Wild Nights (4 page)

So a loving, long-term relationship with a woman sounded like pure fantasy to Noah. A fantasy he definitely didn’t want to indulge in.

“That’s all my parents have ever tried to provide me,” Natalie said, her soft voice tearing him from his thoughts. He watched her, how she bent her head, her long, dark blonde hair falling forward, her gaze downcast. “They were so overprotective, it was ridiculous. I was always a good girl—I always did what they said. Except for one time.”

“What did you do that one time?” He had to know what pushed her to do something naughty. Good girls weren’t his type. He liked them bad. The bad ones were easy. They’d do anything he ever asked them to.

But there was something about this particular good girl that intrigued him. Corrupting the good girl had never been on his radar, yet this one…he had a feeling she’d be fun.

Natalie lifted her head, her steady gaze meeting his. “I lied to them my senior year in high school. I told them I was spending the night at my best friend’s house, but really, a bunch of us snuck out and went to a concert. A band my parents forbade me to even listen to on my iPod. I wasn’t allowed to own their songs while I lived in my parents’ house, they hated them that much.”

His skin prickled with awareness and he had a feeling he already knew the answer. “What band was it?”

Her expression completely neutral, she admitted, “Wilde & Wicked.”

Chapter Five

Natalie watched as a myriad of emotions crossed Noah’s expressive face. He appeared fascinated, taken aback, slightly horrified and the tiniest bit pleased at her confession.

She couldn’t really believe she actually just said what she did. How lame was she, admitting that the worst thing she’d ever done was go to a Wilde & Wicked concert? All while eating ice cream with the freaking lead singer of Wilde & Wicked on a Friday night in Vegas.

Yeah. She was beyond lame. Any other woman would have him between her legs, working his notorious magic. The man was supposedly good with his hips, and not just on the stage.

So why the hell was she wasting time eating dessert with Noah Wilde when she could be doing something a lot more interesting?

“How were we?” he finally asked.

“Huh?” She frowned, wondering what he was talking about. Thinking about getting him between her thighs was messing with her head. She couldn’t focus, having that gorgeous face staring back at her. The entire night had felt like a dream so far. She’d even taken to pinching herself every few minutes, seeing if she’d wake up.

But she was already awake. This was all really happening and she still couldn’t freaking believe it.

“The concert you disobeyed your parents to attend,” he explained, his expression neutral. He leaned his forearms on the edge of the table and laced his fingers together. “How were we?”

“You were amazing,” she admitted softly.

Noah raised his brows. “We didn’t disappoint?”

“No way.” She shook her head. “You sounded so good live. My friends and I were beside ourselves, screaming and yelling the entire night.”

She remembered how full of adrenaline she’d been that evening. How sneaky she’d felt, taking off with her friends to Los Angeles, swigging contraband wine coolers they’d stolen from one of her friends’ house, a little drunk and a lot excited when they finally made their way into the stadium. The moment Noah Wilde had strutted on stage, she’d been entranced. Lost to the music, the sound of his voice, the way he moved his body, she’d stared at him the entire ninety minutes of that concert. She recalled feeling jealous of the girls he pulled onstage with him.

More than anything, she’d wanted to be one of those girls. It hadn’t mattered that she’d been seventeen and hadn’t even tongue-kissed a boy yet—she’d felt a yearning for Noah to the very depths of her soul.

Eventually she’d blown it off as teenage puppy love. More like puppy lust. And why was it called puppy love anyway, because that sounded sorta gross when she was talking about an actual guy.

Her mind was veering way out of control.

“How old were you?” Noah asked, his deep voice breaking through her thoughts.

“What? Oh, I was seventeen.” And she’d been super horny, though deeply confused by the horniness. She’d never experienced anything like it before. None of the boys at school made her feel like that. The boys she spent time with in her church youth group most definitely never made her feel like that, all anxious and tingly and overwhelmed.

Sort of like she was feeling right at this very moment.

“Seventeen.” Noah tapped his lips thoughtfully with his index finger, regarding her thoughtfully, his intense gaze locked on her. “Young and pretty and oh-so innocent.”

That described her perfectly. Well, maybe not the pretty part, because she’d always felt plain next to everyone else. Her pale skin and dirty blonde hair made her feel like she looked washed out. Boring.

Boring, boring, boring.

“I was…very naïve,” she admitted, pushing the hot fudge sundae bowl away from her. She’d had enough. The ice cream—and their conversation—was sobering. “Sheltered. My parents didn’t let me do anything. They had very strong beliefs.”

“Pretty religious?” he asked.

