Dating A Cougar (7 page)

Casey merely smiled at her rant, which cut it off completely. Alexa finally saw that he was working hard to rile her up. He wanted her upset and off-balance for some reason, probably to prove he could make her that way.

Well, it wasn’t going to happen.

“Casey, go home. The urges you have about me will pass. I’m sorry about last evening. I shouldn’t—I shouldn’t have kissed you, even the little brush against your lips that was barely a kiss. It was a mistake. I don’t intend to make any more mistakes with you,” Alexa assured him.

“If you can tell me honestly I haven’t been on your mind, then I’ll leave and say nothing else about this,” Casey told her. “But I have it on good authority you don’t lie to anyone except your mother.”

“Who have you been talking to about me? Jenna would never share that kind of information. I don’t even think she knows,” she protested.

Casey leaned forward and studied her intently. “I like you, Alexa. I like you a lot, and I want to kiss you.”

“Do you think if you kiss me it will change my mind about being too old for you?” Alexa asked, incredulous at his gall, but thrilled to hear him say her name while demanding to kiss her. At the same time, she wondered how Casey carried his oversized male ego around in just a regular sized body like his.

He was so nervous yesterday, now today he was demanding and arrogant. The men in his family definitely had issues.

“What are you afraid of, Alexa? It’s just a kiss. I’m sure you’ve kissed lots of men in your life. Kiss me and find out what we have between us. I know you want to know as much as I do,” Casey said.

Alexa let go a string of swearing that surprised Casey because he heard the f-word a couple times, but he found it revved his engine, too. He watched, fascinated, as Alexa stomped around the desk to hold out a hand to him.

“Fine. Up against the wall then, Carter. If your legs give out, I’ll need help holding you up.”

Casey almost laughed at her orders and her fear of him falling, but decided he’d pushed her as far as he could. He let Alexa take his full weight as she helped him stand. It was a nice way to find out she was strong and had a firm grip.

They walked to an open wall in her office and Alexa leaned back against it without a smile or eye twinkle in sight. Her eyes were dark blue sapphires, cold and uninterested.

Casey held up a finger to her signaling to wait while he walked to the door, threw the lock, and then walked back to her. He used the time both to shore up his own courage and to keep from getting mad at her for fighting the attraction between them so much.

“If this is my one chance to convince you, I don’t want any interruptions,” he told her as he walked back.

Casey stepped close to Alexa and brought his hands to her arms, rubbing them for comfort while she pressed herself back into the wall. She was tight and tense under his hands, but he felt a tremor too, which told him she was more affected than she wanted him to know.

He leaned into her and whispered. “You make me nervous as hell, but it isn’t going to stop me. I need to kiss you.”

When she opened her mouth to respond, Casey took advantage of it and closed his lips over hers. Instead of moving though, he just held himself still, absorbing the various quakes starting in both of them. Then he moved his lips across hers gently, and inserted one of his legs between hers, leaning his knee intimately against hers. When a bigger tremor shook them both, Casey had to pull his lips away to keep from devouring her.

He leaned back a little to look in her eyes. “Kissing you is even better than I imagined, Alexa. Are you feeling anything yet? Be honest.”

She started to answer his question, but he just repeated the process of cutting her off again with his mouth. This time there was nothing gentle in what he did. His mouth was hungry as his tongue slipped inside to graze her teeth before moving on to tangle with her tongue.

Hands previously fisted at her sides came up to Casey’s waist. Casey groaned in pleasure as Alexa clutched two handfuls of shirt there.

His hands slid down her arms and around her back, and then dipped down to lift her hips against his. He let his weight fall into her then, pressing her hard against the wall. She arched, matching her hips to his.

When he tore his mouth away from hers, he swore and pulled her hips tighter against the erection he wanted her to acknowledge—hell, crave.

“Kiss me back, Alexa,” he demanded against her mouth, his lips touching hers as he talked. “I can tell you want to. Stop fighting what is between us.”

Alexa swore harshly, but pulled him closer. Casey felt her slide a long, jeans clad leg up one of his to lock it around his waist. And then he felt one of her hands move up behind his neck. When she touched her mouth to his, the contact was electric. She moaned into his mouth and Casey shook so hard he had to let go and brace both hands on the wall to keep from taking both of them to the floor.

