frowned. “I wasn’t going to drink any more tonight. But maybe just one.” Glancing up at the server, she quizzed her on the tequila choices before deciding. “Margarita on the rocks, salt not sugar.”
“Not sweet, then?” he teased once they were alone again, enjoying this time with the woman keeping him on his toes and out of his dark thoughts.
“Sweetness doesn’t get you far in life, I’ve learned.” Shadows crossed through her blue gaze for a moment, but then she blinked and the look disappeared. “I’m cultivating a tart side.”
“You’ll need that if you decide to spend much time at Mayday’s.” He didn’t like thinking about her here without him, though. He changed topics fast. “Next category?”
“Power.” Her lips pursed as she considered him, the move making him uncomfortably aware of the fullness of her mouth. “You’re a ten.”
His pulse slugged hard, this flirtation ratcheting up the heat in a hurry.
“A perfect score.”
She biffed his bicep. “Really? Like you don’t notice the waitresses falling over themselves to obey your every command?”
As if to underscore her words, the server hustled back with the beverage.
“Would you?” he asked once they were alone again, the words leaving his mouth before he could stop them.
She sucked slowly on a lime wedge, each second of silence building the tension between them. “That remains to be seen,” she said at last.
Which was definitely not a no. Damn but she was keeping him guessing.
“Depending on...?” He balled his hands on his thighs then forced his fingers to relax. Why push this? He had every intention of leaving. With his drink finished, he was out of excuses to dawdle with this tempting woman. He blamed his mouth. Always open one sentence too long.
“How you score in the rest of my categories,” she countered, leaning closer. The move outlined full breasts beneath the gauzy fabric of her dress as her long, silky legs appeared and disappeared when she uncrossed them.
He looked away, beating back the sexual attraction firing through him. He hadn’t expected this tonight. Definitely not from a woman like Cassie.
“And how many more are there?” A throaty growl had entered his voice, an impatient sound, a hunger he couldn’t hide behind some teasing word game.
“Just one.”
He kept his eyes on the bouncers setting up a row of chairs on the emptying dance floor. Forced his focus off her tongue as she swiped at the salt on the rim of her glass.
“You’ve got me on the edge of my seat here,” he admitted, thinking more time with Cassie could make the hours between now and the next mission disappear.
Better yet, she might make those hours better than just bearable. He hadn’t allowed himself that kind of pleasure since...
A stab of pain behind his eyes reminded him exactly how long it had been. To the day. The hour.
She reached out a hand and covered his wrist.
“You okay?” The flirtatious look had vanished, making him realize he’d be an ass to walk away from this chance to exorcise a few demons tonight.
“I could be better,” he started, ready to detail exactly how.
But just then the damn DJ stepped forward and the crowd hushed. “Ladies, it’s time to grab a partner for our lap dance contest. The longer you keep from touching your male dancer, the longer the couple stays in. The woman with the most—er—control, takes home this magnum of champagne...and your man.”
The guy hefted a bottle larger than his head.
Cassie lifted her eyebrows in question. Almost as if to ask him if that kind of game was a possibility. Something about her expression made his lower abs contract with swift, fierce need. Was she teasing him? He had a sudden urge to discover where she drew the line with this flirtation.
While the crowd responded to the DJ’s provocation, he flipped his hand so he was holding Cassie’s.
“So what’s that last category?” he pressed.
He squinted at her until her cheeks pinked and she squirmed. He wanted to haul her out of the bar and back to his room, where he could lose himself in that incredible body and mind-numbing sex.
But even if he was the type for casual hookups, something about her didn’t speak of one-night stands...despite her flirting. Maybe it was the pain tucked in the corners of her laughing eyes, the way her smiles slid off her face too fast, as if they rarely stuck. He was having a tough time reading her.
“It’s one I’m not prepared to judge just yet.” Her words were breathless.
He could feel the thrum of her pulse where he held her hand, the pace a rapid tattoo of nerves or excitement. Or something more.
“Now I’m even more curious.” He slid a thumb along the heart of her palm and imagined himself touching other parts of her that same way. With slow, lazy circles. “You can at least tell me what you would be critiquing.”
Her blues met and held his. No innocence there now. Only heat and daring.
“Sexual prowess.” She drew out the words like a long caress.
His whole body hardened like new-forged steel and just as hot.
They stared at each other across the table, the noisy world of the bar full of lap dancers not even a blip on his radar. He breathed in when Cassie exhaled, their shared air as hot as any kiss he’d ever tasted.
“You ready to cut out of here?” he asked, his voice low and his restraint disappearing.
He wanted nothing more than to drive her wild and fill her head with enough sexy dreams to satisfy her for the rest of the night. He tossed bills on the table, never taking his eyes off her.
She squeezed his hand. “I thought you’d never ask.”
LIVE A LITTLE?
Cassie cursed herself as she followed the tall, gorgeous stranger through the bar and out a side door that led onto the beach. Surely this was going too far, playing teasing games with a man she hardly knew after inviting herself to share his table. “Live a little” didn’t mean she should allow some alien consciousness to inhabit her body and make her say crazy, sexually charged things. Where the hell was her sense? Her reliable Midwestern restraint? The second-guessing?
But as she gripped Mark’s hand and allowed the warmth of his touch to seep into her skin, she couldn’t deny that he inspired something hot and raw inside her. An edgy, hungry feeling she’d never experienced before. What was it about him that made her take risks? Flirt wildly? Follow him out onto the beach...alone.
The funny part was, she
