Cassie lifted her head and he moaned again. “But I owe you one,” she said and caught his balls in her hand. “You touched me, so I’ll touch you.” She massaged them lightly, watching his reaction. He seemed to be gritting his teeth and when he opened his eyes to look at her, they blazed green.
“You said you hadn’t become a tease,” he whispered, his voice husky.
“It’s not a tease,” Cassie replied. “Because I deliver.”
“Then do it now,” he said grimly. “Before I jack into the air.”
“We can’t waste the good stuff,” she replied, then looked around.
Reid pulled away from her and reached into the nightstand for a condom. “Ribbed or not?” he asked.
“You’re joking.”
“Ladies’ choice.”
Cassie rolled her eyes and crawled over him to look in the drawer. She chose one and did the honors, taking advantage of the opportunity to caress him some more as she smoothed it on. “You are something else,” she whispered.
“Because I have condoms?”
“You know that’s not what I mean.” She gave his cock a long, slow stroke.
“Speak for yourself.” Reid urged her further back on the bed, kissing her to silence and lowering himself down beside her. His hand slid over her belly then through her pubic hair and he caught his breath, probably because she was so wet and ready.
“You do something wicked to me,” she admitted and he chuckled against her throat.
“I haven’t even started yet.”
He teased her with his fingertips, sliding it between the slick folds of her labia and across her clitoris. Cassie opened her legs wide and hung on to his shoulders, luxuriating in his touch. She dug her nails into his shoulders a bit, and he made a growl of satisfaction.
“You’re going to make me come again,” she complained.
“Then you’ll owe me another orgasm. I have no problems with that.” He kissed her throat, her ear and finally claimed her mouth, his touch a little rougher than it had been. Two of his fingers slid inside her and his thumb worked against her clitoris, driving her insane with need. He seemed to know exactly how far to push her, then stopped just short of driving her over the edge.
Cassie squirmed beneath him with impatience. “So you’re the tease now.”
“No, I’m just making sure you have an appetite.”
She growled and bit his shoulder as if she was going to take a chomp of out him. “I’m starving already.”
Reid chuckled and rolled across the bed, abandoning her. Cassie watched him open the drawer on the other nightstand. She moved closer, curious, and saw that there was a selection of new sex toys in the drawer. He chose a package. “Brand new,” he assured her and she saw that it was a cock ring. Not just any cock ring, but the one that sold best at F5.
Her personal favorite.
It was like the man could read her mind.
Five
Reid apparently noticed Cassie’s expression. “Just waiting for the right moment.” He opened the package and slid the ring over his penis. Cassie swallowed when she saw the latex knob on the front of it.
“One of my favorite things,” she said and he grinned.
“What do you know about sex toys, Miss Girl Scout?” he asked, pretending to be horrified. “I thought your favorite things would be brown paper packages tied up with string?”
“I’m no nun.” Cassie laughed when he raised his brows. “I know a lot about sex toys. I do small consultations about physical intimacy for couples at F5 and teach introductory BDSM classes, too.”
His eyes sparkled. “Really?” He waited for her to nod. “That’s great. The world needs more physical intimacy, I think.”
Cassie laughed. It was refreshing to meet someone who thought that was fun, and not an indictment of her character.
“You do learn something new every day.” Reid loomed over her and she parted her thighs, wanting him inside her. He spared her a glance then teased her with the tip of his penis, bracing his weight over her as he slid through the folds of her labia and across her clitoris, tracing the same path his fingers had followed.
“I should tie you down so you can’t mess with me like this,” she threatened and he grinned.
“I should tie you down so you can’t run back to New York before I’m done with you.”
“You should stop teasing me and get down to business.”
His eyes gleamed and he lowered himself over her, easing inside her with one slow, smooth stroke. Cassie caught her breath, then wriggled. Reid inhaled sharply and she laughed, then rolled him quickly to his back and took the rest of him.
Reid caught his breath. “You’ve done that before.”
“I like riding on top.” The knob collided with her clitoris and she moaned from the depths of her soul, then rolled her hips with satisfaction. She was pretty sure that Reid got bigger.
He certainly was smiling like a big bad wolf, ready to gobble her up.
He stretched out his arms and languished beneath her, his eyes gleaming. “Show me what you like about being on top,” he invited with a dangerous smile. “Convince me that it’s the way to go.”
“Not the only way. I like variety.”
“But you like this best. Show me why.”
Cassie rolled her hips, ensuring that she took all of him, then rocked against him until he clenched his teeth. She lifted Reid’s hands to her breasts and teased her own nipples until they were taut, then fitted his thumb and finger around first one, and then the other. He pinched a little harder, sending a jolt of pleasure through her, and she gasped. “You’re bad,” she whispered as the little knob ground against her clitoris.
“You knew that already.” Reid pulled her down so that he could take one nipple in his mouth. He ran his tongue around the peak, then grazed it with his teeth, moving inside her even as he tormented her. His hand closed around the back of her nape, his fingers in her hair in a possessive grip, his other hand on the back of her waist, urging her closer. Cassie felt both claimed and treasured, especially when he repeated his teasing on the other nipple. They were both hard and tight when he was done, red and glistening from his attentions.
