Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) (19 page)

Lying there together, they held hands and talked more about their lives, spending time devoted to nothing but learning about each other. They spoke of favorite childhood tv shows, best fast food burgers, embarrassing moments, and how they spent their college years.
 

During that time their lives had been so opposite. Scott was partying with his teammates, getting a free ride on a swimming scholarship. The inverse was true for Cassie. Her life was all work and little play, but he could see her sense of accomplishment. He had that sense of
real
from her again. Hers was a completely different set of circumstances and a different perspective than any other he had known. His world had been very small before knowing Cassie.

He leaned down and kissed her softly. “You’re all of it, Cass, and I get it. I understand what you said about being real. I want it. Just don’t give up on me in the mean time. Ok?”

Cassie smiled at him softly and nodded. They stayed like that, naked and comfortable in the quiet of the barn, just enjoying being together completely and totally free. Moving upright, Scott tossed a thick blanket up over one of the straw bales in the fort so he could lean back comfortably.
 

He pulled Cassie over to settle her between his thighs, and pulled her shoulders back against his chest. He felt the cool softness of her hair settle on his skin and closed his eyes. Needing to experience every bit of her, he leaned down and kissed her head, feeling the glossy sheen of her hair directly against his lips. He pulled the thinnest blanket over their legs and she rested against him, picking up his hands to study his finger prints.
 

“Scott, can I explain something to you?” Cassie said out of nowhere, still sitting between his legs and resting back against him.
 

“Would I be able to stop you if I wanted to?”
 

She grinned broadly and said, “Absolutely not. Good point.” She loved how well he knew her and sat there holding her tightly anyway.

“Then by all means.”

“Thank you,” she said pointedly. “I want to tell you the proper way to be a grown-up.”

A quick laugh jumped from his chest at her ridiculous comment. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t do it right.”

“How do you figure that?”

She grinned at his incredulous tone of voice and hoped she wouldn’t upset him. She hinted at this before, but he only ever got irritated by it. “You don’t play enough.”

“You are very wrong. Look at me. I’m playing with you right now.”

She giggled. “That’s very true. And I
love
it. But I’m talking about Wednesday, though. What happens when you put that stuffy suit on and go to work? I bet you’ll go right back into grown-up zone and drop this completely. You say that you want to be real, but do you know how? I think you’ll be all strut and charm when you get back.”

Scott had nothing to say to that. She didn’t sound judgmental, she simply wanted her brand of freedom for him, too. And he knew she was absolutely right about Wednesday.

“Probably,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t like playing now.”

“I know that, and I really do love it. But don’t you realize,” Cassie continued, “that being an adult means you have all the responsibility, but also the freedom you always wanted as a kid? Didn’t you ever say, ‘I can’t wait until I grow up so I can do whatever I want.’? I know I did. So now I’m a grown up and I do whatever I want.”

“That doesn’t work for everyone,” he said quietly. “What about responsibility? What about goals and moving upward?”

“You need to be responsible too, of course, but don’t forget how to play. You just need to figure out what you really want and then go for it. That way,
everything
you do will feel like playing while you keep the responsibility side of things going,” she said. “Do you
really
want to be the youngest partner in firm history? If you do, then go for it. But if not, then don’t waste another minute on it.”

Cassie waited for a while for him process this concept. He pulled her back against his chest again and played with her fingers absentmindedly while he thought. He lazily moved one of his hands down over her breast and stroked gently with the back of his fingers. “I never thought about it,” he said honestly. “I got the entry level job and aimed for the top.”

“I know. But don’t you want to think about it now? I mean, look at how shocked you were when you found out that a 25-year-old had a fort. You wouldn’t do that in a million years, and yet here you are having fun and saying it makes you feel like you’re 12, when you had fun all the time. I bet if you thought about it, you’d want more of that.” She smiled when he kissed the top of her head.
 

“How is it that you are younger than I am and seem to know a lot more?” he said with a small smile.
 

