, “but she was worried about telling us, and it’s important that we don’t react badly.”

Alec’s eyes flickered as he acknowledged that.

Owen smiled at Monica as she approached and added in a whisper to Alec, “I might need your help with that.”

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“The housekeepers are on their afternoon break and this floor is pretty much done.

We shouldn’t be interrupted by the staff.” She looked at the door handle warily. “This is where it began.” She glanced over her shoulder as if to make sure there weren’t any guests around and they were not being watched. “I felt sexual energy sparking when I touched the door handle.”

Alec leaned over and rested his hand on the door handle. “Does that happen often?”

“No. But something happened, right here.” She swept the cardkey through the slot and Alec turned the door handle. When she stepped through the door and they followed her inside, she continued. “The couple who stayed here the night before last were intimate up against the door, before they came into the room.”

She strode across the room, delivering a list of the suite’s specifications. Owen barely glanced at it. It was her he was interested in. The Hollywood style suite merely acted as a foil for her beauty and elegance, like a suitably glamorous setting for the perfect gem. He suddenly wanted to see her in every one of the Cumbernauld chain hotels, because each one would shine with her in it.

This peculiar secret of hers went a long way in explaining why she had struck him as unique. She was an enigma. That sophisticated, slightly aloof quality she had was shot through with the sensuous nature that underpinned her character. Even the clothes she chose to wear—pristine fitted suits—were a veneer. They might be business-like on someone else, but on her they made him notice her womanly curves, her elegance, and her posture.

She stepped towards the bed, staring down at it. “He brought her the cuffs as a gift, but they knew each other well. She wasn’t shocked by them.”

Alec scrubbed at the back of his neck and looked around the room. “You could tell all of that after they had gone?”

“Yes. If I touch something, such as this,” she ran her fingers along the edge of the dresser, “and they had some sexual interaction here, I get a window into the moment. They were pretty hot for each other.” She turned to them, smiling as if to herself. “It’s difficult for me to convey that to you.”

“Not really,” Owen interjected. “It’s obvious you’re enjoying it.” When she looked pensive about his remark, he smiled.

“It’s hard not to enjoy something like that, when they did.”

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“I can imagine.” He imagined it all too well as he took in the slight flush on her cheekbones and the swell of her lower lip. Her experiences were voyeuristic. Not out of choice, but it made him wonder. Currently she was enjoying this walk through someone else’s moments. Maybe she didn’t always want it or enjoy it, but she was now. She’d had an attachment to those cuffs and she’d picked them up here. He recalled how she’d been when he’d pulled them out of her pocket, the day before.

One of the things that he enjoyed about sharing lovers with Alec was that he got to watch him with women. That was some turn on, especially when he could step in at any given moment and claim his share, too. Would Monica be open to that, to seeing them together as well as having them both wanting her? As each moment passed, he wanted to know. He wanted to explore all of that and watch her reactions unfold.

Alec was touching the dresser she had just touched, as if trying to engage. It made Owen think back some more. “You knew Alec and I were more than colleagues, the moment we shook hands, didn’t you?”

Of course she knew. It all fit together now, like a jigsaw where he hadn’t been able to find missing piece. Now it all made sense. Especially the way she’d looked when he’d given her his killer handshake. As he thought back on it, he regretted holding on to her that long, because he realised how personal that had been for her. Then again, it meant that he’d got close to her quickly, and he couldn’t find it in himself to regret that.

“I knew that there was something between you, and I confess it made me outrageously curious.” A warm, genuine smile lit her face.

God, she was beautiful. Owen wanted to see that smile more often. She was far too serious, but now that he knew why he could work on it.

Alec’s attention was back on her, his eyes glowing vibrantly the way they did when he was really into something. He hadn’t believed that she knew about them. Now he’d found out for sure.

Alec gave a husky laugh. “So you have seen images of…” He pointed over at Owen, and back at himself.

“You dropped your keys, do you remember?”

Alec nodded. “And you picked them up.”

“As I mentioned, my curiosity was raging.” She shifted position and leaned her shoulder up against the black lacquered post on the four-poster bed. “An object like that,

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something personal that is carried close to the body, something that is used again and again, often times when physical intimacy is about to occur… Well, the residual sexual energy can be mind-blowing.”

“Did you find it arousing?” Owen knew it was a leading question. It was obvious, and he was getting turned on just thinking about her, thinking about him and Alec together. It hadn’t put her off getting involved with them, that was for sure.