Wilde Thing

Chapter 5

Steve slipped back into Liz's bed after a quick trip to the bathroom, ignoring the little voice in his head that told him he ought to get dressed and go. It was late, and he didn't make it a habit of spending the night with the women he dated. Too many expectations were assumed from that particular intimacy, and actually sleeping with a woman meant taking the relationship to a whole new level. One that included lazy morning sex, shared showers, and breakfast together. It was a set of emotional complications he'd avoided since his divorce, and he'd never had any desire to break those personal rules of his.

Tonight he was sorely tempted. Liz was the first woman he'd been with in all those years who made him wonder what it would be like to wake up spooning himself against her soft, giving body, to start the morning with slow, leisurely love-making. To eat breakfast in bed with her and join her in a fun, playful shower before heading off to work-with his mind and body rejuvenated and a big smile on his face.

The notion beckoned to him, strong and undeniable. Damn. He would leave … in just a few minutes.

With a soft, replete sigh, she turned her head his way, her eyes dreamy as they met his. A mellow smile lifted her lips, which were pink and puffy from his aggressive kisses, and he responded with a lazy, knowing grin of his own.

She'd pulled the sheet up to her chest in the few minutes he'd been gone, in an attempt at modesty, which he found extremely amusing after everything they'd done and how brazen she'd been. But he could still see the outline of her breasts and nipples and the enticing swell of her hip against the thin covering. Her skin was flushed with warmth and ravishment, and her blond hair was tousled around her head and against her pillow in a soft cloud of silk.

She looked beautiful, besotted, and blissfully sated. Like a woman well and thoroughly fucked.

His cock twitched and tightened in renewed heat and awareness. He wanted her again, which was unbelievable since, just minutes ago, he'd felt wrung dry. Then again, just remembering how hungry and insatiable she'd been-so needy-was enough to energize any red-blooded guy for another go-around with someone so sexy and uninhibited. Fortunately, she was all his, as was all that wild, tempestuous passion of hers. She'd showed him tonight that he could do anything he wanted to her, that she was eager and willing to explore dark desires and forbidden fantasies.

Which was a good thing, since he had plenty in mind.

Not bothering to cover up his own nudity, he stretched out on his side, propped his head in his hand, and asked the one question that had him very curious: "How long has it been for you?"

She groaned and winced, and glanced up at the ceiling in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "God, was I that obvious?"

He chuckled, finding her chagrin too endearing in the aftermath of such wild, hot sex. "Maybe just a little," he teased, and gently touched a finger to her chin to make her look at him again. "You were very enthusiastic-not that I'm complaining, since I reaped the benefits of all that pent-up desire."

She grinned wryly. "Sexual frustration will do that to a person."

"Trust me; I know. I've been feeling that same way myself since I first laid eyes on you," he said meaningfully-a month in which he'd lusted after her, and no other woman would do. Despite all those restless, erotic dreams that had left him hot and bothered and moody at times, Liz had been well worth the wait. "Now, fess up."

Her fingers absently bunched and pleated the sheet between her breasts. "You really don't want to know," she murmured.

"Sweetheart, if I didn't want to know, I wouldn't ask." He meant that sincerely. "So what are we talking here? One year? Two years?" he guessed.

"Almost three years," she admitted with a slight grimace. "Since my husband died."

That revelation raised his brows. "Wow," he said, stunned that she'd denied herself that long. Stunned that no other man had persuaded her into bed sooner.

Picking up her left hand, he ran his thumb over the gold band she wore. A treasure that had once belonged to her mother. "Then I guess this ring did its job."

She laughed, her eyes sparkling with agreement. "Until now, anyway." Then she shrugged and grew a bit more serious. "I suppose it was just a matter of waiting for the right guy to come along to sway me into an affair-that, along with the right set of circumstances."

