Chapter Three

 

Alone and feeling sorry for herself, Cassie decided to go barhopping solo on Valentine’s Day. There was a little bar near downtown Dallas that she'd never tried, a place where no one knew her and she could be whoever or whatever she wanted to be for the night.

The bar was pretty innocuous from the outside--clapboard siding and a neon sign that simply said “Sly's.” A giant bear of a man guarded the doorway, checking ID’s and talking to a couple waiting to go inside. Would there be any singles out tonight, or would she be the only one without a date? Gathering up her courage, Cassie stepped forward.

The Grizzly Adams look-a-like stuck his beefy arm across the doorway. “What’s the password?”

Password? Whoever heard of a bar asking for a password? Since she had no idea what it was, she tried a different approach. “Well, handsome, I hoped you’d tell me.” Cassie batted her eyelashes and ran a fingernail up his arm.

The beast ignored her flirting. “Beat it, lady. If you don’t know it, you don’t get inside.”

A quick glance through the open doorway was all she got. Sly’s must be pretty special to warrant such tight security. But it looked like a typical bar to her--low lights, jukebox in the corner, bar along one side with neon signs advertising Miller and Bud Light, tables in the middle. The usual. So what was the big deal?

When Grizzly growled a warning, Cassie retreated to the curb feeling like she’d been kicked out of the Masonic Lodge. How was she supposed to learn the secret handshake? She tugged her red leather mini-skirt up a notch and leaned over, hoping Grizzly would change his mind if he got an eye-full, but the jerk never even glanced her way. Man, this Valentine’s Day sucked.

 

Reed sat in an unmarked car down the street from Sly’s, watching the people who entered the club and making notes. So far he’d counted over sixty couples going inside in the last hour. Booking that many was going to take all night. He glanced at his watch. The rest of the team was due to arrive in thirty minutes and as far as he was concerned, that wasn’t soon enough. He’d noticed a few minors being allowed inside, and in a place like this, that was dangerous. He’d seen what happened to pretty young women who’d made the mistake of going into Sly’s alone back when he worked narcotics.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the station. “Myers, round up the team. We need to move now. Too many minors in there to delay any longer.” Reed snapped the phone closed and watched as a woman tried to walk through Sly’s door, only to be stopped by the bouncer. He could only see her from the back, but something tugged at his memory. He’d seen that ass before.

When she turned and stormed back to the curb, he sucked in a breath. It was her. What the hell was she doing here? It had been five years since he’d seen her last, but he’d never forgotten her. Many nights, her face was the last thing he saw in his mind before he fell asleep.

He could still picture her as a college student in bowling class, the way her butt filled out the pair of tight jeans as she bent to release the ball down the alley. The sheer elation on her face as she scored another strike to add to the impressive string showing on the overhead monitor. The way her eyes had widened and a blush had spread across her cheeks when she’d caught him watching.

She’d changed, grown up, over the years. Her body was more rounded, her breasts heavier, her hair a little longer, but it was her. He knew he was risking his career when he opened the door of the Camaro and stepped out, but he couldn’t let her go into that club.

 

“What are you doing here?”

The deep voice startled Cassie and almost sent her headlong into traffic. She straightened and whirled--and there he was, the mystery man from her college days. The one she’d thought she’d never see again. After seven years, she still recognized him. Her pulse picked up a notch. He was even hotter than she remembered. The years had added maturity to his face and a lot of muscle to his body.

The first time she’d seen him, she was practicing at the Buckner Bowl while waiting for bowling class to begin. She was on the seventh frame with two strikes in a row, headed for a two-hundred-plus game—her first--until he’d sat down behind her lane and shot her concentration all to hell.

Dark hair, sky blue eyes, neatly trimmed beard—-this was no college boy. He was a man, through and through. His strong, slender fingers had pulled a pipe out of his pocket and filled it, tamping the tobacco down without ever taking his eyes off her. It was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

Two straight gutter balls and a seven-ten split later, Cassie had decided this was the man she was going to marry. But he’d disappeared after that class and she’d never seen him again. Until now.

Before she could say a word, he grabbed her arm and marched her down the sidewalk, away from Sly’s. “You don't belong here. Go home.”

