Dating A Cougar (13 page)

“I work out at a co-ed gym,” she said, crossing her arms. “I left the tight yoga pants at home this morning out of residual guilt about drawing unwanted male attention—obviously misplaced guilt I see now. I won’t make
that mistake
again either. And I repeat, your attitude brings out the absolute worst in me. I try to be rational and reasonable, but it just doesn’t seem to work with you.”

Casey waved a hand to her horrible clothes. “I know those are not yours. Who do those clothes even belong to?”

“My ex,” Alexa said, lifting her chin, daring him to say something nasty.

Casey laughed bitterly, swore richly, and then stared at the kitchen ceiling as if he could find patience among the tiles. He couldn’t kill Alexa in front of a witness, and he couldn’t drag her off to bed yet for the same reason. All he could do was retreat and save the rest of the fight for another day.

“I hope you’re not expecting any sissy, sugar-free syrup. This is a bachelor pad. All we have is the real stuff,” Casey told her harshly, his mouth set in a tight line.

Alexa looked at Seth, whose mouth was hanging open as he studied Casey. It was good to know she wasn’t the only one shocked by the man’s obstinate behavior.

“So tell me, Seth, did I win this round? And if I did, how the hell can I tell?” Alexa asked.

Seth closed his mouth and cleared his throat, a little worried about being dragged into the fight.

“Well,” he said carefully, “when Casey runs out of retorts, or military analogies, he changes the subject. Dead giveaway.”

“Thanks,” Alexa said. “I owe you one.”

Then she turned back to Casey, stiffening her back as she prepared to be strong again. One way or the other Casey was going to have to accept who she was or she’d be damned if she would sleep with him.

“Artificial sweeteners will kill you. I either have the real thing or skip sugar altogether. I could use some sugar this morning. And it would be polite to offer me some coffee if you want me to stay,” Alexa said, her tone saying it didn’t matter to her and she would just as soon leave.

Knowing he could not answer politely, Casey opened the cabinet to the left of the stove, took out a cup and poured a stream of dark liquid into it. Then he just looked at her.

“Just black,” Alexa said to the unspoken question.

Casey held the coffee out so Alexa would have to walk to get it. It was petty, but he didn’t care.

Seth found himself actually holding his breath, waiting to see who would give in first. Or who would take the first swing. Seth wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he felt something coming.

Alexa sighed and walked to Casey. When she reached out a hand, he moved the cup just out of reach.

“Look, Carter—“ she began, only to have Casey swoop in and take her mouth fiercely, possessively, the message in his hard kiss was that nothing between them was over. Not the fight and certainly not their desire. It was a brief, but thorough invasion of her mouth, and it stunned her into complete and submissive silence. When Casey released her, Alexa felt the coffee cup being pushed into her hands before he turned back to the food he was preparing.

Some greater instinct than common sense had Seth walking around the counter to a still-in-shock Alexa and guiding her by the shoulders to a seat on the other side of it. Good lord, Seth realized, he actually felt sorry for the woman and was going to rescue her. In the split-second before Casey kissed her, there had been a look on Casey’s face that would have rivaled any warrior landing a deathblow to his enemy. He didn’t get the how or why Casey felt like he did, but both he and Alexa had seen the depth of it.

“So where do you work out?” Seth asked quietly, trying to steer the conversation to something normal. He could feel Casey vibrating still and figured Alexa could too. The fight was far from over, but Seth was hoping for a cessation of hostilities during breakfast at least.

After she and Seth were seated, and Alexa conceded—out of immediate harm’s way—she looked at Seth as if she were seeing him for the first time. He was instinctively trying to protect her from Casey’s anger. She reached out and patted Seth’s hand in gratitude.

Not that she needed rescuing, but Casey definitely did. Left alone, she might actually have bashed Casey over the head with the coffee cup he’d given her, because Casey Carter was a controlling, insufferable barbarian who wasn’t using the brain God gave him or the eyes in his head.

