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“Oh, that’s right. Wow. You look spectacular.”
“Thank you.” Carol appreciated the compliment and how genuine it sounded. “So do you. It’s a wonderful party, and your entrance was magnificent.”
“It was fun. A girl only turns thirty once.”
Carol nodded, and after a second of silence, Lena tugged her away from the earshot of the men. But by now, the guys were already engaged in conversation, so it didn’t seem to matter, anyway.
“When did you and Jake start seeing each other?” Lena asked.
Carol quickly clarified, “We’re not dating.”
“Yet he brought you here? On a couples-only weekend?” Lena made a curious face. “Oh, come on. Who’s he trying to kid?”
“Really, it’s no big deal.” Carol downplayed her answer, especially with how badly she’d wanted to kiss him on the dance floor. “He needed a date for the party, and I was accessible because I work for him.”
“Mark works for me, too. And now we’re messing around.”
Carol didn’t know what to say. The comparison was making her terribly nervous. So she settled on, “Things happen.”
“Do they ever.” Lena leaned in close. “I am rather crazy about Mark. But who knows how long it will last? I do have a reputation for being fickle.”
Carol wagged her finger, a little playfully, a little seriously. “So I’ve heard.”
The birthday girl laughed, making no apologies. “Life is too short not to go after what you want. So whatever you do, just have a good time this weekend. You might even end up being crazy about Jake, too.”
It was already too late for that. But still, Carol needed to be careful not to go overboard. She didn’t live by Lena’s free-spirited standards.
Their private discussion ended, and Lena went back to her beau. Carol returned to Jake and he asked her to dance again. Only now, the music was a little slower, a little softer.
And more tempting than ever.
Four (#udcea36ee-578b-5f8c-aeff-5caf22f1d965)
As Jake led Carol toward the dance floor, he said, “How about if we go into one of the cages this time?” He wanted to give it a whirl.
She blinked at him. “You want to dance inside of one of those?”
“Sure. Why not? The cage Lena and Mark were in is free.”
“I guess that would be okay.” Carol sounded intrigued but tentative. “As long as it doesn’t elevate like when they performed.”
“That was just part of a show. They won’t do that to us.” He took her hand as they neared the cage. “But just in case, you’re not afraid of heights, are you?”
“No, but you better be kidding about the ‘just in case’ part.”
“I was.” He shot her a teasing smile. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her this evening.
When they reached the cage, she entered first, and he held back to study her. She looked like an exotic bird who’d just been captured, the beads on her dress winking in the light.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He joined her inside and closed the gate.
Now that they were in there together, the space seemed tighter than he’d expected. Or maybe it just felt that way. But since the song was a ballad, it made sense for them to stand so close.
Jake took Carol in his arms, and they moved in unison, naturally compatible. They had chemistry, he thought. On and off the dance floor. In and out of the cage. She fit perfectly against him, making him want to hold her even closer.
He glanced at the big flat-screen monitor. Carol’s gaze flickered to it, too. The video was a montage of movie star couples, from early Hollywood until now.
“It’s funny how most of them didn’t stay together,” he said.
“Some of them lasted a lifetime,” she replied, without missing a beat.
The lights in the ballroom went low. Even the images on the screen turned gentler, with famous wedding photos. Big frothy cakes. Long white dresses. Elegant brides and dashing grooms.
“This is beautiful,” Carol said.
Was it? Jake wasn’t sure. But in an oddly disturbing way, he was intrigued by the stimuli, too. It was exciting to feel what she was feeling, even if he didn’t understand it.
“Maybe we shouldn’t stay in here for too long,” he said. The cage was starting to feel like a romantic prison, with no release in sight.
“Maybe you’re right. This is getting...”
Her words drifted off, but he knew what she meant. By now, their bodies were so close they were plastered together like animals who were about to mate.
But worse yet was how the video had begun to change, morphing into film clips of love scenes, some sweet and pure, some iconic and classic, some offbeat and erotic.
“Yikes,” Carol said as a bondage scene appeared.
Yeah, Jake thought. Yikes. It actually involved a cage. And blindfolds and all sorts of unexpected things. Trust Lena, he thought, to toss something kinky into the lovey-dovey mix.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Carol avoided the video, looking straight at him instead. “Where to?”
“Anywhere but here.” He pushed open the gate, and they dashed out of their shiny gold confinement. They kept moving until they were outside breathing the cool night air.
But once they were in the courtyard, they both just stood there, trapped within their own private hell.
“Now what do we do?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He paused to think about it. “Maybe we could go for a walk on the beach. I could really use some time away from the party.”
“So could I.”
He got another idea. “How about this? We can grab some food and drinks to take with us.”
“That sounds nice. But how are we going to haul everything out to the beach?”
“I’ll tip a waiter to pack it up for us. I’ll ask him to supply a blanket or some towels or something, too.” He flashed a silly grin. “Then again, maybe we can just use your dress.”
She smacked his shoulder, and they both burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh. It felt good to be preparing for a picnic, too. Even if it was at night. On a tropical island.
With no one else around.
* * *
Carol walked along the beach, carrying her shoes and enjoying the sand between her toes. She looked over at Jake. His pant legs were rolled up, and he was carrying his shoes and a big square basket, filled to the brim. The waiter had even tossed in a candle from one of the tables.
