Chapter 30
Courtney
“Most of us hang in the pool or the hot tub,” he tells me once we’re in his suite. “So, we should stop by your place to get your suit.”
“All right.”
Once we make that stop, we head up to the rooftop pool. It’s enclosed, but there’s a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that afford us the most incredible view of the city. There’s even two-way glass so we can see out, but no one can see in.
As he predicted, everyone is hanging out when we arrive. Marcus and Harlow are in the hot tub, Joe and Jesper are laughing about something with Jonas, and Vivian and Gunnar are in the pool. There’s a group of younger women pouring glasses of champagne, along with a few other people I recognize.
“Is everyone paired off?” I ask curiously.
He shakes his head. “Marcus and Harlow are on-again, apparently, but that changes regularly. I don’t know their current status, but Marcus was eager to get here because of her.
Joe and Jesper are together, as are Gunnar and Vivian.
Cooper and Natalia are also a couple.” He motions to the bar.
“The two ladies giggling over there are maids here at the palace—Violetta and Graciella. Jonas takes turns with them, and sometimes he and Marcus tag-team them when he and Harlow are on the outs.” He pauses.
“Look, there’s a lot of sleeping around.
Like I told you earlier, they all work hard, so when they have a chance to let loose, they do. ”
“What about you?”
He shrugs. “I partake sometimes but that’s over now.”
“Is it?”
“Absolutely.” He takes my hand and squeezes tightly.
“And what happens when I go back to Vegas?”
“That depends on how we leave things. If we’re in a relationship, then nothing happens. I spend a lot of time jerking off until the next time I see you.”
“And I guess I’ll be spending more time with BOB.”
“Did you bring it with you?” he asks after a moment.
“Of course. I bring him everywhere—a girl has needs.”
“I’ll bet you do.”
Our eyes lock for a beat but then he just reaches for my hand.
“Come.” He leads me over to a bar that’s set up with champagne, beer, bottled water, and the ingredients for mixed drinks. He pours me a glass of champagne and then one for himself.
“How was your flight?” Natalia asks me. “Daniil was looking forward to surprising you with that.”
“Amazing,” I say happily. “The one thing I’ve missed about the military is flying.”
“If you do it again, I’d love to go with you,” she says. “I love being in a helicopter.”
“Well, ask the boss!” I tease, nudging Daniil. “I’m ready, willing, and able.”
“I just never have any time off,” Natalia mutters, giving Daniil the side eye.
“We’re working on it,” he replies. “You knew the job before you signed on.”
“I did. And I’m fine with the long hours. It would just be nice to have scheduled time off, like Sandor and Lennox do.”
“Once Gunnar takes the oath, things will ease up,” he says. “Eighteen months ago, no one had days off, ever.”
“Glad I wasn’t here then,” Cooper quips.
“Oh, come on—life here is a lot of fun,” Natalia says, laughing. “Obviously, it can be intense sometimes, but we get to do a lot of cool things. We travel… we’ve had private concerts here in the palace, and that ski trip we went on last winter was amazing.”
“That was fun,” Cooper acknowledges.
“Nobody’s Fool and Onyx Knight have both played private concerts here,” Daniil tells me. “And of course, Casey will pull out her guitar during random family events, and that’s always epic.” Those are well-known rock bands that almost everyone has heard of.
That does sound like fun.
“Skinny dipping in a private pool on a Friday night isn’t bad either,” Natalia laughs, glancing over to where Gunnar and Vivian have jumped into the pool naked.
“Are those two ever dressed?” Daniil asks, shaking his head.
“Very rarely,” Cooper says. “Are you sure you want him to take the oath?”
“Maybe he’ll scare away the bad guys by running around naked,” I interject.
Daniil and Natalia burst out laughing but Cooper looks intrigued. “Now that I would pay to see!”
We talk for a while and then they make their way over to Gunnar and Vivian. We’ve just refilled our champagne flutes when Joe and Jesper join us.
“I hear you had a nice flight,” Joe says to me.
“Did everyone know about that except me?” I demand, laughing.
“Probably not everyone,” Jesper says somberly, “since I have no idea what he’s talking about.”
“She flew a helicopter,” Joe tells him.
“I was a military pilot before I retired,” I explain.
Jesper shrugs. “The military has always baffled me. Never felt the pull, though I did my mandatory eighteen months.”
“The military is a calling for some,” I say, curious about his reaction.
