“And now we come to the honoree portion of the night,” a new, louder voice at the podium said.
At least that meant the talking would be over fairly soon and they could move on to food. Which meant he could take her home and get her into bed.
He picked up the rhythm with his fingers, taking Cassie closer to the brink. She grabbed her napkin and held it over her mouth, faking a cough as her body began to shake and shudder beneath his hand. He let her ride out the orgasm, keeping an eye on his friends, certain everyone was involved in conversation with their own women. Nobody was paying attention to Derek and Cassie.
He brought her down, pulling her tighter against him. Finally, he removed his hand and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Should I apologize?” he whispered in her ear.
“Don’t say another word.” She placed the napkin back in her lap. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes glazed.
“Hey. Derek.” Lucas punched him in the arm, just as everyone in the room began to clap. “That’s you. Get up there.”
Payback was a bitch. He now had to face the crowd, the people looking at him expectantly. All of which was enough to kill his erection.
Still, he took his time acknowledging Lucas’s words. Accepting congratulations around the table. And reveling in Cassie’s kiss before rising to his feet to accept his award for the work he’d done and the money he’d donated to House of Hope.
* * *
Cassie invited Derek to sleep at her new apartment for the first time, and the same limousine that had dropped them off took them there. He called a neighbor to feed and walk Oscar, both tonight and in the morning, and he was all set.
They arrived at her place and left their coats in the front hall. They kicked off their shoes before making their way to the bedroom.
“I’m so proud of you,” she said, unhooking her bracelet and placing it on the nightstand. “Congratulations on being honored tonight. I can’t believe they surprised you like that.”
Cassie tried not to think about what she’d been doing seconds before his name was announced. As his name was announced.
“Thanks,” he said, not meeting her gaze. He’d been humble about it since his acceptance speech, which had brought a lump to her throat.
My parents had no insurance when my father became sick. If my mother hadn’t had to work two jobs to put food on the table and to pay rent, she would have had more time with my father at the end. I want to make sure other families have the time my parents didn’t.
Cassie’s heart had hurt listening to his words. Her family had the money to make sure their employees had insurance. They could have given Marie time off to be with her husband. Instead she’d already been fired, accused of stealing. It still didn’t make any sense to Cassie. She definitely planned on talking to her mother about it next time they were alone together. She wanted her mom’s take on what had happened. And why.
“House of Hope is lucky to have you,” she told him.
“It’s just something I need to do,” he said, placing the plaque he’d been given on her dresser top.
He shrugged out of his jacket and laid it over the vanity chair in the corner.
She strode over to him on bare feet and met his gaze. “Well, this is something I need to do.” She reached up and unhooked his bow tie, tossing it to the floor.
Next she worked the buttons on his dress shirt, unhooking them one at a time, revealing his bare chest, a light sprinkling of hair, and the hard muscles that tapered into his slacks. She slid the shirt off his shoulders, letting her hands trace the strength in his upper arms and chest before dropping the garment to the floor too.
Unable to resist, she leaned in and breathed in the scent of him, his cologne and raw masculinity, tracing the tattoo along his left arm with her mouth.
“So sexy,” she murmured, trailing her lips along the black ink.
His big body trembled. “All this because I won an award of some kind?” His lips twitched in amusement.
“No, all this because you’re you.” She ran her tongue across his chest, around first one nipple then the next, tracing the same path with her fingertips.
She undid his pants, hooking her thumbs into his briefs, and pulled both down. He kicked them off, and then he stood before her nude. Exactly the way she wanted him. Naked and erect, there for her to do whatever she desired.
She lowered herself to her knees, and he groaned at the implication of her pose. She had no intention of disappointing him. He spread his legs, bracing his weight, and she grasped his shaft in her hands.
He slid his hands into her hair, messing up her blow-dry, not that she cared. He gripped the long strands just as she cupped his balls in her hand and drew his cock into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the rigid length.
His grip tightened, pulling at her scalp until her eyes watered. She accepted the pain, a good hurt that reverberated inside her body, all the way down to her sex. Giving to him turned her on.
Who knew? She wasn’t an expert. This wasn’t something she made a habit of doing with guys, mostly because her experience had been with quick sex. Nothing with Derek was typical, and no matter what happened, she had memories to last a lifetime. Right now she wanted to make sure she made an impression on him so he’d never forget what they’d shared.
She held the base of his cock in her hand and began to suck his shaft, pumping her hand up and down at the same time.
“Fuck, princess. You feel good.”
She smiled around his thickness and kept up her movements, aware of how quickly he was closing in on coming by his harsh grip in her hair, the way he began to thrust into her mouth. The head hit the back of her throat, and she managed to swallow around him, causing a harsh groan from him.
“Damn, I’m going to come,” he warned her.
She refused to back off, wanting to take him all the way. Her own arousal was off the charts, her panties wet, her sex full and pulsing with need.
He thrust into her mouth, once, twice, and came with a loud groan, and she swallowed everything he had to give.
