Victoria’s Secret Wish(15)
“You were thinking of him, weren’t you?”
Gulp. How to answer that? She’d fantasized during sex before–but it had been Britt she’d fantasized about, back when he wasn’t hers. He might not like the truth. It might make him angry, or worse yet, hurt.
“Vic. Tell me.” He held her chin and stared into her eyes.
No point in lying. He knew her far too well by now. “I was thinking of you both.”
He pursed his lips, seemingly satisfied. “Consider it done.”
* * * *
Victoria woke and looked around her new bedroom. Lovely. All in the nautical theme, which she might eventually grow tired of and have replaced, but for now it matched her mood–total joy and immersion in the completion of this project. Silence reigned. One wouldn’t know the room was on a ship speeding across the Pacific. Life was good. Life would be a little better with some orange juice.
Britt snored beside her, one hand on her abdomen, the other smashed under his face. God, he was divinely handsome.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“And I, you. Shall we have a go?”
She’d know he was officially old when he didn’t wake and ask her that question.
“Wait,” he said. “What time is it?”
“We don’t have anything scheduled until noon today. It’s only eight.”
“Eight. Shit.” He sat up and rubbed his hands through his hair. “Some bloke invited a young swim champ up anytime after eight.” He turned and looked down at her. “Christ you’re a sight though, love. Maybe we should get started and then invite him to join us when he arrives?”
Good God. “No, no, and hell no. We’re not inviting him to–”
“You were most agreeable last night.”
“Last night, I was drunk. We’re not inviting another body into our marriage bed. Don’t you remember what happened when you and Andrea experimented with another partner?”
“Andrea.” He blew a raspberry. “She and I were never meant to be. Because I was in love with another woman–who as you well know, was that third partner. Of course that spelt doom for her! Besides, she tramped out after that and couldn’t contain her lust to under ten partners per week. Completely different scenario.” He stood and paced across the room. “We see three-ways all the time at the mountain, and it seems to work for those couples.”
“Yeah, that’s a one-time thing, usually with a stranger they’ll never see again.”
He shrugged. “So we’ll do it once. The night before we return to port. Then we’ll never see him again.”
“And you plan to…what? Groom him until then, and spring the idea on him?”
He smiled and shook his head. “We’ll get to know him, of course. And cultivate that attraction toward you.”
And you? Would Britt be attracted to David in six days too?
Britt swaggered off to the bathroom for his morning ritual, completely oblivious to her wicked plan.
She stretched along the sheets, yawning, breathing in the smells of them, of their lovemaking. Life was good. For years, she’d believed Luke had been the only true love for her, that since he’d died, she’d live out the rest of life alone. But she’d been wrong. Britt was another true love, another truly necessary person in her life. The thought of losing him terrified her at odd times, times when she felt happiest. But she had to power through, and trust. Fear would not mess up this wonderfulness for her.
A knock at the door made her jump.
Shit. David. She’d get Britt for this.
The only thing close at hand for her to put on was the thick white terry robe. She tightened the belt on the way to the door. A peephole glance confirmed it was David.
She opened the door and he smiled, chewing his lower lip.
“Hey.” He shrugged and lifted his duffel a little higher. That incognito facial hair was really filling in, but he’d trimmed it into a neat strip along his jawline. Today he wore black athletic shorts and a red tank, along with another pair of sneakers, same brand as… Yep, there were his shoes. Next to hers.
“Hi. You left your shoes last night, by the way.” She shut the door behind him, and attempted to smooth her circus hair down.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I spend so much time without shoes, I’m kinda used to being barefoot.”
Damn, why couldn’t Britt have been the one out here getting the door? She had to look terrible with no makeup, and damn the hair, she couldn’t even get it all behind her ears, and…
“You look fine.” His voice had lowered, and she’d almost walked into him.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he wasn’t just looking at the uncontrollable hair she tried to push back; he was reaching for it. His fingers caught a curl close to her face and slid along the corkscrew, stopping just short of the end. He stared at his hand. What was it with guys and her disasterized hair? Those blue eyes. Damn. They raised to meet hers. Holy hell, they could hypnotize her into anything. She turned her cheek toward his fingers, brushed against them. Warm.