Seduction (7 page)

I felt safe in his arms and we shared an
intimate moment together when he made me come so fiercely. It was
the first orgasm I'd ever had that wasn't by my own fingers and I
wanted to experience it again. Preferably awake.

I begin to roll over, trying to get more
comfortable so I can fall back asleep and continue my dream where I
left off. I move my hand so I can place it under my head and that's
when I first realize something's off. I feel soft hairs under my
fingertips.

My eyes shoot open and I'm staring at a
sleeping Theo. His chiseled chest rising and falling with each
breath he takes. Everything from the night before flashes in my
mind and I realize it wasn't a dream.

I spent the night with Theo.

I feel the corners of my mouth raise in a
smile as I lift one of my hands to my mouth, slipping my knuckle
between my lips and biting down, suppressing the squeal that's
trying to come out.

I spent the night with Theo!

Sure, he was a perfect gentleman and I’m glad
he didn’t try to pressure me into having sex, but I had the best
night of my life. He's the first person I’ve ever completely opened
up to. He's the only person I ever told about my foster dad. I
never even told Lucy or Matt. Just Theo.

There's something about him that forces me to
let down all the guards I've spent years putting up. He's cocky,
says exactly what he's thinking, and can be a real player
sometimes, but maybe that's exactly what I need. I can tell he's a
genuinely good person. He just needs someone to show him that.

Plus, he's Chris's best friend and Alyssa's
godfather. That must count for something.

I look over his face and exposed chest. He
looks completely at peace. There's no underlying stress or
frustration, just pure relaxation. I like seeing him like this.

I slide my hand back and forth through the
small amount of hair on his chest. His body is perfection. Even
with his muscles relaxed I can see the outline of his six-pack. No
matter how much I work out I'll never have a body like that.

Theo said he likes my body, but was he just
being nice or did he truly mean it? He's used to being with women
like Bailey, and Bailey looks like she could be on the cover of a
muscle magazine. I have curves, stretch marks, and cellulite.

Oh God, I can't let him see my body in
natural sunlight.

Trying my best not to wake him up, I quietly
crawl out of bed and pull on my jeans that are lying on the bedroom
floor.

Where is the confident Cassie from last week
who could hold her own with him? I don't like the way I feel this
morning. Second-guessing the way Theo feels about me and comparing
myself to a woman I'll never look like, and hopefully never act
like. I want to be with Theo, but I don't want being with him to
change who I am.

What should I do?

Theo turns over in bed and I'm worried he'll
wake up and see me watching him. Thankfully, he settles back into a
deep sleep and I'm able to move around the room without him
knowing.

I walk over to the nightstand on the opposite
side of the bed where he lays. I need to get going but I want to
leave him a note so he doesn't think I skipped out on him. I open
the top drawer in search of a pen and paper, but instead find an
opened box of condoms, lube and a blindfold. I shut the drawer
quickly and walk over to the other side of the bed, hoping I'll
have better luck with that nightstand. Inside the top drawer is a
leather-bound journal and a copy of
East of Eden
by
John
Steinbeck.

Shutting the drawer quickly I leave the room
and give myself a quick tour of the condo in search of a paper and
a pen. I pass a spare bedroom, another bathroom and then I reach
Theo's study. There's a large, antique looking desk set in the back
of the room and I can see what I need on top of the desk.

I hurry, writing Theo a quick note and head
back to his room to place it on the empty pillow I had my head on
just a few hours before. As he lies there sound asleep, I have a
strong urge to kiss him. I don’t want to leave, but I know I have
to. I need to get some things in order. The most important of which
is getting my confidence back. I don't want to be weak in front of
Theo.

The next time I see him I want to be ready to
spend the night with him, and not to just sleep. I need to buy some
lingerie, shave my legs, get a bikini wax, and I should probably
make an appointment with a gynecologist.

It's a good thing the Smith's pay for my
health insurance plan.

