She turned to face him, filled with conflicting desires. “I want to slap you.”
“Go ahead. If it’ll make you feel better, I’m happy to take it.”
“No.” She paused, taking in the details of his appearance, and frowned. “You’re in costume. Did you know you’d be going to a Halloween party tonight?”
He shook his head. “Your friends forced it on me. I’m supposed to be a villain.”
She couldn’t help a wry smile. “How did you find me?”
“Your neighbor told me you were at a Halloween party. So I drove around town looking for a party. It wasn’t hard.”
She pulled away from him. “I hate you.”
“It’s only temporary.”
“I don’t think it is.”
“In a way, I’m glad you hate me. It’s better than indifference. It means you really cared.”
“I did. But I won’t feel that way again.” She couldn’t. It was impossible. He’d hurt her too badly. “If you’d come to me two or three months later, it might have been different. If you’d come last Halloween, let’s say. But it took more than a year to realize you want to be with me? A year?”
“I wanted you the whole time, but I assumed I was just being irrational.” He paused. “Being without you…it felt all wrong. Like you kissing Big Bird.”
“Johnny is a nice man.”
“He’s boring.”
She snorted. “Unlike you? Who could probably talk about granite for an hour?”
“I could definitely talk about granite for an hour, but I won’t, for your sake.” He pulled her beaver tail with one hand before sliding his arms around her again. “It’s not so much that I think he’s a boring person by himself—I don’t know him. But the two of you together—it’s boring. That, I could tell.” He dipped his head to her ear, his breath hot on her skin. “I’m not going to give up. You’re mine, Cassie.”
“You presumptuous, arrogant ass. Are you like this with other women?”
“No. Only you.”
He backed her up against the door again, his chest pressing against hers. She gasped as his mouth captured hers, and he slipped his hand into her little brown beaver shorts and ran his finger along the lace at the top of her panties.
Oh God.
She was wearing pretty underwear today. Just in case she got somewhere with Johnny.
But instead, she was with Blaine.
He toyed with the lace for a long time, his kiss leisurely, his tall frame towering above her. He was lean, unlike her. There was something about his face that was a little aristocratic and severe, but that wasn’t how it felt when they kissed.
She whimpered, wanting to feel him inside her. But she refused to beg. That would give him too much satisfaction. Still, he must have been able to tell how desperate she was from the way she was squirming against him.
Finally, he edged his fingers under the top of her panties. He held his hand there, so close to her heat, before running the tips of his fingers over her folds, his touch unbearably light.
She inhaled sharply.
“Is it like this with anyone else, Cassie? I don’t think it is.”
“I won’t deny the sex was good,” she said, forcing herself to sound calmer than she felt. “If we do it now, I’m sure I’d enjoy it.”
“I won’t fuck you here. I’ll only fuck you if you come home with me.”
She groaned in frustration as his fingers pressed closer to her opening. She was wet for him. So wet. She spread her legs a little more.
“Not fair,” she said.
“Nothing in life is fair.”
Yeah, tell me about it.
He curled a finger inside her, and she let out a strangled noise. His face was impassive, but his eyes gleamed.
Like a villain.
And like a villain, he removed his hand just as things were about to get really good.
“How about this?” he said. “I’ll take you home with me tonight. We’ll spend the whole weekend together. We’ll fuck as much as you want. And at the end of it, I bet you won’t be able to walk away like I mean nothing to you. I bet you’ll agree to the relationship that I stupidly refused last time.”
One weekend in his bed. She squeezed her thighs together, her body craving what Blaine could give her. She’d only had sex twice since he left, and sleeping with Leo had been a mistake.
One hot weekend with Blaine. What could it hurt? He was an incredible lover. And she wouldn’t let her heart be involved this time. She hated him. It shouldn’t be hard to keep her heart safe as she let him use her body.
He was rough in bed. He expected her to do what he wanted. He took her to the edge of her comfort zone but not beyond it.
She loved what he did to her. It wasn’t like that with anyone else—that was true.
Her body felt empty without him. She needed him to finish what he’d started.
“Fine.” She squared her shoulders. “I will go to Ottawa with you. And at the end of the weekend, I will leave you. I know you don’t think I’ll be able to do it, but I will. I’ll prove there’s nothing left between us but sex.”
He stepped away from her. “You’re right. I don’t believe you. But I’d love to see you try.”
…
“You’re leaving with him?” Rachel asked, pushing up her flapper girl headband. “Are you sure that’s smart?”
“It’ll be fine,” Cassie said, in part to convince herself. “I’ll spend the weekend with him, get him totally out of my system. That’s all.”
“I don’t know if ‘getting him out of your system’ ever works.”
“It will.” Cassie grabbed a handful of jelly beans from the glass serving tray. “I’ll walk away on Sunday night without giving him another thought, the same way he did to me last year.”
“You sound vindictive. It’s not like you.”
Well, that’s what he’d done to her. Made her feel like she wasn’t herself anymore.
In good ways at first. He’d made her feel special and treasured and interesting. Later, she’d become a blubbering mess. That wasn’t like her, either.