He put his hand between them, catching her clitoris between his finger and the cock ring, then giving it a little pinch. Cassie shivered from head to toe in pleasure. “Tell me what you want,” he whispered.
Cassie rocked her hips. “More.”
“That’s not as articulate as I expected.”
“I want you to fill me up,” she said, holding his gaze. “I want you to roll me over and hold me down and drive yourself home until neither of us can stand it any longer. I want you to claim me right here and right now. I want this to be the very best sex ever, and I want an orgasm that lasts a week, and I want you to come at the same time as me.”
He arched a brow. “As long as you don’t dream too big.”
“It’s not a dream,” Cassie whispered, then moved her hips. “It’s an objective.”
Reid laughed but then she bent over him and claimed him with a kiss, slanting her mouth across his and pouring all her passion into her kiss. She didn’t hold back and it felt as if her move sparked an inferno. Reid gripped her tightly and kissed her back, moving with increasing power inside her, that knob touching and teasing until she thought she would explode. He rolled her to her back, never missing a beat and braced his weight over her, driving home again and again until she wanted to scream. She gripped his shoulders, digging in her nails, and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, pressing them together, wanting more and more and more.
She felt Reid’s heart pounding and heard the rasp of his breath in her ear. She felt the slickness of perspiration between them and thought of him sliding his fingertips across her the day before. She thought of the wicked glint in his eyes when he was teasing her and felt the power of his muscles beneath her fingers and the games she taught at F5 and she wanted to play every single one of them with Reid. Sh
e thought of Tyler carrying Amy over his shoulder, caveman-style, when they got out of the elevator and wanted to do it in an elevator with Reid, too. She wanted him again and again and again, and the next time the knob touched her clitoris, Cassie came like a tidal wave.
“Tyler!” she cried, not realizing what she’d done until Reid froze in her embrace.
“Tyler,” he echoed, then released her. He moved out of her and stepped away, his brow as dark as thunder. He turned his back upon her, then marched to the adjacent washroom. She heard the cock ring and the condom land in the waste basket.
What had she done?
Reid had been called a lot of things in his time, but no woman had ever called him by some other guy’s name.
Especially not then.
It was an unwelcome first.
He washed up quickly. Furiously. He was well aware that Cassie was staring after him in shock, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t believe that he’d just been a substitute, that she hadn’t wanted him at all, that the truth stung so much—and just who the fuck was this Tyler guy?
“Oh my God,” she whispered from close proximity. “I’m so sorry.”
What else would she say?
“Not as sorry as I am,” Reid growled and grabbed a towel. He knew that if he looked at her, he’d be lost. She’d be on the verge of tears, all vulnerable and apologetic, and he’d want to console her, maybe pick up where they’d left off, maybe make sure she knew who she was with this time, so he brushed past her and stormed to his closet to get dressed.
Of course, she followed him. Cassie wasn’t one to be left behind.
Much less ignored.
Was it spectacularly stupid or just inevitable that he still wanted her?
Cassie Wilson teaching BDSM classes. There was a mental image he wouldn’t lose anytime soon.
Not a tease. As if.
“I’m sorry!” she repeated.
“So you said.” Reid pulled on clean underwear and jeans, then a T-shirt. He felt like he was armoring himself, putting layers of cloth between himself and Cassie’s inevitable appeal by touch. She’d put one hand on his skin, awaken the fire again, and he’d be a goner, ready to make the same mistake all over again.
That wasn’t going to happen.
At least not right now.
“No, Reid, really, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.” She sounded devastated and something twisted inside him. “I can’t believe I did that. I don’t know how to even start to make this up to you.”
He heard her sit down on the couch in the massive closet, but tried to ignore her and tugged on his socks. A hoodie. Too bad he didn’t have any gloves. He jammed his feet into his boots and shoved a hand through his hair.
“At least look at me,” she said and the plea in her voice got to Reid, just the way he’d known it would.
He glanced at her, unable to do anything else, and all the armor in the world couldn’t protect him from the sight of Cassie’s welling tears. She was still naked, just a towel barely wrapped around her, and her hair tumbled over her shoulders in spectacular disarray. His mouth went dry and his gut clenched. She was so beautiful and he’d been so close. He felt cheated even though he knew he should be used to that by now.
He shouldn’t really have expected otherwise.
Of course, Cassie Wilson didn’t want him.
Nobody did.
Nobody ever would.
Because happily ever after was for other people.
Reid heaved a sigh and swallowed.
“I really screwed up,” she whispered and the first tear fell.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A goner. One more time. So much for learning from experience. He went to sit beside Cassie on the bench. “It’s okay,” he managed to say.
“It is not!” she protested. “It’s horrible! I’m horrible. Oh, Reid, I can’t believe I did something so awful.” She leaned against him and he gritted his teeth, refusing to touch her.
He was still trying to rise above his resentment. “Who’s Tyler?”
“It doesn’t matter...”
