Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) (10 page)

“I do know who I am, Cassie,” he finally said.

“I’m not sure that you do,” she said quietly. She tried to convey with her face that it didn’t matter that much. He didn’t have to already know, but she wanted him to find out. She searched his eyes for some clue as to what he was thinking. Sadly, she didn’t see much but anger and frustration.

“Cassie, I have had more fun with you than I’ve had for a long time. But I’m not sure I can do this. You’re not making any sense. And I swear I think you just insulted me and I’m too idiotic to figure out how. Work is stressing me out enough without this,” he said, completely annoyed.
 

“Scott, that’s not what I meant to do. I’m sorry,” she said genuinely. “I wasn’t thinking about how stressed you are. Look. Here’s a deal. I’ll back off for the rest of tax season. Get through your nasty schedule without putting up with me, and then if you still remember me as fun, give me a call.” She made sure her voice was matter of fact and kind. She wasn’t throwing out an ultimatum or having a hissy fit. Scott had just been very real with her. He couldn’t deal with her when he was stressed from work. She appreciated his situation and would give him the space he needed, no questions asked. No games.
 

He looked at her again, and she could have sworn he looked confused.
 

“Scott, I swear, there’s nothing to figure out here. I like you and I’ll wait the two months you need to get to a point where you can relax. I don’t want only half of you anyway. This is not a game. I think I’m going to miss you, but it’s ok. You just have to tell me what you need. If I can handle it, I’ll give it to you. If not, I won’t. No apologies or excuses. We’re both worth that.”

“You are completely unlike anyone I’ve ever known,” Scott said. “Erin told me this morning that you don’t play games. You’re really serious about this, aren’t you.”

“Completely. I’ll back off and wait for you to have time to put up with all my crap,” she said with an ornery grin. “Just promise to call me. If you want me back or if you don’t, just let me know. Honestly. Deal?”

“Deal. Now let’s have lunch,” Scott said, the mood instantly lighter. Cassie loved the look on his face. The two of them had a completely honest give-and-take and she had no doubt they would walk away stronger. Underneath the strut, Scott was something amazing she hadn’t expected him to be and she genuinely didn’t want to lose that. The two months would be tough, but he would be worth the wait, of that she was certain.
 

“I haven’t been here before. What’s good?”

“This place has the best wings in the city, I swear. If you have any guts, go for the volcano steam, or if you’re a total wimp, you can try the honey barbecue. Anything in between is just wishy-washy.”

Scott must have felt good about their deal or he wouldn’t be sounding so playful. Cassie was ready to play again. It would have to hold her over until April.
 

“Wimp? Me? Please. Order us a big ol’ plate of volcano steam. First person to take a sip of water loses,” Cassie challenged.

“Done.” He seemed to love that she was playing along.

The waitress came over and brought them refills on their drinks. They ordered their wings and then finished the details of the game. The competition would be hardcore, Scott explained. No blue cheese dressing allowed. He had Cassie laughing with all the rules about not leaving any extra meat on the chicken bones and that any extra sauce on the edges of their mouths hand to be licked away. No napkins. They shook on the rules of the game just in time for the waitress to bring a plate of wings and two empty baskets for the bones.
 

“You ready?” Cassie challenged Scott, a wing in her hand and poised for consumption.

“Bring it,” Scott said arrogantly with that gorgeous dimple creasing his cheek.
 

Cassie and Scott both bit into their wings and tried very hard not to react to the burning sensation from the ridiculously spicy sauce. They were both about dying and their eyes were watering. By the third wing, Scott’s forehead was breaking out in a sweat and Cassie was fanning her mouth but refusing to take a sip of water. They were laughing at each other, but neither would give in.
 

Finally, Scott said, “I can’t take it any more!” He gulped down his water and then took an entire stick of celery and scooped up more blue cheese than it could hold. He unceremoniously crammed the stalk in his mouth to cool off his tongue.

