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But when the heart bump came this time, the panic didn’t follow.
This was about sex. Really amazing sex. And nothing more. She’d examined the pitfalls and knew what they were, so she could guard against them. But she wouldn’t even have to.
She’d tried to complicate something that was remarkably simple.
Those telltale bumps in her heartbeat had been caused by the intensity of her arousal, that was all. And she’d panicked. But there was nothing to panic about. And there never had been.
She could have her candy … and eat it too. Because candy was all it was ever meant to be. And she knew that now.
Clasping her hips in his hands, he lifted her. ‘Wrap your legs round my waist.’
She did as he demanded, delirious with the sharp, insistent need she no longer had to deny.
He carried into her bedroom, dumped her on the bed, then got to work on the buttons of her jeans.
‘At last.’ He let out a satisfied sigh as he eased his hands under the waistband, pushed the denims over her hips. ‘Let’s get this party started.’ And he did.
‘Is that the right time?’ Jace squinted at the clock on the wall above Cassie’s desk. Easing his arm from around her shoulders, he sat upright in her small double bed. ‘It can’t be two o’clock already.’ When he’d come charging out of the hotel an hour ago, determined to give Cassie a roasting for running out on him, he hadn’t checked the time. Why hadn’t he checked?
‘Yes, it is,’ Cassie murmured, sitting up beside him, her voice husky as she clutched the duvet to her breasts. ‘What’s wrong?’
He ruthlessly controlled the surge of heat at the sight of the soft flesh. He knew why he hadn’t stopped to check the time. Because he hadn’t been able to see past his lust, and the spike of temper that had gripped him when he’d woken up to find Cassie gone.
Damn it all to hell, he needed to focus now. Getting out of the bed, he grabbed his boxers off the floor, tugged them on. ‘I have a meeting I was supposed to be at an hour ago.’
‘Can you ring them?’ she said, sounding concerned. ‘Will it be a problem for you?’
He grabbed his trousers, shoved his legs into them, then whipped his sweater off the floor and pulled it over his head. ‘I don’t have to call. It’s not a problem,’ he said, knowing it wasn’t. Not in a business sense. The buyers would be happy to w
ait a week to see him, let alone an hour. But that didn’t stem his irritation with himself.
When was the last time a woman had distracted him from his business? Even for an hour. Never. Not even during his marriage. It was the thing that had always upset Helen the most. That he insisted on putting the business first.
But he hadn’t given a thought to his business commitments today when he’d been showering and then getting The Chesterton’s concierge to find out where the cab Cassie had booked at the front desk had taken her.
And while he’d got what he’d wanted—namely Cassie agreeing to be his playmate for the next week or so—he didn’t much like the ridiculous way he’d behaved when he got to her flat either. The minute he’d seen her again, the combination of lust and longing and anger had got all tangled up inside him—and he hadn’t been able to distinguish them. He’d discovered at an early age the value of keeping your emotions under wraps. And as a teenager, the even greater value of being able to deflect and deny the more destructive ones. Anger was definitely one of those emotions that was better controlled.
But for some damn reason, he hadn’t been able to control it today. He needed to get out of Cassie’s apartment and get to the meeting. Indulging himself with her was going to be fun over the next week or so. But he needed a little distance now to get this fling in perspective. He’d got what he wanted. And he wasn’t going to worry too much about why he’d wanted it so much.
The sound of her sobbing out her release as her sex tightened around him ten minutes ago was all the explanation he needed for that.
‘I’ll have to dash,’ he said, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull on his socks and boots. Having a little time out would be good for both of them. His smile edged up as his heartbeat calmed. Especially as they had well over a week of really amazing sex ahead of them.
He twisted round, laid his hand on her knee. ‘Why don’t you pack a bag? I’ll send a car over and see you at the hotel for dinner.’
‘Pack a bag?’ Her brows lowered in a puzzled frown. ‘Why do I need to pack a bag?’
He sent her a level look, tried not to overreact to the genuine look of confusion. ‘Because you’re moving in till New Year’s Day, remember?’
Her teeth tugged on her bottom lip. ‘But I—’
He silenced her by pressing a finger to her lips. ‘Cassie, it’s easier this way.’ He made an effort to lighten his voice, add a little of the charm that he was so famous for. The charm that had pretty much deserted him once already today. ‘They have room service. And a much bigger bed.’
Her cheeks pinkened prettily. ‘I suppose you’re right,’ she said, still sounding unsure.
‘I know I’m right.’ Then he pushed his advantage. ‘Just out of interest, how many flings like this have you had?’ he asked.
She looked down, the pink in her cheeks turning to a vivid red. ‘None,’ she said.
