Naughty by Nature (17 page)

“Why are you so
far away?  Come on over and sit beside me.”

Tessa stared at
Wolf.  She’d planned to sit some distance away from him, probably on the chair
by the desk.  Her body was too conscious of him, her nerve endings too raw, for
her to want to be so close.  Who knew what she’d end up doing if she came
within a few feet of him?

But Wolf was
patting the seat beside him, and he was looking at her with an expression that
said he would not take no for an answer.  So who was in charge now?

Tessa was taking
her first step toward him when there was a knock on the door.  Saved.  For the
moment.  She did a quick turn and went to open the door.  But the distraction
only saved her for all of thirty seconds and then she was alone again – with a
bottle of champagne, two glasses…and Wolf.

“You said you wanted
to talk,” Wolf said as he poured champagne into the glasses and rested the
bottle on the coffee table.  “So let’s talk.”  He jerked his head toward the
vacant seat beside him.  “Come tell me everything I need to know about Tessa
Tyndale.”

She licked her
lips.  She was thirsty and that bubbling glass of champagne looked really
tempting.  And she couldn’t exactly stand by the door all night, trying to stay
out of arm's reach.  After all, she was the one who had invited him in.  She
padded over in her bare feet and sat on the other end of the sofa.

“Thank you,” she
whispered and took the glass he held out to her.

Tessa took a sip
and then another and another, and before she knew it she was feeling one
hundred percent better.  What in the world had she been nervous about, anyway? It
was only Wolf, not the bogeyman.  There was absolutely nothing to worry about. 
Unless, of course, Wolf was short for werewolf.  Then she’d be in big trouble. 
She giggled at the thought.

“What’s so funny?”
Wolf asked as he reached over to refill her glass.

“Just a crazy
thought,” she said with a little laugh as she picked up the newly filled glass. 
“What if you were a werewolf in disguise?  You know, seeing that your name is
Wolf.  There’s a full moon out tonight.”

“And what happens
when there’s a full moon?” he asked, his eyes glinting in the light of the
lamp.  “Do I come over and suck your blood?”

“No, silly.  Only
vampires suck blood.”  She drank more champagne, glad for the tingling glass of
liquid courage.  “You would turn into a man-wolf.”

“Oh, really?”  His
voice was a soft growl and he was staring at her intently, his eyes burning
into her.  Then he smiled and his teeth gleamed white in the lamplight.  “ And
what would a man-wolf do to a girl like you?  Eat you up?”

“I…don’t know.” 
Tessa’s mouth went dry and she gulped down the rest of the champagne.  She’d
brought up the werewolf thing as a joke but as she stared at Wolf, his face
partly in shadow, his eyes so intense, it was becoming too real.  Werewolves
were just a fantasy, weren’t they?

She did not get
the chance to ponder that further.  Wolf had rested his glass on the table then
reached out to take the empty one from her stiff fingers and put it down beside
his.  Now he was shifting in his seat, closing the distance between them, and
he was reaching for her.

“Would a werewolf
do this?”  He wrapped an arm around her and drew her close then reached a hand
up and slid his fingers into her hair.  Now she was trapped, her body pressed
against his, her head cupped in his hands.

With another growl
he dipped his head to capture her lips with his own, then he was kissing her
with a fierceness that made the werewolf idea even more believable.

And that thought,
that he could be the wild and dangerous beast of nightmares, was her undoing. 
Maybe it was the champagne or maybe she read too many paranormal romance
novels, but the idea was such a turn-on that as he drove her wild with his
kiss, her hands slid up and then her arms were clinging around his neck.  He
was kissing her passionately and she was kissing him right back, giving him as
good as he gave.

When he finally
released her and drew back she moaned in protest.  This fire between them, she
didn’t want it to cool.  Not ever.

She slipped her
arms down from around his neck then slid a hand into the V of his shirt.  She
knew she’d hit her mark when he gasped and closed his eyes.

