The Wedding Agreement (18 page)

Alex thrust the gearshift into park and unclipped his seat belt. “I need you to drive.” Then he opened his car door and got out, slamming it behind him.

What the hell?
She watched him discreetly adjust his jeans as he rounded the front of the car. Cass didn't have time to react before Alex was ripping open her door.

“You need to drive,” he repeated.

Cass' eyes widened as she got out of the car. “So you said.”
Why is he acting like such a nutjob?
She walked around the car and climbed into the driver's side, immediately adjusting the seat to accommodate her shorter stature.

“Don't forget your seat belt,” Alex warned.

She shot him a look of disbelief before buckling herself in. “Any other requests, Your Majesty?”

“Nope. That should do it.”

She sighed before merging carefully back into traffic. Once she got up to cruising speed, her mind started to ponder why Alex had suddenly gotten all weird on her.
Did I suck his manners out through his dick?
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she felt Alex's hand above her knee.

“Maybe we could take Nina to a baseball game instead. Then we wouldn't have to drive as far,” he said.

Cass furrowed her brow at yet another sudden shift in Alex's demeanor. “Okay.”

“When was the last time you went to a game?” he asked as his hand ghosted up her thigh.

Ah, so that's the game he wants to play
. “Last season. We had a corporate event in one of the club boxes.”

“Did you have”—he hesitated as his hand brushed against her clit through her jeans—“fun?”

“I already told you. I'm all about fun.”

Alex's fingers continued rubbing her through her pants. The rough fabric and firm inseam felt phenomenal against her. “I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. I've had more fun over the past few months than I've had in years.” His voice was low and seductive and a total fucking turn-on.

“Guess I'm a great influence.”

“Guess so.” Alex unbuttoned her jeans and pulled down the zipper before pushing his hand inside her pants and thong. “I'm not as skilled as you are, but maybe practice will make perfect.”

Cass moaned as his fingers caressed her clit. “That's definitely a winning attitude.”

“You're all about fun, and I'm all about winning. Sounds like a killer combination.”

Alex was definitely killing her all right. “That feels so good.” Cass shifted down in her seat a little to give him better access.

Alex toyed with her clit before pushing his finger back a little farther and thrusting it inside of her.

“Oh my God.”

“Keep your eyes on the road, Cass. God won't do the driving for you.” He kept up his assault, her wetness allowing his finger to slide fully in and out of her. He worked her like a man who knew her body as well as his own. Because he did.

She wanted to hold out. Wanted to bask in the pleasure for a while longer. But she had already been so aroused from blowing him that she was operating with a hair trigger. When he leaned over and sucked on her neck as he finger-fucked her, she completely lost it, crying out her orgasm as the evidence
of it coated his nimble fingers. “Jesus Christ,” she said on a sigh as she came down from the high.

“You're invoking a lot of holiness tonight.”

“Don't talk. You'll ruin my orgasm.”

Alex barked out a laugh as he relaxed in his seat. “If you want me to drive, you can pull over.”

“No way. Because if I get back in that seat, I'll be tempted to initiate another round of road-head chicken.”

Alex laughed again. “As you wish.”

And what Cass really wished, she was quickly coming to realize, was to have more nights like this one. Many more.

*   *   *

A few nights later, Alex pulled open the door to Duffy's Tavern, the place he'd agreed to meet Cass for dinner and drinks. Tessa would be dropping off Nina tomorrow for her eight-week stay, and even though Cass and Alex were both excited that things had worked out the way they had, they'd also wanted to get together for a night out before their twosome became a constant party of three.

He spotted Cass sitting at a high-top against one of the windows. He walked over, placed a hand on her back, and gave her a quick kiss. “Hey. Been waiting long?” he asked as he slid onto the stool across from her. He was momentarily taken aback by how instinctual it was to lean into Cass' space and kiss her hello. It was very . . . relationshipesque.
Are we in a relationship?
They hadn't talked about it, but the more time they spent together, the more
right
it felt for them to not just act like a couple, but to actually be one.
But is that what we want? What
she
wants?
Thankfully his thoughts didn't get to meander too far down the rabbit hole before Cass' voice brought him back into the moment.

“Nah, just about five or ten minutes. I was able to sneak out of work a few minutes early.”

“Oh good. It's more crowded than I thought it'd be.”

“Yeah, the rush followed me in.”

