Best Friends With the Billionaire (The Rochesters) (9 page)

His blue-gray eyes narrowed on her. “How so?”

“You’re helping me get over…over Russell.”

“Your ex?”

She crossed her fingers behind her back as she nodded. “Uh-huh. You’re like my rebound guy. You know, the one who helps me forget about my ex.”

She hesitated as Kirk looked her over, his expression unreadable. Her heart began to patter as he stepped toward her. There was something quite deliberate and forceful about his movements, something that made her breath catch.

He leaned in, his breath feathering her face. “If you want me as your rebound guy, we need to get one thing straight.”

“W-what’s that?” She gulped, not sure if she was ready for his answer.

His voice lowered to a molasses-dark growl. “I’m going to kiss you until you don’t remember your own name, let alone anyone else’s.”

The heat in his eyes seared through her, setting her senses dancing.
She
was responsible; she had lit this fire in him. She was the reason for his hunger. The realization made her almost faint.

“You got that, Cassie?”

His gruff voice sent a thrill down her spine. Speechless, airless, motionless, she nodded.

He closed in on her. She was a match for him in height, but in everything else that mattered—weight, intent, sexual experience—he had her over a barrel. By the flaring look of him, she expected him to crush her in his arms, but instead he cupped her face in both hands, thumbs caressing her cheeks before he kissed her again—a controlled kiss this time, firm and deliberate, yet gentle, too, showing her his powerful restraint.

She surrendered to the emotions surging over her, helpless against the longing she’d bottled up for so long. The years of denial had aged that longing to a potent liquor that went straight to her head. As she savored the warmth of his mouth and tongue, she slid her hands under his jacket and up and over his chest. Countless times she’d fantasized about touching him like this, and now her dream was coming true. Through the fabric of his shirt, she explored the muscled wall of his chest and the power in his torso. Dazed with delight, she pushed the jacket off his shoulders, and he obliged by shrugging it off and letting it fall to the floor.

His kisses became more hot and urgent, the control slipping away as he ran his hands over her back and hips. Desire gathered between her legs, aching and swollen. She couldn’t get close enough to him. She lifted one leg, the slit in her dress accommodating her, and wrapped it round his hip.

His hand moved instantly to her leg, fingers clamped around her flesh. “Cassie, that’s some leg you have.” He pushed his hand higher up her thigh and found her naked flesh above the stockings. He let out a groan. “Jesus, you’re wearing a garter belt.”

“Yeah,” she panted. “You told me to dress up.”

He stroked her thigh before exploring farther. His fingers stilled on her bare ass cheek. “And a thong.” He sounded strangled.

She was so short of breath it was a few seconds before she could answer. “This—this dress shows off everything. I didn’t want a VPL.”

“Stockings, garter belt, and a thong. You’re killing me here, Cassie.”

“Just so you know, I don’t make a habit of it.” The thong was the worst; it felt like she was wearing dental floss.

“Thank Christ, or I’d never be able to concentrate on anything else.”

He kissed her again, his mouth hungry and demanding while his hand squeezed her bare butt. She flitted her tongue across his, loving the erotic dance. His hand roved over the back of her thighs, sending desire shuddering through her. If he shifted his fingers between her legs she wouldn’t be able to disguise how wet she was for him.

A whisper of doubt clouded her desire. Was she prepared to show Kirk exactly how desperate she was for him? She was supposed to be acting cool and adult over this sudden change between them. She was only kissing him to help her forget about her ex. This was meant to be light and casual making out, not foreplay before an all-out sex orgy. If Kirk found out how turned on she was, he might guess that this was serious for her. She couldn’t let that happen. Alarm darted through her. Panic took over.

She uncurled her leg from him and staggered back, somehow managing to stay upright in her ridiculous heels. Kirk blinked, obviously taken by surprise.

“Cassie?”

Her voice was lost somewhere in her lungs. Sweat beaded between her breasts as she prayed for strength to return to her legs. Dizzy and disoriented, she leaned against the back of a couch, pulling at her dress to cover her bare thigh.

“Uh, that’s some kiss you have there, Kirk.” Her rib cage ached from the effort of talking. “I-I never knew it could be so, uh, lethal.”

He tugged at his shirt, undoing several buttons. “Did I succeed in making you forget?”

The wedge of tanned, toned chest bared by his half-opened shirt made her forget everything. Belatedly, she realized she was gawping at him. She snapped her jaw shut and hoped she hadn’t been drooling.

“Oh, oh yeah. Totally.”

“That’s too bad,” he said huskily, lifting a strand of hair from her flushed cheek. “I wouldn’t mind making you forget some more.”

The brush of his fingers sent a quiver of longing right down to her toes. Even the lightest touch from Kirk was enough to combust her.

