“Okay,” she said, composing herself. Let’s get to it. “Who is Serrano and why did you accuse me of having my own stash?”
His eyebrows lifted. “First of all, that’s two questions.”
She watched the lines on his face, waiting for one of them to tic out of place. Not one moved. His features stayed as they were—confident. Cocky, even.
“Even if I had said it,” he started. “What does it mean? Serrano is a brand of cheese, a type of chili pepper, and a street in Buenos Aires. Why would I need to bring any of that up while you and I were reacquainting in the park?”
True. But he’d said Serrano’s territory, and she highly doubted it had anything to do with cheese, peppers, or Argentina.
He practically rubbed his hands together in excitement. “My turn.”
Resisting the urge to bite her lip, she tried to keep her expression neutral and wait patiently for him to ask his question.
“I’m assuming you’re also going to ask me about the park,” she said. “So, go ahead. Get it over with.”
He laughed. “I have you alone and a promise that you’ll tell me the truth to any question I ask, and you think I’m going to waste that on crap about the park?” His eyes glittered. “You wish.”
She gulped. Oh, boy. “Um, okay. What were you going to ask then?”
His smile broadened, the corners curling. “How many partners have you had?”
Cass nearly swallowed her tongue. That wasn’t conversation one had with a man she just met. “I can’t answer that.”
“Ah, ah, ah.” He waved a finger. “Honesty, remember?”
“I’m not lying, I’m saying I can’t answer that. It’s too personal. We just met.”
“Says the woman who went to a bar for a one-night stand,” he countered.
“That was different.” That had been impulse. Reaction. She hadn’t thought that through.
Unconvinced, he said, “Well, we’re getting to know each other now.”
Her jaw dropped. “By going into detail of how many people we’ve each slept with?”
“I didn’t say anything about going into detail, but hey, if you’re up for it, I’m all ears.” He punctuated his comment with a wink. “And I don’t recall needing to say how many people I’ve slept with. But if you’re dying to know, which you very well might be, that can be your next question.”
Cass gulped. She was in over her head. This was a game, a very risky game with an opponent who was much stronger and more cunning than she. The problem wasn’t that she didn’t want to answer his question. The problem was that she did. What was the matter with her?
“That’s not going to be my next question,” she said, trying to stay tough. “And you don’t need to know how many men I’ve slept with.”
“People,” he said. “How many people you’ve slept with. How do I know you didn’t have crazy nights with your girlfriends in college? I want to be thorough. You know, since we’re being honest and all. The devil is in the details.”
She pushed aside the nerves rising inside her and tried to regain her composure.
How had she gotten here? She’d wanted someone to build her pride back up after learning about Daniel, then she’d wanted to see if Luke really was who he claimed to be. And now—hell, she didn’t know what she wanted. It certainly wasn’t to freely relinquish details to him about her sex life.
She’d had one partner—Daniel. That was it. Though that didn’t mean she was inexperienced. She and Daniel had been pretty damn hot in the beginning of their relationship. The last few months, however, had been stale and virtually nonexistent.
What would Mr. High and Mighty think of her if she admitted she’d had one partner her entire life? Especially after looking for a one-night stand a day earlier. Not that she cared what he thought. But then again, she did. And that was what hit her the hardest. For some reason, she cared very much what Luke thought about her.
He looped a finger around a thick lock of her hair and tugged gently as he started singing the theme song from Jeopardy.
Husky, she said, “Are you serious right now?”
He sang louder and surprisingly on key. His gaze traveled down her body, lingering on her breasts, where he licked his lips.
“Fine. One. Happy?” she said.
He stiffened. His eyes shot to hers. “Seriously?”
She wasn’t going to repeat it, so she nodded.
His face scrunched up. “One? That’s it?”
“Gee, thanks,” she said. “I feel so much better about telling you.”
“No, I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just…how? Why? Sex is exciting. It’s fun. Why wouldn’t you want to keep doing it?”
She’d been in a committed relationship since college. There had been no need to sleep around. Er, at least for one of them.
“That’s more than one question,” she said instead. “My turn.”
He crossed his arms. “That’s fine, but remember your answers, because I’m going back to those follow-ups.” He scratched the back of his neck. “One. Wow.”
“If that’s how you’re going to be. How many people have you slept with?”
“More than one,” he said, smirking.
She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t.
“That’s not an answer. You have to give me an answer. I was honest and told you my number. Now you have to. We promised we’d be honest.”
“I was honest,” he said. “I’ve slept with more than one person.” He flashed an open palm like he was a damn Cub Scout. “That’s the honest truth.”
“A number,” she insisted. “You have to give me a number, goddamn it.”
A devilish smile started in his eyes before it reached his lips. It was enough for her stomach to tighten. She didn’t really care if he’d slept with one woman or a million women, it still didn’t stop her from wondering what each episode had been like. If he’d satisfied every one of them.
Of course he had. He’d said it himself that first night—a woman’s needs came first.
“My turn again.” He lowered his face to hers with a sexy smirk. Dozens of wicked ideas came to her, making her want to mount him and try every single one tonight. It should’ve been enough to send her running for the hills. The similarities between Daniel and Luke were definitely there. Good looking. Suave. Smooth talker. But Daniel had never, in all their years together, been able to give her a look that made her entire brain short out. Risky game, indeed.
