Drive Me Wild

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “I have to say you’ve stuck to your plan.” But privately Alec thought that if Josh were tempted by the likes of a woman as sexy as Molly, he might not be quite so cocky. Alec had a sneaking suspicion that Josh hadn’t met his match. At one time, Priscilla Adams had looked like a good candidate to knock Josh off his perch, but now Pris was marrying somebody else.

  “And you need to stick to your plan for a change,” Josh said.

  “I promise to take everything you’ve said under advisement.”

  “See that? You already sound like a lawyer. All you need is the shingle, man, and you’ll be golden. I plan to be your first client, before you get too expensive for me.”

  Alec laughed. “You’re already figuring on breaking the law?”

  “Hell, no. I want you to be ready to go over the contract when I buy my business, to make sure I’m not getting screwed.”

  “So you’re saying that I should specialize in contract law.”

  Josh ignored the dig. “Doesn’t matter. You’ll still be able to sort through all that legal mumbo jumbo better than I ever could.” He clapped Alec on the shoulder. “Is it a deal?”

  “Sure. Anything for you, Josh.” All the while they’d been talking, Alec had been thinking ahead, beyond tomorrow afternoon’s date with Molly. “Listen, are you scheduled to drive Thursday night?”

  “Not yet. So far I just have an airport run in the morning. Why?”

  “Edgar has me down for that fortieth-birthday dinner thing. I wondered if you could take it.”

  Josh eyed him. “So you can study?”

  “I’ll study during the day. But I need—”

  “I know exactly what you need, stud. And I can always use the extra income, but the thing is, so can you. Can you afford this woman?”

  “I have savings.”

  “For next fall’s tuition, am I right?”

  Alec rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, look. I don’t know how long this thing with Molly will last, but I’m betting it’ll be short and very sweet. This summer when I don’t have class and Molly’s no longer around, I can work more hours and make up what I lose now.” He gazed at his friend. “I swear to you, if you were in my shoes, you’d do exactly what I’m doing.”

  “I doubt it. But I’ll take your Thursday-night gig.”

  “I appreciate it, Josh.” Alec smiled in gratitude. “Well, I need to head home and hit the books.”

  “So you can stagger to class at eight with some idea of what they’re talking about, I’ll bet.”

  “Something like that.”

  Josh sighed. “Here, give me the Town Car keys and I’ll put them in the drop box for you. You go on home, you sorry bastard.”

  Alec chuckled. “Thanks.” He handed over his keys and started toward his Blazer.

  “And try to get her out of your system fast, will you?” Josh called after him. “You’re making me very nervous, here.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Alec called back. But as he drove the silent streets to his small apartment, he thought about Molly the entire time. Considering the way she’d taken over his life, he doubted he’d be getting her out of his system all that fast. A better question was whether he’d be able to get her out of his system at all.

  AS MOLLY WALKED HOME from the camera shop, she had never felt more alive. The warm weather had prodded daffodils and tulips into bloom in front yards all along her route. Although she couldn’t see Long Island Sound from town, she could smell the fresh salt air blowing in off the water. Seagulls wheeled overhead, and she promised herself a trip to the beach soon.

  But not today. Today she would find out if she was a wild woman or a frightened mouse. She’d tried to fool herself while renting the video equipment by telling the clerk her supposed plans for the camera and tripod. She’d concocted a story about a happy-birthday video to send to her parents, who actually did have birthdays a week apart, although they were both in August.

  What a joke. You didn’t send a home video to a former movie star and an Oscar-winning director. The prospect made her cringe. She did her birthday shopping for her parents at Saks.

  But the clerk didn’t know that, and she’d gushed about what a great present this would be. It would be a great present to herself, Molly decided, if she could actually go through with it. In the clear light of day, she doubted she could, but the idea certainly made her world more vivid.

  Or maybe it was the writing she’d done this morning that was giving her this unbelievable high. She’d been inspired to write a new scene for her book, and she thought it was pretty darn hot. She could hardly wait for Alec to read it.

