by May Sage
But above everything else, Cassie fucking loved his damn dog.
“Careful. Buddy comes from a breeder who seemed pretty severe – he doesn’t really like anyone except me,” Carter warned her as the quiet, stoic dog eyed her with interest.
If he hadn’t said that Buddy was a four month old puppy, she would have assumed he was a fully grown dog – he was huge, and seemed so quiet, so well trained.
But the adorable floppy ears betrayed him.
“Hello Buddy,” she said tentatively, kneeling a couple of feet away from him.
The instant she’d reached his level, the dog jumped into action, his tail wagging with fervor, whimpering as he jumped at her and proceeded to lick her face.
“Never mind,” Carter laughed, holding his hands up in surrender.
Buddy didn’t leave her side – not when Carter went to feed him, not when he told her her bath was ready.
Yes, he’d ran her bath water for her. Yes, she was very giddy about it. It was… intimate. Caring. The kinda stuff that fed her imagination, making her believe that this was heading somewhere it just wasn’t going.
Friends, he’d said. When would she finally stop seeing more? This was pathetic.
Unless he’d changed his mind…
“It’s time for your walk, Buddy-boy,” he announced, shaking his lead.
The puppy eyed him with contempt, and proceeded to carry on making a fuss over Cassie.
“Alright, fess up. The dog took two weeks to warm up to me.”
“That’s because you’re a dominant alpha male and all that jazz. I’m just a big softie and he knows it,” she replied, stroking his tummy.
“A dog walker takes him out every four hours, but it’s really time to go. Do you mind coming with? I’ll run you another bath.”
She didn’t mind at all; in fact, she could get used to it.
Too easily.
Chapter 14
Buddy didn’t let her take her bath alone; he insisted in tagging along in the bathroom, crying as though someone had been pulling his teeth in front of her door until she relented and let him in.
Carter only wished he could get away with doing the same.
What the fuck was he doing here?
He actually had the answer to that question, he was just questioning his sanity for submitting himself to it again.
He was dating Cassie.
They hadn’t put it into words, let alone finding any sort of label for it, but that was exactly what they were doing. Whenever something happened to him, she was the first person he told, and vice-versa. He called and sent texts without reason. He wanted to know about her day, he told her about his. And tonight was most definitely a date – an indoor one, which seemed even more dangerous. More intimate. Just… more.
Lost, and a little frightened, perhaps, he found himself calling the one person he trusted above all else. Cassie had just gotten in the bath: he had some time for a chat.
She answered on the third ring.
“Why hello, Carter. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Can’t a son just call his mother without an ulterior motive?”
“He certainly can, but we both know he won’t. Get to it, I haven’t got all day.”
He hesitated, because neither of them liked to bring up that particular subject.
“I’d like to talk of Elena.”
“I’d like to forget Elena ever existed,” his mum growled in response.
“You never liked her. But when I told you why she broke up with me, you said you saw it coming…”
“Of course I did, a million miles away. Now, don’t take it the wrong way, but at the time, Harris Toys wasn’t what it is today – you had money, but you were a nobody, and that woman,” she said, her tone degusted, “was after a bigger prize. You were just a stepping stone.”
He opened his mouth to contradict it, and closed it again. She had always wanted to go to the latest function and mingle. She had left him for an up and coming actor.
“But when she said I didn’t pay enough attention…”
“Get real. You forgot your anniversary – so what? Her birthday, Valentine’s Day, her mum’s birthday; you were there for all of those. And every day, after work, you went home to her. Your only mistake there was going for a gold digger.”
Carter was silent on the other end of the phone, considering everything she’d just said.
“You never liked Elena; not from the first meeting.”
“She was shifty. Her eyes never stayed in one place, always looking for something to focus on. Her laugh was fake, too. And she didn’t look at you like you were the best thing invented since chocolate.”
He couldn’t help it, he had to ask.
“And Cassie?”
“Well, she’s too shy, a pretty girl like that should have more self-confidence.”
“She’s gotten better recently,” he said, feeling some pride in that admission.
He knew it was at least partly thanks to him.
“Good. When she looks away, though, it’s steady, and full of humility. She doesn’t fidget or shift. She doesn’t lie. That girl is a pillar – you can count on what comes out of her mouth. You know she got me that scarf, right?”
He smiled. No, no he hadn’t.
“She passed it to Lucy. Softest and warmest damn thing I’ve ever worn – I hope you pay her enough to afford cashmere for your old mama.”
“We pay our employees plenty,” he said, a bit affronted. Then, he added, “She’s making some money, too. She writes books.”
“Good ones?”
“Naughty romance. You’d approve.”
“Good grief! Marry that girl before some else swipes her off her feet, I’m telling you.”
Carter didn’t know what possessed him to confess to it, but he did.
“Someday, I just might.”
“Good boy.”
Some noise from the bathroom indicated that she might be done.
“Okay mom, thanks for the chat. See you Saturday?”
