Naughty by Nature

by Judy Angelo

  “Aww.” Tessa didn’t hide her disappointment. “Probably some old fogey who’s going to bore me to death with investment advice.” She began to pout even though she was the only one who could see it.

  “You never know, Tessa. You might be pleasantly surprised.” Indie was trying to be reassuring but Tessa wasn’t buying it.

  “I’ll come,” she said to her friend, “but if he’s a bore I might just have to do something drastic.”

  “Tessa, I’m warning you, no funny business. No ‘accidentally’ setting the man’s toupee on fire. Promise me you’ll be good.”

  Tessa heaved a sigh. There went her first idea for livening up the evening. “All right, I promise.”

  “Okay, see you Sunday. Love you.” And with that Indie was gone.

  And as Tessa placed the phone receiver back in its cradle her mind began to wander as it so often did. A surprise visitor, eh? Indie thought it would be some executive or other but she didn’t know that for sure. And what if, just like Tessa thought, it really was a movie star? As crazy as it sounded, she had a feeling it would be somebody big, like Jim Carrey or Johnny Depp. Or, better yet, maybe it was a star who was free, single and disengaged, like Keanu Reeves.

  Well, whoever it was, Tessa planned to put her best foot..and face...forward. When Sunday night came, she would be ready to wow any man’s socks off.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The black tie or the gray tie? Curses. Wolf hated having to dress up. In the end he abandoned both neckties and just threw on a black dinner jacket. He’d go tie-less tonight. To hell with looking fancy.

  It had been four days since Stone had invited him to dinner and now that the day had arrived, for some reason he was beginning to have doubts. Tessa Tyndale had been intriguing when he’d seen her months ago but what was she really like? Was she as soft and sweet and innocent as she’d seemed?

  The chances were good that she wasn’t. Wolf had first-hand experience with women who were experts at deceit. He’d almost married one. And as much as he was taken with Tessa, he was also determined to protect his heart. Cynic though he was, he had feelings and he would not, under any circumstances, be trampled on.

  Come off your high horse, Wolf. Just relax and see how the evening goes. Everybody’s not out to get you. He sucked in his breath and let it out slowly. Nerves. That was what his problem was. As much as he hated to admit it he was as tense as a tightrope. Who would have thought a near thirty-year-old man would be scared of a woman, a tiny one at that. At six foot one he was a giant to her. He gave a snort of self-derision. Some big man you are.

  He grabbed his keys from the hall table and went through the door and as he sauntered down the driveway toward his Mercedes Benz SLR he was smiling to himself. Despite his last minute doubt he was looking forward to seeing Tessa Tyndale again.

  Wolf got to Stone’s house ten minutes early and as he climbed the stone steps he was practically whistling. Talk about a change of mood.

  “Hey, man, good to finally have you over.” It was Stone who greeted him at the door. “First time since the wedding. Way overdue.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Wolf shrugged. “You’re getting settled into married life. You need time with your wife. I don’t blame you for keeping her all to yourself.”

  They both laughed at that. Stone took his coat and hung it in the closet then he led him down the hallway toward an elegant dining room with furniture that looked like they were Louis XIV.

  And there was Indie, Stone’s new wife, so graceful as she came toward him and extended her hand. “Glad you could come, Wolf.” Her voice was husky and low, a combination that made it super-seductive. Her hair was longer than it had been at the wedding, now falling in a sleek bob around her face. With startling green eyes and a striking face, she was beautiful. No doubt about that. He could see why Stone had been captivated by her. He could even understand why his friend had wanted to snap her up right away.

  But as lovely as she was, it wasn’t Indie that Wolf’s eyes sought as they scanned the room. Where was she, his little fairy?

  “She’s not here yet,” Stone said as he walked over to the sideboard to pour a glass of wine.

  What? Had he spoken out loud? No, Stone was only being his usual perceptive self.

  “That’s cool,” Wolf said with a shrug, his tone nonchalant. It wasn’t that he was anxious to see her, he told himself, just curious to see if she’d arrived yet. He shoved his hands into his pockets and raised his eyebrows. “So…did you catch the baseball game last night?”

