Full Circle (40 page)

After checking his reflection one last time,
he draped his tuxedo jacket across the foot of the bed, rotated one
of the club chairs near the window so it faced the bathroom, and
settled into it, crossing his ankle over the opposite knee.

When she reappeared a few minutes later, his
heart nosedived into his stomach. God, she was beautiful, her skin
glowing in contrast to the midnight-blue fabric. He angled his
head, admiring how the dress hung alluringly over her slight curves
and caressed her narrow hips.

“Turn around for me,” he said. “Let me
see.”

She sighed but smiled coquettishly. “I can’t
believe I’m going to wear this dress in public.” Biting her bottom
lip, she did as he asked and slowly spun around, allowing him to
take in the whole package. The sweetheart neckline revealed more of
her breasts than she was normally comfortable with, but that was
nothing compared to the way the back of the dress plunged all the
way to the upper swell of her perfect ass, baring her entire
back.

She faced him once more, shoulders drawn in
shyly.

“Come here,” he side.

As she traversed the room, the fabric flared
and swished around her feet. In her heels, the hem would barely
whisper against the floor, which was exactly what he’d
intended.

When she stopped in front of him, it was with
a subtle air of defiance, as if she were challenging him to resist
her.

If only she knew. Resisting her wasn’t even
on the table. He’d chosen this dress expressly so he would be
forced to covet her the entire evening and make it impossible for
him to resist.

He stood and slid his arm around her waist.
His fingers eased just under the fabric barely covering her ass.
Then his whole hand disappeared inside the dress to cup her right
cheek. There was just enough give to the fabric that he could
fondle her everywhere.

“This is what I can do to you in this dress,”
he whispered in her ear, squeezing. She shivered against him.

Then he slid his hand lower until his fingers
found her swollen, slick lips. He kissed her earlobe.

“And I can do this, too . . .”
He flicked one strap from her shoulder with his free hand. The
dress fell away to reveal her breast, her nipple budding
immediately upon exposure.

He could feel her fighting not to squirm as
he slowly slid his finger inside her.

“And you plan on doing this to me at
tonight’s benefit?” she said, her voice trembling
ever-so-slightly.

“If I’m lucky.” He removed his finger and
stepped behind her, nudging her toward the window as he eased the
second strap off her other shoulder. The dress fell into a puddle
at her feet, revealing her naked body. “As you can see, it’s very
easy to take off.”

Her body tensed as he pressed her farther
forward, until she was only a few inches from the glass.

There was another hotel across the street.
Several of the windows had their drapes open, and in one room, a
man was sitting at his desk, working on his laptop.

“See that man?” he asked.

She nodded. Her shoulders were tight, and it
seemed as though she were forcing herself not to cover herself.

“All he has to do is look up, and he’ll see
you.” He reached around and cupped one breast, swiping his thumb
back and forth over her nipple. “Anyone could open their curtains
at any moment and see you standing here, naked, my hands caressing
you, getting you hot.”

Her chest rose and fell heavily.

“Does that excite you?” he said.

She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered.

“And you want this?” He wrapped his arms
around her and pressed his erection against her bare bottom.

She sighed. “Yes.”

“You want everyone to watch me fucking you,
too, don’t you? It turns you on. Gets you hot. Hotter than you
thought it would.” He bent forward and nipped the back of her
shoulder.

She nodded, practically panting, her fingers
curling against the glass.

He caressed her naked abdomen and whispered,
“I always knew you were an exhibitionist. Like me. So like me.” He
kissed her shoulder, nuzzling, caressing. “We complement each other
so perfectly, Karma.”

If he searched a hundred years, he wouldn’t
find anyone he was more attuned to. Karma fit him in every way,
arousing not just his body but his mind, opening herself to every
fantasy, every possibility. He’d never met anyone else as open to
pushing outside her comfort zone, but Karma was a living sponge,
absorbing all his lessons and wanting more.

“Touch me . . . please,” she
whispered.

