Felix dropped his nine-iron into the bag and passed it off to the young caddie. “Could you take those inside for me, please?” He handed him a twenty and the boy happily ran off.
“So,” Tate said boisterously, “no women. No children. No supervision. Who’s up for a round of drinks? My treat!”
Jon and Travis whooped in agreement and began packing it in for the afternoon.
Felix lagged behind as they began heading back to the country club. “As good as that sounds, I’m going to head out,” he announced.
The men stopped and passed him a look that asked if he was crazy. “What’s more important than a little male bondage?” Tate asked incredulously.
“Bonding,” Jon corrected him, slapping a hand down on his shoulder. “And I thought you were supposed to be a writer.”
“I am, which means I have creative license to botch the English language however the hell I want.”
Shaking his head, Jon waved them inside. “You two go ahead and order the drinks. I’ll catch up in a minute.” Waiting until they’d disappeared inside, Jon tipped his head and began walking. Felix figured that was his way of telling him to follow, so he got to walking, matching Jon’s long stride.
“What’s up?” Jon asked him as they strolled slowly down the terrace steps.
“What, me leaving?” Felix felt the skin between his brows crease. “I just have some things to take care of.”
“Business or pleasure?”
What was with the third degree? “Business,” he stated firmly. He wasn’t against answering questions, but when they were asked with a note of suspicion, he couldn’t help bristling. What business of Jon’s was it anyway?
Jon stopped walking and shifted to face him. “Good.”
Although Jon stood a couple inches taller than he did, Felix stared him right in the eyes, unwavering. “Good?”
“Yeah, good.” Pushing out a long, heavy breath, Jon started walking again, forcing Felix to fall in line. “We’re friends, right?”
“Uhh, yeah, of course.” Wasn’t that obvious by now? Jon had been his only friend for a while now. He gave him his job, paid him well, and they had a personal relationship. It didn’t get much friendlier than that.
“Good, now I won’t feel so bad about saying this.” Scratching the shadow of stubble forming on his cheek, Jon looked at the ground. “Just so you know, I’m not trying to accuse you of anything, but I’ve heard some things recently—” meaning his fiancée was telling tales “—and now…well, it gives me pause to consider.”
Great, just what he needed, Jon laying groundwork. That didn’t bode well for whatever he was about to say next.
“You said you were leaving to do some business, but you and I both know there’s nothing happening outside of that office that is business related right now.” Jon leveled him with his piercing blue eyes. “I’m not going to question you. Whatever your motivations, that’s your business, but you have to know, this doesn’t look good.”
Felix looked away. Jon was right; none of it looked good. Not his lying to Poppy about where he was right now, and not about leaving, but that didn’t mean he was going to change his plans. “I’m sure it doesn’t, but I have my reasons,” he said, being purposefully vague.
Jon raised his hands in surrender. “I’m sure you do, which is why I am telling you now, from one man to another, whatever you’re up to, you need to be careful. Women are very intuitive creatures, and us men,” he said, waving a finger back and forth in the space between them, “we’re not the brightest crayons in the box. No matter how well you think you’re covering your tracks—even if it’s something as simple as stealing a scoop of her favorite ice cream when she told you she would hack it off with a rusty knife—they always find out. Eventually.”
Felix waited, silent, until Jon’s eyebrow arched. “Oh, you’re done now?” Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Felix started walking, this time taking the lead. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but whatever you’re thinking, don’t. I assure you, it’s not that.”
“It’s not?” Jon actually looked surprised.
“It’s not.” Felix smiled and raised his hand. “I really have to go.”
“Right, business.” Jon returned a tight smile, which told Felix all he needed to know. The guy didn’t trust him.
“Business. Catch you later.” Felix spun around. Thankfully, their little walk and talk had led them toward the front of the grounds. A few quick strides and he ducked through the tall, ivy-covered iron gates and into the parking lot. It didn’t matter what anyone thought he was doing. His business was not their business. He just hoped that they were man enough not to go blabbing to their other halves, or it wouldn’t stay his secret for long.
Sliding in behind the wheel of his Audi R8, Felix checked the digital display and noted the time. Shit, he was going to be late. As he fired up the engine and backed out of the parking space, he told his phone to make a call. The radio instantly cut off and the sound of the phone ringing filled the car.
“Felix,” the soft, feminine voice purred. “I was expecting you ten minutes ago. Where are you?”
“Sorry, Gianna, I got held up. I’m on my way. That is, if I’m not too late.” Felix’s hands tightened around the wheel. He hoped like hell he wasn’t too late. He wasn’t sure when he would have another chance to get away.
“No, of course not. I left my day wide open, just for you.”
Felix blew out a relieved breath. “Great, then I’ll see you in a few.”
“See you then.”
