Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cat
A s I step into the dining room, I feel like everyone’s eyes are on me. I feel like everyone knows that I fucked Bennett.
And liked it.
He was so terrified that getting off so quickly would be a huge turnoff, but I’ve never felt more confident and desired. Nothing can make a woman feel taller than when she’s just pulled a man’s soul from his body using only her pussy.
While he wasn’t inside me for very long, I’m already thinking about next time. I’ll have to pretend I’m not, though. If he knows how badly I want him to fuck me stupid, he’ll lose interest. And that’s a very real fear. It’s also part of the reason why this situation grows more terrifying with each sexual encounter. Instead of getting it out of my system, I’m creating a very unhealthy addiction.
“I saved you a seat!” Eve calls from a table near the wall. She’s seated beside Kindra and Ezra.
I make my way to their table, careful to walk like I didn’t just have a massive, pierced cock between my legs. Lunch has already been served, and judging by the nearly empty plates in front of each diner, I’m running out of time before dessert arrives.
“What’s on the menu today?” I ask as I take a seat.
Kindra leans past Eve and gives me a wave. “Lamb lollipops, and they are amazing. Much better than the literal human rump roast he served at the summer retreat.”
We still have two days to go, so she shouldn’t get too complacent. If she doesn’t want Chef Maurice to slide in some sneaky cuts of meat, then she’ll have to stay on top of him.
Bennett enters the dining room as I’m demolishing the second of three lamb lollipops. He’s changed into a forest-green Henley and pushed the sleeves up, exposing his thick forearms. As I remember how those powerful arms held me in place when he filled me, a low moan leaves my lips.
“They can’t be that good,” he says as he takes a seat beside me. “Where the fuck is my plate?”
Ezra leans forward and clears his throat. “If you want to have lunch, you should be in the dining room when lunch begins.”
“Why the fuck does Cat get food and I don’t? She wasn’t here, either!” He folds his arms over his chest and pouts, then realizes his misstep. How did he know I wasn’t at lunch unless he was with me? “I heard her door shut a few minutes before I came down, so I know I wasn’t that far behind her.”
I relax again, and he has a point. It does seem a little unfair. I’d give him the rest of my food if the act of kindness wouldn’t look so suspicious. Then again, he did help me out at the activity...
I slide the plate in front of him. “You can have the rest of mine.”
Everyone at our table stops eating. Their eyes fall on me as their mouths close in unison. It’s like the world’s weirdest flash mob.
Noticing everyone’s shock—and my inability to voice my reasoning for showing the cretin some kindness—Bennett saves the day once again. He pushes the plate in front of me and shakes his head. “I’m just fucking around. I’m not that hungry, anyway.”
His stomach burbles beside me, but I pretend I don’t hear it. Surely they’ll at least give him dessert.
Satisfied, everyone resumes their conversations. The attention shifts away from us, and I return to munching on the food.
“You won’t miss the party on the last night, will you?” Eve whispers as she leans closer. “I’ve been doing a little reconnaissance, and I think Maverick might be up for that kiss after all.”
The third lollipop becomes a glob of flavorless lead in my mouth. If she’d said this to me only twenty-four hours ago, I’d have been a bouncing ball of uncontainable excitement and questions. Now?
Now I’m just fucking confused.
“I thought he wasn’t interested,” I whisper once I’ve wrestled the damned wad of meat past my gullet. I wash it down with a gulp of water.
Bennett clears his throat and leans over me. “I want in on the secret sharing, ladies. What are we talking about?”
“ We are discussing something private.” Eve motions between me and her. “ You can fuck off.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He gives her his devilish smile. The same one that used to make me want to punch him in his smug face. Now I just want to clear the table and sit on his smug face.
“There’s a partner activity after lunch,” Eve says, ignoring Bennett. “Any chance you’d want to team up?”
Kindra leans forward. “I’m partnered with Ezra, so I won’t be jealous,” she says with a wink.
I’m about to open my mouth and say yes, absolutely, but Bennett speaks before I can.
“She’s partnering with me.”
So much for trying to keep this thing quiet.
I turn and look at him, telepathically willing him to take it back. If anyone gets the slightest whiff of what we’ve done—what we’re still fucking doing—I don’t think I will ever live it down. This wouldn’t open a can of worms. This would lay each worm on a table with a diagram pointing to and describing each segment.
They’ll know.
“Remember the bet you lost in the cabin?” He looks at me and winks. “You said you’d agree to do whatever I want for the rest of this trip if you lost.”
I made no such bet. I know I made no such bet. Bennett knows I made no such bet.
But the others don’t know that.
“Oh, right,” I say as I try to look disappointed. “Darn that...lost bet. Hey, Kindra, are you gonna eat your last lamb lollipop?”
Kindra pulls her plate away as I reach for food to shove into the hole that doesn’t know how to work without Bennett’s dick inside it. “Wait, you didn’t tell me about a bet. How’d you lose so horribly that you’d end up Bennett’s pet?”
Her word choice brings up visions of me with a collar around my neck as Bennett cracks a whip across my ass for pissing on the rug.
I’m sick. I have a problem.
“Go ahead,” Bennett says with a wide grin. “Tell them the story.”
“You’re the one who made the stupid bet, so I think you should tell it.” I level him with an equally wide grin.
Bennett raises his scarred eyebrow, silently questioning me. Are you sure you want me to come up with the story? that look seems to say.
I’m not sure. Not at all. But what choice do I have? Everyone at the table is focused on us again, and I seem to put my foot in my mouth every time I open it.
“Okay,” he finally says. “She bet she could stay in the cold longer than I could. Naked, too. She thought she had it in the bag, seeing how I hate the cold and all that, but I beat her by a solid three minutes.”
“Yeah, but almost ten minutes in subzero temps is nothing to sniff at,” I say, piling on the lie.
“How about a rematch?” Eve says with a laugh. “The challenge today is similar.”
“How similar?” Bennett and I ask in unison. I surmise we both have the same fear, which is that we’re about to be outed for our fibs. Neither of us can stand the cold for more than a few seconds, let alone minutes at a time.
“It’s a twist on the polar bear plunge,” Maverick says as the waiters begin to remove our plates. I didn’t even realize he was seated at our table. “I came up with the idea, and Jim and Ezra ran with it. The storm wasn’t as severe as expected, so we’ll be headed to?—”
Ezra dabs his mouth with a napkin. “Don’t tell them everything. I want some of it to be a surprise, especially if we’re up against two people who suddenly have a penchant for cold weather.”
Bennett’s hand finds mine under the table and gives my fingers a reassuring squeeze. Or maybe it’s supposed to be a punishing squeeze, because he’s really bearing down.
“Sounds fun,” he says with the most forced smile I’ve ever seen. “Oh, look! Cream pie for dessert. Isn’t that your favorite, Cat?”
I snatch my hand from his and end up bumping it on the table. With tears brimming in my eyes as I swallow the pain, I manage to say, “How should we dress for this...event?”
“Dress however you’d like for the ride in, but wear a swimsuit underneath everything,” Maverick says.
A swimsuit. In this weather?
I should have let myself choke on the lamb.