“I am touching you.” A dark chuckle rumbled
from his chest as he pressed more firmly against her back and
lightly pinched her nipples. “See . . . feel
that?”

She moaned and dropped her head back against
his shoulder. “I know, but . . .”

“Ssshhh.” He released her and took a step
back. “You’ll get what you want.” He knelt and began slowly
dragging the dress up her legs.

She made a disappointed noise, halfway
between a groan and a wordless curse.

“You know,” he said, his fingers caressing
her hips as he pulled the fabric higher, “I’m going to be hard all
night with you in this dress.” He tapped her hands, and she held
them out so he could maneuver the straps over her arms.

He could feel her disappointment, as well as
the waves of arousal pouring from her body. She didn’t want to put
her clothes back on. She wanted to keep them off. To be pressed
against the window and fucked until she screamed his name and left
an imprint of her body on the glass.

“Please touch me.” The plaintive,
make-me-come plea nearly made him cave. His cock even twitched.

Tapping into his reserved determination, he
finished redressing her and adjusted the shoulder straps before
checking the bodice.

“Not yet,” he said, turning for the dresser
and the black, velvet-lined jewelry box he’d set there earlier.
“But soon.”

He plucked the gold necklace from the velvet
pillow and shifted back toward her before dangling the delicate
golden links in front of her.

She sucked in her breath. “What’s this?”

“A gift.” He draped the necklace around her
neck and fastened the clasp at her nape before kissing the
sensitive stretch of skin.

Then he pulled her back against him and
secured her in his arms. His lips brushed the tender expanse of
skin just below the hairline of her upswept hair. “When I touch you
later—really touch you in the way you want me to—you’ll be so ready
to come you won’t be able to stop yourself.” He turned her to face
him. “It could be at the bar . . .” his hands glided
over her hips, and he inched closer. “In a shadowed
corner . . .” He dipped his head to kiss the side of
her neck then brought his lips to her ear. “Or maybe on the crowded
dance floor.”

She trembled and gripped his biceps through
his shirt as he slipped his hand under the dress again and squeezed
her left cheek.

“And I’ll touch you
there . . .” The tips of his fingers came
precariously close to stroking home base. “And you’ll come. Right
where anyone can see you.”

“I’m close to coming now.”

He grinned. “I know you are. I can tell.”

“Please . . .”

He shook his head and pulled his hand from
inside her dress then took a step back. “Patience.” He sat on the
edge of the bed and picked up one of her shoes then nodded toward
the chair behind her. “Please . . . sit.”

She did, adjusting the chair so she was
directly in front of him. He lifted her foot and let his fingertips
whisper over her toes, along the arch, and then he gently grasped
around the heel. “You have such beautiful feet.”

“Said like a man with a true foot
fetish.”

“If only we had more
time . . .”

“We have all the time in the world.” Her tone
hinted she was referring to more than just this evening.

He met her gaze as he smoothed his palm down
the top of her foot to her toes again. “Yes, we do.”

* * *

Mark slipped on her strappy high heel as if he were
the prince placing the glass slipper on Cinderella’s dainty foot.
After securing the leather strap around her ankle, he lifted her
other foot and repeated. Then he stood, slipped into his tuxedo
jacket, helped her out of the chair, and smiled warmly as he held
out his arm. “Shall we, Miss Mason?”

The arousal he’d awakened by putting her on
display like a living mannequin still thrummed through her blood.
He’d known just what to do and just how to goad her to send her
salacious hunger through the ceiling. But this was Mark, the master
of her body, heart, and soul. He simply seemed to know what she
wanted and needed before she did.

And this was why she
knew . . . somehow . . . some
way . . . no matter if he could kick Carol
completely from his life or not . . . they would
make it. Somehow, they would survive for the long haul. Because he
knew her soul. And she knew his. She couldn’t imagine ever finding
another man who could do to her the things Mark could. Who could
set her on fire with just a glance, a word, a touch. A breath of
whispered adoration.

She looped her arm around his as he handed
her the sparkling dark-blue pocketbook he’d bought to match the
dress. Then he guided her out of their suite, his head held high.
He was her proud suitor, eager to show her off to the world. And
she was eager to be shown, the queen to his king.