I leave the condo quietly, shutting the door
behind me and taking the elevator down to the underground parking
garage. I have a full day ahead of me and I want to be ready for
when Theo calls.

Five

Theo

Entry #1602

Cassie's everything I ever imagined and then
some. Did God put her on this earth to tempt me? Punish me? Make me
lose every ounce of willpower? Or is it a test, like Eve dangling
the apple in front of Adam. Is Cassie's virginity my forbidden
fruit?

I wake up to an empty bed, which is usual for
me since I don't let women spend the night, but I let Cassie spend
the night last night. I'm startled to see she's no longer sleeping
next to me. I'm about to go look for her when I spot the
handwritten note next to me.

Theo,

I had a nice time with you yesterday. Thank
you for listening to me and for being so understanding about the
whole virgin thing. I have plans today but I'd love to see you
again. Here's my number. I'll be expecting your call.

Cassie

She's scribbled her number down and I
immediately go searching for my phone to store her number for
safekeeping. The time displayed on the screen says it's nine and I
can't remember a time I ever slept in this late. I'm supposed to be
at my parents’ house in an hour.

It's Cassie. Having her in my bed last night
put me in a deep, peaceful sleep. I don’t know what to do with
this. I want her, but after all of her revelations last night, part
of me knows she's not ready to be with someone, especially me. She
needs someone to be there for her and show her she's loved. She
needs a friend.

I don't have time to sit and contemplate what
I should do. With the limited time I have I head back to my room
and make the bed quickly. Then I pull out my journal, add a quick
entry for shits and giggles so my therapist doesn't get on me for
missing a day, and then strip off my clothes to take a shower.

The warm water cascades down my body and
although I need to leave shortly, I also need to relieve myself
from the pent up sexual frustration. I slide my hand over my cock,
fisting it tightly as I jack off to the image of Cassie above me,
dry humping me as she moaned into my neck and came. In no time I
shoot my seed against the shower wall as I call out Cassie's
name.

Once I've rinsed off, I turn off the water,
dry my body and get dressed in my Sunday best, or at least what my
dad considers Sunday’s best. I look like a grade-A douchebag. I've
got on a polo, khakis and a pair of suede loafers. Clothing I
wouldn’t be caught dead in on any other day, but I do it for my
grandmother. I'd do anything for her.

I pull up to my parents’ estate three minutes
past ten and I already know the day’s gone to shit. I'm late and my
dad's not going to let it go without commenting on my
tardiness.

Gloria, my parents’ newest housekeeper,
greets me at the front entrance and I follow her to the back porch
where my parents and grandmother sit, drinking spiked lemonade.

My mother sees me first and smiles. "Theo,
darling, where have you been? I tried reaching you on Friday but
couldn't get a hold of you."

"I've been busy, mother," I reply shortly,
walking over to her and bending down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Well, that secretary of yours wasn't helpful
at all. She has horrible phone etiquette. You should consider
hiring someone else. Do you remember Roslyn Steadmeyer? Her
daughter just went through a nasty divorce and is looking for work.
Maybe you could hire her. She's very pretty, Theo."

Only my mother would think good looks is a
qualification for being a good secretary.

"Ursula's an excellent secretary, Mom. I'm
not firing her because she didn't get you in contact with me. In
fact, I believe Ursula deserves a raise."

She deserves it for fending off my
mother.

I shake hands with my father and then walk
over to my grandmother. She's sitting in her wheelchair staring up
at me with a huge smile on her face. I lean in and kiss her cheek
before giving her a tight hug. "Hi, Gran. How are you feeling
today?"

She continues to stare up at me with her
goofy smile and I smile back down at her. I know not to expect a
response, but the little boy inside of me holds out hope every week
that she'll finally talk and say something to me.

"Boy, I don't know why you continue to ask
her questions she's never going to answer. She hasn't spoken in
almost twenty-five years."

