Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) (7 page)

He knew she could feel his erection hard against her leg. He let her hands go to reach for his wallet, but he stopped when she reached for her purse. She was equally prepared to take this all the way. He watched her tear open the foil package and roll the condom straight down his shaft. She was
so damn fun
.
 

He pinned her down again and pushed himself into her with no words. There was no show. She looked at him, reveling in the fun, breathing heavy through her smile and throwing her head back at the sensations. She was moving with him and pushing him along with her legs.
 

He looked right back at her with that same sexed-up smile and told her how hot she was, having fun right along with her. The sex was mind-bending, and she let him stay on top of her, pushing against her until she came with a loud sound of pleasure, lost in complete abandon. She let herself feel every bit of him, and didn’t shy away from expressing just how good he gave it to her.
 

His own release was nothing short of explosive and he let himself go just as thoroughly as she did. He let profanity fly and she responded by digging her nails into his back. The sex was by far the best he’d ever had. Cassie Walker was absolutely beyond the limit.
 

They were both out of breath by the time they were satisfied. Cassie watched Scott collapse beside her, all muscled up and gorgeous. His body was beyond belief. Every muscle was defined in long, lean lines across his frame. His abs belonged on the cover of a magazine titled “Male Perfection” and the v-cut between his hips belonged on the cover of “Too Damn Sexy” or something of the sort. His impressive manhood was a sight to behold. Not to mention those wide, strong shoulders. Oh, those shoulders looked so delicious as they flexed their strength holding her down under him.
 

Hottest. Moment. Ever.
 

But this wasn’t just about his body! He had dropped the façade and let himself be really
with
her. The sex was so hot because he had given in to who he really was, and even hotter because of the skill he had using that perfect body of his.
 

She always loved the raw physical gratification of sex, the power it gave her to just let go of everything and get completely out of her head. But the way he moved, the timing of his thrusts, the play of his tongue, the strength of his hands…every part worked together like some erotic, precision machine designed to offer unparalleled pleasure. Already she was wanting more.

“That was fucking amazing,” Scott said to her when he caught his breath. “God, Cassie, you are something else completely.”

“I know,” she said with a frisky grin. “But I have to say, I think you showed me up. You have got serious skill. But I really didn’t have a chance. You kept me pinned down…not that I minded, of course. But it makes me want to put you in your place and show you how it’s really done. Next time, I’m on top, and
you
have to take it all.”

“Done.”

Cassie grinned at him and kissed him. “But for now, we must go. My carriage will turn into a pumpkin soon and I have to work tomorrow. Hand me my dress?”

Scott gathered up whatever clothes were within reach and tossed hers over. She saw him blatantly watching her get dressed, so she made a show of it. She pulled her dress on over her naked form, and just to drive him crazy, she tucked her leggings into her purse. She left herself completely bare under her dress, knowing she was leaving him wanting more. He was certainly fun to toy with.
 

She asked for help with her zipper, and pushed her bottom back against his hips while he pulled the fabric of her dress back together. He just groaned and slipped his hands up under her skirt again, enjoying the easy access. She let him play for another long minute before moving away to grab her shoes and little jacket.

She was actually a bit surprised with herself. She usually wasn’t so quick to sleep with a guy. This was not her usual style, but there was something about Scott and the way he challenged her that made her want him. She
always
went after what she wanted. She definitely wanted Scott, and after tonight she only wanted more. She hadn’t had that much fun in a long time.
 

When he finally drove her home the hour was late. She didn’t even care. He walked her to her door and took her hands. He looked deep into her eyes and said, “You were
delightful
on our date.” She laughed out loud and then kissed him goodnight with everything she had. He flashed that dimple at her as he turned to walk back to his car.

Chapter Four

When Monday morning rolled around, Cassie was tired. She had been up late thinking about Scott Merchant and had been unable to find sleep. His near-constant presence in her mind was insane. Still thinking about him, she pulled on her scrubs for work absolutely floating. Never had she had a date so amazing. The entire evening was worth a handful of marbles in the jar. She thought about every bit of him. Scott was gorgeous, challenging, and the most incredible lover. He had been intense and steamy and fun all at the same time.