They both took a minute to peruse their menus so that when the waitress found her way over, they were able to place their food and drink orders. When the waitress retreated, Alex looked over at Cass. “How was your day?”

“Oh, you know. The usual. Saving lives, one publicity stunt at a time. How about you?”

“Pretty awesome, actually. We apprehended a perp we'd been after for almost a year. I can't get into specifics, but this case . . .” Alex shook his head. “Let's just say it's a good thing he's off the streets. And our case is solid. We're going to nail this prick to the fucking wall. He'll never see freedom again. And I was there when we took him down. There's no better feeling than slapping cuffs on a guy who's destroyed the lives of entire families. Best part of the job.” Alex sat back in his chair, feeling as though some of the residual anxiety of chasing a dangerous criminal had bled out of him as he spoke. Apprehending society's worst was nothing new, but he felt supremely satisfied every time he was able to close a case. It was a feeling that never went away: the incredible sensation of catching the bad guy and making him pay.
I definitely have a hero complex.

Cass stared at him for a second.

“What?” he asked.

“You're really sexy.”

Alex's eyes darted to the waitress, who'd of course chosen that moment to drop off their drinks. She smirked as she quickly put their drinks down and left. “Uh, thanks. Not that that isn't one of the hottest
things anyone's ever said to me—and please, say it as often as you'd like—but what prompted it?”

“Just,” Cass swirled her hand in front of him, “this whole badass–FBI agent thing you got going on. Taking down bad guys and keeping the rest of us safe. It's such a turn-on.”

“Is it now?” Alex asked as he took a sip of his beer, willing his dick to behave.

Cass nodded slowly. “I think I may have to show proper appreciation on behalf of the good people of Virginia when we get back to your place.”

“We could take our food to go.”

“We could, but what would be the fun in that?” Cass teased.

“I can think of a lot of fun we could be having if we were somewhere more private.”

“Good things come to those who wait,” Cass replied as she sipped her gin and tonic. After she set the glass back down, she seductively ran her tongue over her lips.

“Why are you fucking with me?”

Cass laughed. “Because it's going to be a while before I get to talk about it
and
follow through on it. I plan to torture you for at least a couple more hours.”

“Sadist,” Alex grumbled, though his dick was very much on board.

Smirking, Cass said, “You love it.”

Alex couldn't help but grin. He
did
love it. He was scared to admit how much.

Integration

Alex grabbed some more of Nina's bags out of the trunk of Tessa's SUV. “How can a seven-year-old girl accumulate so much stuff?”

Nina shrugged, smiling proudly.

Cass stood on Alex's front lawn as he and Pete took the last of Nina's bags up to her room.

Nina followed them in, directing them to keep her art supplies downstairs and to put her stuffed animals on her bed.

Tessa had been standing near the car but took a few steps closer to Cass, giving her a small smile—one that Cass thought was probably difficult to manage, given the fact that Tessa wouldn't be seeing her daughter for two months.

Cass put her hands in the pockets of her shorts. “Thanks for this,” she said. “It means a lot to Alex that you're letting Nina stay here.”

Tessa lifted her sunglasses up onto her head, and
Cass could see her eyes were red with the tears she'd been holding back. “He's a good father. He deserves it.” Then she shifted her gaze down to the ground and added, “They both do.”

Cass gave her a small nod. “We'll take good care of her.”

“I know you will.”

It was a simple sentence, and one that could easily be interpreted as a polite reply. But Cass knew it was more than that. She looked toward the house when she heard the men's voices.

“I think she's all set,” Pete called to Tessa.

Nina ran to Tessa's side, and she put an arm around her daughter. Pete went over and squatted down to say good-bye and give Nina a hug. Then he stood and moved away to open the driver's-side door, giving Tessa a moment alone with her little girl. Tessa wiped a hand across her eyes before pulling her glasses back down and saying something in Nina's ear. Nina nodded and then hugged her mother tightly. The two gave each other a kiss good-bye, and Tessa blew another on the way to the car. “I'll check in with you soon, honey. Have fun! Love you.”

“Love you too.” Nina waved as Tessa and Pete pulled out of the driveway, but Cass was glad that Nina didn't seem upset. She knew Alex had been worried she would be. “So, what are we doing first?” Nina asked, turning toward Cass and Alex once her mom was out of sight.

Alex raised his eyebrows at Cass, clearly looking to her for suggestions.

