by Tina Susedik
“Dammit, not tonight.”
With a shrug, he put on his pants and shirt, wrinkling his nose at the tangy smell of steak sauce. Not bothering with the buttons, he headed barefoot down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Hogan rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “That sure smells good.” His stomach growled loud enough to make them both smile and relieve the tension in the room.
“By the sounds of it, we’re eating none too soon.” She handed him a glass of wine. “Your stomach’s growling loud enough to wake the Brewers from a batting slump.”
Hogan couldn’t hold back a snort.
“Don’t tell me. You’re a Sox fan.”
“Of course I am. Any self-respecting person from Illinois would be a White Sox fan.” He saluted her with his glass and smirked. “Or a Cubs fan.”
“Oh, brother. How can anyone root for a team that waves smelly white socks in the air?” she demanded.
Hogan opened his mouth to defend the team he’d supported since he could yell “Go, Sox, go!” but the beeping of the microwave cut off his retort. He had to satisfy himself with knowing his team actually had a better record than hers. If he had anything to say about it and this case was wrapped up to his satisfaction, they’d have years to argue sports. He sat across from her and dug into food tasting as good as it had smelled at the restaurant.
Hogan sat back in his chair and patted his stomach. “Aahh. Now all parts of me are satisfied.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “For now, anyway.” He enjoyed the blush that crept up her neck and face.
“I have a question for you,” he said, discarding his original idea to ask her about her ex. Besides bringing up kids, bringing up an ex after making love was probably not the wisest course to take. He needed to come up with another idea—and quickly.
With her eyebrows drawn together and the way she was worrying her bottom lip, he’d better come up with something good.
“After spending two weeks overseas, I’m taking a few days off to recuperate.” He smiled as inspiration struck. “I was wondering if there was any way you could get a few days off and go somewhere with me? With kids back in school and most people done with vacation, we could go up north and not have to fight crowds.”
Cassie’s eyes widened. “You want to go away with me? Alone? Away from Milwaukee?” She placed her napkin on the table and closed her eyes.
Hogan’s stomach took a nosedive. Damn. She was taking too long to answer and was going to turn him down.
“Listen, I guess it was a dumb idea. I shouldn’t have suggested it so soon, but I think it would be fun.” He pressed his palms on the table to stand.
Cassie touched the back of his hand. “Are you withdrawing your invitation? Because if you are, you’ll really tick me off.”
Hogan couldn’t hold back a smile. “Really? Does that mean you’ll go with me?”
“I’d love to, but I’m up for a promotion at work, and right now I can’t spare a few days off. By Wednesday I’ll know if the new position is mine.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “If it were any other time, I’d jump at the chance to take a few days off. Can I take a rain check?”
Hogan stood, walked around the table, and drew Cassie into his arms. “I got so excited thinking about spending more time with you, I didn’t think about anything important like work.” He caressed her back. She moved into him, waking his libido. “I’ll take you up on that rain check. Could you possibly get away for the weekend?”
Cassie gave him a quick kiss and pressed her crotch against his hardening penis.
“It’s in the realm of possibility that I could go somewhere with you next weekend. We’ll celebrate my promotion. When would you want to leave?”
“I’d leave tonight if I could. But I suppose I’ll survive the week until Friday. Can you get off early? I could pick you up at noon.”
“By which watch?” she asked, her eyes dancing. She wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Brat.” He held his arm up, holding the watch to her face. “This one, see. It has the right time and every . . . Man, it’s eleven already.” Hogan took her by the hand, leading her through the kitchen and up the stairs.
When they entered her bedroom, he picked up his underwear and turned in circles. “Where are my shoes and socks?”
“In the living room. Are you leaving?”
He stopped at the doorway, wondering if she’d mind if he stayed. “I’m sorry, Cassie. Sometimes when I have a plan of action, I forget about the things around me. I would love to spend the night, but I need to get more sleep.” He gave her an all-embracing glance. “If I stayed with you, I’m afraid sleep would be the last thing we’d do. Besides, that condom was the only one I had. I wouldn’t want to chance not using protection.”
Cassie laughed and pushed him out the bedroom door. Since ending her long sex-drought, there was no way she was going to let him leave.
“I have a better idea. There is a twenty-four-hour drugstore a few blocks away.” Placing her hands on his shoulders, she followed him down the stairs. “You could go pick up a box or two.”
Hogan stopped and stared. “A box or two?”
With a mischievous grin, Cassie helped Hogan slip on his coat. “Well, it is only eleven o’clock.”
Hogan fumbled for his car keys.
“The night is still young,” she murmured.
He grabbed for the doorknob and turned back when she snatched the back of his coat.
“What’s wrong? Why are you stopping me? We need condoms. Lots and lots of condoms.”
“Uh, Hogan?” She leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. “I don’t think the store will let you in without shoes.”
Cassie bit the inside of her cheek as Hogan held up the shoes he still held in one hand and the car keys in the other. “Hogan? Shoes. Feet. Drive. Store. Condoms. Boxes of them.”
