Going Down Hard

by Carly Phillips

  Her eyes softened at his description of the organization that meant so much to him. “How so?” she asked. “How do they help?”

  “If an adult patient is terminal, the organization steps in and helps pay—rent, utilities, food bills. Whatever is necessary. And they’re currently raising money to build something akin to the Ronald McDonald Houses, or St. Jude’s, where families can stay for free near hospitals.”

  “What a wonderful mission,” she murmured, her voice crackling with emotion. “I’m excited to attend and find out more about them. And just think about the all the people who will learn about it once your series of articles are published. People like you, with money, who want to donate to a good cause,” she said, her enthusiasm rising along with his own.

  “It’ll give you added dimension, but the more important thing is the potential for raising money,” she said with a bright smile.

  It meant something to him that she understood the importance of House of Hope. Something that endeared her to him even more. There was so much they had in common, so much he liked about her, he thought, knowing he was falling and hard.

  The problem was, they didn’t live in a bubble, just the two of them. Her family existed, with all their flaws and issues. He’d dodged a bullet today, had been able to cope with her brother, probably because Becky’s phone call had saved him from dealing with him for an extended period of time.

  If the bastard had had time to continue, Derek might have ended up throwing the first punch and no doubt landing his ass in jail for assault if he’d even once mentioned Derek’s mother.

  He was only human, after all. And though he was doing his best to work around their problems, he didn’t know whether they, as a couple, could ever get past the realities of life.

  * * *

  Cassie spent hours getting ready for the gala. After doing some online research and talking to Derek again, she’d realized this was a black-tie event. Good thing she had appropriate dresses for the occasion. She was nervous to spend time with his partners and their significant others. She hoped the women were more like Lucas than Kade. She didn’t want to have to fend off Derek’s protective friends tonight.

  He picked her up at her new apartment, and Derek West in a tuxedo was a sight to behold. His big body filled out his jacket, from his broad shoulders to his tapered waist. His hair was slicked back, and he presented a powerful figure, a sexy man who, tonight, was all hers.

  “You clean up nicely,” she said, her gaze drifting over him appreciatively.

  “And you look fucking gorgeous.” He lifted her hand, kissing the back before turning her around so he could get a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of her red dress.

  The gown dipped low, revealing her cleavage in the front, while from behind, it revealed her lower back. It was the sexiest thing she owned, and she reveled in his blatant, admiring stare.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  She picked up her shawl and nodded. They traveled to the event by limousine, with a divider partition separating them from the driver. She sat by his side, her thigh touching his pants, sparks of awareness flooding her system.

  He placed one hand on her bared knee, rubbing his thumb over the exposed skin. Her nipples were tight and her sex damp as they alighted from the car. It was destined to be a long night until they returned to her place, but she had something to look forward to.

  Once inside, he led her over to where his friends stood. Nerves took flight in her stomach as he introduced her and, in the men’s case, reintroduced her.

  “Cassie, you remember Kade, and this is his wife, Lexie.”

  A pretty woman with brown hair and light blue eyes, in a silver dress, met her gaze with a welcoming smile. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”

  “Same here,” Cassie murmured.

  Derek placed a supportive hand on her back. “You already know Lucas, and this is his fiancée, Maxie.”

  A petite blonde with a slight baby bump leaned into Lucas’s side, smiled. “Hi.”

  “Hello,” Cassie said with a smile.

  “And not to state the obvious,” Derek said, “but this is Kendall, Lexie’s—”

  “Twin,” the woman finished for Derek. “Hi.”

  “Hello.” Cassie glanced between Lexie and Kendall, noting they were, indeed, identical. Both beautiful women, though Lexie’s eyes sparkled with happiness, while it seemed Kendall was more subdued.

  “And last but not least, this is Carter McCord, Kendall’s date.” He gestured to a nice-looking man with dark hair and a beard, who stood beside Kendall.

  “Blind date,” Kendall said with a brittle grin.

