Birthday Girl: Paolo's Playhouse, Book 3 Read online

  Dedication

  To my friends who took an early peek at this story and helped to make it even better. You know who you are.

  Chapter One

  Shannon had been dreading her thirtieth birthday for months. Twenty-five had been bad enough. A quarter of a century! But thirty? Thirty meant the end of youth, the end of fun and spontaneity. She knew she was doomed to be a responsible adult for the rest of her life.

  Sitting in the shadowed corner booth in an elegant restaurant, sipping champagne by candlelight, Shannon could almost forget what they were “celebrating”. Tyler had done a good job at trying to distract her so far. Of course, just having her handsome husband sitting across from her, his neatly trimmed blond hair shining in the candlelight, his deep blue eyes raking over her, actually had her thinking about things other than the number of candles on her cake.

  “You look beautiful tonight,” Tyler said softly after they’d finished eating.

  “For an older woman, you mean?” She knew she should let it go, but she just couldn’t kick the thought that life was rushing by her at the speed of light.

  Tyler just laughed. “For crying out loud, you’re only a day older than you were yesterday. Get over it.”

  “You wouldn’t understand,” she said with a pout. “You’re still in your twenties.”

  “Yeah, for a whole four months and then I’ll suddenly be just as old and decrepit as you are.”

  She rolled her eyes. “How did we become old, responsible, married people anyway?”

  He reached across the table and indulgently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Would you really want to go back to those days when we just got out of college and were living paycheck to paycheck, barely making ends meet?” He traced his finger along her jaw as he swept her long hair over her shoulder.

  She tried not to react to his touch, but resisting Tyler had never worked before, and it didn’t now. “You mean those days when we wouldn’t leave the apartment all weekend and had sex in a dozen different Kama Sutra positions before Sunday night came around?”

  He just grinned. “So which position do you want to try tonight?”

  She wasn’t going to let him distract her from her self-pity. “I’m too old to fold myself into those poses anymore.” Some days she could barely walk after planting shrubs all day. Before long, they’d have to hire more workers for their rapidly expanding landscaping business.

  Tyler ran his finger over her pouting lips. She evidently wasn’t too old to feel that zing of arousal. “We could pull the bag of goodies out of the back of the closet.”

  “See? Why are the sex toys in the back of the closet? They used to be out where we could grab them whenever we wanted them. I guess I’m too old to use sex toys anymore.”

  “Now you’re not making any sense.” He pushed his empty dinner plate out of the way and took both of her hands in his. He turned them palm-side up on the table and began to stroke the sensitive skin there. “The recent lack of sex toy use has more to do with us both working crazy hours to get the business off the ground. Things will settle down soon. It has nothing to do with the number of candles on your birthday cake.”

  “That sounded way too sensible.” She yanked her hands away. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she was enjoying the complaining too much. “I don’t want you to be sensible tonight. I don’t want to be sensible.”

  “Shan—”

  “We never do anything kinky anymore. We never got around to having that threesome we used to talk about. You never even give me a good spanking anymore.” Shit. Her voice had gotten a little loud. Shannon looked around, but no one seemed to have heard her.

  “Sweetheart, we can still do anything you want to do. But…we might draw a little too much attention if I put you over my knee right now.”

  “Tyler, I just want to feel young again. I want to be spontaneous. I want to be crazy.”

  “Well, you’ve already made me crazy with this…” he fingered the fabric at her throat, “what do you call this thing?”

  “A blouse?” she replied wryly. While her sheer white top buttoned up the front to a high collar that circled her neck, her shoulders and back were completely bare. “It’s driving you crazy?” She almost grinned. At least she wasn’t too old to drive her husband crazy.

  He reached across the table and traced the curve of her unbound breast through the thin fabric, scraping his thumb across her beaded nipple. She shivered from the tingles that single stroke sent through her system.

  “What did you expect?” he replied. “This material is so thin I can see the shadows of your nipples.”

