Wild and Willing!

by Lawrence, Kim

  “I’m not interested in one-night stands.”

  Adam’s arrogance brought a tide of color to Anna’s smooth cheeks. She had imagined it might be interesting to get to know him, but that didn’t mean she’d intended to jump into bed with him! “Don’t you think your moral superiority is hypocritical when you’ve been privately lusting after me since you walked into the room?”

  “Everything you do screams sex! The dress, the way you move….”

  “This is a party. I came prepared to enjoy myself,” Anna replied.

  “I’d noticed.” Adam took her face in his hands and tasted the sweet moistness of her mouth. Later he’d have leisure to regret his action, but at that moment all he was aware of was an intense hunger….

  Wanted: three husbands for three sisters!

  Anna, Lindy and Hope—triplet sisters and the best, the closest, of friends. Physically, these three women may look alike: but their personalities are very different! Anna is lively and vivacious, Lindy is the practical one and Hope sparkles with style and sophistication.

  But they have one thing in common: each sister is about to meet a man she will tantalize, torment and finally tame! And when these spirited women find true love, they’ll become the most beautiful triplet brides….

  Turn the page to enjoy Anna’s story in Wild and Willing!

  The Secret Father

  (Harlequin Presents® #2096)

  An Innocent Affair

  (Harlequin Presents® #2114)

  KIM LAWRENCE

  Wild and Willing!

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ONE

  ADAM DEACON turned his head to watch the progress of the young woman on the dance floor. He considered himself too old to be interested in such a child, but he doubted he was the only male present unable to take his eyes from her supple, rhythmic contortions. Each sinuously sensual movement of her slight frame echoed the heavy throb of the popular tune the band was playing.

  ‘Want to dance?’ his companion asked, watching his absorption with a speculative smile.

  ‘Not my sort of dance.’ He switched his attention. Rosalind was intelligent and beautiful, and he hadn’t heard a thing she’d said for several minutes. She was also far too astute to miss this embarrassing fact, but too polite to mention it. It was one of the qualities that made her a great companion.

  ‘Good, isn’t she?’ Rosalind murmured.

  Adam didn’t pretend to misunderstand her. ‘You know the wild child?’ His green eyes flickered in the direction of the young woman just in time to see her throw her arms around her partner’s neck and kiss him on the mouth. The music had ended, and she smilingly ignored several entreaties to continue.

  ‘Wild child!’ Rosalind Lacey gave a laugh. ‘How appropriate,’ she said with a grin. ‘Yes, you could say I know her.’ She gave a secret smile.

  The music had stopped and she gestured to the girl who waved back and began to weave her way through the throng of revellers. ‘I’ll introduce you.’

  Adam wasn’t pleased. Whilst he might have been entertained by the abandoned performance, his interest didn’t extend further. He had never understood why mature men were attracted to young girls with undeveloped personalities. He had no wish to meet a teenager with an exhibitionist streak. The thought of laboured conversation made him frown before his expression turned politely bland as the slender brunette approached.

  Closer to, he could see she wasn’t beautiful. Her features were not as perfectly proportioned as her lissom body. The masterful nose and full mouth were too big for her small oval face. It was the eyes that captured attention. Wide-spaced, warm brown and slanted like a fawn’s, they were fringed by extravagant dark lashes. There was, however, none of that creature’s coyness in the direct gaze.

  ‘Are you all right, Anna?’ Rosalind asked anxiously. It was rare to see any external evidence of her sister’s old injury, an injury that had tragically halted a promising career as a ballet dancer.

  Adam’s keen, professional eyes had also noted the way the girl was placing most of her weight on one leg. He automatically looked at her legs; not much was concealed from his eyes in the short black dress she wore. It was a scrap of fabric that moulded the thrust of her small, high breasts and flared slightly at the hemline, which was very high. He couldn’t see any visible sign of injury in the slim, shapely line of her legs through their black fine denier covering; they looked in remarkably good shape!

  ‘Don’t fuss,’ Anna replied with impatient good humour.