Diving in deeper wasn’t a conscious decision. Neither was rocking his erection against the cradle of her thighs and center of her heat. Both were just something happening that seemed as important as breathing to him.

“Casey.” She breathed his name against his mouth as she broke for air, and then desperately returned for more.

While Casey held them up, Alexa pulled his tongue into her mouth and sucked so hard he thought he might erupt. He wanted to pull back and look at her, to see her desire for him, but he couldn’t yet bear putting the necessary distance between their bodies.

Casey felt Alexa freeing his shirt from his jeans and seconds later her hands found their way between their bodies to Casey’s chest. She let go of his mouth and wound herself around his neck again. Then she let go of his neck and moved her hands down to his waistband of his jeans again. He was thrilled she was on the edge and trying to get to him.

When he heard the snap of his jeans give way, Casey stilled his hips at last. He honestly hadn’t meant to take things so far, hadn’t been sure Alexa would admit to wanting him back.

Her hand slipped past his waistband and he felt his zipper sliding down.

Casey stopped gloating and panicked instead.

“Stop. Wait,” he begged roughly, all but yelling the words as he pressed his hips against her hand.

“Alexa. Please, honey. We have to stop or I’m going to take you. I’m so far gone—please not here, not this way. Not the first time. Okay? Oh God, tell me it’s okay.”

Casey was incoherent in his pleading and he knew it. Two years with nothing and he had the picked the hottest woman he’d ever met to kiss for the first time. Sanity and pride were both gone. Begging was all that was left for him.

He felt Alexa remove her hands from his pants and couldn’t stop his disappointed sigh. Other moments passed while Alexa seemed to be debating what to do, but Casey eventually felt her leg slide down the back of his leg, and her arms move away from him. He had to close his eyes against the loneliness that swept through him. The loss of her heat and her passion was physically painful.

“No. Don’t let me go completely yet. I need—just hug me, okay?” Casey let out the breath he was holding when Alexa’s arms came back around him.

Casey felt her straighten as she hugged him back. It felt wonderful to wrap her tightly in his arms, and he hugged her until he felt Alexa struggle against his hold and try to pull back. When she would have pushed him away from her, Casey pressed against her, refusing to budge.

“No. Don’t look at me yet. Just hold me. If I see desire in your eyes, my noble intentions won’t be worth a shit,” he growled.

He stroked a hand down her spine, liking the way she arched against his entire body just because of a single stroke.

“I know we’re mostly strangers still. I know neither Jenna nor Seth would be happy with us wanting each other. But this is not about other people. I lost the last woman I felt like this about. Don’t ask me to walk away from you just because you have a problem with the age difference between us or because I have the wrong last name.”

Casey waited, but she said nothing for a long time. “Alexa?”

“Is it finally my turn to talk now?” she asked sarcastically, her voice raspy and thick with arousal. “You keep interrupting me. I just want to be sure.”

Casey reached down and pinched her backside, hugging her tighter when she yelped. “Don’t be mean. I didn’t intend to take things this far. It just happened.”

Alexa didn’t know whether to punch him or kiss him senseless again. He meant for something to happen. It wasn’t her fault it turned out to be more than he’d bargained for.

“You can be an arrogant brute, Casey Carter,” she said, eliciting a deep laugh from him.

“Yeah, I’m a guy. I think it comes with the Y Chromosome,” he explained. “I can be a lot of other things too, Alexa. Want to find out? I would sure as hell love to show you.”

Casey did move away from her then. He wanted to see her face when she answered the question.

Her heart was still hammering in her chest. Alexa opened her mouth to answer, fully intending to send him away from her, but never got the chance. Her desk monitor buzzed and Sydney came on.

“Uh—Alexa, the office door was locked when I checked a minute ago, and now Jenna is on her way back. Are you okay?”

“Oh, hell.” Alexa stepped away from the heat of Casey’s body, looked at his shirt hanging out and the erection straining against the front of his unzipped jeans.

Her fault, she conceded, running a shaky hand through her hair.

“I don’t suppose you would want to hide in my office restroom for a while?” Alexa asked flatly.

If he said no, she’d likely shove him in there anyway.

Casey put hands on hips and smiled at her. No blame for the kiss, no censure for stopping though it frustrated both of them. She even had her anger in check as she asked him to hide from Jenna. Her poise under pressure was damned admirable. He had used up all of his composure kissing her and stopping. Now he was an emotional wreck.

