Fascinated (Ocean Beach Book 2)

by Lea Hart

  “Lisa is hanging with her sister and Courtney, and since we spent the day together surfing, she was happy to get rid of me.”

  Jax let out a chuckle. “Didn’t think you two would last.”

  “Happy to prove you wrong, brother,” Ace replied as he signaled to the bartender for a beer. He slapped Caid on the back and grinned. “You ready to make your move?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Courtney isn’t dating that professor anymore, so…”

  Feeling his muscles tighten, he set his glass down slowly. “And when the hell did that happen?”

  “Not sure, man, but at least a week or two ago.”

  Jax punched Caid in the arm. “She’s not going to make this easy; that’s for damn sure.”

  “I visited her on Wednesday at the library and managed to get her to have a cup of coffee with me, and she didn’t say a damn thing about being free.”

  “Because she knew you’d pounce like a lion that hadn’t been fed in months,” Jax said as their burgers were delivered.

  Ace ordered his own and then leaned his elbow on the bar. “According to Lisa, the guy showed zero interest in getting into Court’s bedroom.”

  Caid wiped his mouth and leaned back. “How the fuck is that possible?”

  “Lisa kept calling him panda man, and I’m pretty sure that has something to do with his sex drive or lack thereof.”

  “That’s damn good news. I told Court she couldn’t give the man more than a kindergarten kiss and I’m relieved to see that things worked out as they should.”

  Jax coughed as his head swiveled around. “Can’t believe she let you get away with making a statement like that.”

  “Not sure I got away with anything since she just ignored me every time I said it.”

  “Well, brother, your time has come, and I suggest you tread lightly, so the chance you’ve been given isn’t wasted.”

  “Plan on it,” it said quietly. He picked up his burger and listened to Jax and Ace jaw about the upcoming exercise they had in the kill house and began formulating a plan that Courtney would be powerless to resist.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Courtney watched the sun begin its descent and decided the view from the ninth floor of the library was one of the best in the city. Hearing the faint echo of footsteps, she turned and felt her heartbeat speed up when she glimpsed Caid standing next to the glass cases.

  Begging the gods to help her with the unsolicited feelings he evoked, she told herself that he wasn’t going to make her lose control of her words or actions. No matter what his particular mix of special sauce did to her.

  Unfortunately, the confident way he cut across the floor suggested he knew the relationship with the professor had ended. Which meant there wasn’t anything standing between her and the mega-ton of determination headed her way. “What brings you to the rare book room on a Monday afternoon, Caid? Did a sudden desire to see the manuscript of The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam make you get in your truck on a Monday afternoon and fight downtown traffic?”

  “No, but the desire to see a certain brown-eyed beauty did. I came by to take my place at the front of the line and see if I can talk you into sharing a meal.”

  Running her hand along the smooth wood of the table that dominated the center of the room, she let out a little breath. “So, you know…”

  “Yes, and I’m a little disappointed that I had to hear it from my best friend and not you.”

  “I didn’t think it was appropriate.”

  “That’s bullshit, Court.”

  Feeling his frustration, she took a step back. “Caid…”

  “I know you’ve been throwing up roadblocks because the fire between us scares the shit out of you, but, babe, running isn’t the answer.”

  “I wasn’t running; I was merely…”

  “Hiding and praying I gave up and left you in peace?”

  “Sort of.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’m scared out of my fucking mind too. But there’s an inevitability about us that’s impossible to deny, so we might as well get to it and see how we do.”

  “We are not inevitable.”

  “I’m going to have to disagree because from the moment I saw your face, I knew that I’d let you ruin me, my life, and any hope of sanity I ever hoped to hold onto.”

  Breath catching, she pressed her hand into the table and took stock of his resolve.

  His gaze was direct, his expression guileless, and the tight tension in his brow suggested the time for denial had passed. “But…”

  “We’re not walking away from this.”

  “Even if we know that blowing ourselves up is a possibility?”

  “Absolutely.” He shoved his hand in his pocket and stepped closer. “The good news here is that we’re either going to have a love story for the ages or one so dark it will only be spoken about in whispers.”

  “How is that good news?’

  “Because neither one of us would be satisfied with less.”

  “Is there a third option?”

  “Not likely.” Glancing around the empty room, he smiled. “Seems we have the place to ourselves.”

  “It’s almost time for me to close the room, so…” Seeing his hand move to her face, she tilted her chin up. “Really, Caid, you should…”

  “Kiss you?” he replied as his wide finger stroked the curve of her jaw.

  A full tremble racked her body, and she silently prayed he’d think it was because of the air conditioning. When a satisfied smile curved his lips, she knew there wasn’t a chance.

  “Now.”

  Before she could come up with a protest, his mouth lightly touched hers, and the ensuing electrical shock told her that all the things she feared were true.

  Caid Adams was going to ruin her.

  And it might not take more than the gentlest, sweetest, most devastating kiss he was currently bestowing on her lips. Pulling away, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “I…”

  “Want to run?”

  “Yes!”

