Girl Next Door

by Paige Tyler

Chapter One

Amber Bennett let out a little sigh as she eyed the group of hunky guys hanging around the hotel’s tropical-inspired pool. Daaaaammmn, she thought. She hadn’t seen this many six-packs since last year’s office Christmas party. And to think she’d almost passed up the chance to come down to the Bahamas with her friend Michelle.
Of course, her reluctance had had a lot to do with the fact that Michelle had been coming down to attend a spanking party. Unlike her friend, Amber wasn’t into the spanking scene, and even though the other girl had assured her that the party would take place in private rooms, she’d had visions of people dressed in leather and spanking each other all over the resort. Amber hadn’t been about to spend all that money on a vacation to the islands if she had to lock herself in her room the whole time. But to her surprise, and relief, Michelle had been right when she’d said that Amber wouldn’t even know there was a spanking party going on. That was until the other girl came back to their room in the wee hours of the morning and told her all about what fun she was having getting spanked.
Sipping her drink, Amber couldn’t help but smile as she thought of her friend’s enthusiasm. While Amber wasn’t exactly shy and reserved when it came to sex, she just didn’t get the whole spanking thing. How in the world any grown woman could enjoy getting put over a man’s knee and having her bottom reddened, much less be turned on by it, was beyond her. She couldn’t think of anything more embarrassing!
Her face coloring at the thought, Amber glanced down at her watch and was surprised to see that it was already after five-thirty. Remembering that Michelle had said she would be at a suite party from three until five that afternoon, Amber decided to go back up to the room and see if the other girl wanted to have dinner with her.
Getting to her feet, Amber tied her sarong around her curvy hips, then picked up her beach tote and headed for the hotel. When she got up to the room she shared with Michelle, the dark-haired girl was just slipping her feet into a pair of high-heeled pumps. Looking up at Amber’s entrance, she gave her a brilliant smile.
“Hey!” she said, her brow suddenly furrowing as she took in Amber’s flower-print bikini. “I thought you said you were going shopping this afternoon.”
Amber set her beach tote on the overstuffed chair. “I decided to lie around the pool instead,” she told her friend. “I thought I’d come up to see if you wanted to have dinner together.”
“Oh, I would, but Erik asked me to have dinner with him in his room,” Michelle said, her eyes bright with excitement. “God, he gives the most delicious spankings!”
Amber almost laughed. Her friend had said that same thing about at least half a dozen other guys since they’d gotten there. “Well, have fun,” she said.
Michelle turned to give her a wink as she opened the door. “I plan to! And don’t wait up. If Erik’s as good at doing other things as he is at spanking, I won’t be back until late.”
Amber couldn’t help but shake her head as the door closed behind the petite dark-haired girl. Her friend was completely certifiable!
As she stripped off her bikini and stepped into the shower, Amber debated between ordering room service and going down to one of the all-inclusive resort’s many restaurants. While she didn’t enjoy getting a table for one, she didn’t feel like spending the evening cooped up in the room, either. Her decision made, she quickly finished showering, then did her make-up and slipped into the sundress she’d brought with her. Colorful and flirty, it not only complimented her tan, but also showed off her long legs to perfection. Just because she wasn’t actively looking to pick up a guy, especially considering that she and Michelle were leaving tomorrow, that didn’t mean she still couldn’t look good.
Running a brush through her long, honey-blond hair, Amber was just wondering if she wanted to wear it down or put it up when she noticed the red, silk flower on the vanity. Thinking it would go great with her dress, and knowing that Michelle wouldn’t mind if she borrowed it, Amber picked it up and tucked it behind her ear. Perfect, she thought.
Grabbing her purse from the chaise where she’d left it, Amber left the room and walked down the hall to the elevators. Once downstairs, she opted for one of the more casual restaurants. There were several people waiting to be seated when she arrived, and she moved forward to take her place behind them. As she did so, one of the men glanced in her direction, only to do a double-take when he saw her. As he casually let his gaze run up and down her body with obvious interest, her pulse quickened at the smoldering look in his blue eyes. He thought she was hot, and she had the same opinion about him.
How the heck had she been there the whole weekend and not seen him around? she wondered. The word “hunk” didn’t even begin to describe him. Dear God, with his dark blond hair, chiseled good looks, and broad shoulders, the man was enough to make any girl melt! It was just her luck that she had to meet him the last night of her vacation. Then again, he was way too good looking to be by himself, she thought. She frowned a little as she wondered which of the women in the group his girlfriend was.
To Amber’s surprise, however, he made no move to follow the other people into the restaurant when the hostess led them inside. Damn, he was by himself, she realized. Now, if she could just stop standing there like a ditz and think of something to say to him, that would be great. But it was no use; those sexy blue eyes of his had her totally speechless. Of course, by the time she did manage to get her tongue untied, the hostess had returned.
