Sexcapades (5 page)

The door clicked quietly behind her as she stepped out into the hall. She bolted for the elevator, dialing Alice as she went.

Chapter Five

Women aren’t a walk in the park. You confuse the hell out of us.

—D. Williams,
Mantastic
—
advice for REAL men

Oh, like men are any better. Half the time you’re jerks!

—PC,
Sexcapades
—
sex advice for women

Petra had been flying high all morning. Her body was still buzzing from the effects of her night with Darcy, making it nearly impossible to sleep. She’d managed to drift off sometime between one and two in the morning, making her normal early morning rise and shine a bit more challenging.

She’d had a one-night stand.

Not only had she done that, it had been with her sexy mystery man—Darcy—who turned out to be not only knowledgeable about how to please a woman, but pretty fucking amazing at it too.

Petra gave her head a shake, hands hovering above her keyboard. Shit, she’d never get her blog post done at this rate. Mind you, who could blame her for having difficulty writing about ten ways to masturbate when she’d been fucked six ways to Sunday the night before?

Still, it had to be done.

Tip number one, close your eyes and imagine your perfect man.
Darcy.
Don’t be afraid to imagine someone who you think you will never have a chance with in real life, because you just never know.
Darcy.

Tip number two, imagine a perfect scenario. You don’t need to worry about being safe in your fantasy.
Strange hotel rooms.
Simply go with whatever happens to turn you on.
Rough sex.
It’s your imagination, use it!

She’d managed to get halfway through her post when her cell started chirping. Dammit, she should have at least left Darcy her number. It would have been nice to talk to him before the next event. Without looking at the display, Petra pressed her cell to her ear and continued typing.

“Hello?” No one responded immediately. Great, stupid telemarketer must have gotten her cell number somehow. “Hello?”

A low male chuckle drifted through to her. “Hello, PC.”

The phone slipped from her fingers and landed with a bang on the floor.
Holy shit.
Petra scrambled to retrieve it, her hands shaking as she looked at her call display. Unknown number. Swallowing past the sudden dryness in her mouth, she lifted the phone once more into place.

“Who is this?”

“I’m right. You’re PC from
Sexcapades
.”

“I said, who is this?”

“Oh, I’m a big fan.”

Petra jerked the phone away and hit the end button, cutting the man off. On her feet in a flash, Petra checked the locks on her door and her windows to make sure everything was fine. Her apartment was small and she knew she was alone, but the fact this asshole had figured out her name and managed to track down her cell phone number freaked her out.

Oh my God
,
what if he comes after me?

Switching to her landline, she hit her speed dial. “Alice?”

“And hello to you too. I have my mom on the other line.”

“A man just phoned my cell and called me PC.”

“Shit. Give me a second and I’ll call you back.”

Petra couldn’t sit still. Rather than pace aimlessly, she proceeded to tidy up her living room, going so far as to pick up all her abandoned coffee mugs and stray socks. She jumped when her phone rang again, but when Alice’s name came up, relief washed through her.

“Hey. Now, start from the beginning.”

There wasn’t much to tell, but Alice vocalized the one thing Petra was trying hard not to.

“Do you think it was Darcy from last night?”

Collapsing onto the couch, Petra closed her eyes and let the voice she’d heard come back to her.

Hello
,
PC.

Christ
,
you’re perfect.

“No, it wasn’t him. Not unless he really changed his voice or used a modulator or something. Besides, he didn’t even know which category I was nominated in. We left before the announcements.”

“That’s good at least. I mean, he knows you live somewhere around the coffee shop, so it wouldn’t be too hard for him to find your phone number. But your cell phone?”

“I know. Is it wrong that I’m freaking out a bit?”

“Hell no. But chances are it’s probably someone related to the awards program. Did you give your cell or your home phone to them?”

“Both actually. I hadn’t even thought about that.” It made sense in a way. The only people who had her cell were her family, good friends and the nomination committee. “Maybe it was someone who thought they’d get a rise out of me. I’ll mention it when I go to the Q and A event tonight.”

“Are you going to be okay? Did you want me to come over? Meet for lunch?”

She
was
being an idiot. Rarely did bad things actually happen to people. Just because stalkers almost always escalated into bat-shit crazy, and on occasion people actually died, that was no reason to worry.

Nope, not at all.

“I’ll be fine.” Alice would be over here in a heartbeat if she didn’t think Petra could keep it together. “I have to finish up my post and make a few calls. Plus, I need to figure out what I’m going to wear tonight.”

“Oh yes, we can’t have you looking anything short of stunning in case you see Darcy again. Shit, I can’t believe you hooked up with him. I’m still jealous.”

