Engaging (Alluring Book 2)

by Sarah Curtis

  "How long?" She heard him ask, whispering close to her ear.

  Cassie sighed but didn't speak.

  "How long?" He asked again, nipping her lobe.

  "Five years."

  Gage whipped his head up. "What?"

  "You heard me. Don't make me repeat it. It was embarrassing enough the first time."

  He gave her a cocky grin. "You haven't slept with anyone since me?"

  "Yeah well, being pregnant, then having a baby, then having a toddler doesn't lead to a very active social life."

  "You have a date tonight." He disputed.

  Cassie looked down at the ground and mumbled her response.

  "What? I didn't hear you." He lifted her chin with a finger forcing her to look at him.

  "I said, this will be my first date since you."

  "Ah, Sunshine, you don't know how happy that makes me."

  "I can die happy," she said, sarcastically. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to bathe and feed Logan so I can get ready for my date." She walked into the house.

  "I told you, you're not going," he said, following her in.

  Cassie turned to face him. "And I told you," she said, emphasizing her point by poking him in the chest with her finger, "Doug is a nice guy, and I'm not going to stand him up."

  She watched Gage's jaw harden, but before he could speak, Laurie stepped out of the kitchen. "Children, let's stop the bickering. Cassie, why don't you introduce me to your friend."

  Cassie gave her aunt a whose side are you on face, but before she could say anything, Gage held out his hand. "Gage Hunter, Cassie's fiancé and Logan's father. Nice to meet you."

  Laurie tipped her head back and laughed. "Oh, I like him," She said, wiping the moisture from her eyes.

  "Oh my God, this is not happening," Cassie spoke to the ceiling.

  Laurie took Gage's hand. "Then I guess you better call me Aunt Laurie."

  Cassie threw up her hands. "I'm going to go feed Logan."

  "He's already eating, dear," her aunt said, with a smile.

  "Then I guess I'll go sit with him. I'm sure he's better company." Cassie gave them a glare before leaving the room.

  Cassie was in her bedroom, putting the finishing touches on her make-up. Gage was still there, sitting in the living room, chatting with her aunt. She couldn't get rid of him. After Logan had finished eating, Gage sat with her while she gave him a bath and put him to bed. He even stayed in Logan's room and sang to him while she got ready for her date.

  Cassie didn't know what to do about Gage. She couldn't restrict him access to his son's life. So far, Logan had taken everything in stride, but she knew the questions would start, and she wasn't quite sure how she would tell him that Gage was his father. From going to school, Logan was aware of what a father was, he'd just never asked her about his.

  Cassie spritz some perfume, slipped on a pair of high-heeled sandals, then made her way to Logan's room. She poked her head in and saw he was sound asleep, curled on his side, clutching Mr. Bear.

  "You look lovely, honey," Laurie said, when she walked into the living room.

  Cassie looked down at herself. She wore a long-sleeved, black, jersey-knit dress that hugged all her curves and displayed quite a bit of cleavage. She had bought the dress on a whim about a year ago and sadly this was her first opportunity to wear it.

  She glanced over at Gage. He didn't look too happy if the clenched jaw and tight fists were any indications.

  Oblivious, Laurie asked Gage, "Doesn't she look lovely?"

  "Beautiful," he mumbled, his eyes devouring her.

  The doorbell rang, and Cassie jumped. God, she was nervous.

  "I'll get it." Laurie stood and made her way to the door to answer it. Cassie heard her say, "You must be Doug. Come on in. Cassie is in the living room."

  Cassie plastered on a smile that she hoped didn't appear fake. Out of the corner of her eye saw Gage stand, and she nervously chewed her lip. This had bad idea written all over it.

  Doug walked into the room. His eyes were immediately drawn to her, and he gave her a smile. His eyes flicked over to Gage, he gave him a slight frown, then his eyes settled back on her. "You look beautiful." He took her hands, leaned forward, and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

  She wasn't sure, but she thought she might have heard Gage growl. "Thank you." She picked up her purse from the chair. "Shall we go?" She asked, clutching his arm.

  But before she could direct Doug out, Gage held out his hand. "Gage Hunter, Logan's father."

  Cassie closed her eyes and envisioned a giant pterodactyl coming and swooping Gage away. She opened her eyes. Sadly, he was still there.

  "Logan?" She heard Doug say.

  Cassie turned to Doug, confusion was written on his face. "Logan is my son."

  "He doesn't know you have a son?" Gage asked, disbelief coating his words.

  Cassie glared at Gage, hissing between her teeth. "We haven't gotten that far yet."

  Doug turned to Cassie. "You have a son?"

  "Yes, he's four."

  "And this is the father?" He asked, gesturing at Gage.

  Cassie sighed. "Yes."

  "Does he live with you?"

  "What? No." Cassie practically shouted. "He's just here visiting Logan." Cassie tugged on his arm. "We really should go."

  Gage, unfortunately, spoke again. "And visiting Cassie and, of course, Aunt Laurie."