“Two?” the girl asked in her sing-song accent, glancing from the gorgeous, blue-eyed hottie to Amber, and then back again.
He didn’t answer the girl right away, but instead turned to look at Amber. “Care to join me?” he asked, and then added, “I mean, unless you’re meeting someone.”
Amber quickly shook her head. “N-no,” she stammered, and then blushed as she realized that it had probably sounded like she was refusing his invitation. “I mean, no, I’m not meeting anyone. I’d love to join you.”
He flashed her a grin before turning back to the hostess. “Two, then.”
The girl picked up two menus. “Right this way.”
The blond hunk stepped back so that Amber could enter the restaurant ahead of him. As she did so, she couldn’t resist putting a little extra wiggle into her walk. She’d been told that her ass was one of her best features, so why not show it off?
Like the other restaurants at the resort, this one had seating outside on the patio, and Amber was pleased when the hostess led them out there. As she slipped into the chair her handsome dinner companion held out for her, she couldn’t help but let out a wistful, little sigh as she took in the white sand beach and beautiful turquoise water. While she loved living in New York City, she was definitely going to miss this.
“I’m Colt, by the way,” the blond-haired Adonis said as he took the seat across from her.
Colt. That definitely had a sexy ring to it, she thought as she gave him a smile. “Amber.
“So, are you down here alone?” he asked.
Amber shook her head. “I came down with a friend,” she explained, and then smiled. “But she ditched me to have dinner with some guy she met.”
His mouth curved. “Lucky for me.”
And for me, Amber thought.
“Have you been here the whole weekend?” he asked as he opened his menu.
She looked up from her own menu to give him a nod. “Yes.”
“Really?” he said. “I’m surprised we didn’t run into each other before this.”
“I’ve been spending most of my time at the pool, or on the beach,” she explained.
He nodded, but before he could reply, the waitress came by to ask if they were ready to order. Even though they had both only glanced at the menus, Amber and Colt knew what they wanted and gave her their selections.
“Where are you from?” Colt asked her after the waitress had left the table.
“New York,” she told him, and was surprised when his eyes went a little wide.
“You’re kidding. So am I.”
She blinked. “No way! Where in New York?”
“Manhattan.”
Amber stared at him in disbelief. “I live in Manhattan, too.” This was too good to be true!
Colt looked even more surprised at that, but before he could comment, the waitress came by with the drinks. After she had left, he leaned forward to regard Amber thoughtfully.
“Are you originally from there?” he asked.
Amber shook her head. “I’m a small town girl from Iowa,” she said as she sipped her drink.
He nodded. “What brought you to New York?”
“College. I went to art school there.”
He lifted a brow. “Really? Are you a painter?”
She shook her head. “I illustrate children’s books. What about you?”
“I’m in IT,” he said. “I design software programs.”
The waitress arrived with their food then, interrupting their conversation, but after the woman had left, Amber and Colt picked up right where they’d left off. As the conversation continued to flow throughout dinner, she couldn’t help but be surprised by how much they had in common. The fact that they both lived in Manhattan probably had something to do with that, she supposed. Not only had they both moved there from the Midwest, she learned, but they both frequented a lot of the same places in the city, including Central Park, where it turned out they both went jogging several times a week.
But while the conversation might have come easily, Amber had to admit that she still found it difficult to focus on what Colt was saying during most of it. More than once, she found herself getting lost in those sexy blue eyes of his. And when she wasn’t doing that, she was gazing down at his strong hands and imagining what they would feel like caressing her body. Maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t met him the first night she’d been there, she told herself as they shared dessert, otherwise she might have spent the whole vacation in bed. Which wouldn’t necessarily have been a bad thing, she decided as she watched him lift a forkful of cake to his mouth and close his lips over the decadent dessert. Dear God, she could sit and gaze at him all night!
She and Colt probably would have sat there, too, if the waitress hadn’t come by for what seemed like the hundredth time asking if she could get them anything else.
“I think that’s her subtle way of telling us to leave,” Amber said as the girl moved off.
Colt chuckled. “I think you’re right,” he agreed. “But that doesn’t mean the evening has to end just yet. Want to come up to my room for a drink?”
Amber felt her pulse skip a beat at the look in his sexy blue eyes. He was asking her up to his room for much more than a drink, she knew, and she hesitated for a moment. She usually didn’t sleep with guys until the third date, but Colt was really hot. And she was on vacation, she reminded herself. From everything...including her three-date rule.
She smiled at him. “I’d love to.”
Colt’s room was on the eighth floor, but because the elevator stopped on every floor in between to let people on and off, it seemed like the ride up took forever. Now that Amber had made the decision to sleep with him, she was impatient to get his clothes off and see if he really was as well-built as she’d thought. By the time they stopped on Colt’s floor, Amber was ready to push him up against the wall in the corner of the elevator and have him right there.
