Seeds of Desire (3 page)

“All that stuff you just said sure sounded like hatred.”

The server returned and Jared added a tip to the receipt,
then signed his name. The server smiled and wished them a good night, then
walked away.

Jared turned toward the door. “Ready to go?”

“I’ll walk if you’d rather,” Cassidy said quietly.

He gave her a strange look. “Why would I want you to walk? I
drove you here, I’ll drive you back.”

She stood, though she hesitated to follow him. “After what I
said, I wouldn’t think you’d want me in your car.”

He shrugged. “You were just being honest. Come on. It’s cold
here after dark. You really don’t want to walk.”

She knew she’d hurt him and she didn’t really want the
awkward silence she knew would fill the car. Walking would be better.

As they stepped outside, though, she found that he was right
about the temperature. She shivered and pulled on her cardigan before entering
his car. Walking would have been extremely unpleasant. Not only because of the
cold. The townspeople had apparently decided they had better things to spend
their money on than streetlights, and beyond the parking lot lay only pitch
darkness.

She spent the ride back to the motel staring out the window.
Not that she saw much, other than the lights in the houses they passed. Still,
it was better than looking at Jared. Just the sight of him would remind her of
her total bitch act in the restaurant. No matter how much of a jerk he was, he
hadn’t deserved her rant, and she disliked herself enough for it without a
reminder.

As soon as they pulled into the motel parking lot, she
opened her door.

“You in some kind of hurry?” Jared asked, a bitter edge to
his voice. Apparently the drive had given him time to decide he didn’t have to
take what she’d said. “Maybe you think my sense of entitlement is contagious?
Or maybe you’re just afraid I’ll attack you again, because you certainly didn’t
want what we did earlier.”

She sighed and forced herself to look him in the eye. “Look,
I’m sorry I said that.” She hoped she sounded suitably apologetic. “I didn’t
mean to insult you. My mouth shot off ahead of my brain. That’s why I’m going
to my room now, so you don’t have to deal with me anymore. Thanks for the ride
and for dinner.” She paused. “And I never said I didn’t want what happened.
Only that I didn’t want anything more.”

“Wait a minute, Cass,” he said softly.

She exited the car and shut the door.
Cass?
Come to
think of it, he’d called her that several times today. No one else had ever
used that nickname for her.

She didn’t want to admit she liked the sound of it coming
from him.

Inside her room, she locked the door and flopped onto the
bed. She doubted she’d hear from him again tonight. She’d just lie here
quietly, in her own room with her own bed, and eventually change into her
nightie and go to sleep. Just like she did every night at home in the apartment
she shared with her cat.

Of course, maybe he would come to her door. Tap on it like
he’d done earlier. Saunter in with an arrogant little wink and strip off that
T-shirt of his to reveal his muscular chest.

Her nipples tautened and a pleasant shiver ran between her
legs. Pleasant and annoying. No matter how badly she wanted Jared, nothing
would occur between them. Oh, sure, she could try to make it happen. Go next
door to Jared’s room on the pretext of apologizing for her comments at dinner.
Press herself against him to feel his hardening cock. Remove her shirt and bra
and put his hands on her breasts.

Right. Because I’m such a siren I’d be able to pull that
off.

Outside her room, a door slammed. Through the thin wall
separating her room from Jared’s came several thuds, followed by muffled
swearing. Apparently Jared had finally left the car. And he hadn’t chosen to
come to her room.

Something banged against the wall. A moment later, Jared
moaned loudly.

He must have hurt himself. Cassidy scrambled from the bed
and hurried to her door. Then Jared repeated his moan. This time, she
recognized it. Not pain. Pleasure.

Holy crap, is he jerking off?

Small thuds sounded on the wall. As if maybe Jared was
hitting it with his elbow as he stroked himself.

Images of Jared stroking his hard cock firmly with one hand
filled her mind. Of course she had no idea what he looked like nude, but her
imagination filled in the blank nicely. Just the right length, not too thick,
upright in his fist. Him leaning on the thin barrier between their rooms, eyes
closed to better watch his own fantasies.

She wondered whether they involved her.

