Wilde at Heart (5 page)

Shelby glanced back at Katrina, then rolled her lips together and straightened her shoulders, preparing to face off against her much taller sister. “She wasn’t well back then, but she is now.”

“Bullshit.”

“At least she’s trying now. She’s been clean since that night, and she’s engaged to a nice man, a former cop like you and Cam—”

“Engaged?” Eva spared her mother and the silver-haired man a disgusted glance. “Oh my God. Shel, we’ve been down this road before. Over and over and over. She’s
never
going to change.”

“I don’t believe that. People can change.”

“Not her!”

“Eva,” Katrina said softly, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Honey, I know I’ve not been a good mother to you, but I am so, so sorry for what I put you girls through. I was selfish and…sick.”

“See?” Shelby said and wrapped an arm around her mother. “Give her another chance.”

“No.” Radiating disbelief, Eva shook her head. “No! I’ve given her more chances than she deserves.” She turned that accusing finger on her sister, poking Shelby’s chest. “I’ve given
you
more chances than you deserve, and all I ever get in return is disappointment. I can’t—” Her voice caught and she shouldered between her sister and mother, leaving a heavy silence in her wake.

Katrina tried to hug Shelby, but she shrugged off the embrace and ran for the exit, too. Nobody moved for a solid three seconds after the chapel door banged shut behind her.

“Shit,” Cam said under his breath and chased after his wife.

Reece hesitated for only a heartbeat before he followed. He found Cam pacing the floor in the hallway outside the women’s restroom. “Are they in there?”

“Eva is.” Cam dragged his hands over his head. “Goddamn Shelby.”

“Hey, she was only trying to help.”

“Yeah, well, Eva can do without her brand of help. You have no idea what a mindfuck it was for Eva growing up as the daughter of that woman.”

“Shelby’s her daughter, too,” Reece pointed out.

“But that’s the biggest difference between them. Shelby bounces back from everything. Eva doesn’t. She carries the hurt forever.” He stopped moving in front of the bathroom door and stared at the female stick figure like he wanted to set fire to it. Finally, he muttered, “Fuck this,” and pushed inside.

Reece stood in the empty hallway and debated his next step. In a conference room several doors down, the reception revelry was already in full swing. A room full of cops with an open bar in Vegas? Yeah, he should probably go in there and keep things under control until the bride and groom returned.

He took a step in that direction, but a flash of blue at the other end of the hall caught his attention and he glanced toward it in time to see Shelby step into the elevator. He didn’t think, just moved, striding down the hall and catching the door before it slid shut.

Shelby sighed and wiped at her eyes with both hands. “What are you doing here?”

“Making sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

She jabbed the button for the thirty-second floor. “Yeah, ’cause I’m full of stupid ideas.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You were thinking it. Reckless, wild, immature. Selfish.” Her sigh was heavy with resignation. She tucked a strand of turquoise-and-purple-streaked hair behind her ear. “I know what you think I am.”

“Shelby.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze, so he grabbed her by the shoulders and made her face him. The air sizzled when he touched her, the spark that had been between them since day one flaring red-hot. “You have no idea what I’m thinking.”

Some of the shadows left her eyes. “Oh, I bet I can guess.” She traced a fingernail down his chest, stopping when she reached his belt. “You’re kinda transparent when you get like this, ya know?”

Reece tried to keep his face impassive even as his body internally combusted. “You’re trying to distract me.”

“Doesn’t take much.” Her hand dropped lower, cupping him through his pants. “And maybe I need a distraction right now.”

“Cut it out, Shelby.”

“You don’t really want that, do you?” She squeezed him and his brain short-circuited, all of his good intentions evaporating in an explosion of heat and lust.

I
n a burst of movement, Reece grabbed her wrist and shoved her against the wall, trapping her there with his body. His gaze was fire as it dropped to her mouth and his body practically vibrated with all those dirty fantasies of his he tried so hard to keep a tight lid on. “Don’t push me, little girl.”

Little…?

Oh. Did he really just call h
er that?

Hell, no.

It was time to show him who was actually in control of this situation. She had him. Hook, line, and sinker. He just didn’t know it yet.

