Friends With Benefits (2 page)

She blew a long breath through her teeth.

Could it be possible that a part of her wanted, expected, Seb to initiate something more between them? It was almost as if they were lovers without making love.

She swallowed back the frustration. What were they waiting for? She couldn’t wait forever.

She stared down at the paper.

When the letters had first started, she’d suspected they were from Seb, but when he’d gone on vacation for two weeks and the letters continued to surface, she’d known it wasn’t possible he could be her secret admirer. When she’d asked him, he’d denied having any role.

She pushed aside her tedious thoughts. The piece of paper she held demanded her attention. Her fingers trembled as she opened the folds of the fine-grain stationery and smoothed the wrinkles her nervous grip had created.

She read the typewritten words aloud:

Dear Cassandra,

Tonight I would like to visit you, my dear beauty. It is time we meet. Would you be interested in a game of excitement and intrigue? If yes, leave your light on and the door unlocked. Wear only a blindfold and nothing else. I hope to see you at nine o’clock.

Yours Truly,

Secret Lover.

Her hand shook and the paper rustled. A thrill scorched her every nerve ending.

Finally, he wanted to meet her.

For six months he’d written her letters professing his love and his attraction. She’d tried to catch him in the act of leaving the letters, but he’d always been one step ahead of her. She knew so little about him, and yet he felt nothing like a stranger.

Excitement made her blood rush to her head.

He wanted to see her, yet he didn’t want her to see him. The thought dampened her mood. He also asked her to not wear anything? Was he serious? He couldn’t be. Could he?

As strange and risque as it seemed, her inner thighs quivered. Her panties moistened at the seductive request. She couldn’t possibly do as he’d asked. Could she?

Cassie could think of a hundred reasons why she shouldn’t. Yet, she found the invitation thrilling. Her dull life needed a boost. She grew tired of living on the safe side, waiting for–

What? Sebastian to notice her?

She shot back a dose of realization. It was pathetic to think they could be more than friends.

She chewed the corner of her mouth in contemplation. Eagerness sent tingles along her spine. She’d never done anything so erotic, so electrifying. Could she put all her inhibitions aside and live for pure ecstasy?

What if it didn’t turn out to be a night of passion? What if her secret admirer wasn’t the man of her dreams? Doubt swirled inside her.

Glancing at her slender gold watch, she sighed. Making a decision as serious as this took more than two hours, but that’s all she had. One hundred and twenty fretful minutes.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. Perhaps this was a sign that she should respond spontaneously, from the heart. Maybe she needed to keep her overworked brain out of the equation, just this once.

It had been a long time since she’d been with a man. Her female parts were more than ready for explosion. A release would benefit her greatly and ease the tension that’d been building for months. The tightening of her muscles would relax, and sex would rejuvenate her mind.

Sliding off the countertop, she refolded the letter carefully and stuck it back into her pocket. The answer came to her, clear and true. With a smile, she went back out into the shop area, a new energy racing through her veins.

* * * *

Sebastian climbed into the driver’s side of his Jeep, placing his guitar on the passenger seat. He slammed the heel of his hand against the steering wheel in frustration. “Damn.”

He needed to hit the gym for a strenuous work out. A good hour at the punching bag would release his pent-up aggravation. A little sweat, muscle exhaustion and tranquility of the mind would do him wonders.

Looking out the side window, he watched the shop as Cassie bid farewell to the last patron. She flipped the
closed
sign on the door and then shut off the bright overhead lights downstairs. He waited. The light came on in her apartment upstairs.

She’d seemed so happy about getting the letter. What he wanted more than anything was her happiness. From the smile she wore tonight, her happiness wasn’t an issue. However, his jealousy certainly could be. He had no right to be. He’d brought this upon himself. Why hadn’t he simply told her how he felt a long time ago?

He gave the windows one last perusal, then started the ignition and pulled away from the curb with a squeal of his tires.

Chapter 2

Decision made. Cassie knew tonight would be the night.

She ran a tub of hot water, poured in a generous amount of jasmine-scented bubble bath and eased into the liquid heaven. Her body instantly thanked her. The tight muscles in her shoulders softened and her tension headache vanished.

Laying her head back on a pink cushion, she closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander down a glorious path. In little more than hour, her secret admirer would be visiting her. Instead of frazzled, she was now surprisingly calm.

Her mind toyed with the idea of a strange lover touching her, making love with her, making her core quiver in excitement. Her clit pulsated, enlarged and begged for immediate attention.

Sliding a hand through the bath bubbles, she found the swollen delicacy and flicked the tip of her finger across the smoothness. The heat of the water penetrated her skin. With the movement of her finger gliding easily over the curve of her folds, along with the fantasy filling her mind, orgasm came quick. She’d never brought herself to this level of enjoyment so rapidly before.

Rolling the sensitive bead between her fingers, she held her breath as another spasm of sweet release curled her toes. The tingles spread upward through her limbs like warm honey, and encompassed her trembling center. A moan escaped her throat as she arched her back, allowing the sensation to move along her body.

Minutes passed. Her breathing finally returned to normal.

Cassie washed her body in her favorite cream bath soap and shaved her legs. Climbing from the tub, she dried off. She stood before the full-length mirror and freed her hair from the shell clip. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her bare shoulders. Her body was rosy. Her nipples were fully erect, ready for a lover’s kiss.