  “Almost missed it,” Stone said with a shake of his head. “Good thing Indie reminded me. She’s an even bigger baseball fan than I am.” Then he headed toward the hallway. “Come on. Let’s go down to the den. There’s a game on right now. The Blue Jays and the Indians.”

  “Cool.” Stone was already halfway down the hall but Wolf was right behind him.

  “Don’t go losing yourselves in the game, guys,” Indie called out to them. “Tessa will soon be here.”

  “Just give us a shout when she gets here,” Stone said over his shoulder then led the way through the door and downstairs to the den. He was just closing the door behind them when Wolf heard Indie’s chuckle.

  “Give a man a ball game and a TV…” The rest of it was lost as the door closed behind them but her laughter echoed down the hall and under the door, making the two men laugh with her.

  Wolf and Stone were in the den five, maybe six minutes, each of them with beer in hand as they watched the Indians pummel the Blue Jays when there was a sharp rap at the door.

  “We’re ready, guys.”

  At Indie’s words, Wolf felt his heart jerk. He gritted his teeth, annoyed with himself. It was like he was a kid with a crush, reacting to the woman’s arrival that way. Shoot.

  “Come on, Wolf. Food time. We’ll catch up on the game later.” Stone was out of his seat and climbing the stairs before Wolf had even moved. Dang. He must be hungry.

  Wolf followed at a deliberately casual pace, not wanting to seem too eager. Tell that to his heart. Stupid thing, its pace had picked up considerably and he had to make sure his face was set in a grim expression so his anticipation did not spill over into a smile.

  “Can you believe it? The idiot tried to cut me off. The nerve of that guy.” Tessa’s voice drifted down the hallway toward them. They must be in the living room.

  “Are you sure it was his fault?” came Indie’s lower, much calmer voice. “You know how you drive. You’re probably the one who drove down on him.”

  “I did no such thing,” Tessa retorted. “And I’m a great driver. Didn’t I drive us to Buffalo and back without a single incident?”

  Indie laughed. “Just barely. Don’t let me start listing the near misses.”

  “Indiana Lane…I mean Hudson…don’t you dare-” Tessa stopped short and looked up as Wolf and Stone entered the living room.

  And if Wolf had thought his heart had misbehaved at the news that she’d arrived, it was nothing compared to what it was doing now. Back-flipped, no less. But how could he blame it? He’d thought Tessa had been beautiful at the wedding, but this evening she was stunning. He had to literally tell himself to keep his mouth shut just to keep his jaw from dropping.

  At the wedding Tessa had dressed demurely, in a flowing peach-colored dress that fell down to her ankles. Her blonde hair had been curled and twisted and piled high on top of her head and with the lush bouquet of flowers close to her chest she had seemed soft and vulnerable, a fairy tale princess looking for a brave prince to sweep her off her feet.

  But tonight she was the exact opposite. Tonight Tessa wore a super-sexy black dress that hugged her every curve, from the fullness of her soft breasts to the hollow of her narrow waist to the sweep of her hips. And it stopped inches above her knees, exposing the smooth, creamy length of her legs.

  Wolf’s eyes slid back up Tessa’s body to her face, now framed with long blonde hair that fell in soft waves around her cheeks and down
over her shoulders. And her eyes. What the heck had she done to them to make them look so bold and bright in her face? It was like they were drawing him in.

  And then his eyes slid over her pert little nose and down to the pretty pout of her lips. And then those lips parted in a slightly crooked smile and she wrinkled her nose.

  “Oh,” she said with the tiniest of frowns, “it’s you.”

  What the hell? What was that supposed to mean? He didn’t get a chance to ponder that further because Stone began speaking.

  “Tessa, I see you remember my good friend, Wolf Spencer, best man at the wedding.”

  “Yes, I know,” Tessa said, tilting her chin up and giving Wolf a look that was less than warm. “How are you, Mr. Spencer?”

  “Wolf.” Wolf gave her a nod but he did not extend his hand. “Very well, thank you. And you?” He hadn’t expected such a cool reception but if that was how she wanted to come off then two could play that game.

