Daniel laughed. “I would never stoop so low as to prey upon your food-whore tendencies.”
She tossed her cloth napkin at him. “Liar.”
Marcus stole the last bite of their shared dessert and pointed his fork at Daniel. “Tell her what’s next while she’s still on her sugar and champagne buzz.”
She eyed the two men, a little twinge of anxiety going through her. “What are you two up to?”
Daniel grasped her hand across the table. “Sweets, I know we haven’t brought it up since our little discussion in South Padre, but Marcus and I have noticed you’ve been on edge for months.”
“Oh, come on, not this again,” she complained. “I told you I’m fine, Doctor. Totally stable.”
He shook his head, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Chill out. I’m not psychoanalyzing you. You’ve just been a tad bit . . .”
“Bitchy?” Marcus offered before sipping his drink.
“Hey,” she said, shooting him an offended look.
“I was going to say tense,” Daniel said, bumping Marcus with his shoulder. “I really do think it’s this whole celibacy thing getting to you.”
She blinked in surprise, the subject catching her off guard. Now they were discussing her lack of a sex life at dinner? Her earlier hint of nerves ratcheted up to dread. “Wait a second, what does that have to do with what’s happening next?”
“Well, we thought for your birthday we’d help you with that little issue,” Marcus said, obviously fighting a smile.
“My issue?” Her mind took a moment to fully process the words. “Wait, with my celibacy issue?”
Daniel grinned. “Exactly.”
She pulled her hand from Daniel’s and stared at the two of them in disbelief. How in the hell could two gay men help her with her celibacy issue? They surely weren’t going to volunteer to go bi or straight for the night. She almost laughed at the notion, but then a disgusting thought hit her, making her choke. “Oh, no. No way.”
“What?” Daniel asked in a tone worthy of a halo and wings.
“I swear to God if you paid for some escort or something, I’m seriously going to kill you two right here at the table.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee with a casual elegance that had Evan ready to throw something more damaging at him than her napkin. He set down his cup. “Evan, we would never do that to you. You deserve better than that.”
“Definitely,” Marcus said, sliding an envelope onto the table. “Like a membership to The Ranch. Three months fully paid.”
She stared down at the little white envelope and the red R emblazoned on its wax seal. The thing looked innocuous enough, but she had a feeling the gift inside was far from innocent. She raised her gaze, hoping she was wrong. “Is that some sort of spa or something?”
Daniel’s lips curled into a mischievous smile. “Not exactly.”
“Jesus, Daniel, tell me it’s not a brothel.” She had no idea if they even had brothels with dude prostitutes, but she wasn’t putting anything past her two friends. They were kinky bastards.
Marcus rolled his eyes. “Stop messing with her, D. You’re freaking her out.”
“Oh, neither of you are any fun,” Daniel said, motioning to the waiter for a coffee refill, then looking back to Evan. “It’s not a brothel, for God’s sake. It’s a resort where people go to live out their fantasies, explore their . . . inclinations with each other.”
“Inclinations?” she repeated. “Like figuring out if they’re gay or straight? ’Cause, no offense, but I don’t have any doubts there.”
His eyebrow arched. “I’m sure some go there for that. But this is more about venturing into things you may not have access to in your day-to-day life. Fantasies. Role-playing. Multiple partners. Bondage. In your case, maybe just a confidential sexual partner.”
Her hands turned sweaty against the booth’s leather seat as she replayed his list in her head. Role-playing. Bondage. She parted her lips, but the words stuck to her tongue.
Marcus pushed the envelope closer to her. “I’ve been a member for a while. The place is top notch—safe, exclusive, uber private—and has very strict membership requirements.”
Her brain began to spin. A sex club? They wanted her to go to a sex club? The boys were out of their freaking minds.
“It’s all very confidential,” Daniel added. “I don’t want you to reveal our situation, but members will know you’re engaged and that your fiancé approves of you being there. People there won’t blink an eye at that. They’re used to unique situations.”
She looked back and forth between the two of them as her ability to form sentences returned in a rush. “You seriously expect me to just go there and have sex with strangers? Are you nuts?”
Marcus gave her a sympathetic look. “You can do whatever you feel comfortable with. No one’s going to make you participate. But don’t shut yourself off to the possibility until you see the place. You may be surprised how things change in that kind of environment—how your mind opens up. They specialize in BDSM, but I’m sure they can accommodate whatever situation or fantasy is most enticing to you.”
Her mind automatically rewound to the day in the seminar room—Jace tying her hands and being in control, touching her. She’d accessed that scene in her head countless times over the last two weeks, had touched herself as she filled in the blanks of what could’ve happened if they’d been alone and had no past to contend with.
And still, despite the constant fantasy rerun, the effect hadn’t worn off. Even now, heat built low in her belly at the mere thought. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, a champagne headache starting. “Guys, really, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t need this. I’m fine.”
“We’ve already packed your bag, and there’s a car waiting for you outside,” Daniel said, causing her head to snap up. “Grant Waters, the owner of the place, has set up a tour for you tonight so you can see it before people start arriving for the weekend retreat tomorrow. We’ve also reserved you a private cabin.”
“Daniel,” she demanded, trying to keep her voice low enough so that it wouldn’t garner the attention of the people at the other tables. “You can’t actually expect me to go to this place.”
He frowned. “Look, if you go on the tour and decide not to participate in anything, then take the weekend to enjoy the scenery and the cabin. It’s beautiful out there and surrounded by vineyards. Plus, I think they do have a masseuse on staff if you really want to do the spa thing. I think the break will be good for you regardless.”
“And Daniel and I are going to be doing press for the next few days. If you’re on a ‘spa’ weekend, it will save you from having to be a part of it,” Marcus added.
She kept her eyes on them and gulped the last of her champagne, shocked to find herself actually considering the whole thing.
A weekend away from the press—and the boys, for that matter—did sound kind of tempting. And she hated to admit it, but for some reason, the whole celibacy thing was suddenly driving her mad. Going solo with her vibrator hadn’t fixed anything. In fact, it’d only made her fantasize and want sex more. It was as if seeing Jace again had tripped some wire inside her.
She blew out a long breath. She could throw herself into her work like she had planned, but deep down she knew this restlessness wasn’t going to go away so easily. Wasn’t this what she’d really been yearning for? A bit of physical