Her admirer would come to her, offering her a tantalizing real-life fantasy. She started to reach for the plush white terrycloth robe hanging from the hook on the door, but stopped as a thought needled her mind. Instead, she went for the thin, white satin gown hanging next to it. The filmy material felt cool against her skin as she slipped it on. The low cut gave a glimpse of her breasts and the hem stopped right above the knee, exposing the length of her legs. Perfect choice.

Padding into her bedroom, she lit the row of vanilla candles on her dresser and assumed her place in the middle of the four-poster, queen-sized bed, keeping the gown on although it was against the rules. If he wanted to see her nude, he’d have to work toward that goal. She didn’t want to make it too easy for him.

Her body eased into the thick, soft comforter. The seductive thoughts whirling in her mind, and her prior orgasms, were enough to set her mood to
ready and willing
.

She checked the clock. Five minutes to go. Eagerness exploded inside her stomach.

A chuckle escaped her throat. Shouldn’t she have some sense of fright, or anxiety? Serenity made her ooze deeper into the bed. She’d never met this man, yet, she trusted him. Something about his words, his letters, had always wrapped her in peace.

A few minutes passed. Then she heard the downstairs door chime. He had arrived.

She made haste in pulling on the red silk scarf, a makeshift mask, and tied the soft material securely at the back of her head. The urge to fix a peephole in the fabric consumed her, but as she heard the scuffle of shoes on the wooden stairs, she lost her courage. She fixed it so everything went dark.

Situating her body in what she thought was the sexiest position, one knee bent and the other leg stretched, her chest thrust forward to accentuate her small breasts, she waited.

She no longer heard his footsteps. Her breath caught. The presence of her lover changed the aura of her bedroom. The warmth of the room skyrocketed and a faint scent of cologne reached her nostrils. She frantically searched her mind for the fragrance. She knew the smell, but had no time to process the thought. All logical thinking faded when a deep, raspy growl penetrated the air. A lover’s sound of appreciation.

Knowing he was turned on charged her every nerve. Her breasts became tight. Her insides shuddered. She resisted the overwhelming urge to tear off her mask. Would he run away if she did?

A sliver of vulnerability targeted her senses. Yet, she was excited.

Cassie couldn’t be referred to as innocent. She’d had lovers in the past, but nothing like this. All experience floated out the window as she pondered what she should say, if she said anything at all.

The soft thumping of his shoes echoed off the walls as he moved across her hardwood floor. Sounded like he wore boots. Not cowboy boots, but work boots with rubber soles. Was he a construction worker? Her mind conjured up images of tight T-shirt clinging to a sweaty, toned upper body. Worn jeans cradling tight ass and muscular legs.

The apex of her thighs moistened. She had it bad. How could one man, a stranger at that, fan her thoughts into flaming desire?

With use of her sight off limits, her hearing became overly sensitive. She listened to every sound. The rustling of his clothes and a long, drawn-out sigh, then scuffling as he moved to the side of the bed. She pushed herself higher against the headboard, anticipation growing heavy.

He didn’t touch her. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “Hello?” She wished she could have hidden the eagerness in her voice. She didn’t want to come off as desperate; however, her body throbbed in yearning.

Silence.

She started to speak again, but the mattress lowered under his weight. Her body slid a few inches toward him across the slick material of the cover. She pushed herself back up, regaining her pose on the bed. Her breathing grew heavy in her ears. Her heart raced. Could he hear it?

Although she knew it was coming, she jerked when his fingers touched her ankle. She laughed at her involuntary reaction, but it fizzled. His touch seemed like a laser, sending rivulets of heated awareness up her leg and exploding like shards of glass into her loins.

A sigh fell from her lips before she could snatch it back. “Yes.” She clenched her hands at her sides.

Slowly, deftly, his palm trailed a frenzied path upward past her knee, and settled against her inner thigh. A shiver of need gripped her muscles.

The tip of her tongue slid out and moistened her lips on its own accord. She didn’t care that desire plagued her with physical signs of longing. All she knew was she wanted this man. Apprehension disappeared.

“Please,” she pleaded.

His hand, warm and large, relaxed against her stomach.

She squirmed, started to reach out to touch him, but he clutched her wrists with one hand and held them securely. She moaned. “I want to touch you.”

“No.” His voice came as a gruff whisper.

She didn’t pursue her desire and wouldn’t have been able to. His breath swept across her cheek. The heat radiating from his body heated her to the core. The tip of his finger flicked her clit as she felt his knuckle brush her sensitive skin. She arched her body, allowing the sharp prickles to dart upward into her stomach. Not able to move her hands, she stretched her fingers, needing a release.

Cassie felt movement next to her hip, like he’d shifted his weight. Then it came. The warmth of his tongue touched the curve of her collarbone before swirling downward. His lips were soft as he kissed the tops of her breasts. She whimpered. He blew lightly on her nipples before closing his mouth over one erect bud. She writhed as a delicious chill raced across her body. She’d never experienced something so glorious.

Her own breath sounded loud in her ears. She breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with his scent. What came next, she wondered in delight? Her breath came out on a moan when his finger slipped inside her. In uninhibited enjoyment, she gyrated her hips. She lifted enough to allow further access, welcoming his sweet torment.