Wilde Thing (14 page)

“Is it ever?” Steve snapped, feeling uncomfortable under his brother’s scrutiny when he was beginning to recognize that his affair with Liz was turning into something more for him than a superficial fling to get her out of his system. And that realization came with a whole slew of emotional complications he wasn’t sure how to deal with, since he truly wasn’t looking for a long-term commitment with any woman. At least not the kind that led to marriage. And eventually, every woman wanted marriage.

“Hey, no need to get defensive about it.” Adrian held his hands out in a placating gesture, his deep-blue eyes reflecting a hint of contrition for pushing what seemed to be a sensitive issue. “I’m just making sure that since Eric here has been bitten by the love bug, that it’s not contagious.”

Eric didn’t deny being bitten, and the besotted grin on his face backed it up. “Be careful,” he said to Adrian. “It might just sneak up on you and bite you in the ass when you least expect it.”

Adrian shuddered dramatically. “Not likely. Been there, done that, and while I’ll admit that you got lucky with Jill, I like my life the way it is, free of emotional
commitments and demands. I come and go when I please and answer to no one but myself. It works for me.” He dragged a french fry through the pool of ketchup on his plate and returned his attention back to Steve. “So, back to lover boy here and his girlfriend, Liz …”

“She’s a client, and I’m working on a case for her,” he said, hoping to dispel any further debate on his love life.

“Mixing business with pleasure, huh?” Adrian tipped his beer toward Steve in a masculine salute and waggled his brows.

Steve pushed his lunch plate aside and leaned back against the upholstered booth. “The last thing I want to do is discuss my relationship with Liz with the two of you.” He felt very protective of her and wasn’t about to taint what they’d shared so far. And he wasn’t the type to kiss and tell. They weren’t talking
forever,
but he respected Liz and wasn’t about to let anyone think otherwise. Not even his womanizing brother Adrian, appropriately nicknamed the Wilde One.

“She’s a nice woman,” Eric said sincerely in a show of support. “She’s the owner of The Daily Grind.”

“I’ve heard of the place but haven’t been there.” Adrian reached across the table and filched the extra french fries Steve had left on his plate. “If the scenery is that good, I’ll have to stop in there sometime.”

“Stick to your sports groupies, Adrian,” Steve said, knowing those wild, willing women were more his style. And he had a slew of them who were eager to please—in bed and out.

“You know I like a good challenge, and those women are too … well, easy—if you know what I mean.”

Steve understood more than Adrian realized. His brother was finally becoming selective and discriminating, and gratuitous sex obviously no longer had an appeal for him. Steve was glad to see it happen, since
Adrian had spent much too long using other nameless females to make up for the hurtful rejection of the one woman he’d fallen hard for.

The waitress came by, cleared their plates, and asked if they wanted a refill on their drinks, or dessert. They all declined, and Steve was slipped the bill. Lunch was on him, as he’d promised Eric the day before, though he’d foregone his threat of McDonald’s in favor of their favorite pub. He pulled out his wallet to pay the bill so they could head on to the golf shop.

Eric cleared his throat and fiddled with the set of car keys he’d put on the table. “Hey, look, before we go, there’s something I need to tell the two of you.”

Steve was infinitely grateful that the spotlight was finally off him, and he welcomed the diversion, though his brother’s suddenly somber mood concerned him. “Sounds important.”

Eric glanced from one brother to the other. “It’s one of the most important decisions I’ve ever made in my life.”

Surprisingly, there was no wisecrack from Adrian, though Steve was plenty prepared to kick his younger brother’s shin under the table if he demeaned Eric’s need to tell them something so obviously significant. Eric had always been the easy-going, carefree bachelor of the three of them, and it wasn’t often that he revealed such a serious side.

And that was enough to demand their attention.

“What is it?” Steve asked when the silence stretched out too long.

“I’m going to ask Jill to marry me.”

“Are you crazy?” Adrian blurted, then tempered himself when Steve managed to follow through on his plan to give his brother a swift kick to knock some sense into him. “I mean, are you sure?”

