SinfullyWicked (12 page)

“Damn,” Mitch gasped. Still shaking, he bent down and wound
his arms around her torso in a way that said he wasn’t yet ready to let go.

Nikki held him as tightly, afraid he’d soon have to desert
her as she’d once done to him and Connor.

Chapter Seven

At one end of the dining room, cast members played catch
with a hot pink squishy ball, its spongy construction no threat to the long
windows or the diamond-patterned marble floor. Several other performers lounged
at the mammoth oak table, their bored features illuminated by monstrous
chandeliers holding hundreds of electric candles. The devices’ flames flickered
intermittently and gently, close enough to the real thing to fool any audience.

Connor nodded to three stragglers who rushed inside, wedges
of cheese, deli meat and danishes in their hands. They stuffed the food into
their mouths and took their places at the table. Alex came in behind them,
heading straight for Connor.

He spoke quietly, “Your stars weren’t in the kitchen with
the others.”

Connor hadn’t expected them to be. Now that Mitch and Nikki
had reconnected, in every sense of the word, they’d be off somewhere by
themselves making up for lost time. With his brother claiming it was a good
thing.

“Let’s talk to her together and get all this crap cleared
up,” Mitch had suggested earlier, outside the gazebo. “She’s not trying to come
between us or screw us, Connor. You’re doing that all by yourself. Nikki wants
you as much as she does me.”

He recalled the yearning smile she’d given him, the
invitation in her expression after she and Mitch had made love. Why? Because
she craved him too? Or she worried he’d convince his brother that either of
them falling for her again was a huge mistake?

Connor ran his hand over his mouth, not knowing what to
believe, how to feel.

“You want me to keep looking, right?” Alex asked, then
pointed behind himself. “Maybe they’re outside or upstairs.”

They were probably in the dressing room.

Connor caught the squishy as it sailed past one of the
extras. He hurled it back, debating whether he should call everything off or
continue with this. On the table lay a leather collar for the newest scene.
Mitch would slip it around Nikki’s throat, treating her as a pleasure slave
that he’d mount out here, as he was no doubt doing in private right now.

Nikki wants you.

That remained to be seen.

A series of sharp raps awakened Mitch. His heart thumped as
he tried to determine what the sounds meant or where he might be. Squinting, he
glanced around the mirrored room lit by murky light streaming in from the
ceiling. Rain sprinkled the overhead panes. Beneath him were the chaise’s
slippery fabric and Nikki.

Warm, fragrant, lovelier than she’d ever been.

Her lips were kiss swollen, hair tangled, her glitter and
feathers a sorry mess from their erotic play. He smiled.

His upper lip curled at the next series of impatient knocks.
Someone wanting in. Connor?

“Yeah, okay, just a sec,” Mitch called out. He rolled off
her and stumbled to the door, opening it a crack.

Alex bent to the right, trying to see through the gap. Mitch
frowned. “What?”

“We’re getting ready for the dining room scene,” he said.
“Connor needs you and Nikki.” He went to his toes to sneak a peek of her past
Mitch’s shoulder. Given that he was only five-seven to Mitch’s six-three, it
wasn’t possible. “Is she in there with you?”

“I’ll let her know about the scene. Tell Connor we’ll be
there in a few minutes.” He shut the door, remembering to lock it this time.

Propped on one elbow, Nikki no longer looked sleepy and
content. Uncertainty clouded her features.

Mitch sat on the edge of the chaise, running his fingers
over her collarbone, easing her hair away. “There’s nothing to worry about.
We’ll get dressed and go talk to Connor. In a few hours we’ll be back in
Atlanta and we’ll all—”

“Atlanta?” She sat up. “Why would we be going there before
the end of the weekend? What about the film?”

“Don’t worry,” he insisted, winding one of her tresses
around his finger. “We’ll get another girl from the club to finish it up.”

“Why?” Her eyes widened. “Are you firing me? After what we
just did, you’re actually firing me?”

“Hey, calm down. I’m not doing anything. You’re quitting.”

She leaned back, putting distance between them. “No, I’m
not.”

Mitch frowned. “Yeah, you are. You only did this because you
wanted to pay back the money I’m still offering as a gift.”

