Hands On (8 page)

“I went to call my ex-partner to run a check on Mary Jane.”

“And?”

“She looks clean so far.”

“And?” The stubborn glint in her eyes told him he wasn't going to get off that easy.

“All right already.” He muttered a curse. She was getting the wife role down a little too pat. “Yes, Linda is my ex-wife. We've been divorced for two years.”

“Any kids?”

“God, no.”

She frowned. “You don't like children.”

“I love kids. I'm just glad we didn't have any to drag through a divorce.”

“Nasty, huh?”

“Not really.” Man, he did not want to talk about this. His ego had been bruised enough.

“What happened?”

“That you don't need to know.”

Cassie made a face. “So long as you don't spring any more surprises on me.”

He sighed. “One day I came home from an assignment and she basically said ‘see ya,' and that was that.”

Cassie gasped. “How awful.”

He shrugged. “Meant to be, I guess. Someone in my profession has no business getting married anyway.”

“You don't believe that.”

“Why not? I'm living proof, aren't I?”

“Marriages go bad for a lot of different reasons.
Why are you so willing to accept the blame because of your job?”

“Look, not that I don't appreciate your concern, but save the psychoanalysis for the others.” Shit, he wouldn't have followed her out here if he knew she was going to start digging into his personal life.

Cassie wasn't fooled by his attempt at nonchalance. He'd been hurt by the breakup of his marriage. It was in his face, and clearly in the way he'd reacted this morning. The thought that he might still love his ex-wife made Cassie a little melancholy. She didn't know why. It just did.

“Okay,” she said finally, “we don't have to talk about it anymore. Just don't spring any surprises on me. Deal?”

He winced. “This morning wasn't kosher. I apologize for that.” Something caught his attention behind her. He frowned and she started to turn around when he said, “Kiss me.”

“What?”

“Just kiss me, dammit.”

No chance to respond after that. He pulled her roughly against him and used one hand to hold her by the back of the neck while he pressed his lips to hers. She couldn't catch her breath and tried to break away.

“Bask.” Dalton broke contact long enough to murmur, “He's headed toward us.”

This time when he kissed her she responded, kissing him back, teasing him with her tongue across his lips. He made a low growling sound and plunged inside her mouth. Her breath faltered and she sank heavily
against him when his hands roamed her back and then dug into the curve of her buttocks.

“Looks as if this morning's session wasn't a total waste.” Bask's amused voice cut through the haze.

Slowly they parted. Dalton looked as dazed as she felt.

“I didn't mean to interrupt.” Bask sidestepped them on the path, motioning with his hand. “Please, continue.”

Cassie smiled sheepishly, her heart racing out of control. They waited until Bask was a good ways down the path and out of earshot before they even looked at each other.

“Well, we blew that.” Cassie's hand shook as she shoved the hair out of her face, and she quickly lowered it.

He narrowed his gaze. “How so?”

“We're supposed to be disgusted with each other and now it looks as if we were hiding in the garden making out.”

“So? That's the way married life works. You fight and make up, fight and make up. You don't necessarily have to be getting along.”

Cassie made a face. Was he teasing? “That doesn't sound very enticing at all.”

Amusement lifted one side of his mouth. “You think it should be all bliss? The white picket fence. Dinner together every night at six.”

She thought for a moment. “No, those things don't have anything to do with a marriage. They're external
aspects. Marriage is more about friendship and loyalty and support and, of course, love.”

The way he looked at her with such odd intensity made her uncomfortable. Did he think she was being sappy? She didn't care. Better than being cynical.

“You asked,” she said in her own defense. “So what if I've never been married. That's what I want, and I won't settle for less. Even if I end up being a spinster.”

A slow smile lifted his lips. “A spinster? I haven't heard that term in a while.”

“Make fun of me. I don't care.”

The smile vanished. “I'm not making fun of you. I hope you find someone to give you all those things. You're right, a marriage should be about friendship and love. It just doesn't usually work out that way.”

“I'll buy that it doesn't always work out that way, but not usually. I know a lot of very happy couples.”

“With nine-to-five jobs and a house in the suburbs.”

“Wrong, but you don't want to believe me, so I'm not going to waste my breath.” Her gaze went to his mouth and she instantly remembered the kiss they shared minutes ago.

As if he could read her mind, he said, “You forgot to add sexual attraction to the marriage list.”

“No, I didn't. That goes along with love.”

His left brow lifted in amusement. “Does it?”

“Of course.”

“I didn't figure you to be naive.”

Annoyance rattled her, and then it occurred to her
he was trying to do just that. “We don't agree, so that makes me naive? Interesting tactic.”

“Tactic? Where did that come from? I'm just going with the flow.”

