Falling for You (22 page)

Crawling up the bed, he raised the hem of her shirt to reveal her silky ivory skin beneath it, and caressed the soft line of her hips that peeked out from under the edge of her pants. He gave her side a nip with his teeth.

He fingered the zipper on her jeans, peering down at her trying to take in every detail of her perfectly irresistible body. She was beautiful in front of the camera, but she even better in real life. He wanted nothing more than to have his way with her again, even though that was the last thing they should be doing if they wanted to keep their secret safe.

“Wait. We can’t do this,” she said as if she’d just read his mind.

“Cassidy, it’s fine. No one will find out.”

“No, Evan, please. Not like this.” Her eyes pleaded with him.

He knew in that instant he would do anything to make her happy. He gave her a quick kiss before settling himself on the bed beside her instead. He tried to think of something other than the sexy woman lying next to him.

“I know we shouldn’t do this, Cassy. I just have so much trouble resisting you when I finally get you alone.” He sighed deeply. “I guess we could talk instead?”

Evan startled as Cassidy climbed on top of him and straddled his hips, running her hands up his chest. His body ached under her.

What the — ?

“Who said anything about talking? Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I want to spend all my time talking.” Cassidy toyed with the buttons of his shirt.

He could see the desire in her eyes. He wasn’t sure he understood what was going on, since one minute she told him to stop and the next she was on top of him. But he was willing to go along for the ride.

“I’ve had to watch you hiding behind that camera for days and the only thing I’ve been able to think about is what I’d do to you when I finally got you alone. Now that I have you, I want to do things my way.”

“Don’t let me stop you,” he encouraged.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Evan ran his hands up her thighs, stroking them in anticipation. He held his gaze on hers as she fondled the top button of his shirt. He assumed she would tease him by opening each button slowly, so he steadied himself against his overwhelming desire to take control of the situation and speed things up. If she wanted to do things her way, he would do everything in his power to resist his own temptation to ravish her, even if it was torturous for him.

Without warning, Cassidy grabbed the edges of his shirt and ripped them apart. The buttons tore from the threads and scattered across the room making little clinking noises as they hit the floor around the bed.

Holy shit. That’s hot.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.” Cassidy giggled before pressing her warm lips to his newly exposed chest.

He sucked in a quick breath as her mouth opened, her tongue gently flickering across his erect nipple. Desire raged inside him as he struggled not to rip off her clothes like she’d done to his shirt.

“Oh God, Cassy. You’re driving me crazy,” he moaned.

“Good,” she mumbled against his chest. “That was part of my plan.”

Cassidy’s hands traveled down to his waist and quickly unfastened his button. She shifted to the side, putting all her weight onto one knee while still hovering over him. Pulling his remaining clothes off, she discarded them at the end of the bed before running her hands back up his now naked legs. She positioned herself over the top of his thighs, her eyes roaming across his fully naked form. His body ached under her touch as she slowly stroked his length.

“Maybe we should talk a little since I still don’t know much about you.” She pulled her shirt over her head, throwing it to the side of the bed and out of the way. His took in the blue satin and lace bra hiding her breasts.

“How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

“One brother, but I don’t want to think about him right now.” Carter was the last thing he needed a reminder of while he broke his own rule and got more involved with Cassidy.

He skimmed his hands back up her thighs and wrapped them around her hips, pulling her further up his body, her jeans rubbing against him in the best possible way. He reached for the button on her pants, but she batted him away.

“No touching. What’s his name?”

Evan tried to focus on her question as she reached behind her back with one hand to undo her bra. She wrapped the other arm across her chest holding the bra in place as the straps fell loosely down her arms.

Brother? Name?

“I have no idea. You’re killing me, Cassy. I need you.”

“How sad. You can’t even think of your own brother’s name.” She let her bra fall from her chest and tossed it to the side. “I have a sister. Her name is Keira. She also lives in New York City.”

Evan’s toes curled as he tried to find the strength to play along with her game. She was lucky he had the patience of a kindergarten teacher.