She wanted him to feel every bit of the pain she had.
“Okay.” Rachel nodded. “Go have no-strings-attached sex. But I think this is a bad idea.”
Cassie gave her a weak smile. “You’re a good friend.”
Rachel sighed. “Jenna thinks he looks like Benedict Cumberbatch.”
“Yeah? I don’t think so.” To Cassie, he was unlike anyone else.
She would be fine this weekend. She would make sure of it.
“We were supposed to hang out tomorrow,” Rachel said. “Before Cole and I head back. But that’s okay. I saw you tonight.”
“Oh, shit! I’m sorry. Maybe Blaine can bring me around to your place on Sunday, since he lives in Ottawa.”
“Or maybe you’ll be too busy having sex in the shower.”
Cassie blushed.
“Did you have sex in the shower with him last year?” Rachel asked. “Or were you too busy getting spanked—”
“Rachel!!”
“What? I’ve seen those books you read.”
“Doesn’t mean that’s what I want in real life.”
Oh, the stories she could tell her friend. Rachel might be hard to shock, but if she knew what Cassie had done with Leo…
Rachel turned serious again. “Text me his phone number and address. If anything happens, we’ll know where to find you.”
“Will do.”
Cassie wiggled her beaver tail when she turned around, and Rachel laughed. She went out to the car to join Blaine, unable to stop the excitement pumping through her veins.
But it was only because she was looking forward to the sex. Nothing more.
Chapter Four
This was lunacy. Blaine should have taken Cassie on the bed in the spare room, on top of the enormous pile of coats. His house was two hours away, and he didn’t want to wait that long to be with her. Inside her.
But it had been more than a year. What was another two hours?
Except now, she was sitting beside him, her beaver costume covered in a navy trench coat, her light brown hair spilling over her shoulders, down to her ample breasts. She was gorgeous.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t being particularly friendly toward him at the moment. He could hardly blame her. After all, he was the one who’d left. For more than a year. And then he’d pulled his hand out of her panties before she could get off.
It wouldn’t have taken long. He could have brought her to orgasm in a minute or two. He would have covered her mouth with his other hand to muffle her scream, as the bass pumped and the laughter of drunk people floated up the stairs.
It would have been hot.
But he’d been afraid that if he left her satisfied, she wouldn’t come home with him.
He shifted in his seat. It would be a long drive back.
He flipped on his high beams as he exited Georgeville. “I remember reading about high beams in the driver’s handbook when I was sixteen. I didn’t understand when you would ever need to use them. I was used to the city. So one day my dad took me out to the country…”
He was chattering inanely about nothing. High beams. Honestly, she wouldn’t care. He didn’t even care.
This wasn’t what he had wanted. He’d hoped that after he apologized and told her she was the only woman for him… Well, he’d hoped that would have been enough for her to forgive him.
But she hadn’t.
Still, she was coming home with him. That was something.
He had the weekend to convince her they had more than just amazing sex between them. That sex so amazing had to mean something.
He couldn’t wait to get started.
But when she let out a long-suffering sigh, he was afraid she’d changed her mind.
“You promised me the whole weekend,” he said. “Don’t back out now.”
“I won’t. But I will walk away at the end of it. And if I hurt you, then so much the better.”
That didn’t sound like the woman he’d known. Her words had an edge to them.
Fuck. He’d done this to her.
He said nothing, just put a hand on her leg. She was wearing leggings under her shorts, the material rather thin. He rubbed his fingers over it, and he could tell she was trying not to moan.
“Don’t hold back with me,” he whispered. “Never do that.”
She said nothing. It was just the two of them, alone on the empty road, tension filling the space between them.
…
If only Cassie had held back the day she’d met him. Instead, she’d plunged headfirst into a week-long love affair.
It had been a Sunday afternoon, the summer before last. Warm, but not disgustingly hot, and there’d been a nice breeze. She’d just finished doing a load of laundry and cleaning her kitchen, and a walk had sounded pleasant. Although she’d initially planned on walking down the McNeil Trail through the woods, somehow she’d found herself heading toward Tim Hortons for a chocolate dip donut and a coffee. It was as if she’d been pulled there.
She’d stepped inside, and before long, she’d been placing her order with the bored teenager behind the counter. Then she’d turned.
And there he was.
He’d been standing at the back of the short line, but he was all she could see. His gaze had been serious, penetrating. She’d felt pinned by it.
He was tall, lean. A little older than she was. Dark, somewhat floppy hair that didn’t seem to fit with his serious demeanor. Sharp blue eyes. But listing his individual features…that hadn’t come close to explaining what they were like when they were all put together.
He was suddenly everything.
“Your change,” said the teenager, sounding slightly irritated.
She’d fumbled as she put the coins in her wallet, then had turned back to the man in line. He’d lifted his eyebrows, just slightly. She’d felt light-headed, unfamiliar emotions coursing through her.
Love. It had to be love.
But that was preposterous. Maybe all the cleaning products had gone to her head.
Still, after she’d grabbed her coffee and donut, she’d walked toward him. She couldn’t help it.