  Adam raised his gaze to find the remarkable pair of dark brown eyes, still shining with exhilaration after her performance, watching him with amusement and not a trace of self-consciousness.

  ‘You’ll recognise them again,’ she observed with a straight face, stretching one elegant ankle in front of her.

  ‘You were limping,’ he accused, just to rectify any wrong ideas she might have about his interest. Her poise was precocious even at a time when childhood grew ever shorter.

  ‘It’s not usually noticeable. Before you say it, Lindy, dear, I know I shouldn’t have danced like that, but it was worth it! I love that tune.’ She gave a blissful sigh.

  ‘Ever heard of moderation?’ Rosalind asked her sister with rueful affection.

  She knew she was wasting her breath; Anna was a creature of extremes. Sometimes she envied her sister her lack of inhibitions, but mostly she worried that Anna’s spontaneity might lead people to miss the sensitivity inherent in her sister’s personality. The total lack of artifice made her seem frighteningly vulnerable to the more cautious Rosalind.

  ‘Ever heard of death by boredom?’ Anna’s attention flicked to the tall, silent man at Lindy’s side. ‘Either you’re a gatecrasher or Lindy brought you. I wrote the invitations personally,’ she explained, looking him up and down with a candid interest that brought a flicker of disapproval to his eyes.

  ‘Anna, this is Adam Deacon. Adam, this is Anna, my sister.’

  ‘You mean there are more of you? I’d have thought your parents would have called it a day after triplets. They must be gluttons for punishment!’

  ‘Don’t you like children, Mr Deacon?’ Anna enquired.

  ‘In moderation.’

  ‘He sounds like just your sort of man, Lindy,’ she mocked gently. Rosalind, with her soft, honey-coloured hair and serene blue eyes, never lost her cool. Anna hoped her sister would one day meet a man who would shake that equilibrium. Was this the man? If so she would have to keep her fantasies to herself.

  Rosalind glared discouragingly; Anna’s offbeat sense of humour could be provocative when she chose.

  ‘Adam is to be the new orthopaedic consultant at St Jude’s,’ she explained. ‘He’s not my man,’ she added with an apologetic smile in Adam’s direction. ‘I thought it might be nice if he got to know a few people locally. There are only the three of us, Adam; Anna is the eldest, despite appearances.’

  ‘My apologies,’ he said, startled by this information. He knew Rosalind was twenty-six, but this provocative creature could have passed for a teenager.

  ‘I was the runt,’ Anna said.

  ‘So I see.’

  Anna’s eyes widened. ‘That wasn’t very kind.’

  For someone who was meant to be meeting people, he had an aloof air which was pretty daunting. Did a warm, interesting man lurk beneath the austere exterior? Was the gleam in his eyes humour? She hoped so. It would be a great waste if he turned out to be a beautiful stuffed shi
rt. He was beautiful, though, she conceded.

  ‘You don’t appear to need your confidence bolstered.’

  That, he decided, was a considerable understatement. She had none of the quiet reticence of her sister, who was, he’d always thought, a very serene woman. There was nothing covert about the sexuality the brunette oozed, either. Without intending to his eyes dropped to skim over the sleek slenderness of her slight frame.

  ‘You dance well.’ He recalled her undulations across the dance floor and felt a distinct tightness around his collar.

  Anna shivered. She’d known he was watching her from across the room, but closer to the scrutiny didn’t just send her pulse racing—it made her stomach muscles go into a series of spasms and her throat grow dry.

  He had been hard to miss, even in this crowded rom. He was lean and tall, several inches over six feet, with dull gold hair that gleamed under the electric lights. He was the sort of person who made an impact the instant he walked into a room, and his long-limbed grace had captured and held her imagination.

  She’d told herself he was probably cross-eyed, or a martyr to acne, but closer inspection had revealed he was neither. Closer to, the air of confidence and authority was more pronounced, as was the fluid, feral manner in which he moved. His eyes were a mysterious green and his skin was faintly tanned; if you added the firm mouth and aquiline nose you had, in short, perfection! If you were the sort of person who was impressed by such things.