“I love her,” Eric said simply, unfazed by his brother’s outburst. Reaching into the pocket of his trousers, he
brought out a small velvet-lined box. “I picked this up this morning.” He flipped open the lid, revealing an impressively sized diamond ring.

“Jesus, Eric!” Adrian turned his head, as if the glare from the stones were much too bright for him to take. “Blind us with that thing, why don’t you?”

“Wow,” Steve said profoundly, despite his own failed marriage. “You’re serious.”

“I wouldn’t joke about something like this.” He snapped the box closed again and tucked it back into his pocket for safekeeping. “I don’t want anyone in my life but Jill. She’s the one I want to be with for the rest of my life. I’ve even started thinking about kids lately and having them with Jill, and my biological clock is ticking,” he joked.

Steve grinned. He’d never seen his brother so happy, and it warmed him deep inside that Eric had found someone he wanted to share his life with. “If you’re looking for approval, you’ve got mine. Jill’s perfect for you. And I know that Mom and Dad will be thrilled, too.”

Adrian shook his head in awe. “You must be in love, because that ring had to have cost you a small fortune.”

“She’s worth it.” Eric shrugged, as if money was inconsequential to what the ring symbolized. “I was thinking of proposing at Dad’s party, in front of family and friends.”

“Are you sure she’ll say yes?” Adrian asked humorously.

“I wouldn’t ask her if I didn’t know with absolute certainty that she’ll say yes,” Eric replied confidently. “It’s the next logical step in our relationship, and I think we’re both ready for it.”

Steve smiled. “I’m genuinely happy for you.”

Adrian slapped Eric lightly on the back. “Me, too.”

“Thanks. I’d propose to Jill regardless, but it means a lot to me that you guys are behind my decision.” Eric
sent both brothers a grateful glance, but his gaze remained on Steve. “You know, you might want to consider Jill’s suggestion to bring Liz to Dad’s party tomorrow. It’s family and friends, so I’m sure she’d fit right in.”

Inviting Liz was a big step into his personal life, and Steve wasn’t sure he was ready to take that leap. So he opted to give his brother a noncommittal answer. “I’ll definitely think about it.”

Friday evening was a busy night for phone sex. After verbally satisfying over a dozen customers, Liz was certain every Tom, Dick, and Harry without a date had decided to call up The Ultimate Fantasy and make up for their lack of companionship and get lucky in the only way available. The switchboard operators were jammed with calls, and Liz was so busy, she worked through her break. As soon as she disconnected one call, another came in, giving her only enough time to catch her breath before greeting another client and starting all over again.

At ten after eleven, she was the unfortunate recipient of a call from a man named Stan, who’d just had his wife walk out on him for a young stud and needed a major confidence bolster from a woman. Any woman. And it wasn’t sex or physical satisfaction he was after. He wanted to talk, and went on to tell her what he did for a living, how he’d met his wife, how long they’d been married, and how he’d found out about the affair. It didn’t take her long to figure out that Stan was a lonely, insecure man who wanted to feel significant, and she did her best to fulfill his particular fantasy with compliments and reassurances.

It was the easiest and most undemanding call of her evening. Unfortunately, he kept her on the line for nearly thirty minutes, and while she was thrilled to earn the extra bonus money to help pay back Steve for his PI
services, Liz prayed that she’d get a chance to talk to Steve before the night was over. They had a mission to accomplish.

As soon as she hung up with Stan at twenty to twelve, her line beeped again, and she connected the call anxiously. “Hi, lover, what’s on your mind tonight?”

“You.”

She smiled, the sexier-than-sin timbre of Steve’s voice making her toes curl in her sandals. She leaned back in her chair as the night’s tension drained from her limbs and was replaced with a welcoming buzz of awareness. “You’ve been on my mind, too.” An understatement. The man was never far from her thoughts.

“I like that,” he murmured. “Do you want to know what I’ve been thinking about all day long?”

She could only imagine. They’d spent the day apart, both of them busy with their day jobs, and she’d missed talking to him. Being with him. “Tell me.”

His exhale rushed through the phone line. “I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to meet you.”

