Chapter Ten
The serenity glade caught Rae’s eye. Right about now, she could use some serenity. Nate was acting weird. Domestic. As though they’d claimed each other and set up housekeeping. And he didn’t seem to pay attention when she reminded him this was a temporary arrangement. Worse, he was destroying her persona among the other guests. Going gaga over kids’ pictures and letting hints drop that the two of them might end up together ruined her image. Single and Sexy. What didn’t he understand about single?
She sat on a bench and contemplated all the serenity around her. The gardens had been planted to appear haphazard, as if nature had created them rather than humans. Tall grasses in some spots. Flowers of different colors in others. One bush attracted butterflies so she could watch the winged jewels doing their thing in the sunshine. All very tranquil. And not very helpful in solving her problem—what to do about Nate’s attitude and how he acted as if he were in control of the situation, when they were here for her purposes, not his.
With a sigh, she rose, and as she was about to leave, another pair of people appeared near the fountain. It took only a second to recognize them fully clothed. The couple they’d watched—and performed for in the Theater.
Awkward in the extreme. What did one do in this situation? Was she allowed to know them or pretend nothing had happened between them? Did you simply say “hi” as you would to a stranger or act as if they were best friends?
She glanced at the woman, who met her gaze briefly and looked away. She might have blushed a little. Question answered. She was supposed to act as if nothing had passed between them. What a relief. Though all four of them had consented to the acts they’d shared, they wouldn’t necessarily want to discuss them. After all, they were strangers.
She started to make a quiet exit, when the man put his hand on the woman’s arm.
“Laura, why don’t you introduce us to Désirée?” he said.
Laura let her loving gaze settle on her partner and then smiled at Rae. “I’m Laura, and this is my husband, James.”
“You know who I am?” Rae asked.
“Of course,” James said. “Everyone knows Désirée Knight is here.”
“Nice to meet you.” Rae approached, her hand extended. Only James shook it. Laura stood by his side as though she normally walked one step behind him.
“I suppose we’re friends now, or at least acquaintances.” James pointed to a bench. “Please, sit with us for a moment.”
After what they’d all done together, she could hardly act like a stranger. Even if she was one. So she sat. Laura took a seat on the other side of James.
“If at all possible, we like to get to know the people we perform for.” James put his arm around Laura. “Don’t we?”
“James is more…outgoing…than me,” Laura said.
Which meant what Rae had guessed from the beginning. Laura would rather keep things anonymous.
“My wife is shy,” James said.
Or maybe embarrassed. He had to see that.
“It was a lovely experience,” Rae said. “Very sexy.”
“We find that level of intimacy cements a relationship like nothing else,” James said.
He had an odd way of talking. Highbrow. Maybe a little old-fashioned. Like the villain in the movies who always speaks perfect English while stroking his mustache. There was definitely something off here.
“It’s giving and receiving at the same time,” James went on. “You can’t expose yourself in that way without expressing love.”
“That’s great, James, but Nate and I are only here for the week.”
“Really?” James’s eyebrows raised in surprised. “You seem the natural couple to me.”
“Oh, yes,” Laura added.
“Research for my article and for future columns,” Rae said. “That’s all.”
James gave her a look that said he didn’t believe her.
“Seriously,” Rae said. “My column is Single and Sexy. I’m all about how to enjoy the single life.”
“You’ll put that all behind you now,” James said.
“I did as soon as we started performing,” Laura said. “I couldn’t imagine anything better than being with James.”
“Why?” Rae asked.
“I couldn’t have the same experience with someone else,” Laura said.
Was that true? Granted, she’d never done anything like that with anyone but Nate. She could, though, if she wanted. She’d have to find a man who found exhibitionism exciting. How would she broach the subject, though? “Do you like to watch? Do you like to be watched?” Difficult, maybe, but doable.
“You must trust your partner completely,” James said. “You grow closer with every encounter.”
Laura gazed on her husband again. “I’m devoted to James now. You will be to Nate.”
Devoted sounded too much like dependent or obedient. Rae wouldn’t end up like that. But she probably had come to care for him too much. Once the excitement of Eros’ Retreat was behind them, would he still want her? If he did, would he want to control her behavior the way James did Laura? A man like Nate—rich and much too handsome for his own good—could have any woman he wanted. He could find a Laura for himself. Women with bodies like Laura’s populated any gym. He’d only have to find one who’d devote herself to him. Prettier and more flexible about going with what he wanted than Rae was.
“Other people have noticed what a cute couple you are,” Laura said.