Casey felt the nervous laughter building in him, but he kept it soft.

“Sure. I’ll hide in the bathroom. Will you go out with me afterwards?” he asked her, wanting to laugh at her look of disbelief.

“First you seduce me and stop. Now you’re trying to blackmail me for a date?” Alexa asked around a reluctant smile, fighting to choke back a full out laugh at his audacity.

“I’ll use any means that works to spend more time with you,” Casey said, purposely shifting his erection to a more comfortable location as he zipped his jeans, grinning as Alexa watched with great interest.

“How about I just take you home with me?” she challenged. “I’m done pretending I don’t want to rip your clothes off and work out some of this tension you’ve caused.”

Casey froze, tucking in his shirt. She was serious, and he wanted to, but—no, not a good idea yet.

“Damn tempting lady, but too soon. If I go home with you, we’ll end up in bed for a week. But I do like the way you’re thinking. Let’s go out instead. Wings and beer somewhere we can talk,” Casey said.

“Talk? More talk? You know, men your age aren’t supposed to want to talk, Casey. They’re supposed to want to f—“ Alexa froze at the sound of a knock and a soft voice calling “Mama” through the door.

Casey smiled and pointed at the restroom. Happy with Alexa and her reaction to kissing him, Casey walked inside, locked the door, and settled on the toilet lid to listen.

Chapter 6

“Why did you have the door locked? Were you working out?” Jenna asked.

“Working out?” Alexa asked, noting Jenna was looking at her hair. She reached up and felt her hair all mussed. “No. I wasn’t working out, just trying to handle a problem that came up this afternoon. I guess I was looking in my hair for a solution.”

She ran still quivering fingers through the strands Casey had ruffled, trying to smooth them back into place. She could still feel his hands on her.

Jenna took a seat in front of the desk. Her eyes immediately lit on Casey’s cane. She picked it up, looked at the cane with recognition, and then at Alexa.

Alexa swore in shock, not the shock Jenna probably thought, but because in the heat of the moment both she and Casey had forgotten about his cane.

“Well, how did I not see that hanging on the chair? That’s Casey Carter’s cane,” Alexa said to Jenna, opting for the truth.

“Casey was here? In your office?” Jenna asked. “Why?”

Alexa sighed. “Casey came to see me yesterday to ask me to put in a good word with you about Seth. I can’t believe he forgot his cane. I guess I’ll have to get Sydney to return it to him,” she lied.

“Casey came about Seth? Did Seth put him up to that?” Jenna asked.

Alexa shook her head. “No. That didn’t seem to be the case to me. Casey was very nervous the whole time he was here and my impression was Seth didn’t know about it. I told him you wouldn’t be affected by my opinion because you’d heard the same song and dance apology for months from Seth.”

“I can see why Casey would want to help Seth, but it’s just—it’s over between us. I’m clear about that now,” Jenna said, studying her hands.

Alexa looked at her daughter’s bent head. Jenna was probably working on making it true, but didn’t seem to be over the man yet. Her actions told a different story.

“I wasn’t planning to keep Casey’s visit from you, honey. I was going to tell you eventually but probably would have waited for a bit if you hadn’t found the cane. Frankly, it’s a relief to see you marginally happy for once,” Alexa said.

“Well, I’m not exactly happy, but definitely less miserable than I was spending every day trying to figure out what was wrong between me and Seth. There’s nothing worse than wanting someone who doesn’t feel the same way about you. How did you ever stand it with Daddy?” Jenna asked.

“It hurt and I didn’t handle it well. Letting it go for real and moving on is a better answer. Promise me if someone genuinely interests you, you’ll give it a chance at least. Don’t let the thing with Seth keep you from dating or finding love,” Alexa told her.

Jenna lifted her chin and nodded. She hadn’t always thought her mother did the right things, but her intentions were right. Her mother had never settled for marrying a man she hadn’t completely loved.

“Let’s make a deal then. I won’t stop looking if you don’t. You deserve to find love too, Mama. When was the last time you took a chance?” Jenna asked.

Alexa laughed softly, thinking of the man currently hiding in her office restroom that she’d almost undressed just minutes ago. “I’ll spare you the details for now, but let’s just say I’ve been taking more chances lately.”

“Good. I know I used to give you a hard time about dating lots of guys, but I truly don’t want you to be alone. I can’t remember the last time I even saw you with a man at all,” Jenna commented.

