Gently, he set down the armful of long-legged blonde on the black granite vanity so he could turn on the water in the shower. Six showerheads spurted to life and he let them run in the cavernous enclosure that had the perfect seat for what he had in mind.
Cass perched on the counter, blinking at him dreamily, and it was so sexy, he crossed back to her while the water heated. He wanted to touch her.
Stepping between her legs, he gathered her against him, flesh to flesh. She clung to him, wrapping her limbs around his waist. Her hair was still down, golden and curly against her back, tempting. So he indulged himself in what had become one of his favorite sights-her hair wound up in his fist.
A six-foot-long mirror spread out behind the vanity and Gage had a front row seat for viewing the gorgeous woman reflected there. Sensation engulfed him, sending a blast of blood to his groin so fast, it left him lightheaded. He groaned and his eyelids drifted shut. No bueno. There was no way in hell he was missing a minute of this.
Prying his eyes open, he gorged himself on the sight of the lovely naked woman in the mirror, and the man who was poised provocatively between her legs. And that's when he realized this was the first time he'd seen Cass fully unclothed. They'd made love in a couple of inventive spots that had been, oh, so very hot, but it hadn't given them the time to undress.
This was a first. And he planned to enjoy every second of it.
Reverently, he soaked her in. Then he was kissing her, delving into the moment with every fiber of his being. She made him ache, down deep inside where it couldn't be salved. Except by her.
They undulated together, physically and in their reflection. Steam from the shower gave the picture of the two of them a dreamlike quality, and it was the most erotic scene imaginable.
When they'd both shuddered to an intense, unbelievable release, he gathered her in his arms and took her to the shower, where he ministered to her like a slave doting on his mistress. It was as much an act of making love as what had happened on the vanity, though the thorough washing could never be remotely construed as sex. Didn't matter. Here in the shower as he rubbed soap over her skin and slicked shampoo through her hair, he wanted to make her feel as good as she made him feel, to connect on a higher level. Maybe somehow, he could open her up enough to know the ice was gone for good.
He couldn't stand it if things went back to being frozen between them.
Because he liked this Cass. More than he should. Far more than he had in college. This time was totally different, but he couldn't put his finger on what caused it to be that way. When he was inside her, his heart beat so fast, he thought it might burst from his chest, and when he wasn't with her, he thought about her. And not just about the physical stuff, though that was never far from his mind. No, he thought about how she'd come into her own as a woman. As a CEO. She'd grown far beyond his decade-old counsel.
The water grew cool and he shut it off, drying her tenderly. When he swiped the last of the water away, she grazed his cheek with her hand and lifted his lips to hers for the least suggestive kiss of his life. There was nothing sensual about it, just her laying her lips on his, and he couldn't have ended it to save his life.
Finally, she pulled back with a smile.
"Get dressed and let's eat something," he suggested, shocked at the roughness of his voice. He'd like to chalk it up to the explosive encounter on the vanity but that had happened thirty minutes ago. He suspected the source was Cass. Always Cass.
"Tired of me naked already?" she asked saucily.
"Never. I need nourishment if I want to have any hope of keeping up with you."
Dinner consisted of Chinese takeout eaten at the long island in Cass's kitchen. They sat on barstools, legs entwined and heads bent together as they laughed over failed attempts to use the included chopsticks.
Later that night, after a worthless attempt to watch a romantic comedy on Cass's wide-screen TV, he curled around her in her big fluffy bed, skin to skin. Moonlight poured in from the large triple bay window opposite the bed, where Cass had drawn the curtain to reveal the silvery lake. It was a million-dollar view but he only had eyes for the woman in his arms.
He stroked her hair, letting her essence wind through him and he had to know.
"Cass," he murmured. "Why did you agree to talk to the others about selling the formula?"
She stiffened and he regretted bringing it up. But weren't they at a place where they could be honest with each other? He hadn't sniffed out her agenda so far; the only thing he hadn't tried was flat-out asking.
"It doesn't matter. We haven't found the leak yet."
The bleakness in her voice reached out and smacked him. "We will. We'll spend all day tomorrow on it."
"Yes. We have to. Otherwise, I'll lose my job."
"What? They can't fire you. You own one-fourth of the company."
"Yeah," she allowed. "But if they say I'm out, I'm out. It's a vote of no confidence. I'd sell them my share and find something else to do with my life. That's the downside of being on a team."
He rolled her to face him in the dim moonlight. "You're not giving yourself enough credit. You've done amazing things with Fyra because you're a team."
He'd never been part of anything and he felt the lack all at once. Cass and her friends had been together for a long time. Longer than he'd known her. He'd never connected with anyone like that.
What would it be like if he did? If he hung on to someone longer than a couple of nights? Not as business partners, but as lovers. Would it always feel like this, like he felt with Cass? As though he could never get enough, never get tired of her, never run out of things to talk about?
It couldn't. Could it? Maybe for other guys who didn't have promises to their long-lost brothers to keep. Who would he be if he settled down?
She gave him a small smile. "Be that as it may, if I don't plug that hole, Fyra's profits could plunge. I have to answer to the whole company, as well as my executive team. Who are also my friends."
She was making herself accountable, like a great CEO should. It was inspirational and a little moving.
Her firm resolution spoke to something inside that he had no idea was there. Awed at the wash of emotion, he took in the serious expression on her beautiful face and everything shifted.
Cassandra Claremont wasn't just a fun distraction. He was starting to fall for her. How was that possible? He'd never let his emotions go like this. And what was he supposed to do with it-offer her his heart? Make her a bunch of promises?
Fall was definitely the right word. He'd fallen so far out of his depth, he'd need a thousand-foot ladder to climb his way out.
A bit panicked, he tried to get back on track. "So we'll find the leak. That's the only answer."
Get that squared away and then get the formula. That's what he was doing here. The crazy talk, that wasn't him. He had nothing to offer Cass but a few laughs and a hundred million dollars. Then he'd go home and be done here. Like always. Like he was comfortable with.
She smiled. "Easier said than done, apparently."
"Double down, sweetheart." He kissed her temple. "I'm still a good bet. Get some sleep so we can spend all day tomorrow finding your name."
"I've heard that one before," she said wryly.
She'd meant it as a joke, but it sat heavy on his chest. He'd spent far more time focusing on pleasure than he had business with absolutely no thought to how their lack of progress might be affecting her. He could do better.
"Really. You can count on me. I promise we'll get there."
She didn't argue, though he understood why she might have a case for not believing in him.
As she drifted off to sleep, he gathered her in his arms and tried not to think about how natural it felt to be her go-to guy, how it made him want to stick to the problem until it was solved. How it made him want to stick to her.
Coupledom. Love. Living with someone under the same roof, sharing a bed, bank accounts-that was definitely an adventure Nicolas had never gotten to have. Gage had been avoiding anything that even remotely looked like that under the pretense of living life to the fullest on behalf of his brother. But in reality, the whole concept made him want to run screaming in the other direction.
Or at least it used to. He'd developed the strangest urge to stop running.
And he was truly daft if he thought for a moment that settling down was in the cards for someone like him.
Ten
A mournful howl woke Cass in the morning. She blinked. Sunlight streamed through the window and Gage's heavy arm pinned her to the bed.