She gave him a smug smile. “Of course.”

He met her challenge with a squinty stare. Before she knew it, he grabbed both her wrists and hauled her up against him. He muffled her startled cry with his mouth, kissing her hard, slipping his tongue between her lips and sweeping the inside of her mouth.

She resisted at first, but her heart pounded with excitement, her knees so weak she thought she might slide to the ground if he released her. She wiggled her wrists free and wound her arms around his neck. He didn't relent. He tasted and teased, and his erection, hard and heavy, nudged her tummy.

Dampness gathered between her thighs. The heady fragrance of roses clouded her senses. This is what she'd wanted, what she'd lain in bed thinking about long into the night. She wanted to touch him, be touched by him. Lie naked beside him in bed.

Gently he cupped one breast through her T-shirt, running his finger over the nipple until it was so hard and extended she thought she'd burst if he didn't take it into his mouth. Even the slightest brush with his fingers made her quiver. Electric heat, urgent, pressing, made it hard to think.

She took one arm from around his neck and pressed her palm against his chest. Slowly she dragged her hand down his chest to his belly, anxious to feel the
length of his shaft. She got to his belt buckle, and he pulled back, leaving her startled and embarrassed.

She straightened and looked at him through glazed eyes as she tried to find her equilibrium.

His chest heaved with his ragged breathing. “Are you going to deny you enjoyed that as much as I did?”

She stared mutely at him, confused by his sudden withdrawal, his question, the challenge in his voice.

“Answer me.”

“Of course I won't deny it. My reaction was pretty obvious.” Resentment and anger built inside her. “What kind of game are you playing?”

“No game. Simply proving a point.”

“You did a hell of a job. I have no idea what you're talking about.”

He smiled, apparently unfazed by her growing anger. “You enjoyed the foreplay. I enjoyed it. Given the opportunity we probably would have taken our lust further.” She cringed at the word. “That, sweetheart, was all about sex. It didn't have a damn thing to do with love.”

C
ASSIE HADN'T BROUGHT
a swimsuit. Not that she'd wear one if she had. Shorts and a T-shirt were good enough for the massage lesson. Anything covered didn't need massaging.

She checked her watch and then headed toward the pool area. Maybe she'd luck out and Dalton wouldn't even show. She hadn't seen him for the past forty-five minutes, not since she'd left him in the garden.

The jerk.

She pushed thoughts of him aside. Thinking about him, replaying the scene in the garden would only get her mad again. And when she was mad, she was liable to say something impulsive in front of the others.

Damn him. At least she had the satisfaction of knowing he'd been as turned on as she had been. He couldn't have faked an erection like the one that had pressed hard against her belly, creating such a heat in her she'd feared she'd explode.

Oh, God, she couldn't think about that right now. Not ever. Dalton had made it quite clear he was unavailable. Not that she was interested.

As soon as she got off the garden path, she saw him sitting on a lawn chair near the pool talking to Mary
Jane. He had his shirt off, and Cassie had to take a deep, steadying breath. He had the perfect vee shape, broad shoulders and chest, narrow at the waist and hips. Genetics. It had to be. He couldn't have time to workout. Not him. He was too busy with his job. Too busy for a wife and family.

The idea annoyed her. She wasn't sure why. Maybe because she didn't believe him. But that didn't make his feelings anymore of her business.

As she got closer she realized Mary Jane had on a swimsuit. A very tiny bikini. Of course she had the kind of body that could be totally naked and still look stunning. Tanned and toned and well proportioned. Except for her breasts. Too round and perfect. She had to have had a boob job.

Tempted to swing around the opposite side of the pool and join Zelda, Tom and Kathy, Cassie had to concede when Mary Jane spotted her and waved her over.

“The others should be here any minute and then we can start. You'll need to pick out the scented oil you want to use.” She glanced at Dalton, something Cassie tried steadfastly not to do. “I was wondering if you two would like to go first?”

“Sure,” Dalton said at the same time Cassie said, “No, thanks.”

She laughed. “I'll leave you to discuss it.” She got up from the lawn chair and strode across the deck toward the others.

Cassie tried not to gape at the backside view.

Dalton's head leaned to the left as he watched her
walk away, as if he were tying to get as full a view as possible. “That is some thong. How do they work, anyway?”

“How do they work?”

“Yeah.” He hadn't taken his eyes off Mary Jane. “I mean, how does that thing feel splitting you in two like that?”

“I have a pair if you want to try it on.”

“You do?” He swung his gaze to her, his eyes lit with hope. “How come I haven't seen it?”

“In your dreams.”

He laughed. “Yeah.” His gaze went back to Mary Jane.

