“I want you,” he said, squeezing her to him. “You’re hot.”
Cassie giggled.
Encouraged, he ran his hands on her ass. “I missed you wet and writhing and moaning so loud the neighbours could probably hear.”
She tapped at his chest. “I’m not that loud.”
“You are,” he said with a grin.
“Prove it,” Cassie challenged, the smoking look in her eyes betraying her.
“It will be my absolute pleasure.” He lifted her in his arms and carried her to his bedroom.
This was so unexpected, but he wasn’t going to question Cassie’s sudden change of heart. The important thing was she was here and no longer mad at him.
“Lights on this time,” he said. “Much as I enjoy having you in the dark, I’d rather see you while you’re writhing and screaming—”
“I do not scream,” Cassie said in protest.
“We’ll see.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I do not scream,” Cassie reiterated as Carter put her down by the foot of the bed.
She didn’t scream during sex. Did she? Okay, maybe she did. But not loud enough for the neighbours to hear, surely.
Carter laughed—a low, sexy sound that did things to her libido. “Maybe I should record us on my phone,” he said as he worked on the buttons of her top.
“Don’t you dare,” she answered, although the thought sent tingles to her moist centre. Ooh, what would it be like to watch Carter making love to her?
Carter pushed the blouse off her shoulders. “I’m just kidding,” he said. “If that fell into the wrong hands, I’d hate for strangers to watch you come. I don’t care if it was me giving it to you, but no one else gets to see you naked, much less having an orgasm.”
“You do know that you get loud too, don’t you?” she asked as she lifted his shirt off him.
Carter snickered. “Babe, I make noises because I like making noises during sex, not because I can’t help it.”
“Well, I can help it too.”
“Really?” Carter asked, unclasping her bra and dropping it to the floor. “Prove it,” he said against her ear.
Her breath hitched. Yes, in the heat of the moment, she probably couldn’t notice—or care—how loud her moaning got. But surely she could help that.
Carter was looking at her with a smug—and oh, so sexy—smile, waiting for her response.
She stared in his eyes as she undid his fly, ensuring she grazed his burgeoning hardness with her hands. His cock jerked and his mouth parted.
“I bet you have less control than me,” she said, biting her lip.
Carter’s brow lifted. “You’re on, babe.”
“You’re gonna lose,” she said bravely.
Carter unzipped her skirt before running the back of his hand along the side of her breast. “We’ll see, won’t we?” he said, before he leaned down to capture her lips with his.
Oh, how she’d missed his kisses. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him.
A low moan escaped Carter’s throat.
Ha! She got the first moan of the night. This game would be a piece of cake.
She cupped his hardness and caressed him through his boxer briefs. “Carter,” she whispered, kissing his neck as she rubbed him.
Unexpectedly, Carter lifted her up and dropped her on the bed. Then he swiftly pulled down her panties before picking up her leg and placing butterfly kisses on it, progressively moving upwards until he was kissing her inner thigh.
Her breathing shallowed.
The smug smile reappeared on Carter’s face. “Do you want me to stop?”
“You think you’re so irresistible, don’t you?” she asked, trying for nonchalance.
“No. I think you are, so I wouldn’t be able to stop kissing, licking, sucking, fucking...” He tweaked her nipple.
“Mm. Yes to all those, please,” she murmured, his words arousing her further.
He grinned. “Would you like to admit defeat early?”
“Defeat? No. I can enjoy getting made love to without making any loud sounds.”
Carter snorted. He actually snorted.
She sighed and pushed him onto his back. “Lie down,” she ordered, then pulled his pants off his legs.
“Oh, so your tactic is to keep my mouth, hands and cock off you until I give in?” Carter said.
She shrugged, settling herself between his legs. “Did you miss this?” she asked, grasping his erection and putting it in her mouth.
The teasing look in Carter’s eyes transformed into tenderness so obvious that it brought a lump in Cassie’s throat.