“Has anyone commented on it?” Rae asked.
“A few we’ve spoken to,” James said. “He certainly appears to have staked his claim.”
“Not Nate,” Rae said. “We’re just temporary.”
Great. That made her sound like a possession. He had acted in a controlling manner. Asserting his will over hers. If he had his way, he absolutely wouldn’t want her to continue to dress and act like Désirée. She derived her confidence to do things like come here because she could be Désirée. Single and Sexy wasn’t just her passion. It was her livelihood. Hell, it was the identity that gave her any power in the world.
“Can I ask you two something?” she said.
“Of course,” James answered.
“Which one of you decided to have sex with an audience?”
“I did,” James answered without hesitation.
“How did you feel about that, Laura?”
“I was happy to do it.” Laura tucked her arm around James’s. “And I’m so glad I did.”
Pretty much the same way she and Nate had decided to give exhibitionism a try. And she couldn’t say she regretted it. It had felt amazing.
But clearly, she needed to set some guidelines for Nate. He wasn’t allowed to “stake his claim.” No more maneuvering her into doing things she didn’t want to do. She’d invited him here. The whole point of the visit was her article. And he had no say in how she dressed, did her makeup, or behaved.
…
Nate had a little surprise for Rae. While she’d been in the bathroom applying costume and makeup for her appearance at dinner as Désirée Knight, he’d ordered room service, complete with candles and champagne. He’d seen the real Rae now, first in the shower and then watching her at work interviewing the couple. Now they could spend some time together. He could discover more about the real woman behind the facade.
Dinner arrived before she emerged from the bathroom, and Nate helped the waiter set it all up. Then he tipped the guy and ushered him out so everything would be right when she appeared.
She did, finally, in a skin-tight red dress and heels that matched. The layers of paint on her face couldn’t hide her natural beauty. And she was wearing his pearl necklace. It was the most attractive part of her costume.
“Have you seen my wrap?” She turned toward where he was standing at the lanai door to their private deck. “Say, what’s all this?”
He made a bow, or his best imitation. Insert a little romance into the scene. “I thought we’d eat together tonight.”
“We always eat together.”
“Alone,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you up to something?”
“Why do I have to be up to something?” he said. “Can’t I want to have a private dinner with you.”
Before she could protest any more, he grabbed the bottle of champagne from the ice bucket and filled two flutes. With the bottle back in its ice, he advanced toward her with a drink in each hand. When she took hers, he twined his arm around hers and drank. She also drank but didn’t gaze into his eyes as she did. Obviously, she hadn’t picked up on the romance yet or was trying to ignore it. Fine. That would come later.
She untwined their arms. “There must be a reason for all this.”
For someone who wrote about relationships, she sure was missing a couple of clues. Correction. She wrote about sex, not relationships. And he wouldn’t normally go for anything like romance. But honestly, talking with Sam and Louise had made him a bit nostalgic for believing in the sweetness of being a couple. It was all fantasy for him, of course. But he had Rae for a week. He might as well indulge in a little make-believe.
“Let’s just sit and enjoy our dinner, okay?” He held out a chair for her and waited.
After a second, she shrugged, sat, and allowed him to push her chair in. “I guess I shouldn’t be so suspicious.”
“Thank you.” Maybe she should be. This new desire to have her all to himself spelled trouble. He’d worry about that later. He removed the metal covers from their dinner plates to reveal two separate meals. One a steak with béarnaise and the other salmon slathered with hollandaise. Both came with roasted potatoes and asparagus. “I didn’t know which you’d prefer.”
“Thoughtful,” she said. “Two kinds of sauces. How done is the steak?”
“Rare.”
“Yum. Let’s split them both between us.”
“Deal.” A woman who liked her meat just barely cooked. Delicious. He cut the fish and the beef and divided them between the two plates.
“Just as well,” she said. “We need to talk.”
Nothing good ever came of a woman telling you they wanted to have a talk with you. It never turned out to be a simple conversation, but usually one about how you’re doing something the wrong way. Even if he put this off, she’d come back to it, so he ate some of his steak and waited.
“We’re here for a week only,” she said.
“I’m aware of that.”
“So why do you keep acting as if we’re a couple?”
“We are…in a way.”
“You’re my friend with benefits. The guy I hook up with when I get the itch,” she said. “You’re not my boyfriend, and you’re sure as hell not my husband.”
“I never said I was.”
“Then why all that stuff at the pool?” Her voice had risen. “Could you get any more domestic?”
