Running Wilde (The Winnie Wilde Series Book 1) (5 page)

“Why not keep them?” he asked.

She nearly snorted. “I don’t think I’ll be having much call for them anymore.”

“Don’t be so sure,” he said. “That dress is awesome. I’d love to see you in it.” He stepped behind her and pulled up her hair with both of his hands. A tingle went through her body.

“Hold it up again,” he said. She did and they both surveyed her reflection in the mirror. “It looks really amazing with your hair,” he told her.

Winner scrutinized her image. The dress actually did look better with her silver hair – much more striking. “You’re right,” she admitted. “It looks much better now with my hair. The last time I wore it was just over two years ago, to the last dinner Edward and I attended as a couple. My hair was dark blond then.” She lowered the dress and stepped away from Ben. Her hair fell back down. “This was always one of my daughter’s favorites, so she might like it.”

“Don’t give it away,” Ben told her. “Unless you can’t wear it again because of bad memories. I’ll bet you’ll get lots of chances to wear it again.”

She laughed. “Yes, I can wear it to the next cougar convention I attend.”

He joined her in the joke. “Trust me, Winnie, you’re not a cougar.” He leaned against the vanity and looked directly at her with his stunning eyes. “Cougars are predatory. They hunt young men for sport. You won’t have to hunt. Men of all ages are going to be coming to you, prostrating themselves at your feet.”

Again she let loose with a very unladylike snort.

Ben laughed. “That sound really doesn’t match the package, which is why it’s charming.” He stood up straight and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

She thought he was going to initiate another adult play date, and was a bit disappointed when he didn’t. Instead, he stepped back. “I actually came up to say I need to shove off. I have a family thing tonight. But how about tomorrow morning I come by around seven? Does that sound good?”

Winnie was both thrilled and worried about the prospect of early morning sex. The idea excited her, but she’d have to get up much earlier to make sure she looked presentable. She gave him an exaggerated flutter of her eyelashes. “And what would you like me to be wearing when you get here?”

Again, Ben laughed. And again, he kissed her, but this time on her nose. “Your running gear,” he said with a wink. “I thought we might do the trail before I start work.”

CHAPTER SIX

“Come on, slow poke,” Winnie called over her shoulder as she jogged up the trail.

“The view’s better back here,” Ben called to her.

Winnie felt herself blush at the words, knowing he meant her ass. In response, she increased her speed, but he caught up to her in a few easy strides. Together they continued up the trail until they reached Inspiration Point. At the top, Winnie stopped and took a drink of water. They’d taken the trail at a faster pace than she was used to and she was winded. One of the benches was empty and Ben steered her toward it.

“You’re in great shape, Winnie,” he said after taking a drink of his own water.

“You mean for someone my age.” She looked out over the cliff. It was a very clear morning and the view stretched for miles.

“For any age,” Ben said. “I know a lot of girls in their twenties who couldn’t jog that trail. Some could barely walk it without gasping for breath.”

She looked at him and saw he was serious. “Thanks,” she said with a smile. “Physically, I’m in almost as good of shape as I was in college, before I started having my kids.”

“And emotionally?” he asked.

Winnie turned back to look out at the view. “I’m getting there,” she said with a positive jerk of her chin.

“This is where we met,” he said as he slipped an arm around her.

Winnie was quiet, then turned to him and asked the question that had been nagging at her since the day before, “Do you often have flings with older women?”

“Flings?” Ben asked. “Is that what you think this is?”

“Yes,” she answered honestly. “At least it’s all I want out of it for now. I’m not ready for a real relationship with anyone of any age.”

“So you want me to be your boy toy?” He removed his arm from her shoulders and studied her face.

“I want us to be friends, Ben. Friends with benefits.” She paused. “Isn’t that what it’s called?”

He nodded and smiled. “Yes, that’s what it’s called.”

“Did you expect more?”

An older couple who had been sitting on the other bench got up and started walking back down the trail. Ben waited until they passed before speaking. “Honestly no, but if something did develop between us, I would be open to seeing where it went. You’re fun, Winnie. And very smart. And attractive and sexy. All the things I look for in a woman, no matter her age.”

“So you have had flings with women my age before?”

Now it was his turn to blush. “Yes, I have,” he answered after a few moments. “A couple. In general, I find them less complicated than women my age.” He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his spread knees, his hands clasped between them. “Remember how I said I wandered around after college with a buddy of mine?”

She nodded.

“That wasn’t planned. I was engaged and supposed to get married the summer after graduation. I’d barely gotten my diploma when she broke it off. Two weeks later, she and some guy she met at a party got married in Vegas.”