He scooted closer, and his gaze never leaving hers. “What’s your favorite position?”
Crossing her legs, she placed a hand over her knee in an attempt to stop fidgeting. “H-how are any of these questions helping you get to know me better?”
He tilted his head and stared at her.
“Besides what I’m like in the bedroom, I mean.”
A single finger trailed up from her wrist to her elbow, drawing gooseflesh in its wake. “What someone likes in the bedroom translates almost identically into who they are outside of it.”
“Yeah right.” She was intrigued though. Especially since Daniel had gone outside of their bedroom for more action. “How?”
“Well, let’s start with missionary.” He took her hand, flipped it over, and set his palm across hers. Then slowly, oh so slowly, began a circling rub. “If someone likes doing it the standard, boring way, you can bet your sweet ass they do everything else in life standard and boring, too.”
He couldn’t be more wrong. She loved missionary. And she definitely didn’t consider herself boring or standard. She loved the feel of a man over her, his body larger and more powerful than hers, taking control of her needs and using that power to overtake her.
Cass threaded their fingers together. Her hand was beginning to get warm. “Not if you do it right.”
His lips twitched. “There are much better positions.”
“Like cowgirl?” she asked, and this time she braved something new. Followed an instinct she was used to ignoring. If he
could distract her so much with his touch, then she could do the same to him.
She rose to a knee and threw a leg over the other side of his lap. He couldn’t possibly think this was boring. “I guess you’ll say that it’s a slight step up and less boring than missionary.” Her words came out rougher now, and by the low dip of his Adam’s apple, he didn’t seem to mind. “But this would make the woman the alpha. I’m guessing you don’t like that.”
His hands secured around her waist, and he looked up into her eyes. “It’s one of my favorites, actually. You can have the control you crave. Ride how hard or fast you need it. I’ll have the visual stimulation I prefer, watching every square inch of you on display.” He pumped his hips once, connecting with her heat. “It’s equally beneficial, don’t you think?”
Oh. Wow. A bolt of excitement erupted between her legs. Put that way, all she could do was visualize it. And it didn’t escape her attention that he’d placed himself and Cass in a future scenario.
“Now if you really want to go at it,” he continued with the other hand running up her back toward her neck, “and want to show that you’re adventurous and take charge, then you’re going to want to do the windmill.”
“The windmill?” she echoed. That sounded complicated. “That’s a sexual position?”
“Sure is.” His hand closed around the back of her neck. “You’re on top. Once you get warmed up and ready, you lie flat on top of me.” His hips rotated up. “Then you spin your body in a clockwise direction.”
Cass froze. No. Not possible. “The human body can’t maneuver that way.”
He looked sheepish, and his hand fell back down to her waist. “Honestly? I just made it up. I have no clue if it’s a thing or not. Wouldn’t mind giving it a try to find out though.”
Wait a minute. What?
Was he serious?
She caught the twinkle of humor in his gaze.
He broke first, then they both started laughing.
“How did we even get on this topic?” she asked.
“You were dying to know how many people I’ve slept with.”
“I wasn’t dying,” she said. “Just trying to even the score. You heard about my illustrious one. I wanted to hear about your millions.”
“Millions.” He snorted. “Please. I’m pretty sure it would be humanly impossible to sleep with a million people.”
“Bet you’d like to give it a try, though, wouldn’t you?”
Smile transforming into something secret, he dropped his gaze to her cleavage peeking out the top of her crisscrossed neckline. “Only if I get to pick the when, where, and who.”
It was her turn to snort. “You’d be selective?”
“Shouldn’t I be?” he asked, bringing his gaze back up to her eyes. “It’s no fun sleeping with anyone and everyone. You’ve gotta be choosy. That’s half the fun. It’s a game, really.”
All the humor seeped out of her immediately. A game. To most men, it probably was a game. It had probably been a game to Daniel. Or maybe not a game so much as a challenge. Could he get away with it. And he had. For months. Making her feel like the biggest, most gullible idiot.
Cass rose off Luke’s lap and landed hard on the sofa cushion beside him.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Luke asked, reaching for her thigh. “It was a joke. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Cass threw a look at him, catching his serious expression. “That’s what Daniel said his affair started out as. Just something casual. Then it blossomed into much more.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know—I didn’t mean—”
“I know. I just wish he would’ve told me. The worst is that he went behind my back and did it. If he wanted her, he should’ve said it. Instead, he let it go on for months. All that time I sat around and worried about him coming home late. I made excuses as to why he couldn’t attend functions with my friends or coworkers.”
He placed a warm hand over hers. “That couldn’t have been easy. But at least now you know. Some people live one big lie. Hell, some people lead double lives. Kiss one woman and the kids good-bye in the morning, then go into the arms of a second woman after work. And neither has any clue.”
True. But it didn’t make her feel better. And she definitely didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
She pulled her hand from under his and looked around the TV area. “So what’s the deal here? You live in the basement of your grandmother’s house? I’m assuming one of the women is your grandmother, right?”
