Cougar Christmas Read online

  “Last night.” His deep voice was smooth. “We talked about taking the plane here today and what it would be like to join the mile high club. Genevieve here is usually pretty reserved so the idea of getting caught was exciting to her—kind of naughty. Not that Gen would actually do something like that but it was fun to pretend.”

  Drew smiled at her but all Genevieve could do was sit there frozen to the couch.

  Where is he coming up with this stuff? Is he crazy?

  Phillips looked momentarily flustered and Genevieve got the idea he wasn’t used to being wrong. Then he leveled a look at them both.

  “Either you’re lying to me, Mr. Wells, or you two had an intense fight on the way over here.”

  “Wait a minute.” Genevieve held up a hand. “How can you make assertions like that?”

  “Because of what I’m seeing.” Phillips gestured at them. “Just look at how you’re sitting! Your husband has his arm around you—a gesture of love and protection on the part of the male. Most women who are happy in their current relationship will lean into their mate’s side, at least a little. But you, Genevieve, are absolutely rigid.”

  “Well, I—” she began but Phillips talked right over her.

  “Downstairs in the lobby, you let Drew take your hand but you didn’t appear to enjoy the contact. Once we reached the room he guided you forward with his hand on the small of your back—a proprietary and reassuring gesture on the part of the male for you, his female. Again, you didn’t appear to enjoy his touch. In fact, you got away from him at the first opportunity. Admit it, Genevieve…” He narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You don’t want intimacy with your husband at all. In fact, the very thought of it makes you intensely uncomfortable.”

  “That’s not true.” Genevieve shook her head quickly. “I…I’m just tired from the plane ride. And hungry. And…and…”

  “All right, all right.” Phillips raised a hand to stop her. “Very well, let’s do a quick intimacy exercise.”

  “A what?” Drew frowned at him in obvious confusion.

  Genevieve was feeling confused herself. How had they switched gears from accusations about her being frigid to some kind of therapy?

  “An intimacy exercise. Don’t worry—you’ll get quite used to them before your stay here is through.” Phillips smiled. “Now Drew, take your wife’s hands, look into her eyes and tell her you desire physical intimacy with her.”

  Oh my God, are we starting this already? I thought we’d at least get to unpack first before we got into the touchy-feely stuff.

  Feeling slightly panicked, Genevieve allowed Drew to take her hands and tried to keep her face neutral as they looked into each other’s eyes.

  She could feel her heart pounding in every part of her body at once. Nothing but the fact that fooling Guy Philips was the only way she was going to keep her job, kept her from jumping off the oxblood leather couch and running from the room.

  “Genevieve,” Drew’s voice was like velvet as he gazed into her eyes with what appeared to be perfect sincerity. “I want to make love with you tonight. I want to touch you and taste you and make you feel incredibly good.” His eyes went half-lidded and his voice dropped to a soft, proprietary growl. “I want to hear you moan my name and know that you want me as much as I want you,” he murmured.

  “Very good, Drew.” Phillips actually applauded.

  If her hands had been free, Genevieve might have joined him. She had to hand it to her assistant—Drew might be a smartass but he deserved an Oscar for the performance he was pulling off.

  She’d almost believed him. In fact, his soft, deep voice and intimate words had made her aroused against her will. Her nipples felt like tight little points under the cashmere sweater and she squeezed her thighs tightly together, which only made her more aware of how hot and slippery her sex had suddenly become.

  Damn it, what was wrong with her being attracted to her assistant all of a sudden? Or maybe this was just the first time she’d allowed herself to admit she was attracted to him. Genevieve pushed that thought out of her head quickly.

  An act, she reminded herself, concentrating on keeping her face calm. It’s just an act.

  “All right, Genevieve. It’s your turn.” Phillips’ deep voice broke her concentration and the feeling of panic returned when she realized she was up next. A lot was riding on her performance but it was still incredibly difficult to look into Drew’s sharp blue eyes, hold his hands, and say those words.