Shelby shoved up on her toes, stopping only when her lips hovered inches below his. With her free hand, she reached down between their bodies again and found him hard, his erection straining the front of his perfectly pleated trousers. She wrapped her fingers around him and stroked him through his pants.

“I’m pushing,” she whispered next to his mouth. “So what are you going to do about it?”

He closed the distance between their lips in a hard, take-no-prisoners kiss. He was demanding, unforgiving, as his tongue invaded and stroked and the rest of the world faded away. He released his grip on her hand to cup her breast, freeing her to plow her fingers through his soft dark hair.

Yes. He was the perfect distraction, exactly what she needed. To forget the rest of the world and just…feel.

He grabbed her ass and lifted her up until she had to wrap her legs around his hips or topple. She threw out an arm to keep upright, felt several of the floor buttons press under her palm, but who the hell cared? Reece was kissing her again, devouring her as his hand eased up her inner thigh under her skirt—

The elevator doors opened and a throat cleared. An older couple stood on the other side, dressed up for dinner. The man was trying to hide his smile, but his wife didn’t bother.

“Excuse us,” Reece said. He set Shelby down on her own two feet again and hauled her from the car by the hand. As soon as the doors shut, he pushed her against the wall and dropped his lips back to hers. “Where’s your room?”

She laughed against his mouth. “This isn’t my floor.”

He swore and let go of her long enough to reach for the elevator’s button, but she caught his hand and pulled. The alcove by the ice machine was dark, the bulb overhead burned out. She dragged him inside and tugged his shirt free, running her hands over all the delicious muscle of his back.

He growled in the back of his throat and banded his fingers around her wrists, stilling her hands. “Not here, Shelby.”

“Why not?” She let her nails bite into his skin.

“We’re going to get caught.” Even as he protested, his erection jumped against her stomach, and his grip on her wrists loosened.

“But that turns you on, doesn’t it?” Holding his gaze, she guided his hand between her legs to the place already soaked with her desire. “It does for me.”

“Jesus.” He stroked her through her panties then shoved the strip of fabric aside and dropped to his knees in front of her. “This is crazy.”

At the first swipe of his tongue, her legs threatened to give out, and she leaned into the wall for support. “Oh, but you’re so hot when you get crazy.”

His lips closed around her clitoris. The light suction sent shivers racing through her body, followed by wild flashes of heat. Her stomach muscles clenched, her hips bucked against his mouth. She’d never been with a guy who was so enthusiastic about going down on her. He was good at it, too. Knew how to use his lips and tongue and even the light scrape of his teeth to wring every ounce of pleasure out of their encounters. “Oh God. Reece—”

“Shh.” He gazed up, his eyes dark, and slid a finger inside of her. “Don’t make a sound.” A second finger joined the first and stroked a spot inside that made her go lightheaded. “Make any noise at all and I stop, understand? Nod.”

She wanted to smack him for that command, but when he stroked her again, her legs nearly gave out. She smothered a groan and nodded as another shiver of pleasure rippled down her spine.

He chuckled, and his breath fanned over her clit in a hot caress. Her thighs trembled. Hard. She locked her knees, bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out. Then his tongue returned to tease her, his fingers found that spot again, and she melted. She lost herself in the orgasm, head spinning, body shaking uncontrollably. Heat swamped her, blasting away every worry, every thought, except one—she wanted him. All of him. Naked, pounding into her, sweat-slicked and out of control. God, did she want him.

When she finally floated back to herself, she opened her eyes to see Reece licking his fingers as if savoring the taste of her. And that was the biggest freaking turn-on ever. She reached for him. “Reece.”

At the sound of her voice, his eyes snapped open. He scrambled to his feet, smoothed down his tie, and walked away without a word.

He. Walked. Away.

Shelby stood there, leaning against the wall, body still humming like a live wire. What the hell? She had been putty in his very talented hands. What kind of man walked away from that?

It was like that night at The Bean Gallery all over again.

Oh, no. He wasn’t getting away with this oral-and-run routine a second time. It made her feel dirty—and not in a good way. He obviously enjoyed having his mouth on her, so why did he never want to go further than that? Why was she never allowed to reciprocate?

