I wasn't so sure.
It was the most fun I'd had in a long time.
Once we were several feet away, Cassie's commentary returned. "You didn't even wink at any of those women, Thatcher. Is your game failing?"
I bit my lip to stop a smile, but I didn't fight the urge to lean down and press a subtle kiss to her lips. "It wasn't really necessary." When I pulled back, I didn't deny her the pleasure, though.
"Ah, there it is," she breathed. "Just delayed a little, I guess."
"Something like that."
I held the door as we walked inside and then pushed through the crowd until we came to another door on the other side. It read Emergency Exit in big official letters, but I knew there was no alarm on it. At practice, one of the guys had been telling a story about drunkenly stumbling through it while trying to woo a woman. Not exactly A game material, but I wasn't going to be the one to tell him. That was a lesson he really needed to learn for himself.
And tonight, I was going to make sure it paid off to pay attention.
"Where are we going?" Cass asked as we stepped out onto the deserted rooftop patio on the other side.
"Just doing a little experiment, honey."
"Experiment?" she questioned suspiciously.
She had good reason. I wasn't really sure how my plan was going to go over, but I had to try. This was the kind of opportunity smart men didn't pass up.
"Just a little pleasure versus fear tug of war."
"Fear?" she snapped. "What the fuck are you up to?"
"Come here, baby," I coaxed with a tug on her hand when she turned for the door. "I promise to make this whole ordeal worth your while."
"Ordeal? That's not a fucking promising word. Ordeal suggests pain and suffering."
I laughed.
"I don't like to suffer, and if you make me, I'll be sure to return the favor."
"Duly noted," I agreed.
All the way across the patio now, I pulled her toward the fire escape ladder and urged her to go up in front of me. She didn't exactly do cartwheels.
"You want me to go higher? Are you crazy? You know I fucking hate heights. I already threatened to murder Georgie in her sleep for choosing this as the venue, and she's my best friend. I like her better than you."
"Really?"
"Yes."
I laughed. "I do love your honesty."
"Oh, yeah," she grumbled as I pushed her to the ladder and put her foot on the first rung for her. "Well, I honestly hate you right now."
Tucking my chin into her neck, I breathed her in before whispering my words out. "No, you don't." My lips smoothed over the skin as I twisted my head back and forth. I nipped the soft flesh with my teeth and then sucked it into my mouth, sliding the tip of my tongue over it gently to soothe the sting. My beard rubbed at the surrounding skin, and she shivered.
"Thatch," she whispered but didn't say more.
"Go up the ladder, Cassie," I ordered softly, giving her one last squeeze with my arms before stepping back to spot her.
She paused for a moment but didn't look back, scurrying up the ladder and moving quickly away from the edge.
As soon as I reached the top and traversed a safe number of paces away from certain death, she charged me. Her nerves were driving the conversation, and it felt unnatural to see her anything but confident and in control. I actually felt bad for a minute, that her discomfort was making me feel special, but when she fisted her hand in the material of my shirt at my chest, any regret retreated immediately.
"What's this about, Thatcher?"
I smiled. She glared.
"Do you trust me?"
"No." Her answer was emphatic and immediate and completely devoid of thought.
"Cass," I stressed.
"Fuck!" she shouted, frustrated, and squeezed her eyes shut. "Yes. For some completely insane reason, I do. And I have not one clue why since you're a psychopath."
"Takes one to know one."
"Thatcher-" she snapped, and I lunged.
My lips slammed to hers aggressively, and she didn't delay or hold back.
A gasp moved from her mouth to mine as I pulled her body flush with a hand at her ass. Her skirt was short, and the tips of my fingers just barely grazed the skin of her thigh.
My hand flexed at the feeling, doing its best to leave my mark on the perfect canvas of her skin whether either of us gave it permission or not.
I nibbled at the plush padding at the center of her lower lip, and she tugged at the short strands of hair where my beard met my hairline.
"You want me to take your mind off the heights, baby?" I asked, pulling my lips off of hers just enough to speak clearly.
"You already were, you idiot. Now I'm thinking about it again."
When I put my mouth on her, I had a feeling she'd forget again.
I smiled with my lips against hers. "Not for long."
Starting slow, I wrapped my arms around her body until they met in the middle of her ass. I gripped her soft flesh until she moaned.
"You have on panties, baby?" I whispered against her mouth.
When she bit her lip and shook her head, I couldn't hold back my groan or desperate need to know if she was telling the truth.
Roughly, I bunched the fabric of her skirt in my hands and slid it up until there wasn't anything between my palms and skin. I dropped to my knees in one smooth motion, and her head fell back as her hands found my hair and tugged.
Leaning forward, I put my tongue right to her bare clit.
"Goddamn. I will never be the same," I told her pussy honestly. Now that I knew she really would go out without anything under a little skirt like this, I'd be constantly out of my mind wondering when she'd do it again.
Settling one leg over my shoulder, I licked and sucked her pussy until her knees started to shake. With two hands at her hips, I lifted her other foot off the ground and urged her to settle the other leg over my shoulder too.
"Holy shit," she breathed. "I am literally sitting on your face right now."
Right where I want you. I nodded and flicked the tip of my tongue against her clit.
Pulling back just enough to speak, I rubbed at the juncture of her thighs. "Close your eyes, baby."
She took a minute, staring down at me between her legs, but eventually, something she saw made her comply.
A scream left her lips as I climbed to my feet with her sitting reverse cowgirl on my shoulders.
"Oh, holy fuck!"
"Keep your eyes closed," I soothed.
Five careful strides brought me to the alcove on the edge, a little cutout of the main exterior wall of the building that had a platform three feet down.
I set her down carefully, kissing each eyelid when she gasped at the feel of cool concrete on her bare ass.
"Trust me, honey. I'm gonna make this so good."
"Less talk and more action, then!" she chastised. I laughed and climbed over the edge, behind her, and onto the small platform.
"Thatch," she said nervously as my lips touched her shoulder from behind.
"It's okay, baby."
With an arm around her back and another under her legs, I lifted her off the concrete to protect her skin and spun her to face the city.
I hit my knees again and spread her legs one at a time, a foot on each of the surrounding ledges, until she was wide open and ready for me.
Her eyes squeezed shut tighter. I kissed the inside of both of her thighs. "I'll take care of you," I promised. "You just keep your eyes closed until right before you come. I'll do the rest."
Breathing her in, I put my mouth back to her pussy and worked. Around the rim, I teased her with the tip of my tongue before moving up to suck on her clit and filling her with two fingers. She gasped at the intrusion and reached for the concrete at her hips.
I groaned as her excitement coated my lips and spilled to the back of my tongue.
Goddamn, she tastes good.
"Oh … My … God," she breathed as I pushed her higher and higher, chasing her orgasm hard and fast, and nearly coming in my pants from the fucking excitement of her pussy's eagerness to please.
"I'm gonna … I'm gonna," she called, and I pulled my mouth away just long enough to remind her to open her eyes.
She gasped loudly, the sight of the city before her mingling her fear and pleasure together into one heady mix of perfection, and her nipples pebbled through the thin fabric of her tank top.
Definitely no bra. She did it on purpose now just to drive me crazy; I knew she did.
I stayed there and drank all of her in, careful not to waste a drop or miss one moment of her face. When it all became too much, her eyes shut again and her head fell back in the most perfect display of everything I'd ever wanted.
She shook as I pulled her into my arms and tucked her face into my neck.
"How'd I do, honey?"
Her arms tightened around me reflexively.
"You did a good job," she told me. "Of showing my pussy to the top fifty floors of the Empire State Building."
I laughed and pressed my lips to hers.