Kimberly Lang – The Taming of a Wild Child (страница 1)

“Lorelei …”

It was now or never. If she walked away now she’d regret it. But this was a huge risk; if Donovan turned her down, her humiliation would be everlasting.

Rising up on her toes, until only inches separated them, she dug deep and let the ache inside her force the words out. “I want to know.”

Sensations hit her with the force of a hurricane, canceling out her higher brain functions. The feel and taste of Donovan was both new and familiar at the same time, giving reality to what had only been a vague craving before.

His mouth was hot and demanding, each stroke of his tongue licking her like fire and sending sensation searing through her entire body. The solid bulk of his chest pressed against hers, anchoring her to the brick wall at her back and trapping her in a cage of warm male flesh.

It was divine.

This was what she’d been trying to remember. This was what her body knew, what her skin had been trying to tell her about. Memories of the sensations butted at her brain, allowing her to savor the anticipation of the next touch, the next taste, while somehow knowing how good it would be at the same time.

“My house is seven blocks from here.”

She felt Donovan smile against her temple as his hands splayed across the small of her back to pull her even closer. “Mine’s four.”

Her decision had been made the moment she touched him, but when he didn’t move she realized Donovan must be waiting for a response.

“Sounds good.”

About the Author

KIMBERLY LANG hid romance novels behind her textbooks in junior high, and even a Master’s programme in English couldn’t break her obsession with dashing heroes and happily ever after. A ballet dancer turned English teacher, Kimberly married an electrical engineer and turned her life into an ongoing episode of When Dilbert Met Frasier. She and her Darling Geek live in beautiful North Alabama, with their one Amazing Child—who, unfortunately, shows an aptitude for sports.

Visit Kimberly at www.booksbykimberly.com for the latest news—and don’t forget to say hi while you’re there!

Recent titles by the same author:

REDEMPTION OF A HOLLYWOOD STARLET

THE POWER AND THE GLORY

Kimberly also writes for Mills & Boon^® RIVA™. Her titles include:

THE PRIVILEGED AND THE DAMNED

GIRL’S GUIDE TO FLIRTING WITH DANGER

Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

The Taming Of

A Wild Child

Kimberly Lang

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Jane, who swoops in to save my butt with everything from food to child care and only ever asks for a book to read in return. Here you go, Jane; this book is for you, with my heartfelt thanks for being a super friend.

And I owe another shout out to the fantastic Cristina Lynn (www.CristinaLynn.com), who gave me the perfect song for the epilogue to Lorelei and Donovan’s story.

CHAPTER ONE

THE ONLY THING WORSE than waking up naked in a strange bed was realizing there was someone else sleeping in the bed, too.

Someone male.

The bright light on the other side of her eyelids sent pain streaking through Lorelei LaBlanc’s head as she tried to piece together exactly what the hell was going on … and who she’d just spent the night with.

She forced herself to lie still; jumping right up might wake her companion, and she didn’t want to get straight into a confrontation before she had a handle on things.

Think, Lorelei, think.

She had a hangover that would slay a mule, and it hurt to think. How much champagne had she consumed in the end?

Connor and Vivi’s wedding had gone off without a hitch; all of the four hundred guests had had a fabulous time. The church had never looked better, and the hotel had outdone itself with both the decor and the food. She’d been at the head table for dinner, but once the dancing had begun and the champagne had really started flowing … Well, that was where things began to get a little fuzzy. She remembered having a small, good-natured disagreement with Donovan St. James over …

Her eyes flew open.

Oh. My. God.

Bits and pieces of the night before came rushing at her with distressing speed and clarity.

Carefully, so as not to aggravate her hangover, she rolled slowly to her other side. Sure enough, Donovan lay there on his back, bare-chested, with only a sheet covering his hips and one leg. His hands were stacked behind his head as he stared at the ceiling.

She swore under her breath.

“Right there with you, Princess.”

The amused sigh in Donovan’s voice put her nerves on edge. “What the hell happened last night?”

