Hunk for the Holidays (17 page)

Not that James was forcing her to do things she didn’t want to do. Besides lying there with her hands wrapped around the brass rungs, she didn’t have to do anything. Except enjoy the feel of his mouth and the glide of his fingers. Maybe being at the mercy of a controlling, wicked man was okay after all.

Maybe it was better than okay.

His lips opened and closed around the muscle that ran behind her ear to her collarbone. James sucked the firm flesh between his lips, not hard enough for a hickey, but just hard enough to send an explosion of tingling sensations coursing through her body. He gently bit down, and Cassie saw stars. She had erogenous zones, but not one guy had hit this one. Without conscious thought, her hips lifted and her toes curled around the sheets.

With his erection pressing into her thigh, he trailed moist kisses over her collarbone and down toward her breasts. When he reached her erect nipple, he slowly
circled it with his tongue, grazing the center but never fully touching it.

“James,” she groaned.

“Hmmm? Did you want me to stop, wildcat?” He leaned back and blew on the wet spot he’d made.

The cool puff of air made her nipple even tighter, and she groaned and shoved her head back into the pillow. “No, not yet.”

His lips returned to their torture. After what seemed like hours, he took her stiff nipple into the heat of his mouth. A scorching shaft of desire shot through her, and she gripped the scarf and tried to wrap a leg around his waist and pull him on top of her.

“Now. Get in me now.”

He stilled and lifted his head. “I’m afraid that’s not how this game works, sweetheart. If you want me to stop, I will. Otherwise, I’m the one in charge.”

Cassie wished her hands were free so she could smack the jerk. Instead, she glared at him before closing her eyes.

He chuckled. “One more word from those pretty lips of yours and the game’s over. Got it?” When she nodded, he leaned back over her. “Now, where was I?”

This time the heat and suction of his mouth on her breast nearly did her in. He wasn’t exactly gentle, but completely thorough. His tongue licked and his lips pulled, while his fingers ran over her skin. He treated her like an experienced carpenter with a fine piece of wood—his hands callused and rough, yet gentle and reverent. They slipped into places and massaged muscles that she didn’t even know she had.

With her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, Cassie moaned, groaned, and squeaked her satisfaction. Funny, but she had never realized before how words could screw up great sex. All this time, she had followed the advice of the sex experts who believed in the importance of telling your partner exactly what you wanted. Now she realized that sometimes it was best to keep your mouth shut and just enjoy.

While she was enjoying, James eased her legs apart and slid between them. His lips feathered kisses along her rib cage, then slowly sipped his way to her navel. He circled it once with his tongue, dipping inside before he moved down. She knew where he was headed and part of her couldn’t wait for him to get there. The other part was a little scared. Not that she hadn’t experienced oral sex before, but there was something different about this time. For some reason, what he was about to do felt more invasive.

More intimate.

Cassie lifted her head up off the pillows to stop him, but before she could utter a peep, his hot lips covered her wet heat, and her words got lost in a tidal wave of sexual desire. She watched his mouth work its magic until the muscles in her neck turned to jelly and she fell back to the pillows.

After a few gentle sips, he settled into rhythmic flicks that took complete control over her mind and body. She felt consumed and devoured, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it except sit back and enjoy.

Her orgasm was explosive. Her thighs tightened around his head as the intense sensations washed over her. Once
the last spark fizzled, her body relaxed. She puddled there for a few seconds before opening her eyes and looking down.

James lifted his head and everything inside of Cassie stilled except for the clamoring of her heart. His amber eyes were hot and glassy and filled with need, but they also sent a message that no man had ever sent. They asked the silent question—are you all right? But more than that, they revealed a man who cared. A man who cared not only about this moment, but about the moments to come.

“I…” she got out before words escaped her.

Easing her legs from his shoulders, he slid up her body, cradling her head with his forearms as he untied her hands. “I know, baby.” He kissed her deeply, his mouth wet and salty. “It’s okay.” He took the time to massage her wrists, unconcerned with the erection that pressed against the damp spot between her legs.

With emotion clogging her throat, she nodded and ducked her head into his neck like a shy, sixteen-year-old virgin. She didn’t know where Cast-iron Cassie had gone, but it didn’t look like she was coming back anytime soon. And, surprisingly, she was okay with that. As long as this man stayed right where he was.

“Make love to me,” she whispered against his hot skin.

James chuckled. “So I guess you’re back to giving orders.” He leaned over and got a condom from the nightstand. “I think I can live with that.”

He wasted no time at all in slipping deep inside her. He stretched the still quivery muscles, causing her desire to build again as he cradled her head between his arms and touched his forehead to hers.

“God, Cassandra.” He moaned. “I don’t think I can wait.”

“Then don’t.” She slid her arms around his neck.

James was right. Within seconds, his body convulsed.

A second later, Cassie joined him.

Chapter Fourteen

So I’ll see you in a couple hours?” Cassie had her hand on the Land Rover’s door handle, but her lips were inches from those of a most delectable man.

“Only long enough so I can shower and shave.” He brushed his lips back and forth across hers.

“You already showered.”

“I wouldn’t call that a shower.”

She smiled against his lips. “Really? What would you call it?”

“A wet dream.” The kiss deepened.

Her head dropped back as he nibbled on her neck. “Mmmm, it was pretty close to heaven.”

“You’re pretty close to heaven.” He moved back up to her lips and kissed her long and deep before lifting his head. “You better go before I forget all about letting you out of this car.”

