Drive Me Wild Read online

  He had a nice income from those books, so why should he encourage her to branch out and possibly give up the ghostwriting? He was a smart man. He could have figured out that was her ultimate goal.

  Now Molly could hardly wait to get her hands on the manuscript again. It was probably tons better than Benjamin had said. He just didn’t want her to rock the very profitable boat that contained her, Benjamin and Dana.

  Easing away from Alec, Molly slid to the floor. Because she hadn’t become a complete wild woman, she walked to the closet, took out the hotel robe hanging there and put it on before she pulled her manuscript out of her shoulder bag. Then she settled into a wing chair upholstered in a blue and white print.

  First she looked at the title page and her choice of titles. Maybe Affair in Manous wasn’t evocative enough. It sounded too much like one of her mysteries.

  Maybe she should call it something sexier, like Jungle Heat. She grabbed the pen resting on the hotel notepad by the phone and jotted that down. Something with jungle in the title was hotter than using the name of a city some people might not have heard of. She wanted them to get an image of primitive urges…like the urges she’d had once she’d tied Alec to the bed.

  She sat in the chair sucking on the end of the pen for a good five seconds before she realized what she was doing—daydreaming about oral sex with Alec and using the pen like some sort of adult pacifier. But she’d had such wicked fun, and his penis was gorgeous. She could still taste… Okay, enough! She had a book to read.

  Putting the pen down, she set the title page on the table beside her and started with chapter 1. After ten minutes she stopped reading and leaned back against the chair with a sigh. She wanted to believe it was good, but she couldn’t tell. Benjamin’s critique kept running through her mind. Maybe he was right. Maybe it did read as if it had been written by an introverted, cautious mystery writer.

  Damn it. She’d wanted Benjamin to be wrong, but she couldn’t tell if he was or not. That first sex scene did seem a little…stilted. Maybe. Or not. She closed her eyes, remembering the words, the sounds, the sensations from this afternoon. Now that was hot.

  “Molly?”

  She opened her eyes to find the man himself standing in front of her, a towel knotted around his waist. She’d been so absorbed in her book troubles she hadn’t heard him get out of bed, let alone realize he’d gone into the bathroom to find a towel.

  Funny, but he’d felt the need to cover up, too. She wondered if this sexual adventure they were having was as much of an unusual walk on the wild side for him as for her. Interesting thought.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  She glanced down at the manuscript. She’d promised to tell him about the meeting with Benjamin on the way home, foolishly assuming she’d have good news. But the news hadn’t been good. Revealing her insecurities about this book to Alec would be much harder than taking off her clothes.

  She didn’t have to give him a straight answer. She could pretend it was a project she’d been working on, be vague about it and stuff it back in her purse. Or she could tell him about the manuscript and Benjamin’s reaction and put far more than she’d intended on the line.

  Weighing her options, she gazed up at him. She’d invited him to have sex with her, to explore mutual fantasies for hours on end in this hotel room. Before they left this place he’d know things about her that no one else had even guessed at. Private things. Intimate things. Carnal things.

  Telling him about this writing project and her fears about it shouldn’t be so hard, compared to that. But it was.

  6

  THEN, IN AN INSTANT, she made her decision. “I wrote this book.” She held up the stack of pages.

  “You wrote a whole book?”

  She smiled. Little did he know that she’d written several whole books for the glory of Dana’s publishing career, but she couldn’t tell him that. “Yep, a whole book. The meeting today was with my agent, to find out what he thought of it.” She decided to get the hard part over with fast. “He didn’t like it.”

  “Aw, Molly.” Alec dropped to his knees and put his hands on her shoulders as he gazed earnestly into her eyes. “That’s only one person’s opinion. You shouldn’t let one opinion bother you. I’ll bet it’s a great book.”

  His instantly supportive reaction brought a lump to her throat. She had to clear it away before she could speak. “I don’t know if it’s any good or not. Benjamin—”

  “That’s your agent?”

