Too Wilde to Tame

this, and why someone feels the need to slander me in such a degrading way. They obviously feel, for whatever reason, that I'm a tramp and a slut. It makes me wonder if that's the image I project.'

He cast a quick glance at the restaurant and switched off the overhead light so they were sitting in relative darkness once again. The few extra moments gave him time to formulate a response that was truthful but not hurtful.

'You're a very sexy woman, Mia. You dress and act the part, you're flirtatious, and you don't hold back. I suppose someone could feel very threatened by that outward display of sexual confidence.'

She set her drink back in the holder as she thought about his reply and then she smoothed her palms down her denim covered thighs. 'Do you see me that way?'

He turned in his seat toward her, and even in the dim shadows there was no mistaking the insecurities in her gaze. She'd obviously had time to reflect about all this, and he sensed that his reply was very important to her.

Again, he had to tread a fine line so as not to hurt her with his reply, but at the same time he also saw this as an opportunity to make her think about her reckless, brazen behavior and how it might affect a person's perception of her. And he ought to know, because he'd spent years believing she was much wilder than she really was. Only in the past few weeks had he been privy to Mia's softer, more vulnerable side enough to realize that her wild antics were mostly a ruse.

'Do I think you're a tramp or a slut? Absolutely not,' he said with conviction, knowing without a doubt she wasn't a woman who slept around, despite her flirtatious, teasing nature. 'But I do think you deliberately project an outward image of being this hot, tempting party girl as a way of keeping yourself from letting down your guard. You don't want anyone to get too close for fear of getting hurt, and being bold and aggressive does the trick.'

A startled look flashed across her features, as if he'd manage to tap into dormant fears, but it was quickly replaced with the defiant lift of her chin. 'What makes you say that?'

'I used to think you were this big tease who led guys on only to dump them. That's how it looked, anyway.' He stretched his arm along the back of her seat and threaded his fingers through her soft, silky hair. 'But you know what? I'm beginning to see a different side to your actions and the motivations behind them. There's so much depth to who you are, so many layers, and I think the outrageous way you sometimes act is your way of hiding something deep and emotional and painful.' And he could only hope that in time Mia would trust him with those secrets.

She rolled her eyes-clearly her way of dismissing his too-accurate observation. 'Nice psychoanalysis, sugar,' she drawled.

The fact that she'd reverted to calling him 'sugar' was a sure sign she was feeling emotionally threatened by just how close he was to unearthing the truth.

'You spend enough time with a person and you begin to see who they really are inside. No walls, no pretenses. Just honest actions and real emotions that are gradually revealed.' He caressed the pad of his thumb along her jaw and was pleased when she didn't physically pull away from him. 'And you, Mia Wilde, are an intriguing, multifaceted woman I find very exciting.'

She looked away, breaking the hold of his gaze on hers. 'Can we get back to the pictures, please?'

'Sure.' He didn't think she'd appreciate him pointing out the fact that she'd been the one to veer their conversation off course, not him. But he knew he'd said enough, maybe even gone too far, too soon. But he didn't regret a word. Not if it managed to eventually get her to open up to him and let him past those personal barriers of hers.

'Someone who was at The Electric Blue Friday night took those photos of me,' she said as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. 'And neither one of us saw anything.'

'You're right.' He took one last look at the pictures before putting them back in the envelope, then tucked them inside the middle console so Mia didn't have to see them any longer. 'But I don't think it was your neighbor Will.'

'Why not?' she asked curiously.

He sat forward again, slid his seat back as far as it would go, and stretched his long legs out in front of him. 'Because I came across some interesting information that pretty much rules him out as a potential suspect.'

'What did you find out?'

Out of his peripheral vision he saw a couple exiting the restaurant, and he checked to be sure it wasn't Trish before dropping his bombshell on Mia. 'Your neighbor is gay.'

Her silver-gray eyes widened in startled shock. 'He's what!?'

'Not gay as in happy,' he said in a light, teasing tone. 'But gay as in homosexual. He prefers men.'

'I get it. I just can't believe it.' She shook her head, still looking stunned. 'I never knew.'

'No, he certainly doesn't have a flamboyant, look-at-me-I'm-gay personality. I'm guessing he didn't want many people to know about his sexual preferences and tried to keep it a secret.'

Her gaze narrowed. 'Then how did you find out?'

He laughed at her skepticism. 'Digging up dirt on people is my job, remember? I ran a check on him for basic information, which is normally a good starting point for an internal investigation, and it came up that he has an exclusive membership to a private gay club called Rainbow V.I.P.'

'Oh, wow,' she breathed and sank back against her seat. 'I guess that explains why I've only seen him with guys and not women. I just thought they were friends of his.'

Friends or lovers, apparently. 'I honestly believe, despite the camera he has, he doesn't have any interest in you, other than as a possible photo subject.'

Confusion etched her features. 'What makes you say that?'

'He's taking a beginner's photography class, so that's probably why you've seen him taking pictures with his camera. He's strictly an amateur. And as far as I can see, he really has no motive to stalk you or send degrading photos, so for now I'm dismissing him as a possible suspect.'

She nodded in understanding. 'I agree. So where does that leave us now?'

He'd given that plenty of thought. 'Well, your friend Carrie wasn't there Friday night, so that leaves Ray… or Gina. Or even someone we haven't even pinpointed yet.'

'Gina?' Doubt tinged Mia's voice. 'She'd never do something like this.'

'I believe that also.' As far as he was concerned, Gina wasn't high on his list of potential targets. Staring at the restaurant, he did a quick mental review of last Friday night and the events that took place at The Electric Blue. 'You know, there was one point when Ray wasn't with Gina for a good ten minutes Friday night, which would give him the opportunity to vandalize your car. He came back with drinks, but that doesn't mean he'd spent the entire time at the bar.' He hadn't followed Ray that night because he was protecting Mia, and he hadn't been about to let her out of his sight.

'Well, I haven't made any secret of the fact that I completely distrust the guy.' Her loathing for Ray was unmistakable. 'By the way, have you been able to find out anything on him?'

'Not nearly enough.' He speared a hand through his hair in frustration. 'I've tried to do a basic background check on Ray, and it's as though he doesn't exist before coming to Chicago, which leads me to believe he's taken on a new identity for some reason.' And that very real possibility didn't sit well with Cameron, because it meant the guy had something in his past he wanted to hide.

Mia sighed. 'So now what do you do?'

'Dig deeper, but it might take some time and work.' He planned to pursue Ray until he uncovered his past, no matter how long it took. 'I'm going to get to it as fast as I can. We just hired a new guy at the office, so now that Steve and I are passing off a few cases to him to handle, I'll make it a priority. But in the meantime, stay away from him.'

'That goes without saying,' she said wryly. 'I'm just grateful he hasn't been spending much time around the apartment, though I wish Gina would dump him before he does something even worse.'

'I know. It's tough seeing someone you care about being hurt.' Reaching across the space separating them, he gave her leg a comforting squeeze. 'Just hang in there for a little while longer, until I get some concrete information on Ray. Hopefully I'll be able to find out something that makes Gina change her mind about him.'

She nodded gratefully, and they were quiet for a few moments. Cameron took advantage of the break in their conversation to scan the restaurant's parking lot to be sure he hadn't missed Trish's exit. After spotting her car, he glanced at his watch. She'd been in the restaurant for nearly an hour now.

'So this woman you're watching tonight… she's cheating on her husband?'