Cassie’s latent independent streak chose that moment to roar to the surface. ““I will not. I came here to party, and that's exactly what I'm going to do.”

“Not here, you're not. Go somewhere else.” His jaw clenched and his brows formed an angry slash across his forehead.

She'd dreamed about this guy for seven years? What a waste of time. Cassie jerked her arm out of his grip and headed back to the club. He was hot on her heels. Breezing past Grizzly with a jerk of her head toward Macho Man, she said, “He’s got the password.” Amazingly enough, Grizzly let her pass.

She'd barely cleared the entrance before Macho Man grabbed her arm and tried to drag her back outside.

“Would you get lost? I need a drink.” It took some effort, but she managed to shake him off and headed for an empty table at the back.

“Anyone ever tell you you're as thick-headed as a mule on steroids?” He yanked out a chair and sat down with a heavy sigh. “Don’t you know what this place is?”

“It's a bar.” Even a thick-headed moron could figure out that much. And if they couldn’t, the décor would have given them a clue.

He leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “It's not your normal, run-of-the-mill bar, smart ass. It's a swinger’s club. But this one is for more than just exchanging partners.”

“I don't see any swings.”

“Very funny. This part is a front. Hidden in that wall is a door, and behind that door people are doing things you’ve never thought of and never wanted to know about.”

That piqued her interest. “Wanna bet?” She lifted her chin and gave him her haughtiest, most worldly expression. “I've done lots of things. Probably more than you have.”

His expression turned grim. “I doubt it. I've seen and done things no human being should have to experience. Take my word for it and get out now, while you still can.”

“I'm not ready to leave yet. I need a drink.” She waved for a waitress. “Why did you disappear?”

His brow creased in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Five years ago. You never came back to class. I looked for you every day, all over campus, but I never saw you again.”

He hesitated, searching her eyes as though trying to see clear through to her soul. Apparently he found what he was looking for, because he nodded slightly and glanced around the room before he leaned forward, his voice a husky whisper. “I wasn't really enrolled. I was working undercover--narcotics.”

Her mouth probably looked like a fish’s, opening and closing. “You were a cop?”

“Shhhh! Not so loud.” He looked around again to see if anyone had overheard. No one paid any attention to them at all.

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You sure didn't look like a cop with that beard and pipe.”

“Undercover cops usually try not to look like cops.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess you’re right. But why did you leave?”

“Because we busted the guy we were after. Once he was behind bars, I got another assignment. But if it makes any difference, I never forgot you.”

It helped a bit to know the attraction hadn't been one-sided. But it still burned that he hadn’t been impressed enough to come back for her.

“I'm taking a big leap of faith, trusting you with that info. Don't make me regret it.”

She wanted to ask him why he trusted her enough to tell her. He didn't know her, had no idea what she'd done in the past seven years, but the waitress came up at that moment and was back in a flash with the drinks and two plastic hotel room-type key cards.

Reed picked up one of the cards and turned it over before slipping it into his pocket with a sigh. “Well, it's too late to back out now. Since we're going to be intimately acquainted in a few minutes, you should at least tell me your name.”

Cassie’s hands started to sweat. What had she gotten herself into? “Maybe I'd better leave, after all.”

He jerked his head toward the door. “See that guy over there?”

Grizzly still stood by the door, arms crossed over his burly chest. “Yeah, what about him?”

“He's there to make sure you don't leave by the front door. Once you get a key, the only way out is through the back. And the only way you’ll get out the back is barely walking, unless we’re really lucky.”

Cassie was no longer nervous. She was downright scared. “You can't be serious. That's... that's...”

“Illegal? Hell, yeah. But you got us into this, so we have to see it through. I'll protect you the best I can.” He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, his piercing gaze pinning her in place. “Just tell me you're experienced. If you're a virgin, I'll have to shoot our way out of here.”

For the first time since she was sixteen, Cassie wished she was still a virgin. “Of course not, so you don't have to kill anyone for my sake. But stay close to me. Please?”

He smiled for the first since they’d sat down. “I'll be as close as your underwear until my backup arrives.”