They chatted about her night with Darcy for a few more minutes before Alice had to go. Petra didn’t know what she’d do without her best friend to talk her off the proverbial ledge.

Still, when she hung up with Alice, Petra’s next move was to turn off her cell. Friends, family and the committee could leave a damned voice mail message.

* * *

The rest of the day was blessedly silent. Even the yahoos who normally posted flame comments on her blog seemed well behaved. D. Williams didn’t make an appearance either, which was only a little disappointing. If it hadn’t been for her night with Darcy and her constant replay of what had happened between them, her obsessive nature would have been fixated on finding some reason why he wasn’t poking at her.

It was weird. He was always razzing her.

Before she knew it, the clock was telling her it was five o’clock and she had to get ready for the evening’s event. Unlike last night’s fancy ball, tonight she could get away with something a bit more manageable for her. She’d promised Alice she wouldn’t wear jeans, and instead slipped into the fitted black skirt and sequined top she’d bought a year ago.

Tonight’s intimate gathering was at the Iron Grill, an upscale steakhouse she’d never been to. A smaller crowd meant she’d be able to handle herself better, maybe even manage to work her way into a conversation or two.

Damn, she really wished she’d found out what category Darcy’s blog was nominated in. She didn’t even know the name of it...

There had to be a way to find out. The nominees had been announced last night, after all. There had to be some sort of post online about it.

Quickly finishing up her makeup, and God she hoped she didn’t look like a clown, Petra carefully slipped into her computer chair and went in search of the Toronto Web Awards site. Ah there it was, Nominee Lists.

Petra’s frustration grew as she scanned the pages of names and couldn’t find Darcy’s name anywhere. Not that she knew his last name, but she didn’t think there’d be too many Darcys nominated. Could there?

Apparently not.

Not even one.

Which meant Darcy was nominated under a different name. So, she wasn’t the only one with a secret identity. Smiling, Petra twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. He didn’t want people to know who he was, eh? Well that wouldn’t do.

“Challenge accepted.”

Petra tried to discount websites based on what little she knew about him. He didn’t seem the type to be involved in child care, home improvements or internet memes. Entertainment industry? He was handsome enough, but the idea of him being an actor or director didn’t feel right. An author perhaps.

Petra was about to give up when she finally got to her category—best online advice column. Oh yeah, baby. There she was. Reaching out, she ran her fingertip over her name—PC—and smiled. God, she still couldn’t believe that she’d been picked. That they’d chosen her over...

What the hell?

No. Petra sat up, her stomach souring. “No, no, no, that’s not fair.”

But no matter how many times she blinked, the reality didn’t change. There on the screen, two lines below her name was the one she would never have wanted to see.

D. Williams—Mantastic.

“That bastard!”

Petra was on her feet, growling as she stomped away from the computer. She couldn’t get away from that bastard and now she was going to be forced to have supper with him!

She wouldn’t go. It was as simple as that. Screw the perfectly cooked steak and opportunity to use her limited social skills. If she came face to face with that jackass there’d be no telling what would come out of her mouth. Or his for that matter.

D. Williams was a pompous jerk who would take the opportunity to make fun of her.

D. Williams, a constant pain in her ass.

D. Williams...

Petra stopped short of her bedroom and tried to get her breathing under control. There’d been twenty-five names on that list in five categories. There hadn’t been a single Darcy. David, Derek and a Diego, but not him. Not the man who’d given her four orgasms during a one-night stand. Not the man who seemed to have a full understanding of how to make a woman’s body sing.

Closing her eyes, Petra took a deep breath. Then another as the realization hit her hard.

Darcy, the man she’d had amazing sex with, was D. Williams.

“I’m going to kill him.”

* * *

Darcy hated events like this. The group around him was laughing as they all tried to one-up each other, discussing their sponsors, web traffic and a world of other technical shit that flew over his head. The fact that he had a website at all was the result of his brother’s computer skills. If it had been left up to Darcy, he would have settled for making teasing comments on
Sexcapades
for the rest of his life.

He tried to figure out which one of the women could possibly be PC. He was fairly certain she hadn’t arrived yet. A woman like that, with balls enough to conduct research on sex so she could give women advice, would certainly have an air of confidence about her.

Loathe as he was to admit it, his online sparring with PC was generally the highlight of his day. His practice had been doing well, but the stress of helping abused women and children took a toll on him after a while. Posting on
Mantastic
gave him a break from reality, even if it was only for a little while.

“And the best part of the whole thing is the number of impressions I’ve been able to get with the ads. I’ll be bringing in thousands a month before I know it.”