And their circumstances had been ideal. "All I can say is, lucky me." He rubbed her soft, cool fingers along the light beard growth on his cheek and watched her nipples blossom and bead against the sheet. "But three years is a hell of a long time to be off the market. I understand grieving after your husband died, but why would you want men to think you're taken for so many years?"

He expected her to tell him that her husband had been her one true love, that she hadn't been able to bring herself to date after his death, because she'd been too devastated and it had taken her time to get past her feelings for him. It was the most logical explanation.

"Dating and men just haven't been a priority for me, not when I have The Daily Grind, which has demanded a whole lot of my time over the past three years." She gently pulled her hand out of his grasp, and though he felt her physically withdrawing from him and the conversation, he let her go.

Her answer surprised him. Her reply was convenient, too pat and evasive for a woman who'd gone to such lengths to give the impression that she was taken. He instinctively knew there was more to her reasons for remaining single. He'd heard the feigned nonchalance in her tone, which contradicted the sudden defensive tilt to her chin that told him he was traversing on deeply personal issues.

And because he was a man who liked puzzles and unraveling mysteries, he persisted. "Women run businesses of their own and date all the time. Some are even married with families."

"I'm sure those women weren't left in debt up to their eyeballs by a man they thought they knew and trusted."

He didn't miss the underlying bite to her tone, which did nothing to deter him. "Your husband?"

"Yes." She shook her head and blew an upward stream of breath that ruffled her bangs across her brow. "I can't believe we're having this conversation."

Neither could he, since he wasn't one to indulge in cozy, intimate chitchat and personal revelations after sex. But now that it was out in the open, he was intent on discovering the real story behind that ring encircling her finger, and a past that had obviously kept her celibate for an amazingly long time.

Slipping his leg beneath the covers, he found her calf and casually caressed her smooth skin with his toes. "What happened?"

She rolled to her side, facing him less than a foot away, and exhaled a slow, unraveling breath. "I was naive and fell for a reckless, untamable charmer who knew how to say all the right things to sweep a woman off her feet, and he did exactly that."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen across her cheek, accepting the excuse to touch her for what it was. "You certainly don't strike me as naive." Not when it came to life or men.

"Okay, then I was a blind fool." Self-recriminations laced her voice. "Travis's impulsive, frivolous ways were so invigorating compared to my sensible, practical life, and he gave me something to look forward to at the end of all the hours I was working at the cafe. He was daring and adventurous, and that made me feel a sense of freedom that was new and exciting and addicting. So when he asked me to marry him after three months of dating, I said yes and we did the deed in a quickie civil ceremony that my aunt and uncle found out about after the fact." A noticeable wince creased her features.

He resisted the urge to smooth out those disturbing wrinkles with his thumb, a comforting gesture that took him off guard. "I take it they weren't happy about not being invited to the wedding?"

"They weren't happy about the marriage, period. Or Travis as a husband. They'd never really liked him." She yawned as the late hour, her long day, and physical exhaustion began taking its toll. "I had a huge argument with my aunt and uncle, my first ever yelling, screaming match with them, as I defended Travis and my right to marry who I wanted."

Her voice dropped in volume, the regret she harbored unmistakable. "In hindsight, they had good reason not to trust my judgement when it came to Travis, because they saw deeper than just the surface of a good-looking face and flirtatious smile. They saw his charming personality for what it was-a way to get what he wanted."

"And he wanted you?"

She nodded. "It seemed so, maybe because I was so eager to please, and yes, even naive when it came to men who were so good at deceiving women. He definitely conned me."

"How?" Another nudge to get her to spill more.

"Within the first six months of our marriage, after the honeymoon stage wore off, I started to see a different side to him, too. A selfish, self-centered, arrogant side he didn't bother to hide. During our two-year marriage, he couldn't hold down a job. I pretty much supported both of us while trying to get The Daily Grind to the point where it was solvent and making a profit. I'd started the business with a loan from my aunt and uncle, and a small-business loan from the bank, so there was a good chunk of money going out in repayment. And since I spent a lot of time at the cafe-over twelve hours a day-it gave Travis a whole lot of time to play."

