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This time it was the men exchanging the loud whooping endorsement of Jess’s commentary on the female game plan. So, Poe did what any self-respecting woman would do when faced with a group of male chauvinists.
Leaning across the table, she beckoned him closer with the crook of one finger, running a fingertip over his lower lip when he met her halfway. “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?”
Jess frowned, obviously confused by the switch in Poe’s gears. “I don’t get it.”
“Since you seem to think I don’t know what I’m doing, you figure out how this game should go down.” She eased back into her chair. “Unlike you men, we women don’t mind a bit when a man tells us what he wants us to do.”
“I agree with Poe. Having a man in charge makes things run so much more smoothly.” Kinsey scooted around in her chair and got comfy, having a whole lot of fun at Jess’s expense as she stretched out her legs and crossed her ankles in his lap. “I just don’t know what we’d do without you.”
Jess ignored the batting of Kinsey’s lashes, and smiling to herself, Sydney finally started to relax. Maybe a good time was about to be had by all. Poe’s leap into the center of the tension was certainly proving a lot more effective than the eggshell route. Even Lauren had a grin on her face.
Jess rubbed his hands together, then he rubbed them from Kinsey’s ankles to her knees. His brown eyes glittered and he lifted one dark brow. “Now this is more like it. Getting drunk, talking about sex, a man in charge and a woman in his lap. Doesn’t get any better, does it, boys?”
His enthusiasm earned him a cuff to the back of the head from Kinsey. “You’re forgetting one thing, mister. And that is paybacks are hell.”
Jess thrust out his chin, tapped it with one finger. “C’mon, then. Your best shot. Right here.”
Kinsey drew back a fist. Anton, sitting on her other side, caught her hand from behind. Sydney, in the chair next to Anton, leaned across and pried his fingers from Kinsey’s, and when he turned to protest, she stuck out her tongue.
At the other end of the table, Lauren poured herself another drink. “Enough, you people.” She used her glass as a gavel. “Let Jess explain his rules.”
“No kidding.” Doug refilled his own glass, going for more water than whiskey. “If I’m gonna get lucky tonight, I’m all for getting this show on the road.”
Poe lifted a brow. “Weren’t you the one talking earlier about taking matters into your own hands?”
Ray chuckled, shaking his head and reaching for his drink. He met Sydney’s gaze over the rim of the glass he lifted to his mouth. His eyes were bright, a beautiful green, his gaze sharp and intent in both focus and connection.
Shivering, Sydney raised her glass. This was exactly what she wanted. This anticipation, this attraction. This slow, simmering arousal that was beginning to sweeten the stakes of the evening. She sipped her drink. The whiskey burned and she lifted her chin as she swallowed.
The motion drew Ray’s attention. His eyes flashed and, as he lowered his glass to the table, he blew out a long, slow breath and briefly closed his eyes. Sydney blinked, but looked away as she lifted her lashes. As much as she wanted to hurry, she wanted to wait, to take her time and savor the seduction as much as she planned to savor plucking the forbidden fruit from the vine.
She turned her attention back to Jess, who’d dislodged Kinsey from his lap and gotten to his feet. He placed both hands flat on the table and glanced around, making eye contact with everyone. “Here’s how we play. Whoever I choose to go first will pick someone of the opposite sex and ask that person a question. That person then decides whether he—or she—wants to answer truthfully or go for the dare.”
“And we have to come up with the dares, too?” Lauren asked, and Jess nodded.
Anton, slumped back in his chair with arms crossed, looked as if he’d swallowed a nastier alcohol than was ever stocked in the liquor cabinet on Coconut Caye. “What if the person answers, but someone else at the table knows for a fact that they’re telling a lie?”
Sydney took a deep breath and held it, waiting for Lauren to jump down his throat. But it didn’t happen. Lauren only stared somberly at her drink. Her wounded expression tugged hard on Sydney’s girlfriend heartstrings. Why did relationships have to be so damned difficult?
Anton’s question appeared to leave Jess stumped. Then he smiled, his dimples and his eyes flashing in that bad-boy way he had of looking at the world. “Then that person calls them on it, and they have to take the dare, anyway.”
“Ouch. That’s cold,” Doug said.
Poe reached over and patted his shoulder. “All in the name of good, honest fun.”
