Wet and Wilde (8 page)

“Gosh. No one’s ever done that for me before. I don’t know what to say. Thanks, I guess.” She poked at the lobster and cringed. “I don’t think I’ll be able to finish all this. Are you really going to eat all that food?”

He smiled at the disbelief in her voice. “You bet I’ll eat it all.”

“I don’t know how you do it.” She made her best effort at downing the steak, watching him eat like he hadn’t touched a bite in years. When her stomach was simply too full to stuff another bite in, she handed over the untouched lobster, and he ate that too. “You are a mother’s worst nightmare. You probably put the woman in the poorhouse trying to feed you.”

He grinned. “Thankfully, where we lived, there was plenty to eat.”

“Well, unless you live in the ocean, you have to pay for it. Seafood is damn expensive. I can’t imagine a parent who could afford to feed a ravenous teenager crates of fish and crab legs every day.”

“No.” He shook his head, mirth playing over his features and giving them an endearing, youthful appearance. “We caught our food.”

“Oh. So, where’d you grow up?”

“Just outside of Sydney.”

“Australia?”

“No, Nova Scotia.” He slung an arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer.

It felt nice, cuddling like that. Warm, and secure. She rested against him, almost forgetting what they were talking about. “Oh, I didn’t know there was a Sydney, Nova Scotia.”

“It’s on the north-eastern tip. It’s the most beautiful place. Would you like to visit there sometime?”

Wow! Was he inviting her home to meet mom? Already? “Sure.” She tried hard to hide the excitement in her voice. “That would be nice. I’ve never been to Canada—I mean, I’ve been to Windsor and Niagara Falls, but that’s it.”

“We’ll go, then. Soon.” He stood and helped her out of the cozy booth. “Now, let’s go dance.”

Funny, suddenly she was more in the mood for a quiet evening at home. “We don’t have to.”

“Nope. You wanted to go dancing, so let’s go. I have a friend who owns a place down the street. They play great music. I think you’ll like it.” He led her through the crowded dining room—the entire place was packed! A few waiters and hostesses gave them a smile and nod of recognition as they passed. She felt a million eyes on her as he guided her outside with a hot hand at the base of her spine.

The cool air outside was a welcome relief from the heat running through her body. That simple, innocent touch was stirring all kinds of thoughts, and those thoughts were raising her core body temperature by the second.

“Would you like to walk? It’s just up the street.”

“Sure.”
Anything to cool off
. If this dance bar was anything like the ones she frequented with her friends, it would be loud, wall-to-wall with people, and unbearably hot, and hot was one thing she didn’t need.

Why were they even going?

Sure enough, they stopped at a nightclub with a line of people wrapping around the outside of the building. Yet, as she’d already come to expect, they were treated like royalty and let in without a word.

The club’s inside was very dark, almost too dark. Neon signs glared from every wall, directing people to the bathrooms, bar, and so forth. The interior was crowded, a sea of bodies and faces, but it seemed to part as Josh stepped in front of her to lead the way. She gripped his hand as if her life depended on it.

Somehow, they wove through the crowd and entered another room. This one was huge, black, with high ceilings and flashing lights. A sunken dance floor was below, with writhing, gyrating dancers filling every square inch of space. Some kind of techno pop she’d never heard blasted from every angle, making her ears scream in protest.

“Well? What do you think?” Josh shouted.

“It’s pretty neat.”

“Want to dance?”

“Sure.” The music had a nice steady bass that would be easy to follow. It pounded through her whole body, thanks to the eardrum-shattering volume. She followed Josh to the under-lit dance floor where he found a square foot or so of space at the front of the floor, near the DJ’s booth.

The DJ, a dark guy with some wild looking long hair, waved at Josh and shot him a friendly smile. Obviously Josh was a regular there, or the DJ was the owner-friend Josh had mentioned.

Didn’t matter. All that mattered at the moment was the heavy bass thrumming through her body and the man standing next to her. Josh caught her waist, pulled her against him until they were obscenely close—not a bad thing at all, thanks to his hard-on—and started moving…

Completely out-of-sync from the music…and not at all in the smooth, dignified way he did everything else. By God, he was a bad dancer. The worst she’d ever seen.

Her heart jumped with joy. He wasn’t perfect! She admitted this was probably the least of his faults—all men had a boatload—but it was the first she’d seen. For that she was grateful. His twists and jerks, grinding his pelvis into hers, which she did appreciate, only endeared him to her more.

He couldn’t keep the beat if his life depended on it.

She tried to show him, tried to lead, but after a moment, she ended up following his offbeat movements, and laughing herself silly.

She’d never had so much fun! Never had she found a man who couldn’t dance worth a darn so incredibly, undeniably sexy.

Her pussy was dripping wet, along with the rest of her, when they left the dance floor and made their way to the quiet darkness outside an hour or two later. The chill slapped her, stealing her breath for a moment, then seeped inside, cooling her just enough to be comforting. They walked hand in hand to his car.

Now what?

“Will you come home with me?” he asked.

Thank you, Lord!
She didn’t need a written invitation. “Okay, but what about my car?” she asked, suddenly remembering her car was still parked at the community center.

“I’ll have it brought to my place.”

What? Did he have servants, too? Now, she had to see his home. Images of multimillion-dollar palaces played through her mind. “Okay.”

He gave her another of those promising looks as she sat in the passenger seat, and her body tensed from flushed forehead to wobbly knees. She toyed with the hem of her top as she waited for him to start the car.

“I don’t live far.” His voice was hot and silky, sultry as a summer night. Her pussy began that familiar tingle.

“Okay.” She swallowed, even though her mouth was as dry as a desert. She tried to lick her lips, but there wasn’t a bit of moisture on her tongue to wet them. Every muscle in her body tensed, both from the excitement, the knowledge of what was coming, but also from a bit of the jitters.

