Janelle Denison - Born to Be Wilde

After letting out a loud, obnoxious yawn, she narrowed her gaze at Lora and asked, "Why are you in such a good mood this morning?"

Sydney was so not a morning person and couldn't understand how Lora could wake up so early bright-eyed, rested, and ready to face the day. Sydney would sleep in until noon, given the chance, but she had a daughter in high school, and that kept her from enjoying that particular luxury.

Carrying her cup of coffee to the table, Lora sat down and selected an apple fritter from the pink pastry box. "Well, maybe I'm in a good mood because you let me off early last night."

"Yeah, to go out and get yourself laid." Sydney turned from the counter, a mug of steaming coffee in hand and a sly grin curving her lips. "Dare I hope?"

Lora picked off a crispy edge of her fritter and popped it into her mouth. "Sorry to disappoint you, my dear friend, but my virtue is still intact." However, Lora had to wonder if the vividly erotic dream she'd had last night qualified as getting laid. It was as close to getting laid as she'd gotten in the past two years.

She'd been deep asleep, but the image of Joel's hands and mouth pleasuring her in such steamy, breathtaking detail had seemed so real. Intensely so. She'd felt the heat and strength of his big body stroking in and out of hers, and each hard, fierce thrust had sent her spiraling into the sweetest kind of ecstasy.

She'd woken up panting and moaning as her body clenched deep inside and the last ripples of an orgasm coursed through her. She'd been shocked, and realized that she'd had the female equivalent of a wet dream, proof that her body truly was sexually deprived.

Her face warmed at the memory, and she ducked her head to hide the flush on her cheeks before Sydney noticed and called her on it.

Sydney plopped herself down across the table from Lora and picked out a maple glazed doughnut, which was her favorite kind. "So, tell me all about your platonic date with the hunk."

"It really wasn't a date." Lora shrugged, and took a sip of her coffee.

"What do you mean it wasn't a date?" her friend replied in that affectionately sarcastic way of hers. "You went out with him, didn't you?"

"I had a cup of coffee with him. It wasn't any big deal." Or so Lora tried to convince herself, as well as Sydney.

Sydney made a grunting sound to the contrary. "Did he kiss you?" she asked hopefully.

She recalled all the playful banter and innuendo about Joel's motorcycle at the end of the evening, could still feel the way he'd strummed his fingers down to the base of her throat and how his touch had ignited such a powerful sexual awareness between them. At that moment, she'd wanted to kiss him-the kind of slow, deep kiss that was infused with a heady rush of sensation. She could have sworn by the heat and desire in his eyes that he was thinking the same thing.

She was certain a kiss would have been so good between them… until he'd stepped away, dispelling any notion she might have had about making out with Joel Wilde. Which was probably for the best, she thought with a sigh.

In addition to the fact that he had "bad boy" written all over him, she really wasn't in the market for any kind of relationship right now. She just didn't have the time. Between her day job at the hotel, her evenings at The Electric Blue, and saving every spare dollar she earned so she could open up her own spa within the next year, Joel and his sexy smile and built-like-a-god body were a distraction she couldn't afford.

"Helloooo," Sydney singsonged as she waved a hand in front of Lora's face to get her attention again. "Considering how long you're taking to answer my question, I'm guessing you're wishing he had kissed you."

"Score one for you," Lora admitted, and finished off her apple fritter. "But it didn't happen."

"Damn." Sydney shook her head and licked the sticky remnants of maple cream from her fingers. "Why didn't you just plant one on him? Or better yet, just tear his clothes off and have your way with him out in the back alley? Trust me, judging by the way he was watching you in the bar last night, he wouldn't have refused."

Lora laughed at her friend's outrageous suggestion. "Maybe because I'm not that kind of girl?"

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Tell me something I don't already know."

"Well, here's something you don't already know," Lora said, and folded her arms on the table. "Would you believe that Joel knows Zach? They were in the service together. The same unit, actually."

"No kidding?" Sydney asked, surprised. "Talk about a small world."

Lora told Sydney about her conversation with Joel, about Zach and how long it had been since Lora had been in contact with him. She really needed to call her brother again, just to let him know she was thinking about him and missed him. Her brother had become a wanderer since leaving the Marines, a man who just couldn't settle down in any one place, and she just wanted to know that he was okay.

Sydney cast a quick look at the clock on the wall, then turned to yell down the hall toward the bedrooms, "Twenty more minutes before we need to hit the road for school, Cass! You need to eat breakfast, so hurry it up already!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Cass hollered back, her voice vibrating with teenage impatience.

Hiding a grin at Cass's bit of attitude, Lora stood up, retrieved the coffeepot, and refilled her mug, then Sydney's, figuring her friend could use another boost of caffeine. "Hey, have you decided on a costume for the Halloween bash you're having at The Electric Blue?" The bar was hosting its second annual Halloween party, and Sydney had made it mandatory that everyone dress up-from the employees, to the customers, and even the bouncers. No one entered the place without wearing a costume.

"I'm thinking of being a lady pirate. Arrr ," she said in a deep, swaggering tone, then grinned. "What about you?"

Lora set the coffeepot back on the burner and returned to the table. "I'm not sure yet. Any good suggestions?"

"Well, there's always a nun habit and gown to go with your celibate life these days," Sydney teased, and batted her lashes at Lora. "Or how about Little Bo Peep? She's pretty innocent, too."

Lora shot her friend an indulgent glance. "Ha ha, very funny. I'm sorry I asked. I'll figure out something on my own."

Sydney finished off her maple doughnut and grew silent, subdued even, and Lora wondered what had brought on the change. Her friend was normally so outgoing and bubbly, and even used her vivacious and sometimes sarcastic personality to keep other people from getting too close emotionally. It was a defense mechanism for Sydney, and one that had served her well over the years, but Lora was the one person with whom she let down her guard. The one and only person she trusted to let see the vulnerable, insecure woman beneath all that seductive, and brash, bravado.

"You're awfully quiet all of a sudden, Syd," Lora said softly, knowing her friend needed to talk about something. "What's on your mind?"

Inhaling a deep breath, Sydney lifted her gaze to Lora's, giving her a glimpse of maternal worry and deep-seated fears. "Cassie asked me if she could go to a Halloween party at a friend's that Saturday night."

Lora certainly didn't see anything wrong with a young girl enjoying a party with friends, but Sydney obviously did. "And?"

Sydney traced her finger along the rim of her cup. "I told her I had to think about it, but that didn't go over well at all, as you can imagine."

"Why?" Lora asked curiously.

An incredulous burst of laughter escaped Sydney. "Because she's a moody, temperamental fifteen-year-old?"

Realizing that Sydney had misunderstood her question, Lora shook her head. "No, I mean, why do you need to think about letting her go to the party?"