  “Drew…” She cleared her throat self-consciously, then decided to just get it over with. “I, uh, I want to be intimate with you tonight. I mean I…I want you to make love to me,” she finished in a rush, not quite able to meet his eyes.

  “It would be my pleasure.” There was a tiny smile in one corner of Drew’s full mouth that let her know he knew exactly how uncomfortable she was, but there was nothing she could do but play along.

  “Uh…mine too,” she said lamely.

  “No, no, no!” Phillips’ outburst startled her so much she dropped Drew’s hands.

  “What? What did I do wrong?”

  “Passive aggressive. Extremely passive aggressive.” Phillips pointed at her. “Genevieve, did you hear yourself just now—the way you phrased your request for intimacy? You said, ‘I want you to make love to me.’ In other words, you’ll accept Drew’s touch but you won’t reciprocate. Exactly the way you accepted my handshake in the lobby without returning it.”

  “If you’re implying that you can tell how good I am in bed by the way I shake hands—”

  To her intense irritation, Phillips talked over her again.

  “Kiss him!” he demanded.

  She arched one eyebrow at him.

  “I’m sorry—what?”

  Phillips gestured impatiently. “Kiss your husband, Genevieve. Give him a genuine gesture of intimacy.”

  Genevieve bristled.

  “I’m not accustomed to making personal displays of affection on demand, Doctor Phillips.”

  Phillips sighed and ran a hand through his thinning gray hair. “And I’m not accustomed to such resistance on the part of my patients. Forgive me, Genevieve, but you are here to salvage your marriage, are you not?”

  Genevieve opened her mouth but Drew answered for her.

  “Of course we are. That’s exactly why we’re here,” he said smoothly. “It’s just that Genevieve is a very private person. This isn’t easy for her.”

  “I understand that.” Phillips looked a little calmer. “But it’s better if you understand right now that you’re going to have to sacrifice some modesty if you want to get to the root of your problems as a couple.”

  “Sacrifice some mod—?” was as far as Genevieve got before Drew kissed her.

  The gesture was so unexpected that at first she was frozen to the spot. Then her body unthawed all at once and she realized that not only was her assistant an excellent liar, he was a damn fine kisser as well.

  Phillips, the opulent suite around them, and her irritation and defensiveness all seemed to melt away under the warm pressure of Drew’s lips. To her intense surprise, she found herself responding—kissing him back. Drew returned the favor by running one large, warm hand over her shoulders and back, pulling her closer. Somehow a soft moan escaped her and Drew swallowed the sound eagerly, taking the opportunity to dart his tongue delicately between her lips.

  Mmmm… Genevieve leaned into him, unable to help herself. She hadn’t been kissed like this in years—not since before she’d married Charles in fact. There was an edge of raw passion in Drew’s kiss that took her breath away—an animal hunger that made her nipples go even tighter behind the cups of her lace bra and made her pussy hot and wet and swollen.

  God, what is he doing to me? Is this for real?

  She reached up to touch him, as though to verify that the kiss was something more than an extremely vivid dream, and found herself threading her fingers through his thick, black hair.

  Drew made a low sound in his throa
t, almost a growl, and pulled her even closer. Suddenly her breasts were crushed against the hard planes of his chest and she could feel something hard and hot against her hip. Somehow he’d pulled her halfway onto his lap and there was no longer any doubt in Genevieve’s mind that he was every bit as turned on as she was at the moment.

  This was no act—Drew wanted her and God help her, she wanted him too. Badly.

  “Very nice. So there is some passion left in your relationship.”

  The booming voice almost in her ear brought Genevieve back to Earth with a thud. Suddenly remembering they had an audience, she broke the kiss, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment.

  God, can’t believe I lost control like that while he was watching us! What’s wrong with me?

  “I…uh…we…” she stammered, grasping for words that weren’t there.

  “Genevieve and I still enjoy each other very much.” Drew’s deep voice had a possessive quality she’d never heard before—it sent a shiver down her spine. He looked at her, his eyes dark with need, but spoke to Phillips. “In fact, Doctor Phillips, if you wouldn’t mind leaving I’d like to enjoy her right now.”

