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He smiled. “I know.” He took a step back. “Scoot over here for a second.”
She eased across the bed to him on her knees and he tugged her dress over her head, leaving her clad in a black satin bra and a pair of matching panties. He tossed the dress aside with an expression on his face denoting he was very pleased with what he had done.
Cassie was very pleased with what he had done, too. “Not fair,” she said sulkily. “You have on more clothes than I do.”
He chuckled. “Not for long.” His hands went to the snap on his pants.
Reasonably satisfied with his answer, as well as more than satisfied with what she was seeing, Cassie watched as Brandon begin easing down his zipper, her gaze following every movement of his hand. This wasn’t her first time with a man, but it had been a while. And this was the first time one had gotten her so keyed up. What she was seeing was sending shivers rippling down her spine.
She nearly groaned when he stepped out of his pants. The only thing covering his body was a pair of very sexy black briefs—briefs that could barely support his huge erection, but were trying like hell to do so. She stared when he removed them. Then she blinked and stared some more. And in a move that was as daring as anything she had ever done, she scooted to the edge of the bed, reached out and stroked over his stomach with her hand before moving it lower to cup him.
She glanced up when she heard his sharp intake of breath. “Am I hurting you?” she asked softly, as she continued to fondle him in a way she had never done with a man before. Even with Jason she hadn’t been this bold.
“No, you’re not hurting me but you are torturing me,” she heard Brandon say through clenched teeth. “There’s a difference.”
“Is there?”
“Yes, let me show you.” He reached his hands behind her back and undid her bra clasp. He eased off her bra and tossed it aside and his hands immediately went to her naked breasts. And then he began stroking her as precisely and methodically as she was stroking him. A startled gasp erupted from her throat when he took things just a little further and leaned over and caught a nipple between his lips.
Suddenly, she understood the difference between pain and torture. She understood it and she felt it. This was torture of the most exhilarating kind. It was the type that filled you with an all-consuming need, an intense sexual craving. When he switched his mouth to the other breast she released a deep moan, thinking his tongue was wonderfully wicked.
“I can’t take much more,” she muttered in an abated breath.
“That makes two of us,” he said, lifting his head. “But I’m not through with you yet.”
He moved to grab his pants off the floor, pulled a condom packet from his wallet and put it on. He then eased her back on the bed and gently grabbed a hold of her hips to remove her panties. She heard the deep-throated growl when she became completely bare to his view. She saw the look in his eyes; felt the intensity of his gaze, and immediately knew where his thoughts were going. He glanced at her, gave her one hungry, predatory smile and before she could draw in her next breath he lifted her hips to his mouth.
Cassie screamed out his name the moment his tongue invaded her and she grabbed on to the bedspread, knowing she had to take a hold of something. He was taking her sensuality to a whole new dimension and shattering her into a million pieces, bringing on the most intense orgasm ever. She continued writhing under the impact of his mouth while sensations tore through her. And while her body was still throbbing, he pulled back and shifted his body in position over hers. Their gazes locked, held, while he eased into her, joining their bodies as one.
Brandon sucked in sharply as he continued to sink deeper and deeper into Cassie’s body, fulfilling every fantasy he’d had about her. Securing his hips over hers he then used both hands to lock in her hair as he lowered his head to capture her mouth. He began rocking against her, thrusting into her as she gave herself to him, holding nothing back. He felt her inner muscles clench him, while a whirlwind of emotions washed over the both of them.
“Brandon!”
When he felt her come apart under him, he followed suit and exploded inside of her. He felt heaven. He felt overwhelmed. He felt a degree of sensuality that he knew at that moment could only be shared with her.
Moments later he gathered her closer into his arms, their breathing hard, soft, then hard again. He slowly moved his hand to caress her thigh and stomach, still needing to touch her in some way.
Deep down Brandon knew he should not have made love to her without first telling her the truth of who he was and why he was there. He didn’t want to think about how she would react to the news and hopefully, she would hear him out and give him time to explain. More than anything, she deserved his honesty. “Cassie?”
It took her a long time to catch her breath to answer. “Yes?” She lifted slightly and looked at him for a moment before saying, “Please don’t tell me that you regret what we shared, Brandon.”
He shook his head. Boy, was she way off. “I have no regrets but there’s something I need to tell you.”
She lifted a brow. “What?”
He opened his mouth to speak at the exact moment there was a knock on the door. A part of him felt temporary relief. “Dinner has arrived. We can talk later.”
Like Cassie had said it would be, dinner was delicious. But it would be hard for any man to concentrate on anything when he had a beautiful woman sitting across from him wearing nothing but a bathrobe. And the knowledge that she was stark naked underneath was not helping matters.