Still, it was the thought that counted, Alexa conceded, gazing at the young man now seated across from her.

“Jenna doesn’t really know you, does she, Seth?” she said to him, not a question really, but more of a comment.

Then she shook her head to clear the tension, and told Seth about the gym. Unlike telling Casey, Alexa found it easy to share with Seth that she’d bought a healthy share of the locally owned gym for an investment and visited a couple Sundays a month just to see if standards were being kept up. They talked business until Casey brought heaping plates of French toast and bacon to the table.

Alexa took a bite of French toast, closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure. “You weren’t lying, Casey. This really is the best French toast I have ever tasted,” she said, smiling at Casey as she licked a line of syrup off her bottom lip with an agile tongue.

Seth squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable with a sudden heightened awareness of Alexa as a woman. When he looked at Casey, his inner laughter quickly diffused the moment. Casey was watching Alexa eat, his eyes travelling with every bite she took. The woman knew it, was enjoying it, and making his cousin pay.

If Seth hadn’t been there—well, that made him laugh more, especially when he looked at the woman dressed in the baggy gray sweats. It certainly couldn’t be how Alexa Ranger looked for Casey, Seth thought. It had to be something else. Maybe it was because Alexa was the first person in a long time who didn’t feel sorry for Casey and was willing to give him a hard time.

Seth was faintly surprised when Alexa gave Casey a light, syrupy kiss after breakfast and ran off. Casey watched her exit with no more than a regretful sigh.

“Why did you just let her leave?” Seth asked, after the door had closed behind her.

Casey looked at him in confusion.

“I know sometimes I miss things happening between people, but come on. There were a couple of moments in last hour where I thought the two of you were going to forget I was here,” Seth explained.

Casey just ran a hand over his face again. “She’s still mad. Under the polite civility is a woman who is seething. And truthfully, I guess I’m still mad too. I don’t want our first time to be about anger. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of those times along the way.”

“You are a hell of a role model, Casey.” Seth got up from the table, carrying their dirty dishes to the sink. “And though I still don’t get your attraction to her—especially in those sweats—I find myself suddenly really, really hoping you get the woman soon. You’ve certainly paid your dues. You deserve to have sex with her.”

Casey laughed. “Please do not ever tell Alexa that.” Then Casey laughed again. “But I feel the same way. She’s mine, and we both know it, even if she’s trying to ignore it for now.”

“
She’s mine
,” Seth repeated Casey’s words as if they were a foreign language. “Damn, you don’t say that kind of stuff to her do you?” he asked with a snort.

Casey just grinned and sipped his coffee.

Seth shook his head and thought Casey might be inviting World War III into his life with comments like
she’s mine
, especially with a woman like Alexa Ranger who clearly didn’t belong to anyone but herself.

“Oh, hell. Now you’ve got me doing it,” Seth complained.

“What?” Casey asked, thinking about Alexa and what Seth didn’t know was hidden under those ugly clothes.

“Now I’m thinking in military analogies. I hope you transition to civilian life soon,” Seth told him. “I don’t have genuine experience of the military, so I’m starting to sound like some old war movie veteran in my head.”

“Transition isn’t easy, but I’m working on it,” Casey said lightly, not offended by Seth’s complaint.

And he was thinking he really did need to work on it more. Despite volunteering at the VA, he was interacting with non-military people on a daily basis.

He needed to
improvise, adapt, and overcome
, he thought, laughing at the way the unofficial mantra of the Marines still seemed to fit his life so well.

He also needed to figure out his work situation. Casey knew he couldn’t keep sponging off Seth forever, though he had managed to put aside some savings in the last year. Besides, he knew he was cramping Seth’s style, messing up his metro cocktail parties and complaining about his electronics all the time.

Casey sighed. Well, he’d had a whole year of doing nothing, of grieving for his wife, his life, and the rest. It was time he started working on what to do next.

