Wilde Thing

by Jannine Gallant

  “Positive.” He glanced toward Hannah, but she was already halfway across the pool area and headed toward the door into the hotel. He levered himself up out of the hot tub and grabbed his bag.

  “Have a great evening, Tripp.” The bride-to-be gave him a warm smile.

  “Room two-twelve if you want to look us up later,” Maisie called after him.

  Tripp sprinted toward the lighted side entrance, slipped on the wet cement and went down with a grunt. “Damn it!” Scrambling to his feet, he slowed to a walk as he approached the door. Once inside, he glanced in both directions. No sign of Hannah, but the elevator door down the passageway swished closed.

  Shivering as water dripped down his back, he headed toward the silver doors to push the button and wait. Hannah was no doubt pissed. He didn’t blame her after the boob-signing incident in Jackson Hole. But, she was a reasonable woman and would listen to his honest explanation. He let out a long breath as the elevator car—empty thank God—finally returned. He stepped inside and pressed the button for the third floor.

  At least I hope she’ll listen.

  He tapped his foot at the high-pitched ping. When the panels finally slid apart, he hurried down the carpeted hall to the room they shared then dropped his bag to dig out the key card. After swiping it, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. “Hannah?”

  Nothing.

  The room was empty. The tan pants and black sweater she’d had on earlier were draped across the foot of the king-sized bed, and the suitcase on the floor lay open. He stuck his head into the bathroom. “Hannah?”

  Silence echoed back at him. She’d been dressed in nothing more than a bathing suit and robe. Hardly proper attire for anywhere but the pool area. Where the hell could she have gone?

  Chapter 18

  Hannah took the glass of merlot Marco handed her and adjusted her robe across her legs as she leaned back against the pillows. “Thanks, I needed this.”

  He sat down on the other queen-sized bed and smiled. “When I saw you in the hall, you looked ready to commit murder. Mayhem at the very least.” His grin broadened. “I figured saving you from a long prison sentence was the least I could do. Do you want to tell me what got you so riled up?”

  “You’re a smart man. Guess.”

  “I left Tripp in the gym shower not much more than a half hour ago. What did he do to piss you off between then and now?”

  She scowled and sipped. “I found him in the hot tub with three women. One of them was on his lap.”

  Marco choked and spit wine. Grabbing a tissue from the box on the nightstand between the beds, he blotted the spread and cleared his throat. “You do tend to walk in at the most inopportune moments.”

  “Tell me about it.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m sure it was all fun and innocent…at least on his part since he was expecting me, but I’m over the whole idea of Tripp and the harem of women who follows him wherever he goes.”

  “I don’t blame you, but I can’t really blame him, either.” Marco swirled the merlot in his glass before taking a swallow. “He honestly doesn’t do anything to attract attention. He’s friendly and open, but those aren’t horrible qualities.”

  “In other words, it isn’t his fault he’s a chick magnet. He was born with those damn eyelashes and that smile.”

  “Exactly.”

  “The friendly personality, too.” Hannah took a couple of healthy gulps of wine. “Maybe we need a break. We’ve been together constantly for a number of weeks now. My perspective is all screwed up. I can’t think about what’s important to me in a relationship when he’s distracting me by—”

  “Stop.” Marco held up a hand. “I don’t want details.”

  “I was going to say by making me feel special. Geez, I don’t kiss and tell.”

  The color in his cheeks deepened. “Sorry.” His gaze slid away. “Are you hungry? Should we order something to eat?”

  “Why not? If I keep drinking wine on an empty stomach, I’m going to pass out.”

  “Do you plan to tell Tripp where you are?”

  Hannah let out a breath. “Nope. I’m not in the mood to argue with him right now. Or forgive him. Or be the least bit understanding. Not while the image of that girl bouncing on his lap is burned into my retinas. Maybe later, after another glass or two of merlot.”

  “Seems reasonable.” Marco picked up the phone then paused. “What would you like?”

  “A cheeseburger.” She downed the last of her wine. “With fries. I feel the need to wallow in grease. You might ask them to send up another bottle while you’re at it.”

