Janelle Denison: Wilde Thing

Unable to argue his valid point, she nodded and reached for her purse. "You're the boss." She turned back around, startled to find that he'd moved directly in front of her.

He clasped her upper arms in his big hands, his eyes direct and darkly sensual. "And I'll advise you not to forget who's in charge," he said gruffly. Pulling her to his muscular frame, he kissed her-a hot, deep act of possession that left her weak-kneed and light-headed.

Once he released her, she skimmed her tongue along her lower lip, growing used to the arousing taste of him and his aggressive nature. Both thrilled her. "What was that for?"

"Because I wanted to," he said, most definitely staking a claim on her and letting her know he was a man who took what he wanted-sometimes without asking. "And since you're mine for the time being, you might as well get used to enjoying a bit of spontaneity."

Anytime, anywhere. She read the tantalizing message in his eyes and accepted his challenge. Spontaneity and impulsive acts, she could handle. It was what she craved, to add some spice and excitement in the current sensible, straitlaced life she'd led for the past three years.

And she was depending on Steve Wilde to deliver on both accounts.

From behind the dark lenses of his Oakley sunglasses, Steve casually surveyed the five-story brick building that Liz had disappeared into for her interview-which looked like every other building in the general vicinity of downtown Chicago. According to the directions the receptionist at The Ultimate Fantasy had given to Liz, the business occupied the entire third floor. He counted up three stories, but the tinted, reflective film on the windows protected the company's privacy and hid their secrets well.

Over the course of the next twenty minutes he kept a low profile in his black SUV, situated in the back section of the parking lot. He watched people come and go from the building-some dressed in business suits and carrying briefcases, and others in casual wear. There was nothing out of the ordinary that caught his attention, or anything to indicate that an illicit sex operation dominated the third floor of the building.

Setting up surveillance was unnecessary, he concluded. If The Ultimate Fantasy hosted swinging, wild erotic sex parties, he was positive they didn't take place here, in an openly public district. No, most likely there was another private, secluded haven in which their elite clients explored sexual fantasies and other illegal dealings. And it was up to Liz to gain them access to that exclusive world of sin and iniquity in order to find out more information on Valerie's whereabouts and on the boyfriend who'd accompanied her to a previous party.

But first, Liz had to get hired on as a phone sex operator, and he had no doubt she'd be successful in obtaining the position. She had determination and sass aplenty, along with an innate sensuality about her that would no doubt appeal to her employer-just as she'd stirred his baser male instincts from the first time he'd laid eyes on her.

As the minutes dragged on, he kept his gaze locked on the front entrance of the building, but his mind wandered to Liz's enthusiastic participation in the kiss they'd shared earlier. They'd all but caught fire from that sizzling embrace, confirming that everything about their agreed-upon affair would be an equal give-and-take of untold pleasures. Hot, satisfying sex- lots of it, and any way either of them wanted it.

Despite the sampling he'd taken in his office, he was still hot and hard for her. Arousal buzzed through his veins, making him too damned restless and reminding him just how long he'd been without a woman.

Oh, he'd had plenty of offers, but there was no one else he'd wanted in his bed other than Liz. For the past month she'd played a starring role in the nightly erotic dreams that taunted him. Now those wicked fantasies were going to become reality. Soon he'd have Liz stripped naked beneath him, her voluptuous breasts and nipples all his to lick, suck, and feast on. Soon he'd be able to inhale the feminine scent that clung to her skin and taste all her hottest, sweetest places. Soon he'd finally get to bury his cock deep inside her and feel the tight clasp of her body around his sex as they drove each other to completion.

His groin throbbed in anticipation, and he shifted in his leather seat with a harsh exhale, which did nothing to ease the fierce erection making itself known. Soon. He needed to be patient and bide his time. First and foremost, their main priority was to locate her missing cousin and ensure her safety. Their affair and mutual attraction was merely a bonus they'd indulge in after hours, when there was nothing to concentrate on but each other.

Giving himself a firm mental shake back to his present situation, he resumed his watch for Liz. Five minutes later, he released a grateful stream of breath when she emerged from the double glass doors, giving him something other than his unruly, sorely neglected libido to focus on.

She wasn't alone. A petite brunette accompanied Liz out of the building, with the two of them carrying on a conversation until they reached the other woman's car. They talked for another minute or so, then went their separate ways, with Liz heading toward his vehicle, hips swaying and a light bounce in her step that captivated him-as did everything about her.

She slid into the passenger seat, shut the door, and flashed him a bright smile. "I got the job," she announced, looking extremely pleased with herself.

Her exuberance made him grin, too. "I had no doubt that you would," he said, and turned the key in the ignition. He drove out of the parking lot and headed back toward his office. "Tell me how the interview went."

"It certainly wasn't your typical kind of interview," she said, her tone wry. He'd left the windows rolled down, and as he turned onto the freeway and picked up speed, the wind ruffled her silky blond hair around her head and plastered her blouse against her breasts. "Once I checked in with the receptionist, she led me to a large private office, where a man named Antonio Cardenias introduced himself as one of the company's partners. He briefly glanced over my application, but he didn't seem interested in my references or past employment record, which excluded any mention of The Daily Grind."

Steve's grip tightened on the steering wheel as he imagined the kind of credentials Antonio might require in potential female employees whose main talent would be based in sexual experience. "What was he interested in?"

"The sound of my voice, since that would attract and keep a client on the phone." She smoothed her hair away from her face and shrugged. "He said I had a soft, sexy voice that would turn men on."

"You do," he said gruffly, knowing how that husky voice of hers could turn a man inside out with wanting. Rolling up the windows, he turned on the air-conditioning, needing a blast of cool air on his heated skin.

"What else?" he prompted.

"He wanted to know if I had any fantasies or fetishes that I refused to discuss with a caller, or any sexual situations I considered off limits."

"Do you?" he asked, curious to know what her personal boundaries were when it came to sex.

"I told him I wouldn't take calls requesting anything to do with pain and torture, bestiality, rape, or incest." She visibly shuddered at the same time he winced in reciprocal disgust. "Antonio said that was fine, that they had other operators who handled those kinds of requests-enjoyed them, even."

"Well, I'm right there with you, sweetheart." Stretching his arm across the back of her seat, he curved his fingers along the nape of her neck. "I don't get off on any of those perverse fixations, either."

"That's good to know." She smiled indulgently. "Other than those lewd fetishes, I think I can handle just about anything, or fake my way through it."