  “Yes, and he—”

  “He’s screwed with your confidence, is what he’s done. I think you need a new agent.”

  She laughed, ridiculously pleased by his loyalty, even if he didn’t have the foggiest idea what he was talking about. “Then again, Benjamin could be right.”

  “I’ll bet he’s not.” Alec massaged her shoulders gently through the terry-cloth robe. “What’s the book about?”

  “Sex.”

  He blinked. “You mean, like a how-to?”

  “No, like a very erotic novel.”

  “Oh, really?” His eyebrows lifted. “And Benjamin didn’t like it? He’s probably gay, then.”

  She pictured Benjamin’s horror at such a statement and smiled. “No, he’s not, although gay people like sexy books, too, you know.” Her smiled faded. “He said…” She paused and forced herself to repeat the criticism. “He said it sounds as if the author doesn’t have enough experience to write about sex.”

  Alec’s eyes widened as the implication of that sank in. “Is that what this afternoon is all about?”

  She hesitated, then decided he should know the truth. “I hope you’re not upset, but yes, partly.”

  “I don’t know if I’m upset or flattered. I’m still digesting the information.”

  “Please don’t be upset. It started out as a reaction to what Benjamin said, but once you said yes, I realized how much I’ve wanted you, wanted this. For weeks. I’m glad Benjamin said what he did, if it means I finally had the courage to ask you.” She touched his cheek. “I’ve enjoyed every second with you, Alec. While we were in bed together, I forgot all about the book and what Benjamin said. No matter what happens, I’ll always be grateful for today.”

  “Me, too.” He caught her hand against his cheek and turned his head to kiss her palm. “And I’m not upset. How could I be upset about having some of the best sex of my life?”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s the truth. I’m even grateful to your crummy agent, if he’s the one who made you think of this.” He looked into her eyes again. “But I refuse to believe your book is bad. Let me read it.”

  With her free hand, she clutched the pages to her chest. “Oh, I don’t think that’s—”

  “Come on, Molly. I’ve been to college for a lot of years. I had to take English courses besides all the other stuff.”

  “Yeah, what about all the other stuff?” She bought time with a change of subject. “How many different majors have you had, anyway?”

  “Um, maybe five. I don’t think you can count zoology.”

  “Five. That must have been expensive.”

  He nodded. “And time-consuming.”

  “I would think so! Okay, let’s see.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “Premed, accounting, architecture, electrical engineering and now law. That’s quite a list, Alec.”

  “Yeah, I could design you a house, although I’m still a little shaky on where to put the bearing walls.”

  She appreciated what she saw as his attempt to make her feel better about the manuscript critique. “Small matter.”

  “That’s what I thought. I also might be able to wire it, if you’re willing to go with two outlets and no major appliances.”

  “Sounds okay to me.”

  “Plus, I could certainly balance your checkbook better than most, and I might even be able to perform an emergency appendectomy.”

  “And then handle the lawsuit if you slip with the scalpel?”

  �
�Eventually.” He grinned. “And that’s a promise. I really am going to become a lawyer.”

  “So this is the end of the search?”

  His jaw firmed. “Yes. I’m thirty-one, and it’s time to stop this flailing around and settle into something. Law is it.”

  “I think you’ll make an awesome lawyer.” She had no trouble picturing him in front of a jury. He could easily convince her of the merits of his case, any case.

  “Thank you, but I think we got sidetracked. We were talking about your career as an author.” He reached for the manuscript. “Let me read the book.”

  She held it out of reach. “Now? Wouldn’t you rather do something else with your time?”

  “I’m a fast reader. That’s what happens when you spend most of your life as a student.”

  “Alec, this book is three hundred and eighty-four pages long.”

  “So I’ll read a chapter or two. That will be enough for me to confirm that ol’ Benny is full of it.”