  He grinned. “Will do.” He ordered two burgers with fries, along with the wine then refilled her glass. “How’d you end up involved with Tripp in the first place? He doesn’t seem like your type.”

  “He isn’t, and I have a strict rule about dating clients. I’ve known Tripp for years, and somehow he convinced me to toss aside my cautious nature and take a risk. He’s the exact opposite of the dedicated, dependable, admittedly boring men I usually date. Guys who are a whole lot like me.”

  “You’re far from boring.” Marco topped off his own glass then sat down beside her. “You’re actually the most interesting woman I’ve met in a long time.”

  She gave him a sideways glance. “Sounds like you should lose the poetry book and get out more.”

  His burst of laughter sent a surge of pleasure through her. Damn Tripp and his stupid bimbos, anyway. If she had a brain, she’d hang out with Marco for the rest of the evening and forget all about the man who constantly filled her thoughts. Not to mention how he occupied her heart, leaving room in there for little else.

  “See, you’re funny in addition to being smart and gorgeous. Tripp doesn’t know how lucky he is you gave him a chance. If he has any intelligence, he won’t blow it.”

  She smiled despite her dour mood. “Wow, I might have to keep you around. You’re good for my ego.”

  He leaned back against the pillows, their shoulders brushing. “Happy to be of service.”

  Hannah regarded him as she sipped. “Do you have a woman waiting for you to come home, or are you like most of these guys who seem to play the field?”

  “No woman.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you were…”

  His deep brown eyes widened. “I’m not gay.” He let out a breath. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. What made you think…never mind.” He turned and grabbed her by the shoulders then kissed her. When he finally turned her loose, his eyes held a warm glow. “See, not gay.”

  “I guess not.”

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. Tripp’s a good friend, and I don’t poach another guy’s woman. Not that I was trying to…” He closed his eyes. “I think I’ll shut up now.”

  “I’m not offended. Relax, Marco.”

  “Do you want to go back to your room?”

  “No, I want to eat my burger. Then I’ll think about where I intend to sleep tonight. Maybe I’ll get my own room.” She clenched her fists at her sides. “Except I’m dressed in a bathing suit and robe. That might be kind of awkward down in the lobby, especially since I don’t have my purse with me. If I go get it, I’ll be forced to have that argument I’m avoiding, unless Tripp found somewhere else to spend the evening.”

  “You can sleep here if you want. Two beds, and I promise not to try anything. Honest.”

  “I’m not worried about that.” She slumped against the pillows, sapped of energy. Emotionally drained. Anger took more effort than she had at the moment. Disappointment filled her. Maybe Tripp hadn’t done anything unforgivable, but—

  A sharp rap interrupted her bleak thoughts. Marco levered off the bed, grabbed his wallet and hurried to the door. A room service waiter stood in the hallway with a cart holding two stainless steel domes and a wine bottle.

  Marco handed him a folded bill and signed the room charge slip. “I’ll take it in from here.”

 
“Thank you, sir. You can leave the cart in the hallway when you’re finished.”

  “Will do.” The door clicked shut after Marco wheeled their meal inside. “Smells good.”

  “Anything with nearly a thousand calories better smell great.” Hannah swung her legs off the bed then headed over to the tiny table with two chairs in the corner of the room. “I intend to enjoy every morsel.”

  “Love the attitude.” He pulled off the covers before setting the plates on the table. “Do you need a refill on your wine?”

  “I’m good.” She set her half-full glass next to her meal. “Let’s eat.”

  To Hannah’s relief, the conversation during dinner turned away from her relationship dilemma to a discussion of Shakespeare. After starting on her third glass of merlot, she had to admit Marco knew far more about the Bard than she did.

  She dropped her napkin on her empty plate and sighed. “You win. I can’t recite another sonnet or soliloquy. Of course that might be because everything is a little fuzzy right now.”

  “Maybe you should lay off the wine.” Standing, he piled the dishes onto the cart along with the empty bottle then pushed the cork into the half-full one. “My intention was never to get you drunk.”