Obviously deep in thought, Scott played with her body so gently and Cassie simply let him. His hand moved peacefully along the soft side of her breast and slowly across the plane of her stomach. That lazy, sweet motion brought a peaceful aura to the loft while he thought.
 

Cassie enjoyed his fondling her so gently, so she sighed and sank further back. He traced lines along her neck, jaw line, and the curve of her ear. With a little more focus, he moved his finger tips feather-soft across her lips. When she felt his fingers pause there, she understood. The time had come for thinking to cease and gratification to take center stage. That didn’t matter to Cassie; she loved getting him there.

Scott felt her tongue lick at his finger tip and he paused, hoping for more. She gently held his fingers at her mouth. With her eyes closed, she licked and sucked slowly along each individual finger. He watched intently as her lips and tongue played…and his erection throbbed painfully hard. She finally released his hand and turned to look at him. The strong desire in his eyes demanded satisfaction and she smiled seductively before kissing her way down his chest. His head dropped back when she reached for his cock. She used her tongue and lips to give the same attention to his manhood as she had his fingers; she had him moaning in no time.
 

He couldn’t believe the intensity of her hot mouth on his member and the skill with which her tongue had him aching in moments. She took him in completely and stroked around him with her tongue.
 

“Cassie, baby, you’re so good…” he moaned with his hands in her hair. “So damn good…”

She quickened her pace for him and licked and sucked at him indulgently, loving the sounds and words from his lips. She felt powerful bringing him this intense pleasure.
 

When she heard his breathing change to a rapid, shallow pace, she brought him fully into her mouth to accept his hot fluid. She continued to suck and lick until he was completely spent. Once she finally released him from her mouth, she wrapped her arms around his hips and rested her head on his thigh, holding herself close to him. She rested there for a long while and focused on his hand stroking her hair softly.
 

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” he asked her quietly.

“I do know that,” Cassie said in a sleepy voice. “Do you know why?”

“I do know why, in every way,” he said honestly.
 

A smile pushed at his leg. “It’s the same for you,” she said, almost asleep now. “In every way.”

He lifted her off his lap so he could settle beside her. “Sleep, Cass. I’ll lay down and be beautiful beside you,” he teased.
 

She closed her eyes and smiled so happily. “I love it when you call me Cass.”

He pulled her closer and felt her relax into in his arms. Breath by breath she fell deeper into sleep while Scott considered their conversation. What
did
he really want? How could he still be a child while he was a grown up? Cassie made the balance appear effortless, but he couldn’t figure out how to apply the concept to his own life.
 

The firm-partner goal was appropriate, right? That had been his target for five solid years, nonstop. How would he have been able to do that if he didn’t want it? The process, however, certainly didn’t feel like
playing
. Every step represented calculated effort – the same kind that led to every success in his life.
 

The only moments in his life that felt like playing all happened with Cassie. But having a mind-blowing girlfriend didn’t count as a full-time job with dental benefits. He let all of that spin in his head while sleep eluded him. More than an hour passed before he finally drifted off.
 

They woke up Tuesday morning a little stiff from sleeping on the floor of the loft. Cassie stretched her body completely before she even opened her eyes.
 

“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Scott said when he saw her wake up. He had woken up early, still thinking about his life.

“Good morning,” she said tightly while she stretched.
 

He leaned down and kissed her, morning breath and all. She didn’t seem to mind a bit as she swirled her tongue slowly around his, still feeling warm and tingly from last night. His hands wandered slowly while they kissed. No intense need obstructed their enjoyment of kissing decadently. They let the moment stretch on for a long, lazy while until passion won out and they made love again. No damn interruptions.

Chapter Ten

The following Saturday Scott picked up Cassie for fight night after her nurse’s exam. She had just completed part three of the series.

“How’d it go?”

“I passed with a 96%. God, I love computer exams. I would hate it if I had to wait weeks for the results.”

“Congrats! That’s incredible, Cass,” Scott said with a kiss to her cheek. “We’ll have to celebrate tomorrow.”

