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Cassie froze in the midst of lifting Emily from her high chair. “You want to come back for dinner?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t say no if you asked.”
Cassie settled Emily on her hip and turned to Ian, who was putting the pitcher of tea into the refrigerator. Okay, now she knew this wasn’t pity. He obviously wanted to spend time with her. But why? Did he think she’d be that easy to get into bed again? Of course he did. She’d barely known his name when she’d shed her clothes for him. What man wouldn’t get the impression she was easy?
Cassie turned and went into the living room, placed Emily in her Pack ’n Play and handed her her favorite stuffed horse. Footsteps shuffled over the carpet behind her and Cassie swallowed, knowing she’d have to be up front with Ian.
“Listen,” she said as she straightened and faced the man who stood only a few feet away. “I have a feeling you think I’m somebody that I’m not.”
Crossing his arms over his wide chest, Ian tilted his head and leveled those dark eyes right on her. “And what do you believe I think of you?”
Well, now she felt stupid. Why did he make this sound like a challenge? And why was she getting all heated over the fact he was standing in her living room? No man had been there other than her father and her soon-to-be brother-in-law. She’d moved into the guest cottage on the estate after Derek had left her so she could be closer to the family for support with Emily.
So seeing such a big, powerful man in her house was a little...arousing. Which just negated the whole point she was trying to make. Yeah, she was a juxtaposition of nerves and emotions.
“I think because we slept together you think I’m eager to do it again.” She rested her hands on her hips, willing them to stop shaking. She had to be strong, no matter her physical attraction to Ian. “I’m really not the aggressive, confident woman who was locked in that attic.”
Ian’s gaze roamed down her body, traveled back up and landed on her mouth as he stepped forward. “You look like the same woman to me,” he said, closing the gap between them. “What makes you think you’re so different from the woman I spent the night with?”
She couldn’t think with him this close, the way his eyes studied her, the woodsy scent of his cologne, the way she felt his body when he wasn’t even touching her.
“Well, I...” She smoothed her hair back behind her ears and tipped her head to look him in the eye. “I’m afraid you think that I look for a good time and that I’m easy.”
A ghost of a smile flirted around those full lips of his. “I rushed to judgment. I don’t think you’re easy, Cassie. Sexy, intriguing and confident, but not easy.”
Sighing, she shook her head. “I’m anything but confident.”
Now his hands came up, framed her face and sent an insane amount of electrical charges coursing through her. As much as she wanted his touch, she couldn’t allow herself to crave such things. Hadn’t she learned her lesson? Physical attraction and sexual chemistry did not make for a solid base for family, and, right now, all she could focus on was her family. Between Emily and the race with her sister, Cassie had no time for anything else.
But, oh, how she loved the feel of those strong, warm palms covering her face, fingertips slipping into her hair.
“You were amazing and strong in the attic,” he told her. He placed a finger over her lips when she tried to speak. “You may not be like that all the time, but you were then. And that tells me that the real you came out that night. You had no reason to put on a front with me and you were comfortable being yourself. Your passion and ability to control the situation was the biggest turn-on I’ve ever experienced.”
Cassie wanted to tell him he was wrong, that she wasn’t the powerful, confident woman he thought she was.
But she couldn’t say a word when he leaned in just a bit more, tickling his lips across hers so slowly that Cassie feared she’d have to clutch on to his thick biceps to stay upright.
She didn’t reach up, though. Didn’t encourage Ian in tormenting her any further.
But when his mouth opened over hers so gently, coaxing hers open, as well, Cassie didn’t stop him. Still not reaching for him, she allowed him to claim her. His hands still gripped her face, his body pressed perfectly against hers and she flashed back instantly to when they’d had nothing between them. He’d felt so strong, so powerful.
More than anything to do with his looks or his charming words, he made her feel more alive than she’d ever felt.
Ian’s lips nipped at hers once, twice, before he lifted his head and looked her straight in the eyes.