Steve experienced a surge of anger on her behalf. "Sounds like he should have at least been at the cafe helping you out."

"Oh, he always had an excuse why he couldn't be there," she said with a bitter laugh. "His best one was that he had job interviews lined up, but none of them ever seemed to pan out. If I questioned him, we'd get in a big fight. Sometimes he'd storm out after accusing me of not trusting him and leave for a few days. And when he returned, he wouldn't tell me where he'd been, just that he needed time to cool off. After a while, I just couldn't take it anymore."

It wasn't difficult to figure out where the marriage had been heading. "You filed for divorce?"

"I never had the chance," she rasped, a flicker of pain passing through her gaze. "The night I intended to ask for a divorce and tell him to pack his bags and find another place to live, he wrapped his sports car around a telephone pole, going over eighty miles per hour, and was instantly killed because he wasn't wearing a seat belt. He was with a woman that also died on impact, who I later discovered he'd been having an affair with."

His chest squeezed tight. What in the world did he say to the terrible betrayal she'd endured? He felt out of his element, and shocked as hell at what she'd been through.

"See what I mean by naive?" She didn't wait for him to answer or refute her claim, obviously believing it was true. "And if that mess wasn't humiliating enough, within a month of his death, I started receiving all these credit card bills in the mail that he'd applied for under both of our names but had kept from me. He'd bought jewelry and meals at fancy restaurants I'd never eaten with him, and he stayed in some pretty fine hotels the nights he didn't sleep at home. He paid the minimum payment on the credit cards while purchasing tons of stuff for his girlfriend, from furniture to clothes to a five-thousand-dollar stereo system he'd obviously enjoyed while he stayed at her place. To my horror, I realized that / was now tens of thousands of dollars in debt because everything was in my name, too."

She lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers, letting the lamplight glimmer off the shiny band. "Which brings us back to this ring I wear, and three years without sex," she said humorously, as if she hadn't just given him a very private glimpse into her past, and possibly even a part of her soul. "In a nutshell, I've been working my butt off to pay off all those creditors and make sure I don't lose my business in the process. And then there's the money my aunt and uncle loaned me as part of my investment that I haven't paid in full yet, either, since I had to cut back on their monthly payments in order to meet my obligations with those credit cards that I'm still trying to pay off."

Now he understood her desperation in accepting his cut-rate fee in exchange for his help in finding her cousin, as well as her insistence on signing her paycheck over to him so he wouldn't be one of those debts hanging over her head. Their deal was temporary the whole way around, yet he'd never expected to be so intrigued by Liz beyond anything sexual.

While she'd been an unabashed vixen an hour ago, this strong yet vulnerable facet to her appealed to him, too. She was so determined not to depend on anyone to get her out of the mess she'd gotten herself into with her deceased husband, and now she was taking on the responsibility of finding Valerie, too.

"Dating and men are a distraction I haven't been able to afford the past three years," she said, bringing his mind and attention back to her.

"And I am?"

"You, Mr. Wilde, are a very exciting fling that came around at an opportune time." Smiling drowsily, she brushed her fingers along the tribal band on his arm. "I know exactly where we stand with one another. Neither of us wants anything long-term or complicated, so our arrangement is perfect."

She was offering him the kind of reassurances and rules he would have demanded from any other woman, yet his jaw clenched in denial, his reaction knee-jerk and unexpected. But Liz was right about them, and he'd do well to remember the boundaries of their temporary relationship. Which meant ending their night together and leaving-now.

"I'd better get going," he said abruptly. "You're about to fall asleep on me, and I've got an early day at the office tomorrow. I plan to talk to a few people I know with some connections and see if I can get anything on the inside track of The Ultimate Fantasy." Moving off the bed, he pulled on his briefs and jeans. The rest of his clothes were still in the living room.