She drove her little sedan to the children’s clinic where she worked and parked in the lot behind the building. Still unable to stop smiling, she walked in to the break room to drop her purse in her locker and announced boldly to the other staff getting ready for their shift, “I had the best date ever last night and I’m in an incredible mood and I love you all and I’m going to annoy the crap out of everyone I see today. So, who wants to hear about Scott?”

They all just laughed at Cassie’s typical buoyant behavior but no one volunteered to hear about him but her friend Jenna. Jenna had been hired at the clinic along with Cassie and they were thrilled to get to work together. They had been friends since Jenna started in the medical assistant’s program with her. “Ok, spill it. Now I need all the details. Who is he exactly, how’d you meet, why was it the best date ever, and rate his kissing.”

“Scott the accountant, at my brother’s party, he was a challenge and a sweetheart, A+.”

“
You
went out with an accountant?” Jenna said in total shock. “I didn’t see that one coming. Now let’s get to that A+…I’ve never heard you give better than a B-, Cass!”

“Well I’ve never been kissed like that before,” she said with a huge grin. Two nurses and one doctor laughed at the conversation and moved out to the office area to open the doors for the line of families with sniffly-nosed children.

Cassie and Jenna followed behind and Cassie whispered in Jenna’s ear, “Did I mention he was an Olympic athlete with the bestest, strongest shoulders I’ve ever seen? He’s a blond-haired, blue-eyed Adonis.”

“Now I know you’re just making it up,” Jenna said playfully. “I’m going to want more details later.”

“Oh, come on. You know I never kiss and tell. Obviously…”

Both girls laughed as they made their way to the front reception desk to start checking in the children and pulling charts for the nurses and doctors. Cassie saw a few of her favorite neighborhood kids and waved at them with her bubbly-warm attitude and knew today was going to be a good one.
 

Between check-ins, phone calls and the occasional panicky parent, Cassie was able to tell the whole story to Jenna, including her trip to the barn. She left out the part about the sex. She wasn’t ashamed at all, she just felt like keeping those hot memories for herself.
 

“You let him in our fort?! Wow, you must really like this guy. How did he react to the fact that you’re a grown, 25-year-old woman who has a straw fort hidden in an old barn?”

“Like he did with everything else about me. He smiled and shook his head. He just laughed a little and followed me up the ladder. I think he likes it that I keep him guessing. I suspect that he usually dates the kind of women who wear power suits, or maybe total bimbos, but I’m telling you, this guy likes a challenge. He says that the more pressure you throw at him, the more likely he is to succeed. Pressure I can do. I made him try our first kiss about four times before I told him he passed.” She grinned wickedly at her friend whose only response was a proud high-five.
 

By the time their lunch break rolled around Cassie was still thinking about Scott almost completely. Even the bustle of the clinic didn’t keep her from visions of the restaurant and the look on his face when she hopped in the driver’s seat of his SUV. Oh, and that amazing romp on the blanket of her fort. God, she replayed that scene in her head over and over. Jenna made fun of the dreamy look in Cassie’s eyes more than once that morning.
 

Scott walked into work on Monday a little tired but standing taller than usual. He was still in a good mood from his date with Cassie the night before. He wore a charcoal gray suit that made him look impressive and sharp. His hair was combed neatly and was lightly gelled into place. His dark maroon tie finished his power-look. He walked by Erin’s cubicle and couldn’t help but glance over. He knew she probably already heard about the date and he inadvertently smiled his biggest dimpled grin. He laughed when she winked at him.

“Have a good time last night?” she asked knowingly. “Wait, I already know you did because Cass called me this morning…jail? Really?” Erin just laughed again, and seemed to like the look on his face.
 