That sounded promising. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be a total loss after all. She was on her way to being pleasantly drunk, just as she’d planned. She had a hot guy promising...something. She wasn’t exactly clear on that part. Sex would be good. Mind-blowing sex would be even better. And to top everything off, she might get to have that mind-blowing sex with the one man she’d never been able to get out of her head.

Cassie was on her third drink when the waitress slid past their table and hissed, “You're up.”

He stood and held out his hand. “It's show time. Now tell me your name.”

She gulped, her voice shaking as she said, “It's Cassie, Cassie Mills.”

His fingers closed around her ice-cold hand. “Nice to meet you, Cassie. Reed Stevens.”

Reed. The name seemed to fit him with his slender, muscular build, but she’d always figured his name would be something like Stephen or Garrett, something dignified and scholarly. And he was a cop. That’s something she never would have guessed back in college, and she was having a hard time believing it now.

Shouldn’t he be yelling “Freeze!” and arresting these people, instead of leading her into danger?

With her hand firmly in his, they approached the wall. It appeared solid, no door in sight until he slipped his card into an almost invisible slot and inserted hers into the slot beneath it. The wall slid back just far enough for them to squeeze through one at a time.

Cassie thought she was prepared for what her stubborn streak had gotten her into, but she wasn't. She'd expected privacy, at the very least. A way out would have been best. What she found, instead, was a large room with a padded floor and a lot of naked bodies in various positions--some of which she wouldn't have believed possible if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. Music pulsed from the walls in time with the slap of skin on skin.

Her hand clutched Reed's in a death grip, nails digging into his palm. “I can't do this,” she hissed into his ear.

“Hang on. Help is on the way,” he whispered back. Help? Oh, thank you, God. She'd start going to church with her mother every Sunday if they got out of Sly’s intact.

Reed leaned close and put his mouth against her ear. To anyone watching it probably looked like a move, but he spoke quietly, his lips barely moving. “Play along for a few minutes. It might get uncomfortable, but hopefully not dangerous.”

When a muscular blond guy eyed her up and down like a dog admiring a freshly painted fire hydrant, she scooted closer to Reed for protection.

“Looks like we're going to have to join in for a bit. Hang in there. I'll keep you safe.” With that, his hands slid to her waist and he pulled her tee shirt over her head. Instinct demanded she cover her chest with her arms since she hadn't worn a bra and was now bare to a hundred pairs of eyes, but Reed stopped her with a look.

The skirt went next, and Cassie stood in the middle of a room full of strangers wearing nothing but bikini panties. She gave silent thanks to Heaven and the local gym for her toned body when Reed's eyes widened and his lips tilted at the corners.

“Oh, baby. We're in for it now.” He stepped closer, wrapping one arm around her waist. “Once these guys get a load of this body, there's no way I can keep them off. Stay close so I can block the view as much as possible.”

Cassie had no problem with that order. She snuggled into his chest, hiding her bare breasts against his shirt. His hands slid down and cupped her butt as his head lowered. She opened her mouth, more from surprise than invitation, but his tongue slid inside and she forgot all about the other people in the room. As he deepened the kiss, her hands inched under his shirt and she leaned back to skim it over his head. When her breasts connected with his hair-roughened chest, her nipples hardened.

His rough palms closed over her breasts, squeezing gently. “You're doing great, sweetheart. Just a few more minutes and we should be home free.”

Cassie stiffened at the reminder of where they were and that this was supposed to be for show. Reed soothed her with whispered words and another mind-numbing kiss. Her nipples tingled from his caress. As far as she was concerned at that moment, the whole damned room could watch as long as she could feel his hard length inside her instead of pressing against her belly.

She’d fantasized about him for years. She’d run possible scenarios through her mind about how they’d meet again, how she’d knock him off his feet with her sex appeal and they’d make wild, passionate love. How he’d beg her forgiveness for disappearing from her life.

So maybe this wasn’t exactly the way her fantasies had unfolded. He was here, she was nearly naked, and now all she had to do was knock him off his feet. If she didn’t do it now, she might never get another chance. Before she could change her mind, she unfastened his belt and jeans and reached inside to close anxious fingers around him, sliding her palm along his warm, hard shaft until he moaned.