  Cassie nodded, glad she wasn’t in that position tonight.

  “Derek, I’m really looking forward to walking Oscar. Can I come by to meet him tomorrow or another day this week?” Kendall asked. Her eyes lit up at the mention of Derek’s dog.

  “Sure. Let’s do tomorrow. I only have another week left with my current girl. I’d love for him to meet you sooner rather than later. Just call or text me with a heads-up before you come.”

  “Great!”

  “How many dogs do you walk at one time?” Cassie asked. Oscar seemed like enough of a handful.

  Then again, she didn’t own a dog, much as she’d love to someday. She didn’t know how she’d handle more than one.

  Kendall shrugged. “I don’t do multiple families at once. So if one of my clients has two or three dogs, I walk them together. Otherwise just one at a time.”

  Before Cassie could reply, Kendall gasped, the color draining from her face.

  “What’s wrong?” Lexie asked, immediately coming to her sister’s side.

  “Julian’s here,” Kendall said on a horrified whisper, her gaze locked on someone across the room.

  From her years covering the tech world, Cassie knew that Julian could only be Julian Dane, Lucas, Kade and Derek’s former partner. The men had a sordid history that included a lawsuit and Julian staking a claim on Blink. He’d also tried to ruin Kade’s reputation. Cassie didn’t know what Kendall’s issue with Julian Dane was, but the other woman was shaking.

  “That son of a bitch,” Kade muttered. “He knows this is something our whole team attends. I can’t believe he’d show his face.” His entire body turned rigid, and he took a step in Julian’s direction.

  Derek was faster, grabbing Kade and holding him back from confronting Julian and causing a scene.

  “He’s not getting near Kendall,” Kade said, his anger tangible, clearly protective of his sister-in-law.

  “Everyone breathe. I’ll have him escorted out,” Lucas said, heading across the room to avert trouble.

  Kendall shook her head. “No. I’m an adult. I can handle being in the same room as him,” she called after Lucas.

  The other man ignored her.

  Kendall started to go after him, but Lexie grabbed her hand. “Let Lucas handle it.”

  Kendall spun to face her twin. “I’m not sick. I’m stronger now and I know his game. I promise, you don’t have to worry about me. None of you do.”

  Derek grasped Kendall’s shoulders gently. “Kendall, it’s not you we’re all worried about, it’s that snake. Why give him the opportunity to get close to you again?”

  Kendall closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m just tired of everyone else fighting my battles.”

  He nodded in understanding. “I get it. But Kade considers you family, and he’s protecting you the only way he knows how.”

  Cassie was taken in by Derek’s gentle side, his delicate way of handling Kendall. Whatever the story behind Kendall’s issues—I’m not sick… I’m stronger now…—Derek clearly understood how to make her feel empowered while diffusing the situation.

  Lexie looked from her husband to her sister, obviously torn between them.

  Cassie could help. “Kendall, do you want to get some breathing room?” she asked the other woman, because her date seemed utterly dazed and useless.

  Kendall glanced across t
he room, where Lucas was talking to Julian, and a brief look of longing crossed her features before she turned back to Cassie. “Sure. I could use some freshening up.”

  Cassie turned to Derek. “I’ll be back.”

  “Go,” he said with a grateful smile. “I’ll deal with things here and catch up with you soon.”

  Cassie and Kendall walked out a side door, nowhere near where Lucas and Julian stood. They entered the ladies’ room, where they were luckily alone.

  Kendall fell into the soft ottoman in front of the mirror and sighed. “I hate that one mistake keeps coming back to haunt me.”

  “You … and Julian?” Cassie guessed.

  Kendall nodded. “I’m bipolar. I was having issues and Julian took advantage. I had no idea he was using me to get to Kade. To help him get a part of Blink.” Her lashes fluttered and a tear dripped from her eyes. She grabbed a tissue and blotted her face.

  “You fell for him, didn’t you?”