“Do you like Chinese food?” Cass asked her.

*   *   *

The three had spent the evening on the couch, watching some movie about a girl and a horse and eating
Chinese out of cardboard containers. Cass even taught Nina to use chopsticks, but not without a few soy-sauce carpet casualties. When the movie was over, Cass stood to clean up the trash from dinner and returned a few minutes later to a darkened family room.

She stopped in her tracks, guessing that Nina and Alex were hiding somewhere. “Hello?” she called, knowing that Nina was probably holding back a laugh. “Where did everyone go?”

“Shh,” she heard Nina whisper.

Cass moved through the room, using the faint light coming in through the blinds to guide her. She saw that some of the couch cushions had been removed. They stood on their sides, propped up against the couch and the table with a blanket over the top of them, creating a fort. Cass slowly crept over and lifted the blanket to look inside. “Found you!” she yelled. But Alex and Nina were nowhere in sight.

That's when she heard a high-pitched laugh from behind her that made Cass nearly jump. She turned to see Nina and Alex pop up from behind the couch.

“Tricked you!” Nina yelled.

Cass laughed. “You really did.”

“Daddy told me you'd think we were in there. Come on,” Nina said. “Let's all get in the fort Daddy built.”

Cass looked at the structure skeptically. “Is there room for all of us? I think your dad might need to make a separate one for himself.” Cass stuck her tongue out. “This one's ours. No boys allowed.”

Cass crawled inside and Nina followed. “Cass is right. You won't fit,” Nina said to her father.

Alex lifted the blanket that hung over the entrance and shoved his large body inside, sprawling himself heavily across them. “I fit fine,” he said as the fort
caved in on them. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Nina squealed with delight and did her best to climb out from under Alex. “Now you'll have to make another one,” she said. “Can you make one that's big enough for all of us?”

“For
all
of us?” Alex repeated. “I guess I'll see what I can do.” He quickly moved about the room, pushing the coffee table farther from the couch and propping up cushions strategically against them. Then he disappeared and came back a minute later with a sheet, which he draped over everything and tucked in behind the cushions. “What do you think?” he asked, admiring his work.

Nina lifted the sheet and crawled inside. Cass and Alex followed her, flanking her on either side. “Perfect,” she said. Then, after they'd all been quiet for a few minutes, she asked, “Can we sleep in here?”

“All three of us?” Alex's question was to Nina, but his eyes were directed at Cass.

“Yeah,” Nina answered. “Me, you, and Cass. You can get some blankets and pillows, and we can go camping.” Nina looked back and forth between the two adults. “I mean, not for real. It'll just be pretend.”

Cass shrugged and gave Alex a small smile, letting him know that she was game if he was.

“Sure,” Alex answered, his tone lighter than his expression. “We can pretend.”

*   *   *

Alex awoke the next morning and crept stealthily out of the fort, hoping not to wake the girls. He gave them one last look before heading to the kitchen, where he put on a pot of coffee and got some bacon out of the fridge. As he expected, it wasn't long before Cass and Nina appeared at the entrance to the kitchen, sleep
still fresh in their eyes as they rubbed them. Alex leaned against the counter, coffee cup in hand. “Morning. How are my two sleeping beauties?”

“Okay,” Cass said, stretching. “I don't think I've slept on a floor since I was a kid.”

Alex handed her a cup of coffee, and Cass thanked him.

“Can I have some?” Nina asked.

“Bacon and eggs? Yes. Coffee? No,” Alex answered.

Nina tilted her head to the side as if his assumption that she would ask for coffee was dumb, and then grabbed a plate from the cabinet.

Alex finished cooking and then put scrambled eggs and bacon on all their plates. He added some sliced bananas to the side of Nina's meal and poured them each a glass of orange juice. Then the three settled into what had at some point become their spots at Alex's kitchen table, and dug in. None of them spoke, each too focused on eating to care about conversation.

Once all of them had finished, Nina asked to be excused to go to the other room to watch cartoons. Alex cleared the plates from the table and poured Cass another cup of coffee before heading to the sink to do the dishes. “What?” he asked when he noticed Cass staring at him, an amused grin on her face.

“Waking up to sizzling bacon and coffee?” she said. “I was just thinking I could get used to this.”

Alex threw the dish towel over his shoulder. “Glad you liked it,” he replied. Because he'd just been thinking he could get used to it too.