Temptation (11 page)

I'm furious. I can feel my heart start to
beat faster and my blood pressure rise as I do everything in my
power not to explode right now. I'm normally very calm and
collected, but I've come to realize she brings out many new sides
of me.

"I don't get it. I like you and you seem to
like me. What does my past or my reputation have to do with what
you and I have right now?"

She wipes her hands on her pants anxiously as
she huffs, "You and I have nothing right now."

I take a deep breath, slowly evening out my
breathing. "You know that's not true, Cassie. If nothing else,
we're attracted to each other."

"Yes, but that won't stop you from sleeping
with some other woman tonight since I rejected you. Admit it."

I close my eyes, trying not to take out my
frustration on her. She can't help but think these things when it's
the only thing she's heard about me.

"Cassie," I say softly, taking a step towards
her. She takes a step back, not wanting to be any closer to me than
necessary. "I'll admit that I used to be that way, but you've
changed me, even before Saturday. I've had my eyes on you for a
while and my..." I trail off, struggling to find the right words.
"My womanizing ways have slowly shifted and recently I haven't
slept with anyone. I've been waiting for you."

"I guess I should feel flattered," she says
sarcastically.

"I'm just being honest. You should give me a
chance. All I want is a date. One night out with you. Is that too
much to ask for?"

"Yes, it is."

She folds a dishtowel and places it in one of
the drawers before closing it and shutting the light off above the
sink.

"I'm tired, Theo. It's been a long day and
yes, I'm attracted to you. I may even like you a little bit, but
that doesn't change the fact that I don't have any desire to be
another notch on your belt. I'm not that kind of girl."

She starts to leave the kitchen, but I can't
let her go. We can't leave things this way. I reach out and grab
her arm.

"What will it take? I'll do anything?"

She turns in my grasp. Her smoldering eyes
searching mine, possibly searching for my soul.

I have a soul. It's just hidden behind years
and years of baggage.

"Anything?" she asks.

"Anything," I affirm.

Her hand grasps mine and peels my fingers off
her arm while she takes a step back, putting some distance between
us.

"Go thirty days without sex."

What?

Okay...

Okay. I can do this.

"No problem," I reply. "Once the thirty days
are up though, you have to go out with me on a date. That's the
deal."

Her eyes sparkle with amusement. "That works
for me and I always keep a promise. But Theo, the bet is any form
of sex. That means no penetration, no oral, and no masturbation of
any kind. If you come, you lose the bet."

Say what now?

"I can't even masturbate?"

"Nope."

"But it will be to the images of you I have
stored in my head." Surely, this has to count for something.

"You come, you lose. Take the deal or leave
it."

She watches me, confident that if I take this
bet I'm going to lose. Her arrogance is a major turn on.

I'm going to have to shut this shit off. I
can't be turned on by everything she does over the next thirty
days.

"You're on, Cassie," I utter against my
better judgment. "But if I can't come or have sex, neither can
you."

I reach out to shake her hand, but then
retract it quickly. "Should we kiss on it?"

Her confidence dwindles a little as she looks
up at me under her long eyelashes. Her chest rises and falls as her
lips slightly part, her breath shallow as she glances at my mouth.
Her desire for me is evident, but her willpower is much stronger
than mine. Before I can even react to her she's put back on the
mask of confidence she loves to wear.

"No, I trust you. I want the next thirty days
to be fair so that when I win you can't blame me in any way for
your failure. If I kiss you now, I'd just be leading you on. Oh,
and you don't have to worry about me. I'll be a saint the next
thirty days. No sex or orgasms for me."

Before I do something stupid and ruin the bet
before it's even really started, I leave her. Turning around, I
walk out of the kitchen, through the hallway, past the foyer and
out the front door of the brownstone. I go straight to my car, not
even bothering to go back in and say goodnight to Molly and Chris.
If I go back in I might do something stupid, regrettable, and
completely unredeemable.

This woman is hard to keep up with. She might
even have multiple personalities. One minute she's telling me not
to touch her, and the next minute we're betting on a potential date
thirty days from now.

As I'm pulling away, my phone vibrates in my
pocket. I enter in my four-digit passcode and read the incoming
text.

Chris: You left in a hurry and I don't blame
you. We've been friends a long time and I'd hate for our friendship
to be over because you can't keep it in your pants. I know it's
hard but thanks for staying away from Cassie.

Son of a bitch!

He's right. We've been friends a long time
and I need to stay away from Cassie. After her performance tonight
you'd think it would be easy. She's so hot and cold that I don't
know if I should strip her naked or buy her a chastity belt. I want
her more than any other woman I've ever met, but it's really not
worth it. Cassie doesn't know what she wants and it's definitely
not worth ruining the lifelong friendship I have with Chris.

But then she made that bet, reaffirming my
original beliefs. She wants me, she just needs an excuse to pursue
me, and I'm willing to give her that excuse, even if I don't
actually plan on being abstinent for the next thirty days.

What she doesn't know won't kill her.

I open up my texting app and type a new
message out. It's time to forget about Cassie for the night and
remember who the hell I am. I've been blowing off women for too
long now. I need to make this right. I need to reclaim my
identity.

Me: I shouldn't have canceled on you but my
night is free now. Meet me at my place in twenty and I'll make it
up to you.

Entry #1597

This Journal sucks. Fuck my thoughts and
this therapeutic bullshit.

This has been the week from hell. After
Cassie's brilliant performance Monday night, Melissa was waiting
for me in the lobby of my elite condominium complex, ready and
willing. I couldn't wait to get her upstairs and fuck her until
Cassie was only a distant memory. What I didn't expect was the
monumental fuck-up I would make as I was preparing to thrust my
cock down Melissa's throat.

Never, and I mean never, say another woman's
name when you're seconds away from getting a blowjob.

