Hunk for the Holidays (6 page)

“Damn it, Cassie.” Foster stumbled back with a hand over his eye. “What’s your problem?”

“Easy there.” James reached out and settled a hand on his shoulder to steady the poor guy. He must’ve used a little too much pressure because Foster flinched. James completely ignored him as he studied Cassandra.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I think so,” the pompous idiot answered.

James shot him an annoyed look before reaching for Cassandra’s hand and examining it. For such a wildcat, her hands were soft and fragile. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “It doesn’t look like you broke anything.”

She pulled her hand away and looked up. For a long moment, he got lost in her eyes before his gaze dropped to her mouth. A mouth that was now painted a glossy, sexy-as-hell red. “I’m fine,” she said.

Fine? Oh, baby, you don’t know the half of it. No wonder the poor bastard tried to kiss you.

James glanced at the poor bastard. “You’re lucky.”

“How’s that?” Foster removed his hand from his eye and studied it as if it might have blood on it.

“I could’ve gotten to you first.” He slipped an arm around Cassandra to make his point. She stiffened, but didn’t pull away.

Foster’s face turned red, and for a moment, James thought he would actually be stupid enough to say something. Instead, he made a strangled huffing noise, then turned and walked away. As soon as he was gone, Cassandra
slipped out from under his arm and walked into the greenhouse. He followed her back to the table.

She lifted the half-full beer. “Mine?”

He shrugged. “I got waylaid.”

“Yeah, I know.” She took a deep drink, and all he could think about were her lips being on the same spot as his. The tightening in his stomach caused him to reach for the shot glass of whiskey. He downed it so quickly Aunt Louise would’ve been proud.

Cassandra studied him for a few seconds before she moved over to the fish pond and stared down at the large, colorful koi that were huddled at the bottom. “Are you drunk?”

He felt dizzy, but he wasn’t sure the effect was caused by the whiskey. “No.”

She turned. “So how much did my aunt get out of you?”

“Not much. She knows I’m interested in construction and that I’m not a candy ass who bakes pumpkin bread.”

“A what?” She looked puzzled, but only for a second. “Ahh, you got to hear about Mike.”

“A little. So what happened?”

She shrugged, then took another swallow before answering. “I told you—I work too much.”

“And?”

“And I’m very controlling.”

“With what?”

“With just about everything.”

He couldn’t help himself. “Sounds like fun.”

Cassandra’s gaze snapped up. “You’re not still thinking about those condoms, are you?”

James laughed. This straightforward woman intrigued
the hell out of him. “As a matter of fact…” He stepped closer.

She held up her hand. “Well, just get them out of your head. Sex is out. Besides, I threw them all in the trash as soon as I got here.”

“All of them?”

She smirked. “Every last one.”

“Damn.” He snapped his fingers before he reached out and pulled her into his arms. “Then I guess I’ll just have to settle for a kiss.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t?”

“No, I don’t. And since I’m the boss…” Her green eyes sparkled with humor.

“What if I told you that I don’t take orders well?” He brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear.

“I’d believe you. But your memory can’t be that bad.” She lifted one delicate fist. “I have a mean right hook. And if that doesn’t work, one scream and a horde of possessive brothers will show you theirs.”

Leaning closer, James whispered in her ear, “It might be worth it. Wanna see?” He felt her tremble and knew she wouldn’t protest if he took a taste of those sexy lips. But he wanted to hear her answer. No, he needed to hear her answer. “Just one,” he breathed.

Cassandra’s eyes squinted in thought before her arms hooked over his shoulders. “Just one.”

His hands tightened on her waist. Part of him craved immediate gratification, but the other part didn’t want to rush the moment. So instead of kissing her, he just held her and swayed in time to the music of the string quartet
that had set up in the living room. They played some Christmas carol; he wasn’t sure which one. He was just thankful it was slow. The trickling water from the fountain added its own music, along with the different tones of people’s muted conversation and laughter.

“So are you going to kiss me or what?” Her words were muffled against his shoulder.

He smiled. God, the woman was bossy.

