Two if by Sea (6 page)

“Well that’s not my style.”

Damon took her by the arm. “Daphne, look at me.”

She frowned, but turned his way. “What is it? You going to wow me with a helicopter ride around the ocean now, or what?”

Damon winced. “How about an apology? We didn’t mean to rub you the wrong way.”

“Keep talking.”

“We like you, we’re not going to lie. And we’d like you to be more than our friend.”

“You mean you’d like to sleep with me.” She swallowed and glanced at Tony. “Both of you.” He nodded and she turned back to Damon. This had to be the craziest trip she’d ever gone on in her life.

Men didn’t look at her like she was a main course. They certainly didn’t throw money at her hoping she’d give them some attention. She’d seen her clients do it over and over. Not that she didn’t want security—she did. It’s why she’d clawed her way up from the basement of her firm to aspiring partner.

But she’d earned every cent she made.

Could she really entertain the notion of two men sharing her for a night? Two sets of hands all over her body. Two pairs of lips kissing her senseless. Two… cocks inside her. God, even the thought made her shiver.

But it had been way, way too long. She’d almost forgotten what a good romp in the bedroom was like. If it weren’t for a handy vibrator tucked into her bedside table, Daphne would have lost her mind months ago.

She picked up her glass and downed the last of her drink. “You said there’s no way I can get off this boat until tomorrow, right?”

Damon nodded.

She could go back to that enormous suite all alone and stare out at the ocean until the morning, or she could enjoy herself. When was the last time she’d done something she had wanted to do anyway?

Hopkins’ dismissive comments filled her mind and she set the empty glass on the table. Screw it. It was time to enjoy herself for a change. “There’s a dance club in this place, right?”

Tony perked up. “We have three.”

Daphne let a smile spread across her face. “Pick your favorite. You’re both taking me dancing.”

S
mooth silk
. Warm skin. Tony ran his fingers up and down Daphne’s hips and fought the urge to grind against her.

He’d known the minute she gave in. The decision had come over her in a slow wave. First her eyes had brightened, then her cheeks had flushed. When she looked at him, she’d dropped the veneer.

A sucker punch to the jaw, that’s what one look from her green eyes did to him. And now her body rolled and rocked inches away from him. Tony smiled as the beat picked up.

Nava had been the best choice. Tucked into a corner on the starboard side, the club had a sultry speakeasy feel. Nothing like the giant techno marvel a few floors up.

Lost in the steady grooves and endless drinks, Daphne could let go of everything that worried her. Every last string tying her up and holding her back could break and Tony would be right there to catch her.

He reached for her and pulled her body close. Her hips grazed his cock and it twitched inside his pants.
Down boy.
His lips found her ear. “You were born to dance, Daphne. The way you move your hips. How you feel the beat in your soul. You’re a natural.”

She tried to push away, but he reeled her in, inching her body tighter against his until her back pressed into his chest and her ass ground against his crotch.

“You’re just buttering me up to get in my pants.”

“Last time I checked, you weren’t wearing any.” Tony slid his free hand down her side until his fingertips grazed the outline of her panties. He traced the seam back until it disappeared behind her. “Only a thong.”

She twisted and he let her turn to face him. “You’re terrible.”

“You’re sexy.”

“Stop saying things like that.”

“Like what? The truth? You’ve been hanging out with the wrong people. Stay with us, and by the end of the week you’ll know how beautiful and intriguing you are.”

She shook her head. “I shouldn’t.”

Tony smiled. He could work with that. “That’s where you’re wrong.” He grabbed her by the hands and tugged her close, her breasts crashing into him as their lips almost touched. “Staying with us on this cruise is exactly what you should do.”

“No, it’s not.”

Determined. Tony liked it. It’d been a long time since they’d needed to seduce a woman. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed the game. He ran his fingers up and down the seam of her underwear, slipping the silk of her dress over and around. Down the front of her body to the crevice between her legs. Up and around her hips to the crack of her ass.

Every time he inched farther, took more. Daphne squirmed, but didn’t push him away.
That’s it. Give in to me.
The music slowed and Tony wrapped one arm around her middle, holding her body against him as they swayed to the beat.

“Tell me the last thing you did because you wanted to, not because it was the right thing to do.”

Daphne frowned and let him lead, his arms swooping around her frame and guiding them both in a slow, circular beat.

“I don’t know. Taking this vacation, I guess.”

“Before that?”

“None of your business.”

She jutted out her lower lip and Tony couldn’t help himself. He brushed the pad of his thumb across her pout and Daphne’s eyes widened.

“That’s what I thought. It’s time you start living, Daphne. Be your own person. Take a chance.”