  She gazed at him, knowing she desperately needed another opinion. “If I let you read a couple of chapters, will you promise to give me your honest reaction?”

  “I promise.”

  This was so much scarier than asking him to go to bed with her. Heart pounding, she peeled the first two chapters from the stack of pages and handed them over.

  He took them and leaned closer to kiss her. “Thanks for trusting me,” he murmured.

  “I always have,” she said without thinking. But it was true. She’d trusted him to drive her places and not endanger her life, and she’d trusted him to take her to bed and not endanger her heart. Now that she thought about it, he might be the only person besides Benjamin she dared show this book to.

  Alec settled into the other wingback chair, and despite her feeling of trust, Molly wanted the chapters back immediately. She couldn’t let him read them, even if he was the most trustworthy person she knew. She couldn’t allow herself to be that exposed.

  “Alec, wait a minute. I’ve changed my mind.”

  He glanced up at her. “Too late. But I should mention that when I’m finished reading and we’ve talked about your book, it’ll be your turn in the four-poster. Whether you need the extra experience or not.”

  She was immediately wet and achy. “Way to take my mind off you reading the manuscript, Alec.”

  He grinned. “Did I? Excellent. All I really meant to do was warn you, so you’d be ready.”

  “I already am.” She held his gaze, willing him to toss the pages aside and get out of the chair.

  “Then see that you stay that way.” He winked and went back to his reading, but the towel draped over his lap rose gently.

  At least she could take satisfaction in that.

  ALEC HADN’T READ MUCH besides textbooks for the past ten years, so he looked forward to finding out what Molly had written. He’d never known an author before, not to mention an author who’d written a book with sex in it.

  He envied her the freedom to do whatever she wanted, though. Maybe she had a trust fund to draw from so that all she had to do was sit in that little cottage and write. If he could do whatever he wanted without worrying about starting a career, he’d…

  The answer that flashed into his mind surprised the hell out of him. If he didn’t have to worry about getting ahead in the world, he’d probably keep driving for the car service. His dad, determined that his son wouldn’t be blue collar like him, would sure hate to hear that.

  Well, his dad wouldn’t have to hear it, because after all these years and expense, Alec was by-God going to make it in a lucrative profession. He could definitely see the advantages of becoming a lawyer, too. For once he’d be in the same league with women like Molly. Too bad he wasn’t closer to graduating.

  Couldn’t be helped. And right now he needed to concentrate on Molly’s book. She wrote well, so at first he was ready to tell her this Benjamin guy needed an intellectual tune-up. But then he came to the first sex scene.

  It seemed…awkward. He couldn’t picture a guy making those kinds of moves on a woman, and her reaction didn’t seem real, either. The talking before the sex was okay, but no woman spoke in complete sentences while she was having a mind-blowing orgasm. Molly’s heroine did. And so did her hero. They used perfect grammar.

  Plus they were way too polite with each other. The guy asked before he did anything to the woman, and his questions didn’t have enough four-letter words in them. Maybe nobody had ever talked dirty to Molly Drake.

  He could. His penis twitched, making the pages in his lap rustle. Miss Molly definitely needed to do some more research, and he was the most willing research assistant she could ask for.

  He set the pages on the table and glanced up. She was watching him, her expression anxious. “You’re a good writer,” he said.

  Although he hadn’t added the word but, she’d obviously picked up the qualification in his statement, because her expression didn’t change. “What else?”

  He stood. “Don’t worry. I know we can fix it, Molly.”

  She groaned. “You didn’t like the sex scenes, either?”

  “They sounded a little too…formal.”

  Molly squeezed her eyes shut. “Damn it. That’s not what I want. I want lusty and uninhibited.”

  “I know.” He stepped closer. “So here’s what we’re going to do. You and I are going to pledge to be lusty and uninhibited with each other. Afterward, you can take notes. Or we could use a tape recorder. That might be even better, because—”

  “Wait a minute.” She stared at him, her cheeks pink. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but in the first place, we don’t have a tape recorder in this room, and in the second place…” She frowned. “I forget what was in second place. A tape recorder?” She blushed a brighter shade of pink. “Do you realize what you’re suggesting?”