“I missed you. All of you,” Carter said softly.
Oh, Carter.
The words I love you wanted to escape her mouth. But she didn’t want to be the first to say it. Instead she put her whole heart into pleasuring him, hoping it would give him an indication that for her, sex with him had never been of the casual kind.
“Babe,” he groaned, his hips undulating as she tugged the base of his erection while laving the head with her tongue.
She increased her efforts, taking as much of him in her mouth as she caressed his balls.
Carter panted, murmuring how good it felt and just how much he’d really missed her.
Oh, yes, he was close. She could feel it in the tensing of his legs. Just a few more sucks and then she’d stop—
Before she knew it, she was on her back, with Carter avidly paying attention to her breasts.
“I wasn’t done,” she protested. “No fair using your strength to make me stop what I was doing.”
His fingers found her clit and she couldn’t help her gasp. Okay, it was more like a low moan, but definitely not loud.
“It’s my turn,” Carter murmured before taking her nipple in his mouth and rubbing her swollen nub.
Oh God.
She panted, keeping her volume to a minimum as Carter’s mouth and hands expertly brought her arousal to fever pitch. When she felt Carter’s fingers push inside her, she couldn’t help but cry out.
“So wet,” Carter groaned in approval, before he kissed his way down her body.
She braced herself, knowing that what was coming next could make her lose this game of theirs. He was always so good with his mouth and it had been so long since— “Ahhh!”
She bit her lip to stop another sound coming out, but she couldn’t stop her panting. Well, loud panting wasn’t screaming, so she wouldn’t even try to stop. Not that she’d be able to, anyway, with Carter’s tongue flicking her clit and his fingers making their way back inside.
“Good, baby?” Carter asked.
“Yes,” she gasped, torn between concentrating on keeping quiet and abandoning herself to the pleasure Carter was giving her. But she wasn’t ready to lose yet.
With a mighty effort, she pushed him away and sat up.
Undaunted, Carter went for her neck, kissing her there as he dragged her down to the bed again.
“I want to be on top,” she whispered.
“Oh, you do?” But he acquiesced.
She straddled him and licked his nipple, before angling her hips and guiding his cock into her slick entrance. Heck, she’d planned to drive him crazy with her mouth again, but she couldn’t wait.
“Ahh, Cassie,” Carter groaned, throwing his head back in ecstasy as she started to move. “Missed you, honey. Missed this so much.”
Oh, he said the sweetest things. Just for that, maybe she’d let him win. Or maybe not.
She rocked on top of Carter, watching him and seeing her rapture reflected on his face. She should get off him and make him beg out loud. But not yet. Because it felt too good and she couldn’t stop.
Carter pulled her down to him and wrapped his strong arms around her, trapping her on top of him. Then he thrust from beneath her, grunting out his pleasure as he impaled her, over and over.
She was lost. All she could do was whimper her approval at his possession, her pleasure sp
iralling up and up until she had only one thought and desire—to climax with him.
“Carter,” she keened, beyond caring that she wasn’t staying quiet. She couldn’t focus on minding her noises when Carter was making her delirious with ecstasy.
“Baby... Come with me...” Carter grunted, his breathing laboured as he maintained the pace of his thrusting.
“Yes... Oh, honey... Ahhh!” she cried out loud, her body convulsing as she came hard.
Carter gripped her tighter. “Fuck... Cassie! Yes!” he roared, emptying himself inside her.
*
“You were louder,” Cassie murmured from her prone position on Carter’s chest.
“No, you were.”
“You yelled.”
“You screamed.”
She lifted her head to look at him. “Your voice was more booming.”
Carter chuckled. “Give me a minute and we’ll do it again. Make sure you pay attention to the fact that it’s you who can’t control yourself.”
“Okay,” she said with a grin.
*****
Cassie woke up, feeling overheated. She tried to get out of Carter’s spooning embrace, only for his strong arms to hold her tighter against him. She smiled, feeling more content that she’d been in a long, long time.
