Page 56 of Sweet Heat at Bayside
“Let me show you the pièce de résistance.” Donovan took hold of the zipper at her ribs and unzipped all the way around her lower back and over her left hip, revealing a sexy path of tanned skin that snaked around her body.
“Holy cow, Vi. You look like a model,” Desiree said. “You should wear dresses more often.”
“Right,” Violet said sarcastically.
Emery walked around Violet, assessing her, and said, “Seriously, you look like you could catch fire.”
“I’ddoyou,” Chloe said, “and I’m not into girls.”
Violet rolled her eyes again. “You don’t have to butter me up. I can wear it for an hour or two, but I’m not wearing heels.”
“I almost forgot!” Donovan hurried over to an antique armoire and pulled out a boot box. He opened the top and handed a pair of black, wedge-heeled and fringed ankle boots to Violet. “Harley-Davidson Tybee boots, the hottest boots around for our biker girls. The hidden wedge heel and stylish fringe makes them perfect for dressing up orleatheringup.”
“These are kickin’,” Violet said.
Desiree beamed at her. “Really? You’re going to wear the dressandthe boots?” She threw her arms around Violet, nearly toppling them both over. “Thank you! I wouldn’t have cared if you wore your leather miniskirt and bikini top, but this means the world to me.”
“Whatevs, sis,” Violet said with a sigh. “Can I change now? I’m freaking starving.”
“Yes. Go!” Desiree nudged her toward the curtain. Then she threw her arms around Donovan and kissed his cheek. “You’re amazing! Thank you so much for everything. The dress fits perfectly, and Violet looks like a dream. Now I just have to find heels.”
“I might have you covered, too, princess.” He went to the armoire and returned with another box. “If you like them, they’re my wedding gift to you.”
Desiree opened the box, and happiness bloomed in her eyes. “I love them!”
She held up a pair of gorgeous sandals, also with a wedge heel, a shade lighter than her dress, with tiny pearls on the thin strap across the front of her foot and on the thin ankle strap.
“With a beach wedding, you want flats or a wedge, and since Ricky’s so tall, I thought you’d want the additional height to be closer to his lips.” He winked.
“Can you help me with my wedding dress?” Emery asked. “I wasn’t going to do anything fancy, but…”
“How about a triple wedding?” He looked inquisitively at Emery and Serena—as did the others.
“Dean and I arenotcrashing Des’s wedding,” Emery said. “Count me out.”
Serena’s stomach twisted nervously. “I…um…no. Drake and Ijuststarted dating. We’re not evencloseto being engaged.”
“We’ll see about that,” Desiree said. “Rick and I didn’t date long before we got engaged. And look at Em and Dean. When you know, youknow.”
“Don’t fall prey to their pressure,” Violet said as she stepped out from behind the curtain wearing her own clothes. “Stay strong, little one.”
She’d been strong for so many years when it came to Drake, she sort of hated that expression, but her life was in Boston and his was here at the Cape. “I’m going through enough life changes at the moment. We’ve only just begun trying to figure out how to be a long-distance couple.”
That didn’t stop her from thinking about Donovan’s suggestion and toying with the idea through lunch at the Red Eye Coffee and Café later that afternoon. Thinking of Drake made her think of making love with him, which reminded her of hershoppinglist. As the girls chatted about everything under the sun, Serena thought about her earlier conversation with Drake about her impendingshoppingtrip.
You probably want me to get handcuffs or silk ties.His gaze had nearly ignited, and she’d taken it a little further.Or maybe edible underwear?She’d always thought herself to be open to anything and fairly well versed in the bedroom, even if she didn’t have hands-on experience with much kink. But with Drake, she had a feeling she came across as a novice. He’d chuckled and said,Baby, you’re all I need, but I’m all for exploring a darker side with you.
The passion in his eyes, the heat in his voice, and the fact that Drake was the man she’d loved forever made herwantto explore with him, to test her limits.
“Let’s eat quick and go see Lizzie and Brandy,” Desiree suggested.
“Remind me to stop into your little pleasure trove of dark and sexy secrets when we get back to Wellfleet,” Serena said as casually as she could.
Violet’s catlike green eyes landed on her. “Guess you got my note.”
“You left her a note, too?” Desiree speared a tomato from her salad with her fork.
“I think Vi modified yours,” Serena answered. She’d never been the least bit nervous about wandering around their adult toy shop. But now, just thinking about buying things to actually use with Drake, made her all kinds of jittery, and she second-guessed her suggestion.