  Doug looked from Gage to Laurie. He gave her a small smile before asking Cassie, "You guys aren't married, are you?"

  "Absolutely not."

  "Not yet."

  Both Cassie and Gage said at the same time.

  Doug looked at them both, confused. "Maybe it would be better if we did this some other time."

  "No!"

  "I think that would be best."

  They said at the same time again.

  Cassie leaned into Gage's personal space and hissed, "Would you shut up." She stepped back to Doug and took his arm again. "Can we please just go."

  She managed to tug him out of the living room and maneuvered him through the front door. A Ford Bronco was parked out front. She stomped down the porch steps (which she found a little difficult to do in her high-heeled sandals) and opened the passenger door of the truck.

  Gage yelled from the porch. "Don't be too late, Sunshine, remember we have that thing tomorrow."

  She didn't bother answering. First off, he was being an ass. Secondly, they didn't have a thing tomorrow. She got in the truck and slammed the door.

  * * * * *

  Gage watched them drive away, noting the position of Doug's arm on the back of Cassie's seat as he backed out of the drive and not liking that it was there. He realized his body was tense, his jaw was locked, and his hands were fisted. He took a deep, long breath in through his nose and let it out slowly, trying to relax. Nope, wasn't fucking happening. He wouldn't be happy until Cassie was back with him, away from that asshole, Doug.

  He made his way to the porch swing and sat, stretching his legs out and propping his crossed feet up on the railing, getting comfortable for a long wait. Because he sure as hell wasn't leaving until she was home safe.

  Chapter Five

  Doug took her to a cute, Italian restaurant located just off the strip in the heart of Las Vegas. He hadn't spoken during the twenty-minute drive it took to get to the restaurant nor while they waited for their table or even after they placed their order. In fact, he looked deep in thought.

  After their food had arrived, Cassie clea
red her throat and spoke into the silence in a bid to save this date that even she, with her lack of dating experience, knew was going horribly wrong. "This looks lovely." Cassie had ordered the lasagna. Meat sauce oozed from between the layers, and the mozzarella cheese on top was browned and bubbly.

  She heard Doug clear his throat and looked up expectantly. "Look, um ...," he cleared his throat again. "I like you."

  Cassie smiled at him encouragingly.

  "I think you're funny and pretty, and I've waited a long time for you to go out with me."

  Cassie heard a but coming.

  "But, I don't want to step on anyone's toes. That Gage guy acted a little territorial. Is there something going on between you two?"

  Cassie set down her fork and took a deep breath, then proceeded to tell Doug the whole story. She wanted to be honest and up front, not wanting to start something on the wrong foot.

  When she had finished, she looked up to find Doug staring at her. "What?" She asked, taking a sip of her wine.

  "You're still in love with him." He didn't sound angry, just matter-of-fact.

  Cassie sounded indignant. "I am not."

  Doug leaned back, stretching his arms on the back of the booth, looking smug. "You are."

  "I think I would know, and I am one-hundred percent, absolutely, not in love with Gage Hunter."

  Doug held up his hands in surrender. "All I'm saying is, you had a dreamy look on your face when you talked about him."

  "That wasn't dreamy, that was disgust. Were you not listening when I told you my story and what he did?"

  Doug leaned forward, picking up her hand that lay on the table. "I was listening."

  "Besides, it doesn't matter what I feel. I'll never take a chance on Gage again. It hurt too much the last time." She looked at Doug and gave him a weak smile. "Do you mind taking me home? I'm suddenly not feeling so well."

  Doug gave her hand a squeeze. "Sure."

  Cassie waved as she watched Doug's truck drive away. She'd thanked him for dinner, though neither of them had eaten very much, and told him he didn't have to walk her to her door. Explaining, she didn't want him getting out of the car still having a long drive home. He didn't try to kiss her goodnight and for that, she was strangely relieved. All in all, her first foray into the dating game had been a failure.

  She slowly made her way to the porch. Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Gage sat on the swing, his booted feet crossed at the ankle, up on the railing.

  "You're home early."

  "What are you still doing here?" She asked, walking up the steps and stopping at the top.

  "I wanted to make sure you got home okay."

  "You could have called."

  "That was a lie. I wanted to see if you would let him kiss you."

  "Gage..."

  "Come sit next to me a minute. We need to talk."

  "I don't think that's a good idea."

  "Just for a minute, Cass, then you can go inside."

  Cassie sighed. She was tired and didn't have the energy to fight. She slowly walked over and sat beside him on the swing.

  "Put your feet on my lap," he said, patting his thighs.

  "What? No, just say what you have to say so I can go inside."

  Gage sighed, leaned over, grabbed her ankles, and placed her feet on his lap.

  The momentum of this action caused her to go sideways on the swing, her back now resting against the armrest.

  She started to struggle, but he held her ankles firmly. "Relax." She heard him say as he unbuckled her shoes.

  "How can I relax with my feet in your lap? And what are you doing?"

  "Taking off your shoes so I can rub your feet."

