Wilde (Bad Boys of Wildeside) Read online

  I didn’t know how he’d bribed Matt to return, but he was back living above the garage.

  I showered quickly, grateful for the built-in seat. I hadn’t realized how weak I was. Stepping out, I dried off, I wrapped the towel around myself, and peered into the mirror above the sink. The swelling in my eye had gone down, allowing me to open it, but the brown-yellow bruises were ugly, and I grimaced. No wonder Wilde didn’t want to touch me. Sickness aside, I looked like hell.

  “Cassie? Cassie?” He appeared in the doorway, a worried frown on his face. “What are you doing?”

  “I had a shower. Now I’m going to get dressed,” I told him confidently.

  “You should be in bed. Why didn’t you call me if you wanted to get up?” He moved over, placing an arm around my waist as he ushered me back into the bedroom. “You could have slipped and fallen, bumped your head, given yourself a concussion, or broken your arm—”

  “Wilde. Wilde, stop.” I stepped away from him then slowly turned. “I’m fine.”

  “You’re pale, and I can see you’re shaking. You had no business showering on your own.”

  I placed my hands on my hips. “Yeah? What you going to do? Spank me?”

  “No. Of course not. You think I’d spank you while you’re sick? Here, get back into bed before you fall.”

  “Wilde, I feel a lot better. I promise. I’m not going to collapse.”

  “I still think you should spend longer in bed.” He pulled back the covers and stared at me.

  I sighed. Damn, he was an immovable force. “You’re not always going to get your way, you know.”

  “You think not?”

  “I know not.” I dropped the towel and climbed into bed. In all honesty, that shower had kind of tired me out.

  He stood over me, his face serious.

  “Wilde? Is something wrong? I’m getting better.” Wilde wasn’t used to worrying over someone. He hovered almost to the point of being ridiculous.

  “I don’t like you being sick. I’d prefer you didn’t get ill again.”

  I hid my smile. The control freak was realizing he couldn’t control everything. “I’ll try.”

  He paced back and forth. “You scared me.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. Wilde, I can’t guarantee that nothing bad will happen to me.”

  Stopping, he turned to me, running his hand through his dark hair. “You can’t leave me.”

  The sheer panic in his voice stilled my heart. He might never say the words, but I knew he loved me.

  “I won’t leave you.”

  “Even if I piss you off. Even if I’m a complete asshole. You stay, and you fight it out with me.”

  “I will.”

  “I would never harm you.”

  “I know you wouldn’t,” I reassured him. I wanted to reach for him, but I knew he needed to get this out.

  “I’ll push you. I’ll push you to see how much you’ll give in to me. You need to push back. Don’t be afraid of me.”

  “Ian, I’m not afraid of you. I left because I didn’t think I was important to you.”

  “You are.” His eyes drilled into mine. “I will try to talk to you. To open up. You have to remember that I’m not good with words.”

  I grinned. “Really? You’ve never been short on commands when you want something.”

  His gaze heated, the tension leaving his voice. “You love my commands.”

  “Most of them, I do. Why don’t you come sit beside me?” I patted the bed.

  He stepped forward, and I thought I had him. Then he shook his head and took a hasty step back. “If I come close to you right now I’m going to forget you’re not up to anything physical.”

  “I don’t know. I think I could manage if you were very, very gentle. I’ll just lie here. Let you do all the work.”

  He shook his head. “No way.”

  “Is it because of my face?” I gently touched around my eye. “I’m too ugly to kiss.”

  “You’re fucking beautiful, and you know it.”

  I smiled. He might not be romantic, but I didn’t care. He was mine. He was everything I needed. I knew I was getting a Wilde no one else might ever see. It meant everything that he would show me that side of himself.

  I knew everything wouldn’t be perfect. There would be rough spots. We’d argue. We’d make up. I’d probably have to do the majority of the compromising. But he was worth it.