My grandmother had a stroke when I was just
ten years old. She's been mute and wheelchair-bound ever since, but
my father treats her like she's not even there. Her brain function
is fine so I know she understands everything that's said. I'd give
anything to hear what she thinks of my father and the way he's
treated her all these years. He should be treating her like a queen
since she's the reason he's as wealthy as he is now. All of the
money he has is from what he inherited from her.

"It's nice to see you, too, Dad." I sit down
next to my grandmother and reach out for a glass of lemonade.

If I'm forced to be here every week then I
need a drink or two to get through the day.

"Don't be a smartass. Did you get that file I
sent you about where the city's red light violation income is
going?"

"I'm sure I did, Dad. I just haven't had time
to look it over yet."

"What's more important than looking over the
inappropriate spending of our city's politicians? You need to know
what you’re talking about when you're asked about this next week at
the congressional dinner."

I practically spit out my lemonade all over
the table. I glare at my father, pissed that's he's bringing this
back up. "I’m not going to that dinner. I already told you this.
Just because you make it your life’s work to kiss people's asses
and lie to the American people for a living, it doesn’t mean I have
to watch you or even support you. God knows you’ve never supported
me."

He slams his glass down on the table. "Are
you really disrespecting me in my own house, boy? In front of your
grandmother?"

That's rich coming from him. He doesn’t give
a shit about my grandmother. He's made it clear that he thinks
she's too stupid to understand anything that's going on anyway.

I push my chair back and stand up from the
table. I’m not staying here any longer and listening to this
bullshit.

I lean over and give my grandmother another
kiss on the cheek before whispering in her ear, "I love you, Gran.
I'll see you next week."

I straighten back up. "As amazing as it's
been seeing you again, Dad, I think I'll leave before this
conversation gets nasty." I wave goodbye to my mother and walk back
through their home and out the front door. Neither of them fights
my departure. They're probably happy to see me leave.

Sliding in my roadster, I peel out of the
driveway, making sure my tires squeal against the pavement. I know
it's childish but my parents bring out that side of me. I'm
thirty-five years old but when I’m in their presence I feel like a
misbehaving ten-year-old all over again.

As I drive back into the city my thoughts are
back on Cassie. I should leave her alone. She deserves a man much
better than me. I should have listened to Chris in the beginning
when he told me she was off limits. A relationship with her would
never work. But a friendship with Cassie, that may be exactly what
we both need.

I've never been friends with a woman before.
I never saw the point. You're not supposed to fuck a friend and
women were put on this earth for me to fuck. Or at least that's
what I used to believe.

Maybe I should start sleeping around again
and pull up my old line-up. It's Sunday, and if I give Bailey a
call, even after all this time, I know she'd be more than willing
to come over and wrestle with me for a few hours in my bed.

But as much as my dick needs action, deep
down I know there is no way in hell I'll be calling Bailey, or any
other woman to get my dick wet. My dick now has a specific taste
and all it wants is Cassie.

I'll try the friend thing and maybe,
somewhere down the road, we can give a relationship a try. I'm
willing to take this slow. Something inside tells me she's worth
the wait.

This means I still need to talk to Chris. He
needs to know what's been going on with me the past year, and what
my intentions are with Cassie. I'm going to be her friend now, but
when we're ready to cross over from friends to lovers I want Chris
to be on board. He's my closest friend and I don't want to risk
that friendship.

I hit a few buttons on the touch screen and
my car calls Chris. He's probably out spending time with Molly and
Alyssa, but I figure there's no time like the present to let him
know about Cassie and me.

I'm surprised when he picks up on the third
ring.

"What are you doing calling me on Sunday, T?
Shouldn't you be off somewhere verbally sparring with your
dad?"

"I already left that asshole's house. Too
much is going on and I don't have the patience to deal with him
today."

"Wow, it's only eleven. This must be some
sort of record for you, T. What are you going to do with yourself
the rest of the day?"