“Once was enough,” she giggled “and as I said, was a bit one-sided.”
“Oh, baby, baby,” he growled suggestively. “We’ll get matching t-shirts and yours can say M-O-D slave.”
She was really laughing now.
“Oh no, you didn’t!” she shrieked. “Did you just suggest a Master and slave scenario with these t-shirts?”
Fuck. He had! Well, at least she was laughing and hadn’t whacked him upside the head.
“Okay,” she teased. “I give up. M-O-D?”
“Mouth on dick, of course!” he thundered.
She reached out and punched him in the arm while laughing merrily.
“Fuck you!” she jeered.
“Baby, you most certainly will,” he taunted with a suggestive leer. “When the time is right.”
“And let me guess,” Rhiann scolded with a barely disguised smile. “You, as the Master, of course, get to decide when that time will be. Am I right?”
Liam shrugged. “Making decisions is number one in my job description. It’s what I do best, so yeah. I’m the decider!”
“And I get no say in this?”
“Nope.”
“But I can look forward to some occasional H-I-P action while you’re uh . . . deciding?”
“Are you fucking kidding?” he drawled. “Anytime. Anyplace, milaya. I’m yours to command.”
“Ah, I see. So what you’re saying is that Master and slave thing is fluid.”
Jesus. She really was something else.
“Baby, for you—I’d happily master being your slave.” Liam was pretty happy with his clever play on words.
But this was a Wilde woman he was talking to and sure as shit, the lady turned on a dime and caught him off guard with the next words out of her mouth.
“I don’t want anyone at work to know. Considering who you are and all—” Her voice drifted off.
With that one statement, she’d relieved him of a heaviness that he was struggling to get around without hurting her feelings. They needed to keep their emerging relationship under wraps. Off the radar—to give Roman time to check some shit out. But suggesting they keep things a secret seemed too much like what had gone down with them in the past.
He didn’t want to deny Rhiann her place by his side, but he could hear the turmoil approaching. The gods weren’t going to let him off that easy. Swooping in and catching the love of his life by surprise then whisking her off to a perfectly perfect future just wasn’t in the cards. Not for him anyway.
No. Liam was pretty fucking sure that there was some epic shit storm heading his way that he’d have to deal with before he and Rhiann could suppose a future. It was probably a karmic inevitability. After all, he’d stepped on and over countless people on his rise to the top. And if he were right about Kim and whatever the hell she was up to, it would be the ultimate fuck you if he had to contend with a betrayal from inside his ivory tower. Talk about karmic retribution.
Hearing Rhiann insist no one know . . . well, it pissed him off on the one hand but made things a whole lot easier on the other.
Liam opened his mouth with a response at the ready, but she got there first.
“It would be unprofessional. You are technically the boss, after all, and besides that . . .”
She paused, and he waited for her to finish the thought. Somehow, he knew whatever came after the hesitation would be important. A glimpse inside her true feelings.
“Well . . .” She fidgeted with her hem, the seatbelt, a wisp of hair. “Um, I don’t like people talking. About me. Or my business.” She shrugged a shoulder and twirled the ends of the long velvet bow hanging from her collar. “Negativity has energy and you know when the gossip starts, it’s never kind or favorable.”
He wasn’t surprised to hear any of what she said. She operated from a place of innocent belief that good led to more good. Rhiann had a gentle heart. A little wild, yes. But gentle and loving at the core. Liam smiled. She was his very own Wilde heart. How fucking apropos was that?
“I understand your concern and agree we would only help ourselves by keeping our lives private. For now, anyway. But where does that leave us? I want to see you, Rhiann. And not just by accident.”
They were almost in her neighborhood, but he wasn’t ready for their time together to end.
She was silent, but he could sense the unrest in her thoughts. How much would she allow going forward? Waiting for her answer was hell.
With parking non-existent near her building, he pulled over, maneuvered the car half onto the sidewalk, and turned the blinkers on. There. Plenty of room for other vehicles to get around them. No need to rush the end of their conversation.