“Hey.” Grabbing Poe’s hand where her fingers lightly gouged his muscles, Doug added, “I resent that remark.”
“More like you resemble that remark,” Ray corrected.
“Thanks for sticking by me, buddy.” At Doug’s grousing, Ray laughed.
“Yeah, dude. This is supposed to be a battle of the sexes.” Jess dropped back into his chair. “Whose side are you on, anyway?”
Ray splashed another shot of bourbon into his glass. “Let’s just say I’m doing all I can to keep my getting-lucky options open.”
The other three men razzed him with loudly voiced hoots and hisses and snickering laughter. All Sydney could do was stare at the liquid in her glass, knowing the smile on her face was bound to give her away. She wasn’t sure she wanted everyone at the table to know of her plans before she’d had a chance to share her intentions with Ray. Before she’d shown him exactly what a lucky guy he was and done so in a more intimate setting, without an audience.
Poe finally and effectively killed the locker-room atmosphere by drumming her hands on the table. “Yoo-hoo, Jess. I think we all understand your rules. Now are we going to play or what?”
Jess turned his attention to Poe. “Yes, we’re going to play. And since you started this mess and put me in charge, I’ve decided you get to go first.”
Shaking her head, Kinsey clucked her tongue in disappointment. “Put a man in charge and he still needs a woman to get things started.”
“I hate to break it to you, Kinsey,” Doug said, sitting between Lauren and Poe and ignoring the threatening glares from both women. “But not only can we get things started without a woman, we can finish things off the same way.”
Poe waved off his comeback. “Tell that to the centerfold sharing your special moment.”
Every man in the room squirmed.
“Imagination and touch are more important than visual stimulation to a woman,” Lauren added, directing a pointed glance at Doug. “Which is why we can start and finish with or without the help of a battery-operated boyfriend.”
“Good ol’ B.O.B.” Kinsey sighed. “A fresh supply of batteries and he never lets a girl down.”
Anton snorted and rolled his eyes before downing half his bourbon. Doug, on the other hand, stared at Kinsey in disbelief. “Are you telling me that you get off every time you, uh…take B.O.B. to bed?”
Kinsey only smiled sweetly, tossing back her long blond hair. “Why don’t you ask me that when it’s your turn to play?”
Doug shook his head and under his breath muttered, “Women. More trouble than they’re worth.”
Poe dug an elbow into his ribs to shut him up. “You can get back at Kinsey and all of womankind later, after I get through getting back at Jess.”
Jess groaned and thumped his forehead on the edge of the table before looking up and grimacing at Poe.
Poe crossed her arms on the edge of the table and leaned forward, sparing a glance for Ray at her left, Doug at her right, then Anton across the table, before she settled her sights on Jess. “Now, Jess. Since we’re discussing sexy toys, my question is this. Have you ever done it with an inanimate object and, if so, with what?”
Jess’s expression remained deadpan. “Such as?”
“Oh, I don’t know. A blowup doll. An apple pie. That sort of thing.”
“I think Poe has been watching a few too many movies,” Kinsey said, and Ray snickered. Then Doug snickered. Sydney couldn’t help herself and she snickered, too. Jess remained totally cool. She had to give him credit.
“Are you talking all the way back to puberty?” he asked, leaning over the table toward her. “Or during my recent sex sabbatical?”
Poe leaned even farther over the table, until her breasts threatened to spill out of her top. “I’m talking any time during your life, sweetie, though I’d really like to hear more about this sex sabbatical.”
Jess leaned forward, too. “Well, then, sweetie. I take the dare.”
Jess’s refusal to answer brought him everything from howls to sympathetic groans to hysterical laughter, the latter from Lauren, who Sydney was beginning to think had had too much to drink.
Sitting back with a smugly satisfied smile, Poe laced her hands behind her head. “Since you dug yourself in deep with that one, I’ll make it easy on you. You have to kiss one of your dinner companions. Girl or guy, it doesn’t matter. The only caveat is that you have to look like you mean it.”
“That’s it? That’s his dare?” Kinsey registered the complaint and Sydney followed with “That sounds more like a reward.”
“And a punishment for whoever he chooses,” Lauren added.
Jess scooted back his chair and got to his feet. “Tsk-tsk, ladies. I realize this is going to be hard on those of you who don’t get to experience my incredible expertise.”
