Engaging (Alluring Book 2)

by Sarah Curtis

  She wanted to reach out and touch him, make sure he was real. So many times she had envisioned what would happen if she ever saw Gage again. What he would say, what she would say, but she hadn't expected the deep longing she felt for Gage being her strongest emotion. And she hated herself for it.

  Gage was the first to speak. "You look beautiful. Still the prettiest thing I've ever seen."

  His eyes devoured her, missing nothing. Cassie straightened her spine. Did he actually think she would fall for that line again? Cassie felt a surge of anger. She was no longer the naive teenager she once was. She was a woman now, a mother. Someone who knew how it felt to have their heart stomped on and didn't relish having it happen again.

  She stood abruptly, her eyes narrowed, and her body shaking with emotion. She opened her mouth to speak, but he brought his hand up and caressed her cheek, a feather light touch that sent goose bumps down her arms. She lost all train of thought and just stood there like a ninny, swept away by old emotions.

  She remembered how it had felt, being in his arms, feeling loved, protected, and cherished. Only, it had all been a facade. She had to remember that. "What are you playing at, Gage?" She asked, in barely a whisper, but he heard her.

  "I'm not playing at anything. I just really missed you and your beautiful face."

  Cassie took a step back. She couldn't think while he touched her. She slowly brought her hand to her face. Her fingers covering the spot Gage had touched. "You had your chance five years ago. You missed it then, as you're about to miss it now. Good-bye, Gage."

  She turned and ran away. Not her finest moment, but all she could think about was putting distance between them. She heard him shout her name, but she didn't stop, couldn't stop. Gage Hunter was dangerous to her in more ways than just her heart.

  * * * * *

  Gage stood paralyzed as he watched Cassie disappear into the crowd. His brain screamed, don't let her get away, and his feet immediately took action. He ran out the front door of Mase's house in time to see the taillights of a red SUV exiting the gate. Several lights flashed and questions were shouted. Damn, he'd forgotten about the paparazzi. He kicked the door shut on his way back in. He needed to find Mase.

  He found him in the kitchen talking with Jackson Cole, hotel owner and good friend.

  Mase greeted him by lifting his beer. "You want one, man?"

  Gage shook his head. "How do you know Cassie Wagner?" He asked, leaning against the kitchen counter and folding his arms across his chest.

  Mase gave him a quizzical look. "The name sounds kinda familiar."

  Gage continued, "Long blond hair, green eyes, about 5'3"."

  Mase laughed. "You just described half the women here."

  Gage gave an exasperated sigh. "She was wearing a light-yellow, cotton sundress."

  Mase thought for a minute then snapped his fingers. "She's the dog chick."

  Gage practically growled, "She's not a dog. She's fucking beautiful."

  "No," Mase shook his head and waved a hand, "she works with dogs or some shit like that. She's Sam's friend. If you want to know anything about her, you'll have to ask her."

  Jack spoke up. "What's this about, Gage?"

  Gage looked down at the floor. "We dated a few years ago. She was in college at the time, and we met when I played a concert at her school. Things got pretty serious, but before I left to go on tour, I told her long-distance relationships never work, and I broke up with her." Gage shook his head and looked up at his friends. "Biggest mistake of my life. Didn't know what I had, until I let it go. I went back to find her, tell her I loved her, but she disappeared. Dropped out of school. Even her damn cell phone had been disconnected. Today was the first time I've seen her in five years, and she ran away from me. Not that I blame her." He uncrossed his arms and stood from the counter. "I broke her heart and then I broke mine." He gave a nod of his head and turned to leave the kitchen.

  Mase called his name, and he stopped and turned back around. His serious expression was so un-Mase-like that Gage found himself paying careful attention to what he had to say. "Go find Sam." That was it, three simple words but full of meaning.

  Gage gave him a chin lift, then left.

  * * * * *

  Cassie knew as she stepped through the door of the ranch house that she would get shit from her aunt about being home so soon, and she wasn't wrong.

  "Cassandra Wagner, why the heck are you home so early? You've only been gone a few hours."

  Logan sat, coloring at the coffee table and at the mention of her name his head snapped up. He got to his feet shouting, "Momma," running at her full steam and wrapping his little arms around her thighs in a tight hug.

  "Hey, little man." Cassie squatted and enfolded her son in her arms. "I missed you." She backed away and looked at him. "Were you a good boy for Auntie?"

  He nodded his head, shouted, "Yes," then ran back to his coloring.

  Her aunt shook her head. "I wish I had half his energy. Now, tell me, young lady, why are you home so soon?"

  Cassie looked over at Logan, making sure he wasn't paying attention to their conversation. "I ran into Logan's father."

  She heard her aunt inhale a shocked breath. She didn't know who Logan's father was, no one did, except Monica. She still kept in touch with her college friend, but she moved back home to New Mexico after graduation so didn't see her as often as she once did.

  "Did you tell him about Logan?"

  Cassie gave her a sharp look. "Of course, not. I didn't say anything. I just left. That's why I'm home so early."

  "I know I've said this before," her aunt started, and Cassie already knew what she would say, "but, he has a right to know he has a son."

