She didn’t know how many times they made love that night. She felt like her bones had morphed into jelly, leaving her helpless to move. It was all she could do to crack an eye open to look at Eric’s profile as he slept.
This stranger somehow encouraged her to do things she never imagined she would. She flushed just thinking about how she let him …
He stirred and Cassie went on alert. Please don’t wake up yet. She needed time to compose herself. She had taken wild, scandalous, and inappropriate to entirely new levels. She hadn’t known the man a week. And look at what I did to him, what I let him do to me. She had to formulate a plan for damage control.
She was a complete girly girl so, surely, he would expect her to become a clinging vine since they’d had sex. Cassie was disgusted just thinking about it. She had to find the resolve to tell him last night meant nothing. It was just a one-night stand. The most fabulous one-night stand in the history of the world, but a one-night stand nonetheless.
She hated to do it.
Truth was, she was becoming far too attached to him as it was. Engaging in earth-shattering sex with the man only made matters worse. She let herself daydream for a minute, going over the wonderful details of actually being in a relationship with him. She pushed the thoughts away. It would never work. There was no point in fantasizing.
Her heart tightened with a familiar pressure. She was feeling heartbroken. Again. Cassie groaned.
She needed a good, swift kick in the ass. “Right in the ass,” she mumbled.
“First thing in the morning?” Eric asked, voice thick with sleep. “Ooh, you are scandalous.” He smiled.
Cassie laughed. “Go back to sleep.”
“I wanna know more about this ass thing … ”
“Sleep, Eric.”
“If oral sex is the icing … ” He rolled over to face her. “What would this be? Sprinkles?”
Cassie smiled at him. “Wouldn’t you love to know?” She turned her head to look at the light spilling through the curtains that hung over the large picture windows. “I’d love to look out of those.”
Eric chuckled. “Then get your ass up and look.”
She shot him a dirty look before laughing. “I can’t move,” she groaned.
He sighed. “You’re a pain.” He got up and stretched, appearing completely comfortable with his nudity.
Cassie’s eyes drifted in a particular direction before she pulled them away from him altogether.
Eric pulled the curtains back and pale light poured into the bedroom. Cassie propped herself up on her elbows and looked out.
“There.” He returned to bed. “You’re not gonna be able to see much from the bed, but the curtains are open now, happy?”
“Yes,” she said, dropping back down on the bed. She rolled over, facing the windows. Her thoughts drifted back to her predicament. She not only had to let Steven go, now she had to let Eric go, too. Great job, Cassie.
Eric pulled her against his chest, one arm wrapped around her waist.
She was tempted to ask him for more cake or maybe a little icing, but she resisted. She settled on a completely non-sexual topic instead. “Why in the world did you name a dog ‘Tip’?”
Eric chuckled. “I’m never sure what you’ll say next.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask.”
“There was this guy who came into the bar one night. Down on his luck, wanting to drink the pain away, you know.”
She nodded.
“He spent the little cash he had on booze, but he felt bad that he couldn’t give me anything at the end of the night.”
Cassie smiled, understanding where this was going.
“I told him it was fine. He swore I’d see him again, but I didn’t think anything of it. The next night, he comes in and tells me he has something for me in his car. I go out there and, curled up in the front seat is this two-month-old puppy, sleeping. I look at the dog, I look at the man. I go, ‘This is my tip?’”
“And he was,” Cassie said softly.
“And he was. I wasn’t gonna take him, but the man pleaded with me. He couldn’t care for him. He’d gotten him for his son, but his son was gone.”
“Gone?” Cassie cringed, not wanting him to elaborate even though she’d asked.
“He had died a couple of weeks before. He was ten years old.”
“God,” Cassie said, “that’s awful.”
“And it didn’t help that the man was alone now.”
“His wife?”
“They’d divorced a year before.”
“So sad. You’d think he’d welcome the company.”
“Tip made him think of his son. And that’s just what he didn’t want.” Eric sighed. “He didn’t admit that to me; he just said he couldn’t take care of him anymore. Anyway, I couldn’t turn him down. Tip became, well, my tip.”
“And way more than that,” she laughed.
“What do you mean?”
“Please, that dog’s practically your child now.”
Eric laughed.
“You’re so sweet.”
“I’m not sweet, honey buns.”
She tried to ignore how good he felt, his chest so broad and warm against her bare back. She had to savor every moment, every sensation. It would all be gone by the end of the week. Steven would be gone. Eric would be gone. Once again, she would be totally alone.
Her eyes stung.
“What are you thinking about?”
His lips were right next to her ear. His breath warmed and tickled her face when he spoke. God, she would miss him.
Cassie realized then with startling clarity what an idiot she’d been for sleeping with him. Liberated, my ass. She was still the same old Cassie, mixing sex with emotion. Her breath caught in her throat. Did she love him?
“Hello, anyone home?”
She snapped out of her haze. “Huh?”
“I asked what you were thinking about.”
I love you. “I love — ”
Eric waited a few moments. “You love what?”
Cassie was quiet as she stared out the window. “I love this house,” she finally said, voice barely above a whisper.
• • •
Neither of them went back to sleep. Eric knew she was preoccupied with thoughts of her precious Steven. She was probably eaten up with guilt over sleeping with him, thinking she should have saved herself for that boring ass ex of hers.
He tried to put thoughts of the other guy out of his mind so he could focus on being with Cassie. She was gorgeous. How the hell had she not been my type?
He wanted to be in constant contact with her body, her lips, her skin. Part of him hoped sleeping with her would satisfy his hunger for her, but it had the opposite effect. He no longer had to wonder what it would be like to be inside of her, to hear her scream his name. And knowing made his ache for her all the more intense.
