Secrets After Dark (15 page)

I whirl round to face him. ‘Why are we here?’

‘We have to be alone,’ he says. He whips off his mask, then leans forward and pulls mine from my face, discarding them both on the floor. His eyes are burning fury at me and I think my own are sparking in return as we face one another with hostility crackling between us. ‘Now, tell me what the hell you’re doing here with him.’

‘What the hell are
you
doing here with
her
?’

‘What?’

‘I saw the way you were looking at her! Are you already lovers or are you just hoping it will happen?’ I know I sound a little crazy, but I don’t care. I’m so full of conflicting feelings: anger, and the disappointment of a shattered fantasy, sadness at being cheated of the romance I long for with Dominic, joy at seeing him, the bitterness of jealousy and fear that I’ve lost him. It’s all boiling up inside me, ready to be released. ‘You obviously want her!’

‘What are you talking about?’ Dominic says, his eyes flaming. ‘Do you mean Anna?’

‘Of course I mean Anna. Who else? Or are there others I should be worried about?’

‘I should spank you for that,’ Dominic says through gritted teeth. ‘I might be many things, but I’m not a liar or a cheat.’

‘So you say,’ I retort. ‘But as you couldn’t take your eyes off her, forgive me if I don’t believe you.’ I feel on the edge of hysteria. It’s too weird to be in this place, now in some kind of play dungeon that takes me right back to the nights we spent in the boudoir when Dominic did such delicious things to me. I know I’m not thinking straight, but I can’t help it.

He glares at me, his hands clenching.

Perhaps I’m a little drunker than I realise, but I feel compelled to taunt him, to push him to the kind of emotional place I am in right now. I turn my back on him and slide my hands under the gauzy overskirt of my dress, and raise the short inner shell, pulling it up so that it reveals my bottom. I’m not wearing any underwear because I had nothing suitable to put on when I got changed at Andrei’s earlier. I let the overskirt fall back so that the globes of my buttocks are slightly obscured. ‘Come on then,’ I say, glancing back at him over my shoulder. He is staring at my behind, his lips slightly open. ‘Isn’t this what you want? To spank me? Is that what she lets you do? Is it only other women you can bring yourself to do that to now?’

He grabs me suddenly, whirling me around and pulling me to him. One of his hands grasps my bottom hard, squeezing it with the vice-like grip he used on my arm. With the other hand, he tips my face upwards so that it’s close to his. I’m staring up at him defiantly, breathing hard.

‘I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you’re pushing me too far,’ he says throatily, and he suddenly lifts my overskirt with one hand, pulls back the other and brings the palm down swiftly on my bare bottom, making me jerk against him and gasp as the sting flares out across my skin. Before I have time to think, he’s administered another stinging blow and then another. My bottom is burning, and the sensation startles me out of my slightly hysterical state. Instead it awakens an extraordinary and desperate desire for him. I can feel hot lust flood out within me and the knowledge that he is relishing the feel of my bottom under his palm excites me even more.

I open my mouth, willing him to kiss me. I’m desperate for his tongue and lips, but he holds back, even though I can see the desire glowing in his eyes.

‘Oh, not yet, my rebellious little miss. What’s put this idea into your head? Huh? What makes you think I’m involved with Anna?’

‘You haven’t been in touch with me,’ I say, breathless, hardly able to hold my stream of thought with his tantalising nearness. To my surprise, my bottom is itching for another of the hot spankings he’s been administering. They hurt, but in a way that gives me a delicious rush. ‘I didn’t know what to think. And then, when I saw you together twice, and the way you were looking at her...’

‘You’re being ridiculous. You have to learn to trust me a little more,’ he murmurs. ‘Anna is a beautiful woman, but I believe we have a rather solid little arrangement of our own, don’t we? You’re the woman for me, and I intend to show you that properly at my leisure very soon.’ His eyes search my face. ‘And besides, what about you?’

‘Me?’ Before I have time to anticipate it, his palm comes down hard on my bottom, the pressure forcing me against his body. I can feel his arousal through the dark wool of his dinner suit.
Oh God.
My belly is full of hot, delicious knots of lust. The harsh prickle across my backside makes me swell with need between my legs. ‘Oh!’ I cry softly, as I cling on to his arms. My legs are going weak.