A small smile crested as some of his tension began to drop away. If he played his cards right, he could spend a little time with Gianna and still be home in time for dinner without Poppy ever being the wiser. He’d planned this out perfectly. There was no way that Poppy could figure out what he was up to, unless someone opened their fat mouth. And they had better not open their damn mouth.
Jon was wrong.
As it turned out, Felix was late for dinner. He hadn’t expected to be gone for so long, but time had a way of getting away from him when he was enjoying himself. Gianna really knew what she was doing when it came to handling men, especially men like him, who knew exactly what they wanted and wouldn’t rest until they got it.
It didn’t help matters that it was the weekend, which meant that they would be staying at Poppy’s old country home, which meant that he had to add an extra hour to his drive time. He knew she loved the place, and he understood why she was reluctant to let it go, but it really was becoming an issue. One day they would have to choose—the house or the condo. It couldn’t be both. An issue for another day. She was probably already pissed that he was late. There was no need to add to it.
“Lucy, I’m home!” he called out in his best Ricky Ricardo impression. Dropping his tote by the door, Felix kicked off his shoes and hung his jacket on the peg nailed to the wall. He heard rustling in the kitchen and headed in that direction. “Hey, kitten, didn’t you hear…me…calling? What is all of this?”
Pausing in the doorway, Felix soaked in his surroundings. The kitchen was lit by candles. Dozens of candles. They were everywhere. Clustered in the middle of the small table in the corner, dotting the countertops, on the shelf over the stove alongside jars of spices. Not that he was complaining. The soft, ambient glow made Poppy’s exposed ass look plump and firm.
“Shit, baby, the maid’s uniform? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” There really wasn’t much to it. There was the black cap with the white ruffles pinned to her hair, a mind-bogglingly short dress made of the same black and white material, and a pair of heels so tall he couldn’t process how she even began to walk in them.
She was stirring a pot of something on the stove when he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in the side of her neck. “Smells good,” he said against her skin, his lips slowly caressing her.
“This is the dessert. Homemade vanilla pudding. Dinner is on the table.”
It was? He’d missed it completely. But could he really be blamed? With Poppy standing there in nothing but a dress that exposed every part of her that was worth exposing, he wasn’t left with much of an attention span. “Mmm, I think I’ll have my dessert first.” His hand slid up to cup her breast, which was spilling over the cups of the dress, while the other went in the opposite direction.
A moan ripped out of him as his fingers met her hot, wet flesh. “Shit,” he grunted, resting his forehead against her shoulder. He had barely touched her and he was about to lose control. He needed to calm down.
Laying down the spoon that she was using to stir the pudding with, Poppy shut off the stove and turned in his arms. When she lifted her arms to wrap them around his shoulders, his hands met the naked, round globes of her very fine ass, and he couldn’t resist pressing her up against him.
“I was hoping you would say that.” It took a moment for Felix to catch up and realize that she was talking about his comment to skipping dinner and going straight for dessert. Taking him by the hand, she tugged on his arm. “Come with me. I have something I want to show you.”
If it had anything to do with what was happening under that dress—which left absolutely nothing to the imagination—then he was all for it. The angels must have been smiling on him, because whatever it was she wanted to show him involved following her upstairs, giving him the perfect view of his most favorite parts of her. “Again, are you trying to kill me?” he asked as she led him into their bedroom.
“Death is not what I had in mind for tonight.” Bo was lying in his usual spot: a palate in the corner. When he heard them walk in, he lifted his oversized head to look at them. “Bo, out,” Poppy commanded in her firm, no-nonsense voice—a voice that made his dick nearly punch through his zipper.
With a huff, Bo stood, took a moment to stretch out his tired limbs, and then lumbered past them. Felix gave him a parting pat on the rump as he went.
Closing the door so he wouldn’t be mauled over what he was about to do to this sexy woman, who was now bending over in front of him as she turned down the bed, Felix began unbuttoning his slacks as he sauntered toward her.
“You are so damn sexy,” he rasped. Poppy paused with her hand on one of the pillows as Felix came up behind her and skimmed his fingertips lightly over her bared flesh. “You have the most perfect ass I have ever seen.” Tracing a single finger down the crease of her buttocks, he found her slick opening and pushed it inside. Poppy gasped, and Felix leaned in, planting his fist in the mattress, his finger still buried inside her body.
Beside her ear, he whispered, “The tightest pussy I have ever felt.”
“Felix?” Her breath left her in short bursts, and he knew if he gave her a second finger and a little twist, she would detonate.
“Yes, kitten?” Sliding his finger out halfway, he inserted two more, pumping them slowly. Her head drooped on her shoulders and he felt a shudder wrack her body.
“Stop.” The single word, spoken like a lash, hard and sharp, froze Felix on the spot.
His dick was throbbing, the head pressing at the slit in his boxers. With one good rub against her backside, it would be free, and he would be inside her in less time than it would take to ask what he should do next. “What?”
