Page 202 of Wicked Fantasies

Meg tried to persuade herself she wasn’t making a huge mistake trusting this virtual stranger as they rode the elevator up to his penthouse suite. Fact was if she weren’t so exhausted and completely out of options, nothing on earth would have convinced her to go to a hotel room with a strange man, regardless of how nice he seemed. She simply wasn’t the type of woman to do something so rash and potentially dangerous. She was practical, never-take-a-risk Meg and her friends constantly referred to her as the ‘reliable’ one. Taking this vacation alone was the most daring thing she’d ever done in her life. She felt her cheeks flush as she realized Rob was still holding her hand and had been doing so since they left the bar. His palm was large and warm and surprisingly comforting to her. He was a stranger and yet she felt an immediate connection to him. Almost as if they were kindred spirits. The thought sent a chill down her spine.

Rob, apparently mistaking her shivering for cold, said “Once you get into the room, you can take a nice hot shower and get out of those damp clothes.”

Rather than comforting her, his words had the opposite effect and she felt a strange tingling sensation sweep through her body. Looking at Rob’s incredibly handsome face, she considered what it would be like to let him peel the wet clothes off of her and take a nice hot shower with him. His muscular body and god-like face were certainly awakening parts of her libido she didn’t know she had. Plus he smelled delicious, like a mouth-watering thick juicy steak she couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into. What the hell was she thinking? He was a complete stranger and she had never had a one night stand in her life. She was practical, rational, level-headed. Okay, she thought, I’m boring.

As he unlocked the room, Meg took a steadying breath considering the fact that someone who looked like Rob Mason would never be attracted to someone like her. While not unattractive, she certainly couldn’t hold a candle to the goddess she saw emerging from the limo with Rob earlier. Which reminded her, “What about Lana?” she asked, recalling the woman’s name.

“What about her?” Rob asked, clearly perplexed by her question.

“Will she mind me sleeping in the next room?”

“I don’t really think it’s any of her business one way or the other,” Rob replied.

“Isn’t she your girlfriend?” Meg finally blurted out, cursing her too straight-forward nature.

Rob laughed at her question before replying, “Good God, no. She’s my secretary. She has a room down on the first floor.”

Cursing herself for the sudden relief flooding her body, she followed him into the suite. Why it should please her that Lana wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity, she didn’t know. It’s not like it improved her chances. She never attracted men in a sexual way and wouldn’t know the first thing about trying to seduce one as hot as Rob Mason. Of course, the weekend was all about romance and it wasn’t like she’d ever see Rob after they left here. Maybe she could break free from her own self-constraints a bit. Live a little. Fact was she suspected Rob would be a terrific teacher in bedroom play. Smiling to herself at the thought, she followed him into the hotel.

“Holy mother,”she exclaimed upon entering as she took in the decadent room.

“Pardon me?” Rob asked, confused by her stunned reaction.

“This hotel suite is bigger than my whole townhouse,” she added, obviously awed by the room. “This place is amazing. Beautiful. Is that a real Grand piano?”

Rob nodded as he glanced around, surprised by her comments. Silently, he wondered if he’d become immune to his lavish lifestyle. The hotel suite, by his standards, was quite simple. He wondered what Meg would think of his castle in England. Grinning at the thought of showing it to her, he shook his head. What was he thinking? He was helping out a young woman down on her luck for one night. Or perhaps more than one night. He felt comfortable in her presence and wondered what it would take to convince her to spend the entire weekend with him. He was enjoying his anonymity and her company very much. He suspected what you saw was what you got with Meg Williams. She was friendly and sincere, with a terrific sense of humor given the fact she could actually joke about her horrible day. In his cut-throat world those traits were uncommon and, given the reaction his body was having to her, apparently incredibly sexy.

“So the company you work for really owns this suite?” she asked, jerking him from his thoughts.

“Yes, they do. Part of the benefits package is that we can take advantage of this place,” he answered, the continued lie beginning to taste bad on his lips. Why he didn’t want to end the charade yet, he couldn’t explain. Somehow, for just tonight, he liked the idea of being plain old Rob Mason, hard-working businessman. It felt good to shed Rob Madison, billionaire bachelor for awhile. He liked the idea of befriending a woman with his personality rather than his checkbook. Unfortunately, his body was making a different sort of demand in regards to Meg Williams and he had to make a quick adjustment of his trousers lest he scare her away.

“It must cost a fortune. I was going to offer to split the room fee for the night, but even half of this,” Meg gestured at the splendid room, “is way out of my price range.”

“You aren’t paying a cent. As I said earlier, the company pays, not me. Makes no difference who stays here. Your bedroom is right up there,” he said pointing to a door four steps up on its own landing. “Mine is over there,” he said pointing in the opposite direction. “Each room has its own private bath. Please feel free to take advantage of the kitchen in the morning. I’ll call down and make sure room service stocks it with something nice for breakfast.”

“Oh no,” she said, “You don’t have to do that. I won’t imposition you for more than tonight, I promise. I’ll pick up breakfast on my way back to the airport.”

“I owe you at least a breakfast,” he replied, uneasy at her mention of the airport, “given the careless way my driver--.”

“Rob,” she interjected. “The car accident didn’t change the fact that this stupid hotel overbooked.”

Rob winced at her words, swallowing down the insult to his property. Fact was the hotel had screwed up her vacation, but he didn’t know how he could convince her it was a five-star hotel with an impeccable record of service and one of the top-ranking on the island without giving away his own interest in it. Damn that idiot Timothy.

“Nonetheless,” he said, “you need a place to stay and I’m able to offer it. That fact is going a long way toward soothing my guilty conscience over the car incident so let’s leave it at that. Besides, look at what I’ve gained. The extra room would have been empty and I wouldn’t have had such lovely company tonight. Now I’ve met a beautiful teacher.”

Meg snorted at his compliment. “Yeah right, a raving beauty,” she said laughing as she ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

Rob grinned. Meg obviously had a problem accepting compliments, another trait he found rather endearing.

“I’m going to order room service. Have you eaten dinner?” he asked.

Meg looked longingly at her bedroom and Rob continued, “It will take awhile for them to prepare it. Why don’t you take a hot shower and I’ll knock when it arrives.”

“Well, that does sound good. I’m starving. Nothing to eat all day, but those damn little packages of peanuts they give you on the plane. And I insist on picking up the tab for dinner since you won’t let me pay for the room.”

Rob shook his head at her stubbornness. “Meals are included with the use of the room. Company policy again.”

Throwing up her hands in defeat, Meg said, “Fine! Order me whatever you’re having. I’m clearly not winning any battles with you tonight. Maybe over dinner you can tell me how I can get a job with this unbelievably generous company you work for.”

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