Wild Dreams

by Dawn Pendleton

  I nodded, wondering what it all meant. I wasn’t the type to back away from a challenge because someone warned me off, but there had to be more to the story. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I see something in you that reminds me of someone I used to know, a scared young girl who let a man dictate her life. I don’t want you to have the same fate as her. In fact, I think you’re better than she was, even, and with a little guidance, you could run this industry the way Dallas thinks he does now.” She smiled softly at me. “Dallas has a one track mind. I think, with the right encouragement, you could blindside him.”

  “Well, I appreciate your concern, of course, but I’m stronger than I look,” I said.

  She tipped her head up. “Ah, yes. You continued on, even after your parent’s death.”

  My eyes flew to hers. “What?” No one was supposed to know about my past; Tyler and I both agreed.

  “Don’t be mad at him. Tyler only told me so that I didn’t kick you out. He also didn’t tell me until after I had chosen you. I had no idea the two of you were related when I chose, which means you got here on your own merit, and not because of who your cousin is. Your pictures are phenomenal, Nicole. Never doubt your skill.”

  “I don’t. And Dallas doesn’t intimidate me.”

  “That’s what worries me. He’s going to see you as another intern to sleep with – another conquest. If that happens, I’m afraid you’ll get your heart, or worse, your confidence, broken and then you’ll be gone. I’d really like to be able to offer you a job after the internship.”

  I dropped my feet to the floor and leaned forward, angling my ear toward her. There was no way I heard her right. “What? But you don’t even know how I’m going to do.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said, waving her hand. “I’m already impressed by what I’ve seen. If being on location in the jungle isn’t your thing, we’ll find another spot for you. But I know for damn sure I don’t want to lose your talent.”

  I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could answer. “I… I can’t believe this. I’m honored that you want me.”

  She grinned. “You leave to start your trip first thing in the morning. You can relax in the lounge or go straight to bed to catch up with jetlag. It’s up to you.”

  “The lounge?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Has no one given you a proper tour?”

  “No, ma’am.” I shook my head.

  “Follow me, then. Shame on Tyler and Dallas for not getting you settled in properly.” She opened the door and waited for me to slip on my flip flops and follow her.

  We walked down the hallway in silence and I couldn’t help but notice the art that adorned each wall. The photos were all from Africa, though they varied from the deepest jungle to the flat desert of the Sahara. I was thoroughly impressed. In the corner of each photo, I tried to find the logo of the photographer. The most amazing ones were stamped with DM, which made me all the more nervous about Leanne offering me a job.

  I wanted it. I wanted it more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life, but I knew proving myself was going to take guts. First on the list of things not to do was sleep with Dallas. Leanne was right; he was bad news for my career, though I failed to see how a guy like him could grab my heart. He was too much of a player. But he could pull a lot of strings, both good and bad, for me, if I chose to work with him instead of against him. I didn’t want to sleep with him. Maybe. It was more of a curiosity than a yearning.

  That many women, all so thoroughly satisfied; I wanted to see what he had to offer. But I knew it could end poorly and ruin my chances with actually landing a job in the fall. For the time being, all thoughts of Dallas’s sexual prowess had to be cast aside and I needed to focus on capturing the perfect images.

  “Ah, here we are,” Leanne said as she stopped in front of a doorway. “I trust you can find your way back to your room.” At my nod, she continued on her way.

  I peeked inside the room. There were couches and chair set in front of a huge flat-screen TV hanging on the wall, a bar area with what looked to be a full fridge of sodas and water, and then in the back half of the room, there was a full-size pool table. I stepped through the door, taking it all in. Tyler was on the couch, engrossed in a video game. In the bar area, a shorter guy had the fridge open, getting himself a Coke. A young woman sat on the other side of the bar, talking to him with a smile. At the pool table, Dallas and another man played a game, each lining up their shots and then missing their target.