“It absolutely is,” Joe says as Daniil casually slides his arm around my waist.
I wondered if it would be weird to hang out with Daniil and his ex, and I’m still not sure.
Jesper is handsome and intelligent, but it feels like he’s a little on edge around me and I’m not sure why since he appears enamored with his much-older boyfriend.
Joe Westfield is a legend in U.S. Marine circles, so I knew his name long before I actually met him.
For a while, I’m lost in conversation, reminiscing about random events and places we’ve all visited or experienced. And for the first time since Daniil and I met, I feel…at home. Like Daniil’s life and mine aren’t as far apart as I thought they were.
Like maybe this could work.
Or maybe it’s just the champagne taking away my inhibitions.
“Let’s get in the hot tub,” Daniil murmurs, kissing the side of my neck.
“Okay.” I have my bathing suit on under the sundress I pulled on after we got back from dinner, so I tug it over my head and leave it on one of the lounge chairs. I kick off my sandals and follow Daniil into the steamy water, Joe and Jesper on our tails.
Except they’re naked.
And completely oblivious to us as they make out.
Daniil pulls me onto his lap, pressing light kisses on my shoulder, my neck, and across my chest.
“I love your tits,” he murmurs, kneading one breast with his hand. “You know what I’d really like to do sometime?”
“Hmm?” I feel his erection poking me through his swim trunks, and my body instantly reacts.
“Fuck those beautiful tits and come all over your chest and neck.”
“I’d be down for that,” I say. “But no squirting into my eyes. I really dislike that. On my neck, around my mouth is fine, but my eyes are off-limits.”
“No fantasies about shooting into your eyes,” he promises.
“Where should we do it?” I ask, looking around.
His eyes widen. “Wait—you want to do it now? I was simply telling you something I want to do. At some point. Not that I want to do it right here.”
“But you’d like to.” I turn so I’m straddling him and wind my arms around his neck. “Come on, you know you want your friends to watch.”
“I absolutely do.” His gaze lands on mine. “But I want you to be comfortable first. Sex isn’t why we came tonight.”
“I know. But I want to… honestly.”
“Is that you or the champagne talking?”
“We discussed this when I was perfectly sober. The champagne is simply making me less nervous about going through with it. But I’ve enjoyed everything we’ve ever done together. Including letting half the wedding guests watch you go down on me after the reception.”
“I think it was technically during the reception…” He leans down to nibble my lips.
As always, the moment we touch I feel him harden against me.
I love having that effect on him, being able to turn him on from the slightest bit of physical contact.
It’s the same for me, it’s just not visible from the outside like it is with him.
There’s so much passion between us it’s hard to think when we’re together like this.
I’m barely even aware that there’s anyone else in the room now that he’s kissing me.
“Baby, you drive me wild,” he breathes against my mouth. “If we didn’t need condoms, I’d be inside you already.”
“I am not ready to be pregnant again,” I groan, playfully pinching one of his nipples. “You weren’t around to see how miserable I was!”
“If I had been around, you would have been less miserable,” he says, dragging his teeth down the side of my neck. “Because I would have been rubbing your feet, buying you all the treats your heart desired, and making sure you were as comfortable as possible.”
“I don’t know if comfort and pregnancy can exist in the same sentence,” I whisper, my head falling back. “But it sounds good.”
“If we were to have another child, you wouldn’t be miserable unless it was because of an illness I couldn’t do anything about. As far as comforts go, you would have them all.” His mouth is on my neck, sucking and licking so that goose bumps cover my skin.
“How did I not know what a romantic you are?” I ask breathlessly.
“You never gave me a chance to prove it.”
That stings a little, but the gentle barb does nothing to make me want him less.
Especially not when his mouth covers mine and he pulls me in, devouring me.
His tongue taking mine expertly. We momentarily grapple for dominance but I’m more than happy to let him win—there’s nothing more exciting than Daniil taking over, making me want to experience things I didn’t know I could enjoy.
Like letting people watch us have sex.
He’s so gorgeous and passionate—and dominant—just thinking about other people watching us get it on gets me worked up.
“No way I can get into position in here unless I plan on drowning you,” he murmurs against my lips. “Let’s take this out of the water.”
“I’d prefer you not drowning me,” I say, trying to keep a straight face.
He just laughs, gets up out of the water and holds out his hand to help me.
Then he lifts me up and tosses me over his shoulder.
Fuck, but that turns me on.