Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
B ex crashed on the couch as Wilder walked to his office and made a call. She was worried about what he was doing and who he was calling. It was clear Wilder didn’t like whoever it was and she didn’t want Wilder to cross any more lines for her. He was already housing a fugitive.
Five minutes later, he was back and sat on the couch next to her. He didn’t look happy and all she wanted to do was take care of him the way he’d been taking care of her. “I hope you didn’t do anything you’ll regret.”
“I could never regret something if it keeps you safe.” Wilder drew her to his side and kissed the top of her head. “I had to leave a message. I’m hoping to hear something soon. Let’s relax and watch a movie. We need to take our mind off things for a bit.”
Bex didn’t pay attention to whatever movie Wilder had put on. She was too busy thinking of all Wilder had done for her, the way her body seemed electric with she touched him, and the feeling that Wilder had found a place in her heart that might be permanent.
Bex pulled back from where she’d been resting her head on his chest as he held her during the movie so that she could look him in the eyes. “Wilder,” Bex said, feeling more nervous than she had when she’d asked a boy to a dance freshman year of high school. “It’s not just me feeling this between us, is it?”
Wilder didn’t need to ask about what she meant. It was as if he’d been sitting here the past two hours thinking the same thing. “No, sweetheart. It’s not. I hate this is how we had to meet. But if it means I never would have met you otherwise, then I can’t feel sorry for it.”
“You could lose your flagship club if Seabrook pushes enough to have your liquor license revoked.”
Wilder shrugged. “I have enough money to last ten lifetimes. I don’t have to run my clubs. I can do anything if I have you by my side.”
Bex’s heart sped up. She’d never had such devotion from a partner before. And that was what Wilder was. In a matter of days, he’d become her trusted confidant, her support system, and so much more. More, but not enough. Bex knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Wilder was it for her. The connection they had was unlike any she’d had before. Sure, they’d been physical, but that hadn’t been the basis of their connection and that’s what seemed to make it so solid. Wilder had seen her at her worst and still wanted her. What man would willingly put his life and his business on the line for a woman he wasn’t even sleeping with? Wilder would. And that’s what made him so special.
Bex turned on the couch to face him, stretched up, and kissed him. It wasn’t a questioning kiss testing the waters. It was a full-on kiss that she poured her feelings into. Wilder’s lips met hers and an instant later he was kissing her just as passionately as she was kissing him.
“I’ve been wanting to do this so badly,” Bex said against his lips and she yanked Wilder’s shirt from his pants and pulled it over his head before bringing their lips back together again.
Bex’s hands were on his chest, roaming down the ridges of his abs and heading for the button of his pants as Wilder was deepening the kiss. His hands were on her body, stoking her desire until she was about to combust if she didn’t get him naked soon.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Pounding on the door followed by someone ringing the doorbell nonstop broke their kiss. Bex had her gun drawn even as Wilder tried to put himself between her and the door.
“I got this, Wilder,” Bex said, glancing down at the gun. His eyes followed and then rolled.
“You can shoot them from behind me. I’m not letting you go first. I’ll always protect you and you can protect me. Deal?”
“Only if you let me shoot them.”
The door banged again and then they heard the voice. “Open the door, Wilder!”
Wilder groaned as his whole body relaxed. “Go ahead and shoot. It’s just my sister.”
Wilder sighed and started cursing under his breath about overbearing sisters as he opened the door.
Olivia glanced at his bare torso and then his pants, leaned around Wilder and smiled when she saw Bex was still dressed. “Oh good. I’m not too late!”
“Too late for what?” Bex asked, lowering her gun.
“To latch that snatch,” Olivia said, shoving her way around her brother.
Bex felt her brow furrow. Did she just say . . .?
“To ground that mound,” Oliva added as she walked straight for the couch and took a seat. “To cage the cooter.”
Bex snorted as Wilder groaned. “You’re cockblocking me?” Bex asked.
Olivia shook her head. “No. I’m cockblocking Wilder. I’m bushwacking you. Pulling the ol’ taco blocko to jam that clam. It’s payback for what Wilder did to my homecoming date . . . in college! I’m sorry your innocent beaver has to be dammed, but payback is a sister with interfering brothers.”