Yes, that was
exactly what she wanted.  She wanted him to moan for her, to desire her just as
badly as she desired him.  Before she could stop herself she began undoing his
buttons.  But then Wolf stole control again, stilling her fingers with a firm
hand.  Then he reached out and pulled her onto his lap and he was kissing her
again, more forcefully this time, and all she could do was cling to his broad shoulders.

She shivered when
she felt his hands slide up her leg and onto her thigh and when it paused just
above her knee she writhed in shameless agony.  She wanted it so bad, for him
to touch her, stroke her, soothe the fire that raged within.

But – the beast –
instead of putting her out of her misery he made things a whole lot worse.

Wolf did not move
his hand any higher up her leg.  He left it right there to torture her and then
he began another assault.  Now he was kissing her neck, then her collarbone, and
then his lips slid down and his hot breath tickled the tops of her already
tormented breasts.

Her nipples
tingled in anticipation and she gasped, her head falling back against his
shoulder.  “Please,” she whispered, “don’t stop.” 

A low chuckle
escaped his lips.  “You want more?” His voice was raspy, a clear indication
that he was just as affected as she was.

“Yes,” she
breathed.  “Yes.”

To her sheer
relief he obliged, his lips sliding even lower into the valley between her
breasts, and then he lifted a hand to shift the silky fabric of her dress and
the black lace of her bra.  And then, sweet Lord, his lips descended and
covered the passion-hardened tip, sucking the nipple deep into his mouth.

Tessa moaned out
loud, powerless to hide her body’s reaction to Wolf’s tantalizingly wicked
treatment.  And she wanted more.

She reached up to
trap his head with her hands, pressing him into her as she arched her back in
ecstasy.

And then…he pulled
away.

“What…what are you
doing?”  The words were thick on her tongue as she fought her way back to
awareness.  “Why did you stop?”

Wolf drew in a slow
breath then, almost gently, he slid her off his lap and back onto the sofa. 
“Let’s stop here,” he said as he pulled his hands away from her.  “We’ve had a
good time tonight.  Let’s just…keep it that way.”

What the heck? 
Didn’t he know how desperately she wanted him?  If the pounding of her heart
and the moisture between her legs were anything to go by, she was ready for him
right now.

But no, she was
only fooling herself.  Now was not the time and she knew it.  She only wished
her renegade body knew it, too.  Suitably chastised, she slid her hands up her
arms and hugged herself, then she bit her bottom lip and nodded.  “Okay,” she
whispered, not looking at Wolf.

He reached over
and gave her a quick pat on the knee then he got up.  “I’ll see you in the
morning,” he said then walked over and plucked his coat off the hook by the
door.  "Good night, Tessa."

And then he was
gone, leaving her to wonder how much control she really had.  She, who always
prided herself on taking charge of a situation, had been so easily turned
upside down - no, inside out - by a man who obviously knew what he was doing.

But then, as she
sat there, she smiled to herself.  Because she realized, where Wolf Spencer was
concerned, she didn’t mind at all that he’d taken control.

The man had turned
out to be the total opposite of her first impression of him.  Who would have
thought the grouch could be a fun guy, a great dancer and, as she’d found out
tonight, a superb kisser.  She could just imagine what he’d be like…as a lover.

She could hardly
wait to find out.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Doesn’t he look
handsome, Tessa?  Tell the truth.  He’s a stud, right?”

“Mom, please.” 
Tessa shook her head.  She couldn’t tell who was more embarrassed, she or her
father.  How could she think of her father as anyone but ‘Daddy’?  Stud?  Eww.

Bob had actually
begun to turn a little red now that he was the center of attention – as a stud,
no less.

Tessa decided to
break the tension and help him out.  “You look good, Dad,” she said
enthusiastically.  "The bald head really suits you.”  And she meant it.

“Thanks,
Princess,” he said, smiling back.  “You may be right. I’ve been getting compliments
since I shaved off the hair.”