“You're a pig.” How could he arouse her so easily one minute, and infuriate her the next?

“You just figure that out?” He shaded his eyes and squinted when she rounded the pool into the path of the sun. “You think she's boinking Bask?”

Cassie stared at him in disbelief. “Grow up.”

“What?” He met her gaze, all innocence.

“Of course she is.”

This time he laughed loud enough for everyone to turn around and look at them. Ignoring them, he grinned at Cassie. “I can see you're going to keep me on my toes.”

“You're amazing, you know that?”

“I like it when a woman tells me I'm amazing.”

She shook her head, saddened suddenly. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

She stayed stubbornly silent. But even that didn't
seem to faze him. His expression remained unreadable, his stance relaxed with his hands now locked behind his head as he reclined.

After a few minutes, he said, “Don't you want to do this massage thing first and get it over with?”

She sat on the lounge chair Mary Jane had vacated. He hadn't even asked what Cassie had meant. Either he honestly didn't care, or he'd changed the subject on purpose because he didn't want to get into a discussion about why he was acting like such a jerk. Was he purposely trying to push her away?

He sighed. “Are you going to answer or give me the silent treatment?”

She snapped out of her musings and looked at him. “Give you the silent treatment,” she said sweetly, and got up to join the others.

 

“O
KAY
,
ARE WE
all comfortable?” Mary Jane flashed her smile around the group, and actually waited until people started nodding.

Dalton lay facedown on the massage table, waiting for Mary Jane to use him in her demonstration. Hell, he didn't mind volunteering. He needed the massage. Every muscle in his body was tighter than a woman's corset thanks to that kiss he gave Cassie.

“We'll start with the shoulders and back of the neck, and then work our way down the spine.” She rubbed her palms together and the scent of mint oil filled the air as it warmed.

The sun heated his back and as soon as she touched his shoulders he closed his eyes. She had a great tech
nique and strong hands as she kneaded the bunched up muscles.

“My, oh, my, you are so tense.” Mary Jane dug her thumb into a particularly nasty knot. “Cassie, you really need to give this poor man more massages.”

“Gee, just what I was thinking,” Cassie said, her caustic tone making the other women laugh.

Dalton opened one eye and angled his face toward her. She stood with her hands folded across her chest, an aggravated look on her face. She hadn't spoken to him for the past hour, which suited him just fine. She was too damn nosy. Thought she knew how to get inside his head.

Instead of closing his eyes again, he let his gaze rest on her legs. Super toned, very sexy.

“Try to relax, Dalton.” Mary Jane dug into him again and this time he winced. “You're all knotted up. See this muscle here,” she said to the others, and Simone and Kathy moved closer. Not Cassie, though. She didn't budge.

“It's one of the largest and can get really tight. Sometimes you'll need to use your elbow like this.”

Dalton nearly leaped off the table. He rolled over to his side. “Hey, you trying to cripple me?”

“It's important to get you to relax.” She turned to the women. “The more relaxed your partner is, of course the better he'll be able to perform.”

Surely Dalton hadn't heard correctly. He looked at Cassie. Her hand was partially hiding her mouth, but he caught the smile.

He turned a peevish look on Mary Jane. “I can perform just fine without you bruising me.”

“Oh, I'm not trying to do that,” she said with a somber shake of her head. “That kind of foreplay doesn't come up until Wednesday's session.”

“You're kidding, right?”

She smiled. “Hey, you men don't have to hang back. Step up closer where you can see what I'm doing. Women have the same muscle groups, you know.”

Even Tom didn't look anxious to come forward, and Dalton knew precisely why. The view of Mary Jane's round bare cheeks from his current vantage point was hard to give up.

Cassie had an even better backside, he thought lazily. Of course he hadn't seen it. Not au naturel like Mary Jane's, but even in jeans it looked damn near perfect.

Shit, he had to get his thoughts off that track. Last night, sharing the same bed had been much harder than he'd thought it would be. Even a foot away and his back to her, her musky feminine scent and heat had gotten to him.

A couple of times she'd touched his leg and he'd nearly pulled her into his arms and slid his hand up her nightshirt. It had driven him crazy wondering what she had on underneath the baggy pink shirt. She would've had something on, panties maybe. Or maybe she'd really chickened out and wore shorts. He'd been so damned tempted to find out he'd ached half the night.

Thinking about Cassie and last night was starting to make him hard. God help him if Mary Jane asked him to flip over right now.

The men finally started shifting closer, and Dalton started to relax again under Mary Jane's practiced hands. He had to admit, she was really good. When she'd claimed to be a licensed masseuse he hadn't believed it. Nevertheless, he was anxious to have Cassie's hands on him.