Right after he figured out what to do about Alexa Ranger.

Chapter 12

Casey managed to wait until Friday of the next week until he got frustrated beyond what he could stand. By then it had become obvious that waiting patiently for Alexa to come to her senses wasn’t gaining him any ground. She hadn’t called, texted, or tried to contact him in any way since he’d fed her French toast the previous Sunday.

Casey didn’t even know if he and Alexa were still fighting or not, but had he decided it was time to find out.

And besides all that, he also just simply missed her.

The doorman of her building greeted him with full smile and a cheerful “morning, sir,” barely glancing at the cane as he ushered Casey through the door.

Upstairs in Alexa’s office Casey found chaos again when he stepped into the waiting area. The sliding door was open and sewing machines were humming much as they had been the first time he’d come by. One or two models walked around in short robes, which they seemed to open on demand for anyone that asked.

He could only assume that beneath the robes was some sort of experimental underwear being examined as needed.

Nice work for the underwear inspectors, Casey thought.

Yet as amused as he was about what the robed underwear models were hiding, Casey could all too well imagine the woman down the hall opening her robe for him just because he asked.

In the last week, he’d lost count of his regrets about not dragging Alexa to the floor when he’d had the opportunity to do so. Now Casey was determined not to ever pass up the chance again.

That determination brought him back to why he was currently standing in the waiting area.

“Excuse me sir,” a deep voice said from nearby. “Can I help you?”

Casey looked in the direction of the voice and saw a mountain of a man sitting at Sydney’s desk. It seemed Alexa had hired a new guard dog.

The man was clean-shaven and dressed for the office in a pristine white dress shirt and tie, but he still looked like a mixed breed bullmastiff at a thoroughbred dog show.

Sheer curiosity had Casey pausing in his quest.

“Good morning. Where’s Sydney?” Casey asked politely.

“Sydney is out. My name is Allen Stedman and I’m assisting Ms Ranger today. Is there something I can do for you?”

Casey took a couple of moments just to study the man.

Allen Stedman was likely six foot four. He was younger, taller, bigger, broader, and much more intimidating than Sydney—or Casey for that matter. But Casey could instantly tell Allen wasn’t nearly as assistant savvy yet.

Sydney would already have been standing in front of Casey instead of remaining behind the desk. To get by Sydney, a person had to literally run over him.

Then again, Casey thought, given the sheer size of Allen Stedman, if he did come after you, you probably weren’t going to get by him either.

Casey played over several possible ways to get by Stedman before settling on the same ruse he’d used with Sydney.

“My name is Casey Carter. I just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to see Alexa.”

Casey made a big show of leaning on his cane while he talked and noticed Allen’s eyes automatically softened in sympathy. Not that Casey needed the sympathy, especially on a good day like today, but he was not above using it to get around her new assistant.

Besides, it was always interesting to watch the reactions people had to the fact he walked with a cane.

“Are you a friend of Ms. Ranger’s?” Allen asked, shifting his eyes from the cane to Casey’s face again.

“We’re dating,” Casey said, shrugging and smiling.

Casey shifted his weight and tried purposely to look as unsteady as possible. Giving Allen a hard time was actually sort of fun. He’d spent eighteen years challenging and testing young Marines, and he missed it.

Allen crossed his arms, revealing muscles that belonged to a weight lifter. Casey fought not to laugh. While he wouldn’t willingly challenge the kid to arm wrestle, neither was he overly impressed with his big dog stance. Having done security for most of his career, Casey had learned early that muscles were only as good as the brain that controlled them.

“I don’t recall a boyfriend being mentioned in my briefing,” Allen said.

“We’re fairly new as a couple,” Casey told him, biting the inside of his bottom lip to stifle the grin.

“How new?” Allen challenged.

Casey had to think for a moment. Even though he personally counted the day he met Alexa and considered their relationship two months old now, it didn’t fit his story.

