Wilde Thing (26 page)

She couldn’t change Valerie—not who she was or how her cousin felt about her. It was obvious that Valerie would always cling to past resentments, but that was Valerie’s problem, not Liz’s. She didn’t have to put up with her cousin’s self-indulgent personality or her contemptuous attitude. They were both grown women, and Liz no longer needed to be responsible for anyone but herself.

It was time that Valerie did the same.

She met Valerie’s gaze and pleased herself for a change. “I think it’s time you found your own place to live,” she stated calmly but very seriously.

Valerie looked completely appalled at the suggestion. “I’m not going anywhere,” she protested.

“Fine. Then consider the apartment all yours, and I’ll find somewhere else to live.” Liz knew she’d have to explain things to her aunt and uncle, but she’d deal with them in the same firm, straightforward manner in which she’d just handled Valerie. “I can’t deal with this situation anymore. I
won’t
deal with this, and you, because I don’t have to.”

Her cousin’s expression filled with absolute shock and disbelief, mainly because Liz had never been so assertive before. But Liz’s confidence felt damn good, and so liberating.

She was tired of the guilt and burdens she’d put upon herself. Tired of being alone and so fearful of taking a risk on a man who was everything she’d ever
dreamed of and so much more. A bad boy who gave her the kind of adventure and excitement she craved, yet kept her grounded and would never, ever deliberately hurt her. A tender, generous man who wasn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.

A gorgeous, sexy man who loved her and was waiting for her to come to her senses.

Passing her cousin, Liz went to her bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans, T-shirt, and tennis shoes. After putting her hair into a quick ponytail, she grabbed her purse and keys and left the apartment and Valerie behind so she could begin her new life.

The street lamp illuminated the interior of her vehicle and glimmered off the ring encircling her left ring finger. Swallowing hard, she removed the band of gold that gave the impression that she was taken, and put it on her right hand, leaving her openly single and available, with a heart that yearned to belong to the bad boy who owned her soul.

Steve was waiting for her, and there was only one thing left to do—go and stake a claim on her man.

Steve picked up the portable phone next to the living room couch on the second ring, and with his mind on other matters instead of the game show playing on TV, he answered with an absent and automatic, “Hello?”

“Hi, Wilde Thing,” a familiar feminine voice whispered, grabbing Steve’s full attention. “How are you doing tonight?”

It was Liz, speaking to him in the same husky tone she’d used for their nightly phone sex calls. His body responded to that provocative voice, even while he wondered what she was up to.

What had changed, and why? He intended to find out.

Ever since she’d walked out of his office two days
ago, he’d been distracted, his mind constantly thinking of Liz and wondering if he’d pushed her too hard and fast for a commitment. Wondering if he’d lost her for good because he wanted and needed her love like he needed nothing else in his life.

And now here she was, taking the first step to contact him when he’d believed it was over between the two of them. He was hopeful but still cautious.

Lowering the volume on the television with his remote, he answered her question honestly. “I could be better.”

“Me, too.” A believable amount of regret infused her soft voice. “I’m sitting here all by myself, feeling so alone, and I knew you’d keep me company. I’m thinking maybe we could make each other feel better.”

He settled into the corner of the couch, all too willing to follow her suggestion and see where it led. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want to tell you a fantasy of mine.”

Knowing just how potent their fantasies could be, awareness stirred within him—a physical reaction that was backed up with a wealth of emotion. “I’m listening.”

He heard her draw a deep breath for fortitude before speaking. “I work in a coffee shop, and there’s this man that comes in a few times a week. He wears a leather jacket and drives a Harley that’s inscripted with the appropriate name
Wilde Thing,
and he’s so incredibly sexy that my heart pounds whenever our eyes meet across the room. I often wondered what it would be like to be with him, to just let loose of responsibilities, obligations, and inhibitions, and take a walk on the wild side with this man.”

A slow smile curved the corner of Steve’s mouth, and he stood, wandering restlessly around the living room. “And did you follow through on that desire?”

“Oh, yes,” she breathed, and he imagined she was
smiling, too. “Circumstances brought us together, and we began a hot, erotic affair that exceeded anything I’ve ever imagined. He’s exciting and adventurous, and also a wonderful, generous lover. But he’s also incredibly sensitive and tender when it counts. And when I’m with him, I feel like I’ve finally found my other half.”

Steve’s hand tightened on the receiver, matching the sudden pull across his chest. “So what’s holding you back?”

“I was afraid to trust in my feelings for him,” she said, a vulnerable catch to her voice.
“For you.”

His doorbell rang, twice, and Steve ignored the interruption, because at the moment nothing mattered but Liz and this conversation with her—and how it would all end. “And now?”

