Wilde for Her (A Wilde Security Novel) (Entangled Brazen) (4 page)

“Psh. Seventy pounds or not, I can drink you under the table any day and we both know it.”

Not this time. One of those shots had hit her really fucking hard. “Just let me be the gentleman my mom raised me to be, okay? She would roll over in her grave if I didn’t make sure you got back to your room after letting you get this drunk.”

“You didn’t let me…drunk. No, wait.” Realizing she’d totally slurred that sentence, she shook her head and straightened her shoulders with as much dignity as she could muster. She chose her next words more carefully. “I have a little buzz, that’s all.” Then she giggled, which told him everything he needed to know about how drunk she really was. Eva never giggled. “Those shots were horrible, weren’t they?”

“The Jäger and mayonnaise was a particularly revolting choice,” he said and gave the bartender his room number to have the tab added to his bill. He stuffed a twenty in the tip jar as he half-wobbled, half-carried Eva out the door to the elevators in the lobby.

Yeah, pretty sure the floor wasn’t supposed to ebb and flow like the ocean tide. He was really going to hate himself come morning.

“Couldn’t have been any worse than the Bailey’s and lime juice,” Eva said and jabbed the elevator’s up button. “I gotta give you kudos for that one. I’ve never had to chew a shot anymore. No, before. I meant before.”

“Yeah, I knew what you meant.”

She smiled up at him. “That’s ‘cause you’re fluent in Eva Speak.”

Damn, he wanted to kiss her. It wouldn’t take much with her upturned face right there, her mouth mere inches away. All he had to do was drop his head and—

The elevator doors opened and someone cleared his throat. Cam’s head whipped up, which made the room spin around him, and it took a long moment to focus on his twin standing in the elevator.

Vaughn scowled at the two of them and stepped out of the car. “Where the hell have you been all night? When you didn’t return, Reece started panicking and launched a search.”

Translation:
Vaughn
started panicking, not Reece. He always assigned his emotions to one of their other brothers, especially if he thought said emotions were not befitting of a former SEAL. Like panic, for instance.

“Hey, now.” Eva stepped forward, putting herself between them. She didn’t let go of Cam, though. Mainly because she’d probably topple over if she did. Hell,
he’d
probably topple over if she did.

“Don’t be mad at him. He was commiser…acating with me over my horrible taste in men.” She pouted and tipped her head back to gaze up at Cam. “Why the does everyone lie to me?”

“Commiserating?” Vaughn sneered. “Is that what you call getting him shitfaced drunk?”

“Vaughn…” Cam said with a note of warning that clearly told his twin to back the fuck off the protective “big” brother routine. The guy was only ten minutes older for christssakes. He turned his attention back to Eva and gave her a light squeeze. “I’ve never lied to you.”

Well, not exactly. Some might call him keeping his feelings to himself a lie, but he preferred to think of it as an omission for her own good. If he told her how he felt, she might get her hopes up, start fantasizing about that happily ever after she secretly craved, and he wasn’t the kind of man that could give it. He was not the marriage or family type and he couldn’t hurt her like that.

But he’d
never
tell her an outright lie.

“That’s because you’re a good friend.” She patted his chest and looked at Vaughn, her chin lifting in defense. “And he’s not drunk.”

Vaughn glared at them both. “Bullshit. He can’t even stand up straight.”

“Okay, maybe I am,” Cam said. “What’s it to you? I don’t need your permission to have a few.”

Vaughn growled low in his throat, his bad mood darkening the air around him like a cloud. And what the fuck was up with that? While he definitely wasn’t always roses and sunshine, he wasn’t usually a flat-out jerk like this, either.

“Man, who stuck a poker up your ass and left it there? C’mon, leave Eva alone. She’s already had a rough night.”

“No, it’s fine, Cam. Although…” She gave Vaughn an apprising up-down that would have scalded a lesser man. “It still astounds me that you two share the same DNA when he’s a complete jackass and you’re…well, not. All the time.”

Vaughn’s lip curled. “He got all the good genes.”

“Obviously. Now if you’ll excuse us, I need to go to my room before I pass out, and Cam is the only thing holding me up right now. So, shoo, evil twin.”

Cam tried not to laugh. He really did, but Vaughn looked like one of those angry Saturday morning cartoon characters, the ones with heaving chests and bulging eyes and smoke pouring out of their ears. Besides, Cam was usually the first to defend his twin, but this time, Vaughn deserved to be knocked down a peg. Whatever had put him in such a pissy mood, he didn’t need to be taking it out on Eva.