Keep it cool. Don’t let him guess how much his kisses mean to you.

She forced a light laugh that made her ribs creak. “Maybe we should keep some in reserve. You know, don’t burn through the fuel all at once.”

Kirk’s eyebrows lifted. Could he tell she was lying?

“I’ve got fuel enough,” he said slowly, “but you’re right. We’ve probably done enough forgetting for one night.”

He tucked his hands into his pockets, and regret panged in her at the realization she wouldn’t have those captivating hands on her anymore tonight. But she should count herself lucky for bailing out before he found out how completely at his mercy she was.

She backed away, half-smiling, half-grimacing, feeling slightly idiotic, not knowing how to make a graceful exit from a situation she’d never expected.

“I guess I’ll say good night, then,” she said.

His gaze wandered over her one last time. “Good night, Cassie,” he murmured, sounding annoyingly right back in control. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Chapter Five

Kirk spent another restless night alone in bed, kept awake by images of Cassie in his arms, warm and vibrant and unforgivably desirable. His stubborn erection throbbed each time he relived her kisses and the way her supple body moved beneath his touch. Holy hell, who would have thought Cassie Cooper could have such a devastating effect on him? Tonight she’d completely blown his mind.

But after several hours of sweaty dreams and a little self-relief, his logic returned, and with it some powerful misgivings. After those scorching few minutes downstairs, how could they go back to being friends like before? Wouldn’t things be awkward in the morning? What if they could never be comfortable with each other again? The possibility chilled him. In the morning they’d have to talk, he decided. They had to sort this out before it got too complicated and messy.

He slept in fits and starts, eventually waking up early. He went downstairs to his gym and worked out some of his frustration on his weights and treadmill. After an hour, he went back upstairs. The house was quiet, and there was no sign of Cassie. Maybe she was avoiding him on purpose. His gut cramped at the thought.

He showered, dressed, and made his way to the kitchen. At the entrance he stopped short, brought to a halt by the sight of Cassie at the coffee machine.

“Want some coffee?” she asked cheerily, like it was just a normal morning. She was dressed in dark jeans, striped blouse, and flat sandals, her face freshly scrubbed, her hair tied back in a no-nonsense ponytail. Nothing remained of the slinky siren from last night with her high heels, garter belt, and thong.

“Yeah, sure,” he muttered, unable to stop himself watching her as she turned to get an extra mug from the kitchen cabinet. Those jeans flattered her long legs and tight ass. His groin stirred. Dammit, this was what he’d been afraid of. Even when dressed her usual self, Cassie played havoc with his imagination.

She poured him out a mug and pushed it to him across the island countertop. “What’s up?” she asked.

Just my cock
. He pressed his lips together. “Why do you ask?”

“You look like you ate something disagreeable.” She paused to take a sip of coffee. Her eyes seemed wary over the rim of her mug. “Um, I hope it’s nothing to do with last night…” She trailed off, sounding uncertain.

“Last night was…unexpected.”

She traced a finger around the rim of her mug. “Yeah, I’ll say. It’s not every night I end up kissing my best friend. But it’s no big deal, is it?”

Tell that to my dick
.

He took a deep breath. “I’m just your rebound guy, right?”

“Not just. It’s an important role.” She studied the depths of her coffee mug. “You know me, Kirk. I can trust you. You’re helping me get over Russell, and that’s great. That’s what friends are for.”

“So we’re still friends, then?”

Cassie glanced up, her eyes widening. “Of course. We’ll always be friends. The fact that…that we enjoy a bit of kissing has no bearing on that.” A pink hue tinged her cheeks.

The tight ball in his chest he’d had all night loosened a little. So many women took a simple kiss to mean much more than it did, but not Cassie. She was level-headed, pragmatic. She enjoyed his kissing, but for her it was therapy, and by kissing her, he was showing her how much he valued their friendship. A win-win situation.

“Glad to hear it.” He downed another gulp of coffee. “Is it working?”

“Is what working?”

“The kissing. Is it helping you forget about Russell?”

“Oh.” The pink in her cheeks deepened to red. “Sure. You’re a good kisser, buddy.”

He shouldn’t ask, but he couldn’t help it. “Better than Russell?”

The red reached the roots of her hair, making her look adorably cute and flustered. “I don’t know if I should answer that.”

Instantly he was ashamed and uneasy. Had he upset her by bringing up Russell? Was she remembering what it was like kissing Russell? Maybe she still missed the guy.

The spike was back in his chest, but this time for a different reason. “What did he do to make you break up with him?” Kirk asked.

She chewed on her lower lip, the blush fading from her cheeks. “He, uh, he was selfish and…” She blew out a sigh. “Look, if you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about it right now.”

