Wild Child

Wild Child
Cindi Myers

Sassy heroines and irresistible heroes embark on sizzling sexual adventures as they play the game of modern love and lust. Expect fast paced reads with plenty of steamy encounters.Riding the waves has never been so tempting! A week in Malibu with no mobile phone, no laptop and half-naked male bodies for miles? Dedicated businesswoman and former party girl Sara Montgomery is determined to relish every hedonistic moment. And she’s found the perfect man to join her – Drew Jamison. Sara throws herself into a full-throttle, whirlwind fling. However, something about Drew makes her think this is more than a holiday affair.There’s no room for him in her frantic everyday life. But can she really leave him behind?

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you all morning.”

“And I don’t want to wait any longer,” Sara said to Drew.

She lowered her lips to his and his arms encircled her, pulling her down onto him. She angled her mouth more firmly against his and threaded her fingers through his hair. His lips caressed sensitive nerve endings, sending waves of pleasure through her.

She opened her mouth, inviting his tongue, revelling in the feel of him, tasting sweetness and salt. He smelled of seawater, and his skin beneath her hands was rough with sand.

He smoothed his hands down her back, caressing her skin, lingering over the indentation at the bottom of her spine, shaping his fingers to her buttocks and squeezing gently. A sharp ache of desire welled in her, making her catch her breath at its intensity. She could not remember when any man had affected her this way.

She broke the kiss and smiled down at him. He reached up to brush her hair back from her forehead and said, “I want to see you naked…now.”

CINDI MYERS

Cindi Myers’s idea of the perfect holiday is one spent whittling down her massive to-be-read pile. If warm sun, waves and handsome cabana boys to bring her drinks and food are also involved, that’s even better. Cindi lives in the Colorado Mountains with her husband and two spoiled dogs.

Dear Reader,

We’ve all heard about male bonding, but I believe female bonding is what truly holds the world together. There’s nothing like female friendship, which is why writing Wild Child was extra special for me. Not only did I get to write a book in a mini-series about three close female friends, but I also got to do it with two friends of mine, Dawn Atkins and Colleen Collins.

Dawn, Colleen and I brainstormed this story a couple of years ago, and gradually it evolved into the SEX ON THE BEACH mini-series, of which Wild Child is the third book. If you haven’t read the other two books – Swept Away by Dawn Atkins and Shock Waves by Colleen Collins – do find them. You’re in for a treat.

Friendship, fun, sun and hot guys – what else do you need for a great vacation? I hope this story is a fun vacation from your everyday life. I’d love to hear from you. You can find me online at www.CindiMyers.com.

Happy reading!

Cindi Myers

WILD CHILD

BY

CINDI MYERS

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

1

THE SAD TRUTH was, Sara Montgomery did not set out to be a corporate drone—one of those blue-suited types chained to a computer and cell phone. But somewhere between her wild-child past and her twenty-sixth birthday, that’s exactly what she’d become. Even now, on vacation at a Malibu beach house, when she’d taken her pals Ellie and Candy’s dare and vowed to leave work behind her for the week, she hadn’t been able to leave her laptop at home.

“It’s sick, I tell you,” Candy Calder said as she watched Sara unpack the iBook. A diminutive brunette with violet eyes who worked at a software firm in the same office building as Sara and Ellie, Candy was the life of every party—an expert at leaving work at work. “You’re supposed to be relaxing, not working.”

“I only brought it to check e-mail,” Sara said. “Just in case there’s an emergency.” Of course, with Uncle Spence, everything was an emergency. But what if he really needed her while she was away? “I’ll only check it once a day.”

“Come walking on the beach with us.” The third member of the group, Ellie Rockwell, a glam-goth chick who owned the coffee shop on the ground floor of their building, rubbed sunscreen on her arms, her long dark fingernails standing out against her pale skin. “It’s a gorgeous day. I hear the surf’s up and that means lots of beautiful bronzed bodies to admire.”

Sara set the laptop on the table and stashed the case behind the sofa. “And of course, your walk will just happen to take you past a certain beach house not far from here where a certain good-looking man is staying?”

Candy blushed. “Ellie wants to say hello to her brother. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Ellie’s brother, Matt, worked with Candy and was conveniently vacationing at a bungalow down the beach.

