Something Wild Read Online Free PDF Page A

lamely.
    Penny gave her head a slight shake. "I didn't know. My sister made some of the sandwiches today."
    But Ryan was way past the sandwiches already, and feeling sheepish. "When I saw the note, I thought you were asking me out."
    Across from him, she nodded, still sitting there in a bra and stockings, her dress tossed over her. His gaze kept dropping to her bare hip, to the curves so visible behind what the dress covered. He really did think she was beautiful and sexy, and despite himself, he could feel hints of arousal rising again already.
    "I'm sorry," he said then, although he wasn't entirely sure what for. Still thinking about her body even after her heart-wrenching pleas? Or simply being arrogant enough to think she would ask him out without even knowing him, arrogant enough to approach a limousine, thinking it was there for him?
    Well, she'd been right about one thing—he should've been ready for anything, should've heeded that warning. A nervous quiet lingered between them and he wished he could take his eyes off her, but with a nearly naked woman sitting across from him … well, where else was he gonna look?
    "I'm the one who's sorry," she finally said. "I mean, even in the dark, you'd think I'd recognize…"
    He nodded, agreeing.
    "But then, I just now noticed—" she gave him a timid once-over "—you look like him, kind of."
    He nodded again. It was true. He and Martin were about the same height, shared the same basic build, and wore their medium-brown hair in a similar style. "Yeah, kind of." Then he forced a laugh, despite the fact that nothing was very funny.
    "I'm trying to let that make me feel better," she said, "like it's a mistake anyone could've made, but…" Her eyes dropped shut and she lifted her hands to cover her mouth, as if she were replaying the moment in her mind all over again.
    Ryan's heart tightened into a tense knot and he felt the inclination to reach out and touch her knee to comfort her, but that would be the wrong move. "Listen, don't feel bad," he said instead. "I … don't think badly of you, honest."
    She raised her gaze. "But I just…" She closed her eyes once more as if to shut out what had happened, then opened them wide. "Oh God, I just seduced you! I had my way with you! I didn't even give you a choice!"
    Ryan swallowed, then spoke quietly. "I had a choice."
    They peered at each other in uncomfortable silence until she said, "Would you mind if I turned the light back out so I can get dressed?"
    "Sure."
    "And maybe you could, uh—" she motioned vaguely toward him "—fix your clothes, too."
    At this, he flinched. He'd been too caught up in what was happening to realize he still sat there unbuttoned and undone. "Um, yeah, sure thing. Sorry about that."
    The return of darkness was more jarring than Ryan anticipated. For a few brief seconds, he wondered what she would do if he reached out to find her in the blackness and began to kiss her again, touch her, make love to her again. He wondered if it wouldn't be simpler to just go back a few minutes in time, back to her thinking he was someone else and back to him thinking she wanted him, if it wouldn't be easier to just leave the lights off and pretend. But they were only fleeting thoughts that made no sense, so Ryan tucked and buttoned until everything was back in place save for the tie hanging loose about his neck.
    When the rustling of fabric and sounds of sliding zippers ceased, and the overhead light illuminated the car once more, Penny pointed to a bottle of champagne jutting from an ice bucket. "Want some?"
    Lifting the open bottle from the ice, Ryan noticed it was half-empty. "Looks like you got started without me."
    "I needed it for courage," she admitted. "Now I just need to be drunk." Taking the bottle from his hand, she tipped it to her mouth and took a hefty swig.
    "Sounds like a decent idea," he said. She passed the bottle back and he swallowed a long drink, too, then spoke uncertainly. "I guess I should, uh, tell