She walked out into the hall, glanced both ways. He was long gone, but that didn’t matter. She knew where his suite was—right across the hall from Cam and Eva’s. She jabbed the button to call the elevator.

Yeah, it was past time for Reece Wilde to get his.

Chapter Five

J
esus. Was he out of his goddamn mind?

Stupid question, Reece thought, and grabbed a bottle of bourbon from the complimentary bar in his suite. When it came to Shelby, he had no fucking sense in his head.

That girl was trouble with a capital T. In so many ways.

He yanked his tie loose and didn’t bother with a glass, downing the bourbon straight from the bottle. He relished the burn as it slid down his throat, but it did fuck all to put out the fire raging in his blood. He pressed a palm to the ridge of his cock. Maybe if he drank enough, the damn thing would lose all interest in sassy tattooed women with impossible hair colors who tasted like spice and honey.

At the memory of Shelby on his tongue, he swore and took another long pull of the bourbon. He wasn’t one to get sloshed to solve his problems, but tonight—yeah, tonight it seemed like the perfect plan.

He raised the bottle to his lips for a third hit, but a fist pounded against his door hard enough to rattle the chain. Oh, shit. Let it be Cam or Vaughn. Maybe Greer. Hell, he’d even take Jude. Anyone but—

He pulled open the door and was thrown back against the wall by a whirlwind of turquoise and purple and indignation.

“
You.
” Shelby took the bottle from his hand, knocked back a swallow, and pushed the door shut with one high heel. Then she pointed into the room. “Bed. Now.”

He kept his face impassive. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, I do. That’s the second time you’ve walked away. It’s not happening again.”

“I don’t understand the problem. You had an orgasm. I gave you what you wanted.”

“You have no clue what I want.” She fused her mouth to his and her tongue invaded, seeking, claiming, branding.

Trouble
, he tried to remind himself even as he clamped his hands around her hips. So much goddamn trouble.

And he didn’t care.

Never had when it came to Shelby Bremer.

She broke away from the kiss and dragged him by the tie across the suite’s seating area to the bedroom. The king-size bed sat kitty-corner between sweeping windows that offered a glittering panorama of the Vegas strip. Reece had a half second to consider hitting the remote to close the blinds, but forgot all about it when she shoved him down on the mattress and straddled his hips. She pulled on the knot of his tie until it fell loose, then whipped it off from around his neck.

“Wrists.”

A thrill coursed through him. “No.”

She wiggled out of her thong and swung it around her finger once before tossing it aside and grinding against his erection. Even through the layers of clothes still separating them, he felt her heat and the wetness from her earlier orgasm.

“Do you want this?” she demanded. “Don’t lie.”

He couldn’t control the rumble growing in his chest. “Jesus, yes.”

“Then you do what I say when I say it. Wrists.”

Trembling, he held his arms out to her. Shelby looped the tie around his wrists, then secured the ends to the heavy wood bed frame. The room temperature shot up a good ten degrees as she slid down his body, popping open each button on his shirt. She trickled bourbon on every inch of skin she exposed and lapped it up. His muscles quivered under the long strokes of her tongue.

When she reached the edge of his pants, she sat up and undid his belt, unzipped his trousers, and freed him.

“Mmm.” Her breath fanned over his cock. “You’ve been hiding a lot behind those suits huh, Hershey?”

“Reece,” he gritted out between clenched teeth.

She laughed and drizzled bourbon on him, then circled his tip lightly with her tongue, sending electric shocks through his body. He strained against his bonds, wanting more than anything to dig his fingers into her hair and keep her hot little mouth on him. She continued with the light teasing until his entire body shook, and every breath he dragged in was a chore.

“Shelby…” Jesus, was that his voice? He sounded like he’d swallowed a handful of rocks.

“What?” she whispered against his hip and cupped his balls in one hand. “Tell me what you want.”

“Your mouth.”

“Where?”

He barely managed to strangle the words out. “On my cock.”

“Now that’s no way for a nice, straitlaced boy to talk.” She bit his hip hard enough he was sure she left teeth marks, but the pain only intensified the pleasure, and his eyes all but rolled back in his head.