“Ooh, I would love that,” she beamed. “How was work this morning?”

“Good. I got caught up on a few things. And you’d be proud of me. I wore jeans to the office.”

“Look at you go! Jeans on a Saturday? Last time I saw you work on a Saturday, you were in a suit. Jeans were better, yes?”

“Yes,” Scott smiled. “Let’s grab dinner before the fight. Any preferences?”

The two had a quick meal at Cassie’s favorite soup and salad place and she told Scott all about what to expect at the fight. Scott had never been to an MMA event before. She gave him nearly the same speech as the one she gave Erin months before.

Jenna and Erin would meet them at their front-row seats at the arena. Cassie couldn’t wait to see her brother fight again, especially since Scott would have a chance to watch this time. She wanted him and Marcus to know each other better and hopefully get along. She dared even hope they would become close. This event would at least give Scott a chance to understand Marcus’s passion. Hopefully since Scott knew their history, he’d be able to understand.
 

“Marcus is last on the ticket tonight,” Cassie said proudly. “They always save the best fighters for last. Marcus has always been good, but he’s completely dominated Atlanta since he and Erin have been together.”

“Really? That surprises me. I’d think that all his old anger would have made him stronger.”

“Well he’s just as strong, but now he can focus. He’s more of a strategist and he’s scary-good at it. I swear he can read his opponents’ minds.”

“This should be good,” Scott smiled, and then something caught his attention.
 

Cassie turned in the direction of his gaze to see Erin and Jenna walking toward them. Her bright smile welcomed them to the arena. “Hey, ladies! Try not to drool, Jenna. You will see some seriously hot men here tonight.”

“Hey!” Scott said, affronted.

“I meant you, of course,” Cassie said innocently as all three giggled like junior high girls. Jenna looked over at Cassie and mouthed the word “wow” while pointing at Scott with her thumb.

“I told you,” Cassie said with a smile.

“This is going to be a long night,” Scott grinned. “So how many fights?”

“Seven before my brother’s,” Cassie answered. “Buckle in. It’s a wild ride.”

The group all chatted together and Scott tried to tolerate the estrogen level at an event that was supposed to be pure testosterone. Cassie laughed at him more than once for looking so uncomfortable while they waited for the event to begin.

The announcer suddenly broke through the din of the crowd as lights started flashing and music started bumping. “Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to the Ogden Arena for Fiiiiiight Niiiiiight!”

The crowd flew into a riot of screams and hoots, cheering on the event and getting warmed up for the fighters. The announcer’s showmanship and his vocal flare had the crowd going wild in no time.

“Tonight we have a special treat while our fighters prepare themselves for the mania of the caaaaaaage! These two MMA fledglings will give you a taste of how these fighters come up through the ranks. Give a big shout for…Gaaaaaarth Devliiiiiiin and Luuuuuuke Bayloooooor!”

The crowd cheered again as two fighters walked into the cage. Erin and Cassie beamed at each other when they saw Luke for the first time. He was about six feet tall, just a few inches shorter than Marcus. But that is where the similarities ended. Luke was thick-muscled and beefy with a military haircut and tattoos down the length of his arm.
 

“God, he looks just as angry as Marc used to,” Cassie said over the noise of the crowd.
 

Erin shook her head in wonder at the intensity of Marcus’s new trainee. He certainly had his work cut out for him. But then again, both Cassie and Erin knew that if anyone could handle Luke, it would be Marcus. The two apparently had a lot in common.
 

Cassie looked over at Jenna who was watching and cheering on the fight with the rest of the crowd. Jenna, smiling widely, glanced back and shouted, “You were right…seriously hot!”

Cassie laughed. “I can get Marcus to introduce you to Luke if you want…”

“Not my style, but thanks anyway,” Jenna laughed.

Three rounds of screaming quieted when the announcer called out to the crowd again. “By decision, the match goes to Gaaaaaarth Devliiiiiiin! And now, please keep the screaming going for our first official match of the night….”