Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) (9 page)

She ran her hands down her own body and back up to cup her own breasts. She heard him say, “God, Cassie” and “So sexy” as her hands dragged across her nipples and then adjusted so one hand moved up along her neck and the other splayed out across her stomach and moved down to the soft triangle moving over his body.
 

Her hips kept the deep rhythm while he was lost in her body. He watched as she danced against him until he couldn’t stand the slow pace of the music any longer. He gripped at her hips again. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and pulled her away from him only long enough to flip her quickly on her back and thrust into her again. Her movements had gotten him entirely too hot to let her force him to be taken slowly any more. He no longer cared whose show it was.

“I’m taking you
now
,” he said in a hard whisper right against her ear while pinning her hands over her head like he had at the barn. He pushed repeatedly inside of her with such intensity, and she opened her legs as far as she could to let him. She was just as insane with need as he was and she felt the intensity of the sensations in hot waves over her pleasure point. She nearly screamed through her orgasm. Just a moment later she heard the sounds of his pleasure coming to a peak. He collapsed completely over her and she had to strain a little to breathe under his weight. She welcomed the feeling of him covering her and didn’t push him away.

“God, Cassie,” was all he could say when he finally rolled away from her, smiling with a bit of amazement on his face. “You might just be too much for me. I’ve never had anyone move on me quite like that.”

“I guess I got lost in the moment,” she said unashamedly, still trying to catch her breath now that he was off of her. “You must inspire me.”

“Let me know what’s inspirational about me, and I’ll do more of it,” he said grinning with that dimple creasing his cheek. She laughed quietly with him, completely satisfied. They laid together quietly for a while, coming down from the endorphins. Cassie sighed audibly and stretched beside him. Being naked next to him was a good feeling, but she still had reservations about Scott.

Cassie had a blast with him. The sex was definitely incredible, but that seemed to be it. He had the potential to be so much more, but she couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t really there with her most of the time…not until he pushed her down and took her. And as impressive as all that “shock-and-awe” was, she could tell his moves were just as calculated as his seduction attempts the week before. She felt sad for him that he felt like he had to be so “on” all the time. She liked him the best when he just let himself go. She really didn’t understand his need to be so driven. He seemed to enjoy himself the most when he let himself get real. Cassie wondered why being free was so difficult for him. His bravado didn’t make sense; he was phenomenal without it.

As much as she liked Scott, she wasn’t ready for him to stay with her at her house. She wouldn’t mind sharing the bed or waking up in his arms…but those things seemed too intimate for her. Sex was a pleasurable escapade, and had never been more than that for Cassie. Not once had she truly made love to someone and let them stay with her.
 

Scott wouldn’t see that side of her until he figured out who he was. He wasn’t even close to real yet, and she wouldn’t compromise on that. She got up and put an oversized t-shirt on and tossed Scott his jeans and boxers. She didn’t want any confusion about the evening. Their night had been great but was coming to an end.

Chapter Five

Scott got the message loud and clear when Cassie tossed him his clothes. She was smiling and obviously satisfied, but there was no more fun to be had that night and definitely no sleepover action. He didn’t mind, really, he was just surprised. Typically girls wanted cuddling after sex, but Cassie proved herself again to be as atypical as a woman could get.
 

He disposed of the condom in the waste bin by the bed and then pulled his pants back on. He followed her out to the living room and straight toward the door. She handed him his shirt and he pulled it over his head. He was being completely dismissed. That was usually
his
move. Being on the other end of this sucked. He wondered if he had done anything to upset her, but he only saw her smile.
 

“Thanks for dinner,” he said genuinely, leaning in to kiss her goodnight. She leaned in with him and kissed him very deeply. He pulled her close for that kiss, wanting to leave her with a good feeling on her lips. And even though she kissed him back, he didn’t feel anything from her.
 

