Fearless Attraction (Cassie Series) (14 page)

             
After our meal, Pierce asks if I want to hang out for a little bit, to catch up. I agree to it under one condition, no sex. He laughed at me when I told him that but he agreed, saying that for that to happen, we have to stay in the public’s eye. Sometime later we end up at Seaport Village.

             
"You know, bringing me here isn't the smartest of ideas." He tilts his head at me, questioning why. "I could spend days here just shopping."

             
"I didn't think you were a big shopper."

             
"Not for clothes." I walk into a store filled with some of my favorite art pieces. "Art, decorations, purses." I pick up a mirror that is framed in sea glass and show Pierce. "I'm in love with this stuff, I could spend my entire day here."

             
"Great," he groans.

             
I place the mirror back down and pick up a hand crafted porcelain doll. He grabs it from my hand, puts it back in its spot, and grabs my hand. "What are you doing?"

             
"We're not shopping." He pulls me behind him, treating me like a misbehaved child. It makes me giggle softly. When we walk back onto the sidewalk he turns to face me. "Why are you smiling so much?"

             
"That was funny."

             
He sighs, turns back around, then he continues walking. I quickly follow behind him. "We didn't come here to shop, they're having a small carnival here today. I thought we could watch people get hypnotized, eat some junk, ride on a few rides, what do you think?"

             
I look over his shoulder and see something that would be awesome. "And that." I point to it.

             
He looks over his shoulder and stares back at me. "Uh, face painting?"

             
"Yup," I say with a grin.

             
"Uh, sure, if you want your face painted like you’re seven."

             
I walk in that direction and he follows. I look at the booklet the lady has and find a picture of a black kitten. "What do you think about this?"

             
He just stares at it with a blank expression. "A cat?"

             
"A cute little black kitty."

             
"You're so weird."

             
"I know." I smile at him while he just continues staring at me like I'm crazy. The lady asks if I'm all set and I tell her I am. I show her the picture and she tells me to have a seat. "Oh, this isn't for me."

             
"What?" Her and Pierce both seem to ask me the same time.

             
I look at Pierce and my smile grows. "Have a seat my precious."

             
"You've ridiculous, I'm not getting my face painted."

             
I pretend to be extra sad. "Fine, then I'm leaving." I slowly turn around and I hear him grunt behind me, completely frustrated by the situation. It's more of a test for me, to see what he is willing to do. Small steps.

             
"Fine," he says as I take a few more steps.

             
I turn to face him, excited about him agreeing. "Really?"

             
He flops down into the seat and stares straight ahead, not giving me the satisfaction of seeing him get his face painted. That is fine, as long as I see the after effect. I'm definitely taking a picture of this.

             
Pierce whispers something to the girl and she nods her head, then she proceeds to dip the stick into some water and paint. I wait patiently while she pants his left cheek. It takes a little longer than expected, so when he is finished I don't even notice, too busy staring out into the bay, watching some yachts float by on the water.

             
"What do you think?"

             
I look up at him and try my best not to grin, failing miserably when I burst into laughter. The words,
Cassie's Bitch
, are painted onto his cheek. "Oh my God, you did not!" Tears start to form in my eyes as I continue laughing at the ridiculousness of it.

             
"I had to slip her a twenty for it, but yeah, I did."

             
I pull my phone out and snap a picture of it before Pierce even knows what I'm doing. "Shit, you didn't."

             
"I did!" I slip the phone back into my pocket and smile at him. I don't think I'll be able to stop grinning the rest of the day seeing that on his face.

Chapter Ten

             
After a long, blissful day at Searsport Village, Pierce drives me back to my car that is still at the restaurant. "Thanks for today," I tell him.

             
He looks over and his smile is small but it's there, making me happy he had a good day as well. "I'm glad we got to finally hang out and catch up."

             
I can see the paint on his face when he tilts his head towards me and I smile even bigger. I still cannot believe he did that. People were staring at him like crazy today, I think one girl even snapped a picture of us while we were on the carousel, but I'm not positive.

             
Feeling a little melancholy about the day ending, I ask Pierce, "so are we going to hang out again, or was this it?"

             
I can see his face turn serious as he watches the road in front of him. He doesn't answer as he pulls into the parking lot of the restaurant and parks his truck. Putting it in park, he turns and looks at me. "I don't know."

             
"Oh, um. Okay. Thanks for today." Before any tears fall I grab at the handle and start to open the door. I didn't realize this would hurt so much. I should have left this alone. I should have dealt with the guilt of leaving him back in August, and not given into temptation. Not just once, but multiple times. Between going to his office, having sex with him in the office, calling him and meeting up with him.

             
I've come in like a hurricane and I can't seem to stop making a disaster in my way.

             
He pulls on my arm and I look to where his hand wraps around me. "Hold on." My heart starts beating faster and I look up to meet his gaze. He looks sad, too. This is hard on him as well. Sometimes I forget it's not just me this all is effecting, how hard it is to make choices.

             
Seeming a little reluctant with himself, like he is debating something in his mind, he finally gives in and scoots towards me. My breath immediately picks up at his nearness in such a confined space. "Cassie, you're too tempting."

             
"I... I didn't... I didn't do anything," I stutter.

             
"You don't have to do anything, trust me." His hand comes up and rests on my cheek. The warmth it's bringing to my face could lull me to sleep. I can feel my eyes close as I push my face into his touch. "You're beautiful, funny, and smart. You're incredibly sexy, even when you don't mean to be. You're perfect."

             
My voice comes out in a whisper. "You think too much of me Pierce. You're too good for me."

             
"No, baby girl, I'm not. I'm perfect for you."