“From women,”
Eleanor scoffed, rolling her eyes.  “But it’s okay with me, just as long as he
doesn’t let it go to his head.”  She finished the statement with a glare of
warning.

Bob shook his head
then left the two women in the kitchen, mumbling as he went.  “Women.  They
want you to look good then get upset when you do.  God damn.”

Eleanor gasped and
stared wide-eyed at his retreating back.  “Bob Tyndale, did I just hear you
swear?”

There was no
answer.  Bob was already gone, obviously with no intention of returning to
explain himself.  Eleanor twisted around on the stool and turned back to Tessa
who was by the stove, making another cup of mint tea.  “I tell you, Tessa, I
don’t know where he gets his attitude sometimes.  He does these things to annoy
me.  He knows I don’t like swearing.”

“It just slipped
out, Mom.”  Tessa smiled and slid a steaming cup under her mother’s nose.  “Dad
didn’t mean it.  Now let’s have some tea and you can tell me all about the
flight from Florida.”

It was Wednesday,
the third day of Tessa’s time off for spring break week, and her parents were
with her.  They’d come up the night before and weren’t going back home until
Sunday, the day before Tessa was to return to school.  As she slid onto the stool
across from her mother she glanced at the calendar one more time.  She had to
hold back a sigh.  Would she last all of five days in the same house with her
parents?

She’d better come
up with some good ideas to keep them entertained or else they would drive each
other – and her – up the wall.

She took a sip of
the hot, sweet tea and was just opening her mouth to suggest a trip to the mall
when the phone rang.  She set the cup down a little too hard and tea splashed
over into the saucer.  Please, no more phone solicitors.  With three calls
already that morning she’d had enough of banks trying to get her to take out
new credit cards.

But when she saw
the name on the screen her heart lurched, and it was not in annoyance, it was
in real pleasure.  The name on her screen was ‘Wolf Spencer”.  She immediately
picked up the receiver.  “How are you?”  Her voice came out a bit breathless
and she glanced over at her mother, wondering if she’d noticed.  To her relief,
her mother seemed absorbed in the day’s crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

“I’m doing fine,”
came the response, and she could hear the smile in his voice.  “How’s the
spring break going?” he asked.

“Fine.  I…my
parents are here with me, visiting from Florida.”

“That’s great. 
You definitely won’t be bored, then.  I’m sure they’re keeping you busy.”

“I guess,” she
said, her tone casual.  She didn’t want to start a conversation about her
parents, not with her mother sitting there, right under her nose.  And besides,
what would she say?  I’m just hanging in there, trying to keep the bickering at
a minimum until I can put them on the next plane to Florida?

“I was calling to
invite you over to my house,” Wolf was saying.  “I’m having my parents over for
dinner tomorrow evening and was wondering if you would like to come.  I didn’t
know you had visitors.”  There was a slight pause then he said, “Hey, why don’t
you ask your parents if they’d like to come?  You never know.  They may hit it
off with my parents.”

“Yeah,” Tessa
said, thinking fast and warming to the idea.  “Maybe they’ll entertain one
another and you and I can sneak off and leave them on their play date.  They
won’t even know we’re gone.”

“Bad girl.”  Wolf
chuckled.  “I like the workings of your evil little mind.  Definitely take them
with you then.  Tell them I will not take no for an answer.”

And that was how
Tessa found herself driving along Tecumseh Park Drive in the sedan Indie had
loaned her, both her parents in the back, searching for Wolf’s house.  When she
found it she was not disappointed.  It was even more beautiful than his
parent’s house on Mississauga Road, with a circular driveway that meandered
past an impressive home with a wide porch and vine-covered front wall.

“This is where
your friend lives?” Eleanor’s jaw dropped.  “What high school teacher can
afford a house like this?”

“I never said he
was a high school teacher,” Tessa said with a laugh.

Her mother’s eyes
narrowed as she looked over at Tessa.  “And you never said your friend was a
‘he’, either.  Is there something going on that I should know about?”