“Two weeks,” he told Allen, smiling, dating to the first day he came to the office.

“I’m sure Sydney or Ms. Ranger would have mentioned a boyfriend if your story was true,” Allen said.

“Well, actually—Alexa and I recently had a fight,” Casey said, careful to remove the smile from his face. “I’ve been pretty mad at her. Alexa is a great woman, but she flirts a lot.”

Casey noticed Allen was either shocked by the comment or shocked Casey made the comment. Or impressed with his show of balls. It was hard to tell.

“I don’t like it when she flirts with men other than me,” Casey told him, shrugging as if it was a guy thing and Allen should understand.

Casey could see the wheels churning as Allen Stedman continued to look at him in disbelief. And he could also see Stedman contemplating how best to eject a man with a cane from the office. Casey gave him points for even considering it. Most security people would never take on a person with a disability, even if the person could be a potential criminal.

“You and Ms. Ranger are fighting? After only a week of dating?” Allen asked with a smirk, obviously not believing the statement.

Casey laughed, wondering what the man would think when he discovered that part of his story was absolutely true.

Casey smiled and offered another shrug. “Well, frankly I thought we made up Sunday when Alexa came by for breakfast. She liked my French toast and kissed me goodbye when she left.”

Allen blinked a couple of times, uncrossed his arms like he wanted to believe Casey, and then crossed them again. Casey grinned as he watched Allen debate about what to do. It was probably a case where the truth sounded stranger than fiction.

“Seriously. I’m telling the truth. You can ask Alexa yourself,” Casey said, purposely limping to a chair, feeling Allen’s eyes on him. He wanted to laugh but restrained himself. “I’ll wait.”

Once seated in the chair, Casey noticed Allen seemed to relax his idea of bodily throwing him out of the place. After a few moments, Allen finally uncrossed his arms and pressed the intercom.

“Yes, Allen?” Casey heard Alexa answer.

Casey watched indecision race across Allen’s face. “May I ask what you had for breakfast Sunday morning?” he finally asked, his gaze locked in silent battle with Casey’s.

Casey could hear Alexa laughing through the intercom. “A bagel and cream cheese,” Alexa lied, surprise evident in her voice. “Why?”

“I guess I misunderstood something Sydney told me. Sorry to have bothered you during your meeting.” Allen released the intercom button and glared hard at Casey. Before he could speak though, the intercom buzzed again immediately.

“Allen?” Alexa called in her business voice, but Casey could tell she was trying hard not to laugh outright as she spoke.

“Yes, Ms. Ranger?” Allen answered, his eyes still on Casey.

“I forgot to mention a man named Casey Carter might stop by. He and I have some unfinished business. Casey has a tendency to just show up when the mood hits. I apologize in advance if he gets rude with you. He’s a former Marine, and not always polite.”

Allen narrowed his eyes at Casey in warning. “I’m not worried, but thanks for the warning. What would you like me to do with Mr. Carter if he shows up?” Allen asked.

Casey laughed out loud. He already knew what Allen Stedman wanted to do to him. It was being communicated in every glance.

Alexa’s answering laughter drifted through the intercom. “Wow. Let me think—no, never mind, that’s illegal in Virginia. I guess just send him back to my office. He’s very stubborn. I’ve discovered it’s best to just suffer through his persistence and hope he leaves quickly,” Alexa said with a sigh.

“I’m sure I could persuade him to be less stubborn if you wanted,” Allen told her, his eyes narrowing on Casey sitting relaxed in the chair.

“Aren’t you a darling? I’m sure you could with all those muscles of yours,” Alexa purred. “And I appreciate the offer more than I can say. However, don’t let the limp fool you. He was a Marine for a long time. The man is positively lethal with his cane. I know this first hand.”

“Very well. I’ll keep an eye out for him. Do you need anything else?” Allen asked.