Natalie shrugged. “Nothing too outrageous. We went to church every Sunday and Mom sings in the choir. I went to youth group meetings and summer camp sponsored by our church.”

“That sounds pretty religious.”

Noah was right. It did. She tried to pretend her parents weren’t so bad, and they always meant well, but she knew they kept her totally sheltered. She’d been clueless all through high school, not comfortable around boys, constantly having lots of unrequited crushes. Finally she’d received her first kiss from her senior prom date and it had been such a disappointment. Lots of thrusting tongue and slobber.

Gross.

She lost her virginity when she was in college. Twenty-one and drunk off her ass after a night out at a bar with a group of friends, ready to just get rid of it once and for all. So she recruited a friend and it had been awkward and weird and their friendship fizzled out afterward.

Natalie concluded she was really bad at that sort of thing.

“Fine, you’re right. They were crazy religious.” She dropped her head and blew out a harsh breath, feeling lame for even admitting it.

“I’ve met lots of girls like you,” he said, his voice so deep she glanced up, meeting his gaze. “And they were all extra…repressed.”

“Uptight and boring, you mean?” she asked, heavy on the snark. She was ready to leap from this chair and walk. Tonight wasn’t turning out like she planned at all. Where were her friends? Why wasn’t she making the most of this evening with freaking Noah Wilde? Why were they having such a serious conversation?

He actually scoffed. “Not even close. More like they went a little…wild.”

She smiled at the play on his name. “I’m sure all the women go wild for you, Noah Wilde.”

He returned her smile. “Some I have to work a little harder. Take them gambling. Buy them ice cream.”

Her smile faltered. Was he saying he wanted to get wild with her? They’d kissed and his lips had blown her mind, but she thought that was just him. He was flirtatious. He probably kissed lots of women and thought nothing of it.

“What are you saying, Noah?”

Blinking, his expression turned serious. “I’m saying that I like you, Natalie. I like you a lot. And I was wondering if you’d like to come back to my hotel suite with me.”

“For the night?” she squeaked, wishing she could roll her eyes at herself. Could she sound any more ridiculous?

The grin was back in full force, nearly blinding her in its intensity. Lord, the man had a beautiful smile. “If you’re up for it.”

“Um….”

“Just say yes, Nat.”

“Yes,” she blurted out, before she did something stupid.

Like refuse him.

It was the longest elevator ride known to man. And the most crowded. The hotel had five towers, thousands of rooms, and it felt like everyone who was staying at the hotel was in this particular elevator. The car was crammed full, most of the people young, drunk and big fans of Wilde & Wicked.

Meaning Noah was standing in an elevator full of people who were blown away that he was in their presence.

Usually he loved it. Soaked it up like he was a sponge and they were water. Not tonight. Not when he had sweet Natalie clinging to his arm, her warm, curvy body nestled close to his side. He wanted to get her alone and quick. Before she had second thoughts and bolted on him.

He swore at one point he was losing her. And he lost no woman. But this one? She played hot and cold. She called him out on his crap. She knew how to have fun without needing a lot of attention. She tried to pay him back. And she loved to eat ice cream, not worrying about how many calories was in it or how bad dairy was for her digestive system.

Yes, he’d heard it all and it all bored the shit out of him. For Natalie to think he found her boring? Far from it. He found her refreshing. Sweet.

Gorgeous.

Sexy.

The complete package.

Don’t go thinking all crazy and shit. This is a one-night thing, remember?

Yeah, he needed to focus on that. Or focus on nothing at all, which was the direction he took while in the elevator. He signed damp cocktail napkins, the back of a woman’s shirt, took an endless stream of photos and put on the full Noah Wilde performance with his fans in the elevator. Until finally they were the last ones standing.

“Wow, that was crazy,” Natalie said the moment the elevator doors slid shut. “Is that how it is with fans all the time when you’re in public?”

“Pretty much.” He leaned against the wall of the elevator, pulling her into him. She went willingly, their hips colliding, his arms slipping around her slender waist. They only had a few floors to climb, but he was going to make the most of it. “All I could think about was getting you alone.”

“Really?” She sounded surprised. Silly woman.

Nodding, he reached out and touched her cheek, let his fingers drift across her soft skin. “I was smiling and signing my name on all sorts of things, and you were the one on my mind.”

Her plump lips parted at his admission, she looked ready to say something—most likely a protest—and he kissed her, swallowing whatever she might’ve said. The elevator dinged at the precise moment he slipped his tongue inside her mouth, and the doors slid open with a smooth whoosh.

