Playing Dirty: San Diego Social Scene Book 3

by Tess Summers

  Intrigued him because she was one helluva chick who, in another life, would have given him a run for his money. Dismayed him because this wasn’t another life.

  Then he talked to her sister, Brenna who slipped and let out Cassie’s little secret—she didn’t do serious or want a real relationship. He got the impression Brenna thought those traits were faults, but as far as Luke was concerned, that made her perfect since he’d vowed to never do either again.

  He saw her at the Heroes event, and when they clicked—again—he thought, What’s the harm in going out with her? She didn’t want anything more than he was willing to give. She wasn’t going to fall in love with him and get hurt when he didn’t love her back. Neither of them wanted anything long-term, just something fun that, hopefully, included sex.

  Besides, the anonymous one-night-only thing had gotten old.

  Now, here they were, alone at Brenna’s beach house, where it had all started. Things were going to end a lot differently this time.

  “How badly do you want it?” he asked, both of them knowing he wasn’t referring to the ravioli he’d brought. A little whimper escaped from her lips, causing his dick to get hard. He could only imagine the noises she was going to make later tonight.

  Imagine his surprise at what she said next.

  Chapter Six

  Luke

  He watched Cassie as she set the heavy, blue, stoneware plates on the island counter, keeping her gaze averted as he mulled over what she suggested.

  “Ten dates, huh?”

  She distributed the dishes and silverware, still not looking at him. “It’s something I read about and thought it would be interesting to try it. I understand if you think it’s a dumb idea.”

  Luke shook his head. “I didn’t say that. It’s just… unexpected. Here I thought I was going to help you masturbate after dinner,” he teased.

  She finally met his gaze, eyebrows raised in challenge. “Who says you still can’t?”

  Fuck, this woman knew how to push his buttons.

  “Baby doll, that would guarantee a one-date rule wouldn’t even apply.”

  She smirked as if proud of herself she knew how to turn him on.

  He didn’t know how to break it to her but just breathing in her scent did that. There was something about her that drove him crazy, from the first moment he’d met her. He couldn’t help but stare at her luscious ass when she reached for paper napkins on the top shelf of the pantry.

  “Well, then how about we have dinner and play the rest of the night by ear,” she asked over her shoulder with a mischievous grin.

  He took a steadying breath, not averting his gaze from her tight body. “That sounds like a good plan,” he murmured then began taking the containers from the takeout bag. “So, no sex for at least ten dates. But what about other stuff?”

  She slid onto the bar stool at the island, watching him open the containers’ lids.

  “What kind of other stuff?”

  “Like, how many bases am I allowed before I’m thrown out?”

  “I don’t know,” she snorted and handed him the serving spoon she’d gotten out earlier. “I mean, yes, I think there should be kissing and other… stuff. I don’t want to set a hard and fast rule about what we can or can’t do, other than sex. I guess if it feels right, we should do it.”

  He liked her answer until...

  “But a blowjob is still considered sex, so there will none of that,” she smirked, putting the garlic bread in a basket.

  “Bill Clinton would have to disagree with you,” he countered as he dished ravioli onto her plate and handed it to her.

  “I think the blue dress indicated otherwise.”

  “Touché,” he said with a laugh.

  She moaned out loud when she took her first bite of food, and he gritted his teeth while groaning inwardly. His cock was all ears to the little noises she was making.

  Fuck. Ten dates?

  Her shy smile as she poured them both a glass of red wine answered his internal question.

  Yeah, ten dates.

  Something in his gut told him the wait was going to be worth it.

  *

  Cassie

  She hadn’t expected Luke to agree so easily to her ten-date suggestion. When he took a sip of his wine and watched her over the rim of his glass like he wanted to devour her, she gulped.

  He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen. Not only was he breathtakingly handsome with his high cheekbones, square jaw, and piercing green eyes, but the way his muscles moved under his shirt when he simply lifted his glass made her squirm in her seat. His arms were magnificent. She could imagine how safe she’d feel being held in them.