Well, he certainly got straight to the point, she thought with a bit of amusement, but knew there would be more to tonight’s conversation than just a request to meet each other.

“But you’ve already met me,” she said, deliberately being coy and making it sound as though their acquaintance were all phone-related. “You know who I am, and you’re with me every night.”

“Sindee,”
he said, using her call name. “I know your name; now I want to meet you. For real. In person. Face to face. Skin to skin.”

Her stomach tumbled and her nipples tightened. Having had intimate knowledge of just how decadent “skin to skin” felt like with him, she wanted that just as much. “I’d like that, too.”

“You’ve become more than a fantasy to me.” His husky voice mesmerized her, as did his words. “I
crave
you.”

A tiny thrill shot through her. “Even after last night, when you had me covered in caramel?” she teased, reminding him not only of their phone conversation but what had happened at her place afterward.

“Ummm.” Another deep, rumbling growl from the back of his throat. “That only satisfied my craving for something sweet, and you were definitely that. What I want now is a hot physical contact. With you.”

Her pulse quickened for the first time that evening, and she crossed her legs, knowing they were heading toward another provocative verbal exchange certain to make her ache and want. “If we met in person, what would you do to me?”

“I think you know.” His tone resonated with dark sexual hunger. “And it’s not hand-holding I have in mind.”

She laughed softly, sensually. “I’d be very disappointed if it were.”

“I think you and I would be like two strangers meeting for the first time, and there’d be an instant chemistry between us that neither one of us can deny,” he said in a low, rich murmur. “It’s powerful and irresistible, and we’d have to have each other, right then and there, at any cost.”

She wanted him
now.
“Yes, I think it would be just like that between us. Urgent and sizzling hot,” she agreed, and expanded on the fantasy. “The room is dark and shadowed, and our gazes connect and hold. We don’t have to say a word, because we know what’s going to happen, and we both want it.”

“Our hands and mouths would convey everything we need.” His breathing was ragged and beyond aroused. “And our clothes only make it half off before you’re straddling my lap and I’m pushing deep inside you.”

A low moan slipped past her lips before she could stop it.

“God, you’re so hot and wet,” he rasped, and groaned, too. “And every time you move on me, you squeeze my cock like a tight, hungry fist.”

Her inner muscles clenched in reaction, and she closed her eyes with a shudder, which only served to conjure images of the two of them entwined so erotically. She could almost feel him within her, so smooth and full and hard.

“I want you,”
he said fiercely, desperately, aggressively. “Meet me tonight.”

“I… I can’t.” She resisted, only for the sake of the roles they were playing.

“Do you want to meet me?” he demanded.

She bit her bottom lip. “More than anything.”

“Then let’s be those two strangers who meet in the dark of the night.”

“I don’t know.” She infused a believable amount of uncertainty in her tone. “I wouldn’t want to break any rules here at work by fraternizing with a client without permission.”

“You won’t be breaking any rules if no one finds out,” he countered, trying to sway her.

He was very persuasive, and while this was all an act between the two of them, she wondered if this was how her cousin had gotten involved with one of her clients. Had Rob been this convincing and Valerie hadn’t been able to resist his allure? She could definitely see how that could happen.

“I want you,” he went on, his possessive tone singeing straight to her soul, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality for her. “I want you bad, and I’ll do whatever it takes to have you. No more phone fantasies. I want the real thing. I want to feel your skin against mine, smell your scent, and taste your desire.”

Her head spun, her body caught fire, and her mind chanted,
Yes, yes, yes!

“I want to take you every way you’ll let me.” His voice was raw and primal and sounded just as restless as she felt. “Do you want that, too?”

“Yes,” she breathed. She was shamelessly turned on,
her skin hot and prickly, her sex aching. She was his for the taking, any way he desired.

“Good.” He sounded pleased, with an edge of arrogance thrown in for good measure. “Then see what you can do about making it happen.”

“I will,” she promised.

They’d put their plan into motion, both of them emphasizing their interest in each other. Now they just had to wait and see if Antonio took the bait.

