Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) (6 page)

Cassie wrapped her arms around herself against the cool air and Scott took the opportunity to put his arm around her again.

“You’re going to get hay in your fringe,” Scott warned when they walked in the barn.
 

Cassie laughed and walked over to a big electrical box and powered up the barn and then flipped a few switches. Just a smattering of dim bulbs cast a warm light on the musty scene around them.
 

The weathered wood of the walls seemed to soak up the light leaving only a soft glow. Scott walked in and looked around. The old barn wasn’t all that impressive, but he could see why she liked the place. The structure was in all ways opposite of the city…and completely private.
 

Hell. Yes.

“The fort is up here,” she said, obviously excited. She looked like a little kid with a secret. She hiked up her skirt a little to allow herself enough movement to get up the straight ladder to the loft at the far corner of the barn. He about groaned when he saw her do that. She was energy and fun, but she was also pure sex appeal.
 

Seeing her firm legs covered by nothing but form-fitting thin fabric move up the ladder was driving him crazy. And getting a better look at the shape of her ass made him even more crazy. He followed her up the ladder, enjoying the view. He wished the loft was a little higher.
 

When they stepped up into the loft, they immediately were faced with a passageway formed from the straw bales. Scott followed her through a zig-zag of highly stacked bales and into an opening surrounded by more bales of stacked up straw. This was definitely a fort. She cracked him up.
 

In the dim light that filtered through little window-holes they built, he saw just what she had described. There was a heater, lantern, blankets, and a few old crates set up like a tables. They had stacked up some of the bales like benches around the edges of the fort walls. They had even hung a random picture of a llama on one of the walls. He saw decks of cards, romance novels, a sketch pad and some treasures Cassie must have found while junking. One of them was a dash-board hula girl. He laughed when she walked over and tapped its hips so the little island girl would dance.

“This is great,” he said, completely amused. He watched her plop herself down on one of the quilts on the floor, tucking her feet back beside her. She patted the spot next to her.
 

“Come sit with me,” she said, grinning at the look on his face.
 

Hell yes, indeed.
 

She reached over and switched on the heater and the lamp and then snuggled over to Scott to stay warm while the heater warmed up. He was tempted to go turn that thing off so she’d need to stay that close. But then again, where’s the challenge in that?

“I really did have fun tonight,” she said. “Thanks for taking me out. I think that restaurant was probably too expensive for what you should have spent on me.”
 

“Ha. The look on your face was worth it. But that wasn’t the point, though,” Scott said confidently. “That place is unique and strange. It was an obvious choice for you.”

She smacked his shoulder. “Don’t call me strange, even if I am.”

“Strange is a good thing.” He knew she wouldn’t want to be called beautiful again. Strange was the best compliment he could give. Impressing her was harder with this alternative set of rules. He was starting to catch on, though. He knew she liked to be the one in control. “Am I allowed another try at that kiss yet?”

“Yes, but give me your hand. You obviously need a little help with this.” She giggled at the eye roll he gave her, and he gave her his hand in spite of the suggestion that his kissing was less than stellar. He’d had no complaints before.
 

Cassie moved so that her legs were crooked up over his sideways and moved his hand around her. She let his fingers rest at her thigh. She allowed his hand just a little under the hem of her dress and smiled when his eyebrows lifted in amusement. Yep, this girl knew exactly what she wanted and was not afraid to go after it.
 

Hell. Yes. Again.

She scooted just a bit closer to him, and he felt his face turn from amused to something that felt like lusty. She directed his other hand around her waist and he took the opportunity to pull her in closer. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and said, “There. That should work. You can kiss me now.”

Without hesitation, he leaned in and kissed her deeply, pulling her closer to him as he did. He let the hand at her thigh move up under her dress and grab her hip to pull her almost onto his lap. He hoped he wasn’t moving too fast, but he wasn’t overly worried. He had no doubt she’d stop him if she wanted to.
 