“Meet me outside,” he murmured.
Oh, his voice. It had made her skin pebble. Or was that the air conditioning?
No. It had been his voice. She’d nearly shivered—it had such a strong effect on her.
She’d walked out into the warm day, her heart beating rapidly. She’d been very aware of the sun shining down on her, the breeze fluttering her hair. What would he do when he joined her?
When he’d come out, large coffee cup in hand, he’d tilted his head and said, “My car’s just over there.”
And once they were standing by his car, he’d kissed her. They’d both been holding their coffees, and her, her donut, and it had been just one press of his lips against hers. Over in a second. Yet it had reverberated through her long afterward.
“This is the part,” he’d said, “where I would ask you to go home with me.”
She’d pressed her thighs together. God, she’d wanted him there. Sliding his tongue over her skin and doing everything he could to her. It hadn’t been simply a physical desire; she’d wanted everything. Even though he was a stranger.
“But there’s a little problem,” he’d continued. “I don’t live anywhere near here, and there doesn’t seem to be a motel in town. So I’m hoping—”
“Will you come back to my place?” The words had come out in a rush.
“Why, yes. I would be delighted to.” One corner of his mouth had kicked up, and her knees had gone weak. He was incredibly gorgeous.
“I live nearby. Only a two-minute drive.” And she’d just cleaned her apartment, as if knowing she’d have company today.
He’d gazed at her steadily and then cupped her cheek and kissed her once more. A longer kiss this time, his lips closing over hers again and again, his tongue slipping inside her mouth.
“You,” he said, “are utterly perfect.”
“You forgot the part where you ask me my name.”
“Sorry, I’m not accustomed to situations like this.”
“Neither am I.”
He hesitated. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Cassie.”
“And I’m Blaine.”
There was something about it all that had been familiar, like some part of her had always known it would happen this way.
She’d shifted her donut and coffee to one hand and held out the other for him to shake. With a quirk of his lips, he’d taken her hand, holding it a long time, rubbing his thumb over hers.
“Cassie,” he’d said. “Is that short for something? Cassandra?”
“Cassidy. But no one calls me that.”
“Well, I will. When we’re in bed together.”
Her breath had hitched, and she’d known he heard it.
He’d laughed softly before walking to the passenger’s side and opening the door for her.
They’d gone back to her place, and the instant they were through the door, they were on each other, lips meeting, hands caressing, clothing coming off. Every touch had taken her breath away, and when they’d been in bed and he’d been above her, ready to enter her…
She had never needed anything in her life as badly as she needed to feel him inside her. And once he was there, it was the greatest pleasure she’d ever known.
Afterward, he’d held her, and they’d finished their lukewarm coffee and fed each other pieces of donut, and she knew it had been real. It had been love, even if it had happened in an instant at Tim Hortons.
On one hand, it was hard to regret anything so magical. But later, she wished she’d never had a craving for a chocolate dip donut. Wished she’d just gone to the McNeil Trail, even though her body was drawn in the opposite direction, because then, she wouldn’t have been heartbroken. Wished she hadn’t listened when he’d said, “Meet me
outside.”
Pain-filled weeks turned into months, which turned into a year, and still, she could hardly stand being without him. Could hardly even bear to go to the damn coffee shop.
And now he was here. She was in the car with him once more, but this time he was taking her back to his place. She could not forgive him for how he’d left her so completely devastated, and she would never let him do that to her again.
This time, it would be different.
She would make sure of it.
Chapter Five
Cassie was surprised when Blaine pulled up to a decent-sized brick house near Bank Street. She’d expected him to live in a condo.
He must be doing well for himself as a geotechnical engineer. Assuming he really was a geotechnical engineer. That’s what he’d told her last year, but then, he’d also said he lived on the other side of the country.
Still, she didn’t think he’d been lying about the job. He’d told her a little about his work, and he certainly seemed to know a lot about rocks. On the day she’d called in sick, they’d gone to the nearby provincial park. They’d rented a canoe and paddled past the rocky cliffs bordering the lake. Granite with mafic dykes—was that what he’d said? He’d talked about the rocks for a while, until he’d realized what he was doing. But she hadn’t minded at all. She’d loved that he found things so interesting, and she’d enjoyed hearing all the random facts he knew, his voice animated as he’d spoken.
Blaine was ten years older than she was, so it wasn’t surprising he owned property. But a house like this, in what she knew wasn’t a cheap part of Ottawa?
She didn’t ask.
He unlocked the front door, and when they were inside, he curved his hand around her waist. It had been uncomfortable between them in the car, but now that they could touch each other, it was different.
He pressed her against the door, just as he’d done at Jenna’s. His lips were more demanding now, coaxing moans from her. And this time, he wasn’t wearing a cape, and he didn’t have that ridiculous mask shoved atop his head.
But she was still dressed as a beaver.
“Are you laughing at me?” He nuzzled her neck.
“No. I’m laughing at me. Rachel suggested I wear a sexy animal costume tonight. To entice Johnny.”
Seducing His True Love (Small Town Temptations) Page 3