Cassie said “Ha! Victory!” and then dove for the celery and dressing too. They were laughing so hard at themselves looking so crazed over a plate of wings.

“That was the stupidest game I ever suggested,” Cassie laughed as she skipped the celery and went for a finger-full of blue cheese. “But at least I won.”

Scott just shook his head at Cassie again. That seemed like a full-time occupation when she was around. He ordered them a wimpy plate of honey barbecue wings so they could actually eat a meal. They absentmindedly munched on the fries and chatted while they waited for their next plate of food. They talked about Scott’s work mostly, which was about the only thing in his mind from all the hours he’d been putting in. He had a particularly frustrating week and he rambled on too long.
 

He didn’t like complaining so much, but once he started, every issue poured out. He couldn’t believe she was letting him vent like that, especially after he had all but dismissed her for two months. Even more shocking was her remaining truly engaged in the conversation. She asked questions and reacted to everything. She wasn’t placating him. She seemed to genuinely care about his frustrations.
 

“Sorry for droning on like that,” Scott said when he had finished his tirade about work. “I’m sure this wasn’t the best lunch for you, but I really appreciate you listening.”

“I like listening to you. I learn a lot.”
 

“Like what,” he said, his curiosity piqued.

“Like why you act all puffed up sometimes. You have a lot of important people to juggle.”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t see it as puffed up, though. It’s just how the office works.”

“Hmmm. I don’t think it has to work that way. Erin’s never trying to impress people, and she got promoted early once too, right?”

“Yeah, she was young to be moved up to Senior. But what’s your point?” He was actually getting a bit irritated again, and his words came out that way.
 

“I’m sorry. I just think that you’d do just as well if you didn’t work at it so much. Just be Scott.”

“I disagree. I don’t work at it. I am Scott, around you and at the office. It’s just a bit different. I have to be a different person at the office. It’s the corporate world. I adapt.”

 
Cassie nodded with a smile, but he could tell she didn’t agree with him. As amazing as she was, she was a little frustrating. She was talking about something she didn’t know anything about. She could be bold all she wanted, but that didn’t make her right. He didn’t want to get so irritated again, though. This was the last bit of Cassie he’d see for a while, and he’d rather have her fun, playful energy than an argument.
 

“As long as you’re downtown, want to see my office?” he asked her after he paid. “I can show you around. Come on.” He made himself drop his irritation completely, which was easy to do when he saw her in that outfit again, standing there catching everyone’s eye but holding
his
hand.

Cassie kept his hand. They left the restaurant and walked across the street to Scott’s office building. He let her walk a bit ahead, just so he could see her legs move in that tight skirt and sexy boots. Her ass was perfection.
 

He got in the elevator with her and leaned down toward her.
 

“Since it will be a while…” He decided to occupy his time in the otherwise empty elevator kissing her while they waited for the eighth floor. She grabbed his tie and pulled him closer. He laughed because the only thing she said after he kissed her was that she couldn’t really feel it because all the nerve endings had been burned off her tongue.
 

After the doors glided open he led her into the office and pointed out Erin’s cubicle as they walked the length of the bullpen area. Cassie waved to her friend with a warm smile and let Scott show her around. She didn’t hold his hand in the office; she knew such a gesture wouldn’t be professional for him. She was obnoxious, sure, but she was reasonable, too.

“This is so cool. I get to see where both Marcus and Erin work, plus I’m getting a private tour from my favorite accountant,” she said. As much as Scott hated to admit it, he liked hearing her call him her favorite accountant.
 

“Even over Erin?” he smiled.

“Well, she can be my favorite brother’s girlfriend instead.”

He walked her the rest of the way down the common area.

“The break room is back there,” he pointed, “and the copy room is in that far corner. My office is right here.”

He unlocked his door and led her into a mildly posh office with a wooden work desk and three computer screens across it. He shut the door behind him and locked it. He closed the vertical blinds in the windows while Cassie watched him, completely amused. She watched him further as he walked to another wooden credenza along one wall where several stacks of papers were placed neatly all along the surface. He systematically moved those stacks of papers away from the center of the table.
 