Winnie put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Ben. That’s really crappy, but better it happened when it did than after you got married.”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone tells me.” He leaned back against the bench, took off his cap, and ran a hand through his thick black hair. “And I know it’s true. Since then I’ve dated quite a few women, mostly older.” He turned to her. “Do you mind?”

She looked into his eyes – his beautiful blue-gray eyes – and answered with what was in her heart, “No, I don’t. Like you said, it’s less complicated. Maybe it’s because we’re more realistic in our expectations. We have fewer fairytales scrambling our brains.”

“More like you’re more independent. You’ve been married and had your kids. Most of the older women I know are just looking for fun and companionship.”

“Friends with benefits,” Winnie added.

“Yep, and for now that’s all I want too.” He shot her a smile. “So we’re on the same page.”

When they got back to Winnie’s house, they ran up the stairs to the master suite and started pulling each other’s running clothes off. Once naked, Ben pushed Winnie back onto her still unmade bed. He was fully erect and breathing heavy as he climbed on the bed and locked his mouth onto hers.

“Damn,” he said, pulling away. “The condoms are in my jeans which are still in the truck.” He started to get up, but she stopped him.

“In the nightstand,” she told him in a breathy voice. “In the drawer.”

Ben pulled open the small drawer of the nightstand and laughed. Inside were a couple of new boxes of condoms of various sizes and colors. He opened one box and pulled a few out, holding them up. “At this rate, your house will never be done.”

Winnie laughed and pulled Ben down to her but he held back. Instead, he grabbed the condoms, gathered her into his arms, and carried both into the bathroom.

Winnie stood under the hot shower, letting the tingly spray of the shower massage hit her in the head and face. It was a large custom shower that could easily hold a couple of people, with multiple showerheads and even a bench at one end. It had been the one thing Edward had insisted on installing when they remodeled the master suite ten years earlier, even though they had only occupied it once as a couple shortly after it had been finished. She had wanted a whirlpool tub. She lost, but now was glad she had.

Winnie turned on the multiple jets so that the water hit them from the front, the top, and behind, and turned around to face Ben, kissing him hard while the shower rinsed away the sweat from their run. When they broke apart he instructed her to turn back around. Grabbing shampoo from the shower shelf, Ben poured some into his hand and began massaging the fruity scented soap through her wet hair.

“Oh, that feels so good,” Winnie moaned. She tilted her head up, arching her neck, while he firmly rubbed her scalp with his strong hands.

Ben turned her around again and continued gently kneading her scalp while the water rinsed her hair. He brought his mouth down on hers for just a few seconds, then he reached for the shower gel, lathered up, and massaged her body as he had done her hair. Winnie purred like a lazy indulged feline. When she tried to apply soap to his body, he stopped her. “Not yet,” he whispered.

He continued lathering, rubbing the slippery soap from her shoulders down her breasts. While his hands concentrated on her arms, his tongue flicked from one hard, slick nipple to the other, causing her to wiggle with delight. His touch switched between gentle and firm, kneading and caressing, like a good Swedish massage. She purred louder when his fingers tracked down her spine like ten marching soldiers, but her body stiffened when the fingers of one hand slipped between her buttocks, rubbing and teasing.

“Relax,” he whispered in her ear just before his mouth came down on hers. Taking a deep breath, she gave in, giving him free reign over her body. His other hand slipped between her legs from the front, causing her to yelp softly against his mouth. In seconds, she was panting. A few minutes later, she cried out and slumped against him.

He held her tight against his firm chest until she lifted her face to his and said, “Your turn.”

Clinging to each other, they switched places in the large shower until the main spray was running down Ben’s back. Following his lead, Winnie quickly washed his hair and gave him a soapy massage, but near the end she lowered herself, kneeling on the wet tile. She played with his genitals, massaging them. He moaned, his arms spread out, one hand flat against the side of the shower, the other clutching the top of the shower door. His head was thrown back and his eyes closed.

She rubbed between his strong ropey thighs, and traced the muscles with her tongue. When her mouth closed over his erection and began sucking, he called out something unintelligible. Winnie was pleased. She wanted to give him as much pleasure as he’d given her.

Winnie reached for the condoms Ben had left on the shower bench and unwrapped one while Ben slipped to the floor, his back against the wall, his legs out in front of him. Quickly Winnie slipped the condom on and straddled him, impaling herself hard and fast. For a few seconds, they stayed still, locked together with the water hitting them from several sides, then they began rocking, finding a common rhythm, until they climaxed almost at the same time.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“A dildo does not make you run,” Kathy pointed out over dinner on Friday night.

