Gage frowned. “Okay.”
Cassidy let him out of the booth and then sat down again, taking another sip of her beer.
As Ryker and Gage walked toward the front of the restaurant, Gage asked, “So, Cassidy’s pretty great, huh?”
“She’s pretty great.” Ryker nodded his head, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Just . . . be careful, okay? You aren’t as tough as you pretend to be.”
Gage skidded to a stop right beside the server station. “The hell you say?”
“Gage,” Ryker grabbed his elbow and pulled him out of the line of traffic, “you’re so set on insisting that you don’t give a fuck about anything or anybody, but it’s just not true. At best, you’re a carefully crafted rebel.” He gestured toward Gage’s motorcycle boots and jacket. “And even that’s tenuous.”
Gage’s cheeks heated. Like he might be blushing or something, but that wasn’t even possible. He forced a laugh that limped awkwardly from his lips, about a complete octave too high to sound normal. “Very funny.”
Ryker’s warm eyes tightened at the corners, and a corresponding tug cinched in Gage’s chest.
“Look, I’ve got to get back to Cassidy.”
Ryker’s fingers tightened on Gage’s elbow. “About that. I can’t help but feel she’s hiding something. I could be wrong or it could be nothing, but I think you should talk to her about it. Before you get in any deeper than you have.”
Gage’s brows drew together then immediately relaxed. “Well, she is hiding something.”
Ryker’s head snapped up.
“Nothing major,” Gage said quickly. “Something happened to her last night. You know what, I still don’t have her permission to tell you about it, so that’s all I’ll say. But, the impression you’re getting—that’s why.”
Ryker frowned. “Hmm.”
Hmm? “What’s that supposed to mean?” Gage’s voice had an edge to it.
“Just be careful.” Ryker’s gaze sharpened. “Promise me.”
Gage had the overwhelming urge to tell him to mind his own business or shut the fuck up or that he didn’t know what he was talking about. The urge in and of itself stopped him cold. This was Ryker he was talking to. There wasn’t a person in the world he trusted more.
Gage sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. “When am I not careful?”
Ryker nodded. “See you around.”
“Yep.”
Without another word, Ryker turned and left the restaurant, leaving Gage behind amid a flurry of more unwelcome feelings.
Gritting his teeth, Gage made his way back to the booth. Cassidy was sitting just where he’d left her, staring despondently at a box that hadn’t been there when he’d left. He touched her shoulder, and she jumped.
“Jesus.” He could kick his own ass. “I’m so sorry. Shouldn’t have been so quiet.” Sneaking up on a woman who had been attacked the night before? Fucking genius, that’s what he was.
Cassidy nodded toward the box. “Ryker’s sandwich.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “He left because of me, didn’t he?”
Gage reached down and brushed his thumb along her cheek before dropping his hand to his side again. The most he’d ever affectionately touched a woman in public in his life. “No.”
“Liar.” She’d been smiling, but it turned into a wince as soon as the word left her mouth.
He sank into the booth next to her. “Hey, Freckles.” He wanted to reach for her. Wrap his arms around her. “You’re worrying me here.”
She met his gaze. “Take me home?” She licked her lips, and his gaze narrowed in on it like a beacon. “Please?”
She didn’t have to ask him twice. Throwing enough bills on the table to cover the tab, he grabbed Ryker’s sandwich with one hand—no use letting it go to waste—and Cassidy’s hand with the other, tugging her to her feet.
He led her through the restaurant and outside to the parking garage, spotting her little car right away. “I’m going to be right behind you, okay?” He meant that literally. His tire was going to be a breath away from her bumper all the way to their apartment complexes.
She nodded.
Before she could slip into her seat, Gage caught her chin in the crook of his finger. “Hey.” He waited until her gaze met his. “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”
Her eyes darkened. “You can’t promise that.”
“Well, I just did.”
Her lips quirked the slightest bit, and he pressed a quick kiss to them before releasing her. “In you go,” he said, jerking his chin toward her car. He handed her the sandwich, closed her in, and jogged over to his bike.
When he got Cassidy home, he was going to make those worried looks disappear. Any way he could. And he had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
Chapter Sixteen
As she drove home, her laptop seemed to be sending up flares: Right here! Evidence that Cassidy is screwing over Gage!
Her game, which was an utter betrayal of him, was on that thing. She wanted to fling it from the car as far as she could, but at the same time, she wanted to wrap her arms around it. That game was her baby. Her ticket to success.
She almost jumped when she pulled into her parking spot. How had she gotten home so quickly?
Her bones creaked with fatigue as she climbed from the car. She made her way to the passenger side door where she collected the brisket sandwich, then stared hard at her laptop bag. And kept staring.
Movement to her left caught her attention, and she glanced up.
Gage.
He must have jogged over after parking his bike. She resisted the urge to slam the door and keep him from seeing her laptop bag.
He arrived at her side and dipped his head, looking inside her car. “Oh, let me get that for you.” He turned to her with a smile.
She stared with wide eyes at the bag now hanging next to his hip, resisting the asinine urge to scream get away from it at the top of her lungs.
“Come on, Freckles.” He grabbed her hand with his free one. “Let’s get you home.”
