Against Her Odds: when dedication meets desire (4 page)

Cason sat down to a lunch of warmed over
pot roast and vegetables and started eating quickly. The sooner he got through
with it, the sooner he could call Valerie.

They’d left things a little strangely after
the batting cage date, but things had smoothed back out since then and the
thought of seeing her brought a smile to his face even as he shook his head at
himself. Seeing her these past few weeks had left him acting like a teenager.
He’d had an idea while he worked and he couldn’t wait to see how she felt about
it.

They’d gone out consistently for the past
five Saturday nights and she usually came over on Wednesday nights too and
watched a movie with him. He remembered what she’d said about dating him only
casually and he was trying not to get too attached to her, but it was hard.
Talking to her was fun and challenging and kissing her was damn near addictive.
It was getting harder and harder not to fall for her.

He thought back to the look of delighted
surprise on her pretty face when he’d showed up at the station with flowers
when she got what she called a prime assignment, interviewing some guy about a
new airstrip being built at the edge of town. It was supposed to bring a lot of
jobs to the community. Cason was only happy that she was happy.

Once he’d swallowed down the last bite of
his hasty lunch he dialed her number. She’d told him that she had the day off,
but there was always the chance that she’d been called in. That had happened
during their last Wednesday night date right when he had her underneath him on
the couch. The only good thing about that night was that she’d seemed just as
sorry to leave as he was to see her go.

“Val Turner,” she said out of habit when
her phone rang, even though she knew that it was Cason.

“Cason McDaniel,” he said, making his own
voice serious and professional. “I called to ask about the possibility of
seeing the well known and extremely famous Ms. Turner this afternoon.”

“She’s not sure she can see you,” Val said,
making her voice airy and slightly snooty. “She’s a very busy lady, Mr.
McDaniel.”

“Well, how about if I settle for you then?
You sound kind of sexy.”

Val giggled, losing her hold on the façade.
“I guess that could work. This afternoon though? Not tonight?”

“Nope,” Cason said firmly. “I was thinking
in about half an hour.”

“What are we going to do?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,
Blondie.”

“Luckily for you, I like a mysterious
gentleman.” She stood up and then glanced down at herself. “Can we make it an
hour? I need to change.”

“Only if you tell me what you’re wearing
right now,” he said, and she could hear the sinful smile in his voice.

“Jeans and a tee shirt.”

“In that case, you can’t change.”

“But you said--”

“I’m not always a gentleman. Come on, I’ve
never seen you in jeans. I want to know if it matches the picture in my head.”
She was silent, so he sweetened the deal with some flattery. “The picture looks
damn good.”

“Okay fine.” She was nervous about it, but
she was also really comfortable in her ratty old clothes. Anyway, if he dumped
her over an outfit, it would prove once and for all that she needed to be more
focused on her career.

“See you soon.”

She hung up and stuffed her phone down into
her pocket, making sure that the ringer was turned to full volume before she
did so. Cason was waiting for her on the front porch when she arrived.

He gave her a hug the minute her sneakers
touched the porch steps and she snuggled in against his chest for just a moment
before she smiled up at him.

“So?” she asked. “What are we doing?”

“I’ll show you in just a second. First, let
me check this out.” He spun her in a circle and then gave her a smile. “I like
it. Is that paint on these jeans?”

“Yeah,” she said self consciously. “I
helped Becky paint her living room in them a few months ago.”

“Her living room is purple?” Cason
questioned, eyeing the stain on the back of her thigh.

“It’s an accent wall,” Val said
defensively. “And it was my idea. It looks great.”

“I believe you, darlin’,” he said quickly.
“I bet it looks just as good on her wall as it looks on you.”

“It certainly does,” Val confirmed, linking
her fingers through his. She liked his hands. They were so rough from all the
work that he did, and yet somehow they were still so gentle against her skin.

“So, you want to see what you drove all the
way out here for?” he asked.

“I thought I was seeing it,” she teased as
she glanced at him. He looked really good today. He looked good every day actually,
but she hadn’t seen him in over a week because she’d picked up several stories
and he’d taken a weekend trip out to see his parents.