She was about to collapse onto the floor when he lifted her up and carried her to the bed, coming down beside her. He propped himself on one side and curled her hair around his hand, and they lay together, their breathing synchronized, the world around them quiet.
She could get used to this, she mused, happy with a man for the first time. That the man was Derek continued to take her by surprise. But the more time they spent together, the more she fell under his spell.
* * *
Derek caught his breath, well satisfied after the surprise blow job she had had given him. She never ceased to amaze him. From how kind she’d been to Kendall, a woman she’d just met, to the generous donation she’d been willing to make to House of Hope, to watching her drop to her knees in front of him…
He’d never been so fucking hard … or humbled in his life. There was something special about this woman, something he’d known from the first, all those years ago.
She had him wrapped around her pretty little finger. Not that he had a clue what to do with her.
“Question,” he said. Because Lucas had reminded him he was getting married next weekend in a small ceremony, and after seeing him with Cassie tonight, he’d offered to have Derek bring her as his date.
“Yes?”
“Maxie and Lucas are getting married next weekend. On Valentine’s Day.”
“Aww, that’s so romantic.”
He smiled at that. “Do you want to come as my date?”
“I’d love to! Thank you.” She leaned over and placed a kiss on his chest, and his body stirred. It didn’t take much when it came to Cassie.
“I had a nice time with everyone tonight,” she said. “Lexie, Maxie, and Kendall were sweet.”
“Glad you liked them. They’re all good people.”
“Not Julian?” she asked.
He paused. “Julian was a good guy. He was one of us. And then he got involved with the wrong people. Drugs… I wouldn’t hav
e thought he was capable of the shit he pulled on Kade, but I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought.” But Derek had a problem thinking of Julian as all bad.
“I think something had to have happened for him to do what he did to someone he once considered a friend.” Derek shook his head. “But I don’t know.”
“Kendall seemed upset to see him. But she couldn’t stop staring at him either.”
Derek frowned. “That went both ways. But if she knows what’s good for her, she’ll steer clear. Kade will never forgive him, and she needs her twin on her side.”
Cassie sighed. “Family is complicated. Relationships are complicated,” she mused.
“Life is fucking complicated.”
Her laugh warmed him. And his groin started to perk back up again. He pushed himself up and rolled on top of her, his now hard cock gliding over her soft, wet pussy.
He brushed her hair off her face, staring into wide brown eyes at the same time he raised his hips and pushed inside her, gliding home as if he belonged there.
They groaned in unison, their joining electric.
He rolled his hips against hers. He kissed her, sliding his lips back and forth, losing himself inside her. She grabbed his hair in her hands, holding him tight as they rocked together, climaxing simultaneously, his entire being caught up in hers.
They lay in silence, his eyes growing heavy.
Derek woke to the smell of something delicious cooking. With a grin on his face, he headed to the bathroom, used her toothbrush, and washed up before he met her in the kitchen.
“Something smells good.”
She placed a plate on the table, then turned to face him, wearing a long tee shirt, her bare legs peeking out, and a bright smile on her face. “Morning.” She settled into the chair at her small table.
“Morning.”
“Have a seat and dig in.” She gestured to the pancakes and orange juice at his place setting.
He happily complied, inhaling the warm scent. “I can’t remember the last home-cooked breakfast I had.”
“You’ve been deprived. I’ll have to make it up to you.” She winked and began cutting into her breakfast. “I’m starving.”
“Because you worked up an appetite last night.”
Her gaze shot to his, her cheeks flushing, her eyes darkening at the memory. “Yes, I did.”
They paused to eat, him smothering his with maple syrup. The food was as fantastic as the aroma. “You’re a good cook.”
“Thank you.” She placed her fork down and met his gaze. “So I need to talk to you about something.”
“Go ahead.”
She shook her head. “It’s a touchy subject for you.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Okay…”
“I’ve been collecting a lot of good information for the kind of article I want to run. I can delve deep into your college years, the creation of Blink, and how you run the company. I’ve even got your charitable contributions down too. But…” She paused to lift her glass and take a sip of juice. “Something’s missing,” she said, placing the cup on the table.
An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. “And what would that be?”
“Your childhood,” she said bluntly. “I’d like your permission for me to call some of your old teachers, and I’d like to meet with your mother and sister,” she said on a long breath.
She was right. It was touchy. His initial, gut instinct screamed a loud no. Of course, she could call teachers without asking him, so he appreciated the fact that she’d asked him first. But that wasn’t the sensitive part of her request.
His mother.
His sister could handle a conversation with Cassie. Brenda was married and had a two-year-old daughter. She’d always been a straight shooter, and Derek didn’t have an issue there.
“Derek?” Cassie broke into his thoughts. “I’m not going to upset her. I won’t ask about the circumstances of her leaving my parents’ employ. I just want to know about you as a kid.”
He understood why she needed to do it, and he understood that if he said no, he was ruining any further chances between them. She’d forgiven him each time he’d been an outright asshole because she’d mentioned his parents or the status differences between their families had come up. But she’d flat out told him to get over it or walk away.
