Too Wilde to Tame (13 page)

"Hey, Cam!" Joel replied in an enthusiastic voice loud enough to be heard above the music and noise. "You hang out here?"

"I've been here a few times," he said evasively and gestured toward the waitresses dancing up on the bar for the customers, and for better tips. "The place is quite lively and entertaining."

"So we heard." Joel grinned up at one of the women who blew him a kiss while gyrating her hips to the seductive beat of the music. "We thought we'd check it out for ourselves, and it appears we aren't going to be disappointed. Want to grab a beer with us?"

Despite having other plans, which had included finding an inconspicuous place to sit alone and keep an eye on Mia, Cameron knew he couldn't turn down Joel's invitation without him wondering why… and eventually pinpointing the reason as Mia once Joel discovered his sister was there. Besides, sitting with the trio didn't mean Cam had to reveal his true reasons for being there, and he could still keep an inconspicuous eye on Mia.

"A beer sounds great," he finally said.

It took some time on such a crowded, busy night, but they eventually managed to claim a table up on the second level as a small group vacated it. It was a perfect spot for Cameron, because it gave him a decent view of the bar and dance area. And that's all he cared about.

As he sat down, his gaze found Mia once again. She was still talking to the same group of guys at the bar. Just as a waitress came up to their table to take their order, he watched as Mia tucked her hair behind her left ear, a signal they'd decided upon earlier to let him know she was speaking to her neighbor, Will, if he happened to show up.

He studied the guy, who was more of a pretty boy than a man's man, with short hair that looked like it actually had blond highlights woven through the strands—and not the kind from the sun, but the artificial kind from a salon. At a distance, his features appeared more effeminate than masculine, and he looked barely old enough to drink—as did his three friends.

Just as Mia had told him, there were definitely no sparks between her and Will. They were conversing like old friends, when most of the other men at the bar were openly eyeing Mia with appreciative interest. There was something different about Will other than his appearance, but for the moment Cameron couldn't quite put his finger on what was bothering him.

Mia smoothed her hair back once again as she laughed at something one of the other guys said. Most likely, she hadn't seen him arrive. Under normal circumstances, he would have called her on her cell phone to let her know he was at The Electric Blue and where he was sitting, but meeting up with Joel had nixed that idea. He figured in time she'd locate him, and he couldn't help but wonder how she'd act once she discovered her brother Joel was there.

Cameron waited for the waitress to finish taking their drink orders and move on to the next table before striking up a conversation. "So how's business been?"

"It's been great," Joel said as he leaned back in his seat. "Getting busier by the week."

"I hear ya," Cam replied with a shake of his head. "Steve and I are swamped. We've been interviewing potential assistants, but we haven't found anyone we both like yet." He glanced at Kevin and Ben once more. "Where's Jon?" he asked of their other friend and partner.

"He's on an assignment that took him to California for the next week." Abruptly, Joel stopped speaking, and his body tensed as he stared just beyond Cameron's shoulder.

Cameron was very familiar with that intense kind of look. Certain that Joel had finally spied Mia, Cameron's own personal radar went on alert. "Everything okay?"

"That waitress looks familiar," Joel said with a confused frown. "Like I've seen her before."

Cameron, along with Ben and Kevin, glanced in the same direction to appease their own curiosity. The woman who had caught Joel's attention wasn't the waitress who had taken their order. This one was curvy and very pretty, with shoulder-length brown hair and an alluring smile. As attractive as she was, she seemed much too reserved and sweet compared to the more outgoing women Joel normally chose to date.

"Yeah, you've seen her before," Ben said with a snicker. "In your dreams, man."

"I'm being serious," Joel said, a frustrated edge to his tone. "But I'll be damned if I can place where I've seen her."

Kevin slapped Joel on the back. "I'm sure she's just another face in the long string of women you've seduced with that Wilde charm of yours, then left behind."

Joel's scowl deepened as he combed his fingers through his pitch black hair. "I've never slept with her. That I would have remembered," he said adamantly.

