“How about you?” Josh asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take a day off the whole time I’ve known you.”
“I haven’t. That’s the way it is when you’re a retail store owner. Have to keep an eye on my business.”
Lucas’s warm gaze smoldered like green fire as he murmured, “You’d better make this rare weekend off count, then, hadn’t you?”
She shrugged and quietly thanked the waiter who placed her plate in front of her.
She’d been trying to catch Joseph’s eye since discovering Josh and Lucas were there, curious as to what he was up to. He was currently standing in the doorway chatting with one of the organizers of the weekend.
As if he could feel her stare, he looked over at her. The trace of a smile ghosted over his lips, and he had the audacity to wink at her.
Josh’s warm hand on top of hers drew her attention back to him. “Don’t be mad at Joseph. If you’d known we were planning to come this weekend, would you still have made the trip?”
She looked at her hand, covered by his, and then up into his hooded gaze. “It’s not that simple.”
“I can make it simpler for you. We wouldn’t be here if you weren’t here. So whatever thought is making you look so twisted up, just stop. We aren’t here to have anonymous sex or to double-team a masked and gagged sub in the dungeon…”
Did he just say that?
“We’re here for you.”
She imagined herself tied down and at their mercy and went liquid, her nipples tightening until they were nearly painful. Worse still, her face went fiery hot as she realized they’d be able to see her reaction because of the thin lacy-cupped bra and solid color dress she wore.
Lucas cleared his throat, and merriment sparkled in his eyes as if he knew the direction of her thoughts. To give her heart a chance to calm down a little, she took a bite of her steak and then observed the groups at the other tables. Some were like theirs, with small groups of two or three at a table. Others were larger, with even numbers of men and women.
Many of the people appeared to be old friends while others seemed nervous like her. A full-figured brunette happened to make eye contact with her from across the room. She looked even more tense than Violet felt, sitting there with her hands clasped in her lap. A striking man with silver sideburns sat beside her, speaking softly to her, his attention resting fully on her.
As Violet watched, he speared a bite of steak with his fork and offered it to her. She looked up at him and shook her head but eventually took the bite he offered. She shook her head more vehemently when he offered a bite-sized chunk of the delicious French bread that had been served with the meal. He stroked her cheek and dipped down to whisper in her ear. She blushed, and the vulnerability showed in her eyes as she parted her lips and took the bite from him.
Feeling like a voyeur, Violet turned her attention to her meal and softly asked, “What were you hoping would happen this weekend, if I showed up?”
Josh chuckled. “If you read the invitation, then you know that, besides providing the venue for the weekend, Joseph was taking suggestions for fantasy encounters.”
“And…”
“We’d rather surprise you, baby girl. But I can tell you our short-term goal tonight is to convince you to trust us. To put us in charge of your pleasure. Nothing will happen this weekend that you don’t want. It’s all consensual, and you’re the one in control.”
Huh, then can someone please tell me why I’ve never felt more out of control? Her inner devil looked up from her belly-up position and shrugged. She could relate. Every time he called her baby girl her temperature spiked a little.
“What were you planning to do after the meal?” Lucas asked as he speared a chunk of iceberg lettuce from his salad.
Glancing around, she shrugged. “Go back to my room, I suppose.”
Lucas tucked her hair back over her shoulder, leaned forward, and nuzzled her cheek. He softly asked, “Stay down here with us? We’d like to explore the grounds before it’s fully dark…see what Joseph has set up outside.”
Josh laced his fingers between hers. “And then maybe see what’s going on inside in the common rooms. Have dessert?” Why did the way he said those words make an ache bloom between her thighs and shameless need bubble up in her core?
Her gaze was captured by the woman she’d been observing earlier. Her cheeks were suffused with color, and Violet could immediately see the reason as the man slipped her wrap from her shoulder and laid gentle kisses on her skin. The brunette cast nervous eyes around, but no one seemed to take notice. Their eyes met across the room, and her eyes clearly asked, What do I do?