Her Sinful Secret Read online

  Chapter Nine

  Wendy’s cousin Margo phoned. Wendy smiled, remembering how a snapshot from Margo’s wedding had helped launch Wendy’s affair with Max.

  “I heard you’re dating much younger men.” Before Wendy could reply to Margo’s nasal-toned comment, she added, “And much older ones. What’s with that?”

  “I, uh, who told you?”

  “Rachel.” Her cousin’s nasally twang gave the name of Tyler’s girlfriend just the right note of unpleasantness to suit the situation.

  “Why would she mention my dating preferences to you?” Indignation spiked Wendy’s voice.

  “Possibly because you ditched her uncle for a much younger man.” She sounded amused.

  “I didn’t dump him. We had one date. An arranged one.”

  “You’re going out on blind dates with old men. How desperate.”

  “It was apparently my punishment, meted out by Tyler and Rachel, for dating Max.”

  “Max, is that the young man’s name? Sounds hunky.” She giggled like a schoolgirl. “Is he over twenty-one?”

  “Max is thirty-two.”

  “Caught you. You didn’t deny the hunky part.” Margo laughed.

  Wendy lightened up and laughed, too. Tyler’s objections to Max had her stomach tied into a knot. It was a relief to unwind for a change.

  “Give it up. What does he look like?” Margo asked.

  “He wears khakis and logo jackets and sneakers with Velcro.”

  “Not the uncle, you jerk. Max.”

  Wendy smiled. “Got you back.”

  “Ha ha. Now tell me before I come over to the house to twist your arm. I’m dying of curiosity.”

  “And obviously of post-honeymoon blues.”

  “So let me live vicariously through you.”

  “Max is tall and handsome and buff. His buns are round and tight…and a handful.” Wendy chuckled at her cousin’s gasp.

  “You are so naughty. And I’m so envious.”

  “A newlywed like you?”

  “I know. You’d think I’d be getting a lot of action. But Stanley turned into a couch potato almost overnight. Between the TV and video games the only moves he makes are with his thumbs.”

  Wendy shook her head. Stanley was younger than Max. She was so lucky. Max was such an extraordinary man. But how was she going to keep him and her son, too?

  * * * *

  The next day, Max showed up at the dealership, looking like every wet dream Wendy had ever imagined. He wore fitted jeans and a corduroy jacket that she wanted to strip away to ogle the hard body she knew lay beneath. She tucked her hands behind her back as she strolled towards him in the showroom, needing to keep them far from the temptation to touch and stroke what her eyes admired.

  The employees’ hushed voices followed her. “That’s him. That’s the guy from the cineplex who stopped by yesterday.”

  “I can hear you,” she chanted to no one in particular.

  From the corner of her eyes, she saw Marsha duck her head back into the parts department. The clerk hadn’t wasted any time pointing Max out to the staff. And sooner or later, word would reach Tyler. Wendy didn’t fancy another scene with her son.

  But right now the only man she could concentrate on was the one winking at her in a most flirtatious manner.

  “You needn’t have asked for me,” she said as she got closer. “I assure you all of our salespeople are knowledgeable.”

  He reached out, stroked her arm from her shoulder downward, tugging her hand free from behind her back. Holding it in his large, firm grasp, he met her eyes with searing contact. Her heart thumped and her pussy wept with want. Everything faded into the background—the cars, the employees, the whispers.

  “I needed the owner’s personal attention.”

  “Oh.” That’s all she could think to say with his dark eyes sending lusty messages to her erogenous zones.

  Her nipples peaked and her panties combusted. She wanted to give him her personal attention, starting with the zipper on his tight jeans. The desire to unzip him right here in the showroom, drop to her knees and service his memorable cock was difficult to suppress. She salivated with her craving to taste him, suck him, make him moan and come.

  She blinked away her shocking thoughts, ones she’d never had about any man. He crooked a wicked smile, as if he’d read her mind. His tempting mouth, his entrancing eyes and the sexy scent of his masculine cologne drew her in. Suddenly, her carnal notions weren’t so shocking. With Max, she’d like to try everything sexual. No bounds. She let out a breathy sigh.

