Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) (22 page)

They had easy conversation over dinner again, talking mostly about movies and music. Cassie’s favorites were strange, half of which he’d never even heard of. And just as she suspected, Scott’s choices were, of course, totally mainstream. Cassie realized even more how much of his life he spent trying to stay in the box everyone expected of him.
 

The thought probably never occurred to him to look outside of the typical, every day world to find something different or new. That was ok, because now Scott had Cassie to enlighten him. She wanted to introduce his playful side to some of her favorites. She had a sneaking suspicion he would like them.

After their pizza was done, Scott handed a small gift bag to Cassie. The bag was smoky teal like her walls. He obviously figured out her favorite color. His thoughtful side was coming through just as strongly as his playful side. No wonder Cassie loved him so much.

“What is this?” she asked with a curious smile on her face.
 

“Open it,” he said with a shy grin. She hadn’t really seen him do ‘shy’ before, so she was instantly dying to know what about this gift would make him get that look in his eyes.

She pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and saw a small silver key on a dragonfly keyring. Cassie held it up and smiled, but still wasn’t sure what this was for.
 

“Ok…so what does this open?”

“My apartment,” he said with a grin. “So if you need a change of scenery when you’re studying, or if you need to sneak in and jump on me while I sleep. You know, whatever.”

He had the most adorable, boyish face while he looked at her holding the key. She smiled back to him so widely. Undoubtedly, he’d never given
anyone
a key to his apartment, let alone a
female
-anyone. She got off her stool and hugged him tight. This present was a lot bigger than the bag it came in.

“Thank you. I absolutely love it. I like the keychain, too.”

“I remembered your hair pin,” he admitted. “God, there I go sounding cheesy again. What are you doing to me?”

“Ha! I’m never going to let you hear the end of it, cheddar.”

“Don’t call me cheddar,” he grinned.
 

“Ok, but it’s better than limburger.”

Cassie hopped off the stool abruptly and announced she was ready to be kissed some more. Scott laughed, happy to participate, and took her by the hand over to his couch. He tried to pull her down to sit next to him, but she wanted to toy with him just a little bit more. She couldn’t help herself. She held her ground, standing there beside the couch. Scott looked at her questioningly.
 

“I want to play keep-away,” she said lightly.

“That doesn’t really work if you want me to kiss you,” he said, smiling and confused.

“Don’t worry. You’ll still end up kissing me. The game has different rules in this situation. I want you to get as close to my lips as you can…but try
not
to kiss me. See? Keep-away. But I have to try not to kiss you either. First one who leans in loses. Think you can handle it?”

“Gold medal all the way, baby,” he said, all cocky.

“You think so? You forget I have no problem resisting your charm.”

“My charm, yes. My lips? We know how that goes…”

“Ha. Give it your best shot,” Cassie challenged.

“I always do.”

They sat down on the couch facing each other. Cassie grinned at him when he leaned in so close to her. His slow advance buzzed through her skin, but she couldn’t let him know that — not if she was going to win this impossible game. She half-wished she hadn’t suggested playing now that his lips were so close and she could feel his warm breath against her cheek…and not be able to kiss him without losing.

She felt his hand move slowly up her neck, and he tilted his head a little more to the side, bringing his lips that much closer to hers. He rubbed his thumbs slowly over the soft thrumming of her pulse, purposefully reminding her of those “proper” kisses from weeks ago.
 

In spite of her best efforts of restraint, she knew his plan was working. She didn’t mean to, but her breathing hitched a little and she saw him smile just a hint of a smile. He was winning and he knew it. In trying to regain the advantage, Cassie only succeeded in crumbling. With his hands moving down to her shoulders, he gently laid her back, letting her rest on her elbows. God, he was infuriating with his seduction skill, and he was pulling out all the practiced stops.
 

She was barely holding her resolve when she was sitting up! How was she supposed to resist him laying her down so gently like that? She tried to get control of the situation, but her efforts came too late. If she leaned up to try and move him, she would instantly touch his lips. He was that close, and she would lose.
 