Carol be damned. Karma was in this to win.
Mark was hers, and she would fight for him. She would find a way to
pry Carol’s claw-like hold from his heart.

She would never give Mark up. Not now. Not
after all they’d gone through.

He belonged to her.

Chapter 26

Keep calm and let go.

-Author Unknown

Keeping his hand at the small of her bare back,
where it was never far from striking distance, Mark paraded Karma
around the ballroom full of distinguished guests. They stopped
briefly to visit with his parents then moved on to view this year’s
exhibits in the exhibition hall before returning to the
ballroom.

Every so often, he teased her by poking just
the tips of his fingers inside her dress, giving a little squeeze,
ever reminding her of his power, never letting her forget how
quickly he could turn her from pleasant socialite to wanton sex
fiend with just a stroke.

He introduced her to everyone, paying
particular attention to the men whose eyes fell to her neckline and
then to her back as they passed. He enjoyed their envious gazes,
which fell right in line with the fantasy he wanted to weave.

“You’re enjoying showing me off a little too
much,” she said coquettishly, leaning close.

He pulled her even closer, ducking his head
so he could whisper in her ear. “What can I say? It gives me
perverse joy to see these men stare so appreciatively at what’s
mine.”

She arched her eyebrow. “Oh? So you own me
now?” But the way one side of her mouth twisted in an amused smirk
made it clear she knew he was only teasing.

“Of course not.” His fingertips dipped inside
her dress. “Just feeding the fantasy.”

And the fantasy was to deem her his. To do
with her as he pleased and parade her through the room like she was
his personal sex slave. To create envy in those who couldn’t have
her. But it was all just semantics meant to heighten the game.

“Well, like I said, you’re enjoying this far
too much,” she said, teasing him as he guided them to a cocktail
table in the casino room with its dim lighting and red-dominated
décor.

“You’ve no idea.” He winked as he took a sip
of his scotch. “I love that all these men . . .” He
gestured with his glass, sweeping it right to left, “are looking at
you.” He sidled closer and traced her bodice with the tip of his
finger, letting it linger between her breasts. “But only I get to
see what lies beneath this dress.”

Her chest lifted as if pulled by a magnet,
and she leaned into him. From the glint in her eye, she was hyper
aware of how little she was actually wearing and where his
fingertip was.

“Only my eyes get to see you in the way these
men can only fantasize about.” He outlined her collar bones with
his fingertip, swirled it in the hollow between, and slowly burned
a trail down her sternum as her breathing deepened, making her
chest expand heavily with every inhale.

The air between them quickly heated, coming
alive, lust’s blazing tendrils wrapping around them.

His eyelids fell as his gaze dropped to where
his finger played between her breasts. When he spoke again, his
voice was a deep, predatory growl. “I want you so bad it
hurts.”

And he didn’t just mean this very instant. He
meant for the rest of their lives.

“Then take me.”

Did she understand his double entendre?

Her gaze locked onto his mouth then jumped to
his eyes a split-second later. In that instant, he had never been
more certain about his feelings. From the moment he first set eyes
on Karma, his life ceased being his alone and became one with
hers.

He bowed his head, stroking his palm across
the bare stretch of skin exposed by the dress’s deep neckline as if
he wanted to reassure himself she was real and not just a mirage.
“Sometimes I wonder what I ever did to deserve you.”

It was an odd thing to say at a time like
this, but he didn’t care. It was how he felt, and the words spilled
before he could stop them.

She closed the remaining distance between
them and pressed her hand between his legs, making him suck in a
breath. She’d never made such a bold move, and it damn near set his
body on fire for how incredibly sexy it was. Her eyes lit with
mischief and daring as if she didn’t care who saw her stroke him
through his pants.

He certainly didn’t care. Let them watch. Let
them see how strong their bond was. So strong that the world around
them disappeared and left only them. To love and touch without
concerning themselves with what the rest of the world thought.