The Pleasures of Winter (25 page)
Maybe that would give her pause. She had to think about what she was letting herself in for.
He hardened at the thought of Abbie naked while he played the flail gently up and down her defenceless back. Or even over her front. How would she react then? He couldn’t wait to find out.
There was a long pause while Abbie went off and
looked it up. He grinned, picturing her reaction when she found out what he meant. He wasn’t disappointed.
Abbie signed off and Jack laughed. This was going to be fun.
The package was delivered to her desk at 3pm. Not an orchid this time, but a large black box tied up with a ribbon.
‘Someone loves you,’ said the delivery man as he handed her a docket to sign.
Abbie scrawled her name and lifted the lid, snapping it down quickly when she caught a hint of lace. It had to be from Jack. Ignoring the interested glance from the reporter at the next desk, she hurried to the ladies’ room.
Luckily, there was no one else there. The dress was black lace, lined with flesh-coloured silk, the stockings were hold ups and the impossibly high black heels were her size. The accompanying card instructed her to be ready at 5pm, and that she should wear nothing else, except the lipstick provided. It was signed with a J.
Abbie turned the card over. The back said, ‘You asked for a date.’
What was he up to? Jack was three thousand miles away. Why would he do all this?
She struggled through the next ninety minutes, barely able to focus on anything she was doing. At four thirty, her cell phone buzzed.
‘Are you still at your desk?’
‘Yes, some of us have work to do.’ She giggled. ‘So, what is this? Another cyber date?’
‘You’ll have to wait and see. Go to the ladies’ room and change. Be on the roof of the building at five.’
‘The roof?’ He had already hung up.
Box under her arm, Abbie hurried back to the ladies’. A few other women were in there touching up their make-up before heading out for the evening. She locked herself in a cubicle, pulled down the seat and perched on the edge of the toilet. The whole thing was ridiculous. Men were useless at knowing what size a woman was. There was no way that the dress would fit. And what was she going to do on the roof? Get picked up by hot air balloon?
She shoved her sensible work clothes into her tote bag, then pulled the dress over her head and closed the zipper. First round to Jack. It stretched and it did fit. The stockings were sheer and although the shoes were high, she could just about walk in them.
Abbie teetered outside and stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was sexy without being vampish. She grudgingly admitted that Jack had good taste. She opened the lipstick. ‘Pure Scarlett’: the name was enough.
I take back what I just said
.
She tightened the belt of her coat and took the elevator to the top floor. A light wind drifted across the rooftop as Abbie scanned the skyline. A dark speck in the distance came closer and Abbie heard the sound of a helicopter. Only the board of the newspaper used the flight pad. Jack wouldn’t dare.
It seemed that he would dare. The pilot waved to her and she raced across the rooftop and climbed inside. Thank goodness for low maintenance haircuts: the wind from the blades was as strong as being out in a gale. She
settled herself in the seat beside the pilot and tucked her safety belt around her waist.
Jack wasn’t on board. The pilot took off, while she battled a wave of disappointment and watched the New York skyline vanish from view.
The pilot didn’t say a word to her, but occasionally his eyes strayed to her stocking-clad legs and high-heeled shoes. ‘Can I ask where we’re going?’ she said.
‘No, ma’am. I’ve been told to tell you that it’s a surprise.’
She inched back in her chair. ‘OK, surprise me.’
Darkness had fallen when she caught her first glimpse of the illuminated falls at Niagara. She felt a rush of pleasure. He had remembered their brief conversation from the jungle.
A dark limousine was waiting at the heliport, but there was still no sign of Jack. Her heart fell. As the car pulled up outside the hotel, she checked her cell, but there was still no message from him. Abbie was escorted to a two-storey suite on the twenty-second floor. The rooms were luxurious and a log fire was burning in the fireplace of the living room. Outside on the balcony, she had a spectacular view of the falls.
Everything was perfect, except that she was alone. What was this? Why had he brought her all the way here? She could have been miserable and alone in New York.
Her new shoes were beginning to pinch and she kicked them off. She was tempted to take off the dress and toss it over the balcony when she heard a discreet knock. She hurried to open the door.
‘I’m sorry, madame, but Mr Winter has been delayed.
He has requested that dinner be served here, rather than the restaurant. Would you care to order?’
Jack was coming. Abbie smiled. ‘Can you repeat that please? You lost me at delayed.’
‘It’s the first time Mr Winter has stayed with us. Is there something special that you would like? A tasting menu, perhaps?’
Abbie was tempted to request a side order of bugs or roast snake for Jack, but she relented. He was on his way. She would see him tonight. ‘A tasting menu would be good, but no mushrooms. And have the sommelier pick some wine to go with it.’
‘Of course.’ He nodded.
She was halfway through a glass of wine when the door opened. Jack’s hair was damp from the rain and his shirt was wrinkled, but it was the expression on his face that made her heart jump. He had a faint shadow of stubble which gave him an edge of danger and his eyes were darker than usual.