His tan had deepened in the summer sun and
his medium brown hair was lightening up to a dark blonde. She hadn’t thought
that his looks could have improved, but this had proved her wrong. He’d
forgotten to shave for the past few days as well, and that only enhanced his
looks further. The stubble accented his strong jaw line very well and it made
her want to press her lips to it.

“If this is what you’re looking for, then
I’m more than happy to give it to you,” he assured her. “But I actually had
something planned.”

“Then lead on,” she said, expecting to go
back down to his truck. She was surprised when he took her into the house and
tugged her toward the staircase.

“Just trust me,” Cason said with a laugh
when he saw her doubtful expression. “We both know what a gentleman I am. I
only made you spin around for me once out there, and believe me Blondie, it
wasn’t nearly enough.”

Since that was true, she followed him up
the stairs and into his bedroom. She’d never seen it before. As if they were
still teenagers, they did all their kissing on the couch. Now, as she walked
in, she knew that she’d been missing out on more than just sex.

“Cason! This bedroom is amazing,” she
breathed as she looked around at it.

“I told you,” he said with a shrug. “My mom
decorated like a crazy person and my dad was a good builder in his spare time.
All the rooms look nice, but this one is my favorite.”

“I can see why.” The hardwood floors were a
medium tone, hovering between dark and light in a way that was perfect with the
neutral tones of the rest of the room. His bedding was white and there were two
gray blankets folded on the top of the down comforter. There was a soft rug
beside the bed that she could imagine would feel amazing on bare feet first
thing in the morning. The exposed beams of the ceiling were painted a cream
that contrasted with the lovely gray of the walls. It was all set off beautifully
with a huge bay window with an upholstered gray window seat. “Wow. I don’t
think I’d ever leave this room.”

He gave her a smile. “Good to hear.”

She found herself drifting toward the stack
of books and a steaming mug of tea beside the window seat. Her eyebrows shot up
when she saw that they were all from her wish list on the blog she wrote
intermittently. It only had about 5 followers, and she hadn’t known he had even
paid attention when she’d told him about it a few dates back.

“You haven’t had much time to relax,” he
said when turned to look at him. “I know you’re not working today and it’s nice
and rainy,” he gestured at the window where a light rain fell.

“There’s no better time or place to sit and
read. So, I guess it’s not really a date, but I thought you’d like it.”

Her heart melted.

“Cason, this is the nicest thing anyone has
ever done for me,” she said honestly. “Thank you.”

He walked across the room and put his arms
around her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“Anytime. Enjoy it, okay?”

“Where are you going?” she asked in
surprise.

“Now you know that a cowboy’s work is never
done, darlin’,” he said, leaning down and kissing her neck before heading out.

Val allowed a huge smile to come over her
face at the thought of spending the whole afternoon doing nothing other than
reading anything that she wanted to. She’d finally have something to put on her
blog! She curled up in the corner of the window seat and took a book from the
top of the stack. It was a slim volume; the latest offering from her favorite
mystery author. She flicked past the title page and instantly fell into a
different world.

When the book was done and the tea was
gone, she stood and stretched. She couldn’t see Cason from this side of the
house, so she walked down the stairs to the kitchen, which had windows that
looked out over the barns and the pasture. She watched him walk across the
yard, his head down, rain cascading off of the brim of his hat. When had it
started to rain harder? She thought back and vaguely remembered hearing the
rain move from a gentle patter to a pounding deluge right around the time that
the mystery was at a particularly tense moment. He’d be soaked to the skin by
now. She was glad that the weather was warm, but she still felt bad that he had
to be out in it.

Suddenly he glanced at the windows and saw
her standing there. He raised his hand in a wave and she waved back. He smiled
at her and walked on to the barn. Val leaned against the counter, wondering
what it would be like to be here all the time. To know that Cason was out there
working, that he would come in for supper at the same time he always did, that
she could take the time to read and maybe even write. She’d loved to write in
school and her grades had proven that she was good at it. That window seat
would be the perfect place to craft a story.

She pushed herself away from the windows
quickly. There was no point in going down this road again. It was like her
father had always said, she could make up a story or she could tell a real one.
It had been clear to her as he spoke that what he did was better. What she did
was for a grade in English class. What he did was for the edification of the
world at large. Val poured another cup of tea and walked back up the stairs
where she opened another book and began to read, determined to shake away
unpleasant memories.

