Stripped Down (18 page)

“Wait until you taste their crepes. You’ll be putty in my hands before I can feed you your second bite, woman.”

Feed me.
Her mind flashed some rather salacious images of Dalton, images that involved a ton of bare skin, some lemon curd and a can of whipped cream. She swallowed hard at the skin flick she was mentally directing and starring in. Sweat dotted her upper lip. Swiping at it surreptitiously was an act in casual indifference.

Dalton saw her.

His darkening gaze went from her mouth to her eyes. “What’s on your mind, sweet Cass?”

“Lemon curd.”

Reaching out, he cupped her chin and dragged a thumb along her cheekbone. “If you feel that strongly about lemon curd, I’ll make sure you get it.”

“I love it,” she said, the declaration soft but unsure.

“Good to know.” Pulling her to him, he settled his lips over hers in a breath-stealing kiss that completely disregarded their audience. The clink of forks on stoneware faded first, followed by the soft hum of diners’ voices and the café employees’ chatter until only the two of them existed.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she poured everything she was into the kiss, tried to tell him without words that she was falling for him, hard and fast. Never in her life had she experienced anything like him. Never had she found anyone who made her feel so real and grounded and alive. Who she was in this moment meant more to him than who she’d ever been—a disappointment to her father, a woman lost to the demands of success, a failure in life outside the boardroom, a cursed Jameson by birth.

Things with Dalton were happening so fast, too fast, completely out of control, and she didn’t care. Cautious Cass no longer, she wanted more from him. She was desperate to find out what was on the other side of every second with him, hungry for that “more.” There was so much potential inside these arms, so much room inside his heart and, surprisingly, hers. She’d never needed anyone. Not like this.

A lifetime of walls, walls she’d fought to keep in tact, crumbled. He’d done in days what no one else had been able to do in years. He had exposed her, left her completely vulnerable. It terrified her. Self-preservation demanded she shove him away and run until she couldn’t breathe. Then run some more. Her heart demanded she stay invested in this very moment, hold him close and let him help her find the passion for life she’d squashed for so many years. He could. Only he could.

The knowledge made her knees buckle.

Dalton caught her. She’d been sure he would. In that moment, she was completely lost to him.

Unable to say the words, she gave all that she was to the kiss and uttered a silent prayer that Dalton would understand and respond in kind.

It wasn’t the lemon curd she wanted. It was him. It wasn’t the food she craved. It was him. It wasn’t just his touch she needed. It was
him.

All of him. She’d abandoned her obligations, her ambitions and her defenses. Now she had to believe his promise to keep her safe.

* * *

T
HE WOMAN
E
RIC
held in his arms had become a living flame. That made him a moth, drawn inexplicably despite the surety that she’d be the death of him. Or maybe he found himself pulled in because he realized she had the potential to be the death of who he’d always been. Either way, he was lost to the inexorable draw of her. She’d been holding a piece of herself back, even in the most passionate moments between them, keeping herself in check. But now, in this moment, he had her. All of her. Damn if that didn’t make him a hypocrite.

Fingers digging into her waist, he broke the kiss and leaned back only enough to search her eyes. They shone bright and clear, unguarded. What he found in them made him want to run. She deserved more than he’d ever been—a hustler, a brawler, now a stripper whose one chance to be more hung in a precarious balance. If he didn’t make it happen, he’d never be more than the sum of his past.

But the way she was looking at him... He wanted to be the man he saw reflected in her eyes. More than anything, he wanted that. She empowered him, quietly encouraging him to simply be who he was without compromise and then to be more. It had been that way from the moment she’d told him to go to the woman at the bachelorette party whose husband had left her, to flirt a little and encourage the woman to feel beautiful. Cass had done that without judgment, without jealousy. If he was going to be honest, that had been the beginning of the end for him. That had been the very second he’d begun to fall for her. Now? He was caught in a blind free fall, the kind that shoved your stomach into the back of your throat and made your brain press against the top of your skull. He loved it, even if he was damned for it.