He had assumed, when he had slipped back into his shirt and trousers to open the door for room service, that she would put back on her clothes, as well. He had been mildly surprised, but definitely not disappointed, when she had appeared after the food was delivered wearing one of the hotel’s complimentary bath robes.
Deciding to take his mind off his dinner guest and just what he would love to do to her … again, he glanced out the French doors and onto the terrace. In the moonlight he could tell that the ocean waves were choppy and by the way the palm trees were swaying back and forth, he knew there was a brisk breeze in the air. Even if Hurricane Melissa decided not to come this way, she was still stirring up fuss.
“Brandon?”
He glanced over at Cassie. She had said his name with a sensual undercurrent, making him get aroused again, especially when he saw the top of her robe was slightly opened, something she’d evidently taken the time to do while he had been looking out the French doors. A smile tugged at his lips. She was trying to tempt him and he had no complaints. In fact, he more than welcomed her efforts. When it came to her he was definitely easy. “Yes?”
“Right before dinner you said you needed to talk to me about something.”
He nodded. He had dismissed the thought of discussing anything over dinner. The last thing he’d wanted was the entire meal flung at his head. And in a way he didn’t want to talk about anything now since he knew how the evening would end once he did so. But he couldn’t overlook the fact that he owed her the truth.
She was giving him a probing look, waiting on his response. He was about to come clean and tell her everything when a cell phone went off. From the sound of the ringer he knew it wasn’t his and she jumped up and walked quickly to grab her purse off the sofa and pulled her cell phone out.
“Yes?” After a few moments she said, “All right, Simon. Let me know if anything changes.” Cassie held the phone in her hand for a moment before putting it back in her purse.
“Bad news?”
She glanced up and met Brandon’s gaze. “Nothing that surprises me. Forecasters predict Hurricane Melissa will escalate to a category three whenever she makes it to shore.”
Brandon nodded. “So she’s moving again?”
“No, she’s still out in the Atlantic gaining strength. Wherever she decides to land is in for a rough time.”
And more than anyone Cassie knew what that meant. Because of the uncertainty, more people would be checking out of the hotel. She really didn’t blame them and didn’t begrudge anyone who put their safety first. But that also meant chances were Brandon would be leaving tomorrow, as well, possibly earlier in the day than he had planned. If Hurricane Melissa turned its sights toward the Bahamas, the airports would be closing, which wouldn’t be good news to a lot of people.
Today things at the hotel had been crazy, but she had a feeling tomorrow things would get even crazier. She would probably be too busy to spend any time with Brandon before he left, which meant tonight was all they had. The thought of never seeing him again pricked her heart more than she imagined it would. And she knew what she wanted. She wanted memories that would sustain her after he left. They would be all she would have in the wee hours of the morning when she would want someone to snuggle close to, someone to make love to her the way he had done earlier. Those nights when she would ache from wanting the hard feel of him inside of her, she would have her memories.
He had said that he had something to tell her and a part of her had an idea just what that something was. A disclaimer that stated spending time with her, sharing a bed with her, had been an enjoyable experience, but he had to move on and he wouldn’t keep in touch. She couldn’t resent him for it because he hadn’t made any promises, nor had he offered a commitment. What they were sharing was an island fling and nothing else and chances were he wanted to make sure she understood that.
She did.
And she wouldn’t have any regrets when he left. Knowing all of that, she knew what she wanted. More than anything, tonight she wanted to spend the rest of her time making love and not talking.
Deciding not to be denied what she wanted, and knowing his eyes were on her, she untied the sash at her waist to remove her robe and dropped it where she stood. She brazenly moved to cross the room to him stark naked. He stood and began removing his clothes, as well. For the second time that night she felt daring and the look in his eyes while he pulled a condom out of his pocket and put it on over his huge erection, once again made her feel desirable.
They stood in front of each other completely naked and their mouths within inches of each other, emanated intense heat. He leaned down and captured her mouth. Unlike earlier that night, there was nothing gentle about this kiss. It conveyed a hunger that she felt as he plunged deeply and thoroughly in her mouth, at the same time he wrapped her arms tightly around her. His taste was spicy and reminded her of the food they’d eaten for dinner. The flavor of him exploded against her palate when her tongue began tangling with his.
Her body began quivering, all the way to her bones, and she felt heat collect in the area between her legs. Only Brandon could bring her to this state, escalating her need for passion of the most intense kind. She felt the powerful beating of his heart in his chest, sending vibrations through her breasts, tantalizing her nipples and making them throb, the same way she was throbbing in the middle.