“You got pretty quiet on me. Are you okay?” He glanced at her as he pulled up to a red traffic light.

“I’m fine. Just a little overwhelmed by everything.”

“Overwhelmed in a good way, I hope.”

The light turned green, and as if he didn’t have to look to know it had changed, he set the car into motion.

How the hell did he do those things? Talk in people’s heads. See things without looking? Send bolts of electricity through her with the smallest touch?

Finally, he looked back to the road. “If you’re overwhelmed now, wait till you get to my place.”

“Should I run now while I still have the chance?” she half-joked.

He laughed a wicked chuckle, as hot and sexy as the look he kept giving her. The same look that was making her heart do some really interesting things, and turning her legs into marshmallow again. “Probably should,” he responded, turning down a street lined with magnificent brick homes. Huge, immaculately landscaped, the houses had to run a couple of million dollars, easy.

They turned at the end of a street and followed a winding road through a wooded area. Lights twinkled ahead, through the trees. As they drove slowly up the road, a house appeared in a clearing.

A wide circular drive led up to a massive house with a deep blue painted door. Jane’s car was sitting in a parking area to the left.

How did they know to get her car already? How had they started it? She possessed the only set of keys.

Besides, he hadn’t called anyone, not that she’d seen. He hadn’t left her sight. What was going on?

He parked the car before the front stairs. “Welcome to my home.”

She glanced out the window, awestruck. She’d never stepped foot in a place like this. Evidently the restaurant business produced a pretty penny…or he wasn’t telling her the whole truth.

Accepting his hand, she stepped from the car and walked up the stairs. The building was even more gorgeous up close. It was dark outside, so details were hard to see from far away. But now that she was near, she could fully appreciate the smooth stone walls, pillars and mermaid carved into the door.

As she stepped inside, she felt as if she’d traveled to the bottom of the sea. Just like his restaurant, blues and greens decorated his house. The tile floor shimmered, one-inch square glass tiles in deep blue and aqua. The walls were adorned in two-story tall murals of sea life, and the lighting was muted, soft and reflective, sending sparkles off the tiles and crystal chandelier overhead. “Wow,” was all she could manage. Her throat closed tight as an oyster shell.

“I enjoy the sea.” He led her up the sweeping stairs to the balcony above.

“I’d never guess.”

“It reminds me of home.”

“If this place reminds you of home, then I want to get my ass to Sydney tomorrow.”
Or run like hell. Where is Sydney? At the bottom of the sea?

“I can arrange that. My treat.”

Taken by surprise, she looked at him. He couldn’t mean that, could he? His treat? He was as serious as death. “I was kidding.”

“I’m not.”

Well, what does one say to an invitation like that? It made her insides a little squirmy. Warm and happy, but uneasy too. “We can talk about it later, I guess.”

She followed him down a hallway, feeling like her feet were sinking into the sandy-colored plush carpet. She half-expected to hear seagulls and waves crashing.

He stopped at the end of the corridor, before a paneled door. “Before we go in here, there’s something I should tell you.”

Here it comes! I knew he was too good to be true.
She braced herself for an unpleasant surprise.

Chapter 8

Fear and arousal are nearly physiologically identical. Both produce dilated pupils, rapid heart rate and wobbly knees.

Josh hesitated at the door, knowing he was about to shove gentle, bright and funny Jane into a foreign world. He wanted to savor every moment. There was nothing as erotic as introducing a new partner to his world. He had the unmistakable feeling this would be the last time he’d be doing that.

He sighed at the thought, gripped the doorknob and gave it a twist. “I have some unusual furnishings in this room, and I didn’t want you to be shocked.”

“Unusual? Like how?” She sounded a little nervous, not that he could blame her. He had read every one of her thoughts. Her fears of the sea ran deep and wouldn’t be easily conquered. Those weren’t the only fears he sensed. Still, he also saw the longing she tried to hide even from herself. The wish for things new and exciting. The hope for love. The need for a challenge. She would appreciate what he was about to do in no time.

His pants grew a little snugger at the picture of her showing her gratitude, in a most sincere way… “Um, like I was saying, I have some unusual furniture. Think of it as my playground.”

“Sounds…interesting.”

He opened the door, not surprised by the gasp he heard to his left. He caught her wrist before she made it more than a couple steps back down the hallway.

“Are you a nut? My God! I should have known. I’ve been telling myself you were too good to be true all along, but this…!” She stabbed her finger in the general vicinity of the room. “This is too much. I’m outta here.”

“Please. Stop. Listen.” He forced himself not to use his power over her mind. He hadn’t needed it all evening, and for some reason, that made a difference to him. She was there of her own free will. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“Sure, buddy. And what might I find in there?” She pointed at the floor to ceiling aquarium. “Are those sharks? In your bedroom.”

“Maybe, but they can’t hurt you. The tank is completely water tight—”

“Sharks aren’t sexy. They’re ugly, and scary, and mean. Shit!” She yanked harder. “I should have listened to my own reservations. What is with you and the ocean? The murals on the wall and ceiling look so…real!” She wrung her hands. “Heck, if not for the bed, I’d think I was standing on the bottom of the sea. It even smells like the sea in here. Let me guess…” She walked to the bed and pushed on the mattress. “Gee, what a surprise! A water bed.”

“What are you so scared of?” He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear her speak it.

“Water, for one.” She took another shy glance into the room again. “Hadn’t you noticed I’m a little nervous around water? That tank belongs at Sea World, not in someone’s bedroom. Do you have a whale in there too?”

“Only a small one. Please trust me. The water will stay where it is. The sharks and whales too. I want to cherish your body, not destroy it.”