by SJ McCoy
Work for it? He’d never worked to get a woman in his life.
Gina laughed at the look on his face. “What’s up? You don’t like the sounds of that?”
He grinned. “It’s just a novel concept. Not one I’ve come across before.”
“Well, it’s one you’re going to have to try out if you want to stand a chance with her. You can bet your ass she’ll make you work for it. You just have to ask yourself if you think she’s worth it. If not, then don’t even bother.”
He looked over at the bar to where Cassidy was chatting with Carter. She pushed her long blonde hair back over her shoulders as she laughed. She waved her wineglass around as she spoke. She threw her head back when she laughed. She drove him crazy! He looked back at Gina. “I think I’m nuts, but I think she might be worth it.”
Gina grinned and took his arm. “I was hoping you’d say that. Come sit down.”
Shane followed her over to the booth and slid in opposite Mason who smiled at him.
“You could have told me Cassidy was going to be here.”
Mason shrugged. “I didn’t know she was when I asked you.”
“And you wouldn’t have come if you had known,” said Gina. “And that would have been pretty dumb, considering you had your wires crossed about her and Carter. So how about a thank you instead of whining?”
Shane grinned. “Yeah, you’ve got a point. Thank you.” He turned to look at Cassidy at the same moment she and Carter started back toward the booth. She didn’t look too pleased to see him. “I take it she didn’t know I was coming either?”
“Erm, I may have forgotten to mention it,” said Gina.
Shane shook his head. He knew Gina’s warning was true—he was going to have to work for this one. “Evening,” he said as they approached the table.
“Hey, Shane,” said Carter.
Cassidy held his gaze for a moment then nodded at him coolly, before shooting an evil look at Gina.
The server arrived with menus and Carter slid in next to Gina, leaving Cassidy with no option but to sit beside Shane. He grinned up at her and patted the bench beside him. “Come on, I don’t bite.”
She shook her head as she sat down. “I might though.”
He raised his eyebrows with a grin, but said nothing.
She tried to hide it, but he didn’t miss the smile lurking behind her scowl as she rolled her eyes at him.
Once they’d placed their orders, Mason looked around the table. “So what’s everyone been up to?” he asked.
Carter shrugged. “Business as usual for me. I’m going to be flat out for the next couple of months.” He smiled at Cassidy. “I have some great new clients and some projects I’m really excited about working on.”
Shane watched Cassidy smile back. Now that he knew it, he could see it—she wasn’t interested in him. Not in the least.
“I can’t wait for you to get started on my place,” she said. “I love the plans you’ve drawn up.”
“We can change whatever you like,” said Carter.
“I don’t think there’s much I even want to change. There are a couple of touches I’d like to add, but nothing major.”
“Well, I’ve got you on the schedule starting Monday. We can add in whatever you want.”
“Where are you working this week?” asked Gina.
“I’m squeezing in a couple of Beau’s rental properties, getting them spruced up before high season.”
“When’s he back again?” asked Cassidy. “I need to talk to him.”
Shane groaned inwardly. He didn’t want her showing interest in another of his brothers. “Next weekend, I think,” said Carter.
“What do you want to talk to Beau for?” asked Shane.
She turned a cool gaze on him. He knew, just knew, that she wanted to say none of your business, but she didn’t. “I want to ask him about a possible rental for a friend of mine.”
The server came back with their food before Shane could ask any more.
Once they were done eating, Mason looked at Shane. “What do you say, little bro. Do you want to get your ass handed to you at pool?”
Shane grinned. “No thanks, but I’ll be happy to kick yours.” He looked at the others. “Want to make it doubles?”
“Go ahead, I’ll watch,” said Cassidy.
Shane grinned, she’d probably never played before. “You can play with me if you want to.” He said with a wink. “I’ll teach you.”
She smirked at him. Maybe he was getting through to her? “Maybe later. I’d like to just watch first.”
“Okay later.” He looked at Carter. “You and me?”
Carter nodded. “Sure.”
~ ~ ~
Cassidy smiled to herself as she followed the others over to the pool tables. She wanted to sit back and watch, figure out how good they were before she played.
As she perched herself on one of the stools to watch, Gina shot her a knowing smile. This was going to be fun. She’d played pool for years and loved it. It was funny how guys always seemed to think they had a natural prowess and would automatically beat women. She loved proving them wrong!
She watched Mason break, putting down two colors straight away. Carter went next, but didn’t put anything down. Gina looked as though she’d played a lot when she took her turn. Shane came to stand beside Cassidy as he chalked his cue. “I’ll show you how it’s done,” he said with a grin. “When I finish these guys off you can play with me if you want to.”
She met his gaze. “I have no intention of playing with you, Shane. In any sense of the word.”
He grinned. “You’ll change your mind once you know how good I am.”
“Don’t bet on it, Mister.”
He grinned. “Maybe that’s what we should do?”
“What is?” she asked.
“Come on, Shane,” called Mason. “Take your shot!”
“Bet on it,” said Shane with a wink as he walked away.
Cassidy watched him put three stripes down before missing and coming back to stand beside her. “I really am that good,” he said, keeping his voice low so the others couldn’t hear.
