"We both know what you want is not my name." She held my eyes for a moment, then let go of me and stepped back. "I appreciate you helping me with the towel. I'm sorry I interrupted your sauna time. Please leave me alone now." And she slipped around me and disappeared back into the dining room.
I didn't follow. She couldn't have been clearer about two things. One, she felt the connection as well, but two, she wasn't interested in acting on it. So here I was, alone on this balcony, the cold air stinging my hot skin. Should I admit defeat? At the very least, a tactical retreat seemed in order. I texted Scott that he could have the rest of my steak and went for a walk in the woods to clear my head. The beautiful scenery did nothing to soothe my exasperation, however, and the chilly air wasn't cold enough to douse the fire my mystery blonde seemed to have lit.
Returning to the lodge, I found my way to the pools and changed into the swimsuit I kept stored in my locker. I chose the larger of the two pools and plunged into the deep end. Setting a fast pace for myself, I stroked evenly through the water down my lane to the other end. I turned and pushed off the pool wall, returning to where I'd begun and started the whole journey over again. Pushing myself hard, I hoped to expend so much energy I would have none left to consider why this woman wanted me but wouldn't have me.
After an hour or so, I finally hauled myself out of the pool and headed for my room. I didn't even change, but just looped my towel around my shoulders and strode dripping along the corridor. I almost hoped someone would challenge me, to give me a chance to get rid of my irritation, but no one did. I took a quick shower in my room and threw on some sweats before collapsing on the bed, weary and frustrated. Maybe I'd just pack up and go back to the city tonight. I didn't want to spend the rest of the weekend watching her run away from me. Accepting defeat was one thing, having it rubbed in your face was another.
I was just thinking that leaving was the best plan when there was a knock on the door. Maybe it was Scott with some booze. That was his go-to move when one of us got rejected in college or when, later in life, we'd lost a big business opportunity. I headed for the door, intending to tell him thanks but I was heading home.
I pulled open the door and, for the second time that day, was surprised to find my mystery blonde behind it.
THREE
DEIRA
"You're doing what?!" Dani had shrieked in my ear just moments earlier.
"I'm only telling you so that you know where I am. Someone should know, in case I go missing, or there's some other fallout from this very bad decision."
"It's not a bad decision. It's a great decision. It's..."
"I'm hanging up now. I'll see you in the morning."
I ended the call and stared at the door in front of me. On the other side of it was the man from the sauna. I knew, because I'd seen him go into it about twenty minutes earlier.
I'd been tucked into the corner of the ornate lobby when I heard the sound of footsteps against the tiled floor. He didn't see me, but it was impossible to miss him striding through the lobby. It wasn't just his powerful walk that drew my attention. It was the fact that he was wearing his bathing suit and little else. Still dripping from his swim, he looked angry, his brow furrowed over his hazel eyes. Even angry, those eyes made my pulse race.
I was following him before I even realized what I was doing. The view of him from behind was just as satisfying. I momentarily froze when he turned and entered his room, but he seemed oblivious to my presence, lost in thought.
After he went in, I made myself head back to my room. I was halfway there when I paused. For whatever reason, I remembered the way he had looked at me. Before the balcony and the dining room, before the towel incident. Right when he had first sat down in the sauna. The look that had made me want to move closer to him. Just remembering it made heat bloom low in my stomach and spread throughout my body. So, I had turnedoffmy brain and let that feeling lead me back to his door.
I took a deep breath. And knocked.
He was still shirtless when he opened the door. I pushed past him without waiting for an invitation. As I entered, I realized it wasn't a room but a suite of rooms, decorated in the style of a Swiss chalet. There was a huge, inviting couch and the sunset coming through the large windows bathed the room in a golden light. I turned back to him. He seemed briefly bewildered, but he recovered quickly. He shut the door and strode toward me.
"I'm..." he started.
"No names," I said.
"If you don't want my name," he smirked, "then why are you here?"
"You already know," I said to him. I held his gaze as I started unbuttoning my top. "All I've been able to think about all day is you, and the feel of your hands on my skin." His eyes darted back and forth between my face and my hands, opening my shirt little by little. I reached the last button and shrugged off the shirt, enjoying the feel of it grazing my shoulders as it slid to the floor. "I've been reliving the moment when you took hold of my shoulders and pushed me down onto that bench. I think you should do that again."
He smiled at me in a hungry way, like he wanted to devour me. Good. I wanted to be devoured. But he didn't pounce. Instead, he walked toward me slowly. He slid his hands up my stomach, skimming over my breasts and lingering on my collar bone before resting them on my shoulders. I shivered under his touch and sucked in a sharp breath of air, already so turned on.
His hands on either side of my neck, he pressed his palms into my shoulders. I yielded to his touch, sinking to the couch. But he kept pushing, pressing me down further. I obliged, slipping down onto my knees and looking up at him.
"Yes?" he asked, just enough of a question to be sure we were on the same page.
"Yes," I responded, already reaching for the waist of his pants. I sunk onto my heels as I pulled down his sweat pants and focused on the bulge already straining against his underwear. I cupped it, rubbing it gently. He hissed a breath out through his teeth and practically growled, "No teasing. I don't like to be played with."
"That's not the way it looks to me," I said, running my thumb up the bulge and grinning up at him. He suddenly grabbed my wrist, holding it away from his body. My pulse hammered against the pressure of his fingers. I could have switched to my other hand, but instead I looked up, keeping eye contact with him, and then lifted myself back up onto my knees before taking hold of the waistband with my teeth.
I felt his abdomen ripple with pleasure under my mouth and his grip around my wrist tightened. I dragged his underwear down, freeing his cock, which was already swollen and hard. I wrapped my lips around the tip of it and he groaned. Swirling my tongue around his shaft, I brought my free hand up to help as I took him all the way into my mouth. He put his other hand on the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair and helping me find the rhythm he liked.
The feel of him in my mouth was making me wet. I wanted him inside me. I took his cock out of my mouth and started to stand, but his grip in my hair tightened. I looked up and he was staring down at me, his eyes half closed and glazed over with pleasure.
"Finish what you started," he commanded hoarsely. The raw need in his voice and the hand at the back of my neck sent sparks through my whole body. I was torn. I wanted to follow his every command, but I also wanted to tease him.