“No, it doesn’t,” Winnie agreed, “but it also doesn’t make me feel like the top of my head is about to come off.” She paused, then added, “In a good way. In a
very
good way.”

“So you’re enjoying your physical therapy?” Kathy did air quotes when saying the last two words.

Winnie laughed. “Yes, very much. Although I doubt it’s doing the state drought situation any good.”

“And is any work getting done on the house?”

A waiter delivered two beet salads to their table and Winnie waited until he left before answering. “Quite a bit, actually.” Winnie poked a fork at her salad. “We don’t spend the entire day in bed, you know. We seem to have settled into a nice but exciting routine. In the morning we run, then make love, then work on the house. Except yesterday when Nadia came in to clean. We skipped the run, and when Ben showed up, he went right to work. Although I did notice that Nadia enjoyed having the eye candy around. The part of the house where Ben was working was especially clean.”

“And the screwing?” Kathy asked, her green eyes glowing with curiosity. “Did you skip that too or sneak off to the garage while Nadia was busy scrubbing that den of iniquity better known as your shower?”

Winnie blushed. “We had a quickie after Nadia went home.” She stabbed a beet. “Actually, the quickie turned into an overnight.” She stuck the beet into her mouth and chewed. “Yum. This is the best beet salad I’ve ever had.”

Kathy took a bite of hers and agreed, but before she could say anything more the waiter brought two plates of appetizers their table. One plate contained delicate quarters of deviled eggs. The other held miniature grilled cheese sandwiches, no bigger than a bite. “Compliments of the chef,” the waiter said as he placed them on the table.

Winnie popped a tiny sandwich into her mouth. “Mmmm. I’m going to have to run an extra few miles after this meal.”

Kathy had just sampled a deviled egg. “Will you be running those miles vertically or horizontally?”

Winnie was tempted to throw a baby sandwich at Kathy but changed her mind since it was a very nice restaurant and she didn’t want to waste the delicious food. That, and the chef was heading their way.

“Hi,” said the tall slender woman in a white chef’s coat. She had short unnaturally black hair and very white skin. Settled on her long nose were round glasses with purple frames. Her face was narrow and her mouth highlighted by laugh lines. She smiled at both of them, but her gaze latched onto Kathy. “I’m so glad you decided to try my restaurant, Kathy.”

“After your passionate pitch about the place, how could I not?” Kathy matched the chef’s smile and eye latch. “Zoe, this is my very dear friend Winnie Wilde,” Kathy said, remembering her manners and making the introduction. “Winnie, this is Chef Zoe Hull. She’s the owner and Executive Chef of this place.”

“I believe we met briefly at Ann Marie Hattersley’s birthday party a few weeks ago,” Winnie said, holding out her right hand. The two women shook. “I’m one of her writing students.” Winnie pointed at her nearly empty plate. “The beet salad was divine and I might already be addicted to these mini sandwiches.”

“Thank you,” Zoe said, pleased with the praise. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken the liberty of changing your order. I’m preparing something different for you, a specialty that is not on the menu, and my pastry chef is whipping up a special dessert.” She hesitated, then asked with concern, “Any allergies I should know about?” When Winnie and Kathy both shook their heads, Zoe said with a grin, “Good.”

On her way back to the kitchen, Zoe paused to say hello to a few other diners, then stopped their waiter to have a few words. A minute later, a bottle of wine arrived in an ice bucket, along with fresh glasses to replace the single-glass wine they had originally ordered. The waiter uncorked the new bottle and poured them each a glass. They took a sip and nodded their appreciation to the waiter, who left, leaving the bottle in the bucket.

Winnie took another sip of the wine. It was a crisp and elegant white, perfect with the food on the table, and she was sure it would accompany the surprise dishes beautifully. “So, what’s the story with Chef Zoe?”

Kathy grinned like a kid who’d won a prize. “I met Zoe through Ann Marie a while back. At the party we spent almost the entire night talking and hit it off.”

“I don’t remember that. Where was I?”

“In a corner talking about writing with a bunch of Ann Marie’s nerdy students.”

“I
am
one of Ann Marie’s nerdy students,” Winnie reminded her.

Ignoring Winnie’s comment, Kathy continued, “Zoe seemed interested, but I never followed up on her overtures. After seeing you take such bold chances of the heart, I decided I wasn’t about to sit on the sidelines. So I made reservations here for dinner tonight.” She took a sip of her wine. “I didn’t tell her we were coming. Zoe must have seen the name in the reservation book. The plan was to scope out the place and maybe have a quick word with her to see if she was still interested.”