“How far out are we going to go?” she asked.
“How about here?” Jake chose a spot on the other side of the estate, close enough to provide light from the mansion, but still far enough away so that the party didn’t interfere.
“It’s perfect.” Being around so many other people, with all of that sexy activity, had been taking its toll. She was grateful for the reprieve.
Jake spread out a big fluffy beach towel and placed the basket beside it. He removed the candle, stuck it in the sand and lit the wick.
Carol sat on the towel. He joined her and handed her a champagne glass. He uncorked the Dom Pérignon and poured it.
“To peace and quiet,” he said.
“The solitude is wonderful.” She sipped her drink and glanced at the wax figurines. “Who was that candle fashioned after?”
“I don’t know, but it smells like vanilla.”
“Yes, I noticed that, too.” It was a nice, pleasant aroma, mixed with the sea.
“Let’s find out who they are.” He lifted it up and squinted at the names across the bottom of it. “Oh, here we go. It’s Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I don’t know much about them, do you?”
“Not really. Other than he was a playwright and they were both poets. Oh, and that they were married. I think they met through letters they exchanged.”
“That’s more than I knew.”
“I took an English literature class in college, and I guess some of it stuck with me.” Carol had a business degree from a state college that she’d funded with student loans. “It was weird, being a foster kid and trying to figure out my education. As soon as I turned eighteen, I didn’t even have a place to live. But thank goodness the laws are changing now and some kids are able to stay in their foster homes until they’re twenty-one.”
“That’s definitely a change that needed to happen. But it only involves a handful of states. Lots of foster youth are still homeless at eighteen. But I was lucky in that I was able to crash on Garrett’s couch. He was back with his mom by then.”
Carol nodded. Garrett wasn’t orphaned like her and Jake. He’d bounced in and out of foster care because his single mother had gotten terribly ill from an infectious disease and wasn’t able to care for him. At the time, she’d already been struggling with an autoimmune disorder. Although she recovered from the infection, the chronic illness continued to plague her, even now.
Jake added, “Without Garrett and his mom, I would have been totally displaced, graduating from high school with nowhere to go.”
“Where was Max?”
“He was still in foster care.”
“Oh, that’s right. He’s a little younger than you and Garrett. But you’ve all come a long way.”
“That’s for sure. Max made it first, though, being the nerd that he is.”
Carol smiled, amused by Jake’s description of his foster brother. Max was a self-taught software designer and internet entrepreneur who’d become a billionaire in his early twenties. But even so, she thought he was too handsome to be called a nerd. Then again, he did seem a bit socially awkward at times.
Jake said, “Max loaned Garrett and me the money to get our businesses off the ground. We couldn’t have done it without him.”
“The bond between the three of you is amazing.” Max’s childhood had been especially troubling, from what she understood. “Where is he? I haven’t seen him around lately.”
“He went on a long holiday or sabbatical or whatever he’s choosing to call it. I guess he needed some time alone. He can be elusive when he wants to be.”
Unlike Jake, she thought, who lived his life out in the open.
“Are you cold?” he asked as a breeze kicked up. “I can give you my jacket.”
She wasn’t freezing by any means, but there was a bit of a chill in the air. “That would be great. Thank you.”
He removed the garment and draped it around her shoulders.
Then he unpacked the food and made up a plate for her. “This looks good, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does.” She balanced the china on her lap, feeling warm and cozy with his jacket against her body.
Jake filled his plate, too, and they nibbled on an assortment of fancy appetizers and decadent desserts.
“It’s a yummy combination,” she said.
He met her gaze. “And we couldn’t ask for a nicer setting, surrounded by the moon and the stars. You sure look pretty out here. But you’ve looked pretty all night.”
“Even when I was a nervous wreck in the cage?”
“Yes, even then. I shouldn’t have suggested that we dance in there.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know how it would turn out.” She polished off her champagne. She had no intention of getting drunk, but a little buzz wouldn’t hurt, especially with the way Jake was staring at her. She was curious to know more about him. Things she shouldn’t want to know. Things she shouldn’t ask. But she questioned him, anyway. “Do you do that type of stuff?”
He put his plate aside. “What stuff?”
“Like what was in the video.” She refilled her glass, waiting to see what he would say. She’d heard that he was wild in bed, but no one had ever said just how wild. Not even the starlet who’d blogged about him had included those types of details.
“Bondage? No, I’m not into that.” Without taking his eyes off her, he added, “Why...are you a secret dominatrix or something?”
If she wasn’t so enraptured with him, she would have laughed. “Are you kidding? Me being a secret anything is preposterous. I just like regular sex.”
“Truthfully, I was kidding. But I like it regular, too. Only, I think they call it vanilla in that lifestyle.” He gestured to the vanilla-scented candle. “Like that.”
Had she actually started this conversation? She put down her champagne and reached for a scone that was glazed with white icing. “This is vanilla.”
Jake shifted on the towel, moving a little closer to her. “I don’t think I got one of those.”
“I can share it with you.” She held it out to him, caught in a trap of her own making.
He took it from her, his fingertips touching hers, creating a soft stream of electricity between them.
