Getting Rough (6 page)

She stopped and turned toward me. “You said that before, too, and I told you I wasn’t. You, however, never answered any of my questions. Why are you here, Shaw?”

The caveman imagery popped into my head again, the weight of that proverbial club on my shoulder begging me to knock her unconscious so I could steal her away. I’d gone in search of her to put an end to the raging boner in my pants, which was what had led me to the spot I now occupied. But I don’t think that was what she meant.

“Denver told me he’d offered you the contract first, but you turned it down and told him to give it to me instead.”

Cassidy shrugged. “So?”

My jaw ticked as I recalled my annoyance, and I wanted to punish her all over again. Not verbally. Not physically. Sexually. “So you’d just found out about my past. It looked like —”

I saw the proverbial lightbulb illuminate behind her eyes. “Like I was giving it to you?”

I wanted to give it to her. “Right.”

She put her hand on my chest to stop my forward momentum, which I hadn’t even been aware of. But she didn’t push me away. No, she raised that self-righteous chin and placed her hands on those curvy hips, so that her sweater tightened at the shoulders and accentuated her breasts. Her voice was low, sensual. “You should’ve known better.”

She was right.

“I’m too competitive to give anything away unless it will benefit me and my end goal. I’d won that contract fair and square and earned the right to rub it in your face, and would have if my family hadn’t needed me back here.”

Oh, she’d rubbed something in my face, all right. Or rather, I’d rubbed my face in something. The problem was that I’d been left unsatisfied. The denim cage imprisoning my engorged cock was only barely containing it.

“Some things are more important than a partnership. Even a partnership I’d worked so hard for. But that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Cassidy’s sweet breath was inches from my face.

She wanted an explanation? Fine, I’d give it to her. “I went through a lot to make sure nobody ever found out where I’d come from because I didn’t want anyone to pity me. I never took a handout, never asked for help, never depended on anyone to take care of me because I was determined to make my own way. And I was proud that I’d been able to do so. When it looked like you were making me your charity case, it was like you were tearing down everything
I’d
worked so hard for with one blow. I was pissed.”

“So you flew three thousand miles to tell me off?” That smart mouth of hers had been the puppeteer to my cock since the first day I’d met her. The effect was magnified times infinity now that I’d had her, and even more so in that instant because I’d been left unsatisfied moments earlier. Christ, everything that made me a man ached to be inside her.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Hearing myself saying it out loud like that really made me sound like an idiot.

“Wow.” She took my hand, toying with my fingers in a way that was sensual and maybe a little too intimate, but I liked it. “That’s dedication to the cause.”

“I’m nothing if not dedicated.” It was the truth, though I don’t think either one of us was buying the excuse in this situation.

We were both silent then. The entire journey here, I’d thought of how this confrontation of sorts was going to go, and this was not it. Yelling, name-calling, bulging forehead veins, accusations, lots of swearing, and maybe even flying objects had been the expectation. But here we were, close yet not close enough, voices even, heads cool, and tempers calm. I didn’t want to tear her limb from limb. I wanted those limbs wrapped around me while I moved inside her.

“So do it.” Her fingers were now playing with the hair at the nape of my neck, making me even more insane. And hard.

I closed my eyes. Just for a second to catch up with the conversation we were apparently still having. “Do what?”

Cassidy leaned closer, whispering in my ear, “Tell me off.”

Her breath on my neck, I could feel the tingly goosebumps rising to the surface to hijack my flesh. That tingling sensation traveled the nervous system superhighway to find a permanent residence inside my too-tight jeans, shacking up with my balls and cock as roommates. Goddammit, the woman was too close, too fuckable.

Once again, I hadn’t realized I’d been positioning myself, positioning her. Cassidy’s back was pressed to yet another wall. Or was it a bookcase? Maybe it was the corner of a wall and bookcase. Either way, my hands on each side of her would make damn sure she wouldn’t escape, not that she was trying to. When Cassidy’s grip tightened on the front of my shirt and her soft lips brushed my neck, it dawned on me that maybe the whole setup hadn’t been me at all; it had been her.

“I’d rather get you off,” I said, inhaling the soft scent of her hair. Jesus, the pulse of my cock was as thick as the anticipation in the air.

Her teeth tugged at my earlobe in time with the tug of her fingers on my hair. “You did that already. Twice.”