Without another word, Vaughn stalked past them, heading toward the bar they’d just left.

“I recommend the Prairie Fire,” Eva called after him.

Cam grinned and jabbed the button for the elevator, which had left without them. “He’ll probably like it. His SEAL buddies call him Tabasco because he carries around a plastic bottle of the stuff and puts it on everything.”

Eva made a face. “Really? Gross.”

“Yup. We may share our DNA, but we definitely weren’t born with the same taste buds.”

The elevator arrived and they stepped inside. The ride up to the fourth floor started in an easy silence, but the confined space and the way she leaned against his side, her breast occasionally brushing his arm, started to get to him. He caught a light floral scent from her hair and he dipped his head closer to breathe it in. Probably just her shampoo since he knew for a fact she rarely wore perfume. Even so, he found the scent intoxicating.

Or maybe that was just the alcohol in his system.

Or a mixture of both.

A distant, muffled alarm started signaling in the back of his mind as the elevator opened to their floor. Her room was only three doors to the left. His and Vaughn’s was six doors to the right, and part of him—the part shooting off warning flares—thought this should be his stop. He could stand right here by the elevator and watch her until she was safely inside her room. Then he’d go back downstairs and—

“Would you mind staying with me for a while?” she blurted, then glanced away. “I’m, uh, not really ready to be alone with my thoughts yet.”

Bad. Idea.

Very. Bad. Idea.

He completely ignored the warning klaxon now blaring in his head. In that moment, with the alcohol a pleasant hum in his brain and her standing there in that red dress looking both disheveled and sexy, he would have done anything for her.

“Absolutely.”

Chapter Five

Eva fumbled her key before getting it into the slot and shoving down the handle to open her room’s door. She weaved inside and found a light switch that turned on the bedside lamp. But the light made her feel self-conscious and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself as she faced Cam. He’d paused at the threshold, his hand on the door jamb for support. His gaze swept over the room, taking in the rattan furniture and the windows that offered a 180 degree view of the ocean. Then his eyes locked on the king-sized bed.

Her stomach did a funny flurry thing as she set her key card on top of the mini-fridge positioned in a nook between the bathroom and the main part of the room. She opened the fridge and grabbed two of the hotel’s ridiculously priced bottles of water. “We should probably have some water or we’re gonna hate ourselves tomorrow. We can sit out on the balcony and…talk. Or something. Whatever.”

Cam hadn’t set foot in the room and his gaze was still fastened on the bed. She wasn’t sure if he’d even heard her rambling.

“Cam?”

His throat worked, and he closed his eyes for a moment as if in pain. “You know, I should go. I have…” He waved a hand in a vague motion behind him.

“Oh. Of course. It’s your brother’s wedding. I’m sorry. Don’t worry, I’m fine now.”

“No, it’s not—” He met her gaze for a bare instant, only long enough for her to notice the heat in his eyes. He cursed, and his voice came out thick. “I should just…go.”

“Okay.”

He hesitated, then stepped back. “See ya,” he said before the door fell shut.

“Yeah.” Her shoulders sagged under the brutal weight of disappointment. “See ya, Cam.”

She stood rooted to the spot for a long time, until she realized tears had blurred her vision.

Dammit, she’d just taken an all-expenses paid trip to self-pity land, which included such fun rides as the self-doubt roller coaster and the insecurity-inducing house of mirrors.

“Ugh.” She swiped a hand over her eyes. “Pull up your big girl panties now, Eva.”

She returned the water to the fridge then forced herself to move, but only made it as far as the end of the bed. She sank to the plush mattress and stared at her bare toes with the fuck-me-now red pedicure her sister had insisted on before she left D.C.

After a few minutes, the quiet in the room began to press her down, made it hard to breathe.

Oh, God, she had wanted Cam to stay. Wanted to feel his hands on her again, his mouth against hers. She’d wanted…things that she shouldn’t want in conjunction with him. Most of all, she’d wanted him to make her forget everything, which wasn’t fair for so many reasons. Besides, she’d already monopolized most of his evening when he had family obligations.

And even telling herself all that, it hurt like hell that he’d walked away.

As her eyes began to tear up again, she dove for the TV remote and switched on the set. The local news came on, and she flipped through until she found an all-music channel playing country. She turned the volume down until Lady Antebellum’s
Need You Now
was little more than white noise in the background.