What would he do to her if she offered him the chance? She’d
never make such an offer, of course. Not to a man like Jared Jackson. He would
just see it as proof that he was the hottest thing walking, and she certainly
didn’t want to feed his ego. It seemed to do just fine on its own.

Still, it would be so easy to walk over to the next room.
Knock on his door, interrupt his playtime. He moaned louder, punctuating her
thought. He had to know she’d be able to hear him.

Maybe that was his plan.

Her belly tightened and her pussy grew wet.
Does he want
me to hear?

“Fuck, Cass!” he cried out.

Oh yeah, he wanted her to hear. How dare he shout out her
name?

How dare he make it so obvious that she turned him on when
she was already so hot for him?

He was fantasizing about her while he played with himself.
While he held his cock, maybe he pictured thrusting it in and out of her wet
cunt.

That same picture filled her mind and she slipped her hand
under the waistband of her jeans.

On the other side of the wall, Jared’s moans gave way to
sharp cries. He had to be close, or at least wanted her to think he was.

Her jeans were just tight enough that she couldn’t reach her
clit, so she quickly shimmied them and her panties off. Standing nude from the
waist down, she toyed with the idea of grabbing a towel to wrap around herself
and going next door. Since Jared apparently wanted to imagine her, she could
give him a visual.

“Cassidy!”

Or not.
Going to his room would give him exactly what
he wanted, and she wouldn’t do that.

Leaning back, she put one foot up on the low bureau beside
her, spreading her legs for better access. She needed some relief from the heat
that spread through her, centered at her core. Hearing Jared’s moans increased
her desire for him, and if she didn’t do something about it herself, she might
give in to the impulse to go to him.

She licked her middle finger, then rubbed slow circles on
her clit. The pleasurable sensation eased her ache somewhat, but she wanted
more. Not her own fingers. She craved Jared’s touch, his hands, his cock.

Her fingers would have to do, though, because she sure as
hell couldn’t go next door and tell him what she wanted.

He groaned and she thumped the wall with her free hand. She
thought he chuckled, but wasn’t sure. He was probably enjoying the hell out of
this, knowing that she couldn’t help hearing him.

His sounds weren’t all that enjoyable, but her own touch on
her clit was. She stroked harder, catching her breath as her pussy contracted.
Another moan came through the wall, and this time Cassidy answered with one of
her own. Rolling her nipples with her free fingers, she ran her middle finger
down her wet slit and thrust it inside herself, rubbing against the sweet spot
just inside.

“Fuck!”

Oh God, did he hear that?
Heat rose to her face, but
she didn’t stop fingering herself. If Jared had heard, so be it. Wasn’t that
why she’d chosen to do this?

His only response was a grunt.

She closed her eyes and imagined it was Jared’s finger, not
hers, that was moving in and out of her cunt. His hands on her breasts,
tweaking her nipples, plucking them stiff. She pictured his face near hers,
close enough to kiss but holding back from doing so. Teasing her with his
touch.

Her finger returned to her clit, flicking it as she
envisioned Jared would. His breathing grew loud enough for her to hear,
reaching a pitch punctuated by softer cries, as if now he was trying to hide
his actions from her.

“Let me hear you, you bastard,” she murmured.

Her pussy clenched again and she pressed harder against her
clit, angling her hips so she could slip her ring finger into her cunt. She
finger-fucked herself harder, letting out gasps that nearly became cries as her
orgasm bore down on her.

“God, yeah!” Jared shouted. “Fuck!” A long groan followed.

Cassidy pictured cum spurting from his cock. Imagined
herself bending to take a taste. Her breaths came short and fast now, and she
moved her fingers the same way, pushing herself toward the edge.

The orgasm hit and her knees buckled under the force of it.
Her cunt constricted so tightly it squeezed her fingers and she cried out, not
caring now whether he heard her. Wave after wave of pleasure rushed over her,
leaving her limp in their wake.

Legs shaking, she sank to the floor, tremors coursing
through her. To steady her breaths, she inhaled through her nose, which ended
with her gasping as an aftershock rocked her, again tightening her walls. Eyes
still closed, she pretended Jared stood watching as she shuddered and whimpered
through the ecstasy.