  “I thought it was time I take a ride in a hybrid.” He stroked his thumb along the pulse throbbing in her wrist, which only made it difficult to think about anything but doing him.

  “Why?” she said, absently.

  “For investment purposes.”

  The reason behind the restructuring of the dealership tore her from Max’s sensuous spell. “From what I saw last night, you no longer need a travelling companion so I no longer need an investor.”

  He’d wasted little time in replacing her, which was a sore spot that had kept her panties in a twist at the restaurant and her sheets rumpled most of the night.

  He led her over to a luxury coupé and peeked through the window at the interior.

  “Selma vacationed with me once, but never again. She’s more interested in the spa facilities at the hotel than in a country’s culture or scenery.” He shook his head. A lock of hair fell onto his forehead.

  She looked away before she reached up to touch the silky strands.

  He opened the car door. “Is leather an option?”

  “Is Peru?” She looked up at him.

  “Not for Selma.” He squeezed her hand. “How about you?”

  She smiled, pleased with his reply. “Me and leather are both options.” She didn’t know how she’d swing it with her son, but she’d deal with that later.

  He let out a low whistle and eyed her from head to foot. “You in leather. Black and shiny with buckles and zippers.” He leaned in closer, his voice a warm whisper in her ear. “The image is giving me a hard-on.”

  Her eyes flitted to his bulging fly in his tight jeans and quickly back to his face. He chuckled at her less than discreet response. Her cheeks flushed with a combination of embarrassment and excitement.

  “Want to touch?” His breath on her ear became warmer and moister, shooting pangs of want to her crotch, causing her clit to throb and her pussy to ache for his rock-hard, familiar cock.

  “Very much.” She taunted him in return, grazing her fingertips over his thigh in a fleeting caress as she stepped to the side to hide her actions from the offices behind her.

  “Take me for a ride.” His hand rested on the open car door while his eyes alluded to another, more lurid ride on his lap.

  “I’ll get the keys. Don’t go away,” she purred, feeling seductive and wanton.

  He spoke through gritted his teeth. “If I moved right now, I’d injure myself.”

  “I’ll hurry.”

  “I won’t watch. Your skirt and heels are a turn-on I can’t handle at the moment.”

  Feeling his eyes on her despite his protest, she couldn’t help but sway her hips when she strode towards the office for the car keys.

  * * * *

  Max inhaled a deep breath to get control of his rising testosterone and his faster-rising cock. Wendy was an earthy, exciting woman with intelligent interests, and just what he needed in his life. No shallow ego like the women who pursued him for appearances and money. No baby-nesting instincts like his ex-wife had suddenly acquired three years into the marriage, knowing upfront he couldn’t give her kids.

  Wendy had been there and done that. She was a great match for him.

  Watching her walk towards him was mesmerising. Her hips and breasts swayed with seductive suggestion. Her eyes and mouth crinkled when she smiled and laughed, readily, lighting up her face.

  “I missed you,” he said as she approached hi
m.

  Her pleasure at his words brightened her blue eyes to an indescribable shade, somewhere between a clear sky and the ocean on a remote beach he’d visited once in the Pacific Islands.

  She dangled the keys between her graceful fingers, her nails impeccably manicured and short. No fake, claw-like nails or black polish. He cringed at the memory of the woman who’d come on to him at a nightclub months ago, raking her dark, pointed acrylics along his neck in what was supposed to have been an irresistible gesture.

  “The keys are to the hybrid. We just got it in.” Even in salesperson mode, Wendy’s voice sounded sultry as she rattled off its benefits. “The hybrid has increased horsepower, lower emissions, reduced noise, longer battery life, plus fuel economy. Right now, this model is in demand, and this pearl colour is especially hard to come by. It takes eight months to a year to get one. Want to drive?”

  “I’d drive you anywhere.” He took the keys and held the passenger door of the car open for her to slide onto the supple leather seat.

  Her legs as she swung them inside were a vision of naked thighs and curvaceous calves. He was hard pressed not to climb in after her, wrap them around his neck and have a go at her sweet pussy.