The kiss was fairly empty considering the night they had. If he didn’t know better, he’d feel like he’d just been used. He couldn’t imagine Cassie using anyone, but she was definitely done with him, at least for the night. He wouldn’t linger where he wasn’t wanted, but he was genuinely confused. Hadn’t she had as amazing a time as he had?
 

He told himself not to worry. He was fairly confident he would hear from her again. They seemed to have a bit of a connection beyond just the mind-blowing sex. He wanted more of both, to be honest. He usually didn’t walk away from a girl wanting more. He usually just left giving himself a mental high-five for the conquest. Cassie really did keep him off-balance about all the time.

He went home and crashed, still thinking about her and the abrupt end to the night. He even dreamt about her once. By Saturday morning his mind was completely wrapped in the puzzle of Cassie Walker. He went to the pool to lose himself again, but found himself still stuck on
her
. He tried to bring his workout back to basics. Kick, stroke, flip-turn, repeat. Still, the strongest repetition was her face running through his head. She was driving him nuts.

He got to the office an hour later for another long tax season workday. He knew he’d barely be able to concentrate. He walked by Erin’s desk to see if she had and insight into what Cassie was thinking or feeling. Maybe Cassie had called her.
 

He laughed at himself because he was obsessing over her the way some of the chicks he played with had obsessed over him. They practically begged him for more attention, but he was never interested. He could sympathize with them now and he realized what an ass he had been. For the first time he was sympathetic rather than triumphant over all those “victories”.
 

Erin wasn’t in the office yet, so he went straight back to his desk, still reeling over the shift in his thinking. He went from player to played in one night, so it seemed. He went from victorious to guilty about his past exploits. He banged his head softly a few times on his desktop before he started working. Cassie Walker would be his undoing.
 

He finally settled into the tax work, reviewing returns and sifting through HR paperwork that probably should have been dealt with before tax season was in full swing like this. He had all but forgotten about his social life issues when he felt his phone buzz. “Idont Thinkursmooth” left him a message. His heart jumped a bit and he opened the text with a slide of his finger.

I had fun last night - but I need something more…lunch?

What did that mean? He’d given her everything he had. He didn’t hold back at all. Still, he was glad she texted. He was looking forward to lunch very much to find out what she meant.
 

Sure. Wings Joint downtown by my office?

See you at noon.

And that was it. No playful banter, no odd demands, but at least she texted. He half expected to never hear from her again, and he was actually a little relieved that she contacted him at all. He checked the clock. Two hours until lunch. Ugh.
 

He was back to being unable to concentrate so he called Erin at her desk and asked her to his office. When she got there, he asked her to close the door. No one outside needed to know he was talking about personal things on company time. Such a thing would not fit his golden image at the firm.
 

“Hey, Erin. I’m sorry — I know this is probably completely inappropriate of me, but did you hear from Cassie last night?”

“No, I didn’t. Why? Is everything ok?”

“I guess so. She just texted to meet for lunch. The night ended on kind of a strange note.”

“You do remember you were with Cassie, right? I would assume most of the night was a little strange compared to what you’re used to,” she said this smiling, obviously well aware of all of Cassie’s quirks.
 

“Good point. Again, sorry about this. I guess I was just looking for some insight. She’s a tough one to figure out,” Scott said honestly.
 

“Actually, that’s where you’re wrong. You don’t have to figure anything out. Just take her as she comes. That’s all there is to her, and I love her for it.”

“Huh. She’s really not about the games, is she.”

“Not even a little bit. I mean, she’s playful, but she’s always honest. Does that help?”

“I think so. Thanks. Now get back to work. We’re not paying you to chat,” Scott said with his charming corporate smile.
 

Erin rolled her eyes at him and went back to her desk. He did feel a little better after that conversation. Cassie wasn’t playing him. At lunch, he would find out whatever he was missing and he would understand completely. She wouldn’t hesitate to say what’s on her mind.
 