  Or maybe it was Alec himself who made her feel as if she could leap tall buildings in a single bound. As a lover, he was ten times better than she’d imagined he’d be. She was worried about him missing his classes, though. She shouldn’t have let him talk her into getting together today, but…she wanted him. Desperately.

  Once he arrived, she ought to sit him down and find out exactly how much he had to do in order to get through the semester with good grades. Maybe she could help him in some way. Mostly she had to make sure that being with her wasn’t jeopardizing his course work, no matter how much they both craved the contact.

  Back in her little cottage, she set the box containing the equipment on the oak floor and went to prepare the bedroom. She changed sheets three times before deciding that the lace-trimmed eggshell would photograph the best. She’d been cursed with listening to movie talk all her life, and now she couldn’t forget what she’d unconsciously learned. She was, after all, preparing a movie set.

  With that in mind, she stripped the antique nightstands of all personal items. Then she pulled down the linen shade over the lace-curtained window and turned on the twin lamps. Not bad. If they put the tripod on the right side of the bed in front of the window, the ambient light would be nearly perfect.

  Then she groaned. As if she’d really end up in that bed with Alec, being filmed in any kind of light. She couldn’t do this. She really couldn’t do this.

  The phone rang, and she hurried to answer it. If Alec was canceling, she’d take back the video equipment this afternoon. She wasn’t dealing with this well to begin with, and she definitely couldn’t handle a postponement.

  But Dana was on the line, not Alec.

  “Hi, sweetie! How’s the new book coming along?” she asked immediately.

  “Uh, great, great!” Molly hadn’t written a page of the new book yet. “How’s life treating you, Dana?”

  “Oh, sweetheart, I met a new man.”

  “Sounds promising.” Molly didn’t have high hopes, though. Dana had been meeting and rejecting men for as long as Molly had known her. Dana’s first true love, an actor on the rise in the sixties, had died in a scuba accident. That was more than thirty years ago, but Dana still kept his picture on her dressing table. Molly didn’t think anyone else would ever measure up.

  “Jim’s a sweetheart,” Dana said. “But as you know, I’m picky.”

  Molly laughed. “You should be. You can have your choice of a boatload of guys, so why not be discriminating?”

  “That’s what I say. Anyway, Jim is…looking good. For the time being, anyway.”

  For the time being. That described her situation with Alec, too. “Nothing wrong with that.” But already she wanted more than a temporary fling.

  “Nope, nothing wrong with that,” Dana said. “Live for the moment. At least that’s what the gurus all say. Listen, I didn’t call to tell you about my love life. I called because I have a dynamite idea. I think the killer should be the maid, Sophie, not the real estate guy.”

  “Sophie?” Molly thought of the continuing character she’d lavished so much care on book after book. Funny, irreverent Sophie could not be the killer. It would be totally against her character, and besides, she’d be out of any future books. Molly loved Sophie.

  “Nobody would guess Sophie!” Dana laughed happily. “It’s brilliant!”

  “Um, I a
gree, nobody would guess Sophie, but—”

  “You’re hesitating. Are you so far into the book that you can’t make the change?”

  “Well, no, but—”

  “Excellent. I can tell you’ll need some convincing about this. When can you fly out so we can brainstorm over lunch and a couple of very dry martinis?”

  “Well, actually, I—”

  “This week isn’t good for me, but next week is free.”

  “Dana, maybe I need to get a few more pages done before we meet.” Molly imagined the marathon writing session she’d need to produce something for Dana to see.

  “No, I don’t want you to do another thing on this until we’ve had a face-to-face. Plus—oh, this is perfect—I talked to your mother yesterday and your dad is due back from Ireland this weekend. Cybil was asking if I thought you’d be coming home again anytime soon. Your dad has to fly to New Zealand in two weeks, so you’d better catch him while you can.”