He gripped her hips hard with both hands so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach up and touch her breasts. They were possibly the most luscious things he’d ever seen.
Have your fun now, Cassidy. My revenge will be sweet — and slow.
He shook his head to clear the fog of desire preventing his brain from thinking.

“What’s your favorite food? What do you like to do when you’re not working?”

Evan’s body shivered with desire as Cassidy flipped the button open on her jeans and unzipped them, revealing the smallest glimpse of blue satin. His pulse raced as the back of her hand brushed against him. She peered up at him through heavy lashes and bit her bottom lip.

“His name is Carter,” he said in a rushed voice. “There’s almost nothing I like better than a grilled steak and a cold beer. I like fishing, hiking, and working on my cabin, and if you don’t have your way with me soon, I’m going to pass out from lack of blood to my brain.”

“You’re not enjoying my little ‘get to know you’ session, are you?” Her body vibrated against his as she laughed, making his ache infinitely worse.

“I want to get to know every little thing about you. But right now, the biggest thing I want to know is how much longer you plan on torturing me.”

Cassidy leaned forward, her breasts only a fraction of an inch from touching his chest. She placed her arms on either side of his head, propping herself up so her body wasn’t touching his. Her mouth came down on his hard and firm, demanding his full attention.

He responded, tangling his tongue with hers. His hands fondled her breasts, enjoying the fact that she was too busy holding herself up to stop him.

She pulled back from their kiss, her eyes sparkling. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anything as beautiful in his entire life.

“Just one more question.”

“No more questions.” He flipped her onto her back, peeling off her remaining clothes, throwing them to the floor and out of reach before she had time to protest. He was done with her games. “I tried your way, but your way takes too damn long.”

Evan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body tight against his own, and rolled onto his back, bringing her with him. She straddled his hips again, pausing for a moment while he put on a condom before sliding into her heat. He moaned with pleasure as her hips rocked to meet his thrusts.

“This was my way,” Cassidy whispered, before kissing him again.

Together their breathing grew labored with the steady rhythm of their bodies moving in unison. Their pace quickened and she arched her back, saying his name in a raspy breath. As she trembled around him, he gave in to his own satisfaction.

“Maybe I do like your way,” he said between heavy breaths.

“I thought you might.”

Evan liked feeling Cassidy pressed against his side with her head resting on his chest.
I’m getting in too deep.

“You, Cassy, are a bad girl in a Catholic school girl uniform.” He sighed again, stroking his hand along the length of her side, enjoying her soft curves and caressing the intimate areas he found.

“Evan, stop,” Cassidy said, even though her body clearly didn’t want him to listen. “Zoe will be back soon.”

“Fine, but next time we do it my way.” He kissed her deeply, his body instantly becoming aroused again. “I guarantee it’ll involve a few games, and not one of them will be twenty questions.”

“I look forward to — ” Cassidy’s voice trailed off as the sound of muffled laughter interrupted her.

Evan froze. The laugh definitely belonged to Zoe and it didn’t sound far away.

“Shit. Zoe’s in the hallway outside the suite.” Evan sprang from the bed. He scrambled around the room collecting his clothes and throwing Cassidy’s in her general direction.

“Quick. Get dressed before they come in,” he ordered, slipping into his pants. He pulled on his shirt and attempted to button it only to realize it no longer had buttons.

“Sorry about that.” Cassidy giggled while pulling her shirt over her head. She ran her hands through her rumbled hair.

“Another time, you won’t hear a single complaint from me, but right now, I need a new shirt.”

Evan grabbed his camera and bolted from the room, his shirt flapping open behind him. Just as he reached his room, the front door opened and heels clicked on the tiled floor.

Instinctively, he lifted his camera to his shoulder, turned and began to film.

“Evan. What are you doing up? Where’s Cassidy?”

“I heard something so I got out of bed and started filming. I thought you were Cassidy. I guess she must still be in bed … or something.”

He hoped to hell he sounded casual. He clicked off his camera and held it by his side.

