Hard (6 page)

“I
doubt you’ll still be standing.”

“That’s
okay,” he says. “We can do it lying down.” In spite
of myself, I laugh. He’s drunk but he’s cute and it’s
nice to be noticed.

But
I’d rather ride Ryder.
The thought appears so
suddenly and clearly for a second I wonder if I’ve said it out
loud.

And I wonder what would happen if I did.

I pick up the tray of drinks and turn to head toward the table when I
hear Ryder call my name from the side of the bar. He puts down his
glass of whiskey and beckons me with his fingers:
Come here.

Wading
through the shoulder-to-shoulder bodies—all while spilling not
a drop, I might add—I make my way to Ryder. His blazer gone,
his shirt sleeves are rolled up and for the first time I get a look
at his ink, a swath of colors and black outlines that somehow make
the muscles in his forearms even sexier and more defined.

“Yes,
Mr. Cole?”

“Finally,”
he says, “a little respect.”

“Emphasis
on little.”

“When
it comes to you, Cassie, I’ll take what I can get.” He
smiles like a hungry man about to feast. “Emphasis on take.”

“Did you need something or are you just trying to distract me
from my tables?” I say, cocking my hip to the side and
balancing the tray on it.

“Do I distract you?” He steps closer. I inhale the smell
of him like a spell, a mix of cedar and citrus and something sweet
taking over every cell in my body.

I exhale. “Don’t flatter yourself,” I say, but more
breathlessly than I expected.

“Then pay attention to the orders,” he says. He takes
three speared olives from the containers on the bar and puts one in
each martini. “This is the easy part of the job.”

“Maybe that’s why I missed it,” I say. “I
prefer doing things that are hard.” I let my gaze trickle down
from his face, past his chest, pausing at his pelvis. When I look up
at him again, his smile has gone from hungry man to starving, ready
to devour the first thing he sees.

And he’s looking right at me.

He raises his eyebrows. “You’re walking a very thin line
tonight, tiger.”

“You gonna cross it?” I say.

He leans toward me, his eyes narrowed but bright, even in the
darkness of the bar. “Don’t start something you can’t
finish.”

I stand on my tiptoes and tilt my mouth toward his. “Oh, I
always finish,” I say as I turn to go deliver my drinks, my
slow walk the complete opposite of the racing of my heart, like we’re
playing a tense game of hide and seek.

And based on the way I can feel his eyes focused on the swivel of my
hips, I don’t think I’d mind being caught.

RYDER

She’s
swallowed up by the crowd as she turns away from me, but all I can
think about is Cassie’s mouth swallowing my cock, her soft lips
moving up and down my hard shaft as my hands comb through her long,
blond hair, rub over her naked back, then across her ribcage, cupping
her tits as my thumbs drift lightly across her hard nipples, making
her moan and reach between her legs with her own hand to stroke her
wet, pink pussy.

“You
gonna hit that?” Cash says.

“What?”

From
behind the bar, Cash points to my glass of whiskey, less than half
gone. “You gonna finish it? Because if not,” he says,
then takes the glass and throws it back in one gulp.

“You
didn’t even let me answer,” I say.

“You’re
too slow,” he says. “Better speed it up if you want to
get to her first, too.”

“Get
to who first?”

Cash
laughs. “No need to play coy with me, Ryde. You were
practically going down on Cassie with your eyeballs a second ago, and
I want you to know, I’m in full support, dude. She’s hot.
And smart. Maybe too smart for you.”

“You’ve
got it all wrong. I was just instructing my new employee on the
nuances of her job,” I say.

“While
imagining her naked.”

I
shake my head. “You need to get laid more,” I say. “I
sense some pent-up projection.”

“I
don’t think so,” he says. “Katie and I had sex in
her car right before her shift started tonight, so I’m good.
This is about you and your blue balls.”

“You
and our waitress Katie?” I say.

Cash
shrugs. “Yeah, it’s totally casual,” he says. “Like
a stress-reliever thing for her. She’s pre-med at Emory.”

“How
charitable of you.”

He
smiles. “I do what I can to keep the staff happy,” he
says. “But I know I can be hard to resist, so don’t
worry. I’ll stay away from Cassie. Don’t know if I can
say the same for everyone else.” He nods at the middle of the
floor, where a couple of guys have stopped Cassie on her way to
deliver the martinis. One of them puts his arm around her waist and
she laughs and then shakes her head. When she walks away from them
they don’t take their eyes off her ass.