  Molly couldn’t see a way out of this. Dana would keep at her until she made the trip, and she hadn’t seen her dad in months because he always seemed to be on location whenever she was home. “Okay.”

  “I’ll book you a flight for Monday, how’s that?”

  “Tuesday,” Molly said automatically. She always traveled on Tuesdays, Thursdays or the weekend, because those were the days Alec didn’t have classes.

  “Tuesday, then. And the car service I hired for you is still working out?”

  Molly glanced at the box of video equipment. “So far.”

  “Good. I’m relieved that you’re not taking chances learning to drive in unfamiliar territory. Well, think about Sophie. She’s the perfect killer. Now I have to run, nail appointment in ten minutes. G’bye, sweetie.”

  “’Bye, Dana.” Molly hung up the phone and took a deep breath. This was why she had to sell a book of her own, a book in which she had complete control over what the characters did and what they said. She’d talk Dana out of making Sophie the killer in the new book, but she might have to compromise some other plot element, and then she’d have to write around a new obstacle.

  Alec seemed to think that filming themselves having sex would give her unique ideas for the scenes in her book. He could be right. If he was right, then she’d be a fool to let her inhibitions get in the way of her career as a writer.

  Her mind made up, she walked over, picked up the box and carried it into the bedroom. If they were going to make this video, they might as well do a halfway decent job of it. Of the two of them, she was the one with the expertise to make sure that happened.

  9

  SO FAR ALEC’S DAY hadn’t been great, but it was about to get better. He was minutes away from Molly’s house. Getting to this point, though, had been a little rocky.

  Sometime after four in the morning, he’d fallen asleep while trying to study. He’d overslept and walked in late to class. Then he’d compounded that error by dozing off during the lecture. The professor had nudged him awake after everyone else had left. Now Alec would need to ace the final for sure if he expected to pass.

  He’d also intended to ask a friend in that class if he could borrow her notes from the two afternoon sessions he’d be missing. But the lecture hall had been empty, so he’d lost that opportunity. Oh, well. He’d get the notes somehow.

  In the meantime, thanks to the unplanned shut-eye, he was wide awake and ready to spend some quality time with Molly. He wondered if she’d rented the video equipment. Even if she had, he might have to spend some time convincing her to use it.

  He knew exactly how he’d convince her, too. Once she was worked up, she would agree to almost anything he asked. He knew this video was a great idea, and getting her to go along would be a stimulating challenge.

  The route to her house was familiar, but he felt really strange parking his Blazer instead of the Town Car in front of her cottage. She’d never seen his black truck, he realized. Maybe he should have washed it.

  Yeah, right. He was lucky he’d had time to wash himself, let alone his vehicle. After he’d overslept, he’d taken a very quick shower and thrown on whatever clothes were handy before dashing off. Fortunately he’d had time to go back to his apartment, take a longer shower and shave before setting out for Molly’s.

  Deciding what to wear had been an interesting exercise, too. She’d never seen him in anything but the Red Carpet logo shirt and dark slacks. His wardrobe wasn’t fancy, but the forest-green shirt and khaki pants he had on now were his favorite outfit. He didn’t expect to have it on long, but first impressions were important.

  By the time he stood on her porch and rang the doorbell, he was pretty damn excited. No matter what Josh said, any guy who chose the classroom over getting naked with a woman like Molly had to be either an idiot or gay. Alec didn’t regret his decision for a second.

  “The door’s open!” Molly called from inside the house. Way inside the house. From her bedroom, maybe?

  Alec’s heart pounded faster as he opened the door and walked into her flowered, frilly living room. He knew she’d inherited the cottage from a beloved grandmother who’d passed away, and the place looked like a grandmother had decorated it. Alec decided not to think about the grandma for the next few hours.

  “I’m in here, Alec,” Molly called again.

  This time he was positive she was in the bedroom. Maybe she was setting up the equipment. He headed eagerly in that direction. Or maybe…

  Maybe she had everything ready. He paused in the doorway and gulped. Apparently she wouldn’t need any convincing.