  Her thoughts turned a little dirtier as her gaze traveled from his shoulders to his hands and back up again. What would it be like to be pinned down by him?

  Yeah, she was a dirty girl like that.

  She remembered their one and only kiss on New Year’s Eve and blinked a little longer than normal, thinking about the way he took control. At first, his lips were gentle yet demanding. When it escalated to tugging on her hair so her neck was exposed for him to kiss slowly, she had been putty in his strong hands. He knew it too, but didn’t escalate things and instead, left right away.

  Maybe getting to know each other better was going to be a good idea, because so far, he had confused the hell out of her.

  The sound of him clearing their plates snapped her back to reality, and she refilled their wine glasses. He reached into the bag from Figurino’s with a devilish smile.

  “Dessert?” he asked.

  Oh God. Muscles, green eyes, and dessert. That might be her new trifecta.

  “I’m not looking for anything serious.” Cassie wasn’t sure why she blurted that out, maybe to remind herself.

  Smiling, he kissed her forehead when he set her plate of cannoli in front of her.

  “That’s good, me neither. But I think we can become great friends and have some fun along the way.”

  She smiled shyly. “I think I’d like that.”

  ****

  Luke

  Rex wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to leave.

  Luke couldn’t remember when he’d had such a great time with a woman.

  Actually, that’s not true; yes, he could. On New Year’s Eve with the same gorgeous woman. Except his departure this time wasn’t a panicked escape but a torturously teasing goodnight kiss that left him looking forward to the next encounter with her.

  The fact he now knew they were on the same page helped. No relationships. No worrying about what the future held for them. Just a good time with no end game in mind.

  He found himself still smiling as he and Rex drove home. Every now and then, he caught a whiff of her perfume on his shirt and would breathe in deeply as if etching the smell into his memory. It was a floral scent, and like her, it wasn’t subtle.

  Nothing about Cassie Sullivan was subtle.

  She was direct and to the point, something he appreciated. He knew she wouldn’t play games with him or leave him guessing what she wanted or even what she was thinking. When she was ready to move on, she’d let him know. Or if he was the first to feel like that, she’d appreciate him being upfront about it. He wouldn’t have to pussyfoot around and worry about letting her down easy.

  She was exactly what he was looking for, right now. His heart had finally started to heal, and he didn’t have to worry about it getting torn to shreds again by her or breaking her heart while he got his shit together.

  The situation was perfect.

  He was even warming up to the ten-date rule. He liked the idea of getting to know her. She was someone he could see as a real friend in the future. Granted, a real friend whose brains he’d hopefully fuck out—repeatedly, but he knew when they eventually became just friends, she’d be cool about their prior sexual encounters. Maybe they’d even be confidants, offering each other dating advice. On second thought, he might be getting ahead of himself. The idea wasn’t as appe
aling when he considered helping her with another guy.

  Still, he was excited to get Date Two on the books, so he fired off a text to her while still sitting in his grey Challenger after pulling into the garage.

  Luke: We’re still on for dinner tomorrow, right?

  Cassie Sullivan: I’m looking forward to it.

  Luke: Me too.

  Cassie Sullivan: Um, one problem.

  Luke: ?

  Cassie Sullivan: We never decided on a time or place. LOL

  Oh shit, they hadn’t.

  Luke: Ha-ha. I guess I was busy thinking about other things.

  Cassie Sullivan: Yeah? Like what?

  Luke: Well, at first, getting into your pants.

  Luke: Then keeping myself out of them.

  Cassie Sullivan: You made it hard for me to think about other things too.

  Luke: Glad to hear the difficulty was mutual.

  Cassie Sullivan: It was hard, for sure. LOL

  He’d take the double entendre bait.

  Luke: I’m sure you noticed that wasn’t the only thing hard. Especially, after kissing you goodnight.

  Cassie Sullivan: You are an amazing kisser, btw.