“You don’t know how good I am.” Cassidy couldn’t resist replying.
“I told you on the day I met you that I wanted to find out.”
“At pool, Shane. I’m talking about pool.”
He feigned innocence. “So am I, sweet Cassidy. What did you think I was talking about?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh, sorry. I thought you meant something else when you said you wanted to play with me. My bad.” She knew she’d scored points when his eyes widened in surprise. “And here I was ready to bet on it.” She had to hold back a laugh at the gleeful look on his face.
“What do you want to bet on?”
She shrugged. “Never mind. I had the wrong end of the stick, sorry.”
“No, go on. What are we betting?”
She shrugged. “We should probably play each other.”
He grinned. “Want to get out of here then?”
“Play pool, Shane!”
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, we play pool, we make a bet. I win, I get you.”
She laughed. There was no way he was going to win and she knew it. “You get me? Get me how?”
He looked over his shoulders at the others then looked back at her. “Get you naked,” he said in a low voice. “We’ve spent enough time teasing each other.”
She nodded slowly, then laughed out loud as an idea struck her. “And if I win?”
Shane shrugged. “You’re not going to, but I’ll humor you. What do you want?”
She held his gaze and slowly ran her tongue over her lips. “I get you naked and doing whatever I tell you to.” The goose bumps ran down her spine under the heat of the look he gave her.
“Seriously?”
She nodded. “Seriously.”
He held out his big hand and sent a tingly current of excitement zapping through her when she shook with him. “
You’ve got yourself a bet. And I win either way.”
Cassidy smiled inwardly. He was too cocky for his own good, and she was about to prove it.
Chapter Five
Cassidy couldn’t help smiling to herself as she watched them finish playing doubles. The game went all the way to the eight ball. She watched as Shane stepped up to take what should be an easy shot to win. She shook her head when he named the most difficult pocket to get to.
“Thanks,” said Mason. “I thought it was over, but you just gave us another chance.”
Shane gave him that cocky grin of his. “Oh, you of little faith. Don’t count your chickens, big brother.” He caught Cassidy’s eye. “I’m going to win, and I’m going to enjoy every second of my victory.” He took the shot and bounced the white ball off two cushions before it hit the eight ball and sent it straight into the pocket he’d named. He straightened up with a grin and high fived Carter.
Gina laughed. “You’re good when you want to be, Shane.”
He turned to Cassidy. “I’m great when I want to be. So, what do you say, Cassidy? Do you want to play me?”
She laughed. And slid down from her stool. “I’m pretty damned sure you want to play me!”
Carter looked at her. “Do you want to play doubles? I can help you beat him.”
He was so sweet. She touched his arm, and said, “Thanks Carter, but this is something of a grudge match. I think I can kick his butt all by myself.”
Mason laughed and looked at Shane. “Sounds like you might have met your match and you don’t even know it.”
Shane eyed her suspiciously. “She may think she can take me, but she doesn’t know what she’s in for.” He raised an eyebrow suggestively. “She can’t even imagine how good I am.”
“You’re the one who doesn’t know what he’s in for, Shane,” she said with a laugh, knowing he would interpret her words in a whole different way than she meant them. “You have no idea, but I cannot wait for you to find out.” She chuckled to herself at the look on his face. He totally believed that she meant the same thing he did. That she was going along with his innuendo. Yet, she had something else in mind completely.
“Me neither,” he said. “So let’s get on with it. Ladies first, you can break.”
She selected a cue from the rack and smiled at him as she chalked it. “Are you sure?”
“It wouldn’t be very gentlemanly of me to beat you before you even get to take a shot, now, would it?”
She laughed. “No. That’s not something a gentleman would do, but you’re not one anyway.” She held his gaze as she blew the excess chalk off the tip of her cue. This was going to be fun.
She stepped up to the table and broke. She didn’t put anything down, but spread the balls well.
“Nice shot,” said Shane.
Cassidy turned and rolled her eyes at the others. “He’s going to patronize me?”
Mason laughed. “He’s going to try, but I have the feeling you’re going to be able to shut him up?”
She grinned at them and nodded.
Shane smiled as he lined up his shot. “I’m not patronizing, I’m encouraging. I want you to relax and enjoy yourself.”
He put down two striped balls and then missed an easy shot on the third. Cassidy was pretty sure it was a deliberate miss. She smirked at him as she walked around the table weighing up her options. “You can go straight at it you know. You don’t have to go slow and take it easy on me.”
He smirked back. “I’d rather we take our time and make it last. I don’t want it to be over too soon. Especially if I get there before you even get warmed up.”
She laughed out loud. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Shane. I’m all warmed up.” She bent over the table right beside him and wiggled her ass to nudge him out of her way. She put down three colored balls before looking up. She smiled at him and deliberately missed the next, leaving the white tucked against the cushion behind the eight ball. “Oops!” she grinned at him. “Sorry.”
He shook his head at her. “No problem.” He managed to get the white ball out and at least hit one of his stripes.