His voice had descended into a husky range—well, huskier than normal—and goose bumps lit along Cassidy’s skin.
Yes. This was what she needed. A reminder of what they were doing here. A way to get things back on track.
She nodded her head. “Fuck, yes.”
With their hands connected, Cassidy couldn’t race to her apartment like she wished she could. Not without being conspicuous. Nevertheless, both of their steps were quicker than normal.
In no time at all, they were at her apartment. Cassidy’s hand shook as she unlocked the door, whether from anticipation or the sudden flood of nerves from returning to the location she’d been attacked, she didn’t know.
Let’s go with anticipation.
She clicked the lock into place as Gage set her laptop bag on the table by the door and then walked to the fridge, putting the sandwich inside.
She leaned back against the door, and he turned to face her. They stared at each other in silence as Cassidy’s pulse beat a strong, steady rhythm in her every extremity.
Gage flexed his fingers into and out of fists, and she got the impression he was restraining himself. Because he was worried how she’d feel after being attacked last night?
She didn’t want to be thinking about last night at all. She didn’t want to be thinking, period.
She was across the room before she’d realized she’d begun to move. His arms were already open when she arrived, and she walked into them, coming up on tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck.
As soon as her skin touched his, everything within her eased. She’d been in her apartment for several minutes, but this was the first moment she felt home.
He gathered her close to his chest, her breasts flattening against his ribs, and he sighed. She felt the muscles across his shoulders loosen as he leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers.
One of his hands smoothed down her back until his palm rounded over her ass
. He squeezed her gently, and she closed her eyes, drinking in the sensation of his hands on her body.
“Kiss me, Cassidy.” His breath caressed her lips.
She couldn’t get any taller, so she pulled him down toward her. He exhaled as their lips got closer, and when she pressed hers to his, she drew in his breath as her own, filling her lungs with him.
True to form, a rush of lust overtook Cassidy. But everything about this was different. Rather than devour him, she wanted to savor him. Do all the things she knew drove him slowly crazy until he was groaning her name in a voice bordering on pain as he came inside her.
He seemed to be sharing the same sentiment. He lazily licked her bottom lip then sucked it into his mouth, rolling it between his teeth. At the same time, that palm on her ass kneaded in a slow, steady rhythm.
Her breathing hitched, and she wove her fingers into his hair, raking her nails across his scalp. He moaned, flicking his tongue against hers until she wanted to moan as well. She could taste the lingering bite of hops in his kiss. Too bad she couldn’t blame their beers on why she felt lightheaded.
He moved to nibble at the corner of her mouth, and her head fell back. Keeping one hand on her ass, Gage cradled the back of her head with his other palm. He pressed a trail of kisses along her jaw until he was nuzzling her ear.
He breathed her name, and every hair follicle on her body stood at attention. She tightened her arms to keep them from shaking. The sharp nip of his teeth on her ear sent a jolt through her, and she suddenly had to touch him everywhere or explode.
With him still holding her steady, she traced his chest with her palms, finding the ridged outline of his nipple piercings and giving them a quick flick with her fingertips. The result was a low growl in her ear, which only meant she did it again.
And again.
With a huff of breath, Gage lifted his palm from the curve of her ass and brought it back down with a smack.
She gasped then moaned, leaning up to press the edge of her teeth to his neck. She gave his nipple rings one more tweak, then continued down his abdomen, canting her hips back to allow her hands more room.
He was slowly licking her neck just beneath her ear when she cupped him through his jeans. He hissed in a breath, and in all the places they were pressed together, she felt his muscles bunch.
She stroked him, hard and hot. His dick was pinched in what had to be a painful way in the leg of his pants alongside his rigid thigh.
“Poor thing,” she murmured, tracing the ridge of the head through the denim seam.
“Mmm hmm.” Gage nipped her collarbone. “We should do something about that before loss of blood flow ruins our plans tonight.”
She smiled, her lips brushing against the soft fabric of his T-shirt. She gave him one last squeeze, then pulled away.
His eyes were shiny with lust as he gazed down at her. “Hey, where are you going?”
She reached for his hand. “Come with me.”
He jerked a nod, his breaths still making his chest billow. “Of course.”
There was so much trust in the simple statement, and for a moment, all the progress she had made since stepping into his arms disappeared.
Betraying him. Falling for him. Losing control of everything.
She swallowed hard and locked those thoughts away. She had this. She’d get control back. Figure everything out.
Just need to clear my head, first.
She turned and led him down the hall. As they neared her room, she felt the tension develop in his hand and arm where it brushed hers.
He’d figured out where she was taking him. They’d never had sex in the bedroom. The floor, yeah. The chairs and countertop, yes. Against the wall, door, window? Uh huh.
Never the bedroom.
What are you doing? Taking him to her personal space to fuck him was not going to give her the much-needed distance she required.
But she so badly wanted to see him spread out amid her pillows the way he had been last night when she’d sketched him—
She cut off that line of thought, too. Dangerous.
They walked into her room, and when she turned to face him, she was just in time to see his Adam’s apple bob under a hard swallow. He looked . . . nervous.