  “Quitting is probably a good idea.” A yawn nearly dislocated her jaw, and she pressed her free hand to her mouth. “Sorry, I’m about ready to fall asleep.”

  “Let me put this out in the hall, and then we can discuss where you want to spend the night.”

  “Okay.” After setting down her glass, she propped herself up on one elbow. Her eyelids drifted closed.

  The door scraped open across the carpet, and the cart wheels squeaked.

  “Oh, hey, Tripp.”

  Hannah’s eyes popped open. Marco’s back filled the doorway.

  “You haven’t seen Hannah in the last couple of hours, have you?” Tripp’s voice held an edge. “She’s pissed at me, but I don’t know where she went. With the crap that’s happened recently, I’m really worried.”

  “Uh, I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “I hope so, but all her stuff is still in my room. She doesn’t even have any clothes.” He hit the wall. “Damn.”

  Hannah stood then headed toward the door. With a nudge, she stepped past Marco. “I’ve been hanging out here. We had dinner.”

  Tripp eyed her from the top of her head downward. His green eyes cooled. “I guess I shouldn’t have been concerned about your welfare. Obviously Marco has that handled.”

  Marco held up his hands. “Leave me out of this. She needed someone to talk to. That’s it.”

  “Great.” Tripp spun around and stalked down the hall.

  Hannah’s heart ached. Letting out a breath, she took two steps forward before Marco clamped his hand down on her arm.

  “Are you going to be okay?”

  She nodded. “Obviously I need to talk to him. I’ll make sure he doesn’t blame you.”

  “I’m not worried. Tripp won’t sacrifice a top-notch trainer over…well…”

  “Over a woman.” Hannah pressed her lips together. “Don’t worry. I know all about his priorities.”

  Marco stepped back then gave her a half-smile. “Good luck.”

  Around the corner, a door slammed.

  Hannah squared her shoulders. “What happens, happens. Thanks for being a friend when I needed one.”

  “You bet.”

  * * * *

  Tripp stood at the window, staring out into the black night. When the door behind him opened, he didn’t turn around. “I guess you had your key.”

  “In my robe pocket.”

  “So hanging out with Marco was by choice not necessity.”

  “Yep. It was kind of nice to have dinner with a man who wasn’t surrounded by half-naked women.”

  Apparently I’m still the bad guy here. Letting out a breath, Tripp held on to his temper. He turned slowly.

  Hannah sat on the edge of the bed. Fine lines bracketed her mouth. She looked as drained and tired as he felt.

  “So, making me worry for two hours was payback for the women in the hot tub?”

  “Not really. I didn’t think you’d flip if I disappeared for a couple hours. Marco and I ate burgers and quoted Shakespeare sonnets. He has a lot more memorized than I do.” Her shoulders slumped. “I planned to come get my stuff when you showed up.”

  His chest tightened, and a hard knot settled in his stomach. “You’re going back to his room?”

  “No. I intend to get dressed then go down to the front desk to rent a room for the night. Seems like the best solution.”

  All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms, but her stiff posture told him to keep his distance. With a sigh, he slid a chair out from the small table in the corner and straddled it to face her. “Don’t you think we should talk first?”

  “I’m tired, and I drank too much wine. I just want to go to bed. I don’t want to argue.”

  “Neither do I. Look, I’m sorry about the women in the hot tub. I was relaxed and waiting for you when they showed up. I should have left before the situation got a little out of hand…not that anything happened other than exactly what you saw. Girls being girls at a bachelorette party. When you were late coming down, I had just about decided to leave.”

  “But the one in the white suit held you down so you couldn’t move. Whatever.”

  “Not whatever. Damn it, I’m tired of having to apologize when I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “So, don’t. I didn’t ask for an apology. You can do whatever the hell you want.” Her voice broke. “So can I. I’ll talk to Marco about your PT for the rest of the week. He can handle it easily enough. Having a few days at home before I head down to Granite Bay will be nice.”

