Читать книгу Seduction by the Book - Stephanie Bond - Страница 14

FROM THE CURB, CASSIE’S refurbished ranch house was exactly as Mark remembered it. The woman had good taste, having removed all the extraneous detail added by previous owners, stripping the house to its original lines and low-to-the-ground profile. Although his personal style was more contemporary, he admired the mid-century design. Another example of how compatible he and Cassie had been…on every level except the one that mattered most. He reminded himself that by breaking it off when he had, he’d simply saved them both from a tedious situation that was headed straight for the “average” side of the relationship scale.

He parked his SUV in her driveway and climbed out, experiencing a mingling of familiarity and surprise at the things that had changed, the things he’d missed. Cassie’s minimalist landscaping had gone through a growth spurt. And she’d painted her door a deep rust red that contrasted nicely with the gray wood siding.

He loosened his tie in the summer heat, rang the doorbell and waited, but there was no answer. Thinking Cassie might have moved to the outside in her cleaning, he decided to walk around to the backyard. Whistling lightly, he strolled around the side of the house. Sure enough, he heard the sound of a water hose. When he reached the gate leading to the backyard, he peeked around to get her attention…and froze.

Cassie was washing the exterior windows with a water hose, but had managed to soak herself in the process. Her dark ponytail sagged with moisture, and water dripped from her elbows. Her yellow T-shirt had molded to her breasts and it was clear she wasn’t wearing a bra. Cut-off jean shorts hugged her wet thighs, revealing a generous length of toned leg.

Damn.

Mark’s body reacted just as she looked up and noticed him. Her sunny smile hit him hard and he wondered briefly how he’d managed to get along without it all these months.

Cassie waved him inside the gate, then reached to turn off the water hose. Mark tried to maintain his composure as he walked closer, but he couldn’t stop staring at her breasts, perfectly outlined in the wet T-shirt. And the more he stared, the tighter his pants got.

“Hi,” Cassie called cheerfully, obviously unaware of the erotic picture she presented, standing there holding a hose, no less.

“Hi,” Mark offered past a constricted throat. “Is this a bad time?”

“No, this is fine,” she said. “I was just getting ready to take a break. Would you like a glass of lemonade?”

Since his mouth was dry and he was suddenly perspiring profusely, he said, “Sure.”

“Come on in.”

He followed Cassie toward the back door, so mesmerized by the swing of her rear end in the cut-off shorts that when she stopped and bent over to slip off her shoes, he bumped into her. Worse, he knocked her off balance and had to grasp her waist to keep her from falling. In the intimate dance, he was certain she felt his erection, and the feel of her rounded derriere only made things worse.

“I’m sorry,” he said, flustered, but she only laughed it off and preceded him into the house. He followed her to the kitchen where they’d made several good meals together, he recalled. He frowned. Why did he keep remembering all the things they had in common?

“So what have you been up to lately?” Cassie asked as she turned her back to remove two glasses from the cupboard.

“Same old,” he said casually.

“Any interesting projects on the horizon?”

Mark opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he’d been about to say flew out of his head when Cassie opened the refrigerator door and leaned over. The short shorts rode up, revealing toned hamstrings…and the edge of lacy red panties. His cock expanded farther.

She straightened and turned, holding the lemonade. The chill of the fridge had turned her nipples to hardened points, poking through the T-shirt. “Nothing?”

Mark blinked. “Huh?”

She laughed. “Interesting projects?”

He thought of the Belzer job. “Not really. How about you?”

“A few things,” she said vaguely. “I took off today because things are about to get busy.”

She poured them each a glass of lemonade, and when she lifted her glass, her pink tongue flicked out to catch a drop on the rim. Mark stared, captivated, then drank deeply from his own glass, hoping the cold liquid would help to cool him down. “I saw that Rugers is bidding on the Belzer Tower project.”

Cassie nodded. “I’m heading up the bid.”

His pulse jumped. “So you’ll be lead architect?”

“If we get the job. I saw your firm on the list, too.”

He nodded.

She smiled. “I guess it’s a good thing we aren’t seeing each other anymore, or that could be sticky.”

He gave a little laugh and nodded.

“Oh—here are your things.” From the end of the counter she picked up a folded shirt and handed it to him, then dropped a pair of silver cufflinks in his hand.

Mark unfolded the Atlanta Motor Speedway T-shirt that was easily an XXL and pursed his mouth. “Uh…this isn’t my shirt.”