Which was why when Colt asked what she’d like to drink once they got to his room, she gave him a sultry smile and said, “You really didn’t ask me up here for a drink, did you?”
He let out a soft chuckle. “Not really.”
“That’s what I thought,” she said. Sliding her hands up the front of his button-up shirt, she gently pulled him close for a kiss.
Colt’s mouth was firm and insistent on hers, and she melted against him with a little sigh of pleasure as his tongue intertwined with hers. Damn, the man could kiss!
Sliding one hand in her hair, he ran the other over her hip to cup her bottom. She could feel the heat from his skin through the thin material of her skirt, and Amber moaned her approval against his mouth.
Colt abruptly tore his mouth away. His breathing was ragged as he gazed down at her. “I want to...” he began, but she didn’t let him finish. Instead, she kissed him again.
“Yes,” she breathed.
Letting out a groan, Colt took her hand and led her over to the chaise. Amber went eagerly. She’d never had sex on one of those before. This was going to be fun!
But to Amber’s surprise, Colt didn’t pull her into his arms when he sat down, but guided her over one of his legs so that she was draped over the chaise’s cushion. She automatically pushed herself up onto her elbows, all set to ask what he was doing when she felt him caress her upturned bottom. Oooh, she thought as he ran his hand over her ass. That was nice. Very nice!
Settling back down on the chaise, Amber let out a soft, little moan, only to gasp in surprise a moment later when she felt him give her ass a light smack.
Her eyes went wide. Had he just spanked her?!
But then Colt was lightly caressing her bottom again, and she was sure she must have imagined the smack. Telling herself that must have been it, Amber relaxed against him and let herself enjoy what he was doing.
Smack!
Amber tensed. Oh God, she hadn’t imagined it. Colt had spanked her! Was still spanking her, she corrected, letting out another startled little gasp as his hand came down on her bottom again.
She opened her mouth to protest, even thought about pushing herself to her feet, but she was so stunned that this gorgeous guy was actually spanking her that she could do no more than lie there and let him keep doing it.
What the heck had made Colt think she was into spanking? Did she look like a spanko? She didn’t think so. Then again, she thought, neither did he. In fact, he looked completely normal. It just went to show that you couldn’t go by looks, she told herself wryly.
The spanks were falling harder now, Colt’s hand smacking rhythmically against her ass over and over. Then, all at once, the spanking stopped and he was caressing her ass again. His hand felt so good after the stinging smacks that Amber had to bite her lip to stifle a moan.
That brought her head up sharply. She was not actually enjoying this, was she? The thought made her blush. Okay, that was it. She was putting a stop to this right now before she did something to really embarrass herself!
Ignoring the firm hand he had placed on the small of her back, she pushed herself up. “Stop it! Let me up!” she demanded. “Now!”
At the words, Colt immediately released his hold on her. Relieved that he’d stopped spanking her, Amber jumped to her feet. Her face red as much from anger as embarrassment, she reached around to cup her stinging asscheeks with both hands. She couldn’t believe how hot her bottom felt!
From where he was still sitting on the chaise, Colt was regarding her with confusion. “What’s wrong? Was I spanking you too hard?”
“N-no...I-I mean yes...” she stammered, and then glared at him. “I didn’t come up here with you so that you could spank me!”
That seemed to baffle Colt even more. “You didn’t? I thought...”
“Well, you thought wrong!” she told him, still rubbing her stinging bottom. “I thought you people were supposed to leave the rest of us alone!”
Colt’s frown deepened. He looked more mystified than ever. “Excuse me?”
As he spoke, Colt got to his feet, and Amber had to lift her chin to look up at him. “Just forget about it!” she snapped. “Look, I’m not into spanking, okay?”
He lifted a brow. “Then why are you wearing that flower in your hair?”
It was her turn to frown. “What are you talking about?”
“All the women were given red flowers to wear in their hair so that the men would know they were into spanking,” he explained.
Amber opened her mouth to accuse him of making that whole thing up, but then snapped it shut again as she abruptly remembered seeing Michelle wearing the flower almost the whole time they’d been there. She flushed. Oh God, how embarrassing.
“I...I didn’t know,” she stammered softly. “My friend is the one down here for the spanking party. I borrowed it from her.”
Colt said nothing, but it was obvious from the expression on his handsome face and the way he ran his hand through his hair that he was just as embarrassed as she was by what had happened.
“Amber, I’m really sorry,” he said quietly. “I would never have spanked you if I’d known you didn’t like it.”
Though Colt’s apology should have made her feel better, all it did was make her feel even more stupid. She whirled around, looking desperately for her purse, and finally spotting it on the overstuffed chair.
“Amber, wait!”
She didn’t bother to turn around, but only shook her head. “I...I have to go,” she muttered, hurrying to the door.
“Amber...”
But the rest of whatever Colt said was lost as the door closed behind her.