Something Wild (3 page)

"Are you surprised?"

Ryan tried to formulate an answer, at least relieved to hear that the voice
did
belong to Penny.

"Wait, don't answer that," she said as the limo pulled away from the curb. "In fact, don't say anything at all. Let me do all the talking. I'm sure you find this pretty unconventional, but I just had to do it. I just wanted to do … something special, something crazy, something wild. For once in my life, I just wanted to lose all my inhibitions, so…" she paused to swallow audibly, nervously "…I hope you won't think this is awful of me. I hope it's a part of me you'll be able to … fully appreciate, since, in all honesty, it's a side of myself I just discovered and I want to get—" her voice dropped to a provocative tone now
"—really
intimate. So just sit back, relax, and let me make you feel good."

As she'd spoken, Ryan had kept waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but it wasn't happening. Still, he'd sensed her drawing nearer across the dark confines of the limo until she knelt next to him in the seat. Her knees nudged his hip and her breath warmed his neck just before she lowered a soft, sexy kiss there.

He'd been trying to remain very still, very quiet, but lost both wars when her hand slid up his thigh. He leaned his head back with a tiny groan that came all the way from his gut. But he still didn't say anything, either too startled by the whole situation or simply obeying her orders, he didn't know. And he wasn't exactly giving it close examination; he remained much busier trying to survive the shock, and immediate pleasure, that had assaulted him upon climbing into the car.

Penny drew in her breath as she pressed her palm into the crotch of his pants, making him gasp, and— Oh, he was already getting hard. She bit her lip, relieved and amazed that this was working. That quickly, it was a success she could feel between them, a mutual need escalating at an incredible speed.

He'd stayed blissfully quiet upon her request and it'd somehow made it much easier to move close to him, begin touching him. She'd felt his quick response in the arch of his neck against her lips and, of course, in her hand. Drawn totally into the seduction, she rose and lifted one stocking-clad knee across his lap to straddle him, the heat of his body fusing instantly with hers.

When his palms molded to her thighs, then slid smoothly up to the hem of her dress, Penny took another deep breath and did what suddenly came all too naturally. Covering his hands with hers, she guided them higher,
under
the dress.

His fingers edged past the tops of her stockings, crossing bare skin before coming to rest on her hips, and he released another small moan. She didn't know whether it was because she had so boldly invited the touch or because he'd discovered how little she wore beneath her dress; she only knew she liked it.

She ran her fingertips through his thick hair and leaned near his ear. "Are you as turned on as I am? I want to be really sexy for you." Her voice came out shaky, not from nervousness now, but from excitement.

"Uh…"

She giggled, then moved a teasing finger to his lips. "No, shh, don't answer. Just kiss me."

Twining her arms about his neck, Penny leaned in for a no-holds-barred kiss like she'd never given Martin before. Electricity spiraled through her as he returned it, fully, passionately, with an underlying power she wouldn't have believed Martin could possess. She had the sensation of him somehow holding back even as he gave her everything she wanted, needed, and she feared that if he really let go of his desire, it might actually overwhelm her.

He deepened the kiss further, pushing his tongue into her mouth, and she moaned at the hot, tender invasion. His hands drifted to her bottom, which was bare but for the thin strip of fabric running up the center, to press her more snugly against the incredible hardness in his pants. Penny had never felt anything like the fire now intensifying between them. Even as the darkened encounter stayed steamy, slow, hot, it also grew more urgent. Urgency was not just part of the fantasy any longer; it was a pulsing reality.

She wanted to go slow, keep the steamy and hot in place, make this aching pleasure last as long as possible. Yet at the same time, she wanted to go further. She wanted to undress him.

She worked at his tie and he leaned his head back to give her better access. Then she unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it open. She ran her hands down his bare chest, exploring the broad muscles and firm planes she'd never envisioned Martin concealing beneath his business suit.

As the limo came to a slow stop, he pulled his hands from under the dress, reaching around until she heard the zipper at her back being lowered. Grazing his fingertips across her shoulders with a feather-soft touch, he drew the bodice to her waist, and even in the dark, she felt beautiful and wild and freer than ever in her life.

His hands rose to her breasts, caressing, kneading through the lace that still covered them, his thumbs stroking across the firm, beaded peaks. By the time the limo accelerated again, she was panting and grinding, rubbing his chest.

He fumbled at the front of her bra.

"In the back," she breathed.

But he didn't even bother reaching behind her this time, his breath having grown as labored as hers. He found the thin straps on her shoulders and yanked them down, his hands sliding into the lace cups to take sweet possession of her breasts. "Oh yes," she murmured at the startling sensation of his touch against her bare, aching flesh. "Yes. Yes!"

But no, no, she had to calm down. Because she wanted to stretch out the pleasure as long as she could. She could scarcely believe she was doing this, feeling these things, yet that remained secondary to the knowledge that she wanted more of this marvelous touching, and she knew he wanted it, too.

"Do you want me to get out of this dress for you?"

He only groaned. His way of saying
please.
She felt it. Crossing her arms to grab hold of the fabric that had pooled at her waist, Penny removed the dress over her head in one brisk movement and flung it behind her. Then, running her hands over his broad shoulders, she kissed him deeply, more heat swirling between her thighs with each feverish connection of their mouths. He caressed her breasts, lightly pinching her nipples between surprisingly skilled fingertips until Penny thought she'd lose her mind.

Only when his hands lowered to wind around the thin elastic at her hips, however, did she understand that it was time for more. And she was ready now.
Very
ready.

She rose up on her knees before him.

Savored the sensation of having her panties lowered over her thighs, past the lace edges of her stockings.