  She swallowed hard. “We had a lot in common, or so he led me to believe. But he didn’t know I was sick. And I wasn’t ready to confide in him. I found out he was using me…” She shook her head. “I hate him.”

  Cassie wasn’t so sure. Although he sounded like a class-A asshole, a part of Kendall clearly still had a soft spot for the man she thought he’d been.

  “Let’s change the subject,” Kendall said. “What’s going on with you and Derek?”

  Cassie laughed at the other woman’s blunt honesty. “I’m not really sure.”

  “What about you? It doesn’t look like you’re thrilled with your blind date.”

  Kendall tipped her head back and laughed. “Now that is an understatement. We couldn’t be more different. Looks like I’m in for a long night.” She straightened her shoulders. “Might as well get back to it.”

  And since Cassie wanted to return to Derek, she agreed.

  Chapter Nine

  While Derek watched for Cassie’s return, he hung with Lucas near the bar. Maxie had excused herself to take a phone call. He wasn’t sure where Kade and Lexie had disappeared to, but Lexie was probably calming her husband down. Kade and the mere mention of Julian was an explosive combination.

  Derek appreciated that Cassie had removed Kendall from the situation without knowing all the details. But now that Julian had left the event, everyone could get back to enjoying the evening. And he intended to do just that with Cassie when she returned.

  “What happened with Julian?” Derek asked Lucas.

  “What always happens with Julian. I read him the riot act, warned him to stay away from Kendall. He swore he didn’t know she’d be here.” Lucas shrugged. “I know we always come to the gala, but she doesn’t. So he could be telling the truth. But he couldn’t take his gaze off Kendall either.”

  Derek groaned. “How’s he doing?”

  “He’s mellower. Something’s changed with him, though I can’t put my finger on what. And since we’ll never be tight again … I probably never will.”

  Derek let out a slow breath. “Got it. And agree. Listen, since I have you alone, I need a favor. Remember you hired a PI to look into Julian? I need the name of the company you used.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  Derek leaned an elbow against the wooden bar top. “I want to do some digging into Cassie’s brother. Her old man handed him the chairmanship, and he treats her like shit. He spent the last year in Europe and has no business experience that I know of. I can’t help but wonder if he’s the weak link to my buying the company.”

  Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. The PI’s name is Evan Mann. I’ll text you the number tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Are you sure you want to dig around behind Cassie’s back?” Lucas asked.

  Derek rubbed the back of his neck. “No, but I’m going to. My gut is telling me there’s more to her brother than she knows.”

  Lucas leaned on the side of the bar with one elbow. “You know what’s best. Are you still planning a takeover?”

  Derek shook his head. “Not in a way that screws Cassie. I haven’t figured out what I want to do, but information is my friend.”

  “She’s coming.” Lucas gestured toward the far side of the room, where Kendall and Cassie were walking toward them.

  Kendall was attractive, but Derek only had eyes for the woman in red. Her dress had enough slits to tempt a man to sin, and Derek was more than ready to misbehave with Cassie, as soon as possible.

  “Hi,” Cassie said, joining him, a smile on her beautiful face.

  Kendall waved and headed toward where her sister, Kade, and Kendall’s date stood by a window across the room.

  “I’m going to go find Maxie,” Lucas said, excusing himself and walking away.

  Derek turned to Cassie. “Hi, yourself. How is Kendall? Is she more settled?”

  Cassie nodded. “She is, for now. But something tells me she and Julian Dane have unfinished business.”

  Derek frowned at that assessment. “That’s not good. Because from what Lucas says, Julian doesn’t seem finished with her. And I really don’t want to have to bail Kade out of jail. He’s extremely protective of his sister-in-law.”

  “Because of her mental illness?”

  “She told you, did she?”

  Cassie nodded. “I like Kendall.”

  “And that’s why Kade is so protective. She’s likeable. She’s family and she’s fragile, although less so by the day. And Kade can relate to someone having … issues.”

  “What aren’t you saying?” Cassie asked.