  Oh my God—I think he really means it!

  Genevieve stared at him wide-eyed. The look on Drew’s face said he couldn’t wait to get her alone. Could this possibly be more acting? She was eleven years older than him and his boss—could he really be attracted to her? Or was he just trying to get rid of Phillips? But the hard bulge nudging her hip didn’t feel like any kind of acting. It felt like her assistant was really attracted to her and reminded her of what she’d realized earlier when he was kissing her—as inappropriate as it was, she was attracted to Drew too.

  She wished desperately for some private time with Drew to get things straightened out but Phillips was obviously not going yet.

  “I’m glad to hear you’re eager for intimacy with your wife, Drew, but I need to explain a few ground rules and show you our recording equipment before I go.”

  This seemed to get Drew’s attention. His head snapped up and he frowned and said, “Recording equipment?” at the same time Genevieve said,

  “Ground rules?”

  Phillips nodded at them both.

  “Here at Whispering Pines we have both group therapy and couples therapy. The group therapy is once daily after lunch. The couples therapy is in two parts—part one you’ll do on your own as you work your way through our list of intimacy exercises. Part two is when I review the recording of your progress the next day.”

  “Wait a minute—what recording?” Drew asked suspiciously.

  “Each suite here at the Pines has been fitted with a state of the art recording system. Yours is located in there.” He nodded at a small door to one side of the room that Genevieve had assumed was a closet. “You and I are the only ones who have the keys.” He held up the old fashioned brass key and the plastic key card he’d used earlier. “So you don’t have to worry about your personal recordings falling into the wrong hands. And at the end of your stay here the one and only copy of your intimacy exercises is yours to keep or destroy as you see fit.”

  Genevieve was getting a very bad feeling about this in the pit of her stomach.

  “Tell me, I mean, tell us more about these ‘intimacy exercises,’” she demanded.

  Phillips smiled. “That’s the best part of the program. Here.” He produced a thick manila folder and handed it to Drew who opened it at once. “The list of exercises you’ll be expected to complete is first, with instructions on how to do each one. Some of them require extra equipment which you can also find in the recording booth. And don’t worry—we restock completely new items for each new couple.”

  “Why would you need completely new items for each…” Genevieve’s voice trailed off as her eyes happened to fall on the list of “exercises” they would soon be required to complete. Some looked fairly innocent. “Tandem breathing,” she read under her breath. “Non-sexual touching. Feed-me picnic.” But then she looked further down the list.

  “Mutual masturbation,” Drew murmured under his breath, still studying the list. “Edible body paint exercise. Sensual soaking bath for two. Soft bondage. Spanking.”

  “Oh my God!” Genevieve looked up at Phillips, genuinely angry now. “Are you seriously expecting us to do all this knowing this room is wired and that you’ll be watching it the next day? Are you out of your mind?”

  “Actually the entire suite is wired, but not for sound—whatever you say will remain private.” Phillips appeared completely unruffled. “And please don’t think that I’ll be watching this for any form of personal gratification, Genevieve. I mostly just fast forward, making sure the exercises are completed. And if one of them brings a particular concern or problem to light, we can discuss it during your morning couple’s therapy session.”

  Genevieve stared at him, trying to process what she’d just heard. She and Drew were expected to complete a number of very embarrassing exercises, many of which no doubt involved getting naked and close, and they were going to be recorded while they did them?

  This was a nightmare. Surely she was going to wake up soon—wasn’t she?

  “I’m sorry,” she said, feeling dazed. “But I actually helped write the brochures for Spiritual Soulmates couple’s retreats—it’s part of my job as Director of Marketing—and I have never seen anything about this kind of…of…thing.” she finished helplessly, waving her hand to indicate the whole situation.

  Phillips grinned proudly. “That’s because it’s brand new. Stuart is giving me carte blanche in the therapy aspect of Whispering Pines and if we’re able to show success here he may incorporate my methods into all the Spiritual Soulmates resorts.”

