Captivate Me Read online

  She was so taken by their movements that it was several moments before she realized the women were...naked. Well, not quite. They were draped from head to toe in gold—chains, bracelets, cuffs, beads. Around their waists, down to their navels, up arms and legs. The sway of metal and decoration moved with their bodies. At first she’d assumed they wore something beneath the weight of all the jewelry.

  She was wrong. And knew it when the procession moved closer. One of the dancer’s draping chains parted and Alyssa got a prolonged flash of naked breast. The swell of skin was pale, but the large circle of areola was a dark rose. And the dancer’s nipple was puckered so tight and hard it made Alyssa’s own ache.

  She hadn’t noticed her stranger’s hand move, not until his thumb and finger settled right over her breast and tugged gently. Alyssa’s head jerked back, colliding with the hard wall of his chest. Her body instinctively arched into his touch, begging for more.

  He teased, his fingers somehow finding a way beneath the layers of cloth to her bare flesh. Biting back a groan, Alyssa tried to fight the reaction, but it was a losing battle. She’d done nothing but torture herself with fantasies of her masked stranger touching her.

  But her brain tried to mount a last-ditch effort at caution, screaming for her to put some distance between them. She tried to turn away, but strong, steady hands held her fast, keeping her in place. “Watch,” he whispered, the sweep of his breath hot and heavy against her sensitized skin.

  “What if someone’s watching us?” she asked, anxiety and anticipation coloring her words.

  His lips ghosted across the nape of her neck, a barely there caress that only had her craving more. “But that’s what you like, Alyssa. It fires your blood, excites you. And I have to admit, the idea of other men watching you, wanting you, all while knowing you can only think of my hands on your body...it’s sexy as hell. I promise to protect you. I’d never let anyone hurt you. I won’t do anything you don’t want. All you have to do is say stop, and I will.”

  She nodded, understanding and acknowledging what he’d just said. Perhaps she shouldn’t trust his words...but she did. Instinctively she knew the moment she balked this would all be over.

  But she didn’t want it to be.

  And, really, her words were a lie. Oh, a part of her was concerned about being seen. She was too much a product of her father’s admonishments not to have that tiny voice in the back of her head.

  But if she was honest, with herself and him, there was something she was more worried about. Digging deep to find the courage, she forced out the words in a breathy voice. “What happens when you get what you want?”

  He dragged a fingernail across the aching tip of her breast, and Alyssa’s thighs clenched against the sharp sting of arousal that arrowed straight to her sex as she waited for his answer. How was she supposed to think when her body was rebelling against her?

  “What do you think will happen, Alyssa?”

  “That you’ll walk away. Taking that mask and your anonymity, disappearing back into the crowd, never to be seen again.”

  Crushing her tight, aching nipples between thumb and forefinger, he pinched. She gasped, her eyelids fluttering closed at the flood of pleasure spiked with pain. But it was only there for a moment, immediately soothed away by the teasing, tugging sensation of him playing with her. He measured the weight of her breasts in his palms, holding and massaging. A matching hollow weight settled deep inside her, throbbing and pulsing out her need.

  His mouth, tongue and teeth seared a trail down her nape. “I’m not going anywhere, Alyssa. Trust me, one night with you will be far from enough.” He punctuated the confession by sinking a love bite into the spot right at the bend of her shoulder.

  In that moment, all of her concerns melted. There was only one thing she wanted—for him to take her away to someplace private and stop teasing her.

  They were both acting as if there’d been a decision to make. Hadn’t she made it already by coming here in the first place?

  She might regret the decision, but there would be plenty of time for that later. Right now she wanted to feel. The last shred of fight draining from her body, she sagged against him.

  And he caught her, holding tight and wrapping his arms around her as if she was made of fragile glass. But he didn’t take her away. Instead, he cupped her chin and returned her focus to the spectacle below. “Watch.”

  The dancers had settled on the dais, draping their bodies across the pillows as if they were being presented as precious gifts. Servers materialized beside them, offering wine and food. They indulged, somehow giving the impression of gluttonous abandonment.

  More movement caught Alyssa’s attention and she jerked her gaze back across the room. Another group entered, twenty men. At least they were clothed, although they might as well not have bothered.

  Their chests, clearly oiled, gleamed in the muted light. While every shade—white, brown, black, tan—was represented, their physiques matched. Wide shoulders, tapered waists and the kind of muscular definition that would make any woman’s body thud with appreciation.

  Several of the women—and a few men—in the audience reached out, running their hands along the display of male flesh as they stalked past. It bothered her, until she realized the men didn’t seem to care.

  Gold cuffs circled every wrist. Their black shorts were so tight there was practically nothing left to the imagination.

  Suddenly, her masked stranger’s hips surged forward. She hadn’t realized he’d been holding himself away from her, not until the hot, hard length of him pressed against the small of her back.

  A burning wave of need exploded through her body, leaving her flustered and flushed from head to toe.