Anton brought his fist to his mouth and coughed to cover up his exclamation of “Bullshit.”
“Yeah. What Anton said. You can just keep your tongue to yourself, mister,” Kinsey said.
Jess ignored the outburst and circled the table, passing each woman once before stopping behind Kinsey on his second trip around. With both hands on the back of her chair, he leaned down and ran the tip of his tongue around the shell of her ear, blowing softly until she shuddered.
Sydney’s own heart fluttered wildly, and one look at Lauren and Poe confirmed that neither of the other women remained unaffected. Even knowing Jess was all bark and no bite didn’t stop any of them from wanting to feel the nip of his teeth. Though, mused Sydney, not half as much as she wanted to be nipped by Ray.
“Now,” Jess said to Kinsey, breathing the words into her ear. “Don’t be giving me grief about my tongue when you obviously don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” And with that, he continued his second trip around the table.
Sydney held her breath as he passed behind her, and she caught Ray staring as she slowly let it go. She wanted to know what he was thinking, what it meant when his pulse ticked at his temple, when his jaw seemed to grind. She wanted to know if he possibly wanted her, and how she was going to sit through the rest of the evening until she could find out for sure.
No one at the table said a word when Jess came to a stop behind Poe’s chair. She still had her arms raised, her hands laced behind her head, and Jess settled his palms on her elbows. Her mouth quirked slightly, as if she’d never had a doubt she’d end up as his choice.
He ran his hands from her elbows down her triceps and back up to her forearms before pulling her to her feet, pushing her chair out of the way with his hip as he did. Then he turned her, wrapped her arms around his neck, settled his hands on her hipbones above the low-riding waistband of her pants and backed her into the table.
When he lowered his head, Sydney found herself once again holding her breath. Jess nuzzled his lips over Poe’s jaw and chin before moving his mouth to her mouth. He was tender and gentle and soft with his approach.
He wasn’t grinding his hips into hers and slipping his tongue into her mouth as Sydney was certain everyone was expecting him to do. No, he was taking things slow, the way a lover would take things slow, letting go of Poe’s hips and moving his hands up her body to hold her face, finally opening his mouth enough to coax Poe to do the same.
It was unbelievable, the way Sydney’s pulse raced, the way she found herself unable to pull in anything more than shallow breaths. She glanced at Lauren, then at Kinsey. Both women were equally transfixed. But this time Sydney could not bring herself to look at Ray, even though she hadn’t a doubt he was looking at her. The sensation of being caught in his gaze like a fly in a spider’s web was enough to keep her from glancing over. Or from looking again toward Jess and Poe.
The suggestion of intimacy stirred Sydney’s hunger unbearably, and she breathed a huge sigh of relief when the couple broke the embrace. She even joined in the applause that followed and finally felt able to come up for air once Jess had taken his bow and made his way back to his seat.
“Well, now,” Poe said, slightly out of breath as she settled back into her chair. “You almost convinced me that you meant it.”
“Then I guess I won that round,” Jess said, not entirely undisturbed himself.
“I don’t know.” Kinsey shook her head. “For some reason I feel like I won.”
Her comment brought the laughter the room seemed to need. That, and the whiskey that was obviously beginning to take effect. Sydney had purposefully sipped slowly and made sure to water down what booze she was drinking.
And a good thing, too, since Jess turned to her and said, “Sydney?”
She looked up, feeling a rush of nervous trepidation. “Yes?”
“Truth or dare. Since you have had a bit of an icy reputation in the past—” Jess paused, letting the implication sink in “—I’m curious to know if you had an orgasm the first time you had sex.”
Sydney didn’t even blink. Could Jess have possibly asked anything she would’ve wanted to answer less, considering the present company, who could call her on any lie she might try to get away with? The present company who had brought her off repeatedly through the hours of that long, hot, summer night all those years ago?
And so she sat back, crossed her arms, looked Jess straight in the eye and told him and the rest of the room the truth. “Actually, Jess, yes. I did.”
Anton snorted, obviously in disbelief. Doug sat slack-jawed. Jess stared from beneath two raised brows. The women were more vocal. Their responses ranged from “No way!” to “Go Sydney!” to “You lucky dog!”
