Or maybe she’d hate me, regretting every second of being in my presence. They were all understandable possibilities. I had to hope for the best, but expect the worst. I’d prepare myself for the moment I had to accept how it all turned out, no matter what it would do to me. It was still too new to know where it could lead. Maybe that would help me cope if she decided to cut ties and add me to the list of people she never wanted to hear from again.
I woke up to an empty bed. For a second I pictured her leaving in the middle of the night to avoid the inevitable. I considered the possibility of her regretting having slept with me. Maybe it would be better if she had. Then I wouldn’t have to be the one to end things so abruptly. Cassie was going to feel used. There was no getting around it. The moment she realized she was being set up to go home, our relationship would be over permanently. She wouldn’t want to remain friends or keep in touch.
Until I heard movement in the bathroom, I was freaking out. The door blasted open with a puff of steam exiting first. Cassie came out wrapped only in a towel. She got one look at me and headed towards the bed, leaning over to plant a fresh kiss on my lips. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“You smell nice,” I said as I pulled her on top of me. Every time I considered the consequences of my actions and was determined to do the right thing, she’d flash that pretty smile and cloud my judgment.
“I wanted to be fresh, just in case.”
Was that a hint she wanted more? Did I have time to brush my teeth, or did she prefer I turn her around and give it to her from behind? I wasn’t sure how to take it.
Since she was still in my arms, only a towel and light blanket separating us, I tapped on her ass, hoping she’d stand so I could take care of some business in the bathroom. She got off the bed and made room for me to stand beside her. I didn’t bother covering up. She’d seen everything I had to offer, even my morning wood. “This is probably a terrible question to ask, but do you want to have breakfast or fuck first?”
She snickered while twisting her hair. “What do you think?”
“I think I’m not about to presume anything. It’s better if you guide me through it blindly.”
“Blindly?” She backed away. “What’s wrong? Does it distract you when I’m naked?”
I pulled her close. “Something like that.”
“You know, if we spend the whole day in bed, we’ll miss out on the slopes. As much as I hate having to wait for nice things, I’m pretty sure we’ll survive if we hold off until dinner.”
“I’d prefer it if you were the dessert.”
“I think that could be arranged.”
As hard as it was going to be to live with, I decided to go with the flow. Being with Cassie was fun. She never asked for strings, not that I could offer her anything. Our road trip may not end well, but we’d have a good time while still on it. When she said she knew how to ski, I got the impression she’d still be a bit clumsy. Nope. Not Cassie.
She took me up on the lift, hopping off when we got to the advanced slopes. Since I wanted to keep up, I didn’t lead on about my inexperience. Sure, I’d been a few times as a kid, but this was a different ballgame. I watched her take off down the mountain, doing my best to keep from crashing into a tree and ending my existence. Cassie was skilled. It was obvious she’d done this plenty of times, while I hadn’t been in at least ten years. I’d thought I was in shape, but my inability to balance property told me different.
As hard as I tried to remain on two feet I felt myself going to the side. In a matter of seconds I was in a dead roll, plunging down the slope. The ski’s unclipped and were left behind a few feet from where my body finally came to halt. Before I could look up and a pair of legs were standing over me. “Jesus, Logan. You said you could ski. I thought you meant you were pretty good at it. I never would have taken you to this level.” She crouched down. “Are you okay?”
I got to my feet and began brushing off the packed snow. “The only thing that hurts is my pride. I’m suppose to be impressing you.”
“Oh, I’m impressed,” she teased. “It’s not every day I have to save the FBI agent.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ve got jokes. I see how you are. You wait until a man is down to break out your seductive powers.”
When she smirked and placed her hands on her hips it was too cute to ignore. I grabbed a hold of the elastic of her pants and pulled us both down on the cold snow floor. She squealed until she realized I was preventing her from getting wet. With us both bundled, I brought my hands around her back as far as they would allow. “I think you need to kiss me to make me feel better.”
“Oh, so you’re one of those guys – all needy and shit?”
“Maybe I am. Is it a bad thing?”
“Only if you take advantage of it. I mean, I don’t mind taking care of a man, but when he gets lazy I’m going to kick his ass back in gear.”
Her hat was starting to fall off. I reached up and placed it back securely on her head. “If you haven’t noticed, I enjoy taking care of people too.”
“I’ve noticed,” she mentioned before her lips hit mine. When she pulled away our eyes were locked on each other. “I like being like this, Logan. I hope when we get home we’ll continue whatever this is between us.”
Her words were like the shrill of a tree right before it cracks apart and falters to the ground beneath it. I may as well have been underneath of a falling tree. That’s how bad I felt when she started talking about having a relationship with me. How was I to answer? How did I tell her I wanted the same thing, but knew it would never happen?
“You make me want things, Cassie. All this time you’ve been living in my house and I never knew we could have this. We’ve wasted so much time ignoring each other.”
“So let’s change it now. We can go slow. I’ll stay in my room every night. We can date like normal couples do. Maybe you could even take me out on a couple dates.”
“Will you let me cop a feel when the night is over?”
“I might let you do more, if you treat me right.” This was a catastrophe. Had I known this would occur I never would have called her parents. Instead I’d discovered something amazing and knew I couldn’t have it. I flipped us over and started to get up, before helping her to her feet.
“If you keep attacking me I’ll be forced to take you back to the room and show you a good time.”
She smacked me on the ass. “Don’t worry, Agent Campbell, I’m going to need you to warm me up later.”
It was enough incentive to want to take off the skis and call it a day, though Cassie had other plans. She took off down the mountain, only looking back to make sure I was going to follow. I held my breath and pushed off, praying I could make it to the bottom without wiping out again.
Chapter 29
Cassie
I really thought he’d be a better skier. Throughout the day I ended up teaching him a few things to help him stay on his feet. It was fun and entertaining seeing him struggle with something, when I’d always admired his precision with everything else in his life.
After a long day on the slopes, we retreated to the room to warm up in the jacuzzi tub. Unlike the day before, we didn’t have to waste time bickering about what we wanted and why we shouldn’t act on it.
Twenty-four hours later and we were stripping each other down, rushing to get as close as physically possible. Once inside the tub, Logan took his time washing me, massaging my shoulders, and placing chaste kisses every place his tender lips could reach. He washed my hair, working the lather in with his fingertips, and then rinsing with his hand shielding my eyes. I found it to be so enduring. It was the little details I picked up most with Logan. It made me feel like he was too good for me, but I wasn’t about to stop what we were doing because I felt I didn’t deserve him. If he wasn’t complaining, neither would I.