Darcy turned to the reedy man standing beside him and grinned. It seemed like the appropriate response. “I’ll drink to that.”

They clinked their glasses, giving him permission to drain the rest of the contents. “Anyone want another?”

But the man, Evan something-or-other, wasn’t paying Darcy any attention. The near silent
whoa
was directed at a person coming through the door. Turning to see who’d caught the young man’s attention, Darcy nearly dropped his glass when he realized it was Petra.

And she was pissed off.

God, she was even more beautiful angry than when she was turned-on. His cock stiffened as memories from last night flooded his mind. Something had clearly happened between then and now that had riled her up.

“Time for that refill.” He tried to get away unseen, but he’d clearly been spotted already.

In a flash, Petra was by his side, her nails digging into his arm as she dragged him to a quiet corner of the room. He let her manhandle him, conscious of every curious glance sent their way. Great, the last thing he wanted was to be the topic of gossip. No way to avoid that now with Petra looking so furious. Best to play things smooth until he could figure out what had happened.

Grinning in the face of her displeasure was probably not the smartest thing to do, but it was the only thing he could think of. “Hey there. You left without saying goodbye.”

“You jerk!” She hissed as she slapped his arm. “When did you know? When I first entered the ballroom? When you approached me? While we were
fucking?
”

It felt wrong to hear her use that term to describe what they’d done. “I thought you’d enjoyed yourself.”

“I did! And that’s what makes this whole thing a thousand times worse.” She pulled back from him and didn’t quite manage to hide the unshed tears gathering in her eyes.

“Pet, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you somehow?” God, he couldn’t imagine what he’d done, but he’d be sure to apologize and make it up to her if he could. Because last night with Petra had been the most fulfilling night he’d had with a woman in years. It was the first chance he’d had to really let go.

“You’re D. Williams.”

The way she said his pseudonym, the extra little bite she threw onto the end of
Williams
, like it was a curse, turned his stomach. He set his glass down and he reached out for her, but Petra avoided his touch.

Shit.

“Yes, I’m D. Williams. I don’t remember me telling you anything about me or my blog. Neither one of us seemed very interested in the awards last night. If I’ve gotten something wrong—”

“I’m PC.”

Whatever remaining thoughts he’d had, vaporized.

Chapter Six

Ladies, I know a lot of you come to my site for sex advice. I’ve always said the one thing you always need to be is true to yourself. And if some asshole thinks he can pull one over on you, slap his ass into next week.

—PC,
Sexcapades
—
sex advice for women

I
said I was sorry!

—D. Williams,
Mantastic
—
advice for REAL men

Darcy’s world tilted on its side as Petra’s words started to sink in. “What?”

Petra snorted. “Oh please, like you didn’t know already.”

“Honest to God, I didn’t.”

It all made sense. Petra and her friend weren’t simply discussing the various blog posts made on
Sexcapades
, they were bloody well writing them. The barista and her comments about the dirty talk...the banter...that instant connection he’d felt when he’d finally given in to temptation and leaned into her at the coffee shop.

Petra was PC.

Which meant that he’d inadvertently seduced his rival.

“Petra, I didn’t know it was you.”

He hated to see that look of betrayal on her face. Whether intentional or not, he’d hurt her in a way he didn’t quite understand yet. This time when he reached for her hand, she didn’t pull away. It was tentative, but he still took it as permission.

“Can we go somewhere to talk? Somewhere public if you want so you don’t have to worry about me doing anything.”

“I don’t have anything left to say to you.” Deflection, a self-defense mechanism.

He would have to be careful. “I can appreciate why you don’t want to talk to me. But I feel like I owe you an explanation. An apology. Will you let me do that?”

As the seconds ticked by and Petra mulled over her answer, Darcy could think of a dozen reasons why continuing on with her like this was a bad idea for both of them. While
Mantastic
wasn’t his lifeblood, it did provide him with a safety zone where he could stop being Dr. Darcy Williams and blow off some steam. He couldn’t give that up.

Petra was one of the others, the people who did this for a living. Her site was an extension of herself and he didn’t have to know her well to realize she’d do anything to protect it. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, their sparring online was one of the reasons they’d both done well and drawn the attention of readers. The anonymity gave them freedom to say what they wanted.

But now that he knew her...

Petra turned her face away from him, looking over at the small group behind them. “Fine. But not here.”

“I think I remember seeing a diner a block from here. I’m sure the coffee will suck, but we can have some privacy.”

Taking her by the hand, Darcy started to lead her toward the door when Malcolm Robins, the MC, stepped in front of them.

