Wild For Mr. Wrong

 

WILD FOR MR. WRONG

BY

VIRNA DePAUL

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WILD FOR MR.WRONG (Formerly titled Wild For Him)

Copyright © 2011 by Virna DePaul

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All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

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by Virna DePaul

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Thank you to Susan Hatler, who is not just a true friend and invaluable critique partner, but an inspiration, a shoulder-to-cry-on, a sounding board, and pure fun to be with.  Sunny Slope all the way!  

Also thanks to Veronica Blade, whose kind heart and wicked sense of humor have been a joy to get to know.  This was a fun project!  

Thanks to Rochelle D, Cyndi F and Tina Folsom for your crits and invaluable friendship.   

Finally, thanks to C and my boys, who mean everything to me!

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Sitting in a back room of the Sacramento Superior Court’s Staff Attorney’s office, Deputy District Attorney Bryn Donovon struggled to appear disinterested in what her friend was saying—even though disinterested was the last thing she felt.

 “
Come on, Bryn, be honest,” Tamara Logan urged as she waved a forkful of salad.  “There’s no way you can face Daniel Mays in court each week and not fantasize about him.  You’re a woman, you have eyes, and he’s gorgeous.  He completed the Iron Man in the top five, for goodness sake!”  

Bryn snorted, took a sip from her water bottle, then shrugged.  “Did the triathlon add a new category? For ‘Men With The Biggest Heads,’ perhaps?”

Good, that was good.  Her comment revealed none of the desire and wistfulness that had coursed through her body the second Tamara had mentioned Daniel’s name.  

Tam laughed, sending her chandelier earrings jingling.  “They sure did, only they weren’t measuring the head above his waist.  He qualified because he had the biggest—”

Raising her hands to cover her ears, Bryn groaned.  “Please.  Spare me the gory details.”

“
Unfortunately, I’ll have to.” Tam’s whole face lit up when she smiled, her eyes sparkling and the sides of her mouth dimpling, making it impossible not to smile back.  Although their friendship was relatively new, eating lunch with Tam had become the highlight of Bryn’s day.  

“
I truly regret that I never got to see that man naked,” Tam said, waving her fork again. “Still, I know firsthand what a great kisser he is.”  

At Tam’s words, Bryn struggled to keep her face blank.  Tam had dated Daniel once or twice, but Bryn was the one plagued by recurring dreams about him.  In last night’s dream, they’d been doing far more than kissing.  His dark hair had been fluttering against her inner thighs and his tongue had been doing delicious things to her—

She sucked in a shaky breath. Even now, the memory of her heated, aroused state when she’d woken angered her.  It also confused her.  There were many attractive men in the world, but only Daniel Mays plagued her dreams, as well as her waking hours.

With sandy brown hair, green eyes, and the slightest cleft in his chin, the man was undeniably handsome. He had a broad, rangy body that towered over Bryn’s own slim 5’4” frame, an easy smile, a slight Southern drawl, and a laconic genuine charm that had made him the talk of the court’s female personnel.  

Daniel’s dating record and his ability to remain friends with most of his exes showed that he appreciated the unique differences in each of his admirers and treated them well.  In the two years she’d been in and out of the courts, he’d dated a variety of women: a statuesque blonde from Research, a petite Asian court reporter, and of course, Tam, one of the court’s three staff attorneys.  He didn’t seem to have a type, but rather enjoyed the diverse company of smart, engaging, and complicated women. Yet, none of them seemed to hold his interest for long.

And despite his good looks, his good nature, and his obvious charm, Daniel Mays defended criminals for a living.  That fact should have squashed her attraction long ago.

It hadn’t in the slightest.

Realizing Tam was staring at her, Bryn struggled to remember what they’d been talking about.  Oh, yes.  Daniel’s skill with kissing.  “It’s no surprise he’s such a good kisser,” Bryn murmured.  “He’s practiced enough.”

“
He’s a player,” Tam conceded, “but he’s single…who can blame him? It’s not like he has to try very hard.  And his practice has paid off.  What that man can do with his tongue is a miracle of nature.  Vance is the exception, of course, but kissing Daniel Mays is more erotic than having sex with almost any man.  And far more likely to make a woman come!”

Bryn threw the rest of her sandwich in its paper bag and squashed it into a ball.  “Yes, well, I wouldn’t know nor would I want to.  The only thing that holds less appeal for me than kissing Mays is what he does for a living.”  And he obviously knew how she felt.  In the beginning, he’d been friendly.  Curious about her.  When she hadn’t reciprocated, he’d ceased all efforts to get to know her better.  He was courteous, but that was all.

“
Defense attorneys aren’t monsters,” Tam said softly.  

Bryn winced.  She reached out to touch Tam’s hand but pulled back before she made contact.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t speak so generally. There are several defense attorneys I like and respect.  Vance especially.  But Mays is just a little too…too…”

“
Distracting?”  Tam smiled knowingly.  