When she finally managed to slow her breathing, she opened
her eyes. She hadn’t come that hard in months and didn’t want to move, so she
stayed on the floor, resting her head against the wall.

“Take that, Jared,” she muttered.

She thought she heard him say, “I will.” But she had to have
imagined it. Surely he hadn’t heard her.

Chapter Three

It hadn’t been enough.

Playing with herself had gotten her off. Pretty intensely.
But it hadn’t been enough.

Damn Jared for this!
He’d gotten her aroused when
they’d returned from the meeting—okay, just watching him and his tight ass at
the meeting got her started—and that had only barely abated by the time they’d
left for dinner, where she’d fantasized throughout the meal. Now, hearing him
masturbating, knowing that he was thinking about her—or at least wanted her to
think he was—brought her from a simmer to a boil.

And her self-induced orgasm wasn’t enough to placate her
greedy cunt. She didn’t want fingers inside her. She wanted cock—Jared’s cock.

Despite her determination to hate the guy.

What gave him the right to use her as a fantasy, anyway?
Shouting her name like that, when anyone walking down the motel hallway might
have heard. Making damn good and sure she heard. He’d known exactly what he was
doing.

He’d done it on purpose, trying to elicit a response from
her. Well, he’d get one, but it might not be the one he expected.

She quickly pulled her clothing back on. She heard nothing
from the next room other than the low murmur of the TV. Apparently now that
he’d made his point, Jared had decided to settle in for a night of sitcoms.

Not if Cassidy had anything to say about it. He wanted to
show off for her? Fine. He could damn well do it right in front of her, then.

She checked the mirror to be sure she didn’t look like a
woman with ulterior motives, then strode to the next room and pounded on the
door. For a moment, no response came, and she wondered whether Jared would even
answer. Surely he suspected the effect his little act had had on her. After
all, he’d heard her. So he was hiding from her now? Well, that would only work
until the next morning when they’d have to share the car to go to the planting
site.

Just as she raised her fist to knock again, he called, “Hang
on, I’ll be right there.”

“Hurry up!” she snarled.

He opened the door wearing only the jeans he’d had on
earlier. Cassidy caught her breath for a second at the sight of his gorgeous
bare chest and her mental image of what rested beneath those jeans, then
recovered. “What the hell were you doing?”

Surprised, he blinked. “Just now? Lying down trying to
decide whether to fall asleep. And I had to put some clothes on before I
answered the door.” He gestured at the jeans. “I sleep nude.”

“You jerk off nude.” She stepped forward, intimidating him
into moving out of her way. She hoped she intimidated him, anyway. He damn well
deserved it after what he’d done.

His eyes widened and he quickly closed the door behind her.
“I do what, now?”

“You heard me.” She moved close enough to see the discomfort
in his eyes. “Or, more to the point, I heard you. Just like you wanted.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Liar!” Bad enough they’d practically had sex through a
wall. Now he wanted to deny it? She was damned if she’d let him get away with
the lie. “You fucking jerked off against the wall of
my
room, calling
out
my
name. What’s the matter, you didn’t get enough of a thrill making
out with me earlier?”

“Nope.” A smile slowly formed on his gorgeous lips. “Far
from enough.”

“Admit what you did.”

“It sounds like you already know.” He paused. “Unless I did
something I don’t know about. Like turning you on so bad you had to come bang
on my door. Hmm,
bang
.”

There was no mistaking the sexual undertone.
Pervert!
Furious,
she rolled her eyes. “I came over here to ask who the hell you think you are,”
she snapped. “Admit it. You masturbated so I wouldn’t be able to help hearing
you. You wanted me to know what you were doing.”

“Okay, I admit it.” Hands on his hips, he stared a challenge
at her. “Looking at you in that cute little business suit earlier made me want
you so bad I’d have fucked you in the car if you hadn’t chickened out. And
then, seeing you in your normal clothes? That was even hotter. You tease the
fuck out of me every time you’re around me and you don’t even give me a chance.
So yes, I wanted you to hear. I wanted you to know what you do to me.”