His thumb slipped off her lip and before she could say a word, his lips took its place.
Mmm
. Kissing her was like stealing from a barrel of candy. Soft, sweet lips. Heat and desire.

Plunder. It’s what he’d do to her all night long.

Damon was right. She was the only woman for them. The only one he wanted to kiss and lick and ravage. The one he couldn’t wait to strip naked and sink his cock into.

If she turned them down… Tony didn’t want to think about it. He broke their kiss and twirled her around on the floor. Daphne Meadows would be in his bed by the end of the night. He’d make sure of it.

Damn
. That woman was incredible. Damon leaned against the bar, sipping another drink as Tony and Daphne danced in the middle of a packed floor. For someone who claimed she didn’t like to be part of the show, she sure as hell was giving one now.

All the eyes in the club were on her and Tony. Her hips rocked against his crotch. His hands ran up her sides and bunched the fabric of her dress. Every time she threw her arms in the air, Damon held his breath. Her tits were about to pop out, he knew it.

“You aren’t the type to sit by the sidelines. Why aren’t you out there?”

Damon glanced over. Two of the regular crew had taken up front row leans next to him at the bar. He’d been so engrossed in watching Daphne, he hadn’t noticed.

“Hey guys. Just taking a break. Shouldn’t you two be working the bar?”

George scratched his head. “Naw. Ramos is on it. Besides, its shift change. We’re off for the night.”

Damon nodded.
Of course.
Daphne really had addled his brain. “How’s business been so far?”

Bill shrugged. “Pretty good. Most of the pools are packed. The other clubs are standing room only. Nadine said the casino was on track to meet expectations.”

“Good. Will you be ready to brief me and Tony in the morning?”

Bill hid a smirk behind his beer. “If you two think you’ll be free.”

Damon glanced out at the dance floor.
Shit
. If he didn’t get out there soon, Tony would woo that woman straight to bed. Damon didn’t want to be left out of the fun.

George piped up. “Who’s the skinny chick with Tony? She’s not his usual type.”

What?
Damon gripped the glass so hard it threatened to crack. “She’s not skinny. And she’s not your concern.”

“Ooh, sorry man. Didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.” George took a swig of his beer. “Can’t say I’m surprised he found a hottie first, though. Tony always had a leg up in the ladies’ department.”

Bullshit
. Tony might have more swagger and bravado, but that was what he wanted everyone to see. Behind closed doors? They were on equal ground. Damon just didn’t need to let the whole ship know it. Especially an employee.

Maybe he wasn’t all that different from Daphne after all.

“Don’t you two have something else to do?”

George tensed, mouth half-open to give Damon a piece of his mind, when he stopped.
Good boy.

He set his half-finished beer on the bar. “Yes, sir.”

Bill followed suit. “I’ll be ready with all the numbers first thing in the morning, Mr. Whitfield.”

“I’ll be expecting you.”

The men hurried off and Damon pushed them out of his mind. The last thing he needed to be focused on were a pair of employees with wagging tongues. They sure as hell didn’t shake their hips the way Daphne did.

It was about time he joined the party.

Damon set his empty glass on the counter and stepped out onto the floor. The crowd, the beat, the recklessness of a dance party on the Stardust. It surrounded him. Sweat and alcohol. Sex and laughter.

The sea of bodies parted and Daphne’s lithe frame came into view. “There you are. I almost lost you in all these people.” He wrapped an arm around her middle and tugged her close.

Daphne’s chest bumped against his, a stray lock of hair fell in her face, and if he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn that she trembled as he held her. The tempo of the music slowed and his hands slinked down her back to rest on the rise of her ass.

She panted.

He gripped her tighter.

“What are you doing?” Her question barely made it to his ear.

He grinned and leaned close. “Dancing.”

“Do you always paw everyone you dance with?”

Damon chuckled. “Only the ones I can’t get off my mind.” He brushed her hair off her ear and kissed her neck. “Besides, Tony doesn’t like it when I get too close.”

Daphne gasped as he kissed her again, his lips blazing a trail down her moist skin to her collarbone. As he rocked her body against his, Tony slid up to join them.

“I thought you’d decided to sit this one out.”

“No. Just enjoying the view.”

“There’s room enough in this party for a third, isn’t there?”

“Of course.”

Tony slid his hands around Daphne’s front, slipping between her and Damon. Closer and closer he shimmied, until he covered her whole backside. They engulfed her.

Daphne spun around in Damon’s grasp and he took advantage, grabbing her by the hips and dragging her ass backward.

His cock throbbed as he rubbed her ass against him, side to side, up and down. Would she bolt? Knee one of them in the crotch and demand to leave? He’d watched her dance with Tony. He’d seen how wild she could be. But two men? Would it scare her off?

