Wicked and Dangerous (2 page)

Wasn’t that half the point of coming here?

She’d allowed Shonda and a few of the others to drag her to this dive to not only
celebrate her big two-nine, but to see if, maybe, she could find a hot guy to spend
the night with. She hadn’t been touched since well before her divorce, and she wanted
to be kissed, experience some serious skin-on-skin contact, then cuddle afterward.
Decker didn’t necessarily look like he specialized in cuddling, but he seemed more
than capable of making her scream. A definite bonus since giving orgasms had never
been Owen’s strong suit.

“Good thing for you I am, then. C’mon . . . One little dance won’t hurt. It’s either
that or I give you more bad pick-up lines until you agree.”

“You have more?”

“Oh yeah!” He grinned. “Can I have your picture so I can show Santa what I want for
Christmas?”

“That’s months away.”

“Good point. I don’t want to wait that long.” He thought for a moment, then grinned
again. “Are you a parking ticket? Because you’ve got ‘fine’ written all over you.”

“Oh my—Where do you find this stuff?”

“Thank the great people at Google.”

“You looked that up on purpose?”

“Yep. I’m sure my mom would be super proud.”

She slapped her hand to her forehead. When was the last time she’d laughed this much
around a man? Never. Owen possessed zero sense of humor. Decker was totally different—and
a welcome change.

Swallowing back her usual caution, Rachel nodded at him. “One dance.”

“Great!” He grabbed her hand and tugged her onto the floor.

As he dragged her past her friends, she turned to see Shonda give her a thumbs-up,
her neon pink nail polish glowing in the dim lighting. Beside her, the office aide,
Alicia, laughed at something a guy at the next table said. Every man talked to Alicia.
Blond and stacked and sweet as the day was long, it was a miracle that she was still
single at the ripe age of twenty-four. Rachel was sure that some smart guy would come
along soon and rectify that.

“Ah ah, eyes here, birthday girl.” Decker gave a little tug on her arm, and she fell
right against him. He settled his arms loosely around her waist, his big hands laying
claim to the small of her back. His fingers dipped a little bit lower. His blue eyes
flared with wicked heat. “Now I’ve got you where I want you. But I might have a problem.”

She gave him a wary frown. “What’s that?”

“I hope you know CPR because you take my breath away.”

A laugh spilled out before she could stop it. She gave his shoulder a playful hit.
“Stop. Tell me something about you, other than your affinity for looking up crazy
things on Google. Where are you from? What do you do?”

“I’m from all over. Military brat who eventually went into the military, too. I’ve
been out a few years. Then I did some work for Uncle Sam. Now I work for S.I. Industries
in security.”

The military fit. Working for the government? She doubted very much he’d pushed pencils
for the IRS, but she didn’t pry. Security made sense, too. With his ridiculously bulging
shoulders and air of strength, he looked more than capable of being a protector.

“S.I. Industries?” she asked. “Was that Javier and Xander Santiago you were talking
to?”

Since moving to Lafayette over the summer, she’d read their names and seen their pictures
repeatedly in the local rag. The brothers were only slightly better known for their
prestigious, growing company and the jobs it was bringing to the area as they were
for the rumors they shared a wife.

“Yes. I’ve worked for Xander for a few years. Until he got married, I did nothing
but bail him out of scrapes. Now I devote my spare time to whatever makes mischief.”
He winked. “How about you?”

“I’m a school teacher. Fifth grade English.”

Decker gave her a long, slow smile. “I got a whole bunch of naughty teacher fantasies.”

“
I’ve
got,” she corrected automatically.

“You, too?” He pretended to misunderstand. “Awesome! You know, if you were my homework,
I’d be doing you on my desk.”

“You did not just say that,” she scolded.

“I totally did.” He flashed her a grin. “Google really is helpful. I have more.”

“Stop, please.” Rachel laughed. “I’m raising the white flag.”

“Not yet. I have one more you need to hear.” Decker curled his arms more tightly around
her.

The breath of air between them disappeared as he fitted her against his body. Rachel
gasped. He was hard all over. Her palms slid up his biceps and over his shoulders,
both like rocks. His chest was like a hot slab of concrete. The ridges of his abdomen
led her to believe there’d be at least a six-pack under there. But lower . . . He
bent his knees a fraction and notched his erection against the vulnerable V between
her legs. And oh, all that thickness and length couldn’t be him, could it?