“I’m ready to take a chance on you. On us.”

Yes.
Adrenaline and elation pumped through Steve, though it was quickly shattered by a knock on the front door. Not expecting any visitors, Steve again dismissed the intrusion. “What changed your mind, Liz?”

“Valerie came home tonight, and confronting her forced me to confront my own fears. I realized that you were right, that I had to stop living my life for everyone else. I’m taking chances and making choices that make me happy.”

That revelation pleased him, because she deserved to be happy in any way she chose. Even if that meant choosing a life without him in it. “Good for you, sweetheart,” he murmured.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” she went on, an anxious note to her voice. “Something I should have told you days ago.”

Another knock, this one more insistent, demanding that Steve find out who was at the door. “Damn it,” he growled in pure frustration, suspecting that Liz was on the verge of saying something profound. “Hold on to that thought a second.”

Steve stalked into the foyer and yanked open the door, prepared to tell whoever was standing on the other side of the threshold to get lost. But it was Liz, haloed in the buttery glow of the porch light, her green eyes shining with hope and affection and confidence.

She disconnected her cellular unit. “What I have to say needs to be said in person and not over the phone. This is the best part of the fantasy, because it’s become my reality.” She held his gaze, her expression glowing with the kind of promises he longed for with this woman. “I trust you, Steve Wilde. With my heart and soul, and I’m ready to give you both, completely and unconditionally. I need you in my life, and most importantly, I love you.”

Fearful that she’d change her mind, that all this was a figment of his imagination, he pulled her inside his house and kicked the door closed. In seconds they were in his bedroom, right where she belonged.

Framing her face in his hands, he kissed her, a long, deep, soulful joining that expressed his own feelings for her. When he finally lifted his head, they were both breathing hard, and he couldn’t wait to get inside her, be a part of her. He removed his shirt, then stripped off hers as well. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and he cupped her breasts in his hands, caressed her nipples with the brush of his fingers over the hard tips.

Closing her eyes, Liz sighed blissfully and arched into his touch. “I know you’re not looking for marriage, but for as long as this lasts between us, I want to be with you.”

He’d forgotten about his vow never to marry again, but he’d changed over the course of their affair, just as Liz had, too, and he needed to rectify that original impression. “I love you, Liz, and I intend for it to last forever.”

Liz’s lashes snapped back open, and she stared at him in confusion.

He smiled and explained. “I’ll admit that I didn’t go into this relationship looking for more than an affair, but it happened, and what I feel for you is so much richer and more mature than anything I’ve ever felt before. But you have to want it, too, not just physically but emotionally. I’ve discovered that I’m a very greedy man, and I want it all.”

“What does ‘all’ encompass?” Her eyes were wide and brimming with anticipation as she waited for his reply.

“I never thought that a woman could make me want to get married again, or start a new family, but I want that with you,” he said, his own heart beating rapidly in his chest. “Marry me, Liz.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.” Tears of joy shone in her eyes. “I want you to be that shoulder for me to lean on, and it’s your smile I want to see every morning, to get me through the day. And I need your hugs to soothe my fears and let me know that I’m not alone.”

He remembered asking Liz who would be that person for her, and he was so glad it was him. “I’ll be there for you. I promise.”

“I want to be all those things for you in return.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his mouth to hers in a silent, heartfelt affirmation of their feelings for each other. He laid her back on the bed, and their kisses grew more amorous, more aggressive and eager as they fumbled with their clothing, until they were both naked and excruciatingly aroused.

He moved over her, fitting himself between her spread thighs, feeling her hot and wet against his shaft. So ready for him. But he didn’t enter her, not just yet. For the moment, it was enough just to have her beneath him, the tip of his erection sliding against her lush sex.

She pressed a hand to his jaw and smiled tenderly at him. “I have to tell you, your proposal couldn’t have come at a better time, considering I’m homeless.”

“Excuse me?” He frowned, certain he’d misheard her.

“I told Valerie to find another place to live, and when she refused, I told her she could have my apartment, and I left.”

He chuckled, amazed at how far this woman had come. And thrilled that she’d made the decision to come to him. “I’m so proud of you.”

Her chin tipped upward, a feisty show of the wild spirit Steve had always known she possessed. “I was pretty proud of myself, actually.”

Growing serious, he finally slid into her, a perfect fit, and gave her yet another promise to believe in. “This is your home now. Here. With me.”

We wouldn’t want you to miss one WILDE moment!

Please look for Eric Wilde’s story in I BRAKE FOR BAD BOYS, a Brava contemporary romance anthology that is available now.