“I think it does,” he said, interrupting her with force. “A lot.” He met her gaze then and she winced, apparently having caught a glimpse of his anger.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she admitted.
“It’s a first for me, too, if that makes you feel any better.”
Her smile was tentative. “One we could have both done without?”
“Is that really a question?”
Cassie smiled a little more, looking encouraged. Reid’s heart clenched, hard. “Can you ever forgive me?”
Reid knew the answer to that already. “I don’t know,” he lied. “Who is he?”
She sighed and this time she was the one who averted her gaze.
He guessed. “Your partner at F5, the one who married someone else.”
She nodded. “I was hoping I was over him.”
“I’m guessing not, given this.”
“Oh God, I’m so sorry.” She buried her face in her hands and he struggled to keep from touching her.
Consoling her.
Reid took a deep breath and kept his hands clenched in his lap. “Tell me about him.”
“What?”
“Tell me about Tyler. Why are you so crazy about him?”
Cassie lifted her head and stared at him. “You’ve got to be joking.”
“I’m not.” Their gazes met and held. “What’s so special about him?”
What’s he got that I don’t? Reid heard his unspoken question and wondered if Cassie did, too. He didn’t really need her answer. He could make a list himself.
She sighed and surveyed the contents of the closet, as if seeing it for the first time. “Big closet.”
“I was assured that I needed it, with a house like this.”
Her gaze lingered on the empty racks, then the small collection of clothes hung together in one corner. “Looks like you don’t.”
“Maybe it’s a lifestyle thing.”
“Maybe it’s because you don’t have a partner. A woman could fill this closet in nothing flat.”
“Probably.”
“But you’re not going to let one move in to find out?”
He shook his head. He knew his limitations.
She considered him. “Do you enjoy your money, Reid?”
“I enjoy that I have it,” he admitted. “That’s better than the alternative.”
Cassie nodded then rose to her feet. “Do you have any coffee?”
“You’re ducking my question.”
“No. I just need to think about where to start.” She forced a smile. “I don’t want to make this worse.”
“I don’t think there’s anywhere to go but up,” Reid said, then led the way to the kitchen. His fridge, of course, was still empty. He’d left the rest of the opened jar of spaghetti sauce on the counter overnight, so he poured it down the drain after he started a pot of coffee. The activity was welcome. He was always better when he had something to do. Cassie retreated to the washroom and returned with her hair bound up in that ponytail again, dressed exactly as she’d been when he’d met her first thing.
Like nothing had happened.
Or nothing had changed.
But everything had changed.
He poured her a mug of coffee. “I have sugar but no milk or cream.”
“Even though you own a grocery store?”
“Even so.”
Her gaze roved over the kitchen, drinking in the details. “Your house is beautiful.”
“It pretty much came that way.”
Cassie smiled. “So, all the little touches that make it a home aren’t yours?”
Reid wasn’t ready to be teased. He just shook his head and she sobered.
“Sorry. It’s really beautiful. Picture perfect. It could be in a magazine.”
Reid folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter, waiting.
“You’
re not having coffee?” she asked and he shook his head.
“I don’t drink it.”
“But you have it. You don’t have any groceries, even though you must eat something, but you have coffee, even though you don’t drink it.”
Reid held her gaze, letting her work it out. When she didn’t, he spoke. “My guests often like coffee in the morning.”
Cassie blushed a little then and dropped her gaze, sipping her coffee. “Okay, I deserved that,” she said. “I’m not the first or the last, although I’m the first to make that particular mistake.” She took another long sip, then came to stand beside Reid, her hip almost touching his.
He fought the urge to move away, telling himself he could just stand beside her and not touch her.
He wouldn’t be weakened by the scent of her skin.
Much less the smell of her arousal.
He wouldn’t be reminded of what hadn’t quite happened.
Or think that he could pick up where he’d left off.
A woman who was in love with another man was strictly off-limits. Reid had a code, and he wasn’t going to forget it now.
Not even for Cassie Wilson.
“Tyler McKay,” she whispered as if she was saying a prayer. “The money guy at F5 who looks so amazing in a suit that half the women in New York could eat him alive.”
“And the other half?”
“Probably prefer him naked. Wait!” She pulled out her phone from the pocket of her workout gear and scrolled through some images. Reid fought the urge to peek, but then she held the phone out in front of him.
It looked like an ad. There was a really buff guy, naked, looking at the viewer, with a bad-ass tattoo on his shoulder. He was holding a woman in his arms, who was also really toned. She was pressing a kiss to his chest, consumed with him, while he looked like he was going to rip the head off anyone who came near her.
Get lucky at F5 was the caption.
They were both wearing wedding rings, Reid realized, and not a whole lot else, although the X-rated bits were hidden from view.
“That’s Tyler,” Cassie said unnecessarily. “And Amy, his wife.”
“It looks like an ad.”
“It was. It is. It’s a billboard for F5 that I designed. It’s one of a series featuring each one of the partners in one ad.” She flicked through the images on her phone and showed him another one. “There’s Kyle.”
Some Guys Have All the Luck Page 9