Dominic is steady as a rock, and persistent with it. ‘You’d better answer me. What are you doing here with Andrei? It looks far from innocent from where I’m standing. I got the shock of my life when I realised you were with him, dressed like that.’

He’s not going to give me what I want quite yet, I can tell. I try to gather my scattered thoughts but the sensations rushing through me are almost overpowering. ‘He asked me to come – I said yes because I thought you might be here.’

‘Has he tried anything?’ Dominic snaps.

I shake my head. The stupid conversation over dinner was just talk, inappropriate flirtatiousness that I knocked on the head. There’s no need to upset Dominic over it. ‘He hasn’t laid a finger on me, and he won’t either. I wouldn’t let him.’ I let myself fall against him. ‘Oh God, Dominic, I need you so much.’

‘I need you more,’ he says, and I can hear the longing in his voice. ‘But we haven’t got much time. He’ll look for us if we’re gone too long.’

‘I don’t think I can wait,’ I say, my voice almost a whimper. As if to judge the truth of what I’m saying, Dominic moves his hand from my bottom and rubs it across my damp pubic hair and downwards. His fingers slide across my clitoris and into the wet heat below, making me gasp.

‘You’re very ready for me,’ he says, smiling. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt you so ready.’ He moves his fingers around as if exploring how aroused I am, and it feels like my whole being is suddenly at the mercy of his teasing fingertips. ‘I don’t know though...’ He rubs his fingers hard over my clitoris and I shudder with the sensations firing off inside me. ‘I can remember some other times when you’ve been this luscious...’

Suddenly I put my hand over his, stopping him from toying with me. ‘No, stop,’ I pant, hardly able to believe what I’m saying. ‘Not here. Not yet.’

‘Don’t you want to?’ he breathes.

‘Of course I do,’ I say longingly. ‘But not in here, where anyone might walk in, even though that girl is at the door. It doesn’t feel right.’

‘We might not get another chance.’ He smiles. ‘But I know what you mean.’ He finds my lips with his and we share a lingering kiss as he takes his hand away. I moan, regretting my decision, wondering if we should ignore our reservations and satisfy ourselves as we both yearn to, but he’s already pulling my skirt down over my bottom. He picks up our masks and the next moment we’re heading out of the play dungeon and back through the bedroom.

‘When do you think we can be together?’ I say breathlessly as we walk quickly out of the private area, passing the girl in the cat-suit who’s been standing guard.

‘Later. Let’s get back to Andrei. One of the reasons I haven’t been in touch is that I have a feeling my calls and emails may be monitored. Once I knew you were working for him, I didn’t want to take the risk. Believe me, it’s best if he doesn’t know we’re involved.’ We stop in a passageway, oblivious to masked partygoers pressing past us. Dominic looks deep into my eyes. ‘There’s a very big deal on the horizon. The Siberian one is small fry compared to it. I’m managing it, and my completion bonus will buy me independence from Andrei. I’m setting up on my own after that, and we’ll both be free of him.’

‘But why would he care that we’re together? Or that you’re leaving? Surely people leave his employment all the time.’ I remember Marcia’s words about Andrei paying so well, so that people will never want to leave.

Dominic takes one of my hands in his. ‘You’ve seen a charming side of Andrei. There’s another side, believe me. Territorial. Reckless. Irrational. He’ll take a rejection,
any
rejection, even someone not falling in love with him or deciding to move to another job, as a sign of betrayal. He could even be jealous of our relationship, if he knew about it. He likes to be centre of the universe and he just can’t help himself.’ He brings my hand to his lips and kisses the knuckles gently. ‘I couldn’t bear to put you in harm’s way.’

‘Harm’s way?’ I echo. ‘He wouldn’t hurt me.’

‘He might, subtly. He might make life difficult for you. I’ve seen it, I know. You must trust me on this. It’s why I want us to play it safe, only for another few weeks, I promise.’

‘And us?’ I ask quietly. ‘Are we all right?’

He leans towards me and says huskily, ‘If you mean, am I faithful to you, then the answer is
yes.
’

‘But the other things, the issues about wanting to hurt me, about feeling like you betrayed my trust... have you worked through it?’ I search his face, wanting reassurance.

‘Beth...’ He releases my hand and strokes his own across my face. ‘I want that more than anything. We need some time and space to discuss things properly, not here in this madhouse. The good news is that I’m back in London while this deal is settled.’