  I walked across the room, reached into my pocket and pulled out a quarter. I set it on the edge of the table. “I’ve got winner.” I glanced at Dallas briefly before going to the couch and plopping down next to Tyler.

  “Dammit, Nic, you messed up my game!” Tyler whined.

  I yanked the controller out of his hand, something I knew he hated. “Too bad!”

  We struggled over the controller for a full ten seconds before we realized that the entire room had gone silent. When we looked up, four pairs of eyes were locked on us, mouths agape.

  I had no words.

  “God, Nic, one day here and you think you own the place!” Tyler said, plenty loud enough for everyone to hear. They all laughed and turned their attentions back to what they were doing.

  Except Dallas. His stare was intense, his stance solid. His eyes bore into mine for a full minute before whoever the guy next to him snapped his fingers to get Dallas’s attention. When he broke eye contact, I realized I’d been holding my breath. I let it out in a rush, sucking more air in. Something about him made me worry that maybe I wasn’t strong enough to handle him. It didn’t seem to matter, though, because I definitely wanted to find out.

  Seven

  Dallas

  She kept eyeing me from her spot on the couch, distracting me from my game. Instead of sinking the solid red seven ball, I jumped the cue ball over it and almost scratched. I hung my head in shame as Mike smirked at me from across the table and started to line up his shot. I left him wide open to sink his nine ball. I had to look away as he prepared to shoot. My gaze drifted back to Nicole, who was whispering with Tyler.

  When the hell did they become friends? They didn’t even know each other a few hours ago. I wanted to say something, anything to break them apart, but Mike’s sigh of discontent drew my attention back to the game I had zero interest in.

  “You’re up¸” he muttered, passing by me.

  The table had the same number of balls on it, which meant Mike slipped up. He missed an easy shot. I wasn’t the only one distracted by Nicole, it seemed. I stared at the green bed of the table while I chalked my pool stick. My lineup was perfect, if only I could get it in the hole. I took a deep breath and lined up my shot, ducking low to get Nicole out of my line of vision. I slowly pulled the cue back and slammed it against the white ball and it surged forward to hit the seven ball, which careened into the corner, nearly missing the pocket. But it did go in. Thank God. I let out a shaky breath.

  Nicole unnerved me. She made me doubt myself without even trying. I glanced her way as I straightened up, ready to make my final move of the game. If she was serious about playing against the winner, I knew I had to win. Her gaze was focused on Tyler, though, paying me no attention at all. I stomped down the jealousy that itched to rage, shoving it deep into my belly. I left myself a great move for the eight ball. It was a clear shot to the pocket. I had to make it. I lined it up, took a steadying breath and called the corner pocket. I let stick meet ball. It was only good news. The black ball landed neatly in the pocket, not even touching the edges.

  “Nice try, Mike. Next time, bring some game,” I heckled him.

  He tucked his pool stick into the rack before dropping a twenty on the edge of the table. “Fuck off, Montgomery. Looks like you’re up, kid.” He walked by the couch, nodding to Tyler as he spoke to Nicole.

  “Oh. Right,” Nicole said, surprised. She stood and walked over to the rack of pool cues, selecting one that was obvio
usly too heavy.

  “What are we playing for?” I asked, swiping Mike’s cash and tucking it in my pocket.

  She looked at me. “Like the stakes?”

  “Yeah. Or if you just want a friendly game. You probably haven’t played much,” I suggested, knowing it to be true. She definitely didn’t look like the sort of girl who played, let alone was any good.

  “Oh, I’ll bet. I love a good competition. What’s the usual?”

  “Twenty bucks.”

  Her face fell. “That’s it? Seems like a pussy wager to me.”

  I choked. I didn’t take her for the vulgar type, but I liked it. On the couch, Tyler busted out laughing. “Name your terms, then.”

  Her evil smile should have tipped me off. “Loser goes streaking.”

  “We’re in the middle of the jungle,” I reminded her. “No one would see.”