  He slammed the door on the image and slid behind the wheel instead. Once the engine purred to life and he steered on to the freeway, the car rode true to form as promised, smooth, quiet and comfortable.

  He glanced at her and she sideswiped him with a look hot enough to tighten his ball sac. She would look amazing in leather. Too bad she was most likely flirting when she’d agreed to leather and Peru. Too bad.

  He jerked his attention back to the road when a car horn blared. He wiped thoughts of leather from his mind and focused on the traffic and Peru. Should he ask her if she’d been serious about going with him? Or should he start off smaller? Maybe ask when she was going to start taking his phone calls again.

  If his suspicions were correct, and she was trying to avoid her son’s disapproval, he didn’t want to put her on the spot to choose between them. It wouldn’t be fair. Until he could figure out a way to win over her son, he’d have to make do with whatever time she allotted him. Like this afternoon.

  After weaving in and out of lanes, dodging cars on the expressway, listening to horns blasting instead of the sultry sound of Wendy’s voice, he pulled into the nearest mall. He couldn’t concentrate on both the road and her, and he’d rather put all his attention on Wendy.

  He parked beneath a shade tree far from the mall entrances and turned the ignition off. “Quiet at last.” Unbuckling his seatbelt, he smiled over at her and she agreed with a nod and a snap of her own belt.

  He stretched his arm along the back of her seat and eased her into conversation. “At first, I was jealous over your blind date last night.”

  “At first?” She cocked her head in a flirtatious manner.

  “Although Sonny’s a nice man, he’s too old for you.”

  “Apparently my son and his girlfriend think Sonny’s just my speed.” She grinned good-naturedly.

  “A woman as vibrant and sexy as you needs a man that can keep up with her.” He stroked his finger along her arm. Her flesh shivered, pleasing him.

  “Are you that man?” Her voice had lost its teasing tone, sounding throaty instead.

  “I want to be.”

  “I want you to be,” she murmured.

  His heart did a flip, but what she’d said wasn’t enough. It was important for her to know how much he needed her. “It’s more than sexual. I like being with you. I feel more alive with you than with anyone I’ve known.”

  “Oh, Max. I feel the same way.” She hugged him around the neck and planted a jubilant kiss to his lips, as if they’d just discovered gold.

  And damn, but he had. He lost himself in her mouth. She tasted like café au lait, sweet and creamy. He nibbled her lips and suckled her tongue. Her soft moans egged him on when he should’ve ended the torrid kiss. His cock hardened. Before his dick became an unstoppable force, he pulled away.

  “Whoa, we better take a break.” He raked his fingers through his hair, seeking composure. “Let’s take a walk around the parking lot, check out the architecture, the landscaping, cool down.”

  She didn’t move but didn’t protest. He took that as a yes.

  When he hopped out of the car, rounded the front grille and opened the door for her, Wendy swivelled towards him, placing her feet on the ground while remaining seated. She reached over and tugged on the zipper of his jeans.

  “I’ve wanted to do this since you walked into the showroom.” She undid his zipper and stroked a fingernail through the wiry curls surrounding his dick.

  Public sex. What a turn-on. Heat shot up his spine and his cock hardened even more and twitched, eager for the touch of her palm or her mouth. Whatever she planned to use was fine with him. He sucked in his stomach as her nimble fingers freed him from the tight confines of his jeans.

  Sun glinted on the row of windshields in the lot ahead of them. Still no one in sight. Excitement spiked through him. When she lowered her head, he felt her tongue, hot and wet, lick the slit at the head of his penis. Grabbing hold of the roof of the car with one hand, he gripped the door with the other, white-knuckled and determined not to let go until she finished gratifying him.

  Please don’t let anyone come.

  But him.

  She swirled her tongue along the ridge of the swollen, pulsing tip of his cock and he closed his eyes, threw back his head and gave himself over to the heated pleasure of her mouth.

  She teased him, sucking hard and then easing up. Moving her head in a fast rhythm and then slower. Gripping his shaft in her fist, tight, then loosening her hold. He couldn’t anticipate what stroking or licking or sucking action she’d perform next, but each one brought him closer and closer to climaxing.