Standing straight, she pulled away from him. His fingers slipped free, coming away slicked in her juices. As she turned to face him, a stern look on her heart-shaped face, Felix couldn’t remember a time when he’d been more turned on. “Tonight, I’m calling the shots. Get on the bed.”
He liked feisty Poppy. Didn’t see her often enough. Eager to get this thing started, Felix hopped onto the bed and rolled onto his back. He sent her a sly grin as he brought his fingers to his lips. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, and then sucked his fingers clean, one at a time.
Poppy’s jaw dropped for a moment, her eyelids growing heavy. “You’re a bad man, Mr. Sinclair.”
Felix watched as she placed one knee on the bed and began to crawl toward him. This time, his dick did break free, leaping from his boxers like a prisoner busting out of jail. “The worst,” he said his voice dark and husky with desire.
Straddling his thighs, she bent her head right over his dick, and with her eyes fastened on his, licked him from base to tip. Felix’s eyes closed and his body shuddered. Her mouth was the temple he worshiped at…the things she could do with her tongue…
Sliding slowly up his body, Felix’s breath grew choppy as he watched his dick, swollen and dripping with precum, glide over her chin, down her throat, through the valley between her breasts and stop just short of the Promised Land.
Slipping her hands under the pillows, Poppy pulled out two tan stockings and sat back on his thighs. “What are you up to?” he asked, although it really didn’t matter, because whatever she had in store for them tonight, he knew he was going to have a great time.
“I told you. You’re a bad man, and bad men get punished.”
Looking down, he had a perfect view of the treasure between her legs. She was just as swollen and wet as he was. As much as he wanted to grab her by the waist and fit her down on top of him, she was in the mood to play. Fine, he would play, so long as he got what he wanted in the end. “Does the punishment fit the crime?” Her head bobbed up and down slowly. “Then I’m your prisoner. Do your worst.”
Biting her lip to withhold a smile, Poppy held up the stockings. “Hands above your head.”
He did as he was instructed. Lifting his arms, Felix grabbed hold of the wooden slats. Poppy leaned over him, her breasts directly over his face as she began tying him up. He couldn’t resist. Lifting his head, Felix nuzzled the mounds of flesh before him, licking and nipping her with his teeth.
Chuckling, Poppy sat back and admired her handiwork. “None of that now, Mr. Sinclair. Have you already forgotten who’s in charge tonight?”
“Sorry, kitten.”
She wagged her finger. “Sorry what?”
Felix frowned. “Sorry…” She arched an eyebrow, telling him without words that he should know the answer and he had better get it right. What the hell was the answer? “Sorry…ma’am?”
A smile split across her face. “That’s right, Mr. Sinclair, and don’t you forget it. The only thing I want to hear coming out of your mouth is yes, ma’am or no, ma’am unless I ask you a question that requires a different answer. Understand?” Fingering the lace edge of her dress, she began lifting it over her head, and then paused, waiting for his answer.
“Yes, ma’am.” He licked his lips. He kind of liked this game.
Tearing off the maid’s uniform, Poppy tossed it on the floor. She was completely naked, poised over him with her thighs spread wide, his dick bouncing between them, begging for attention. Sticking her finger in her mouth, Poppy drew a moist path down the front of her body. “How was business today?” she asked, her head turned down to watch as she traced her finger over her budding nipple.
“Good,” Felix grunted, distracted by what she was doing. Really fucking good.
“You did everything you needed to do?” Her finger continued to slide lower, making a circular pattern on her flat stomach. His eyes followed.
“Yep.”
She stopped, looking up at him through her thick, dark lashes. “Did we forget the rules already?”
The skin between his brows puckered. Shit. “Sorry. I mean yes, ma’am.”
“Bad man,” Poppy muttered, but she resumed her path. “Anyone I know?”
“No…ma’am.” He’d almost forgotten the rules again. Damn. He’d have to be more careful. His mind was clouded by what she was doing. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, knowing exactly where she was headed next.
Dipping her hand between her legs, Poppy leaned back, giving him the perfect view as she guided her finger inside of her. “I believe you,” she said on a soft moan. “What kind of business was it?”
Shit, if she didn’t quit now, he was going to come before they ever got started. Her finger came out slick and shiny. He watched, his body in physical pain, as she fingered her clit. “Book stuff,” he grunted, keeping his answer short because that was all his brain was capable of at the moment.
“Nothing else?”
By the way she asked the question, Felix should have known something wasn’t right, but he was too muddled to pick up on the subtlety of it. “No, ma’am. Just business.”
Stopping what she was doing, Poppy shook her head. “Not the answer I was expecting,” she said with fire dancing in her eyes. Leaning across his chest, she reached under the pillow beside his head. When she drew back, she held her hand up. “Guess I’ll be needing this.”