"I'll walk you to the door so I can lock up after you." Sliding off her side of the mattress, she grabbed the worn and faded cotton robe tossed on a nearby dresser. "I also have that application filled out with Valerie's personal information, or as much of it as I could find when I went digging through her bills. There's some bank and credit card numbers I pulled from statements, along with her social security number and mother's maiden name, just in case you need any of that to check her accounts."

"That's great. Every little bit will help." He caught one last quick glimpse of her sweet curves before she slipped into the thigh-length cover-up and tied the sash around her waist. "It's amazing how one little detail can lead to something substantial."

She headed out of the bedroom. He followed her back to the entryway, his eyes drawn to the gentle sway of her hips as she walked, his senses filling with the scent of soft, sexy woman.

She waited quietly while he yanked his T-shirt over his head, secured his weapon and holster back in place, and shrugged into his leather jacket. She watched him avidly, with sensual green eyes that seemed to eat him up. When he finished getting dressed, she handed him the application, which he glanced at briefly before folding the paper and tucking it into his pocket.

She started past him to open the door, but before she could execute the move, he gave in to the urge to catch her in his arms and lowered his mouth to hers, open and seeking. Like a woman in sync with her lover's demands, she wrapped her hands around his neck and responded enthusiastically, without hesitation. Her luscious body melted into his embrace, and she returned the sensual kiss with abandon, telling him without words that she wouldn't mind if he stayed.

He was unable to suppress a deep groan. Everything male about him acknowledged that she was naked beneath that flimsy robe she wore, that it was just a matter of unzipping his fly, pressing her up against the nearest wall, and sinking right back into her tight, lush body and losing himself once again in her dampness and heat.

God, if he didn't get the hell out of there, neither one of them would get any sleep tonight, and he'd end up in a morning-after situation he didn't want or need.

Or so he had to keep reminding himself.

He ended the passionate kiss he'd instigated, and saw the questions in her slumberous eyes, an eager hope that he'd change his mind about staying. He took a much needed step away from her.

"I'm going," he said, his tone gruff.

She licked her lower lip, and gracefully accepting his decision, she opened the door for him. "Good night, then."

Their gazes met and held, and he paused, much too long for his own peace of mind. " 'Night," he finally said, then left while he still had the willpower to do so.

The early-morning rush of customers at The Daily Grind kept Liz's mind occupied and her hands busy making a steady stream of cappuccinos, lattes, and mochas. It was a diversion she welcomed, considering she'd spent too much time thinking after Steve had left her apartment last night-thinking about the incredible foreplay and sex they'd shared and how good it had felt to let go sexually in a way she'd never done before. She'd held nothing back with Steve, mainly because he hadn't allowed her to retreat. He'd been bold and dominant, yet so generous with her pleasure, and she'd been greedy and utterly shameless. Not that Steve seemed to mind at all.

Despite how tired she'd been after their time together, she'd tossed and turned in her bed, her mind replaying the conversation she'd had with Steve about her marriage-an intimate conversation she'd never intended to have with him. Their relationship was short-term and purely physical and, out of self-preservation, shouldn't have crossed over into anything emotional or personal.

Yes, he'd been persistent, but she could have refused to talk if she'd really wanted to. Instead, she'd allowed herself to be swayed by his questions, willingly so. With that deep, mesmerizing voice of his, his soothing touch, and the genuine interest she'd seen in his eyes, it had been so easy to open up to him, to reveal details of her relationship with Travis that should have remained private. It had been too long since a man had made her the sole focus of his attention and treated her as if he really cared about what she had to say, and she'd taken advantage of his listening ear. After revealing so much about herself, she was now doubly curious about his own marriage-and especially the female name she'd seen etched on the tribal band around his arm.

Despite sharing part of her personal history with Steve, there were a few emotional issues and deeper secrets she'd managed to keep to herself. While he'd been so understanding about her turbulent marriage, and even a bit riled over Travis's thoughtless actions, she didn't deserve Steve's vindication on her behalf, because she was hardly faultless.