“Now where do the two of you think you’re running off to?” The admonishment wasn’t for show. Robins’s clenched jaw and narrowed gaze practically shouted how annoyed he was at them. “It was embarrassing enough that you both skipped out on us last night. When you agreed to attend, you also agreed to talk to the press.”

This was as bad as being caught by the principal for making out behind the school. “Sorry about that Robins. Petra and I just realized who each other were and wanted to have a private chat.”

“And deny the public a chance to see the two of you go at each other? I don’t think so.”

Petra blushed and looked away. “No chance of that.”

Neither of them had an opportunity to protest further. Robins clapped his hands together to draw the attention of everyone in the private room.

“Hello, everyone. We’re about to get this evening’s events underway. For those of you who might not remember, I’m Malcolm Robins. Tonight, along with some great food, drink and company, we will be giving each of the nominees an opportunity to discuss their website, what it means to them and their direction for the future. I need to remind you all that there are media present and that you have all signed release forms.”

Robins continued to outline the rest of the evening, but Darcy couldn’t make himself focus on the words. Every chance he had to sneak a look at Petra he took it. Her earlier rage had dissipated and was morphing into something else.

There were only five nominees present for this hour, all of whom were featured in the best advice category. Robins directed the first, a woman in her late forties, to talk about her site.

“
Flower Pots
is my attempt to give city dwellers a chance to bring life to their homes.”

Petra’s gaze slipped to the floor as the woman spoke. He doubted she had any great aversion to flower pot gardens, which meant she was starting to freak out about something.

“Thank you, Samantha. Your site has brought a lot of life to Toronto and around the world.” Robins initiated a round of applause. “Jeremy Legere is the owner-operator of
Kids First
, the first stop for parenting questions, advice and strategies.”

For a moment Darcy thought she was going to bolt, regardless of what Robins said. The psychologist in him stepped up, pushing the flippant D. Williams to the background. Petra clearly had some sort of fear of public speaking. Shit, and there wasn’t any way they could get her out of this now.

Another round of applause. “I know there are a lot of thankful parents out there, Jeremy. Well done.” Robins pointed to Evan, the man Darcy had been speaking to earlier. “Next up is Evan Reid, owner-operator of
Massive Gamer
, gaming advice, information and interviews for the gaming geek in all of us.”

Evan stepped into the center of the room like he owned the restaurant. “Thanks so much, Malcolm. Gaming has been my life since I was a little kid. But it’s not just about the playing that’s so important. There’s an entire culture surrounding MMORPGs. I like to think I’m there to guide people through the fray.”

Petra finally looked up, scowling at Evan. He could almost hear her voice—not Petra, but PC—making some snide comment about the arrogance of the guy. Seeing this as an opportunity to get her through what must be an unpleasant situation and possibly getting back into her good books, ignoring the others around them, Darcy leaned in so only Petra would be able to hear.

“How much do you want to bet he follows my website?”

“Arrogant ass,” was her whispered response. He didn’t fail to miss the slight quirk of her lips.

Shifting closer, he made sure to brush his nose along the shell of her ear. “Him or me?”

Her snort was not the least bit ladylike or quiet. Robins turned around, cocking an eyebrow at them. Darcy merely smirked in response. The moment Robins turned back around, Darcy licked the shell of Petra’s ear.

“I bet you’re itching to tell him to get out of his mother’s basement and learn a few things about real women. I bet he’d say something smartass while staring at your boobs the whole time.”

Petra turned around, glaring at him. “How old are you? No one says
boobs
anymore.”

Darcy met her gaze and upped the confrontation by crossing his arms. “There’s nothing wrong with
boobs
. It’s better than
tits
. I thought you’d prefer it.”

“I prefer
breasts
.” Petra shoved a stray lock of her hair from her face before jutting out said body part. “That’s what they are and that’s what they should be called.”

“
Breasts
isn’t exactly a sexy word. You make one of the most aesthetically pleasing parts of the female anatomy sound boring. Like
elbow.
”

“Well, it’s a hell of a lot better than
boobs
.” Petra crossed her arms, matching his stance. “The next thing you know you’ll want me to say
cock
instead of
penis.
”

Darcy was about to fire back another retort when someone cleared their throat. Petra’s eyes widened as she realized what they’d been doing. Shit, he’d only intended to do a little quiet teasing, hoping to fire her up enough to get her through the short public speaking bit. Instead, he turned to see that every gaze in the room was fixed on them.

Malcolm Robins’s face had turned an interesting shade of red. His mouth was a tight line, and Darcy could only imagine what the MC was holding back. Several reporters were openly gawking at them, while other attendees were smirking and quietly chuckling.

“Oh,” Petra said softly. “I’m sorry.”