Can’t
blame them. She has a great ass. Great legs, too. Long, lean thighs
that look like they were made to spread around my head. “Cassie’s
an attractive woman,” I say. “I’m sure she’s
used to attention from men.”

“So
you admit you think she’s attractive.”

“Cassie’s
attractive. Katie is attractive. This is a very popular bar,” I
say. “There are a lot of attractive women here.”

“Amen
to that,” he says, pouring me a shot of whiskey. He pushes it
toward me. “On the house.”

“Tell
the owners I said thanks,” I say, tossing back the drink. “So
how long have you been sleeping with Katie?”

“I
wouldn’t say he’s sleeping with Katie exactly,” I
hear a female voice behind me say. Katie appears at the bar with an
empty tray. She’s petite and fair-skinned with jet-black hair
cut short, a pixie cut, I think it’s called. She’d never
waitressed before we hired her, but she’s one of our best
employees. Not everyone can manage the chaos of working late hours at
a busy bar, but Katie never gets flustered by a drunk customer or
forgets an order. She’ll be a good doctor—she knows how
to handle people.
Be sweet but don’t take any shit
, I’ve
heard her tell the other staff more than once. “That makes it
sound like a thing. We’ve just fucked a few times,” she
says. “Cash said it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“As
long as it doesn’t become my problem,” I say.

“It
won’t,” she says. “This organic chemistry class is
just a beast and Cash has been kind enough to help me take my mind
off it every once in a while.”

“You
have to take another one in the fall, right?” Cash says.

“Yes,”
Katie says, smirking. “But I might have the hang of it by then,
so I promise nothing.”

“Just
remember I’m here if you need me,” Cash says. “I’d
hate for you to lose your scholarship.”

“Thanks
for your concern,” Katie says. “Now can I please get
three Jack and Cokes and a vodka tonic?”

“Katie,
what do you think of Cassie?” Cash says as he scoops ice into a
couple glasses.

“The
fill in? She seems nice,” Katie says. “Pretty quick
learner.” She grins at him. “Why, you thinking of helping
her survive organic chem, too?”

He
sets the drinks on Katie’s tray. “Asking for a friend,”
he says, nodding at me.

“Cash,
are you trying to start something?” I say.

“Are
you?” Katie says. “With her?”

“Don’t
you two need to go fuck in a car somewhere?” I say.

Katie
looks at Cash as he puts the drinks on her tray. “Methinks the
Ryder doth protest too much.”

“What
she said,” Cash says, walking away to help a customer at the
other end of the bar.

“She’s
hot, you’re hot,” Katie says. “Do it.”

“Thanks,”
I say. “But I didn’t ask for any opinions.”

“But
you’re interested in her,” Katie says.

“I’m interested in a lot of people.”

“Name one.”

I
face Katie, leaning back as I cross my arms. “I own this bar. I
have a name in this town. I could fuck anyone in here I want.”

“Yeah,
you could,” she says. “But I have a feeling the only one
in here you want to fuck tonight is Cassie.” Katie takes the
tray and goes off to serve her customers, her words lingering in my
imagination.

So
maybe I am interested in Cassie. Maybe I’d like to bend her
over the desk in the back office, push those tight, black jeans to
her ankles, pull her panties to the side with my index finger. Maybe
I’d like to kneel between her legs and lick at her pussy like
it’s my last meal until she comes on my tongue like it’s
her last night on earth, her voice loud, her muscles quivering. Maybe
I’d like to hear her throat raw with my name.

There’s
only one way to find out.

CASSIE

I set down martinis in front of three women at a reserved booth.
“Thanks,” one of them says. She’s pretty, one of
those girls who looks polished even in just a ponytail and jeans,
which she wears with a white t-shirt and black leather motorcycle
jacket.

“Do you want to start a tab?”

“You can put it on Jackson’s,” she says. “I’m
his sister. I figure he owes me a few drinks.”
Owes me
.
It makes me think of what Ryder said earlier this week, about whether
Jamie would do for me what I’m doing for him—or more
specifically, that he thinks Jamie wouldn’t do it.