 
After a long moment
not
kissing him, he gently lifted her off her elbows. Scott laid her down completely, only to move in close to her again. He moved right over top of her, barely holding his lips a millimeter away. Any resolve was on the verge of leaving her. The moment was impossibly intense and she was straining against the hot urge to touch his lips.

God, he figured out how to play this game too well. He just barely nudged her nose with his, moving her face upward, causing her to be perfectly poised for a deep kiss. Her mouth fell just the tiniest bit open at the move and she tried to close her lips but she couldn’t. She wanted him to kiss her so badly, but
he
was in complete control. He kept himself back. He held himself right there, so close, for what seemed like forever.
 

She balled up her fists trying to maintain her strength. He didn’t seem to be straining at all. Based on the smile on his face, he knew she was about to give in. He upped his game impressively and she only wanted him more. He purposely moved away from her the tiniest bit, and then back toward her lips like he was about to give in, but he never did. He had her breathing so heavily and she could tell he was loving his superiority in the game. He felt the victory before she even gave in.

Scott laughed triumphantly when she said “Aw, screw it” and pulled his face down to hers for a very deep and passionate kiss. He had taken her to the point of craziness and she had to kiss him accordingly. When they finally pulled away from each other, Cassie said, “Well, I guess I lost.”

“It’s about time. Now it’s my turn for a game.” With that, he pulled her up off the couch and toward his bedroom. Cassie pulled her boots off and followed him, ready for more of those lips on her body. She about died when she saw him pull a pair of handcuffs out of his nightstand drawer and dangle them up in the air by one finger. Her eyes were wide with shock and her laughter only matched her expression.

“Hey, you were the one who brought up the kink,” Scott said with a devilish grin. He walked over to her and kissed her, handcuffs still dangling from his hand. He pulled back away from her, apparently trying to gauge her response.
 

She looked him square in the eye, not backing down. “Black fuzzy handcuffs? Is that supposed to scare me?”

He leaned in to her neck and kissed her while he pulled her hands behind her back. “Not scare you.” He kissed her more. “Just for fun.” With that, he snapped the cuffs on her wrists and jerked her body against his. “And now you’re mine for as long as I want you.”
 

He smiled seductively at her and kissed her deeply again. He reached down low and pulled her skirt up, instructing her to hold the fabric up with her hands which were held in place at the top curve of her ass.
 

She smiled and did as she was told, enjoying temporarily playing the sub to his dom. He squeezed her bottom decadently. He leaned away from her again and got a very ornery glint in his eye. He walked her to the bed and pushed her bending over, her belly flat on the mattress. He kicked her feet apart and groaned at the sight of her lace panties and long legs displayed for him.
 

He wasted no time. He kneeled down and let his tongue play along her cheeks, the soft skin of her thighs, and lightly behind her knees. He pushed her legs apart a little further and worked his tongue up to the hot pleasure point between her legs. He played there for a while as he pulled her lace panties down, leaving them stretched around her knees. The whole time, he was making Cassie move and moan in pleasure. Every sensation became heightened from her vulnerable position.
 

When he was done teasing, he dropped his own pants down around his ankles and pushed into her completely. He took her there, bent over on the bed, so incredibly hot in his movements. Cassie had never experienced anything like this.
 

She had never let anyone have that much power over her. The sensation was an entire paradigm shift, and she was more turned on by her position than she would have thought. She knew, however, that only Scott could ever have her this way. He was the only one worthy of this level of trust.
 

Just when she thought the physical input couldn’t get any more intense, she felt his hand slide under her belly and reach between her legs. He was pleasuring her from both sides now and her mind and body were sent spinning. Her orgasm rocked hard through her body and she wished she could move with him…but all she could do was absorb every sensation he gave her. She felt him come inside her, only adding to the ecstasy.
 