“I don’t kiss and tell, unlike my date, apparently,” he chuckled. “Don’t you have work to do, Erin?” She just grinned back at him and then wrote a few lines in an ice-blue notebook.
 

Scott walked back to the only real office on this floor and sat himself down at his wood desk. He shuffled through the papers and files there, but really couldn’t focus very well because all he could think about was Cassie. She was an absolute force of nature with a sweet, soft, eye-of-the-tornado side hidden under all the twisting craziness of her personality.
 

She showed him bits of that softer side at dinner and for a little while at the barn. He was kind of amazed that he even saw that side of her. He got the impression not many people did. He smiled at the thought, and he wanted to find it again. He did love a challenge, after all. He loved the craziness her sweetness hid under, too. Yep, he only wanted more of all of her.

Grudgingly, he spent all morning reviewing tax documents prepared by the people in his department and fielding phone calls by some of the bigger clients he dealt with directly, but still, his focus was on Cassie. When he was about to break for lunch, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He looked at the screen which read, “Message from Idont Thinkursmooth” and he laughed before he even opened the text.

I’ve been thinking about your kissing. I’m down-grading it to only a B. It may have been the best first-date kiss ever, but not the best kiss ever. Not enough tongue. Please try to improve for our date on Friday.

He immediately texted her back.
 

Our date isn’t until Saturday, miss presumptuous, and if you want more tongue, be prepared for a shock-and-awe response.
 

He laughed when he saw her response.

Our date is Friday if you want to use that tongue at all. I’ll see you at 7. We’re staying in and I’m making dinner. Come hungry. We’ll work on that kissing technique. Don’t practice with anyone else in the mean time.

Scott laughed again and started typing.

I’ll be there at 6:45, not 7. I have no desire to practice with anyone else. You should wear black shoes. It’s only fair that I get to pick yours this time.

Minutes later, his phone buzzed again.

Make it 6:50 because I must win this one. I haven’t decided yet if you get to pick the shoes.

Scott laughed loud enough for Erin to look up at him as she was walking toward the copy machine. He shook his head and Erin grinned, knowing the only thing that could get him so flustered at work was Cassie. Scott didn’t even bother responding to her text. He would win. No question. He wasn’t going to give her a chance to one-up him again. She had already won the Friday/Saturday side of things. He had to win on the time. Game back on.

He saved the text conversation and reread the lines a few times that week. He was hoping she had intended that double-entendre about showing up to her house hungry. He knew he would…in every sense of the word. Nor could he forget their conversation at the barn. She had promised to show him up next time she saw him.
 

He had a hard time imagining things getting any better than they were Sunday night, but he was ready to find out. This was going to be a very long week. Tax season was getting into full swing and his work days were at least ten hours long. He was going to be exhausted by Friday, but he knew he’d have no trouble finding energy when Cassie was around. She had it to spare.
 

He spent his week flipping his brain back and forth between work and thoughts of Cassie. Her energy seemed to keep him going this week. The only other thing that kept him going through the accounting work was the swimming he fit into his mornings. He loved swimming more than anything else in the world. If not for his existence in the water, work would have sucked the life out of him completely.
 

He didn’t really love accounting, but he was good at every aspect. He was successful with the paperwork, and also with the people-factor, proven by his rapid promotions. He crushed the hell out of the typical timeframe. He loved the feel of conquering the benign job by impressing the pants off the partners. And because of his success, accounting was another in a long line of conquests. But beyond the triumph, the work had no meaning to him.
 

He crushed the hell out swimming, too, really. He had Olympic gold to prove his domination in the sport. But still, swimming meant more to him than some goal to conquer. He actually
enjoyed
crushing that target. Accounting paid the bills but swimming was the reason he kept going.
 

He had been offered a few college positions after his Olympic appearance, but coaching didn’t seem like enough success for him. He achieved everything he could with the sport. The time had come to say good-bye to the competitive side of swimming. He wanted to focus on crushing the hell out of something else.