Tension crept into his neck and shoulders the longer she said nothing. Fuck. What was she thinking? If seeing each other at her work was off the agenda, what other options would she go for?
It was like the floodgates of a mighty dam had been released when she rolled her head back on the rest and turned her amazing eyes on his face. What he saw reflected in her face gave him a burst of heart-centered energy that was enough to light up half the country.
“I want to see you, too, Liam so I was thinking that maybe we could start simple. Really get to know each other again. Like you said.”
His life was fucking made with those wonderful words. She wanted to see him. Holy fucking shit.
He reached out and ran a finger down the center of her lovely face starting at her forehead to the tip of her nose then down across her lips before stopping to sweep back and forth on her chin. The whole time he touched her, Rhiann’s eyes never left his.
“You mean like dates? We could have dates?” He realized he sounded like an overeager boy practically salivating at the idea that he had the attention of the pretty girl—but he didn’t care. Fuck. It was the truth in some weird way.
She smiled so sweetly that seeing her deliciously pouty lips soften and turn up stole his breath.
“Yes, we could have dates. Where you play the gentleman and tell me how pretty my dress is when you come to pick me up.”
A smile spread across his face as he listened to her light teasing. The tightness in his neck eased and he relaxed. She was good for him. He hoped the feeling was mutual.
“See?” He chuckled. “All of that screams boyfriend-girlfriend. Your description, sweetness. Not mine.”
She smirked at him and shook her head.
“Okay, okay. I get the message. You want to be my boyfriend.”
Liam had to laugh. Witch. She was playing him. After all, hadn’t he already asked her to be his girlfriend?
He wrapped a hand around the nape of her neck and pinned her to the spot with a look.
“Boyfriend. Boss. Lover. Master. Slave. All of the above,” he ground out as he pulled her lips to his and took control of her mouth in the most carnal of ways.
She whimpered softly, a sound he tasted with his tongue as he slid it along hers. Cursing the impediment of the padded console separating them in the confines of the darkened car, Liam reached for her, latching on in any way he could. Keeping one hand in command of her head, he swept the other over her hip as she angled toward him just as eager as he was for contact.
They kissed like fucking maniacs for long endless minutes, behaving like two randy teenagers making out in a parked car.
Right around the time his dick felt like it might explode from the unleashed desire their kiss created, she let out a frustrated groan and shoved him away.
“You owe me a pair of pink satin panties.”
She barely choked the words out between the harsh gasps that let him know how aroused she was.
Huh? “Pink panties?” His own voice sounded more than a little turned on.
“Yeah. These are ruined,” she pointed out.
The thought of letting Rhiann get out of this car, all hot and bothered and dripping wet, was supremely intriguing and satisfying. Anticipation was its own clever master.
“In that case,” he husked, “can I
have them? The panties. If I promise to get you a new pair, can I have them?”
He was fucking with her in that way they had and the slight glint he caught in her eyes let him know she was aware that he was messing with her for the fun of it.
Throwing him a sexy side eye, she smirked and did this outrageous shimmy as she pulled her dress back to reveal her incredibly sexy stockings. Next thing he knew, she was reaching beneath the dress and wiggling like crazy until a swath of pale pink appeared before his eyes.
She was un-fucking-believable! Having actually removed the panties under discussion, she waved them in front of his eyes for good measure. When he went to snatch them from her grasp, she swatted his hand away and leaned closer.
What is she up to? he wondered.
His jacket was already unbuttoned so she grabbed the side closest to her and pulled it open to reveal the lining. Locating the inside pocket she wadded up the scrap of satin and stuffed it inside.
He was grinning ear to ear when she pithily told him, “Those are not a souvenir. They’re an example. The size is on the tag. Remember,” she pointed out as she hauled her sexy ass out of the car, “Pink. Satin would be nice but feel free to improvise.”