His hands slid beneath her panties to caress and squeeze. On a ragged breath, he whispered, “Slow down, sweetheart, or we're going to be in big trouble here.” He tongued her ear, sending a shiver up her spine.

Slow down? When she was going up in flames? Not bloody likely.

“Cassie, you can't do this. We're going to have company any minute.”

Her hands moved up and down his cock as she ignored his protest. If these few minutes were all she had, she would take full advantage of the chance to fulfill the fantasies she'd lived with for seven years. If anyone else wanted to join in, they’d have to wait their turn.

His indrawn breath was her first warning. His hands tightening on her butt was her second. He tried to pull back but she held him tight, stroking harder, faster until his breathing was ragged and a warm, wet stream shot through her fingers and onto her belly. They tumbled backwards onto the floor, knocking the wind out of her, and he looked into her eyes.

“Damn you. I'll probably lose my job over this.”

When Cassie could finally draw in enough breath to speak, she looked into his eyes and smiled. “It's a lousy job, anyway.”

His expression softened and his lips tilted up, revealing a dimple in his right cheek. Cassie traced it with her tongue.

“Yeah, well, somebody's gotta do it.” Reed dropped a kiss on her lips. “I have to admit this is the first time I've enjoyed my job in a long time.”

Cassie helped him pull his jeans back into place and reached for her T-shirt. She held it against her chest, not sure whether he wanted her to put it on or just hold on to it so it wouldn’t get lost.

Reed edged them closer to the wall and leaned against it with Cassie on his lap, facing him. That was fine with her. She’d seen enough when they’d first walked into the room to feed her fantasies for years. She might even give a few of those positions a try one of these days, just to see if they were really possible.

Reed pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and carefully wiped her hand and stomach. “You’re something else, you know that?”

Cassie grinned. “See, you needed me and didn’t even know it. I even gave you an excuse to come into Sly’s.”

“I wasn’t planning to come inside until the rest of the team showed up. I was just doing a little surveillance until you came along. We’ve heard some bad things about this place and seen some of the resulting damage. Everything seems peaceful enough tonight, but sometimes women get hurt.”

Cassie twisted around to see what was happening and saw the blond guy approaching again, salacious intent clear in his eyes. “Uh oh. We've got company.”

Reed tensed, his muscled arms rigid as he tightened them around her. He winked at her, just the slightest twitch of an eyelid. “I'm sure they have a restroom around here somewhere, sweetheart,” he said loudly enough for the other man to hear. “Let's go see what we can find.”

“Hey, buddy. I'm cutting in.” The blond towered over them, his feral eyes making Cassie want to crawl inside Reed's skin for protection.

“Sure. No problem.” Reed smiled up at the man before kissing her again to stifle the gasp he must have seen coming. “Just as soon as I take the little lady to the restroom. She's gotta pee.”

The blond squinted as he gave her a look of pure lust. “No need for the bathroom for that.”

“Yes, there is,” she informed him indignantly. “I'm not into that stuff.”

“Honey bunch, there ain't nothing against the rules in here. Now let’s you and me get it on while your friend watches. Or he can join in if he wants. I ain't picky.”

“Sure, sugar. Right after I get back from the bathroom. You don't go anywhere, you hear?” Cassie gave Reed a get me the hell out of here look, grabbed her skirt and shoes, and breathed a sigh of relief when he hauled her to her feet and into his arms. She held her clothes against her chest as he strode toward the restrooms.

Out of sight of the open area, he set her down. “Lock yourself in the bathroom and get dressed. Don't open that door for anyone but me. I don't care what you hear or how desperate someone sounds to get in, you keep that door locked. Got it?”

No need to tell her twice. As she stepped through the door, Reed glanced around and pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “Where the hell are you guys? It’s time to rock and roll.”

Cassie closed and locked the door, yanking her shirt and skirt on as quickly as possible in the cramped space. Just getting dressed made her feel safer--until reality hit. She'd done some stupid things in her life, but this had to be the Academy Award winner.