“And you think sleeping with you has changed that? Uh-uh. No
way.” She swung her legs over the chaise and padded to the other end of the
room, arms crossed beneath her breasts.

That only enhanced her cleavage and made him want to pull
her to the floor and crawl all over her. “Do you honestly believe I’m going to
allow you to—”

“Allow?” she interrupted.

Jesus. He went to her. “I never wanted you to do the film in
the first place. Why would I want you to continue with it given what happened
in here? You do remember what we just did, right?”

“You bet…the same as what we’ll be doing on camera.” She
rested her palm on his chest, her fingers stroking the base of his throat.

Her hand was too soft, her touch depleting his strength.

“Nothing has changed with the film,” she murmured, “unless
you want the rest of the cast to have a more active role and start messing
around with me too.”

Mitch pulled her hand from him. “Don’t even think about it.”

She gave him a cocky smile. “So it’s just going to be you
and me as it was in the gazebo with all the others watching.” Leaning into him,
she hushed, “That doesn’t excite you?”

It sure as hell didn’t make him flaccid, not that he was
ready to admit it. “Exhibitionism turns you on?”

“Are you disappointed?”

He considered the scenes from Connor’s graphic novel they
hadn’t yet filmed. Further domination and submission. Punishment. The thought
of him and Nikki engaging in those acts while a slew of horny guys watched was
better than Mitch could’ve imagined. Except for his brother being there and not
participating.

“You’re worried about Connor,” she said, stepping away.

Mitch caught Nikki’s arm and hauled her right back, claiming
her mouth, letting her know without question she wasn’t leaving his life again
no matter what Connor thought.

He’d die for his brother, but he couldn’t live for him. It
was time for the man to work out his own demons.

The cast and crew’s conversations wound down the moment
Nikki and Mitch entered the dining room. Everyone stared as though they were
real stars…kind of an X-rated version of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Rather
than pawing each other as the others might have expected, she and Mitch stood
yards apart. He’d brushed off the glitter and feathers she’d transferred to his
body. She’d glued more on her face and had smoothed down her hair.

None of the guys noticed that or her finery. They stared at
her cleft mostly, then the collar on the table. Made of leather, it had a long
gold chain attached.

Her nipples grew hard and sensitive. Her pussy felt glutted
with expectation that required immediate relief. She imagined the collar
hugging her throat, the chain wrapped around Mitch’s hand so he could parade
her around like the sex slave she was supposed to be. She hadn’t been lying to
him. The thought of him enjoying her intimately in front of these men, acting
out Connor’s outrageous fantasy, was a carnal high Nikki hadn’t expected.

Alex was certainly enthusiastic. Rocking on his feet, he
asked Connor, “Ready to roll?”

He didn’t seem to hear the young man. He regarded her mouth,
breasts and slit, no doubt looking for telltale signs of what his brother had
done with her in the dressing room. Nikki didn’t move, couldn’t breathe,
encouraging Connor’s scrutiny, needing him to know again that she craved him
too.

His fingers fisted around his book, blanching his knuckles
as he struggled for control. Behind his fly, Nikki saw the prominent ridge of
his erection. He couldn’t deny all of his feelings for her. Uncomplicated lust
might not be the best way to renew their relationship, but it was an
opportunity Nikki wasn’t about to pass by.

“Connor?” Alex prodded.

He blinked, seeming to recall why they were all here, then
paged to the part of his book with yellow sticky notes hanging out. Twice, he
cleared his throat. It didn’t make him sound any less husky. “As the scene
opens, the master will lead his slave into the room by the chain attached to
her collar.”

Everyone’s focus zipped from her to it and back.

He continued, “The extras will watch without comment. No
shouting as they did outside the gazebo. They now know that she belongs to her
master with him having purchased that right.”

Connor strode to the table and stopped only a few inches
from her. His diamond stud twinkled in the candlelight. His beard, mustache and
tousled hair practically begged for her touch. Not yet, she warned herself,
unwilling to risk any move and face possible rejection. To keep herself in
line, Nikki gripped her hands behind her back.

