Be My Bad Boy (6 page)

You can’t make a girl come like that and then let her sleep alone.

He exhaled in relief.
She didn’t know. He’d kept his voice low and tried to maintain a flat,
Midwestern accent to disguise his hint of a southern twang while they were
together, but her eyes had widened when he’d told her he loved her. Her body
had gone rigid beneath him, and he had been sure she’d guessed who he was. He
didn’t want that. Not yet. He’d felt ridiculous bolting the way he had, but he
hadn’t trusted himself at all. He wanted to make love to her again. More than
that, he’d wanted to tell her everything that was in his heart. He’d had such a
hard time keeping his guard up. His frank words had jolted both of them, so
he’d fled. Leaving had been for the best, no matter how much he ached to still
have her in his arms.

Soon, my love.
Trust me.

He stared down at the
screen until the backlight faded. Was she going to reply? How many times would
she put up with him telling her to trust him before she started to insist he
tell her his secret? After another minute, she did reply.

It’s hard. You’re holding all the cards. I have nothing but a cold,
empty bed.

Her words tugged at
his heart and made his groin ache. He wanted to run back down the hall to her
and whisk her home. Maybe she would be over her shock by the time he got her
back to his place. It hurt a little that she didn’t seem to suspect it was him
at all, especially as he was the last man she had dated, but as long as she
still looked at him with the same passion in her eyes, he would get over it
quickly. Then she’d fall into his arms, and they would make love all night
long. She’d realize she had been wrong about him, and they’d be happy.

Or would it go that
way? When she discovered his deception, would she be angry? Would she slap him
and say she hated him? Would she feel betrayed and hurt and vulnerable, unable
to face him? Or, if he went back in his normal clothes and knocked on the door
or ran into her as she left, would she look right through him as she always
had? If he ran down the hall and bumped into her as she went in pursuit of her
mystery man, would she beg him to help her find a guy dressed in black? Would
she look right into his eyes and not recognize him? His heart would shatter on
the spot if that happened. He had to resist. He finally sent the message he’d
planned on sending when he got home.

May I see you tomorrow night?

Her answer came
immediately.

Yes. Call me tonight. I want to hear your voice when I’m in bed.

He responded quickly.

Call me once you’re there. I’ll be waiting.

He stuffed the phone
in his pocket and exited the building as fast as he could. He lived close, much
closer than she did, but he still sped home in anticipation of her call. He
wanted to hear her voice very much. The prospect strengthened his resolve. If
he had to wait until the next night for any contact from her, he might not make
it. He didn’t know if he’d be as dashing showing up on her doorstep at two in
the morning as he had been when he’d whisked her away from the party. He had to
keep her under his spell a little longer if he hoped to make the enchantment
last forever.

This time he laughed
out loud as he pulled into his driveway, but then he decided he liked the
magical metaphor that had been playing through his head all night. He felt
powerful right now. Making love to her had been everything he had expected and
so much more. Complete. She had chosen that word, and it had been perfect.
She’d asked him to make her complete, and he intended to do exactly that. She’d
also said she knew who he was: the man she wanted, the man she needed. She’d
even confirmed that he had fulfilled, and even surpassed, her fantasies.

He’d been in her
thrall for so long that having her miss him and beg to be near him made him
feel invincible. Her desire to return to his arms filled him with both joy and
longing. It gave him confidence. More importantly, it gave him hope.

* * * *

Katie opened the door
quietly and listened before entering the hallway. She heard nothing, so she
stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She looked to her right
and to her left. They’d come from the left, hadn’t they? She’d been paying so
much attention to both the man leading her and the aching need he had inspired
that she hadn’t paid much attention the directions as he led her up here. She
went to the left and found a staircase that looked familiar. She ventured a
guess on the next floor, and soon rejoined the party downstairs.

She wondered if
anyone would notice her. She felt so satisfied she could hardly believe her
skin wasn’t glowing. She kept an eye out for the masked man in case he had hung
back to watch her leave, but she didn’t see him. That was probably for the
best. She didn’t trust herself not to rush up to him and either kiss him or rip
his mask off. The last thing she needed was to be fired for unbecoming behavior,
though some of her colleagues looked like they were not quite as concerned
about such a thing happening. She smoothed her skirt as she moved toward the
exit and narrowly avoided having her bosom doused with wine as she walked past
Miriam from the registrar’s office. She eyed the table next to the food
stations. It had been covered with bottles of wine and champagne earlier. Now,
she counted ten bottles. She had only seen three students there, but she was
far more concerned about the legal adults who probably only drank “socially.”

Katie turned back to
glance at Miriam again. She’d heard rumors of a flashing incident one time, but
it might have only been a rumor. Some of the other charitable masqueraders
seemed far closer to the flashing threshold by her estimate. She avoided eye
contact with everyone and hurried out the glass doors.

She smiled to
herself. No matter what any of the other guests did tonight, none of them would
be able to top her adventure. She took a deep breath as she walked to her car.
The brisk air was refreshing. She reached her car without passing anyone else. She
looked around at all the other vehicles in the lot, but she saw no one. She
wouldn’t have had the courage to follow him home, but she still held out a
small hope that she might be able to entice him home with her. Did he know
where she lived? Would he be waiting for her? She could dream, but she would
probably have to wait until tomorrow night. She pulled out into traffic and
made her way home.