“Yes?” she moaned as he rolled his hips against her and hit one really pleasurable
spot that . . . wow.

“That’s a nice dress you’re wearing,” he murmured in her ear, then brushed his lips
up the side of her neck until she trembled and closed her eyes.

“It’s a skirt and blouse.”

“Whatever. It would look better on the floor next to my bed.”

Rachel’s breath caught. He was propositioning her. Guys like him never found her attractive.
They usually liked Alicia. On the one hand, her libido definitely wanted to say yes.
She found everything about him made her heart rev. Her common sense might be hesitating,
but every cell in her body clamored for her to rub against him and grab whatever pleasure
he was willing to give her. But the more cautious part of her just wouldn’t be shushed.

“How do I know you’re not a crazed killer?”

He cocked his head. “You have any Taliban or drug cartel affiliations?”

“Um . . .” Rachel reared back a bit in his arms. “No. I can safely say that I don’t.”

“Then we’ll have no problems. The only thing I want to massacre is your desire to
say no.”

Decker might have phrased it like a joke, but he looked dead serious. Was she actually
considering this? Was she really thinking of going home with a man she’d met ten minutes
ago and opening her body to him?

Well, sunshine, if you want sex with a hot guy, it’s not like Magnolia Elementary
school is a hotbed of gorgeous, single men. You’re going to have to step out on a
limb
.

Ugh, she hated that little devil on her shoulder, always urging her to do something
she probably shouldn’t.

Rachel opened her mouth to politely decline when the voice blared in her ear again.

Think about this. Who talked you into marrying the poster child for bedroom boredom,
even knowing he was way more versed in physics than pleasure?

The voice had a really good point. Besides, he worked for a good company and had friends
who were upstanding financial pillars of the community now. How bad could he be?

She peered up at Decker, curling her arms just a bit tighter around his neck. “Do
you know anything about physics?”

He raised a dark brow. “Would that turn you on?”

“No.” Not at all.

“Then you’ll be happy to know I failed eleventh grade science.”

“Thrilled.” She sent him her most dazzling smile.

“Is that a yes?” Decker pulled her closer, his face going straight into the crook
of her neck, his whiskers awakening her skin with gentle abrasion.

How would it feel if he dragged his face up her body? Between her thighs? He drew
his lips to the soft skin of her ear. Rachel caught her breath.

He nipped, tugged on her sensitive lobe. “Please say that’s a yes. You’re so fucking
beautiful, you made me forget my next pick-up line.”

She shivered at the rough whisper in her ear. The musky scent of his male flesh surrounded
her completely. Hard, demanding, unyielding . . . he made her blood rush and parts
of her surprisingly damp. What
if
she said yes?

“I want to be in charge,” she breathed out, then nodded, finding her voice again.
“Of everything. I want to say where and when and how.”

He pulled back enough to cup her face. Surprise glowed in his deep blue eyes. “Is
that how you usually roll, beautiful?”

With a nervous shake of her head, she forced herself to meet his gaze head on—and
not think about the fact that his lips hovered just above her own. “No. But I need
that now. I want to tell you what I want.”

A grin creased his face, and he relaxed. “You should always be able to tell a man
what you want. If his little ego is offended, he doesn’t have much of one in the first
place. And I can guarantee you, his mind isn’t the only thing about him that’s small.”

Rachel laughed, but he wasn’t wrong. Every suggestion she’d ever made in the bedroom,
no matter how gentle, Owen had taken as criticism. He’d always gotten stiff—and she
didn’t mean his, um . . . member, which hadn’t been at all big.

“I don’t want any surprises. I don’t want to feel out of control.” She’d spent so
much time turning herself inside out, trying to please Owen, only to constantly fall
short. She’d never known when she was going to encounter a bad mood, the cold shoulder,
or a completely unsatisfying quickie. He hadn’t seemed to care how any of that made
her feel, and she refused to repeat that experience.

“All right. If that’s the way you want it, I’m game. You lead the way, and I’ll follow.”

She sighed with relief. “My place. Now.”