But here’s Jackson’s sister assuming her brother will
cover her debts. Granted, a few drinks isn’t nearly the same as
ten-thousand dollars. Still, maybe that’s what family is
for—accounting for us when we can’t account for
ourselves. Reciprocity:
In return for being your sister, you pay
for my night out.
Though it’s true that I can’t
recall Jamie ever picking up a check.

Jackson’s sister takes a sip. “I would never say this to
Cash,” she says to the girl next to her, a brunette in a black
mini skirt, “but the boy can make a dirty martini.”

“Why wouldn’t you say it to him?” Cash appears at
the table, his V-neck t-shirt showing off his toned body, a bottle of
Stella Artois in hand. He sits next to Jackson’s sister.
“Because there’s more dirty where that came from.”
She
pops the olive in her mouth. “Don’t you have a bar to
tend?”

“I’m on break.”

I look at Jackson’s sister. “Lucky you,” I say.

She laughs. “The new girl’s a fast learner.” She
puts out her hand. “I’m Shelby.”

“Cassie,” I say, extending mine.

“Nice to meet you. This is Avery,” she says, pointing to
the brunette, “and Ruby.” She gestures to the third girl,
a beautiful redhead next to Avery.

“Hi,” I say.

“When did you start?” Shelby says.

“Cassie’s filling in,” Cash says. “Nerdy
bookkeeper by day, hot waitress by night.”

“Like a superhero,” Shelby says.

“If you need a sexy sidekick,” Cash says, “let me
know.”

“Why? Do you know someone?” I say.

Shelby laughs again, and reaches across Cash to take my hand in hers,
not to shake it this time, but just hold onto it, like she’s
welcoming me. “Cassie, I have a feeling we’re going to be
friends.” The warmth of Shelby, Avery, and Ruby’s smiles
makes my chest swell a little, like my heart has filled up with
something wonderful. It’s been a while since I had
girlfriends—really, even since before I left the U.S. Sebastian
and I met here in Atlanta, and I fell for him fast and hard. I guess,
looking back, it was infatuation, though I thought at the time it was
love, but he quickly became my focus, and between him and work, I
kind of let my girlfriends go.

Never again. In one night I may have made more friends here than I
did in two years in England. And I’ve learned the hard way how
important they can be.

“Cassie,” Ryder says as he approaches, and the sound of
my name in his mouth launches little tingles of excitement throughout
my body. “Did you quit while I wasn’t looking?”

I cock my head and smile, touching my tongue to my top lip. “Oh,
Ryder, you know that’s not possible,” I say. “You’re
always looking at me.”

He
juts his chin forward, examining me, but before he can respond,
Shelby says, “Give her a break, Ryde. We’re just getting
to know each other.”

“Well,
Cassie needs to get to know some other tables’ orders so we
make a little money tonight,” he says. “Jackson can’t
pick up everyone’s bill, you know.”

Shelby fishes into her clutch. “Here you go, Cassie,” she
says, handing me a hundred dollar bill. “I’ll pay for
this round. And keep the change.”
I do the math. Even with
tax, their bill isn’t even forty dollars. “Shelby, that’s
too much.”

“Believe me,” she says. “Working with these guys,
you’ll earn it.”

I hold the bill up to Ryder. “Like what you see?” I say
as I put it in my front jeans pocket, my tank top rising up slightly,
baring the top of my hip, his eyes on my naked skin.

I can feel them follow me even as I head back onto the floor, and
just as I’m about to introduce myself to a table full of
good-looking, noisy guys crammed into a booth together, I feel a hand
on my waist and warm breath in my ear. “My office. Now,”
Ryder whispers, his voice cutting through the din of the bar like a
warm knife through a soft peach.

“I thought you wanted me to take orders,” I say,
adrenaline surging through me.

“I do,” he says. “Mine.” He holds my wrist as
he leads me through the crowd, to the hallway past the bar, into his
office.

CASSIE

With
the door shut, the office is dark, but the blinds are open a little,
enough to let in some light from the street outside, light that
outlines Ryder’s tall, sturdy body standing in front of me. I
lean back on my hands against the front of the desk. “My
customers are probably parched,” I say.

“They’ll survive.” He puts his hands on top of
mine, letting the weight of his body fall into me.