He didn’t turn awkward like she’d expected, which caught her off guard. He seemed like the kind of guy who would be embarrassed to have to live with his grandmother if he’d fallen on hard times. Since his reaction wasn’t even on the same spectrum of embarrassed, he was either A-Okay with living at Grandma’s house or there was another reason he was here.
“It’s Maybel’s place,” he said. “But she’s not my grandmother. She’s a friend. I needed a place to stay while I was in town, and she was nice enough to offer.”
“Couldn’t you just rent an apartment?” She wasn’t trying to be rude or nosy.
He did look away then. When he came back, that uncertain expression had resurfaced. “Honestly?”
She nodded. “Please.”
“I hate being alone. Always have.” He shuffled away from her on the couch and ran a hand over his short hair.
She sidled back toward him and placed a hand on his forearm. “What is it?”
Deep sigh, then, “I didn’t have the easiest upbringing. Those kids you work with? The ones you’re trying to help?”
She nodded for him to go on.
“Well, I didn’t have anyone like you to help me. Nobody cared if I made it in life or not. It was up to me. And by some…I don’t know, divine intervention or dumb luck, I made it out. Did something with my life. But it wasn’t easy. There were years when I didn’t think I was going to survive.”
Waiting for him to continue, she imagined what his upbringing had looked like. How different it had probably been from her own. She’d had more than enough love and support to ensure that she could do whatever her heart desired. She’d had every opportunity to succeed.
“My mom.” His throat bobbed on a hard swallow, then he said, “My mom was a drug addict. She, uh…” He looked away and his fists clenched. “She didn’t make it.”
“Oh, Luke,” Cass said, the fingers on his arm immediately closing tighter. “I’m so sorry. When did you lose her?”
He dropped a surprised glance down at the touch, then after a few seconds threaded his fingers with hers. “I was eight when I found her on the bathroom floor.”
She gasped. Dear God. Eight. A child with no one to go to or rely on. What kind of world had he lived in? “Did you have any other family? Any at all?”
His lips pursed as he gave a small shake of his head.
Cass rested a hand on his cheek and turned his face to her. She gazed at him with as much sympathy as she possessed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Luke. What she did…what she must have put you through. It’s terrible.”
Luke watched her with blue eyes that were more poignant than they’d been minutes ago. When he talked about sex, his eyes took on a molten blue like a flame burning at its hottest. But when he was honest, brutally honest, his eyes lit into an illuminated pure-sapphire hue. It was the most dazzling sight she had ever seen.
“I’ve actually never told anyone that before,” he said. “I’m not sure why I brought it up now.”
He’d never told anyone about his mom, but he told her. And he’d admitted that he turned on the TV when they’d walked in because he hated silence. She had trouble pulling her next breath. It touched Cass that he’d trusted her with such intimate details, but it also broke her heart, knowing how much his past must have shaped the man he was today.
If they were being honest with each other, she had to admit that something pulled at her—an instinct to comfort and take care of him. She yearned to take t
hat hurt away from him. She wanted to heal whatever pain he was still holding onto. Working with some of the most neglected kids in the country, she grew to recognize real hurt. Luke did a damn good job covering it up with his sarcasm and flippant comments, but it was there. She realized that now. The caretaker side of her wanted to help him move past that hurt. Even if it wasn’t her job to do it. Deep down, she wanted to anyway.
Cass crawled back into his lap, but this time it wasn’t to turn him on. Instead, it was for support. She cradled his face in both her hands and placed a slow and meaningful kiss upon his lips. They were warm and soft, and the way he sighed deeply told her he’d needed it. The connection from another caring person.
“I’m glad you told me,” she said against his lips. “Thank you for trusting me.” She lowered her mouth to his again, and this time he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back much deeper.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, Cass paced barefoot on the soft carpet in her condo with her cell phone resting between her ear and shoulder. She was attempting to ease her father’s fears about living alone now that Daniel was officially out of the picture.
Her ex had left about thirty minutes ago after packing up his belongings. He’d admitted that he’d been seeing Natasha for longer than the few months he’d implied. It had hurt at first. But whether it was one time, a few months, or a few years, he’d still done it. It was the betrayal that mattered most to her, not the length of time.
“But how are you?” her dad asked, his usual concern in his voice.
“Fine.” Cass set the basket of laundry she’d just washed and dried onto the bed. “Really. I’m fine.”
She didn’t dare bring up her date with Luke, knowing that would introduce a whole other topic for her dad to worry about. The man was one big ball of anxiety, so unless Cass thought this thing with Luke might actually turn into something, mum was the word for now.
She’d stayed another hour last night with Luke. The more they talked, the more comfortable she grew to open up even more about herself and her family. Luke truly seemed interested in what she had to say. He asked a lot about her work, which she loved because it was her passion. He spoke more about his mom and his childhood, which fueled her attraction. She wanted desperately to ask about every little detail, but she didn’t want to push him into talking about it if he wasn’t ready. By the end of the night, they’d agreed to keep this thing between them open. There was definitely something there.
In Walked Trouble (Under Covers) Page 10