  With the pressure of his hand between her shoulder blades he urged her to bend at the waist. Her body draped over the railing. He stayed with her, following her down. The change in position shifted his cock lower, just shy of the throbbing entrance to her body. He was so close...pulsing, teasing and making her that much more desperate.

  His movement forced soft material across her skin, the dress becoming a caress all its own. Somehow a couple of pieces had been caught between her body and the railing. With each surge the silk tugged and teased her swollen, sensitive sex.

  If he didn’t stop she was going to explode just from that. And that’s not what she wanted. She wanted him. Craved him in a way that she’d never experienced.

  But that didn’t stop her from pushing her hips back into him, using the leverage of the railing to get more.

  The men finally settled on the dais, intertwining with the women already on display. Several poured wine into each other’s open mouths. Or licked it off skin. Some fed each other. Others didn’t bother with the pretense and blatantly stroked and fondled. It was a naked display of wanton excess. And Alyssa couldn’t pull her eyes away.

  Another trumpet sounded, sending an embarrassed flush over her skin as if she’d been caught doing something highly inappropriate.

  A soft chuckle slipped across her senses. Apparently she had been caught. Her blush went darker, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Instead, his mouth trailed across her blazing skin, morphing the heat into something completely different.

  Suddenly, another trio of women appeared before them. They were clothed in something that looked remarkably like the costume she wore. Flimsy strips of material wound around their bodies, covering in strategic places while leaving most of their skin exposed. Leaves and flowers twined in their long hair, trailing down their backs. They bounced and leaped, throwing flowers and petals into the air as they went and letting them drift in a trail across the floor behind them.

  Suddenly a gust of cold air slipped up Alyssa’s dress. A shiver raced down her spine, but before she could complain the chill was banished by his fingers slipping over her wet sex.

  Sh
e gasped. And bucked. And then froze in place, as if she held perfectly still no one would notice what was happening.

  Shifting, she tried to pull her hips away, but he held her fast.

  “So hot and wet,” he groaned against her shoulder. “Do you know how sexy that is? How much your uninhibited reaction makes me crazy with wanting to taste and touch?”

  At his words, her body clenched, wanting him buried inside. But he didn’t give her that. Instead, he played and teased. His talented fingers stroked the entrance to her body, sending a shower of sparks shooting through her. She couldn’t quite muffle the moan straining to break free, not when he was giving her the barest hint of what she craved.

  “What has you more turned on, hmm, Alyssa? Knowing that at any moment someone could walk down here and see us? Or maybe get bored with the procession and look up here to notice your face flush with passion?”

  Slowly, his thumb began to circle her clit, not quite touching, but coming mind-numbingly close before slipping away again. She throbbed. Her heartbeat lodged right there behind the bundle of nerves begging for relief. Her lungs burned, unable to get enough oxygen to control the need.

  His fingers finally dipped inside, drawing a ragged breath from her even as he unerringly found that secret spot that made her knees go weak. Her body sagged against the railing as he alternated between teasing and stroking deep.

  It was an assault on her senses. She could feel the explosion building, tension winding through her tighter and tighter like a rubber band being pulled back in preparation for the cracking snap.

  “Or maybe watching the couples on the dais caressing each other in full sight of everyone. Doing something wicked.”

  Alyssa shook her head, unable to find the words to answer him. Although she wasn’t sure she knew.

  “Why did you take your clothes off for me? Most women would have been shocked and indignant. They would have scrambled to cover up, not continued to let me see more.”

  Again, she shook her head. And his delicious torture stopped. Alyssa whimpered, her hands tightening around the railing.

  She felt his rumbling denial more than heard it. His mouth brushed softly against the nape of her neck as he coaxed, “Answer my question.”

  Desperation pushed her to find the power of speech. “I don’t...I don’t know.”

  “I think you do.”

  Besieged by sensation and drowning in a relentless craving, somehow words began to pour from her. If she hadn’t been mindless she never would have let them free, which he no doubt already knew.

  “I don’t think I would have done it if anyone else had been standing out there. It was the way you were watching me. Like you’d starve without another glimpse. Like there was nothing in the world you wanted, needed, more than me. I’ve never felt that...”

  “Desired?”

  “Visible. Wanted.”

  Behind her, he let out a sound, a cross between a sigh and a groan. She thought he liked her answer, until his fingers disappeared completely.

  She cried out, couldn’t stop the protest from bursting through her parted lips, no matter who might hear.

  Below, a litter appeared, supported by four of the biggest men she’d ever seen. A rousing cheer went up in the ballroom, drowning out everything except the rending tear of a condom package behind her.

  Alyssa whimpered with relief. And then had a moment of panic as the reality of what they were doing hit her. Was she really going to let him take her from behind on the balcony in the middle of a ball? His hands spanned her waist, drawing her close. She could feel the imprint of each of his fingers on her skin, long lines that seemed to brand her. He hesitated, poised behind her, muscles coiled with the same tension driving her.

  Bending close, he whispered, “Tell me you want this, Alyssa.”

  And she realized he was giving her a chance to change her mind.