Dammit. He had to stop thinking like that. Better he remember the unrealistic way she viewed relationships and marriage. Of course he wasn't thinking of her in those terms. He just wanted to get naked with her.

Mary Jane worked the muscles on either side of his spine, down to his waist, while explaining the different muscle groups to the group. Frankly, he doubted anyone cared about the correct anatomical names. He sure didn't, but that didn't stop her.

Mary Jane gave his back a pat and then stood back. “Cassie, come over here, please.”

“I can see just fine from here,” Cassie replied tartly.

Mary Jane chuckled. “This is a hands-on exercise.”

“And you're doing a wonderful job.”

Simone and Zelda laughed. Kathy leaned toward Cassie and whispered something that made her blasé expression waver.

“It's too damn hot to be out here,” Grant said from the sidelines. “Why we couldn't do this in the house is beyond me.”

Tom and Zelda murmured agreement.

Mary Jane waved off their objections. “It's so much better out here because—where are you going?”

“Inside to get something to drink.” Grant had already crossed the deck and headed toward the path to the house.

“Wait. Grant, stop.” Mary Jane's voice rose in panic.

Grant turned around and drew his head back in surprise. Everyone else stared just at her. Oddly, she really seemed to be upset about Grant returning to the house. Dalton glanced at Cassie. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought, she frowned curiously at Mary Jane. He'd bet anything Cassie was thinking the same thing he was.
Bask is up to something back at the house.

The other woman seemed to gather her composure and smiled, and said, “The gazebo is fully stocked with everything from scotch to soft drinks.”

Grant frowned. “I'd really like some of Tasha's mint iced tea.”

“Sorry, you can't go in the kitchen right now.” Totally calm again, Mary Jane gave him a sympathetic smile. “Tasha is washing the kitchen floor while we're out here. That's part of the reason we utilize this area for the massages. So she can do some light housekeeping while we're all out of her hair.”

And what was Bask doing while they were occupied? Dalton's gaze strayed toward the house. All he could see was the second floor over the trees and shrubs.

“I'd like something to drink, too,” he said and rolled off the table.

Mary Jane made a not-so-charming sound of annoyance. “But we aren't done.”

“I am.” He grabbed a towel and tried rubbing off some of the oil from his back and legs.

“Y'all are being most uncooperative,” Mary Jane said, putting her hands on her hips. “We really need to stay in the spirit of reconnecting. I suggest we take a break, have something to drink from the gazebo bar, and then—Dalton, wait, the gazebo is that way.”

“Don't worry. I won't mess up Tasha's floor.”

“But Dalton—”

He ignored her and skirted the pool to get to the path. He didn't make it. He heard Mary Jane's shriek of laugher just as she pushed him into the water.

He sank to the bottom and felt a nearby splash. Good thing it was the deep end of the pool. Good thing he knew how to swim. He opened his eyes on the way back up and saw that Mary Jane had followed him in. The friggin' nutcase.

He bobbed his head above the surface in time to hear her say, “Come on in, everyone, the water is nice and warm.”

Simone quickly took up the suggestion, landing in the pool close to Dalton, sans bikini top. Harvey jumped in right behind her.

Dalton swam to the edge of the pool and looked around for Cassie. She was nowhere in sight.

His gaze went toward the path to the house and he caught a fleeting glimpse of her as she disappeared into the foliage.

He smiled. Good girl.

 

C
ASSIE HEARD
noise coming from the kitchen—Tasha clanging pots and humming, and what sounded like a low male voice. Hoping it was Bask and not a radio, Cassie hurried upstairs, although what she expected to find she had no idea. All she knew was that Mary Jane seemed to be trying her best to keep everyone away from the house.

The second floor was as quiet as a church. Doors were closed, including the one to hers and Dalton's room. She peeked inside, trying to figure out if anything had been disturbed. Damn, she wished she'd left the bed unmade. If Tasha had been in tidying up, it was harder to tell.

One thing that seemed different was the door to the closet. It was open, but Cassie could swear she'd closed it. She glanced inside the closet. Someone had messed with her suitcase, she was fairly certain. Not that they'd find anything. She'd been careful about what she'd packed, but the idea was still unnerving.

After poking around for a few minutes, she braved her way to Bask's office on the third floor. Risky, because there was no reason for her to be up there, but this was her chance to finally do her own investigating and she wasn't about to forgo the opportunity.

She took a deep breath and rehearsed a quick excuse in her head in case she got caught.

Good thing.

Just as she reached for the doorknob, Bask opened the door. She jerked back and put a hand to her throat. “You startled me.”

He seemed pretty startled himself, but he just smiled. “I thought everyone was outside.”

“I was. They are.” She took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.”