Which meant it all came down to trust. Did he trust Cassie not to bring up the touchy parts of his mother’s past? Yes. He did. Was he ready for her to talk to his mother, to have those two parts of his life come together?
“Okay,” he said, surprising even himself at how quickly he’d answered those internal questions.
Her eyes opened wide. She obviously hadn’t expected such a fast or simple answer. “Thank you.” She jumped up, coming around to his side of the table to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a hug. “I know how difficult it was for you to agree to. And I appreciate your faith in me. I really do.”
He breathed in her scent, allowing her nearness to calm his rapidly beating heart. Because no matter how much he trusted Cassie, allowing anyone to ask questions and dig into the most personal parts of his life just wasn’t comfortable.
“I’ll need to talk to my mother, give her a heads-up, and set it up,” he said as Cassie untangled herself from him.
“Whenever you’re ready,” she assured him.
He blew out a shaky breath. Though he knew his mother would be happy to meet with Cassie, Derek still needed time to prepare himself. Because allowing the two women he was closest to to meet spoke more about his feelings for Cassie than he was ready or willing to admit.
Chapter Ten
Later in the week, Cassie waited at her mother’s favorite restaurant in Manhattan. In between going to her own office, writing some catch-up articles, and shadowing Derek when he had different things on his agenda for her to see—meetings with developers and investors he didn’t mind her sitting in on as long as she signed a confidentiality agreement on the details—she called her mother and asked her to meet for lunch.
No doubt about it, Daniella Storms was a stunning woman. Heads turned when she walked into a room, a combination of the confidence with which she carried herself and her outer beauty. She wore a fur jacket, real not fake because she didn’t care about being politically or morally correct, a pair of navy wool slacks, and a turtleneck, with a patterned scarf around her neck.
The hostess escorted her mother to the table, and Cassie waved as her mother rushed over to meet her. “Cassandra, I’ve missed you,” her mom said, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.
“I haven’t been gone that long, but I miss you too.” For all her mother’s faults, which stemmed from having too much money and not enough self-awareness, Cassie had always felt her love.
“I’m glad you asked to have lunch but I’m surprised. You usually don’t have time during the workweek.” Her mother put her jacket next to her in the booth, loath to have it checked and possibly lost.
“I know. I wanted to talk, but let’s catch up and order first, okay?” Cassie didn’t want to start their meal with a conversation that might cast a pall over their time together.
Cassie was starving and decided to splurge on her food, ordering fettuccini Alfredo and a Diet Coke. Her mom ordered a Niçoise salad and a glass of Chablis.
Her mother talked about her charities and the work she’d been overseeing. Cassie mentioned her in-depth interview but deliberately avoided revealing with whom, saving that information for their talk later.
Since her mother didn’t bring up Derek’s name, Cassie assumed Spencer hadn’t ratted her out to her parents. He might not like her being with Derek, but he wasn’t doing anything to prevent it either. At least not yet.
“So what did you want to talk about?” her mother finally asked over coffee.
Cassie wrapped her hands around the warm cup. “You know the interview I mentioned earlier? What I didn’t say was that the subject is Derek West.” Cassie dropped his name and stud
ied her mother’s face.
Her mother wrinkled her forehead in thought, as best she could with all the Botox she’d had. “Derek West,” she repeated. “Is that the son of Marie and Thomas West? They worked for us when you were younger,” she said, no hint of bitterness or anger in her tone.
“Yes, Mom. That’s him. He’s a brilliant tech developer, and frankly he’s worth billions now.”
Her mother’s eyes opened wide. “Well. That’s really something. Good for him,” she said over a sip of her coffee.
“Mom, why did his parents leave?”
Her mother paused in thought. “As I recall, they left to work for a family who had a home on the water, in the Hamptons. Why?”
That was the story Cassie knew from her father. “Did Marie or Thomas tell you that themselves?” she asked.
“No. I was away at a spa week with your aunt Mary and a friend. It was an annual trip we took. When I got home, your father told me they had quit. We went through quite the trial trying to replace them, as I recall.” She narrowed her gaze. “Why all the questions?”
Cassie swallowed hard, then leaned forward on the table. “Well, Derek said they were fired. In fact, he told me that they were let go with no warning. They lost their health insurance and were given no references. Soon after, Thomas got very sick. By the time he saw a doctor, it was too late.”
“No. That’s not possible. We always gave our help a nice severance and letter of recommendation. And I know I would have done that for Marie. She worked for us for years. She took such good care of you.”
“Derek said Dad accused her of stealing family jewelry.”
“What? No. Marie wouldn’t steal,” her mother said emphatically.
“That’s how I feel.”
Her mother rubbed at her temple with one hand. “But that would mean your father lied to me.”
“And to me as well,” Cassie said. “He told me the same thing when I came home on a break and the Wests were gone.”
Marie studied her nails, deep in thought. “That’s a terrible accusation to make about your father.”
Except her mother never really viewed her father in a realistic light. She saw what she wanted to see, what made it easier for her to live with him.
Going Down Hard Page 12