He walked directly toward her and grabbed under her arms. He picked her up that way and put her back down so she was standing right in front of that credenza he had just cleared. Her eyes were wide at his bold move, but she wasn’t complaining. Feeling even more bold, and completely turned on by the sight of her legs in that skirt, he wanted more. He ran his hands down the side of her hips and down her thighs, then dragged them back up, bringing the skirt up with them.

She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, and he could see in her eyes that she was thinking the same thing he was. They both understood they were on the edge of a temporary goodbye and each wanted to leave things on a good note.
 

He had no intentions of doing anything too drastic in an office full of people; he just had an insane need to see those legs under her skirt. He pulled the red fabric all the way up until the hem rested at the top of her thighs, and then he pushed her up onto the tabletop and parted her legs with his hands. He stepped directly between them, looking Cassie in the eyes the whole time. He could tell her breathing had become more rapid. Scott needed to play more. Maybe he
would
do something drastic, regardless of the office full of people.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her as deeply as he ever had. He let his hands rub along her back and her hips, and he let them play mostly along her sexy legs. He pulled her a little closer to him and almost to the edge of the table. He lifted her knee up around him and kissed her ear and neck.
 

“You are so sexy,” he whispered to her. “God, your body is amazing.”

She responded by holding him tighter and letting out a soft sound of pleasure through her breathing. She knew how to lose herself in the moment, he noticed again, regardless of where she was. She let go of all her bold, sassy attitude and just let herself be kissed and touched. Feeling her respond to him that way was an incredible turn-on. She was sex on a stick as far as Scott was concerned.
 

“Keep yourself quiet,” he whispered into her neck while he continued to get her warmed up and turned on.

“Are you seriously going to do me right here?” she whispered.

“Damn right I am,” he whispered back passionately, pulling her skirt the rest of the way up.
 

“Good,” she breathed against his earlobe, grazing the soft skin with her teeth. She reached and unbuckled his designer leather belt and went straight to work on his suit pants. She had them open in no time and pushed them down. They dropped to his ankles and she fondled him while he kissed her.
 

She felt his hands moving up the insides of her thighs, reaching her panties. She was about to stand up to give him the ability to pull them down her legs. But he stopped her and looked her dead in the eye with the most wicked of grins. She felt him grab the flimsy fabric of her thong solidly with both hands and she nearly let out a shocked laugh as she heard the fabric rip. He quickly raised his eyebrows at her and moved in to kiss her again as he pushed the still intact waistband up to get the trailing scraps out of his way.

She pulled a condom out of her purse and had him sheathed in record time. By the time he pushed into her, the two had become a fury of lips and hands moving and gripping wherever they could. Both were straining to remain quiet. Restraint was something they hadn’t had to worry about before and Cassie was having a very hard time containing herself. She was far too accustomed to letting herself go completely.
 

Scott helped her by covering her mouth and all she could do was nip at his fingers through her ragged breathing. She grabbed his ass and squeezed as she came, trying so hard not to scream the way she wanted to. He finally reached his own release and had to hold his breath to keep in the sounds trying to force their way out of him. As far as anyone else in the office was concerned, he was in a meeting with someone who was probably a potential new client. They had no idea that behind that closed door was some seriously hot sex going on.
 

Even after he was satisfied, Scott kissed her and kissed her more there at the credenza, not wanting the moment to end. This was going to be the last moment he had with Cassie for a long time. But still, he was glad he made the deal he did. There was no way he could get through tax season with Cassie as a distraction — both her frustrating side and her wild side. He would wait, but he would miss these moments for sure.
 

He finally let her go and stepped back from her. He tied off the condom and wrapped it in a tissue before throwing it away. He collected his pants from around his ankles; she stood and straightened her skirt down to her boots. No evidence left behind whatsoever.