Read Online Wicked & Willing: Bad Girls by Leslie Kelly - Free Book Online Page B

to make him understand even that much, why she cared what he thought. “I don’t know the language. I don’t know the customs. I don’t have the right clothes, the right speech, the right hair or the right attitude.” She shook her head. Voicing these minor misgivings almost made her forget the major ones. “At this moment, Troy, I’m seriously wishing to God I’d never come. This was a stupid idea and I was nuts to go along with it.”
    He didn’t say anything for a moment, just continued to look at her. It was unnerving, having all that intense, masculine attention focused squarely on her face. His shimmering green eyes darkened as he stared at her. Her heart sped up in her chest, reacting to his closeness, to the warmth of his body and his spicy scent.
    Remembering the way he’d tasted on her tongue.
    Venus had never once, not in her entire life, wanted to melt into a man’s arms only to be held and taken care of. She’d been in men’s arms for passion. For possession. For desire. For need. And yes, she knew she wanted all those things from this man she’d only known a matter of hours.
    But, right now, his tender concern seemed pretty damned attractive, too. Particularly when he reached up to brush a long strand of hair off her brow, his touch innocent yet crackling with electricity.
    He leaned closer. “I understand.” Then, to her furthersurprise, he continued. “You’re not alone, Venus. I’m going to help you.”
     
    A N HOUR LATER , while taking a long shower that did nothing to cool his overheated skin, Troy still couldn’t believe he’d offered to help Venus.
    “Help her do what?” he muttered as he reached out to turn the spray from lukewarm to cool. He know what he really wanted to help her do.
    Have a whole bunch of screaming orgasms.
    But that was out. No screaming orgasms loomed in the future for either one of them. Not even here in a large, dual-headed shower where he probably should have blown off some sexual steam before he saw the beautiful redhead again.
    Troy didn’t want to blow off steam with his hand. He wanted to create some serious steam…with her.
    Why he wanted her so much, he really couldn’t say. She was amazing to look at, sure, but he interacted with attractive women all the time. And for the past three months, none of them had come close to luring him out of his unintentional celibacy. Venus had done it with a flick of her ankle as she tapped her shoe into the air on the balcony.
    His suspicions about her should have tamped down on the desire. They hadn’t. The fact that she was a mystery—a cocky, confident mystery—had only added to the instant heat he’d felt when he first laid eyes on her.
    Well, not entirely confident. Obviously the woman’s self-confidence had taken a real hit when she’d arrived here at Max’s home. In the library, when he’d attempted to look at it from her point of view, he’d felt for her. Not that Max would care—if she really were his granddaughter, he wouldn’t give a damn whether she fit into his world or not.
    Venus, however, quite obviously cared. It couldn’t have been easy for a proud woman to admit she couldn’t handle the situation in which she found herself. The confusion and hint of fear in her eyes had affected him more deeply than he’d ever have imagined possible. He saw a hint of vulnerability in her which she’d probably never admit to having.
    And, to be honest, he admired her. She didn’t seem at all bitter, despite the bits and pieces he’d managed to glean about her life. She’d been orphaned, raised in foster care and had had to fight for every single thing she got. Yet it hadn’t made her greedy or grasping, nor had it made her resentful. She had a genuine smile and an infectious laugh. Her smart mouth was buoyed by an innate sense of humor that said she didn’t take anything too seriously.
    Completely unlike him.
    Troy was well used to being around money. He, more than anyone, knew he’d been