Jill Richardson made a vow never to mix business with pleasure… but that was before spending long days working side-by-side with the devastatingly handsome Eric Wilde, a man who is rumored to live up to his name. Eric makes no secret of wanting Jill in his bed, and he’s offering a tempting promise—at work they can maintain a professional relationship. After hours, however, they’ll engage in erotic games that go beyond all the boundaries to a place where every forbidden desire is fulfilled, every seductive pleasure explored…

And Alex Wilde’s adventures are featured in PERFECT FOR THE BEACH, another Brava contemporary romance anthology, available now.

Alex Wilde is crazy about Dana Reed. Too bad the career-driven Dana only wants him as a lover, not a husband. In a last-ditch attempt to prove he’s the right man for her, Alex kidnaps Dana and whisks her away to a private beach house where he’s prepared to use every forbidden desire to make her his…

And here is a sneak look at THE WILDE SIDE, Janelle’s novel about Scott Wilde. You guessed it. Available now.

Ashley closed her eyes and made her birthday wish. What she desired most of all was a hot, unforgettable night with a sexy bad boy who’d let her be as uninhibited and naughty as she dared—a stranger who had no idea who she was and couldn’t threaten her reputation, or touch her emotions. She wanted to seduce and be seduced, and experience the thrill and excitement of giving into lust and pure physical attraction, without the doubts or second thoughts that had kept her too virtuous since Greg’s blackmail attempt.

Tonight, as a gift to herself on her thirtieth birthday, she’d make her wish come true. And come the morning, with a wealth of sensual memories to look back on fondly and no one the wiser, she’d return to being Ashley St. Claire. The older, reliable sister. The proper, responsible daughter she’d vowed to be to her parents. And the efficient, sophisticated woman who managed the boutiques for the St. Claire hotels.

She blew out the candles.

“Jee-sus, would you take a look at the hot babe that just walked in the door.”

Scott Wilde glanced up from the pool table and the shot he was considering to see what his brother, Alex, was talking about. Sure enough, just a few feet from the entrance of Nick’s Sports Bar stood one helluva sexy woman that immediately stirred a basic, primal kind of lust in his blood. And judging from the way every other man in the joint was ogling her, he wasn’t the only one who was affected by her vibrant, and very provocative presence.

“Oh, yeah, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve seen in here in a long time,” his other brother, Joel, chimed in.

Scott had to agree. He and his brothers and cousins had been coming here for the past few years, and they all knew the regulars that frequented the place. Especially the single women, since the ladies had done their share of hitting on the Wilde men—without much success. And no one had ever caused quite a stir of interest as this one was generating.

The stunning blonde shifted on her feet as she glanced around the establishment, drawing Scott’s gaze to her heeled shoes that boosted her height a few inches. From there, he took in her shapely calves and endlessly long, tanned legs he could too easily imagine wrapped around his hips in the throes of passion.

The short white mini-skirt she was wearing afforded him a glimpse of her smooth, slender thighs. Enjoying the view, he slowly slid his gaze upward. His mouth went dry as he took in curvaceous hips, a slim waist, and a top that molded to generous, perfectly rounded breasts and showed the faint outline of her nipples pressing against the pink, stretchy fabric.

Her face was classically beautiful, and even from a distance her skin looked creamy and flawless. Her hair, the color of rich butterscotch, appeared as though she’d just tumbled from some man’s bed, and wouldn’t mind tumbling right back in.

And damn if
he
didn’t want to be that man.

She had soft, full lips and a sweet mouth designed to give a man all kinds of erotic pleasure. The thought caused his stomach to tighten with awareness and made other parts of his male anatomy leap to attention, as well.

Finally, he met her gaze, surprised to see that she was staring at him, too, from across the barroom. Then she smiled like an angel—a direct contradiction to her blatantly seductive appearance.

Momentarily taken aback by that contrast, Scott studied her more objectively. Outwardly, there was no denying she was a combustible combination of temptation and original sin, yet there was something about her, a barely perceptible level of uncertainty he detected that told him she was completely out of her element. Despite the sexy clothes and her attempt at fitting in, her entire appearance made him think of a brilliant diamond nestled amongst dull rhinestones.

The distinction intrigued him like nothing had in a very long time. Especially when pertaining to a woman. And this one undeniably piqued his curiosity, right along with his libido.

A young, good-looking guy who frequented Nick’s Sports Bar approached her, his gait cocky and way too confident—as if he thought he was God’s gift to women. His name was Tom, and Scott and his brothers and cousins had nicknamed him appropriately as “The Tomcat", because he was always on the prowl for a new conquest.