“Or what,” he said, as his hands ran over the soft, clingy material of her dress. She talked and acted so tough, he expected her to be more hard muscle than feminine softness. She was a mixture of both. Her body was toned, but her frame delicate and womanly. He bent his head and dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder. It was chilly in the greenhouse, but her skin was warm and feather soft. She smelled good. Not like strong perfume, but like herbal shampoo. His hand skimmed up her spine, pausing at each little bump. At the base of her neck, he spread his fingers and slid them into her thick black hair.

He held her against him for a moment and absorbed the feel of her. In her heels, her body was almost in perfect alignment with his. Her breasts snuggled into the spot beneath his pectoral muscles and her hips cradled the bulge beneath his fly. For his own sanity, he pulled back. Her eyes were closed, those plump lips parted and waiting. Still, he hesitated. He wanted to take as much time as possible, wanted to control every second of the kiss.

It worked for all of a second.

The second right before his lips touched hers. Once they did, he was lost.

James no longer thought. He just felt. Felt the deep pull
of her full, sweet lips as they slid over his. Felt the wet warmth of her mouth as it opened to him. It was everything a kiss should be. Her lips fit against his like a long-lost puzzle piece, filling a space that had been vacant for too long.

She stood on tiptoe, aligning their bodies to perfection before executing a hip movement that rocked his world. If he’d thought he was turned on earlier, he’d been wrong. Now every hormone in his body raced toward the head of his penis, clamoring for release. Which made him think about those condoms. Those damned wasted condoms.

What was he thinking?

He couldn’t screw Cassandra McPherson in the corner of a greenhouse, with or without a condom. Especially with her family within moaning distance. And if he wasn’t going to be able to have sex with her, he needed to stop.

Now.

It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to pull her arms from around his neck and set her away from him.

With her chin still tipped up, she opened her eyes and blinked at him. Funny, but she no longer looked like a tough McPherson. Instead, she looked all wide-eyed and vulnerable. That should have made him feel just a little triumphant, but it only brought a large lump to the back of his throat and a queer feeling to the pit of his stomach. A vulnerable Cassandra tore at his heart.

James stared into those deep, green eyes that rivaled any of the plants that grew around her and felt intoxicated. Maybe the whiskey had affected him more than he thought. Or maybe he was drunk on something else entirely.

“One more,” she whispered, nearly sending him to his knees.

“N-no.” He cleared his throat. “I think one was more than enough.”

“Not for me,” she stated plainly as she tried to move closer.

It took all of his willpower to keep her at a safe distance. She was one determined and strong lady.

“Cassandra, listen to me.” He brought her closer, but only so he could pin her arms down. “If I keep on kissing you, I’m going to want more. A lot more.”

Her eyes glittered like molten emeralds. “How much?”

God, was the woman numb from the waist down? She had one hell of a raging hard-on prodding her and she had to ask? Or maybe she was as dazed by their kiss as he was?

“Enough to make me wish you hadn’t thrown those condoms away and we were somewhere a lot more secluded.”

“No, how much money for sex?”

James dropped his arms. “What?”

“Money. How much more do you charge for sex?” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it. So how many women have you slept with?”

“Huh?” After the phenomenal kiss, his mind just couldn’t keep up with the woman.

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you’re not drunk?”

He wasn’t sure of anything. Luckily, she didn’t wait for an answer.

“Forget the women. In your business, the number must be staggering. So I guess we can bypass that and go
straight to the diseases. Do you have any?” When he continued to stare at her, she added, “STDs?”

After a few dizzy moments, he answered. “No.”

She stepped back and a blush covered her face. “Then it’s settled.” She refused to meet his eyes. “We’ll have sex.”

The woman was unbelievable.

“Look, Cassandra, there’s a few things you need to know about me.”

She held up a hand and shook her head. “No, I don’t want to know anything about you. This is just about sex.”

Oh man, there was a line that every man wanted to hear. Unfortunately, James couldn’t bring himself to go along with it. Especially when she had no idea who he was. When he took this woman to bed, he wanted her to know exactly who she was sleeping—or not sleeping—with.

“I thought you didn’t have sex with your escorts,” he said.