  “We both know I don’t do gentle, and I’m not risking hurting you. You let me bring a doctor in and get the go ahead, then we’ll talk.”

  “I don’t want to talk.”

  “I know.”

  “And I really don’t want to talk to some doctor about our sex life.” How embarrassing would that be?

  “Then we wait until I’m certain you’re better.”

  “And when will that be?”

  “When you can do five jumping jacks.”

  Damn him. There was no way I could do one jumping jack, let alone five.

  He moved closer, tapping my lip. “Don’t pout.” He sat on the armchair next to the bed. He’d spent a lot of time there over the last few days, even sleeping in it the first night until I convinced him that I’d sleep better with him beside me in bed.

  “You’re mean.”

  “You can go without sex for a few days.”

  “Really not sure I can.”

  “I think I’ve created a monster.”

  “Can you blame me? Going cold turkey sucks after being used to having orgasms on demand.”

  “Orgasms on demand? Shall I name my next club that?” he asked.

  “You’re opening another club?”

  “I’m opening one in L.A. It might mean I need to spend some time down there.”

  “Oh.”

  “I thought I’d wait until you finish college. Then you can come with me. Now that you’re used to orgasms on tap, that is.”

  Happiness filled me. “Sounds great.”

  He nodded. “Good. It’s settled. Now there’s only one more thing to talk about.”

  I yawned. “What’s that?”

  His face grew dark as he leaned forward. “I want a name.”

  I frowned in confusion. “Name of what? Your club?”

  “No. The name of the bastard that hit you.”

  Damn it. I should have known he wouldn’t give up.

  “Sinclair took care of him.”

  He clenched his jaw, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “That wasn’t his place.”

  “You and I weren’t exactly on speaking terms.”

  “I know. My fault. My fault you were working in some scummy diner. My fault you were unprotected.”

  “Wilde, no. None of what happened is on you. It’s on me.”

  “And just how do you figure that, baby?” His voice was silky soft. Deadly.

  I worried at the bedspread until he reached across and clasped hold of my hand. “Cassie. Look at me.”

  Reluctantly, I raised my gaze to his.

  “Tell me.”

  “You won’t like it.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Tell me.”

  “Fine. It was one of my professors.”

  “What? Your professor hit you?”

  “Yeah. He, um, a few months ago he tried to pressure me into sleeping with him for a good score on my essay. It was worth nearly half of my total grade. I refused, of course, and I withdrew from his course. But I’m guessing he didn’t take it well.”

  “You guess?” His voice had hardened.

  “I figured that was the end of it until I started to feel like I was being followed. I never saw anyone so I thought I was imaging things. Then I started to see him. At the park. Staring at me while I was studying in the library. That’s why I was happy when you hired Matt. He made me feel safe.”

  Wilde stood, shoving the chair back so it scrapped across the floor. “Did you tell Matt about this?”

  “No.”

  “No? This asshole was stalking you, and you
didn’t think to mention it to Matt? To me?”

  “I wasn’t certain he was stalking me.”

  “He tried to pressure you into sleeping with him. He was following you, and you don’t think he was stalking you?”

  Well, yeah, when he said it like that it was obvious. “I should have told you. If I had known how crazy he was, believe me, I would have.”

  “He followed you to the diner?”

  “Yeah, I guess so. He came in, and I left out the back, I wasn’t feeling well, plus I wanted to get away from him. Then he attacked me. I tried to fight back, but he was pretty strong for a guy who sits behind a desk all day. If it wasn’t for Sinclair. . .”

  I didn’t like to think about it. But in the middle of the night, when my defenses were down, the memory surfaced.

  “He’s a dead man.”

  I stared at him, worried. With another man that might have been an exaggeration. But Wilde was serious. Deadly so.

  “He’s gone. Sinclair told him to leave town.”

  “You think he can hide from me?”

  No. I’d put my money on Wilde any day.

  “Hard to find him without a name.”