There was a moment when Cassie actually thought about taking him up on the offer. But since it had been her idea for him to drop her off at the office, she couldn’t exactly change her mind without looking like a ditzy female. Although, when he kissed her, she certainly felt like one.

She opened the door and got out, but before she could slam it, he stopped her.

“I’m dropping you off to get your truck, not to let you get so wrapped up in work you forget to meet me back at your place.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “Right, Cassandra?”

She rolled her eyes. The man was completely insufferable—domineering—arrogant, and, as her Aunt Wheezie would say, as cute as a bug’s ear. “I’ll see you in exactly two hours at my place,” she conceded; then she slammed the door and turned to walk to the front door of her office building.

The day was cloudy and cold with a hint of forecasted snow in the air. She pulled the ends of her down jacket together and zipped it up against the biting wind. Besides fighting against the wind, she also fought against the strong desire to turn back around.

Other men had dropped her off before. Not many, but a few, including Mike. But she never had the urge to turn back around to see if they were still there. Probably because most of them had let her out and driven off as if the hounds of hell were after them. But this time was different. This time she knew that if she turned around James would still be there. Watching and waiting until she was safely inside.

Another one of those damned baseball-sized lumps formed in the back of her throat, and she suddenly felt all happy, quivery, and girlie. Just another reason why she refused to turn around. No man had ever made Cassie McPherson feel all happy, quivery, and girlie. And no man would. It would pass. She just needed some time away from his gorgeous face and body.

Of course, she needed to be farther away from him than several yards, which was why she dropped her keys to the front door twice, missed the lock three times, and had the key upside down when she finally did hit the hole. By the time she opened the door, she was upset with herself and with the man who had turned her into this bizarre creature.

But that didn’t stop her from looking when she relocked the front door and was hidden behind the tinted glass. He was there, his left hand rested on the steering wheel as he leaned down to see out of the passenger window. For a few seconds, she stood there watching him, feeling a weightlessness in the pit of her stomach. Then the beeping of the alarm caught her attention, and she rushed over to the security box to punch in the code. By the time she looked again, he was gone.

What did she expect? Did she think that he would sit outside the entire time like some lovesick fool? She moved to the elevators and punched the button. Her hand shook, and she jerked it beneath her arm and held it tightly against her body. The man wasn’t the lovesick-fool type.

She stepped into the elevators, punched the fourteenth floor, and then slumped back against the wall as the doors closed. The elevator had started its ascent when Cassie
glanced over at the mirrored wall across from her. A woman looked back, a woman with finger-tousled hair, sparkling green eyes, and well-kissed lips. A woman who looked as if she’d been thoroughly loved. A woman who looked in—

Cassie’s eyes widened. She pushed away from the elevator wall and took a closer look. She didn’t study the tousled hair, flushed face, or kiss-swollen lips; instead she studied the look in her eyes. She’d seen the look before. Not on herself, but on others. On Jake when he brought home Melanie for the first time and thousands of times on her father’s face when he looked at her mother.

Oh, shit. James might not be a lovesick fool, but she was.

“No,” she whispered. “I can’t be. Not after only two days.” Hadn’t it taken God six days to create the Earth? Certainly it would take at least that long to fall in love.

The elevator doors opened with a
ping
, but Cassie didn’t notice. Her mind was too consumed with this startling revelation. So the doors closed again while she stood there and stared… and stared… and stared. The look didn’t change. She tried to harden her features and scowl, but her eyes remained soft. Wistful. Happy. Obviously, something inside had changed, and the windows of her soul were spreading the news.

Cassie McPherson was in love.

A grin slipped over her face, then widened into a full-out smile. So this was what it felt like. After twenty-eight years, she finally knew. She turned away from her reflection and pushed the button for the doors to open. In a trancelike state, she stepped from the elevator and walked toward her office. It was Sunday and the day before Christmas, so not a soul was there to witness their
boss wandering through the lobby like a happy zombie. She left her coat on, zipped all the way to the neck, as she slipped into the chair behind her desk and leaned back against the leather.

Nothing in this part of her world had changed. Everything was just as she had left it. Her desk was cluttered with stacks of memos and invoices, groups of rolled-up blueprints, her open day planner, and a half-filled coffee mug. The clock she’d received as an office-warming present still hung on the wall over the couch, counting off the time with soft little clicks. Even the view of the city from her window looked just the same as it had on Friday. A steel-gray sky threatening snow.

Yet as she looked around the room, everything seemed different. Completely foreign. It was as if she had taken a long hiatus and returned to a place that no longer mattered to her. She was in no hurry to call Steve Mitchell about the Slumber Suites contract, go over her calendar for the next week, or even check her messages on the cell phone that blinked on its charger. Instead, she just wanted to sit and enjoy the feeling that coursed through her body. For once in a very long time, she felt as if everything was right in the world.

Friday seemed like a lifetime away instead of just two days. She hugged herself and laughed, twirling her chair around with her feet. Suddenly, she felt like Scrooge after finding out he hadn’t missed Christmas after all. The ghosts had accomplished all their lessons in one night and given him a new lease on life, which was exactly what had happened to her. She felt as if she’d learned an entire lifetime of lessons in just two days.

Not just about a man with whiskey-colored eyes and sexy dimples, but about herself. About her feelings. About what she wanted. More than that, she had learned what she needed. And all it had taken was eight glasses of champagne and one pain-in-the-butt man to teach her.

In forty-eight hours, Cassie had laughed harder and cried more than she had her entire life. To say nothing of the intense passion she’d experienced. All her emotions had been bottled up, just waiting for someone to uncork them.