She kept thinking
about his voice. His tone had captivated her more than his accent, which was
pretty ordinary. He spoke so sensuously, and his words had heightened every
sensation. As controlled as he’d been physically, making her wait and drawing
out her pleasure in ways she’d never dreamed possible, his voice revealed how
much he desired her every time he uttered even one word. Sincerity could be
faked of course, but she didn’t believe he could have fooled her so completely
the entire time. She believed he did love her, crazy as that might sound to
anyone else. He’d proven well enough that he did know her, but how long had he
known her? She didn’t believe in love at first sight, but neither did she
believe two people had to wait months or years to know how they really felt
about one another. She thought and thought trying to place his voice. She kept
thinking of men at work, but then she crossed every one of the off her list
because something didn’t fit. She would never be able to remember all the men
who had volunteered in February, but then again he’d said they met before that.
She wanted to figure out who he was before she saw him again. Even knowing his
hair color would help. It was short, but ninety-nine percent of the men who
worked at the university had short hair. Surely he wouldn’t keep wearing his
mask. But what if he did? It had made their lovemaking even more erotic and
exciting. He obviously had a taste for such things, and she wondered what he
might have planned for tomorrow night. The thought sent a shiver down her
spine. She’d spent most of the last hour quaking in one way or another.

She laughed at
herself as she pulled into her driveway. What had she gotten herself into? It
certainly wasn’t the kind of “how we got together” story one could share with
just anybody. And she liked that.
A lot.
She thought
about how amazing his mouth had felt all over her body. She smiled blissfully
as she recalled the passionate look in his eyes. What woman could forget those
eyes? He’d only been teasing her when he’d insisted they had kissed before.
That
was impossible. A man who had ever
kissed her like that would have to flee the country to be free of her.

She couldn’t wait for
him to kiss her again. She hurried into the house to get ready for bed. It was
only a little after ten, but she wanted to hear his voice again. Perhaps
hearing him on the phone would jog her maddeningly stubborn memory. Katie hoped
so. She doubted she’d be able to sleep at all that night, let alone get through
the entire day tomorrow without knowing who he was. If she was going to have
her heart stolen, she wanted to know whom to blame so she could give him
exactly what he deserved for such a crime.

* * * *

Peter reclined on his
bed and stared at the ceiling. Where was she? He’d been waiting nearly an hour.
She lived twenty minutes from the university, and he couldn’t imagine her taking
too long to get dressed or running into much traffic. Had she met someone on the
way out? Would she actually have stopped to chat with someone after what they’d
experienced together? Perhaps he was only assuming she was as eager to talk to
him as he was to talk to her, yet she had clearly wanted him to go home with
her. Was she making him wait because of the way he’d teased her during their
lovemaking? Or was she trying to punish him a little for not going home with
her or revealing his identity?

The phone finally
rang, pulling him from his desperate thoughts. He made himself hold back and
let it ring four times. Then he snatched it up and answered it.

“Hello?”

“I’d like to speak to
the man who made love to me an hour ago.”

“That would be me.”

“And I still don’t
get a name?”

“No.”

She let out a sigh,
sounding very disappointed. “I want one tomorrow night, or I won’t come.”

“I can make you. You
know I can.”

She hesitated, but
then he heard her soft laughter. He wanted her in his arms tonight.
Every night.
“You know that’s not what I meant. You probably
could though, and very easily too. That’s why I want a name.”

“Because you know
you’re playing with fire? You don’t want to be burned too badly?”

“I’ve wracked my
brain for an hour. How are you doing this? How do you know me so well? You have
to give me some kind of clue.”

“I love you. A man
pays attention very well once a woman has his heart.”

“And I have yours?”

“Yes.”

“Then why hide from
me? Why aren’t we together? Tonight was amazing, a genuine fantasy come true,
and I hope we have many more nights like this one. However, I can’t help wondering
what made you decide to reveal your feelings this way?”

If he let her, she
would draw the truth out of him in no time. He needed to distract her, but he
could give her a subtle clue by telling some of what lay in his heart. “I held
back with you and never told you how I felt. Now I wish I hadn’t been so
restrained in the past. If I’d know how we would be together, I would have
taken you the first time I got you alone.”

She sighed again, but
this time he heard the need behind it. “I wish you had. How long have you felt
this way?”

“I won’t answer that
tonight.”

“What will you do
tonight?”

“Tell you how to
prepare for our next date.”

“Don’t you mean our
first date?” she asked teasingly.

He bit his tongue. He
couldn’t give her more clues. Whether she knew it or not, she would have a very
good one if he answered truthfully. He chose to tease her instead. “Tonight
wasn’t a date?”

“An
abduction maybe.
A ravishing.
A masterful seduction.
Tonight was nothing like any
date I’ve ever been on.”

“I could feel how
much you need a man like me.”

“I’ve always wanted a
man to touch me the way you do.”

“And tomorrow night,
I will again.”

“I’m even more
interested in finding out how you knew exactly how to touch me.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

He felt lonely lying
there with her.
“Tomorrow.
I promise. You’ll get a
very nice surprise.”

“So what do you want
me to do?”

“A limo will arrive
at your door at six. Wear anything you want, but bring an overnight bag. When
you get into the limo, there will be a blindfold there. We won’t move until you
put it on, and I’ll take you straight home if you take it off.”

“Where will you take
me?”

“My
home.”

“Would you really
turn around and take me home if I took the blindfold off?”