Nessa’s low chuckle didn’t do a thing to calm Cassie’s nerves. ‘Welcome to the club.’
‘What club?’
‘The Really Amazing Sex Club. It’s way past time you got your membership.’
‘But how can it have been really amazing when he’s a stranger?’
‘Because sometimes it’s just about the sex,’ Nessa said bluntly. ‘You’ve got the urge, he’s got the urge. You’re both young, free and single and the chemistry’s hot. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be about anything more than that.’
The loud rap on the door had Cassie juggling the phone.
‘Cassie, your time’s up.’ She heard his low voice through the door and it set off a whole new set of tingles.
‘That’s him now,’ she hissed into the phone. ‘Just a sec,’ she shouted back. ‘I’m doing my make-up.’
‘I’ve got your clothes.’
She whipped the phone behind her back as the door opened. He’d changed out of his suit into a black sweater with a crew neck and dark blue jeans, his tall, broad-shouldered frame filling the doorway. He’d also shaved. Without the five o’clock shadow the line of his jaw looked clean and sharp and the dimple in his cheek more pronounced. His damp hair swept back from his forehead, and the dark waves glistened in the overhead light as he placed her folded coat on the vanity unit with a small bag bearing the logo of an exclusive boutique. ‘Your coat. The boots are outside. They couldn’t launder the leggings in time so I ordered a replacement.’ His smile widened as his gaze inched down her bare legs. ‘The car will be here in five.’
‘Wait,’ she said as he turned to leave. ‘How dressy is this do? And whose do is it? Will they mind if I come? I haven’t been invited.’
A sensual smile spread across his lips that had her fingers tightening on the phone. ‘I’m inviting you.’ Reaching forward, he brushed his thumb across her chin, pressed a quick, sizzling kiss to her lips. She breathed in the clean scent of soap and the spicy hint of aftershave as he raised his head and the pull in her tummy became a yank. ‘And you’re dressy enough.’
She released the breath as he walked out of the room. Only once the door had closed did she realise he hadn’t answered a single one of her questions.
She heard the crackle of Nessa’s voice, lifted the phone to her ear.
‘I think I just agreed to go,’ she murmured, terror and excitement churning in her gut.
Nessa gave a jubilant whoop. ‘Don’t sound so worried, honey. All you’ve got to do now is relax, enjoy, flirt your heart out and let your candy man introduce you to all the club’s member benefits.’
After bidding Nessa goodbye, Cassie disconnected the phone and shoved it back in her bag.
She dug her emergency make-up out, and counted to ten to stop herself from hyperventilating as she took the top off her liquid eyeliner.
Relax. Enjoy. Flirt. She could do that. How hard could it be?
But as she hastily lined her bottom lid with black kohl her fingers were trembling so hard, she nearly poked her eye out.
CASSIE focused on evening out her breathing as the chauffeur-driven car pulled away from the kerb and the lights of The Chesterton blurred behind them. Going out on the town with a devastatingly sexy guy to one of London’s hottest nightspots was exactly what she needed to dynamite herself out of her pre-Christmas funk. And getting to do it in serious style was not going to intimidate her.
She shouldn’t over-analyse this situation and second-guess her behaviour. Her confidence had taken a huge knock when she’d walked in on Lance and Tracy. He hadn’t been faithful to her, and she’d thought she’d moved on. But the truth was a tiny part of her had always blamed herself. She hadn’t done enough, been exciting enough to keep him interested. And that nasty little seed had festered ever since, making her doubt herself. Tonight would be about getting that part of herself back. And moving on in body as well as spirit.
A warm palm came to rest on her leg. Jace rubbed his thumb across her kneecap and she trembled, the heat seeping through the luxury silk he’d ordered to replace her wet leggings.
‘We won’t stay long. There’s no need to be nervous.’
His dark gaze devoured her, the promise in his eyes so compelling nervous energy turned into the sharp tug of sexual arousal.
‘I’m not nervous,’ she said and realised she wasn’t. Not about going to this event with him anyway. It would give her a little time to prepare herself for what was going to happen later. And getting to know a bit more about the man she was planning to have her first and probably only wild fling with might not be a bad thing.
Added to that, she enjoyed social situations, meeting new people. And getting the chance to see Jace with his friends intrigued her. At school, he’d always been a loner despite the never-ending stream of girlfriends—unlike most of the other kids, he hadn’t belonged to any specific clique, he’d never turned up for any after-school clubs or events and he hadn’t participated in any of the sports teams. She suspected seeing how different he was now from that misfit boy would be another revelation.
‘Whose party is it?’ Assuming it was a party.
He lifted his hand off her leg, tucked one of the curls behind her ear as he hitched his shoulder in a lazy shrug. ‘Just an associate. She’s the reason I’m in London. And believe me, if she hadn’t insisted on meeting up tonight, we wouldn’t be here.’ He leaned across the seat and kissed the side of her neck. Her pulse galloped against her skin. ‘I can think of a few other things I’d much rather be doing,’ he murmured. He took a deep breath in. ‘You smell delicious.’
She.
Cassie’s mind seized on the word as she struggled not to get sidetracked by the feel of his lips tracing across her collarbone. The man had seriously talented lips. ‘Who is she?’
‘Hmm?’ he said nonchalantly, his hand moving to her waist.
‘Are you involved with her?’ She forced the question out, felt the shimmer of regret when his lips stopped nuzzling.
She couldn’t see his expression clearly in the dim light of the car, her heart beating hard in her chest as she waited for a reply. She should have asked this question sooner. A lot sooner. She knew that she was young, free and single, as Nessa had put it. But she’d got so carried away with her own fantasies, she hadn’t stopped to check if he was. She knew what kind of a guy he was where women were concerned. He hadn’t exactly disguised it. She had no right to feel disappointed. But still the thought that he might be attached made her stomach turn over.
He touched her cheek, ran his thumb down to her chin. ‘Exactly how much of a jerk do you think I am?’
The question sounded amused, but underneath she detected an edge. The breath she hadn’t realised she was holding gushed out. She told herself the relief was purely physical. Having psyched herself up to enjoy tonight, it would be devastating to have the prize whisked away at the last minute.
‘It’s not that …’ She wasn’t judging him. She didn’t have the right to judge him. This was just a one-night deal. For both of them. But even so, she would never allow herself to hurt another woman the way she’d been hurt. The way her mother had been hurt. ‘It’s just, I want to be sure you’re not in a relationship. I wouldn’t feel right sleeping with someone else’s boyfriend.’
Jace stiffened at the question. He hated being asked about his personal life.
But this was his own stupid fault.