Cassie’s eyes went wide. “Are you sure?”

He gave her a wry smile. “Yeah. The owner of this shirt is a lot bigger than me.”

“Really?” She took the shirt and held it up to his chest, as if she needed proof. The warmth of her fingers burned through the fabric to his skin. Then she frowned at the overhang and bit her lip, as if she were trying to remember to whom it belonged. Finally, she shrugged and set the shirt aside. “But the cufflinks are yours?”

He uncurled his fingers to look at the smart, modern cubic design. And they weren’t silver as he’d first thought—they were platinum. “Nice, but…no, these aren’t mine either.”

A little frown crossed her brow. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” He handed them back to her. “Actually, I don’t remember ever getting undressed here.”

She looked confused for a moment, as if she couldn’t recall.

Mark frowned—she couldn’t remember that they hadn’t slept together? It certainly loomed large enough in his memory.

Then her plump mouth formed an O. “That’s right,” she said, nodding. “Now I remember.” Cassie carefully set the cufflinks on the counter. “Sorry to make you drive all the way over here for nothing.”

“That’s all right,” Mark said smoothly. “It was nice to see you again.”

“You, too,” she said with that smile that made his stomach clench. Then she pushed away from the counter. “Well, I guess I’d better get back to my cleaning and let you get back to work.”

He set his empty glass on the counter and followed her outside, suddenly loathe to leave. He told himself it was because he hadn’t gotten any helpful info on the Belzer project. “Is there something I can give you a hand with?”

“Not at the moment, but if I come up against a job I need your muscles for, can I give you a call?”

Her compliment warmed him and inadvertently his shoulders went back. “Sure.”

She followed him to the gate. Mark hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Um, Cassie, listen. I’m really sorry about the way things ended between us.”

She nodded. “Me, too. But you were right—something was missing. I think it’s important that two people have chemistry, don’t you?”

He nodded absently, distracted by the chemical reaction straining his zipper. “Right. Well, I guess I’d better go.”

“Bye, now.”

He drank in one last look at her moist T-shirt and exited the gate to walk around to his SUV.

Mark climbed behind the wheel and puffed out his cheeks in an exhale.

So maybe Cassie Goodwin wasn’t the prude he thought she was. Apparently she’d been entertaining a big strapping professional with good taste in cufflinks and who enjoyed motor sports.

Then he frowned. Assuming the items belonged to the same guy.

Mark shifted in his seat. He’d assumed that Cassie had been a cold fish…but maybe she just hadn’t been interested in him. The thought rankled him—he was a sexy guy…wasn’t he?

As he pulled away from the curb, his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Steve calling.

Mark flipped open the phone. “Yeah, Steve.”

“Did you get anything on the Belzer project?”

“Just that Cassie’s handling the bid for Rugers.”

“Perfect,” Steve said. “You’re going to call her again, right?”

Mark glanced in his rear view mirror. Cassie was back to window washing, straddling a step ladder. Mark had never been envious of an inanimate object before. “Uh…yeah, I’m going to call her again.”

CASSIE WATCHED MARK drive away out of the corner of her eye. Her heart pumped wildly. Had pretending that her brother’s T-shirt and cufflinks belonged to a lover worked? Had she piqued Mark’s interest, given him a glimpse of what he’d missed?

From the clip on her waistband, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and gave a little squeal to see Mark’s name. Cassie connected the call. “Hello?”

“Cassie, hi. It’s Mark.”

“Did you decide to lay claim to the cufflinks?” she teased.

He gave a little laugh. “No. Actually, my team could use a fourth in a charity golf scramble this Saturday afternoon at Trembley. Would you be interested?”

Cassie smiled into the phone. It wasn’t exactly a rendezvous in the woods, like Connie and Mellors in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, but it was a chance to spend time with him in the outdoors. And his invitation meant that her seduction plan was working—he was thinking about her. “Sure, that sounds like fun.”

“Okay. See you then.”

She disconnected the call and put a hand over her racing heart. Seeing Mark again had affected her more than she’d expected—she’d forgotten how tall he was, and how handsome. The juxtaposition of earthy male in shirt and tie had her body on full alert, throbbing to a beat entirely separate from her pulse.

Suddenly, Cassie was bombarded with text messages from her book club members.

How did it go?

Did he take the bait?

Details, details.

Is the seduction under way?

Cassie used her thumbs to type in Everything going as planned….