Adrenaline surfing his blood stream, Eric realized with a gut-wrenching certainty he was done running. He’d spent a lifetime chasing shadows and dreams, moving from one person or project to the next, always searching for that next “thing,” that next hit that would get him through the night. Happiness had been elusive and, at times, so far out of reach he’d simply stopped reaching. But now, with Cass gazing at him with such fierce and unguarded hope, he wanted to be the man she seemed to think he was.

He pulled her impossibly closer, resting his cheek against her temple as he breathed her in. His heart beat hard and sure.

No more chasing dreams he couldn’t see. The one he had in his arms was better than anything he’d come up with on his own. He would find his happiness here. He’d have to find the right moment to say he’d fallen for her. The absolute last thing he wanted was for her to run, to tell him it was too much too soon. It wasn’t. What he felt for her was irrefutable. His job was to convince her he was the best man to care for her. She could argue any angle she wanted, but the truth was the truth.

His fingers dug into her hips hard enough that her eyes flared. “Dalton?”

Truth.
A single lie existed between them, and he would change that. He wouldn’t have her committing to Dalton Chase when it was Eric Reeves who cared about her. He should have told her that first night. He knew he should have. But the risks had been too high that she could ruin his career, and then afterward, it had been too high that she would break his heart if, or when, she left. Now the risk was that he’d hurt her by revealing his ridiculous lies. And he still had no idea how to avoid that, the worst consequence of all.

His conscience continued to beat the ever-loving shit out of him as he stood there staring at Cass. As he opened his mouth to start to explain, the creperie’s door pushed open and knocked him into her. They stumbled to the side, crashing into the menu board. He scrambled to keep her upright as he reached for the teetering chalkboard.

A second pair of hands reached over and grabbed the board. “Oh, man, I’m sorry. I didn’t see—hey, man! Haven’t seen you here in forever. You enter a twelve-step Nutella program or something?”

Eric spun around to find Levi grinning at him. His heart stopped. Just bloody stopped. Levi was one of only two people he hadn’t wanted to run into here. He’d assumed he’d be safe this morning because Levi was never up this early. Until today.
Damn it.

Cass pulled her hands away and stepped around him. “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you guys know each other.” Her gaze moved over Levi appreciatively but without heat.

“We work together,” Eric blurted, jealousy digging its wicked claws into his back between his shoulder blades. “Cass, this is Levi, lead exotic dancer and general go-to man at the club.” It struck Eric as brutally wrong that he’d introduced Levi under his real name while he, Eric, couldn’t give Cass the same courtesy. He was so going to screw this up.

Taking a deep breath, he dropped an arm casually around Cass’s shoulders to interrupt Levi’s undisguised perusal of, and appreciation for, her body. She stiffened slightly, and he pulled her close. “Put your eyes back in your head and roll your tongue up, my man. This one’s...” He’d started to say “off the market,” but it was too presumptuous. He had to hear the words from Cass before he would throw that out there and maybe get shot down.

His jaw tightened at that last thought. There was no way she would shoot him down. The look in her eyes before Levi—

“You okay?”

Her voice dragged him out of the swirling mass of thick emotion that threatened to squeeze the air out of his lungs. A brief nod was the best he could do.

Levi stepped in and held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Cass.”

She took the proffered hand with confidence. “You, too.”

“I really am sorry about mowing you guys down.” Levi’s grin was one part wicked and one part angelic. “I hit the gym early. As a result, I’m not only starving but moving on an endorphin high that sort of had me plowing into the room.”

An uncharacteristic flush of color stole across his cheeks as Cass focused on him, and Eric managed a choked laugh.

“Anyway, I’m sorry.” Levi jerked his head toward the counter. “You guys order already?”

“No, but Dalton has promised me lemon curd crepes that will make me his slave for life. I refuse to leave until I get them.”

Levi looked at him and arched a brow. “
Dalton
did, huh?”

Eric gave a short nod, fighting to regain control of the moment. “Don’t hate on me because of the woman on my arm.” He grinned. “She’s totally my type, and that makes her not yours.”