She pulled back, hauled in a gasping breath, and before she could recover, he began walking her backward toward the sofa. She was glad when they finally made it there since her knees felt like they would give out at any moment. She sank back against the sofa cushions, and then he was there, his mouth and hands everywhere, and it took all she had not to give into the earth-shaking pleasure and scream.
And then he did the unexpected, he pulled her up with him turning her so her back pressed against his chest. He leaned over and began placing kisses along her throat and neck while his hand moved up and down her stomach before capturing her breasts in his hand. He cupped them, gently squeezed them, teased her sensitive nipples to harden beneath his fingertips.
“Open your legs for me.” He murmured the request hotly against her ear while his hands moved from her breasts and traveled lower to the area between her legs. He stroked her while breathing heavily in her ear. Electric currents, something similar to bolts of lightning, slammed through her with his touch. Moments later another orgasm exploded within her but she had a feeling he wasn’t through with her yet.
“Lean forward and hold on to the back of the sofa,” he said with a raw, intense sexuality in his breath.
As soon as she stretched her arms out and grabbed hold of the sofa, she felt him grind the lower part of his body against her. He took his hands and tilted her hips before easing his shaft into her. He went deep, and she felt him all the way to her womb.
“Brandon!”
He began thrusting back and forth inside of her, sending sensations rippling all through her. Establishing a rhythm that was splintering her apart both inside and out, he grabbed hold of her breasts again and used his fingertips and thumb to drive her over the edge.
She cried out his name when her body exploded and when he plunged deeper inside of her she could feel the exact moment an explosion hit him, as well. She groaned when a searing assault was made on her senses, and when he pulled her head back and took control of her mouth she felt his possession.
Before she could get a handle on that feeling, she felt him scoop her into his arms and carry her into the bedroom.
The ringing phone woke Cassie and, instinctively, she reached over and picked it up. When she heard Brandon’s voice engaged in a conversation with someone, she quickly recalled where she was and realized that he had gotten out of the bed earlier to take a shower and had picked up the bathroom’s phone.
She was about to hang up when she recognized the voice of the man he was talking to. She immediately sat up straight in bed, knowing she was right when she head Brandon call the man by name. Why would Brandon be talking to Parker Garrison? How did they even know each other? Just what was going on?
Hanging up the phone, she angrily slipped out of bed. Ignoring the soreness in the lower part of her body, she glanced around, looking for her clothes, and hurriedly began putting them on. Her mind was spinning with a thousand questions as she tried getting her anger under control. She had just tugged her dress over her head when she heard Brandon enter the room.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
She swung around after pulling her dress down her body. Trembling with rage, she tried remaining calm as she crossed the room to face Brandon. A part of her didn’t want to believe that this man, who had tenderly made love to her last night, who had taken her to the most sensuous heights possible in his arms, could be anything other than what she saw. Utterly beautiful. The epitome of a perfect gentleman, who was thoughtful and kind.
Something in her eyes must have given her away, and when he reached for her hand, she took a step back. “What’s wrong, Cassie?” he asked in a voice filled with concern.
Instead of answering his question she had one of her own. Swallowing the lump she felt in her throat and with a back that was ramrod straight, she asked, “How do you know Parker Garrison, Brandon?”
Six
There was a long silence as Brandon and Cassie stood there, staring at each other. Tension in the room was thick, almost suffocating. Brandon inhaled deeply, wishing like hell that he’d told her the truth last night as he had intended and not have her find out on her own. Apparently, she had listened to his phone conversation long enough to know the caller had been Parker.
“I asked you a question, Brandon. How do you know Parker?”
Her sharp tone cut into his thoughts and he could tell from her expression that she was beginning to form her own opinions about things. He didn’t want that. He took another deep breath before saying, “He’s a client.”
She turned her face from him with the speed of someone who had been slapped and the motion made his heart turn over in his chest. He had hurt her. He could actually feel it. The thought that he had done that to her appalled him and at that moment he felt lower than low. “Cassie, I—”
“No,” she snapped, turning back to him.
She reached up as if to smooth a strand of hair back from her face, but he actually saw her quickly swipe back a tear. Brandon winced.
“And just what do you do for Parker, Brandon? Are you his hit man? Since I’m not being cooperative did he decide to do away with me all together?”
“I’m his attorney, Cassie,” he asserted, his brows drawing together in a deep frown, not liking what she’d said.
“His attorney?” she whispered, her eyes widening in disbelief.
His stomach tightened when he saw the color drain from her face. “Yes,” he said softly. “I represent Garrison, Inc.”
She didn’t say anything for a few moments but the shocked eyes staring at him appeared as jagged glass. Then they appeared to turn into fire. “Is Brandon Jarrett even your real name?” she blurted.