Noah broke the kiss first and gently pushed her away, never letting go of her hand. “Come on.”

She followed him out of the elevator and down the hall, her trembling fingers caught in his. She was nervous, he knew this, and he wanted to do whatever he could to calm her down. Make her realize that he was just as invested in this night as she was.

He didn’t have the penthouse suite—Declan snapped that up, the lucky bastard—but the suite he had for the weekend was swank. He inserted the key and opened the door, stepping aside to let Natalie in. She walked by him, her delicious scent lingering in the air, and he slowly shut the door, turning the lock hard. It sounded extra loud in the otherwise quiet of the suite.

Natalie turned to face him at the snap of the lock and he flicked on a lamp, bathing the living area in soft golden light. She watched silently as he moved about the room, setting his wallet and phone on a nearby table before he went to the floor-to-ceiling wall of windows and yanked back the curtain, revealing the Las Vegas skyline.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed as she approached the windows and stared out into the night.

“Not as pretty as you,” he said, moving so he stood behind her. He settled his hands on her stiff shoulders and bent his head so his mouth was at her ear. “You’re tense.”

A little shudder moved through her when he gently squeezed her shoulders. “I’m nervous.”

He appreciated her honesty. Most women played it off. Hell, most of the women who wanted to get with him fucked him only because of who he was. What he represented. Noah Wilde, resident crazy front man of a rock band. They could give a shit about the man beneath the façade. And that was usually the way he liked it.

Never let them get close. They’ll only hurt you in the end.

That had always been his motto.

“Don’t be nervous,” he murmured, dropping a kiss to the top of her ear. She tilted her head to the right on a sigh, giving him better access and he took it. He kissed along the delicate shell of her ear, the elegant column of her neck, the spot where it met her shoulder. Soft sighs escaped her at every touch of his lips and he knew she was enjoying this.

But she was still nervous, so he knew he had to approach her gently. One wrong move—one overly aggressively move—and she might run.

“Easy for you to say,” she teased, making him smile. “I bet you do this sort of thing all the time.”

Actually, it had been a while since he’d been with a woman. All the band drama had been getting to him and he’d closed himself off from everyone and everything.

“Do you really think I’m that much of a man-whore?” He slipped his arm around her waist and splayed his hand across her stomach. Yes, he had the reputation. Yes, he never denied he was a man-whore. But he wasn’t as bad as the media made him out to be. Not even close.

Natalie stiffened within his embrace. “Well…aren’t you?”

“Don’t believe everything you read in the gossip mags, Nat.” He nuzzled her cheek with his nose, inhaling her addictive fresh scent. Did she wear perfume? He didn’t think so.

“Are you saying your reputation is exaggerated?” Her breath hitched when he slid his hand higher, his thumb grazing the underside of her breast. He didn’t think she was wearing a bra. Probably couldn’t with the style of her dress, and he was perfectly okay with that. Easy access and all.

“I’m not as bad as they make me out to be.” He tightened his arm and turned her around so she faced him. “Or do you want to have the bad boy rock star fantasy tonight? What do you want, Natalie?”

She stared up at him as he cupped her face, drawing his thumbs across her cheeks. “I-I just want you, Noah. That’s all.”

Her simple request humbled him. Nearly brought him to his knees. He swooped in and kissed her, tasting her gasp, swallowing her moan. She opened to him so easily, her lips parting, allowing his tongue entrance and he took over the kiss, possessing her, drowning in her. He never wanted to stop kissing her like this, standing in front of a giant window with pretty much the entire city of Las Vegas spread out before them, illuminating her features so she appeared gilded in gold and silver.

He broke the kiss first, the sound of their heavy breaths filling the air, his hands still on her face. His cock was hard as a rock, his heart racing. He wanted to take it slow but she made it so damn difficult. “Let’s go back to the bedroom.”

She gave a shaky nod and whispered, “Okay.”

Noah took her hand once more and led her through the sleek, sparsely furnished suite. The bedroom was large, with a huge bed dominating most of it, and he flicked on a lamp as they entered.

“You want the light on?” she asked shakily.

Say what? Of course, he did. “I want to see you, sweetheart,” he drawled, letting go of her hand so he could turn on a couple more lamps around the room.

“Oh. Really?” She lifted her chin, trying her best to look brave but failing miserably. “Um, I’m probably not that great to look at.”

This girl was the complete opposite of pretty much any woman he’d ever been with. By now, whoever he’d brought back to his room or the tour bus or backstage would be halfway to naked. Or completely naked. Most of them didn’t waste time and neither did he. His sexual encounters weren’t of the tender wooing nature.