Heard her own ragged breath as she pressed her palms against the roof for balance when the limo turned a corner. Heard the whimpers leave her throat as he held her hips, then stroked both his thumbs up the center of her, one after the other, playing her like an instrument.

But just as quickly as the hot touches melted her, his hands moved down to her panties again. "Take them off." It was the barest of whispers, the only words he'd spoken, all powerful in their brevity.

Penny backed away quickly to the seat across from him and shimmied out of the undies, her anticipation rising. And then something released inside her like steam from a radiator when the cap comes off, a burning need that couldn't be denied a minute longer. She didn't care about going slow anymore, she just wanted the man, now.

Climbing back onto his lap, she reached for his belt buckle.

He drew her close, drew her breast into his hungry mouth, forcing her to cry out and making it considerably harder to get his pants undone. But Penny worked vigorously anyway, her hands trapped between them, and only when she reached into the opening of his underwear did he loosen his grip, letting her lean back on him.

Holding him in her hand, trying not to faint with the wonder of it, her voice came out raspy. "I wanted to do this all night, make it last. But I can't wait anymore."

She lowered her body onto his and they both moaned at the blunt, intimate connection. Even in the dark, even with this man whom she'd never truly felt that close to before, Penny knew a union, a soul-binding bliss, she'd never experienced or even thought possible. "I … I didn't know … sex could be like this," she whispered.

His hand found the back of her head then, bringing her down for another of his heart-stopping kisses. Penny sank into it, into the intense and mounting pleasure as she moved on him, his body pumping rhythmically up into hers. She raked her sensitive nipples against his chest, clutched at his neck, and felt the tumultuous waves gathering inside her … until they crashed over her in sweet, shattering release.

Thrashing against him, riding it out, she leaned her head back and basked in the deepest physical fulfillment she'd ever known. Yet just as her climax began to wane, he groaned beneath her and pushed her hips down as he thrust upward, again and again, soon growling his own pleasure in her ear. And wondrously, his climax, coming so close on the heels of hers, somehow added an extra tiny burst of sensation deep in her core, seeming to stretch her orgasm out a little longer, just when she'd thought it was over.

"Ohh," Penny sighed, still caught up in the mind-blowing sensations and trying to come back down to earth. But whether she was up or down, she knew one thing for sure—the experience she'd just shared with this man had moved her so deeply, twisted her heart, soul and body so profoundly, that it had erased all doubt. It had erased everything but the perfection that was them—together.

"Oh yes!" she cried out. "Yes! I'll marry you!"

Yet at her proclamation, the body beneath her went instantly, dreadfully still. "Wait just a minute here. Who said anything about marriage?"

Penny turned cold as her heart sank like a stone. The voice she'd just heard didn't belong to Martin.

2

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^
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P
enny reached overhead and flipped on the light inside the limo … then screamed and flung herself to the opposite seat. Oh God, it was the guy from Martin's office, Ryan! And they'd just … they'd just…!

Using one hand to yank her bra up and the other to snatch her dress from the floor and press it over her nakedness, she gaped at him, realizing he looked almost as shocked as she felt. "What did you…?" she began. "I mean, how did you…? I mean, where's
Martin?"

He leaned forward, his eyes wide, his mouth dropping open in disbelief.
"Where's Martin?
Somewhere in Flagstaff, I guess. What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

Martin was in Flagstaff? Arizona? What in the world was he doing in Flagstaff? And in the meantime, Ryan just sat there doing nothing to cover himself, his shirt hanging open, his broad chest looking just as good as it had felt under her fingertips, and the sight of him wasn't helping things at all. "I thought you were him, of course," she snapped.

"Of course?"
He sounded incredulous, and only then did it hit her.

"Oh, you're new in town. Maybe you don't know…" She swallowed. "I—we—Martin and I are…" Oh, what on earth were they? "A couple," she finally concluded.

He gave a slight this-explains-it-all nod, saying, "Ah," simply, sharply, although Penny thought plenty still needed to be explained.

Nonetheless, she could barely let herself focus on the guy, because even unkempt and rumpled, he looked … well, way better than she'd ever noticed up in Martin's office. And also because she was naked and they'd just … they'd just…

Her eyes darted about the limo, to the ceiling, the floor, her own nudity…
Dear God, how can I get this dress on if he's just going to keep sitting there staring at me?

Finally meeting his gaze head-on and trying to forget her lack of clothing, Penny felt the overpowering urge to come completely clean with him. "Look, it's like this," she blurted, speaking quickly. "Martin asked me to marry him, but we'd never, um, had sex. So I decided to just—just do something
wild
with him, something to try to bring out the animal in him. I thought it would be fun and adventurous to live out a fantasy, and I— Oh God, I can't believe this just happened!"

By the time she finished, he was holding up his hands, as if asking for mercy. "Listen, you don't need to tell me all this. It's all right. You don't need to … to…"

His words made her realize what she'd done—she'd just told this guy things about herself she'd never told another human being. "But I
do
need to," she insisted. "I need you to know this isn't what I intended. I mean, it is, but I was planning on it with a different guy, a guy that I … uh …
knew,
for heaven's sake. And I need you to know that I'm not, not … really what you, uh…" she glanced down at her bareness once more "…see here before you. I'm really that girl who delivers sandwiches and wears … clothing. Usually
loose
clothing. This girl, this girl is … someone I just made up, just for tonight, and she isn't real and she isn't me, and—" A tremendous sadness washed over her, a desperation to redeem herself in his eyes. "Please don't think what you must be thinking of me! Please just forget this ever happened!"

Even as stunned as Ryan remained, at the moment it all took a back seat to the compassion he felt for her, with her eyes so glassy, her voice so frantic. He hated the panic glimmering in her pretty gaze.