She washed her hands and wet a paper towel to wash her stomach. Then she splashed water on her face to slow her racing heart. She’d gone through a whirlwind of emotions in the last few minutes. Fear, excitement, lust, fear again. And she’d been afraid this Valentine’s Day would be boring.

Needing a distraction, she reached for her purse and realized she didn’t have it. It was still sitting under the table back in the club. Anyone could take it, along with her driver’s license and the keys to the apartment. Who knew what kind of weirdo might be waiting when she got home? And how was she going to get home in the first place without her car keys?

Panic threatened to set in and she firmly reminded herself that Reed was out there. He’d make sure she got home safely. She just hoped there wouldn’t be an unscheduled stop for a night in jail first.

She got tired of standing, so she ripped a handful of paper towels from the dispenser and spread them on the floor to sit on. While she waited for Reed to come to her rescue, she thought about what had just happened out there on the floor. Reed was everything she'd ever dreamed he would be, except he was a cop. She still couldn’t quite get over that one.

Something or someone slammed against the bathroom door, rattling the hinges, and she almost jumped out of her skin. There were shouts and screams, swearing, sounds of people running and things being slammed against the walls, loud commands from a bullhorn. Finally, after what seemed like hours, all was quiet.

Cassie counted to one hundred. Nothing happened. She reached for the doorknob, remembered Reed's command not to open the door until he came for her, and slid back down to the floor.

It was a long time before there was a knock and Reed's voice called, “Cassie, let me in.”

Stiff from sitting on the floor for so long, it took her a minute to get up and unlock the door. The outer room was empty except for Reed. Without warning, she burst into tears.

Cassie Mills, reduced to sobs. How embarrassing.

“Hey,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. “It's okay. Everyone's gone. I pretended to check the bathrooms myself and told the guys it was all clear. No one's waiting to arrest you”

Through hiccupping sniffles, she managed to tell him about losing her purse. With one arm around her shoulders, Reed led her through what had once been the hidden door into the open room, but was now little more than kindling. He retrieved her purse, still under the table where she'd left it, and walked her to her car.

“I'm going to follow you home, just to be sure you're okay. Can you drive?”

Cassie nodded and gave him a wobbly smile as she slid behind the wheel. Thank you.”

He gave her a mock salute before climbing into a snazzy black Camaro convertible. His headlights comforted her all the way home. She expected him to follow her inside, but instead he stopped in the street, waited until she'd closed the door behind her, and drove away.

Damn. What was it with him? Whenever she thought they might hit it off, he disappeared from her life like he'd been nothing more than a hot dream. She wanted to kick something, do something, to vent the frustration of watching him drive away. She settled for a protein bar and a tear-jerker movie.

She’d cried through Somewhere in Time and was halfway through Ghost when the doorbell rang. Not sure if someone else had followed her home from the club, Cassie picked up her baseball bat and hid it behind her back as she opened the door, leaving the security chain in place. Her heart started to pound when she saw Reed standing there. He had a hungry gleam in his eye, but she played it cool. After all, he had driven away and left her to nurse a broken heart.

“Can I come in?”

His question shook her out of her reverie and she glared at him through the narrow space before she slammed the door in his face.

She hesitated only a second before she yanked the chain loose and opened the door. She might be mad, but she wasn’t stupid. “Why did you drive off instead of coming in with me?”

“I had to go to the station and fill out my reports. There would have been questions if I hadn’t. I’ll be in enough trouble for cutting out early.”

The job came first. She understood that. Her dad was a fireman and he’d always put the job first. It didn’t mean he didn’t care, just that he had taken on a responsibility when he’d taken on the job. Her mother had never understood that.

Cassie looked up and he leaned closer until his lips were close enough to kiss. “So why did you come back?”

He skimmed a hand over her butt. “I wanted to see if we really had chemistry between us, or if it was just the circumstances and excitement of the moment. I’m betting on the first part. And we left some things unfinished.”

“We did? Like what?”

“Like me inside you. Like taking the time to get it right.” He fisted his hand in her hair and pulled her head back, running his tongue down the side of her neck until he reached her collarbone. The baseball bat fell from her nerveless fingers as he teased that area until it was hyper-sensitive, sending shivers down her spine with each stroke.

“Where’s your bedroom?”