  Cassie struggled harder. "I don't want you to rub my feet." She didn't want his hands anywhere near her. His hands were dangerous. His hands made her feel things she didn't want to feel.

  He squeezed her ankles until she stopped struggling. "Good girl. Now relax and listen to what I have to say."

  There was no way in hell she could relax while he was massaging her feet. Her whole body was stiff. She knew he felt it because he sighed.

  "I still have a long way to go with you, don't I?"

  "Gage, please listen to me. You don't have anywhere to go. I'm not doing this with you." Cassie sighed, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. "When I was young, I had this fantasy." She smiled slightly at the remembrance. "Every night, before I went to sleep, I would close my eyes and make up stories about my dream man. I would make up different places and scenarios of how we would meet. I imagined what he would look like. I would envision the places we'd go and the things that we'd do. And I dreamed about our first kiss. It would be a toe curling, body tingling, heart racing, perfect kiss. And I would be so in love."

  She opened her eyes and looked at Gage. He was still, barely breathing, staring at her. "And then I met you." She closed her eyes again unable to look at him while she shared. "And I didn't need to make anything up anymore because you created it. My dream man come to life. I thought you were perfect. I'd go to sleep thinking only of you and how you made me feel. You made my toes curl, body tingle, and heart race. And I loved you so much." Cassie stopped speaking and was silent for a long moment, waiting for Gage to say something, but he stayed silent.

  She removed her feet from his lap and sat up on the swing. "I loved you so much. You were my whole world. I believed in us, believed in the fairytale. And then you broke me. I'm scared of you now, and however much you might want a you and me, it's never going to happen. Please try to understand. I'm not willing to take a chance again. I'm too scared to let it happen."

  At his continued silence, she slowly stood from the swing. She looked down at him, at all his male beauty and felt the pull. Her love for him was still there, buried deep, but she could still feel it. And she knew that if she wasn't strong, didn't resist, he could easily bring that love back up to the surface. She couldn't let that happen.

  She went to the front door and quietly opened it. She turned back to Gage. He watched her intently, but still remained silent. "Do you know what I fantasize about now before I fall asleep?" At his continued silence, she filled the void with a single word. "Nothing."

  Cassie lay in bed, listening for the sound of an engine turning over and tires driving away on the gravel road, signaling Gage's departure. She waited a very long time until she finally heard it and only then was she able to fall asleep.

  Cassie looked around at the decorations she had just finished hanging. In a few hours, all the kids from Logan's class would descend upon the ranch house for Logan's birthday party. The cake was in the oven, pizza was ordered and would be delivered, and all that was left was for Cassie to take a quick shower, ice the cake, and wait for the horde to arrive.

  It had been exactly one week since she'd last seen or heard from Gage. She supposed she should be happy that he'd finally gotten the hint and backed away. And she was, mostly. But there was that tiny part of her, a small flame that had ignited in her heart, that was severely disappointed. All week long, she'd felt that flame burning lower and lower until it had finally extinguished. And she was happy about that, too. Mostly. She told herself it was for Logan's sake that she was upset about Gage's desertion, but she knew that was mostly a lie, too.

  She had to remind herself that she was better off with Gage out of her life. That letting him back in would only lead to future heartache. She had survived his devastation once, but she wasn't sure she had it in her to survive it again. She knew she didn't want to test that theory. But luckily she didn't have to because he was gone.

  Cassie was in the process of pu
lling up her jeans, she was in a pink lace bra, and her hair was wet from the shower when she smelled something burning. Her cake! She ran through the living room and into the kitchen. Smoke seeped from the oven. She yanked open the oven door, then immediately waved a hand in front of her face as a billow of smoke puffed out.

  "Should I call the fire department?"

  Cassie yelped, jumping up, clutching her hand to her chest. "You scared me." Gage's eyes devoured her. From her wet hair, to her pink, lacy bra, down to her unsnapped, unzipped jeans.

  "On second thought," he drawled. "Having firemen show up right now wouldn't be a very good idea."

  Cassie wasn't sure what to do first. Button her jeans or cover her chest. She opted for trying to leave the room. "Um... Let me go throw something on."

  Unfortunately, Gage blocked the doorway, and he wasn't moving. "Can you please move? I need to get dressed. I have to go buy a cake. I don't have time to make a new one before the kids show up."

  Gage stalked toward her. "I'll go buy you a cake, after."

  Cassie backed up a few steps. "Af... after what?"

  "After this," he said, reaching for her and hooking his fingers into her belt loops, bringing them together hip to hip. His head dipped, and he captured her lips in a searing kiss. He ground himself against her, and she moaned into his mouth, her hands grabbing his shoulders for support.

  The kiss didn't last long. It was obvious he had other places he wanted to explore. His lips trailed down her neck, sucking in little pieces of flesh as he made his way down to the swell of her breast at the edge of her lace bra.

  She pushed on his shoulders, trying to break contact. "Gage, you can't show up after a whole week of not hearing from you and just start kissing me."

  Gage lifted his head and looked at her. "I was giving you some time like you asked. I was also planning and setting things up."