As if the woman had sensed Joel's stare, she turned from the table she was clearing and looked his way. Their gazes seemed to connect, and something intangible passed between them for the briefest of seconds before their waitress arrived with their beers and the other woman headed back to the bar area.

It was the oddest, most bizarre thing Cameron had ever witnessed, as if the two did know one another but had never met in person before.

For the next half hour, while Joel watched the woman who'd captured his attention and Cameron kept up a steady stream of conversation with Ben and Kevin, who were also flirting with the women around them, Cameron managed to keep a close watch on Mia. She left Will with his friends at the bar to mingle with other people, and Cameron noticed that her neighbor didn't appear interested in the other women who came up to him, and neither did he accept any invitations to dance.

Interestingly enough, Mia's girlfriend Carrie was nowhere to be seen, and he figured she'd had other plans for the night, which helped narrow down Cameron's list of potential suspects. He'd caught sight of Ray and Gina a while ago, but now as Mia made her way through the crowd to her roommate, Ray wasn't by Gina's side as he normally was, which led Cameron to believe he was off getting drinks at the bar or had gone to the restroom.

About ten minutes later Ray reappeared, fresh drinks in hand. Mia talked to the two of them for a bit longer and then moved through the crowd once again. She headed in Cameron's direction, a sultry smile on her glossy lips.

As she climbed the stairs to the second level, Joel finally spotted her. "Jeezus," he muttered in annoyance. "What the hell is Mia doing here?"

Cameron wanted to laugh at Joel's brotherly reaction, not to mention his double standards where his sister was concerned. Instead, he kept his amusement to himself.

Kevin, however, had no problem stating the obvious. "I suppose she's here for the same reason you are."

Joel didn't care for that insinuation and shot his friend a dark look. "Don't be a smart-ass."

"Well, she sure does look like she's here to have a good time," Ben chimed in.

Cameron had to agree. From a distance, he'd only been able to see glimpses of what she was wearing. But now, up close, his mouth went dry as the full effect of her outfit hit him. Her beige, halter-top-style mini-dress bared a helluva lot of skin and cleavage and left no room for her to wear a bra. The stretchy fabric molded to her perfect breasts, as well as the rest of her curves, all the way down to her mid-thigh. A belt designed of chunky gold links draped low on her hips with the end piece bouncing loosely against her thigh as she walked. If the image of using that strand of belt as a leash wasn't enough to make Cameron hard as stone, her shoes most certainly did the trick.

She was wearing the hottest, sexiest, most arousing pair of dress boots he'd ever seen on a woman. Made of supple beige leather, they reached just below her knee, and it wasn't just the spiked heel that had his temperature, and other parts of his anatomy, rising. No, it was the way they laced up the side of her leg and showed glimpses of skin between the criss-crossing of ties, prompting erotic images of her being a bit of a dominatrix in the bedroom—which suited Mia's personality very well.

He groaned and shoved those images right out of his head as she came to a stop at the side of the table between himself and Kevin. She slid her hip to one side, the one nearest him, and the chain on her belt jingled temptingly.

"Hi there, boys," she greeted them with a sexy smile that encompassed them all. "Fancy running into the four of you here."

Ben grinned at her, and it was obvious to Cameron that the other man could be very interested in Mia, given the chance and Joel's approval. "We were just saying the same thing about you, Mia."

She shrugged, and Cameron hoped to God he was the only one who noticed how her firm breasts bounced oh-so-provocatively with the gesture. Unfortunately, Ben and Kevin were all male, and their gazes strayed accordingly.

"It's a fun place," she said, fingering the end of her chain belt. "And where's there's fun, I'm there."

Joel crossed his arms over his massive chest. "You shouldn't be here alone," he said gruffly.

"Don't go and get your feathers all ruffled, Joel," she said and rolled her eyes at her brother's protective statement. "Gina is here, too, so I'm not alone."

