Wilde Thing (4 page)

She slid into the passenger seat, shut the door, and flashed him a bright smile. “I got the job,” she announced, looking extremely pleased with herself.

Her exuberance made him grin, too. “I had no doubt that you would,” he said, and turned the key in the ignition. He drove out of the parking lot and headed back toward his office. “Tell me how the interview went.”

“It certainly wasn’t your typical kind of interview,” she said, her tone wry. He’d left the windows rolled down, and as he turned onto the freeway and picked up speed, the wind ruffled her silky blond hair around her head and plastered her blouse against her breasts. “Once I checked in with the receptionist, she led me to a large private office, where a man named Antonio Cardenias introduced himself as one of the company’s partners. He briefly glanced over my application, but he didn’t
seem interested in my references or past employment record, which excluded any mention of The Daily Grind.”

Steve’s grip tightened on the steering wheel as he imagined the kind of credentials Antonio might require in potential female employees whose main talent would be based in sexual experience. “What
was
he interested in?”

“The sound of my voice, since that would attract and keep a client on the phone.” She smoothed her hair away from her face and shrugged. “He said I had a soft, sexy voice that would turn men on.”

“You do,” he said gruffly, knowing how that husky voice of hers could turn a man inside out with wanting. Rolling up the windows, he turned on the air-conditioning, needing a blast of cool air on his heated skin.

“What else?” he prompted.

“He wanted to know if I had any fantasies or fetishes that I refused to discuss with a caller, or any sexual situations I considered off limits.”

“Do you?” he asked, curious to know what her personal boundaries were when it came to sex.

“I told him I wouldn’t take calls requesting anything to do with pain and torture, bestiality, rape, or incest.” She visibly shuddered at the same time he winced in reciprocal disgust. “Antonio said that was fine, that they had other operators who handled those kinds of requests—enjoyed them, even.”

“Well, I’m right there with you, sweetheart.” Stretching his arm across the back of her seat, he curved his fingers along the nape of her neck. “I don’t get off on any of those perverse fixations, either.”

“That’s good to know.” She smiled indulgently. “Other than those lewd fetishes, I think I can handle just about anything, or fake my way through it.”

He glanced from the road to narrow his gaze at her,
then realized she couldn’t see his expression hidden behind his sunglasses. “Don’t expect to fake
anything
with me.”

She rolled her eyes, somehow containing the laughter he saw glimmering in the green depths. “That’s such a man statement.”

He traced the soft skin of her throat with his thumb and felt her shiver, watched as her nipples puckered tight against her blouse. “What do you expect,” he drawled good-naturedly. “I
am
a man.”

She arched a blond brow his way, seemingly trying to maintain her composure even while her body’s arousing response to his touch gave her away. “A very arrogant one, at that.”

“Yeah, I’m confident when it comes to pleasuring my partner,” he admitted unabashedly, wanting her to know exactly what she was in for.

“I like everything about sex,” he went on, “especially foreplay and the hot, frenzied buildup to an explosive orgasm. And the best part of being with a woman—being with
you
—is going to be making sure you’re having a good time, too. Turning you on turns me on. And when it’s the right time, I’m going to enjoy making you come, feeling you come, against my fingers, my tongue, and around my cock. Those inner contractions and the way your body clenches in the throes of climax is something no woman can fabricate.”

She squirmed in her seat and cleared her throat, which didn’t quite camouflage her whimper of longing his words evoked. “I don’t think faking it is going to be an issue between us.”

“Didn’t think so.” Now he sounded arrogant, and like he didn’t give a damn.

“Umm, back to my interview,” she managed, her voice still breathless with the sexual tension he’d instigated between them. “Antonio also talked about promotions
and opportunities to advance within the company if I ‘performed well’ and established a steady, repeat client base. There are monetary bonuses given for keeping a caller on the line for more than fifteen minutes.”

He nodded but remained quiet as she continued.

