"Oh, fine. Have it your way. I'll wait until you guys get back from your vacation."
I give up on reining in my sarcastic sister, and Rika and I say goodbye just as Richard saunters out of the bathroom.
He's naked. Though he's dried off his body, his hair is still wet.
That man looks even hotter wet and naked, fresh from a shower.
I jump off the bed and walk up to him, splaying my palms on his chest. "I love it when you're damp. It's almost as sexy as when you're dripping wet after a swim."
He links his hands behind my back, tugging me closer. "I love it when you're dripping wet too, and I'm not only talking about when we swim in the sea."
I love it when I'm wet for him too, and that's happening right now.
But we agreed to have breakfast with Dexter.Rats.
Rick gets dressed, to my severe disappointment, and we amble downstairs hand in hand. When we get to the dining room, we find our host sitting at the head of the long table, sipping what looks like a mimosa. Is that a real one with champagne? I'd love one of those.
"Good morning, lovebirds," Dex says with a smile. "Have a seat. Breakfast will be served at any moment."
Rick pulls out a chair for me, the one right beside Dexter, and I settle into it. Then Rick starts to walk around the table, apparently to take the chair beside Dex on the opposite side of the table.
Our host holds up a hand. "No, Rick, sit beside Madeleine. You can't fondle her under the table if you're on the other side of it. Unless Maddie wants me to take over that duty."
"She doesn't want that," Richard says as he sits down in the chair beside me. "Your devil-goat horns are showing, Dex."
"I've never tried to hide my horns. Why should I? Women love them."
The gray-haired woman who always brings us dinner pushes a wheeled cart into the dining room. She sets plates full of food in front of us, along with two mimosas—one for me, and one for Richard.
I take a sip and realize I'd been right. The mimosas do have champagne in them this morning. The bubbly liquid tickles my throat, and I love it. But I absolutely will not overindulge today.
Dex makes a toast, and we all clink our glasses.
Throughout breakfast, we chat and laugh. Dexter is a lot of fun to talk to, but I'd rather be alone with Rick. Our private conversations are the most fun, even when we don't engage in sex of any kind. I love spending time with him, period.
Once the meal is over, Richard asks Dexter if they can talk business now. Dexter agrees but suggests the sitting room might be a better place for that. He leads us down the hall and into that room, then offers us cognac. I decline because, jeez, it's morning—not late night at a bar that's offering half-price cocktails for all the lushes. Mimosas are one thing. Cognac is a whole other universe, one where I will get myself into trouble again for sure. I decline Dex's offer, and so does Rick. We take the little sofa while Dex relaxes in his big chair.
He sighs. "All right. Let's talk business, if we must."
"We must," Rick says. He tugs at the collar of his T-shirt, twisting his lips this way and that. "I need to talk to you about your, ah, book."
"Do you? I've been wondering how long it would take you to get round to that." Dexter glances at me and wags his eyebrows. "Then again, you've had the most splendid distraction in the world."
Rick clears his throat, twice. "About the book…"
"Spit it out, man. I might expire while I wait for you to speak."
"The story is certainly titillating, but I—"
A phone rings. A cell phone, I assume, since the ringing seems to originate in Dexter's pants. He holds up a finger, silently asking us to wait, then extricates the phone from his pocket and answers. "Hello, lovey, what are you wearing?"
Richard's brows hike up, and he glances sideways at me.
I shrug.
He sinks back into the sofa, rubbing his forehead.
Dexter chuckles. "Yes, lovey, we can do that later. You know how I love to watch you get your kit off, even if it is only a virtual striptease. Yes, I know you'll actually undress, but from my end, it's a virtual experience."