Felix groaned, pressing his head back into the pillow. “Don’t, Poppy. You know how I feel about vibrators. Unless I’m the one using it on you, it doesn’t get used.”
Poppy raised both eyebrows in an is that so? look. “Who’s the boss?”
If she was about to do what he thought she was about to do, then Felix wasn’t in the mood for playing anymore. Jerking on his restraints, he found that they were deceptively strong. “Tony fucking Danza,” he snapped, losing some of his patience. “Now untie me so I can touch you.”
Shaking her head, Poppy drew the vibrator down his chest and across his stomach, stopping just short of her entrance. “You know the rules, Mr. Sinclair. But since you’re obviously in pain, I’ll give you one more chance.” Twisting the toy on, a low vibration began on his lower stomach. She pinned him with a hard look, the one she used on him when she meant business. “Where were you really this afternoon?”
Shit, she couldn’t know. Could she? Had Jon talked? Had Tate? Maybe Travis. No, not Travis. What was he thinking? None of them knew a damn thing, not really. They only knew that he left without having drinks with them. So if they didn’t know, she couldn’t know. Or maybe Jon was right, and women really could sniff out a lie from a mile away. So maybe he should go with a half-truth, confess a little and feel her out first? “You caught me,” he said before he could second guess himself. “I went to the driving range with the guys today.”
Her eyes softened for a brief moment before they turned to hardened steel again. “And?” she prompted.
“And…I’m sorry I lied to you.” Smart, Sinclair, women love apologies. Not that he wasn’t sorry he lied to her, but sometimes it was a necessary evil. It wasn’t like he was deliberately trying to hurt her.
Pursing her lips, Poppy cranked the toy higher, sending tremors down through his gut. The constant vibration against the same spot for so long was a torture in and of itself. The area had grown fatigued, and if she didn’t stop soon, he was seriously considering bucking her off him just to make it stop.
“Is that all you have to say?” she asked.
He confessed. He said he was sorry. “There’s nothing else to say.” Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.
“Suit yourself,” she said pleasantly. Felix watched as she turned the vibrator in on herself and slid it between her legs. Rocking her hips against his, she moaned long and low, her head tipped back, her mouth parted slightly as she drove herself toward that moment of ecstasy he craved.
“Poppy,” he grunted, “pulling against the nylon ties, “enough. Untie me.”
“Oh, Felix,” she panted. “I’m going to come.”
Already? Fuck! He jerked harder on his wrists, feeling bolts of pain shoot through his fingertips as the circulation was cut off. How could she be coming already? She’d just started! He’d heard before that a woman could get herself off in a fraction of the time it would take a man to get her there, but come on. This was ridiculous.
His struggling stopped when he felt her body tense. Poppy’s thighs gripped his, her back arched, and her breathing froze. Still, her hand continued to work the vibrator in and out. He felt the heat pouring from her pussy against his skin, could see the evidence of her pleasure glistening on her fingers. Felix couldn’t tear his eyes away. “God damn, baby, you are beautiful,” he rasped.
Biting her lip, Poppy’s eyes squeezed shut and she fell completely silent. Then, without any production, not a shout, a moan, or even a shudder, she brought her head up and looked at him with glassy eyes. “I hope that was as good for you as it was for me.”
Felix’s brows pulled together as she withdrew the vibrator and climbed off him. With sharp movements, she stalked across the room and yanked her fuzzy pink robe down off the back of the bedroom door and slid into it.
When he realized what she was doing, the unease crept in and he panicked. “Where are you going?”
Turning from the doorway, she cast him a look that he couldn’t put a name to, except to say, it wasn’t good. She looked almost…hurt? But that couldn’t be right. She’d just come all over his thighs. She should be on top of the world right now. “I haven’t eaten dinner yet. I’m hungry.”
“You’re not going to finish this?” Tipping his head, he indicated his fully engorged cock, which continued to bob back and forth, as though waving to her to remind her it was still there, and raring to go.
She gave him a bored look. “I’m kind of tired. Rain check?”
Okay, so he would jerk off later. No big deal. How long did it take for blue balls to set in? “Fine, then untie me, and I’ll come down with you.”
She gave his wrists, still bound overhead, a cursory look. “No, I think you need to stay put and think about your behavior today. I’ll come back in a bit.”
“Poppy. Poppy!” Felix felt the steam pouring from his ears, he was so mad. What the hell had he done wrong? What did she mean he needed to think about his behavior? He struggled against the pantyhose, but they wouldn’t budge. Was she a sailor or something? Where had she learned to tie like that? “Poppy!” So help him, when he got free, they were going to have one hell of a serious talk. It just wasn’t right to leave a man tied up like that and not even give him the courtesy of a blow job to ease some of the pressure. Not cool, Poppy. Not. Cool.