There was a long pause before Casey finally heard her sigh. “Only if you can perform an exorcism. I think I might be possessed,” Alexa said, giving in to the laughter she’d been fighting.

“Sorry. Outside the office, my skills only extend to flattening unwanted intruders into pancakes,” Allen told her.

Casey heard Alexa sigh again. “I much prefer French toast to pancakes, sweetie. Oh wait, silly me! I had French toast for breakfast on Sunday.
It was so
long ago
,
I forgot
,” she emphasized, raising her voice so that it projected loudly out of the intercom.

Casey shook his head, rolled his eyes, and sighed himself. Figures Alexa would blame him for not coming to her sooner, Casey thought, catching the innuendo.

The woman could simultaneously annoy and entice him with that sassy mouth of hers.

Allen finally grinned a little as he started figuring it all out. Casey saw a real guy with a sense of humor peeking through. Truthfully, he liked the fact that Stedman was seriously protecting Alexa. Go figure. Still, Casey could have done without hearing Alexa call the kid darling and sweetie.

“I’ll keep a sharp eye out for Mr. Carter.” Allen released the button and lowered himself to the chair.

“You’ll wait fifteen minutes, and then I’ll let you go back. She’s meeting with her officers. Sydney says they chat about fun stuff the last fifteen minutes of the meeting, so you won’t be interrupting any important business by that time.”

Casey saluted Allen and smiled, eliciting a genuine laugh.

“I served one three-year tour in the army,” Allen told Casey. “I got out when I was twenty-two to become a professional weight lifter. When I found I couldn’t purchase dress clothes that actually fit my lifting body, I decided to pursue clothing design. I recently finished my degree. I guess this job is sort of an internship.”

“What was your job in the Army?” Casey asked. But what he was really wondering was how anyone could make the leap from the military life to clothing design.

“I was an MP.” Allen said, grinning when Casey belly laughed. “Now tell me the truth—are you really Alexa Ranger’s boyfriend?’

“The dating campaign is still in progress. The rest I said is truth. I did feed her French toast Sunday. But we’re still fighting. I’m crazy about her—or just plain crazy. It’s hard to tell some days.”

The typical male confession got another genuine laugh out of Allen, and Casey relaxed for real.

“Are you replacing Sydney?” Casey asked Allen.

“No—well, maybe. Sydney is a friend. We met working out at the same gym. As I understand it, Ms. Ranger’s wanting Sydney to scale back and put more time in on his own design work. The
SydneyB
clothing line has a chance to go international. Whether I replace him or not is still undecided. I hear there’s a couple people here who want the job.” Allen looked at the computer, frowning.

“You get my vote,” Casey said, checking his watch and seeing his waiting time was up. “You didn’t let the cane stop you from challenging me. That’s impressive. I was a Combat Engineer, but did several stints as a Marine Security Guard during my eighteen years. I got busted up during the last one. I’m retired but thinking about doing some sort of security business for a living.”

“If you ever get something going, let me know. I’m not opposed to a little moonlighting now and again. Until you get famous, being a designer is mostly a hobby,” Allen said, rolling his eyes. Then he looked at Casey with a smirk. “If you continue fighting with Ms. Ranger, I still might have to eject you sometime. Then you could see my other skills. I’d probably even enjoy showing you.”

“Warning noted,” Casey acknowledged easily, walking down the hallway.

Casey tapped on Alexa’s office door, opened it enough to enter, and then simply walked on into the room. He didn’t wait for an invitation even though it was rude. He enjoyed irritating Alexa. There definitely was a payoff when Alexa’s eyes sparkled in challenge.

Four attractive women seated at the small conference table near the window turned their full attention to his entrance.

All of them were smiling except Alexa, who was all but laughing. It was hard not to be charmed by the picture they made. Doubly hard not to rush over and kiss Alexa’s laughing mouth.

“Sorry,” Casey said smiling, obviously not meaning it. “Am I interrupting?”

“Always,” Alexa said. “Since when do you care?”