  Cassie sighed, she loved her aunt, truly. She was the one person who had stuck by her when she had wanted to keep Logan and her parents had wanted her to put him up for adoption. Let's just say, relations between her and her parents had been strained, actually, they had been nonexistent, for the past five years, but her aunt had always supported her. Literally and figuratively. "My reasoning is the same today as it was back then. He broke up with me because he didn't want to be tied down. I'm not going to tie him to me with a child."

  Laurie shook her head and sighed. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I am going to tell you that I think you're wrong. The man has a right to know. Now, I've said my piece, we won't talk about it anymore. I want to know about Charlie. Did he go to a good home?"

  And that was what Cassie loved about her aunt. She spoke her mind, gave you her advice, but she didn't preach. So Cassie let her change the subject and told her all about Charlie and his new home.

  Cassie lay in bed that night, unable to fall asleep. Her thoughts were full of Gage. She knew it was unhealthy to think of him. It had taken a long time to mend her broken heart and it hadn't helped that Logan was the spitting image of his father. Cassie had taken her aunt's words to heart. Sometimes, she did wonder whether she had made the right decision all those years ago. Especially, when she looked at Logan and worried she had cheated him out of the love of a father. He didn't understand now but in a few years he would, and one day he would ask.

  She honestly thought she had done the right thing, this afternoon, in not telling Gage about Logan. She didn't want to trap Gage, make him feel obligated to a child he didn't want. His career was important to him, and with him always out on tour, how often would he be around anyway?

  But a small voice in the back of her head called her a liar. Telling her the real reason she didn't share Logan with Gage was because, after so many years, if he ever found out, he would hate her. In all honesty, she had been scared to tell him. Even though she would most likely never s
ee he again, she didn't want, if he ever thought of her, him thinking of her with bad feelings. Having him hate her would kill something inside her, the piece of her heart that belonged forever, exclusively to Gage.

  July 4, 2010

  "So, have you done the deed yet?"

  Cassie relaxed back against the lounger, eyes closed, enjoying the hot July sun beating into her skin. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Monica. Her friend was not relaxed. She sat upright on her lounger, leg bouncing, as she speedily flipped through the pages of a magazine. "I've only known him for three weeks."

  Monica stopped flipping pages and looked at Cassie. "So, is that a no?"

  Cassie laughed. "Yes, that's a no."

  "Why not? If I had some hot rocker panting after me, I'd be all over that."

  "I know, and I have been thinking about it, but you know this is a big step for me." Cassie turned her head back forward and stared sightlessly at the antics going on in the pool. Their apartment complex catered to college students and on a Sunday afternoon, the pool area could get quite hectic.

  Monica flipped a few more pages of her magazine. "You're going to have to bite the bullet at some point. It might as well be with a super-hot rock star."

  Cassie sighed and closed her eyes. The last few weeks with Gage had been incredible. He'd been sweet and attentive. They had held hands, kissed, did some heavy petting, and she had never felt pressed to give more.

  She would be twenty next month. What the heck was she waiting for? Not marriage. The fact was, she had never really had a long-term boyfriend. She'd had a few boyfriends in high school, a couple even lasted longer than a few months, but she hadn't been ready for sex then. Well, she was ready for it now, but she wasn't sure how to bring up the subject with Gage. She didn't know how to tell him she was ready without embarrassing herself.

  She turned her head to look at Monica. "How do you tell someone you're ready to have sex with them?"

  Monica was in the process of licking her pointer in preparation of flipping more magazine pages. She turned to look a Cassie, pointer still stuck to her tongue, giving her wide eyes. She pulled her finger from her mouth and wiped it on her towel. "Um... I don't know. It's always just kind of happened for me. I've never had a conversation about it first."

  "We'll I think Gage knows I've never done it before. He's taking things slow. How do I let him know it's okay to speed things up?"

  Monica was silent for a moment. "You're going to a party tonight, right?"

  "Yeah, at Caesars Palace. I can't wait. It's going to be so much fun."

  Monica pouted. "I'm so jealous. I wish I could go."

  "I've told you, you can come with me."

  Monica shook her head. "I can't get out of work. I was told if I didn't show up tonight I would be fired, and I can't afford to lose another job. It's too hard to find a new one."

  Cassie wasn't sure what to say to that. She felt bad that her friend couldn't go to the party, but she didn't have a solution to the problem either.

  "Anyway, we got off subject. Just get a few drinks in him and dance all sexy. He'll get the hint."

  "You think?"

  "I know."

  August 4, 2010

  "Tell me what you're thinking," Gage said, running his fingers through Cassie's hair.

  They were in bed, Cassie on her back, wrapped in the sheet. Gage lay beside her on his stomach, hovering over her, his face inches from hers.

  She smiled at him. Today was her birthday. She had played hooky from school, Gage from work, and they had spent the whole day together. Gage had booked a suite at Caesars Palace because she had mentioned at the 4th of July party how cool it would be to stay there. That he remembered and acted on that, did crazy things to her heart. Everything he did, did crazy things to her heart. The way he touched her, kissed her, all the little things he did for her. How could she not fall in love with him?