“Nice shot,” she said and couldn’t resist patting his shoulder in as motherly fashion as she could manage. “Well done, you.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Now who’s patronizing?”
She laughed. “I thought it was encouraging!”
“Okay. You made your point. Game on.”
She rolled her sleeves up as she eyed the lay of the balls, weighing up her next shot. Shane followed her and she shot a look back over her shoulder at him. “You wouldn’t be trying to put me off, would you?”
“Not at all.”
She bent over the table and looked down her cue, making sure she could get the angle she wanted. She bit the inside of her lip when Shane came to stand right behind her and leaned in a little closer. She turned her head to meet his gaze. The laughter was gone from his eyes, replaced by an intensity she wouldn’t have thought him capable of. He placed a hand on the small of her back sending the tingly shivers racing through her. All she could do for a moment was stare back into his eyes. He dropped his gaze to her lips, making her think he was going to kiss her. Her eyelids lowered, and her breath was coming low and shallow. She wasn’t going to be able to resist. The feel of his hand on her back was making her want to throw the game and let him take his prize right here on the pool table. The moment seemed to last for minutes until he broke it by standing abruptly.
“It’ll be a tough one to pull off, but I reckon if anyone can make it, you can.”
She continued to hold his gaze. She had the crazy feeling he was talking about something more than the shot she was about to make. She shook her head. She was getting carried away. Her body was reacting to him and her brain was getting fuddled in the process. She turned back to take her shot. Cutting a sharp angle she sliced the ball into the middle pocket. “You’d better believe it,” she said over her shoulder as she lined up the next shot.
He went to stand at the other side of the table. As the next ball rolled into the pocket she could have sworn she heard him say, “I’m afraid I’m starting to.” Whatever the hell that might mean.
~ ~ ~
Shane watched the last colored ball roll into the pocket. Only the eight ball remained. Cassidy gave him a victorious grin as she walked around the table toward the white.
“Can you handle losing?”
He nodded. He didn’t like the idea of losing, but given that she’d said that if she won she wanted him naked and doing whatever she said… He held her gaze for a moment.
“Be warned, Cassidy. He’s a sore loser,” called Mason.
She nodded without looking away from Shane. “I imagine he is. But you’re also a man of your word, right, Shane? If you lose, you’ll honor the bet?”
He nodded, relieved that she wasn’t wanting to change the terms. “Yep. Whatever you say.”
She pointed to the far corner pocket with her cue.
“Okay,” he said.
She made pretty much the same shot he’d made to win the game of doubles. The white bounced off two cushions before hitting the eight ball squarely and sending it neatly into the pocket. She straightened up with what he could only describe as an evil grin on her face.
“Good game,” he said.
She nodded. “It was.”
“So, do you want to collect your winnings now?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I was thinking of Thursday night. You can come to the gallery when I close up.”
Shane knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t help it. “Great. I’ll take you to the Valley Lodge for dinner if you like?”
There was something a little worrying about the mysterious smile she gave him, but her words were enough to make him ignore it. “Oh, that’s okay. You don’t need to buy me dinner. The gallery will do just fine for what I have in mind.”
Shane swallowed and adjusted his pants. She wanted him naked, doin
g whatever she said—in the gallery? And she didn’t want to bother with the niceties of dinner or a date first? He grinned. “Sounds great.”
She chuckled. “It does, doesn’t it?”
Carter came over and slapped him on the back. “It’s nice to see you’ve learned how to lose graciously.”
Shane laughed. He could hardly explain why he wasn’t the least bit sorry to lose. “This may be a one off, bro. Don’t expect me to be like this next time you beat me.”
“Do you want to play again? I can give you a chance to practice being a good loser?”
Shane shook his head. “I need to get back to the ranch. I wasn’t planning on staying out late tonight.”
“Fair enough,” said Carter. He looked at Cassidy. “How about you? Do you want to help me beat Mason and Gina?”
Shane scowled to himself. He’d said he didn’t want to play because he was hoping to get Cassidy alone for a while. He was relieved when she shook her head. It seemed she had the same idea he did. “I should really get going, too. But give me a call? I want to go over the landscaping design with you before the weekend.”
“Sure thing. I’ll be down your way working on one of Beau’s rental houses. I could stop by when I get finished?”
“That’ll be great. Is the house available for rent?”
“Yeah, he had a lot of work done on it the last few months and didn’t want to put it on the market until he was sure it would be ready.”
“In that case would you give me a call before you leave there? I have a friend looking for a place. I’d love to come over and see it.”
“Of course. In fact I can show you what I’m doing over there. You might want to use something similar at your place.”
“Which place is it?” asked Shane.
It’s the old Handler place, the big cabin on the river, just a little further down from Cassidy.”
Shane nodded. “It’s a great house,” he told Cassidy. “The perfect vacation spot.”
She shook her head. “She’s not coming on vacation. It’ll be a few months at least by the sounds of it.”
“Oh, how come?”
She looked a little uncomfortable.
“We’re going to get going,” interrupted Gina. It seemed to Shane as though she was covering for Cassidy for some reason. The surprised look on Mason’s face confirmed it.