Too much so, Bryn thought.  He certainly distracted her from what was most important—bringing justice to victims of crime; the same type of justice her sister had been denied.  Sighing, she stood.  “Casual.  He’s a little too casual about what he does.  But let’s not talk about him.  How are you feeling?”

Tam stood as well, groaning as she did so.  The rounded bulge of her stomach made her look like she’d swallowed a basketball.  “Except for the backaches and constant need to pee, I’m peachy.  I swear this baby only enjoys two things—tap dancing on my spine and lying on my bladder.”  

Bryn tossed her garbage and walked towards the main office, but she paused in the doorway.  She looked back at Tam, who rocked to a stop behind her.  “So,” Bryn began, striving for a casual tone, “I was thinking about your offer to set me up with Vance’s brother.  I know I wasn’t all that interested about the idea before, but do you know if he’s doing anything next Friday?  Because…well…”

“
Your sister’s engagement party is next weekend and you’re suddenly desperate for a man to run interference between you and your mother?”

 “
Something like that,” Bryn acquiesced.  “I just don’t want to hear the same old song and dance about being a workaholic who’s going to die a bitter old maid with lots of cats and break her mother’s heart.  Who knows, if Thad is free and he—”

Someone cleared his throat.

She jolted and swung around.

Daniel Mays.  

He was leaning against a tall file cabinet, his arms folded across his chest.  As always, her pulse kicked up.  This time, in addition to the intense throbbing in her veins, her mouth dried up, and mortification formed a jagged lump in her throat.  Chances were he’d heard them talking about him, and he was smart enough to know what had been behind her words—unwanted desire.

For him.

***

Just after noon, Daniel walked into the staff attorney’s office, pleasantly surprised to hear  Tam’s voice coming from a back room.  Usually Tam spent her lunch hour with her husband Vance, Daniel’s law partner and best friend, and the same lucky SOB who’d snagged Tam soon after Daniel had asked her out.  Daniel couldn’t be happier for them.  Vance was like a brother and Tam was quickly becoming a sister.  A sister he’d
kissed
, he often teased Vance.

Chuckling, he started to walk toward her voice when he suddenly got the gist of her conversation.  Amused, flattered, and thinking once again that Vance was a lucky guy, Daniel turned to leave.  But then he heard Tam refer to her companion by name and stopped in his tracks.

Bryn Donovon, the uptight no-nonsense prosecutor, aptly nicknamed “Justice” by the legal community? He hadn’t even realized Tam knew Bryn let alone was friends with her.  And apparently they were good enough friends to discuss men? And fantasies?

And
him
?

He should leave. He really should. Two women discussing men and sex and him wasn’t a conversation he should be spying on. But then again, after the loss in court this morning, he could use an ego boost.

When Tam mentioned the Iron Man triathlon, Daniel grimaced. Huh.  Not quite the ego boost he’d been hoping for.  That triathlon had nearly killed him.  He frowned at Bryn’s reply, surprised despite himself.  They weren’t friends, but he certainly hadn’t done anything to warrant such disdain.  And his reputation with the ladies was way over-exaggerated.  She of all people should understand the concept of being innocent until proven guilty.

He pushed away any residual guilt he’d been harboring for eavesdropping.  He’d just come in to check on a motion.  If the two women didn’t have enough sense to shut the door when they gossiped, that wasn’t
his
fault.    

“
Please,” he heard Bryn say.  “Spare me the gory details.”

Daniel sucked in a breath.  Gory?

His annoyance intensified with every word Bryn Donovan spoke.  When she sneeringly dismissed his profession and expressed disinterest in his sexual prowess, Daniel had the crazy urge to burst in on their conversation and kiss her to orgasm, just to prove her wrong.

Whoa.  Kiss Bryn Donovon?  That was certainly a novel thought.

If pressed, he would have to describe her as average, at best.  Dark hair, slender build, impeccable posture, plain clothes.  Inoffensive but nothing noteworthy.  Certainly not flashy, and nothing to indicate she had a fun or warm personality.  Daniel didn’t need flashy, but he needed fun and warmth.

There was something to be said for spunk, though.  And Bryn had spunk.  Most definitely she had spunk.  Suddenly, he couldn’t get the idea of kissing her out of his head.  

Had he completely missed the mark with her?  Was he simply overworked?  Had he thought of her as a professional adversary so long it had skewed his perceptions?

 
Daniel shrugged and grinned.  No time like the present to find out.  He crossed his arms across his chest, leaned against a file cabinet, and waited for the women to come out into the hall.  When they stopped in the doorway, chatting, he grew impatient and cleared his throat, calling Bryn’s attention to him.

When she turned around and saw him, he should have been pleased by her flustered reaction.  Instead, he had his own unexpected reaction to deal with.  As her face flushed and her eyes widened, Daniel realized for the first time—
how was that possible
?—that her eyes were anything but average.    

They were a warm golden brown surrounded by dark lashes that complemented their slightly exotic shape.  He tried not to, but his gaze took in the whole package.