U
nbridled excitement hummed in the air as their eyes locked and held from across the dimly lit room, direct and blatantly sexual. Focused and intent. Two strangers, instantly attracted to each other, on the brink of becoming intimate. There was no denying what they both desired—a sizzling, carnal encounter, with pleasure and satisfaction being the primary goal.

He was tall and leanly muscled, his hair dark and tousled around his head. His devastatingly blue eyes glittered with potent male heat as he offered up a silent challenge to play the game they’d instigated on the phone less than half an hour ago. From his chiseled jaw to his bedroom eyes to the day’s stubble on his cheeks, he epitomized the kind of bad boy she was drawn to. Virile and seductive and a little bit on the dangerous side, his quiet, rock-solid confidence increased his appeal, making Liz excruciatingly aware of his prowess—and his wicked intent.

She welcomed the rush of adrenaline spiking through her veins. He moved closer, his gait slow and predatory as he closed the distance between them, and Liz’s heart pumped hard in her chest in thrilling anticipation of the fantasy unfolding into reality.

They were in her small living room, which shared space with her equally small dinette set, but her vivid imagination put them in a more exotic locale, somewhere far away from her own responsible, sensible life.

He came to a stop directly in front of her, so close she could feel the heat of his body through his clothes, could inhale how deliciously male he smelled—a heady combination of heat and forbidden passion. His warm breath ruffled the wisps of hair along the side of her face, and pure, undisguised sexual energy crackled between them, a rare and irresistible chemistry that intensified with each moment that passed.

Her body softened, liquified, automatically readying itself for his possession. No words were spoken—none were needed—as she lifted a hand and curled her fingers around the nape of his neck. She pulled his lips to hers and kissed him deeply, avidly. His mouth was equally hot and eager, his tongue bold and greedy, consuming her with rich, unadulterated pleasure.

They pulled back, just long enough for him to quickly strip off his T-shirt and yank hers off, too. Their mouths met again, lips open, teeth nipping and nibbling, tongues touching, tangling. Her hands swept over the broad expanse of his chest, and she plied his nipples with her thumbs, then strummed her fingers downward to his taut belly. With a groan, he smoothed his palms along her shoulders and pushed her bra straps down her arms. They caught in the crooks of her elbows, and he left them there but didn’t waste any time in pulling down the sheer, lacy cups so he could fill his hands with her breasts and roll her nipples back and forth between his fingertips.

She felt out of control, and she luxuriated in the untamed sensation along with the freedom to do things with and to this man that she’d never explored with another lover before. Like indulging in this stranger fantasy
and luxuriating in mindless, unrestrained sex for the pure, intoxicating pleasure of it.

But ultimately Steve was a man she trusted with her body, and more. A man who made her feel amazingly feminine and lavishly seductive—as if she were made specifically for him, in every way. And for as long as their affair lasted, she was his, in every way.

Breathing hard and aching for that fast, frenzied joining the fantasy inspired, she blindly reached for his belt buckle and released the leather strap, then unfastened the top button and pulled the zipper down over his burgeoning erection. Grabbing the waistband of his jeans and briefs, she shoved both down to his thighs. His iron- hard shaft sprang free, and she encircled him with her fingers and stroked his length, used her thumb to smear the bead of pre-come that had gathered on the head of his penis.

His entire body jerked in response. He slanted his mouth across hers again with a rough growl, his tongue thrusting deep as he reached beneath the miniskirt she’d worn to work and pulled her panties down to her thighs. From there the scrap of fabric dropped to her ankles, and she kicked it aside and out of the way.

Hot, callused hands skimmed up her thighs, and long, seeking fingers delved into the crease between her legs. She was already wet, already excruciatingly aroused, drunk on passion and the excitement of the forbidden. He found her clit with his thumb and strummed across that knot of nerves in a sleek caress. All it took was that one electrifying touch, and she came in a fast, feverish climax that left her panting and gasping for breath.

