Four of Hearts (5 page)

She wiggled her hips again. “You’re making me happy right now.”

“What about Richard?”

Candace stilled. He bucked his hips, driving his cock as deep as he could. “What about him?”

“Last night you wanted him to touch you.”

“That was last night. I got caught up in the moment.”

“You were beautiful.” The memory of Richard at her breast should have made him jealous as hell, but instead, his cock grew harder just as it had last night. “I liked seeing him touch you.” There was no sense denying it. “I hated it almost as much as I enjoyed it.”

“Really?” she asked, a bit breathless as he slid out and drove back in.

“Really. Do you want to do it again? Do you want Richard to fuck you?”

“Oh God, Ryan!” He slammed his way home as she came around him. If he’d had any doubts about her desire for Richard, he had his answer now. In his mind, he saw Richard driving his cock into Candace. He saw the look on her face. He wondered if it was the same look she had when he fucked her, or if she’d feel something different for Richard. He was going insane. No way was he letting Richard fuck his wife. No way in hell. Candace reached around behind her back and closed her fingers around his balls. One not so gentle tug, and he exploded inside her.

One of Fallon’s favorite parts of the week-long cruise was the costume party on the final night. She didn’t dress up often, but when she did, she felt a rush of excitement. Role-playing was a valuable device in a psychologist’s toolbox, and a costume party was nothing more than a giant role-playing extravaganza.

“Here, wear this tonight.” Fallon handed Richard one of the garment bags laid out on the bed.

Richard unzipped the bag and raised an eyebrow in question. “It’s one of my suits. Did someone die?”

“No, no one died. It goes with my costume tonight.”

“We’re going as the Blues Brothers?”

Fallon laughed. God, Richard could be dense sometimes, or perhaps he was just trying to get a rise out of her. He claimed that she made him horny when she was irritated. The truth was, she made him horny all the time, but she let him have his little delusions. “No, Richard.” She unzipped her own garment bag to reveal the schoolgirl outfit she’d picked up from Wardrobe this morning. Candace had an identical one.

“I think I’m going to like this.”

“I’m sure you will. Candace is wearing one too.”

His eyes darkened and she knew she had him. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, and in so doing, pressed her body against his from chest to pelvis. She wiggled her hips. The motion got the response she anticipated. “Will you spank me if I’m naughty?”

Richard clasped her ass in his hands and ground his erection into her stomach. “Are you going to be naughty tonight?”

“I’m thinking about it. I had a good time last night. The four of us together was hot, really hot.” She sucked his earlobe into her mouth and held it there with her teeth while her tongue flicked it back and forth. “I think you did too.”

“What can I say? I’m a man. Men are pigs.”

Fallon trailed a hand down Richard’s chest, over the turquoise crew sarong slung low on his hips, and lower until her hand crept under the garment. “We had really hot sex afterward. We were both thinking about Candace and Ryan, thinking about being with them.”

“Maybe.”

She wrapped her hand around his erection and tugged once, feeling the slide of satin skin over solid rock. “It’s only natural, Richard.” She kept her hand around his cock and went up on her toes to nibble the corners of his mouth. “Do you want to do it again?”

“I want you.”

“I know, but that’s not what I asked. Do you want to be with them again?”

“Ryan might have something to say about that. Like,
no
, or
no way in hell
.”

“We’ll see.” She dipped her tongue into the indentation between his neck and collarbone.

“Fallon.” He pushed her away and held her at arm’s length. “Don’t start something tonight. Ryan isn’t in a good place with what happened last night. You could push him too far, and he’s my best friend, not to mention my business partner. I don’t want to fuck that up.”

Unconcerned, she removed the garment bags from the bed and hung them in the closet. A flick of her wrist sent her sarong to the floor. “Who
do
you want to fuck, Richard?”

* * * * *

So far, so good. Ryan scanned the crowded bar. The Bacchanal was well under way. He’d made a point of avoiding Dionysus on the last night of the cruise, ever since the maiden cruise, when he’d woken up the following morning in one of the grape arbor alcoves with three naked women, whose names he never could recall. Other than that, he’d been here one other time. That night, he’d made off with Candace like a modern-day pirate. Actually, it was more like kidnapping, and thankfully, she’d loved him enough by then not to press charges.

Tonight Candace was by his side, his wife, his lover, his everything. Once, he’d thought his money and the
Lothario
were his everything. He supposed having more money than he could spend in a couple of lifetimes was good, if you didn’t let it define you, and after a short period of hating the ship and all it represented, he’d come to an understanding about that too. The
Lothario
had brought him Candace, and for that, it would always have a place in his heart. He thought Richard felt the same way now that he’d found Fallon. They’d discussed selling the ship once, but neither one of them was ready to let go of it anytime soon now.

Ryan pressed his hand to the small of Candace’s back and steered her through the revelers to the secluded arbor enclave reserved exclusively for the ship’s owners. Seeing a ship full of people more or less dressed always struck him as odd. The
Lothario
was clothing optional, and what the ship provided in the way of clothing for the passengers wasn’t much, except on this one night when Wardrobe made available every conceivable costume. He’d been surprised, and a little turned on, when Candace revealed their costumes for tonight. He’d been suspicious when Fallon and Richard had met them at Triton, one of the small, exclusive restaurants, wearing the same get-up. But so far, nothing had come of his worries. Perhaps he’d been worried for nothing.