  Luke: That, doll, is definitely something that takes two to do. And you can be my partner, anytime.

  Cassie Sullivan: I look forward to taking you up on that tomorrow night. Once you tell me when and where that is. (hint hint)

  His cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

  Luke: How about Danny’s BBQ, 6 pm?

  Cassie Sullivan: Can’t wait.

  Neither could he.

  He’d gotten Rex settled down for the night and was in bed when he heard his phone ding. Was it too much to wish Cassie was sending him nudes?

  His heart started to race when he saw it was a message from her.

  Cassie Sullivan: Hey, I just wanted to thank you for such a great night. Glad we’re hanging out.

  He didn’t know what to take away from that message. Was she thinking about him and sincerely thanking him for a fun night, or was she making sure he understood they were just hanging out, nothing more?

  Maybe it was both.

  Or maybe he could man up and stop trying to read into things like a goddamn school girl.

  Luke: Me too, doll. See you tomorrow.

  Cassie Sullivan: Sweet dreams.

  Oh, she could count on that.

  Chapter Seven

  Cassie

  She slid between the cool, cotton sheets of Brenna’s comfy guest bed, fantasizing Luke was joining her. She hadn’t wanted their night to end, and it was all she could do to mask her disappointment when he announced he had to leave.

  Then came their goodnight kiss, and it was as hot as she’d remembered. She wasn’t lying when she texted him he was an amazing kisser. He was. The man could write books on the subject. No one had even come to close to kissing her like he did.

  She hoped he hadn’t ruined her for future men.

  I guess I’ll have to keep him around a while.

  At least for ten more dates, so she could see if he was as good at making love as he was kissing.

  Oh, who was she kidding? There was going to be so much passion built up by their eleventh date they were not going to make love. They were going to have dirty, sweaty, monkey sex. Which would hopefully mean they’d have a twelfth and thirteenth date too.

  At least.

  Most surprising? The idea didn’t freak her out.

  Luke had been good all week about not being too clingy or needy. She really liked that about him. Although she liked it less when he had no problem getting up to go home tonight when she wasn’t ready for him to. That was a new feeling. Normally, at the end of the evening, she was dropping hints or sometimes flat-out telling her date he had to leave. The pang of sadness instead of relief at seeing him go was unusual.

  Wishing he was in bed with her? Not so unusual. She’d be the first to admit she liked a good sexscapade.

  Wishing he was in bed to cuddle with her? That was a fucking anomaly.

  There had to be a glitch in the Matrix or something because that shit didn’t happen.

  Hugging her body pillow, she decided she wasn’t going to overanalyze it. They’d had a good time tonight, why spoil it?

  ****

  She woke up the next morning and checked her phone.

  Thank God there wasn’t a Good morning, gorgeous text from him. He hadn’t ruined it by starting in with that suffocating crap. Yet she found herself checking her phone throughout the day. It was a relief not to hear from him, but she kept her phone handy, just in case. He might want to change the time or location, so it was better to be safe than sorry. That was the only reason she was grabbing it immediately when she heard the telltale ding at four o’clock.

  The only reason.

  There was no gnawing pit in her stomach at the thought of him canceling their date at the last minute. Okay, even if there was, it was only because that would be rude to do.

  She was not smiling when she read his text.

  Sergeant Sexy: Is it bad that dinner is two hours away, but I’m already starving?

  Cassie: Eat a sandwich to tide you over.

  Sergeant Sexy: What?! And ruin my appetite for Danny’s?! That’s blasphemy, woman!

  Cassie: We could meet earlier if you wanted.

  Where the fuck did that come from? There was no way she could be ready any earlier than six. It wasn’t like she’d already planned what she was going to wear after trying on twenty outfits or figured out how she was going to do her hair. Or painted her nails-fingers and toes. Or was having a glass of wine to calm her excitement.

  Fine, that was exactly it, but there was no way he was going to know that.