And then the circle of reactions came back around to Anton and his skeptical suspicion. “Give her a dare, Jess. She’s lying through her teeth.”
Sydney turned a steely gaze on Anton. “What makes you think I’m lying?”
“It’s hard to believe any woman would come her first time. Half the time even women who know what they’re doing fake their orgasms.” Anton flinched as a half-melted ice cube pelted him in the center of his chest. He glared across the length of the table just as Lauren threw another.
“If she’s with the right man, a woman can have an orgasm every time. But since it’s hard to find a man willing to take the time to learn what a woman needs, it’s no wonder women end up faking.” Lauren popped a third ice cube into her mouth, sucked it free of whiskey.
Anton upended his glass and drained the remainder of his drink. “Let’s not forget that some women seem to be able to come at the drop of a hat. Sorta makes a man wonder why she keeps him around when she can obviously do her own thing as long as she’s got the batteries.”
“Hey, dude. I don’t know what you’re complaining about.” Jess glanced from one-half of the quarreling couple to the other and back. “Finding a woman uninhibited enough to come sure takes the pressure off.”
“Exactly!” Lauren exclaimed, then turned to Jess. “Thank you, Jess. It’s nice to know that a man can appreciate a woman’s sexuality without feeling threatened by it.”
Anton got to his feet and Sydney held her breath, waiting for what she knew would be an explosion. But Anton surprised her by calmly grabbing the decanter of bourbon from the center of the table and not saying another word. And then he left the room.
For several moments no one made a comment, as if talking behind Anton’s back was as bad as talking in front of Lauren. Finally Poe split the difference with a mumbled, “Well, since I managed to so beautifully blow that, I think I’ll console myself with a quick and painless death by drowning. Or at least a long walk along the beach.”
“Oh, Poe. You didn’t blow anything.” Kinsey reached across the table and took hold of the other woman’s hands. “If you’re in the mood for company, I’d love to come along. My head could use the fresh air.”
Poe got to her feet, her gaze lingering on Jess as she asked, “Anyone else care to join us in walking off dinner and drinks and the rest of the evening’s disaster?”
“I’m going to take a shower.” Lauren stood, stared at the table’s surface as if getting her balance or her bearings, then headed for the circular staircase separating the dining area from the villa’s main room.
Once Lauren was gone, Doug slapped his hands on the table, jarring the room from its pensive mood. “I’m all for a walk.”
“Me, too,” Jess said, taking Kinsey by the hand and dragging her off toward the villa’s front entrance. He stopped halfway there, looked back and held out his other hand for Poe. “Doug, Ray? Sydney? Let’s go.”
Doug rose and headed for the group.
Sydney stayed seated and shook her head, running a finger around the rim of her near-empty glass. “You all go on. I’m going to finish cleaning the kitchen, then head for the shower once Lauren is through.”
“Ray? You coming?” Kinsey asked as she followed the others across the room and out the front door.
Ray glanced from Sydney to the departing group and back again. His brows drew down over clearly indecisive eyes. His lips pressed together uncertainly. He stepped closer to Sydney’s chair and stared down, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “You want some help?”
Sydney rubbed her cheek against his lingering hand, then looked from her glass up to Ray and, smiling, said, “Help with the kitchen or with the shower?”
Ray’s breath hitched and he stared down at her, his expression having darkened, the tic in his jaw a hard echo of the pulse throbbing in the hollow of his throat. “Don’t give me a choice you don’t want me to make.”
For a moment, just for a moment, Sydney closed her eyes. It would be so easy to say yes, to drag him into the shower off the first-floor bedroom suite that no one but her father ever used. But as much as she wanted him, she wanted to wait, to let the tension build, to keep their liaison a private affair.
And right now there were too many people waiting for him to join them on the beach. So what she did was get to her feet, reach across the table and gather up as many of the highball glasses as she could manage with two hands. Then she turned to face him.
“Truth or dare?” she asked, and as she did, Ray’s mouth quirked upward. “Would you rather I accept your help when we’re liable to be interrupted any minute, or would you rather wait until we have time alone?”
“The truth? I’d rather wait.” He looked off toward the door as if even now he expected to be interrupted. Then he looked back at Sydney, his eyes flashing, his smile a silent promise of seduction he intended to keep. “The dare? You find us the time.”
