Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) (10 page)

From what he could tell, she was an impressive entrepreneur with a thriving business. He had to admire the grit and determination she had in spades—to take on a remodel for the bakery and tearoom and to survive a start-up and make it succeed.

When he’d left the shop earlier and returned to his room at a nearby bed and breakfast, he’d taken a ride on the Internet and done some research. She’d made quite a name for herself in just a few short years, earning her the attention of some heavy-hitting food critics and the notoriety that comes with being well regarded in the world of TV and online cooking shows. The lady was the genuine article.

She was also sexy as fuck with a balls-to-the-wall attitude and a clear need for control that frankly made his cock hungry. Their kiss, the one she had instigated, not only surprised the shit out of him, but it opened a floodgate of desire and lust that he hadn’t been all that aware was lurking inside him.

The way she tried so hard to keep control of her power intrigued him. The lady was no pushover, that was for sure. He also found it mildly amusing that she thought for even a second that she could call the shots with a man like him. He’d let her have that first encounter only because it gave him the inside curve on what made her tick. She wanted to be the one in charge—the aggressor—if he read her right.

Pffft.
Yeah, whatever. He saw right through her on that score. By taking control she imagined it was on her terms. He suspected there was a man in her past responsible for creating that need. Probably some selfish asshole who took what she gave and made her feel like shit about it later.

Breaking down that wall and subduing her hot as hell ass was oddly tempting. He imagined taming Brynn Wilde, a thought that had him adjusting his jeans to accommodate the thickening of his sex. It had been a long time since he had those kinds of thoughts. Uncomplicated, hook-up sex was easy to find, but Brynn had his thoughts veering off into unchartered territory.

He’d never encountered a woman who could make bad pop culture references the way she had and also play video games that appealed to teenage boys. She really was priceless and her don’t-fuck-with-me vibe fired up his libido.

Calling into the den he gave her a five-minute warning. “Wrap it up hotshot. Dinner’s coming up.”

He heard her chuckle and the quiet, “Damn,” she muttered as horns honked and cars revved in her gameplay. That this was something she did in her downtime amused him to no end.

Once he had everything set on the old table, he strode back to the den and watched for a second as she continued to play.

“Time to crash and burn,” he warned her before taking the controller from her hand and turning off the game.

“Wait!” she sputtered as she attempted the take the controller back, but he easily waved away her hands and snickered at her.

“Uh, uh, uh, Speed Racer. Enough. Time to eat. I hope you don’t drive like you play,” he teased.

“God. Just like a man,” she muttered under her breath when he bent over her to move the ice from her ankle so he could take a look at the swelling.

“Looks better already,” he told her. “But no walking yet, okay?”

He didn’t give her time to respond, just slid an arm under her ass and the other across her back, easily picking her up. It was the second time he’d held her close like this, and he grinned when he realized it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. She might like all that control shit but nothing said, “Me Tarzan. You Jane,” like carrying her. Plus, he could tell it rattled her cage.

Instead of lowering her gently onto a chair at the table, he dumped her ass with a thud in case she was harboring any notions that he was a pushover. Manners were one thing. Being timid and pussy-whipped was something different altogether. Best she know right from the get-go where he stood.

He had to give her credit, she recovered from being dropped like a rock pretty quickly, but he didn’t miss the surprised lift to her eyebrows quickly followed by a quirky frown. He could practically hear the gears grinding in her mind as she tried to figure him out and decide how best to take control of the situation.
Good luck with that,
he thought as he sat across from her and met her serious gaze with a cocky grin.

Pointing he said, “Frittata. Eggs, cheese, broccoli, and red onion.” Gesturing to a small bowl covered with a dish towel he added, “Cheese biscuits. Fattening and delicious. Dig in.”

“You’re rather the bossy type, I gather,” she grumbled.