Cassie giggled and moved him to the couch, pushed him into a sitting position, took his shoes, slipped them on his feet, sans socks, and guided him out the door.
“Men!” she muttered at his back as he left the house. Then she giggled again. He was coming back to spend the night. A night that would hold untold promises of intense pleasure.
“Men,” she sighed, running upstairs to straighten up the bed and prepare the bathroom for a sensuous soak when Hogan returned.
Chapter 13
Cassie waltzed into work Wednesday morning, still floating on a sea of clouds. Nothing, absolutely nothing could bring her down from her own personal fluffy, puffy cloud. And it just wasn’t from having wild, passionate sex with Hogan. Today was THE DAY.
Everyone smiled and greeted her with anticipation. Some gave the thumbs-up. Little did they know her joy was from more than the promotion.
Cassie wound her way through the large room filled with computer programmers. A small stack of pink-colored message slips on her desk didn’t deter from her joy. Her inbox piled high with file folders needing attention made her laugh. She was in love. Four days ago if someone had mentioned it, she would have laughed at the obscure emotion, one she had no use for. But now . . .
If her friend Jill came in today, gushing about her love for Brad, she’d understand. Not that she’d start oozing out her love for Hogan. She wanted to keep her feelings to herself for a while. They were too fresh, too new and fragile.
After staying over Saturday night, Hogan didn’t leave until Sunday afternoon. Then he was back at her door Monday night with flowers, wine, and Chinese take-out in hand. The number of condoms in the box shrunk in size. She wouldn’t let him come over Tuesday, telling him she needed her rest for Wednesday. Then they ended up spending an hour on the phone so she didn’t get to sleep early anyway.
“Hi, kiddo. Just had to stop in and see if the rumors are true.”
“Rumors?” Cassie asked, setting the receiver back in the cradle. “What rumors?”
Jill’s head disappeared around the divider. Cassie heard murmured voices.
“Listen, kiddo,” Jill said, appearing around the divider again. “I can’t talk now. What time is your meeting with the big honchos?”
“Two o’clock.”
“Good. I’ll meet you for lunch at twelve-thirty.” Jill disappeared again.
It all happened so quickly, Cassie wasn’t even sure Jill had been at her cubicle. She shrugged. Oh well, if it was a mirage and Jill didn’t show for lunch, Cassie could daydream her way through a solo meal.
The women slipped into a booth at a nearby café. Cassie barely had time to take off her coat when Jill started where she left off earlier, leaving Cassie a little disoriented.
“Okay, the rumor is Cassie Jordan came strolling through the office calling out greetings with a cat-eating grin on her face. I heard she must have found out early that she got the promotion. You know, rumors like that.” Jill leaned her elbow on the table, propped her chin in the palm of her hand. “But I have an idea it’s something altogether different, isn’t it?”
“What?” Cassie stared at the menu, ignoring Jill’s insinuating tone.
“Don’t ‘what’ me, dear friend. You would have told me if the promotion was yours. Personally, I think you found yourself a man. Spill your guts. Tell me about your weekend. When a woman gets all dreamy, it can mean only one thing.” Jill wiggled her fingers at her friend. “Come on, come on. Spill. And I want details.”
Cassie tried to clear her face of any emotion, but a smile lurked at the corners of her lips. “And just what is that supposed to mean?” She hoped she sounded innocent.
“It means, my dear friend who hasn’t had a good lay, or any lay for that matter, in who knows how long, that you have been to bed, and I’d say many times this weekend, with a handsome, hot-to-trot man.” Jill tapped her forefinger against her lips. “And I’d further say that the man was Hogan Wynnters. Am I right?”
Cassie wished she could stop the damnable blush creeping up her neck, the heat making her want to fan her face. She kept her hands securely around her cup of coffee.
Jill slapped a hand on the table, startling nearby customers, and laughed. “I knew it.” She patted the back of Cassie’s hand. “That’s wonderful, girl. You need to go out more, play around, have good plain sex.”
Cassie sighed and wrapped her fingers around her cup. “All right, all right, I admit it. But it’s not just plain sex, Jill. It’s . . . It’s . . .” The grin finally spread across her face.
“Wow, woman. You’re . . . You’re . . . in love? Oh, Cassie, that’s wonderful,” Jill gushed in a way that only another woman in love can. “Does he feel the same way about you? When did this all happen? Come on, girl, come clean.”
Sitting back in her seat, Cassie folded her hands on the table and realized that sharing something this special with her good friend made it seem real. Like Jill so succinctly put it, Cassie wanted to spill her guts.
Cassie ignored the word love, because it was way too early for that. “I’m not sure how it all happened. It’s been so fast.”
She took a sip of her coffee and looked at Jill’s eyes glowing in anticipation. “Two weeks ago, Bess dropped off her kids, Billy splattered carrots all over the place, and then Hogan showed up. Billy screamed, I ran, Hogan followed . . .”
“Wait, wait,” Jill ordered. “Slow down. Fill in the details. We have time before your meeting. But I think this is ten times better than getting a promotion.”
