Wilde Edge (5 page)

“Yep.
First.
As in, not the only one we’re going to have. Come on,
I’ll introduce you to Tiffany and I’ll tell you all about my master plan over
dinner.” He placed her hand over his and started walking. The truth was
,
he didn’t really have a master plan. He just knew that the
more he spoke with her, the more he wanted to know her.

The rest, he’d figure out as they
went along.

****

By the time Jo found herself being
helped into Tag’s car, there was no doubt in her mind that this was a real
date. In fact, it was probably the best date she’d ever been on, and they
hadn’t even left yet.

He’d arrived on time, and god help
her … he looked even better than he had when they’d met that afternoon. He’d
shaved, styled his hair so that the long, dark strands were swept back from his
face, and instead of the blue jeans and t-shirt look of earlier he was now
wearing charcoal slacks and a white dress shirt open at the collar. His jacket
was black leather, styled to look a bit like a blazer, and the entire look was
enough to make her pulse leap and her thoughts turn downright wicked.

When he’d wrapped his jacket around
her shoulders before letting her go outside, it made her heart flutter in her
chest, and the look in his eyes as he’d watched her snuggle into the soft
leather made her breath catch in her throat. As he walked her to his car, his
fingers stroked a slow figure eight across the back of her hand. She couldn’t
help imagining what it would be like to have him touch the rest of her the way he
was caressing that tiny patch of skin. By the time they got to the car, she was
trembling, and it wasn’t from the cold.

It was all him.

He opened the passenger side door
for her, waiting until she was settled before closing it and walking around to
the other side. He paused to open the trunk for a second, and she wondered why.
The answer wasn’t long in coming. When he appeared at the driver’s side door,
all she could see through the window were flowers.

“You brought me roses?” she asked
as he handed her a bouquet of coral-colored blooms tied together with gold and
silver ribbons.

He flashed a grin as he settled
into the driver’s seat. “First date equals flowers. That’s a tried and true
tradition.”

Jo couldn’t help but grin back.
“If you say so.
They’re really pretty, thank you.” She
paused, inhaling the scent of the roses that blended with the subtle musk of
whatever cologne Tag was wearing. “So, if flowers are a first date tradition,
what happens on our second date?”

He put the keys into place and then
turned in his seat to look at her straight on, the smile on his lips bordering
on feral as their gazes locked. “What would you like to happen?”

She should have told him she’d like
to see a movie, or go for a walk along the beach, or one of a dozen other perfectly
safe dating scenarios. Something easy that wouldn’t lead her into temptation
with a man she barely knew.

She didn’t.

“Surprise me.” Those two little
words surprised the hell out of
her
,
and she’d said them. The effect on Tag was significantly more dramatic. He
leaned in close, his hand coming out to tangle in her hair as he drew her to
him.

“As the lady
wishes.”
His words came as a warm whisper that flowed over her skin a
brief second before he closed the space between them and kissed her.
Kissed
was too gentle a word for what he
was doing. Kisses were sweet, tender, and gentle, at least in Jo’s experience.
This was none of those things. His mouth claimed hers completely, demanding her
surrender. He stole her breath the first moment he touched her, and all
coherent thought fled after it when she heard him groan with desire.

Fingers tightened in her hair,
holding her fast as he slanted his lips across hers. Their breath mingled as he
took the kiss deeper, nibbling at her lower lip until she opened her mouth for
him. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and never wanted this to end. Jo’s
body sang with desire, her breasts aching and her pussy growing wet with need.

She reached for him, one hand
curling into the soft leather of his jacket while the other splayed across his
chest. He was solid muscle and strength everywhere she touched. Jo had a sudden
desire to tear off his clothing and see if he looked as good as he felt.

The continuation of that thought
tossed ice on her libido. He might look incredible under his clothes, but Jo
knew the same couldn’t be said of her. She lifted her hand from his chest and
turned her head, breaking the kiss.

“Surprise,” Tag
whispered,
his voice little more than a gravelly rumble. When she didn’t look at him, he
cupped his hand under her chin and drew her head up. “If I overstepped, I’m
sorry,
Jolena
. But I’ve wanted to do that since five
minutes after we met.”