“I don’t.”

“Thatta girl.”

“But I’m ready to start.”

This wasn’t good. “You don’t mean that.”

A determined look came into her eyes, and her voice took on a stern tone, as if she were handing out orders to one of her employees. Which she thought she was.

“Don’t tell me what I mean. If I say we’re having sex, then we’re having sex. Now either jump on board or I’ll call Elite Escorts and have them send over Lance or Rod. I’m sure they’ll know how to do their job.”

On that note, she turned and went back inside.

Once Cassandra was gone, James stood there for a moment, completely stunned.
Lance and Rod, my ass.
They probably used names like that to make up for their deficient equipment. Of course, he didn’t really care for the idea of Cassandra seeing their equipment, deficient or otherwise. Probably because his own equipment was still hard and vying for her attention.

Man, he needed some fresh air.

James moved to the side door and stepped out. It was bitter cold, but it felt good. A group of smokers sat in Adirondack chairs on the back patio. He nodded to them, before walking out to a stone bench. There was still snow on the ground from the last storm, so he stayed on the swept path. The cold erased the last of his hard-on and cleared his head enough so he could think.

His mind moved over the last couple hours of his life, settling on the last twenty minutes.
Just who does the little wildcat think she is?
He quickly answered the question.
Cassandra McPherson, that’s who
. Obviously, she was more spoiled and headstrong than he’d first thought. Of course, from what he’d seen and heard tonight, she really didn’t have much choice. With four brothers and a business filled with hard-ass construction workers, a woman had to be tough. But did she have to be so bullheaded?

Laughter swelled up inside of him, and he chuckled. He liked her. Really liked her. He liked the cocky way she carried herself and her outspoken bossiness. And he liked the fact that she drank Coors and had a mean right hook. He liked that she wasn’t caught up in her looks and didn’t seem to have a clue how nicely she was packaged. And she was packaged nicely. Long legs. Sweet breasts. Pretty eyes. And great lips. But as much as he liked her physical traits, he liked her personality more.

Which was why he couldn’t take her to bed. At least not until she knew who he was. Of course, once that happened, she’d probably dump him flat for carrying on this charade for so long. But he could be persuasive. He’d built a million-dollar company on his ability.

If he could do that, he could tame one very sexy wildcat.

He stood, confident that he had his thoughts in order, his mind made up, and his lower half frozen into submission. As soon as he had Cassandra alone again, he would tell her exactly who he was. But for now, especially while she was with her family and friends, he would bide his time and be as charming as possible. And while he was at it, he might check out a few trash cans.

Just in case.

Unfortunately, before he could take more than a few steps, the McPherson Welcoming Committee came striding down the path, four broad-shouldered-men deep. And it was hard to be charming when you were concerned about getting your ass kicked.

Shoving his hands into the front pockets of his tuxedo pants, he tried to act as nonchalant as possible.

“Nice evening.” It was a stupid thing to say considering that it wasn’t much over ten degrees outside.

The herd of Cassandra’s brothers moved around him, pretty much blocking off all exits. They didn’t look happy.

It was Jake who spoke first. “I’m sure you realize that Cassie is our only sister.”

James nodded, mostly because he figured he wouldn’t get his lights knocked out for a nod.

Jake continued. “That makes her pretty special to the entire family.”

Again James nodded.

“We feel very protective over h—”

“Shit, Jake,” Matthew jumped in. “Just get to the friggin’ point, would ya?”

“Don’t interrupt, Mattie,” Rory warned.

“He’s right,” Patrick stated as he glared at James. For being so young, he was already a big man with wide shoulders and a broad chest. With his long golden hair, he looked more Scottish than the other brothers. He also looked meaner. “Jake’s beating around the bush,” he grumbled.

“What do you want to do, Patrick? Kick his ass and then talk to him?” Rory glared at his brother.

“Leave out the talking part and you got it right,” Patrick said.

“That’s enough, Paddy,” Jake intervened. “No one is kicking anyone’s ass.” James was relieved, until Jake looked over at him. “Unless you don’t understand just how special Cassie is.”