“Why not?” Had Russell hurt her badly? He realized his hands had curled into fists.

“It’s…difficult.” She lifted a shoulder, her expression nettled.

“Okay.” He forced his hands to relax. “But I’m here whenever you need to talk.”

“Thanks.” She tilted her head to one side. “And that goes for me, too, you know. If you ever need someone to talk to.”

He blinked in surprise at the sudden switch in the conversation. “I know that.”

He turned to put his mug in the sink, but Cassie moved at the same time, blocking him. “And it doesn’t have to be me. You could talk to Emilio or Jerry or any of the gang.”

He did a double take at her. “What do you mean? Why do you want me to talk to anyone?”

“Because you keep so much hidden inside you.” She set down her mug and linked her hands together. “You don’t often talk about what’s eating you. That’s the way you’ve always been, I know that, and I’m not saying you should change. But sometimes it’s good to open up to someone. Like I said, it doesn’t have to be me. It could be any of your friends.”

Kirk stared at her in amazement. “Where’s this all coming from?” A horrible thought hit him. “Is it because of Alison? You think I haven’t gotten over her death?”

“I was there after the funeral.” Cassie’s face had paled right over. “You hadn’t eaten or washed or slept in days.”

His memories of that day Cassie had come to his house were distorted like a shattered mirror. He’d never managed to remember all the details, but he was acutely aware that Cassie had seen him at the nadir of his despair.

“That was then.” His jaw flexed under the grinding of his teeth. “I’m fully recovered now.”

The last thing he needed now was a discussion about Alison. He couldn’t tell Cassie the truth about his wife or his marriage. Didn’t
want
to. That was in the past; he’d learned his lesson, and only a fool made the same mistake twice.

“I don’t need to talk about her, if that’s what you’re implying.” He moved resolutely around her and dumped his empty mug in the sink. “But thanks for offering.”

A glimpse of utter sadness flitted through Cassie’s eyes, and for a second it felt like his chest had been pierced by a white-hot needle. What could make her so bleak?

“Anytime,” she answered briskly, the moment of melancholy gone. She poured the remains of her coffee down the sink and rinsed out both their mugs, making a lot of splashing and noise.

Should
he tell her the truth about his marriage? All his insides clammed up at the prospect. Nope, he wasn’t going to go there again. Didn’t need to relive the pain of his disillusionment. Didn’t want Cassie to know how wrong and stupid he’d been.

“What are your plans for today?” he asked as he began to fasten his tie.

“I’m hanging out with my mom and Lillian.” She stacked the dirty mugs in the dishwasher and banged the door shut. “We need to revisit the dressmaker, and I have to break in my shoes, and my mom and sister are arguing about the seating arrangements. So, yeah, a fun day ahead of me. What about you? Are you meeting with Hank Parnell again?”

“No, not until tomorrow.” He scowled but then remembered what he had planned for this evening. “You coming back for dinner tonight? Remember Lex and Jacinta and Holly are coming over at seven.”

“Yes, I’ll be back.” She paused, arching an eyebrow. “You do still want me to come, right?”

“Hell, yeah.”

Relations between him and Lex had improved vastly over the past year or so, but there were still unexpected tensions at times. And his little sister Holly liked stirring the pot. Kirk was looking forward to having his relatives over for dinner, but they could be a prickly lot sometimes, and having Cassie here would help smooth over any awkwardness. Besides, he didn’t want her staying away when she was only here on a short visit.

“Fine.” Cassie slung a satchel over her shoulder and picked up her wallet and phone. “I’ll see you tonight.”

He moved toward her, at the back of his mind wanting to kiss her before she left for the day. But he stopped himself just in time. They weren’t a couple. They should only kiss when she needed to forget about her ex. Which should be soon, if fate was kind to him.

…

“So the Parnell deal is almost closed?” Lex asked.

“It’s so close I can taste it,” Kirk replied, “but Hank Parnell likes playing hard to get. He’s dragging me off to a Giants game tomorrow.”

“What’s so hard about that? You like baseball.”

“Yeah, but…” Kirk glanced over his cousin’s shoulder to the trio of women sitting in the living room. Lex, his wife Jacinta, and Kirk’s sister Holly had arrived for dinner. Jacinta and Holly were chatting with Cassie while Lex had joined Kirk on the patio where Kirk was barbecuing steaks. Cassie had changed into a loose sweater and a pair of scruffy denim shorts, and the way the frayed cuffs brushed against her long, lean legs had been distracting Kirk ever since she’d appeared. He couldn’t concentrate when he was constantly reliving how great it felt to run his fingers up the length of her thigh.