Not only that, but she was the one who got herself so wrapped up around him. He figured she would appreciate his being bold right along with her. She confirmed his thoughts with a soft moan against his lips, so he pulled her all the way on top of him. This was going better than he had expected.
 

He let the kiss last for what seemed like forever, and then he laid her down onto the blanket and moved beside her, never breaking the kiss as he did. She responded to him fully, running her hands along his back and shoulders, pulling him closer every chance she got. He kept his hand on her hip, pulling her against his own.
 

He gently caressed that same hand down her thigh until he got to her knee. He gripped tightly and pulled her leg up and around him. She breathed out another soft moan and he gave himself a mental high-five. When he felt her thoroughly in the moment and lost completely in the passion of his kiss, he pulled away from her rather abruptly and said, “There. Was that better?”

Cassie went into a fit of giggles. “Yes,” she said through her laughter. “Much better. But that’s just a kiss. What else ya got?”

He laughed with her, clicked off the lamp and pulled her leg around him tighter in the near-total darkness. “Let me show you.”

He moved his hand up to fondle her breast seductively, then leaned down and kissed her again. Scott knew he had won the moment, but more importantly, he had successfully seduced Cassie into his arms, having her move with him and respond to his every touch…and asking for more. Her lips were hot against his.
 

Oh, HELL yes.

They moved together slowly for a while and Scott took more liberties with his hand. The moment was off-the-charts-hot, but there was no passionate frenzy. Scott took his time running his lips along her neck, spurred on by the quiet breathy sounds she made as he did. He wanted the seduction to be complete, no chance of turning back. He was going for the win.
 

She was soft under him, allowing him to place small kisses all across her neck and up to her earlobes. He wanted more of her and the longer the foreplay, the sweeter the victory. He was surprised to see this softer side of her. However, the minute he let himself enjoy the sweet, submissive Cassie, she caught him off guard again.

Cassie enjoyed the work-up Scott’s tongue was giving her neck. He was certainly skilled and she could tell that every kiss was a strategic means to a sexy end. He amused her by putting on this show. These kisses were not the honest kisses she received from him the night before, but she enjoyed his lips anyway. She couldn’t help but respond with movements of her body and moans from her mouth.
 

He definitely knew what he was doing, and she could only imagine how successful he was with those moves on a typical date. Cassie, however, could only take so much of the show. She wanted to feel more of the
real
Scott. She had no interest in the player, so she became quickly determined to upset his game. She had been lying so demurely under him, but that was about to stop.

She moved her hands from his back and dragged them around his ribs and up to his chest. Abruptly, she pushed him off of her and to the side, rolling over with him and crawling directly on top of him in one swift move, her dress now pushed all the way up around her hips. Even in the dim light she could see the look of amused surprise on his face while she pulled off her denim shrug and tossed it aside.

“Ok, listen here. I appreciate the seduction. I do. But I’m not interested in your standard routine. I’ll tell you now, you already have me. So drop the strategy and just have some fun,” she said directly. She picked up his hand and brought his palm up to her mouth. “Now let me see how long
your
lifeline is…” And with that, she ran her tongue across his palm and up the length of his index finger.
 

She let out a small laugh at the look on his face. He’d lost his groove and she forced herself not to gloat. She pulled him up to a sitting position and grabbed onto his face strongly and pulled him in for a eager, deliberate kiss. When she let him go again, she looked into his face. She had no doubt this was new territory for him; he was used to working his moves and achieving his goal. He had not been prepared for her wanting him without the seduction game. She hoped her aggressiveness wasn’t a turn-off.
 

His lusty smile told her everything she needed to know. He loved her words and actions. The real Scott was back, ready to dish out the attitude she loved from him. He grabbed her hips and jerked her forward into him and practically dove into her mouth. All strategy was gone and Cassie finally sensed how much he wanted her. His need was exhilarating. The sweet seduction was left behind and was replaced by Scott’s hot hands unzipping her dress.