Darcy managed to hide a cringe, but it didn’t make him feel any better. “That was rude of us.”

“No fucking kidding.” Evan stood staring, hands on his hips. “You two can’t let anyone get one up on you.”

“What?” Petra took a step back, her face growing pale. “We didn’t mean—”

“This was my fault. She was nervous about speaking, and I started teasing her to help—”

Petra turned around and punched him in the shoulder. “I wasn’t nervous!”

“Dammit, Pet. You looked like you were about to run out of the room screaming when you realized your turn was coming up.” Rubbing the sore spot where her fist had connected, he tried to ignore the throbbing and do his best to turn the situation around. “I was only trying to help.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Williams.” One of the reporters from the
Toronto Daily Gleaner
raised his hand. “You just called PC here, Pet. Is that some sort of nickname the two of you have?”

“Are the two of you in a relationship?”

“Did you know each other before the awards?” The woman from
Flower Pots
pushed past the reporter to openly glare at them. “This is hardly fair. If they’re working together they should be treated as one entry, not two. They’re getting double the coverage this way.”

Evan stomped his foot, doing an excellent impersonation of a three-year-old. “I demand to have more exposure as well. My site would benefit from better advertisement.”

As the questions and comments flew at them, each one growing in volume as the reporters and other nominees all began to speak at once, Darcy balled his hand into a fist. This was nothing but a stupid award his brother nominated him for. It meant nothing to him.

An anguished sob broke from Petra and she fled the room.

“Petra!” Darcy took off after her.

“Petra? Is that her real name? What does she do for a living?”

The questions disappeared with the door shutting behind him as he followed Petra out into the street. “Pet, please stop.”

“Fuck off, Williams.”

Even though he couldn’t see them, he could hear her tears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“No, you’re just another thoughtless male. You act before you think about the consequences to others. Well, no thank you.”

He really didn’t want to be having this conversation out on the sidewalk. “Will you stop for a minute?”

Petra spun on her heel, and in a heartbeat was marching directly for him. “Why, so you can make fun of me some more?”

“Dammit, I wasn’t making fun of you! I had no idea who you were outside of being the cute girl from the coffee shop.”

That first day he’d laid eyes on her was still etched in his mind. And she hadn’t been with her friend. She’d been alone that day, looking around as if she’d landed on Mars. Her hair had been piled up on top of her head, tendrils falling down to caress her face and neck. She’d been wearing jeans and a T-shirt with some cute cartoon on the front, and he’d been fascinated by the way she couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze.

If he’d known then that the shy, pretty coffee shop girl was also PC, he’d have thought twice before making her a part of his nighttime fantasies. Now that he knew she wasn’t only bubbly, quirky Petra, but also PC, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

One moment Petra was staring at him, her anger an almost tangible thing, and the next a sob exploded from her.

Fuck. He was the biggest fucking asshole in the world.

He took a step closer. When she didn’t immediately flee, he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in a hug.

“I worked so hard,” she muttered in between sniffles and sobs.

“I know you did. You deserve that award.”

“But the other nominees think we cheated!” Petra looked up, her red-rimmed eyes still swimming in tears. “I’ve never cheated on anything in my life.”

Yup
,
I’m a big
,
giant asshole
... “I promise we’ll make this right. And come on. This is beyond stupid. We run advice blogs in the same city. We’re not trying to keep government secrets or something. Having a personal relationship can’t be against the rules. That’s insane.”

Petra didn’t look the least bit convinced. Pushing her hair back from her face and slipping his arm around her waist, Darcy turned and led her down the street. “I know you probably don’t want to believe me, but this really won’t be a big deal. Every event loves to have a little bit of scandal associated with it. It draws attention to the awards and the people. That brings in interested viewers.”

“You really think this will blow over?” She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand.

“I’d bet my site on it. We’ll give Robins a few hours to deal with the reporters, calm Evan down, and then we’ll show up again. A few apologies and we’ll be right as rain. They’re just jealous they’re not as awesome as you.”

They continued in silence for several more minutes. It became easier to forget that he’d only really known this woman for a few hours, and that this sense of comfort and rightness shouldn’t come so naturally. It shouldn’t feel so perfect to have his hand around her waist, his fingers holding her hip as they moved side-by-side.

He shouldn’t want to lean in and press his nose into her hair. Run his fingers down her bare arms. Bite the side of her neck so he could feel the sharp intake of her breath. No, they were already in enough trouble because of their amazing one-night stand. He couldn’t make things worse for her by acting on his impulses.

And yet, after another minute of walking, Darcy knew things weren’t going to be as easy for him as he might like. Clearing his throat, he gave her hip a light squeeze. “Where are we going?”