  “Think I can’t figure out which of your professors has up and left without any notice? Even if I fail at that, which I won’t, I’m pretty sure Darcy knows who he is.”

  Darcy did know, and I knew she’d give in. Most people would when faced with Wilde.

  “Please don’t kill him.”

  “You’re defending him?”

  Jesus. He stared at me until I nearly caved. But I needed to learn to hold my ground with Wilde—at least on the important things.

  “Let’s just take a step back and think about this. You’re angry, I get it.”

  “No, I don’t think you do. He followed you. Tried to force you into having sex with him from a position of authority. Ever think about the other girls he’s tried to do that to? Maybe they were too scared to turn him down, maybe they weren’t as strong as you.”

  To my shame, I hadn’t given that much thought. He was right.

  “I should have told someone at the university.”

  “You should have told me.” The betrayal in his voice cut deep, and for a moment I couldn’t speak. Could barely breathe.

  “You’re right. I should have.”

  “He touched you. Hurt you. And now you take his side?”

  “Not his side. No, I’m not on his side; I’m on yours. It’s just that I’m really bad at baking cakes.”

  “What?”

  “You know, to sneak a file into so you could use it to escape prison.”

  “Don’t make light of this.”

  “Sorry, I don’t mean to. It’s nervous humor. You’re making me nervous.”

  He paced the room like a caged tiger.

  “Tell me his name.”

  “Michael Addison.” Yep, I caved.

  He nodded and turned.

  “Please, Wilde. Don’t kill him. I don’t want you to go to jail. I want you here for me.”

  “You’re assuming I’d be stupid enough to get caught.”

  ***

  I sat up in bed, the curtains open, moonlight streaming through the large windows. I’d been back at Wilde’s house for four days now. During that time, Wilde had taken care of me himself, bringing me whatever I needed, making certain I rested and drank plenty of fluids. Then out of the blue this morning, he’d said he had a lead on Addison. Leaving Matt here with me, Wilde had taken off despite my arguments. Matt had brought me up a tray of food at lunch and dinner. Lunch was pizza and dinner had been Chinese. He’d shrugged, saying he had no idea how to cook. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t hungry anyway.

  Where the hell was Wilde? Had he found Professor Addison? Please don’t let him find him. After he’d left, I’d come close to calling Sinclair. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want Wilde to do this. I didn’t want this on his conscience—or mine.

  But I also knew Wilde would see that as a betrayal. I couldn’t do that to him.

  The door opened, and Wilde stepped into the room.

  I stared at him anxiously. I couldn’t read his expression. Leaning over, I switched on the bedside lamp. He moved toward the bathroom without speaking. The sound of running water filled the room. He was taking a shower. What was with the silent treatment? What the hell happened?

  Nerves rolled in my stomach as I waited for Wilde to return. He stepped into the room, completely naked.

  “Well?” I asked, unable to wait any longer.

  He pulled back the covers of the bed. “What did you say about lying back and letting me do all the work?”

  My breath hitched. Despite everything else going on, it only took that look from him, that deepening of his voice, and I wanted him.

  “Lie on your back. Put your hands behind your head and don’t move them. You feel sick or sore, you tell me straight away. Got it?”

  “Yes.”

  I wore one of his old t-shirts and some panties. He straddled my hips, his face dark. Grabbing the shirt at the neckline, he ripped it down the middle.

  “Wilde! That was my favorite.”

  “Don’t care. I’ve got more.” Leaning down, without resting his weight on me, he licked my nipple. “I have to be gentle when I want to be rough. I want to hold you down and take you. I want your ass, your pussy, I want you to kneel in front of me and suck me dry. I want to command you, dominate you. But I can’t. I should have stayed away.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t.”

  He bit the other nipple, and I groaned. My pussy throbbed in reaction. He kissed his way up my chest to where my neck and shoulder met and bit down. Hard.

  “God, Ian.”

  “I can’t be as gentle as I should be. I’m trying. I’m no good for you.”

