Wilde at Heart (15 page)

“You work for DMW, too?” Shelby asked. Alicia gave her an odd look and for a heart-stopping moment, she wondered if she’d tipped her hand. She hurried to add, “Reece doesn’t talk about work much at home.”

“He doesn’t?” Genuine surprise colored her voice. “I didn’t know Reece ever talks about anything but work.”

Crap. That was true. She’d pushed the lie a bit too hard. Time to back off. She tried on her best sheepish expression. “Uh, it’s actually a rule I came up with. Between DMW and Wilde Security, he gets so wrapped up, you know? If I don’t force him to put it aside, take a break, he never would.”

Alicia eyed her as if seeing her for the very first time, and a certain amount of respect filled her eyes. “Good for you. Yes, I think y
ou’ll be good for him.”

Pleasure warmed Shelby’s belly at the words, even though she knew they weren’t the truth. She wasn’t good for Reece. But, still, hearing someone say so… She wanted to hug Alicia for it. Nobody had ever thought her good for anything or anyone.

Alicia took a sip of her drink. “Dylan and I are both workaholics. Just as bad as Reece. We never stop. And, yes, I work for DMW. I’m the chief financial officer, but I also help Dylan with marketing and operations.”

“Oh. Now I feel stupid for not knowing that.”

“Nah. Don’t worry about it. Your no-work-at-home rule is a good one. Don’t let Reece break it.”

“Believe me, I won’t.” She scanned the room again. “Are there any other DMW employees here I should know?”

“Hmm.” Alicia followed her gaze. “Over there.” She tilted her chin in the direction of a skinny man with a slicked-back ponytail of thinning brown hair. “Cliff McWilliam. He took over as head of development after the company started getting too big for Reece to handle both development and his duties as CEO. I’m actually a little surprised to see him here. He and Reece haven’t been seeing eye-to-eye lately.”

Interesting.
“About the merger with Irving James?”

“No, no. Cliff is all about technology and could care less about the business side of things as long as he can keep tinkering with his computers. I’m not quite sure what happened, but from what I gathered through the company’s gossip mill, Reece caught Cliff doing things in development that Reece hadn’t given his okay for.”

Shelby made a mental note of the name for later. She should probably change the subject now before she aroused any suspicion, but Alicia was definitely a little tipsy. Alcohol was great for loosening lips, and she was afraid she’d never get this chance again. “Who else do I need to know about?”

“Oh, well. Lena. She was the head of sales until her drinking got to be too much. Reece let her go about three weeks ago—with a more than generous severance package if you ask me—but it did nothing to lessen the grudge she’s been holding against him since he turned her down.” Alicia leaned in, lowered her voice. “Word of advice. Avoid Lena if you can. She’s not above starting cat fights.”

Shelby glanced in the woman’s direction, only to find Lena scowling at her. Wow. That was more than a grudge. That was pure hatred.

Yeah, definitely better to avoid her.

Another mental note.

“Well, look at this,” Dylan said as he and Reece joined them. “Our wives are bonding. We’re doomed.”

“You were doomed the second you married me.” Alicia leaned in to kiss her husband, then smiled over at Reece. “And you, mister, have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“I have a pretty good idea.” He slid his arm around Shelby’s waist. It was the first time he’d touched her since last night. He’d been avoiding her as if she were combustible and he’d burst into flames at even the smallest contact but—surprise—he didn’t.

Sure, he was only touching her now as part of his husband act, but she took full advantage. She leaned in to his side as they followed the other couple toward the dinner table, played up the whole crazy-in-love newlywed thing. But instead of making him uncomfortable, he went with the flow, again surprising her. The man could act. Nobody looking at the two of them would see anything other than happy newlyweds and it made her…well, a little sad. Deep down, she admitted to herself that she wouldn’t mind if it was more than an act. Wouldn’t ever happen, but still. That didn’t stop her from wanting it.

Reece nuzzled her ear. “Are you okay?”