They settled into the cozy alcove, Richard and Ryan on the ends, Fallon and Candace sandwiched between them. Tiny lights in the artificial grape arbor mimicked a starry night outdoors with the luxury of red velvet cushions and gauzy veils to obscure them from the masses of costumed revelers. Richard ordered a bottle of wine from his private reserve, and a maenad wearing a wreath of grape leaves on her head and not a stitch of clothing, brought them a tray of fruit, cheese and crackers. Both men turned down her offer of other appetizers.

“I’ve never been here when the Bacchanal was in full swing. Ryan told me about it, but I thought he was exaggerating.” Candace watched what could only be described as an orgy, from the safety of Ryan’s embrace. “I see he wasn’t.”

“If it bothers you, we can go somewhere else,” Ryan offered.

“No. I’m getting used to this ship. I used to wonder how Ryan could say it didn’t affect him anymore, but I think I’m beginning to understand. It’s kinda like watching porn without the awful music.”

Richard laughed. “What do you know about watching porn?”

“I’ve seen a few. I’m not that naïve.”

They all laughed at Candace’s statement. Up until a year ago when she’d first sailed on the
Lothario
, she’d been that naïve, and then some. Ryan had had the pleasure of educating her, and she’d turned out to be an inquisitive student and a quick learner. Ryan squeezed her tighter against his side. “Who needs porn when you have the
Lothario
?”

When their wine arrived, Richard poured, and they nibbled on cubed cheese, grapes and crackers while they talked about the plans for the new island resort that was under construction on one of the small islands they owned in the Caribbean. Ryan was just beginning to relax when Jason, the new Cruise Director, arrived. He glanced nervously inside the alcove, and apparently decided it was okay to interrupt, blurted out, “Mr. Wolfe, sir? I’m sorry to interrupt your evening, but they’re at it again.”

“Who’s at what, again?” Ryan asked.

Richard stood. “I’ll take care of it, Jason. Where are they this time?”

“Uh. . . the aft crew deck. You better hurry, sir.”

“I’ll be right there,” Richard dismissed Jason who looked like someone had saved him from walking the plank.

“What’s going on?” Ryan demanded.

“It’s Drew and Bree. They’re fighting again.”

“I thought you said they were doing a great job.”

“I did. They are. They just have trouble getting along on a personal level. Sometimes it erupts into an all out war. I won’t be long.” He pointed an index finger at Fallon. “You behave yourself while I’m gone.” His eyes met Ryan’s over her head. “Feel free to spank her if she gets out of line.”

Ryan stared after him until Richard was out of site. Drew and Bree? Fighting? He turned to Fallon, hoping she could clarify what was going on. “What. . . .”

* * * * *

Richard cursed under his breath with every step. Leaving Fallon on her own tonight was so not a good idea. His wife was up to something. He knew it as surely as he knew he was going to fire Drew and Bree if they couldn’t find a way to get along. They were both very good at their jobs, but on a personal level, they fought like a couple of junior high kids. Richard covered the distance to the aft crew deck as quickly as possible. It was tempting to let the two idiots fight it out, but their fights didn’t set a good example for the rest of the crew.

“Well, I don’t give a good goddamned what you think Mr. I’ve-got-my-head-up-my-ass, Whitcomb!” Bree Stanton, the ship’s Security Officer, yelled.

“Take it back!” Drew Whitcomb, the ship’s Operations Manager, yelled back at her.

Richard stopped in his tracks. A crowd shielded the combatants from his view. He pushed his way through the throng, dispersing them with a look, and a reminder that their break was over. He’d never seen two adults behave as childishly as these two, and on the
Lothario
, he’d pretty much seen everything. He didn’t have time for this. God only knew what Fallon was up to in his absence.

“Hold it!” He stepped between the warring factions. “Enough, both of you.” For once, he was grateful he was wearing a business suit, rather than the usual crew sarong or shorts. With a little luck, the suit would add some authority to his presence. Lord knew, these two had ignored all his previous warnings. He saw no choice. If they continued to behave like adolescents, he’d treat them like adolescents. “That’s it. I’ve had it with both of you. Be in my office as soon as we dock tomorrow. No excuses. For now, go to your cabins and stay there.”

They both opened their mouths to protest, but Richard shook his head. The stern look on his face must have convinced them he meant business. They shut their mouths without uttering a single word. “Go. Now. Before I do something I might regret, like fire you both right this minute.” He felt the heated glare from both of them as they contemplated whether to renew their grievances with each other or follow his orders. After a long, uncomfortable minute, Bree left with a humph, followed shortly by Drew.

Richard took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He really didn’t want to fire either one, but this behavior couldn’t go on. It was bad for crew morale, not to mention it took a hell of a lot of his time to deal with it. He hadn’t mentioned it to Ryan because the two really were good at their jobs, but it seemed he was going to have to call for backup, and that meant telling his business partner.

After reassuring the remaining staffers that all was well, he spent an extra minute his internal clock told him he didn’t have, talking to his employees. Being accessible to the staff was something he and Ryan prided themselves on.

Richard hurried back to Dionysus. He refused to make eye contact with anyone along the way. Unease tightened the muscles in the back of his neck. As much as he loved Fallon, the woman was headstrong at times. It was a quality he both admired and feared, admired because she went after what she wanted, and feared for the very same reason.

“Shit, Fallon!”

His wife rose from her place between Candace’s thighs and smiled up at him. Her face glistened with his best friend’s wife’s juices. Anger flared hot and he clenched his fists and his jaw before he did or said something he’d regret. His patience had been stretched to the limit already, now he’d probably have to do damage control with his best friend, who surprisingly didn’t look all that pissed.