“That long, huh?” she said, trying
for levity.

“Uh huh.
That long.”
He traced the line of her jaw with his
fingertips, and she finally raised her gaze to find him staring at her with raw
passion blazing in his eyes.

“I’m fairly certain I said you
could surprise me for our
second
date. Now you’ve gone and ruined the surprise.”

“I may have jumped the gun a bit,
but I’m happy to hear there’s still going to be a second date,” he said with a
lopsided grin that made her heart flutter again.

“After that kiss?
I’d say the odds are looking damned good.”

“Yeah, that was something else.” He
moved in and kissed her again before she could do more than put a hand up
between them. This time she felt something crinkle under her hand, and when she
pressed down a little harder he groaned and lifted his hand to cover hers,
shifting it a few inches over.

“What’s that?” she asked, her words
muffled against his lips.

“Bandage over my new tattoo.”

Jo’s control slipped another notch,
giving her another hit of courage. He had ink, too? Tag was officially becoming
the man of her dreams. He was every fantasy she’d had since high school, all
wrapped up in one delicious package. For once, she was going to try and be
bold. “Then I know what I want to do for our second date. I want to see your
tattoo.”

His answer was to kiss her hard,
the hand that had touched her cheek moving to cradle the back of her head as he
growled into her mouth. When he finally ended the kiss, they were both panting
softly and Jo’s entire body was humming with need.

“Dinner.
I’m taking you to dinner,” he muttered as if reminding himself of the plan.

Jo knew the feeling. She’d never
been so tempted to abandon common sense and just invite him back inside. His
kisses had scrambled her brain so badly she’d forgotten to be insecure. “I
wasn’t hungry before, but now, I’m starving.”

He glanced over at her and started
the engine, the rumbling purr thrumming through the car. “I’m hungry too, but
I’m pretty sure what I want isn’t going to be on tonight’s menu.”

Before she could even think of
answering that, Tag revved the engine and pulled out onto the street, saving
her from her own lack of willpower. She still wasn’t sure why a man like
Taggart Wilde wanted to go out with her, but she could no longer have any doubt
about his interest.

He drove as confidently as he
seemed to tackle everything else so far, weaving the car in and out of traffic
with a deft hand. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, he took his hand
off the gearshift to pat the dashboard and flicked a companionable grin her
way. “This is Tiffany. Tiffany, this is
Jolena
.”

“You’re gorgeous, Tiffany,” Jo
said, and stroked the door panel beside her.

“Flattery.
Good choice. She’s going to like you. Most people don’t appreciate what a
beauty my girl is.”

“I imagine they’re more concerned
about the fact you talk to your car like she’s a living being. Some people just
wouldn’t understand that.”

Her dry observation was rewarded
with a chuckle. Tag moved his hand from the gearshift again, brushing his
knuckles across the back of her hand where it rested on her thigh. “You’re
right about that. But
you
get it.
That’s one of the things I like about you.”

“You don’t know me well enough yet
to know if you like me,” she argued, regretting the words as soon as she said
them. Tag wasn’t anything like Greg, but now the effect of his kisses was
wearing off, the whispering voices of doubt were back.

 
“I know you better than you think. I know
you’re trusting, but not reckless. You’re smart enough to keep your family
business running even though times are tight, and you are a good enough person
that my little brother actually threatened to do me bodily harm when he found
out I was taking you to dinner. Apparently he thinks you’re too good for me.”

“Oh god, he did not say that! I
mean, you’re not too good for me. Anyone can see just by looking that I’m the
one out of my league
here,
and … shit. I said that out
loud, didn’t I?”

“Yep,” Tag growled a one-syllable
response. When she glanced over at him, his jaw was tight and his fingers were
drumming a tattoo against the steering wheel.
Well, shit
. Now she was embarrassed
and
she’d somehow managed to piss off her date. Jo was still trying
to figure out a way to break the tension that had filled the air when Tag
pulled over and shut off the engine.