  Breathing became an effort. “Come on, Hannah. Don’t be like that.”

  She clenched her fists. “Like what? Unreasonable about the man I’m supposedly in a relationship with having women hang all over him every time he walks out the door?”

  “Not at home, they don’t. Just when I’m at an event.”

  “That makes it so much better.” Her tone dripped sarcasm. “How about when you’re filming for one of your movies or promoting for your sponsors. What about all the training you do in South America when it’s summer here? You’re not home all that much.”

  “Kind of like you running off to get up close and personal with Russell Radford?”

  She sucked in a breath. “I keep it professional. Unlike you and your hot tub buddies.” A frown formed. “How did you know my new client is Russell Radford? I only mentioned he played for the Kings.”

  “The Internet. Took me two seconds to discover which player is having knee surgery. Talk about a guy who gets mobbed by women…”

  “Who cares?” Her voice rose. “I don’t plan to date him. I plan to rehab his damn knee!”

  “Well, maybe I’m going to miss you. Ever think of that? Maybe I felt a little jealous, so when that girl, Maxie or Marcie or whatever the hell her name is, landed on my lap, I didn’t shove her off and was a good sport about taking a picture with them. Bad decision.”

  “You bet it was a bad decision.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “So is this—fighting with you. I told you I was tired, and now I have a headache. To what purpose?” Her golden eyes lacked any animation as she stared at him. “We didn’t solve anything. You’re still not the kind of man I should be dating. I’m still not the woman you need who will take your harmless flirtation in stride.”

  “I wasn’t flirting.” His blood pressure rose a good ten points. The pulse at his temple throbbed. “I agreed to one stinking picture so the woman would get off my lap without me having to use force.”

  “Well, you sure didn’t look like you were having a horrible time.” She let out a long breath. “I need to get dressed and go ask for another room.”

  Tripp studied her for a long moment. The dejection in her eyes tightened the knot in his stom
ach. “Why don’t you call the front desk? Tell them to put the room on the same card that’s paying for this one. The bellman will bring up a key and save you a trip down to the lobby.”

  “Good idea.” Standing, she walked around to the nightstand and picked up the phone. Back to him, shoulders hunched, she spoke, “This is Hannah Ryder in room three-ten. I need a second room for the night. Something on this floor would be convenient.” She was silent for a long moment. “You’re sure? Nothing at all? Fine. Thank you.”

  The phone clattered as she dropped it in the cradle.

  “No luck?”

  “The hotel’s full. I guess there are a lot of people here for your competition.” She kept her back to him, but her shoulders quivered.

  After a moment, he pushed up off the chair and stepped around it to lay a hand on her arm. “Just stay here. We’ll sleep, nothing more.”

  “Marco offered me his spare bed.” Her voice hitched.

  His hand fell away. Turning, he walked over to the window and controlled the urge to kick something. “Is my trainer the kind of guy you want?”

  “If I were smart, he would be.”

  Tripp snorted. “We both know you’re a genius, so why are you still here?”

  “Maybe because I’m a total idiot when it comes to you. Maybe because I didn’t feel a damn thing when he kissed me.” A sob shook her. “Are you happy now?”

  “Hell, no! He kissed you?” His hands fisted, and his blood pressure went off the charts. “I ought to punch his smug face.”

  “He wasn’t smug about it. It wasn’t like that. He only kissed me because I mentioned I thought he was gay.”

  “What? Marco’s not gay. Jesus!” He felt for the second chair at the table and dropped onto the seat. “Why would you think that?”

  She waved her hand in the air without looking at him. “It doesn’t matter. He was even more appalled than you are, so he grabbed me and kissed me. Stupid, but I was convinced.”

  “I bet you were.” He continued to clench and unclench his fists at his sides.

  “We had dinner. He’s a great guy. Kind. Well read. Easy on the eyes. No spark. None at all. Not that I was looking for one when I went to his room to talk. I just needed a distraction so I’d stop thinking about you in the hot tub with that woman on your lap. Period.”