Bex snorted again. “Yeah, I know something about that.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how bad they’ve been. Oh, by the way, I talked to your aunt. She did my hair. What do you think?”
“It looks great,” she said of her aunt’s signature blowout. “I could never get my hair to look that elegant. Too many curls. How is my family?”
“They don’t blame you, but they are worried about you. She thanked me for letting them know you were safe.”
“Did she ask where I was?” Bex asked.
“Of course. I told her it was better for all of you if they didn’t know. I asked her to promise not to look for you.”
“I can’t imagine she took that well.”
Olivia shrugged. “She gave me a cannoli, so I can’t imagine she took it too badly.” Olivia smiled at them both. “I brought some board games. Who wants to play?”
Wilder groaned as he took a seat in the leather chair next to the couch. “I’m not going to get rid of you tonight, am I?”
“Not a chance in hell. The others have had to suffer and so must you. It’s one night compared to the fifteen years of dating hell you idiots put me through. Now, who wants to go first?” Olivia smiled as she set up the game.
* * *
Olivia had slept on the couch in Bex’s guest room. Not that Wilder had planned to have Bex stay in a guest room, but his muffin muzzler of a sister declared it was now a girls’ night and that a slumber party would be such a fun way to get to know Bex.
That left Wilder sitting on his deck listening to the river for half the night as he realized it actually meant a lot to him for Olivia to like Bex and to get to know her. Bex was a lot like Olivia. She was a professional woman in a male-dominated field and she demanded respect and had earned it. Until Wilder and Seabrook entered her life. He would do anything to make it right for Bex.
Which is why he answered his phone when it rang at seven in the morning from a number he swore he’d never answer.
“I heard you wanted to talk to me,” the deep voice with a mix of a New York and Italian accent said, clearly knowing he had Wilder over a barrel.
“I do. I need your help, Nikolas.”
Nikolas Luciano, the head of the Luciano Crime Family in New York City, chuckled. “I guess you shouldn’t have refused the protection that I offered for such a deal. Now the price has gone up. I’m hearing your club is having problems.”
“Can we meet?” Wilder asked through clenched teeth. “I need some time to get to New York. I’m visiting other clubs.”
“I’m not going to be in New York much longer. I’m leaving for the weekend to visit my cousin, twice removed or something like that, in Charleston, South Carolina.”
He was going to be here? Even better. “Fine. I’ll meet you in Charleston. When and where?”
Nikolas chuckled again. “Eleven tonight, VIP section of WET. You know, since you’ve forbidden me to ever enter one of your clubs. I think tonight you can make an exception as you beg for my protection.”
Wilder felt like cursing. He didn’t want to be indebted to the mob, but he’d do anything for Bex to be safe. “I’m not asking for protection, Nik. I’ll tell you about it tonight. See you there.” Wilder hung up before Nikolas could piss him off further.
Wilder headed downstairs and found Bex making coffee in the kitchen. He looked around but didn’t see Olivia. “Where is my terror of a sister?”
Bex smiled and handed him a cup of coffee. “She left ten minutes ago and she’s not a terror. She told me about what you all did to her when she had dates. Sorry, Wilder, but I like your sister and sympathize with her more than you know.”
“They weren’t the right men if they couldn’t stand a little ribbing from her brothers.” Wilder was very aware he sounded as if he were pouting. He loved that Bex and Olivia got along. He just didn’t love that Bex agreed with Olivia.
“Would you be able to stand up to seven brothers?”
“Granger did. It’s why we allowed him to marry Olivia.”
Bex busted out laughing. “I don’t think you allowed anything. I was half drugged but even I could see Granger would lock you all up and toss the key if you tried to stop him from being with the woman he loves. Now, can you say the same?”
Wilder leaned over the counter and quickly kissed. “For you I’d take on every brother you have, the mayor, the police, and the mob.”
“The mob?”
“How do you feel about a date at my club tonight? Just you, me, and the head of the New York Mafia.”
“Russian, Irish, or Italian?” Bex asked, surprisingly calm about the whole thing.
“Italian.”
Bex shrugged. “Sure. What else do I have going on? Besides, Nikolas Luciano is hot.”