  “I’m fine, thank you,” she said, giving him a cool nod of her own.

  “Hey, hey, why all this formality?” Stone was smiling as he looked from one to the other then he waved his hand in the direction of the dining room. “Why don’t we get started right away? I’m sure we’re all hungry. Well, at least I am.” He gave a laugh, probably in an effort to lighten the mood, but only Indie laughed with him. Wolf was too busy watching Tessa who was practically glaring at him.

  “You guys go on ahead of us,” Indie said, resting an arm on Tessa’s shoulder. “We girls need to powder our noses. Don’t we, Tessa?”

  No answer from that august person. She just kept staring at him with those biting brown eyes of hers.

  “I said, don’t we, Tessa?”

  Wolf didn’t miss the slight squeeze that Indie gave Tessa’s shoulder. Only then did the girl speak. “Oh, yes, powder our noses. Of course.”

  As Wolf and Stone were turning to go, Indie grabbed Tessa’s wrist and practically dragged her out of the room.

  The men watched them leave then Stone shook his head and chuckled. “Women. I won’t even try to figure that one out. Come on, Wolf. I know where the food is and right now that’s all that matters.”

  Wolf nodded then followed Stone out of the room but as he walked along his thoughts were on Tessa. Obviously, the girl had not a lick of interest in him. He’d been stupid to even entertain the thought. He would play polite and stay and have dinner but as soon as was reasonable he’d be out of there.

  After this second meeting any interest he’d had in Tessa Tyndale was now good and dead.

  ******

  “Hey, I can’t walk so fast in these shoes.” Tessa tugged at her arm but Indie’s fingers were like a Vise-Grip around her wrist. “ I can break my ankles in these high heels.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have worn them,” Indie growled and, wicked witch that she was, she didn’t slow down. In fact, she didn’t stop till they’d gone all the way to the library at the end of the hall. Only then did she release her hold on Tessa.

  But she released it only to turn on her friend with flashing green eyes. “What the devil was that all about?” Indie jammed both fists on her hips and glared at her. “Where do you get off being so rude?”

  Her feelings hurt by Indie’s rough handling, Tessa rubbed her wrist and pouted. “You’re a bully,” she said with a sniff that told of her injured feelings.

  “Tessa.” Indie’s look told her she was fast losing patience. “If you don’t want to know what bullying really is, start talking. Now.”

  “Okay, okay.” There was no reasoning with Indie when she got this way. She heaved a sigh. “I don’t like that man.”

  “What?” Indie stared at her, a look of disbelief on her face. “What do you mean, you don’t like him? You hardly even know him. You met him once, at my wedding, and you know from that one little meeting that you don’t like him?” Then her gaze narrowed. “Or is there more to this than I know about? What are you hiding from me, Tessa Tyndale?”

  “Nothing,” Tessa said with a giggle. “Well, almost nothing.” Then she gave a shrug. “It happened when we were at the wedding and, well, I just don’t think he’s a nice man.”

  Indie’s eyes grew round. “What happened? Tessa, what could have happened in that short space of time? He only spent one night at the compound.” Then her eyes grew even bigger and her jaw dropped. “You didn’t…sneak off somewhere and make love to him? You didn’t do something crazy like that?”

  Now it was Tessa’s turn to look at Indie with huge eyes. “Indie, I am shocked. What do you take me for? I hardly even know the man.”

  “Which is my point exactly.” Indie’s shoulders sagged with obvious relief. “That would have been too crazy, even for you.” Then her eyes narrowed again. “So, what is it? What in the world could have happened to make you act like a bitch to him just now?”

  Tessa gasped. “You used the B word.”

  Indie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve used worse. Now start talking. We don’t have all day.”

  Tessa sighed again then she glanced down at her shoes. “Can I take these off? They’re killing me.”

  Indie tightened her lips and shook her head. “Nobody told you to go put on those mini-stilts. I don’t even know why you bother. You’re still a runt.”