  She, of course, was not so shallow and superficial, but she was human enough to feel quite pleased when her sister denied ownership of this superb specimen. She wondered if she would ever feel enough for a man to put him above her relationship with her sisters. She doubted it.

  ‘Can you dance?’ she teased.

  ‘With less abandon than you.’

  ‘I can adapt.’

  ‘Are you asking me to dance?’

  ‘Should I have waited for you to ask me?’ She gave him a tiny smile and tilted her head on one side in a gesture that revealed the swan-like arch of her neck, and made Adam’s better judgement die an instant death. He’d left recklessness behind years ago, along with his impulsive youth, but somehow he found himself too intrigued to back down from the challenge in her provocative manner.

  ‘You think I was going to?’ The crackle of awareness that passed between them was almost physical in its strength. The startled flash in her wide eyes revealed she too had felt the sensation.

  Anna wasn’t about to disintegrate into coy confusion at this point, despite her accelerated heart rate and the quiet but growing conviction she was making a fool of herself.

  ‘When the music was in keeping with your dignity I thought you might work yourself up to it.’

  ‘You think I have dignity?’ His mouth lifted in a satirical curve as his eyes smiled, almost reluctantly, back at her.

  ‘God, does he always ask this many questions?’ Anna demanded of her silent sister. ‘I think your dignity is awesome,’ she told him gravely. ‘I’m sure you have the nurses fluttering around you to obey your every whim.’

  ‘You have a very old-fashioned idea of the doctor-nurse relationship,’ he observed with a sardonic twist to his lips.

  ‘That’s me—an old-fashioned girl.’

  ‘How appropriate—a waltz for an old-fashioned girl.’

  Rosalind watched them move away with a sharp frown of concern. She hadn’t failed to notice the inexplicable electricity that had flared between her sister and Adam Deacon. She’d been breathless just listening to the lightning exchanges. But it was the silent communication of their bodies and eyes that worried her most. How could she warn Anna without playing the interfering sister? There was a delicate balance between sisterly concern and interference.

  He really could dance, which was the first pleasant surprise for Anna. The second was the effect that being held in close proximity to him had on her nervous system. The quivers of sensation that rippled through her entire body made her forget the tiresome ache in her knee. All the couples on the darkened floor were entwined to some extent, so she could legitimately appreciate the hardness of her partner’s lean, muscled frame.

  ‘You dance very well, Adam.’ She raised her head to look up at him. She was intrigued by the angles and planes of his face and puzzled by his sardonic expression which bordered on disapproval.

  ‘Are you always so…friendly, Miss Lacey?’ He gave the word an unpleasant connotation. Dancing might be an innocent enough pursuit, but he had discovered that it was less so when partnering this disturbing young woman. What the hell am I doing? he asked himself angrily.

  ‘You’re here to meet the locals,’ Anna pointed out, unwittingly answering his silent question.

  Recognising the sudden quality of harsh hostility that had been in his voice made her smile falter, and the feeling of heady expectation dissipated. There was no redeeming humour behind his abrupt shift in mood. She had been experiencing the strangest feeling that she was embarking on one of the great adventures in her life, and she was a great one for following gut instinct on such matters. It seemed she’d been wrong.

  ‘I’m a local. But, if you danced with me out of politeness, don’t worry, I’ll let you go now. I thought you wanted to dance.’ She began to detach her hands, which had lain against his chest, but he moved one of his own hands from around her waist and restrained them.

  ‘I did want to. I’m just not used to women who take the lead. I like to do the asking.’

  His voice was like rich, bitter chocolate and it made her give a tiny sigh of appreciation. Stuffed shirt with a macho inclination, she thought sadly; what a waste!

  ‘I think it’s a very good thing you’re not my sister’s boyfriend.’

  ‘You draw the line at seducing your siblings’ lovers? I think I should make it clear so you don’t waste any more of your time— I’m not interested in one-night stands.’