  Shannon smiled, really smiled for the first time tonight. She knew he’d love this top. When he’d told her he was taking her out to dinner on her birthday, she’d spent hours shopping for just the right combination of discreet and naughty.

  “Did you get enough to eat?” he asked lightly, as if he wasn’t blatantly fingering her breast in a public place. She didn’t think he could turn up the arousal surging through her body any higher, but she was wrong.

  Eat? Food was the furthest thing from her mind. The shrimp cocktail and medium-rare filet had been delicious, but she wasn’t all that hungry tonight. Except for Tyler.

  He tweaked her nipple and she drew in a shaky breath. At least he was acting as if he still found her desirable. Maybe he didn’t see her as a rapidly aging older woman.

  “You’re too far away.” He patted the cushioned seat beside him. “Slide over here. I want you closer.” That seductive tone he used sent chills dancing along her skin. “Close enough to do all kinds of naughty things to you.”

  They were in a restaurant. How much could he do? Honestly, she was ready to go home and let him do all those things they couldn’t do in public. Still, she grinned and slid around to the middle of the horseshoe-shaped booth, feeling suddenly spontaneous and a little bit crazy.

  Her silky skirt slipped and tangled around her hips as she slid along the seat. When she was sitting next to Tyler, she reached down to pull the material back over her thighs. Without a word, Tyler stopped her. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and brought her hand back up from beneath the table.

  “Ty?” She frowned. Tingles of unease—or maybe it was excitement—buzzed through her body.

  “Trust me.” He kissed her fingers before placing her hand on the table. “The tablecloth covers you well. Nobody knows but me.” His eyes seemed even more shadowed. “I like that. I like being the only one who knows that your legs are bare all the way up to those pretty pink panties I watched you put on tonight. In fact…” A sly grin crossed his face. “Take off those wet panties and give them to me now.”

  A tickle that was definitely excitement ran through her body. Did he really want her to do it right here? “How do you know they’re wet?” she asked slyly, more to delay the deed than to know the answer. She already knew the answer.

  “I can smell how turned on you are, sweetheart,” he answered, keeping his voice low. “Your scent makes me so hot I can’t fucking stand it. Now stop stalling and give them to me.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t pull your skirt back down. And don’t draw attention to yourself.”

  Easy for him to say. Damp fabric never slid easily, but Shannon managed to slip them over her hips without too much wriggling. Her skirt was now totally bunched up around her waist. She was tempted to whip the panties out from under the tablecloth and dangle them in front of his face, but she didn’t have the nerve. Besides, it would definitely draw some attention. So she slid them onto his lap, still under the table, still hidden by the tablecloth.

  Tyler caught her hand along with the wet lace and sq
ueezed her fingers, then slipped the panties from her grasp. She couldn’t tell what he did with them after that, but his smile was a heartwarming reward. She never tired of seeing it. Tyler was the light of her life.

  He poured them each another glass of champagne. “To my beautiful wife. Happy birthday, Shannon.” Their glasses touched with a gentle clink, but before she could take a sip of her drink, Tyler leaned over and covered her mouth with his.

  It was a hungry kiss. A brazen, definitely-not-for-a-public-place kiss. He nibbled her mouth, nipping at her lips, his teeth scraping the sensitive flesh. He was devouring her whole and she was going willingly. She could hardly breathe. A voice in the back of her mind whispered a warning about nearby diners and hovering waiters but she couldn’t really care about who was watching them.

  First the panties and now this. The night had turned edgy. Shannon hadn’t realized how much she’d missed edgy.

  She clung to his shoulder with the hand that wasn’t still clutching the champagne flute. Her lips parted beneath the pressure of his insistent mouth and her sigh disappeared on his tongue. Tyler drove his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer and plunging his tongue into her mouth. The combined taste of Tyler and champagne rocked her senses. She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the wild sensations sliding along her skin and gathering between her legs.