“No, not before next Saturday night,” she rectified, reminding him, “it’s your Halloween party, we’ve cancelled lunch this week and next as I’m helping Lucy with the organization, remember?”
“No, so thanks for the reminder,” he groaned, recalling an unpleasant fact.
His mother wasn’t the only one he’d scheduled to see the Saturday after next. He also had a date with Tara.
Fuck.
“For the record? This bubble bath was worth every penny.”
Carter turned and froze. He knew what yoga pants were but he hadn’t registered that they’d fit to her every fucking curve and drive him out of his mind.
It only hit him then that she never wore anything tight – and now he knew why. If she did, every man in her department would walk around with a constant hard-on.
Her appearance right then also explained the hairbands, the pink lipstick, everything she did to make herself look young and innocent.
Shy little Cassie Franklin was Playboy Bunny material.
Long legs, firm thighs, box gap, generous hips, small waist, fucking perfect tits. Hell. With her face cleared of her make-up and her hair wet, falling in wave around her, she was his every fantasy made flesh. How could he not have seen this earlier? How did she hide it so well?
“What?” she asked innocently.
Then she proceeded to bend down to pat Buddy. Oh, god, that ass. Carter found himself biting his knuckles. Un-fucking-believable.
“Nothing. You just look nice, is all.”
She blushed, sending him a shy smile.
“Okay, better start on that risotto.”
Buddy and Carter both followed her around like the lost puppies they were.
Something had shifted tonight, she wasn’t sure what. It was perhaps the whole domesticity of the scene - her taking a bath at his place, the shopping, the walk with the dog.
Over the last three weeks, they’d had an untold understanding: whenever the
y exchanged a hot, lingering look, and remembered what it felt like to feel each other intimately, they ignored it.
Now, Carter didn’t. In fact, quite the contrary.
“How can I help? Put me to work. I can chop and… chop some more.”
She laughed.
“Okay, start with the shallots then.”
They worked side by side in relative silence, Buddy between them.
“Music?” he asked, and without her assent, he turned on some blues.
“Summertime, and the livin’ was easy,” she sang along Ella, the familiar lyrics rolling of her tongue.
“Of course, she sings!” Carter exclaimed, his tone half amused, half exasperated.
“Mama wishes I didn’t,” she replied, fondly. “She was a professional singer, you see. She and my sister are very good – I’m not.”
“Honey, some people sing, others torture their surroundings. That was singing.”
“Are you under curtain one or curtain two.”
“Pray you never find out the answer to that question.”
When they stopped speaking, the air was filled with so much tension she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.
Thankfully, he did.
“Fuck this shit.”
On that lyrical note, he pushed the chopping board back, took her by the hips, and lifted her on the countertop, before capturing her lips under his.
Chapter 15
Fucking finally.
That was the one thought running though his mind as he explored Cassie’s lips, gently, as though they had all the time in the world. They did.
This felt so right, so simple, yet so strong. His face dipped to her neck and he inhaled eagerly before kissing her there, too, as she moaned in pleasure.
“Don’t make noises like that, Cassie darling. We have a dinner to cook and eat, and a movie to watch. Moan again and we’ll skip right to dessert.”
“Maybe I want dessert.”
Holy fucking shit. Cassie took control, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, and pulling him close, before resuming their kiss; only this time it was hungrier, angrier, deeper, impatient.
Fuck.
She started grinding against him and he just lost it. His hand went to the waistband of her pants and right between her legs. Christ, she was drenched. He could just rip them off and dive inside her heat, and he would have, too, if it hadn’t been her, Cassie Franklin, who was for, all intents and purpose, a fucking virgin.
Remembering that particular piece of information should have toned his fervor down, but instead, it completely ignited it.
“Hold on to me.”
He carried her hurriedly, walking around Buddy.
“Sorry baby dog,” he apologized, before kicking the door of his bedroom close behind them.
“Last chance to change your mind, Ms. Franklin,” he breathed against her lips, putting her down on his bed, slightly damp hair on his pillow.
“I’m not changing my mind. Never in a million years.”
Thank heaven and hell for that.
He took a step back to watch her there.
“Fucking perfect.”
“You’re one to talk.”
She seemed to want to add something, but bit it back.
“Come on, now – don’t be shy. Spill it out.”
She got up on her knees and advanced towards him, until she was close enough to reach his tie; pulling it towards he, she got him on the bed, while saying, “I want to see you. All of you.”
Her needy voice made his dick throb in his pants.
“There seems to be a shirt in the way. And some pants, too. Do something about it.”
“And if I don’t?” he teased.
The cleverest thing he’d ever said in his life, because her response was to grab his shirt and pull until it ripped open, buttons flying everywhere.
Fuck.
“You’re beautiful.”
It must be a joke, coming from her.
“Remove your clothes for me,” he told her huskily. “If I get my hands on them, they won’t survive as long as my shirt.”