No. No, she wasn’t because she’d been lying to him from the start, and she hated it. Hated that she’d just given his slightly tipsy financial officer the third degree to get info on his company. But she didn’t dare tell him the truth about Jason’s investigation into DMW Systems, especially not while he was already worried about the blackmail, so she shoved the guilt aside. Besides, maybe her snooping would uncover something to help him because the more she thought about it, the more her instincts called foul at the oh-so-coincidental timing of Jason’s investigation and Reece’s blackmail.

Were they connected? Something to think about.

Reece pulled her to a stop, searched her eyes. The crease of a frown formed between his brows. “Shelby?”

Realizing she’d gone too long without answering his question, she plastered on a smile and nodded. “I’m fine, but I could do without Cruella De Vil over there staring holes into us.”

He lifted his head, spotted Lena, and his frown deepened. “I didn’t know she was here. I’m sorry. I should have warned you about her.”

“That’s okay. Alicia saved me.” And was then interrogated for her trouble. Dammit. She wished she didn’t like Alicia so much, because now guilt gnawed at her insides for using the woman as an unwitting source of information.

A
t the dinner table, Reece held out a chair for her before taking his own seat. Irving James sat at the head of the table to Reece’s left and the moment his butt hit the chair, the waiters appeared with the first course. Like a well-rehearsed play. Or maybe a dance. All of the waitstaff moved with graceful efficiency, setting plates in front of the guests and keeping glasses filled. Shelby had never seen anything like it.

James ignored his staff and picked up his drink. “So, Reece, this the little wife?”

The little wife?

She glanced over at Reece to see his reaction. His lips tightened slightly, but he nodded. “Yes, this is Shelby. Shelby, Mr. James.”

“A word of friendly advice, from one married man to another…” James smiled in a slimy wink, wink, nudge, nudge kind of way. “Keep her on a short leash. You know what they say about redheads.”

A short leash? Was this guy for real?

Shelby stared across the table at Charlotte James, expecting the woman to say something chiding to her husband about the inappropriateness of the comment. At the very least, she could apologize, woman-to-woman. But Charlotte wasn’t even paying attention, too wrapped up in a conversation with one of her friends. And, that, more than the comment itself, boiled Shelby’s blood. Charlotte wasn’t unaware of her husband’s sexism—she was choosing to ignore it and setting women’s lib back sixty years in the process.

Shelby opened her mouth, but Reece’s hand landed on her thigh under the table and squeezed hard in warning.

Oh, come on. Not him, too. She glanced over, saw his lips pressed together in a tight, disapproving line. He gave a slight shake of the head.

He was mad at
her
? But for once, she hadn’t done anything wrong. Sure, she’d wanted to tear that chauvinist a new one, but she wouldn’t risk the future of Reece’s businesses just because she was offended. And in the long run, James’s opinion meant nothing to her. Months from now, he’d be little more than a blip on her radar.

So she was going to keep her trap shut, which didn’t explain why Reece was looking at her like
she
had said something offensive. She’d put up with James being a jackass if she had to, but Reece? Hell no.

There would be consequences for this.

Smiling to herself, she picked up her glass, took a sip. And she knew exactly how to get under his skin.

Chapter Fifteen

W
hat a chauvinistic, entitled jackass.

Reece had a few choice things to say to Irving James. Oh, how he wanted to rip the guy a new one and feared he wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping his thoughts off his face. One wrong word and he might as well kiss Wilde Security good-bye. His brothers would be out of jobs, and he refused to
let that happen, even if it meant biting his tongue.

He’d apologize to Shelby later. Make it up to her somehow. He hadn’t expected James to take cheap shots at her, though he probably should have. Should have prepared Shelby for the abuse. Or better yet, shouldn’t have subjected her to it in the first place.

He was a jerk.

And his hand was still on her thigh. He didn’t realize it until she parted her legs and his fingers slipped toward her inner thigh. Heat gathered in his stomach, and his cock perked to attention.

Shit.

He removed his hand and focused on Irving James again. “I was hoping we’d have some time to talk business.”

James waved a hand. “No, not tonight. Tonight is about getting acquainted.”

Something landed on his leg under the table. He reached down, thinking his napkin had slipped, and found a tiny scrap of lace, damp in the middle. His mouth went dry, and he grabbed for his drink with his free hand. Shelby innocently picked at her salad as if she hadn’t just handed him her underwear.