  “I know you’ve got a ton of bravery and I think now is a good time to use it.” Taking their clasped hands, he pressed them against his heart. “Do you feel how crazy my heartbeat is?”

  “Yes.”

  “That should let you know we’re in the same scary boat, babe.”

  “What does that matter if we’re on the Titanic and destined to sink?”

  “At least having a SEAL as a partner just about guarantees your survival.”

  Tipping her head against his chest, she felt a burst of emotion clog her throat. “Caid…”

  “I know, Court.”

  Feeling his hand on her chin, she lifted her face slowly and watched his mouth land firmly on hers as his hips pressed into her stomach. Aggressive in his approach, he knotted her hair in his fist and kissed her until the arguments in her head receded, and her breath all but disappeared.

  Pulling away, she blinked several times. “We shouldn’t…”

  “The only protest I’m going to accept is that kissing at work isn’t a good idea.”

  “Caid…”

  “No, Court, it’s time, and all your overthinking isn’t going to change that.”

  “Want to make a bet?”

  “Sure,” he replied with a grin. “Because that’s easy money.”

  Letting out a frustrated groan, she stepped back. “You shouldn’t be so smug.”

  “Confidence isn’t a bad thing, and you’re just mad because that kiss we just shared stripped away all the lies you’ve been telling yourself.”

  She pursed her lips and then shrugged. “You don’t know anything.”

  “I know that kiss shouted, hell yeah!”

  “I…”

  “Want to have dinner with me and tell me every little detail about your life?”

  “No!” Stepping back, she dug her hand into her pocket. “You need to go. It’s time for me to lock up, and I can’t be distracted by your dan
gerous mouth a second longer.” An indecent smile lit up his face, and she rolled her eyes. “What I meant was…”

  “You can’t wait to kiss me again.”

  “Go!”

  “Fine, I’ll head downstairs and wait for you at the employee exit. Think about where you want me to take you for supper.”

  “I’m not…”

  “You really want to test my resolve?”

  “Not particularly,” she replied with a sigh. “But I have an errand that I need to run, so I’m unavailable this evening.”

  “What kind of errand?”

  “I have to take my car by the mechanic because it was making a weird sound this morning.”

  “We can do it together.”

  “No, thank you.”

  “I don’t want you to be in a car that’s not mechanically sound.”

  “I don’t want to blow-dry my hair every day. Not every dream we have is possible.”

  He crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “Fine, if you want to waste thirty minutes arguing, we can, but know the end result will be the same and I’ll be going with you.”

  “Is this your charming side?”

  “No, this is my take care of shit side, and it’s best you get used to it, so we don’t have to have three-hundred and forty fights about it.”

  “I was thinking the number would be closer to the five-hundred mark.”

  “Then I guess that makes me the optimist in this relationship.”

  She blew out a long breath and waved her hands. “How come I feel like yelling whenever we’ve spent more than twenty minutes together?”

  “Would saying it’s because you’re sexually frustrated and want to get at me be an acceptable answer?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Thought it was worth a shot.” He kissed her cheek and nodded. “See you in a few.”

  She watched him smile as he walked backward and recognized there was little she could do to avoid Caid and his crazy fascination. Inserting her key, she watched the metal gate roll down and knew there was a little part of her that didn’t really want to.

  Which proved she might very well be the one who needed to have her sanity checked.

  ***

  Caid knew that Court was at level ten irritated and wished he would’ve handled the whole car thing a little differently. Watching her knock firmly on Lisa’s door made him wonder if she was envisioning his head. When she slid him a side-eye and frowned, he knew she absolutely was.

  The door swung open, and he gave Lisa a wide smile. “Surprise.”

  “Do I want to know how the two of you ended up together?”

  “No, you do not,” Courtney replied as she pushed her way in.

  “Hey, babe, good to see you,” Caid said before kissing Lisa on the cheek and walking in. “Smells great in here.”

  “Thanks,” Lisa replied. “We’re making dinner; do you two want to stay?”

  “Of course,” Caid responded as he sat down on the couch. “We’d love to. I was going to take Court out, but we can do that tomorrow.”

  “We are not going out tomorrow. I just got out of a relationship and don’t need to jump back into the fire.”

  Caid crossed his arms and snorted. “That wasn’t a damn relationship; that was you dating a man because he fit some stupid picture in your head.”

  “I’m not debating what the professor and I had together, and what the hell do you know about relationships anyway?”

  “Not much, but even I know there has to be more than polite grade-school kissing if it’s anything worth holding onto.”

  Courtney crossed her arms and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I’m going to ignore you because, if I don’t, then I may be forced to do something I could possibly go to jail for.”

  Caid shrugged carelessly. “Which tells me once again that you already feel more for me than that stupid panda man.”

  “Drinks!” Lisa called out. “I’ll get us some.”

  Caid watched Lisa walk into the kitchen and then glanced over, seeing exasperation etched into every single one of Court’s beautiful features. Moving closer, he took her hand. “Any idea how long your mad is going to last?”

  “A good long while since you haven’t listened to anything I’ve said for the last hour and a half.”