"Would you like to sit down and have a drink with us?" Kevin offered, eager to accommodate Mia. "We can pull up another chair for you, if you'd like."

"No, thanks," she said, dashing the other man's hopes, only to raise them all over again with her next comment. "Actually, I came up here looking for a dance partner. Anyone here interested?"

Cameron kept quiet, while both Kevin and Ben glanced at Joel as if to gauge his reaction Should they accept Mia's invitation. Luckily for them, Joel was once again distracted by the waitress who'd ensnared his attention earlier.

"Hell, why not," Kevin said and stood before Ben could beat him to the punch. "I came here to have a good time, so let's do it."

"That's certainly my motto." Mia laughed, a sultry, husky sound that tied Cameron's insides into a heated knot of desire.

As Mia led the way to the dance floor and Kevin followed behind, Cameron blew out a harsh breath. He knew her flirtations with Kevin and Ben were all an act, knew she was trying to pretend all was normal and Cameron didn't have carnal knowledge of her body—and they hadn't agreed to a brief affair. But it was still difficult to watch her go off with another man and move that lithe, centerfold body of hers all for Kevin's viewing pleasure.

Cameron kept both Ray and Will in his sights, while keeping an eye on Mia as well. She was having a great time with Kevin, and if that wasn't torture enough, when the two of them returned to the table after enjoying a few songs, Ben was quick to offer himself up as her next dance partner, and Mia was happy to oblige. She looked so damn sexy up on the dance floor, with her dark tousled hair, flushed face, and that seductive, body-hugging dress. And those sexy boots… Cameron had no doubts they'd star in some very erotic fantasies for a long time to come.

"You know, if you don't like anyone else dancing with her, then you ought to speak up."

This came from Kevin, and Cameron couldn't believe he'd allowed himself to be so transparent around men who were trained to be just as perceptive as he was. Still, he tried to brush it off. "I'm not interested in dancing with Mia."

From across the table, Joel gave an inelegant snort. "Sure you're not," he drawled, then explained to Kevin, "Cameron and Mia have this love-hate thing going on between them."

"I don't hate her." Far from it, Cameron thought. Mia inspired many emotions from him, but none that even came remotely close to disliking her.

"Okay, hate is a strong word," Joel conceded as he rubbed his fingers along the condensation gathering on his bottle of beer. "You want her, but you don't want her. She annoys the hell out of you, and you still want her. Bottom line is, you want her."

That pretty well summed up his feelings for Mia, not that he was going to admit it out loud and give Joel the satisfaction of knowing how badly his sister affected him. "Don't worry, it's not going to happen," he reassured Joel, the lie slipping too easily from his lips.

Joel studied him for a long moment, and Cameron tried not to squirm under the scrutiny of his stare.

Finally, Joel spoke. "That's probably for the best, considering the two of you would end up strangling one another within a few days of being together."

Cameron could think of a dozen other things he'd rather do to Mia with his hands and fingers, rather than wrapping them around her pretty neck. Still, for Joel's benefit, he played along. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Much to Cameron's relief, Kevin and Mia came back to the table, which put an end to his awkward conversation with Joel. Ben sat in his chair, and Mia sidled up to Cameron.

"Whew," she said, breathing hard from the workout she'd gotten while dancing with two different men back to back. "I sure am hot… and thirsty."

Before anyone could offer to get her a drink, she picked up his bottle of beer and lifted it to her mouth. Cameron watched in fascination as her lips closed over the tip and her tongue dipped inside the opening. Then she tilted the bottle back and moaned deep in her throat as she finished off the last little bit of cold liquid left inside.

Cameron nearly groaned right along with her as images filled his mind of her soft warm mouth sucking on him in the same erotic way—which he knew had been her intent all along. To deliberately arouse him when he couldn't do a damn thing about it, the minx.

With a soft sigh of satisfaction, she set the empty bottle down on the table and met his gaze. Her lashes fell half-mast, and she slowly licked the excess moisture from her lips. "Mmmm, that tasted good."