Even saying the words made a little shiver curl up her spine. His answering grin suggested
lots of screaming fun in her future. What could go wrong?

•   •   •

DECKER HAD TO
work to hold in his surprise. If she enjoyed being in charge in the bedroom, he’d
change his name to Bugs Bunny. But he’d deal with that when they hit the sheets. As
soon as he’d absolved her of the notion that she had an ounce of Dominant blood in
her veins, he’d send her into an orgasm-induced stupor.
Then
he’d get to work. But he didn’t think he could focus on business for long before
he took care of pleasure because her curves were killing his concentration.

His first order of business, unrelated to partaking of her sweetness he couldn’t wait
to corrupt, would be to take a quick trek through her e-mails, Facebook, and texts.
He’d look for anything that might give him some clue about who would want her dead
and why, see how they fit with the asshole who’d sat next to him at the bar earlier
today. Frankly, his money was on the ex-husband. Nothing like divorce to make someone
want a fatal bullet full of revenge. No idea what Rachel had done to “deserve” it,
and he didn’t care. He wasn’t letting the scumbag who’d solicited him to commit murder
succeed.

He grinned at her. “Your place, huh? Let’s go.”

“I’ve got to grab my purse.” She turned away and took his hand, leading him back to
her table. “I must be out of my mind.” He heard her mutter to herself.

Nice to know that she didn’t make a habit of picking up guys in bars, but it didn’t
matter. He had a stash of condoms and a mission to accomplish. Rachel’s personal life
otherwise was none of his business.

As they reached the table, he noticed that most of her party had left in the past
few minutes. Or hooked up with others and dispersed. But the tall woman with the chocolate
skin was staring at her phone with wide eyes.

“I’ve got to go!” She grabbed her coat and looked at Rachel anxiously. “My little
brother has been in a car accident. The ambulance is rushing him to the hospital.”

Shock hit Rachel’s face. “Go!”

“Alicia . . .”

“I’ll take her home.”

The woman’s dark eyes slid over Rachel holding his hand. “You’re busy . . .”

“You’re having an emergency. I can pause for ten minutes to take Alicia home. Go!”

The statuesque woman nodded, then hugged Rachel. “Thanks.”

“Do you need me at the hospital?”

The woman hesitated, but looked like she wanted to say yes. “I’ll call you.”

Well, hell . . . Here might be a fly in his ointment. Decker winced. He’d look like
a grade-A ass for insisting they fuck while some kid might be fighting for his life.
“Do you need to take a rain check, beautiful?”

She hesitated. “I have to take another friend home first.”

“And your mind is going to be on her brother.” He nodded after the black woman with
the outrageous shoes currently scurrying to the door.

Rachel bit her lip. “Probably. I’m really sorry . . .”

She was loyal to her friends, and he admired that. Knowing that she cared about the
people around her made him feel even more protective.

Boohoo. Next thing he knew, he’d be crying at greeting card commercials. Even if she’d
been the douchiest bitch from hell, he wouldn’t condone her ex or some random ass-hat
trying to do her in.

“Don’t worry about it. How about I give you my number, and you see if you feel like
calling me tomorrow?” He hated leaving the ball in her court. It seriously went against
his grain, but he couldn’t come on too strong now without making her suspicious. He’d
think of something tomorrow, if necessary.

But that didn’t mean he intended to leave her alone tonight.

“Really?”

Those big, dark eyes of hers widened in surprise. Hell, those were going to be the
undoing of all his bad intentions. One of those expressions, and he felt like he was
contemplating seducing Little Bo Peep, for fuck’s sake.

“Of course. As much as I’d like to spend tonight with you, I can be patient. If you’re
still interested tomorrow, I’m yours. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fighting the urge to
make you the happiest woman on the planet tonight.” He grinned, and she bestowed that
gorgeous smile on him with the dimple in her left cheek that somehow made him harder.
“But I suppose I can make you doubly happy tomorrow.”

“I’d like that,” she murmured.

And Decker believed that she meant it.
Hot damn!

He scribbled the number of the new disposable phone he’d picked up before coming here
on the back of the bar’s napkin and wrote his first name, then handed it to her. Rachel
took it with a smile.