She helped him shrug the straps off her shoulders and let his mouth move along the curves of her breasts and trace the lines of her bra with his tongue. He was going after what he wanted, and this no longer came off like a game. The only thing in its place was the heat of him wanting her.
 

She pushed him back down and starting playing along his neck this time, feeling his hands gripping her back and around her bottom as she did. She loved controlling the moment and moving over him. She felt sexy when she did – and then she suddenly got flipped on to her back just as swiftly as she had flipped him over a few minutes earlier. He definitely knew how to play.

Scott heard her let out a laugh-squeal when he pushed her down. Earlier, he loved her telling him what she wanted. He loved that she showed him with her body. But if she wanted to play, he was ready to bring it. He grabbed her hands and pinned her down solidly, smiling at her with an ornery dimpled grin.

“My turn,” he said, moving back to her neck. This time, he didn’t bother with the slow kisses he offered her before. He kept her pinned beneath him on that quilt and licked and bit at her neck with every bit of desire he had. He moved against her body hard, promising the pleasure to come. The noises she made were louder and borderline-happy as he teased her. She smiled through her moans.
 

She was enjoying every second, feeling that unbridled joy she described to him earlier. She wasn’t holding anything back, and she wasn’t embarrassed to take whatever he gave her. God, she was hot. He’d never had this reaction from a conquest before. He could barely believe she responded to him so totally when he wasn’t even trying. He was just letting himself go.
 

Damn, this already felt like a win.
 

Damn, she didn’t feel like a conquest anymore.

He felt her legs wrap up around him and he pushed even harder against her. She tried to free her hands, but he was holding strong. She had pushed for her advantage before, and he wasn’t about to give up his now. She only responded by wrapping him up tighter with those sexy legs. She moaned one more time before she spoke to him again.

“You can keep me pinned under here as long as you want,” she said playfully, “But how am I supposed to get you naked if I can’t use my hands?”

Hell. YES.

He let her go immediately and she laughed. Advantage Cassie. “That’s what I thought,” she said smugly, reaching straight for the button of his jeans. He laughed right back with her, lifting himself up to give her easier access to his zipper. He’d never had so much fun getting to the good part. Usually he went through a relatively specific process to get to the finish line.
This
was nothing short of a party. She was giving him a fun roll in the hay. Quite literally.
 

“You realize my hands are free now too, you know,” he said as he swiftly pulled her dress down her legs and tossed it aside. “Two can play at that game.”

“I was hoping so,” she said as she pulled his shirt over his arms and head.

He wasted no time peeling her leggings down her body, pulling her little slippers off with them. God, she had the most amazing body. Every part of her was smooth and toned, and a little ruby navel piercing looked so damn sexy tucked into her flat belly. Her bra and panties were satin and matched the color of her hair.
 

He reached around to grab her ass and realized she was actually wearing a thong. Damn! His erection was now raging and he couldn’t wait to take her. He knew he wouldn’t have to wait long…she pulled his boxer-briefs down his legs…and tossed them clear over the hay-bale walls and down to the floor below the loft.
 

She laughed wickedly at the look on his face, and he rolled her over to smack her ass for doing it. She only laughed louder then and tried to pull him down over her.
 

“Uh-uh. No, no, little girl. I lose mine, you lose yours.” He pulled her thong straight down her legs, showing the soft brown curls neatly trimmed between them. He tossed her thong over the side before she could grab it out of his hands. She was in a fit of laughter by this time.
 

“Little girl? I don’t think so.” Scott felt her push him away just so she could sit up and remove her bra. She tossed the brown satin over the side with the rest of the lot and gave him attitude. God, her tits were perfect. “Would a little girl do that?”

“Damn. You proved me wrong. I guess if you’re a woman than I better treat you like one.” He just about attacked her breasts with his mouth, sucking in each nipple. She wanted honest, and he wanted her tits. So he took them. He pushed her back down and pinned her hands again.