That was as clear as Eric could get in telling Levi to keep his meaty paws to himself. The man had a reputation as a sexual shark, and Eric didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding regarding Cass. He also didn’t want Levi to give him away. The guy didn’t believe in anything but the most casual of relationships, and he might consider screwing up Eric’s thing with Cass to be in his friend’s best interest.

After what felt like forever, Levi gave a short nod.

Cass glanced between them, her brow wrinkled. “Why do I feel like you guys are having a telepathic conversation I should be part of?”

Eric ran his hand around her neck and turned her toward him. He moved in, settling his free hand on her hip and moving his mouth over hers in a short, soft but proprietary kiss. “It’s nothing.”

Levi cleared his throat. “I’m going to grab my order to go. Cass, please accept my apologies for nearly knocking you on your—” he grinned at Eric “—very fine ass. I hope to see more of you.”

Cass laughed. “It was nice to meet you, too, Levi.”

Nodding at Eric, the other man wove through the tables to reach the counter. His deep voice joined the murmur of other diners as they went back to their meals.

Eric looked down at the woman still held so securely in his arms. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. You? You seem a little rattled.”

“Just didn’t want to see you knocked around, particularly by one of my friends.” He shook his head. “Levi’s usually much smoother than that.”

She huffed out a breath. “He’d have to be if he was going to give a woman a lap dance without killing her.”

Eric’s bark of laughter made Levi glance over his shoulder, a slow grin spreading across his face. He slid a finger across his throat, miming a slicing motion.

Lifting a shoulder, Eric realized the guy was right.

He was doomed.

* * *

T
HEY GRABBED A
late brunch before heading out again. Eric had waffled on what to do next. Spending any more money over the weekend would be painful because he still had to sort out the mess with his brother’s tuition. Sovereign’s board of directors was coming in later this week, which meant a nice meal out somewhere on the company’s—his—dime. And he couldn’t ignore his car since it seemed to be on its deathbed. Then again, anything that endeared Cass to him before he told her the truth would be worth it.

Muttering a vicious curse, he pulled his cell phone from his back pocket. He went with his gut and did what felt right, ordering tickets to see
Grease
at the 5th Avenue Theater while Cass was in the ladies’ room.

A few hours later, Eric was convinced he’d made the right call. He’d remembered she had a soft spot for musicals, and while the show had been awesome, her response had been even better. He’d had as much fun watching her reactions as he’d had watching the performers and singing along with the songs.

Afterward, they’d wandered through Pike’s Place Market and he’d bought her a huge bouquet of spring flowers. He’d considered the roses first, but they weren’t “her.” The spring flowers, though... They’d been cultivated but had a wild quality about them, and they spoke to him. He’d laughed at himself when he picked them up. When he handed them to Cass, her reaction nailed his heart to his chest. She’d been quiet, burying her face in the soft petals and just breathing. He’d reached for her at the same time she’d looked up, eyes swimming in tears. He’d crushed the flowers between them as he tunneled his fingers through her hair and hauled her up to her tiptoes, lowering his mouth to hers. He lost himself in her, immune to the worries of everyday life and the crush of people murmuring around them, aware the magic of the weekend was winding down as real life loomed on the other side of midnight.

For the first time in his life, Eric felt a little sorry for Cinderella.

He thought of the coming week’s fight with the board to fund his development project despite an engineering plan that was severely over budget. Then he considered Cass’s reaction when he revealed that he’d been keeping his name and even part of his identity hidden from her. He was facing ruination on both sides. Not to mention she’d said she had her own big meeting later this week that he didn’t want to affect.

What could delaying the truth a few more days hurt?

14

E
RIC ROLLED OVER
in time to see a naked ass—a very
fine
naked ass—disappear into his bathroom for the fourth day in a row. She’d stayed at his place since their outing Sunday. They’d each gone to work, with her leaving before he did every day. He was home earlier, too, anxious to be there when she walked through the door. He was totally gone on her and loving every minute. Speaking of minute, he glanced at the clock and winced. A few minutes after five. In the morning. No one should have to get up this damn early. Groaning, he flopped onto his back and flung an arm over his eyes to block the bathroom light. The disturbed air brought with it the faint hint of perfume from her side of the bed.