Okay, this wasn’t so bad. Now that she didn’t have to listen to herself think, she could handle this. She needed to deal with the alcohol in her system or she’d wake up with a killer hangover. No problem. She’d draw a bath in the Jacuzzi tub, gulp down some Tylenol and a few bottles of water, then just enjoy a relaxing night. By herself. Because Preston sure as hell hadn’t wanted her. And Cam—

Well, it was better that he didn’t want her like that, right? She bombed at the whole dating thing, and how many times had Cam told her he wasn’t looking for a committed relationship? Sex with him would only end in disaster, and she didn’t want to lose the only solid, stable thing she had in her life. So, yes, it was a good thing he didn’t want her. It was.

Now if she could just convince her libido of that.

Exasperated with herself, she stood and reached under her skirt to finally yank off the damn thong.

Ah. So much better.

She wadded the horrible excuse for underwear and shot it toward the garbage can, but a sharp rap on the door made her jump and threw off her aim. The thong landed artfully on the desk lamp.

Who the hell…?

She reached through the slit in her dress and rested her hand on her gun. She’d felt naked without it so, much to her sister’s dismay, she’d made sure the dress would hide a slim thigh holster. Thank God. Unexpected knocks on hotel room doors usually didn’t end well.

She peeked through the peep hole.

Cam.

Relaxing, she opened the door. “Hey, you scared the shit outta me. What—”

He didn’t let her finish. He stepped toward her, cupped a hand around the back of her neck, and pulled her lips to his, swallowing her gasp of surprise. His mouth tasted of minty toothpaste, and his hair was soaked, the spiky dark strands dripping down his back and shoulders as if he hadn’t bothered to dry off after a shower. He still wore the outrageous Hawaiian shirt, but it was unbuttoned, thrown back on as an afterthought. His shorts hung low, highlighting the V of muscle at his hips and doing little to conceal how very aroused he was.

She should push him away. Hadn’t she already decided this couldn’t happen between them? It was only going to complicate things and—

He flattened his free hand across the small of her back, drawing her flush against him, and his erection thrust insistently at her belly.

“Oh…” Everything female in her shuddered with pleasure and her mind blanked of all but his taste, his scent, and a rising tide of anticipation. All such a delicious reprieve from the emotional turbulence of the evening, and she let herself melt into his kiss. Her nipples hardened under the silky material of her dress as she rubbed against his hard body. He maneuvered them far enough into the room that he was able to kick the door shut, then spun and pressed her back against the cool metal. His hands roamed under the skirt of her dress, found her ass, and boosted her up. She locked her legs around his hips. He was giving her the gift of release and, dammit, she needed it. Needed
him
. Right here, right now.

“Tell me to stop,” he groaned even as he surged hard against her, hitting all the right spots despite the maddening layer of his shorts still between them.

Eva dug her fingers into his scalp and gave his hair a punishing tug. “Don’t you dare.”

…

Her words vibrated through him, left him shaking with need.

He’d tried to do the right thing and walk away. He’d gone to his room with the intention of taking some time to sober up before heading back to the reception. Brushed his teeth on autopilot, then jumped under the cold spray of a shower, which did nothing to cool him down. He’d taken himself in hand to deal with his insistent boner—and then he’d stopped.

What the fuck was he doing, being all noble and shit, when he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her? If she had invited him in for a simple, friendly chat, she would have been calm, not fidgeting.

She wanted it. And damn the consequences, so did he.

He pinned her to the door with his hips, grinding against her. She went wild in his arms, her hands tracing his back and shoulders, her lips devouring his as she met his every thrust. Like trying to harness a tornado.

He shifted, letting his left arm take her weight, and stepped back just enough to drop a hand between their bodies. He found her wet and ready against his fly. No panties.

For the love of…

Had she been bare under that flowing red skirt all night?

The idea drove him almost past the point of civilized thought.

He played his fingers over her entrance, enjoying her quick intake of breath when he dipped into her in a sneak preview of what was to come. She was hot and tight, her muscles clenching on his fingers like she wanted to keep what he was giving her and take even more. She threw her head back against the door and groaned his name.

His
name.

A roar of triumph filled his head. Maybe it even rumbled from his throat. He didn’t give a damn. Eva was calling his name. Finally.

Christ, he had to be inside her.

He freed himself from his shorts, caught her hips under the skirt of her dress, and lifted her onto him. She arched and accepted him deep inside with a low moan.

Hot, slick, and so soft.

Cam lifted his gaze to make sure she really was Eva and not a dream version, because “soft” was never a word he’d associated with her before this moment. Her body was long, lean muscle. Her spirit all passionate stubbornness and strength—

But then her silken walls tightened around his cock and, fuck yeah, there was the strength he adored about her. Perfect. She felt just as good as he always imagined she would, and he closed his eyes with the pleasure of it.