Jesus. Was she trying to ruin him? She had to know by now his brain didn’t fire on all cylinders when she did stuff like this. Wasn’t last night proof?

James was talking to him, but all he could concentrate on was that damp spot on the lace. He rubbed the fabric between his fingers, fantasized about having his mouth on her sex again…

No. No, no, no. Fuck, he needed a minute alone to get his head on straight or he wasn’t going to make it through dinner. He stuffed the panties in his pocket and stood, murmuring an excuse, not even entirely sure what he said. He strode out of the room, intending to head for the front door. The winter air should cool his jets and allow him to think again.

Only he didn’t make it. He got as far as the front hallway when he heard the click of heels following him across the tile and turned.

Shelby.

That dress was sin. He’d done his best to avoid touching her tonight because ever since she stepped out of her bedroom wearing the dress, the only thoughts in his head had involved peeling her out of it.

Sex had never been a distraction before, probably because he hadn’t known what he was missing. This was new territory for him, way off his normal beaten path, completely uncharted. And that pissed him off. He liked neat and tidy and carefully calculated plans.

Shelby was none of that. If there was one thing you could count on from her, it was that she’d throw a wrench into the works. It was exasperating as hell. And fucking hot. Her unpredictability turned him on like nothing else.

He was insane. Had to be.

He didn’t realize he’d stalked forward and caged her against the wall with his hands on either side of her head until she sucked in a deep breath and her breasts scraped against the front of his shirt.

“Are you trying to sabotage me?”

She reached down and squeezed him through his pants. “I’m punishing you.”

A tremble shook through his arms and legs, and he bit back a groan. “Why?”

“Because you scowled at me like I’d done something wrong when James was the jackass.”

That cleared some of the lust-fog from his brain. He backed away far enough to meet her gaze. “Shelby, I wasn’t angry with you. I was trying not to reach over the table and throttle James.”

She blinked. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Insulting you like that was out of line and—” Voices nearby caught his attention, and he glanced up.

Shit.

They couldn’t be seen by James or his staff like this, both vibrating with so much sexual tension they could light a fire with the heat between them.

He grabbed for the nearest door. Closet. Figures. But it was large, the size of some people’s bathrooms, with a center island of drawers meant to hold who knew what.

Shelby snorted as he pushed her inside. “What is this, seven minutes in heaven? I feel like I’m back in high school.”

“Just—stop.” He pulled the door shut, plunging the room into darkness.

“You’ve probably never played, huh?”

He heard her move, the air stirring with her scent in the moment before she wrapped her arms around him from behind. Her hand flattened on his stomach and slid lower, fingers dipping below his belt. She just brushed the tip of his cock and every muscle in his body tensed in response.

“Shelby.” His voice sounded hoarse. “We’re not doing this here.”

“Why not?” she whispered and her breath fanned over his ear. “You don’t like Irving James any more than I do, so let’s give him a big middle finger and fuck in his closet.”

A thrill shot through him. He should not be turned on by the suggestion but, holy fuck, he was. His cock was so hard, he had to undo his belt or risk permanent damage. “I don’t have a condom.”

“I do.” She trailed the edge of a foil packet across the back of his neck and he shivered.

“Where did that come from?” His mind ran wild with all of the possibilities.

“My bra.”

“Jesus.” He spun and crushed her mouth with his. All demand and no finesse. He lost all sense of reason when it came to this woman. It was liberating and maybe that was why he couldn’t keep his hands off her. With her, he found freedom.

When they parted for air, Shelby laughed softly. “You only have seven minutes. That’s how the game works.” She nipped his bottom lip. “So make me scream.”

His heart thumped hard in his chest. He held out a hand for the condom. “Bend over.”

“Ooh. Makes me hot when you get all demanding.” She slapped the package into his palm and turned around. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he could just make out the outline of her leaning in to the island, parting her legs and thrusting her ass toward him.

She was just begging for a spanking.

He found her thigh with his hand, skimmed his palm up the smooth flesh of her bare ass. He’d wanted his handprint there since the very first time he saw her, so he hauled back and gave her firm cheek a solid slap. “You are trouble.”