I’d felt him inside me before, but now I really loved the way it felt, the way I carried his arousal like a souvenir. He’d said my name before, but never like that, never thick and breathy. Never with that same tone of unquenched desire.
After heavy breaths and stares, he pulled out of me.
I didn’t want to let him go. “Wait.” I grabbed on to his biceps and pulled him back to me. “Again.”
He looked down at me, his breaths heavy, his eyes intense.
“Please…”
That seemed to be the magic word because he was as hard as a piece of wood again. He shoved himself inside me once more and started to rock. “Goddamn, Camille.”
When I looked out the back window, I saw Cauldron.
But he wasn’t alone.
Three other men were with him, all wearing sports coats. Just like in Paris, they were gathered on the white couches near the pool, all smoking cigars while the table was covered with booze and the snacks Hugo provided.
Cauldron was smoking right along with them. He brought it to his lips and took a deep drag before he let it rest between his fingertips as his arm relaxed on the armrest of his chair. He must have said something humorous because the other three broke into laughs…or they just laughed at his joke to kiss his ass.
He never said anything funny to me.
I was about to lounge by the pool. In my bikini and open silk robe, I stepped through the back doors and approached their seating area.
Cauldron’s eyes immediately shifted to me and remained there. Instead of being annoyed by my presence, he seemed infatuated by it. His relaxed expression immediately hardened into one of mild intensity.
I walked past the men and let them discuss business.
His deep voice carried over to me. “Camille.” He raised his hand and gave a subtle beckoning with his fingers.
My eyebrows arched high when he called me over like one of his servants. I stayed put, my hands on my waist.
“Camille,” he repeated. “Come over here.”
“Ask me. Don’t tell me.”
The men in his company all got a kick out of that. “You’ve got a feisty one on your hands, Cauldron.”
Cauldron ignored them. “Come. Here. Now.” He didn’t raise his voice, but his tone showcased his ferocity.
He wouldn’t lose this game in front of his buddies, so I chose to de-escalate the situation by walking over.
“She sounds like a lot of work, Cauldron,” one of the men said.
“Oh, she is,” Cauldron said before he brought the cigar to his lips and took a drag. “But nothing I can’t handle.”
One of the guys chuckled at that.
I joined their table, standing in a black bikini and heels with an open cover-up.
Cauldron made the introductions, sharing names I would never remember, calling them associates.
“Nice to meet you.” I grabbed the cigar out of Cauldron’s hand and put it out in the communal ashtray. “I’m Camille.”
Cauldron didn’t move for another cigar, but he explained my significance. “The woman of the house.”
“Looks like the woman of the house hates cigars,” one man noted.
“No,” I said. “I just hate it when he smokes them.” I walked off, heading back to the other side of the pool where I could lounge in the sun, well out of earshot from whatever the men were discussing.
Cauldron faced me, and his eyes never left me. Even when he spoke to them, he watched me lounge in the armchair and absorb the sun. He never reached for another cigar, but he downed more booze to replace the other vice.
I took a dip in the pool, and even then, I had his full attention. He seemed uninterested in his own guests.
Their meeting eventually wrapped up, and the men said goodbye before they walked inside.
Cauldron remained in place, watching me float around in the pool as he enjoyed his scotch on the rocks. His fingers curled until his knuckles were displayed, and he propped those against his hard face. He was under the shade of the umbrella, so his sunglasses hung at the top of his shirt.
I splashed around as I looked at him. “Yes?”
He didn’t move.
“You wanna get in? Water feels nice.”
“No.”
“You sure?” I reached for the string at the top of my bikini and pulled. It immediately came loose and floated on the surface of the water. My nipples automatically hardened when the material was gone, no longer keeping the warm water from me.
He remained still, but his interest was piqued.
“Who were those guys?”
“Associates.”
“I know, you said that. But that didn’t answer my question.” I slipped off the bottoms under the water and watched them rise to the top, too. I grabbed both soaked pieces and tossed them onto the pool deck to dry.
The bait worked, and he got to his feet. He pushed the jacket over his big shoulders and let it slide down his arms before he folded it on the back of the chair. Then he unbuttoned his shirt, starting at the top and working his way down, revealing more of his tanned chest as he went.