Mitch edged closer to them both. Connor noticed. He flipped
another page of his book and spoke to her. “Your master will bring you to the
table. You’ll lie down on it, your arms held above your head, your wrists
imprisoned by Pete.” Connor gestured to a blond guy with a grin any game show
host would envy. Nikki recalled him having a thick Georgia accent.

He raised his chin, indicating he understood and approved of
Connor’s directive.

“Holding onto your ankles will be George and James,” Connor
said, pointing them out.

Nikki recognized the one on the left from the club’s BDSM
room, the performer who’d called her “sugar”. He gave her a playful wink. She
lifted her brows in acknowledgement. The one on the right bounced a squishy
ball against the lip of the table while studying her cunt.

“They’ll spread your legs,” Connor said, “opening you up,
keeping you prisoner for your master.”

“That would be me,” Mitch said from the side.

Never had he sounded more possessive, not even when he’d
rescued her from being whipped at the club. Damn, but she liked it.

The cast and crew were equally enthused, looking as if they
couldn’t wait to get on with this.

Connor ignored his brother and reached for the collar.

“I’ll put it on her,” Mitch said, getting to it before
Connor could. “Lift your hair,” he ordered her.

Nikki did. The guys turned even farther in their chairs to
watch. The chain slid between her breasts, the metal hard and surprisingly
cool, the end of it dangling above her knees. Her neck was moist from the
oppressive humidity, the leather clinging to her skin.

Mitch ran his finger between the collar and her throat. “Too
tight?” he asked.

She liked how restrictive it felt. “No.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders, further claiming her.

Connor muttered, “Let’s be certain to follow the book this
time.”

“I’ll do my fucking best,” Mitch said.

The extras snickered.

Nikki frowned. Of all the things for him to say, that wasn’t
it. What was the matter with him, joking like that? Was he trying to push
Connor’s buttons, hoping his brother would get pissed enough to shut this thing
down since Mitch couldn’t get her to quit? If that was his plan, Nikki prayed
it wouldn’t work. Even if she’d been living with both of them and their
relationship was really good, Nikki wouldn’t have accepted their charity. She
wanted them to know she was no longer the selfish girl who’d been so hurtful.

She wanted to see this through for reasons that had nothing
to do with money.

“We’ll follow all of your directions,” she promised Connor.

Mitch pressed his fingers into her shoulders, a clear
warning not to offer too much.

Stepping back, Connor said, “Let’s make a film.”

Nikki and Mitch took their positions in the outside hall.
Everything went quiet, intensifying the sound of her hammering heart. Mitch
wound the chain twice around his hand, then grabbed the part of it closest to
her throat, using it to keep her to him. Slanting his mouth over hers, he
kissed Nikki as a master might, his stubble scraping her cheeks and chin, his
tongue filling her mouth so completely it kept her from producing any sound.
Her knees buckled, sending Nikki into his big body.

“Action,” Connor called out from the dining room.

Every part of Nikki was humming nicely as Mitch led her
inside. The area looked both romantic and depraved in the candlelight, the
enormous table a sort of altar on which to sacrifice a docile female. Its
honey-colored wood shone beneath the wavering flames, urging her to lie down,
but not to rest. God no. To have these men hold her captive so Mitch could
enjoy her at his leisure.

He brought her to the center of the table, waiting for her
to climb on. In Connor’s book, Eve had to deliver herself to whatever the
nobles wanted. No matter how base or impossible she found it to be, no one
helped her. That babe was on her own. With as much grace as possible, Nikki sat
on the edge of the table and lifted her leg so she could roll, crawl or scoot
to the middle of it.

“Cut,” Connor said.

Apparently, she hadn’t been graceful enough. She lowered her
leg and slid off the lip.

Connor strode up, his attention on her, his directive meant
for Mitch. “Before she climbs on the table, you should kiss her, proving your
claim.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mitch said.

Ignoring his brother, Connor kept his full focus on her.

A moment passed, then another and another. Behind Nikki, one
of the guys coughed softly. Another moved in his chair, causing its legs to
make a scraping sound on the floor.

Connor stepped closer, so near Nikki could smell his skin.
His eyes never left her.

She saw hunger in his expression and something more, deeper
than mere lust. Her pulse picked up, racing out of control. She parted her
lips, needing to take a full breath.