A short, still moment after they came together, Scott pulled out of her and helped her back to standing. She let her skirt drop and her panties fall to the floor. Scott held her face and kissed her deeply, obviously satisfied and surprisingly emotional from the experience. After a long moment with his lips resting gently against hers, he left her standing while he retrieved the key from the drawer. He lovingly unlocked her left hand first.

Scott could not believe that Cassie, bold-and-always-in-control-Cassie, had just given herself to him, completely and unconditionally submissive. Offering her body to him was nothing short of a gift from someone so strong-willed. Taking her was the hottest damn thing he’d ever experienced, which was saying a lot considering how hot Cassie always was with him.
 

Hell. YES.

He unlocked her wrist for her, ready to hold her and probably have her again, but not so playfully this time. He wanted to see his peaceful, sweet Cassie in his arms. Not only that, but he just couldn’t get enough of her in any way. Even thinking about having her again was causing his member to stir, even moments after sex. He broke from his thoughts to let her go the rest of the way from the cuffs. He was reaching for her other wrist when a quick motion by Cassie shocked the hell out of him.
 

In one swift move, she pulled her still-cuffed right hand over to his left hand, pulled it around to the front of her body and whipped the cuff over his wrist. With her other hand she grabbed the key and tossed it.
 

“Now who’s got who?” she said, completely cocky and ready to be back in control.
 

Scott just laughed. “That’s a good question. From where I stand,
I
still have
you
.” He tugged his wrist up quickly and jerked her back over to his chest to show he could still pull her around if he wanted to.
 

“That’s funny, because from where I stand, it’s all me.” She whipped her leg behind his and pushed him down on the bed, knocking the wind out of him for a split second. “Don’t you remember that I have an overprotective brother? You thought he didn’t teach me anything? No? Well then I guess when you think about it,
I’ve
got
you
.”

Scott grinned and was ready to go along for the ride. God, this woman never stopped surprising him. She was out-doing him again. He still had his pants around his ankles, lying back on the bed with his feet still at the floor. Cassie crawled on top of him, naked under her skirt, and he could feel how wet she was grinding over him. She wasn’t done with him, and her voice sounded blunt and direct as she spoke.
 

“Too bad you cuffed me,” she started. “Now you can’t get my shirt off, but I suppose I’ll let you push it up a bit…” She jerked his wrist up with hers and moved his hand over to the hem of her shirt. “Why don’t you take care of that for me,” she said, totally enjoying playing the domme this time around.
 

His right hand was free to explore, and he let it play along her leg under her skirt while he used his left hand to push her shirt up and fondle her breasts. He started to tell her how hot she was, but she used her free hand to shut his jaw. She shook her head at him. “Nope. This is my show.”
 

She jerked his cuffed hand away from her chest and moved it around her waist. “Your turn to hold my skirt up,” she directed. He was sure she could feel how hard he was under her and he was desperate for her again. He loved this game, but he didn’t know how much longer he could take the teasing. He needed inside of her. He started to move himself to get in position, but she was having none of that. As quickly as she knocked him down, she grabbed his free hand in a practiced, twisted grip and pulled his thumb back at an awkward angle. He had no choice but to stop moving completely.
 

Hot. Damn.

“You already had your turn, my pet,” she said with a wicked smile. “And too bad you pushed your luck. Now I have to make you wait just a little bit more.”

She let go of his wrist and pushed
his
shirt up. She kissed along every muscle while she used her hips to drive him crazy. She used her cuffed wrist to hold his hand against the bed up by his head. He was desperately wanting to move with her, but he had no idea what else she would do to stop him. He had to submit as completely as she had. He wasn’t sure which was hotter.

After her teasing, which lasted entirely too long, she finally moved over top of him and rode him in total abandon. She was fast and hot over him, digging her nails into his chest and moaning as loud as she wanted. Little time passed before they reached climax. They were both so insanely turned on that the pleasure was almost at its peak before they even joined.