“Are we there?” she asked softly,
lowering her eyes to her lap.

“No. But I need to say something
before this night goes any further.”

Ice water swirled down her spine to
settle in a dark pool at the pit of her stomach. This couldn’t be good. Jo
braced herself for whatever Tag said next. “Okay.”

Tag unclipped his seat belt and
turned in his seat so he was facing her, his expression deadly serious. “I
don’t like hearing you put yourself down, angel. If I didn’t like you, you
wouldn’t be in my car. If I didn’t want you, I wouldn’t have kissed you. The
next time I hear you say something demeaning about yourself, I’m going to kiss
you senseless.”

Confused, and doubting what she’d
just heard him say, she asked, “Why does it matter to you what I say about
myself?”

His mouth softened a little, and
the faintest twinkle reappeared in his eyes. “Oh, it matters quite a bit. You
see, I’m a grown man, and I make my own fucking decisions about who I want to
spend time with. I want to spend it with you, and I won’t have you questioning
my judgment. Are we clear?”

This was not at all the
conversation she expected to be having. Tag was out of her league, and she knew
it. He should know it too. There was a dating hierarchy, and girls like her
didn’t get to date guys as hot and decent as he was turning out to be. Her
marriage to Greg had taught her the way the world really worked. Tag was
messing with the laws of nature, and she didn’t understand why.

 
“You do realize you’re breaking the dating
rules by even being seen with me, right? If we get arrested by the pretty
people police halfway through dinner, I’m going to tell them it was all your
idea.”

Laughter filled the car.
“The pretty people police?
Really?
I’m not sure if I should be amused or horrified that you just called me
pretty.”

“Well, you are. Pretty, I mean. Or
handsome, I guess.” Jo was flapping her hands and babbling now, her cheeks so
hot she imagined she could hear them sizzling. Capturing her fluttering hands
with his, Tag leaned in and brushed a tender kiss to her mouth.

“You are fucking gorgeous when you
get all flustered. I’m starting to think Nicky’s right. You’re far too good for
me. I’m just not going to let that get in the way of what I have planned.” He
lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers, sending shimmering sparks
of electric desire dancing over her skin. She’d scrubbed at her hands for
twenty minutes, trying to soften the calluses and banish every trace of grease
and oil. Now she was grateful she’d made the effort.

 
“And just what is it you have planned?” Jo
found herself asking softly as she settled back in her seat, her heart hammering
against her ribs as if trying to burst free.

“That’s for me to know and you to
find out.” He started the car again and pulled into the flow of traffic. As
they drove, Jo couldn’t help but wish her father were still alive. She had a
feeling he would have liked Tag almost as much as she did. She just hoped like
hell she wasn’t setting herself up to get her heart broken again.

Chapter Four

Kissing
Jolena
hadn’t been part of the plan for tonight, but now that he’d tasted her all Tag
wanted was to do it again. As tempting as it was to pretend that his need for
her was purely the result of his months-long dry spell, Tag knew better. This
was more than just sex or chemistry, though they definitely had chemistry––holy
fuck, did
they
ever. Kissing
Jolena
had felt like stepping into a glassblower’s furnace.

When she’d put herself down in his
hearing, he’d had to say something, had to make it clear that he wouldn’t let
her do that. Not when she was the reason he’d been smiling all afternoon, and
why his dick was currently as hard as marble. Tag didn’t know who had convinced
her she wasn’t worthy of a man’s attention, but he knew one thing, if he ever
found out who’d
 
told her that lie, he’d
pound them to bloody dust.

His mother had been like that when
they were young. She had a way of building up everyone else by putting herself
down, and it had made his dad crazy. Their father had dedicated his life to
showing her how beautiful she was, and how much he loved her. These days, Mom
didn’t doubt herself anymore, and seeing his parents together was a joy to
behold. They were so in love it was embarrassing at times, but it was also
humbling to watch. He just didn’t let anyone catch him admiring their
relationship. He was catching enough shit from his family to settle down and
find a new career path. No sense throwing gas on that inferno.