  “I don’t think…” seeing Lisa and Ace walk in with drinks, he swallowed the rest of his words. “We can talk about it later.” He accepted a beer from his friend along with a sympathetic smile. “Thanks.”

  Lisa handed Courtney a glass of wine and took a chair facing the couch. “So…”

  “Caid stopped by the library and gave me a ride home since my car wouldn’t start. It was towed to the mechanic, and I should have it back in a couple of days. And since he thinks he was my knight in shining armor, he’s decided to attach himself to my side, even though I could’ve called an Uber.”

  “Ubers are not safe, babe. We already went round that argument twenty-five times, and I imagine one more time isn’t going to make a difference.”

  Courtney rolled her eyes and then drank half her glass down. “I’m not even going to respond.”

  “Because you know I’m right.”

  Lisa cleared her throat and leaned forward. “Ace and I are moving in together.”

  “No shit,” Caid said as he sat up. “Congratulations.”

  Ace tipped his beer bottle against Caid’s and grinned. “Can’t believe it, but I’m not going to question the blessing.”

  Courtney moved away from Caid and sat forward. “That’s a lovely thing to say, Ace. It shows how much you care for my best friend and value the relationship you have.”

  “That’s what I said, babe.”

  Courtney turned her head slowly and raised an eyebrow. “You go ahead and cling to that lie and let me know how long you can hold onto it before reality snatches it out of your grasp.”

  Caid slapped his leg and let out a loud bark of laughter. “God damn, I like you.”

  “Please, don’t,” Courtney replied before draining her wine glass.

  “Caid, did you know that Courtney is an in-demand research consultant for authors?”

  “As a matter of fact, I didn’t, Lisa, since she has only given me the barest of facts.”

  “It’s true. Not only is she the most popular librarian, but she’s also the secret sauce to many New York Times bestsellers.”

  “Why are you talking about me like you’re trying to sell me on the Home Shopping Network?” Courtney asked.

  “I’m not,” Lisa replied as she looked over at Ace.

  “That’s really cool, Court. What’s your latest project?”

  “I’m working with an author who writes thrillers, and I’m researching how fluorine can be used to destroy cells. The antagonist in his novel is a chemist, so his access to acids is wide.”

  Caid shivered and moved closer. “I better make sure I keep you just this side of wanting to murder me ‘cause you know way too much.”

  “You’d be wise not to irritate me.”

  “Kind of too late for that, babe.”

  Ace sat up and picked up his beer bottle. “We should get dinner in the oven.”

  Lisa stood and picked up her glass. “We’ll be back in a bit.”

  Caid watched the couple walk back into the kitchen and turned. “You want to try and make it through a meal without stabbing me with a fork or just head out, so you can yell at me for my transgressions in private?”

  Courtney stood and shook her head. “I’m going home.”

  “Okay, so that’s yelling first?”

  “I didn’t invite you.”

  He watched her stomp toward the door and silently let out a groan, knowing he had a tiger by the tail and any hope of them starting off their relationship peacefully had flown out the door. Heaving himself off the couch, he walked toward the kitchen to make their excuses and hoped that Lisa might have a word of advice.

  Or ten, since he clearly needed all the help he
could get.

  ***

  Courtney smoothed out her T-shirt and then pushed her braid over her shoulder before walking out of her bedroom. Feeling calmer after her shower, she let out a long breath and made her way into the kitchen and immediately kissed whatever peace she’d achieved goodbye. “Breaking and entering is illegal.”

  “Not if you’ve set the table for dinner and had the best Indian food in the county delivered.”

  “Caid, I’m too tired to wrangle with you and…”

  “I know I screwed up and I’m sorry.” Standing slowly, he opened his arms. “Can we have supper together?”

  Dropping her shoulders, she let out a sigh and felt his big arms embrace her in a tight hug.

  “Right after supper, you can yell at me for all the sins I committed, and then we can kiss and make up.”

  She rested her head against his chest and knew it was a bad idea. Unfortunately, her body wasn’t interested in the whole good/bad distinction and just wanted to curl into his and relax, which made her desire to do some real harm to him confusing as hell.

  “You ready for a glass of wine and some samosas?”

  “I guess…” Feeling him press a kiss to her head, she let out a breath and watched him step back.

  “We also have chicken vindaloo and lamb pasanda, along with rice, dal, raita, and naan.”

  “It sounds delicious enough for me to forgive you for picking my lock and making yourself at home.”

  “That lock is a joke, by the way, and I’ll be changing it tomorrow and installing something a lot more substantial.”

  She rolled her eyes and pulled out her chair. “You shouldn’t make pronouncements like that because it makes me want to do unspeakable things to you.”

  He waited until she was seated and took his own chair. “Any chance those unspeakable things include sexual favors?”

  “No,” she replied as she opened a carton. “They’re more along the lines of maiming and dismembering.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Looking up, she saw his wide smile and couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t even come up with a response.” She watched him lean across her small kitchen table and held her breath. “What?”

  “Maybe we should have a little kiss now, so we can get back on the right track.”