Page 112 of Delicious Surrender
The room was dark when she woke up. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was only four forty-five p.m. Gage must have closed the blinds and covered her with the throw. She flipped on the bedside lamp and saw the designer clothing bag hanging on the closet door. Beneath it was a pair of sexy-oh-my-god-Jimmy Choo shoes with an envelope on top.
Brynne hurried over to unzip the bag and saw the gorgeous black Marilyn Monroe-style halter dress. The monogrammed slingbacks were stunning with a two-and-a-half-inch angular kick heel. At least she wouldn’t break an ankle walking to the dining room.
The card bore his distinctive scrawl.
Be in the dining room by seven.
No panties. Just the dress and the shoes.
M.
Whew. Okay, Mags. Or did he mean M for Master?Either way, she’d be there before seven. She ran herself a bubble bath and took the time to pamper herself for a change. Ninetyminutes later, she was ready. Fingers and toes painted the color of champagne, important bits shaved smooth, hair tousled, eye makeup dark and smoky, and lips painted pale pink.
When she entered the dining room, her heart was racing as if she’d run up from the beach. She didn’t want to choose the wrong seat, so she stood waiting next to the beautifully set dining table. A moment later, he walked in, followed by a middle-aged man dressed in a fancy waiter’s uniform. Gage pulled out her chair and the server poured champagne for them both, then quietly disappeared.
“Did you follow my instructions?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Show me.”
“But he…” she stuttered.
“Show me.” His voice deepened.
Flutters danced in the pit of her stomach, and she imagined a little x marked in the ledger. She stood back up and twirled so the dress would fly up, then she flashed him her bare hip.
He shook his head, his lips compressed. “Lift the front of the dress.”
She gritted her teeth but did as she was told, keeping her legs pressed together.
“Hiding from me now will only get you tied and spread wide later.” He motioned for her to sit down. The waiter, as if on cue, returned with a platter of oysters on ice and refilled their glasses before disappearing. Gage explained the three varieties which he had flown in today from Loch Fyne in Cairndow. “Have you hadoysters before?”
“Yes—back in Toronto. Although, the last time I had them, I swallowed a bad one that ruined me.”
“I assure you, these are the freshest you’ll ever taste. Try it with a little of the mignonette sauce.” Gage dressed it and raised it toward her. “Ready?”
When she nodded, he tipped the concoction into her mouth and the tangy delicious flavors burst on her tongue as she chewed.
“Wow, that’s incredible.”
Gage prepared his own oyster, and she watched him savor it, sipping her cold bubbly.
“So, tell me the premise of your novel.”
Brynne prepared another oyster to buy herself some time and took a deep breath.
“It’s a dark romance. The heroine of the story finds herself destitute after her husband embezzles millions of dollars from his employer and disappears. The Italian billionaire he stole from comes calling—certain she knows where he’s hiding. They met several times before at company events, and he found her shyness intriguing. She insists she filed for divorce before the theft and tells him she is selling everything to pay their creditors. Dante, the story’s anti-hero, expects her to reveal her husband’s whereabouts and threatens to hold her responsible for the debt. Then he suggests she come to work for him. She used to be a personal assistant before she got married and became a pampered society wife. He wants revenge, and he wants her, so he devises a plan to get her to his remote estate in Italy. If shedoesn’t come willingly, he threatens prosecution.”
“Interesting. And how does she feel about him?”
“She denies her attraction to him, but he appeals to her because he’s everything her husband was not. Confident, intelligent, comfortable in his own skin. But that quickly changes when she receives some rather harsh treatment.”
“Is she submissive?”
“Yes, but she has never explored it. She thought her husband was dominant, but he was just a bully.”
The server brought warm lemon-scented cloths for their hands and cleared the dishes. Gage opened a bottle of red wine and asked how she liked her filet mignon cooked.