“Hey there,” Cason said from the bedroom
doorway a few hours later.

Val looked up at him in surprise. “Is it
already dark?” she asked, bringing her gaze back from far away. She had clearly
been deeply immersed in the story and he’d never wanted to kiss her more.

“Gettin’ there,” he said, clicking the
bedside lamp on. “Didn’t your mama ever tell you that you’d ruin your eyes
reading in the dark?”

“She tried,” Val admitted. “You’re soaking
wet.”

“Yeah.” Cason made a face and pulled his
wet shirt away from his rain slicked skin.

Val was briefly disappointed, but the shirt
stuck right back in its original location so that was all right. How had she
never know exactly how sculpted his upper body was? He had an actual six pack.
She’d never been with a guy who did before, with all her indoor-guy dating.

“I’m going to get into the shower and warm
up real quick before supper,” he said apologetically. “Give you some more time
with that book.”

“Okay.” She watched him walk away. Those
broad shoulders were hard to miss, but she hadn’t realized how much muscle
there was in the rest of his long back. It slid under his skin in a very
distracting way as he pulled the bathroom door open. She officially had it bad.
Which wasn’t a surprise. Every one of his kisses left her desperate to tumble
into bed with him.

Val tried to delve back into her book, but
she heard the water come on in the en suite bathroom and instantly began to
picture it sluicing over his body. She bit her thumbnail absentmindedly. It
certainly looked good in her head. What was she waiting for anyway?

She went over her reasons again, but they’d
pretty much lost all meaning. Sure, she wasn’t ever going to be able to be serious
with him. And yes, they’d have to go their separate ways at some point. But
damn it, she wasn’t making things better by ignoring what she knew would be
amazing sex.

Cason stepped out of the bathroom dressed
in dry clothes and drying his hair with a blue towel, giving her a slightly
embarrassed smile.

“Sorry about that,” he began as he walked
over to where she was sitting and tugged her to her feet. “I bring you over
here and ignore you all day and then--”

His words were cut off by her lips.

“So, I reckon this means that you liked my
idea?” he asked breathlessly a few seconds later.

“Very much,” Val informed him honestly.
“But right now, I’m in the mood for something a little more physical.”

“Oh yeah, Blondie?”

“Oh yeah.”

Cason didn’t want to hope for too much, but
that sure was a sexy look in her eyes. He’d been careful to stop when she
wanted to stop in the past, but she always wanted to stop well before he did.
He was dying to have her skin against his, to hear her gasp in pleasure as he
took her over the edge with him.

“I don’t know how far I want this to go,”
Val began.

“You and your disclaimers,” Cason said,
running his thumb over her full lower lip tenderly. “How about if I just let
you do the drivin’? Stop where you wanna stop, but don’t feel like you have to
put on the brakes anytime soon.”

“That’s pure poetry, Cowboy,” Val answered,
tugging his shirt up and off in one smooth motion. “So is this, by the way.”

She followed the curves and planes of his
muscular upper body with long, slow sweeps of her hands. She loved the way his
skin felt under her palms. He was warm from the shower and he smelled like a
combination of mint and forest.

“I do what I can.” He leaned down, pressing
his lips to the curve of her neck where he knew she loved to be kissed. “You
taste so good, darlin’.”

Val’s eyes slid closed as he began a sheer
exploitation of every sensitive spot on her neck. She was supposed to be doing
the driving, but she discovered that she couldn’t do anything but stand there
and let him tease her to a nearly fevered pitch.

Cason felt her hands tighten on his
shoulders as the rest of her body began to go soft and pliable against his. He
drew his hands down her back, catching the edge of her tee shirt and
whispering, “Turn about is fair play.”

She nodded and he skimmed the shirt over
her head.

“Good God,” he muttered almost reverently
as he looked down at her perfect breasts close to spilling out of her pink and
white lace bra. They were better than he’d pictured them, and he’d done an
awful lot of picturing them. “You are one beautiful woman, Blondie.”

She shivered under the hungry look in his
eyes. She knew that there wasn’t going to be any stopping. This was too
perfect.