He wrenched his mouth from hers and grabbed one of the dinette chairs from behind him. He sat down, quickly dug a condom from the pocket of his pants— still tangled around his knees—and sheathed himself. Then he was tugging her toward him, forcing her legs
wide open on either side of his thighs. Grasping her waist, he guided her to sit astride his lap, and his cock slid along her slick flesh and unerringly found the entrance to her body.

He pulled her hips down at the same time he bucked upward, sinking into her tight heat and embedding himself to the hilt. She inhaled sharply at the abrupt invasion, and he groaned, long and low. He rocked her pelvis against his, his body tense and quivering. She grabbed on to his shoulders, easily picked up the rhythm he set, and rode him with utter abandon.

The material of her skirt floated around them, covering where they joined, which added to the eroticism of their tryst. His hand roamed up her spine, and his fingers fluttered along the nape of her neck, then wrapped the strands of her hair in his fist. He pulled her head back with that one hand and used the other to splay against the middle of her back, forcing her body to arch into him and her breasts to rub against his chest.

Their bodies were locked tight, and she continued to ride him as he scattered soft, damp, biting kisses along her throat and over the upper slopes of her straining breasts. He circled his tongue around one rigid nipple, blew a hot stream of breath across the peak, then did the same to the other. He lapped at her slowly, licked the taut tips teasingly, and nibbled until the madness was too much to bear. Grabbing a handful of hair from the back of his head, she pressed his parted lips to one aching, tingling crest in silent demand, and he obeyed, taking as much of her breast as he could inside the wet, velvety warmth of his mouth.

He sucked, and she felt that tugging, pulling sensation all the way down to her sex. She couldn’t stop the whimper of need that slipped from her lips, couldn’t hold back the convulsions that started deep inside where Steve filled her, full and throbbing. She moved on him,
harder, faster, and came undone as a torrent of exquisite sensation flooded her limbs and sent her careening into an intense and fiery orgasm.

He released a harsh groan of surrender then and gripped her hips, rocking her in time to each frantic upward surge of his thick shaft within her. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as his own body shuddered in and around hers in long, deep, powerful spasms.

When it was over, they melted into each other, their arms and legs entwined, both of them too wiped out to move. Chest to chest, the wild beating of their hearts was all Liz could feel, and in that seemingly endless stretch of time, that profound connection between them was all that mattered to her.

Steve rummaged through Liz’s kitchen cupboards for a late-night snack while she’d slipped down the hall to take a quick shower and change into something more comfortable. He’d promised her he’d stick around until she returned, and the truth of the matter was that he didn’t want to leave. And because there was nothing left for them to discuss business-wise when they both knew the ball was now in Antonio’s court, it made the issue of his staying beyond their midnight tryst a personal one.

He frowned at that realization as he snagged a peanut butter granola bar from the cupboard, but couldn’t deny the truth. Beyond the incredible, mind-blowing sex they shared and the way they connected on a physical level, he enjoyed being with Liz as a woman who matched him intellectually, a person he enjoyed spending time with, and an intimate lover he couldn’t get enough of. The three facets were intrinsically joined, in a way that fulfilled an emptiness within him he hadn’t even known
existed until she’d come along and filled that vast solitude with her exuberant presence, her fortitude, and even her moments of vulnerability.

His heart thumped hard in his chest, and he immediately dismissed the notion that popped into his head. He was
not
falling for Liz. Yes, he enjoyed being with her. Yes, he cared for her. Yes, she was fun and sexy and turned him on like no other woman ever had, but there was no way in hell he was going to fall in love with her.

The mere thought made the granola in his mouth turn to dust, and his palms sweat. He liked his life the way it was, thank you very much, and being a bachelor suited him just fine. After one failed marriage and a sixteen-year-old daughter whom he adored, he’d already done the domestic thing and wasn’t in the market for a wife, family, or long-term commitment with any woman.

Yet there was no denying that his feelings for Liz were shifting and changing, in a way that transcended wanting only a temporary fling with her.

“If you’re hungry, I can make you a sandwich.”