“He also mentioned private, by-invitation-only parties that were available to their most requested operators and their regular clients, but didn’t elaborate on what those parties consisted of. He said we’d discuss those extracurricular activities more later, when I’ve built more than a casual rapport with a caller and I’m ready to advance to that next level.”

“Which I’ll make sure happens, with
me.”

She looked relieved and grateful. “You’re the only one I’ll attend those parties with, so let’s include that in your services, too.”

“That goes without saying, sweetheart.” Now that she was his, there was no way he’d allow another man to accompany her to one of the fantasy parties. “When do you start?”

“Tonight, believe it or not, which is fine with me. The sooner I get in there and get acquainted with the other operators, the sooner I’ll be able to get some information on Valerie.” Her fingers absently traced the hem of her short skirt, drawing his gaze to her tanned thighs while she talked. “I told Antonio that I worked another job and I was only looking for something part-time, so he gave me a nine-to-midnight shift. But this does mean I’ll have to reschedule my employees at The Daily Grind to close up the shop.”

He glanced back at the road and made a turn onto the side street where his offices were located. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“No. I’m certain my two main employees will welcome the full-time work and extra hours, since I’ve had to cut them back in order to keep costs down.”

Once again he was intrigued. Her comment coincided with her not being able to afford much when it came to his fee, despite running what appeared to be a very successful café.

“If there’s something that my employees can’t handle, I’ve got Mona at the bookstore to help out,” she went on. “But I trust the people who work for me. Most have been there for over a year, and right now I’ll do whatever it takes to find my cousin.” Her tone was adamant.

He maneuvered his SUV into his parking space, killed the engine, and turned toward her. “By the way, who was that woman you walked out of the building with?”

Liz gathered up her purse. “Her name is Roxanne, and she goes by the call name of Roxie. She was very friendly and seemed willing to talk about the ins and outs of the business with a ‘virgin,’ as she called me, since this is my first foray into the world of phone sex. Oh, and before I forget to tell you, Antonio signed me up under the call name of Sindee, spelled
S-I-N-D-E-E,
which I have to use for anything business-related as a precaution to attracting any wackos who know my real name. And here’s the phone number you need to call.”

“Sindee it is.” He grinned, accepting the business card she handed him, with
the ultimate fantasy
emblazoned in bright red, and a prefixed number followed by the appropriate call word
Ultimate.
“As for Roxanne, she seems like someone you can easily befriend. When the time is right and you feel you have an opening, you can mention that you’re a friend of Valerie’s and she’s the reason you applied for the job. You can ask about Valerie, maybe mention Rob’s name and that you haven’t heard from her in a while, to see what Roxanne says. But keep your questions about your cousin casual, to a minimum, and discreet. Let Roxanne do
the talking so she doesn’t feel like you’re interrogating her.”

She nodded and sighed, the soulful, weary sound affecting him on a basic emotional level. She had a load of concern weighing on her conscience, and he’d even seen flashes of guilt in her eyes today that he didn’t fully comprehend. Steve hated that Liz’s irresponsible cousin had her so upset. He hoped Valerie knew how damned lucky she was to have such a caring family member who was willing to go to such lengths to find her, to ensure her safety.

He wished he could make Liz promises to ease her worries, wished he had the right to tell her everything was going to be okay, but he wasn’t one to offer false hopes. And no way was he going to bank on his gut instincts with Valerie’s frivolous behavior until he had more evidence to back up his theory.

Startled by the sudden urge he experienced to reach out and comfort her, he opened the driver’s-side door to dispel the sensation. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your car,” he said, and exited the vehicle.

She followed, and side by side they silently made their way to her silver Celica that was at least ten years old and in need of body work and a paint job. Obviously not a priority for her. Once they were there, she turned to face him, and he caught a barely perceptible flicker of nervousness in her eyes before she blinked it away. “I guess I’m all set for tonight, then.”

Sensing she was overwhelmed by the true realization of what she was getting herself involved in, he gave in to that impulse to reach out and skim his knuckles down her cheek in a reassuring caress. “I’m sorry that you have to go through all this crap.”