  Derek didn’t normally talk about his friends behind their backs, but he trusted Cassie. “Kade deals with OCD and anxiety. He has a special affinity for Kendall.”

  “I see. But all is quiet for tonight?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Want to check out the silent auction?”

  “Sure.” He clasped her hand in his, and they spent the next twenty minutes perusing the choices.

  Every item, like seats behind home plate to a Yankee game, had a piece of paper with a starting bid and the increment in which bids could go up. All proceeds went to House of Hope.

  Cassie paused at an item with a dog leash and collar on the table. Six months free dog walking, courtesy of Kendall Parker. “Oh!”

  “Did you get a dog I don’t know about?” he asked.

  She shot him a wry glance and picked up a pen. Nobody else had bid yet. She scribbled her name, email, and a bid, then tried to pull him to the next item.

  He held on tight to her hand and glanced down. “One thousand dollars for six months of dog walking, hmm? For a nonexistent dog?”

  Her cheeks flushed pink. “You can use it for Oscar, and I’ll have donated to an important cause. Now let’s move on.”

  And he’d pay Kendall out of pocket, so she didn’t lose out. Her donation was generous but he was sure she could use the money.

  His heart warmed at Cassie’s sweet gesture. Not only was she taking care of Oscar and, by extension, him, she was giving to his charity. Now he intended to bump up her bid and give even more.

  He snatched the pen and scribbled his own information.

  She glanced over his hand. “Five grand? Are you insane?” she asked, eyes wide.

  “Why not? I can afford it and what better use than House of Hope? And don’t you dare think of matching me. It’s the thought that counts in this case, and I appreciate it.” He tugged her close. “I appreciate you.”

  He slid a hand behind her, placed his palm on her bare back, and pulled her against him for a kiss meant to express more than he was willing to say.

  He traced the seam of her glossed lips with his tongue, slipping inside for a champagne-laced taste. “Mmm.”

  “Mmm is right.” She tilted her head back and wiped the gloss off his face with her finger. “Red really isn’t your color,” she said with a grin.

  “Maybe not, but it sure is yours.”

  “Why, thank you,” she murmured.

&nbs
p; Before he could dive back in for another taste, the lights above them flashed, indicating the cocktail portion of the evening was over.

  “Ready to head over to the table?”

  Cassie slipped her soft palm back into his. “Lead the way.”

  A few minutes later, they’d joined the rest of the group at the large table in the ballroom. Beautiful white flowers and gold lamé decorations sat in the center.

  The speech part of the night began almost immediately. Derek normally tried not to fall asleep during these events, but tonight he had a captivating date. And he found a way to keep himself occupied.

  He slid his hand beneath the long draping of the tablecloth that reached almost to the floor and began to pull Cassie’s dress up, sliding his hand along the silken skin of her leg.

  Her shocked gaze shot to his.

  He kept his grin to a minimum but continued to play. Starting at her knee, he grazed her inner thigh with his fingertips, skimming his way up her flesh until she was visibly squirming beneath the table.

  “Derek, stop,” she whispered.

  “Nope.” He continued until his fingertips grazed the crease of her thigh and her sex, causing her to gasp, which she immediately covered with a light, deliberate cough.

  “Are you okay?” Kendall asked from a few seats down.

  “Fine.” Cassie picked up a glass of water and took a long sip, forcing a smile. “See? All better.”

  He swiped his finger over her sex, finding her wearing a tiny thong. She moaned and clenched her jaw, shutting her mouth. He grinned and he slipped a finger beneath the damp fabric, finding her outer lips covered with arousal.

  His cock throbbed against the placket of his pants, and he was grateful nobody could see either one of them.

  “I’m going to kill you,” she muttered, curling her hands into fists in her lap.

  He placed his free hand behind her back and leaned closer. “Shh. Nobody is going to know.” Back and forth he whisked, swiping her clit with each pass of the pad of his fingertip.

  She trembled in her seat. He’d never been to a more interesting fundraiser, he thought, breathing in deep, inhaling her fragrant scent.