“Interested?” Winnie asked with amusement. She held up her glass to Kathy in a toast. “I believe you are being downright wooed, my dear.”

“Speaking of which,” Kathy said after downing another egg. “Let’s get back to the sleepover. How did it go?”

Winnie reached for an egg. “Hey, don’t hog those.”

“You’re avoiding my nosiness,” Kathy said, passing the plate of eggs to Winnie, who in turned traded it for the plate of remaining grilled cheese mini-bites.

Winnie took her time answering. She popped an egg into her mouth and chewed, then washed it down with some of the delicious wine. “It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” she admitted with a sly grin. “After our quickie, we ordered pizza for dinner and ate in the den while watching a movie. We also talked a lot.” She paused. “Ben’s really an interesting guy; a free spirit but with both feet on the ground and a solid head for business. I wish I’d met someone like him when I was in college, instead of Edward.”

“Maybe,” Kathy said, studying Winnie, “you did and at that time in your life you weren’t interested in that type of person.”

They continued eating in silence while Winnie digested what Kathy had just said. “Maybe you’re right, Kathy,” she finally agreed. They’d finished their salads and a bus boy came by to whisk away their plates and replace their cutlery. The waiter replenished their wine glasses.

Winnie nodded without looking across the table. “Yes, maybe you’re right,” she repeated. “Edward was so stable and knew exactly what he wanted. I was drawn to that and never saw the dullness beneath it.”

“You didn’t see it because you were doing exactly what was expected of you,” Kathy noted. “Find a nice, stable boy with a future, marry him, and raise a family.”

“Yes,” Winnie agreed. “Although I don’t regret my kids or even many of my years with Edward. Most of that time he was a good husband and father, even if he was controlling and set in his ways. He’s exactly like his father, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’d always thought his mother was cold and plastic, then one day I realized I had become plastic too. I was the dutiful wife, self-sacrificing, obedient and always last in line when it came to getting what I want.”

“Are you getting what you want now?” Kathy asked.

Winnie shrugged. “Sexually, yes. Ben is a great lover, both giving and receiving. As for the other stuff, I don’t know yet. I’m a little worried about all the changes going on. I’m very excited, but also scared. What if I don’t like travelling? What if I regret giving up the house? Technically, I’ll be homeless.”

“Do you want to keep the house? You can, you know. You haven’t sold it yet and it’s paid for.”

Winnie shook her head. “No, I don’t want the house. It’s big and feels too oppressive. I never liked that house. It was Edward’s dream house. He insisted on buying it.”

“So why don’t you look around for something you might like. Something small and with less maintenance.” Kathy took another sip of wine.

“Maybe I will,” Winnie said. “I’d like something like your condo, but at the beach. Chet had thought I was selling the house to buy a condo at the beach. Maybe my son knows me better than I do.”

A party of four walked past their table on their way to their own. Kathy recognized one of the men in the group and they exchanged quick pleasantries. After, Kathy asked, “Speaking of kids, how are you and Tiff doing?”

Winnie shrugged. “I’ve called her, but she hasn’t responded, except to send me a text saying she’d be by tomorrow, along with her brother, to go through their rooms. I’ve already pulled everything out of their closets and drawers and piled it up in boxes, guessing at what they might want and not want, so it’s not like it will take all weekend.”

“Will Ben be working at your place this weekend?”

“No,” Winnie answered. “He wanted to come by and help, but I told him it was not a good idea. He understood completely, but we made plans for Saturday night.” Winnie grinned. “He asked me out on a date.”

“A real date?” Kathy asked with one auburn brow cocked.

“Yes, ma’am. We’re going to some charity event in Beverly Hills.”

“Not a Laker’s game?” Kathy asked. “That’s what I would expect from someone his age.”

“Nope.” Winnie sipped her wine. “Cocktail attire is even required.”

“And another sleepover?” Kathy eyed Winnie over the rim of her own wine glass.

Winnie winked at her. “That’s the plan.”

Their entrée arrived – a whole fish cooked to perfection with an assortment of vegetables on the side. Their waiter expertly carved and plated the fish tableside, then disappeared. They fell on their food, nearly swooning with each bite.

“Marry this woman, Kathy,” Winnie said in a hushed whisper across the table. “If she’ll have you, grab her, then invite me to dinner at least once a week.” They both laughed.