“What?” Lex asked, bringing Kirk back to earth. “What’s wrong with going to the baseball with Hank?”

Kirk shook his head. “Nothing, except I don’t appreciate being strung along.”

“You gotta do what you gotta do, if you want this deal bad enough.”

His lips firmed. “I’ll get the deal, don’t you worry. It’s going to set us up well for the next phase of expansion.”

Kirk had ambitious plans for his hotel division. He was finally going to put his stamp of ownership on the company and succeed where his father hadn’t. To be fair, Ralph Rochester was more interested in art than business and was obsessed with running the Rochester Foundation to the point that he rarely visited his children. Kirk loved him, but his father had always been a distant man. Kirk’s mom had provided all the sunshine and warmth in their family, and after her death, Kirk’s dad had become even more withdrawn. Another example of love’s vagaries.

Kirk wasn’t prepared to be a bystander in his family’s fortunes. He was just as smart and ambitious as Lex. For years his jackass late uncle and his troubles with Alison had dampened his career, but now he was intent on turning Jubilee Hotels into the best premium hotel brand in the country. He wasn’t just one of the Rochesters, he was
the
Kirk Rochester, and he was going to build something to be proud of.

“I know you’ll succeed.” Lex clapped him on the shoulder. “Go for it.”

Yes, he’d have to suck it up and go to the game with Hank and Shawna. He wasn’t so accustomed to all this shmoozing that went on before a deal was struck. That had previously been Lex’s domain, but now Kirk would have to get used to it, too. If only Cassie were coming to the baseball game, she’d turn a work chore into a fun outing. But she’d be away for two days in Carmel. It surprised him how long and dull the weekend stretched before him without her around.

“Those steaks look done,” Lex remarked.

They piled up the meat and returned to the dining room to serve up.

Cassie pulled a face at the modest portion Kirk set before her. “You’re torturing me here. That’s still too big.” She cut her steak in two and slid one half onto his plate. “And no baked potato, either.” She turned to the others. “My sister’s getting married next week, and she’ll kill me if I don’t fit into my bridesmaid’s gown.”

“You shouldn’t care,” Holly immediately piped up as she dove into her steak. “Eat what you like and be damned what others say.”

“Well yeah, that’s my general philosophy.” Cassie grinned at Kirk’s feisty sister. “But I’m trying to get along with Lillian and my mom, and this wedding is important to both of them.”

“Can’t see myself ever getting that worked up over a wedding,” Holly said.

“You’ll change your mind when it’s your wedding.” Lex glanced at Jacinta, his face softening as he squeezed her hand. “One day it’ll happen to you.”

Holly snorted. “Not if I can help it.”

Kirk concentrated on his steak, but he couldn’t help remembering his own wedding day. Alison had insisted on a no-expenses-spared extravaganza; it was only right and proper since the Hancock and Rochester families were so well-known and well-connected. Anything less would have been unthinkable. So he’d gone along with her wishes, wanting to make her happy, but the wedding had left him cold. What was so special about celebrating what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of his life with hundreds of people he didn’t know or care about?

It was also on his wedding day that he and Alison had had their first argument—over Cassie. Cassie had seemed so pale and out of sorts he’d worried she was seriously ill, and he’d been sitting with her in a quiet spot until Alison had dragged him away. She’d muttered something about him wasting time on a “fugly girl” that had made his blood run cold. When he’d challenged her, she denied she’d said that, but his anger lingered. As soon as he could, he’d returned to where he’d left Cassie, but a friend had told him she’d left because she hadn’t been feeling well. Kirk had called Cassie to check if she was okay and then returned to his wedding spectacle.

Now, when he recalled the incident, his shoulders grew rigid. That argument with Alison had been an omen, but he hadn’t heeded the warning.

He looked up from his plate to find Cassie’s eyes on him. Did she know how quickly his relationship had soured? He doubted it; no one knew except him and Alison. He’d thought he was in love with her, but within six months of marriage he’d discovered he’d been fooling himself. His beautiful, elegant, sophisticated wife was everything he could have wished for in public, but Alison’s beauty was a facade that hid her insecurities. Gradually, as the novelty of marriage wore off, she revealed herself as self-centered, mean, and obsessed with her appearance and status.

Kirk blamed himself more than Alison. She was the first girl he’d believed he was in love with, but he should have known not to trust his emotions. He tried to see the best in her, tried spending less time at work and more with her, but when their first anniversary rolled around, he knew in his gut they didn’t have a future. When he mentioned separation, she was appalled. To her, their marriage was no worse than her friends’ or her parents’, and the humiliation of being divorced and dumped so quickly back on the singles market was too much for her. She used all her wiles to convince Kirk to hang in there, and like a fool, he took her at face value.