Abbie launched herself at him. ‘God, I missed you.’ His scent, woodsy and masculine, made something in her belly clench with anticipation.
His mouth took hers in a hungry kiss that left her breathless. ‘Sorry, I wanted to meet you off the helicopter, not have you hanging out here alone.’
‘It’s OK. I’m so glad you’re here.’ She kissed him again, running her palms along the hard planes of his back, scratching him lightly with her nails.
He gave a low growl of pleasure, before gently pushing her a foot away. ‘Behave. This is supposed to be a date.’
‘A date?’
The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile. ‘You said we had to have at least one date. So, I figured dinner, maybe watch a movie. You know, like vanilla people.’
Abbie stepped away from him. ‘Have you seen the heels on my new shoes? Perhaps I should introduce you?’
He raised a brow in mock horror. ‘There will be no kink tonight. Now, how about dinner. I’m starving.’
As if they had heard him, the door opened and two uniformed waiters brought in their dinner. They laid the table, poured wine, lit candles and left. Jack dimmed the main lights, leaving one table lamp to cast a glow over the room. Outside, the torrent of rushing water was illuminated with the colours of the rainbow.
‘You remembered what I said in the jungle. About the falls, I mean.’ Abbie still couldn’t get over it. William couldn’t remember that she was allergic to mushrooms, but Jack remembered one chance remark about Niagara Falls.
‘How could I not?
Niagara
is one of my all-time favourite movies. The destructiveness of sex and all that.’
‘And is sex destructive?’ she asked.
A wry expression crossed Jack’s face. ‘It can be. That’s why I want you to be sure before you enter an agreement with me. We’re both adults, but starting a D/s relationship can be an emotional roller coaster.’
He was nervous too. She hadn’t thought of it that way before. Jack always seemed so confident, so sure about everything. ‘How many subs have you had before me?’
Jack’s laughter echoed around the dimly lit room. ‘I’m no angel. There have been a lot of women, but most of
them were just D/s hook-ups. I’ve only had two serious relationships before you. Paloma and someone back home.’
Abbie almost dropped her fork. The idea of Jack and Paloma in a relationship had never entered her head. With her rounded figure and nondescript features, Paloma seemed an unlikely mate for a superstar. ‘She didn’t strike me as your type.’
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and Jack frowned. ‘D/s isn’t about types. It’s not about supermodels running around with duct tape over their nipples or dressed head to toe in latex.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. It was just a surprise.’ It was too late, the brooding expression was back. She had upset him and it was the last thing she had intended to do.
She tried to restore the mood as they bantered over dinner and he seemed to come back to her. But not fully. After finishing his meal, Jack pushed his plate away. ‘Would you like to go for a walk? Maybe see the falls up close?’
‘I’d like that.’ She went hunting for her abandoned high heels, but Jack advised her to wear whatever was comfortable. She got into her work shoes.
Outside the hotel, they walked in an awkward silence. Jack had made a big effort to organize the night. The dress, the transport, the venue. Everything had been designed to create the perfect date and somehow she had ruined it. Abbie tucked her arm through his, trying to reconnect with him, and she was comforted when he covered her hand with his. ‘I didn’t mean to …’
Jack squeezed her hand. ‘I know. I guess we both have
things in our past that will surprise the other. I’m just asking you to trust me when I say that I only want what’s best for you.’
‘I do trust you.’
He rewarded her statement with a hungry kiss. ‘Oh, Ms Marshall, I hope you don’t regret it.’
The misty rain turned to a steady downpour and Abbie was glad that she had left the high heels behind. They hurried back to the hotel and crossed the lobby, ignoring the glances of recognition that Jack received. The elevator had a mirror, where she could see her damp hair was sticking to her face. Her lipstick was gone and standing beside Jack’s dark beauty, she looked ordinary.
‘I told you to stop judging yourself.’
Abbie stuck out her tongue at her reflection. ‘So, spank me.’
Usually that would have been enough to provoke him. She found herself hungering for his dark gaze, the one that told her that he planned to do some very naughty things to her. Instead, he dropped a light kiss on her cheek. ‘Not tonight, Abbie.’
The ground floor of the suite had been cleared in their absence. The candles had been extinguished and a metal guard placed in front of the fire. Abbie glanced nervously at Jack. On the basis of previous encounters, he should have had her pinned to the wall by now. Her dress should have been a crumpled heap on the floor. Instead, he was controlled, almost detached. It bugged the hell out of her. ‘Is something wrong?’
He sat on the couch and patted the cushion beside him. ‘Of course not. Come here.’
Abbie snuggled beside him, trying to quell the butterflies fluttering inside her. Jack dropped an arm around her shoulders and reached for the remote control of the TV. He had to be kidding. He had travelled three thousand miles to watch a movie? Jack flicked idly through the selection available.