Wilde Chase (3 page)

Kelly checked her
reflection and gave herself thumbs-up. She had ditched her usual jeans and a
ponytail for a flirty blue summer dress and strappy heels. Even her hair was
behaving for once, spilling down to her shoulders in glossy curls. Ben had only
ever seen her at work, and tonight she was looking forward to showing him the
person she was underneath the white coat. They both had jobs that came with
expectations when it came to the way they portrayed themselves to others, and
Kelly wanted to know who Ben was when he wasn’t on duty.

She also wanted to
get her hands on his sexy body and find out if her late-night fantasies about
her hazel-eyed hottie stacked up to the real thing, but she wasn’t admitting to
that out loud. The one sweet kiss he’d given her that night had fueled her
fantasies and confirmed they definitely had chemistry. Tonight Kelly hoped to
find out if they had more in common than just a spark.

Her musings were
cut short when her phone chirped, announcing she had a text. It was from her
sister, Jenny. Knowing that Jenny would be thrilled to hear that her older
sister was finally getting a social life, Kelly texted back with the news she
was about to head out on a date with a cutie she’d met at work. Five texts in a
row came blasting back as Jenny squealed, cheered, wished her luck, and
reminded her that she’d want all the details later. The last text just asked if
Kelly had any condoms that didn’t predate the invention of the Internet.

Brat.

If things worked
out, Kelly would eventually have to mention what Ben did for a living, but that
was a conversation for another day. Jenny had only been off the streets six
months, and it would be a long time before she learned to trust the system
again, or anyone who worked for it.

Kelly sighed. It
wasn’t the system that had let Jenny down, it was her. She should have come
home sooner. Maybe then she could have found a way to protect Jenny from the
mistakes she was making. After their parents died, Kelly had thrown herself
into her work to the exclusion of everything and everyone else. Jenny had made
another choice. She’d turned to drugs.

Kelly derailed her
thoughts before they got maudlin. Five minutes before being picked up for her
first date in almost a year was no time to start thinking about Jenny or their
parents. What was done was done, and tonight was about fun, flirting, and
getting back out into the world.

She’d given her
small apartment a good once-over to make sure it looked presentable, not that
it took much. Kelly had taken the first place she could find that fit her needs
and her price range, but in the time she’d been here, it had never really felt
like a home. It was where she slept and ate, but there was no personality in
the drab white walls and simple furnishings. The furniture was well worn and
terribly practical, but she didn’t have the funds to replace anything.

Money was tight
these days and Kelly knew it would be a year or more before the situation
changed. She couldn’t afford to move, though it was something she considered
from time to time. The inheritance and insurance benefit from her parents’
death had covered her student loans, and what was left had been just enough to
allow her to buy into the clinic. Now most of what she made went to pay for
things Kelly never imagined she’d have to afford, like Jenny’s rehab.

A nicer place to
live just wasn’t in the cards for now. And it
was
nice and close to work.

When he knocked on
her door at one minute to six, Kelly did a three-second victory dance before
sedately walking over to the door and checking the peephole. Ben was standing
outside the door, holding a bouquet of red roses.

Holy
shit.
The man had brought her flowers.

She unhooked the
security chain and opened the door.
“Hi, Ben.”

“Hi…wow.” His eyes
widened as he took in her appearance.

“I’m going to take
that as a compliment.”

“You should. I
mean. It was. I…wow.” Ben offered her the flowers with a lopsided grin as he
realized he was babbling. “You look amazing, Kelly. And these are for you.”

“Thank you.” She
took the flowers and gestured for him to come in. “I’ll just be a minute. I’ll
put these in water and then we can go.
Oh,
and how’s
Chase? Did he sulk when you left him at home alone?” She headed for the tiny
kitchen and rummaged around until she came up with a vase big enough to hold
the mass of blooms. They were really beautiful, and she needed the space to get
her head together after seeing Ben all dressed up for her. The man really was
sex on a stick. Her entire body was humming with longing already and they
hadn’t even left her apartment yet.

“Chase was
definitely sulking when I left, but I promised him the leftovers so I figure
he’ll forgive me eventually. He’s like every other male I know, highly
bribable. Are you going to tell me where we’re going for dinner yet?” he asked
from the other room.

“As Chase’s vet,
I’m not thrilled to hear he’s bribed with people food! And the restaurant was
Chris’s suggestion. He’s been raving about the cheeseburgers at this place for
months, and I keep meaning to go and then never get around to it. You game for
burgers and beers?” she asked and poked her head around to see how he felt
about her suggestion.

“Your idea of a fun
night out is burgers and beers? Be still, my heart.” He slapped a hand over his
broad chest and grinned. “I like the way you think, Dr. Towers.”

She rejoined him
in the main room and snagged her purse off the coffee table as she went by.
“And I like the way you look out of uniform, Officer Wilde.”

He looked damn
good tonight. He was wearing dark slacks and a short-sleeved dress shirt with
just a hint of green in the pinstripes. That bit of color brought out the green
in his hazel eyes. She couldn’t be sure because he kept it so short, but it
looked liked he had even gotten his hair freshly cut. There was something very
sexy about having a man go out of his way to look good, especially when she was
the one he was trying to impress.

He offered her his
arm and she took it, resting her hand on the top of one well-muscled forearm.
“You’re going to need to give me the name of this restaurant we’re going to.”

“Oh, right. It’s
called Leo’s. I think it’s a bar and grill-type place.”