“Morning,” he mumbled, kissing her shoulder.
She turned to him and gave him a peck on the lips. “Morning.”
Carter deepened the kiss, running a caressing hand on her back. “Can’t think of a better way to start the day than to wake up next to you,” he murmured against her lips.
Aw, how he could make her melt with such a simple declaration. “Just because you’re so sweet, I’ll concede defeat,” she said.
“Yes!”
“But I’ll have you know I still think it’s a draw.”
“You can’t concede defeat yet state it’s a draw,” Carter protested.
She giggled. “Does it matter?”
“No. But it’s so much fun proving to you how loud you get in bed,” he said, placing light kisses on her neck.
“You’re insatiable,” she said dryly.
“And you’re not?” Carter asked with challenge in his voice.
“Oh, no. Not another game,” she said with an eye roll.
Carter’s phone rang, and a frown quickly appeared on his face. Extricating himself from her embrace, he picked up the device from his bedside table. “Hey, Tash.”
Cassie put her hand on her mouth. She’d totally forgotten to tell Natasha that she was staying the night at Carter’s. It hadn’t been her plan, and calling her flatmate just hadn’t entered her mind last night. Well, she was blaming Natasha’s brother for that lapse.
“Yes, she’s here,” Carter said over the phone, smiling at Cassie. “... Well, she was so busy proving something to me that she obviously forgot to call or text you...”
Cassie tapped Carter’s thigh for that suggestive comment.
“...No, Tash...” Carter said, his teasing look replaced by a scowl. “... I know... just... let me handle it... Bye.”
He was still frowning when he hung up.
“Is everything okay?” Cassie asked.
“Yes,” he said with a smile. “Just something Tash wants me to do. Anyway, since it’s almost ten o’clock, how about we get ready and have an early lunch somewhere?”
“Okay.” Nothing better than spending more of her weekend with Carter. Then she remembered something. “How about we grab some fish and chips and have lunch at a park or on a beach? The sun’s out so we should be all right if we rug up enough.”
“Sounds good to me,” he answered with a grin.
She exhaled her relief. Carter had been extravagant when they’d gone out on dates before. He’d taken her to fine dining restaurants and gold class movies and had insisted on paying for everything. Now that she knew he was having financial problems, she didn’t want him spending anything more on her.
But she didn’t want to embarrass Carter by letting him know she was aware of his issues. She’d already asked him last night to consider telling her. She’d wait until he was ready.
In the meantime, she’d have to build the trust between them so he’d be comfortable sharing everything with her. And she’d have to find excuses to pay for their dates without him being suspicious about it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“This is on me, okay?”
“Nope,” Carter answered Cassie as the lady at the counter called out their number, indicating that their lunch was ready. To his surprise, Cassie wrapped her arms around his neck. He grinned at her. He loved it when Cassie got affectionate in public. The only time he didn’t welcome it was when someone from the gallery might see.
“Please,” Cassie said with a cute pout. “I’ve never bought you lunch or dinner and I want to.”
“Okay, fine,” he said with a resigned sigh. How could he say no when she asked so sweetly?
Cassie beamed at him and went to the counter to pay.
He watched her, aware of how his heart beat in his chest with more life and joy when she was around. He couldn’t wait to make their relationship official, but he couldn’t do that until the Tellman Galleries case was wrapped up. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to Cassie because he’d been careless.
Cassie came back carrying a bag filled with their fish and chips. He took it from her and held her hand as they headed out to Manly Beach across the road.
“Glorious day,” Cassie murmured, taking her sunglasses from her handbag and putting them on while he laid out two beach towels on the sand.
“You look so pretty,” he said, sitting down and pulling her next to him.
She giggled. “Haven’t you seen me with sunnies on before?”
“I’m not talking about your shades, I’m talking about you.”