She writhed against him, her heels digging into his ass. “Oh. Oh, God. Move!”

“No.” He pinned her to the door with his hips and caught her wrists in one hand, stretching her arms up over her head. She had her eyes squeezed tight, and he leaned in to brush his mouth over her lids. “Look at me.”

Her eyes opened. “Move. Please.”

“No.”

With a frustrated cry, she arched her back as much as she was able, pinned to the door as she was, and the movement rippled her inner muscles, squeezing them hard around his cock again. Heat gathered in his lower back. Oh, too close. They were both too close and he wasn’t ready for that yet. His balls tightened, and he clenched his teeth against the urge to pound into her, despite the beads of sweat sliding down his spine from the effort of restraint. He’d waited too damn long for this to lose all control now and have it be over in mere seconds.

“Dammit,” she gasped. “I need you to move.”

Her trapped fingers flexed as if she wanted to touch him, run her fingers through his hair, dig her nails into his shoulders. He shuddered at the mental image, but didn’t release her hands. Next time. This round, he was calling all the shots.

Curling his hips the tiniest bit, he found her ear with his teeth. “Say my name again, Eva.”

“No.”

“Stubborn.” He reached between them and found her clit, gave it a teasing rub and watched her eyes all but roll back in her head. She whimpered when he withdrew the pressure, a sound she would no doubt hate herself for later, but that he found insanely sexy.

“My name.”

A small smile flitted over her lips as she shook her head. Her dark hair, smelling of sun and saltwater and her floral shampoo, swept his shoulder with the gesture. Fuck, she’d turned the tables, now teasing him as much as he was her. And, somehow, he was losing this little match of wills.

Unable to stay still any longer, he rolled his hips and her body opened wider to him, accepting more of him with each languorous thrust. It still wasn’t enough for her. She dug her heels into his back, demanding more. Demanding hard, fast, and dirty. And he’d give her all that—as soon as he got what he wanted. He wound the strands of her hair around his hand and tugged, exposing her neck to his mouth.

“Say my name.”

She groaned. “Uh-uh.”

“Who is inside you, Eva?” He punctuated each word with a shallow thrust. “Tell me who is fucking you.”

She squirmed and tried to pull her hands free from his grip. “Cam.”

Yes. A primal satisfaction short-circuited his brain. He released her hands and her nails instantly bit into his scalp. Grasping her hips, he pumped into her, each thrust pushing her higher and knocking their bodies against the door.

“Say it again.”

“Camden,” she whispered and dragged his mouth to hers. She caught his lower lip between her teeth and tugged, and his control evaporated. Supporting her weight with his hands under her ass, he spun away from the door and strode toward the king sized bed. Her head fell back as each step pushed him deeper inside her, and he couldn’t resist the tantalizing view of her cleavage. He dipped his head to taste the hollow between her breasts that the damn dress had been giving him teasing glimpses of all night long—and he lost his balance, snagging his foot on some kind of strap. Eva squealed as they toppled to the bed, and he twisted so that he took the brunt of the fall on his back, Eva on top of him.

Straddling his hips, she grinned down at him. “You’re such a klutz.” She dragged her palms over his bare chest, stopping only to pinch his nipples lightly between her fingers. “Hmm. But I do like this view.”

“Not tonight.” He easily flipped her to her back and silenced her indignant cry with a hard kiss. “Next time. I’ve waited too long to have you under me.”

He plucked at the tie holding the halter dress up and about swallowed his tongue when the red fabric fell free. He’d spent many nights fantasizing about seeing her naked and now…

Damn. Fantasy didn’t even come close.

She had small, firm breasts with dusky pink nipples standing at taut peaks. He sucked one into his mouth, giving it all his attention for a long moment before moving to the other one. As he sucked her, he stripped the dress off her legs and she lay before him in nothing but a thigh holster and her favorite Glock.

Holy fuck, that was hot. So, so much better than fantasy.

Eva lifted her arms over her head and arched her back, her silky, flat belly teasing his cock as she hooked a leg around his hip. “Why are you not naked yet?”

In a surge, she sat up and shoved his unbuttoned shirt off his shoulders, then pushed his shorts down his hips. He had to leave her and stand long enough to kick off the shorts. They landed with a dull
whop
somewhere over by the door, but he didn’t care. He edged Eva’s thighs apart with his knee, took another second to remove her gun and holster and set them aside, then lifted her hips in his hands. He entered her slowly, watching himself sink into her.