What she hadn't revealed was the crushing sense of regret she'd lived with since Travis's death, for disappointing her aunt and uncle by marrying Travis when she'd known how much they disapproved of him. She'd gone against their wishes, seeking instead the kind of excitement and adventure he'd brought into her life, not realizing that his wild ways would come close to destroying everything she'd worked so hard to attain.

Now she was living with the consequences of her actions and trying to make amends for a past mistake that had not only cost her financially, but she'd also hurt her aunt and uncle with her own rash actions. She was working hard to gain their respect back, to make up for the disappointment she'd caused by letting someone so reckless sweep her off her feet and take advantage of her in the process.

At least with Steve, she knew where they stood with each other right up front. He wouldn't be sweeping her off her feet, and she instinctively knew he wasn't a man to take advantage of anyone. Least of all her. Not when she was giving him what he wanted of her own free will.

At ten after ten, when a lull in business finally presented itself and Liz was certain her morning employee, Gloria, had things under control, she heated up a cafe mocha for Mona and strolled over to The Last Word with her offering. The new-and-used bookstore that connected directly to The Daily Grind already had customers strolling the aisles for a good read, some with one of Liz's specialty drinks in hand. While her and Mona's businesses were their own, there was no denying that their patrons enjoyed the services they offered and loved being able to buy a best-selling novel and specialty coffee drink all in one convenient stop.

"Good morning," Liz greeted, and headed behind the front counter, where Mona was sorting through a box of used books, her movements slow and sluggish. "I brought you an eye-opener."

Mona's expression turned grateful, and she eagerly reached for the hot drink. "With a double shot of espresso?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course." Liz grinned.

Mona closed her eyes, took a long whiff of the fragrant vapors curling upward, and moaned in appreciation. "You are so good to me." She took a tentative drink of the steaming liquid and sighed. "How did you know I needed a good kick of caffeine this morning?"

"You know your mood is a dead giveaway." Liz leaned against the counter and slipped her hands into the front pockets of her apron, having learned long ago how to judge her friend's disposition in the morning. "When you don't cheerfully breeze through the cafe and yack with all my customers before opening shop, it's a sure sign that you're either tired, grumpy, or have something on your mind."

"Tired," she murmured, and eyed Liz above the rim of the Styrofoam cup. "And if I wasn't so out of it, I'd take offense to that 'yacking' comment you just made."

Liz raised a brow, completely unfazed by her friend's cranky threat. "Late night for you, too?"

"Ummm. My current beau, Brad, took me out dancing until the wee hours of the morning, though I'm guessing my evening wasn't as interesting as yours." Mona tipped her head Liz's way, suddenly seeming very alert and awake. "How was your first night as a phone sex operator?"

Liz wrinkled her nose. "It's not a career I'd choose to pursue. I think I'll stick to what I do best, making coffee drinks."

"Did you find out anything on your cousin?"

"No, not yet. There's a few girls I'm trying to be friendly with, and hopefully they'll eventually open up and give me some information on Valerie, if they even know anything at all." She cast a quick glance back at the cafe, making sure that Gloria wasn't swamped with orders, which she wasn't. "I'm trying not to get discouraged. Steve did warn me that it could take time."

Mona nodded in understanding, but her gaze held a deeper curiosity she didn't hesitate to express. "So, did you at least have a good time talking about sex?"

"Not at first," she replied wryly. "Some of the callers were downright perverted and lewd."

Mona laughed. Obviously, the caffeine was kicking in and perking up her spirits. "That's only because they were strangers." She took another fortifying drink. "How did your call with Steve go?"

Liz had told Mona about her plan with Steve, to use him to get invited to one of The Ultimate Fantasy parties. "It was okay," she said, deliberately vague.

Mona's gaze narrowed skeptically. "Just okay?"