He got the reward he wanted: Cassie smiling happily and snuggling closer to him. It was indeed a glorious day. He surveyed the beach, shielding his eyes from the sun’s glare with a hand.
“Do you want to go back to the car and get your sunnies?” Cassie asked.
“I broke them, actually. I haven’t had the chance to get new ones.”
“What happened?”
“I didn’t realise they’d fallen to the ground. I drove over them as I was backing out of my driveway.”
“Oh, no. You need those for work, don’t you? When you’re working on rooftops and it’s sunny?”
“Yeah. I’ll get a new pair soon,” he said, opening the carry bag and bringing out their food. “These smell yummy. I’m starving, especially since you made me miss my pizza last night.”
“Sorry,” Cassie said, leaning over to give him a lingering kiss.
Aahh. He could get used to days like this.
“Wait for me here. I’ll be back in a tick,” Cassie said, standing up and grabbing her bag.
“Where’re you going?”
“Ladies’. Start eating. I won’t be long.”
He wanted to watch her walk away, but the sun hit his eyes from that direction. So he turned his attention to the other beachgoers instead.
The last time he’d been to a beach was to catch a drug dealer who’d brazenly met his suppliers in the light of day. He wondered if there were unsavoury characters relaxing under the sun with him right this moment.
He shrugged. He didn’t want to know. He only had a few more hours with Cassie today. He meant to enjoy every single minute of them before he had to prepare for another date tonight—with Susan.
Seriously, if Susan didn’t make him an “offer” soon, he’d punch something in frustration. This case had been going on for far too long. Every time they had what looked like a promising lead, they hit a dead end.
Susan was still their most obvious suspect. But she hadn’t given up anything that would put anyone away despite his best efforts. He could see why, though. With the body count adding up, it wasn’t a big surprise that the syndicate was being extra careful.
He ran his mind back over the case, staring blankly at the rolling waves as he recalled all the clues they’d gathered from the moment of that first robbery, to Gavin being involved, to what they’d learned so far up to this moment.
Whichever way he looked at it, Susan was the key. Did she expect him to kiss her tonight? Ugh. He hoped not. So far, he’d managed to keep his act to nothing more than verbal flirting, and he’d prefer that it remained that way.
He’d never slept with a suspect before, and he never would. But he’d never been averse to kissing to get what he needed. That had changed when he’d fallen in love with Cassie.
Yes, he was in love with her. How could it not be love when Cassie either made his heart burst with happiness or break with grief?
He looked around for her, realising how much time had passed. She should be back by now. She’d been gone long enough.
He stood up and scanned the area leading to the restrooms. He couldn’t see clearly from the sun’s glare, but he couldn’t make out Cassie from any of the figures milling about. He’d know instantly if one of them was her.
Nerves set in. He pulled out his phone and rang her number. Just when he thought it was going to go to voicemail, she answered.
“Hi,” she said cheerfully.
He exhaled his relief. “Hi. Just wanted to make sure you didn’t slip in the bathroom or something.”
“No,” she said with a laugh.
“Where are you?” From the pinging he’d heard in the background, she was most definitely not in the ladies’.
“I’ll be back in two minutes,” was her answer, then she was gone.
He sat back down, shaking his head. His woman was up to something.
*
A pair of arms snaked around Carter’s neck from behind. “I’m back,” Cassie said, kissing him on the cheek.
“It’s exactly three minutes and forty-seconds since you hung up on me,” he said, looking at his watch. “And over fifteen since you left.”
“Aw, did you miss me, honey?”
“Yes,” he answered. Because he did.
With a secretive grin, Cassie sat down in front of him and took something from her handbag. “I bought you a present.”
His jaw slackened. The unwrapped box clearly told him what it was—a new pair of sunglasses. He guessed, even before he took them out of the box, that they would be aviator style like the ones he used to have. “Cassie...” he whispered, touched.
The Undercover Playboy (Captured by Love Book 3) Page 10