Alexa got up and walked to her daughter to give her another hug. “It means a lot to me you feel that way, honey. I hope you find happiness, too.”

Jenna stood and laughed bitterly. “Well, don’t be worrying about me. I just wanted to say hi since I’d been gone so long. I just need to use your restroom, and then I’ll head to the office.”

“Honey, mine’s broken,” Alexa lied smoothly, a second time. “Use the one down the hall, okay?”

“Sure. I love you. Call you for dinner soon, okay?” Jenna said, hugging her.

“That would be great. I love you too,” Alexa replied, hugging her in return.

*** *** ***

When Jenna had gone, Alexa closed the door and locked it again. Then she went to the restroom and knocked softly on the door.

Casey unlocked it and stepped out into the office. He smiled at the sparkle in Alexa’s eyes.

“I can’t believe I lied to my daughter for you,” Alexa said to him. She saw Casey was completely dressed again and frowned, chastising herself for even noticing.

“You didn’t lie. Not really,” Casey denied. “The only outright lie I heard was that the restroom was broken.”

“Did you hear everything we said?” Alexa asked, perturbed.

“Enough to want to know the story about Jenna’s father and why he didn’t want you back,” Casey said honestly, deciding prying was not a bad way to get information.

“It wasn’t about me, but her father did leave me for someone else. It hurt at the time and I handled it poorly,” she said. “That’s most of the story.”

Casey snorted. “When you kissed me and put your hands on me, I was ready to drag you to the floor. I can’t imagine any man not wanting you, much less leaving you for another woman.”

Alexa sighed, not really wanting to tell Casey the whole truth, but not seeing a way around it. Protecting the people involved from additional judgment was a long time habit. When Paul left, he continued to be discreet so even the press hadn’t known the whole truth.

Well, if Casey said anything ugly, she’d just boot him out of her life.

“Jenna’s father didn’t leave me for another woman. He left me for a man,” Alexa said reluctantly.

Casey just stared at her in absolute shock, trying to understand how a man could trade a gorgeous woman like Alexa for a man. It was beyond his understanding, though he knew it happened.

Alexa noticed Casey’s shock, so she decided to tell him a bit more. “Her father’s relationship with me—our marriage—was his last attempt at living the way his family wanted him to live. The problem was I loved him even though he couldn’t feel the same about me. It took me years and a lot of men to give up the fantasy Jenna’s father might one day change his mind. You could say I succumbed to the fantasy of trying to convert a homosexual partner into a straight one. It didn’t work.”

Casey walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Alexa,” he said, meaning it. “I don’t understand it, but I’m sorry you loved someone who didn’t feel the same about you. It would have hurt like hell if Susan hadn’t loved me back.”

Alexa shrugged under his hands. “It was a long time ago and it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

But she didn’t resist when Casey gathered her into his arms for a comforting hug that held a great deal of sympathy and understanding. It was just as potent as his earlier embrace full of lust and longing.

As Casey let her go, he kissed her temple, rendering her speechless with the friendliness of the gesture. The man was far more complex than you’d ever guess looking at him.

Crude one minute, sensitive the next—that was Casey Carter. Alexa couldn’t keep up.

“Come on,” Casey told her, turning her toward the door. “Since tonight was my idea, wings and beer are on me. You can buy next time.”

Alexa laughed. “Sure you don’t just want to go home with me? We could rock each other’s world for a while and forget the hard knocks of our past.”

“Again, the offer is really tempting, and I want you—a lot,” Casey said retrieving his cane. “But I can wait a little longer for you to at least like me at little in return. When the time comes for us to be together, I’m planning to wear you out. You’re going to walk funny for a week afterwards.”

Alexa rolled her eyes at the crude expression. “Really?
Walk funny for week?
How charming. You think that’s appealing to me?”

Casey laughed, enjoying her consternation over his crude language. “Want to go another round up against the wall and see if I’m right?” he asked.

“Not with your other threats hanging over my head. I might be tempted to hurt you, and not in a good way. Are you going to think less of me if I have a glass of red wine instead of beer with my wings?” Alexa asked him.

“Probably not,” Casey said easily, again noting how serious she was in her reply to him. “Depends on how many wings you eat.”

“I may surprise you,” Alexa told him. “I have a big appetite.”