Melissa had stripped down for me until she
was wearing only a thong and heals. I was ready to fuck but she
wanted to taste me first.

I'll never say no to a woman on her
knees.

It felt good to finally have someone
appreciate what I had to offer. Melissa loves my cock. Most women
love my cock. I've never had any complaints, so after being
rejected by Cassie, it was nice to be reminded that there were many
other women, or in this case, mouths in the sea.

The problem was that even though my dick was
hard and ready for some attention, I couldn't get Cassie out of my
head. I was imagining it was Cassie's sensual lips about to be
wrapped around my cock.

Melissa's hands wrapped around my ass and
pulled me to her waiting lips. She had me right where I wanted to
be, but when she squeezed my balls and then dragged her teeth along
my cock, I fucked up and groaned out Cassie's name. I tried to
cover it up, but she clearly heard me and there was no coming back
from that. She was dressed and out my door in a minute flat, and I
didn't stop her.

Looks like I'll need a Monday replacement as
well. Hell, I should just clear the line-up and start fresh since I
blew off Jenny and Mercedes this week, too.

At least I stayed true to the bet, sort of. I
definitely didn't come.

And who am I trying to kidding anyway? My
weekly line-up's been cleared for a while now, and I'm not ready to
find any replacements. Somewhere deep down inside, I don't think I
could have gone through with it tonight. Cassie and I aren't
together, but a part of me felt like I was cheating on her with
Melissa.

This new revelation is the reason I've had
blue balls all week.

I've avoided the health club this week,
choosing to run the path of Lake Michigan every morning. On my
lunches I've been doing weights at the gym down the street from my
office. I couldn't face Cassie this week. She's too tempting and
I'm not good at controlling my urges around her.

Now it's Friday and the horrible storm
outside forces me to cancel my outdoor run. I've been in the office
a whole twenty minutes and I already want to fire every single one
of my employees, including my secretary, who is usually the perfect
secretary, but today she can do nothing right in my eyes.

I need to work out. I need to relieve this
tension and anxiety overtaking my body.

I need to swim.

The gym down the street is a decent one, but
it's no health club and they don't have a pool. I need a pool.

There's a knock at the door and I yell,
"What?"

My secretary timidly opens the door, fear
written across her face. "Your mother is on line one."

"I'm busy."

"She says it's urgent."

"Fuck, Ursula, I said I'm busy. Tell her I'll
see her Sunday and hold all my calls for the rest of the day. I
need to get out of here and clear my head."

She hesitates for a second before saying,
"Yes, sir."

When the door closes I glance over at the
clock. It's a little after ten in the morning. If I go to the
health club now there's a good chance Cassie will be gone for the
day. Her workout should be over by now.

My gym bag is under my desk so I grab it,
grab my suit jacket, and lock up my office. Ninety minutes in the
pool is exactly what I need to clear my head.

***

"You bought me a car?"

This is not what I had imagined would happen
when I pulled up to the health club. It's also not the reaction I
expected from Cassie when she got her new car, mostly because she
wasn't supposed to know I bought her the car. She was supposed to
think it was a gift from Chris.

But it's the reaction I get. I pulled up to
the club, parked and when I got out of my car and turned around
there she was, sitting on the hood of her new, black Lexus SUV. I
made the mistake of smiling at her and that set her off. She hopped
off her SUV and jogged towards me until she was right in my
face.

"Why do you think the car is from me?"

"Because Chris has offered me the Escalade in
the past and I've always refused. If he were going to give me a
vehicle to drive it would have been that. You're good; I'll give
you that. It took a whole ten minutes to crack Chris when usually
he squeals like a pig."

"I don't know why you're making such a big
deal out of this, it's just a car."

"Just a car? Just a car!!!! It's a Lexus.
This car cost more than what I make in a year. You don't just give
someone a Lexus. There has to be something you want in return."

I shake my head at her insinuation and then
place my gym bag on top of my car. "How could I want something in
return when you weren't even supposed to know the car is from me?
Furthermore, what the hell were you doing sitting on the car
waiting for me in the parking lot. It's creepy. You're not going to
go all
Fatal Attraction
on me?"

"Oh my god. You're married?"

"What? No, never."

She laughs but not humorously. "Get your
references right. In
Fatal Attraction
the stalker is the
mistress of a married man. I am not your mistress and you aren't
married, but to answer your question, yes, I was waiting for you in
the parking lot. You haven't been here all week and I don't have
your phone number. I finally cracked and called your office but
your secretary said you left for the day. When I asked her where
you went she said she thought you were headed to the gym. I've only
been waiting out here for five minutes, ten tops."

When she's angry her eyebrows raise and her
nostrils flare as she crinkles her nose. It's absolutely adorable.
In fact, the angrier she gets the calmer I get and by the end of
her speech I'm actually smiling. I can't keep the ridiculous,
toothy grin off my face, and it's there because a woman only gets
this angry if she cares. Although we've only known each other for a
short time, Cassie obviously cares about me or she wouldn't be
getting this upset over a car.

"Well, you found me. Now if you're done
throwing your little tantrum I need to get inside and get a workout
in. I have all this pent-up frustration and I'm not allowed to
masturbate and release it. I need a good workout in the pool to get
it out."

I move to walk past her but she stops me with
her hand. She lays her palm against my chest and although I could
easily continue past her and walk inside, I'm curious as to what
she could possibly say now.

"I know I sound ungrateful and that's not my
intention. I'm just not used to anyone going out of their way to do
something for me. It's... unexpected, especially from you and I
need to know why?" She glances down at her hand on my chest and
then looks back up at me.

My God, her eyes; her big, beautiful brown
eyes would make the coldest man melt.

"I need to know why," she whispers, repeating
what she said just moments ago.