  Seduce! His condescending arrogance made her chin jut aggressively and brought a fresh tide of colour to her smooth cheeks. If he couldn’t handle candour and honesty that was his problem. She found him attractive, and didn’t see why she should hide the fact. She had imagined it might be interesting to get to know him. But that hadn’t meant she intended jumping into bed with him.

  ‘As a matter of fact I think Lindy needs someone to bring out her more relaxed, less proper side. You’re far too repressed and grim for her…possibly for anyone,’ she mused silkily, staring pointedly at the long, strong fingers wrapped around her wrists.

  Adam Deacon looked startled and then angry as the purring kitten in his arms turned into an angry cat. He’d intended to subdue the waves of sultry invitation she was emanating—as much for his sake as her own—not anger her.

  ‘A little repression, not to mention discrimination, might do you some good. Your sister is a fine doctor with an excellent future. Perhaps you should try and emulate her decorum.’

  The pompous… She inhaled angrily and gritted her teeth. ‘Decorum!’ she hooted. ‘I like Miss Austen as much as the next person, but I prefer living in this century when women’s lives aren’t dependent on men! First impressions are a constant source of disappointment to me,’ she bemoaned.

  His first impression of her was obviously that she was some sort of promiscuous slut, and his anxiety not to be contaminated by her was embarrassingly obvious.

  ‘Tell me, Doctor, was your personality bypass a surgical procedure, or is it congenital? Don’t you find it a tad hypocritical to come down with a dose of moral superiority when you’ve been privately lusting after me since you walked into the room?’

  ‘I think you’re the sort of female who is only happy when every male within shouting distance is lusting after you,’ he returned scornfully. ‘Everything you do screams sex!’

  That scalding accusation really threw her. ‘That’s ridiculous!’ She’d always worked on the premise that what people saw was what they got where she was concerned. It had never occurred to her that anyone would see
that!

  ‘The dress.’ His eyes regarded one shoestring strap that had slipped over her shoulder. ‘The way you move… It’s all a come-on, and not a very subtle one at that.’

  ‘This is a party; I came prepared to enjoy myself.’ He lifted his fingers from her bare skin as if he’d been stung, and she wondered if he’d felt the same electrical prickle she had.

  ‘I’d noticed,’ he bit back, his lip curling with distaste.

  ‘The music’s stopped; you hadn’t noticed that,’ she said, smiling with sweet insincerity into his grim face.

  She saw him realise that they’d been standing immobile in the middle of the floor, which was now clearing, making them even more conspicuous. He cast her a look of disgust and mumbled something rude under his breath.

  When she turned to go he was at her side. ‘Feeling the magnetic draw of my personality?’ She headed for the terrace door.

  She needed fresh air! God, what a let-down this man had been, she thought, furious that she’d let her imagination endow the perfect frame with an equally ideal personality.

  ‘Stalking off in the opposite direction would make us look even more conspicuous.’

  ‘But I thrive on notoriety,’ she drawled sarcastically.

  ‘Notorious doctors rarely advance professionally.’

  ‘You didn’t look interesting enough to be classed as notorious, just silly.’

  ‘I’m repressed and silly, am I?’ he said grimly. When she shrugged he spun her round to face him, placing one hand in the small of her back.

  ‘You’re probably too old to change now,’ she observed sympathetically. ‘Some woman like boringly predictable men.’

  ‘You really are…!’ With a sound of anger rumbling in his throat he took her face in his hands and plunged into the sweet moistness of her mouth. Later, he’d have the leisure to regret his action, but at the moment all he was aware of was an intense hunger.

  Shock at this reprisal of her antagonistic jibe held Anna completely immobile for a frozen moment. Slowly it filtered through to her that the instinctive rejection she’d been relying on wasn’t going to materialise. He was demanding a response from her and, whilst she ought to have been repelled by this ruthless onslaught, she only experienced an urgent, compelling desire to give him everything he was asking for.