  Her smile widened. “Loser goes streaking through the building. Every hallway, every room. No exceptions.”

  “Now that is an interesting bet. I’m in,” I agreed, shaking her hand. “Do you just want to get naked now? You’re going down, Griffin.”

  “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Montgomery. Rack ‘em up. I’ll break,” she demanded, taking her place at the head of the table.

  For a second I worried she was a pool shark, but then I realized there was no way. She was too pure. I gathered the balls and racked them, sliding the plastic triangle under the table when I finished.

  The game was over before I even had a chance to prove myself. She sunk four balls with her break, three solids, one striped. She proceeded to sink the remaining solid colors and then called the eight ball in the side pocket, following through.

  “What the fuck just happened?” I asked aloud.

  She walked over to me, trailing a finger down my chest. “What happened was, you just got hustled. First rule of pool: never assume you’re the best player at the table.” She gave a laugh, put up her cue and turned back to me. “Well?”

  I sighed, wishing I hadn’t agreed to it. “You’re really going to make me?”

  “A bet’s a bet.”

  She was right, damn her. But I would never back down from a challenge. I unbuckled my belt as I kicked off my shoes. I dropped my pants, revealing myself to everyone in the room. I paid attention to Nicole’s reaction. Her eyes widened, which made my soul swell with pride. Before I let myself get too turned on, though, I whipped my shirt off and tossed it at her. I took off down the hall, ready to show the world my package.

  It was a rough run, especially when I ran into Leanne outside her room. She stopped me. “Is this some sort of new pick-up line?”

  “It was a bet.” I covered myself, embarrassed.

  “A bet with whom?”

  “Nicole,” I muttered.

  “Ah, so she’s got you naked already, but I’m betting she’s still got all her clothes on? Congratulate her for me. And make sure all of you get to bed at a decent hour. You’ve got a long trip tomorrow.” With that, Leanne stepped back into her room, closed the door, and I swore I could hear her laughing.

  I continued on my trek, going through each and every room as promised. Luckily, it was getting late and most of the people who worked there weren’t out and about in the hallways. As I rounded the corner back to the lounge, I almost ran into Tyler. I stepped back as he shook his head at me.

  “I don’t think you’re going to win her,” he said, his voice low.

  I raised my brow at him. “Oh no? The ladies can’t resist all this.” I gestured to my naked self.

  “You’re a dick. And you aren’t getting in Nicole’s pants, so you can showboat all you want.”

  I wanted to deck him. We were friends. The best of friends, really. And in that moment, I fucking hated him. Instead of going with my gut instinct, I just smiled. “There hasn’t been a woman yet who’s turned me down.”

  He nodded. “Well that’s true. Except Trinity.” He patted my shoulder and continued down the hallway as I stood there, stark naked in shock.

  Trinity was the one who got away. Or rather, the one who was stolen right out from under me by none other than Tyler. It wasn’t on purpose, of course, but that didn’t take away the pain that accompanied her betrayal. During college, Tyler and I both dated her, but neither of us knew it. Trinity was the woman who taught me to never let anyone get close. She played Tyler and I against one another once we found out, suggesting that she couldn’t choose and begging us to vie for her attention.

  We did; it didn’t end well. Tyler and I didn’t speak for a full month after the breakup. I ran into him weeks later and he was just as heartbroken as I was, which meant he didn’t know about her cheating, either. So we forgave each other and started talking about Trinity, trying to figure out if she was really that good at lying or if she left us clues we were both too blind to see.

  It turned out that Trinity slept with Tyler while she refused to sleep with me, claiming she wanted to wait. It was hard to hear that he was able to get in her pants, whereas I hadn’t been capable of it. Trinity was the first and last woman to come between us. Whenever one of us liked a woman, we talked about it, or at least called dibs. It was our system of how to handle women. Lately, though, Tyler didn’t call dibs with any woman, letting me call it on every intern.