             
I shudder at his words. I can feel him tense up and my eyes open. His are at half mass and he looks tantalizing, and ever so seductive. "Are you going to kiss me?"

             
"I shouldn't."

             
"I know."

             
His hand slowly moves to the back of my head and he starts to bring mine towards him. "But I want to."

             
I slowly nod my head, waiting for him to pull me to him. His eyes search mine for a moment before they land on my lips. It's too much, it's such a tease, I can't stop myself. I grab his face with both my hands and pull him to me, using my lips to tell him everything I'm feeling inside. All the love, lust, hatred, confusion, passion. Everything I have, everything I feel, it's expressed in this kiss. I can feel his emotions return to me, I swallow them, I run my tongue along them. It tastes incredible.

             
When Pierce pulls away, he rips my shirt off, throwing it on the floor. He pulls back and lays me down on the seat and climbs over me. His eyes staring fiercely down into my own. "I really shouldn't."

             
"I know."

             
He leans down and kisses me some more. My legs part and he fits perfectly between them. His body rocks against mine, causing me to moan softly into his mouth. I start pulling his shirt up when he suddenly pulls away and looks around. "We can't do this here."

             
I look around too. I forgot I was in his damn truck, this sucks. But maybe it's for the best. Scratch that, it is for the best.

             
"We shouldn't." It's my turn to say it this time.

             
He smiles softly and places his forehead against mine. "I know."

             
I tilt my chin up so I'm kissing his lips. "What do we do?"

             
His hand finds the top of my jeans and he pulls on the button, then he slides his hand inside. Whoa, not what I was expecting. It keeps traveling under and slips under my panties and his finger touches my clit. "You come back to my place," he whispers. I don't say anything, I just stare at him. He dips a little lower, reaching the wetness between my legs, then brings it back up to my clit, where he rubs light circles.

             
My eyes roll back at the soft pleasuring he is doing. "Come to my place and let me show you exactly how much I've missed you Cassie."

             
My voice comes out wavered when I answer him. "Pierce, you know this is only going to confuse things."

             
He bites down on my jaw and his tongue flickers out. Somehow it turns me on more and my hands grip into his arms. "Ohh," I breathe out.

             
"Baby, we're meant to be confusing. I want to be inside you. I need to be inside you again. Please, come."

             
"I'm going to." I start grinding against his hand, and he adds a little more pressure. My body starts shaking under his touch and he brings his lips to my ears as I get off from his touch.

             
His breath feels cool and warm both at once as he speaks softly. "That isn't what I meant, but you look so damn good getting off."

             
As my breathing slows, he slips his hand back out and sucks on his fingers. "Mm, just how I remember."

             
I lay here, staring up at him, thinking about the words that didn't register until just now. We're meant to be confusing. It's sort of true. All our passion, our sex, our love, it's so much more intense because it's not figured out yet. We just seem to fit together the best when we're not meant to be together. I'm throwing away all my warning signs when it comes to Pierce. "Bring me back to your place."

             
He backs off me, hands me my shirt, and then helps me sit. I pull my shirt over my head and button my jeans as he cranks his truck and pulls out of the parking space. The drive back to his house is much shorter than it should be, but I don't mind because I'm just as anxious to have him in me. Although his fingers do a damn good job at getting me off, it's his hard cock I want.

             
We don't even make it through the door without stripping off some of our clothes. Before we're in his bedroom we're both completely naked. He throws me down on the bed and climbs on top of me, spreading my legs even wider. "I'm going to fuck you first, then I'll make love to you."

             
And he does.

             
Both of us fall back onto the bed when he gets me off for the fourth time. His hand remains high up on my thigh as he stares at me passionately. "Who was that girl in the restaurant?" I ask him softly.

             
He looks down at my body instead of at my face when he answers. "We went on a few dates, but I couldn't make it work with her. She just wasn't... you."

             
My heart accelerates speed at that sentence. "Oh, Pierce."

             
When his eyes meet mine again, they're hopeful. "I tried to move on for a little while. Don't be weirded out by this, but I kept tabs on you. That day in the restaurant, I had no idea you'd be there. I was there to tell Keri that I was done with her, that we weren't going to work out. I was honestly about to fight to be back in your life, but I was going to give you a little space first. Then as I was leaving the parking lot, I saw Avery pull in and I lost all hope. I still never saw her again, but once in a while I'd hear something about you or Avery, and I'd show up if I knew you'd be somewhere. I'm sorry if that is weird, I just needed to see you, even if I was killing myself in the process."

             
I reach up and run my hand along the side of his neck. "I've never wanted to hurt you. Either of you. I don't know how I got so twist turned into this situation, and I'm not sure how I screwed it up again. Just know, I've never meant to hurt either of you. I do love you both, I do. They're different types of love, yet they're the same. I feel like I belong to Avery, like he is my soul mate, but at the same time, there is this connection with you that is undeniable and strong. You're always tucked away somewhere in my mind and I can't shake it. I'd be lost without you, Pierce, but I'd also be lost with Avery."

             
"I get it."

             
"I wish I did."

             
He brings me to him and holds me close. "It'll all work itself out baby girl, I promise."

             
I can hear a vibration and I look at his face. "Do you hear that?"

             
He smiles. "I think it's one of our phones."

             
"Oh, right," I laugh. I hadn't thought of that. He climbs out of bed and makes his way down the hallway. When he comes back in, he has a very sad smile on his face.

             
He throws my phone down on the bed, then he turns to leave the room. "I think I'll go wash this shit off my face now." There is no humor in his voice and it makes me worried.

             
I pick up the phone and see three missed calls from Avery and two texts.

             
Avery:
Fight tonight, 8pm, please be there.

             
Avery:
Answer your phone!!!!! i need u there!!!!! please..... Its the one against Spike....