She smirked and took her time to remove her top, first, then her yoga pants. She wore very simple underwear underneath, white practical stuff that seemed so her. Unassuming. Natural.
Cheap. Good. He could destroy cheap without feeling guilty. Ripping them from her limbs took seconds, and then he was looking at the most exquisite pair of breasts he’d ever seen, and a pink pussy glistening under soft blond curls.
That was an invitation he just couldn’t refuse.
“Sweetheart?”
“Yes?” she breathed softly.
“Feel free to beg me to stop. Just know that I won’t.”
And on that note, he started feasting on her nether lips.
Damn, she tasted so sweet, spicy and feminine.
“Ahhhhh.”
He laughed against her; he’s just gotten started.
His fingers joined his tongue, teasing, coaxing, pinching, ignoring the way she scratched his back and asked for pity, screaming his name at the top of her lungs.
“Pleaaaaase!”
Finally, she came apart, her juices coating his chin.
Carter removed his trousers and placed himself at her entrance, hovering there for a little while.
“Are you ready for me Cassandra Franklin?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes wide.
“Speak.”
“Yes. Yes, please.”
“Yes, what?” he asked, gliding his dick against her clit.
“Please, do it.”
“Do what?”
He was teasing her and enjoying every second of it. So was she.
“Please put your fucking monster cock inside me this instant, or I may have to castrate you, Carter Harris!”
They both laughed; how crazy was that? He’d never associated sex with laughter before. Or with… any of what he was feeling right now.
Wet as she was, he went in easily at first, but Christ, the woman was tight as fuck, gripping him firmly.
He breathed out with difficulty, willing his balls to cooperate. It wouldn’t do to embarrass himself and come right away. He pushed his hips out and back in a little further, again and again, until finally, he was lodged to the hilt, his balls slapping against her ass at each thrust.
God, she felt so good. So soft, so wet… Nothing had ever been as good as this before.
Sudden, he realized why.
“Shit. Are you on any contraception?”
He never forgot condoms. Never. Today, he had.
Why wasn’t he freaking out? Why wasn’t he stopping his hips from bringing them both closer to the brink at a maddening rhythm?
“No,” she replied, her as fucking pussy tightened even more around him. Shit, so close.
“I can pull out.”
It was going to take everything out of him, but he could. Possibly. Maybe.
“Say fuck it,” he told her, pounding harder.
“Fuck it!”
Shit. They might be making a child right now. A little Cassie.
“I’m gonna come, Cass. Get there!”
His hand went to her clit, just pushing against it, and she went over the edge right with him.
Fuck.
They stayed there, breathing hard, unmoving, still entangled in every way.
“Carter?”
“Yes?”
“You called me Cass. No one calls me Cass.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I like it.”
Good.
“My Cass.”
Chapter 16
They didn’t watch the movie; they never made the risotto either. At eleven, they’d explored each other’s body thoroughly three times, when her stomach growled in protest, so he called for some pizza. She’d needed the energy for round four. And five. And the sixth one, when he woke her around four in the morning, too.
His body clock woke him two hours later, but after a cou
ple of minutes of consideration, he was taking making an executive decision for them both.
“Trick, can you go down to accounting and tell the boss Cassandra Franklin is feeling unwell today?”
His friend sounded smug as shit when he asked, “and you know that before sunrise because…”
“No comment.”
His friend surprised him by keeping the teasing to a minimum.
“I’m happy for you, Carter. You’ve been less of an ass since you started getting pussy-whipped.”
Then, he surprised him again.
“Word of warning. Michelle – Cassie’s boss – is going to give her a hard time if you go public. Hell, she’s giving her a hard time now.”
What the fuck? Why hadn’t she said that?
“She was against hiring her – I vetoed it. Cassie and she went to the same school, only your girl got a double major, and was top of her class. She’s been giving her trouble since day one. I didn’t intervene, because frankly, I was hoping she’d replace her soon, and managers need to know how to deal with issues like this.”
“She’s fired. Get her out of the office by Monday.”
He could almost see Trick shaking his head.
“Carter, we can’t fire someone under contract with no reason. She’ll just come at us with a law suit.”
He bit back his retort, willing himself to think clearly, but truth was, he wanted her gone if she was an issue for his woman.
Cassie…
He glanced back towards his half-opened bedroom where she still slept peacefully.
“I’ll talk to Cass about it and get back to you. But I won’t have her work in a hostile environment.”
“Yep, I called it. Pussy whipped.”
“Go fuck yourself, Johnson.”
He hanged up, and proceeded to google recopies for pancakes, like the pussy-whipped boyfriend he was.
Dreaming. It must have been a dream, right? A delightful, enchanting, exquisite dream…
“Hey beautiful.”
She opened her eyes to find the most perfect specimen of maleness in front of her, wearing nothing but his boxers, and holding a tray full of pancakes covered in syrup with a side of bacon and coffee.