Her whole body tensed and Damon held his breath.
One, two, three…
Daphne didn’t bolt. She reached for Tony’s shirt and tugged him closer.

Yes
. This is what Damon needed. This was what he couldn’t live without. Tony wasn’t his lover. Hell, sometimes they hated each other. But he’d been his closest friend for years. The only man he’d ever share a woman with.

The pair of them together were better than either on their own. With a woman between them, they could light the night on fire. He hoped Daphne would be the woman tonight.

He could see her now: red curls fanned across the bedsheets, pale skin glowing as an orgasm ripped through her. Damon needed her body. Her cries of pleasure. He needed her to say yes.

Oh my God
. Hands. Large, strong,
stroke you all night
hands were everywhere. She didn’t know where Damon ended and Tony began. Testosterone and sex. It bored into her brain and addled her senses. Soaked her panties.

How could this be happening?

Daphne didn’t know down from up or right from wrong anymore. This was different than any other night at a club. Different than any date she’d ever had.

A parade of failed romances flitted through her head. So many respectable guys—the ones she’d met through co-workers and well-intentioned friends. They might look good on paper and have an orthodontist-made smile, but half of them had bored her to tears before the main course.

The handful of dirty boys she’d met by chance had been sexy, but shallow. Kyle from the bar and Dominic from the gym. That one who’d kissed her against the wall of her apartment building and then asked for cab money back home. She didn’t even remember his name.

God, she’d had some real winners. But not a single one had ever turned her into this. Daphne Meadows didn’t strut her stuff out on a dance floor or shake her ass in some man’s crotch. She must be stricken with some tropical illness or cruise ship fever. Was there a sickness that brought on orgasms?

Whatever it was, she couldn’t get enough. Daphne needed more. Dancing. Sweat. Hands all over her. She needed Damon’s blue eyes and Tony’s tanned skin. Both of them taking her places she’d never dreamed of.

A throb began, slow at first, ebbing and flowing in time to the music. With each rock of Damon’s hips and press of his cock against her thigh, it increased. From a presence to a beat to a need so sharp Daphne couldn’t stop.

There was no turning back now.

Damon’s hands snaked around her front and his fingers brushed across her breast.
Oh!
The moan tore from her lips and she pressed back so hard, his cock dug into the crack of her ass. Thick and hard, it begged for her.

Fingers stroked her nipple, brazen and out in the open. Daphne looked up into Tony’s eyes. Could they do this? Could they be this bold and reckless?

His black eyes glinted in the neon light and as the strobe pulsed, his lips landed on hers. His tongue slashed against her, hot and insistent, and Daphne yielded.

Liquor and sin and man. She drank him in. Drowned in him.

His tongue swiped across hers, his hands tore up her thighs, and Daphne’s last bit of doubt crumbled. So what if everyone on that entire boat watched them grope each other? Wasn’t that what this whole cruise was about? She’d seen the evidence first hand. People came on these trips to get laid, not to get to know each other.

At last, Tony pulled back. He traced her swollen lower lip with his thumb and she fought the urge to lick it.

“You are delicious, Ms. Meadows. I could feast on you all night.”

Daphne swallowed. Everything sounded dirty when Tony said it.

As he stepped back, Daphne braved a look around. Partiers had packed the floor. Half of them were wrapped up in each other’s arms, making out, running their hands up and down.
Are they…Oh my God.
One guy had his hands shoved in the front of some woman’s pants. Her eyes were closed, her head lolled on his shoulder and Daphne stared as a stranger orgasmed right in front of her.

It wasn’t her grandmother’s cruise ship, that’s for sure.
I bet the shuffleboard’s fun.

A laugh bubbled up her throat and Damon tugged her closer. No one on that boat cared whether she was groping Tony or kissing Damon. Everyone was there for the same thing. To let go and get some. Shouldn’t she take advantage?

Rachel might have dumped this trip on her, but it was her choice to be miserable or not.

One night. She could pretend to be someone else for one night. In the morning, she’d pack up and demand to go home. She had the rest of the week to figure out what to do about her job and her firm and her life. But tonight?

Tony ran his hand down her cheek and she leaned into his palm. Her lips landed on the pad of his thumb and she kissed him. Screw her job back home and her sense of right and wrong. Two men wanted to make all of her dreams come true. The least she could do was find out what they had to offer.

Daphne turned in Damon’s grip and found his ear. “Please tell me your room is nearby.”

He leaned back and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Never been more sure in my life.”

He glanced past her to Tony. Something passed between them, but in an instant, he was back with a smile. “We can use the back hallway. It’s not far. Let’s go.”