Still, she didn’t feel the same and she wasn’t bothering to hide it very well. She rebuffed his advances by feigning interest in his house.
“Show me around.”
“What’s to see?”
She gave him a light punch in the arm. “Come on, please?”
He relented, giving her a tour that ended in the family room, where their passion erupted the night before.
Cassie glanced at the bar before quickly looking away. She walked over to a few pictures that were hanging on the wall. “Your family?”
Eric didn’t follow her over to the pictures. He knew his nearness made her uncomfortable all of a sudden. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, my parents and my brothers.”
“And you.” Cassie looked back at him and smiled.
“And me.”
Cassie looked at the pictures again. “Hmm, your brothers are hot.” She turned to Eric. “Single?”
Eric smiled. “You have enough on your plate, don’t you think?”
Cassie laughed, tucking a strand of her dark chocolate brown hair behind her ear. “You don’t know the half of it.”
Eric folded his arms as he considered that. He was about to ask what she meant when she switched subjects.
“Come on,” she said, heading for the door, “let’s go outside.”
Before he could respond, she was out the door. She was past uncomfortable now. She was getting downright skittish. He hesitated to bring up the possibility of them having any kind of real relationship. With the way she was acting, she would probably run away, screaming.
To hell with it. He had never been one to shy away from his feelings. Maybe she would consider giving him a chance if he told her how he felt, that he cared for her.
He made his way to the set of French doors in the dining room. He opened them and stood, watching her. She stood by the large pond behind the house as Tip ran in circles around her, trying to jump up on her.
“No, Tip! Down!” Cassie squealed in fear between shouting orders.
Eric smiled, knowing he should offer assistance, but enjoying the scene nonetheless.
Cassie backed away from Tip and promptly fell backward. He wasted no time jumping on her.
“Help! Help!” Cassie frantically tried to push Tip off, but he was one strong puppy.
Eric laughed as he made his way over to them.
Cassie had given up. She lay there, staring up at the sky, as Tip stretched out on top of her alternately licking her face and chewing her hair.
Eric laughed again as he dropped down to sit next to her.
“Shut up,” she grumbled. She gave him a stern look. “And get this dog off of me now.”
Eric smiled. “Come here, boy. Ms. Snooty doesn’t want you on her.”
Cassie lifted an eyebrow. “Ms. Snooty?”
“Yeah, that’s what we called you at first.”
Cassie faked a laugh. “You’re so funny.”
Eric finally managed to pry Tip away from Cassie.
She sat up, wiping at her face and spitting. “I think he licked me on the mouth.” She grimaced.
“It’s not fatal, I promise.”
“You don’t know that.” Cassie scratched at her chest. “Great, I think I have hives now. Your dog gave me hives.” She continued to scratch.
Eric moved her hand. “Let me see.” She held her neck up. “You don’t have hives, drama queen.”
She lowered her head. “Well, maybe not right now, but they could form later.” She scratched her neck. “I need ointment or something.”
Eric studied her. She was wearing last night’s dress, for lack of anything else to put on after showering. Her hair was a mess, thanks to Tip’s chewing, and, once again, she was wearing one shoe. Only one had survived her fall. He smirked at her.
She tilted her head. “What smart-ass thing are you going to say now?”
He frowned and shook his head. “Nothing.” She didn’t look like she believed him. “You look beautiful.”
Cassie stared into his eyes for a moment. “Oh, ha ha.” She smoothed her hair down. “Eww,” she said, looking at her hand. “His spit is in my hair!”
“He was chewing on it, what did you expect?”
“I will never feel clean again,” she said to herself. “I have to go boil myself.” She started to stand, but he grabbed her hand.
“I need to talk to you about something.” It was now or never. What better time than when she’s freaking out over my dog’s spit in her hair?
“Can it wait? I am seriously feeling a level of uncleanliness that I have never before — ”
He put a finger to her lips. “It can’t wait,” he said softly.
Cassie scratched the side of her face. “What is it?”
“About last night … ”
Her eyes clouded over as her face lost all traces of expression. She looked down at the ground as she shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Why not?”
“We never should have — ” She took a deep breath. “It was a mistake.” She looked at him. “We need to forget it ever happened.”
Eric felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach. Apprehension he expected, blatant shame that she’d ever slept with him was an entirely different thing.
“Is this is about Steven?” He marveled at the fact that he managed to sound so cool and unaffected. He was a firestorm of emotions inside. Angry, hurt, disappointed, jealous … the list went on.
Cassie frowned. “Steven? No.” She took off the shoe she was still wearing.
“No?”
“No. It’s just that, well, this whole thing has been crazy. We’ve only known each other a few days. And it’s not like we met under normal circumstances anyway. Let’s just call it what it was: a one-night stand.”
Ouch. He kept his voice impassive. “You regret it that much, do you?”
“Not at all.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Before I met you, I never would have even considered letting myself go like that. In case you missed it, I’m not the spontaneous type.”
The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. “Yeah, I picked up on that.”
Cassie smiled. “It felt great to be uninhibited for once in my life. Regrets?” She shook her head. “You set me free, if only for one night.” She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” She stood, picking up her other shoe before making her way back to the house.
Eric continued to sit there, staring out at the pond, thinking. He needed to remain calm and objective. So she was definitely skittish. Fine. Telling her how he felt would have to wait.
If it was just a matter of waiting Steven out, he could do it. The man would be gone soon and Eric would have all the time in the world to convince Cassie to give him a chance. He found himself praying that Steven wouldn’t suddenly grow a pair and tell Cassie he wanted her back. If given a choice, Eric knew who Cassie would choose.
Regardless of mind-blowing sex, it wouldn’t be me.