  “Hey. Not nice.” That called for another pout. “I’m almost five foot five in these heels-”

  “Try five foot three. But that’s beside the point.” Indie folded her arms across her chest. “You came dressed to kill tonight because you wanted to impress. Okay, so Wolf's not a movie star but where does that give you the right to be rude? What did he ever do to you?”

  “A lot,” Tessa said hotly, but then Indie shot her a look of curiosity and she sighed. “Okay, a little.” She reached down and slipped the shoes off her feet then flopped down in the nearby La-Z-Boy recliner. “He pissed me off at the wedding.”

  “He pissed you…how?” Indie’s face was a study in confusion. “The man was there only long enough to hand over the ring, stay for the reception and then go off to bed. He left first thing next morning. How and when could he have pissed you off?"

  “When you and Stone were exchanging wedding vows.”

  Indie stared…and stared…then she put her hand to her forehead. “Okay, you had me confused before but now I am totally lost.” Her hand still on her head she peered down at Tessa. “Explain that one.”

  “There’s not much to explain.” She began fiddling with the control on the chair but stopped when Indie slapped her on the hand. That was when she looked up at her friend. “I’m kind of ashamed to say this but just after you guys said ‘I do’ and then you ducked your heads to kiss, my eyes met his as we stood there and I…sort of…made googly eyes at him.”

  Indie frowned. “Sort of?”

  “Well, I did, okay. I batted my eyes at him because I thought he was…attractive. And I’d already checked out that he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring but then…” she folded her arms across her chest, “…he totally ignored me. He even turned his face away. Can you believe it?”

  “That’s it?” Indie looked like she was ready to strangle her. “You batted your eyes at the man and he didn’t jump all over you and you’re pissed at him for that? He was the best man, for heaven's sake. What did you expect him to do? Come on to you in front of everybody?”

  “Of course not,” Tessa said, giving her a sullen look, “but he could at least have spared me a smile. I mean, I was wearing the perfect set of false eyelashes. My eyes were so big, how could he have missed my ‘come hither’ look?”

  Indie gave her a withering glance. “Probably because he was standing in front of the minister and couldn’t very well respond in kind. Not everyone is as daring as you.”

  Tessa shrugged. “Okay, I’ll give him that one. But there's more-”

  “Tell me later.” Indie cut her off mid-speech. “We’ve been in here more than five minutes. They’re probably wondering where we are.”

&n
bsp; “Yes, but he-”

  “Come on, Tessa.” Indie reached out and took Tessa’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Tell me while we’re on our way.”

  “I tried again at the reception.” Tessa’s voice was breathless as she tried to keep up with Indie. “When you guys were cutting the cake…I looked at him across the room…and even gave him a smile…and all he did was glare at me.”

  Indie gave a hiss and Tessa couldn’t figure out if it was a hiss of impatience or annoyance. Probably both.

  “Tessa, that’s just Wolf. Half of the time he looks like he’s angry at something. You can’t take it personally. That’s just who he is.”

  “Well, I don’t care. He’s rude and I don’t-”

  “Just be nice,” Indie whispered. “We’re here.”

  And then they were stepping into the dining room where the two men were already seated at the table, their plates piled high with fried chicken, coleslaw and baked potatoes.

  “Hey, you started without us.” Indie’s voice was super bright, probably to hide any funny look on Tessa’s face.

  “Sorry, couldn’t wait.” Stone picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite. “Who knew how long you ladies would be powdering your noses?” He gave Wolf a knowing look. “Gossiping, more likely.”

  “What did you say?” Indie went to stand by his chair.

  “Uh, nothing.” He ducked his head and attacked his baked potato with gusto.

  “I thought so,” Indie said, cracking her knuckles menacingly. Then she grinned and bent down to kiss Stone on top of his head. “You go ahead and eat all you want, honey. You're growing boys.”

  Tessa paid no mind to what Indie and Stone were saying. She was focused on Wolf who had turned toward her, the usual scowl on his face, and then he was staring down at her feet.

  And that was when she remembered. No shoes. Great. So much for looking classy and elegant.

  Then a thought came to her. What did it matter, anyway? Heck, it was only Wolf Spencer and he wasn’t even interested in her so why bother trying to impress?