When she quickly lowered her eyes so he couldn’t read her expression he chuckled. “Eh. You love it. Don’t try and pretend you don’t.” She reacted just as he knew she would with an outraged sputter and an angry wiggle of her butt in the chair. It was fun as shit to poke the lady tigress when she couldn’t do much about it.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before she finally got around to saying something about the meal he’d prepared.

“This is good,” she told him with a satisfied moan when she bit into one of the warm biscuits.

“Why Brynn,” he mocked. “That almost sounds like a compliment. Bet that came at a price.”

She cocked her head and rolled her eyes. “Yes. Actually it did. I think your biscuits might be better than mine.”

Recovering from the compliment quickly she added a pithy, quasi-sarcastic, “You’re going to make someone a wonderful wife someday.”

Smart ass. He’d make her pay for that. “How do you know I’m not already married? She almost choked to death on the food in her mouth. He looked at her impassively and said, “What? You never considered that might be an option? Shame on you, Brynn.”

“But…..but, you kissed me,” she blurted out.

It was all he could do not to laugh at the mixture of shock and embarrassment running riot on her face. “Actually, it was
you
who kissed
me
.”

“I did not!” she protested swiftly.

“That’s not how I remember it. As I recall, you pushed me onto my back, rubbed a thigh against my uh….zipper,” he leered at her in emphasis. “And then gave me a pretty thorough throat exam with your tongue.”

The deep red blush that swept up her neck and across her cheeks sent all the blood in his head rushing into his cock.

“You’re impossible,” she groaned as her head dropped into her hands.

“Relax,” he chuckled. “I’m just messing with you.”

Her head snapped up. “Really?”

“Yep,” he shrugged. “Not married. Almost did the deed once upon a time but never sealed the deal. What about you?”

He watched her shovel forkfuls of food into her mouth while she considered her answer. It was a simple question. Didn’t require so much thought.

“I’m divorced,” she told him. When he looked taken aback by her answer she asked, “Surprised?”

“That you were married? No. That anyone was stupid enough to let you go, yes.”

A cloud, a dark one, passed through her expression. “I left him.”

Jax nodded and considered what she was telling him. He didn’t think for a moment that she enjoyed admitting something like that. “What did he do?” he asked gently.

“How do you know it was him and not me who ‘did’ something?”

“You play by the rules, Brynn. Only a fool wouldn’t see that.”

The cloud vanished and if he wasn’t mistaken, he’d just scored a shit ton of points with that random observation.

She dropped her fork and sat back in her chair, eyeing him with lips pursed thin in a tense line. “You really want to know?”

H
mmm
. Good question. Did he? Drama was not his strong suit, but she didn’t come off as a spectacle queen. “If you wanna tell me, I’m here to listen, but I’m not trying to poke around in your head or ignore your right to privacy. Okay?”

She nodded briefly, and he was pretty damn sure he saw a flash of appreciation in her eyes.

“In the simplest of terms, I chose and I chose wrong. Not one of my smartest moments. College boyfriend. Zero ambition,” she elaborated with a hand sign. “Morals of an alley cat.”

He snickered, and she smiled.

“Came home early one day and found him plowing the ass of one of his employees. In our bed. On my brand new thousand thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Nice touch, huh?”

“Did you kick his ass?”

“For which? The ass plowing or the defilement of my new sheets?”

He smirked at her and shook his head. The lady was a piece of work.

“Nah.” She rolled her shoulders in a shrug that conveyed more than her words. “Wasn’t worth the effort. He was an asshole.”

All of a sudden, she started laughing. It was so completely out of character. He really liked the way her husky voice sounded when she lightened up.

“Oh my God. I crack myself up. Get it? Asshole plowing an asshole!” She giggled for a few seconds before hiccupping to a stop. “Now, what about you? Happily ever after coming up, exit twelve and then BAM. Waving bye-bye in the rearview mirror?”

“Pretty much,” he admitted. “Similar deal. College girlfriend. Engaged during my time in the Army. Shit got real when I came home for good. She fancied herself a doctor’s wife but …” Just like her, his shrug said it all.