Zoe’s eyes narrowed, taking in his attire as she walked across the room. He felt naked with his shirt hanging open.

“Sleeping, huh?” She trailed a single finger across his stomach. “I’m sorry I woke you. If you need help getting back to sleep, I’m pretty sure I can think of a few ways to tire you out.”

Evan shivered at her touch. It was like ice, and not in a good way. “Thanks, but I think I can manage on my own. Besides, didn’t you just come from a date with your dream man?”

“Yeah, but he left me at the door. You could walk me to my room.”

“I’m going back to my room since it appears Cassidy’s still sleeping and I’m not needed. I’m sure your cameraman can make sure you get to your room safely.”

“You know where I am if you change your mind.” Zoe lifted the edge of his shirt and fingered the hanging threads where a button used to be. “You’re missing a few buttons. Did your shirt give you some trouble tonight?”

Evan held his gaze steady on hers. “Buttons can be complicated.”

“True, sometimes I have to use my teeth.”

“Thanks for sharing. Goodnight, Zoe.” He backed into his room.

“Sweet dreams, Evan. I know mine will be.”

Evan closed his bedroom door and collapsed onto the bed.

That was too close. Cassy is off limits from now on. I can’t ruin my reputation with work or get more involved with her than I already am.

And what the hell kind of repellent can I buy to keep Zoe away from me?

• • •

Brad paced in front of Evan and the other crewmembers. “Dudes, I don’t know who to pick.” He ran his hands through his hair.

“You must have at least one front runner.” Chip spoke, the impatience clear in his voice already. In all the years Evan had known Chip, patience had never been one of his strong suits.

“Oh yeah, Zoe. That chick oozes sex appeal. I bet she’s a tiger in the sack based on how she kisses.”

“Great. So Zoe is in the final two automatically, and the others are in the bottom three. America can fight it out for who gets to stay.”

“No, wait. I’m not sure.” Brad rubbed his forehead again. “What about Cassidy? I know she’s totally playing hard to get with me because I broke up with her. It’s driving me crazy. What if America votes her out? Maybe she should be the sure thing and Zoe should be in the bottom. There’s no way America would vote out Zoe again, right?”

The crew remained quiet.

“Come on. Someone must have an opinion.” Brad started to border on whiny.

“I’m not sure I’d trust America with Zoe again. They didn’t like her the first time she was in the bottom three. Who says they’ve changed their minds?” Evan didn’t want to sway Brad’s opinion too much, but the sooner Cassidy was off the show, the better it would be for everyone and putting her up for the vote might just get that accomplished.

“True,” Brad replied, obviously still unsure of his decision.

“It’s not hard. Just pick one girl you really want at the end and let America figure out the rest for you,” another crewmember said.

“I know what I need to do.” Brad walked away without any confirmation of who he’d decided to put in the bottom three.

“So who’s he going to choose?” Jake asked from beside Evan.

“Not a clue.”

“Doesn’t really matter in my case. My girl isn’t one of the favorites to win, so I think I’m going home tomorrow.”

“Erin and the kids will be happy to have you home again.”

“Yep, and I’ll have enough time and funds to take the family on a quick vacation before school starts.” Jake patted him on the back. “Looks like you’re sticking around until the end with Cassidy, huh?”

“Seems that way.”

“What’s with you two, anyway?” Jake dropped his voice. “You seem pretty close these days.”

Evan’s heart jumped into his throat. “What are you talking about?”

“Seems you’re interested in more than good camera angles on this project.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“After all these years of friendship,” Jake said, shaking his head, “I thought you knew you could trust me.”

“If you’re throwing the friend card around, then I’m going to use it. Be a friend and stop asking questions you know I can’t answer.” Evan held his breath while he waited for that to sink in.

Jake nodded his head and looked Evan straight in the eye. “You do what you need to.” Jake’s voice was so quiet Evan had to strain to hear him. “Just don’t get caught doing something stupid.”

“It’s not like that, Jake. You don’t know this girl.”

“She worth losing your job?”