  Too soon, he slowly released his grip on her head, softened the kiss, then lifted his lips and leaned away. Her eyes drifted open and he fixed her with his heated gaze, his ragged breathing matching hers. He tapped her glass with his own, reminding her of their toast. “Drink up.”

  Her hand was shaking as she brought the glass to her lips and took a sip.

  “I’m taking you someplace special when we leave here.” Tyler’s voice was smooth, yet intense. He looked at her over the top of his glass. “Have you ever heard of the Playhouse?”

  Was it the tone of his voice that sent the shivers along her skin? Or the words like “special” and “playhouse”? She shook her head. “What is it?”

  “It’s a place to play out sexual fantasies.” He ran the back of his fingers along her cheek. “There are all kinds of playrooms there. For all kinds of fantasies.” He traced his finger down her arm. “And I know you have lots of fantasies.”

  Her mouth was suddenly dry. She took another sip of her birthday champagne. “Everyone has fantasies.” She did her best to grin, but this suddenly didn’t feel like any other night and she couldn’t keep the lighthearted mood going. She dipped her head and looked at him through her lashes. “We’ve tried out quite a few of them, haven’t we?” Ropes and clamps and vibrators and plugs had been a regular part of their sexual escapades until their landscaping business had begun to take up so much of their time. What did he have in mind for tonight?

  “And you love them all, don’t you? All the sex toys hidden in that bag in the closet.” He brazenly twisted her nipple through her shirt, holding her gaze. She nodded. He twisted again, harder, and sparks of arousal shot straight to her sex.

  She liked this edgy side of Tyler. Looking at his clean-cut boy-next-door appearance, no one would guess he liked to tie her up. Or liked to be tied up himself. No one would imagine he could drive her crazy with a feather or a flogger. He certainly didn’t look like the kind of guy who would take his wife out in public and touch her intimately. But here they were.

  And Shannon was so wet she was afraid the seat would reveal the evidence when they finally left.

  “Remember our first anniversary?” Ty whispered, his lips wet and warm on her ear. “I gave you your first pair of nipple clamps.”

  Shannon shivered with the memory. “And you put them on me before we went out to celebrate at the restaurant on the corner.”

  “I loved knowing they were there when no one else did,” he told her. She’d loved it too. He toyed with her nipple. “If you were wearing them tonight, they’d almost show through this material.”

  Those clamps were still in the drawer in her nightstand. She hadn’t even thought about putting them on tonight. She was getting old.

  “I know you have more fantasies, ones that our bag of toys can’t satisfy,” Tyler went on. He nipped her neck and whispered, “Tonight, I’d like to try one of those things we’ve never done before.”

  She shivered. “What?”

  He leaned back then and smiled, his expression a mixture of mischief and wickedness. “It’s your birthday surprise.” He tweaked her nipple again. “I just want you to keep an open mind tonight, Shannon.”

  “Um, okay.” While she was a little nervous, she trusted Tyler. It had been quite a while since he’d pushed her limits. It sounded as though he might be pushing them tonight. She couldn’t help but grin. She suddenly felt like she did back when they first met in college. She’d never known what he was going to suggest next. Her mind whirled now with the possibilities, but she couldn’t even think straight. She couldn’t think about the other people in the restaurant either. No one else mattered. Only Tyler. He continued to play with her nipples, continued to nibble on her neck.

  A curious waitress walked by, her eyes wide. Shannon let her lids drift shut, closing out the blonde and the older couple at the next table who kept sneaking peeks at them. Closing out everything but her lover and the erotic sensations he was bringing to her.

  “Hey, Ty. Hi, Shannon. Long time no see.”

  The familiar male voice made Shannon’s eyes fly open. She instinctively tried to pull away, but Tyler wouldn’t let her go. His hand didn’t even leave her breast as the tall man with long dark hair stopped at their table. What was Marc doing here? God, he looked even better than he had back in college.