“And there’s nothing wrong with you talking with a coworker.” Sara grinned. “Maybe even flirting a little. I mean, that’s one of the big reasons for this vacation, right? So that you can get the man you’ve been not-so-secretly lusting after?”

Candy rolled her eyes. “That is not why we’re here. I’m going to prove to Matt—who is my boss, not my potential bed partner—that I can be serious about work. I’m not just a party girl.”

“And you’re on this vacation to learn how to loosen up,” Ellie reminded Sara. “To forget about work for a while—” she eyed the laptop “—and have some fun. Find a gorgeous guy and get laid.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter.

Sara ignored the tickle in her belly at the idea of handsome men and sex—things that had been missing from her life for too long now. “I know why I’m here,” she said. “And I promise, I am going to have fun. I just have to check in with the office….”

When the others raised their voices in protest, she changed the subject. “Let’s not forget why Ellie is here,” she said. “It’s not only to look after the rest of us.”

Ellie fluffed her dead-black locks and avoided looking either of them in the eye. “I’m here because I’m a big fan of Sin on the Beach. And I got us a great deal on the beach house…and I thought it would be fun.”

“And you need to take a break from looking after everyone else and do something for you,” Sara said.

Ellie nodded. “Right. And I intend to do that…as soon as I know that you two are all set for killer vacations on your own. Which means no computer for you—” she pointed to Sara “—and more time with my good-looking but lonely brother for you.” She wagged a finger at Candy.

Candy made a face. “I know you have your heart set on the two of us hooking up, but honestly, Matt isn’t interested in me that way. And I don’t see him that way, either. I only want to impress him with my work skills.”

Ellie’s grin didn’t fade. “I think you impress him all right,” she said. “You just don’t realize how much.” She shouldered her beach bag. “Come on, let’s go. And Sara—put away that laptop now. Before I hide the power cord.”

“I’ll relax as soon as I finish a few last-minute details.” Sara tried to ignore the guilt pinching at her. “I promised Uncle Spence.” She’d log on for a few minutes, make sure no catastrophes had struck in the few hours she’d been away from the office, then she’d be free to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

“Your Uncle Spence is so nice,” Ellie said. “He always leaves a tip for his double-shot espressos. I’m sure he’d understand if you didn’t work on your vacation.”

“Uncle Spence is a nice man.” All the more reason not to let him down. She shooed her two friends toward the door. “You two go on. I promise I’ll change into my swimsuit, take a quick look at my e-mail, then I’ll catch up with you.”

“All right then.” Candy lingered in the doorway. “If you’re going to be here for a few minutes longer, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure.” Favors she could handle—obligations were the real bitches these days.

“Call me on my cell in a minute?”

“Okay. Any particular reason why?”

“Pretend you’re a business colleague. But wait until we’ve had time to get to Matt’s place. I want him to see that I can be serious about work.”

“Even when you’re on vacation?” She nodded, holding back a smile. “Gotcha.” Apparently Candy didn’t see the irony in pretending to do exactly what she’d lectured Sara against. Maybe because her fun-loving friend was a pro at mixing business and pleasure, while Sara had never been able to figure out how to juggle the two.

When they were out the door, Sara fished a brand-new bright-orange bikini from her suitcase and slipped it on. Her reflection in the bathroom mirror made her flinch. Her fish-belly white complexion was not a pretty sight. Why hadn’t she thought to buy a bottle of fake bake when she was out shopping for the bikini? The glare off her white skin was liable to interfere with satellite transmission or something.

Grabbing a bottle of sunscreen and the laptop, she went out onto the beach house’s broad veranda and settled into a cushioned lounge chair. At least here she could see the beach and enjoy the sound of waves crashing on the sand. Even if she was at her computer, lounging in a bikini with the ocean as a backdrop didn’t exactly count as work, did it?

She looked down the shoreline for some sign of Candy and Ellie, but staggered rows of beach houses blocked her view of them. She’d give them a few more minutes to reach Matt’s place before she called.

She signed on to her e-mail and waded through half a dozen spam messages, all promising extreme outcomes in the subject line. As if she needed increased anatomy or free designer knock-offs. When she spied a message marked with the word Urgent! she didn’t even have to check the sender to know this was from Uncle Spence. Stomach fluttering with dread, she opened the e-mail and read through a message completely in caps and heavily punctuated with exclamation marks. Maybe she should ask Ellie to switch Spence to decaf.