He had the gall to look pointedly at the tangled sheets—which she was currently trying to pull over herself in a belated attempt at modesty—and raise an eyebrow. She really wasn’t ready to go to the whole we had sex bit just yet. She cleared her throat. “I mean, how? Why?”

“How? Buckets of champagne. And there were tequila shots involved. As for why …” He shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me.”

Tequila explained a lot. Jose Cuervo was not her friend. I’ve done some stupid stuff in my life, but this? With Donovan St. James? And now? A chill ran down her spine. If she’d publicly done something … Oh, her family was really going to kill her this time. Her sister would be first in line.

“Please just tell me we didn’t make a scene at the reception,” she whispered.

“I don’t think so. It’s a little blurry, but I think the reception was pretty much over before …”

That alleviated a bit of her immediate worry; being stupid wasn’t quite so bad as long as there wasn’t an audience for the stupidity. Now, though, she had to face the fact she’d had sex with Donovan St. James.

No red-blooded woman would question her taste. Donovan had poster-boy good looks: deep green eyes, inky black hair with a slight wave that he wore long enough to look a little dangerous, and skin the color of the café au lait she desperately needed to combat this monster hangover. The high cheekbones and square jaw now shadowed with dark stubble spoke to a heritage as mixed as New Orleans itself—if one could pick the best bits and discard the rest.

Donovan definitely rated high on the hummina scale. Good looks, though, were pretty much all he had going for him, in her opinion. Why had he even been invited to the wedding? It must have been a professional or courtesy invite. At least a hundred of the guests had fallen into that category. But the St. James family was the worst kind of nouveau riche—using money to buy influence and respectability—and if Donovan had any class at all, he’d have RSVP’d no to what had obviously only been a polite gesture.

But money couldn’t buy class, that was for sure.

And she’d slept with him. She must have reached an astonishingly new level of intoxication to completely lose all her self-respect. I am never drinking again.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Lorelei. I’m not real keen on this new development, either.”

Donovan sat up—slowly, she noted, implying his hangover was equally as miserable as hers—and reached for his clothes. Lorelei averted her eyes, but not before she got a good long look at broad shoulders, a trim waist and a very nice, very firm butt. Donovan ticked up another notch on that hummina scale before she noticed the red claw marks marring his back.

She’d enjoyed herself, it seemed. Pity she didn’t have a better recollection of what had led to those marks. Although she felt like hell, underneath the hangover was a pleasant muscle soreness that spoke to a good time.

The silence felt awkward and uncomfortable. Despite her reputation, Lorelei wasn’t an expert on morning-after protocols, but she’d brazen through this somehow. Clutching the sheet to her breasts, she let it trail behind her as she grabbed her dress off the floor and headed for the bathroom. She thought she might have heard a sigh as the door closed behind her.

The sight in the mirror was not pretty. Lorelei splashed water on her face and tried to wipe away the worst of the mascara circles under her eyes. Then she finger-combed her hair until it didn’t look quite so wild and made use of the mini-bottle of mouthwash provided by the hotel. Feeling marginally human, she righted her dress and slipped into it.

She could only hope that no one would see her heading back to her room as nothing said night of debauchery quite like wearing a cocktail dress before breakfast. Six months of very hard work could be shot all to hell.

Of course she had a much more pressing—and disturbing—problem right outside that door which she had to deal with first.

“Okay,” she said to her reflection, “you need a dignified exit.” Taking a deep breath, she opened the bathroom door.

Donovan stood by the window, looking out over Canal Street, but he turned once he heard the door open. He’d pulled on a pair of jeans—ending up in your own hotel room instead of someone else’s had perks, like clothes—but he’d stopped before adding a shirt. Lorelei had a hard time keeping her eyes from wandering as he wordlessly handed her a bottle of water. She nodded her thanks.

“There’s aspirin, too,” he said, dodging past her into the bathroom and returning with a bottle. “Care for a couple?”