  “Yes, you are,” I groaned as he kissed my neck then took my earlobe between his teeth.

  “I’m a bastard. I’m an asshole to want you when you’re ill.”

  “I’m not ill anymore.”

  “I stood there, with him kneeling before me. I had him in my sights, sniveling and begging for his life. I was going to kill him.”

  My heart beat faster at those words. Going to?

  “What stopped you?”

  He took my mouth. His lips were hard against mine. He pushed his tongue between my lips, I opened to him, gave myself to him. He had all of me.

  He kissed me hard and deep until my body melted, just about every thought fleeing my head. Pulling back, he stared into my eyes, his face flushed, his breath coming in sharp pants.

  “You did. You did, damn it.”

  My mind scrambled to keep up. I’d stopped him?

  “The thought of disappointing you. Of letting you down. Fuck. It was easier when I didn’t care.”

  I ran my hand through his hair. “I know.”

  “It was also fucking lonely. I can’t go back. Not now.”

  “So you let him go? What if he goes to the police?” I worried.

  Wilde smiled. “He won’t. He’s on a one-way trip to the middle east. He won’t be back for a long, long time.”

  I frowned, puzzled. “You put him on a plane?”

  “Sinclair has some interesting acquaintances. One of them is the captain of a cargo ship that was headed to the middle east. I paid him to take on a guest.”

  “What about the crew?”

  “They’re all loyal to the captain. Don’t worry, baby. He’s long gone.”

  I should probably feel bad about that. I should have gone to the police. But I’d been thinking over what Wilde had said about the professor doing this to other girls, and it had struck a nerve. He’d worked for the college for a long time. There was a strong possibility I wasn’t the first he’d done this to.

  So the bastard deserved it.

  “Enough talking about that asshole. I want my reward for not killing him.”

  “Take whatever you want. Whatever you need.”

  He sat up, staring down at me. “I
intend to be as gentle as I can be. But once you are completely well, you will pay for keeping this from me.”

  My breath caught. There was a dark promise in his eyes, and I had no idea if that was anticipation or dread rolling through my stomach. Maybe a bit of both.

  He placed his hands on either side on my body as he leaned in to suckle my nipple, no teeth, no tongue. My body responded, desperate for him. He moved to my other nipple, and I came close to begging him to move lower. I wanted his tongue on my clit. I wanted him deep inside me.

  It had been too long. Far too long.

  “Can I touch you?” I asked, my hands still behind my head

  “No.” His answer was sharp, but I didn’t take offense. I knew he was as desperately in need of this as I was. His hard, thick cock called to me. I wanted to run my tongue over him, caressing every ridge, lick up the pre-cum that glistened on the tip.

  “You’re killing me,” I cried out as he returned back to the other nipple.

  “Good. Then you’re feeling a tenth of how you affect me every second of every day.” He kissed down my quivering stomach, leaving a trail of delight in his wake. Reaching over, he grabbed a pillow. Positioning himself between my parted legs, he tapped the side of my ass.

  “Butt up.”

  I raised my ass into the air, and he placed the pillow beneath. “Keep your hips up,” he growled as I lowered my hips. I hastily raised them as he positioned another pillow underneath.

  “Now it’s time for me to feast.” He leaned up on his elbows and practically buried his face in my pussy. I hadn’t shaved in days, but he didn’t seem to care about my fuzz. He ate me like a man who’d been on bread and water for years, and I was an all-you-can-eat banquet.

  I barely held onto my sanity. He circled my clit with his tongue, while he drove two fingers deep inside me. He tapped my clit, played with it, teased and tortured me.

  “Ian, please.”

  Grabbing both of my legs, he raised them into the air with his hands beneath my bent knees. Then he turned his attention to my ass, kissing his way across my cheeks before running his tongue up the slit.

  “Wilde, no.”

  “Yes. Hold your legs in place.”

  Oh, fuck.

  He parted my ass cheeks wide then licked over my asshole with his tongue.