He felt like an idiot for even worrying. He just wasn’t used to people who were honest all the time. He liked her upfront nature, but it didn’t seem normal. Her honesty was probably why he felt so off-balance with her all the time.

Cassie showed up at the pub right about noon and saw Scott already there waiting for her. He was wearing a power suit, even on a Saturday. She knew from her conversations with Erin that weekends were casual, but there he was in a suit anyway.
 

Cassie saw his choice of clothing as one more sign. He was always trying to put forth the impressive image he worked so carefully to maintain. She was sad for him all over again. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but notice how strikingly handsome he was in that suit, like he walked straight off the pages of GQ magazine like some divine corporate centerfold.
 

She walked over to him in black knee-high boots, a scarlet red pencil skirt and a stretchy-tight black shirt. She saw his face light up in a genuine smile for her. She also saw his eyes rake up and down her body.
 

He stood up like a gentleman to hold her chair, and her heart jumped at the sincerity in his eyes when he did. She was completely relieved to see the real him peeking through the polished exterior. Maybe there was hope after all. She leaned up to kiss him sweetly before she sat down.
 

“You look amazing,” Scott said to her. “Thanks for the break. Taxes will be the death of me, I swear.”

“No problem. I don’t head into downtown very often. I like standing beside the sky-scrapers. It gives me a good perspective. It reminds me that I’m small. I forget that sometimes,” she said with a smile.
 

She saw him grin at her comment as they were interrupted by the waitress. They ordered drinks and cheese fries as appetizers. Cassie couldn’t keep her questions in. She told herself to wait for after the food, so he had an easy out if the conversation didn’t go well. She didn’t want him to feel stuck there with her if he was angry or uncomfortable. Still, she wasn’t accustomed to holding things back.
 

“Ok, so about my text,” Cassie started looking directly at Scott. “I hope I wasn’t too cryptic. I just wanted to talk rather than text.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Scott said with a too-easy smile. He looked like he was trying very hard to keep his poker face on, but she could tell he was confused or worried. She couldn’t tell which because he had a pretty good poker face. Cassie was too good at reading people to fall for his calm façade completely.
 

The waitress dropped their fries and drinks at the table and bustled off to deal with an obnoxious customer demanding her attention.
 

“Ha! You know I’m not worried about it. I just didn’t want
you
to be,” Cassie said.

“Ok, so now it’s established that neither of us is worried about it. So what did you want to talk about?” Scott asked, still with his false nonchalance.

“Well, here’s the thing. I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun as I’ve had with you,” she said with complete honesty. Cassie didn’t gush, but never held back. She saw him smile at her comment.
 

“Why would that worry me?”

“Well, hold on. I’m not done yet. This is kind of a good-news/bad-news thing.”

“Ok, so what’s the bad news?”
 

“I think you’re full of shit.”

Scott about spit out his drink when she said that. He laughed out loud. “Excuse me?”

Cassie laughed with him. “Remember when I told you that you didn’t have to impress me? Well, I don’t think you really got it. And now I see you in a suit on a Saturday, and I think you are more strut and charm than you are real Scott. I don’t know if I can handle that. I need to keep it honest. I’m not sure that you are.”

Scott just sat in stunned silence. “I haven’t lied to you about anything.”

“That’s not what I mean. But I have to ask…have you figured out who you are yet?”

“You’re driving me nuts with that, Cassie,” he said, now starting to get a little angry. “It was cute at first, but it’s gotten old.”

“See? There! Honest.” Cassie was grinning now. “There’s hope for you yet! I’m not walking away, Scott. At least I don’t want to. Just promise not to be fake. I have no use for your charm. And just so you know, it was obvious how much work you put into your shock-and-awe last night. Don’t get me wrong…I
loved
the feel of it on my body, but you weren’t there
with
me. You were concentrating too much. Let it go, Scott, and you’ll find more than you’re looking for.”

He only sat in stunned silence. He looked like he had no idea what to say. But that worked. At least the reaction was honest.