  My ego was big, but in the back of my mind, I wondered what he was up to. Maybe Nicole was his payback for me calling dibs so many times in a row. Maybe he thought he could get her and hang on to her. No woman was worth losing my best friend over again, but Nicole was something else. She was different.

  “Tyler?” I called down the hall.

  He turned around to face me. “Yeah?”

  “Dibs.”

  He chuckled. “Whatever you say.”

  I glared at his back as he walked away. For some reason, he thought I wouldn’t be able to get Nicole. I knew better: I could get any woman. I took a deep breath and walked back into the lounge.

  The room was empty except for Nicole. Everyone cleared out and now was my chance to make an impression. Instead of getting back in my clothes, I sat on the couch next to her. I tilted my head to the side as I looked at her, demanding her attention.

  To her credit, she kept her eyes focused on the TV, playing some video game. “Embarrassed?”

  I laughed. “Not a chance. If you knew me better, you’d know something like that wouldn’t embarrass me one bit.”

  “Good. For the record, I wouldn’t have been embarrassed, either. But you’ll never know, since you’ll never beat me at pool.” Her eyes never left the screen, ignoring me completely.

  “You don’t think so?” I asked, yanking the controller out of her hands.

  “Hey!” She turned to me, finally realizing I was still naked. Her gaze dropped to my dick for a split second and then she glared at me. “Why are you still naked?”

  “See something you like?” I asked, lifting my brow.

  She made a face. “No thanks, I’m not into baby sausage.”

  I stared back at her, dumbfounded. I couldn’t decide if her comment was a dig at my size or if she was discreetly telling me she wasn’t into guys. I had no idea how to respond.

  “You’re speechless. There’s a first time for everything, I guess. Take a hike, Dallas. I’m not interested.”

  I truly was speechless, completely unable to utter a single word. I got up and grabbed my pants from their spot on the floor, yanking them up my legs. I left the top button undone as I looked for my shirt.

  "What did you do with my shirt?” I asked, finally able to form words.

  She shrugged. “You should keep better track of your clothes,” she muttered.

  My eyes narrowed, anger washing over me. “Cut the crap, Nicole.”

  She stood, walking over to me. “Don’t talk down to me like you’re better than me, asshole.” She pressed the tip of her index finger to my chest, her nail digging uncomfortably into my skin. “You aren’t better than anyone. And someday, when som
eone puts you in your place, I hope I’m around to watch. It’s time to get a grip and come to terms with the fact that you can’t have any woman you want. There are plenty of women out there, and one in this room, too, who know exactly who you are. You think because you lie to women and get into their beds that you can get with any of them? Wrong. So don’t waste your time on me. I’m here to go on assignment, build my portfolio, and learn some photographic techniques from you, not to get in your bed. I have more self-respect than your past interns, and it’s just not going to happen.”

  Her speech floored me. Not only did she know all about my past with women, she straight up told me I had no chance with her. No one had ever spoken to me like that. She looked like she was waiting for some kind of answer, so I nodded, not daring to poke the bear, no matter how much I wanted to.

  Appeased, she turned away, pausing at the couch to pick up my shirt. She tossed it to me. “I’m not a housekeeper. Keep track of your own shit.” She walked out of the room.

  What the fuck just happened?

  Eight

  Nicole

  My heart raced, my hands shook, and I had trouble catching my breath once I left the lounge. I booked it back to my room, closing the door tightly and locking it behind me. I allowed myself a chance to catch my breath as I considered what I’d just done. I blew out a shaky breath.

  Leanne’s words really got to me, convincing me I had power over Dallas. I wasn’t so sure she was right, but it was nice, just once, to feel powerful. At the very least, I needed Dallas to know that I wasn’t the type of woman he was used to; I wouldn’t fawn all over him just because he had a pretty face. I sincerely hoped my words caused him to be a little wary of me, to stay just far enough away that I wouldn’t find myself tested by his nearness.