  That wasn’t going to happen. “Yes, I want this. Please.”

  Apparently, that was all the assurance he needed. Seconds later he was surging deep and she no longer gave a damn about anything but the way he filled her.

  He paused, letting her body adjust to him. Her internal muscles tensed and then relaxed, letting him slip in the last few inches.

  She was drowning, in sensation and the excitement of possible discovery. But his strong arms and unrelenting hold anchored her in place. She needed an anchor, desperately, otherwise she was afraid she’d go flying and never be able to find the ground again.

  The hot weight of his palm smoothed down her spine, sending a ripple in its wake. She arched, grinding her hips tighter into him. His fingers curled around her waist.

  And then he started moving. Easy, deliberate strokes. All the way out and then all the way in. The material of her dress worked between her folds, rubbing relentlessly against her swollen clit.

  “When the litter reaches the dais, Bacchus will alight and the true revelry will begin. The crowd who’ve been held captive by the entertainment will drift away. No doubt some will look up. Maybe come upstairs for a quiet spot of their own. How long do you think it’ll be before we’re discovered?”

  Alyssa’s eyes widened. The litter was already halfway across the room. Her heart thumped erratically. Adrenaline shot into her system, mixing with the already thrumming arousal, whipping it all into a heady concoction.

  Her body quivered, and buried deep inside her he could no doubt feel the reaction his words caused.

  “Do you want an audience, Alyssa? Or is just the threat of discovery what intrigues you?”

  “No, please, no audience,” she begged. It was one thing to put herself on display for him, completely another to have strangers witness that kind of vulnerability. Stripping, she’d had control. But she knew the orgasm building deep inside her was going to rip her apart, send her into oblivion and leave her completely defenseless.

  She didn’t want to share that with anyone but him. Didn’t trust anyone except him to protect and shelter her in those moments.

  His only answer was the increased tempo of his thrusts, but she knew he understood. At the moment they were completely alone, cocooned at the end of the balcony in shadows and at least twenty feet away from the nearest partygoer. Below, the music and revelry shielded any sounds she might not be able to smother.

  He’d given her the semblance of danger without much actual potential of discovery. He’d fulfilled her fantasies in a way that let her have them without smashing the fears that still coiled tight around her soul.

  Gratitude swelled inside her just as surely as the pleasure building to fever pitch. He drove into her over and over again. Alyssa met his pace, her own hips surging back and forth, racing headlong for the relief he promised.

  The litter stopped before the dais. A man descended, a pleasantly wicked smile on his face and a laurel wreath crowning his head.

  Oh, God, it was almost over.

  Reaching around, he found her clit and rubbed. And her body exploded.

  The orgasm tore through her, leaving her blind and breathless. She had enough mental capacity to bite down on her lip to keep from crying out, but her throat strained against the need to give voice to her pleasure. It rolled through her in waves, one after the other, going on and on as he continued to draw it out as long as possible.

  Spent, every muscle in her body went lax. Without the railing and his grip on her hips she probably would have slithered down into a puddle at his feet.

  Bacchus raised his hands and delivered a welcome Alyssa didn’t hear. His eyes swept the crowd and then traveled up, up, up. She could have sworn his gaze snagged on hers and held.

  But she was too boneless to care anymore.

  “Gorgeous,” her masked stranger breathed, right before he gathered her into his arms and spun them both around.

  He moved them
through the shadows to the back of the balcony and a door tucked into the wall. She heard the swoosh and click behind them, but couldn’t really find enough energy to focus and figure out where they were. Not yet.

  Something hard and chilled pressed against her back. A wall. His heat bracketed her front. Fingers dug into the soft globes of her ass, boosting her up.

  “I need you. Now,” he growled.

  Alyssa wrapped her legs around his hips, opening herself up and silently giving him permission to do whatever he wanted. Somewhere in the corner of her mind registering the tremble of her thighs.

  In one long surge, he filled her again, drawing a gasp and making her eyes roll back into her head. How could that feel so good so soon?

  Still breathless from her last release, she wanted him all over again. Wanted the frenzy and emotion and relief.

  Wanted to let go of everything except the way he made her feel.

  Wanted to look deep in his eyes when he finally let go.

  Wanted to see his face.

  8

  BLINDING NEED THROBBED through him. Watching Alyssa Vaughn let go was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Possibly because something told him she didn’t do it very often. She was so uptight and controlled. Knowing he could make everything else fade away for her was heady stuff. The kind of craving no rehab could cure.

  And he wanted more. Not just his own release, but hers, again and again and again.

  Even now he could feel her tight muscles contracting around him in a seductive motion that begged him just to let go. But he wasn’t ready for this to be over yet.

  If this moment was all he’d ever get of Alyssa, he was determined to take his time and get his fill.

  Which could take all night.

  Wrapping her wrists together in his hand, he pushed them against the wall above her head. Bending down, he found the thrumming beat of her pulse and sucked, hard. She moaned deep in her throat, the back of her head dropping with a soft thud.