There was way more he could say about what happened. Like how Heather hadn’t appreciated having a fiancé struggling with PTSD issues. Or the fact that in the bedroom they had no intimate connection whatsoever. She wanted someone to worship at her feet and he, well….his tastes had a lot of sharp edges and very few hard limits.

“Looks like we’re both unlucky in love,” she quipped.

“Mm
mm
. I wouldn’t say that. Sounds more like neither of us bothered with the ‘in love’ portion of the program.”

“Pffft
. Yeah, well….I’m an acquired taste apparently. Tough on the outside but without the soft inner core.”

Jax lowered his head into his hands and groaned, peeking over his fingers with dramatic flair. “My God woman. Are you fucking kidding?”

Brynn’s eyes blinked as she frowned. Not only was she priceless, everything about the way she acted told him she had no clue how to flirt or the impact some of her expressions had. A lot was starting to make sense now. She wasn’t so much straight-laced as one dimensional in her approach to life. Maybe a little driven, definitely someone who used spell check a lot, and totally, totally clueless when it came to men.

“Okay. Just remember you forced me to do this,” he joshed. Drawing on his very best Groucho Marx impersonation, Jax quipped with raised eyebrows. “An acquired taste, you say? Well, I’d like to acquire that taste. And as for being tough on the outside, I know a way to make that inner core soft. Gooey and wet, too.”

Shock visible on her face, she attempted to sputter out a comeback but gave up with a growl and a hilariously stern attempt at a frown.

“Is that all you men think about? Does everything have to be about sex?”

He barked a laugh and quirked a smile. “Told ya! You asked for it. And to answer your question—” Using two hands in a downward arc indicating the area of his cock, he grinned and said, “It comes with the genitals.”

Clearly not accustomed to even a friendly banter ripe with sexy taunts, she rose quickly in what he assumed was a knee jerk flight response only to reach out and grab the edge of the table when she remembered walking away wasn’t an option. He choked on a laugh when stomping away became a problem, and she did a one eighty on their conversation.

Flopping back into her seat, she pursed her lips and sat ramrod straight. He wanted to make some of that control crumble and thought of a hundred ways he’d enjoy doing just that.

Acting as if none of the last ten minutes had happened, she put on her very best power-woman look and asked, “So, you never said what you thought of the house. I don’t want anything drastic, just some changes to make the bathrooms more functional and change up some of the layout.”

Okay. So she wanted to play grown-up and overlook the sexual tension pulsing between them. He’d let her run for now, even if it was just in her mind but Jax knew there was a lot more going on than she wanted to admit.

B
RYNN WAS HAVING A REALLY hard time maintaining any semblance of calm. She was reeling—her emotions were all over the place, literally bouncing around inside her like overzealous Pop-Rocks.

Was he flirting with her or was this just how men and women interacted these days? She didn’t have any idea, a thought that made her uncomfortable because there was nothing she disliked more than finding herself at a disadvantage.

It didn’t help things that the man taking obvious delight in pushing all her buttons was nothing short of sexy as fuck. He’d stolen her breath from the moment she laid eyes on him and nothing much had changed that fact as this odd day wore on. Always ready with a sarcastic retort, Brynn’s own imagination gleefully delivered one straight to her equilibrium as she envisioned dragging a portable oxygen tank around with her so she didn’t pass out from a lack of air supply. He was that yummy. Damn him.

She wasn’t like her sisters where the opposite sex was concerned. Rhiann, the hopeless romantic with a bottomless belief in the power of love and an outrageously dirty mind, could flirt like there was no tomorrow. In fact, if teasing and come-ons were an Olympic sport, she’d be a gold medalist. And Charlie, sweet, innocent Charlie with her noise cancelling breasts, could send pretty much any red-blooded male with a heartbeat to his knees with her infectious giggle and ‘come hither’ vibe.