Wilder almost dropped his coffee and ended up half-slamming it on the counter. “Oh, I think I need to show you hot.”
Bex giggled and shot out from behind the island as she made a mad dash for the stairs. Wilder was laughing by the time he caught her in the upstairs hallway. “Are you sure you want to trade me in for a mafia boss?”
“Maybe you should persuade me somehow?”
Wilder’s lips turned up into a smirk that resembled a predator capturing his prey. He loved the way Bex winked at him as she teased him. He knew she had no interest in Nikolas or anyone else. Bex had met all of Shadows Landing and there were plenty of good-looking, powerful people here, yet they only had eyes for each other.
Wilder grabbed her wrists, gently pinned her arms against the wall above her head, and kissed her. “Oh, I’ll show you all the reasons you should stay with me forever.”
Forever. That was a word Wilder had never said to a woman before in his life. Yet, he couldn’t be sorry for it. He wanted Bex with him forever. Even if it meant relocating full-time to New York. The woman his mouth was devouring, who was giving it back just as much as he was getting, was worth it.
“Are you sure you want this? I can stop if it’s too soon,” Wilder panted against her neck after Bex locked her legs around his waist and began to roll her hips into his. There was one direction this was heading, and no matter how much Wilder wanted it, he would stop in an instant if Bex wanted.
“Don’t you dare stop! Silence your phone. Bar the door. You, Wilder Townsend, are mine for the rest of the morning.”
“Sweetheart, I’m yours not just for the morning but forever.” There was that word again. And yet again, it felt so right to say it.
“Then make me yours.” Bex rolled her hips again and Wilder let go of his gentlemanly intention of taking it slow. He dropped her hands, pinned her to the wall, and pulled her shirt over her just as she was frantically pulling his shirt off and tossing it to the side.
He’d like to think it was smooth, sexy, and romantic. However, it was a frenzy of unrestrained need, desire, and clothes being discarded as they made their way to his bedroom. There was no pretending as their lips met in a heated kiss or as they fumbled as they kicked off their pants.
Wilder loved the feel of Bex under his hands and lips. She was warm, soft, and had curves he couldn’t stop running his hands over. He could tell Bex felt the same way as she ran her hands over his chest, down his abs, and shoved his trunk briefs down.
“You look so elegantly handsome and blasé on the outside,” Bex said, staring at his body now she had him naked. “But you’re really not. You’re rough and strong Nothing about you sexually is carefree. You’re determined.”
“I’m glad you understand that, but the better question is, are you okay with that?” Wilder asked, keeping his eyes connected with Bex. “I’m still me. Still the gentleman who will stop in an instant if you want me to but I’m not a passive guy in bed.”
Bex rolled her eyes. “I’ve always wanted to see what it was like to be picked up and tossed on the bed or the counter. And please tell me that you’re not blasé about giving me orgasms. I want someone who is determined and demanding. And someone who won’t run if I want to try something new or give up if I’m not quite there after poking around for thirty seconds.”
Wilder managed to get even harder. “I don’t know who you’ve been dating, but don’t worry, sweetheart. I know how to take care of you. Take what you want. Try what you want. All you have to do is tell me and I’m game. But first, I want something from you.”
Wilder lifted Bex up and tossed her back on the bed like she said he wanted. Bex gasped after she landed. “That was even hotter in person than in the books I read.”
“Books?”
“I love romance novels.”
“Well, let me show you how much fun we can have actually doing what you’ve only read about.” Wilder grabbed her legs, pulled her to the edge of the bed, knelt on the floor, placed her legs over his shoulders and showed her he wasn’t the least bit blasé about giving her orgasms.
He loved the way Bex grabbed his hair, the way she shouted his name, and when he slid up her body and rolled over, bringing Bex on top of him, he loved the way she smiled and took control. There was nothing sexier than a woman chasing her pleasure and then shouting his name when she caught it. Wilder could die happy now. But maybe after they’d been married for fifty years and had three kids. Maybe four.
“Oh my gosh,” Bex said, her breath heavy, her eyes hooded. “That was amazing. I could do that forever.”
So could Wilder. Instead of scaring him, it made him pull Bex close and want to never let her again. “Me too, sweetheart. Me too.”