Funny. That’s how Cassie would describe regaling the events of the past few weeks. In the re-telling, she saw the humor in the situations, both women laughing so hard about the steak sauce, they couldn’t eat their lunch. Customers filing by on their way back to their jobs stared and shook their heads at their antics. Cassie didn’t care. Until she got to the loving part, then she sobered up.
Jill placed a hand on Cassie’s arm. “Hey, listen, Cassie. You don’t have to go any further. Making love with someone you care about is something a woman should cherish in her heart. I can tell that what you and Hogan have is special. I don’t need details.” She grinned and smacked the table. “Now if you two had just shacked up for the weekend and had wild, crazy sex, then I’d want every minute detail, down to the size of his . . . well, you know.”
Cassie smiled. If her friend only knew how wild she and Hogan had been, she probably would be shocked. Although the way Jill talked about Brad, probably not. Now that she thought about it, Jill never gave details about her love life with Brad. Maybe he was the one for Jill.
“So, how does Hogan feel about you?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t said. I do know I have feelings for him, I’m just not sure it’s love or not.” Cassie heart flittered to her stomach and back again. “He has a silly sense of humor, is smart, and of course handsome. He must like kids because he was great with Bess’s. Most of all, I like how he makes me feel—all jittery and happy. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Especially not with Tony.”
She recalled Hogan’s comments about their children. Could he feel the same way about her? This time it was Cassie who reached over to grab her friend’s hand.
“Oh, Jill. I’m so happy. I never knew a person was capable of feeling like this.”
“Like you could do cartwheels?”
“And flips,” Cassie added.
“Like you’re able to take on a Sumo wrestler?”
“And all his buddies.”
“Like . . .”
Cassie laughed. “Jill, I think we get the picture.”
Jill crossed both arms on the table and searched Cassie’s face. “I am so happy for you, Cassie. But you know what makes me the most proud right now?”
“What?” she asked, mimicking Jill’s pose.
“The way you’ve overcome your problems and taken Hogan into your heart.”
Cassie grabbed the edge of the table. “What do you mean?” Had she missed something? What problem was Jill talking about?
Before Jill answered, Cassie’s cell beeped.
“Cassie,” a co-worker said, “you have to hurry back. They’ve moved the meeting up half an hour. Richard is already in Mr. Peters’ office.”
She grabbed her purse and tossed some money on the table. “I have to go back.”
“What’s happened?” Jill asked, keeping on the heels of her friend.
People stepped out of her way as she wove through the lunch crowd and out the cafe door.
“They’ve moved the meeting up. That ass, Richard, is already with Mr. Peters.”
The realization of what Richard was up to seeped through her brain. “Damn that man.” Cassie glanced over shoulder. Jill was a block away. She had no time to wait.
Half a block to go. Her breath hitched and her side started to hurt. She couldn’t let Richard win. She just couldn’t. She was nearly to the office when someone grabbed her arm.
“What’s the rush, Cassie?”
It took her a moment to realize who had her in his grip. “Tony? What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you to stop gabbing with your friend.” He yanked her down the sidewalk.
“Dammit, Tony, let go of me. I’m late for a meeting.”
He shook his head, glaring down his long narrow nose at her. “I have to talk to you and it can’t wait.” His hold on her tightened as he hauled her into an alley.
The slap she gave him had no effect. “What do you think you’re doing? I’ll scream if you don’t let me go.”
Tony tightened his grip on her wrist. “Go ahead, scream. I’ll simply tell anyone who comes that you were trying to steal my wallet.” With his free hand, he took his wallet and dropped it between
them. “Let’s see who’d they believe. I’m not releasing you until you tell me where my papers are. I’m missing a box, too.”
Cassie’s wrist pulsed with pain. She gritted her teeth. With his money and family name, he would be able to convince anyone she was trying to steal his damn wallet. She’d be better off trying to learn what he wanted. “What the hell are you talking about?” A brief memory of the box of art she’d found in the attic crossed her mind, but she dismissed it. Those were her grandma’s antiques.
Cassie hoped Jill had seen Tony, but her heart sank when her friend rushed past the alley’s entrance. “I don’t have any of your papers or boxes. I only took what was mine when I left.”
He jerked her hard enough to make her head snap. “Listen, bitch, I want them, and I want them now.”
She jerked at his hand, digging her nails into his skin until he yelped. He let go, sucked on the claw marks, then swung back to hit her.
“Don’t you dare,” she said through clenched teeth. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but you’d have some explaining to do if I returned to the office with a bruise on my face. And you’d better believe I’ll have you arrested for assault.”
“You’ve changed, Cassie.”
“I sure as hell hope so. I’m not the same woman you walked all over. I’m not your wife any longer, and you can’t force me to do anything.” She took a step toward the street. “Besides, it’s been over a year since our divorce. If you left any papers behind, I’d have found them and more than likely burned them. Since I didn’t, you’re out of luck. Now I have an important meeting to attend.”
“Oh, that’s right. Your little promotion.”
Cassie remembered hearing Tony’s voice at the restaurant the other night. Her stomach clenched. “What do you know about that?”