I grinned because yeah, she was obviously good to go again. “Third time’s a charm.”

I pushed my knee between hers, forcing her legs to part so my confined cock could make contact with the warmth of her center. Fuck me, but I could feel her all the way through my fucking jeans. By some cosmic chance, we’d somehow found ourselves back in the same position as earlier. Maybe this time the universe would see fit to allow a happy ending for me.

“We can’t. Not here.” Cassidy arched her back, rubbing herself on me. She didn’t mean a fucking word of what she’d said, and that was just fine by me.

“Why? Are you afraid your boyfriend will catch us?”

Her hands went to my ass, kneading me and pulling me closer. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Someone should probably tell him that.”

Before she could say anything more, I kissed her. I didn’t want to talk about Lobster Casey. I didn’t want to talk about Quinn, Sasha, Demi, Denver, or that fucking contract. I didn’t want to talk at all. It was my turn to get a little come action, but I saw no reason why I couldn’t get Cassidy off again while I was at it. Yeah, I was that fucking generous.

The forward roll of my hips lifted her up to ride my thighs while my mouth got busy at her neck. The metal of my zipper against my cock was like making out with a washboard, but it was a good sort of pain when it brought her that much pleasure. Cassidy held on, her fingers digging into my shoulders, her hips moving in time with mine as she used me for her own gratification.

Her heavy breathing was at my ear, a small moan like a plea she was trying desperately to keep quiet. I palmed her thighs, moving my hands higher to the cheeks of her ass to bring her closer. The new angle must have been much more preferable because Cassidy’s undulation became so wild that I had to brace one hand on the wall behind her to steady us both.

My mouth latched on to her neck and I sucked at her skin. Cassidy yanked away, denying me the mark I’d attempted, which only made me want it more. It was stupid. I knew it was, but I’d seen the way her little boyfriend looked at her. He still wanted her, but she was mine. And to prove it, I was going to make her come so hard she screamed, right under the very same roof where he was doing who the fuck cared what as long as he heard her.

“Shaw…” Her whisper was followed by a moan. “I’m going to —”

“I know,” I told her. “I want to hear you.”

She kissed me, her hips pressing forward and with even more purpose. I met her grind with an urgency of my own, needing her to get off so I could finally let the ache in my loins go. I didn’t give a damn about the chafing, I didn’t care who might walk in, I didn’t even mind the fact that we were both still wearing all of our clothes and this was going to be a very messy situation by the time we were done. I just wanted to fucking come already.

Cassidy’s moan started low, but she was still kissing me, and I’d meant it when I’d said I wanted to hear her. So I pulled back from the kiss, nearly jizzing all over myself when I saw the look on her face. Her eyes were closed, bottom lip caught between her teeth, brow smoothed as her head fell back and she continued to ride me. And then the grip that she had on my shoulders tightened to a painful sting when she pulled me to her, burying her face against my neck and ear as she came so hard I could feel the wetness seep through her leggings and the thick material of my jeans.

The best sight in the entire world was that of a woman achieving orgasm because I’d fucking done that for her. And then Cassidy slowly opened those shamrock greens to look at me and made me rethink all of that. It wasn’t any woman. It was this woman.

Fuck.

“Your turn,” she said with a mischievous, albeit very satisfied, smile.

“Goddamn right, it is,” I told her.

Planting my feet, I pinned her to the corner between the wall and bookcase, and then tilted her body at an angle that was favorable for my stroke. A stroke that would hopefully be less mosh-and-slam and more bump-and-grind on my highly sensitive man parts.

Oh, my God, but she felt so good. I was all ready to shoot my load before she started kissing my neck, but then she did that little suckle thing and I thought for a second she might actually be trying to mark me, which made my fucking dick even harder because, yeah, someone was going to notice that. With any luck, that someone would be Lobster Casey, and he’d have to put two and two together, inevitably figuring out that me plus Cassidy equaled he’d never be fucking her again.

But then Cassidy moved to a different spot. Maybe she hadn’t been trying to mark me at all. I, however, was still trying to get off. I could feel the percolation down deep in my boys, building and building. A couple more strokes was all it would take to…

The sound of the door sliding open was like a sadistic dominatrix grabbing my shit to put the halt on my release.