  Drew cleared his throat.

  “So…we’re supposed to be your guinea pigs here?”

  “Oh, no, no, no! Not at all.” Phillips shook his head. “All the other couples here are undergoing the same treatment. Of course, they all had time to review the new literature and knew what to expect. I’m afraid you probably didn’t have time since Stuart registered you for this retreat so late, but didn’t he at least mention our new methods?”

  Vaguely Genevieve remembered her boss saying something about “great new ideas on intimacy and sharing” or words to that effect but she’d never dreamed making her own sex tape would be part of it. “He, uh, said something about it but he didn’t give details,” she choked out. “I just never dreamed…”

  “You don’t mind participating, do you?” Phillips frowned sternly. “I hope I don’t have to call Stuart and tell him you’re not even trying to work on your relationship.”

  Drew frowned at him.

  “That sounds an awful lot like blackmail, buddy.”

  Phillips smiled serenely.

  “And so it is. But it’s for a good cause. Believe me, Drew and Genevieve, if you just let down your guard and get into the program, you’ll leave here a hundred percent happier with your relationship.”

  “I’m about a hundred percent pissed off at the moment,” Drew began, starting to stand. “And if you think for one minute—”

  “Drew, no.” Genevieve grabbed his sleeve and dragged him back down, a frozen smile on her face. “He’s all right,” she told Philips. “He’s…we’re both fine. We’ll be fine.”

  Her stomach was filled with ice again. Blackmail was right. If Phillips got on the phone with her boss and started talking about Genevieve and her husband, certain major differences between the man she was supposed to be here with and the man she was actually here with might come to light.

  “We’ll do it,” she told Phillips, her mouth dry. “Just, please…there’s no need to call Stuart.”

  The tall therapist smiled benignly.

  “Of course not. I wouldn’t disturb his Christmas holiday unless I had no other choice. Oh, and did I mention that we recommend you try to make love at least once a night while you’re staying with us?” He chuckled. “Most couples find it to be no problem at all after co
mpleting their intimacy exercises. They’re very conductive to coitus.”

  “I’m sure they are. And I’m sure you get quite a thrill out of watching that too,” Drew said dryly.

  Phillips shook his head.

  “Again, this is not for my personal satisfaction, Drew. It’s for the growth of your relationship. It’s our hope that the two of you will feel so close and connected by the end of this weekend that you’ll want to participate in our Renewal of Vows ceremony—which this year is happening right on Christmas Day. So romantic!”

  “Renewal of vows?” Genevieve stared at him blankly.

  “Presided over by me.” Phillips looked proud. “A mere formality of course, but one many couples find to be very uplifting and affirming. Well.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them briefly, making a dry, sandpapery sound. “It’s time I left you two lovebirds to get on with your intimacy exercises. You’re required to do two a night and remember, I will be checking to make sure they are completed correctly. Dinner is at seven and a daily schedule is available at the back of the folder I gave you. Good night.”

  He placed the key and keycard on the ottoman, nodded at them both and left.

  Genevieve barely saw him go. She was too busy looking at the list of very scary “exercises.” Exercises she was supposed to complete with her hot but completely off limits, way-too-young-for-her assistant.

  God, what was she going to do?

  Chapter Three

  Genevieve wasn’t looking too good—in fact, she was looking about as upset and panicked as he had ever seen her.

  Drew would have been more concerned if he’d been able to keep his eyes away from the list of “intimacy exercises” they were going to be doing. The list read like a catalogue of his favorite fantasies about his boss but he’d never dreamed someone would have to force him to do them.

  Worse, he didn’t want to force Genevieve. He liked to be in control in the bedroom but he believed that “no” meant “no” and he damn well wasn’t comfortable doing anything that would make her feel coerced or unhappy.

  He shot her a sidelong glance. Still, it wasn’t like there wasn’t any heat between them—his shaft was still at half-mast in his jeans from that incredible kiss they’d shared. He just wished he knew if Genevieve had been as into it as he was.