He exhaled a long breath before answering. “Yes, but not my full name. It’s Brandon Jarrett Washington.”
Cassie frowned. She recalled seeing the name of Washington and Associates law firm on a letterhead sent to her on Parker’s behalf a few months ago when she had refused to acknowledge any more of his phone calls. “I should have known,” she said with anger in her voice. “Anything that’s too good to be true usually isn’t true. So what sort of bonus did Parker offer you to make me change my mind about the buyout? He evidently told you to succeed by using any means necessary. You wasted your time in law school since you would make a pretty good gigolo.”
“Don’t say that, Cassie.”
“Don’t say it?” she repeated as intense anger radiated from every part of her. “How dare you tell me not to. You came here pretending to be someone you are not, to get next to me, to sleep with me to change my mind because Parker paid you to do it?”
“That’s not the way it was.”
“Oh? Then what way was it, Brandon? Are you saying you didn’t come here with me as your target, and our meeting had nothing to do with Parker wanting me to give up my controlling share of the company?”
Brandon felt the floor beneath him start to cave in, but he refused to lie. “Yes, but that changed once I got to know you.”
That wasn’t good enough for Cassie. She shook her head and began backing away from him. She felt both hurt and anger when she thought of all the time they had spent together, all the things they had done. And all of it had been nothing more than calculated moves on his part.
That realization filled her with humiliation. “You bastard! How dare you use me that way! I want you out of here. Out of my hotel,” she all but screamed. “And you can go back and tell Parker that your mission wasn’t accomplished. Hell will freeze two times over before I give him anything!”
It only took her a minute to snatch her boots off the floor and then she stormed past him and went to the sofa to grab her jacket and purse. Brandon was right on her heels.
“Listen, Cassie, please let me explain. I told Parker just now that I was going to tell you the truth.”
She whirled on him. “You’re lying!”
“No, I’m not lying, Cassie. I tried telling you the truth last night.”
“It doesn’t matter. You lied to me, Brandon, and I won’t forget it. And I meant what I said. I want you out of my hotel or I will order that my staff put you out.”
With that said and without taking the time to put on her boots, a barefoot Cassie opened the door and raced out of the suite.
Brandon studied the roadway as he drove toward Cassie’s home, barely able to see due to the intense rain pouring down. By the time he had made it out of the suite after Cassie, she had gotten into her car and driven off. He had gone back inside and done as she’d demanded by packing, and within the hour he had checked out.
He had called his pilot to cancel his flight off the island. He refused to leave the Bahamas until he had a chance to talk to her again, to clear himself. Nothing mattered other than getting her to believe that although his intentions might not have been honorable when he’d arrived on the island, after getting to know her, he had known he could not go through with it. And he had tried telling her the truth last night.
But deep down he knew that none of that excused his behavior in her eyes. He also knew that she had a right to be angry and upset. He owed her an apology, which he intended to give her, and nothing would stop him from doing so. Not even the threat that Hurricane Melissa now posed since she had decided to head in this direction.
The hotel had been in chaos with people rushing to check out. No one wanted to remain on an island that was in the hurricane’s path. But even with all the commotion, Cassie’s staff had everything under control and was doing an outstanding job of keeping everyone calm and getting them checked out in a timely manner. For Cassie to be at home and not at the hotel was a strong indication of how upset she was and just how badly he had hurt her.
He inhaled a deep sigh of relief when he pulled into Cassie’s driveway and saw her car was there. He hoped she had no intentions of going back out in this weather. From the report he’d heard on the car’s radio, the authorities were saying it wasn’t safe to travel and were asking people to stay off the roads since there had been a number of major auto accidents.
He glanced at her house when he brought the car to a stop. Judging the distance from where he was to her front door, chances were he would be soaked to the skin by the time he made it, but that was the least of his concerns. He needed to clear things up between them and he refused to entertain the thought that she wouldn’t agree to listen to what he had to say.
He opened the car door and made a quick dash for the door. The forecasters still weren’t certain if Hurricane Melissa would actually hit the island or just come close to crossing over it. Regardless of whether it was a hit or a miss, this island was definitely experiencing some of the effects of her fury. He was totally drenched by the time he knocked on Cassie’s door. He had changed into a pair of jeans and the wet denim material seemed to cling to his body, almost squeezing him.
The door was snatched open and he could tell from Cassie’s expression that she was both shocked and angry to see him. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to come here.”
“I’m here because you and I need to talk.”
“Wrong, I have nothing to say to you and I would advise you to leave,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“We have a lot to say and I can’t leave.”
She glared at him. “And why not?”
