With all evidence of my mishap removed, the drone lifted higher and headed back. I marveled at yet another exclusive peek into his techno world.
Tobias slipped into a grin when he realized he’d left me speechless. “Want another glass?”
I shook my head.
He lifted me up and out of the water, laying me back on the edge with my legs dangling. He dragged me toward him and eased my thighs apart. “Like my drone?”
“Bit scary.”
“Not when you get to know her.”
I raised my head to look at him. “I like getting to know you better.”
“I like you being here.”
“This is paradise.” I let out a long sigh.
“This...is paradise.” He buried his face between my thighs and my body shivered when his tongue swept along my sex.
“You like that?” he said huskily.
“Yes, it’s amazing.”
“The last thing you need is me doing this to you for hours.”
“Can you be more specific?” I encouraged playfully.
Tobias ran his tongue along me again and feverishly suckled.
“Oh, I see what you mean now.” I trembled with pleasure as he flicked away, finding a perfect rhythm of circling.
He plunged his tongue inside, owning my sex as he used a fingertip to circle my clit until I was racing at supersonic speed toward climax, my hips pumping as I rode this endless wave of bliss.
Close...
He ceased suddenly.
And pulled away, leaving me panting wantonly for his mouth to find me again, my orgasm right there waiting for me to reach its pinnacle. Rising onto my elbows, I stared at him questioningly.
Tobias smiled. “Let me show you your room.”
Blinking at him, I tried to grasp his reason for revving me right to the edge of an orgasm and then leaving me suspended in a burning desire. Then I realized Tobias was going to take me to bed, which was a good thing with me so jittery with need. I watched him climb out of the Jacuzzi as I pushed myself up, and let him wrap that large white towel around me again.
He grabbed a towel for himself and dipped low for his drink and handed it to me. “Nightcap.”
Padding barefoot behind him, my breath stilted from this yearning between my thighs as I followed him toward a guesthouse.
He punched a series of digits into a keypad to the right of the entryway and opened the door for me. “You’ll find everything you need in here.”
“Where will you be?”
Tobias gestured to the house and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. “See you in the morning.”
What was this?
As he headed along the pathway, he scooped up my wet dress and shoes on the way, leaving me standing there with my body about burst into flames with the passion he’d ignited. Even with this supposed rejection I was still tingling all over, and it didn’t help to see his sculptured back and his sexy swagger that was hypnotic to watch.
I went in and closed the door behind me and ran through if I’d done something wrong. The guesthouse looked spacious and homey with its open-plan sitting room, a large sofa and a wide screen TV, all of it was inviting. Of all the scenarios I’d imagined, this wasn’t one of them. My thoughts spiraled with all the ways he’d made love to me before and the pleasure he’d denied me tonight.
What the hell?
No, you don’t bring a woman to your beautiful home after tricking her to come with you, strip her naked and pop her in your Jacuzzi and then push her to the edge of pleasure until she’s a writhing mess of bliss—and then amble off.
I have more self-respect.
I set the glass on the entryway table and headed out of there ready to challenge Tobias about his teasing. After circling the property and finding all the doors locked and the windows secured I stomped back to the guesthouse.
Cheeky bastard.
He’d locked me out.
The touch of his kiss still lingering between my thighs made it challenging to come down from this erotic roller coaster. I went back in for the champagne flute and made my way outside the front door.
Oops.
The glass slipped from my fingers—shattering shards on the tile.
I waited...
Tobias had told me he’d not brought anyone else here. My heart skipped a beat wanting to believe this. Maybe, just maybe the proof was in there. A jolt of adrenaline hit me when I saw a flash of movement—the drone coming toward me.
I wasn’t letting him off the hook after bringing me all the way out here. I ran through what motives he had for his actions.
Wait.
Unless he was planning on hitting a place tonight, and I’d chipped away at his precious evening with our fun time in the tub.
The drone lowered and swept up the glass.
Careful of any missed pieces I sidestepped the pathway and followed Jade toward the main house; exhilaration rising that this might work. The machine moved toward a low window and the glass frame slid upward. This was clearly a breach in Tobias’s security, because I was scrambling after it, over the windowsill and squirming my body around to lower myself in.
My towel fell to the ground and I scrambled to pick it up and wrap it back around myself, tucking in the top to resecure it. I was stuck here with no clothes, which meant going after Tobias was going to be a challenge if he left. Still, I reasoned, he’d probably have something here I could borrow.
Yes, buddy, you’re not slowing me down.
I breathed in the floral scent of fresh-cut flowers and padded barefoot along the stone floor down a long hallway. I listened out for Tobias as the drone floated ahead of me. Getting one over on Wilder felt so damn good. I turned the corner and saw the wall of water cascading into a blue pool, a soothing showpiece highlighting the open-spaced contemporary style.
Farther down, an enormous print with the signature style of Mark Rothko adorned a white wall with its glorious gold, pink, orange and a dash of pale blue splendor. I closed in on the vast canvas, admiring the vibrant brushstrokes that were fast and light—
No way.
Tobias had an authentic Mark Rothko hanging in his home. My breath stuttered at the realization this was a multimillion-dollar masterpiece from the renowned Russian Jewish painter who’d been hailed as America’s most talented abstract impressionist.
My stare roamed over his striking mixture of color with its vibrant tones reminiscent of his earlier days, not his later work that reflected Rothko’s painstaking soul-searching. The kind so many artists endure when their star rises and stirs the complexity of art in its purist form versus the financial freedom it promised. A brilliant man whose tragic suicide sent shock waves throughout the community. More than this, Rothko left behind his somber paintings from when he’d been at his lowest and on the day he died, they’d arrived at the Tate Gallery in London as though he’d waited for them to find a safe home first.
To honor Mark’s wishes, I stood eighteen inches away from the canvas just as he’d instructed us, close enough to experience his brilliance and not impose meaning but welcome its effect on an emotional level. An inner light emanated from the colors that were miraculously merging; my heart and mind drinking in the beauty.
Soul merging and slipping through its center...
This, this was proof art was more than a canvas and paint, but