‘Really?’ Joy surges through me. ‘You’re back?’

He nods, smiling. ‘I was going to surprise you, but you managed to turn the tables on that one, rather more effectively than I could have guessed.’

I wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly. ‘Oh Dominic, that’s amazing. How wonderful. I’m so happy.’

‘So am I. All I’ve wanted for weeks is to be back in London with you. It’s the first time I’ve ever been miserable travelling. You’re doing something very strange to me, Beth Villiers. You’re turning me into a homebody.’ He laughs, the happiest, most delightful sound I’ve heard for ages, and then we’re kissing, deep, hard, passionate and yet so tender.
Oh, these kisses are amazing,
I think, as my insides spin lazily, sending out pleasurable tingles across my body.
They’re so
full of promise and so loving...
I adore the frenzy of our sexual passion too, but these sweet kisses are like a balm for a wound, full of delicious healing that restores the two of us and all we mean to one another.

He pulls away suddenly, his eyes worried. ‘We’re not wearing our masks. Anyone could see us.’ He hands mine to me and I slip it on. The next moment, we are as anonymous as anyone else at the party, but Dominic holds my hand as we head back to the private room. When we arrive, the room has plenty of people in it but none of them are Andrei and Anna. We head back out and down into the main party chamber, standing at the edge of what has now become a giant dance floor, as music thuds all around us.

‘Look,’ Dominic says, and indicates where a couple are dancing together. I recognise Anna from the lush dark hair snaking down her back and the strapless dress. She’s dancing close to a man and I’m sure it’s Andrei. Her arms are twining around him, pulling him close and his hands rest on her small waist as he gazes down into her masked face.

‘You see,’ Dominic says, speaking loudly to be sure of being heard above the music. ‘Anna has a completely different fish to fry.’

‘She’s after Andrei?’ I ask. ‘She has been very flirtatious with him. I wondered if they were in a relationship.’

‘They are. One of those fluid, unacknowledged relationships. A beautiful woman and a powerful man, working together, both single... they sleep together from time to time. I’m not sure if Anna wants more, or if that’s enough for her.’

‘And Andrei?’ I think about what he said to me over dinner. That seems so long ago now. ‘What does he want?’

Dominic shrugs. ‘No one knows. But I wonder if there’s room for anyone in that heart of his. I’ve not yet seen any woman manage to make him love her more than he loves himself.’

‘Poor man.’

Dominic squeezes my hand and smiles. ‘That’s what I love about you, Beth. Only you could look at billionaire tough guy Andrei Dubrovski, maybe the most selfish man on the planet, and feel sorry for him.’

‘We all need love,’ I declare, ‘no matter how rich or poor or whatever.’

‘Of course we do. But some people are their own worst enemies.’

Just then, Andrei turns and his blue eyes land exactly on us, as though he knew where we were all the time. He lifts a hand and beckons us over.

‘Come on,’ Dominic says, ‘and remember – no touching, no looks. We don’t know each other.’

‘Right.’ I mentally set my shoulders, and prepare for the challenge.

I can’t wait for all this to be over so that Dominic and I can be together, as we’re supposed to.

‘Dominic, come and dance with Anna for a while, she’s tiring me out,’ commands Andrei.

Dominic gives my arm an imperceptible squeeze as he says, ‘My pleasure. Anna, shall we try out some moves?’

‘Sure,’ Anna says. She seems a little drunk, or at least lost in the vibe of the party. The music is changing from exuberant dance tracks to something a little more trancey. The beat is more thudding and repetitious and it’s no longer about upbeat party songs, but the experience of writhing bodies getting close to one another. Coloured lights flash around the walls and ceilings, some in psychedelic patterns, others randomly. I notice an old black-and-white movie playing across one wall –
La Dolce Vita,
I think – the action silent and played out against the rhythmic beat. In other parts of the great circular dome, I realise that other films are playing, or rather appearing and disappearing in random patterns, and I see flashes of thigh, the mound of a buttock, arms wrapped around a naked back, faces with lips parted and wet. The flashing nature makes it strangely more beautiful and erotic than if it were a steamy film played straight. The party is obviously developing from the gorgeous masked ball to something more liberated and licentious.