"All right, it was good." Her face flushed in remembrance, and she modified her rating. "Better than good."

A wide grin spread across Mona's face. "Now we're getting to the good stuff." A customer walked up to the counter with an armful of books, and Mona held up a stern finger at Liz. "Hold that thought."

As if Mona would let her drop the subject now that she'd managed to make Liz fess up. Liz waited while she rang up her customer and bagged the books for the older woman, and then she was back, anxious and eager to hear more.

"Spill all the juicy details," Mona said.

Liz gave her friend a very brief, clean-cut version of her phone conversation with Steve last night, not wanting to share just how sizzling and erotic the episode had been. She avoided specifics, giving Mona just enough information to draw her own conclusions, without really confirming anything at all.

Mona nodded. "So, things are working out between you and Steve, then, yes?"

"With business and finding Valerie, yes," Liz replied, deliberately misconstruing Mona's meaning.

"Your business with him happens to include hot and steamy phone sex," she said, and continued sorting the used paperbacks from the box on the counter. "So I'm assuming that your two-way banter was mutually satisfying?"

She absently turned the pencil in her pocket between her fingers. "Umm, you could say that." While Steve might have been the only one who'd climaxed from their phone conversation, he'd made up for that in spades later, as he'd promised.

Mona must have caught the dreamy smile that curved her lips, because she pounced on it like the curious feline she was. "It appears to me that the two of you have more than business going on." She gave Liz a quick once-over, then grinned slyly. "You slept with him last night, didn't you?"

Although an instinctive denial rose to her throat, Mona was her best friend, and Liz couldn't bring herself to lie to her- not when she trusted Mona unconditionally with something as private as her relationship with Steve. "Yeah, I did."

"Well I'll be damned." Mona stared at her in awed delight. "I knew you had it in you, and it's about time."

Liz shrugged, playing it off. "It's nothing serious."

"Nobody said it had to be," Mona said pragmatically but with genuine caring. "Just enjoy yourself, and Mr. Wilde, for as long as it lasts."

Now, that was something she could easily agree with. "I intend to."

"Tell me one thing I'm dying to know." Mona leaned toward her and lowered her voice secretively, obviously trying to keep her question just between them and out of earshot of any customers. "Was he as good in the sack as he looks?"

Memories of just how good he was filtered through Liz's mind, and her heart picked up its beat, making her feel like a teenager with a crush on the school bad boy. That was how he made her feel-young and vibrantly alive. And anxious to see him again.

"He was… incredible, in every way." It was the only adjective she could find to describe Steve Wilde and do him justice. "The best I've ever had, actually." And he had the wonderful ability to bring out the bad girl in her and let that naughty side have free rein with him. She'd never let loose like that with Travis, who believed sex was all about him achieving pleasure.

"After the past three years of flying solo, you deserve to treat yourself to a hot, guilt-free affair."

Liz laughed, because she knew Mona expected her to. Her affair with Steve was no doubt a guilty pleasure, but she wasn't about to admit to the deeper blame she was struggling to keep at bay for stringing her aunt and uncle along about Valerie, and for not being able to handle the simple request of watching out for their daughter.

She glanced back at the cafe and caught sight of Henry, the older guy who delivered her dairy products. Welcoming the interruption from her more troubling thoughts, she grasped the opportunity to refocus on business.

"I'd better go help Gloria get that dairy order put away," she told Mona just as another customer came up to the register with her choice of reading material.

"Okay, we'll talk more later." Mona flashed her a smile. "By the way, thanks for the kick of caffeine."

"Anytime." Liz headed around the counter and gave her friend a lighthearted poke in the side as she passed. "Since it seems to put you in a good mood, who am I to argue?"

"No, hearing about your evening with the incredible Steve is what perked me up," she countered sassily. "I should be so lucky, so I'll just have to live vicariously through you."

Liz just shook her head and continued back into the cafe. Back to real life and the responsibilities awaiting her.