  Sergeant Sexy: I’m not even home yet, so I don’t think I could get there before six. I’ll grab a snack. Thanks for offering to be flexible though.

  That didn’t work. ‘I’m not even home yet’ was her line.

  Cassie: Just thought I’d offer. I know how grouchy men can be when their blood sugar gets low.

  She didn’t quite know what to think about Luke Rivas or about being this excited to see him again so soon. That was a self-analysis for another time. Right now, it was almost time to start getting ready.

  ****

  Luke

  He could smell the barbecue before he even pulled into Danny’s parking lot. He was in the Jeep tonight, enjoying the San Diego summer evening with the top off. When he walked into the restaurant and saw Cassie talking to a tall, good-looking man, his first instinct was to growl and mutter under his breath, “Who the fuck is that?” His second instinct was to ask himself, Why the fuck are you jealous?

  He noticed the baby nestled into the man’s core, facing Cassie and smiling and became envious of the guy for an entirely different reason.

  Cassie gave Luke a big smile when he approached the picnic table next to the order window where she was standing. Seeing her so glad to see him made him relax. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then offered the man his hand.

  “Luke Rivas.”

  The dark-haired man shook Luke’s outstretched hand. “Travis Sterling.” He was dressed liked he’d come from the office despite having a baby in his arms.

  “Travis is an attorney and his wife, Ava is my real estate agent. Brenna went to their wedding on New Year’s Eve,” Cassie explained.

  Luke raised his eyebrows in recognition. “Oh. Congratulations, man.” He gestured to the baby, “Looks like you’ve had a busy year.”

  Travis broke out into a big grin. “The best one of my life, so far. Hands down.”

  The girl behind the counter called out, “Sterling,” then set two plastic bags filled with Styrofoam containers on the stainless-steel surface. Travis glanced at the counter.

  “That’s us. My wife is craving barbeque, and one thing I have learned is you don’t keep a pregnant woman waiting for her food. It was nice meeting you, Luke. Cassie, I’ll be sure to tell Ava you’ll call her tomo
rrow.”

  “Take good care of your beautiful baby mama,” Cassie told Travis, then grasped the baby boy’s little fist and raised her voice an octave when she leaned down to talk to Travis’ son. “And you let your mom get some rest, Alexander.”

  Travis chuckled. “Why do you think he’s with me? I took him into the office this afternoon since it’s the nanny’s day off, and Ava’s morning sickness is really afternoon sickness this time around. Instead, she calls me and tells me the baby’s craving Danny’s, so here we are.”

  “If mama ain’t happy,” Luke laughed, “ain’t nobody happy.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.” Travis kissed the top of the boy’s wispy haired head before adjusting the child’s position to his hip. “You are way ahead of the game, my friend. It took me a while to figure that out.”

  Luke wasn’t ahead of the game, quite the opposite in fact, but he simply nodded in agreement.

  “Take care,” Travis said before turning to grab his to-go order, his son looking over his shoulder at them and giving a toothless smile at Cassie when she waved goodbye dramatically.

  “What a cutie,” Luke murmured at Cassie’s side.

  She watched father and son walk out the door. “That kid hit the genetic lottery. There’s no way he could be anything but adorable.”

  He looked over at her shiny, dark-blonde hair, perfect complexion, beautiful smile, and thought, We’d have some pretty fucking adorable babies too.

  Where the hell did that come from? Better to not say that out loud. Even better not to think it again. Ever.

  “Do you want to eat here or get it to go?” Her question snapped him back to the welcomed present.

  “Do you have a preference?”

  “Well, the Padres game starts in thirty minutes, we could plant ourselves in front of the TV while we eat?”

  “That sounds like a great idea.” He slid his arm around her waist and kissed her temple. “Your place or mine?”

  “Pfft, Brenna’s, of course. Unless your TV is bigger than hers.”

  “My place it is,” he said, tugging her tight against him for a beat before releasing her.