Makes two of us. Though why, Cassidy couldn’t tell. It was just a fuck, for Chrissake.
He dropped her hand and cupped her cheek. His thumb stroked her lips, and his gaze roved her face. “God, you’re beautiful.”
She nearly jolted. Beautiful? How many times had she used that word to describe Gage’s looks? She couldn’t count them all. She had several lovers under her belt. She knew she could be desirable. She also knew she was no slouch in the bedroom if the number of repeat requests were anything to go by.
But not one of the men she’d been with had ever called her beautiful. She shook her head. “Gage, don’t—” She cut off. Don’t lie to me? Don’t say things like that to me?
Don’t stop?
His other hand cupped her other cheek, and he stepped toward her. He traced the bridge of her nose with one thumb, the arch of her cheekbone with the other. “These freckles.” He smoothed the tips of his fingers over one of her eyebrows, and her eyes grew heavy lidded. “These eyes,” he said in a rumble.
He stroked her bottom lip again, and her tongue darted out to lick it. He groaned. “Fuck, this mouth.”
They both stilled at his words. They’d done pretty much everything imaginable to each other, but it’d all been as safe as possible. Other than the one time she’d given him oral sex over a condom, the intimacy of putting their mouths on each other was still something they’d avoided. They weren’t monogamous. Never would be. It would be a stupid risk, and neither of them were stupid about bedroom matters.
That didn’t stop her from wishing for it with every fiber of her being. A visual of his rich brown hair brushing the insides of her thighs as he licked her bare skin from opening to clit appeared suddenly in her mind, and she closed her eyes, shaken by how much she wanted that.
A similar image must have passed through Gage’s mind as well, because, with a soft groan, he pressed his thumb between her lips.
She opened her eyes and met his gaze. Deliberately, she closed her lips around his thumb and sucked.
His breath rasped out of him, and his eyes darkened. He tilted his head, and his eyes narrowed. He stepped closer to her, bringing their bodies into flush contact. She could feel his erection pulsing against her belly. Looping her thumbs through his belt loops, she pulled and ground against him, flicking her tongue against his thumb at the same time.
She was playing with fire, and she knew it. What’s more, if the expression on his face was any indication, he knew it, too.
He swore beneath his breath. “Want your mouth on me so badly.” He cupped the back of her head again, his thick fingers weaving through her riotous hair. “Suck it, Freckles.” He pressed his thumb deeper into her mouth. “Suck it hard for me.”
Her stomach panged with a desperate ache. She clutched at his hips and obeyed, drawing him across her tongue and savoring the saltiness of his skin. His other fingers ran along her cheek, and they flexed against her.
As she sucked, his hips began to rock, thrusting that cock she had grown addicted to up and over her belly. Between her legs, she was so swollen and wet she could hardly stand it.
He withdrew his thumb abruptly, her lips popping against it. With harsh breaths, he pressed his pointer and middle fingers against her lips. “Again, beautiful. Do it again.”
Her entire body flushed hot as she opened her lips around his fingers, licking and sucking them.
“Fuck.” His other hand was at her fly, and, uncharacteristically, his fingers fumbled as they tried to open her pants.
Her hands were there beside his in a shot. Her belt clicked loudly amid their frantic breathing. When her pants were undone, his fingers brushed over her stomach, which dipped in response.
“So soft.” He stroked the skin just bene
ath her belly button, and at the same time, he thrust his fingers against her tongue.
A coil tightened in her belly; she was a hair trigger away from coming already. The fingers against her stomach dipped lower, snagging the elastic of her panties and pulling it away from her body.
He began easing his fingers from her lips, but she wasn’t ready to let them go yet. She wrapped her hand around his wrist and sucked harder.
“Jesus,” he bit out. He fisted her panties. “Let me go, sweet thing. You’ll thank me for it, I promise.”
This time, when he began to ease out of her mouth, she reluctantly let him go. He rewarded her with a quick, heated kiss that lasted just long enough for him to thrust his tongue against hers twice before it ended.
Her lips felt swollen as she licked them, trying to catch every last trace of his taste, so she was distracted as he pulled at her panties again. When she felt the wet, slick fingers she’d licked pressing against her clit, however, she focused in the snap of an instant.
He wrapped the fingers of his other hand around the back of her neck and pulled her forward until their lips nearly brushed. “I may not be able to lick you here.” He circled his wet fingers over her clit. “But you can.”
Oh, fuck. Pleasure pinged from where his fingers pressed. She moaned something that sounded like his name and pressed a desperate kiss to his lips.
He opened his mouth to her as he began stroking her faster, and she didn’t pass up the opportunity to taste him deeper. Their tongues dueled as each pass of his fingers tightened the coil within her, the one that was already at the snapping point.
She pulled from the kiss, gasping. “Gage—”
“Come for me, then.” He pressed against her clit harder.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh, no.” The pleasure mounted until she grew almost afraid of it. Of what it would do to her when it broke.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured, kissing her cheek and kneading the back of her neck. He spread his fingers against her skin, cradling her clit between them and giving the lightest pinch.
It sent her soaring. She cried out as her sex started spasming and light shot behind her closed eyelids.
Stiff Competition Page 14