  A jerk, hard and unexpected, yanked him from behind. The neck of his shirt tightened around his Adam’s apple, choking his airwaves as he was propelled backward. Landing flat on his back, he gasped for breath. With his now limp dick sticking out of his fly, he stared up at a masked man pressing a gun to his forehead with a leather-gloved hand.

  Chapter Ten

  “Lady, get out of the car or your john gets it,” The gunman shouted without taking his eyes or gun from Max.

  “Joh…” Wendy stammered, sitting on the edge of the car seat, her feet planted on the macadam, her face stunned, her voice a shaky whisper.

  The man in the woollen, black ski mask grabbed her wrist with his gun-free hand and wrenched her out of the car and onto her knees. Fear rounded her eyes. Max would’ve grabbed the man by his ankle to upend him, but with the handgun boring into his head, he’d have little chance of surviving long enough to be of any help to Wendy.

  “I’d let you blow me too, but I don’t have time to fool around.” He waved the gun. “On your hands and knees.”

  Max flinched but could do little else. When she complied, she attempted to reach for Max when the assailant stepped on her hand. She cried out in pain. He laughed again, but this time the pitch of his glee was high and wild. He sounded deranged.

  Max bided his time when every fibre of his being urged him to pounce and beat the crap out of the gunman, bullet or no bullet. But where would that leave Wendy?

  “Any moves and you die.” The gun barrel stabbed against Max’s forehead with enough force to break the skin while their attacker ground his shoe heel into Wendy’s hand. She whimpered.

  “Any heroics and she’ll pray to die before I’m done with her.” The gunman lifted his work-booted foot.

  Max cringed, fearing he’d stomp on her hand, perhaps breaking bones. He lunged to meet the gun butt smashing against the bridge of his nose and a boot heel against his groin, the brunt of which he dodged. Once he was down again bleeding and in pain, the car thief pushed Wendy flat on her stomach.

  Asshole. Max fisted his hands at his sides to keep his cool. He might be able to get a punch in…before they both got sho
t.

  “I don’t have much cash on me, but I have a credit card.” Max figured he could pay off the crook for now and deal with him another day. He’d track him down if it took him and a dozen PIs a lifetime.

  With a smirk visible through the mouth hole of the ski mask, the attacker nodded towards Max’s open fly. “Take your wallet outta your pants pocket.” He snickered. “Slow. One quick move and I pull the trigger and blow your cock off.”

  Glad not to have the jerk rustling in his jeans while he was exposed, Max slipped the wallet from his back pocket and held it away from himself. The man snatched it.

  “Both of you stay down until I drive off.” He lifted the mask away from his lower face, his chin and mouth red and wet from sweat, and sneered at the car. “What a waste of a sweet ride. Beats me why anyone would want a damn hybrid and in pearl blue no less. But my customers want fancy.”

  Wendy’s blue eyes glittered with pain and fear. They pleaded with Max to stay down.

  He swallowed his male pride and let the gunman go without trying to tackle him. His dignity was a small price to pay in exchange for Wendy’s safety.

  He watched helplessly as the gunman jumped in the driver’s seat, tore off his knitted ski mask and tossed it on the seat next to him. With a squeal of wheels, the carjacker sped out of the lot, quickly blending into the heavy expressway traffic.

  “Are you okay?” Max shook off his pain and rolled to his feet to help Wendy up. Her legs were rubbery as she stood. She inhaled large gulps of air as if to ward off a crying jag.

  He steadied her with his arm around her shoulder. “How bad is your hand? Can you flex your fingers?”

  She nodded and wriggled them to show him she could.

  His heart pounded. Now that it was over, reality sank in. He hugged her to him. If he’d lost her…no, he couldn’t even think about it.

  Gripping his arm for support, she brushed dirt from her scraped knees. “My purse and cell are in the car.”

  “My cell’s in my pocket. Lucky my open zipper kept the creep from frisking me.” He hoped his levity would wipe the fear from her face.