had his hand under her bra, surrounding a bare, full breast.
Cassie moaned against his lips, adding more fuel to the raging fire inside him, making him bolder. That same hand left her breast and slid under her skirt, then inside her panties.
"Oh, Austin!" she cried, arching herself against the fingers now
circling gently inside her.
It was only after she had climaxed that he felt her hot tears on his face.
The bottom dropped out of his stomach, but it was too late to undo what he'd just done. Swearing graphically, he let her go and moved back behind the wheel.
"What can I say, Cassie?" he asked when he could talk again.
"Please," she said, her breathing coming in shallow pants.
"Don't say anything."
He didn't. Instead, they both sat unmoving in the smothering silence.
"Why are we punishing ourselves this way?" Austin asked, wiping the sweat off his brow.
"Please, I don't want to talk about it." Her voice sounded bleak.
He faced her, and his breath caught. She looked so fragile, as if she
could easily break. Still, he couldn't give in to her; he had to bring what happened to closure. "We have to."
"We're no good for each other, Austin."
"That may be, but I still want you, and you still want me."
He stared at her rigid profile as he waited for an answer.
"So what are you saying?" she whispered, clasping her hands tightly in her lap.
"That I'm not sure I can keep my hands off you."
She took a deep breath.
"You have to."
"Why?"
"You know why," she said, facing him, her eyes still misted with tears.
It was alt he could do not to grab her again.
"You're right, I do know," he admitted in a harsh tone.
"I'm almost old enough to be your father." He paused.
"And I'm your father's best friend and brother-in-law." When she didn't
respond, he went on, "And he would kill me and disown you if he knew
we'd ever touched."
Cassie still didn't say anything. It appeared as though she had gone into shock.
"Talk to me, dammit."
"What more is there to say?" she asked in a faint tone.
"Where we go from here would be a good start," he said recklessly.
"Nowhere."
He cursed.
"And you know why, for the reasons you just named plus some you didn't."
Something seemed to wither and die inside him, but he would be damned if
he let her know that.
"I won't apologize."
"Fine, just don't ever touch me again." A measure of strength had returned to her voice.
"If that's the way you feel."
"That's the way I feel." Cassie pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, as if to see him better.
"Go back to your lady friend. She's much more suited to you than I am."
"Don't tell me how to run my love life!"
"If you touch me again, I swear I'll leave town."
Austin looked her up and down, heat from watching her orgasm still
flooding his body.
"I won't touch you again. Not until you ask me, that is."
Cassie's shoulders hunched.
"You just don't know when to let it go, do you?"
"I gave you my word, so I suggest you get out while I'm still willing to
keep it."
She scrambled out of the car and slammed the door. He waited until she was inside the house, then drove off, burning rubber.
He knew he was behaving like a horny adolescent, but he couldn't help
it. He was scared shit less by the emotional turmoil that raged inside him.
Hell, maybe he should be the one who left town.
Twenty What do you mean, he hasn't been there in days?"
Austin was trying to control both his voice and his frustration, but he was having one helluva time.
"Trust me, Mr. McGuire, we're as puzzled and concerned by Randall's
behavior as you are."
Then why the hell aren't you doing something about it? Austin was tempted to lash back. But he refrained. He was talking to one of the senior partners in Randall's firm, a man to whom he owed some respect.
Besides, his temper was on a short leash, thanks to Cassie.
Since that trip to New Orleans, he'd been meaner than a junkyard dog in
heat and hornier than a sailor six weeks out of port.
"He's been absent more than he's been here," Mr. Ashton was saying. '
"The latest excuse was that he had the flu."
"Mary Jane hasn't been any help?" Austin asked, forcing his mind off Cassie and back on track.
"No, and I've spoken to her several times. She's extremely distraught."
That was probably a gross understatement, Austin thought, envisioning
Mary Jane having a hissy fit "Look, sir, if you hear from Randall, tell him it's urgent that he get in touch with me."
"Is there anything I or the firm can do, meanwhile?"
"No, thanks. This is a personal matter."