  She’d stripped the bed down to a fitted bottom sheet, and pillows cushioned the walnut headboard. The smooth ivory sheet and the lace-trimmed pillows made the perfect backdrop for Molly Drake, sex goddess.

  Smiling, she lay propped against the pillows, her red hair loose and curling around her shoulders. Her bra and panties were a cool mint green. The satin material, the subtle use of underwire and the daring cut all combined to showcase the hottest body he’d ever had the privilege of ogling.

  She gestured toward the window. “Camera’s on,” she said.

  His gaze swung to the video camera mounted on a tripod to the right of the bed and in front of the shaded window. If she hadn’t pointed it out, he might never have noticed. He was completely mesmerized by the sight of her lying there waiting for him, her breasts quivering with each breath.

  “Come over beside the bed while you undress,” she said. Her voice was breathy, but she seemed very sure of what she wanted. “I want that on film.”

  Somehow he hadn’t expected the room to be filled with so much light. If he hadn’t been so eager to join her on that bed, he might have given in to a sudden touch of stage fright. He’d pictured rolling around with her on the bed while the camera was on, but he hadn’t imagined taking off his clothes in front of it.

  “That shirt looks good on you,” she said. “But I want it off.”

  Drawing a shaky breath, he thought a moment about what he was about to do. Then he nudged off his shoes and pulled off his socks before walking to the left side of the bed where he’d be within camera range. He couldn’t imagine how taking off your shoes and socks could ever be sexy.

  “A little to the right.” She sounded like a movie director.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you’d done this before.”

  “Are you still hung up on the X-rated movie thing? Because I have not, nor will I ever be—”

  “I know, Molly.” Anyone who made those movies wouldn’t have almost fainted at the idea of spending the afternoon in a hotel room with him. “But the way you’ve set everything up looks almost…professional.”

  Wariness flashed briefly in her eyes. “I know a…little something about movie-making.”

  “Were you a film student in L.A.?” He pulled his shirt from his pants and started unbuttoning, ready to have this part over with so they could get to the good stuff.

  “No.”

  “A starlet?” Maybe she�
�d bombed out and come East to lick her wounds.

  “No, definitely not. Slow down there, okay?”

  He paused midway down the row of buttons. “Why?”

  “Because it’s sexier if you do. Because then…” She paused and cleared her throat. “Then I have to wait a little before I get to see you naked,” she said softly. “I have time to get frustrated.”

  Heat rushed through him. “I’ve never…never tried to do a…” He didn’t know the right word for when a guy stripped for a woman.

  “A striptease,” she said, her voice unsteady. “That’s okay. I’ve never asked a man to do it for me, either.”

  “Good.” He prayed to God he wouldn’t look like a fool. “Then you won’t know if I do it wrong.”

  “I don’t think you could,” she murmured, her gaze hot.

  He had a sudden idea that would reduce the pressure on him. “Maybe you should tell me how you want me to take my clothes off.”

  Her gaze met his. “All right.” She swallowed and looked him up and down, lingering on his crotch.

  “You might want a different order than what I’d choose.” He expected her to tell him to unzip his fly, from the expression of lust in her eyes.

  “I think you should start with…your watch.”

  “My watch?” He’d totally forgotten he was wearing one.

  “I want to see you unbuckle it and put it on the nightstand. Deliberately. While you’re looking at me.”

  “My watch. Okay.” He didn’t get it, but as he followed her directions, he realized that it didn’t matter what he took off, because every item brought them closer to incredible sex. Tension crackled between them as he laid his watch on the nightstand with a soft click. “Next?”

  She directed her attention to his chest. “Unfasten another button on your shirt.”

  He did.

  “Now the next one. Take it out of the buttonhole very slowly.”

  One by one, he undid the buttons at her command, his fingers trembling a little. At last the shirt hung open. As the air touched his skin, he realized he was sweating.