“Cason,” she whispered, trailing her
fingers down to the button on his jeans, relishing the way the smallest touch
made his body flex with tension.

“Yeah?”

“Take me to bed.”

He pulled her close, feeling the lace of
her bra scrape against his chest as he buried his hands in her long blonde
hair, tumbling it and tangling it as he kissed her. “You don’t know how long
I’ve been waiting to hear you say that.”

She lowered his zipper tentatively and when
her fingers found him he groaned against her lips. He’d wanted to drag this
out, to have her in all the ways he’d been imagining having her, but he didn’t
think that he could stand waiting now. Her jeans fell to the floor beside his
and they were tumbling onto his soft comforter before Val knew it.

“The...” She had to stop when he moved over
her, bracing his weight on his elbows and lowering his lips to her neck once
more. The feel of his body pressed fully to hers nearly took her breath away,
especially when she felt his length pressing insistently at the very center of
her. She wanted nothing more than to arch up into him and feel him sink deep,
but she’d realized something. “Wait.”

“What’s wrong, darlin’?”

“The light is still on,” she said, suddenly
a little shy.

Cason wouldn’t have cared if they were
outside in broad daylight, but he got up and turned the light off, plunging the
room into the dying light of a summer evening rainstorm. Val turned back the
covers and he slid in next to her, tracing his fingers down the smooth skin of
her neck to her pretty breasts.

“Better?” he asked, and she could hear the
teasing smile in his voice.

She caught his hand and raised it to her
lips, kissing each rough fingertip gently. “Perfect.”

“Hell, I haven’t even got started yet.”

He shifted so that he was braced over her
again and kissed his way down her neck as he slid slowly into her heat. Cason
couldn’t help but groan at the perfect way her body fit him. He was pleased to
hear her echo the sound as her head fell back against the pillow.

“Oh Cason,” she whispered. “I've wanted
this for so long.”

“You’re telling me,” he answered, leaning
forward as he began to thrust, so that every stroke sent her closer to the
edge.

Val clutched his shoulders and tilted her
hips to take him deeper. He pressed his face against her neck, breathing in her
scent as he moved over her. He'd driven himself crazy imagining what it would
be like to have her and now that it was happening, he realized that he hadn't
even come close to how good it was. More than good. It felt right to have her
in his arms, to have her body arch against him while she whispered his name.

There was no point in kidding himself
anymore. She wasn’t casual to him. He met her lips with more force, catching
her moans and gasps when he moved faster. Suddenly her body went tense
underneath his and her nails dug into his shoulders as she called out his name.
He drew back to watch a flash of amazed pleasure in her eyes as she came around
him.

“Cason,” she whispered. “God, you feel so
good.”

Once her body had relaxed a bit he rolled
over, settling her on top of him and drawing her down for a kiss before she
could protest.

“I love the way you move, Blondie,” he
said, his voice a deep pleasured rasp.

It was a hard argument to resist so she sat
back up, her insecurities falling away as he groaned with pleasure at each
movement of her hips.

“Just like that, darlin’.”

His hands rested on her hips as she moved
on him and she was surprised to find her body tensing up again. Maybe it was
her unimpeded view of his sexy body that was pushing her toward the edge again.
The low summer light that was fading across the room showed her every flex of
his body and she couldn’t resist sweeping her hands down his chest once more.

This time when she came, he came with her
and when the tremors had subsided, he rolled over and pulled her against him,
kissing the top of her head as he caught his breath.

“Damn Blondie,” he said after a moment.
“That was sure as hell worth the wait.”

She snuggled in against him with a nod. “I
can’t believe I waited so long to do this.”

“I’ll let you slide,” he teased. “As long
as you don’t let it happen again.”

She gave him a sarcastic salute and then
closed her eyes, tired from the sheer amount of pleasure he’d given her. As she
slept he held her close, running his fingers through her hair and wondering
what to do.

For the first time, he realized that they
might want different things out of their relationship. For the first time, he
realized that he actually wanted a relationship with her. With a sigh, Cason
rolled over onto his back and Val cuddled against his side, reaching for him
even in her sleep.

He wouldn’t say anything yet. But he knew
himself well enough to know that, at some point, he was going to have to be
honest with her and take the risk of losing what they had.