“We were talking to Sam and Louise.” Okay, maybe he got a little louder, too, on that. “Would you rather I had joined the threesome in the pool?”
“No, of course not.” She pushed her plate aside. “But you can’t start getting possessive.”
“It’s not possessive to want to be with my date.” She couldn’t object to that. Besides, they were more than fuck buddies. They’d made contact in more than the physical. He’d touched her. Really touched her, and she’d done the same with him. That went nowhere, given both of their histories, but for now, they couldn’t deny it was real.
“I need to be Désirée Knight, free spirit. No one man can tie her down,” she said and followed it with a grandiose gesture of her arms that just missed her champagne glass.
“Rae, listen.” He caught her hands in his and brought them to the table between them. “You don’t have to be some made-up character. You’re witty and sexy just the way you are.”
“But I’ve made a name for myself as Désirée Knight. Single and Sexy. That’s my column. That’s me.”
“You’re so much more than that. You’re a fabulous journalist. You could write about paint drying, and everyone would want to read it.”
She cocked her head and stared at him. “Are you saying you don’t like my subject matter?”
“I’m not a prude. I love reading about sex.” And, as it turned out, watching other people doing it and having them watch him. But that wasn’t the point. “What I mean is you don’t have to be a pretend person for people to love your column.”
She banged on the table with the hip of her index finger. “I’ve worked very hard to get where I am. You don’t know the first thing about this business.”
“Honey, you can be honest with your readers. They love you now. They won’t stop just because you grew up enough to get into a relationship.”
She pulled back. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Oh, for christsake. “It came out wrong.”
“No, it didn’t. That’s what you think, right? You’re mature enough to have been divorced already, and what do I have? A made-up sex column.”
He held up his hands to placate her. “Now calm down.”
“And don’t tell me to calm down.”
He should have known better. That never worked with women. Never.
She got up from the table and started pacing back and forth as if she could wear a path in the carpet. “You’ve been married. You tried. At least you fell in love or thought you did.”
“It wasn’t all that great, believe me.”
“So that hasn’t happened for me,” she said. “I don’t need it. Single is sexy. And satisfying. And simple.”
“I agree completely.” Maybe he’d convince her if he thought up something else that started with S to help her out. “Please don’t misunderstand.”
“I have a full life,” she went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “This is the twenty-first century. A woman doesn’t have to have a man to feel complete.”
Great. Now she was on a full-blown rant. Before she’d finished, she’d no doubt have recited the entire litany of women’s independence. She’d probably cite the Constitution before she wound down. A man could only do one thing in a situation like this—agree with her. Tell her she was right until her fury sputtered out on its own.
“You know what?” he said. “You’re right.”
That stopped her in her tracks. “I am?”
“Sure. You know your business better than I do.”
“Well…thanks.” She eyed him with some suspicion. At least, she’d quieted down. “We have to think of a way we can portray our relationship as easy-breezy. You know…the sort of arrangement where I can go back to being single and sexy when we leave here.”
“I could come out of the closet as gay. That’d leave you single.”
She scowled at him. “I have gay readers. I’m not going to insult them.”
“I didn’t mean it seriously.”
“No.” She sat back down at the table. “We could have an open relationship. Experiment a little.”
“Wait just a minute,” he said. “Neither of us agreed to that.”
“We don’t have to go through with anything,” she said.
“And lie to your readers and the other guests here.”
“Not really…at least, not much.”
“I’m not going to…” What word to use? Indulge? To hell with euphemisms. “I’m not going to fuck another woman.”
She stared at him as if he were a prize idiot. “And I’m not going to fuck another man.”
“Thank God.”
“But I’m not above having people think I might do it,” she said.
Enough of this crap. “Listen to yourself, Rae.”
“I am listening,” she said. “I know what I’m doing.”
Stuck. He’d told her she was right. Now he’d have to follow her train of thought to its logical conclusion. As long as it stopped short of any kind of sex with anyone but her—male or female.
“We’ll need to plan,” she said.
“I hope you have some ideas.” Short of screwing a stranger. “I want to help you, Rae.”
“There’s a big party in the Barn tomorrow evening. We’ll mingle with the crowd. Flirt with other people, but mostly, I’ll have to be at the top of my game. Désirée Knight to the max. And you have to promise not to hover.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “Whatever you say, boss.”
Her expression said she didn’t approve of that last. Well, she was calling the shots. He sure wasn’t in charge. They’d establish themselves as single, and in a couple of days this whole adventure would end.