She visibly relaxed, and a small smile turned up her too-tempting lips. “I would have done it without your
help, but I have to admit that I’m grateful that we were able to work something out. It’s nice to know I’m not going into this situation alone.”

“No, you’re not.” Withdrawing a business card from his wallet and asking her for a pen, he jotted down his home phone beneath his cell and pager numbers. “If you need me for anything, day or night, I’m only a phone call away.”

Accepting the card, she tucked it into her purse, then adjusted the strap over her shoulder. “Thank you.”

“No thanks necessary. It’s all part of my services.” He wasn’t about to tell her that he’d never given his home phone number to a client before. “And I’m sure you’ll do just fine to-night.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” A good amount of her initial worries seemed to have faded away, though some concerns still lingered. “I’m not used to talking about down-and-dirty sex to just anyone, and I have to do better than fine if I want to stay hired on long enough to ask around about Valerie.”

“Just take it one step at a time and do whatever feels right.” Taking off his sunglasses, he tucked them into the collar of his shirt. “And when it comes to fraternizing with your coworkers, act open to anything. Also, it’s important that you dress and look the part of someone willing to play around.”

“I guess I’ll be raiding Valerie’s closet, because my wardrobe is a bit outdated when it comes to looking like a sophisticated party girl.” She touched her hair, as if considering how to transform her sleek, conservative look into something wilder as well. “So, where do you come in on all this?”

“I’ll call in at about eleven-fifteen, and the best part is, you get to talk dirty to me.” He bobbed his eyebrows teasingly, doing his best to keep things light, to keep her anxiety about her new job at bay.

She laughed and shook her head, amusement dancing in her vibrant green eyes. “Oh, I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I,” he said, and meant it. While her lip service was for the sole purpose of finding her cousin, there was no reason why he couldn’t use their phone sex conversations to his advantage by sharing their own personal fantasies.

Seconds passed, filling the air between them with subtle expectations and deeper desires. He stared at her, enthralled by the way the sun behind her highlighted her shoulder-length blond hair with gold streaks and kissed her smooth skin with a glowing warmth that he wanted to skim with his mouth and taste with his tongue. If he hadn’t had a few cases he needed to follow up on, he would have persuaded her back to his place for a lazy afternoon of hot, satisfying sex.

Instead, he decided he’d have to settle for a kiss to get him through the long hours until they were together again—and alone, so they could indulge in something far more intimate and satisfying.

Slowly stepping toward her, he backed her up against the driver’s-side door and braced his palms on the edge of the low roof on either side of her shoulders, securing her between the heated metal of the car and the hard, muscled length of his body.

She didn’t seem to mind being trapped. With her gaze locked brazenly with his, she countered his move with one of her own. Hooking her fingers into the belt loops on his jeans, she pulled him closer until their bellies, hips, and thighs were intimately aligned and his thickening shaft found a home at the welcoming notch between her legs.

A blissful sigh escaped her, and she whispered silkily, “I like the way you feel against me. We fit perfectly together.”

“Damn,” he murmured, singed to the core by her
honest admission and inflamed by a reciprocating need he couldn’t hold back. He rubbed himself against her mound, which made him even more painfully erect, with no relief in sight. “Imagine how good it’ll feel when we’re both naked.”

“I already have,” she divulged, her candid words and soft, dreamy expression sending his libido straight into orbit. “You’ve been a fantasy of mine for the past month.”

Upon that shocking revelation, her lashes fell to halfmast, and a pale pink color swept over her cheeks, as if she wasn’t used to being so sexually outspoken with men but liked the power and control that came with being forthright in what she wanted.

Sliding her hands from his waist to his lower back, she splayed her palms against the muscled slope of his spine, the heat of her touch seeping through his shirt. Her chin lifted in an amusing—and arousing—display of daring. “You know that hot, frenzied buildup you mentioned earlier today?”

He groaned, realizing that she somehow intended to use his own seductive words against him, which was nothing less than he deserved. “Yeah, I remember,” he managed around the knot that seemed to have tightened his vocal chords.