Single Man Meets Single Mum. Jules Bennett
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bra. Apparently his words had struck a chord. She glanced up and caught his gaze in the reflection. Busted.
“Seriously?” she asked with a half laugh. “Why did you even turn around?”
“I didn’t know the window was there.” That was the truth.
“And you weren’t going to say anything?”
Ian spun around—no point in being subtle now. “I’m a guy. What do you think?”
Rolling her eyes, Cassie shrugged into her shirt and buttoned it up with jerky, hurried motions.
Fighting the urge to cross the room and undress her again, Ian slid his hands into his pockets and met her gaze.
“You are stunning,” he told her, suddenly feeling the need to drive that point home. “I’m not sure why that statement caught you off guard.”
Most women in Hollywood would pause at such a comment, try to deny it in order to hear more pretty words in a vain attempt to boost their own egos, but Ian knew Cassie was different. She truly didn’t believe she was beautiful, and he had a feeling all that insecurity circled back to whatever the basis was for her vulnerability.
Damn, he didn’t have time to delve into distressed damsels. But there was a desire in him, something primal, almost possessive that made him want to dig deeper, to uncover more of Cassie Barrington. And not just physically.
That revelation alone scared the hell out of him.
“I don’t need to be charmed, Ian.” She propped her hands on her hips. “We’re stuck up here and lying or trying to make me want you isn’t going to work.”
“I don’t lie, Cassie.” When she quirked a brow, he merely shrugged. “I find you sexy. Any man would be insane or blind not to.”
Cassie shook her head. After zipping the dress into a white garment bag, she headed over to a storage box and popped off the lid. She flopped down on the floor, crossing her legs and offering him the view of her back.
He waited for her to say something, but she seemed to have dismissed him or was so wrapped up in the memories of the photos she was pulling out, she just didn’t care that he was there.
“You ever look at a picture and remember that moment so well, you can actually feel it?” she asked, her soft voice carrying across the room.
Ian took that as his invitation to join her. He closed the distance between them, taking a seat directly beside her. Cassie held a picture. A young girl, he presumed it was her, sat atop a horse, and a dark-haired beauty, who he assumed was her mother, held the lead line.
“That was my first horse,” she told him, her eyes still on the picture. “I’d always ridden with Dad and helped him around the stables, but this one was all mine. I’d picked him out at auction and Mom and Dad told me I had to care for him all by myself.”
Ian looked at the image of a young Cassie. “How old were you?”
“Eight. But I knew as soon as I saw him that I’d want him. He was skittish and shied away from the men, but when I approached him, against my father’s advice, he came right to me and actually nuzzled my neck.”
Ian listened to her, refusing to let himself fall into her sea of emotions. He’d noticed her and Tessa holding hands at the shoot, tears swimming in both of their eyes.
“I’ve never ridden a horse,” he admitted.
Cassie dropped the picture back into the bin and turned to stare at him. “Seriously? We’ll have to rectify that while you’re here.”
Ian laughed. “I wasn’t asking for an invitation. Just stating a fact.”
She turned a bit more to face him, her thigh rubbing against his. Did she have a clue that she was playing with fire? She may be older than him, but something told him she wasn’t necessarily more experienced.
Arrogance had him believing they weren’t on a level playing field. He had plenty he wanted to show her.
“I love teaching people how to ride,” she went on, oblivious to his thoughts. “It’s such an exhilarating experience.”
Cassie’s wide smile lit up her entire face. The room had a soft glow from the single-bulb sconce on the wall and Ian could resist those full lips for only so long...especially now that he knew exactly how they tasted.
Without warning, he slid his hands through her hair and captured her lips. She opened freely, just like when they’d been in the stables.
Ian tipped her head, taking the kiss deeper. He wanted more, so much more. He wanted to feel her hands on him as he explored her mouth, relishing her taste, but she didn’t touch him. Maybe she did know how to play this age-old game of catch and release.
Easing back, Ian took in her swollen lips, her heavy lids and flushed cheeks and smiled. “Actually, that’s an exhilarating experience.”
And God help them both because between the interlude in the stables and that kiss, he had the whole night to think about how this sexual chemistry would play out.
The real question was: Could he make it all night without finding out?
Cassie jumped to her feet, instantly feeling the chill without Ian’s powerful touch. The man was beyond potent and he damn well knew it.
“You seriously think because we’re locked in here and we kissed a few times that I’ll just have sex with you?” Cassie ran a shaky hand through her hair, cursing her nerves for overtaking her as fast as those heated kisses had. “I don’t know what lifestyle you lead in L.A., but that’s not how I work.”
Ian stared up at her, desire still lurking in those dark-as-sin eyes. “Are you denying you were just as involved in those kisses as I was?”
“You had your hands all over me,” she threw back. “Just because I like kissing doesn’t mean I always use it as a stepping-stone for sex. I technically just met you, for crying out loud. I don’t know anything about you.”
Moving as slowly as a panther hunting its prey, Ian came to his feet and crossed to her. “You know how quick you respond to my touch, you know how your heartbeat quickens when you wonder what my next move will be and you know you’re fighting this pull between us.”
Cassie raised a brow, trying for her best bored look. “That has nothing to do with Ian Shaffer. That’s all chemistry.”
“So you don’t deny you want me?” he asked with a smirk.
Crossing her arms and taking a step back, Cassie narrowed her eyes. “Drop the ego down a notch. You just proved how very little we know about each other. You may sleep with virtual strangers, but I don’t.”
Ian laughed, throwing his arms in the air. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
“Are you married?”
Shock slid over his face. “Hell no. Never plan to be.”
Commitment issues? Lovely. Hadn’t she just gotten out of a relationship with a man of the same nature?
On the other hand, Ian wasn’t cheating on a wife back in California. That was at least one mark in his favor. Okay, the toe-curling kisses were major positive points in his favor, but she’d never confess that out loud. And she wasn’t actually looking to jump back into another relationship anyway.
“No girlfriend?” she asked.
“Would I be all over you if I did?”
Cassie shrugged. “Some guys wouldn’t care.”
That heated gaze glided over her and was just as effective as a lover’s touch. Her body trembled.
“I’m not like a lot of other guys.”