  He took hold of the shawl collar of her bathrobe and drew her toward him. “I’m suggesting that you do some field research on this subject. Trust me, after ten years in college, I am the research king of the world. The fastest way for you to get your characters to act like real people in bed is to tape-record real people doing it. Or video! Maybe we should rent a—”

  “A camera? Oh, now you’re getting ridiculous! I can’t imagine setting up a camera in my bedroom and then having sex in front of it.” But the gleam in her eyes said different.

  He leaned down and brushed a kiss over her mouth. “I think you’re imagining it right now, and getting turned on.”

  “Am not.”

  “Are so.” With a firm yank he pulled the lapels of her robe apart and gazed down at her nipples, erect as pencil erasers. He flicked them with a forefinger. “May the record show I’ve entered these into evidence.”

  She swallowed. “Maybe the idea of filming us excites me, but the reality would scare me to death.”

  “Why?” He stuck two fingers into the tie around her waist and undid it. The robe fell open all the way down to her feet. “You’re beautiful. You’d look wonderful on tape.”

  “I’d be embarrassed!”

  “Not if nobody sees it but you. The videos would be your property, and I wouldn’t even get to look.” He cupped her breasts in both hands. “Unless I could talk you into letting me watch, which I’ll probably try to do.” He caressed her nipples with his thumbs. “Think of what a resource you’d have, Molly. You’ll be able to describe how we look, how we sound, what we say.”

  Her breathing grew ragged. “I could just…rent some porn.”

  “Not the same. Those things are scripted and they usually sound that way, too. This would be the real stuff instead of that oo, baby, oo, baby junk.”

  “But…what about…” She leaned into his hands and ran her tongue over her lips. “What about…your job? If anybody finds out that you’re involved with me, then—”

  “You let me worry about that.” And he wasn’t even slightly worried about it, either. This was a project worth breaking rules for. “Your writing’s great. Once
you get the sex sounding better, you’ll have a bestseller.”

  She swayed, her skin growing dewy with excitement, her eyes becoming unfocused and darkened with lust. “What about…your studies?”

  “Let me worry about that, too. I’ll find time to study.” He’d go without sleep if necessary in order to make this research project a reality. The risks involved made it even better. He hadn’t taken nearly enough risks in his life.

  “Oh, Alec, I don’t know.”

  “I do.” He shoved the robe from her shoulders and picked her up. “It’s settled. And right now we have a date with a four-poster. Too bad we don’t have the camera or a tape recorder, but afterward we’ll write down every detail we can remember.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled a siren’s smile. “You don’t want to take notes during?”

  “Can’t.” He kissed her and placed her in the middle of the bed. “I’ll be too busy making you come.”

  FOR THE NEXT HALF-HOUR, Molly didn’t have the time or the inclination to think about her book, Alec’s reaction to it or his plan to improve her sex scenes. She discovered that Alec had a talent for using his tongue, and that she was, contrary to her prior belief, multiorgasmic. By the time Alec freed her from the restraints and entered her, she was delirious with pleasure and positive she didn’t have another orgasm available. She was wrong.

  They made the bedposts quiver and the room echo with their cries until they finally collapsed, slick and satisfied, against each other. When Alec left the bed a few moments later, Molly rolled to her stomach and closed her eyes. Amazing sex could make a girl sleepy.

  “No you don’t.” Alec was back, kissing her awake. “Don’t conk out on me now.”

  She gazed at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “I can’t go another round, no matter how much you try. At least not until I’ve rested up.”

  “I’m not asking you to.” He propped two pillows against the headboard and leaned against them, the hotel notepad balanced on his bent knee. “Just tell me what you remember about what we just did.”