The blonde’s gaze shifted from Scott’s to the other man’s, and her smile visibly faltered. Tomcat leaned close and said something to her that made her stiffen and take a step back.

She shook her head and Scott read the words, “No, thank you,” that formed on her lips.

Score one for the angel, he thought in amusement. He was gratified to see that she had great instincts when
it came to men. And those types were obviously of no interest to her. Which made him wonder all the more what had brought her to a casual, off the beaten path place like Nick’s.

Pulling her shoulders back determinedly, she started toward the brass and mahogany bar, walking with an elegance and grace that made her look as though she was gliding across a ballroom instead of a crowded barroom. Yet another contradiction when compared to every other woman in the place. Her hips swayed gently, her long, toned legs took confident steps, and her full breasts jiggled with just enough bounce to make Scott entertain the thought of how those soft mounds would feel in his hands, his mouth …

The thought made him hard, and he bent low to make his shot, as well as hide his reaction to the blonde with the centerfold curves.

Joel groaned, echoing Scott’s sentiments. “Lordy, she has a body that makes me want to fall to my knees and beg.”

Alex snickered from where he sat on a nearby barstool as he watched the game of pool in progress between his older brothers. “More like howl like the dog you are,” he ribbed good-naturedly.

“Whatever works to get myself a treat or two.” Joel shrugged unapologetically and took a long drink of his beer.

“Would you guys knock it off.” Scott made his shot and sank a solid ball into the corner pocket, even as he watched from his peripheral vision as the woman slid her trim backside onto a seat at the bar and ordered a drink, then crossed one long leg over the other. “You’re acting as though you’ve never seen a good-looking woman before.”

“Either you’ve gone blind or you’ve turned into a monk,” Joel said incredulously. “She’s not just good-looking. We’re talking
hot.
Sizzling hot. And it looks
like a few guys in this place are trying to get lucky with her.”

Sure enough, another guy sauntered up to the blonde to hit on her. Scott felt unjustifiably aggravated, then alternately pleased when she turned him down, too. Her drink, something pink in a cocktail glass, was delivered, and she took a sip as she glanced around the bar. Her gaze found his again, and that brief eye-contact between them was stunning in its intensity and sent a surge of heat spreading through his veins … until another guy stepped in front of the woman and put an end to their silent, and too brief, connection.

“Come on, Scott,” Alex said, drawing Scott’s attention back to his brothers and the next shot he was about to take. “I’ve got Dana who is pretty damn sexy and I can still appreciate a little eye candy. You can’t be immune to that hot little package up at the bar.”

No, he wasn’t immune at all. A man had to be dead or seriously dysfunctional not to react to the woman—and it was obvious that the steady stream of guys approaching her at the bar felt the same way. He’d seen at least five men try their best to capture her interest, only to bite the dust with a rejection. But that didn’t stop others from trying their luck with her.

“You know,” Alex contemplated thoughtfully. “If she doesn’t grab your attention or make you feel a bit hot under the collar, then that’s proof that you’ve been way too long without a woman.”

Scott lifted an inquisitive brow Alex’s way, unwilling to admit anything. “And how would you know how long it’s been?”

“Hell, Scott, you’re my brother and I work with you every day of the week. That’s how I know.” Alex grabbed a few peanuts from the bowl on the table and cracked them open. “When I take off for the night you’re still in your office, pouring over plans and estimates and bids that could wait until the next morning. Trust me, if you
had a woman you wanted to be with, like I do with Dana, you’d be on your way out of the office after the doors are locked for the night and the phones have stopped ringing.”

“You know we have that big job coming up for bid this next week,” Scott said, defending himself and his reasons for spending so much time at the office lately. “It’s a top priority if we want to expand the business to include commercial structures and renovations. I’m determined to get the job, and that means making sure our estimates are as tight as possible.”

But to his brother’s credit, Scott had to admit that Alex’s comment hit too close to the truth. It had been over two years since Elaine had duped him in a major way and shattered his trust, and since then he’d focused all his excess time and energy into the family business, instead of women. He’d gone out on a few dates, but none of them had turned into anything serious, mainly because none of those ladies had stimulated his interest longer than a few weeks, tops.

Ultimately, he was a one-woman kind of man and playing the field wasn’t his thing. Never had been. He’d just turned thirty-three that year, and the singles scene no longer appealed to him, either—unlike his younger brother Joel, an ex-Marine turned security specialist who claimed to enjoy being a bachelor and all the perks that went with it. Which meant a new flavor every month.

But this woman at the bar… she made him feel restless. Hungry. Aroused. And it had been forever since anyone in the female gender had elicited that kind of response from him.