Ben went still and
pivoted on his heel so that he was staring down at her with an expression that
was two parts humor and one part shock. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Kelly didn’t
understand his reaction. “No. Do you know the place? I know it’s not downtown.
I’m not actually sure how Chris found out about it. We could go somewhere else
if you’d rather.”

“Oh, I know it
well.”
 
Ben started to laugh and Kelly
just watched, perplexed as he kept laughing until there were tears in his eyes.

“Is there some
reason we shouldn’t go there?”

“Well, that really
depends on you, baby. The food is fantastic, but I’m not sure our first date is
the right time for you to meet my entire family.”

“Why would they
all be at the same place for dinner? Is there a family function I’m keeping you
from?” Kelly didn’t like the idea that she had pulled Ben away from family to
go out with her. She knew too well how precious those times could be.

“Nothing
like
that, no. You just happened to pick the one place in
all of
Chicago
that’s run by my family. Dad owns it and my brother, Jared, manages the place.
Most Friday nights at least half my brothers are there too, scoring a free
meal.”

“Well, shit,”
Kelly cursed and then burst out laughing. She couldn’t even begin to calculate
the odds of her picking a place Ben’s family actually owned.

“I have a
suggestion,” he said, as he wrapped one arm around her waist and drew her in
close enough she had to tip her head back to look at him.

Kelly’s heart
started beating faster as she found herself pressed against the solid mass of
Ben’s chest, staring into the heated depths of his eyes. “And what might that
be?”

“I call in an
order for pickup. We grab dinner and make our escape before the family descends
on us like a cloud of locusts looking for juicy tidbits.”

Kelly sensed where
Ben was going with his plan and decided her sister had a point. She’d been
playing it safe far too long. For once she was going to take what she wanted,
no regrets.

“Mhmm.
There’s just one flaw with this plan of yours. Once we hightail out
of there with the burgers, where are we going to eat them?”

“I know this out-of-the-way
place. Nothing fancy, but the security is second to none, and he works for
cheeseburgers. Sound good?”

“You feed Chase
cheeseburgers
?”

“It’s a guy thing.
And you haven’t answered my question.”

Kelly reached between
them, catching her fingers on the collar of his shirt and tugging his head down
so that she could brush her lips over his. “I like your plan.”

“And I like
you
,” he murmured as his hand fisted in
her hair and his mouth took hers in a sensual kiss that had her pulse racing
and her entire being sizzling with instant heat.

****

This is absolutely the best first date I’ve ever had.

That was the last
thought to pass through Ben’s mind before he stopped thinking about anything
other than the fact he finally had Kelly in his arms. Her soft curves molded to
his body like they’d been made to fit together, two pieces of a puzzle that had
taken months to complete. He speared his fingers into her hair, tangling her
chestnut curls around his fingers and holding her firmly in place as he finally
kissed her the way he’d always wanted to.

She tasted of
cinnamon, a sweet, subtle heat that teased his senses. He wanted more. Hell, he
wanted everything. He wanted to know her taste, her scent, and the feel of her
bare skin under his hands. Kelly parted her lips and moaned, the soft noise
vibrating across his tongue. Would she make those same tiny sounds of pleasure
when he was buried inside of her? Ben hoped he’d know the answer to that
question very soon.

The tip of her
tongue flicked against his lips and he growled in response, pushing their kiss
deeper. Tongues tangled, breath mingled as they stroked and touched each other,
rubbing their bodies together until he could swear the air was shimmering with
the heat between them.

“Dinner,” she
murmured the single word against his lips.

“Huh? Oh, right.
Dinner.
I was going to call in a pickup order.”

“Mhmm,” she hummed
in agreement, and the vibration buzzed against his lips, sending another rush
of blood to his already aching dick. Her pretty gray-blue eyes fluttered open
and he felt a hint of smug satisfaction when he saw the passion burning in
their depths. He’d started that fire and put that dreamy smile on her
kiss-swollen lips. Not Chapman or one of his own Lothario siblings.

Oh shit.
His brothers.
If they so much as looked at Kelly too long he
would to have to tear their heads off just on principle. This was going to take
a little preparation, or his first date with Kelly was going to end up with at
least one of his siblings bleeding. She was far too beautiful for it to go down
any other way. His brothers weren’t going to be able to resist.

“I should probably
warn you, my brothers are going to take one look at you and consider it their
sworn duty to convince you that you’re with the wrong Wilde.”

“Just how many
brothers will I be saying ‘no’ to on the way to pay for dinner?”

“At
least two.
Three is more likely and there’s some
chance of all four being there.”

Kelly’s eyes
widened. “Your mother raised five boys? Has she been nominated for sainthood
yet?”

Ben reluctantly
stepped back and released her from his arms. It pleased him to note that she
didn’t go very far, taking only a single step so she had room to straighten her
dress and shake out her hair.
“Not yet, no.
What about
you?”

“I’m definitely
not up for sainthood. As for my family, my parents were killed in a car crash a
few years ago, so now it’s just me and my sister, Jenny.”

“I’m sorry.” Ben
slid an arm around her again and drew her close for a gentle hug.

“It’s okay. You
couldn’t have known. My sister took it pretty badly, but she’s getting her life
back on track now. We watch out for each other, you know how it is.”

“I do. You may
want to smack them upside the head sometimes, but they’re
family
.”

“Exactly.
And for the record, I don’t need to meet your brothers to know I’m
with the right Wilde.”

“Please feel free
to tell them that when the flirting starts.” Ben hoped she did just that. He’d
enjoy watching their faces as she shut them down and walked out of there with
him tonight, probably more than he should.