A throaty chuckle echoed through the phone. “Sure, keep thinking she wouldn’t be capable. The woman doesn’t surprise me anymore. Her good looks are not going to fool me.” There was a pause confirming to Cassius that it would be quite possible for Lara to use her charms against Dane if the opportunity came up.
He wanted to laugh, but Dane spoke once more. “Granted, she just lost a man and usually it takes her a bit longer to find her next prospect, but I guess she can’t get enough of the thrill to kill.” He emphasized those last four words and laughed at his own corny joke.
“Just do me that solid, okay? I’ll be there soon.” With annoyance lacing his tone, Cassius hung up the phone without waiting for a response from Dane.
“YOU’RE LATE.” LARA stood in her doorway, wearing a short red dress, hugging all her luscious curves.
Cassius swallowed hard, taking in the vision of her. Her long, silky legs, leading up to a tight waistline, and a full rack of cleavage sticking out of the top portion of her dress.
Fuck, she really is trying to kill me tonight looking the way she does.
“M-My apologies. There was a ton of traffic.” Cassius held out the bottle of red wine he had just picked up toward her.
Taking it from his grasp, she studied it in front of her and then met his gaze. “What’s this for?”
“I felt wrong coming to dinner empty handed. Plus, I knew I would be late, so I wanted to bring you something.”
She raised an eyebrow and then her lips curled into a smile. She quickly spun around, walking away from him. Her blonde hair hanging low across her shoulders swayed to and fro. “Come on, Mr. Broxsby, don’t keep me waiting any longer.”
He stepped inside her home, closing the door behind him. He fidgeted with the lock for a few moments before her voice stopped him once more.
“Thanks for the wine. It would have been fine with you being late and all, except you lied to me.”
“Huh?” Cassius answered playing dumb. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he had made sure to stop by Dane’s car, sending him away, before walking up to her door and ringing the bell.
Pulling Cassius close to her, she pushed him toward her front window and pulled the curtains to the side, pointing at the detective sitting in his car.
Dammit, Dane! What the hell are you still doing there! Cassius cursed. He should have looked back before ringing her bell. He should have made sure Dane was gone before walking up to her door. But quite frankly, he had been too anxious to see her again to think straight.
You need to keep your cool, man. You’re going to end up fucking up.
“There,” Lara answered, waving to Dane. “You sent one of your buddies over to keep an eye on me... or was it to spy on me?” She placed the bottle of wine down onto an end table sitting to her right.
Cassius saw Dane fumbling with the steering wheel and ultimately taking off. He shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” he began and then turned to face her. “And no. It wasn’t to spy on you.” She stood there with her body completely turned in his direction, arms crossed across her chest, protruding an already ample amount of cleavage.
Is she even wearing a fucking bra?
He swallowed thickly as he noticed her nipples were erect, biting his tongue before he could speak and voice what he really wanted to say: that she looked incredible and he wanted a taste of her so fucking badly.
She closed her eyes momentarily, causing her lashes to bat. “Why did you send him?” Stepping closer, almost close enough to touch him, she added, “I thought I was clear when I said,” then she reached out and actually did touch him; she tapped his chest with her index finger, “I only wanted you here.”
Cassius bit his lip. Barely above a whisper, he said, “I just wanted to make sure you were fine until I could get here. Again, I’m really sorry I was late. That’s not my style.”
“And what’s your style?” she pressed.
He liked it. He couldn’t lie to himself; he loved the way she pushed him to the edge. “I’m always on time. Especially when it’s something I want badly enough.” Cassius had his own tricks up his sleeves. He would make her swoon and melt for him if it was the last thing he did. She wasn’t the only one who was going to make someone sweat.
She cracked the ghost of a smile on her lips. “I see. Well, that’s all right, Mr. Broxsby. I’m sure you’ll make it up to me tonight.” She spun around before he had a chance to say anything at all. “Now how about that pizza?”
His eyes almost bulged out of his head as she spun around saying those words. He couldn’t believe his ears. If she were trying to be subtle about what she wanted tonight, she sure as hell wasn’t doing a good job. But if on the other hand, she wanted to get right down to business, she was excelling at it. He was more turned on now than he had been in a long time.
His eyes followed the rocking of left to right of her hips with each step she took, and right then, he wanted nothing more than to walk up right behind her and undo the zipper that was holding the tight dress to her curvy body.
He tilted his head up toward the ceiling and let out a long exhale. This was going to be a long night, and he had no idea how the hell he was going to get through it without crossing any lines.
Just as he was about to take a step forward and follow Lara into her kitchen, he felt a cold wind push past him, causing him to jerk forward.
What the hell was that?
“SO, A TYPE OF UNDERGROUND club of sorts, huh?” She raised the glass up to her lips and downed another sip, almost draining the red wine he’d brought for her for the second time. Dinner was great. Now they were on to dessert. Sort of.
She could drink. Hell, she could probably drink most men under the table the way she was downing gulp after gulp. Cassius eyed her as she sat with her body facing him, her right leg bent under the left, which hung over the edge of the couch. With her free hand, she held up the back of her head, listening intently as he spoke. He had to admit, he was loving every bit of it. The last time a woman seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say was...
Shit. He couldn’t even remember. It had been too damn long.
“Sort of. I mean, it wasn’t technically underground, but what went on in there wasn’t what people consider the norm. I’ve always been more... how should I say... adventurous than most people I know.”
Lara smiled; her eyes half closed. “Mmm. I like adventurous.”
He smiled back. “Oh, you do, do you?”
Nodding, she took another sip, this time completely depleting the glass of its contents. “I do. I wish I could've seen this club, Eternally Yours, was it?”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“Would you ever consider reopening it?” She placed her glass onto the coffee table in front of them.
He straightened, took a chug from his own glass, polishing it off for the second time, and shook his head. “No.”
She reached down, grabbing the bottle off the table, motioning to fill his glass once more. He could surely down another two or three without feeling the least bit buzzed, but he wasn’t going to drink any more. He’d had his fill and satisfied his need to make sure she was comfortable around him. Not that it seemed she needed any help in that department. She had been as relaxed as they’d come.