Moving at the speed of light, Liam leaped from the driver’s seat and sprinted around the car to her side as she stood up and smoothed her clothing. His brain was literally melting down at the thought of her with no panties on under the demure dress, made all the hotter by having seen the lace top stockings she wore and knowing she waxed herself bare.
Grabbing her by the waist, he leaned his hips against the car and pulled her into contact with his body. There was no mistaking the unyielding bulge evident in his trousers or the way she settled on him with a naughty roll of her hips that felt like she was taking stock of his obvious desire for her.
“Thank you for today,” she murmured as she placed her arms around his neck. Feeling her fingers snake through the hair on the back of his head made Liam shudder.
“Can I see you tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.
“Sorry,” she winced. “All booked. These long weekends don’t come around often, and I’ve tons of things that need taking care of.”
“Some fucking girlfriend you are,” he muttered.
“Don’t be a grouch,” she chided. “Us normal people have laundry to do and kitty litter to scoop.”
“You have a cat? Somehow I didn’t picture you as a cat lady although I will admit that helping you out with your, uh . . . pussy sounds like a winning proposition.”
Rhiann laughed at his jest and wound her arms just that much tighter. “I was kidding about the cat. Feel better, do you, now that the word pussy found a place in our good-bye?”
Liam couldn’t help the scowling grin on his face. She had such a mouth on her.
“Tell you what, oh Lord and Master. Text me tomorrow night around dinnertime, and if you’re good, I’ll let you come by with a pizza. One hour. Two, tops. Deal?”
He jumped at the suggestion. “What’s your favorite pizza?”
“Surprise me.”
He groaned and gave her a little swat on the behind. “Can’t you just tell me your favorite? That way I can buy the damn business if I have to and you can have all the pizza your wicked mouth can handle.”
“Shut up and kiss me.” She giggled—so he did.
Watching her walk away from him was like agony, but at least he’d wrangled a sort of promise from her that they could hang out tomorrow. He’d have to be satisfied with that for now.
She was halfway along the walk when she turned around and gave him a wicked smirk. “Pink, Ashforth,” she called out. “Got it?”
He nodded, patted his jacket where her panties were stuffed in the pocket, and offered a jaunty salute that made her laugh.
Now this was a happy Thanksgiving!
A WEEK LATER, RHIANN WAS stressing big time. The fucktard assigned to shadow her every move and thought was a nothing less than an icicle in training to the bitch who was making Rhi’s life a nightmare.
Kim had followed through on her threat to put a BPG liaison in Rhi’s face—finding the perfect mini-me to drive everyone batshit crazy. Apparently, Katherine-don’t call me Kate-Martin had majored in Bite My Ass and went out of her way to act more like a damn diva than some of the models. In short, she was a major headache.
Between this nonsense at work and Brynn’s looming wedding, Rhi was exhausted. Maybe juggling two major happenings at the same time wasn’t such a smart move.
The wedding was going to be lovely. Whatever she hadn’t handled firsthand, Amy had. . . . so no worries on that front. The Passion campaign, however? Ugh. One worry after another. All made more complicated by having every decision picked over by a kettle of vultures flown in from BPG.
Luckily, Liam had done as she asked and kept his distance from her at work. She’d run across him in the building just once, as he was leaving the executive suite surrounded by a gaggle of suits all desperate to score points with the imposing man in charge.
They’d nodded politely at each other and gone about their business, but Rhiann felt like she was on fire when she caught him checking out her ass as she waited for the elevator.
So far, he’d shown a surprising willingness to let her call all the shots and only grumbled a little when, at the end of their evening dates, she’d send him on his way. Always with a raging case of wood that frankly, she’d be more than happy to take care of. If only he’d let her get that close.
There hadn’t been a repeat of the hand in panties scenario—much to her profound disappointment. Mostly, Liam treated her like a dream he was afraid would vanish with a single ray of daylight. He was taking this gentleman thing too far.