Liz’s husky voice yanked him from his thoughts, and he turned his head as she padded barefoot into the small kitchen, a soft smile greeting him. She was wearing a well-worn thermal tank top with matching drawstring pants. Her hair was damp and ruffled around her head, her face scrubbed clean, and her skin pink from her shower. He caught a whiff of her shampoo, and his stomach knotted. He ached to nuzzle her neck, to immerse himself in her sweet, fragrant scent. He wanted to lie down with her on her bed and fall asleep with her cuddled in his arms.

Oh, yeah, he definitely had it bad for her.

“I was just passing time with a snack.” He ate the last of the granola bar and washed down the bite with the bottled water he’d filched from the refrigerator. “By
the way, I think you have a few messages on your recorder.”

Her gaze went to the small machine on the counter next to her phone unit. A digital number flashed, indicating she had two messages waiting for her to pick up.

“Oh, crap.” She crossed the kitchen, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t check the recorder first thing when I walked in.”

“I think you were a little distracted,” he teased.

“That’s no excuse.” Self-condemnation laced her voice, and her eyes glimmered with unmistakable guilt. “What if it’s Valerie?”

The vehemence in Liz’s tone took Steve by surprise. He understood her desperation to locate her cousin, to be reassured that Valerie was okay. What he didn’t understand was Liz’s strong sense of responsibility for Valerie’s disappearing act, when it was something she couldn’t have prevented from happening.

Leaning a hip against the counter, he crossed his arms over his chest and opted for a practical approach. “If it’s Valerie, then let’s hope she tells you where she is, or at the very least lets you know that she’s doing fine and is unharmed, and that’ll be the end to your worries.”

And this case,
he thought. Would that then mean the end to them as well? Another startling realization, which came with an equally startling rise of emotion that made his chest tighten.

She turned away without replying and pressed the button on her recorder. The first call was a hang-up. The second one was Liz’s aunt, leaving a message for Valerie, and Liz immediately stiffened when she heard Sally Clark’s voice drifting through the speaker.

“Hi, Valerie, honey. It’s Mom. I’m sure Liz gave you the message that I called earlier this week, but you’ve probably been busy. She told me that you were out of
town for a few days with a friend, and I was hoping to get a hold of you just to see how you’ve been doing.” Sally sighed, the sound rife with disappointment that she’d been unsuccessful in reaching her daughter. “Your father and I are heading down to San Diego for a four-day getaway, so I’ll try and get in touch with you next week. We love you and miss you.”

The line disconnected, the recorder beeped, and Liz hit the rewind button. With her hands braced on the counter, she hung her head, her shoulders slumped, and blew out a long stream of breath.

Judging by Sally Clark’s message, Steve was fairly certain that Liz was keeping a pretty significant secret to herself. “You haven’t told your aunt and uncle about Valerie, have you?”

“No.” She lifted her gaze to his, the depths of her eyes brimming with a wealth of emotion, the most prominent of which was remorse. “I don’t want to involve them unless I absolutely have to.”

Not willing to let the discussion drop on such an intriguing note, he asked, “Why not?”

Her chin lifted. “Because my aunt and uncle have had enough disappointment to deal with in the past few years.”

Retrieving a brass teakettle from the stove, she filled it with tap water from the sink. Her back was to him, her posture ramrod straight, giving him the distinct impression that she’d deliberately assumed that position to keep him from seeing and analyzing her expression. What she didn’t realize, however, was that her tone, edged with self-recriminations, spoke volumes.

“Sounds personal,” he said gently, trying to keep things light and easy so she didn’t feel threatened by the conversation.

“It’s very personal.” She set the kettle on one of the burners, flicked on the gas flame, and turned to face him
again. “My aunt and uncle have no idea that their daughter makes a living as a phone sex operator, and I’d like to spare them that bit of news if I can.”

She spun back around and reached for a mug in the overhead cupboard, and her top skimmed upward, revealing a smooth expanse of soft skin he itched to stroke with his fingers, taste with his tongue. Better yet, he’d love to strip off her top and bury his face in those luscious breasts of hers and take her again, here in the kitchen.

He blocked those sensual thoughts from invading his body and mind and kept his focus on the discussion at hand. “Why do you feel the need to protect Valerie and hold yourself responsible for her actions?”