  His hair fell forward, framing his face and hers as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. She was addicted to his kisses. His soft kisses, his hard kisses, his deep kisses, or his long kisses, she could easily spend all day lost in his kiss.

  "Tell me what you're thinking," Gage said, once again. Cassie smiled inwardly. Gage, Cassie was learning, was not a patient fellow.

  She ran her fingers through his hair now and not wanting to share what she was really thinking, said, "I had a wonderful day today." And she did. Gage had taken her to breakfast, then showed her their suite. They spent some time by the pool, then some time in bed. He ordered room service that they ate while wrapped in bathrobes. Then it was back to bed.

  "The day's not quite over yet. I still have one more present for you."

  "Gage, you've done enough. I don't need any more."

  "Don't move." He kissed the tip of her nose, stretched his body across the bed, giving Cassie a great view of his muscled back and tight ass, reached into the bedside drawer, and pulled out a long, rectangular box. He rolled back to her and placed the box on her chest.

  Cassie stared, afraid to touch it.

  "Open it, Sunshine."

  Cassie gently picked up the box. She sat up and scooted herself until her back rested against the headboard, the sheet tucked safely under her arms. The box was light blue, tied with a white ribbon, and she was a girl. She knew where the box was from. She gave the bow a tug and the ribbon fell on her lap as she slowly removed the lid. She gasped. Nestled on a bed of cotton was a diamond, heart pendant, dangling on a chain of gold.

  Gage snatched the box from her hands and whipped the necklace out. He fastened it around her neck while whispering in her ear, "I want to see you lying on this bed in nothing but this necklace.

  Cassie looked down to her chest, fingering the pendant. "It's beautiful, Gage. Thank you." She looked into his beautiful, blue eyes and knew she was in love. Her heart swelled and her pulse raced with it. She couldn't say the words yet, but as she stared into his eyes, she saw love reflected back.

  Soon, they would say the words soon.

  Chapter Two

  May 17, 2015

  Cassie pulled on the wrench, but the faucet she tried to loosen wouldn't budge. She wiped her sweaty hands on her jean-clad bottom, repositioned the wrench, and tried again. Nothing.

  The faucet had started to drip yesterday. The water had turned the surrounding dirt to mud and mud and puppies did not mix. At least, not if you didn't want to bathe them on a daily basis.

  She stood from her crouch, raised her sneakered foot and was about to stomp on the wrench, when she heard a voice behind her ask, "Need help with that?"

  Startled, Cassie almost lost her balance. She placed her hand against the wall to keep her footing and looked over at Gage. She had a slight moment of panic until she remembered Logan was at Sam's house on a play date with Kyle. "What are you doing here?"

  He didn't answer her question. "The lady at the house told me where I could find you."

  Cassie wiped a trail of sweat from her forehead then took a sidestep into some shade. "I asked, what are you doing here?"

  He gave her a dazzling smile, a smile she remembered all too well, and her stomach clenched. "You ran away from me yesterday."

  He took a step closer. She took a step back. "And that made you think I wanted to see you today?"

  Gage chuckled. "I missed that smart mouth of yours, Sunshine."

  "Don't call me that." Cassie stomped back to the faucet, gave the wrench a vicious glare, and gave it a push with all her body weight. It still didn't move.

  A hand, then an arm came into her field of vision. Cassie's thoughts flashed back to the first time t
hey had met, and a sharp pain stabbed at her heart from the memory. Gage pushed her hands out of the way, grabbed the wrench, and pushed. It moved a fraction of an inch. She watched, fascinated, the flexing and bulging of his arm muscles as he loosened the faucet. And then, she no longer watched his muscles, she watched the faucet fall to the ground as a blast of water shot out of the pipe from the wall, drenching Gage's jeans and boots.

  She stared in horrified silence as he jumped away from the spray. Her hands covered her mouth as laughter built in her chest. She moved her wide-eyed gaze from his soaked jeans to his face. His gaze was on the pipe with the jetting water.

  He tore his eyes away from the pipe, looked at her, and shouted over the noise, "You were supposed to turn off the main water."

  She giggled through her fingers. She hoped Gage didn't hear it, but from the smile on his face, she supposed if he hadn't heard it, he at least saw it.

  "Where's the shutoff valve at?"

  Cassie shook her head and lowered her hands. "I don't know."

  Gage disappeared around the corner of the building. A few minutes later the water shut off. Cassie looked down at the mess the water created. What was once a small mud puddle, was now a very large mud pool. She sighed.

  Gage came back around the corner. "Got a new faucet?"

  "Look, I appreciate the help, but I've got it now."

  Gage gave her an exasperated look. "Cass, where's the damn faucet?"

  Cassie gave him an exasperated look back, waved her arm out, and said, "Inside." She skirted the mud pool and opened the door to the building.

  "This is quite a setup you've got here," Gage said, looking around.

  The kennel held twenty-five dog runs along each side wall with a center aisle that lead back to where they did the grooming. Not all the runs were full. Most of the dogs were outside at this time of day, but the ones that remained started yapping and barking.