“Lucky me,” Casey said smiling broadly.

They walked out of Alexa’s office and down the hall arguing about which restaurant in town made the best hot wings. When they reached Sydney’s desk, Casey was glad to see Sydney had no problem showing shock at the sight of them together.

“Casey snuck in to see me. I had to hide him in the restroom while Jenna was here,” Alexa told Sydney. “That’s why the door was locked.”

“He snuck in to see you?” Sydney asked, pretending to be surprised about Casey’s appearance when he was more surprised at the easy way Alexa was talking to the man.

And Sydney was very curious about the flush on Alexa’s face and the twinkle in her eye.

“I’ll have to be more careful about the length of my bathroom breaks in the future,” Sydney said dryly.

“It’s okay,” Alexa said, smiling. “I’d have tossed him out myself if needed. We had some things to discuss. We’re going out to eat now. Can you attend the marketing meeting for me?”

“Sure. Going out to eat?” Sydney asked, eyebrows lifting as he looked at Casey, who was trying hard not to grin. Casey just shook his head from side-to-side a little, the universal sign for
don’t-ask-anymore-questions
.

“I lost a bet,” Alexa told Sydney. “So I have to go eat hot wings. See you tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Sydney said, as they turned their backs and headed toward the door. “Uh, Casey? You might want to tuck your shirt into the back of your pants before you leave.”

Casey’s hand flew to the back of his jeans, but he felt nothing out of place. He had been ninety percent sure he’d tucked everything back in earlier. It was the ten percent of unsure layered with make-out guilt that had his gaze swinging to Sydney, who just laughed.

“Yeah. Well, good thing I didn’t put any money against you, Carter. I hate to lose a bet myself,” Sydney said, turning back to his work as if he had better things to do with his time.

Casey made a mental note never to try to get one over on Sydney Banes. The man was sharp enough to work for any intelligence agency.

He was chastised a little as he stood by Alexa in the hallway waiting for the elevator.

“Was I just grilled about what happened between us? And did I fail when I actually checked my pants?” Casey asked when they were in the elevator alone.

Alexa sighed and smiled at Casey, thinking he was more charming when he was nervous than in caveman mode.

“Sydney’s a little protective of me. Don’t be surprised if you’re investigated in the next week. He investigates his own clients before he lets them buy clothes at his shop. I can’t convince him to take anyone at face value,” Alexa said.

“My clearance is good. He won’t find anything on me the Naval Investigative Service didn’t find. I’m more worried what he would do if he knew for sure I made a pass at you,” Casey said, making her laugh.

“Let’s not worry about that yet,” Alexa said in reply, not wanting Casey to know that Sydney would be thrilled. “I’m the one in trouble, not you. I’m going to get cross-examined tomorrow morning.”

Casey leaned on his cane and studied the elevator ceiling, then swung his gaze to Alexa, looking as serious as he could manage. “I know at least eleven ways to kill a man, Alexa. Some even look like accidents. How much do you like Sydney?”

Alexa crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow, pretending to consider the offer. “Wow. You’d do that for me? I’m flattered.”

She uncrossed one arm, and pretended to study her manicure as she sighed. “Unfortunately, I invested in Sydney’s business. So he owes me money and I’d like to see him live long enough to pay me back—with interest.”

Casey shrugged as if he was more than a little disappointed with the information. “If you change your mind tomorrow, just give me a call. I have the afternoon free.”

Alexa giggled and Casey grinned. He started to move toward her, intending to kiss the smile off her face, but the elevator stopped in the basement garage.

“I guess I should have asked if you brought a car here,” Alexa said. Casey scrambled her circuits, and she wasn’t thinking clearly enough to be polite.

“Took a taxi,” Casey told her.

Alexa looked at him, her gaze heading south to his legs and the cane. “Can you climb a little without hurting?”

Casey tilted his head and studied her, wondering what Alexa was getting at with the line of questioning. She held out an arm, pressing a button on the key fob in her hand. A giant green pick-up truck on the first row of the garage blinked its lights.

“You drive a pick-up truck?” Casey asked, his shocked gazed traveling back and forth between the woman and the vehicle.

Alexa drew her lips together in a pout. “Well, today I am. I have other vehicles, but I—I like the truck sometimes. Getting blackmailed and having to chauffeur a date weren’t in my plans for the day.”