“Hey, Cass…” came a voice that belonged to neither Cassidy nor myself.

Why, universe? Why do you hate me?
I mentally shouted to the cosmos.

Cassidy’s buck and shove was enough to make me drop her to her feet and back away just in time for Casey to step into the room. He pulled up short when he saw that she wasn’t alone. The once-over he gave me, coupled with that ticking jaw was proof enough that he knew what was up. No doubt our flushed cheeks and heavy breathing were dead giveaways.

A victorious grin tugged at the corner of my mouth even though I really wanted to slam his face into the wall for cock-blocking me yet again. Damn. Did the man have built-in radar to detect when a dude was about to get off on his girl or what?

A very flustered Cassidy attempted to cover the bust with a forced smile and too sweet greeting. “Hey! What’s up, Case?”

Cock-block Casey wasn’t fooled. I prepared myself for the brawl I knew was about to ensue, almost welcoming it because yeah, I wanted the chance to get a shot or two in as well. But I was surprised when he turned his daggered glare away from me, and instead looked at the unoccupied space to his left.

“Mom wanted me to tell you it’s time to get dinner started.” It was as if he couldn’t bear to look at Cassidy when he spoke to her. “She’s in the kitchen.” With that, he turned and walked out.

“Shit,” Cassidy mumbled under her breath.

I’d rarely heard her curse. She only ever did so when she was pissed at me, and even then, I’d really been pushing her buttons. Clearly, this was an issue for her. Feeling the painful throb of my still-disgruntled cock, it was an issue for me as well. Though for a different reason, I was sure.

Cassidy fixed her clothes and made to walk past me without a word. That just wasn’t okay, so I grabbed her by the elbow to stop her in her tracks.

“You’re just going to leave me like this again?”

She glanced down at the very obvious bulge in my jeans and smiled. This time, the smile was genuine. So was the enormous hard-on that caused it. I wondered if Casey had seen it as well. But then again, how could he have missed it? I did a mental fist pump because even though my shit was backed up and causing me a great deal of discomfort, the points just kept adding up in my favor.

With a sympathetic frown she said, “I’m sorry, but if I don’t get in that kitchen, she’s just going to come looking for me. And the wrath of Abby is something neither one of us wants to incur. Believe you me, she might look sweet and innocent, and she is for the most part, but if you get her upset, you better look out. They don’t call her Hurricane Abby for no reason.” She laughed and the sound was fucking beautiful. Since when had that happened?

“We still have things to discuss.”

She shrugged and then shook her head. “Not really. I mean, what more is there to say? You came here to bitch at me over an incorrect assumption you’d made. So I suppose now that you know the truth, you’ll want to get back to San Diego so you can bask in your win. Right?”

I knew the answer to her question in an instant. And it was a shocker for me. Maybe there had been more than one reason I’d followed her to Stonington.

“Wrong. I’m not going anywhere yet.” Seeing Cassidy’s Skype conversation had given me an angle to work with that I hadn’t considered amid the no-cell-service debacle. I could conduct business just as well from here as I could from my desk at Striker Sports Entertainment.

Cassidy tilted her head to the side to regard me as if I were a complex portrait hanging in a historical museum. “Why not?”

That question was one I wasn’t sure I had the answer to yet. Things were a jumbled-up mess in my head and I needed time to sort them out. If I told Cassidy that, she’d just push until something stupid and even more confusing got blurted out, so I gave her an answer she’d expect to hear from the Shaw Matthews she knew.

“I’ve gotten you off three times already today. You owe me. Fair is fair.”

She laughed again, completely at my expense, so I decided to have a little fun with what I imagined to be the Stonington man mentality. Dropping my voice an octave, I said, “Go make me some dinner, woman,” and then I gave her a smack on the ass to send her on her way.

As she left the room, Cassidy looked at me like I was cracked. I probably was. In my defense, I’d very recently scored the most sought-after quarterback in the nation as a client, traveled diagonally across an entire country, suffered through an extreme bout of sleep deprivation, and then went unconscious for way longer than was probably healthy only to wake up to two – count them,
two
– highly erotic encounters with a woman I loved to hate that had left me less than satisfied. My balls felt like they were trying to castrate themselves, and the zipper on my jeans had rubbed my dick raw. Yeah, I was probably teetering on the edge of insanity.