But, even so, something good was coming out of their interactions. He was much more willing to talk about the past and had even shared more with her about the relationship he had as a kid with his mother. That he adored his mom and felt responsible for the woman’s well-being was quite telling.
So was his absolute refusal to speak about his father. That subject had caution tape surrounding it that was impervious to any of her attempts to at the very least get inside the perimeter.
And now, here she was, doing a last-minute mirror check before he sent a car to pick her up. Such was the rhythm of her days. Work, work, work followed by a mad dash home to change before her ride appeared. Sometimes they ate dinner at some out-of-the-way restaurant but tonight, he was cooking for them at his apartment.
It had been a particularly hellish day—one in which a last-minute change demanded by the photographer doing the photo shoot had thrown everyone into a tizzy. She’d be relieved when the project was over. Frankly, she was already over the whole thing.
Wanting her team to succeed and have their moment of glory was all that was keeping her going and was why she kept her mouth shut at the insane interference going on behind the scenes—all of it emanating from the office of a certain BPG executive who wasn’t making any effort to pretend that she didn’t violently dislike Rhiann.
Satisfied that her outfit looked okay, she picked up her bag and pirouetted one more time in front of the mirror. It was bitter cold outside with snow threatening in the forecast but that didn’t stop her from wearing a dress that was a tad on the skimpy side along with a pair of black lace Ferragamo peep-toe pumps that made her feel all kinds of sexy.
She knew damn well that dressing like a vamp was going to stir things up, but Rhi didn’t care. Some part of her got off on pushing Liam’s buttons and she wanted to see where he was drawing the line in the sand.
The buzzer letting her know a car was waiting got her ass in gear quickly. Practically skipping, she dashed from her tiny apartment and ran along the walkway with her coat slung over her arm. When a winter chill blasted up her skirt, she gritted her teeth and ran faster.
Let’s see just how far I can push, Rhiann thought as she slid into the back of the Town Car and smiled broadly at the driver sent to fetch her.
/> “Good evening, Miss Wilde,” he said. “There’s not a lot of traffic tonight, ma’am, so we should make good time.”
Game on!
Everything was ready—or as ready as it could be. Now all he needed was for Rhiann to show up and things would be perfect.
Offering to make them a romantic dinner at home had been a stroke of genius as far as Liam was concerned. Having her all to himself across a dinner table had him all fired up and anxious for her arrival. He hoped she liked what he had planned for their evening.
When the driver texted to inform him they were five minutes out, he jumped half a foot when his phone chirped. To say he was nervous was an understatement. Things had been going pretty well with Rhiann the past week, and he was anxious not to screw things up.
Making a mad dash down to the garage, he paced back and forth in front of the wide glass doors waiting impatiently for her car to arrive.
Like a kid full of excitement on Christmas morning, he had his hand on the handle of the passenger door before the car came to a complete stop.
“Milaya moya,” he drawled when he saw her smiling face. After that, his brain cells short-circuited and he went completely daft when she swung her long legs from the car and stood up wearing a dress she surely intended to render him speechless.
“Hi.”
Saying some words would probably be a good idea, but he couldn’t find any. Not when she was standing there looking like an orgasm waiting to happen.
Now that he owned a fashion magazine, Liam had a sudden grasp of the language. She was dressed in what designers referred to as a little black dress—with little being the operative word. Stopping well short of her knees, the form-fitting outfit hugged her curves in all the right places and had an illusion bodice with a sweetheart profile that drew his eyes to her tits.
Little sparklers that should be diamonds but probably weren’t dangled from ears made clearly visible by her upswept hairdo. Never one to disappoint, she was also sporting a pair of lacy heels that made his dick throb.
How the fuck do women stand in those things, he wondered. And in Rhiann’s case, not only stand but navigate with such ease and assurance that he had to stop and marvel.
Wilde Heart (Wilde Women Book 2) Page 17