  “Hey, Marc,” Tyler said, not looking at all surprised to see him. Ty gave her sensitive breast a squeeze before he released it. Then he stood and shook hands with the man she hadn’t seen since their wedding. Marc was dressed in black, his body still long and lean. He wore a lot of silver jewelry, heavy rings and chains at his neck and wrist. Tyler never wore any jewelry except his gold wedding band.

  “Shannon,” Marc said softly.

  “Marc? Hi.” If they’d met another place, another time, when her ass wasn’t bare and her body charged with arousal, she would have jumped up and thrown her arms around Marc. Instead, she was confused and a bit suspicious. “I didn’t know you were back in town.” He wasn’t classically handsome, but his sharp features were striking, and the last eight years had made them even more so.

  “Just for the weekend.” He took her hand in both of his and didn’t hide the fact that he was studying her intently in the dim light. “You are more beautiful than ever.” His dark gaze should have made her uncomfortable after all these years, but there was something flattering about seeing blatant appreciation from someone other than her husband, especially today of all days. He released her hand and she quickly put it in her lap. When she felt the bunched-up fabric of her skirt, she remembered she was bare from the waist down. She resisted the urge to squirm.

  Marc frowned slightly and caught Tyler’s eye. “This is okay, right? Me being here?”

  “Yeah. Sure.” Ty cleared his throat. “I just hadn’t gotten around to telling Shannon yet.”

  Her heart beat against her ribs and she didn’t know why. “Tell me what?”

  “Maybe I should go,” Marc said, still standing by the table. He glanced quickly at Shannon and then back to Tyler. “You can call me later if you want.”

  “No. Hold on just a minute.” Tyler was still standing too. He turned to look at her.

  “What’s going on?” Nerves scrambled in her stomach. She felt as if she were about to be pounced on by wolves. And her pussy clenched at the thought. What was going on here? The intense gazes of her husband and an old friend shouldn’t turn her on like that.

  Why did seeing Marc again make her hot and tense? Was that what happened when you turned thirty? You started to lust after men other than the one you loved? Of course, it could have a lot to do with the fact
that she’d had a massive crush on Marc before he introduced her to Tyler. Ty didn’t have a clue. God, she hoped Marc didn’t either.

  There was something in the air, a tension that came with Marc appearing out of nowhere. A tension that seemed to add to the edginess she’d already been feeling. Maybe it was her intense awareness of the additional man standing there. Just how aware she was made her a little uncomfortable. Tyler was still so close to her that she could feel the familiar heat from his body. But Marc exuded a raw sexuality that made her shiver. She couldn’t believe she was reacting like this to a man who wasn’t her husband, no matter their history. She loved her husband. He was sexy and fun and their sex life was usually active and inventive.

  But for the first time since she’d met her husband, she wished for another man’s hands on her body.

  No, she didn’t. Not really. It was just a fantasy, like dreaming about kissing Brad Pitt. Something that was fun to think about, but would never happen in real life.

  That’s why it was called fantasy.

  She hoped Marc said good-bye and left before her breathing got any shallower. Before she squirmed in her seat and Tyler knew what she was thinking.

  “Shannon, I invited Marc to join us tonight,” Tyler said softly. He sat back down beside her and took her hand. His intense gaze held her in place. “He’s part of your birthday surprise.”

  “Birthday surprise?” What had Tyler said a few minutes ago? Something about trying out a fantasy they’d never done before. Her eyes grew wide and she looked from Tyler to Marc. Shannon smothered the little gasp that threatened to escape her lips.

  He stroked her hair and brought his lips close to her ear. “I thought you might like to try out that ménage you always wanted.”

  Tonight? With Marc?

  “I don’t know.” Maybe some fantasies were meant to stay that way. Some fantasies were never meant to be acted out.

  Tyler cupped her face in his large hands and rested his forehead on hers. “Think about it,” he whispered. “You’ve talked about it for years. Two men giving you their full attention. Two men giving you pleasure.”